Well, we have reached the end of our time in Dublin. I cannot believe that I have already written eight blogs and lived through eight weeks here. I guess time really flies when you are having fun. I have learned and experienced so much this summer and I could not be more grateful for this opportunity. This week was extremely busy and filled with fun and activities.
On Thursday, my friends and I went to the airport and took a flight to Mallorca, Spain where we checked into a little hotel. Being a 3 minute walk to the beach was an absolute dream, and exactly what I needed after a summer spent in the Dublin rain. That night, we went to a local bar restaurant where we got some tropical frozen drinks that blew my socks off.
The next day, we attempted to wake up early, but ended up sleeping until around 11:30. After getting breakfast at a cafe, we got ready for the beach and walked to the largest one in our area. Looking back on it, I did not put nearly enough sunscreen on, because I ended up falling asleep on the beach and left looking like a tomato. Nonetheless, the beach was absolutely gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the entire day laying on the sand and swimming in the water. Later that night, we went out for dinner at a place that was right on the beach, where I ended up getting a sandwich. After that, we had a couple drinks and walked to a lounge nearby to relax and have a nice evening.
The next day, we ultimately slept in again, and ended up spending the day at the beach once again. This time, I made sure to apply a generous amount of sunscreen, as I was absolutely toasted from the day before. We went out to dinner again, and ended the night sitting on beach chairs looking at the waves.
Sunday, we decided to rent a small boat for the day. We were able to drive to nearby beaches and islands, drop the anchor, and jump into the ocean. I loved this experience, and it finally felt like a real summer to me. After spending the entire day on the water, we went out to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant which ended up being one of my favorites. The rest of the night was spent sitting on the beach listening to music and chatting. Before going back to the hotel, we stopped at a kebab place for a late night snack which may very well have been the highlight of my weekend.
On Monday we checked out of the hotel and spent the day walking around the beach area waiting for our flight. I was able to work on my final research presentation which I gave on Tuesday, that encompassed all of the data and results from my time in the lab this summer.
It feels surreal that we are going home so soon, and while I am excited to enjoy free ice water and air conditioning again, I am sad to be leaving Ireland.
