For my final week in the program, I had a free weekend, so I decided to head to Sardinia. Thursday night, I caught a flight to Cagliari, the island’s capital. Friday, I walked nearly 30,000 steps exploring the city, and catching some great photos in the process. In the sunset photo blow, the pinkish-purple glow coming through the clouds on the right is illuminating the silhouette of the mountains just outside the city as the sun sets behind them.
Saturday was the highlight of the trip. I rented an e-bike and rode through the mountains to Villasimius, a coastal town with white sand beaches and turquoise water. I spent the day relaxing by the sea, had dinner in town, and then biked back as the sun set. It was exhausting but worth every mile. I did end up having to catch a taxi for the last twenty miles as the e-bike was out of battery, and the roads didn’t have any lights, so continuing would’ve been too dangerous. On Saturday alone I biked 55 miles.
On Sunday, I stayed closer to Cagliari, biking about 10 miles to visit more archaeological sites, including the Roman amphitheater and La Grotta Della Vipera, a Roman-era tomb carved into the rock. I also made it to the archaeology museum, which had been closed by the time I got to it on Friday. I wrapped up the trip with some excellent pizza before heading back.
Monday’s journey back to Dublin was a multi-leg trek via Milan and Liverpool. I had a layover in Milan’s airport which for some reason has a massive Eataly? On the plane, I finished The Man Who Solved the Market, a book my boss had recommended about Jim Simons and the rise of quantitative investing. It was an interesting read which I really enjoyed, so I’m glad he recommended it. I don’t think I ever would’ve picked it up without his recommendation.
In my last days at Carraighill, I had the chance to listen in on several earnings calls from different banks and take notes for the analysts. It turned out to be surprisingly fun, and a good exercise in pulling real insights out of paragraphs of corporate marketing language. It felt like a good end to my internship, and a skill which I will probably practice going forward. Overall I really enjoyed my time at Carraighill. I learned so much, and I definitely plan to keep in touch with everyone as I progress in my career, and when I visit Ireland in the future.