Dublin Ireland was a great time. First, we got to our hostel, which turned out to be a gorgeous hotel. I have no idea how we got so lucky, but we stayed in a real hotel room with our own bathroom and everything for less then the hostels we just booked for spring break. It was fantastic.
On Monday, we arrived and had a pretty good flight and free transportation to the hotel room from the airport. We decided that night to go to the Hardrock cafe for dinner. Molly has never been to a hardrock before and I love the food there, so it worked out well. Before we ate dinner, though we did some shopping for green clothes to wear on Tuesday (St. Patrick's Day). We were fairly lucky because as soon as we stepped off the bus there was a little shop called Carrolls selling all types of clothes and hats and clover headbands. We bought some things and then went to dinner. At the restaurant we were told we would have to wait 45 mins for a table, which was dissappointing because we were really hungry. We decided to wait at the bar and grab a drink; but before we even reached the bar, literally 45 seconds later, our buzzer went off telling us they were ready to seat us. Somehow, we got lucky and got a table in no time. We ate a delicious dinner and had our first real Irish Guinness. After that, we met up with some of my friends from high school who are also abroad, and some of their friends. We all went out and had a lot of fun.
Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day. It was absolutely amazing. The parade was HUGE; people had ladders and were climbing on statues to see it. Technically, we were at the parade, but unfortunately we could not see a thing. O'Connelly, one of the busiest streets in Dublin was closed down and all you could see was a sea of green. There were SO many people. Everyone was happy and drunk; and dressed in green, with green accessories, and green make-up. It was great. We went to a bar nearby and had a few drinks. While we were there (just Molly and I because our friends were on the other side of the street and there was no way we could cross until after the parade) we met some Irish friends. Surprisingly, it was difficult to have a conversation because of the thickness of their accents, but we managed. We learned that cornbeef and cabbage is NOT an Irish tradition. When we mentioned the meal, our Irish friends asked us what cornbeef was, they have never even heard of it! Turns out they have either ham and cabbage, roastbeef, or stew. Anyyway, we met up with our friends after the parade and had a great night out.
Wednesday was a day to relax. As you can imagine, we were in pretty bad shape from the day/night before. We slept in and watched some T.V. in ENGLISH! That was really nice. Once we felt better we walked around town and did some shopping. On Thursday, we decided to go to the Guinness storehouse. It was really cool to see how Guinness is made and we got a couple of free samples- no complaints here. We had a really fun time. We walked around and did some sight-seeing of the town. We went in early that night because we had to get up at 430 on Friday morning to catch the shuttle back to the airport.
All in all we had an awesome time and I would go back to Ireland every year if I could. The people there are so nice and layed back. It was a great experience.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Spain
Barcelona was probably the best choice for my 21st birthday. My brother came from Wednesday until Monday and it was perfect timing because I was starting to get a little homesick. I had an a amazing weekend.
Wednesday was my host brothers 16th birthday. Michael got to meet my whole French family and we had some duck for dinner and delicious wine, of course. Because of Michaels jet-lag and my 8:30 am course on Thurdays, we stayed in Wed and hung out with the family. Thursday night we went to a beer factory at the Odysseum. It was perfect for everyone, because as most of you know my brother and I love our beer, and it was a fun but quiet night because we left for Barcelona on Friday.
Friday we went to Tricias apt in Barcelona. We literally woke up, packed, ate and left for Spain. As soon as we got there, we went out to dunner. We actually had Italian and some wine, which was perfect and then went back to Tricias to get ready. We went to a club that night and stayed out until about 5:30 am. It was packed but we had fun dancing and drinking. My brother, Molly, and my housemate Elizabeth all came to Spain and one of Tricias roomates had a friend there on her spring break, so the sleeping situation was pretty ridiculous. We had two people in the single bed, three people in the double bed, two on the floor and one on the couch. I was one of the three in the double bed, so I guess I had one of the better arrangements.
Saturday was my 21st birthday! Tricia and I had to wake up at 8:30 in the morning to get soccer tickets for the game that night, it's safe to say we went right back to sleep. Once we woke up to start the day, we had some breakfast and then got ready and went to a bar near Tricia's apt. We had a few drinks before the game. The soccer game was amazing. It was Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao and Barce won 2-0. That was something my brother really wanted to do and I am SO happy we followed through because I had a great time. After the game we went out to eat by the stadium and then met up with some of Tricias friends and had some more drinks. We ended up going to a bar that was kind of hidden, so there were not a lot of exchange students, which was cool. I actually had to speak French to communicate with some of the other people there. We had a really good time and because we were still in our jerseys we weren't allowed in the clubs, but it was okay because I think most of us were ready to go home when the bars closed.
Sunday was probably my favorite. We woke up and did some sight-seeing; we saw La Sagrada Family by Antoni Gaudi and then we took an airtram up to a castle that overlooked Barcelona. The sights were breath-taking and we couldn't have asked for better weather. When we got back we went out for a Spanish dinner and some Sangria! It was delicious. After dinner we went to a Kareoke bar which was so much fun. At night, Tricia was trying open the door to her apt and fell face first into cement. She now has a black, swollen eye and if you have facebook I suggest you look at her pictures for a good laugh.
Monday, Tricia and I took Michael to the train station to fly back to the states. I was really happy he came and I had a great time. Tricia actually cried when he left (I'm not really sure why SHE cried when MY brother left, but it was cute). It honestly made me feel better having him here for my birthday.
I am planning on doing nothing but relaxing this weekend because I need to catch up on sleep and WE LEAVE FOR IRELAND MONDAY! I can't believe Molly and I actually followed through with our 'Ireland for St. Patrick's Day' idea and Tricia's in on it now, too! I can not wait to see what happens. I am so thankful for this oppurtunity and my family for helping me with everything.
I LOVE AND MISS EVERYONE FROM HOME!
Wednesday was my host brothers 16th birthday. Michael got to meet my whole French family and we had some duck for dinner and delicious wine, of course. Because of Michaels jet-lag and my 8:30 am course on Thurdays, we stayed in Wed and hung out with the family. Thursday night we went to a beer factory at the Odysseum. It was perfect for everyone, because as most of you know my brother and I love our beer, and it was a fun but quiet night because we left for Barcelona on Friday.
Friday we went to Tricias apt in Barcelona. We literally woke up, packed, ate and left for Spain. As soon as we got there, we went out to dunner. We actually had Italian and some wine, which was perfect and then went back to Tricias to get ready. We went to a club that night and stayed out until about 5:30 am. It was packed but we had fun dancing and drinking. My brother, Molly, and my housemate Elizabeth all came to Spain and one of Tricias roomates had a friend there on her spring break, so the sleeping situation was pretty ridiculous. We had two people in the single bed, three people in the double bed, two on the floor and one on the couch. I was one of the three in the double bed, so I guess I had one of the better arrangements.
Saturday was my 21st birthday! Tricia and I had to wake up at 8:30 in the morning to get soccer tickets for the game that night, it's safe to say we went right back to sleep. Once we woke up to start the day, we had some breakfast and then got ready and went to a bar near Tricia's apt. We had a few drinks before the game. The soccer game was amazing. It was Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao and Barce won 2-0. That was something my brother really wanted to do and I am SO happy we followed through because I had a great time. After the game we went out to eat by the stadium and then met up with some of Tricias friends and had some more drinks. We ended up going to a bar that was kind of hidden, so there were not a lot of exchange students, which was cool. I actually had to speak French to communicate with some of the other people there. We had a really good time and because we were still in our jerseys we weren't allowed in the clubs, but it was okay because I think most of us were ready to go home when the bars closed.
Sunday was probably my favorite. We woke up and did some sight-seeing; we saw La Sagrada Family by Antoni Gaudi and then we took an airtram up to a castle that overlooked Barcelona. The sights were breath-taking and we couldn't have asked for better weather. When we got back we went out for a Spanish dinner and some Sangria! It was delicious. After dinner we went to a Kareoke bar which was so much fun. At night, Tricia was trying open the door to her apt and fell face first into cement. She now has a black, swollen eye and if you have facebook I suggest you look at her pictures for a good laugh.
Monday, Tricia and I took Michael to the train station to fly back to the states. I was really happy he came and I had a great time. Tricia actually cried when he left (I'm not really sure why SHE cried when MY brother left, but it was cute). It honestly made me feel better having him here for my birthday.
I am planning on doing nothing but relaxing this weekend because I need to catch up on sleep and WE LEAVE FOR IRELAND MONDAY! I can't believe Molly and I actually followed through with our 'Ireland for St. Patrick's Day' idea and Tricia's in on it now, too! I can not wait to see what happens. I am so thankful for this oppurtunity and my family for helping me with everything.
I LOVE AND MISS EVERYONE FROM HOME!
Italy
Ok, so as usual I am late on a few blogs, but I'm really busy all of a sudden.
So Italy, was February 18th until the 22nd. It was amazing, but getting there was pretty much a pain. First, on Thursday, we had a two hour train ride to Lyon, then we had to switch at Dijon and I had to ride in my first couchette, or sleeper train, from Dijon to Florence. The couchette was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but I would have enjoyed a nice complimentary breakfast when I woke up- no such luck. Regardless, we arrived on Friday morning an hour late, and Ally was waiting for us. Thank God for my responsible friends because we had trouble getting in touch with her but she waited at the train station for 90 minutes and met us there. We expected to nap as soon as we found our hostile, but then it took an hour and a half to find and considering none of us speak Italian it was pretty frustrating. Eventually a nice Italian man riding his bicycle heard us complaining that we can't find it and it turned out we were about ten feet away, he took us to the door. Once we got there, we threw our luggage down and started the day. We had a pastry and a cappuccino for breakfast then, of course, some pizza for lunch. It was delicious. After lunch we did some sight-seeing. We went to churches, the Ponte Vecchio, and a museum. We were able to see Michaelangelo's David which was really cool, and of course everyone snuck a picture, but when I tried the security guard came over and yelled at me in Italian. After touring a bit we had dinner at a spanish restaurant with some margaritas which were delicious. We also had some gelatto and I am thankful we do not have that here because it was delicious and I would probably eat it three times a day. After dessert, we went back and slept because we had a wine tour at 8am Saturday morning in Chianty.
Saturday was really cool. Ally made plans to us to go on a wine tour. First we went on a nice tour of the vineyards. By nice tour I really mean hike, but it was still fun. After seeing the vineyards and a couple of Italian churches we had a delicious lunch waiting for us complete with plenty of wine. We got t meet the man who produced the wine and he taught us how to properly swirl and sniff the wine to determine the alcohol content. It was really fun and it was exactly what I wanted to do in Italy. That night we went to an Italian restaurant where I probably had the best lasagna I have ever tasted.
Sunday, we spent 16 hours on a train. It was boring but we had food and ipods to keep us occupied. We had to go from Florence to Milan, then Milan to Nice and Nice to Montpellier. I loved seeing Ally and I am so greatful we got to go there!
Next we went to Spain...
So Italy, was February 18th until the 22nd. It was amazing, but getting there was pretty much a pain. First, on Thursday, we had a two hour train ride to Lyon, then we had to switch at Dijon and I had to ride in my first couchette, or sleeper train, from Dijon to Florence. The couchette was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but I would have enjoyed a nice complimentary breakfast when I woke up- no such luck. Regardless, we arrived on Friday morning an hour late, and Ally was waiting for us. Thank God for my responsible friends because we had trouble getting in touch with her but she waited at the train station for 90 minutes and met us there. We expected to nap as soon as we found our hostile, but then it took an hour and a half to find and considering none of us speak Italian it was pretty frustrating. Eventually a nice Italian man riding his bicycle heard us complaining that we can't find it and it turned out we were about ten feet away, he took us to the door. Once we got there, we threw our luggage down and started the day. We had a pastry and a cappuccino for breakfast then, of course, some pizza for lunch. It was delicious. After lunch we did some sight-seeing. We went to churches, the Ponte Vecchio, and a museum. We were able to see Michaelangelo's David which was really cool, and of course everyone snuck a picture, but when I tried the security guard came over and yelled at me in Italian. After touring a bit we had dinner at a spanish restaurant with some margaritas which were delicious. We also had some gelatto and I am thankful we do not have that here because it was delicious and I would probably eat it three times a day. After dessert, we went back and slept because we had a wine tour at 8am Saturday morning in Chianty.
Saturday was really cool. Ally made plans to us to go on a wine tour. First we went on a nice tour of the vineyards. By nice tour I really mean hike, but it was still fun. After seeing the vineyards and a couple of Italian churches we had a delicious lunch waiting for us complete with plenty of wine. We got t meet the man who produced the wine and he taught us how to properly swirl and sniff the wine to determine the alcohol content. It was really fun and it was exactly what I wanted to do in Italy. That night we went to an Italian restaurant where I probably had the best lasagna I have ever tasted.
Sunday, we spent 16 hours on a train. It was boring but we had food and ipods to keep us occupied. We had to go from Florence to Milan, then Milan to Nice and Nice to Montpellier. I loved seeing Ally and I am so greatful we got to go there!
Next we went to Spain...
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