This trip didn’t start out on the best note (I was sick multiple times on the 12 hour bus ride) but then I bought motion sickness medicine and everything picked up from there haha. We left at 8 on Thursday night and got in around 8 Friday morning. We stayed at a hostel called Plus Prague which was pretty nice for a hostel and we kind of had a room to ourselves because it was Hannah, Katie, Nick, and I plus two girls that were really sweet (Jazz they were from southern Texas and one of them kept saying ya’ll). Anyway, the first day our tour group (called Bus2Alps) went to Old Towne Square and then Charles Bridge. The architecture of Prague was so gorgeous and unique, definitely eastern Europe! Hannah and I thought it looked a lot like Edinburgh (and both of us loved Edinburgh haha). I don’t know maybe it’s just something about the medieval look of buildings….in the U.S. you can’t walk outside and see a giant gothic cathedral or a castle on a hill…I guess that’s partly why I’m so fascinated by all of it! It rained almost all of Friday and the temperature was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. My cheeks were wind burnt and I found that my boots don’t work very well as rain boots (my socks were soaked) hahah but the city was pretty so that distracted me from the slightly miserable weather.
In the afternoon the group split up and Hannah, Katie, Nick and I walked some of the streets and window shopped. When we were heading back to old town square it started pouring down rain and the wind was picking up so we found a really cute coffee shop to sit in until the storm passed. We all got cappuccinos with apple strudels….yumm. At that point we were exhausted from not getting very much sleep on the bus the night before so we went back to the hostel and napped. That night the bus2alps group met up again and we went to a 5 story dance club. It was sooo fun! Each floor had a different genre of music…one was an oldies floor (our favorite!) Dad the girls and I did the twist haha, and some of the other floors were hip hop, techno, etc. It was really neat and we ended up staying longer than we thought. Oh and that night we grabbed dinner and snow started falling outside…soooo beautiful! And it was even more fun because Hannah is from Florida and she’d never seen snow fall before!!!!
The next morning our bus2alps group hiked to the top of a lookout tower, called the Eiffel Tour, in the snow! Everything looked so pretty and being in the snow made me miss home!
After that we slid down the hill…..literally, and went to Prague Castle! The group split up after that and Katie and I bought warm Prague hats hahah. Then we walked over to Old Towne Square again and as we were walking we ran into a coffee shop called Ebel that Hannah had read about in her guidebook. It was seriously the cutest coffee shop I’d ever been to. They decorated all of the coffee’s and we Hannah and I had cake which was great haha. And even better it was snowing again outside and there was a giant Christmas tree all lit up right outside our window. I loved it! After we had thawed from the freezing cold we bundled back up and headed back out. We all linked arms and just walked down several streets looking at Christmas lights, I think that was my favorite part of the trip because we were quietly singing Christmas songs and it was one of those moments I wish I could have captured and kept forever….I guess that’s why I’m writing about it haha.
After that we met up with the bus2apls group again at a place called Beer Factory, which is famous for having beer taps on the tables. Everyone had beer and I tried hot wine haha I don’t like beer! They had hot wine everywhere in Prague and I love trying food and drinks that are specific to different cultures. That night our group went to another club and the 4 of us decided to stay in the city instead. We wandered/got lost in a small blizzard for awhile haha. I have to say I was put in charge of directions….and mom Im becoming more and more like you everyday, I think I can officially be labeled “directionally challenged” haha! So that was just a bad idea from the start and it took us like 2 hours to get back to our hostel. We were so cold at one point that we stopped and had dessert and hot chocolate in another café before heading back. Anyway, we eventually made it back crawled in!
The next morning Hannah and I woke up early to catch a tram back to the middle of the city and walk around. We both bought souvenirs and then went back to Café Ebel…it was so good! So that was nice and relaxing and then we headed back to the hostel to embark on our 12 hour trip back haha. The bus ride flew by and before I knew it we were back! So Prague was beautiful and Im really glad I got to visit a country in Eastern Europe!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Visiting Sha in Butzbach!
November 14th-16th
Ciao!
I’m most definitely getting behind on my blogging and I think they’ve been way too long anyway hahha. So here’s a sum up of Germany and then Prague :)
So Germany was AMAZING. It was so so great seeing Sha Sha and getting to meet her host family (they’re adorable). Her mom is like the sweetest thing ever and was constantly feeding us and her host sister is like the most lovable girl I’ve ever met (Shannon and I decided that Karen, her host sister, has to marry Trevor haha). The first night we got back to their house around 10 and Barbara, Sha’s host mom, was pulling all of this food out for me to eat. It was very good…first she gave me a giant bowl of fruit salad and tnen rolls with this mango cream spread (Shannon’s new favorite) and then all of us had tea and spice cake hahah. Needless to say I was stuffed! That night the girls and I sat down in the basement and caught up on life haha. I tried coca-cola beer for the first time…the coke part was good…the beer part not so much.
The next morning we had breakfast and then the girls showed me around Butzbach. It is such a cute German town…..Sha and I think it looks like a little downtown Eagle, only German haha. The buildings were so old and cute and there were people selling brauts and such in the street. After that we went to Frankfurt and walked around/shopped for a few hours. We had lunch at a quaint restaurant in one of the main squares. I had goulash hahah typical German (and it was delish!) There was a wedding going on in the square while we were there and it was so cute! We were wondering what was going on and Karen told us that at weddings in Germany the newly married couple has to cut out one side of a heart from a big sheet that has a heart drawn on it, and basically whoever cuts their side out faster is the leader/head of the relationship haha. Fun Tradition! And it was really neat to see.
That night Sha and I made German Cheesecake! Since we were little we’ve always baked together and our favorite was always German Cheesecake…so this was necessary haha. It turned out really well even though we substituted a few ingredients. And we spend the rest of that night watching a German movie called the no eared bunny (they put English subtitles on for me haha). Oh and before that we went to a birthday party of one of Shannon and Karen’s friends. We didn’t stay for very long because we wanted to bake but it was neat going and seeing some people Sha’s been going to school with. Oh yeah and she’s completely fluent in German! Not even kidding we’d be in the car and suddenly she’d start talking to Barbara and she speaks at like 100 miles a minute…I was impressed! And the next morning Barbara packed me a lunch, seriously she’s adorable, and took me to the train station very very early in the morning. The trip was short but so great and definitely one of my favorites (mainly because I was visiting Sha and it was more relaxing and less touristy)!
Tshooch (that’s goodbye in German…it’s pronounced chews which took me awhile haha)
Ciao!
I’m most definitely getting behind on my blogging and I think they’ve been way too long anyway hahha. So here’s a sum up of Germany and then Prague :)
So Germany was AMAZING. It was so so great seeing Sha Sha and getting to meet her host family (they’re adorable). Her mom is like the sweetest thing ever and was constantly feeding us and her host sister is like the most lovable girl I’ve ever met (Shannon and I decided that Karen, her host sister, has to marry Trevor haha). The first night we got back to their house around 10 and Barbara, Sha’s host mom, was pulling all of this food out for me to eat. It was very good…first she gave me a giant bowl of fruit salad and tnen rolls with this mango cream spread (Shannon’s new favorite) and then all of us had tea and spice cake hahah. Needless to say I was stuffed! That night the girls and I sat down in the basement and caught up on life haha. I tried coca-cola beer for the first time…the coke part was good…the beer part not so much.
The next morning we had breakfast and then the girls showed me around Butzbach. It is such a cute German town…..Sha and I think it looks like a little downtown Eagle, only German haha. The buildings were so old and cute and there were people selling brauts and such in the street. After that we went to Frankfurt and walked around/shopped for a few hours. We had lunch at a quaint restaurant in one of the main squares. I had goulash hahah typical German (and it was delish!) There was a wedding going on in the square while we were there and it was so cute! We were wondering what was going on and Karen told us that at weddings in Germany the newly married couple has to cut out one side of a heart from a big sheet that has a heart drawn on it, and basically whoever cuts their side out faster is the leader/head of the relationship haha. Fun Tradition! And it was really neat to see.
That night Sha and I made German Cheesecake! Since we were little we’ve always baked together and our favorite was always German Cheesecake…so this was necessary haha. It turned out really well even though we substituted a few ingredients. And we spend the rest of that night watching a German movie called the no eared bunny (they put English subtitles on for me haha). Oh and before that we went to a birthday party of one of Shannon and Karen’s friends. We didn’t stay for very long because we wanted to bake but it was neat going and seeing some people Sha’s been going to school with. Oh yeah and she’s completely fluent in German! Not even kidding we’d be in the car and suddenly she’d start talking to Barbara and she speaks at like 100 miles a minute…I was impressed! And the next morning Barbara packed me a lunch, seriously she’s adorable, and took me to the train station very very early in the morning. The trip was short but so great and definitely one of my favorites (mainly because I was visiting Sha and it was more relaxing and less touristy)!
Tshooch (that’s goodbye in German…it’s pronounced chews which took me awhile haha)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Mondays
November 10th
The next morning, after Barcelona, was just like any Monday morning, although I feel like everything around our apartment is becoming really sentimental because we’re all realizing how short our time together is. The subject is kind of off limits…according to the girls hahah, but tends to come up anyway. Italian class was really fun. We spent the first half an hour talking in English about our travels from the weekend before. Every Monday is so fun to hear where everyone went and what they did! Two of the girls in my class got pick pocketed this last weekend though which is miserable so that kind of ruined their weekend, but neither of them seemed to down about it. It was just a really good way to start the week! That night Maddie and I met Hannah, Katie, and Nick at the wine bar by the Arno. I’ve heard them talking about it a lot but had never been before last night. Filippo, the owner, brought us both out glasses of wine when we got there and then all of us, includig Filippo went to dinner hahah. I love sitting down for the Italian style dinners. Everyone is just in the best mood and the restaurants are so quaint and warm! 4 of us ordered the same pasta because Nick had had it before. It was like a penne with tomato, mozzarella, and basil…so good! And we went for 1 euro gelato afterwards hahaha. Oh and Then I spent the night in the kitchen with the girls writing postcards, as marci curled my hair into the tiniest ringlets it’s ever been in. And at about 1 in the morning I took my postcards downstairs to send and interviewed Francesco, the 24 years old Italian that works night shifts at the front desk, for my intercultural comm. Class. It was a long day but a good one at that. Okay I’ll write again soon.
Ciao Ciao and 1,000 baci!
The next morning, after Barcelona, was just like any Monday morning, although I feel like everything around our apartment is becoming really sentimental because we’re all realizing how short our time together is. The subject is kind of off limits…according to the girls hahah, but tends to come up anyway. Italian class was really fun. We spent the first half an hour talking in English about our travels from the weekend before. Every Monday is so fun to hear where everyone went and what they did! Two of the girls in my class got pick pocketed this last weekend though which is miserable so that kind of ruined their weekend, but neither of them seemed to down about it. It was just a really good way to start the week! That night Maddie and I met Hannah, Katie, and Nick at the wine bar by the Arno. I’ve heard them talking about it a lot but had never been before last night. Filippo, the owner, brought us both out glasses of wine when we got there and then all of us, includig Filippo went to dinner hahah. I love sitting down for the Italian style dinners. Everyone is just in the best mood and the restaurants are so quaint and warm! 4 of us ordered the same pasta because Nick had had it before. It was like a penne with tomato, mozzarella, and basil…so good! And we went for 1 euro gelato afterwards hahaha. Oh and Then I spent the night in the kitchen with the girls writing postcards, as marci curled my hair into the tiniest ringlets it’s ever been in. And at about 1 in the morning I took my postcards downstairs to send and interviewed Francesco, the 24 years old Italian that works night shifts at the front desk, for my intercultural comm. Class. It was a long day but a good one at that. Okay I’ll write again soon.
Ciao Ciao and 1,000 baci!
Barcelona, Spain
November 7th
Friday night Kristen and I flew into Barcelona to meet Marci and Hannah. Getting there was a little interesting…but it all worked out as usual haha. For some reason on the way to catch our plane that day, the train we were on just stopped on the tracks for an hour. As the time was passing I kept getting more and more nervous that we might actually miss our flight, especially since we’d already missed our train to the airport. So when the train finally started up again and pulled into Pisa about 5 minutes later, Kristen and I just got a taxi. God works in mysterious ways and sure enough we ended up sharing a taxi with a man on a business trip who was on our same flight and he paid for the taxi and let us just run to check-in. Anyway we got checked in 10 minutes before the ryanair check-in closed which was a close call but we made it hahaha. Oh the adventures :P
After we landed in Barcelona we took an hour long bus ride into the city and then two metros to our hostel. And the hostel is another experience to say the least haha. It was the first hostel with just the two of us (therefore we couldn’t reserve a private room with the 4 or 6 of us roommates) it was a mixed male/female room, one bathroom, and 16 bunk beds. It’s a really weird experience falling asleep in a room with 14 people you don’t know! But surprisingly I felt more comfortable than I thought I would, and Im just glad that was my last night in a hostel hahah!!!! This hostel was called Gothic Point and it was actually pretty cool. The bunk beds were really high up and fairly separated, so it felt like there was a little bit of privacy. And I have pictures, but pretty sure the whole room just looked like a giant jungle gym.
Anyway, enough about the hostel! That night Hannah and Marci rested up from their day of sightseeing and Kristen and I split a huge plate of nachos at a restaurant the girls suggested. Afterwards the girls and I signed up for tapas and a flamenco show for 18E. The tapas were small portions of meats and cheeses on French bread, they were all a little interesting haha but I did have one with brie and a dried plum on it which was actually really good. Oh and I tried Sangria for the first time! I was surprised that I actually liked it, I think it was the fruity flavor because I love fruit and the fact that I was parched from traveling the whole day. Next the group went to a small theatre which was basically a relaxed bar atmosphere with a stage at the front. The beginning of the show was instrumental with clapping, guitar, and a drummer. Then after awhile the dancer came out and she was AMAZING! I was seriously soo impressed. Afterwards the girls and I were a little confused because the hostel leaders (who were leading the whole night) took us to two bars after the show. The girls all took their first shot ever at the first bar. It was Russian vodka, fanta, and orange juice. I tasted one of them and it pretty much just tasted like juice. Lastly, we went to the final bar which had a club downstairs. So we all just went downstairs and danced. It was soooo fun I haven’t just danced for the heck of it in so long and it was so great! The four of us decided we need to go out dancing more often, therefore we’re going to try and find a place in Florence soon. There’s actually a place here, in Florence, called the Red Garter that I really want to go karaoke at!
That night I fell asleep around 2 and then just tossed and turned throughout the night because I was cold. That’s one weird thing about our hostel. They didn’t provide us with top sheets, blankets, or comforters….so night times were a little chilly. Kristen and I were both sleeping with our scarves over us but that didn’t do a whole lot haha. And oddly enough neither Kristen nor myself heard any of our other roommates come in during the wee hours of the morning! After waking up we started the morning with golden crisp cereal at the hostel and muffins.
November 8th
We started the morning pretty early because Marci and Hannah had to leave to catch their plane around 1. First we went to the Picasso museum. That was actually really neat (I feel like lately I’ve been so reluctant to go to museums just because I’ve been in so many the last couple months and I have a hard time remembering what I see in them anyway). But I learned a lot about Picasso’s life and it was really awesome seeing how his work changed as he went through different phases of his life. Afterwards we walked to the beach, which happens to be the area where the Olympics were held. Being in a beach atmosphere made me miss California and beach bon fires soo much but it was also a really good feeling. I honestly think that was my favorite part of the trip. There’s something really amazing about being at the ocean where everything’s just wide open….and I feel like Im always so so happy at the beach even when it is cold outside. Afterwards Hannah and Marci left and Kristen and I took the metro up to Park Guell. It’s a large park on top of a hill designed by Gaudi. His architecture was absolutely incredible and the unique shapes of the buildings looked like they were straight out of Dr. Seuss or something! Kristen was fascinated with the park because there were mosaics everywhere and she loves mosaics!
We spent the rest of the day walking and taking the metro to different buildings Gaudi designed: Casa Mila, Sagrada Familia, and Casa Batilo. By the time we were done our feet were killing us and we were ready to take a break at the hostel. Hannah and Marci recommended a smoothie place, founded off Jamba Juice in California so we stopped there on the way back to the hostel. Mine was orange, strawberry, banana which tasted like heaven because I have not had a smoothie in so long. We used internet, which was free for once, for a little while at the hostel before heading to a mexcian restaurant for dinner. Kristen and I both ordered enchiladas and mine actually kind of made me sick, it wasn’t a typical enchilada, but their guacamole was good haha. Then we jumped on the metro for about the 5th time that day and headed to the west side of the city. We wanted to see a light show at this huge fountain but we missed it so we just sat on the steps and talked for awhile. It was so nice to just sit still for awhile, and that’s basically what we talked about. How we’re trying to slow down and take everything in because on our last couple trips we’ve been going non stop and sometimes it’s just nice to do less sightseeing and more relaxing haha. So that’s kind of my aim on my next trip, which is visiting Sha Sha in Germany this weekend and we’re not planning any sightseeing so that’ll be perfect :P
After wandering back from the fountain we stopped at a coffee shop called Cappuccino. First we ordered a piece of chocolate cake to split and then decided we might as well get another. So we got a gelato ciocolato which was a scoop of vanilla and chocolate gelato in hot chocolate with whip cream on top. It was delicious and right when we started eating it Jewel “Pieces of You” came on and we were both singing and eating our amazing dessert haha. We’re seriously such dorks but that’s what makes life fun hahaha.
November 9th
The next morning we got ready, had breakfast, and checked out of our hostel at ten. Our plan was to have a shopping day…but apparently a lot of clothing stores are closed on Sunday in Barcelona. I guess we should have realized that because that’s how it is in Italy as well. Anyway, we just went into a bunch of souvenir shops and walked around the city. As usual the highlight of the day was the food. We split vegetable paella for lunch which was absolutely necessary since we were in Spain hahah and it was so good! As we were leaving the city we stopped at a little shop to have churros and hot chocolate because that was on our to-do list for Spain. Then we bought a few postcards and caught our hour long bus ride back to the airport. I really like all of the traveling time. I’ve really grown to like my time on the buses, trains, and planes to read, listen to music, and just gather my thoughts. So we flew into Pisa around 6:30 to find out Italy was having a train strike hahaha not surprising. So we hopped on another bus back to Florence. It’s always so nice getting back to our cozy apartment after traveling. And I love it when all of the roommates are back together. I feel like we’re always just talking, laughing, cooking, and listening to music! We don’t have a family room or kitchen so our kitchen table is pretty much our gathering place hahah. So that was Barcelona…fast and furious, but so fun!
Adios!
Friday night Kristen and I flew into Barcelona to meet Marci and Hannah. Getting there was a little interesting…but it all worked out as usual haha. For some reason on the way to catch our plane that day, the train we were on just stopped on the tracks for an hour. As the time was passing I kept getting more and more nervous that we might actually miss our flight, especially since we’d already missed our train to the airport. So when the train finally started up again and pulled into Pisa about 5 minutes later, Kristen and I just got a taxi. God works in mysterious ways and sure enough we ended up sharing a taxi with a man on a business trip who was on our same flight and he paid for the taxi and let us just run to check-in. Anyway we got checked in 10 minutes before the ryanair check-in closed which was a close call but we made it hahaha. Oh the adventures :P
After we landed in Barcelona we took an hour long bus ride into the city and then two metros to our hostel. And the hostel is another experience to say the least haha. It was the first hostel with just the two of us (therefore we couldn’t reserve a private room with the 4 or 6 of us roommates) it was a mixed male/female room, one bathroom, and 16 bunk beds. It’s a really weird experience falling asleep in a room with 14 people you don’t know! But surprisingly I felt more comfortable than I thought I would, and Im just glad that was my last night in a hostel hahah!!!! This hostel was called Gothic Point and it was actually pretty cool. The bunk beds were really high up and fairly separated, so it felt like there was a little bit of privacy. And I have pictures, but pretty sure the whole room just looked like a giant jungle gym.
Anyway, enough about the hostel! That night Hannah and Marci rested up from their day of sightseeing and Kristen and I split a huge plate of nachos at a restaurant the girls suggested. Afterwards the girls and I signed up for tapas and a flamenco show for 18E. The tapas were small portions of meats and cheeses on French bread, they were all a little interesting haha but I did have one with brie and a dried plum on it which was actually really good. Oh and I tried Sangria for the first time! I was surprised that I actually liked it, I think it was the fruity flavor because I love fruit and the fact that I was parched from traveling the whole day. Next the group went to a small theatre which was basically a relaxed bar atmosphere with a stage at the front. The beginning of the show was instrumental with clapping, guitar, and a drummer. Then after awhile the dancer came out and she was AMAZING! I was seriously soo impressed. Afterwards the girls and I were a little confused because the hostel leaders (who were leading the whole night) took us to two bars after the show. The girls all took their first shot ever at the first bar. It was Russian vodka, fanta, and orange juice. I tasted one of them and it pretty much just tasted like juice. Lastly, we went to the final bar which had a club downstairs. So we all just went downstairs and danced. It was soooo fun I haven’t just danced for the heck of it in so long and it was so great! The four of us decided we need to go out dancing more often, therefore we’re going to try and find a place in Florence soon. There’s actually a place here, in Florence, called the Red Garter that I really want to go karaoke at!
That night I fell asleep around 2 and then just tossed and turned throughout the night because I was cold. That’s one weird thing about our hostel. They didn’t provide us with top sheets, blankets, or comforters….so night times were a little chilly. Kristen and I were both sleeping with our scarves over us but that didn’t do a whole lot haha. And oddly enough neither Kristen nor myself heard any of our other roommates come in during the wee hours of the morning! After waking up we started the morning with golden crisp cereal at the hostel and muffins.
November 8th
We started the morning pretty early because Marci and Hannah had to leave to catch their plane around 1. First we went to the Picasso museum. That was actually really neat (I feel like lately I’ve been so reluctant to go to museums just because I’ve been in so many the last couple months and I have a hard time remembering what I see in them anyway). But I learned a lot about Picasso’s life and it was really awesome seeing how his work changed as he went through different phases of his life. Afterwards we walked to the beach, which happens to be the area where the Olympics were held. Being in a beach atmosphere made me miss California and beach bon fires soo much but it was also a really good feeling. I honestly think that was my favorite part of the trip. There’s something really amazing about being at the ocean where everything’s just wide open….and I feel like Im always so so happy at the beach even when it is cold outside. Afterwards Hannah and Marci left and Kristen and I took the metro up to Park Guell. It’s a large park on top of a hill designed by Gaudi. His architecture was absolutely incredible and the unique shapes of the buildings looked like they were straight out of Dr. Seuss or something! Kristen was fascinated with the park because there were mosaics everywhere and she loves mosaics!
We spent the rest of the day walking and taking the metro to different buildings Gaudi designed: Casa Mila, Sagrada Familia, and Casa Batilo. By the time we were done our feet were killing us and we were ready to take a break at the hostel. Hannah and Marci recommended a smoothie place, founded off Jamba Juice in California so we stopped there on the way back to the hostel. Mine was orange, strawberry, banana which tasted like heaven because I have not had a smoothie in so long. We used internet, which was free for once, for a little while at the hostel before heading to a mexcian restaurant for dinner. Kristen and I both ordered enchiladas and mine actually kind of made me sick, it wasn’t a typical enchilada, but their guacamole was good haha. Then we jumped on the metro for about the 5th time that day and headed to the west side of the city. We wanted to see a light show at this huge fountain but we missed it so we just sat on the steps and talked for awhile. It was so nice to just sit still for awhile, and that’s basically what we talked about. How we’re trying to slow down and take everything in because on our last couple trips we’ve been going non stop and sometimes it’s just nice to do less sightseeing and more relaxing haha. So that’s kind of my aim on my next trip, which is visiting Sha Sha in Germany this weekend and we’re not planning any sightseeing so that’ll be perfect :P
After wandering back from the fountain we stopped at a coffee shop called Cappuccino. First we ordered a piece of chocolate cake to split and then decided we might as well get another. So we got a gelato ciocolato which was a scoop of vanilla and chocolate gelato in hot chocolate with whip cream on top. It was delicious and right when we started eating it Jewel “Pieces of You” came on and we were both singing and eating our amazing dessert haha. We’re seriously such dorks but that’s what makes life fun hahaha.
November 9th
The next morning we got ready, had breakfast, and checked out of our hostel at ten. Our plan was to have a shopping day…but apparently a lot of clothing stores are closed on Sunday in Barcelona. I guess we should have realized that because that’s how it is in Italy as well. Anyway, we just went into a bunch of souvenir shops and walked around the city. As usual the highlight of the day was the food. We split vegetable paella for lunch which was absolutely necessary since we were in Spain hahah and it was so good! As we were leaving the city we stopped at a little shop to have churros and hot chocolate because that was on our to-do list for Spain. Then we bought a few postcards and caught our hour long bus ride back to the airport. I really like all of the traveling time. I’ve really grown to like my time on the buses, trains, and planes to read, listen to music, and just gather my thoughts. So we flew into Pisa around 6:30 to find out Italy was having a train strike hahaha not surprising. So we hopped on another bus back to Florence. It’s always so nice getting back to our cozy apartment after traveling. And I love it when all of the roommates are back together. I feel like we’re always just talking, laughing, cooking, and listening to music! We don’t have a family room or kitchen so our kitchen table is pretty much our gathering place hahah. So that was Barcelona…fast and furious, but so fun!
Adios!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Thursday, October 30th Last Day and back to Florence
As usual for our last day…it rained haha. But I love the streets and gorgeous buildings when it rains so that was neat. For breakfast we went to Clarinda’s tea room which was recommended by friends that studied abroad and all of our guide books. It was a really cute little place and it was fun because we all got big pots of tea with scones and shortbread…yum! Afterwards we all split up for awhile, I shopped, Maddie headed to the National Gallery, and Kristen and Hannah walked to the top of the Scott monument. Then we all met up at the National Gallery and spent about an hour there. That was really neat because I saw paintings by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas. After seeing so many paintings I have a really hard time remembering all of them, but the famous ones stand out!
Afterwards we hiked up to some monuments that we’d seen on the top of a hill, Calton Hill, that we’d been referring to as Athens or Greece because of the architecture. When we got up there we saw Duncan’s monument and Nelson’s Monument, the coolest part was just looking out over all of Edinburgh. We got really into taking jumping pictures on top of the hills we climbed hahah so we did a few more of those. A lot of people have themes when they take pictures in different places and jumping is definitely one we’ve adopted haha. We had to leave for the airport around 4 so we just hung around the city for a copule hours in the afternoon. For some reason Scotand had baked potatoes everywhere so for lunch we went to a backed potato shop. Maddie and I felt it was appropriate being Idahoans and all ;) I also tried pumpkin soup there…I couldn’t pass it up with the season and everything haha. We all ate so much soup in Dublin and Edinburgh just because it was so cold outside. Afterwards the 4 of us just sat in Starbucks and read, avoiding the rain and the wind. Oh and one last thing: I never mentioned how everyone drives on the other side of the road in the U.K. It’s so crazy because all of us would try and cross the street and be looking the opposite way for oncoming traffic…dangerous hahha. But we got the hang of it…not to mention all of the sidewalks said “look left” or “look right” :P
That night we flew out of Edinburgh late...our flight was delayed an hour and a half. Out of all times to be delayed we couldn't have been happier that it was a very last one on the way home. And after that the flight went smoothly and our plane landed in Pisa at 12:30 and we got on a bus that left at 1:40am and arrived in Florence at 2:40am. It was definitely early in the morning but it was so nice to get back to apartment and crawl into our own beds. Home Sweet Home...Away From Home :)
Afterwards we hiked up to some monuments that we’d seen on the top of a hill, Calton Hill, that we’d been referring to as Athens or Greece because of the architecture. When we got up there we saw Duncan’s monument and Nelson’s Monument, the coolest part was just looking out over all of Edinburgh. We got really into taking jumping pictures on top of the hills we climbed hahah so we did a few more of those. A lot of people have themes when they take pictures in different places and jumping is definitely one we’ve adopted haha. We had to leave for the airport around 4 so we just hung around the city for a copule hours in the afternoon. For some reason Scotand had baked potatoes everywhere so for lunch we went to a backed potato shop. Maddie and I felt it was appropriate being Idahoans and all ;) I also tried pumpkin soup there…I couldn’t pass it up with the season and everything haha. We all ate so much soup in Dublin and Edinburgh just because it was so cold outside. Afterwards the 4 of us just sat in Starbucks and read, avoiding the rain and the wind. Oh and one last thing: I never mentioned how everyone drives on the other side of the road in the U.K. It’s so crazy because all of us would try and cross the street and be looking the opposite way for oncoming traffic…dangerous hahha. But we got the hang of it…not to mention all of the sidewalks said “look left” or “look right” :P
That night we flew out of Edinburgh late...our flight was delayed an hour and a half. Out of all times to be delayed we couldn't have been happier that it was a very last one on the way home. And after that the flight went smoothly and our plane landed in Pisa at 12:30 and we got on a bus that left at 1:40am and arrived in Florence at 2:40am. It was definitely early in the morning but it was so nice to get back to apartment and crawl into our own beds. Home Sweet Home...Away From Home :)
Wednesday, October 29th Exploring the Medieval City
The girls and I ate breakfast at the Elephant House where JK Rowling first got her inspiration for Harry Potter. It was a really cute little coffee shop and breakfast house. I got a mocha and a bacon and egg biscuit. Afterwards the girls and I bundled back up to head out into the freezing cold and head to Edinburgh Castle. It’s so huge and it was really neat being on the inside of a castle that was really used centuries ago. There was a ton to see once we were passed the main gates and it took us a few hours just to see a few of the rooms and buildings in the Castle. We saw several Scottish war museums, heard a cannon fired, saw the crown jewels, and a few palace rooms.
After that we walked down the Royal Mile, which is basically made up of a bunch of streets that lead straight from the castle to the Holyroodhouse which is a palace. On the way to the Holyroodhouse we stopped and had lunch at a very American restaurant called the Filling Station. It wasn’t as adorable as the Filling Station in Orange but still fun haha. Then we just continued on shopping at all the little shops along the main street. There were tons of Scottish souvenir and kilt shops which were kind of fun to look at. By the time we got to the end we took pictures of the Holyroodhouse palace and then climbed a volcano right next to it as the sun was setting. The top had a gorgeous view of the city and the hike helped warm us up haha. It was so awesome. Honestly even the sky had black clouds in it and looked all medieval…I don’t even usually like dark things this was just something out of a fairy tale or something. The Edinburgh Castle sits on a volcano as well so we could see that and all of the city spires on the buildings from the lookout point. After that we went back to our cupcake place from the first night called chocolatesoup! We had amazing hot chocolate and I got a mint brownie for the next day hahah I think we were all on a crazy sugar overload the whole time. But the U.K. had normal American desserts and we’ve been deprived of those for over 2 months now hahah so we had to make up for lost time!
Our big event of the night was taking an underground ghost tour of the city. It was called Mary King’s close and the whole thing was more suspenseful than scary…Thank goodness! The girls had a crush on our tour guide so they were very into the tour the whole time hahaha. At one point a girl came out and started telling us that she was a witch and she could identify the witches in the room because they were wearing red. And of course I had my big red pea coat on hahah So she pulled me out in front of the whole tour and kept asking if I was a witch and I just kept saying no and laughing. I had to walk a line and she had to poke me with her wand…all kinds of stuff. But eventually I was off the hook. Hannah’s a witch too because she had red on, so the rest of the trip we were making jokes about being witches.
Afterwards I wanted Mexican food, because we’d passed quite a few Mexican restaurants in Scotland. So I got nachos and the girls got quesadillas…simple but good! Edinburgh was absolutely gorgeous but after a week of traveling I was definitely ready to come back to Florence…and even more excited to celebrate HALLOWEEN!
Cheers!
After that we walked down the Royal Mile, which is basically made up of a bunch of streets that lead straight from the castle to the Holyroodhouse which is a palace. On the way to the Holyroodhouse we stopped and had lunch at a very American restaurant called the Filling Station. It wasn’t as adorable as the Filling Station in Orange but still fun haha. Then we just continued on shopping at all the little shops along the main street. There were tons of Scottish souvenir and kilt shops which were kind of fun to look at. By the time we got to the end we took pictures of the Holyroodhouse palace and then climbed a volcano right next to it as the sun was setting. The top had a gorgeous view of the city and the hike helped warm us up haha. It was so awesome. Honestly even the sky had black clouds in it and looked all medieval…I don’t even usually like dark things this was just something out of a fairy tale or something. The Edinburgh Castle sits on a volcano as well so we could see that and all of the city spires on the buildings from the lookout point. After that we went back to our cupcake place from the first night called chocolatesoup! We had amazing hot chocolate and I got a mint brownie for the next day hahah I think we were all on a crazy sugar overload the whole time. But the U.K. had normal American desserts and we’ve been deprived of those for over 2 months now hahah so we had to make up for lost time!
Our big event of the night was taking an underground ghost tour of the city. It was called Mary King’s close and the whole thing was more suspenseful than scary…Thank goodness! The girls had a crush on our tour guide so they were very into the tour the whole time hahaha. At one point a girl came out and started telling us that she was a witch and she could identify the witches in the room because they were wearing red. And of course I had my big red pea coat on hahah So she pulled me out in front of the whole tour and kept asking if I was a witch and I just kept saying no and laughing. I had to walk a line and she had to poke me with her wand…all kinds of stuff. But eventually I was off the hook. Hannah’s a witch too because she had red on, so the rest of the trip we were making jokes about being witches.
Afterwards I wanted Mexican food, because we’d passed quite a few Mexican restaurants in Scotland. So I got nachos and the girls got quesadillas…simple but good! Edinburgh was absolutely gorgeous but after a week of traveling I was definitely ready to come back to Florence…and even more excited to celebrate HALLOWEEN!
Cheers!
Tuesday, October 28th On our way to Edinburgh
We spent Tuesday morning trying to see the last few things we wanted to while we were still in Dublin. It was such a quick trip I can’t even believe how fast it flew by. Kristen and I got up early and avoided the line in to see the Book of Kells. It was really awesome going through the whole museum and reading about the Book. They turn the pages everyday so I wrote down the verses we saw because Hannah and Maddie both went on different days when they were doing things on their own. The pages had a ton of intricate detail and it’s pretty mind boggling to think that monks wrote them around the year 800. There was a really old library above the Book of Kells where I saw a bust of John Locke. The girls and I have a running joke that he’s my favorite philosopher. Hannah is related to him somehow somewhere down the line and she misunderstood me one day and thought I said oh my gosh he’s my favorite philosopher….Anyway, we all thought it was hilarious and apparently every time philosophers come up in conversation someone has to throw in John Locke. The library also had some of Darwins field notes which were really neat to see. The Book of Kells is kept in Trinity College, where Maddie’s mom went to school, so we looked around the campus real quick afterwards and then went for scones again at Queen of Tarts. That day I got two…one for the next morning hahha I didn’t know what the food was going to be like in Scotland :p but I got and apple scone and a chocolate chip one that was delicious!
So we flew out of Dublin and into Edinburgh, landing around 5:30 that night. By the time we got in it was already dark outside and below freezing LITERALLY. Our bus dropped us off on a bridge and we made our way to the hostel. From the time any of us first saw the city we were all ooing and ahhing. Seriously it was soo gorgeous and amazing. I think I was completely awestruck by all of the medieval buildings in the moonlight. It was so gorgeous I just don’t even know how to put it into words. Anyway, since it was freezing we hustled to our hostel. It was called smartcityhostels and it was seriously soo nice. The room was a really good size and everything was white so it was a lot easier to tell when things were dirty or clean. The shower was large and really nice and they provided towels, which most hostels don’t. So it was basically like a hotel only with bunk beds and for a hostel price.
Scotland was definitely my favorite and I could tell that from the beginning. I don’t know if it was the fact that we were there the 2 days before Halloween and the city was so medieval or if it was just all of the architecture and the people that I was fascinated by..? not sure but I loved it. For our first dinner in Scotland we decided to get a real hardy Scottish meal haha. Maddie got haggis, cows stomach, Hannah ate pasta, and Kristen and I split hahha I feel like shouldn’t even have to write that anymore it’s just assumed. But we split a really good stew and a way too sour sourcrowt haha.
The whole week our hostel was showing scary movies in the lounge. So Kristen, Hannah, and I went downstairs and watched Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2. It was dark and definitely a scary movie for a reason hahah but it put us in the Halloween spirit :P That night Kristen and I did back massages again, we started doing them on a regular basis on the trip since our backpacks seemed to be crippling us haha. Thankfully the UK doesn’t have very much cobblestone so it was a nice change on our joints haha. Anyway, Kristen and I stayed up that night just talking about our overall study abroad experience and just how it’s been so great. I feel like there is so much happening all at once and I’m just trying to soak it all in! It’s seriously going by soooo fast! And at the same time, the closer it gets to the holidays the more excited I get about being back with family and friends! Even being gone from Florence for 5 days makes me miss it and miss my little apartment. I thought I was so sick of pasta too and I was soo ready for it when we got back here.
Oh and one thing I left out was in the Book of Kells gift shop you could look up your family names on a computer in the room. So I found out Richardson means son of Richard. And Richard means brave and strong. The first Richardson reached America in the 1600’s. And from Fitzpatrick I learned that Fitz means son. So the name is son of Patrick. And in 1920 the first Fitzpatrick went through Ellis Island. It was really neat to read about and I just wished I could have written it all down.
So we flew out of Dublin and into Edinburgh, landing around 5:30 that night. By the time we got in it was already dark outside and below freezing LITERALLY. Our bus dropped us off on a bridge and we made our way to the hostel. From the time any of us first saw the city we were all ooing and ahhing. Seriously it was soo gorgeous and amazing. I think I was completely awestruck by all of the medieval buildings in the moonlight. It was so gorgeous I just don’t even know how to put it into words. Anyway, since it was freezing we hustled to our hostel. It was called smartcityhostels and it was seriously soo nice. The room was a really good size and everything was white so it was a lot easier to tell when things were dirty or clean. The shower was large and really nice and they provided towels, which most hostels don’t. So it was basically like a hotel only with bunk beds and for a hostel price.
Scotland was definitely my favorite and I could tell that from the beginning. I don’t know if it was the fact that we were there the 2 days before Halloween and the city was so medieval or if it was just all of the architecture and the people that I was fascinated by..? not sure but I loved it. For our first dinner in Scotland we decided to get a real hardy Scottish meal haha. Maddie got haggis, cows stomach, Hannah ate pasta, and Kristen and I split hahha I feel like shouldn’t even have to write that anymore it’s just assumed. But we split a really good stew and a way too sour sourcrowt haha.
The whole week our hostel was showing scary movies in the lounge. So Kristen, Hannah, and I went downstairs and watched Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2. It was dark and definitely a scary movie for a reason hahah but it put us in the Halloween spirit :P That night Kristen and I did back massages again, we started doing them on a regular basis on the trip since our backpacks seemed to be crippling us haha. Thankfully the UK doesn’t have very much cobblestone so it was a nice change on our joints haha. Anyway, Kristen and I stayed up that night just talking about our overall study abroad experience and just how it’s been so great. I feel like there is so much happening all at once and I’m just trying to soak it all in! It’s seriously going by soooo fast! And at the same time, the closer it gets to the holidays the more excited I get about being back with family and friends! Even being gone from Florence for 5 days makes me miss it and miss my little apartment. I thought I was so sick of pasta too and I was soo ready for it when we got back here.
Oh and one thing I left out was in the Book of Kells gift shop you could look up your family names on a computer in the room. So I found out Richardson means son of Richard. And Richard means brave and strong. The first Richardson reached America in the 1600’s. And from Fitzpatrick I learned that Fitz means son. So the name is son of Patrick. And in 1920 the first Fitzpatrick went through Ellis Island. It was really neat to read about and I just wished I could have written it all down.
Monday, October 27th Trip to Wicklow
The day started fast and furious as usual hahah. Breakfast at the hostel consisted of toast and orange juice which seems pretty common for hostels. Then Hannah, Kristen, and I tried to catch an early bus to Wicklow, but as we later found out Monday was a bank holiday so the buses didn’t run as often and many of the shops were closed. So we went to St. Stephen’s Green, walked by a marathon that was going on, saw Dublin Castle. It doesn’t exactly look like a typical castle but it was really neat to see. Then we went to Christ Church which was by far my favorite as far as architecture, it looked like a small palace. Afterwards we went to a really cute bakery that Maddie’s mom had recommended called Queen of Tarts. Oh and I haven’t mentioned yet that Maddie’s mom studied abroad in Ireland when she was in college. So Maddie spent the rest of that day going to see her mom’s old apartment and everything which was really neat. At the pastry shop we all got scones, mine was raspberry, and in Ireland and Scotland they serve scones with butter, jelly, and cream. The cream was really good on them. And right next door was an Irish souvenir shop where I bought postcards and a Claddagh ring!!!! I’ve been waiting forever to get an irish Claddagh ring and I finally found one I really like in Ireland of all places haha. Kristen got a matching one as well, and got one for Marci, one of our roommates because she wanted one as well. Im still so excited about it ahh!
At 12 our bus left for Wicklow which was about an hour away. Wicklow was even colder than Dublin so I was completely bundled with my scarf wrapped around my face hahah it was quite the site. When we got to Wicklow we weren’t really sure what to do so we walked up to a church on a hill and then over to the Irish sea and up a hill where there were amazing castle ruins. That was definitely my favorite part of Ireland because it was sooo beautiful! Oh for those of you that know the movie P.S. I Love You, when Holly is young and traveling Ireland she walks through Wicklow National Park and that’s when she meets Jerry for the first time. Anyway, the three of us girls love that movie and when we heard that was the same town we knew we had to go haha. Oh and on the bus ride to Wicklow we passed a hotel called Tara Tower’s Hotel and a pub in the hotel was called P J Branagans Bar! How crazy is that?! Anyway, it was the cutest thing ever and put a huge smile on my face. I just I wish I could have gotten a picture of it but the bus was going too fast! Oh and there’s also a Tara’s street in Dublin and one of the dart stations is called Tara’s as well. Apparently my name is very popular in Ireland. And in Wicklow there was a shop named Fitzpatricks which is my mom’s maiden name so I was really excited about that too haha.
Dublin is such a small city compared to London, it just had a really cool small town feel. Not to mention the fact that the people were all so friendly. Seriously they were so sweet and talkative I loved it…and they had amazing accents haha. That night we wanted to go to our first pub, so we ate at a Spanish restaurant (we were very cultured throughout this trip hahaha we ate at so many different ethnic restaurants it was crazy). After dinner we went to Temple Bar. The girls ordered a guiness and bulmers cider to share. I tried them both and it’s still official that I do not like the taste of beer. Yuck! Anyway, the cider wasn’t horrible, but I didn’t partake. We all found stools in the room that the music was playing in though and that was awesome. It was so so fun being in a real pub in Dublin listening to a guitar player, who was singing Irish music, accompanied by a violinist. It was so neat because people would join in singing the songs every once in a while or clap to them. We had a few unwanted visitors but I guess that’s expected being in a pub…and after livening in Italy we’re all really talented at avoiding unwanted attention! Oh and to continue our ethnic experience that night we had gelato for dessert haha. I actually got a gelato shake which was most definitely a first and they don’t really make those in Italy. By the end of the night we were all exhausted from site seeing and walking as usual so we called it a night!
At 12 our bus left for Wicklow which was about an hour away. Wicklow was even colder than Dublin so I was completely bundled with my scarf wrapped around my face hahah it was quite the site. When we got to Wicklow we weren’t really sure what to do so we walked up to a church on a hill and then over to the Irish sea and up a hill where there were amazing castle ruins. That was definitely my favorite part of Ireland because it was sooo beautiful! Oh for those of you that know the movie P.S. I Love You, when Holly is young and traveling Ireland she walks through Wicklow National Park and that’s when she meets Jerry for the first time. Anyway, the three of us girls love that movie and when we heard that was the same town we knew we had to go haha. Oh and on the bus ride to Wicklow we passed a hotel called Tara Tower’s Hotel and a pub in the hotel was called P J Branagans Bar! How crazy is that?! Anyway, it was the cutest thing ever and put a huge smile on my face. I just I wish I could have gotten a picture of it but the bus was going too fast! Oh and there’s also a Tara’s street in Dublin and one of the dart stations is called Tara’s as well. Apparently my name is very popular in Ireland. And in Wicklow there was a shop named Fitzpatricks which is my mom’s maiden name so I was really excited about that too haha.
Dublin is such a small city compared to London, it just had a really cool small town feel. Not to mention the fact that the people were all so friendly. Seriously they were so sweet and talkative I loved it…and they had amazing accents haha. That night we wanted to go to our first pub, so we ate at a Spanish restaurant (we were very cultured throughout this trip hahaha we ate at so many different ethnic restaurants it was crazy). After dinner we went to Temple Bar. The girls ordered a guiness and bulmers cider to share. I tried them both and it’s still official that I do not like the taste of beer. Yuck! Anyway, the cider wasn’t horrible, but I didn’t partake. We all found stools in the room that the music was playing in though and that was awesome. It was so so fun being in a real pub in Dublin listening to a guitar player, who was singing Irish music, accompanied by a violinist. It was so neat because people would join in singing the songs every once in a while or clap to them. We had a few unwanted visitors but I guess that’s expected being in a pub…and after livening in Italy we’re all really talented at avoiding unwanted attention! Oh and to continue our ethnic experience that night we had gelato for dessert haha. I actually got a gelato shake which was most definitely a first and they don’t really make those in Italy. By the end of the night we were all exhausted from site seeing and walking as usual so we called it a night!
Sunday, October 26th Heading to Dublin
We ate breakfast at the hotel again. We had preordered porridge the day before hahah it was necessary for our English experience! It was really good and I actually really miss oatmeal so I’ll be eating some of that when I get home. Hannah’s flight for Dublin left at 4 that morning so Sunday in London was just Maddie, Kristen, and I. We walked around in Kensington Gardens for a long time again and went to Kensington Palace. I loved that park it was just absolutely huge and families were out walking, leaves were everywhere, people were jogging, I don’t know it was just relaxing strolling along and I loved it! Oh and it rained that last day. It was just sprinkling when we started walking in the park but an hour or so later it started pouring so we decided to head back and get our stuff from the hotel.
Afterwards Kristen and I felt the need to eat yet again hahah so we went to a pastry shop where I bought an éclair and she got a doughnut. In order to get to the airport we took the tube and then an above ground train. And our tube experience was a little different that time. Apparently a rugby team had just won a match the night before and they were all traveling back to their home town very drunk the next day. They were walking through the station singing Hey Jude…it was actually really neat although it sounded like we were going to be trampled walking through the small tunnels. Anyway, we actually had a little encounter with these boys. I swear stuff like that is inevitable for us to run into. Anyway they were on our same tube and then got off at the same stop. The girls and I got stuck in the middle of them and had to ride up the long escalators with them. Lets just say I saw one too many butt cracks. A couple of them were wearing thongs and I made some kind of comment like “oh geez now im going to be scarred for life,” and some of the guys just gave me a weird look like they thought I was serious. And a couple of them had crazy hats on too. Like one guy had a black witch hat with an orange wig hanging out the bottom. When we got off the tube we were engulfed and the three of us were separated and the guys were asking us what part of the U.S. we were from. One of them was helping Kristen pull her luggage and kept saying “hey it looks like we’re holding hands.” The guys I was by were trying to tell me they weren’t on a team together they were actually just acquaintances and hated each other and then flipped each other off. It was quite the experience. Anyway after the craziness we got on our next train for the airport and headed to Dublin!
We got into Dublin around 5:30 and caught a bus to our hostel. Hannah was there waiting for us as planned and we were all starving so we went to a cute Dubliney restaurant haha. I think it was actually an Italian restaurant but we were hungry hahah. I got soup because I haven’t had it in forever and then Kristen and I split dessert! I think it was a berry cobbler with coffee ice cream on top. Hahah we live for our desserts yumm!
Our hostel was pretty clean, but definitely a change from the hotel. Especially since it was a tiny room with bunk beds….but that’s part of being young and traveling around Europe right?! Haha. Oh and I didn’t even mention…it was freezing! When I wrote this blog I was sitting on my bed with a comforter over me and my nose was freezing cold. But it’s Ireland and therefore amazing whether it’s cold or not. That first night it didn’t really click that I was in Ireland, one of the places I’ve always wanted to go my whole life. And it’s still kind of surreal but it’ll click at some point. Oh and right when we got off our bus that night Kristen and I got a picture with a Giant Leprechaun which put us in a very Irish mood right away!
Afterwards Kristen and I felt the need to eat yet again hahah so we went to a pastry shop where I bought an éclair and she got a doughnut. In order to get to the airport we took the tube and then an above ground train. And our tube experience was a little different that time. Apparently a rugby team had just won a match the night before and they were all traveling back to their home town very drunk the next day. They were walking through the station singing Hey Jude…it was actually really neat although it sounded like we were going to be trampled walking through the small tunnels. Anyway, we actually had a little encounter with these boys. I swear stuff like that is inevitable for us to run into. Anyway they were on our same tube and then got off at the same stop. The girls and I got stuck in the middle of them and had to ride up the long escalators with them. Lets just say I saw one too many butt cracks. A couple of them were wearing thongs and I made some kind of comment like “oh geez now im going to be scarred for life,” and some of the guys just gave me a weird look like they thought I was serious. And a couple of them had crazy hats on too. Like one guy had a black witch hat with an orange wig hanging out the bottom. When we got off the tube we were engulfed and the three of us were separated and the guys were asking us what part of the U.S. we were from. One of them was helping Kristen pull her luggage and kept saying “hey it looks like we’re holding hands.” The guys I was by were trying to tell me they weren’t on a team together they were actually just acquaintances and hated each other and then flipped each other off. It was quite the experience. Anyway after the craziness we got on our next train for the airport and headed to Dublin!
We got into Dublin around 5:30 and caught a bus to our hostel. Hannah was there waiting for us as planned and we were all starving so we went to a cute Dubliney restaurant haha. I think it was actually an Italian restaurant but we were hungry hahah. I got soup because I haven’t had it in forever and then Kristen and I split dessert! I think it was a berry cobbler with coffee ice cream on top. Hahah we live for our desserts yumm!
Our hostel was pretty clean, but definitely a change from the hotel. Especially since it was a tiny room with bunk beds….but that’s part of being young and traveling around Europe right?! Haha. Oh and I didn’t even mention…it was freezing! When I wrote this blog I was sitting on my bed with a comforter over me and my nose was freezing cold. But it’s Ireland and therefore amazing whether it’s cold or not. That first night it didn’t really click that I was in Ireland, one of the places I’ve always wanted to go my whole life. And it’s still kind of surreal but it’ll click at some point. Oh and right when we got off our bus that night Kristen and I got a picture with a Giant Leprechaun which put us in a very Irish mood right away!
Saturday, October 25th In London!
Saturday morning we woke up around 8:30 and had breakfast at the hotel. We were all so excited because breakfast consisted of toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon. I haven’t had an American style breakfast since I left the states so that was fantastic hahaha. Oh the tiny thrills in life :P Plus our Italian breakfasts usually consist of a crescent and coffee, or in my case yogurt and cereal hahaha so I’ve been wanting something a little more like home! Afterwards Kristen and I went into some boutiques and shops near the hotel while Maddie and Hannah went to an antique market.
Around 12 we all met up and went to the Houses of Parliament where we also saw Big Ben. All of those buildings have awesome architecture and are beautiful to see. Then Maddie, Kristen, and I went to the London Eye. It’s the biggest ferris wheel in the world and it takes about half an hour to get all the way around. So we got to look out over all of London which is huge! Then we ran to Westminster Abbey to see it real quick before meeting up with Hannah in Trafalgar Square afterwards. It was a little more complicated than we had planned haha. It took us about 30 minutes just to find each other because there were so many people in the square and our cell phones weren’t working which is just another weird technical difficulty. At this point we were just trying to see all of the sites so we went through the National Portrait Gallery for about half an hour, and then to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Seeing all of these places just makes me wish I could visit them in a different time period and listen to how people talked and what they wore. I can only imagine! Oh my gosh!
The day flew by and all of us were so worn out, not to mention our feet aching hahah but all of the places we saw were absolutely beautiful. My favorite site of the day was probably the London Eye just because it was so neat looking out over all of London. On our way home we ate at a pub, although we weren’t in Dublin yet :P It was called the Old Swan and the food was great. The portions were huge and so very American hahaha. Speaking of which I feel like I’ve gotten so used to feeling full off of small portions I love it….not that I don’t already have the smallest stomach in the world or anything but you know what im saying?!
Since we were in England Kristen and I split fish and chips and a Shepheards Pie, we seriously split all of our meals just because we like trying different things! Afterwards we had apple pie with custard which was soooo delish! Then we headed to the hotel, changed the clock back, and hit the sack!
Around 12 we all met up and went to the Houses of Parliament where we also saw Big Ben. All of those buildings have awesome architecture and are beautiful to see. Then Maddie, Kristen, and I went to the London Eye. It’s the biggest ferris wheel in the world and it takes about half an hour to get all the way around. So we got to look out over all of London which is huge! Then we ran to Westminster Abbey to see it real quick before meeting up with Hannah in Trafalgar Square afterwards. It was a little more complicated than we had planned haha. It took us about 30 minutes just to find each other because there were so many people in the square and our cell phones weren’t working which is just another weird technical difficulty. At this point we were just trying to see all of the sites so we went through the National Portrait Gallery for about half an hour, and then to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Seeing all of these places just makes me wish I could visit them in a different time period and listen to how people talked and what they wore. I can only imagine! Oh my gosh!
The day flew by and all of us were so worn out, not to mention our feet aching hahah but all of the places we saw were absolutely beautiful. My favorite site of the day was probably the London Eye just because it was so neat looking out over all of London. On our way home we ate at a pub, although we weren’t in Dublin yet :P It was called the Old Swan and the food was great. The portions were huge and so very American hahaha. Speaking of which I feel like I’ve gotten so used to feeling full off of small portions I love it….not that I don’t already have the smallest stomach in the world or anything but you know what im saying?!
Since we were in England Kristen and I split fish and chips and a Shepheards Pie, we seriously split all of our meals just because we like trying different things! Afterwards we had apple pie with custard which was soooo delish! Then we headed to the hotel, changed the clock back, and hit the sack!
Friday, October 24th First Day in London
None of us slept! I think between midterms just ending, the excitement of our trip, and knowing we had to wake up at 4am, laying wide awake was inevitable. So we left for the airport at 4:30 and everything with ryanair and our flight went so smoothly. We were all so relieved because we’ve been hearing horror stories all semester of stuff going wrong. Thankfully it was one of my better flying experiences. Our plane got in half an hour early, so we jumped on a train and headed into London. The metro station was fairly close to our hotel and we just had two small rolling bags, one Kristen and I were sharing, and one for Hannah. Our hotel was the cutest thing though. It wasn’t called a bed and breakfast but was very similar to one and it was just a small family that owned the place. Our room was huge compared to the other European hotels I’ve stayed in and Kristen and I had a queen size bed to share instead of a double and Hannah and Maddie both had twins. So the first thing we did was go to Starbucks. Hahaah I know it sounds crazy but I was craving a peppermint mocha! Italy’s café latte’s are absolutely amazing but you can’t get flavored coffee drinks or mochas here. So we all took pictures and got Starbucks almost everyday we were in the U.K.
London is absolutely beautiful and it was almost a culture shock for all of us readjusting to an English speaking country and one that has Starbucks and chain stores and restaurants. It’s full of weirdness as momma would say! Actually at the airport this guy and I ran into each other and he said sorry as I said “scusi.” And suddenly I was like “oh excuse me.” That happened throughout the first couple days we all kept saying “grazie” and “ciao” it was totally weird! Anyway, back to London, it’s such a fun city and it reminds me a ton of NY. I guess that’s also because a lot of NY was designed in similar ways to London.
So we got our Starbucks and walked through Kensington Gardens. The park is absolutely huge and it was so perfect this time of year because the leaves were all orange and red and covering the pathways. It was supposed to rain all day but the weather was sunny and 60 degrees which I enjoyed so much! Afterwards we jumped on the tube to Trafalgar Square and then spent a couple hours in the National Gallery. There were paintings by so many famous artists like da Vinci, Vangogh, and Raphael. Next we window shopped and went to China Town. Maddie was craving Chinese food so we ate and then headed to an Art school. It was in the middle of London and Hannah wanted to look at it because she’s thinking about applying to do her masters there. And afterwards all of us were talking about possibly living in London for a short time someday. The possibilities are endless and it’s amazing hahah who knows what will happen?!
The last part of the night Maddie, Kristen, and I went to the musical Les Miserables. We bought tickets a couple weeks in advance because we thought it was necessary to see a Broadway play in London haha. Les Mis was absolutely beautiful! Seriously I was mesmerized! It was a tragedy, which I don’t usually like, but the performers voices were beautiful and the plot and everything ahhh haha still swooning! By the end of the night we were all so wiped out and crashed after getting back to the hotel. (Oh and Hannah went and saw the Duchess which is apparently very very good it’s really cool because it was filmed at the art school we went and checked out for her. Very cool!)
London is absolutely beautiful and it was almost a culture shock for all of us readjusting to an English speaking country and one that has Starbucks and chain stores and restaurants. It’s full of weirdness as momma would say! Actually at the airport this guy and I ran into each other and he said sorry as I said “scusi.” And suddenly I was like “oh excuse me.” That happened throughout the first couple days we all kept saying “grazie” and “ciao” it was totally weird! Anyway, back to London, it’s such a fun city and it reminds me a ton of NY. I guess that’s also because a lot of NY was designed in similar ways to London.
So we got our Starbucks and walked through Kensington Gardens. The park is absolutely huge and it was so perfect this time of year because the leaves were all orange and red and covering the pathways. It was supposed to rain all day but the weather was sunny and 60 degrees which I enjoyed so much! Afterwards we jumped on the tube to Trafalgar Square and then spent a couple hours in the National Gallery. There were paintings by so many famous artists like da Vinci, Vangogh, and Raphael. Next we window shopped and went to China Town. Maddie was craving Chinese food so we ate and then headed to an Art school. It was in the middle of London and Hannah wanted to look at it because she’s thinking about applying to do her masters there. And afterwards all of us were talking about possibly living in London for a short time someday. The possibilities are endless and it’s amazing hahah who knows what will happen?!
The last part of the night Maddie, Kristen, and I went to the musical Les Miserables. We bought tickets a couple weeks in advance because we thought it was necessary to see a Broadway play in London haha. Les Mis was absolutely beautiful! Seriously I was mesmerized! It was a tragedy, which I don’t usually like, but the performers voices were beautiful and the plot and everything ahhh haha still swooning! By the end of the night we were all so wiped out and crashed after getting back to the hotel. (Oh and Hannah went and saw the Duchess which is apparently very very good it’s really cool because it was filmed at the art school we went and checked out for her. Very cool!)
Thursday, October 23rd Night in Pisa
Beginning of the trip: The girls and I took the 7:30pm train to Pisa! Before we left the train station Hannah was body slammed by a lady running to her train. Meanwhile Hannah’s McDonalds coke and fries flew across the terminal. It all happened so fast that we all just stood there staring and then Hannah kind of laughed, her normal reaction to everything hahahha so great. Anyway, we loaded the train and got into Pisa around 9. Our trained smelled like BO but that’s typical for Europe I guess…sorry I just feel it’s necessary to include all of the details. When we got off the train we walked down a dark street to our hostel. There was a note on the gate addressed to Maddie and had a phone number to call. Shortly after a little lady in her 50’s pulled up in her little European car and told us that she was moving us to a different hostel but it was right down the street. She asked if we wanted to walk or drive and we’d never been in a tiny European car, and figured that we wouldn’t experience that the rest of the semester. So she piled the 4 of us and our luggage into this tiny little thing and drove us right back to the train station where we’d come from. Then we walked to our hostel which was a lot bigger and cleaner than we expected so that was really nice.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Week before Midterms & Sha Sha visiting!
The week before midterms was quite eventful and I never got a chance to write about it. So Starting Tuesday October 14th the girls and I went to the Italian Opera "Tosca." It was absolutely beautiful, not to mention the first opera I'd ever been to, so I loved it! The girls and I had fun getting dressed up for it, and as I learned in my intercultural comm class Opera is very big in Italy. Italians love getting dressed up and spending a night at the opera. It lasted about 4 hours...so it was very long but so amazing. Then Even more exciting...Shannon got to Florence on Wednesday night! So Marci, Katie, and I went to the train station to wait for Sha and her friend Charlene. When they got here we were all pretty tired so we just came back to my apartment and caught up for a little while. It was such a good feeling. Both of us were crying at the train station when we first saw each other too it just seemed so unreal!
On Thursday, October 16th, Hannah, Kristen, and I went to a ballet at the theatre. We’re all members of the dance club here so we got free tickets which was really cool. The ballet was so beautiful and it was based around relationships and World War 2. The dancing was really contemporary and completely up my alley so I couldn’t stop smiling. And I was doing that thing where my leg or arm moves randomly because I feel like I should be dancing…I know im a dork hahahha. Before the ballet Shannon, Charlene, and I ate at the Lorenzo restaurant. Sha and I had a lot of time to just catch up on life which was really nice.
The next day we shopped at some of the street markets and then Sha and Charlene went to the Uffizi while my roommates and I went to the Boboli gardens to study for midterms for a couple hours. The gardens are huge and really pretty. We hiked up to a higher part of the gardens that looked out over Florence, and then we just laid out towels on the grass. It was seriously so relaxing and I felt like I could focus so much up there. Afterwards, the roomies, Sha, Charlene, and I got gelato from De Neri and then just walked around Florence. That night we all went to Tijuanas…the Italian style Mexican restaurant. They have very good food, but it’s definitely not like the Mexican food back home hahaha and they have very good pina coladas and fruit smoothies which are delish as well! The next day the girls’ train left around 12 so I took them to the train station and we just said a quick goodbye and they were off. It was so great seeing Sha and so fun catching up on life! It’s crazy because no matter how long it’s been sense we’ve seen each other or where we are in the world everything feels the same. I love it!
The next day all 6 of us roomies, Katie’s boyfriend Nick, Rebekah, and Kristen’s friend Trisha went to the PERUGIA CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL! It was so great! Seriously all of us are chocolate addicts so we were in heaven! It’s an international chocolate festival so several streets were completely packed and very difficult to get through. They had chocolate carvers there and everything. And we would all just wait next to the guys carving the statues because they would fill bags with all of the extra chocolate and give it away for free! I think I ate way way too much that day, but I had some amazing hot chocolate, a chocolate covered banana, and some peanut butter fudge that was very yummy (still not as good as moms though)!
The following week of school we all had midterms and they were stressful as usual. Most of my midterms were written like flamenco I had to write 10 short answer essays on the history of gypsies and flamenco in Spain, History was 3 in class essays, and communications consisted of 24 short answer questions 2 of which were full pages, oh and cooking was 10 short answer as well. Italian was the only one I had a regular test in and that was slightly stressful. Blarf anyway, I think the part that was craziest for my roommates and I was that we were all leaving Thursday after our last tests on a week long adventure in the UK. So we just had a lot of packing and planning of little things to do as well as study and take finals. But the good news was that as soon as the tests were over we were all on cloud 9 and soooo excited for our trip!
On Thursday, October 16th, Hannah, Kristen, and I went to a ballet at the theatre. We’re all members of the dance club here so we got free tickets which was really cool. The ballet was so beautiful and it was based around relationships and World War 2. The dancing was really contemporary and completely up my alley so I couldn’t stop smiling. And I was doing that thing where my leg or arm moves randomly because I feel like I should be dancing…I know im a dork hahahha. Before the ballet Shannon, Charlene, and I ate at the Lorenzo restaurant. Sha and I had a lot of time to just catch up on life which was really nice.
The next day we shopped at some of the street markets and then Sha and Charlene went to the Uffizi while my roommates and I went to the Boboli gardens to study for midterms for a couple hours. The gardens are huge and really pretty. We hiked up to a higher part of the gardens that looked out over Florence, and then we just laid out towels on the grass. It was seriously so relaxing and I felt like I could focus so much up there. Afterwards, the roomies, Sha, Charlene, and I got gelato from De Neri and then just walked around Florence. That night we all went to Tijuanas…the Italian style Mexican restaurant. They have very good food, but it’s definitely not like the Mexican food back home hahaha and they have very good pina coladas and fruit smoothies which are delish as well! The next day the girls’ train left around 12 so I took them to the train station and we just said a quick goodbye and they were off. It was so great seeing Sha and so fun catching up on life! It’s crazy because no matter how long it’s been sense we’ve seen each other or where we are in the world everything feels the same. I love it!
The next day all 6 of us roomies, Katie’s boyfriend Nick, Rebekah, and Kristen’s friend Trisha went to the PERUGIA CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL! It was so great! Seriously all of us are chocolate addicts so we were in heaven! It’s an international chocolate festival so several streets were completely packed and very difficult to get through. They had chocolate carvers there and everything. And we would all just wait next to the guys carving the statues because they would fill bags with all of the extra chocolate and give it away for free! I think I ate way way too much that day, but I had some amazing hot chocolate, a chocolate covered banana, and some peanut butter fudge that was very yummy (still not as good as moms though)!
The following week of school we all had midterms and they were stressful as usual. Most of my midterms were written like flamenco I had to write 10 short answer essays on the history of gypsies and flamenco in Spain, History was 3 in class essays, and communications consisted of 24 short answer questions 2 of which were full pages, oh and cooking was 10 short answer as well. Italian was the only one I had a regular test in and that was slightly stressful. Blarf anyway, I think the part that was craziest for my roommates and I was that we were all leaving Thursday after our last tests on a week long adventure in the UK. So we just had a lot of packing and planning of little things to do as well as study and take finals. But the good news was that as soon as the tests were over we were all on cloud 9 and soooo excited for our trip!
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