Barcelona

On Thursday, August 20 we (Emily, Sara, Carol, and I) left at 4am for the airport. We got to Barcelona around 10am and immediately took the bus to Placa de Catalunya and walked to the hostel from there. We checked in at the hostel and got our beach stuff out and ready. We packed up and left to go meet some of our UC friends (Adam, Andrew, Kyle) at their hostel on the beach.

We walked down La Rambla, which is CRAZY! So much going on, so many people, and weird people doing tricks and selling strange things. On the way, we walked into Marcat de la Boqueria (Sant Josep) and got smoothies. This market was HUGE and had some of the nastiest cuts of raw meat. But the fresh fruit was awesome! We continued our walk along Port Vell until we got to the tip, which is where the boys were staying. Their hostel literally walked out onto sand.

We had lunch and a beer with the boys, and then went to lay out/sleep on the beach for a few hours. The beach was crazy busy! So many people, lots of topless women, people walking around selling stuff, and wanting to massage you. Barcelona was HOT- at least 95, and the sand was unbearably hot to walk on. The water felt amazing, but it was SO salty.

After a few hours of sun we walked back to the hostel, through La Rambla again. We made dinner reservations at The Attic, which was recommended by a friend. At the hostel we showered and got ready for dinner, Then we went to The Attic, on La Rambla, and had a really yummy meal. After dinner we went back to the hostel to meet up with some people we met before we went out. We stayed and drank a little at the hostel and finally headed out to this bar called Dow Jones. It was all based on the stock market, and the cost of drinks changed throughout the night depending on supply and demand. Kind of a cool concept. We didn’t stay too long because everyone was tired, but it was fun!

Friday we woke up and got ready. We met Caroline and Kate at the hostel around 11am. We walked to this “amazing” lunch place- but it was closed because the owners were on Holiday. So frustrating. So we decided to go ahead and go to Montjuic to the Fundacio Joan Miro museum (a famous Spanish artist) and try to find something eat there. All we could find was nasty expensive sandwiches, but we were desperate.. After the museum we took the Metro back to Barceloneta beach. We laid on the beach for a few hours, got margaritas, and enjoyed the sun.

On the way home we walked back through La Rambla, stopping at Marcat de la Boqueria (Sant Josep) again and got smoothies and candy. We went back to the hostel to shower and get ready for dinner. Then we went to dinner at Cerveceria Catalana, and got delicious tapas, sangria, and dessert. After dinner we went to this shot bar, that had a selection of over 300 shots! We each just got one, and then headed home to try to get some sleep.

Saturday was out sightseeing day. Because we wanted several days on the beach, we figured we would cram all the sightseeing into one day. So we started early, got pastries from a bakery around the corner from our hostel and began the day! We toured Casa Batilo, which was an amazing Gaudi masterpiece. If you don’t know who Gaudi is- google him. He is awesome. His style is so unique, but he has made such an amazing contribution to architecture. Next we toured La Pedrera apartment complex and roof, another Gaudi building. Then we went to Sagrada Familia, which was absolutely amazing. I had no idea that it wasn’t even finished! Even despite the construction, it was beautiful. So different than all the other cathedrals we have seen. Too bad Gaudi died before finishing it. The East façade, the only façade he finished before his death, is astonishingly detailed. It looks like it is melting, and is so cool. All of Gaudi’s work makes me think that I am in Alice in Wonderland or some sort of fantasy world. It is so cool, fun, yet functional, and whimsical- I cannot even describe it.

After a morning full of Gaudi, we found this awesome lunch place called Barcelona crêperie. We had savory and sweet crêpes, which hit the spot! Next we went to the Palau de la Musica Catalana, but didn’t pay to get in. Then we toured Barcelona Cathedral, and went to the top to over look the city. Next we shopped at all the cute shops on the way to the Picasso Museum. We toured the Museu Picasso, and then toured Santa Maria del Mar, which had a beautiful rose window.

Next we went to the famous Park Guelle- another Gaudi contribution. The park was awesome, and well worth the hike up the hill! We sat on the benches and looked over the city for a while, and then headed back towards the hostel. The place we wanted to eat dinner wasn’t open yet, of course, so we went to this place and got Paella- a traditional Spanish dish, So good! Next we went back to the hostel to shower and get ready to go out

We went out with our hostel friends again, and one Australian said I looked like the actress Tara Reid, so the joke the whole night was that I was “Tour Guide Tara Reid” because I was the one with the map, leading everyone.

We went to this bar that was famous for having large drinks. Large is an understatement. We got 1 drink that was 13 liters of Sangria. It was HUGE! We just used a bunch of huge straws and drank away!

After the bar we went to this famous club, Opium. It was right on the beach, had like 5 different bars, a huge dance floor, and an outdoor area. We had a lot of fun.

We made it home in time to get a little sleep, and then we were back up the next morning to pack up, check out, and catch a train to Stiges Beach. It was 40 minutes away from Barcelona, and it was supposed to be one of the best beaches in Spain.—and it was! Much less touristy (you didn’t need to lay on top of your possessions for once), and the view was awesome. It was mostly a topless beach, which was interesting!

We got lunch at this tapas place right on the water, and layed out all day. It was amazing and so relaxing. In the late afternoon we headed back to Barcelona to shower, pack up, and head out. We had to take a bus to the Girona airport, and then on to London from there.

We got back home around 1am, and I had to finish my midterm that was due for my 11am class. So, I didn’t sleep much! I was too busy the week before trying to plan Barcelona that I unfortunately did not get my whole project finished like some of the other girls. Oh well. It was well worth it!

The midterm went well, and everyone was jealous of our Barcelona tans!

Barcelona was such a fun city. It was once again, unlike all the rest. It was really nice to be able to relax on the beach for once. All of our other trips have been so jam-packed. It was nice to have one full day of touristy activities, and we enjoyed the rest of the time relaxing!

Italy 2: Venice

So, we get to Venice around 3pm.

Let me start by saying that Venice is the most spectacular place. It is one of a kind. No cars. No noise. I have seen a million pictures, but they just don’t do it justice. Unless you see it and experienced it yourself, you will not understand its splendor, beauty, and crazy uniqueness. Words cannot explain. This place is spectacular and charming and absolutely breathtaking. There is nothing else like it.

We checked into our hostel and immediately took a gondola ride across the Grand Canal and back. It lasted about an hour, and was so much fun. It was a great way to see the city, go through the hidden canals, learn a little bit of history, and experience the real Venice. Our gondola driver was awesome. He explained that it takes about 2 years to learn how to drive one of the boats. They are crazy big, and he was such a pro at maneuvering it though the tiniest canals. It is a family tradition, which is the only way you can get in the business. There are a total of 450 different gondola drivers in Venice.

After the ride we walked through the streets of Venice, which, by the way, are impossible to navigate. So confusing! But we finally made it to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). It was so beautiful, with the exception of all the nasty pigeons! On the way we stopped at the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) for the view of the Grand Canal and the shops along the bridge. We walked all though St. Mark’s square, looking at the Basilica di San Marco and Palace Ducale. We went to the top of the Campanile to see a view of Venice. It was spectacular!

We then found dinner, after the place we wanted to go to was closed- surprise surprise. Then we went back to the hostel to get ready to go out. We enjoyed some Bellini, a traditional Italian drink, while getting ready.

Everyone from the hostel was going to a beach party that night, so we decided to tag along. We walked back to St. Marks to get the water bus. We met all sorts of fun people along the way that were staying at the same hostel with us. The water bus (which is such a strange way to travel) took us to an island, and we had to walk from there to get to the beach party. The party was crazy fun. Lots of dancing and drinks and fun people. We eventually made it home, luckily, because Venice is even more impossible to get around during the night!

The next morning we woke up, got some food, and immediately went to tour the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), which is Venice’s White House, Senate, torture chamber, and prison all in one. Next we toured the Basilica di San Marco, which was full of beautiful mosaics and views of the Piazza.

We grabbed lunch by the Murano Glass factory and then walked through all the shops nearby. Next was our excursion trying to find the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. What should have taken 15-20 minutes to get to, took about 2 hours to find because the streets are seriously impossible to follow. We met all sorts of lost people along the way that were trying to find the SAME church. Eventually we made it, and made a quick stop at Scuola Grande di San Rocco Church to listen to the choir rehearsal. Then we had to head back to the hostel and get packed up to leave. Again we got lost on the way back, but we eventually made it after stopping for some Gelato. Lastly we walked to the bus station that would take us to the airport. We flew back to London and were home by 1:30am.

Our feet were KILLING us by the end of all the walking. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Getting lost 500 times is no fun! I don’t even want to know how far we walked in Italy. Hopefully enough to work off all the pasta, pizza, and gelato! I was making up for all the nasty English food!

Now we only had 3 days to get ready for Barcelona. Oh, and do our Midterm project, and our final for one of the business classes. What a task. Let’s just say we didn’t sleep very much that week. And that is why it took forever for me to blog about Italy! So busy! But no complaints…

Italy 1: Florence

So we (Emily, Sara, and I) leave our flat, as usual at 4am to get to the airport. We arrive in Venice around 9:30 am, and take another cab from the airport to the train station (or as close as they could get). We walked to the train station, picking up some pizza on the way, and get on a 3 hour train ride to Florence. We were teased by even walking though Venice- It was so beautiful and amazing. Pictures do not even do it justice! We were looking forward to coming back in a few days to explore some more…

We arrived in Florence around 2:30 in the afternoon, and we were already exhausted from traveling all day and barely sleeping! My first impression of Florence: IT WAS HOT! 95 degrees +. Our walk to our hostel was a rough one, carrying back packs, rolling a suitcase along the cobblestone streets, and sweating profusely! The walk to the hostel was amazing though because we got to walk right past Santa Maria Novella, the Duomo, and many other amazing buildings. We finally found the hostel, checked in, attempted to cool off (even though we had no air conditioning).

Then we were off to begin sightseeing. First we saw San Lorenzo, one of the many Brunelleschi churches we had learned about in Architectural history class. Based on the outside (very plain brick with little to no decoration), I was shocked at how beautiful the inside was! The Church is based off of a grid, which was very precise and clearly marked out in the floor pattern. Next we walked through the Leather Market, which was right outside the church. The market was HUGE, and we could have spent hours there… but we knew we would be back with the rest of the girls.

Next we went to Santa Maria Novella, which again, we had learned so much about. The Florentine Gothic interior was, once again, beautiful. The art inside was awesome as well. Next was the Baptistery, one of Florence’s oldest buildings. Its foundation dates back to the 4^th or 5^th century! The doors (or at least the replicas) by Ghiberti were amazing and so intricate! It was impossible to get a good picture of them because there were so many people in front of them!

Then we climbed to the top of the Campanile, the tower right by the Duomo. What a steep hike, but well worth the view. The city was amazing. Everything was yellow-ish and had terra-cotta red/orange roofs…such a beautiful view.

After working up quite the appetite, we went to dinner at a place recommended by a friend. We show up, and of course, it wasn’t open yet. Luckily it was opening in an hour and a half (they eat so late in Europe!) Throughout all of our trips we have run into so many closed restaurants and shops because people in Europe go on holiday (vacation) in August. So, we decided to go around the corner to this cute bar/wine cellar for a drink. We got a pitcher of the most delicious frozen strawberry margaritas! The owner of the bar, spoke perfect English, and coincidentally had been to Ohio (Kent University) to visit friends many times. Random. Most people have no idea where Cincinnati is. If you aren’t from California (which is most people’s guess.. maybe because we are blonde?), New York, Vegas, or Miami, then they pretty much don’t know where in the US it is.

After drinks we proceeded to dinner, which was so good! We got a bottle of wine, bruchetta, pasta, and enjoyed ever last bite.

After dinner we walked along the Arno River, crossed the Ponte alla Carrala bridge, and got some of the BEST gelato! 3 scoops for me- Strawberry, Lemon, and Mixed Berry! Yum Yum. We continued to walk along the Arno on the South side. Then we climbed up with Piazzale Michelangelo to get a great view of the city. We had to work off the gelato somehow!

After the view, we walked back to the hostel and called it a night, for we had a long day ahead of us!

In the morning, we woke up early, grabbed pasteries to eat on the walk, and we began our day 2 in Florence. We walked along the Arno, and it was so beautiful in the morning. I wish I had brought my running shoes! We walked to Santo Spirito to go to church at 9am. Santo Spirito is not open to the public, except for services, so we figured “why not?” It was very interesting going to mass in Italian. I could understand and follow everything going on. I just couldn’t understand the readings or homily.

After church we walked across the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge with all the jewelry shops. It was so cool, and they had some of the most beautiful jewelry! We proceeded to the Piazza della Signora, which is a striking square adorned with statues. The largest statue, Neptune Fountain, is nicknames “the big white man” by the locals because they hate it!

We walked to lunch, a place recommended by a friend, and of course it was closed. So we walked to see if we could get reservations at a place for dinner for Caroline’s birthday. Of course it was not open during the day, so I figured I would just call later.

So we found a pizza place to eat next to Piazza Santa Croce. Next we toured Santa Croce, where Michelangelo and Galileo (among many others) are buried. The church was, or course, beautiful inside.

Then, we went on a search for a cake for Caroline’s birthday. Little did we know that there are pretty much no chocolate cakes in Florence. We searched for probably about an hour, until we FINALLY found one… right before they arrived.

We met the girls at the hostel around 2:30, celebrated with cake and presents for Caroline’s 22^nd birthday, and then continued sightseeing.

We climbed to the top of the Duomo, which was awesome. Such an amazing church! Next we went to the Galleria dell’Accademia to see the Statue of David, along with the rest of the art in the museum. The Statue of David was so cool, and so much bigger than I expected!

Then we walked through the leather market again, looking at all the fabulous leather jackets and purses.

We went back to the hostel to get ready, and I tried to call the restaurant, with no avail, about 30 times. It was constantly busy! So we figured we would just get ready and head over to see if we could get a table.

We walked though Piazza Santa Croce, and arrived at the restaurant. Of course, they were completely booked for the night. Bummer. So I told them that we had attempted to come earlier to make reservations and I had called a million times. I now knew why the line was busy- it was ringing OFF THE HOOK, for just the 15 minutes we were standing there. They told us to come back in an hour and they might have an opening. We figured we would go somewhere and have a drink, and try to come back. We were several (and I mean several) blocks away, and the hostess came running up to us. In her broken English she explained that someone had just called to cancel, and she could get us in right away! We were ecstatic! I thanked her a million times for getting us in, and for running after us! I explained we had heard such great things about the restaurant, and that it was Caroline’s birthday, so we wanted to go somewhere special. So, we got back and they told us to wait a minute to set the table up. Little did we know they were just adding champagne glasses to the table because as soon as we sat down, they popped open a bottle of champagne on the house for Caroline’s birthday. We got a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red to share between the 6 of us. We ordered an appetizer, but before we knew it, they brought out a HUGE sampler appetizer on the house for us to share. It had 6 different appetizers (6 pieces of each), so we each got to have one of each. It was so good! We ate Rabbit liver, bruschetta, stuffed zucchini, grilled veggies, fried cheese, and I forget what else. It was awesome. We all got our meals, which were amazing.

Then, after dinner they bring out a HUGE chocolate cake with lit candles and sing to Caroline. Again, on the house. And lastly, they asked if we wanted anything else, and we were so full and satisfied, we said no. However, they proceeded to bring out an entire bottle of Limoncello for the table, on the house. The waiter poured the limoncello, and said, “enjoy your life!” it was fabulous! The best dinner (and birthday) we could have asked for.

We left dinner, walked by the Duomo at night, and we were off to bed. The next morning I went for a run (in my new shoes), we showered, grabbed pastries for breakfast, and went to the Uffizi Galleria. Then we toured the Laurentine Library by Michelangelo, and lastly walked back through the leather market. We got some pizza on the way back to the hostel, got packed up, and headed to the train station, which was taking us to Venice. What a great trip in Florence!

Week 4 in London

Let me try and recap the last week…

On Thursday Sara and I went to The Tower of London. So much history there it is crazy! We did the Yeoman Tour, saw the Crown Jewels, went through the museum of amour and weapons, and went in some of the individual towers. My Dad would have loved hearing all the stories and seeing all the weapons and stuff.

There is so much to learn about and look at, so you could spend all day there! I cannot believe people still live in the Tower—it is like they are all just stuck in time!

Friday we went on a day trip to Bath. Bath was beautiful! No wonder so many rich, royal, and famous people holiday there. The architecture is all is Georgian, and built from a honey-colored limestone.

We went to Bath Abbey, “The Circus”, and the Royal Crescent. Then we ate lunch at a little outdoor café because the weather was perfect! After lunch we got to tour the Roman Bath museum. It was really cool to learn about and see all the ancient artifacts and architecture that date back to 60-70 AD. Crazy!

After the tour we went to the Pump Room and had scones and afternoon tea. I loved it! I could get used to that daily tradition. We even tried the water from the spring. It was HOT, and tasted disgusting. I was hoping it would cure all my problems… Then we had to get back on the train to London.

We got home and met our friends that were visiting from UC at their hotel. We decided to go out in Soho, which was a lot of fun. We went to O’Neill’s, which is a great place to have a drink. The weather was unusually warm for London, so we were enjoying being able to wear a dress and not have to bring our jackets! We called it quits pretty early because most of the group was severely jet-lagged.

The next day we met them at their hotel in the morning. We decided to do a bike tour of London because it could not have been a more perfect day! It was high 70s and sunny, for once.

The four-hour bike tour took us to through all the Royal Parks (Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, and St. James Park) to see The House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westmister Abbey, Big Ben, Kensington Palace, Albert Memorial, Trafalger Square, Princess Diana Memorial, and many other landmarks. It was the perfect thing to do on a Saturday, and a great way for our visitors (and us) to get a tour of the city. They have these Fat Tire Bike Tours in other European cities, so we think we are going to try one in Barcelona when we go.

After the tour we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral for Evensong. It is so beautiful and HUGE inside. It is the second largest church (by volume) in the world. My friend Lance and I randomly got in this line, and luckily we got to sit up by the choir. There wasn’t enough room for the rest of the group though. The choir sounded amazing, but it was nearly impossible to understand what they were saying or to follow them. It was a great experience though, and a perfect way to see and experience the Church.

After St. Paul’s we met a bunch of friends at this Italian restaurant that was SO YUMMY! It made us really excited to go to Italy this weekend. Later in the evening we had a bunch of friends over to our flat to just drink and hang out. It was great to have visitors, and sad to say goodbye to them. I will see them at school in a few weeks though.

Class was cancelled for Monday, so I spent most of the day doing homework and catching up. We went out a met a friend at a pub Monday, which was really low key, but fun.

Tuesday we (Emily, Carol, Sara, and I) got up to wander around Notting Hill, get lunch, and explore Portobello Market, one of London’s most famous markets. We had a lot of fun! Notting Hill was a really cute area, and we found great deals at the Market. We even found Hugh Grant’s bookshop from the movie…and I bought a book on Barcelona there.

Wednesday, today, we had class, like normal, and now I am preparing to leave for Italy in the morning. We are leaving at 4am (ugh), to fly to Venice. From Venice we are taking a train to Florence. We are spending Thursday and Friday (Caroline’s birthday) in Florence, and then going back to Venice mid-Saturday. Then we are flying back home late Sunday night! I cannot wait…

IRELAND!

See below. I keep forgetting to put titles on these posts. Oops!

Back to reality after a wonderful weekend in Ireland! I got up at 3:30am Friday to shower and catch a cab to the airport. The flight to Ireland was short and uneventful, and we in Du

blin by like 8am. We immediately dropped all of our stuff off at the hostel and began sightseeing. Dublin was COLD! Very Cold! Friday morning was windy and cold, but luckily it warmed up a little bit in the late afternoon.

We got breakfast in Temple Bar (the area, not the actual bar). We went to St. Stephens Green, which was beautiful! We went shopping down Grafton Street, and then went to Trinity College. We decided to pay for the entire tour, which was a great idea! Our tour guide was awesome, and very cute! We saw the Book of Kells, which was amazing, and crazy to think that it dates back to 800 AD. We also saw the Long Room in the old library, which was just breathtaking. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures. The Long room is 215 feet long and houses 200,000 of the library’s oldest books. The barrel-vaulted ceiling and woodwork were breathtaking. This library also has the oldest surving harp in Ireland, which is the countries symbol. We learned a lot of history and interesting facts about Trinity College and Dublin on the tour.

Then we went to Christ Church, which is Dublin’s oldest stone building. Most of the church has been renovated and rebuilt since the original church in 1038, but the basement is the original crypt.

After we finished touring Christ Church, we went to check in at our hostel and get cleaned up. Then we went to the Guiness Storehouse, which is celebrating their 250^th year. We did the full tour, which includes a complimentary pint of Guinness at the end! The tour was cool. I was kind of expecting a guide, but it was self-guided. Oh well. The best was the view from the bar on the 8^th floor (one of the tallest buildings in Dublin). So we got to see a view of the entire city, which was nice. None of us could choke down the entire pint. It was better than getting it in the states, but definitely not my beer of choice! I thought it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask if they had Bud Light instead…

After Guinness we went to The Brazen Head, Irelands oldest bar, for dinner. I got traditional Irish Stew, served with a side of potatoes. The stew had potatoes in it already, but whatever! Everything came with potatoes in Ireland I guess. We were then going to go meet one of Emily’s friends at The International bar for a Comedy hour. When we were waiting, someone came up to us and asked if we wanted to participate in the pub crawl that was about the start. Ten Euros for a free shot at 5 different pubs. Why not? So we got to tour Dublin the real way…through the pubs! I was shocked at how many pubs Dublin has. I knew the Irish were known for drinking… but there are more pubs and places to go out in such a small area, it was crazy! We met a lot of fun travelers and locals on our pub crawl, but we were so tired from being up since 3am, we called it an early night around 1am.

The next morning we had to get up at 5am to catch a train to Galway, which is on the west coast of Ireland. Coincidentally we picked the best weekend to be in Galway, “Races Weekend.” Ireland’s equivalent to the Kentucky Derby. We had no idea… We dropped our stuff off at the hostel, walked through the University Campus, went to the Galway Cathedral, got lunch near the main square, and did some shopping down the cute little streets. Galway was awesome. Such a small town, but really fun and cute…but cold! Even colder than Dublin. At least we had nice, sunny weather!

Then we headed out on a 2pm train to The Cliffs of Moher. The bus ride to the Cliffs was quite possibly the worst experience of my life. Besides the beautiful scenery, which included green EVERYTHING and random sheep and cows everywhere… the ride was rough. Imagine twisty, windy roads only big enough for 1 small European car. Then imagine 2 large coach buses trying to pass each other on these roads. Oh and the speed limit on these roads was 100, which is like 60 mph. So the buses would be flying down these country roads, come around a bend and see another car or bus and have to slam on the breaks. Not fun. I was pretty car sick by the end of the 2.5-hour bus ride. I had to do everything I could to make sure my lunch didn’t end up on the random person next to me. Oh, and the bus hit and killed a dog. That was sad. Surprisingly, we made it to the top to see the Cliffs of Moher. As miserable as I was on the bus, it was well worth the view. It was the most amazing, beautiful, breathtaking scene! We stayed and just walked up and down the edge of the cliff for a few hours. The wind was CRAZY, and luckily it didn’t blow us off the side. Sadly, we had to get back on the bus and go back. The bus ride home was 10 times worse than on the way there. I didn’t think that was possible.

We got back to Galway and wanted to find somewhere to eat and listen to live music. That was nearly impossible because Galway was CRAZY crowded! You couldn’t even walk on the streets. I guess everyone was back from the Races, and just partying and drinking in the streets. Everyone was super dressed up! Fancy dresses and heels. I think they considered it to be really warm, but I was glad I had on jeans, a long sleeve shirt, my north face, and a scarf. It was not skimpy dress weather! Regardless it was a lot of fun. The Irish know how to have a good time! It was nearly impossible to get a drink or navigate through the streets because of the crowds, but I guess we picked a good weekend. I don’t think Galway only gets that crowded once a year. While in the streets we ran into some random Irish guys who just happened to be going back to Dublin on the same train as us. The asked us if we were going back for the games? We didn’t realize that it was the best weekend to be in Dublin. They had the GAA Gaelic football games, which is a huge deal. One of them had 4 extra tickets to the games, so we planned to meet up the following day with them.

We got back to our hostel just in enough time to sleep for a few hours and then shower and catch a train back to Dublin. Dublin was pretty crazy for the games on Sunday! They had a bank holiday on Monday so everyone was partying through the extended weekend. We got lunch at this really yummy place in Temple Bar called From Mexico to Rome. Great mix of Italian and Mexican food- the perfect place for me! After lunch we went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral (1192), went shopping, and then toured Dublin Castle. Dublin Castle was awesome! So beautiful, huge and detailed! The tour took us to an excavation underneath the current site of the castle. We could see one of the original towers, the original moat, and bridge for the castle, which dated back to 1204!

By the time we got done sight seeing, we were unable to meet the boys for the Football games. It would have been fun, but oh well. Maybe next time… We get to go to a football game in England in a couple weeks anyways.

After the castle we went to (the actual) Temple Bar and embarrassingly ordered a Bud Light. It was the first place we saw that even offered a Bud Light, and we were so thirty, so we HAD to order it. Sadly, it tasted nothing like an American Bud Light. So we looked on the back to find out that it was “brewed at the Guiness Storehouse at St. James Gate, under an exclusive contract with AB.” So much for a taste of home! We then went to Elephant and Castle to grab our last meal in Ireland L

We got on our 10:00 flight back to London, got in at 11:15, took an hour bus to Central London, and then a cab to our flat. What a trip! Ireland was fabulous! So much fun. It was much crazier and lively than I was expecting. Coincidentally, once again, we picked a good weekend to be there! Our trip was a total of 57 hours and 18+ hours was spent on a bus, in a taxi, on a plane, or on a train. From Thursday night through Saturday night I only managed to sleep a total of 11 hours. Crazy, I know, but it is MUCH cheeper to take the first or last plane and train of the day! Needless to say, I was completely exhausted when I got home on Sunday night!

I cannot believe I have already been here 3 weeks! This week, I am just catching up, finally going to the apple store, doing homework (including and paper and presentation this week), and then an all-day trip to Bath on Friday. Oh, and since I don’t have class on Tuesdays or Thursdays anymore, Sara and I went to the Victoria and Albert museum Tuesday as well as the British Beer Festival. That was so fun. Lots of good beer to try, and I had my first Perry, which is like a cider, but made from pears. It was really yummy. Almost too good!

Tomorrow we are going to the Tower of London! Jen and a bunch more of our friends get in on Friday afternoon, so we are spending the weekend in London with them. Talk to you soon!