Ireland, I love you!

This semester in Dublin had its ups and downs. I was so fortunate enough to study, intern and explore in a country that was at first unfamiliar to me. However, at times it was stressful. I came to Dublin with 12 other people from my school, and people were very cliquey. They made travel plans right away, and I was overwhelmed because I did not start off this trip close with anyone, whereas everyone else had one, two, or three other people. Sometimes I felt like I made efforts to plan things with people, and the efforts were not reciprocated.

After the first 6 weeks, when the accelerated course we were all taking together ended, I [mostly] gave up on my efforts, but I certainly was not by myself. My 4 wonderful roommates - Brendan, Antoine, Laura and Paul, were so nice (!!!!), and we always managed to have a good craic in the suite. Paul introduced me to his friends from his aviation major, and I was further surrounded by funny, wonderful people. During the month of May, I did all my travels around Ireland and Scotland alone. While I did not hang out much with anyone in my group for the rest of the trip (except for the occasional lunches, dinners, and trips to City Centre), I felt I got something greater out of my program than they did: I made friends from Ireland and France that I know I will keep in touch with for a long long time.

I got to travel all over Ireland, and went to 4 great countries in Europe: England, Czech Republic, Spain, and Scotland. While I wish I had traveled to more countries, I am happy with the way the experience turned out. I went to London with my entire group - on a media related trip, and traveled to Prague with two people from my group. I journeyed to Barcelona with a girl from Arizona, and finally, Edinburgh and the Highlands by myself. Traveling without people from my group allowed me to step outside my comfort zone. I traveled to Scotland alone, met wonderful people in hostels and on bus tours, and took frequent trips on the train by myself to see the different parts of Dublin and Wicklow. I learned that I was better off alone, and it allowed me to be more independent.

Dublin, you treated me well. Thanks to all of my wonderful roommates and friends for making my abroad experience amazing. Ireland, I'll be back soon.

Reflection Post Coming Tomorrow

I'm home and all is well. I miss Ireland so much! It's currently 8:33pm, so 1:33 Dublin time, and I NEED to go to sleep. Last night was supposed to be my final "I love you, Dublin" post, but I was preoccupied with packing and had to wake up at 4am for my flight. Check in with this blog tomorrow for my reflection on Dublin.

All the best,

KP

For the Roomies

As I just knocked on Antoine’s door to say goodbye to him, and both of us are leaving Dublin early tomorrow morning, it’s about time I do a thank-you post to my four fantastic abroad roomies, and DCU friends. Here goes:

To my DCU roommates,

I was nervous to find out who my roommates were at the start, but the second I met you all, I knew we were destined to become close friends. Not only that, but you guys have become a second family to me. “Sass-offs”, pranks, humor, sing-a-longs, cooking, horse racing, and more, we’ve been through a lot. I am so thankful that the housing gods blessed me and put me with people whom I felt I could be my true self around.

Antoine: We may have got off to a rocky start as I could not pronounce your name correctly for the first couple days, but a month later, we became so close. I’d like to believe I inspired your sass and wit, but I know you had it in you all along. Thanks for taking weekend day trips with me: I had a ton of fun in Howth and Dun Laoghaire. Also, thanks for all those crepes!!

Brendan: Awkward first meeting when I came out of my room wondering why I didn’t have a plunger in my bathroom. I asked you where it was, and then realized you were my second roommate. I am glad we have progressed since then. Thanks for giving Antoine and me our first “Irish welcome” on a night during the second week of class.

Laura: Is it awkward that I don’t remember our very first interaction? Yep. It was probably something like “oh thank goodness! I’m living with another female!” Thanks for being my go-to person whenever I needed someone to talk to. Keep succeeding in Gaelic Football and I cannot wait to watch ya on TV J. You are one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and I always loved the random conversations you, me and Paul would have in Paul’s bedroom.

Paul: You moved in last, and we had such a long introductory conversation that soon it was after 11pm and you still hadn’t moved all your stuff in, so you had to walk all the way around through reception to get back into the building. Sorry. Never have I met a guy who immediately matched my wit, humor and sass. As a wise girl once said, “you’re like my older brother. Except you’re younger than me and I don’t even have an older brother.” Take your shoes off the bed, okay?

Lauren: Sometimes you meet someone and something immediately "clicks" and you feel like you've known them forever. Basically my fifth roommate, I am so lucky to have gotten close with you this semester through our love for Despicable Me and minions. I had so much fun ringing in 21 with ya, and thanks again for letting me stay at your house. I cannot wait for you and your family to come to the US this year. Hopefully see ya soon!!

To the aviation guys,

You guys are hilarious! From the DCU horse races, to just chillin’ in the apartment, to our final night out, thanks for always putting a smile on my face.

Guys, stay in touch. Gonna miss you a ton, and we’ll all have to skype every once in a while!

Xoxo,

Katie

Dtwo

The afternoon before I went out, I said goodbye to Paul and Laura, which was bittersweet...I miss them so much already. 

I spent my second-to-last night through last morning in Ireland at Dtwo Night Club with Lauren, Antoine, Antoine's girlfriend - Alexia, Shane, Michael, Thomas, Connor,  Ben, and so many others. Lauren stayed at my apartment because the buses stop running at 11:30. We got back at 5 this morning, so I am gonna have lots of fun packing today.  

What a way to end my wonderful semester in Dublin. I am so lucky to have met some amazing people! I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!!!

Lauren and me

Gonna miss these guys

Grabbed one last photo with Laura before she left

Castle Day

I had not been to Dublin Castle since February, so I figured it was time to revisit. The courtyard and outside of the castle is nice, but I couldn't figure out how to get in or if I had to buy tickets for a tour...etc. So I ended up going into the church next to Dublin Castle, and walking around. I was disappointed because I had really wanted to see the inside of the castle and learn its history, but oh well, at least I got to learn all about Ireland's oldest castle, Malahide Castle.

I took the DART to Malahide and walked to the castle and gardens. I had been there before with Lauren, but had not seen the inside of the castle. I learned so much history - if you ever want to know anything about Malahide Castle, I am here to inform you.

Dublin Castle

Malahide Castle

Trinity Library

Most of today was spent in City Centre. I walked around St. Stephen's Green, listened to Key West Band on Grafton Street, and then walked to the Trinity College Old Library to see the Book of Kells. The library was spectacular! There were a lot of historical writings, and I wanted to take pictures (I'm a History Major in addition to Comm, so I was really intrigued), but the signs on all the writings said no photography.

As you can see from the first picture, it was an absolutely beautiful day in Dublin!

Later, Ashlee and I met up at the Nubar for goujons. I'm gonna miss the chicken goujons here!!

Also, two of my roomies, Antoine and Brendan, got haircuts today. Must be National Haircuts-for-Males Day. Paul, did ya miss the memo?! Only jokin'.

Bray --> Greystones

I meant to blog yesterday, but completely forgot until it was 11:59 pm, then I figured I might as well blog tomorrow (as in today).

Yesterday (Tuesday, May 27th), I took the DART train (don't think I've described it yet - Dublin Area Rapid Transport) to Bray, because I had been told Bray was beautiful. I walked through the town to the boardwalk, where I found a Gino's, and quickly grabbed a nutella crepe. Om nom nom. There was a carnival in town or something, because everyone had cotton candy. I, however, resisted this temptation.

There was a big green mountain in the back, and I said to myself "okay...gonna go climb the mountain!" As I got further up the road and it wound around the mountain, I found out it was a cliff walk from Bray to Greystones. I had already been to Greystones before, but I continued on the walk, followed by some ladies from Spain who were doing the same. Some parts of it were challenging, but there was a whole uphill part that we did not do that I kinda want to go back and do before I leave Ireland. The walk was about 5.5k, but including the boardwalk, it was probably 6.5k. I was going to do the walk back from Greystones to Bray to double that amount, but I ended up going to Spendlove Coffee and eating a brownie with ice cream. Needless to say, I knew I wouldn't be hiking back.

I'm proud of the new independence I've gained here: I like making my own decisions, not having to wait for people, and doing things on my own time.

Pictures: 

Connemara and Galway

I did a day tour to Connemara and Galway today!

Around 8:10, a Paddywagon bus picked me up from O'Connel Street. The tour guide asked everyone on the bus to shout their name and where they were from, and I said to myself "wow...this is weird. I've never had to do this on a day tour." I then found out that I was on the bus for a 3-day tour: Galway on day 1, Cliffs of Moher on day 2, and Cork & Blarney on day 3. Not to worry though, there were 4 other people that were on the one-day Galway/Connemara tour, and Paddywagon had just combined us into the 3-day tour. We were told to go to the bus station in Galway later, where another bus would pick us up to bring us back to Dublin. 

When we got off the bus at our first stop - Cong and Ashford Castle, I started talking to a girl named Alyson because she had said she was from the US as well. I found out she was a Media & Communication student (who already graduated) and was placed in an internship in Dublin, similar to myself!! She interned in graphic design whereas I interned in journalism/publishing/event planning, but it was still cool that we both held media & comm internships in another country. Alyson and I stuck together for the rest of the day, since we would both be transferring to a new bus later on. 

After Cong and Ashford Castle, we made a photo stop at Lake Corrib. It was so beautiful! 

Finally, we arrived in Galway! We were there for 3 hours, and unlike any other tour I had done, we were free to walk around anywhere  - explore and occupying our own afternoons. I was relieved I had made a friend on the bus, because I would not have known what to do alone: Alyson and I mostly walked around and we couldn't really find much to do (except listen to random street performers), but it felt wonderful to have visited Galway! Also, I bought a claddagh ring!  

Pictures: 

Ashford Castle

Lough Corrib, Connemara

Galway

Galway

Howth Round 3!

I know that I am supposed to travel to as many places as I can in Ireland, but I couldn't help but repeat my visit to Howth...for a third time. It's a short bus and a DART ride away, so why not. 

I was supposed to meet up with John and Hannah while there, but I took my time going to the gym, showering, cleaning, and the DART took longer to get to the Dublin station than I thought...by the time I got to Howth, I ran into John and Hannah, and they were getting ready to leave.

First, I stopped at the market (it's the last Sunday I could go), hoping it would have delicious popcorn again. It didn't. Instead, I got fudge, which did not quite live up to its expectation, and I ended up throwing it out. Then, I went to the lighthouse for a bit, and sat by the pier to relax. 

Finally, I walked on one of the cliff walks. It got pretty steep an hour and a half into it, and I wanted to turn around, but it was too narrow to turn around, so I ended up walking upward instead of forward, towards a parking lot on a hill. I then walked down towards the city and back to the harbor, passing lots of local houses. The entire cliff walk took me three hours. I ran into a US Airways flight crew that was on a 24 hour layover! They were from Charlotte, NC, so we all started talking and walked the rest of the way down together. This is the second day in a row that strangers and I have exchanged stories. Love it. 

Tomorrow I'll be in Galway! I'm so excited. I've wanted to go since I arrived in Dublin. 

Dublin Zoo

Yesterday, (Saturday 5/24), I took a bus to Phoenix Park to go the Dublin Zoo. Phoenix Park is one of the largest parks in Europe and I'll probably have to go back there within the next week.

By the time I got off the bus, it was 2:30, and I thought the zoo was supposed to close at 4, so I approached two ladies and their children who got off the bus with me, asking if they were going to the zoo / if it was worth it at this time. They said yes, and as we walked to the gate, we started immediately sharing our stories: like 99% of the preteens currently in Dublin, they were here for the One Direction concert this weekend, but were originally from Belfast. They got excited when I told them I was from the US, studying abroad, and then invited me to walk with them the entire way through the zoo! That was so sweet of them - a little kindness goes a long way here. I've been doing a lot of things alone because it's the final countdown of Dublin and I want to do as much as I can without feeling like I need to satisfy other people, and I want to do what I want. Whenever I do things solo, I meet some amazing people (ie see my post about Edinburgh :) ).

Mossy and I met up at the Nubar later that night. We're still trying to go to Wicklow, but because I have so little time left, we're not too sure.

Today is the last Sunday I can go to Howth market, so I think I'm gonna go later today and get back to ya on this blog.

It's like we're related

penguins!

camp friends

Greystones

This morning, I slept in until 9 for the first time in forever.

Now that my internship is done, I'm trying to travel to as many places in Ireland as I can. I left for Greystones around 1. To get there, I took the Dublin bus to city centre, and hopped on the DART for a 1 hour train ride. It was the final stop. My internship coordinator is originally from there and my friend Conor lives there. Conor and I were going to try to meet up, but he got out of work at 5 and I left at 5 on the dot.

While in Greystones, I pretty much sat on the beach for a long time, walked through the sand, went to a tiny coffee shop called Spendlove Coffee, and spent most of my time reflecting about my abroad experience. I think traveling in Scotland helped me find myself (as cliche as that sounds), and I gotta make the most of this final week.

Laura (from my school) and I met up for drinks and weird "taco chips" at the Nubar later, and spent a long time talking about our experiences in Dublin, what we were doing this summer...etc. It was great catching up with her, as I have not hung out with anyone from my school since our classes finished on May 1st - and now that we all have different travel plans, it's been difficult to see people.

Beach Bear Statue

Last Day of My Internship

Today was bittersweet as it was my last day interning at Mediateam (and probably my last time riding the luas). I spent the day working on an article about Google's self-driving cars.

I'm gonna miss Mediateam. It provided me with the skills to work in an office environment, and I got a taste of what it is like to be a print/online journalist (versus the radio journalism I do for NPR at home). It was also the first environment I interned at that was not a radio station, and I enjoyed the constant changing and spontaneity of day-to-day responsibilities. Thanks for everything, Mediateam.

On a side note, I showed my 12th grade recital piece of "Nothing" from "A Chorus Line" to Laura and Paul. Now that we all know that Paul and I can sing, we'll be putting on daily concerts for the world...look out for us when we go viral.

Edinburgh, I have returned!

In the summer of 2010, I played Dunyazade in my high school's production of "Arabian Nights" in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Now, 4 years later, I got to revisit Edinburgh for a weekend...

And it was a dream. come. true.

It was exactly how I remembered it, and so much more. I got to revisit old sites, relive old memories, and create new memories with my hostel-mates and two of my friends that I got to see for a little while.

My Journey: 

In the beginning of April, after Brynn and I sat down to book our trip to Barcelona, she told me she was doing a solo trip to Edinburgh at that she was really excited about it. I admitted that I really wanted to go back there, but was terrified to travel to another country by myself. Brynn felt everyone should do a solo trip during their time abroad, ya know, to help you find yourself.

After Brynn got back from her trip, she sent me her hostel details, and I booked my trip to Edinburgh for May 17-20th. Excitement filled me as I had just booked my first solo trip, but I knew the butterflies were yet to come.

As May 17th approached, the nerves hit me hard. I've seen the movie "Taken" a few times, and read a few horror stories regarding solo travel on the internet. Looking them up was a horrible decision. I asked one of my co-workers at my internship, Kevin, about Edinburgh (he's from Glasgow), and he assured me I would be fine. I also messaged my friend Hannah, who is studying abroad in Edinburgh, and we agreed we would meet up at some point, but that I could not stay with her because she had a lot of work/was packing for Paris.

Day 1:
On May 17th, I called my taxi, and arrived at the airport 2 hours before my gate was to display itself. Whoops. I spent my time browsing around Boots (a pharmacy chain in the UK), looking at iPhone cases in a technology store until I practically got kicked out because I wasn't going to buy anything, and sitting in Butlers. At the gate, I ran into these two girls who were traveling to Edinburgh from Cork, Ireland. They were also from the US. We realized we had the same return flight on the 20th, but would be staying in different hostels. On the plane, I sat next to some old woman who warned me "be careful out there", further adding to my nerves. My heart was pounding as I exited the plane and got on Airlink Bus #100 to Waverly Train Station. Luckily, Hannah was there to pick me up (she had told me she would since I had no idea how to get to my hostel), and as we walked towards the Grassmarket, we caught up a little bit, and my nerves began to go away: I saw so many familiar sights, and it felt like I was at home.

I checked into Kickass Hostel (the most KICKASS hostel I've ever stayed in!). It had a prime location - right on the Grassmarket below Edinburgh Castle, and the staff was super friendly! The only downside was that the bathrooms were co-ed (Brynn had told me that previously), but it turned out completely fine!

I left the hostel and then went for a stroll on the Grassmarket and Royal Mile. I stood staring at the Royal Mile Street sign for a few seconds, and took in the scenery. The sound of bagpipes, the touristy stores, and the crowds made me feel in place. I stood listening to a guy playing the bagpipes, before I walked back to the grassmarket (around 8pm). I walked into some place called "Made in Italy" that had a whole lot of pastries and other desserts laid out in front. All of a sudden, a waiter came up to me and said "table for 1? This way please." Looks like I fell right into the restaurant's trap. I was sat down and served a quality Italian meal...of pasta with pesto sauce. After that accidental dinner, I arrived back at my hostel, grabbed a quick drink in the bar, and went to my room to meet my hostel-mates. I roomed with 7 females, including a 50-year-old Australian lady named Mairin as well as two girls from the USA (I forget which state) who were traveling all around Europe. There were also two French girls that only spoke French to each other. Since Hannah told me she wasn't able to meet on the 18th, I went down to the front desk of my hostel and asked them about day tour recommendations. They recommended the 8am-8pm tour to Loch Ness, the Great Glenn and the Highlands, and they booked it on the spot for me. I got the last seat on the bus! After that, I went to bed ready to wake up at 6:45am.

Day 2: 
Well, I woke up at 6:45am and ran upstairs to my hostel's bar for a really quick breakfast. I had cornflakes...for 1 pound 70 - a very disappointing price. I'm not a fan of the pound. Not a fan at all. I exited Kickass Hostel around 7:35 (we were meeting at 7:45), and took a shortcut up a couple flights of stairs towards the castle to meet outside the Green Ensign Ewart Pub on Lawnmarket (a part of the Royal Mile). Our tour guide's name was Jamie and he was wearing a kilt! I liked him already. The lady that sat next to me was from Malaysia, and we shared our travel stories.

When we got off the bus at our first stop, the Village of Kilmahog, I was reunited with Hamish the Highland Cow, who I met four years ago on my Edinburgh theatre experience! Two people then approached me and one of them said, "excuse me, did you say you were studying abroad in Dublin?" I said yes, and found out they are both studying abroad in Limerick, Ireland. Their names were Ryan from North Carolina and Sarah from Germany.

The bus drove us to a photo stop in Glencoe. We spent 20 or so minutes admiring the beauty. Unfortunately, it was raining a little bit, so it was not as beautiful as it could have been, but regardless, I was still happy to be there (and overjoyed that I had worn my rain coat).

We next stopped for lunch at Spien Village, but Ryan, Sarah and I ended up going to Spar in the village and grabbing bags of chips instead (the line at the village cafe was way too long). During our "lunch", I asked the two of them what hostel they were staying at, and was thrilled to find out we were all in the same one!

Next, we got back on the bus and drove to another photo stop at the Commander Memorial. We were given the option of doing a 1-hour boat cruise on Loch Ness, or going to see Urquhart Castle for 30 minutes and then jumping on the cruise. Ryan, Sarah and I all decided to do the 1 hour boat cruise.

We got off the bus at Clansmen Harbor and waited for the Jacobite Warrior (our boat) to pick us up. The three of us went to the open top of the boat rather than the nice inside, so that we could get the full experience of Loch Ness, and some good photos as well. I think I even saw the Loch Ness Monster at some point :).

What Jamie taught us about  Loch Ness:
-It is 2 to 7 degrees centigrade
-Nobody is sure how deep it is.
-There is no record of the lake ever freezing over.

The one hour cruise lasted from 3pm - 4pm. We then departed and drove about an hour and a half to our next stop: The Village of Pilochrie. I did not really see anything special here, but Ryan found good ice cream. Our final sighting was Forforo Bridge (we only saw it from inside the bus though), and then we drove back to the Royal Mile.

Ryan, Sarah and I walked back to Kickass Hostel, and the two of them asked me if I wanted to join them in the hostel bar for dinner and drinks, so I did. We all got changed quickly and met back up there at 8:45, where we enjoyed pizza, really sugary cider drinks, and the movie "The Beach" alongside the company of two other Americans from Orlando. "The Beach" was freaky...I kept my eyes on my pizza for most of the movie. After the movie, the four of them decided they wanted to go for a walk through town, but I stayed behind and went straight to bed, ready to wake up for another day full of adventures in my favorite city.

Day 3:
On the third day of paradise, I ventured on a walking tour with people from my hostel. I saw more familiar sights (including the Princes Street Gardens and Calton Hill), but our tour was not too informative as our guide was from Australia. I mean, the tour was free, so I guess for a free tour, it was grand - we covered quite a bit of Edinburgh in 1 hour and a half. During the tour, I talked to these three guys from Munich - we were kind of joking around together, and the guys kept asking me to give a history, since I had been to Edinburgh before. One of the guys asked me, "we don't have to pay tips to this man at the end, right?"

Along the tour we saw the Flooden Wall, Henry Simmons Prison, walked a bit of a graveyard, Princes Street Gardens, Calton Hill, and Royal Mile. When we arrived back on the Grassmarket, the three Munich guys invited me out to lunch with them, but I declined the invitation as I was going to meet up with Hannah in an hour.

Around 2, Hannah picked me up from my Hostel. We were going to take the airlink bus to the Edinburgh Zoo, but Hannah had not eaten lunch, so instead we went to a cafe called "Hula's" - I just ate chocolate cake because I had nachos at the hostel. We realized after, that we would only have about an hour at the zoo before it closed, so we walked down the Royal Mile, towards Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat instead. I had wanted to hike Arthur's Seat so badly! It was a little steep at times, and I was wearing weak boots, but it was so worth it - the view from the top was beautiful! After Hannah left to go pack for her trip to Paris, I went across the street from Kickass Hostel to the Fiddler's Arms Pub for dinner: I had some quality chicken gojons. On my way back from Fiddler's, I ran into the two girls from Cork that I had met at the Dublin Airport. They had just returned from their tour to Loch Ness, and I told them I had done it the day before. We all had enjoyed it immensely.

I stayed in my hostel room for a little, waiting for my phone to charge, and walked up to the bar around 9:30 for the pub crawl. The three Munich guys and I all sat together, and that's when I finally learned their names: Sebastion, Kristoff, and Joe. It's funny that I had seen them all day, and had not learned their names until the pub crawl: Typically the first question I always ask people at hostels is "so where are you from?" We started off in the hostel bar playing drinking games, where a girl named Kristana from Utah joined our table. Then went to another nearby Kickass Hostel to pick up people, before stopping at a few bars. The final stop was some sketchy club, called "The Hive". The five of us got kind of separated, and Kristana, Joe and I searched for Sebastion and Kristoff, eventually finding them at the club's bar. We eventually found other people from our hostel: this girl named Chlory from Australia, and her friend. Chlory, her friend and I ended up walking back around 1:45am - I had to go to bed to wake up to check out of the hostel at 10am.

Day 4: 
I woke up 4 hours and 15 minutes later (approximately 6am), as I heard some lady in my room walking around making a lot noise. By now, there were only three of us in the room: me, the Australian lady (named Mairin), and this third lady. The lady looked at me and said "oh good you're awake" and turned on the lights. I was not a happy camper...

I couldn't get back to sleep, so instead, I took my time packing/listening to music/using the Wi-Fi. I checked out of the hostel at 9:45am and walked to the Royal Mile for one last time to St. Giles' Cathedral to meet up with my friend Tim, from high school! Tim has been studying abroad in France all year, so I have not seen him, except once over skype. When we realized our journeys to Edinburgh overlapped a little bit, we agreed we had to meet up! He brought his friend from his home college with him, and she was really nice - the three of us caught up, and walked around admiring the beauty of the St. Giles Cathedral. The two of them then walked me to the Waverly Train Station, and I caught the Airlink bus back. At the airport, I ran into the two girls from Cork again, and we shared our experiences.


Reflection of my trip: 
Returning to Edinburgh 4 years after my big theatre trip was by far the highlight of my abroad experience. It was also my first "solo travel experience". Although I met up with Hannah and Tim along the way, I still do consider this a solo travel experience because for once, it was all about what I wanted to do. I made every decision of my trip, and did not have to depend on someone else to make the decisions (which is usually the case because I'm pretty flexible). When I first arrived and walked to the Royal Mile, all the memories of my Scotland trip from years ago, hit me, and I felt like everything was right in place. To me, Edinburgh is beautiful. Dublin doesn't compare. My roommate Laura and I were talking about it today actually: there are so many places to eat, so many bars, and so many clubs, but there aren't too many attractions that make the city "beautiful", besides St. Stephen's Green.

During my trip to Edinburgh, I felt I gained a new sense of confidence and independence. Additionally, navigation was grand! I imagined myself lost and helpless, but that didn't happen at all. Everyone at my hostel was so friendly, and I had the best time with them - hostels do not terrify me at all. I love being able to meet other travelers through hostels, and sharing stories, even though you will never see the people again.

Pictures: (in no particular order)

The Royal Mile

Glencoe

The Royal Mile

Hamish the Highland Cow. #selfieswithhighlandcows

Searching for Nessie

Kevin on Arthur's Seat

The view of Edinburgh Castle from my hostel

Calton Hill

Heart of Midlothian

Hannah and me on top of Arthur's Seat

Sitting on Arthur's Seat

Calton Hill

The Elephant House

The Fringe! Under Construction...

St. Giles Cathedral

The last 4 days have been unreal. I know I will be back again some day soon. What's more, I am going to use my newfound confidence to cram as many journeys around Ireland as I can for the next 12 days.

I love you, Edinburgh.

Tech Excellence Awards 2014

Last night, I attended the Tech Excellence Awards 2014 at the Ballsbridge Hotel! Being the intern for Mediateam (the host of the event) I was asked to help out, and run the powerpoint my boss and I had put together, throughout the entire awards. I sat behind the tech booth, and in between breaks, joined the Mediateam table for very fancy appetizers, dinner, and dessert.

At one point the speaker did the awards out of order, and I was like "oh my goodness what do I do" because the powerpoint was synced up differently, but it was resolved and all grand (I just had to make sure I didn't accidentally reveal the winner slides for other awards). After all the awards had been handed out, people drank and drank...and drank. I lasted until 12am (the awards started at 7pm, and I had been at work all day - woke up at 7), and I took a taxi home. Apparently the rest of the people were there until 2 or 3am.

The Tech Excellence Awards were incredibly fancy - I was probably the most underdressed (since I was just running the powerpoint). Everybody looked stunning!! Below is me and Averyl, one of my co's.

Roommate Bonding

Did I ever mention that I have the best roommates on the planet?

Hehe yeah I'm sure I've mentioned it at least 20 times in this blog! I got lucky - the majority of the people that I came abroad with do not hang out with or even talk to their roommates.

Earlier I was browsing through news stories, and found that a lady from South Carolina had called 911 because she claimed her subway pizza had pasta sauce on it. Naturally, I sent this story to Brendan because pizza and chinese food are all he eats. His response: "wow. Just wow." Good response, dude. That's America in a nutshell.

After I arrived home from my internship, Antoine and I ate dinner at the same time, and he told me to watch one of the Evian babies commercials: hilarious stuff!

When I got back from the gym, Paul, Laura and I were talking in Paul's room. Paul left his flight simulator for two minutes to make tea, and then came running back to it, scared that he had killed his plane. That's dedication right there, Paul. Then, Paul spilled gravy granules all over the kitchen floor (I think he was still nervous about his flight simulator), and Laura and I were laughing at him. I then proceeded to reflect on how I had met each of my roommates at the very beginning of the semester, and we all had quite a laugh, because I cannot quite remember my very first interaction with Laura.

Even though I'll be a million miles away, I'll be keeping in touch with my roommates. They've become some of my closest friends, and they're like siblings to me.

(Roommates, be prepared. This is nowhere near the sappy blog post that is to come with my departure later.)

I was on my way home from my internship, walking down O'Connel St...when I saw a familiar coat. I tapped the person on the shoulder and it was Sunny, the girl I met on the Cliffs of Moher tour yesterday! We were like "oh my goodness what a coincidence!" She was grabbing the bus back to the airport.

Otherwise, nothing else exciting happened today, except the usual playful banter between Laura, Paul, Antoine, and me. Brendan, where are ya?

Cliffs of Moher

Everyone who had previously been to Ireland had told me, "go to the Cliffs of Moher! You will regret it if you don't," so I finally signed up for the Paddywagon bus day tour, and left at 7am this morning for the 7:50 tour. I arrived there around 7:10 - majorly overestimating the time it would take to drive into City Centre...whoops, but all good! I grabbed a water bottle from McDonalds and sat in there listening to music. Not many places are open at 7 in the morning.

Our driver/fearless leader/tour guide, Gavin, picked us up at the tourism office on O'Connel Street, and we began our journey. We drove a couple hours, made a bathroom/coffee stop, and then went to Kinvara Fishing Village to walk around for a few minutes. When I got off the bus, I started talking to this girl named Sunny from Vancouver, who was also on the tour alone. She's studying abroad in Manchester! We pretty much stuck together for the rest of the day.

Gavin proceeded to tell us a little bit about Ireland's history. He also told us a couple of his personal stories: Note: do not say "any craic" in a US airport.

We made a quick stop at Corcomroe Abbey and walked around the cemetery, and then ate at Doolin Village for lunch (good vegetable soup!). Gavin also drove us to these baby cliffs to "warm us up" for the real ones. By then, it was so windy and stormy I was a little nervous for the real cliffs.

Finally, we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher! It was SO WINDY, and if I had an umbrella, I would've flown like Mary Poppins. Sunny and I fought our way through the wind to go walk along the cliffs, while a lot of people on our tour went to the museum instead. We kinda skipped the museum part because walking along the cliffs was so thrilling.

After the cliffs, we made a final stop at Bunratty Castle (for photos), and we walked in the Blarney Woolen Mills store as well. I bought a pair of wool socks, since the ones I bought back in Blarney are a little worn out by now.

When we arrived back in Dublin, I showed Sunny around, since she'll only be here for one more day, and we went to Leo Burdock's fish and chips, which Gavin claimed to be the best fish and chips in Ireland. I got chicken goujons...of course.

I had been putting off going to the Cliffs of Moher because I was gonna wait for Rickey and Hannah or John and Hannah to go with me, but I am actually really glad I did it alone - that way I did not have to depend on anyone to plan it with me, and I could be social with tourists. I think I'm gonna do a couple more day tours solo.

Dun Laoghaire

Read the title of this blog post. How are you currently pronouncing "Dun Laoghaire"? Well...stop...you SHOULD be pronouncing it as "dun leer-eee". Yep. I made that mistake until Paul corrected me weeks ago when I said "Hey Paul, let's go to Dun Lae-oge-hair some time!"

I asked Antoine last night if he wanted to go with me, and he said yes, so we left around 1pm today. When we got off the bus to walk to the dart station, it started POURING rain. I felt badly because Antoine did not have a hood on his coat, but he said he doesn't like hoods. Anyways, it was pouring, and cold, and our jeans were soaking wet as we boarded the dart for the 20 minute ride, but I am glad we went.

We walked along the pier for the couple hours we were there. The rain was pretty heavy and intermittent, but it's only rain, so no big deal haha. Dun Laoghaire is mostly a coastal town, but not as nice as Howth in my opinion. Still, I am glad we got to see that part of Ireland.

I'll be waking up early tomorrow to see the Cliffs of Moher!! Super psyched!!!

Captain Americas

I arrived home from my internship at 7pm, ate a quick dinner, showered, and got back on the bus at 8 to meet Mossy at Captain Americas at 9. We ended up meeting at 10:30 instead, so I pretty much hung out on Grafton St for 1 hour and 30 minutes, watching a street performer sing "Hallelujah" and a few other songs.

Captain America's is always fun. It's pricey, but their Bailey's chocolate milkshakes are to die for. Mossy and I are planning to go to Wicklow at the end of May, so I'm looking forward to that.

On the way home, Paul texted me, "where are you?!" So glad I was missed! Had not seen my roommates all day, except for Antoine when I was home for 1 hour. Also, I haven't seen Laura in 1 week and I miss her so much.

Camps K&E at Captain Americas.

Barcelona!

Hey there readers!

I have returned from my weekend getaway to Barcelona with Brynn. Barcelona must have known we were coming, because the weather was beautiful (although in pictures you will see I am wearing my windbreaker - but I always wear my windbreaker.). I met Brynn at 4:30am on May 4th to get to our flight which departed at 6:50, so I woke up at 3am. The exhaustion conquered me for most of the day and I felt sluggish and dizzy at times, but we accomplished so much during the trip.

Day 1: 
The bus from the airport drove us to Placa de Catalunya, and we had a bit of a walk ahead of us to find us our hostel. Good thing Brynn had a map - she is incredibly direction-savvy! Here is the first thing we saw when we stepped off the bus:

Along the way, we stopped at Starbucks because I desperately needed coffee. I think I met my Barcelona soulmate in the form of a barista at Starbucks:

We found Black Swan Hostel, which I highly recommend for future travelers. It was accommodating and inexpensive. Since we arrived before check-in, we were allowed to keep our stuff in the basement for the full day.

After securing our stuff in the basement, we walked to the metro station, where we purchased 2-day passes, and rode the metro to MNAC, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. I must say I was highly impressed with the art and architecture, and glad it was free admission.

Outside

The Fountains

This really fascinated me. 

We then took an elevator up to the roof! The view was spectacular!

We walked around for a little trying to find a pathway to somewhere, and ended up here:

Note: bear in mind that I don't really remember the names of these places, or how to describe them because I was so exhausted during the first day of traveling. Being an ex-cross country runner who hasn't run in so long, these stairs were difficult for me.

I was joyous because I purchased a Kinder Joy treat, but I cannot build the prize that came in it because some of its pieces went missing. They don't have Kinder Joys in Ireland, or at least I have not seen them.

It was difficult to order food in Spain because I know zero Spanish. I did community service in Costa Rica for a month, yet the only thing I really remember is that the "ll" in "pollo" is pronounced as a "y". Rookie mistake of teenage me. In Barcelona, I would mostly just point to the item I wanted, saying "this thing...por favor", and if someone spoke Spanish to me I probably had a petrified look on my face.

We hopped on the metro to La Sagrada Familia, or the Church of the Sacred Family. We had been debating on going to the aquarium, but when we found out it was 20 euros for our "height we changed our minds.

La Sagrada Familia

We tried to go to the Picasso Museum because it is free on Sundays, but the line was way too long, so we went to a church and sat in it for a while instead. This was something new for me, but Brynn really enjoyed it and it was peaceful.

After, we walked up a hill, grabbed sandwiches for dinner, and made our way to Park Güell. This was one of my favorite moments of our trip!

Day 2: 5/05/14
After waking up and eating the hostel's free breakfast (cereal and water - but no complaints because it was free!), we walked to a street where people sold lots of little ceramic mosaic statues, similar to the statue above. I bought three! One for myself, one for my family (we'll probably display it in the living room), and one for me and my future roomies in the apartment we are living in next year.

Next we went to St. Josep's La Boqueria market, where Brynn and I both bought fresh fruit juice and chocolate covered almonds. Delicious!! My fruit juice was kiwi apple flavored.

Next, vamos a la playa!! hehe. We sat on the beach for a while, while people intermittently approached us asking if we wanted massages, hair-wraps, henna tattoos, etc. I had not been to a beach in so long, so this intimidated me a little. This tourist-recruiter guy named Scottie came up to Brynn and me and had a long conversation with us, trying to convince us to go on a bar crawl with them later that night, but I was waaaay too paranoid and anxious (talking to strangers...ya know...). Scottie seemed really nice though. He found us again later after we had moved spots on the beach, and he sat down and talked to us again.

 

I was angry because I brought sunscreen with me, and forgot to bring it with me on the beach! So I purchased sunscreen at a nearby store - and STILL managed to get a little burnt. What a waste. 

After the beach, we dropped our beach stuff at the hostel and took the metro to a park (I really don't remember the name of this one), where we relaxed a bit before dinner at a buffet place. 

The Hostel: 
It was a totally different experience from my first hostel in Prague because I had a friend with me this time. Brynn and I were still very open to meeting people, and we met my bottom bunkmate (yes...I was on the top again), named Hela from Norway, and Brynn's bottom bunkmate, Ruth, a 60 year old lady from China who had more energy in her than the 12 people I came abroad with, combined. They were both so sweet, and I appreciate hostels so much more after this experience. There was only one mixup when on the second day, I left nothing on my bed, so when the cleaning people came in, they assumed I had left and they got rid of my sheets and blanket, so when another girl arrived, she took my bed. We sorted it out though and it was all grand.

Also, the hostel had lockers that needed a deposit of 1 euro to take the key out of the locker in order to lock up your stuff. Every time you opened the locker, you got your euro back. My belongings were in good hands!

I'm really thankful I got to experience a whole other, non-English speaking culture. Maybe I will learn Spanish some day!