Bitten By the Travel Bug

I’m safely back in Dublin and it’s great to be back! I had forgotten how awesome it is to sleep in my own bed. I’ve been spending the day uploading the massive amounts of photos I took on my euro trip and it’s been fun to relive the experience. Since neither of my Flickr accounts can handle the picture onslaught that’s been occurring on my computer, I’ve decided to save myself some trouble and make the photo albums on my facebook open to the public. This way, I can link them all right here for your viewing pleasure! Let’s take a look, shall we?

Paris – Where they like their Eiffel’s tall, their statues naked, and their baguettes long.

Prague – A city that should be on par with Rome in terms of being a travel destination. Every square inch of this city is ripe with beauty and history. 

Rome – It’s like all the major artists and architects got together and said “Hey, let’s cram as much awesome incredible unbelievable stuff in to one city and call it a day”. I think the most amazing thing about Rome is that the people have taken such care to preserve the historical ruins that exists in the city right alongside all the modern hustle and bustle. It’s a constant reminder of Rome’s incredible history.

Florence– The perfect city for wandering and eating and wandering and eating. And that’s exactly what we did. 

Budapest – Another city that’s yet to be discovered as an awesome place for traveling. It’s an amazing place to explore and relax.

So now that I’m done traipsing around Europe, it’s back to the books.  So exciting. But in between the painfully long library binges I’ll hopefully be exploring the parts of Dublin that I have yet to see. Here’s our Dublin bucket list:

The Bar With No Name – It’s a pub we have yet to visit yet in Dublin but we’ve heard it’s great! It actually doesn’t have a name, The only sign outside is a tiny one of a snail. Should be great craic!

A Hurling Game – Apparently hurling is like lacrosse gone wild. The European sports make American sports look childish.

The Cake Café – This is a little hidden café that you can only get to by walking through a paper store. It apparently is situated in a little courtyard, hidden by all the tall buildings.

That’s all I can remember for now. I’ll keep you posted on other Dublin adventures!

This has seriously been the experience of a lifetime. It’s crazy to know that I’m constantly in the process of making life long memories. I’ve only got 5 weeks left here, and I know they’re going to fly by. I’ve got a lot of memory making to squeeze in!

I think my next post will probably be another installment of my Lessons Learned saga. I’ve got a lot of knowledge to share about traveling around Europe!

Until next time, cheers friends!

Bathing in Budapest

Once again, I'm sitting in an airport reflecting on my trip and typing up a blog post on my iPod. But this time, I'm not anywhere near where I had planned to be while typing this. Originally, I had a later flight home than my friends, and had planned on passing the time by going back to my favorite place in Budapest to reflect and write before leaving for Dublin. That was until I had realized I booked my flight for April 8th, not April 21st. Yeah. Ouch. Everything turned out okay, except for having to pay an excruciating amount of money to get a new flight home. So to ease the strain of this minor fiasco, I'm going to pretend I'm in my favorite place, and go about reflecting and writing as I had planned. Here we go.

For the first time this trip, I'm not sitting in an airport as I type my blog post. Instead, I've decided on a much more serene place for reflection. It is by far my favorite place in Budapest: Margaret Island. It's a park situated right in the middle of the Danube river, and it is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. The other day my friends and I barely said a word to each other as we strolled through and laid in the grass because we were so absorbed by it's serenity.You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love Margaret Island (points for recognizing the literary reference). It is so beautiful here that I just want to curl up in the blankets of grass beneath the lilacs and the trees and let time and the clouds pass me by. I could easily spend the rest of my days with Margaret Island. Do I sound like a lush? I'm just crazy about Margaret.

Budapest has been amazing. We have had so much fun roaming around this city. Our first day we rented bikes and peddled all over town. It was an awesome way to explore! We saw Hero's Square, Buda Castle, the Parliament Building, and the Market where we gorged ourselves on traditional Hungarian food. At night we strolled along the Danube, admiring all the beautifully illuminated buildings, and enjoyed an amazing view of the city from the front of St. Matthias which is perched on top of a huge hill. The entire experience was mesmerizing.

On day two we climbed to the top of St. Stephen's Basilica for another amazing aerial view of Budapest. We also saw the preserved hand of St. Stephen. (People are so bizarre. Let the poor dead man keep his hand!) For lunch we met up with a friend of a friend whose studying in Budapest and got the low down on Hungarian life. It was great to make a new friend and hang with a semi-local! In the afternoon we treated ourselves to a spa day in a traditional Hungarian bathhouse - something that Budapest is known for. We hung out in the different hot tubs, enjoyed the sun from the heated outdoor pool, relaxed in the sauna, and got aroma therapy massages. I was so relaxed I could have melted right into Budapest. It was wonderful.

That night we wet to a pub called Szimpla which is allegedly the third coolest pub in the world, and I'm not disagreeing. Its called a "ruin pub" because its in a huge broken down old building that basically has really cool and colorful decorations plastered all over it to hide the fact that the building is an abandoned factory. It's a lot cooler than it sounds. You'll just have to trust me.

By the time we got to Budapest I was a bit picture pooped out, so unfortunately (for you, mostly ... sorry) I didn't take as many pictures as I could have. But I do have some! And can always steal some from my friends.

I often wondered on this trip what I'm going to think when I look back on this part of my life years from now. I wonder in what ways this experience will affect my life. I'm just so thankful for every second I spend in Europe because I know how lucky I am to have these life changing experiences. I'll be saving every single penny of my kids' money so they can do the same one day. I never realized how important it is to travel the world and see it with your own eyes, your own heart, and your own mind. I wish I could give this experience to everyone.

I'll soon be back in Dublin and will no longer be able to pretend that I don't have to take exams. Hello, reality. I really have to crack down on my studying because I don't think I've ever been this unprepared for finals. But hey, if I fail all my classes it'll at least make a good story one day, am I right? 

Once I'm back in Dublin, the next plane I get on will be heading back to the states. But until then, I've got a lot of drinking, I mean studying, to do between now and then, and I'll be very busy squeezing every last ounce of enjoyment out of Ireland. My friend and I have compiled a bucket list of things to accomplish in Ireland before we leave. I'll be sure to tell you all about it in a future post.

Until next time, cheers friends!

Italia

As I type this I am once again in an airport. This time I'm in Milan eagerly awaiting my flight to Budapest! We didn't end up on park benches last night, thankfully, although we were pretty damn close. At the last minute a friend of a friend (whose also a friar) let us crash at his place. Not only did he let us stay, but set up an extra bed, gave us great directions, and was just the absolute nicest guy ever. I will buy him beers for the rest of our PC lives.

I'm sad to be leaving Italy. It has been such an amazing experience, I'm afraid one blog post will never do it justice. I could write a novel just on two days in Rome, and I could have taken a picture of every step I took.

Rome was amazing. There is so much to see it makes me dizzy. We "romed" around (ha!) from sun up to sun down and ran into piazzas, churches, and obelisks with every turn. We saw San Maggiore Basilica, the Colleseum, the Parthenon, Piazza de Vienza, Piazza de Popolo, Trevi Fountain, and so many more beautiful buildings and statues I can't keep them all straight. I barely know if I'm getting the names of these right. And everything was SO beautiful. The marbles, the gold, the sculptures, the molding, the architecture, the colors, the enormity of it all. My jaw is sore from being dragged on the ground. I'm still processing all of it. To our immense dismay the Sistine Chapel was closed. We drowned our sorrows in a huge tub of gelato (as if we needed an excuse). But on the plus side, it was "culture week" in Italy so we got into a lot of the major landmarks for free!!

I do have to dedicate a separate paragraph to St. Peter's Basilica. Words cannot describe a place so beautiful. I've never been in a church so reverent, so solemn, and so breath-takingly beautiful. It's impossible not to be humbled by the immensity of it's structure and it's reverence. Even as I think back on it now, I feel incredibly humbled. Mass was starting as we were leaving and I regret not taking a quick video for those of you who would be especially interested. I guess you'll just have to go see it for yourselves! It's so worth it.

We got to Florence Sunday night and it was great to see my friends! They showed us all around Florence and it was so crazy to be hanging out in Italy with my PC ladies. We spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering the streets and it was a great way to relax after the insanity that was Rome. We climbed the Duomo and got an amazing view of Florence. I've never in my life seen a building like the Duomo. They white, green, and red marble makes for an in incredibly unique and impressive church. You can't help but wonder how in the world someone designed such a facade. It was awesome. We also went to see the David. He sends his regards to everyone! A quiet one though, that David. We spent a solid 45 minutes just staring at him in all his awesomeness. Not only is he enormous, but so detailed, so fluid, and SO good looking. I wish they made then like that in real life!

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't dedicate a substantial portion of this post to the amazing and other worldly experience that is Italian food. My mouth is watering just thinking about all the brick oven baked pizza, the paninis with fresh sliced meat, the pasta with tomato sauce that god himself made, and the unbearably delicious gelato. So. Much. Gelato. We had it after almost every meal. Including breakfast. Which was sometimes pizza. I came to Italy with the intention of spending most of my money on food and I definitely succeeded. I'm not leaving Rome with any souvenirs except for these extra pounds I picked up. I now have so suck in my stomach just to zip my jacket. I'm not even going to talk about my pants. Or the new notches on my belt I'm now using.  But when else am I going to eat real Italian food IN ITALY? I think I might grab one last slice of pizza just for the hell of it. It my be airport pizza, but it's Italian airport pizza!

Although they're going to have to drag me onto the plane, I'm really excited for Budapest! Each of the cities we've been to so far have been so different and unique, and I know Budapest will be no exception. Like Prague, I really don't know what's there other than traditional bath houses and let me tell you I could certainly use one. The one thing I really hope to do in Budapest is laundry. Two weeks of wearing the same clothes feels less than sanitary. I think I've worn each pair of socks at least twice. Yeah. I know. But smelly or not, I've been having the trip of a lifetime! I can't wait to find out what Budapest has to offer. I'm sure that whatever it is, it's incredible!  My next post will probably be from the Budapest airport and I'll be crying about this trip being over.

Ciao!

Pretty in Prague

(As of right now I'm waking up in Florence but have only just had the chance to post anything. Rome post coming soon! Also please forgive any typos, I've been using my iPod to type these)



Apparently it's my new M.O. to type blog posts while I sit in airports because as I write this I'm awaiting my departure to Rome.


Before I begin this post I'd just like to clear something up. Some odd years ago czechlslyvakis split into the Czech Republic and Slyvakia. I know. They forgot to tell me, too. I was only made aware of this when some kindly informed me Fte reading my last post where I mentioned my travels to a place that apparently decided to not exist anymore. Who'da thunk.


Prague has been amazing! It's so full of beautiful buildings and towers and spires it's enough to make your head spin. We spent most of our days getting lost, wandering aimlessly down interesting looking streets, stumbling upon markets and parks and art, and only using a map when it was time to find out way home. Prauge was awesome because it was so relaxing. We did most of our sight seeing just by wandering around. We saw Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, Old Town Square, and the Astronomical Clock (the third oldest in the world and only one still functioning!) not to mention all the incredible views of the entire city from a hill top park near our apartment. Prague is really just an incredibly beautiful city. There's nit a single lac luster street in town. Luckily, the EAster market was still going on while we were there so we got to try a bunch of really awesome food for cheap! We tried Trdla, a cylinder of heated dough sprinkled with cinnomen sugar almonds and heaven. We also tried they're version of a grilled cheese which was so different from American grilled cheese I can't even describe it. You'll just have to wait for the picture.

PrAuge has a really interesting history tied to World War II. The Jewish quarter has  Jewish cemetery that has hundreds of graves literally piled on top of one another that the Germans were preserving as a memorial to a "extinct race". Communism was only kicked in 1989, and traces of it can still be detected in the general conduct of people. The trams are militant about running on time (I saw an old lazy get shut out because she was 3 seconds too late) and smiling isn't really part of the Czech persona. Even so, everyone was friendly enough and we had an amazing time.

Our laid back trip to Prague was perfectly placed before what is sure to be a jam packed trip to Italy. We only have two days each in Rome and Florence. I'm pretty sure I could spend a month of both of these places and still not see all there is to  lay eyes upon, so packing it in to two days will be interesting to say the least. My converse are in for a work out. Good thing I've got my insoles! (Sometimes I think I might be an old person on the inside). In Rome we'll actuAlly be couch surfing for the first time (don't freak out yet Mom and Dad). Couch surfing is this network of people who LOVE the city they live in and open up they're home to travelers and show them around the city ... FOR FREE. The idea is that you'll rerun the favor some day to someone traveling in your town. There's a whole network where hosts are vouched for and credited and you can read reviews of hosts and surfers. Our roommate Holly stayed with our host a few weeks ago and had an amazing experience! It should be great! (Okay, now you can freak out).

Milan however is another story. We're only there for one night because it's where we found the cheapest flight out of Italy. We still don't have a place to stay despite scouring the Internet. Everything that available is wildly outside our budget. We get to Milan at 11:30 pm, a half hour after the airport buses stop running and a half hour before the train station closes. The Airport is N hour away and the earliest bus is at 4 am. We're scrambling. But something WILL be worked out! But ya know if you feel like sending some prayers or positive thoughts or money or good karma our way, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. It's going to be an adventure!!

That's all for now. Next stop: Rome!

Bonjour!

(As of now I've spent an entire day in Prague, but since I typed it earlier in the day I've decided to leave it as is. More on Prague later!)




As I type this I am siting in a Paris airport awaiting my departure to Prague. Paris has been a whirlwind of sight seeing! My feet are about ready to go on strike but it's been absolutely amazing to discover Paris on foot. The first day we saw the Eiffel Tower, which is just as impressive as you'd imagine and then some. We also saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacre Cure where we got an amazing view of Paris. We also got sandwiches on REAL French baguette. How Parisian of us. Wi wi!




Yesterday we spent the morning getting lost in the Lourve. I'm not kidding. That place is so enormous we actually got a little lost. It was so awesome to see the huge glass pyramid and the Mona Lisa with my own eyes. Check yes for another mind blowing experience. (Mona says hey, by the way). After the Louvre we strolled about, poked around the artsy vendor stalls that line the streets (I bought a painting of the Eiffel Tower) and saw Notre Dame. After a little much needed afternoon recovery we stormed the Bastille memorial (Shout out to sophomore year Civ! Looks like I remembered something after all) and went out to dinner with Nigel's friend who's studying studying in Paris. Even though it was cold and rainy and really actually quite gross, we were determined to spend our last night in Paris enjoying some French crepes by the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower lit up at night is breath taking. At the top of every hour the entire tower sparkles. Watching that enormous monument light up against a velvet sky was like watching firework on the the 4th of July. It was incredible. We stood there wide eyed and opened mouth, and suddenly the cold and rain was made so worth it. We very proudly took the STAIRS up to the second floor and the view of Paris was unbelievable. Another experience I'll have with me for the rest of my life.




I've got some great pictures of Pairs, but I decided to leave my laptop at home so you'll just have to wait until I'm home. Looks like you'll have a lot of picture viewing to do! You might want to pencil it in, because it's going to be a large chunk of your time.




In just a few short moments I'll be heading to Prague!! I'm so excited to see what's going on in Czechoslovakia. I've got a pocketful of Czechs just begging to be spent. It's not like I'll use them anywhere else, might as well put them to good use right?





Au revoir!

Europe is Waiting

In a very short time I’ll be jetting off on what is sure to be the trip of a lifetime. I’ve been talking all semester about my “big Euro-trip” and now that it’s finally here I can’t believe it’s actually happening. I’m posting a general itinerary of where I’ll be and when so that you can follow me along my trip, and so that if I end up getting lost or dying somewhere along the line you’ll at least know where I’m supposed to be (don’t worry Mom and Dad that won’t happen!) Okay so here it is:

Paris: April 8^th-10^th

                I’ll be meeting Nigel and Lindsay who will have gotten there the day before me. I’m hoping to see the Louvre (I’ll say hi to Mona for everyone) Note Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. I’ve heard the Eiffel Tower at night is an incredible experience and I can’t wait to see it! I know there’s so much more Paris has to offer me, and I can’t wait to find out what it is.

Prague: April 10^th – 13^th

                Lindsay, Nigel, and I will be meeting up with our friend Amanda in Prague where we’ve rented an apartment for the weekend. To be honest, the only thing I know about Prague is that there’s some famous castle. Other than that, it’ll all be news to me.

Rome: April 13^th-15^th

                There are so many things I want to see in Rome I could probably write a novel on it. St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, the Colleseum, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps. And that’s only a fraction of the amazing things Rome boasts. We only have two very short days in Rome (our flight gets in late on the 13th) so I hope we have enough time to pack in as much as possible!

Florence: April 15^th-17^th

                In Florence we’ll be staying with some of my PC gals. They’ve already been telling me about the places where we’re going to eat and I could not be more excited for some authentic Italian food. I’m assuming most of my pictures from Italy are going to be of the food I eat. And maybe like the David or something. But let’s be honest, do you think I’m going to Italy for the amazing historical buildings and artifacts? I’m going for the pizza.

Milan: April 17^th-18^th

                We have an extremely short time in Milan. This wasn’t even on our list of travel destinations but we ended up finding really cheap flights out of Milan airport so hello Milan! I have no idea what’s there, but there’s got to be something cool, right? I mean, it is in Italy. We’re still having trouble finding accommodation in Milan so it’ll be interesting to see how this part of our trip turns out. Train station benches are comfy, right? (Just kidding Mom and Dad! I hope!)

Budapest: April 18^th-21^st

                I am extremely excited for Budapest! It’s somewhere that I never ever even dreamed I’d be seeing. I’m really excited about taking a spa day in one of the traditional bath houses that Budapest is known for. I think by the end of this trip, I’ll need a spa day. Or seven.

The way we split up the planning for this trip (and there was A LOT of it) was to take a city or two each and research everything. So even in the places where I have no idea what goes on, at least one of us will. Hopefully. But if I have no idea what to expect, then I’ll be surprised by everything I see! I’m going to attempt to blog and post pictures in whatever down time I have (a.k.a. in airports and on trains). I have a feeling though that most of my major documentation will happen after getting back home to Dublin (Yes, home to Dublin. It hasn’t taken long at all for this place to become a wonderful second home to me). 

You’ll have to forgive me as I don’t quite feel as though I’ve done this blog post justice. I’ve been trying to squeeze it in between planning and entertaining my friend Emily whose here to visit which has been so fun! (Side note: Did you know that all the pubs in Ireland completely close down on Good Friday because it’s a holy day?  Me neither. It was a rude awakening getting kicked out of a pub at midnight on Thursday. If you ask me, I don’t think Jesus would have minded letting us have some Guinness in his honor.) I think I could have talked a lot more about how completely out of my mind excited I am to be going on this trip. How I can literally hear my bank account screaming at me from across the Atlantic. And how incredibly thankful I am to be able to have this experience that will without a doubt stay a part of me for the rest of my life. But before this trip lives on in my memory, I actually get to live it.

Bon Voyage, friends!

Everything is Better in Belgium

This past weekend was yet another amazing traveling experience to Belgium and The Netherlands. I’m still so thankful that I get to have the opportunity to travel all over Europe to see all these incredible things, and I plan on taking full advantage of it!

First stop, Brussels! We got into Brussels early Friday morning and spent most of the day wandering around and exploring. We saw Grand Place which is considered to be the most beautiful square in Europe, and I’m not arguing. I’ve never seen such intricate and ornate buildings in my life. We also saw Mannenkin  Pis, the famous statue of the little boy peeing into a fountain. The hype around this tiny three foot statue astounds me. The Belgians LOVE this little guy. He was everywhere we went. I just don’t get it. We were told that the locals like to dress him up and sure enough, when we saw him he was decked out in Dracula gear. We spent the rest of the day wandering semi-aimlessly. The cool thing about Brussels is that there’s all this incredible artwork that’s embedded right into the city. Instead of going to museums to see art you end up bumping into statues, piazzas, and murals everywhere you go.  And the best part: the entire city smells like waffles. I know. One of the first things we did was to get some waffles and oh my lord, it was mind blowing. The waffles are indescribably delicious. They’re so packed with sugar it’s enough to make your teeth rot in one sitting but it is so worth the cavity. I got mine with strawberries and whipped cream. I may never be able to have another waffle ever again. I also may never be able to eat American chocolate ever again. Brussels has chocolate shops about every four feet, each one just as mesmerizing as the last. I don’t know what it is, but the Belgians have it figured out when it comes to chocolate. I got a hot chocolate that was made by pouring hot milk over and actual chuck of chocolate that melted into a small cup of heaven. In the afternoon we recharged in our apartment that we rented out for the night and later that evening headed out for a night of bar hopping. A friend from PC who studied in Belgium last year told me all about the Brussels night life, so we headed to a bar called Delirium that’s famous for having hundreds of different kinds of beer. Along with the chocolate and waffles, Belgians are crazy about they’re beer. There are enough different kinds to last one person a lifetime. After I “liberated” a glass from Delirium (it was dying to be set free) we went across the street to Floris Bar where we got an enormous mojito for the four of us. I had to carry it with two hands. This is where the bar hopping ended, and along with most of my memories from that night. Luckily I’ve got some great pictures of Grand Place at night to remind me of how beautiful it was!

The next day we took a train to Bruge which is a small little town near Brussels. Picturesque doesn’t even really begin to cover it. Bruge looks like it dropped right out of a story book. The small windy streets are lined with adorable brick houses. It was very quiet and un-touristy and it was great to spend a relaxing afternoon wandering the streets and enjoying the atmosphere. We stopped into a church that contains a vile of Christ’s blood, which was pretty awesome to see. We also went into the chocolate museum which was mildly interesting, but completely worth the incredible free sample of chocolate we got at the end. If you’re ever in Belgium, stop in Bruges! It’s a neat little town.

From Bruges we took a train to Amsterdam, and we were all so tired from our journeys that we crashed in the apartment for the night. The next day we got an early start and went to the Anne Frank house. It was incredibly moving. Anne becomes a very tangible, lovable, real girl as you walk through the museum are afforded a heart gripping glance at an incredible struggle through the eyes of a very brave young woman. I can’t say enough about how moved I was. That experience will probably stay with me forever. After Anne Frank we wandered the streets and marveled at some of the hundreds of canals that run through Amsterdam. Holland is known for its flowers, specifically it’s tulips, so we stopped at the floating flower shops on one of the canals. The entire street smelled like flowers. It was so cool! Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard about Amsterdam and its very liberal and free thinking way of life. I’m stopping here to warn you: I have been extremely truthful in all of my blog posts and I will continue to be as such. Forgive my vagueness while I describe what may or may not have happened next in Amsterdam. I’m keeping it this way so that those of you who wish to preserve me as an innocent girl in your mind can do so, and those of you who wish to use your imagination can do just that. I’m sure you know that Amsterdam is known for being very tolerant in its views on marijuana. They sell pot in “coffee shops” where they have actual menus for weed. Insanity! We stopped into one to see what it was all about. The only thing I can say about what happened next, is that we went to the Van Gogh museum and it was out. of. this. world. It really was mind blowing being able to see his original paintings in person. You could SEE the brushstrokes on the paintings, and most of them looked like they were still wet! Seeing original paintings is an experience that is completely unparalleled. It’s unlike any sort of beauty I’ve ever seen in art before. And they’re made all the more incredible when learning about the unique, bizarre, genius that was Van Gogh’s mind. The man was off his rocker. But I’m beginning to believe that the people whose minds don’t seem to be of this world are those who leave permanent marks for us to marvel over, contemplate, and enjoy. Another unforgettable experience. Sadly, after Van Gogh I had to head back home from Amsterdam. I had a test on Monday that couldn’t be rescheduled so unfortunately my time was cut short. My friends stayed an extra day and told me all about the red light district and a famous tulip garden, both of which sounded …. well … intriguing is the only word I can find to describe both prostitutes and tulips. But worth seeing!

All in all, it was another fantastic weekend traveling abroad. On Thursday my friend Emily who’s in Barcelona is coming to see me! And then on Sunday I leave for my big Euro-trip! Paris, Prague, Rome, Florence, Milan, and Budapest. It’s almost tiring just to type it. I’ll definitely blog about this in more detail before I leave, but I think I’ve kept you long enough for one post.

I’ve created a new Flickr account because the old one ran out of space. If you want to see older pictures, you can click the links on any of my older posts. For now,take a look at Brussels, Bruge, and Amsterdam! I’ve tried to add some more descriptive captions for some of the places that I glossed over in this post, so be on the lookout.

Until next time friends, cheers!