Dublin

I finally made it Ireland! For 4 days and 3 nights I spent my time in the Green Isle, and I only wish I could have stayed for another week to see more. Wednesday I flew into Dublin and within an hour or so I was checked into my hostel and set off to see the city. That afternoon was able to see a good portion of the city, north of the river Liffey on O'Connell Street, and south of the Liffey through Temple Bar, Trinity College, Grafton Street and St. Stephen's Green. By dark I had found my way back to my hostel and fell right to sleep.

The next morning I set off to find the Guinness Storehouse. I walked through the Viking/Medieval Area and past the Brazen Head and finally found my way to the Storehouse. After a 2 1/2 hour self guided tour of learning all there is to know about everything Guinness, I found myself in the Gravity Bar with a pint of the 'black stuff'. That's one way to start your day, nice pint of Guinness at noon! After that, I decided I should probably go find some lunch, so I headed up to Temple Bar.

I decided to have lunch at The Temple Bar. I got there just in time too, I was able to enjoy my sandwich to some live Irish music. The guy playing was very good, so I decided to get a drink and stay to listen to him play. Two hours and one strong Baileys and coffee later, I made my way back out to the city. I stopped at a small pub for dinner, a huge bowl of Irish stew, which was delicious.

Friday morning I was up before the sun and was off on a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. On our drive up, we stopped in Limerick to see the famous treaty stone, St. Johns Castle, and the river Shannon. We then made our way through the Burren, and made a quick stop in Galway Bay for pictures. By this time, it was about half past noon, and we made a stop in the small town of Doolin for lunch. After lunch, it was time for the main attraction, the Cliffs of Moher.

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher. The pictures I had seen always looked so amazing, and when I thought of Ireland, I thought of the Cliffs of Moher. Being there in person to see it was incredible. The sight is absolutely breathtaking. If I could live there, I would in a heartbeat simply to see that view everyday. I could have stayed there for hours just looking out at the cliffs and the ocean, but unfortunately we had only an hour and a half before we had to be back on the road to Dublin.

We made one last stop on the way back to the city in Bunratty to see the Bunratty Castle and stop by the pub next store where two of the fellows I had met on the trip and I had a quick nip of Jameson before we were back on the bus for a scenic journey back to Dublin.

Saturday I slept in a bit, and spent my remaining time in Ireland walking through the city center once more before I had to catch my flight back to London. Hopefully someday I will make it back to Ireland, and have more time to travel the country and sight see. It was beautiful, and certainly a trip I will never forget.

Update

-Vikings fail.

-Paper finally done and turned in!

-Dublin tomorrow!!!

-Superbowl on Sunday! We better get to see the commercials....

-Until then....

And the break goes on...

We are still not in school! Haha, amazing. We don't even start again until February 8th!  So just what have I been doing with all this free time you may ask? Well, between catching up on sleep, working on my paper that probably shoulda coulda been done awhile ago, going for walks in the park, and out to tea and the pubs with friends, I've been spending my break doing what breaks are for: relaxing! Oh yeah, and watching the Vikings kick some ass :) Off to Dublin on the 3rd!! See you then!!
(above- Patisserie Valerie, below- Le Pain Quotidien) 

Edinburgh

Lauren and I finally made it out of England and for our first real trip we decided to head up north to Edinburgh, Scotland! It was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the cheapest way to get there and back was by bus, which should only take about 9 hours, but due to a bit of snow and a jack-knifed lorry (truck), the ride up took more like 13 hours. I really hate buses...However once we got in and settled, the trip was worth it. We walked around the town, toured the castle, and even hiked up a mountain. Well, not really a mountain, but it was a very large hill. As soon as we began walking around on our first day there, there was no mistaking we were in Scotland. The sound of bagpipes in the air, kilts in the shop windows, and haggis in the pubs, yeah... we were in Scotland alright. So that huge hill I was telling you about? Well here is the view from the top. Lauren made it about 2/3 of the way up and decided she was done. I figured we were too close to turn back, and after climbing up rock and ice, I finally made it to the top only to nearly be blown off by the wind. Overall, the hike was exhausting and at times terrifying, but I think it was worth it.
Scotland over all was amazing, and I can't wait to go back with my family when they come to visit. Next week or so we'll be off to Ireland, so more to come soon!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas has come and gone and it is a New Years already! Since my last post...

Lauren and I parted ways for about a week while she spent Christmas with Richard and his family while I went to celebrate up in Bicester with the family friends we had Thanksgiving with. It was a great week, so nice to be in a house with a family and real food (real American food even!) for a bit. We even got a bit of snow, though it was not enough for a white Christmas.

New Years turned out to be a great time as well; Lauren and the boyfriend went out to Greenwich, while I stayed back in London with some friends from ISH. We started the night at The Albany (pub) and spent the countdown there, then took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. After about a half hour wandering around for a good club or bar to go to, we ended up at Freedom (club) in SoHo. So much fun!

Now that it is officially 2010, I should make some sort of New Years resolution. This year, I resolve to see as much of the world as I can, meet as many people as I can, and I suppose I should probably figure out this whole grad school thing... At least most of it will be fun!

1/2 Way There...

Somehow, our first semester has come to an end already. Seems like just yesterday we were getting off the plane and trying to find our dorm on little to no sleep. Now, Christmas is in just a few days and classes for this semester are already over! I still have 2 papers to write but still...
The study abroad program here at London Met took all the abroad students out for pizza this past Monday and then for a ride on the London Eye as a farewell to the semester students. Lauren and I are hoping we can get on this again at the end of the year :)We also have been getting some snow here! Apparently that doesn't happen very often, at least not before Christmas so I think we've gotten lucky. It hasn't been cold enough to accumulate at all, but it makes it feel like winter and Christmas at least. This break has tons of potential, and I can't wait to see where it takes us!

Bath & Stonehenge

I decided to take a weekend off of writing papers and head out to see Bath. My friend and co-worker Alyssa was actually going to be back in Bath this weekend to graduate, but unfortunately we miss each other by just hours, just like when we got into England but I set off to explore the city anyway.

Bath is absolutely beautiful! I went to see the the Roman Baths, which were amazing. No spa treatments available (which is ok 'cause the water looked a bit gross) but it was cool to see. At the end of the tour you are able to 'taste' the water from the thermal spring. Weird, but ok if that's the tradition I figure I'd try it. Tasted like warm, stale water. Go figure. My last full day there I took a few hours to go and see Stonehenge. Litterally in the middle of nowhere, and then huge rocks! It was fantastic to see, such a historic and famous landmark. In real life too, not just in a picture!
Aside from the hostel I stayed in, which was nice but next time I think I'll cough up a few extra pounds to not stay in a 10 person mixed room, the trip was wonderful. Hopefully someday I'll make it back.