(I have tried to write this post several times in the past two weeks, and since there was SO much happening in the past four weeks while I did not blog, I will try to keep it as short and sweet as possible while still writing about everything. So bear with me!)
HAPPY BELATED ST. PADDY'S DAY to you all! Hope it was spectacular. I was reminded SEVERAL times that weekend that it is indeed paddy and not patty. Could I tell you why that is the case? Nope. It just is, don't question it ;). Okay anyway, I've had such an incredible past few weeks. I did survive my exams and was able to go to some amazing places. Since it's been so long, I have A LOT to update you on. First, my birthday! Seems like it was so long ago, but it's only been a couple of weeks! As I mentioned, one of my best friends from high school, Emily was here visiting from Madrid. I was so happy she came, we had such a blast!
She arrived on Friday, and so we basically ventured downtown with no real plans. We decided on the National Museum of Ireland. It's basically a bunch of animals that had been taxidermied. It was actually really cool, and we had a really fun time! I even found a Golden Eagle, how perfect! Afterwards, we went out to a few pubs (naturally) and came back because we were getting up early the next morning to go to POWERSCOURT with my friend Dani. Yes, that's right, I finally made it to Powerscourt. Third times a charm. Wow wow wow I am so glad I made it there, it is so gorgeous! We went on an absolutely perfect sunny day. My favorite part was the Japanese Gardens, so peaceful and beautiful. I swear I would live there if I could. But, it was on to more birthday festivities!
We took the bus back and struck up conversation with the sweetest woman, who recommended a pub for us to check out called The Merchant's Arch. I sad to say I didn't catch her name, but she was so lovely and was just one of the many amazing encounters I have had with the people here. There truly is no one like the Irish. When we arrived downtown, we took Emily for a walk around the always beautiful St. Stephen's Green and headed to dinner and drinks downtown! Had such an amazing birthday with these two lovely ladies! Thanks so much for making it great!
Sunday, Em and I were up BRIGHT and EARLY for our bus to Galway. Our cab came at 6:45 am so we were sure to make it to our 7:30 bus. We basically passed out on the bus and were greeted at the bus station by Peyton, a fellow DSHA grad and rugby player with Em. She could not have been sweeter, and let us crash on her couches for the night. We had such a great time exploring Galway, a place that is VERY near and dear to my sister Colleen's heart. She even made me walk to her old door to her apartment and take a picture in front of it for her viewing pleasure. Galway was such a lovely place!
Monday morning, Emily and I headed to the CLIFFS OF MOHER! Our tour guides were so nice and awesome! They took plenty of stops along the way for us to get out and explore some amazing views. I really appreciated that! The cliffs were absolutely incredibly, and I was once again surrounded by complete natural beauty. The only scary part was Emily wiping out about 4 feet from the edge of the cliff. She laughed it off, but those of us who saw it were pretty terrified for her. Pretty sure your good friend coming to visit you in Ireland and then dying by falling off the cliffs of moher would not be ideal. I would be the worst hostess ever. We had SUCH perfect weather too. The guides kept telling us how lucky we were to come on a day with such gorgeous weather. I remember coming to the cliffs with my family in 2005. At the time I was pretty convinced that the wind would indeed blow all of us off the edge. But I'm here to this day, so clearly no harm done. Emily headed out on Tuesday, and it was back to the reality of school for all of two days until SPRING BREAK.
Our first stop was AMSTERDAM which was completely amazing and perfect. I am honestly obsessed and know that I need to go back there at some point in my life. It was such a great place full of life. I was fortunate enough to go with my friend Brittany, her three roommates (Mechi, Ceci, Becky) and their friend Vero. We did a walking tour, had a canal tour, visited the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank House, Vondal Park, Dam Square, Zaanse Shans (a nearby city with gorgeous windmills), and so much more than I could have ever imagined. The weather was, for the most part, absolutely perfect. Honestly I could have sat by the side of the canal forever. It was such a perfect three days, I loved each minute.
Next stop on our trip was Belgium. We stayed in probably the nicest hostel to ever exist. It was perfect because we rented a 6 person room. So we had the room entirely to ourselves and it honestly felt like a hotel. The building had its own kitchen, sitting area, bar, and super helpful front desk. We travelled to Brugge, which was absolutely adorable. We walked all around the city, had a canal tour, and had a lovely time. We woke up the next day to spend it in Brussels. We did another walking tour, and spent time exploring the city until it was time for us to head back to Dublin for two nights before I was MADRID bound!
Couldn't believe it was only two weeks earlier that I had last seen Emily! As always, it was so nice to see her and be in Spain. I was so lucky to be able to stay with Em and her host family. They live on the top floor of a lovely apartment complex. The weather was absolutely perfect, a nice change from the typically rainy Dublin. The first night we went out to a tapas bar with two of Emily's roommates and I tried my first Spanish sangria. It was so much fun! The next day we walked around the Puerta del Sol and all around the city. We saw an Egyptian tomb that was transported from Egypt to Madrid. It was very cool. The following day we walked to Retiro Park, had a nice little picnic and rented a row boat on the pond. It was so perfect. Parks are my favorite places in the work. That night, we met up with my friend Kate, her roommate, and her friend at a restaurant. So nice to see them again! Also funny story: it was two nights before St. Patrick's day, and as I was ordering I was noticing these awesome hats all around the restaurant that said St. Patrick's Day 2014. I told the cashier that I loved the hats. He didn't really respond so I felt kind of awkward. He disappeared as I was counting up my money to pay, and he returned with one of the hats. He made my day! Small acts of kindness can make a big difference. The next morning, Em and I headed to a market in the city. It was a lot of fun, and I am now determined to find something similar in Dublin. Here's hoping. Eventually it was time to head to the airport.
Landing in Dublin felt like coming home. Brittany said it best when we arrived home from Belgium, she said that it's so awesome that we can finally consider Dublin a place to come home to. And she's so right, I am truly obsessed with this city. Saying goodbye will be so incredibly difficult, but I know it's a place I will return to someday. Plus I was thrilled to be back for St. PADDY'S DAY! It was everything you could imagine it to be and more. The parade was absolutely HUGE. I've never seen the city so packed. Later that night, my friend Sam and I walked around Grafton street, rode a ferris wheel (yay!) and had a drink in a cute little restaurant called Bewley's. Eventually, it was time to head back because Ellie and I were POLAND AND PRAGUE bound the next day.
They were absolutely amazing. Our first stop was Warsaw. The woman running the front desk at our hostel could not have been nicer and recommended us some great places to try out on our first and only night in Warsaw. We headed out and met some awesome people. At our first stop, we met the sweetest old man who couldn't speak much English, but had the bartender translate for him. He kept calling us pretty girls, and came over to clink glasses with us. It was so sweet. At our next stop, we met three very nice guys. We just talked for hours until it was time to head back to our hostel. The next day we did a walking tour of Warsaw and the Uprising Museum.
That night, we took an overnight bus to Krakow. It actually went better than I thought it would, seeing as though I rarely sleep on moving vehicles. But I was able to fall asleep, and we got to Krakow early in the morning. We made it to our hostel, and the front desk man was very nice and allowed us to check in early so we could get some sleep. We woke up later well-rested and ready to explore! We did a walking tour of Krakow and Schindler's Factory. Both were super cool. We met yet another really nice guy from France. His name was Jeff, and he was travelling around Europe. We ended up grabbing dinner with him that night too. Just another example of kind people we met in Poland. That night, we met a girl in our Hostel from Germany who was studying abroad in another area of Poland. We all went out and had a really nice time. I can't say enough about the people we've met. Definitely one of the top perks of studying abroad!
The next morning we woke up and headed to Auschwitz. There is not really much that I think I could write about our visit. When you think about the tragedies that occurred in the concentration camps, you obviously feel sad, pain, anger, etc. But actually visiting the camp itself is unlike anything you could adequately describe. It is definitely something that I am thankful that we did, yet is haunting. Thinking about it sends chills down my spine. If you ever get a chance to visit, I would recommend it, but I would definitely come prepared. That's all I can say about that, moving on.
Our visit to the camp ended around 3pm and our original plan was to stay in the town until our train ride at 11:45pm. However, we learned the day before that there really was nothing else to do in the town besides visit the camps. So we decided to take a bus back to Krakow for a few hours, pick up our things at the hostel, and return to the train station in Auschwitz later that night. When the train finally arrived, it was less than ideal. There were six of us shoved in a little room. Our legs barely fit and I could not get comfortable for the longest time. Eventually, Ellie and I decided to check the other rooms and see if there were any empty ones. We finally found one, got our stuff, and passed out for a few hours.
When we arrived in Prague, we were exhausted. We eventually made it to our hostel. Though our beds weren't ready yet, we were able to take showers and clean ourselves up before heading into the city.After another walking tour, Ellie and I spent the day with Vit, her friend she met in Ocean City, and his friend Patrik. We walked all over the city, had dinner, and explored more at night. It was such a perfect day with some great people. It is something that I will always cherish. The next morning, Ellie and I headed to find the John Lennon wall before it was time to go to the airport. Prague was so incredibly beautiful and one of my favorites thus far!
It was an incredible couple of weeks, and now I am trying to get back in the swing of things before my final exams. This week has been a little rough adjusting back into school (blahhh) but I am taking it a day at a time. Still looking forward to my school trip to Kerry in a week and then Rome over Easter with Emily and her roommate. Being here still doesn't seem real to me, but I am sure to embrace each day and remind myself how lucky I am to be here in this moment. Okay, phew! Finally made it through. Thanks for reading! I promise there won't be another gap this big again. Can't believe that I go home in less than two months, or the fact that I've been here for over two months. Time has never flown so fast in my LIFE. Okay, well I am off to enjoy my weekend! Hope everyone has a good one! I register for fall classes at Marquette next Tuesday, so cross your fingers that I get all my classes in without any complications! Happy almost April!!! Praying that the weather warms up for you guys one of these days!
Much love!
