Toora Loora Part 2

Because I loved Ireland so much I went back with a friend who hadn't been. It was just as magical. No matter what an Irishmen tells you about their singing habits, they sing: A LOT. 

I got to go on a PaddyWagon tour to the cliffs of Moher. I love, love, loved it. Seriously go on one. It's totally worth it. You see A TON of Ireland with the comfort of Wifi to upload pics to Instagram as you go. I took Megabus to Dublin and of course was exhausted from the late night connections and changes. But luckily the ferry had a really comfy leather bench for us to pass out on. When we got to Dublin, we had about an hour to kill until our pick up time. In case you were wondering not a lot of places are open before 6am. Luckily we found a Starbucks and got to get some caffeine and get freshened up. Then we loaded up on the big green bus with our bus driver John. It was peaceful to just relax and watch the millions of sheep graze as we drove across Ireland. We saw so many places, and my favorite was the baby cliffs. They're a smaller version of the iconic, massive cliffs of Moher. They're so much fun because you can go right up to the edge and feel the ocean spray. After plenty of pictures and grabbing a rock or two we set off for lunch. We ate in an adorable fishing village were they had a gluten, dairy free soup option. Luckily it was also meet free since Lent had started and it was a Friday. 

After lunch it was off to the actual Cliffs of Moher. They're so much bigger than you think. And the climb up to them is breathtaking both literally if you try to go fast and visually. The ocean spray hits you, you hear the waves crashing, see the birds flying and the change of colors in the water, and you want to lay in the long grass forever. After seeing the main event we made our way back across Ireland and saw more beautiful villages and sights. When we got to out hostel we planned to shower, take a quick nap, then head out. It was 8pm. We just showered and passed out. Unfortunately we didn't bring towels or an extra hand to keep the water on while showering, but we survived. 

The next morning we headed out under my guidance to O'Connell St to start off our adventures. We saw the castle, played in the gardens, took a gazillion pictures, got lunch, explored Trinity College, saw all the shopping and bought  some stuff. After a while of wandering all over Dublin we found a place to treat ourselves to a nice and much deserved actual meal. We sat and talked and enjoyed not toting a massive backpack around. Then we walked along River Liffey (also known as River Sniffey at some points) to the bus stop. We got there early so we ran into the pub across the road and tried some Irish Whisky and then got on the bus. When we got on the ferry boat I supplied the supplies for a message in a bottle that my friend would throw into the ocean. This super creepy, extremely drunk guy started talking to us. After we ran away he chased after us and eventually we sought refuge in the women's restroom. Then we hurried onto  the bus with the whole one other person that was on it besides the driver. We headed back to London with our adrenaline running. Eventually we got some sleep. Then we got to our train a few minutes before boarding, got to Grantham, caught the taxi, got back in time to shower before lunch, ate then crashed. 

Overall although exhausted for most of the trip it was magical and magnificent. I cannot wait to go back at some point. I love the city and countryside. I especially love the traditional Irish folk songs that play as I dream of the sheep in the log green grass and the bustling people around the lively pub with live music. Until I return Ireland, I shall return lassie I shall. 

Bise Bise

What I Saw in Scotland & Belgium

Parc de Cinquatenaire - Brussels, Belgium

Grand Place - Brussels, Belgium

Night View of Edinburgh 

Princes Gardens - Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Field of Lights - Edinburgh

Spontaneity at it's Finest: BELGIUM

I made a spur of the moment decision last Monday to do a solo trip to somewhere by bus. There's an awesome bus service called Megabus that will take you all over Europe at a really, really cheap price. So I decided to go to Brussels, Belgium.

Thursday night I left for London. I then stayed up all night in London - if you ever try this, rethink your life and don't do it. But if you do ask me for tips because I know where you can go that you can be safe and warm and have a free bathroom. Which is really important to wash up in. Also, when the police leave in a haste to go to a potential stabbing nearby, make the correct decision as I did to stay in the Starbucks and not leave until daylight.

It was a fantastic thing and I'm so glad I did it but as an extrovert in a country that's first language wasn't English I was struggling. I wanted to be able to freak out at people. I want to live in Brussels. It has everything - international politics, they speak French, it's a gorgeous city, and there's a ton of art. I loved it - except for my struggle to find Gluten free food. I didn't really think that part through, but I found this awesome cafe Exki. They had the best green tea and they also had gluten and dairy free food options. I just ate anything that was gluten and dairy free that I could find because it was so hard to come by.

The first day I was there  I got extremely lost because again, I didn't have a map. Well I never got a map but I got a metro map and that's kind of the same thing right? I knew about where my hotel was and I knew about where I was based on the metro map so I just wandered. Seeing as I was soaked, exhausted, and starving; common traveling states in Europe for me apparently, I just stayed in my hotel to get dry and sleep. I found a grocery store that had Gluten and dairy free food so I was happy.

The next morning I started out by exploring Parc de Cinquantenaire. It is my favorite place so far. I loved it. I would have gone in but I wanted to see more of the city. The next stop was the Royal Palaces and their gardens. Which were gorgeous. Then I went to the Grand Place area and the Grass Market areas as well. Eventually I had seen everything I wanted to so I went into a museum. It was only 2 euro to get in and I got to see a lot of art. I would have to stay up until 12:30 to catch my bus so it was a long day. I found a place that was open 24 hours and was able to sneak in and just hang out. It was the bar of a hotel and I just sat there and let the time pass by reading a book and using their Wifi. I was able to then go meet my bus.

The bus was not as restful as I thought it would be. We left late and at about 3am were woken up to go through border control. We weren't even back in the UK we were still in France. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. My passport only got stamped for France. It was so weird. Then we got on a ferry. I HATE FERRIES. It was the closest I had ever been to motion sickness. I hated it. I could feel the water rocking the boat - it was torture. Then I slept for about another hour on the bus. So in total only like an hour and a half. Then when I arrived in London I ventured towards the train station. I got breakfast and waited for my train. I should have booked an earlier train. I hopped onto an earlier train and got back in time for lunch. Then I showered and put off sleep until that night. I slept like a log and am still exhausted.

Time to go work on a group project after a field trip today. Sometimes I forget that homework is part of this semester.


Bise Bise

A Wee Trip to Scotland.. A Wee Late of a Post

So I went to Scotland the weekend of February 21st through the 23rd, so I may be a bit behind on this whole blogging as I go. However, to be fair, this semester is starting to fly by. Every time I wake up I feel like a week has flown by and really it has. It's crazy. We travel, get back into the school week, then we travel again, and then we get back to school, then we travel. It's a crazy whirlwind. I can't believe it.

When I went to Scotland, I traveled by train by myself from Grantham to Edinburgh. Then because I like going to cities without a map, I got extremely lost and turned around. I was on the complete opposite side of town from my hostel. Eventually I found my hostel and had to wait about an hour for the school trip to get to check-in. I was going to switch rooms with someone traveling in the school group. It all worked out so that I only had to pay for one night in the hostel and got to stay there two nights. As a bonus it was in a room with people from Harlaxton that I didn't know so that I got meet people but not stay with weird men in wrestling singlets.... (There were like 60 of them in pink singlets in the hostel WEIRD) Eventually I went off to get dinner at Pizza Express because I knew I could eat there. Then I was able to get Wifi and find friends to travel around with. We then started exploring a little bit to find places and see Edinburgh. The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast and then went to explore for a while. We attempted to find a place I could eat after going to the National Gallery. That didn't go so well. For some unknown reason the only places that served Gluten Free food were Italian restaurants. I am starting to like Italian food more and more because they tell you what you can eat. It's AWESOME. So after we went shopping on Princes St and the surrounding areas, we headed back to the hostel to get Wifi, recharge, and find a place for dinner. We found a pub near this light installation piece I wanted to see that had Gluten Free food. After dinner we went to the square where the light installation was. It was so amazing. The most peaceful serene spot I have ever been at around 9 o'clock at night on a Saturday. It was gorgeous. I loved the simplicity of it, yet the huge impact it made on the city.

The next day I got to explore Edinburgh all by myself. Since I had already seen the Royal Mile, the Castle, the museums, gone shopping, walked around A BUNCH, I had to pick between climbing a mountain and just enjoying the warmth of local cafes as it rained. So I chose to enjoy the cafes. I sketched, drank tea, people watched, and when I got bored, I relocated to a different area of town. It was fun. Then I caught my train at 7pm. I was tired and hungry when I go to Grantham around 11pm and was ready to just get to the manor. Well lucky me there were no cabs and I had no spare pence. Luckily I scrounged some money to call a taxi - it would be a 40 minute wait. I decided to give it a few more minutes then I would walk the hour and half back to the manor. Thankfully, a cab pulled up as I made up my mind. I hopped in and was ready to just fall into bed. I then passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow and woke up to face the week.

This whole weekend to see a country or area is really hard and exhausting, but it's totally worth it. Now to post about this past weekend....


Bise Bise

My Irish Eyes Viewing of Dublin

The Bram Stoker - Our Adorable Hotel

Outside of Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle as the storms roll in

The Special Olympics fountain

What can I say? I'm in the princess closet of the Disney store!

The spire in the middle of the shops

St. Patrick's Cathedral! 

Toora Loora Toora Loo

This past weekend I ventured to Ireland and had an AMAZING time. Just as I expected I would. The night we got there was super chill and we just went to the local grocery store and got dinner. OK, real serious for a second, why is Europe so full of Gluten Free food and so well educated? I am able to eat and find things with little to no trouble here. Seriously everywhere I go they know and understand. It's fantastic. We just hung Thursday night enjoying some time to relax and just breathe. The next morning we set off on 'a bit of a hike' towards the train station. I didn't expect the walk to take 20 minutes but we were walking along the coast and it was nice and sunny out so I didn't mind too much. Then we took the Dart into Dublin, which is the commuter train for the suburbs. Then we explored. I just picked a spot and got off leading my friends and I where ever our feet took us. The first major place we explored was the Temple Bar district and it was super cool. During the day there are artsy things and cute shops. Then we got lunch at the place called KC Peaches and it was cheap and delicious. After feeding our extremely hungry stomachs we went to explore Dublin Castle. It is gorgeous. Not only is the Norman castle huge but it also has some culture that comes from modern times. Attached to the old stone is bright buildings that make any heart smile. There are some beautiful gardens you can play in and explore. From the gardens I heard an Irish man singing some old Irish songs which made my Irish eyes smile. :) Off the gardens is the Chester Beatty Library. It's cool and has some really old books. Finally we decided to try to find a place to shop. It only took a few minutes to find a market area and then we just kept wandering finding all of these adorable stores. Including the Disney store. As the majority of us would be going to Disneyland Paris in a little under two months we were so happy to be in there. Then we wandered our way back towards the train to get back to our hotel. As we were headed back it started raining really hard and the wind got super intense. It was a struggle to walk into the wind towards our hotel.

Our hotel was so cute and amazing. The staff was super friendly and helpful with anything we needed. The Bram Stoker is seriously my favorite hotel ever. It's not the Plaza but they are super duper helpful. We got bored and they were totally willing to help us find things to do that wouldn't involve enduring the insane winds again. We slept in a little bit Saturday morning to catch up on what little sleep we get all year long but still started out at a good time. We went back into Dublin and explored north of the River Liffey and saw the Spire (I don't really know what to tell you about that other than it's a really tall metal pointy thing in the middle of a road) and shopped. We found a shoppers heaven in that area and had so much fun just trying on outfit after outfit. Then we went to find my must see - St. Patrick's Cathedral. The rain had come back to life and was making the 12 ish minute walk cold and wet. However, the church was so pretty, well the outside was - I didn't want to force my friends to pay to go in with me. 

Saturday was one of my friends that I was travelling with birthday. So we went to go see the Dublin night life. Unfortunately some illness decided that Saturday was the night to make me sick but I fought it and decided it wouldn't me back the whole night from fun. We went to this place called The Church which is an old church that was converted into a bar and club. Arthur Guinness was baptized or married there or something. I didn't pay too much attention to that - the place was gorgeous. Then we headed back over the the Temple Bar area to go dancing. We had a blast and got back to our hotel around 2:30 and were passed out by 3am. That was probably too late seeing as we have an early flight; however, as one of our professors said we can sleep when we get back to America. While checking out the staff told us they would genuinely miss us and to come back soon. I am definitely considering it if I have money. 

Finally we made it back to the manor, cold, tired, hungry, and slightly rained on. I napped for hours and then had dinner and was back in bed. The Harlaxton Plague has been going around but I think my illness is a little worse than what everyone else has had but I am drinking a LOT of tea and sleeping a lot so hopefully I'm well before Thursday when I take off for the south of France!!!! 

Time to study for my first British studies exam and decipher how British identity has changed... It sounds like fun right??

Bise Bise

Whirlwind Adventure

This past week has flown by, I'm still in shock that it all happened so fast. Yesterday night I was in London seeing a show and now I'm in a different country. 

Yesterday I was taken to London to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The building itself was a museum and everything in it was amazing. Then we journeyed across London to Camden to go see Fuerzabruta. Seriously, if you can see it GO. It was the most incredible feeling ever. The show made me feel connected to not only everyone around me but also to the performers and the performance. I'm so glad I took theatre over here to enjoy all the shows. Once we made it back the crazy whirlwind adventure began. 

This morning I woke up and went to class and it felt like any other Tuesday or Thursday. It wasn't just a normal day. I am currently in Dublin, Ireland. I am seriously on cloud nine right now. I am in Ireland. My ancestors once left this country and journeyed to America and because of that I am here - enjoying the country they left behind. I have only seen the airport and the places we drove through in the dark but I'm already in loci with another country. 

Time for bed as I sing myself an Irish lullaby and drift off into slumber before I explore Dublin and the history of my family. Toora loora.......

Bise Bise 

From Ireland