Here Comes Goodbye...

I can't believe it is finally coming to an end =( This is my last picture of Ireland from my plane home

Today I'm flying home... What I weird feeling. It hasn't even really fully hit me yet. The time I spent in Dublin is irreplaceable. It's a time I will look back on for the rest of my life. A time of no regrets. I'm more sad then I thought I would be at the end. I think because such an exciting time in my life is over it's okay to be sad. But that doesn't mean more excitement isn't to come. I want to travel more...experiencing the world is one of the greatest things you can do. If you were to ask me if I feel any different now then I did at the start of the year I'd probably say I feel more grown up. Even though it's not completely obvious its the small changes like that, that will shape you into the person you become. So goodbye Ireland. Goodbye studying abroad. I know I will be back, I will miss the freedom too much. I can only be thankful everyday for this opportunity I've had and hope young adults my age will take the same route.

PRAHA

This was the last stop on on our Christmas filled weekend!!

Prague which is situated about 5hrs north east from Munich was another adventure on our three day trip. We went from Munich to Prague by bus in order or us to attend another Christmas market. Each one went to was unique to the country and held many different trinkets and so many delicious foods! One thing i specifically enjoyed was the Tripoli which was some sort of hallowed out dough with sugar coating on it. They made it right there and I wish I could bring them back to the US with me. Although we were all on a pretty tight budget we were still able to get some Christmas gifts for our family and friends. They also have an astrological clock in Prague in the old town square. It was one of the coolest things because it not only told the time but the astrological signs as well. We ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant that had heaters and blankets and me and Lindsay both order coke which cost us roughly five euro (ridiculous). The most expense coke I have ever gotten. Other then that everything else in Prague was cheaper then most other countries. The currency was also different - they had crowns. The architecture in Prague was also the most beautiful I had seen thus far on my travels. Sunday the day we were leaving we made a quick detour to Prague Castle which showed stunning views of the city once you reached the top. It is also the biggest castle in Europe. We didn't have enough time to go in though... I guess next time. The cab ride to the Prague airport was more then expected so we were cleared out of our money by the time we arrived back in Dublin. Although we crunched in two cities within one weekend it was neat to be able to experience two different cultures that are only 5hrs apart. Christmas markets were a success! ( I made the font red for festivity)

(The best pastry EVER next to macaroons haha the authentic Czech Tripoli)

(The four of us! Traveling companions at the top of Prague Castle)

(Old Town Square filled with Christmas spirit!)

Guten Tag from Germany

** This past weekend was the last weekend to travel and me and my four friends decided to make a compact trip to Germany and Prague two really amazing travel destinations!

We flew into Munich Friday morning. I had been here once before in the airport. This time I was staying for one night. I also took two years of German in high school so I was prepared Haha but I'm sad to say I did not retain much. We ventured into the city right away because the Christmas markets they have there which are world renowned. It was on our Friday off but the city center was crowded for Christmas time. They types of buildings that lined Munich's skyline were like nothing I had ever seen before. I would almost classify them as Dutch! They had mulled cider at almost every stall it was very festive. For dinner we ventured to a authentic German restaurant! I got spatzil it was so good! The hostel we stayed at was clean and convenient but the crowds were loud at night and we needed to wake up early the next day for our bus! Because my last names German I also felt right at home aside from the fact I didn't speak the language. Also Side note: the people here weren't very litter conscious in my opinion because they would let stuff fall on the ground and not pick it up. It's just very interesting how cultures vary. I will have to make it back to Germany one day and stay for a longer time. I would really love to drive on the autobahn!

(Allison, Lindsay, and I by the Christmas tree outside the market)

(The very popular Christkindlmarket)

( The Munich City Hall, Unique Architecture)

Adventures in Iceland!!!

Spending four nights in Reykjavik Iceland was awesome! We got to see so much and do so much in such a short time. First of all if you ever need a layover going to Europe possibly pick Iceland flight? Iceland Air and Iceland Express have some pretty good deals. The airport is beautiful and when you land you kind of feel like your on another planet it's so rocky... Kind of reminds me a little bit of AZ. However they are the lava fields. The lava is hardened of course. The city of Reykjavik is so organized with transportation to and from then airport... Plus the city transportation and tours are very efficient.

Our hostel was called KEX which means biscuit in Icelandic. It's a pretty hard language to understand... It reminds me of a cross between Russian and German. We stayed in a basic room with communal bathrooms but everything was clean and nice. It was a good pick. Also to give you an example of how friendly the Icelandic

people are when we arrived at the bus terminal at 2:30am to walk to our hostel some local girl who overheard us and was going the same way offered to help us. You may think Iceland is cold but it was actually not that bad and they say they even have mild winters because of the gulf stream. You could actually see the stars clearly from the city which is a first in any city I've been too. Reykjavik is actually the northern most capital in the world.

Using the Icelandic currency was an experience.... 160 kroner to every 1 euro. So the first morning I spent 700 kroner on breakfast it was a little hard to wrap your mind around. But

after 4 days we got use to it. They had a main shopping and restaurant street at was very cute. It was the first hilly city I've been too since Burlington probably. Only 320,000 people live on Iceland and 200,000 of those people live by Reykjavik.

In brief tours we went on on and things we did: walked around the city saw the tallest building in Iceland which was a beautiful church. Went on a gold. Circle tour which highlighted guards, craters,waterfalls, and the place where the American tectonic plate and Europe plate are splitting apart. It's called parliament field. We saw glaciers from a distance. We went to the blue lagoon which I highly highly recommend. The water was blue almost like Cotton candy blue. It was surreal and rocks were all around us. There were cooler and hotter parts of the lagoon.. But I could stay in there for hours it was extremely relaxing and all natural. They also have a face mask that they let you use and let me tell you my face has not been this cleared up in awhile. Then on our last night we got to see the northern lights which was the cherry on top of the trip. Our first 2 nights were rained out but finally third times a charm.

You will just have yo go see them yourself that's all I have to say... It was breathtaking and they even danced for us which just means while they were the sky they moved around. Our tour guide was really funny too! So the last thing I have to say is go to Iceland you won't regret it.

THE FAMOUS BLUE LAGOON

<--Lindsay and I at the Blue Lagoon

(Me at the continental divide)

A little bit of London in my life

* It literally was a little bit of London considering we were only there for 24hrs.

So this weekend is my longest trip yet. My three friends and I decided to go to Iceland! I know it sounds really strange to you all but there is more to do then you think... If you go to this website you will see!

But what does Iceland have to do London you may ask? We decided to have a 24hr layover in London Gatwick before flying to Iceland. Mostly because it was cheaper... We thought we may be able to brave staying Thursday night in the airport but we failed miserably. After being in the airport for less then 3hrs we decided to get a cheap hotel near by. It only was about £15 each for the night between the four of us. Honestly though we thought it might be smarter if we were well rested to see the city the next day since we only had a limited time.

The Gatwick area actually turned out quite nice and the hotel was really cute it was like a little b&b and the owner was very helpful. Also the airport was one of the most officiant airports I've been too in a long time. We finally made into the city of London Friday morning after taking the tube in (aka their version of the Metro). It was a nice day out which was a plus. We ate at a place called Giraffe whose slogan was "Love, Eat, Live". I definitely recommend it, it was so funky and the food was really good too! I don't know why some people say England doesn't have good food! We then made our way to most of the tourist destinations... Big Ben, Westminster Abby, and the London Eye. It was pretty crowded. London is also actually quite big so if you plan to tour around the city give yourself more then a day. Me and my friend Lindsay tried to walk to the famous London Bridge but we then realized by the time we got there we would have to rush back because its easily an hour walk. Lastly on our short time in London we saw Buckingham Palace... No Queen sightings though or William & Kate haha. It was very pretty lit up at night. I would definitely come back here in a heart beat and hopefully will in the new future. London definitely deserves more then 24hrs time!

(walking towards Big Ben)

(Me and Lindsay in front of Buckingham Palace)

Ancestral Adventure

This weekend me and my three friends venture

d to Leitrim County Ireland. To give you some geographical background information – Leitrim is located in the North West portion of Ireland close to west coast actually. It was a

very last minute trip, which sometimes are the best kind because they are not planned. Why Leitrim you may ask, well before coming to Ireland my Aunt Joan told me this is where my grandmas past relatives came from. I was very interested in seeing the area…so we went! It took us about 2hrs to arrive by train. I was very impressed with the Irish rail system, the train was very clean, on time, and even had bathrooms. We arrived in Carrick-On-Shannon a town probably as big a Manchester, VT this was the closest stop to our final destination. The town was situated on a waterway with lots of boats and to my surprise some really cute shops and restaurants. We wandered in and out of places just exploring for the day. I think my favorite place we went was a rare bookstore – they had all old postcards and maps from t

he area and it was neat to see what it was like back all those years ago. We then ate at sandwich shop called Crumbs, everyone was very friendly inside and the portions were huge definitely a good choice. Even though it was rainy we still got to explore the rest of the town before getting our cab to the hotel which was about 20mins away in Drumshanbo. On our way we got to drive through Leitrim Village and I wondered if that was where my ancestors were exactly from...

I booked one night for the four of us at the Ramada which was probably the nicest place around. It was nice to live in luxury for a short time. The staff was super helpful – she even knew it was me when I called to ask a question. We had a great dinner at the hotel as well as our included breakfast in the morning. We then wandered

around the town of Drumshanbo which was much smaller then Carrick-On-Shannon. The rain persisted but we made our way to the library, the pharmacy, and then to a nice hole in the wall pub where we got desserts and soup. We then made our way back for our horseback riding trek. It actually even cleared up for us. The women running the barn Karen was extremely accommodating and nice. She gave the four of us some tips for riding and then brought outside on a trail ride. She even offered to take pictures for us. Getting to see the country side was beautiful. I rode a horse named Euge he was very stubborn but overall we al

l had a lot of fun. Karen even gave us all a 5euro discount. I would definitely come back. We then headed home making our way back to Carrick-On-Shannon and going to a nice Chinese restaurant which was a recommendation from the cab driver. It was very good Chinese despite not having lo mien =(I got chow mien though. We made it back to Dublin last night and I would say it was a very successful Irish adventure (despite not finding any of my relative’s haha) Leitrim County was the real Ireland!

Irish short films!

In my Irish Fine Arts class we are learning about all different types of creative art forms especially that are prevalent in ireland and film is one of them.

We watched this short film is class called Deep End Dance my professors husband is actually the cinematographer and I thought it was excellent there is just so much you can take away from this 6 minuet film. Please watch its very interesting! Also another interesting film we looked at was Once - a low budget romantic comedy /musical it took place in Dublin and won an Oscar so check it out too!

Here is the link to Deep End Dance- http://www.rte.ie/danceonthebox/films.html#watch

ENJOY =)

Heading North

This past weekend I went on a school trip to Northern Ireland. What some of you may not know is that Northern Ireland is a separate country from The Republic of Ireland (which is where Dublin is located) Northern Ireland is run by Great Britain. This also means they use pounds as their currency and sadly it has a worse exchange rate for us American students. Our first stop was Belfast which was once a very troubled city with a split of the Catholic and Protestant religions. The city now has much changed. But being Catholic myself it was very interesting to hear about. There was even a wall there separating the two communities that still exists today. The wall was filled with murals, graffiti, and there was even a part where the public could write on (I did of course). Belfast also had a great shopping center called Victoria Square (if anyone is every heading up that way- I recommend it). We also went by the most bombed hotel in Europe: The Europa Hotel.

We then proceeded to spend the night in Ballintoy a small village on the north eastern coast of Northern Ireland. It was beautiful and much different from the west coast we visited only a month earlier. I saw the sunset down on the rocky beach and then later that night in one of the two pubs the town had everyone from our group gathered to see traditional Irish music (which in the end we ended up taking over) the guy who was the paid entertainment encouraged us to get up and sing. It was a wonderful experience and it gave all the locals a good laugh too. The next day we headed back to Dublin but stopped at numerous other Northern Irish land marks including Giant’s Causeway (a cool rock formation on the ocean) a castle and we even went over a rope bridge which was 90ft above the crashing waves! Overall Northern Ireland was neat to see and I’m so glad we got to go. Despite my camera problems (my chip broke- but it got a new one) It was a great weekend!

(me, nick, and lindsay singing I'm a believer in the pub and a cool picture of the sun down by the harbor)

Ciao from Milano, Italy!

It's been a very hectic week between my two trips. Being a jet setter is not as easy as it looks... But getting to see a new city every weekend has been pretty cool, I must admit. This weekend I stayed with my cousin Loredana in Milan and my two roommates came along too. She has the cutest 5mo old son who had a smile that made you melt. The weather was amazing, a balmy 30c which was like 85f! Its the summer time we are use to in the states and it was a nice change. We ate good, having authentic Italian meals twice a day. I don't think I've ever eaten that much in my life...ever! My favorite was Loredana’s homemade Gnocchi but the gelato everyday was a treat too. Also Note to self whenever traveling back to Milan dress very nicely because everyone there seems to be into high fashion. The Dumo is also there which is the 4th largest cathedral in the world. Avoid the men selling bracelets there. There is a practically a Dolce & Gabbana on every corner not that I could afford it but it was just neat to see.

It was also the start of fashion week so there were many models out. I probably bought more the I should have but it was all gifts. My family was wonderful to me here and I hope to repay them one day when they come and visit the US. Although the culture is so different then what I'm use to I still feel some connection to my Italian side here. I definitely plan to return Milan one day hopefully when I have more money haha... It's hard to resist when you are In the fashion capital of the world. Until the next city.. I will blog sooner though don't worry next weekend is my relaxation weekend!

(first picture: me an Loredana's son Pasquale, second picture: too much shopping?, third picture: The Dumo)

Catching up 9-19-11

Sorry I have not blogged sooner a lot has been going on with school and roommates and just life... plus the Internet here is not very reliable.

The past 2 weeks have flew by...which makes me think before I know it will be going home which is sad to think about after a month of living here it's starting to feel more homey! This past weekend me and my two roommates Allison and Lindsay all went to Paris, France! It was a blast and for three under 21 year olds I think we did relatively well in a city that seemed about five times bigger then Dublin. I was able to navigate my way around a city that uses a whole different language. The metro in Paris felt easier to use then NYC to me! But after being in France it makes living in Ireland so much less foreign, which is crazy. The pastries in Paris I would say hands down were the best part. If any one ever goes please get lots of Macaroons!! (Chocolate and Carmel are the best.. they even sell them at the McDonald's there)

(Me, Allison, and Lindsay in front of the Eiffel Tower)

I also was in the western part of Ireland one weekend ago which was the 9th,10th, and 11th of Stept.It was a truly beautiful part of Ireland and what the locals call the real Ireland (which everyone in the states has seen in the movies) The Cliffs of Moher were spectacular which means everyone who is reading this needs to go. Galway was a great college town and was very lively. In my opinion had a lot more local character then Dublin does. We stayed at two hostels which weren't bad at all and very clean. Overall the past two weekends have been a wonderful traveling experience for me. Even though it keeps me constantly busy and getting around can be overwhelming at times I wouldn't trade it for anything. Milan is next weekend! I promise I will try to blog more in between... sorry Heather!! But in the meantime I will send more postcards!

(me at the cliffs - the sun came out just for us)

First Day of Classes

The first day of classes was today... and i actually enjoyed going to both of them. They were for my earth science class but the cool thing about this class is we actually get to go out into Ireland and look at things first hand and see how they relate to earth science. Its something that interests me so it should be a good class. Friday we are taking a trip to Marble Arch Caves in Northern Ireland (which is a separate country) with my class. It should be really neat to see! Pictures will follow. I'm feeling more adjusted now which is great even though this past week has felt like one of the longest of my life I am loving Dublin so far and we are actually starting to plan out all our other European trips so lots more adventures are to come =)

Second Day in Ireland.. I'm still in one piece!

Well its my second day here and lets say its anything short of boring. Today me and my friends decided to take a trip to Ikea (to get some organization stuff for our appt) anyways it was a 5hr journey total but it was a great first full day in Ireland experience. Everyone here is so nice which seems like its a trend in most European communities. Riding the bus was definitely neat they have double decker buses here so I got to sit on the top and see everything from a whole new perspective. We ate a meal at Ikea and i had mashed potatoes to get in the Ireland spirit since yesterday we ate at an american like place called Eddie Rockets ( I do not know if there is any relation to johnny) but we made it back at 9pm and now it is close to 2am here and I'm still not tired I guess time change can do that to ya. I have orientation for the next three days so expect something new on Sunday. Goodnight everyone.

Leaving Home...

I'm leaving NJ today... it still does not feel real yet!! I hope I keep up with this blog while I'm there,and I hope you all enjoy following me through my Irish adventures. I would like to thank all my wonderful family and friends for encouraging me through this exciting time in my life. I know its going to be an amazing experience! Stay tuned for more updates... my plane leaves at 9:50pm tonight and I still have SO much to do! Talk to you all across the pond.