On the streets of Dublin

I love Ireland!! We left Barcelona and arrived at Dublin airport at midnight a few days ago. Stephanie's cousins were there to meet us and it took two cars and a van to transport the seven of us and our luggage to Tallaght to the house.
Being in a house has been amazing! The seven of us posted up, two in a room upstairs and five of us crashing on the couch and two air mattresses in their living room. It's been nice to no longer have dorms to stay in with a bunch of strangers.
The weather here has been great! It's pretty chilly most days, but after the heat and humidity of the last 3 countries, it was a welcome change. It rains off and on, but not as bad as in Cambridge.
The first day we were all so knackered that we slept til 1pm and then headed into Dublin to walk around a bit and go to dinner (Stephanie's cousin Erin took us to Captain America's...irony, no?). The next morning we got up early and headed into Dublin to explore Grafton Street and Temple Bar, lots of cool little shoppes and pubs and cafes. The next day we went on a tour to Maldehyde to see Maldehyde Castle, which was smaller than the average castle but still cool, and then down to Howth, this cool little fishing village. They had seals in the marina! Then yesterday we headed out to an all day tour to Glendalough, the Wicklow Mountains, and Kilkenny. Glendalough was beautiful; the scenery was amazing. Sarah Mac, Kristen, Alex, and I took a little hike along the lake and got some really pretty photos of the scenery. Then we drove through Wicklow (saw where Braveheart and PS I Love You was filmed) and ended in Kilkenny. It was Heritage Week there, so lots of stands were set up selling goods, candies, pies, etc. We explored Kilkenny Castle, which was gorgeous, and then walked around the town a bit.
Then last night we headed over to Johnnie Fox's, which is a traditional Irish pub, and it's the "highest" pub in Ireland. The view of Dublin from the top was absolutely amazing, and we had a great time singing along with the musicians in the pub (EVERY pub has live music 24/7) and drinking Bailey's. Tonight we're doing a big pub crawl in Temple Bar in Dublin which should be fun.
Ireland has been really great! The people are all very friendly, and the scenery is gorgeous. Dublin itself is a very chill city. It's not intensely crowded or rushed, and it's a short bus ride from where we're staying so we've been in and out every day.
Tomorrow I come home!! I can't wait to see what you guys have been up to and hear the latest.
I hope you've enjoyed my blog and I'm glad you guys were interested enough to keep reading! I will probably be putting up several facebook albums with pictures from each country within the next week so stay posted if you're on FB!
<3

Sunbathing and Shopping...oh yeah and sightseeing too...

Yesterday we dedicated the entire day to the beach. The weather was amazing, and we spent all day sunbathing. Oh and by the way, it's nothing special for women to sunbathe topless here. I had originally thought we had gone to the topless beach (since the beach we go to is right next to the NUDE beach) but actually it's quite normal for women here (of any age unfortunately) to forgo bikinis. Quite a way to get a tan.
After that we headed over to La Rambla once again to try to attain the popular 1 euro meal at TravelBar, but showed up too late so we just ended up grabbing a bite by the Port and seeing the part of La Rambla that we didn't see yesterday. Lots of vendors, artists, caricaturists, etc...it was a fun night.
Today our group split up to see different things, so Sarah Mac, Kristen, and I decided to check out Sagrada Familia, the enormous building designed by Gaudi that has been worked on since the 1800s and which they expect to finish in 2070. It was very cool and very gothic. After that we headed over to Barceloneta and Port Vell and spent the early afternoon walking around and enjoying the sunshine (soaking up as much as possible before cold and rainy Ireland). After some gelato, we hopped back on the metro and rode over to Barri Gotic, the huge area next to La Rambla, which is packed with clothing and accessory stores.
The stores were VERY impressive. Their H&M had 3 floors and was decorated in a Victorian meets Techno style. There was a LOT to see and we spent a good 3 hours shopping, although it was more windowshopping for me than actual buying. And then tonight we FINALLY got over to TravelBar for 1 euro pasta which ended up being pretty delicious.
Tomorrow we have a 10pm flight to Dublin, and we arrive just before midnight due to the time difference. The plan is to explore the Bohemian quarter Passeig de Gracia and then head over to the airport tomorrow night to check in. Next time I blog I will be in Ireland!
One more week of my Eurotrip! It's been quite an adventure!

Barcelona Dream

Which is actually the name of the hostel we are staying in, which is located in Pep Ventura, about a 10 minute walk from the beach and a 20 minute metro ride from the city.
I love Barcelona!
Getting there was quite a trek. We took a bus from Aghia Marina to Aegina City, then a ferry to Piraeus Port, then a bus from there to the athens international airport, then we had a 9 hour layover, 5pm to 2am, until our plane landed. We arrived in Barcelona at 5am because of the 1 hour time difference, then grabbed a train to the metro and a metro to a bus, and a bus to our hostel. Whew!

Anyway, the first day we were so exhausted from the airport and flight that we siesta-ed in front of the hostel until 12 when we could check in, then immediately changed into bathing suits and hit the beach, which is amazing. It's not sand, it's all pebbles, so they don't stick to you, and the water's even clearer than in Aegina. It also wasn't crowded, although it WAS a topless beach, so there were quite a few older women baring all. Not too pleasant. But the beach itself was wonderful, and we are headed back there for a full day tomorrow.
Then today, we headed out around 12 to the famous Barcelonean street La Rambla, which is the famous one filled with living statues. It was awesome! i got a lot of pictures. Then after a couple hours we hopped on the metro and headed over to Lessepes to visit Park Guell. The Park itself is located at the top of this ginormous hill, which is so steep, there's actually about 4 escalators near the top to help you get there.
The park itself was amazing. It was designed by Antonio Gaudi, who is famous for his mosaics, and it was filled with gorgeous artwork, which I will be posting in an upcoming facebook album. We spent a long time sitting in the shade underneath a giant structure held up by columns, listening to a Spanish guitarist who was advertising his cd and walking around and looking at all the vendors who had set up under the columns. It was a gorgeous day, and we might go back to explore more of the park and the area around it.
Then we headed back to La Rambla for dinner and shopping and we reached our hostel around 11;30 at night. Altogether an amazing day.


Soooo....things I have learned as a traveler
1. Nutella is a staple around here. And I eat it every day.
2. Always ALWAYS carry around a little roll of toilet paper. Because somewhere, each week, there will be a toilet without any, and you will use it, and you will look down and notice too late.
3. Cold showers actually aren't that bad.
4. Having a member of our group who is fluent in Spanish has helped us more than I could possibly have imagined. Asking directions, menu items, and transportation information becomes infinitely easier.
5. Service charges suck. Make sure before you sit down in a restaurant that they don't charge extra just to sit down. Unfortunately, most do.
6. The lighter you pack, the easier it will be to lug it up the inevitable millions of stairs you will encounter.

I'm trying not to think about counting down and about the fact that I only have 8 days left in Europe. It will be a very bittersweet ride home, but I have already made so many amazing memories. I am gonna put together quite a picture album when I get back. Miss you all and love you all!

Aegean Adventures

Hi Everyone! I thought I'd post a quick update, because we have free internet at this hostel and that's quite a commodity.
I've found that the best hostels so far have included a free breakfast, free internet, A/C, and towels. We only have one more hostel to stay in, and that's the Barcelona Dream hostel, which looks really nice. We've been very lucky as far as hostels go. The one we were GOING to stay in in Venice was frightening, but through a lot of luck, we managed to procure a room in a different hostel in the same building for 10 euros under what we were going to pay. It was an amazing gift, bc the other one, I'm not exaggerating about, it was truly scary. That's been our biggest adventure so far. I will be glad, I know, to get to Ireland, where we are staying in a townhouse. From this trip I will have stayed in 6 different hostels (!). They're really not so bad, although I definitely prefer the 3 person bedroom ones to the mixed dorms.
Aegina has been nice. I've spent every day on the beach, which is a very small strip of blazing hot sand, but the water is amazing and SO warm. It's very calm water, so you can just sit and chill without having to worry about giant attack waves.
I wish I could post some pictures but we don't have any working usb port here so I will either have to wait for another country, or just show you guys when I get home. I'm planning to put together a big album of mine and stephanie's pictures (which are amazing...she's such a good photographer and her big nikon camera can do anything).
Sooo Aegina. We left Athens backpackers and took the metro to Piraeus Port (I love how the metro is the same in every country, no matter what it's called (subway, tube, etc). Then at Piraeus, we took a ferry to Aegina, and grabbed a bus to Agia Marina, where we have been staying at a beachfront hostel called Hotel Rachel.
The nights have been really nice. The first night, Steph, Nika, and I went down to the beach and did a little nighttime beach photo shoot, taking some really cool slow shutter pics with the moon over the water. We got some really cool stuff. Then last night, the entire town had a blackout for about an hour, so most of the group grabbed mats and ran down to the beach to look at the stars. Other than that, the days have been pretty chill. Yesterday I grabbed a book and sat out on the white rocks next to the sea and read in the sun for a good two hours.
Funny note about Aegina: they have little trashcans next to the toilet, because you can't flush any paper down the toilet, not even toilet paper. I'm in a room with Nika and Steph and we've each accidentally disobeyed the rule. :D
Also, we found this place called George's Take Away, which sells 2 euro gyros, so we've been grabbing that for dinner every night. I also had my first legit greek baclava and it was amazing. I thought of you, mom and dad, while I shared one with Nika. Sooo good!
Anyway 12 days left in the trip, two more countries to visit, one more hostel, 4 more flights, and who knows how much more unpacking and repacking and grocery shopping. Goodbye for now!

Super quick update

So I'm sitting in Athens backpackers and I have 15 minutes to be online so here goes a super fast update.
We're about to take the metro down to Piraeus Port to go to Aegina and move into our hostel there and then spend a few days on the beach! Yesterday we spent the day in Athens. We explored the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon, and one thing I thought particularly cool, the Ancient Theater of Dionysus. We sat up in the acropolis, looking out over the city of Athens for a good 2 hours. Greece is paradise; the weather is warm and breezy, and I can't wait to get down on the beach. I'm getting a bit of a tan already. :)
The day before that we spent getting from Rome to Greece. I was up at 3:30 am, we took a car service to the Rome Ciampino airport, hopped a flight there to Berlin, waited in Berlin for 4 hours, found out our flight was delayed 3 hours, finally got on a flight to Athens at 7, and arrived at our hostel right around midnight. It was a bit of a stressful day, but still fun. I had a lot of reading, so I was fine for the 8 hour layover.
Last week I spent 8 days in Italy. After Venice, we took a train to Chianti, which was fantastically beautiful. We stayed in a little town called Tavernelle, which was relatively free of tourists, and the landscape was beautiful. We rented bikes and biked all over the countryside, finding sunflower fields and grape vineyards, and old cathedrals, it was very beautiful, and I got very sunburnt.
Then we hopped a train to Rome, got to Rome around 11pm and found our hostel, which was right across from the Teatro D'ell Opera. We were trying to go see Carmen, but the cheapest tickets ended up being sold out so we spent a few evenings exploring Rome. On the first day we saw the Colosseum, the Pallatine, and the Forum, through a tour which was very fun. The second day we bought through the same tour guides and toured the Vatican City. I got to see the Sistine Chapel, which was amazing, but I think my favorite piece of art work was Raphael's school of Athens.
Oh, and I've eaten a ton of gelato!
Anyway, we're checking out soon, so I thought I'd update. Miss you all! I can't believe in 2 weeks I'm coming home!!

I'm On a Boat!: Gondelas, Italian, and Venezian Masks

Buon Giorno! I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in beautiful Venezia, Italy, and it is HOT! It's been around 90° here everyday, a big change from rainy cold Cambridge.
On Friday we left Cambridge around 6:30am and flew RyanAir to Venice, then spent about an hour getting to our hostel. I had my first water taxi experience!
Venice is gorgeous! It's a very romantic atmosphere, and our hostel is fantastic. It's right in the middle of the city, we live by the Piazza Rialto. Friday night we got legit Italian pizza at a restaurant by our hostel which was delicious, and then we walked along the Grand Canal and watched the people ride around in gondelas.
Saturday was extremely hot. We walked down to Piazza San Marco which has a lot of museums and walked through a few, and then on our way back, a gondelier stopped us and offered us a ride for an amazing price. It was so cool getting to ride in a gondela down the Grand Canal! The scenery was beautiful. We rode by Casanova's house too which I thought was pretty funny. And at one point the gondelier in front of us started singing boisterously to his riders and that was pretty funny. I got some video during the ride that I will show y'all when I get home
The shops here are FILLED with masks! Apparently Venizia is famous for its huge carnivale, where everyone dresses up in masks and costumes, so every single shop sells tons of different masks! We had some fun Saturday night in a shop trying some on and taking photos, although most shops don't allow photographs.
I really love speaking Italian. We had a little phrase book that we've all put to good use, and Sam speaks fluent Spanish, which is a bit similar to Italian, so he's also helped out a lot with if we need to ask a specific question. I've picked up a bit too. Actually, funny story, we were in one shop last night and Nika couldn't remember the Italian word for tomorrow (domani), and I said it to her and the shopkeeper was certain that I was Italian!! I was thrilled that he thought my accent was legit. I've picked up some phrases pretty well, but as far as understanding goes, I mostly just get the gist of what people are saying. I kind of want to take a conversational Italian class at MC, because I really love the language. Also makes me think of The Light in the Piazza. :)
Anyway I have to go, but I just wanted to leave a little update of my past couple of days. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Flòrence! Ciao!

Bridges, Shakespeare, and old friends: A Weekend in London

Hello Friends! It's been a while since I posted, hasn't it? Last week was not too eventful besides some pubbing, a 19th birthday celebration (Pauline, one of the scholars), and other Cambridge-y things. However, this past Friday, Nika, Anna, and I took a train to Richmond and stayed with Amie, an old family friend (not saying she's old, just an old friend. :D) with her husband Damien and their two adorable kids Oliver and Georgia. They were so wonderfully accommodating and it was very nice to have home-cooked meals and sleep in a house for once. Plus they helped us plan our weekend trip, so we saw a lot in the space of two days. Plus we couldn't have asked for better weather! So without further ado, here are some pics from my lovely weekend in London:


Here's Amie's house. Just kidding, I'm in front of the Tower of London. Call me crazy, but I had been expecting something much...taller. Still it was a very large castle, and totally cool to see as everything castle-wise that I had seen already was ruins. The inside was very beautiful, and I have more detailed pics in my FB album. Plus the crown jewels were amazing!
Meeting the invisible man. He beckoned me over and then started stroking my hand, and of course, I could only think one thing. Anti-bacterializer! Luckily I had some in my bag, courtesy of Bath and Body Works.
I love this picture because it displays the gorgeous blue sky we experienced on Saturday. The Tower Bridge is truly breathtaking. There are so many bridges in England: Tower, London, Blackfriars, Millennium, and, you can walk across every one of them which I'd never done on any bridge in the US. That was really convenient.
In front of the Thames. The architecture in London was so cool!
This is city hall. I KNOW RIGHT?

In front of the National Theater there was random grass furniture, so of course we had a photo op.
The stage at the Globe Theater!!! I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip. We had meant to go on a tour on Saturday, but were too tired so we decided to go on Sunday. However, when we got there Sunday we found out there were no tours because of the matinee!! I was so disappointed, so Nika suggested we just buy standing room tickets and see the show! We did, and I'm so glad, because it's something I will never forget.
The outside of the Globe.
I was a bit wary at first of seeing Troilus and Cressida, because I'd never even heard of the show, much less knew the story. However, I was able to follow the story with no difficulty! It was one of the romances, but apparently The Globe is known for putting a comic edge on a lot of its shows, so it ended up being very funny. There were songs and dances in it, and the acting and costumes were great. When I get back to the States, I definitely want to see as much Shakespeare as possible.
Anyone recognize this piece of architecture? It's the Millennium Bridge, shown in HP6...
...And then the Death Eaters showed up and attacked the bridge!!! AAAHHHHH!!!
(ok the picture was Nika's idea, so don't blame me for being the lame one)
Trafalgar Square...this lion was SO slippery and it was drizzling rain, it was quite a feat to get up there.
And so we took a LOT of pics.

Big Ben was pretty breathtaking in person. At first I was like, big whoop, it's a giant clock, but the detailing on it is just beautiful. And it was kind of a grey afternoon, so the picture is dark, but its color is a lot more brilliant then that.
Westminster Abbey. Funny story, I spent a good deal of time trying to find Abbey Road (like from the Beatles album) and was so disappointed when I couldn't. And then when we got back to Richmond, Amie informed me that it was actually located in Finchley! durrr...
By the London Eye, which we decided not to go on, because really, who wants to spend an hour on a giant ferris wheel? Not me.
With Amie before we left. I can't say enough about how awesome she and the Tibble family were to us. The room we stayed in (and the beds! And the shower!) were fantastic and SO welcome after 5-7 hours of walking around London, and her kids are so well-behaved and cute (even though poor Georgia was running a fever)! It was so great to catch up with her too since I hadn't seen her for over 10 years!
Funny story. I had written the directions from King's Cross to her house on a piece of paper, including trains to catch, and walking directions from Richmond to her home. I folded the paper and stuck it in my pocket as we got off the train at King's Cross to board the Underground, and sometime between then and when we got in line to buy tickets, the paper fell out of my pocket. Luckily I had read the paper and I remembered the names of the stops, and her home address, but we spent 2 hours walking from Richmond station to try to find their street!! There was a lot of construction going on so all the directions people gave us were really confusing. It was quite a harrowing ordeal, and a huge relief when we finally got there (it's actually only a ten minute walk!!)
And here I am heading off to Hogwarts.
And later Nika insulted me so I challenged her to a duel. And the woman in the center got most of the blast. (who the heck is she anyway?)

Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend, and I can hardly believe I only have about 4 days left in Cambridge before we begin our Eurotrip. July 31 we leave in the morning for Venice! i will try to get to the internet at hostels to blog about it, but pictures will probably have to wait until I get home. Love you all, miss you all! Cheers!

Haggis, Harry Potter, and Other Scottish Things

Photo Blog #2! Adventures in Edinburgh

We had to actually find out what Neeps and Tatties where from a children's book in a tourist shop (they're turnips and potatoes). Then on Saturday night I tried Haggis and it was amazing. Just don't think about how it's made.
I heard more bagpipe playing this past weekend than in my whole life.
Some Edinburgh shots
That is the statue of Hume. Whom, do you ask? Yeah I don't know either.
Tickling him haha...ok shut up.
Yeah, I know the feet jokes were getting old.
This train is from the second Harry Potter movie, it's the actual set and it's in the middle of the Highlands of Scotland. We drove by and I had to get a shot. It's from when Harry and Ron are chasing the train in Ron's flying car. Cool right?
I wanted a shot with sheep in the background. There are 5 million people in Scotland and 38 million sheep...we saw a lot.
Gorgeous right? This was a battlefield known as Glencoe.
Swordfight at Urquehart Castle
The clear winner...
Picturesque...The Loch Ness is in the Background
Some more fun in the castle ruins
Sarah of the North...or the East Coast
On the Loch!
Feeling Nautical
After the cruise on the Loch. It had begun to rain. What else is new?
Our tour lasted 13 HOURS! We covered so much ground and I really wasn't bored because there was so much to see plus our tour guide was a historian and had a hilarious Scottish sense of humor.
With our tour guide, Alan. He called me Little Miss Perfect since I refused to try Blood Pudding.
Edinburgh Castle at night. We saw this every time we walked to our hostel because it was right next to it.
Edinburgh....such a beautiful city.
Where JK Rowling apparently sat for hours writing the Harry Potter series, because she was too poor to afford heat in her own home. Talk about your rags to riches story.
Recognize any names? Rowling got McGonagall from this graveyard
Creepy right? She also got Voldemort's "muggle name" from the graveyard as well. It was a huge and beautiful old graveyard, and Nika, Steph, and I split up to see if we could find the name, because someone in our hostel mentioned it was there. I found it, pretty far in. :)
Some pictures from the hostel. They painted that place like crazy!
The view from my window. Just kidding it's more hostel art.
The last shots of Edinburgh. No blue sky on Friday or Saturday, but FINALLY on Sunday.
Sleeping on the ride home.