When I got home to Dublin,the tables turned and I went from being a tourist to being a local leading friends from out of town around (kind of). Katie and I started off bright and early (we had very little sleep because I had taken her out to my favorite club in Dublin the night before) and bought the Dublin Pass which allowed us to see a lot of touristy things at a set price.
We started off by going to St. Patrick's Cathedral which was very beautiful. Then we went to Dublinia which was kind of like a children's museum but it was about Viking and Medieval Dublin. It was pretty awesome especially the parts where we got to try on "clothing"from the eras. We had a lot of fun (probably too much fun) although a middle school field trip was there and they kept cramping our style and making us have to share!
After we went to Christ Church Cathedral, which any devoted blog readers would remember I visited one of my first weekends in Dublin (but I was too cheap to pay to go inside the cathedral part). We were able to walk around inside, and went down to the basement where we thought there was a crypt, but then we realized that the crypt was just the name of a cafe (or so we think). Our trip to the crypt cafe was not in vain though because we saw costumes from the tv show The Tudors (which I haven't actually ever seen but it was still awesome!).
At this point we had lunch at one of my favorite places in Dublin, Nandos, which admittedly is not at all even close to Irish and is very American of me to like. We had delicious sandwiches and chips (fries) and the best part our unlimited refill pop was free with our student card. Love Nandos.
We had to head back to UCD, because we were picking up our friend Chelsey who is studying abroad, and her friend Alexis. They hopped off the aircoach and got settled, and then it was back to the city center to go to the Guinness storehouse.
The Guinness Storehouse was very cool, definitely worth a visit. I learned that the Guinness Book of Records is the same Guinness. Who knew? (not me.) I am also now an expert at brewing Guinness, and can taste the hops and barely in every sip.
We had dinner at this great cafe on Grafton Street in the middle of city center called Bewleys where I had this delicious salad that was somewhat game changing. Apparently this is turning into a food blog.
We had an early night, as Chelsey and Alexis were exhausted from travelling, and Katie and I had a very early morning.
The last stop on my eurotrip was the lovely city of London. What made London extra special though, was that my best friend since the age of 3 Katie flew across the pond on her spring break from UB to come visit/go adventuring through Europe with me! London was a very cool city, it reminded me of NYC kind of or maybe Washington DC, because it is a big city with a few touristy/landmark things to do, and then there are just a lot of cool neighborhoods and areas to explore.
Things we did in London:
New Europe Walking Tour: Yes again. The tour was great because we really got to see everything! Including Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, and other castles etc. We also learned cool things about the history of London, and I have always been interested in the Tudors so it was cool to see things in real life.
The London Eye: Beautiful view of London! Plus we got to do this really cool 4D experience which obviously we are all big children and loved!
Tower of London: I didn't realize how big the Tower of London was, I always pictured it just being a small tower where soon to be beheaded people hung out. Instead it was this huge castle and they had all sorts of armor and other stuff from back in the day on display.
National Gallery: Classy. Actually it is really awesome to check out some Van Gogh and Monet casually before dinner.
The Phantom of the Opera: We got to see my favorite show at the West End. It was so amazing. We were in the last possible seats but the show was still awesome. I loved it!
Covent Garden Market: We took in some professional street performers and explored the area.
Changing of the Guard: We got to Buckingham Palace and got probably the best spot possible to watch the changing of the guard. I feel like I can sum it up in one word..."excessive." At first we were so into it with the uniforms and the marching and the band...but then a second group of guards and a marching band came up. And then they had like a marching band duel where they each played a song. It was just too much. But it obviously was still awesome.
Platform 9 3/4.
I really liked London, and if I went back I would like to explore more neighborhoods and markets.
Our next stop on our journey was Paris. I am now officially obsessed with Paris. Words can't really explain how much I loved it there. Paris didn't get off to that great of a start though, we walked around with our bags in the cold rain without a map trying to find our hostel for awhile, and we were exhausted when we finally settled in, so we just had dinner and got organized for our remaining days.
Things we did in Paris:
New Europe Walking Tour: These things are seriously awesome, they are free and you walk around the city for over 3 hours seeing everything there is to see and learning cool facts. I love history, so hearing stories behind bridges and buildings was pretty awesome.
The Louvre: We went to The Louvre Friday night because it was open late, and it was free! Winning. People say they could spend multiple days in the Louvre, but I feel like that might be a little too much. The over three hours that we were in there seemed like the perfect amount of time. We got to see the Mona Lisa, which was pretty cool. Also I'm taking an art history class here at Dublin, and I was able to see some paintings that we discussed in class. What is really cool about the louvre is that the museum itself is a piece of art, the architecture and decorations are so amazing (after all it was a palace).
The Eiffel Tower: Every time we saw the Eiffel tower in the distance we would get super excited. When we finally reached the tower it was amazing. We climbed to the second floor and had some amazing views of the city. I honestly think it is way better to climb the steps instead of taking the elevator to the top. Then at night we came back to the tower (twice) to see it all light up. It was so beautiful and I will remember it forever.
Notre Dame: I was super excited to see the gargoyles and the bell tower, since I did have a Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame backpack when I was in first grade that had a holographic dancing Esmerelda. (Thanks Mom and Dad for sending me to school in style.) The views were beautiful from the tower, and the inside of the church was also very beautiful.
Montmarte: We spent a day exploring this more artsy side of Paris. The streets are still winding instead of the boulevards of the city closer to the river. The city was really cool, and we got to see the Moulin Rogue as well as a street artists circle where we checked out some awesome artwork and paintings.
River Cruise: At night we went on a cruise of the Seine and got to see all the beautiful buildings lit up. It was so pretty! I think the young Italian couple sitting in front of us summed it up perfectly. They turned to me and Katie and asked us if the structure we were passing was the Notre Dame, which we replied yes. The guy then said "Mama mia" while gazing at in in admiration.
Versailles: When we arrived at Versailles, which came across some sort of military celebration taking place in the square. Obviously we stood around to check it out, and all of a sudden a parade and some old tanks and a bunch of people walking behind flags came up to the square. It was all in French so I'm not sure what was taking place. At one point this little nugget old lady was standing somewhat in front of me and I moved so she could get a better view, she turned to me and said something in French and I smiled and said I didn't speak French and she just said something else and pinched my cheek. Precious. Then we got into Versailles which was so amazing. It was perfect because with our visas from Ireland we got in for free (winning!) we saved like 20 euros. The palace was breathtaking, and the Hall of Mirrors was awesome. It was just so cool to be in Marie Antoinnette's room and have them point out the door in the wall that she escaped the mob through. We also spent a lot of time walking around the gorgeous gardens and went to Marie Antoinnette's apartment (aka a large house). We had some of our snacks that we had packed in a gazebo looking out at the scenery. It was lovely.
The Pantheon: I'm still not really sure what the Pantheon was, but it was pretty cool.
Arc De Triumph: We didn't pay to go to the top, but we did take jumping pictures in front of it and walk under it to the...
Champs Elysees: My shopping heaven. The Sephora was so big. No wonder why I loved Paris.
Ate delicious food:I went a little bit crazy on the crepes. Soooo good.
Hello hello! Greetings from a now professional world traveller. I'm back from my adventure with my passport full of stamps and my wallet not quite so full of euros!
My first stop was the city of Amsterdam. I was not exactly sure what Amsterdam was going to be like, and I was really surprised by the diverse offerings it brings to the table. Way to go Amsterdam!
The trip started off with me, Jordyn and Katie leaving to catch the aircoach to Dublin airport at 3 am. We were exhausted, and ended up passing out on the plane before the stewardess even did the safety instructions. I'm not exaggerating when I say I briefly woke up because we were taking off. Our plane ride end with the stewardess leaning over me and telling Katie she needed to wake up and put her chair into an upright position for landing. embarrassing.
When we landed in Amsterdam we took a train to the central station, which is really at the top of the center of the city so it was very convenient. We then walked around lost with our bags for a little bit before we found our hostel. We met a really cool girl in our room, Maureen, who has been traveling by herself. The first night we walked around and explored, but we went to bed very early since we hadn't really slept much in the past 24 hours.
Things we did in Amsterdam:
The Anne Frank House. I read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was younger, but I didn't imagine the annex to look like it actually did. It was a very moving experience to be walking around the Anne Frank house. All day they couldn't make any noise because workers were on the floor below them, and they lived in such a small area. On the wall was markings from how Anne and her sister grew during their time in hiding, and they grew so much, it was so weird to look at how many things in a normal life they missed out on because they were forced into hiding. I think Amsterdam is worth a visit just for the museum.
New Europe Walking Tour we did this free walking tour which was great and really took us all around the city while also providing fun facts. For example, there are more bikes in Amsterdam than people. We learned very quickly when you heard the "briiing...briiing" noise coming from a bike "when you hear the bell...run like hell." Also, every year thousands of bikes are pulled from the canals because its a favorite past-time to throw unlocked bikes into them.
Canal Boat Tour. Very pretty. Except we kept falling asleep because we were exhausted from traveling. Oops.
Vondelpark. We walked around the largest park in Amsterdam, which is located near the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum as well as the I Amsterdam sign. It was nice to escape from the city and experience some greenery for a few moments.
Pancakes and Stroopwaffels: We ate at this great pancake restaurant near the Anne Frank Museum (thanks for the recommendation Aunt Laurie!) Katie and I split a mexican pancake (with guacamole, a salsa with pineapples, corn, mushrooms) and a strawberry ice cream and whipped cream pancake. Sinful. Also, stroopwaffles are a dutch dessert that are divine. We indulged.
Observed a Music Video shoot. After going to the pancake restaurant, we were walking to go do some shopping when we noticed a lot of teenagers in neon rave outfits, we didn't really think anything of it, until Katie noticed that one of the dancers was from America's Next Best Dance Crew and So You Think you Can Dance. We stood around for a while and watched them practice dancing, while noticing that there was a lot of reference to "party rocking" on their clothing. All of a sudden, speakers, lights, and cameras started getting set up. Then there were cones and caution tape, and then there was Red Foo from LMFAO, and Far East Movement. Yes, we were at the music video shoot. It was awesome. All these little hooligans kept pushing me out of their way, and they would be talking like "dutch..dutch..dutch..everyday I'm shuffling...dutch." It was great.
Walked. a LOT.
All in all Amsterdam was a great city. It is very beautiful, with all of the tall narrow houses along the canal, and it has a great vibe because there are not many cars at all (just a lot a lot of bikes). I would definitely go back!
Greetings! I will be taking a break from my blog for the next 11 days, as I will be traveling to Amsterdam, Paris, and London. I am super excited and will be blogging up a storm when I get home to Dublin on the 14th!!!!
