DONE with school!!!

Mom, Aunt Debbie, and I at Temple Bar!

School is done!!!! I can't tell you how relieved I am... it was a really hard five weeks of classes!!! And I got good grades, so I am happy.

The family is here! Mom is passed out on the bed next to me right now... I met them for dinner yesterday, they were all exhausted from traveling and I was stressed about finals so it wasn't the most talkative dinner but it was so nice to see everyone. Just wish Daddy was here too! :)

Today after finals we met at The Temple Bar and had lunch and I had a beer to celebrate.... they have this beer here called Bulmers that tastes like cider. It is great!!! After lunch we went to Trinity College, which was beautiful. The library is breathtaking. I had remembered when I was looking at colleges and I looked at UK, they said that they tried to build their library off of Trinity's library... I can see why they'd want to copy it, it was amazing! We then went to Dublin Castle which was really cool!

Aunt Charlene, Aunt Debbie, and Kara had to go figure out a tour they are doing tomorrow so Mom and I went to pack my stuff up in my apartment... I didn't realize how much I had bought... I am going to be so over the weight limit... We have to figure that one out tomorrow... I guess my shopping addiction is not only bad for my budget but is becoming inconvenient.. opps :)s

Mom and I are on our own tomorrow because everyone else is going on a tour... Mom wants to go shopping but right now I don't feel like that's a good idea. :)

I miss home and everyone but am having the time of my life. Home in 10 days...

Last Few Days in Dublin

Mommy, Aunt Charlene, Aunt Debbie, and Kara come tomorrow!!! SO excited! It still seems weird that I haven't seen anyone in five weeks!

I have two more days of classes and then I am done... thank god! Six credits in four weeks is not easy...

Back to London on Saturday!!! Can't wait to show them around my favorite city!!!

Sorry I haven't been updating as much... I've been trying to focus on finals and everything.

I miss everyone! :)

Edinburgh!

Edinburgh! See mt burnt hair on the right side sticking out a mile! haha

Relative???

My travel buddy and I

Rain, rain ,rain

Bridge overlooking the city

People in their kilts!

At the park!

Jail!

This is my neighborhood!

Edinburgh, Scotland is the prettiest city I have ever seen!!! The pictures don't even begin to describe!

Melanie and I arrive Friday morning and spent the entire morning exploring. We took a FREE walking tour that afternoon, which was really cool! It did pour like I've never seen rain before though...

Saturday we walked the Royal Mile (it starts at the Edinburgh Castle and goes to the Queens Palace)... and we SHOPPED a ton!!! I bought so many souvenirs for everyone that it tripled my bag I brought for the weekends weight! After shopping we walked up this hill to a park that overlooked the entire city, which was beautiful... all the traveling for the past four weeks had made us exhausted so we passed out accidentally for a three hour nap in the park. I felt so much better afterwards!

Our hostel we stayed in was a little gross... we shared a room with five other women... and one shower for twenty people (boys and girls) I am officially saying this is the last time I will ever stay in a hostel because a in six months I can no longer consider myself a poor college student, thank god! :)

We arrived in Dublin today after an hour in customs... they wouldn't let me through because they didn't understand why I was only in Dublin for two weeks studying... haha

We came back and took a shower and then went to the famous jail here... which I can't remember how to spell, sorry! But it was really neat!

Tomorrow a bus tour of the city!

Sorry I haven't been writing much... its hard keeping this up!

Scotland

Off to Scotland tomorrow! I'll be back Sunday!!!

Gross Guinness

Group at the gate

Teaching us how to poor correctly

I wasn't very good at it

With our beer

Certificate that I poured the perfect pint

I went exploring yesterday after class on Henry Street, SO much shopping. I like this city more and more everyday!

Later we had a field trip to the Guinness Storehouse which was awesome!!! They showed us how to poor a glass of Guinness the right way and how they make Guinness. I found this really interesting-the guy who started Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the location where the factory is, they have 8,750 years left!!! At the very end of the tour they give you a pint at the top floor that overlooks the entire city 360 degrees, it was beautiful (until it started to rain)! I have to say Guinness will not be my beer of choice, its gross.

Today I am taking a finance exam and have marketing class and then off to Trinity College and shopping at Grafton Street!!!

One week from today I will be done with classes and off to exploring with the family!!! I am so excited to get back to London and see PARIS!!!!

Two Alcohol Tours

Yesterday a group of us went to the Jamison Whisky Factory... It was really fun and at the end we got to do a taste testing!

Afterwards UD paid for everyone to go out to eat together for a final time. It was DELICIOUS!!!

Today I am going to go explore for a little bit after class... I get to buy a new suitcase on UD because mine got broken during the week of traveling.

Later UD is paying for us to go to the Guinness Storehouse!!! I am so excited about this one!

Tomorrow I am going to Trinity College and then shopping on Grafton Street!!!

Mommy gets here in a week!!! :)

Go away homesickness...

I am currently sitting in my apartment working on homework in pigtails... yes pigtails. My hair is still burnt, a pharmacist recommended me this special hair tonic so I am sitting here with the burnt pig tail being soaked in tonic. I look lovely haha. :)

We didn't go to the jail today because UD had some problems with our transportation, so I am going to go on my own this week or next.

Today after class I was feeling a little down because I'm starting to get a little homesick and have so much school work to do and everything here is SO expensive even compared to London, so I bought a new book to read/ice cream and talked to Mom and Justin and I feel so much better now. Its amazing how one little phone call can totally change your mood. Thank god I have Skype to be able to call home and the boyfriend every few days. :)

In Dublin

1. View from my window, no clue what it is

2. Kitchen

3. Living room

4. Bedroom

I'm in Dublin!!! No more being on a bus with twenty one 20-22 year olds, sleeping in a different bunk bed in a hostel every night, no more living out of a suitcase, or having stinky clothes!!! :)

I'm currently on the phone with my parents, listening to my cat scream in the background. :)

I haven't seen much of the city because we haven't been here long and it was raining so I can't really say what its like. But it does smell... like hops (Guinness Factory is close by). No one else could smell it but I smell it as I am writing this. The apartment is very nice. Although the washer/dryer is an all in one. Yes, the washer and dryer are the same thing, sounds pretty weird right? It doesn't work... My clothes took an hour to clean and then they didn't try so my clothes are currently hanging all over our living room haha!

I am checked into my lovely apartment... It's in the Temple Bar area and my classroom is in a conference room at Temple Bar Hotel. I found this really funny that UD set up our classroom to be in the middle of one of the biggest drinking streets in the world... Way to keep us motivated to study when we pass 30 bars to and from class everyday! haha!

I won't be writing tomorrow because we are going to the Kilmainham-gaol Jail and then I have a test to study for. I am SO excited about the jail, it's supposed to be really cool! For some reason I love visiting jails- when I saw Alcatraz I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Must be my nerdy gene coming out :)

Off to bed... classes start back up in the morning. Yippee

Close to Dublin

Pictures:

1. Group at the Irish Pub

2. Golf course you pay 400 euros to play at (picture for Daddy)

3. Beautiful Ireland

4. Cliffs of Moher

5. Entire group at Aran Islands

We arrive in Dublin tomorrow!!!

So excited to be at one place for a week and a half! Traveling around Europe on a bus, living out of a suitcase, and staying at a different hostel every night for a week has worn me out!!! Living in hostels was starting to make me homesick, which I had not been for one second in London so hopefully Dublin will snap me out of that!

Here is where we are staying in Dublin: http://www.augustineapartments.com/apartment-1bed.php Melanie and I are going to share a room! She is sick at the moment though :(

It's raining and is freezing here. For those that are coming soon bring warm clothes, hand sanitizer, an umbrella, and baby wipes if you are planning on wearing sandals b/c your feet will get gross!

We have a busy day tomorrow! So excited!!!

Ireland!

I am in Ireland!!! I posted pictures on the previous post.

I got here yesterday! We stayed by the Rock of Cashel last night which we had amazing accommodations! We went to see an Irish dancing performance and then they taught us how to dance like them afterwards!

We are currently at the Cliffs of Mohr! It's BEAUTIFUL! I will post pictures soon!

Tomorrow we are going to Aran Islands and then Sunday finally to Dublin!

Miss and love everyone

Week of Traveling

1. Big Pit Coal Mine- AMAZING!
2. Group at our medieval dinner
3. Our castle we stayed in for a night
4. Roman Bath
5. Stonehenge
6. Some castle
7. Victorian Village
8. I don’t know where we were
9. The group at the pub
10. All the girls at the pub
11. We thought these flowers were pretty so Melanie and I decided to take “senior” pictures

I'm currently at the beach! It's called Brookhaven and it's the prettiest beach I have ever seen. There are cliffs and up on one of the cliffs is a small town that is adorable... Its paradise here but I can't say the rest of my week has been like that...

I have this crazy professor (crazy is an understatement) who planned this whole week of traveling. She planned the week based on her dream vacation... shes dragged us to places that I wouldn't even see in Ohio (a steel factory that's been closed for 20 years, an old building that used to be a school, and a church that wasn't pretty, etc.) and is making us stay in places that are away from civilization that have bugs in them! Oh, and she also likes to talk on the microphone on the bus when we are trying to sleep and when she knows were sleeping she hits the microphone to pretend shes testing it which has all jumping of fear. I started to think England didn't have highways, but it does she just doesn't like taking highways so it takes us four times longer to get anywhere....

I hate complaining so being a little more optimistic, cool things we have done: Stonehenge, we slept in a castle for a night, we went to an old coal mine (so cool), we saw a cool castle, and are now at the beach.

We leave for Ireland tomorrow! I'm ready to be done traveling and away from the psycho professor (she leaves on Sunday when we get to Dublin).

I miss everyone! :)

Last Day in London

Pictures:

1-2. Tower Bridge

3. Walking up the many many many stairs inside the Tower Bridge

4. Melanie and I finally made it to the top! We were SO tired. lol

5-6 Bridge!!!

7. National Gallery and Traflager Square!


GREAT last day in London!!!

Started off by going to the Tower Bridge. Which was SO pretty and so cool to see! It started pouring as soon as we got there and me being the ditz that I am forgot my umbrella so Melanie and I are squished under her umbrella and decide it will be great to walk across the bridge in the rain! We were soaking wet but cracking up the entire time walking across it. We had fun, everyone else was under any shelter they could find and probably thought we were crazy Americans. :) When we got half way across the bridge we realized you could go up for 5 pounds. So we went to the top and walked across the bridge, it was a great view of the city!!!

Melanie and Sarah then went to the Tower of London (Castle) but I didn't because I was going to go to it when Mom, Aunt Charlene and Debbie, and Kara get here. So I went to the National Gallery to see some of my favorite paintings!!! On the way there these London guys my age came up and asked me if I was American and all these questions about America. They said they had just been to Vegas in June and loved it. I thought that was pretty crazy because we had just been there too. They said they "got bloody drunk" in Vegas. I liked died laughing after I stopped talking to them because it was the first time I heard anyone use "bloody" here.

Oh and I tried to go to the bathroom today at one of the Tube stations but it costs 30 cents and I only had a 50 cent coin so the lady would not let me in the restroom. I even offered credit card but she shook her head. I'm pretty sure that's the first time someones not let me use a bathroom.

Then got to National Gallery which I got to see Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, Bathers at Asnieres, Venus and Mars, Madonna of the Pinks, Rembrandt's Self Portrait, and my favorite Sunflowers by Van Gogh! It was so awesome getting to see all my favorite paintings that I studied in school!

Afterwards I got lunch at Pret a Manger (my favorite) and sat in Trafalgar Square at watched everything going on in the square! I was in the middle of my lunch and it started pouring! I had soggy food afterwards but I'm used to the London weather by now.

I am home now and getting ready to grab dinner at the Pub we go to a lot- The Court. After that I am making a draft itinerary for London for when the family comes back here in a few weeks! Then packing :(

I'm going to miss this wonderful city. I never thought I'd like a city better than I liked Chicago but I have to admit London is my new favorite place! I find myself smiling everywhere I go, I wish I could stay here longer...

So schedule for next week of traveling:

Tomorrow: I believe we are going to Stonehenge.

Sunday: we are staying at a Medieval castle: St. Briavels. We are also having a feast there and apparently to get salt we have to perform a talent for the King and Queen, so I stole salt from McDonald's because I am talentless. haha :)

Monday: Ironbridge

Tuesday: Breacon, Wales

Wednesday: Broadhaven, Wales

Thursday: Cashel, Ireland

Friday-Saturday: The Burren, Ireland

Sunday: ARRIVE IN DUBLIN!

I have no idea what we are doing in any of these cities, UD won't tell us. The good thing is UD is paying for everything including food for this week! Considering I spent too much in London I am very excited about this! Bad thing: being on a bus for a week and staying in hostels every night.