Semester one of grad school almost over

Hello hello,

I have neglected to write in quite awhile. Life has been moving quickly and I'm savoring every second. My masters program started in August and it has been keeping me busy, leaving me minimal time to travel.

Over Halloween weekend I traveled to Fort Worth, Texas for an entrepreneurship conference...CEO, with the Syracuse Entrepreneurship Club. That was a great weekend. I really enjoyed the way of life and the people. Other than being at the conference during the day we went to a TCU game at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The Stadium was massive, not to mention they have the largest flat screen TV in the world (not sure about that...possibly the US...anyways it was huge).

We spent our nights at the world's largest honkey tonk (that I'm sure of), Billy Bob's. The first night we were in Texas, one of the girls on the trip call Billy Bob's to ask if they had a mechanical bull to ride. Their response was "No, honey, we only have real bulls." This is when we knew...we're in Texas ;).
I was taught the Texas two step by a wonderful teacher and successfully got it down. A live band faced the dance floor playing recent country music and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, a 'disco' western saddle was hanging above us all.

The night after we explored the Stockyards and ended up back at Billy Bobs to watch live bull riding. That ended up being very upsetting. These professional idiots rode the pissed bulls while the bulls were bucking furiously.  There are two shows a night, ours was the second. Two of the guys were seriously injured right in front of our eyes. One of them literally crouched underneath this massive bull, while the bull kicked back and forth at the guy. The other was kicked in the head and ribs. As he managed to crawl on the bars that surrounded the ring, he was directly in front of where I was sitting. He crouched over the bars, shaking and holding his head, eyes rolling back from the shock and trauma. I was sad and upset for the guy, to say the least. Thus... professional idiots. The night did get better as Billy Currington came on stage and performed to a jammed packed honkey tonk.

Anddddd, in conclusion: I am a fan of Texas :)

<3

A little more than 2 months back in the states...

I still have blog posts to update from my final adventures abroad such as Interlaken, Switzerland and my weekend stuck in Florence! I will post them soon.
I've been back in the states for a little over 2 months now. It is good to be back...but I miss being abroad. I especially miss my host family and friends...let's not forget riding my bike, either!

I'm going to be adding to this blog periodically updating on life, my travels, and exciting things.
School has been a big part of my life as of late. It's been a demanding semester so far, also applying to grad school. Although, I feel very accomplished.

My next destination will be Puerto Rico and islands surrounding. Can't wait to write all about it! WOO


My late abroad posts will be coming soon...look for them.

<3

Forgot to mention: my trip back to rome...

In between all these crazy weekend trips, I traveled with friends and the school to Rome for an overnight. I really didn't have a choice (other than the weekend I wanted to go) because it was mandatory for my Art History class but seriously, I'm not complaining. I wasn't too thrilled when I went back in October for a day trip because we were herded around like animals all day. I kept an open mind about going back for the overnight because I knew we would have free time to visit the Trevi fountain and such.

So we left Friday, November 12th, early in the morning. A bunch of my friends went the same weekend, so it was great. Right after we got to the Rome train station we were bused to the Vatican. What an amazing place. My group had the best guide. He is a professor at the Syracuse Florence program and was very knowledgable. We saw my favorite statue which happens to be mythological. As we made our way through the museum I was in awh. Every room had so many amazing things in them, gorgeous ceilings, beautiful paintings, excellent statues by godly artists. After much explanation of all these things we finally made it to the fireworks of the tour...The Sistine Chapel. I have to say, I walked in the chapel and originally was not impressed. As I walked into the center my appreciation began to increase. It's funny to say but the Sistine Chapel 'grew' on me. I think I just needed time to reflect because I was picturing a dark, dramatic setting with lights on Michelangelo's masterpiece.

Next, we headed into St. Peter's Basilica. The church is huge, plain and simple, enormous. In the center of the church there are markers to compare the length of the place with other comparable churches. In actuality nothing really compared to it's size. Michelangelo's Pieta in housed in St. Peter's. It is probably one of my favorite sculptures. It has a very peaceful aura to it. My friend Nicole and I took some pictures of course and then we all broke for lunch. On the way down the street an older Italian man picked me out of the street and gave me a hug. He had my friend Sophy take a picture of it. she captured it well. You can tell he's giving me that 'good italian hug'. What a cutie, it made me smile, I felt like it was a scene out of a movie.

We found an amazing place to eat. The food was homemade and wonderful. After lunch we bought some postcards to send from the Vatican because it is it's own country. I even mailed a postcard to myself :)

After heading back to the hotel on a bus Kelly, Nicole, Olivia, and I took a nice nap. We went out later and took a taxi to a popular restaurant area. The taxi was SO cheap. We found the best restaurant, I had hummus! I can't wait to go back to the states and have hummus in my fridge, ahhhh.

After dinner we headed the Trevi Fountain. It was beautiful. I wish there had been not as many people around for a more intimate setting but it was exactly how I pictured it to be, molto bello.
The men selling the flowers were all over and we fell for his gimmicks. He took a picture of us on a polaroid and gave us roses, which he said was all 'free', we realized this we had been Punk'd when he demanded money. We threw him two euro and I told him to leave us the hell alone.  I also was asked if I wanted to "make sex" with one of the men. I told him, "Yeah, right." Molto interessante! hahaha

We headed back to the hotel and called it a night. It had been an insane day but an amazing experience.

Saturday morning, we all met in the lobby after breakfast for a tour of the Colosseum, Roman ruins, and the Pantheon. The Colosseum was larger than life, I felt so small in this ancient monument. The roman ruins were great too. We sat on the ruins and listened to our guide explain things. Although, interesting enough we were sitting where Mark Antony laid Caesar's murdered body while he preached to the public. I can't even explain how amazing that felt.  A mix of emotions because I was sick of being lectured too....hahaa!

When the lecturing was over at the Pantheon, my friend Nicole and I split off from the group. We went over to a very famous coffee shop and bought some coffee to bring home. Across the way was a place called Pizza Zaza. Nicole spoke up and said she had read something about this place in her travel book. It was perfect timing because we were looking for lunch! The pizza was the best I've ever had. The ingredients were incredibly fresh. The bread, the sauce, the cheese, the veggies...everything. We enjoyed are massive amounts of pizza while sitting and talking.

After lunch we wandered in different shops. We found a really cool store that reminded me of Kathmandu back in Oswego, somewhat. I found a cool sterling silver knotted ring there. I wear it everyday now, haha. We headed to the hotel to pick up our bags afterwards and caught our afternoon train.

It was a lot of traveling and hustle bustle but Rome was a beautiful city. I'm really glad I was able to go back because my impression was a complete 360.

<3

Amsterdam!

Last early early early Friday morning I traveled to Amsterdam. I packed my travel backpack up and left at 3:30am on a bus with one of the girls I met here, Julia. Our plane for Endihoven left at 6:30am. I obviously slept through that plane ride!

I was glad we took the early flight because we had a 2 hour train ride to get to Amsterdam from the airport. Damn RyanAir. We walked along the main river to find our 'Boatel'. We finally found it after a good 1/2 an hour. Boatel Zebra was the name. We asked a guy near the docks if he knew it and he gave us the funniest look, but who wouldn't? What an odd name!

Boatel Zebra

Julia and I walked towards the boat on the dock and after a few steps, I was on my ass. Who would have known the dock was going to be icy?!

We finally made it to the boat after I picked myself back up. The boat was very homey, the 1st floor had the breakfast area, a TV with a couch, and a small bar...a kitchen was in the back. We checked in and she led us down below deck. Our room was very tiny but actually very homey as well. I felt right at home because it reminded me of camp back home. I slept on the top bunk. Crammed into our little boat room was our own shower, bathroom, and the sink was next to the bunk beds. It was great. We got settled in and headed into the center of town. We immediately came across the red light district completely on accident, haha. There were a bunch of shops and restaurants. After grabbing a hot chocolate and relaxing for a bit we headed back to the boat to slip in a nap.

Oezer called me a few hours later and he met us at our boat. It was SO good to see him. It had been 3 years and he hasn't changed. I think we were both a little nervous because it had been so long but it was completely normal. I felt like I had just seen him last week! It made me so happy.
We walked around the city, and took the tram to the Van Gogh museum. I didn't end up going in because I deemed it too expensive. We did find a trailer selling North Pole Glacier ice though...for 25 euro. That was hilarious. We also found an adorable Christmas market. We went and ate dinner after. We found a place to sit and relax after dinner, we got to catch up a bit.

Gorgeous Amsterdam

Saturday, we slept in and it was the best ever. I love sleeping in but I only wanted to do it once because when I'm traveling I want to see and do as much as I can. Around 2pm we met up with Oezer again. It was FREEZING and snowing. We went from shop to shop, grabbing hot chocolates and relaxing. It was a very relaxing day...
The red light district is (obviously) all about sex. It's famous for that. We saw many interesting sex shops and coffee shops were mixed in there too. Friday was the first day I saw the girls in the windows. I'll never forget that experience. Oezer was like, don't laugh at them and don't stare. So i'm trying my hardest not to stare because how can you not stare? They're like puppies in the window, desperate for attention from the men, but really I guess it's like any other job. It's really interesting though, I'm glad I experienced it.

For dinner we found an amazing thai restaurant. Oezer and I got the same thing. It was literally the spiciest thing I've ever had as a meal. I was crying and Oezer couldn't believe how spicy it was either. Even though I may have been crying/tearing it was SOOOOO good. I LOVE IT!


Sunday, Julia and I packed up our stuff and hiked over to the other hostel. I wanted to try this hostel called Flying Pigs, so we decided to stay there Sunday until Monday. After we checked in, we met up with Oezer and got coffee. Oezer left around 12:30pm, that was sad but I hope I can see him again soon.

Oezer and I <3

Afterwards, Julia and I headed over to the Anne Frank House. It was really interesting. I think I didn't really realize that we were actually in the house she hid in until the very end. I knew we were in it but it didn't hit me until we were touring the different rooms and when we walked into her actual room. It was amazing. I think the holocaust was so terribly tragic but I admire how strong she was during such a terrible time. I'm sure she wasn't the only one either. For such a young girl, she really knew how to write.

After the tour, we wandered around the town on our way back to the Hostel. Earlier, we had purchased tickets for a canal boat ride. Before we left for the boat ride we stopped back to the hostel. We met 3 guys our age and they wanted to come with us. So we all headed to the boat dock and toured Amsterdam by canal boat. They ended up being very down to earth and really cool. After the ride, we hung out with them for the rest of the night. Our hostel had a really chill area to relax so we stayed there. For dinner, I had these noodles that were 'the best i eva had'. They definitely warmed me up.

Julia and I had another early flight, so we had to get up at like 4am. We took a bus to the airport and were back in Florence around 1pm. We went right to class and my teacher was making fun of my backpack. He asked me if I stayed for a week or the weekend, got the jokkeees! Haha, I thought it was pretty funny. Hey now, now...I'm a legit backpacker and the important thing is that RyanAir let me carry it on board!

All in all, it was a great, relaxing weekend! One of my favs for sure :)

<3 ,

<3

Alex

Paris, Paris, Paris!

Thursday I traveled to Paris!
It was an easy travel experience. I met a new friend, her name is Alese. She is from the states and is studying in Italy. She seems really cool. We talked to whole plane ride, so it made it pass really fast.

When we got to Paris and were walking to the Metro I looked up to the skyline and saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It was sparkling too because it does that every hour for 5 min.! It was the perfect time to come in.

We got to the hotel and I passed out. In the morning Holly, Susan, some other girls, and I went to visit Notre Dam and St. Chapelle. Two gorgeous churches...Notre Dam was very gothic and dark, while, St. Chapelle was bright and warm with all of the stained glass.

In between the two we found hot mulled wine and I got a cup of it. It was SO good. I compare it to hot apple cider...but wine. Nothing less than amazing.

We met everyone on the trip at the Louvre around 2pm and waited a while to get our tickets. The T.A.'s got them for us which made it less of a hassle. We just all hung out, waited, and took pictures of course. Once we were in they guided us around the museum. They told us that to finish the whole museum it would take upwards of 23 years. Needless to say, we only saw a small portion of it and it was pretty overwhelming.

We saw many famous works by Michelangelo and many others. I saw many paintings that I've seen on slides in class, so it was really nice to see them in person during the trip. The Mona Lisa was the highlight of this trip for me. I've always wanted to see it. The room was surrounded by large paintings and in the center was this small painting of the Mona Lisa. It was an interesting juxtaposition. I got a picture by the Mona Lisa, per usual.

MONA LISSAAA!

After we were finished with the tour, I was getting antsy to get out on the town and explore. I left with another girl and we went exploring near the expensive shops. We window shopped and found ourselves at a Christmas market. It was so adorable. All of the little shops or 'huts' were lit up with christmas lights. I tried caviar for the first time and they had me take a shot of vodka with it before I ate the actual caviar. This was so the flavor would be more substantial. I felt very ritzy!

After we walked up and down the long pathways, we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. I was really tired from walking all day but I really wanted to see it up close and personal at night. I will never forget my first reaction to the Eiffel Tower. It is enormous! Larger than life. A picture does not do justice to how inferior you feel when you're standing next to it. On the hour the Eiffel Tower has sparkle lights that make it seem even better. They last for about 10 minutes. We were there at the perfect time. 

The typical street sellers were there selling metal replicas of the tower too. It's actually illegal for them to do that but there were at least 20 different guys out there doing it anyways. 

Caviar! classy classsy

I was watching them because they harass every tourist to get them to buy something from them and all of the sudden they signaled each other and started to packed up the crap they sell. They didn't do this in a slow manner. All of the sudden they started to run and I turn back to see a cop chasing after them. It was the funniest thing because the cop ran to scare them away, stopped and then jumped out again. It reminded me of when little kids (or me) chase after pigeons. HILARIOUS! 

Saturday we traveled as group to Chartres, which is an adorable french country town. They had a farmers market going on and we had some time to look around. The leaders showed us around the beautiful gothic Chartres church and explained the sculptures that the facade contained. It was really nice to get explanations behind all of it...other than it was freezing cold outside.

After getting inside the church we sat down and admired the stained glass. Stained glass is one of my favorite things about all the churches I've been to. We left Chartres to head to Versailles on the train. Versailles was enormous! Way more than I expected...for the better. The buildings and gates were gilded in gold and the estate was massive. We definitely did not get through the whole thing but we 'tasted' some of the great parts. 

We first went into the Palace which was enormous as well. We were given audio guides which explained some history, which was interesting because I had never used something like that. The guys voice was very soothing, ahaha. We saw the Hall of Mirrors which is very famous and beautiful. To get to this we walked through many beautiful rooms with intricate design. I can't even explain every room because it was all designed differently, so I will add a picture to show you.

After the palace we headed to the gardens. We took pictures and walked down to the canal that is built into versailles. It's really hard to explain how huge this place actually is. It was made to become a fully functional town.  We bought some wine on the way down at a snack stand and we celebrated by the canal. We watched people rowing in the big crew boats up and down part of the canal. It was so relaxing and we also watched the sunset. We made perfect time. 

Before we left Versailles we went to their stables to see a Dressage horse show. Something I will never forget, it was like a opera...but with horses. We walked in and the horse ring had christmas lights on the ceiling. The lights were set low. I looked up to the bleachers where the people were sitting and they were made out of beautiful adirondack looking pine along with box seating like you'd see at the opera. The show started and they wouldn't let me take pictures, which was a little sad but it let me enjoy the show. The horses were very well trained and they even had women that were fencing on the horses. My favorite section of the show is when they let them run free. The horses were bucking, farting, and playing. It was the cutest thing ever. I love when a horse can be set free and roam to do what it wants. I think its the most interesting part about the animal, I love watching it. They played for awhile and towards the end the classical music started to get louder. The girls and I started to realize that the horse were trained to run around in circles toward this part and do other little things to the beat of the music. It was amazing how smart they were because no one was whipping them or asking them to move with a human's touch. They were trained to the sound of music. At the end, the trainers danced with the horses and the horses knew exactly how to move!

After the horse show we took the train back to Paris. We decided to go to a fondue restaurant that we heard was amazing. We got directions from the hotel and started walking. It took us a good 20 minutes to find the place but my roommate Holly got us there and did a good job. 

The place was SUPER tiny. It only fit about 35 people at most and everyone was cramped. We ended up waiting 1.5 hours. We sat in a small bar with the nicest older man who owned it. It was right next door. We were pretty hungry so he gave us bar peanuts and we had a glass of wine. Once we pushed our way in the Fondue restaurant and made sure no one took our seats we were able to eat. The get to the other side of the table you had to climb over the actual table. It was hilarious.

Oh...one more thing. The kicker of this wonderful fondue restaurant: You drink wine out of baby bottles. 

....My favorite part....

Baby Baby Baby...oooohhh!

We ended up buying baby bottles as souvenirs and I can't wait to drink out of mine again! It definitely was a throwback to when I used to ask my grandma to drink out of baby bottles when I was over at her house even though I was a little too old to be doing it...like age 10ish. I would still do it today because it brings ya back!

Sunday we went to the Musee D'Orsay which is home to some of the most wonderful paintings I have seen so far. I was able to experience paintings by Monet, Manet, and many more. Also, I wrote artists down that I don't really know much about and liked so I could look them up. I felt so cultured after that visit. 

We headed the Eiffel Tower after the Musee so we could head up to the top! I ended up being the only one that wanted to go up to the top out of the three of us. So I went alone! :)

I met a couple...Dave and Tammy. They were probably around my parents age, from Cali. They are living in Amsterdam for a year because of Dave's guitar business. They took me as their own and acted like I was their daughter for the time at the Eiffel Tower. It was the sweetest thing. We traveled up to the top in a gondola type deal. The height thing was a little scary but I was so excited. I watched up go farther and farther up. Dave took pictures for me which I was so happy about. They were so easy to talk to and I really had a great experience. The view was amazing from the top of the tower. The soccer game going on below looked like little fake figurines moving around. I expressed this by saying "Look at the little soccer players!" They loved that...hahaha.

Top of the Eiffel Tower!

I split up with them after we reached the bottom. I went over to Notre Dam on the metro to quickly buy a berret and caught the metro again to head back to the hotel. I met everyone back at the hotel so we could take the train to the airport. Well...I ended up losing them when we started to walk and got lost. I was freaking out.

Luckily, I asked around and found my way. Everything turned out fine and I felt really good because I maneuvered myself around in a stressful travel situation!  I made it to the airport with plenty of time and had a great flight!

Paris was amazing and a very romantic setting. After that weekend I felt so cultured and developed an increased interest in art, specifically the historical artists. 

Love, love, love,

Alex<3

Fall Break...Brussels & Dublin.

Sorry for the delay, it has been an interesting week since I've been back in Florence.

SO...FALL BREAK!

Thursday:

We left Thursday morning and rode a bus to the Pisa Airport. We literally ran to check in to Ryanair and they almost told us it was too late but they were just being lazy.
Our flight went well, only about 2 hours. We first arrived in Brussels, Belgium. Andrea, Julia, and I walked to our hostel which was a good 30 min. but it was nice because we walked through town so we had a mini peak at it. We found waffles and shared one with Strawberries and whip cream. It was SO good. The waffle was caramelized which made it swirled with brown sugar, ahhh.

We got to the hostel and checked in. It was my first time staying in a hostel. I walk in my room and a guy around my age is in there with his two friends tuning his bagpipe. Haha I went in cracking jokes because it was so random. They ended up being students too, studying in London. The one kid which they call Axxey, plays his bagpipe on the street sometimes for money. So he left and the other guys stayed to chat.
Andrea and I had the same room so we laid down for a bit before getting ready for dinner and to go out.

The rest of our group showed up about a half an hour later; Melanie, Chloe, John, and Randy. We waited for them to get ready and headed out to find some eats. We found an amazing restaurant, very true to home cooking. We waited 20 min. for a table because it was so packed. Randy, Andrea, and I went exploring during this time and found a 1930's style jazz club. It was something straight out of a movie. We ordered a glass of wine but about 5 min. after we started sipping on it they called us telling that our table was ready. We quickly drank our wine and rushed over. We had to sit at separate table from them but no one really cared because the food was so amazing. I had rabbit which was very good and tender.

After dinner, we headed to a few bars. The main one was called Delirium. Two floored pub with live music downstairs. It seemed like a big beer place which I wasn't too keen on at first but the atmosphere was well worth it. I ended up trying a beer and actually like it, haha. The music was good and got way better after the first band. The first band was a group of 16 year old kids. They sucked but they had enthusiasm, I give them credit. The second band, I think was their house band. It seemed like some of the members of it may have owned the bar. The lead singer was dressed in jeans and an underarmor muscle tee. None of us expected much out of him but he blew us away.
His stage presence was really great too, he had the crowd going and his voice was amazing.

After a good couple hours we headed Brussels' grand market. It is a big open space with a bunch of beautiful buildings squaring it off. It was great to go at night because no one was around. After taking some pictures and Randy & John danced to an accordion players music, Chloe and I headed back to the hostel. The hostel was really clean and the beds were really comfy.

Friday:

We headed out after everyone was ready. This hostel didn't serve breakfast so we headed to a place Randy found on the map. It was amazing...omelets, crepes, waffles. A few of us shared things so we could taste everything. The waiter was a bit snarky but I think he was frustrated with the language barrier. Luckily, I remember some french and helped out with the ordering.

After breakfast, we decided to go into on the Cathedrals there. It was free to get in, which was very appealing! On our way we stopped into a chocolate shop and they let us try a little sample. YUM!
The Cathedral was very beautiful. The stained glass was gorgeous. We took some pictures outside of it with all of the girls. It was cute.

Everyone wanted to see the peeing boy so we headed in that direction. We got to go through the Grand Market during the day which was much busier but just as beautiful. The peeing boy is very small, we had thought it was going to be some huge sculpture because it's so popular but it was kind of funny.

We walked to a record store and I found a dog to love. We split up because Chloe, John, and Randy weren't coming to Dublin with us. Julia, Andrea, Melanie, and I walked back up towards the peeing boy and there was a huge crowd around it.
We randomly stumbled upon the changing of his 'outift'. We stayed and watched a ceremony to unveil this little boy in clothes. It was very bizarre but I was so happy to see that because I had read about it online before we came. I met the guy who made some of the props for it by accident. He was most likely a little older than me and is a graphic artist...(and cute, haha). Anyways, after the ceremony we walked up into the upper part of town and made our way to a beautiful park. It reminded me a lot of central park but definitely smaller. It was so nice to see leaves that were changing, reminded me of home<3.

We hopped a train to another part of Brussels to go visit The Atomium. It is a huge piece of architecture that is made to look like an Atom. You can actually go inside and that's exactly what we did. The view from the top ball was gorgeous. You could see the whole city of Brussels.

After it closed we waited because it lights up. We walked down to a fountain and randomly found a French Fry stand in the middle of a parking lot. The girls had been wanting Fries or Frites all day and we hadn't found any. It was really random but seemed like it was meant to be. I haven't had fries in a while but I tried some of these and they were the most amazing fries I've EVER had. The sauces they put on them are different too, we tried a spicy sauce which was bangin'
Oh, by the way, Brussels is famous for Waffles, Fries, Beer, Mussels, and the peeing boy.

After our train back to the city center we went back to the hostel so we could relax for a few hours. This was the night we were going to stay up all night because our flight to Dublin was at 6:45am. This meant we would have to leave Brussels at 3am by bus to get to the airport a couple hours early.

At 11pm the Hostel lobby closed. So we stayed there from 8-11pm. I sat down and this little boy was showing off for me. It was break dancing and everything, it was so adorable.
The little boy was speaking French to me which melted my heart. When it was his bedtime, in this tiny voice, he said Au revior! So friggen' cute!

I fell asleep for an hour and a half. At 11pm we left and went to a restaurant for a late dinner. We hung out there until they kicked us out which was 1 am. At 1 am we headed to a bar that we thought was a Porno themed bar. One of the girls I was with saw it recommend on the NY Times must see list. We went into this shop, which looked like an antique shop from the outside. Shit was everywhere. Once we went inside it was more like a sit down bar. There was an upstairs and a downstairs with tables. Upstairs had random couches in each room with art scattered along the walls. Their old jukebox played old french music. It felt like we were sitting back in time. Shit was scattered everywhere but in a flowing way. It was one of the best places I've ever been to in my life. We had a sangria type wine and chilled until 330am. It was so relaxing.

We took a taxi from this place to the train station, where we got a bus to the airport. We got through check in and Melanie's bag was over the weight limit. That was a little hectic but ended up distributing the weight between our bags pretty well...damn RyanAir.

We got into Dublin around 8:30am but it was 7:30am there. We got a taxi to our hostel which wouldn't let us check in until 3pm. Andrea and I found leather couches to pass out on which was sooo great. Melanie and Julia didn't sleep, so they slept once we got our rooms. Andrea and I headed out around 3:30pm to explore Dublin. We decided to go to Howth, which is a small town in Ireland...only 50 min. away from Dublin. It was dark by the time we got there. I had a great time. We went to one pub...had a drink and fresh clam chowder. It was awesome. Then went up the street to the oldest tavern. We met a couple of locals and had a few drinks. It was a great experience because we were literally the only tourists in the bar. It was something straight out of a movie. We headed back later and jogged a mile to catch the train.

I was getting sick so I headed back to the hostel. It had been a crazy day. Sunday we headed around the city and covered a lot of ground. We went to mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral...something I think everyone should do once. We headed the the Guinness Storehouse afterwards. I learned how to pour my Guinness the correct way and can make the shamrock!!  The top of the Storehouse holds a panoramic view of Dublin which was worth the ticket just for that.
I walked with Andrea to the historic jail but wanted to go to the Jameson Factory so I left. I ended up walking for 40 minutes because I was way out of my way. On the bright side, I was able to see the other side of Dublin, haha.
Julia and I went to Jameson later. We learned how it was made--->Triple Distillation.
We also were able to have a mixed drink with Jameson...which was bangin'. We were picked to be official whisky tasters. After that 'marketing scheme' for Jameson, no lie, you can really taste the difference between Jameson and Jack. Jameson = way better...not as much perfume taste.

We had dinner at the oldest pub in Dublin. It was very authentic and the food was amazing. I had bangers and mash which was sausage and fresh mashed potatoes. One of the best meals I've had.
I was still feeling sick so I passed out. The whole sick thing was bad timing but I fortunately still did a lot.

Monday, I was on my own. Andrea and Julia were staying an extra night so they went on a day trip. Melanie was in bed because she was real real sick. I headed out and joined a free walking tour. I tagged along for a half an hour to learn a little bit about the Dublin castle but then went and did my own thing. I went over in Temple Bar which is a bunch of streets where its basically all of the touristy bars. There were some cool vintage shops, so I popped in. I found a jewelry shop and bought the perfect souvenir...a Claddagh  ring. I was so happy!
I went across the river to see the Dublin spike and also the Post Office. The Post Office still has bullet holes from the war in it. While on that side I ran upon a chocolate shop where I just tried a few pieces of their chocolate and I fell in love. Now, my favorite chocolate.

I headed back towards the hostel and stopped in a tattoo shop to check out their work. I wish I could've stayed longer...they looked like a legit place. For lunch, I got SUBWAY! I was so happy with my southwest sauce.
Around 2, I rounded up Melanie and we headed to the airport. I was so happy to be home. It was a great vacation but the differences in travel personalities with the other girls was overwhelming at times. Regardless, I kept my cool and had an amazing time.




--->this post is wayyyyy overdue but I had to get it finished in order to write another one!

<3 you all

MIDTERMS

Midterms were....intense.
I felt like I was literally studying for 7 days straight...squeezed in time for the gym and some computer time but that's it, oh...and dinner.

That's pretty much all I have to say about it because it was so ridiculous.

For a study break a bunch of us went to EuroChocolate in Perugia, Italy. It was pretty cool but I was disappointed Kinder wasn't there. Perugia was a really cute place in Italy, it was well worth it. My friend Kelly and I waited in line at Lindt Chocolate and participated in a game. We were blind folded and had to figure out the secret ingredients in the chocolate we tasted. WE WON! A lot of fun...

Thursday, my friends and I left for our fall break. We went to Brussels from Thursday until Saturday morning, then Dublin from Saturday until Monday. It was awesome, but I'll write a separate entry explaining everything we did because we packed a lot into 5 days. The personalities on the trip were really interesting and caused for an interesting break. That doesn't phase me though, because I had a blast.

Now we're back in school and I'm ready to go into the next part of the semester with a clear head...or try too. It was hard in the first part dealing with my grandpa passing away and being away from the family during that. I had a lot to deal with all at once. Although I will still think about him everyday, I just want to do my very best in Italian and learn as much as I can. My goal is to be fluent in Italian by next year. Hopefully, Rosetta Stone for XMAS! haha

I miss my girls, my family, my Indie, and my animals<3

Next blog: Brussels & Dublino