amterdam: netherlands

I decided to split the weekend into two posts, by city, so it's not too overwhelming to read all at once. 

When we finally arrived in Amsterdam, we figured out the metro system and found our hotel. Luckily our hotel was a three minute walk from Central Station and located in the center of the city. When we got to our hostel, which we actually found out was a hotel, we were upgraded to a private room. We had paid for three beds in a room of six, but they gave us our own room, which was great. Our room was on the top floor of the hotel, with no elevators. I can't even explain how many stairs there were...a lot! Also, each stair case got narrower and steeper as we went up. By the final staircase to our room, it was basically a ladder. Seriously, it was a near death experience every time we went up or down them! We decided to not waste any time and just start exploring. With no real destination in mind, we picked random streets and canals to walk down. Amsterdam is full of so many beautiful canals that wind through the city.

Amy and I on one of many beautiful canals.

As it was getting dark, we made our way to the red light district. For those who may not know, prostitution is "legalized" or regulated/ tolerated in Amsterdam. In some ways this is a good thing, because it means that the government has control of it. The girls are required to get a certain amount of yearly check ups for diseases. In other ways, it creates a very weird environment because it's so out in the open. I won't go into too much detail about the red light district but basically there is a main street where prostitutes sit in a small room with a glass door which is actually lined in red lights, looking for business. There are also many "live sex shows" that you can pay a good amount of money to go see. It was eye opening to say the least. It's one thing to know that prostitution goes on in the world, but another to actually see it first hand.

The Red Light District.








Amsterdam is an even more breathtaking city at night.

Since Sunday was our only free full day in the city, we decided it would be fun to rent bikes for the day. On a side note, we read that on a given day more than 50% of the population in Amsterdam uses a bike. There are literally hundreds of thousands of bikes in the city, including parking lots for just bikes. They are literally everywhere! The streets are super biker friendly, all including a bike path. However, it was overwhelming at times because you're literally in a rush hour of bikes! We laughed as we slimly avoided another accident or falling off our bikes. It was an adventure in itself to bike the city, but definitely the best way to get around. We started the day by heading to an area called Waterloopein. Then, we rode to the museum area of the city where the Van Gogh museum is along with many others (also where the famous iamsterdam letters are). We got lunch at a great outdoor cafe and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Then we rode our bikes through Vondel park, which was so beautiful and fun. It's a great, spread out park with tons of room for biking. There were many musical performers and people picnicking. After the park, we rode to a neighborhood called Jordaan, which was my favorite (also where my best friend Mandy lived when she was abroad last semester!) The canals were so beautiful, and there were many riverboats where people lived on the rivers. We went to the Anne Frank Huis, which was a self guided tour through their living quarters when her family lived in the small annex in the Netherlands in hiding. It was so sad to see how they lived for two years, in silence and completely isolated from daylight. After the tour we went for food in a neighborhood that Mandy recommended to us, full of cafes. We all had amazing meals and I finally got sushi!

Our three bikes...we named them Sally, Windel, and Hansel :)

I amsterdam!

 Us with the famous lettters!

Amy and Katherine on their bikes, riding through Vondelpark.

I loved all the riverboats along the canals.



Just me and my bike, Windel!

The Anne Frank Huis.

 BEN'S COFFEESHOP!

Funny story of the weekend (among many): On our final day, we had to be out of our hotel by ten. I went to go take a shower. I was about three minutes into my shower and was completely soapy. I literally like just lathered shampoo and body wash and didn't rinse off at all and the water just completely shut of....not even cold water or a trickle of water. I stood there yelling to Amy and Katherine. They went down to the reception desk to tell them which really did no help. The people working at the hotel didn't speak very good English and didn't really seem to understand the situation. They handed Katherine a towel and sent her on her way. So I stood there for a solid fifteen- twenty minutes, then out of no where, the water just turned back on. We laughed about it later how you can't have everything. It would be all too convenient to have a nice hotel that's clean, in the city center, AND has hot, running water :) We ended our trip running around buying souvenirs for people then went out for Dutch pancakes, which are more like giant crepes (so good!) We took a train, then bus to get to the airport. After a two hour flight, then three hour bus ride back to Galway, it was a long day of travel but oh so worth it!

Delicious Dutch pancakes to end the weekend.

brussels: belgium

This past weekend was a whirlwind trip to Brussels, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam is a very expensive city to fly into, so I decided to fly into Brussels and then take a bus to Amsterdam, a much cheaper option. And this way, I got to see two cities for the price of one! I traveled with my two friends Amy and Katherine, which was the perfect group to adventure with. Sometimes traveling in a larger group gets overwhelming, so just the three of us was perfect. 

We started the weekend by taking a 3am bus to Dublin to catch our early flight. We flew into a small airport right outside of Brussels then took a bus, then train to the city center. As we were on our way to find out hotel, we stumbled across a small, cobblestone road with lots of seafood restaurants with inexpensive lunch specials, so we decided to stop to eat. We thought we were being so good a budget conscious until we got our bill and realized our waters were 5 euros each! Oh well, you live and you learn. Then we adventured to find our hotel. We sort of cheated the system with our hotel. In Europe, instead of paying for a room, you pay per person, so hotels can get expensive. For example a room with two double beds for two people would be around 100 euros, but the same room for three people would be about 130 euros. So instead, we pretended that there were only two of us and shared a room with two big double beds and paid the lower price :) I guess it's a bit sneaky, but hey, were on a serious budget! Our hotel room was actually cheaper than many of the hostels, and definitely much nicer. 

After settling in, we decided to venture out to see the city since we really only had one full day in Brussels. Belgium is obviously known for their Belgian waffles, so we decided to go on a "waffle crawl" where we basically sampled any waffle that came our way. Amy and I got full quickly, but Katherine (the tiniest one) gave an impressive performance of waffle eating :) We went to the Grand Place, a main square with incredible, to-die-for architecture. None of us knew what to expect from the city of Brussels, or even knew much about the city going into it. So, when we rounded the corner and saw this magnificent square, we were in awe. Then we headed to Manneken Pis, an area with a famous statue of a little boy peeing. We walked into countless Belgian chocolate shops and stopped at waffle stands along the way. We also saw an incredible church named St. Michel, which had similarities to Notre Dame in Paris. After walking around the city for several hours, we decided to go back to the hotel to nap quickly and get ready to go out for the night. 

First waffle on our waffle crawl :)

 Lots of yummy candy & chocolate shops.

 Grand Place.

Me, Amy, and Katherine at Grand Place.

Little boy peeing...for some strange reason this is famous.

 St. Michel.

 Look Dad! There's another Busy Bee in the world :)

We went to a bar named Delirium, which I had heard about from friends and also read about in several travel books. The bar on any given night stocks over 2000 types of beer, with about 50 on tap of just Belgian beers. It was overwhelming to say the least. The bartender recommended a Belgian beer to us that we very good. Next we decided to try the beer named Delirium tremens, which was about 10% alcohol, so almost double a regular beer, and it tasted awful. After we took our first sips, one of us blurted out, "this tastes like sweet elephants butt!" (Excuse my language) But, we laughed all weekend that we drank a beer that we all convinced each other tasted like an elephant's back side. Also, what they call a pint in Belgium is much bigger than in Ireland. It was more like 2 drinks in Ireland. Needless to say, two beers was plenty and much stronger than we expected!

 Cafe Delirium...should of known it was bad news from the name!

Don't let the cute elephant deceive you, the drink is dangerous haha :)

Us and our "pints."

The next morning was pretty much a disaster, but I'm choosing to not let it affect how I see Brussels, because I really did love the city! We woke up all not feeling very well. We asked the hotel staff where to catch the Euroline bus to Amsterdam, and they took us that we had to purchase our tickets and depart from a station called "midi" station. This was about as far away from our hotel as possible, so we went to the south side of the city to get our tickets. Once we got there, they told us that the bus actually departs from "nord" or "north" station, which was all the way back closer to our hotel, then north some more. Basically, polar ends of the city. When we finally got to "nord" station, a woman kindly told us that we could have just purchased tickets from there all along, so we were frustrated to say the least.  However, we finally got on a bus that took us to Amsterdam!

Brussels was a city that took us all by surprise. Like I said, we didn't really have any expectations going into it, so it was nice to be pleasantly surprised. It's really a unique city with an interesting mix of extreme old and new. There were some of the prettiest old buildings, then really chic, modern ones as well. It is an incredibly diverse city, and almost hard to figure out what a "Belgian" person looks like because of the diversity. All in all it was another great city, and I'll definitely never forget the amazing waffles :) 

"he about leaked his knickers"

Instead of writing every detail of what we did for the week, I thought it'd be more fun to have Elyse write this post about what she thought about Ireland. It was a jam packed week! We managed to fit a crazy about of Ireland touring in, and enjoyed St. Patty's Day in Galway.  We traveled to the Cliffs, Connemara, Aillwee Caves, Cork, Blarney, and Dublin! Here is Elyse's take on Ireland :)

The title of this blog is merely a saying I heard while visiting Ireland and believe me, it is one I will never forget. As you know Lauren is studying abroad in Ireland for the entire semester and I decided those 5 months without seeing my “kindred soul” (inside joke…I promise I wont reference too many) was not an option…plus who doesn’t want to frolic through one of the loveliest places I have ever seen with your best friend.

This was my first time in Europe and I had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t nervous flying by myself but more excited about the unknown. I loved the idea of flying into Paris and knowing enough French to get by without looking too American, so I thought. The initial contrast I noticed between Europe and Boston was just how easy going and friendly everyone was. Not that Bostonians aren’t friendly, but I would say there is a “fast-pace-got-to-run!” mentality that even I often fall into. The moment I stepped on the plane in Paris I was talking to some businessman. Call me naïve--an American girl traveling alone to Europe talking to a strange man--but he was quite entertaining and no Liam Nelson skills from my father were required.

Once I arrived in Ireland I needed to catch a bus to Galway where Lauren is studying. Being the “coffee addict” that I am I had to get a quick cup before boarding the bus. This is where I instantly gave away my American background.  I asked the barista why they had no black coffee on the menu. He giggled at me and went “oh you Americans…that’s why this one (pointing to the Americano) is named after you.” Lauren later explained to me that an Americano is 2 shots of espresso with water. This was the second best coffee I have ever tasted (Ethiopian coffee can kick some serious coffee bum.) So, coffee in tow I now boarded the bus to meet up with Lauren.

I love taking the T and the bus throughout Boston but I do say that Ireland has a much prettier view out the window. The landscape reminded me a lot of Indiana; lush green grounds contrasting with bright blue skies spotted with little labs and cows all around. There wasn’t really an “ah” moment right off the bat but boy did I bite my words once arriving in Galway. Galway is nothing and I do mean absolutely nothing like Indiana. There were pubs on every corner and no matter how hard you tried a Guinness sign was always in sight. By the way incase you were unaware a pub is not synonymous with restaurant in Ireland…but it’s a pub. For some reason that didn’t click with me until my last few days in Ireland.

Fast-forward to the night…we walk into the pub sit down and I immediately know what I wanted-fish and chips, a typical Irish meal. DELICIOUS. Best fish and chips I have ever had…well aside from the fact it might have been the only time I'd had fish and chips either way it was fabulous. Then my Bulmers came. Bulmers tastes almost like apple juice with sprite that is spiked with some sort of cider alcohol. Lauren said they have something similar in the states but in Ireland it’s better. I tried Guinness the same night and while I am the furthest thing from a beer drinker it wasn’t too bad. It didn’t have me rushing to the nearest glass of water to rinse out the awful after taste you often find with a bud light. The other drink I came to love was a called a snakebite. It consisted of bulmers, a splash of beer, and a little fruity alcohol called blackcurrant…these little beggars will sneak up on you!

Paying for drinks later in the evening was where I noticed another difference. My purse was gradually getting heavier and heavier and I couldn’t understand why. I then realized I had about 12 euro in coins rolling around. It took some getting used to the fact a 2 euro coin was just as valuable as 2 USD, so I kept tossing the into my bag. However, I loved paying for some drinks in coins because it was such a foreign feeling to spend 8 USD in coins that I felt like I wasn’t spending as much money.

The other difference I noticed was with the men. Not always but I feel some bars or clubs in America tend to be a waterhole for single people looking to have a good time and maybe get a little lucky. Pubs in Ireland on the other hand are not as centered on meeting a mate but more mingling and talking. There was no random couple making out in the corner and there was certainly no grinding or provocative dancing. It was quite refreshing sitting at a bar and just talking with a whole bunch of random strangers.

Lauren was a fantastic tour guide. I got to see a variety of places within Ireland (which ill eventually blog about individually) but I didn’t feel worn out. We saw Connemara and the Kylemore Abbey, Cliffs of Moher, a variety of castles…my favorite being a fairytale castle and the Blarney Castle, then on our final day we roamed around the Temple Bar area doing a food crawl. We got to eat out at a lot of different pubs and cafes and tried a lot of yummy new foods. One interesting aspect about pubs in Ireland is the age difference among the patrons. The bars I’ve been to in Boston (granted it’s a scarce amount) are generally one age group. In Ireland there were people younger than me mingling with people who reminded me of my grandpa.

This post could go on for hours and my guess is with the other “what I did in Ireland” posts to come it will be hours so ill leave you with some of my favorite sayings of the week. Granted they are not all Irish themed but they definitely gave Lauren and I a good laugh. “Cheeky Bastard” was an hourly occurrence. “Rubbish.” ”Blyme.” “Two Bulmers please” was said commonly. “Cheerio” (not the cereal.) “Cheers.” “Sláinte.” And my very favorite saved for last, mainly due to its relevance, it was semi relatable and incredibly hilarious…“He about leaked his knickers.“

 We went to Switzerland! Just kidding, but Connemara is beautiful.

 Us in front of Kylemore Abbey.

 Us at the Cliffs of Moher.

Elyse on the Cliff's edge :)

 St. Patty's Day!

 In a pub for St. Patty's Day!

 Elyse kissing the Blarney Stone.

Lauren kissing the Blarney Stone. 

friends & guinness!

Because my post about Barcelona was so long, I decided to split the rest of our week into another post. Our flight from Barcelona flew into Dublin, so we decided to stay there for a night before Alex went home. We met up with Laura, Amy and her boyfriend Trevor. We all took a tour of the Guinness factory and enjoyed a pint at the top in the Gravity Bar. The boys loved the Guinness and both agreed that it is better in Ireland! After, we went out to an amazing Japanese restaurant and I finally got my sushi fix. We all went out to a pub called the Porterhouse after dinner and just sat talking forever. It was such a nice way to end to the trip and so good to spend the day with best friends. Alex left early Sunday morning and flew back on the same flight with Laura. It was sad to see them leave, but I had such a great trip with them both. Alex really loved Ireland and Spain, and it made him crave traveling after graduating :)

Amy and Trevor :)

 Mmm, Guinness!

Alex & I in front of the Temple Bar.

Drinks & best friends :)

bacelona: españa

I'm sorry I've fallen so behind on posting. My excuses are 1. I've been so busy with having visitors and 2. I wrote a whole long post about Barcelona that got deleted and I haven't had the heart to re- write it yet, so here I go...

So, I know that I always say every city is my favorite one, but Barcelona really is up there on the list. It is just such a beautiful, romantic, unique city with so much character. Paris gets all the credit for being the romantic city (which it is!) but Barcelona is definitely the underrated city of love. I also may be slightly biased because I went with Alex :)

We arrived in Barcelona in the evening and went straight to find our hotel. We spoke with a man who was so helpful and gave us a free map and lead us straight there! Our hotel was so nice and serene. It had a large window in the bathroom that opened to an amazing skyline view of the city and the mountains surrounding it. We relaxed for a bit but were both really hungry. We walked down to the water to an area named Port Velle, a harbor with lots of amazing seafood restaurants with outdoor seating on the harbor. We picked a nice candle- lit restaurant and shared wine and seafood. Alex even splurged and tried foie gras (duck liver!) 

The view outside of our hotel window.

Our hotel room.

Yummy seafood dinner the first night.

On Friday we had the full day ahead of us and lot of things on our list to see. We started by taking the metro to Catalunya and walking down La Rambla, the main touristy street with tons of shops, restaurants, vendors, street performers, etc. Off of La Rambla, there is a huge market called La Boqueria. It was full of stands selling amazing fruit, cheeses, meats, eggs, wines, etc. The butchers were interesting. First of all, they were mainly all women butchers and they mostly chopped and prepared the meat in front of their buyers.  Although at times, it was a little hard on the stomach to see full rabbits, pig heads, chickens, and cow intestines, it was a nice difference from the perfect, packaged way we buy our meats. It's nice knowing exactly where your meat come from and who prepared it. Alex and I both got amazing smoothies and roamed around for awhile. After the market we were both hungry and ready for lunch, so we went in search of a restaurant. However, we totally forgot that people in Spain take siestas in the day! Most restaurants don't open again until one or two, so we decided to just come back. Instead we headed to La Sagrada Familia, the famous church designed by Antoni Gaudi. The construction of the church was started in 1882 and still continues today! It is truly incredible and no picture can do the details of the church justice. We walked back winding our way through small streets in a neighborhood called Barrio Gotico. There were lots of great shops and restaurants. We ate lunch at one of the best places I've ever been and shared a litre of Sangria!

La Rambla.

Amazing fruit and smoothies at the market.

La Sagrada Familia.

Sangria with lunch.

After lunch, we headed to a place called Park Guell, also designed by Gaudi. This spot was recommended by a friend as a must see and I was not disappointed! It is an amazing park full of mosiac details and character. The view from the park is also argueably the best of Barcelona. It overseas the whole city to the ocean. We spend a lot of time there taking pictures and watching beautiful musicians play. 

View from Park Guell.

Us with Barca in the background.

Such a interestingly designed park.

After all of our exploring we were both really tired but had more places we wanted to see. Alex wanted to go home to nap, but after a little pressuring I convinced him to go with me to Montjuic, a mountain  overlooking the city (also, where many Olympic events were hosted). It ended up being an amazing place and we were both happy we went! We took a train up the mountain, then a cable car to a castle at the very top. As the highest point in Barcelona, the views were spectacular. The final place I really want to see was the Museu Nacional d'Art de Cataluny (MNAC), because I heard it was an amazing building with a fountain in front and also great views of the city. When I looked up pictures of the fountain in front of MNAC they looked incredible. When we finally found it, I was so disappointed. The fountain was off and I assumed that maybe we just missed it for the day. We took a few pictures, then intended on going home. However, as we were leaving we noticed more and more people gathering around the fountain, so we figured something must be going on. A couple minutes later the fountain turned on, plus about 50 more in front of MNAC and down the beautiful street in front of it. It ended up being an incredible light show with music. It was seriously one of the most beautiful, romantic things I've seen (even up there with the Eiffel tower at night!) It made it even more fun that we stumbled on this all by accident. It was my favorite part of the trip! We had a late dinner in an area called Place Reial and a restaurant called Les quince nits (the fifteen nights). It was the perfect way to end the trip. On Saturday when we left, it was pouring so we were grateful for the warm weather we had. It was so warm and refreshing to be on the water and surrounded by palm trees. It was a nice break from rainy Ireland :)

 On the way to the top of Montjuic!

 Alex overlooking the port.

 At the top of Montjuic.

 Us in front of MNAC, another great view of the city.

 MNAC before the lights were on.

 Let there be light!

 So incredible!

 I took this picture of this couple on La Rambla by accident, but I'm obsessed with it. 

 Placa Reial.