the final visitors

Tomorrow, my Mom and Aunt Rebecca leave for Ireland! They will arrive at my doorstep early Friday morning. I can't wait to hug and squeeze them both! If you know how cute my Mom is, you would understand why it's been hard to be away from her for so long. I'm so looking forward to a relaxing, girls vacation through Ireland. We'll be staying in bed & breakfasts every night and traveling to many different parts of Ireland, even several I haven't seen yet! I can't wait to show them Galway and all my favorite nooks and crannies that I've discovered. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures and update everyone from home about our trip. 

I'm scrambling to get my last essay finished before they arrive, so I can just relax when they're here. Wish me luck! :)

aran islands

My most recent adventure was a day trip to the Aran Islands. There are actually three small islands, off the western coast of Ireland. Our coordinator planned this trip as our final hoopla all together. We took a ferry in the morning to the largest of the three islands. When we got there we all rented bikes, then took off exploring. Let me tell you, the island is to die for. It's all green fields, stone walls, small thatch cottages, and cows...lots of cows. We rode on windy, hilly paths around the island. 

Beautiful, blue ocean water.

All of us on the beach.

So many cute cows!

We stopped for lunch at a small place and one of the only restaurants on the island. Then we hiked up a path, which lead us to a giant stone fort on the edge of the island. The fort is built on top of several hundred foot high cliffs. They were almost as high as the Cliffs of Moher, except instead of being walled off, you could go right to the edge. We spent an hour just lying on the cliffs edge looking down to the water. We reminised about how we all took a trip to the Cliffs in the beginning of the semester, and now we were ending our trip together with a trip to cliffs once again. I could have sat there all day, seriously. It was also a perfect, warm, sunny day. 

Walking up to the cliff's edge.

View of the cliffs.

Our group by the cliffs.

Literally lying on the edge.

Everyone, once again. 

After spending some time there, we biked off again to an area called the "seven churches." It is this beautiful cemetery with the ruins of seven small churches overlooking the ocean. The whole island felt so serene and beautiful. We had so much fun just biking around. Although, I must admit, the biking was much harder than we all expected and we were all exhausted by the end of the day! When we got back to Galway, we all went out for a nice dinner with Margaret and her husband, Brian. Margaret has become like a grandmother to us all. She worries about us, gives us speeches before traveling, and stops in for random visits to bring us food. She is truly one of the most special people I've met. She is a true Irish, genuine, hospitable woman. We had a great dinner for our last time together as a group, as one girl already went home today and another leaves tomorrow. I still can't believe how quickly the time has gone by and that soon I'll be heading home too. 

Graves in the seven churches area.

My buddies :)

perfect day

Yesterday was one of those absolutely perfect days in Galway that make you never want to leave. It was seventy degrees and sunny, so a bunch of us went by the river and just lied on the grass soaking up the sun. At night we went to a dinner party that some new friends invited us to and had a blast. Then, we went out for drinks to another great pub with an outdoor beer garden. It felt like a summer night! As we were out and all talking a friend turned to me and said, “Man, I’m really gonna miss this.” And it’s so true. With people from our group leaving for home at different times and some traveling before they leave, the reality that our time is coming to end is really starting to set in. Galway has started to feel like another home to me, and there is so much that I know I will miss.  There were also moments that I really missed home, but Galway has become another home to me. A friend once told me that coming home from a semester abroad is so hard because you gave such a piece of your heart away to that city, and I couldn’t agree more. Galway will absolutely have a piece of my heart forever.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
~Emerson

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 :)