The Final Month

It is absolutely impossible to believe that a month from today I will be back home in Minnesota. “Time flies” is such an overused cliché, but I can’t think of a more accurate statement to describe my time in Ireland. I have enjoyed absolutely every minute of being here, and even though I can’t wait to see my friends and family back home, I already know how much I’m going to miss this amazing country. The girls in my cottage and I always try to remind each other that even though there are people and little things we miss back home, we will have those things for years when we are back, while we will only have Ireland for these three short months of our lives. Right now I’m just trying to soak up every little thing I can as the time ticks away. Tonight we’re going to go into Galway just to hang out in the pubs and listen to some live music, because our opportunities for nights like these are running low, and I know how much I am going to miss it.

Speaking of things I’m really going to miss, I just wanted to take a little time to talk about my amazing Cottage 3 ladies. I fully admit that I’m being a bit of a copycat, as Sarah wrote an amazing blog the other day about our cottage, but I just have to take a little time to speak about this great group of girls as well. It honestly amazes me how well matched we all were to live together, and I feel so blessed to be living with these crazy, funny, and super sweet ladies. While our cottage is the butt of pretty much all jokes, I absolutely wouldn’t want to be living with anyone else. Our cottage is mainly known for how we always have a nice supply of food and how we’re always snacking, as well as how much electricity we waste. First I’ll talk about the food… Ok so we have a decent supply of food, yes. But when we are already roughing with our heat and electricity, we don’t want to add starvation on top of everything else. Also in reality it’s really not that much food. Colleen and Ali are good little cooks so they buy a lot of specific things for their meals, but it’s mostly all really healthy. As for Sarah and I, well we eat a lot of eggs, pasta, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Cooking isn’t really our thing. Secondly we’ll take a look at our electricity usage… In reality, we actually don’t do that badly. We can make it through the week with our 6, two euro coins just fine. It’s when JP doesn’t get us our next round of coins on time that we struggle. I may or may not have been making deals with our intense energy-conserving neighbors for some of their extra coins last week when our electricity went out and we literally didn’t have a 2 euro coin to our names. No shame. But really, I’ve never regretted putting a coin in so that I could take a hot shower. Normally we never even have hot water in our sinks, so a hot shower is a very big deal for us. The cottage of boys next to us actually hasn’t taken a hot shower for this whole trip and they very rarely have lights on. They can make fun of us all they want, because their cottage is like a cave and I couldn’t do it. Although they may have a point about the fact that we often leave all of our lights on when no one is in there, just so we don’t have to come to a dark cottage. Oops J

Besides our food and slight waste of electricity, I will be the first to say that Cottage 3 is a blast. We are always laughing, joking, or making fun of someone about something, and these girls have been one of the things that have made this trip so great. If you walk past our cottage you will almost always hear us laughing, or often times screaming, about something. We also have a really bad tendency to scream every time someone knocks on the door. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that we don’t have visitors very often… Just kidding. We have friends. But really, some of my favorite times are when all 5 of us Cottage 3 girls are sitting around in our cottage, joking and laughing and just enjoying our amazing trip. Apart from Ali who I was already good friends with before coming here, I did not know any of these girls before this trip, which seems absolutely crazy to me. These girls are now some of my best friends, and I can’t imagine my life without them. I know I’m always going to miss the crazy moments when all of our power shuts off in the middle of the night, our freak out over the hole in our roof in the middle of a downpour, or our massive “slumbies” when we drag our mattresses into the living room and rearrange our whole cottage. Cottage 3 ladies I love you and God Bless. ;)

I know this post is getting a little long, but I’m just going to continue the theme of people I’ll miss and talk a little bit about all the other people on this trip. I talk about my cottage ladies a lot, because I obviously spend the most time around them, but I absolutely love so many of the people on my trip as well. It is so crazy to me that I didn’t even know that some of these people existed at my school before coming on this trip. I have made friends that I know will continue when I’m back at school, and I have so much fun when we all hang out, go on excursions together, or throw one of our infamous cottage parties. For instance, I’m so glad I met Amanda Tate, who is one of the funniest people I have ever met, has an amazing knack for sarcasm, and can tell a story better than anyone I know. Molly and Katie are also incredibly sweet people who are also very funny and sarcastic, which I can always appreciate. Then there’s Kelly who is also incredibly funny and sweet, but also capable to kick some ass if ever necessary. Danny Heck is kind of like the little brother I already have, but he’s incredibly nice, always looking out for us cottage 3 girls, and he’s great at eating all of our leftovers. Tom is always good for a laugh and once of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Garrett, well I hate him. Just kidding. Garrett is a great guy as well, super fun to be around, and also has a great sense of humor. I already feel creepy writing about people who probably don’t even read this, so this is where I’ll stop. But I have not written about all the people on this trip I would like to, because then this post would be more excessive than it already is, but there so many more people that I have so enjoyed spending time with that I could go on and on about. Maybe I’ll finish those in the next post J But the point I’m trying to make is that I’m so glad that I’ve gotten to know all of these amazing people. I have so much fun with our whole group, and I will truly miss being neighbors with all these people when we leave. I better be seeing a lot of my Park Lodge family back in St. Joe.

Well I suppose it’s about time I wrap this up. We are getting ready to leave tomorrow morning for our big excursion to Belfast and Derry. We are all very excited to be spending Halloween in Derry tomorrow night, as it is the birthplace of Halloween and the biggest Halloween festival in the world. Personally, I am super excited because I love Halloween, but also very concerned for myself because I have an incredibly intense phobia of masks. We’ll see how this goes… But still, I cannot wait for all the fun adventures we will be having this weekend, and for the rest of the time on our trip. Thanks for sticking with me again, and I’ll try to get my next update as soon as I can after we are back from our big Northern Ireland excursion! Happy Halloween! J

Just Checking In

For the first time in what feels like ages, I’m able to sit down at an actual computer and write a blog post in real-time from the Park Lodge. It’s been a relaxing and much needed week in Spiddal now that we’re all back from our worldly travels. I think we all had absolutely amazing trips, but, at least for me, it was extremely nice to be back in Ireland and back home at our cottage. I’ve never been so happy to throw a coin in our electricity box, take an almost hot shower, and sit by the small gas fireplace that is our only source of heat. While amazing and such a blessing, traveling the world is exhausting, expensive, and often times stressful, so there was a sense of relief to be back at “home.”

It was actually really exciting to have everyone get back from their separate adventures, and I have been so happy to have us all back together. I think now that we are, sadly, halfway through our trip, we are all starting to really get to know each other and come together as a group. I couldn’t wait to get back and hear about everyone’s trips and for all of us to be able to hang out again. Jenna and I were the first ones back to our cottage, and we were so excited when Mike and Amanda came over, since they were the first people we’d seen from our group in about 10 days. Later we got extremely excited when the cab unexpectedly pulled up outside our cottage that night around 1 AM with Tom and Danny inside. We went from being excited about the Trevi Fountain or the Vatican, to running to the window every time we heard a car pull up. Different sorts of excitement but both are good memories. After that, people continued to periodically show up, and each time it was exciting to say hi, hug, and swap some stories from our trips. I think we are all getting so used to living together and traveling together, that it felt weird to all be apart for over a week. To me, it feels like we are our own little family here at the Park Lodge, and I know I’m making some great friendships here that will without a doubt continue when we’re all back at CSBSJU.

As for me this week, I’m just taking it easy. I’ll be sleeping as much as I can, catching up on some school work, and spending some much loved quality time with my Bennie/Johnnie family. Two nights ago, JP opened his pub for us here at the Park Lodge, so we all could have a place to hang out, catch up, and maybe have a drink or two or twelve….  Just kidding mom, don’t worry J I think we all had a great time, and we even ended the night by playing Piano Man with everyone gathered in a circle and the Johhnies dropping their pants. Nothing like a little taste of St. Joe and Sal’s right here in Ireland J Well, that’s all for now! Sorry this post wasn’t too witty or about anything too exciting, but I just thought I’d give a little update while I had some time! Until next time….

When in Rome...

This may come as a shock to you, but once again I'm writing my post on a plane. This time we are winding down our unbelievable fall break and heading back to Dublin from Milan, Italy. At this point Colleen, Jenna, and I are just happy we made it on the plane. It's been quite the day. I'll give you a quick rundown of our transportation for the day: we walked from our hotel to the train station in Florence which took us to Milan where we hopped on a bus to the airport which puts us on the plane we are currently on to Dublin where we will catch a bus to Belfast where Colleen's friend Patrick will pick us up and bring us to his home by car. I feel like I'm in the movie Planes, Trains, and automobiles, which is actually pretty accurate considering the little bumps in the road we experienced today. One of those little hiccups was when I lost my 50 euro train ticket right before our train was leaving the station. I was forced to just get on without it and pray they wouldn't check our tickets for some reason, because it was the last train to get us on time to our flight. By some absolute miracle, no one ever came to check our tickets and I was not fined or kicked off the train! Although it was THE longest hour and 40 minutes of my life. Then later at the airport, we got caught up in so many long lines for security and passport checks that we nearly missed our plane. And when I say nearly I mean our gate closed at 1 and we got there at about 12:59 and 30 seconds.... But we must be carrying some of that Irish luck with us, because here we are on the plane and everything has ended up working out. 

Not having much of a plan and just "seeing where the wind takes us" was kind of theme of our time in Italy. Which I just have to say right now was one of the absolute best experiences of my whole life and a dream come true. I'll also warn you now that I'm sure this post will become very lengthy, because the trip was unimaginable and in my opinion it's more than worth sharing. Anyway, we started our Italian adventure in Rome where we showed up at the airport with the idea that we would just walk the mile to our hotel. This is when "the wind" took us to a cab because a 4 lane interstate was the only way there and walking on it isn't exactly encouraged. By the time we got there it was late and we were exhausted so we did our best to get some shut eye with all of our excitement and prepare for our big day in Rome!

The next morning we got up and wandered around until we came across the train station where we could hop on and head to the city's center. We didn't really have a definite plan for Rome either, but we had a goal to see the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain.  While Rome wasn't built in a day, we decided that we could walk it in 4 hours before we had to catch our train to Florence. Well we did succeed, and I have feet that look like a war zone to prove it. By the end of the day my feet were literally bleeding and covered in blisters. The cobblestone streets, while beautiful, are not so pleasant to walk on. But all of that pain was more than worth it, as I am still in awe of everything I saw. Rome is an absolutely beautiful city and there is so much history and character there. I still can't believe I threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain or stood outside the Vatican. These are all things I've always dreamed about doing, but never imagined I'd be doing so soon. Even though our time in Rome was short, it was hands down one of the most amazing things I've ever seen/done. 

So that evening we headed on to Florence, which was where we decided to spend most of our stay in Italy. We were more amused with the train than most probably, as we were in coaches that very much resembled what you see in Harry Potter movies. Our tickets put each of us girls in our own cabins where we were the only passengers, and Colleen and I both came out with train selfies because we felt like we were on our way to Hogwarts. It's the little things I suppose.  But more importantly Florence....Words can't even describe how amazing this city is. We spent all of Tuesday exploring the city, seeing the sites, and doing a bit of shopping of course. I splurged a bit on some Italian goods and souvenirs because I lack self control, but I actually employed some pretty impressive bartering skills and didn't end up too badly. When in Rome...   We also started to get a taste of the Italians, who are incredibly friendly but also very forward. We definitely got our fair share of flattery, but I think we can all admit hearing "ciao bella" never really gets old. :) We also enjoyed speaking the little Italian we could, which was mainly just grazie, because the Italian language is beautiful but it was also a bit of a barrier for us. 

Back to the actual city of Florence: Everything was breathtaking. The Renaissance statues and art, the absolutely astounding Cathedrals that were nothing like anything I'd ever seen, and the outstanding view of the city and river that we  were able to climb  a bit to see. It was literally something out of a movie, and I'm still waiting for it to sink in. Later that evening to top off the perfect day, we found an amazing authentic Italian restaurant where we all got pasta and some Italian wine and it was absolutely to die for. 

This brings me to a very necessary paragraph about Italian food. There are no words. The pizza and pasta is everything we hoped for and there's a reason it gets so much hype. We had plenty of pizza and pasta whenever we could. I also tried an amazing cannoli that was one of the best things I've ever eaten. But I think our real obsession came when we tried Gelato. We first got it in Rome, and after that we were hooked and made it a point of getting it at least once, sometimes twice, each day. It is seriously the best ice cream you will ever eat and there is no ice cream that can even come close. I swear you would have to try a new flavor everyday of your life to try all they offer there, and we never had one we didn't like. Put it on your bucket list. 

Ok enough about food... So we wrapped up our amazing Tuesday night by heading into the night life area of Florence, and we had an amazing time meeting some of the local people and checking out the bars and clubs. 

Wednesday morning started with us sleeping in a bit, which was greatly needed, and then we jumped on the train and traveled about an hour to an absolutely gorgeous beach on the coast.  We actually had no clue where the beach was from the train station, no surprise there, but we walked in the direction that "felt right" and we actually came across it fairly easily. It was a beautiful day; sunny and 75 degrees with blue skies. We spent the afternoon lying on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and just taking in the beautiful area which included the ocean in front of us and the mountains behind. It was such a surreal day, as I'm not sure the next time I'll be able to sunbath on the beach in the middle of October. It was the absolute perfect way to spend the day, and I am beyond blessed to have days like that. Wednesday evening we out for one last pizza dinner, which was delicious of course, and then we checked out the Florence night life one more time. 

This, sadly, brings us to today where it was time for us to leave Italy. While I'm sad to to because it was such a gorgeous place, I'm also still so grateful for the amazing time I'm having in Ireland, and I'm excited to go back "home". We are going to end this last weekend of fall break by visiting some friends in Belfast. I'm sure we are going to have an amazing time, and I think it will be the perfect way to end an unbelievably perfect fall break. 

One last thing I thought Id mention is more for just reflective and sentimental purposes for myself, because this blog also kind of serves as a journal for me. So if you've stuck with me this far, feel free to dip out now if you'd like. It's about a thought I had so many times during this break, about how lucky I am to have met my world traveling companions, Jenna and Colleen. I truly could not have asked for better girls to travel with, and they are such a big part of what made this trip so amazing. While at times we were tired, hungry, frustrated, and lost, we ,for the most part, kept good spirits and were always able to crack a joke. They are truly amazing girls who are caring, funny, and smart, and I'm so glad that this trip has allowed me to gain two more of my closest friends. It is absolutely crazy to think that a month and a half ago I didn't even know them, and now we traveled the world together and I can't imagine not having them in my life. So if either of you decided to read this, thanks so much for making my fall break so incredible :)

Well I think that finally sums up my Italian experience. I apologize for the lengthy post again, but experiences like these are hard to just brush over. I know Ive said it several times, but I am truly so blessed to be doing the things I am, and that fact is never lost on me. Now I'm looking forward to the second half of my study abroad semester, and I can't believe how fast it is going by. :( Here's to a great weekend in Belfast now and an amazing fall break! Thanks for taking the time to read my novel! :) 

So This Weekend I Went to Sweden.....

I'm making it a bit of a habit to write my blogs on plane rides, mainly because I'm always too freaked out and nervous to sleep, so this time I'll take the opportunity to describe my amazing weekend in Sweden! Prior to arriving in Sweden, I could never have imagined how absolutely fantastic our weekend would turn out, and even now I'm still in awe. I owe all the credit to Jenna and our amazing Swedish host family that she met through a soccer exchange she did while growing up in Duluth. Lisbet, Peter, Caroline, and Christopher could not have been more gracious hosts, and they went above and beyond to make sure our stay in Sweden was everything we could have hoped for and then some. 

Our flight actually arrived into Coppenhagen, Denmark on Thursday evening, which was also where Lisbet happened to be for business, so she was able to pick us up from the airport. We had about a 2 hour car ride from Denmark to where we were staying in Vaxjo, Sweden, during which we drove through the underwater tunnel that connects the two countries. It was a lovely drive, during which we got Swedish candy and soda and a chance to get to know a little bit more about Sweden and our hosts. When we arrived at their amazing home, we were warmly greeted and welcomed with a late night dinner that they had prepared for us. After a full day of traveling from Ireland, we were extremely excited and grateful for this. After we ate and got a chance to talk a bit, they drove us just a couple minutes down the street where they had arranged for us three girls to stay in an amazing flat for the weekend. It was absolutely more than we could have hoped for, and we were incredibly at home and comfortable all weekend. Although, none of us were brave enough to use the the actual bed in the bedroom, so we used the travel beds and couch and all slept together in the living room. We may be adult enough to travel around Europe, but none of us are grown up enough to sleep alone. :) 

The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit, and then we headed over to the house for a great breakfast. Let me just take a moment to clarify something... We've been in Ireland for over a month and a half now. In that time we have all been basically deprived of any home cooking. We do make food for ourselves in our cottages but, at least for me, it's nothing close to what I eat at home considering I'm a terrible cook and groceries are expensive. If we aren't in our cottages, then we are eating out in various Irish cities, which is delicious but very expensive. Anytime our program pays for a meal we all get way too excited. This brings me back to why were extremely excited to have a free breakfast including fresh bread, ham, eggs, fruit, and coffee. All of our meals in Sweden were taken care of actually, and they were all amazing and I cannot be thankful enough. After breakfast, we accompanied Christopher to a couple of his college classes. This was an extremely fun and funny experience, as it was cool to see how college is in another country, but considering we don't speak Swedish at all, we had absolutely no clue what was going on. Christopher actually convinced us for a little while that the students in his first class had been talking about us for a long time, but he was only kidding. Although, I would have absolutely no clue if that's true or not. The instructor in his second class actually did part of the lecture in English and was asking the students to answer some questions in English. We really appreciated the effort and it made class really fun for us. 

Later in the day, we took some time to see some of the beautiful scenery Sweden has to offer. We were so excited to see that Sweden experiences fall very similarly to what we have in Minnesota. We went to a beautiful forested area near a lake and were astounded by the beautiful red, orange, and yellow of the leaves. It was an amazing taste of home that we had been missing in Ireland, and I'm glad I got to experience that for a little while. After our time outside, Caroline took us girls into town and we went shopping for the rest of the afternoon. The girls got a couple cute tops from the shops, and I was able to achieve my goal of finding a pair of new, cheap flats. I somehow didn't notice that the ones I packed were completely falling apart to the point where I couldn't even keep them on my feet.... But thanks to the patience of Caroline, we tried 100 stores until I found ones that I liked and that weren't too expensive. But I think the highlight of the day for us was when we went to the Swedish candy store. We went a little overboard in there, but we couldn't really help it with how many options there were and how good it all looked. Right now though I'm not feeling so good about the fact that it's all gone......

When we returned back to the house we had an amazing, home-cooked meal waiting for us again of steak and potatoes. We ate in their beautiful sun room with an amazing table setting filled with candles. We were truly spoiled rotten during this weekend. Afterwards we had a perfectly relaxing evening that included watching the soccer game, which Sweden won, drinking wine, and eating popcorn, chips, and ice cream. Like I said, spoiled rotten. 

Saturday was even more amazing than the days before, if that's even possible. We once again were fed an amazing breakfast at the house before heading out to see some of the sites in Vaxjo with Lisbet, Peter, and Caroline. We first went to a really unique water tower, that unintentionally has an amazing echo effect if you talk or make noise while standing underneath. Next, we went to a view a gorgeous castle that was surrounded by a picturesque lake and  trees that exhibited the beautiful colors of fall. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've seen since leaving the US, and I'm so glad they thought to bring us there. I got a little picture happy while I was there, so eventually you will be able to see glimpses of this beautiful scene. But, as always, pictures never really do it justice. After the castle, we made one last stop at the dog training park, where Caroline works as a dog trainer. We were able to catch the end of the dog show going on, and then we were able to run the family's incredibly smart and adorable dog, Inca, through the course. She is so well trained and it was so much fun to get out on such a beautiful day and let her show off a bit. 

It is amazes me as I am writing this, all of the spectacular things we were treated to. I've written about so many things we did on Saturday, that it seems like I should be done and it would be a more than eventful day. But at that point on Saturday our day had just begun. We returned home for another delicious lunch, and then Caroline took us to a friend's barn where we were able to help tend to the horses and ride them for a little bit. I absolutely love horses, so I was extremely excited about this. I was able to ride a little bit this summer, so it was great to be on a farm and around the animals, and once again it was a little taste of home. The horses were incredible and very well trained, so it was an amazing way to end our afternoon. After that we went back to our flat 

to freshen up before we had a little dinner party back at the house. 

We were once again treated to an amazingly delicious meal, and this time we were joined by some friends of Caroline and Christopher, who were so fun to meet. Everyone we met during the weekend had amazing English, and since we really had nothing to contribute in the Swedish department, we really appreciated them making the effort to speak our language so much in their country. We had an amazing dinner with good food, friends, and laughs, and it was amazing how at home I felt. I've only known this amazing family for 3 days, and I literally felt as if I had known them all my life. They are so welcoming and friendly, and all of their friends we met were so nice and fun to hang out with. As it got later, the youth decided to go out for a bit so we could experience a little bit of the Swedish nightlife. It was super fun and a great thing to experience, although Jenna probably could have lived without me spilling an entire drink on her lap. I'm just as clutsy as ever :) Today we ended our amazing weekend with Lisbet and Caroline so graciously giving us a ride to the airport. On the way there we stopped in an adorable little town to have lunch and visit a very cool Swedish peppermint candy shop, where we could actually watch some of the candy be made. Then, sadly, we had to say goodbye to our new Swedish friends and head to our next adventure in Italy. 

For as lengthy as this post has become, it can't even begin to do justice to this weekend. Staying with a Swedish family like we did gave us such a unique and amazing experience that we could have never had as tourists on our own. I'm so thankful to Jenna for setting this up for us, and I am eternally grateful to our fun, kind, and generous hosts. We couldn't have gotten a better first impression of Sweden, and I very much hope to go back someday. If any of my new Swedish friends are reading this, tack sa mycket for giving me such an amazing start to my fall break! :)

This brings me to where I'm at currently, because I probably won't write again until my fall break is over at the end of the week. We are surviving our flight on Ryanair, which has been an interesting experience but not quite as bad as I thought it might be. We're about 30 minutes away from landing in Rome and we're getting a bit restless. It should be quite interesting to see how Jenna, Colleen, and I do in Italy. The first thing I'm going to do in the hotel when I have wifi is google some basic Italian, because we probably should be a little more prepared :) I still can't believe that we're on our way to Italy, as it is somewhere I've always desperately wanted to go, but I never thought I'd make it there so soon. It literally feels like a dream. Well that's all I have for now, thanks for sticking with me through this lengthy post. We're starting to experience some turbulence so it's time to shut my eyes, take some deep breaths, and think some happy thoughts. Wish us world travelers luck for our adventure to Rome, Florence, and Milan! Ciao! :) 

Is This Really My Life?

I'm currently sitting on a plane on my way to Sweden....... Sorry I just needed a second to let that sink in again because this still doesn't feel like real life. Living in Ireland and seeing all of the amazing things that we have, has already been the experience of a lifetime, and now it's going to get even better as I get the chance to travel to Sweden and Italy with my two lovely cottage mates and good friends Colleen and Jenna. As I was sitting here in my combination of extreme excitement and terror of being on a plane, I realized that I hadn't had the chance to write about my experience in Dublin. It was such an amazing weekend that I don't want to miss the opportunity to tell everyone about it, so I thought I'd get a little blog in before I get overwhelmed with all of my new European adventures. 

This past Friday, we made our way to Dublin for an eventful 5 day excursion. We actually started by spending one night/day in Glendalough, which is a very tiny town but it is set in an amazingly beautiful rural area. Glendalough is right next to Wicklow National Park, so we were able to spend the day walking around this beautiful place. Some of the highlights were seeing the lake where Braveheart was filmed and then, especially, the lake where PS I Love You was filmed. I'm actually surprised one of us girls didn't fall off the kind of steep cliff we were viewing it from with how giddy and excited we were all acting. I was incredibly excited to get to go to this spot, as I am obsessed with that movie and it's such a beautiful place. 

After our little tour of the movie sites, we headed on to Dublin. Unfortunately for all of us Bennies and Johnnies, we were on an incredibly small bus on an unusually warm Irish day and our AC stopped working. While we were miserable and sweaty by the time we found our hostile, it made us all the more excited to be in Dublin. That evening we were just given down time to rest and check out the nightlife. We actually ended up finding the pub where another scene of PS I Love You was filmed, and once again I had a not so tiny freak out about being in the room where Gerard Butler filmed a movie. Unfortunately for us girls he was nowhere to be found, despite what the bouncer at the door said. 

Our next day was spent with our theology professor Brother Colman, who took us around medieval Dublin, Trinity College, the National Museum, and the Dublin Castle. These were all amazing sites that my pictures would do better at expressing than my explanations ever could. We also had a jail tour of the famous Gaol, which was one of my favorite parts. It was such an incredible, eery place with so much history. It is also said to be the most haunted place in Dublin, but we didn't have any supernatural encounters. Later in the evening our group decided to hit up the Dublin nightlife again, and we ended up at the famous Temple Bar where we listened to an amazing band and had a great time. 

Monday was our free day in Dublin and it was probably the best day of the trip for me. A group of us girls started the day with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse which was absolutely amazing. The building is so unique, with it being shaped like a giant pint glass in the middle, and with all of the displays that were so high-tech and interactive. We learned and saw how Guinness was made, and we learned some history about the founder, Arthur Guinness. It was kind of nice to find out what an amazing man he was, since I had previously had Guinness poured all over me in his honor. We even got to attend and graduate from the Guinness Academy, where we learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. Unfortunately,  I haven't been able to make myself like Guinness, but I enjoyed the couple sips I took of it while looking at the amazing 360 degree view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar.  After our early afternoon full of Guinness, we then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the bustling Dublin shops, and I spent more money than I would like to discuss. But don't worry mom and dad, it was all things I needed for this fall break trip I'm currently on :) 

Monday evening was when things really got exciting. Our entire group went to dinner at the Brazen Head, which is Ireland's oldest pub. After dinner we all headed to a showing of the play Houdini at the Gaeity Theatre. We were incredibly excited about this because it sounded like a very interesting show and, most importantly, Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies, was one of the stars. The play was absolutely amazing and incredibly entertaining. Afterward we were lingering outside with the desperate hopes that the actors would walk outside, when, thank goodness, Ali had to go to the bathroom. I acknowledge that sounds strange, but you'll soon understand why this was pivotal. I went back into the theatre with her, where a very nice theatre worker showed us to the bathroom. This gave me the idea that I should try to use my American charm to get him to take us backstage. 

Unfortunately, despite my best effort, he informed us that he didn't have the authority to go backstage. But then, bless his little heart, he informed us that if we went to the alley around the side of the building we would find the exit that the performers use. Without a moment of hesitation, Ali and I ran outside, grabbed as many of the others as we could, and headed to the sketchy dark alley. It was there that we stood by a dumpster until Luna Lovegood herself came out just like we were told she would! She was seriously the sweetest person I've ever met, and she took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with all of us. I shamelessly had a hardcore groupie moment, and I'm surprised I was able to keep my composure. I have never been that starstruck, and I'm still not over it. After that we were all on Cloud 9 and any plans of going out just kind of went out the window, because, come on, how were we going to top that? Plus I had to get back to wifi ASAP so I could plaster my pictures all over social media and tell everyone I knew. No shame. 

The next day we meandered our way back to the Park Lodge, while stopping at some amazing monastic sites and tombs at Newgrange and Knowth. We can never have an excursion without a monastic ruin or a Neolithic tomb or two. :) Our Dublin excursion was seriously such an amazing experience and I wouldn't change a thing. The city is amazing and has so much to offer, and I know that we only scratched the surface of Dublin. But now, because my life is a complete dream and blessing, I'm approaching the airport in Sweden and about to start the greatest fall break anyone could ask for. We have an amazing host family waiting for us in Sweden, thanks to Jenna, and I cannot wait to get there and meet them. I'm sure the next 10 days will be a complete whirlwind, and I can't wait for every minute of it. Wish me and my two lovely travel companions luck as we set out to travel Europe and see what Sweden and Italy have to offer! :)