In the words of Joey Tribbiani…

LONDON BABY!! I could not help but constantly say this while I was there. The land of the Beatles and the Royals was simply wonderful. Jessica and I arrived early on Tuesday morning and met up with Amanda, her sister Carla, Brooke and their friend studying here Chris. He lives in a dorm style living space on campus which was interesting to see how he lived compared to us. His campus looked like a boarding school on the East coast. Lush green lawns and red brick buildings. We dropped our bags off there since we could not check into our Hostel yet and then headed out see all the sights one needs to see while in London. Right out of his campus is a beautiful park filled with dafodils, cranes, cute bridges, weeping willow trees and people strolling along the paths. We took the tube and arrived right in front of Big Ben. Chris said that it really was not that big but that’s the biggest clock tower I have ever seen. Close to that was the London Eye which was huge! We unfortunately did not go up in it because the cost was outrageous. We strolled along that area while I enjoyed a stick of chocolate covered strawberries and street entertainers. We walked along enjoying the sights then made our way to Westminster Abbey. It was very beautiful and huge as well. Then we strolled through another serene park to Buckingham Palace, it was so neat to see it in person. The gaurds were out and did their march. They only switch shifts every other day in the winter-can you imagine standing out there for 48 hours?! Unfortunately there were no royal sightings ha. We sat in Hyde park for awhile and enjoyed the gorgeous day we had been blessed with. We of course had to take picture in the famous telephone booths and then checked in to our hostel. Jessica and I took a much needed nap then got ready for the night. Our hostel had a bar on the main floor with good happy hour deals so we got a drink down there where we ironically met some guys from Dublin. We had a great time chatting with them they headed out to meet up with everyone else. It was one of Chris’s friends birthday. After going to the club she originally wanted to go to and realizing it was closed we went to a place in the Picadilly Circus area called the Sports Page. It was a fun atmosphere with dancing and beer pong on the upper level. When we checked out the beet pong area who do I run into? Tommy Kcrmaric! Of all places I run into my Junior year prom date. He is studying in Rome but was visiting his friends studying in London. It was great to see him and catch up a little. The next day we had a lovely picnic on top of Primrose hill which overlooked all of London. We had another sunny day-so I never experienced the dreary rainy London. After the picnic we headed to Camden Market which was unbelievable. They had food vendors, clothing shops, antique shops among other random things. I found some great posters and a lot of neat things. It is held in an old Horse Stable so it is filled with a lot of neat horse sculptures. Sara Ricci met us there who is from Colorado State studying there. We enjoyed some curry from a food vendor by a river nearby then headed to a neat place to enjoy smoothie and coffee that she likes. After she showed us the famous Harrod’s. I never knew there could be a department store like it! We went in the evening time so it was all lit up and the inside was unbelievable. This is where all of the people who don’t know what to do with their money come. There was a jar of Caviar on sale for 1,800 pounds! Living the life those people are. After that we met up with everyone else and enjoyed some nice BBQ for dinner. Then we went to a jazz club and listened to a band playing there which was a lot of fun. The next day we had to check out of our hostel then headed through the parks one last time before we had to catch the plane to Barcelona. London was a whirlwind but definitely a lot of fun. Up Next the land of whims and wishes: Barcelona!

3 Countries-1 week

What a week it was! Packed with sight-seeing and three very different cultures we set off to experience it all. Our first stop was Dublin which naturally I was most excited for because of my Irish background. Jessica and I left the Santa Maria Novella train station at 3 am so we could catch our flight in Pisa-going on 2 hours of sleep was not easy. We made it to the airport and got on the plane to sit there for a couple hours because everything was backed up due to fog. When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by a man named Peter Fox who had bubbled out my name on a piece of paper and held it up for us. We were to be staying with Briga who lived down the road from Peter, they have been great friends for 40 years. We met both of them in Rome and she offered her house up to us if ever we visited Dublin. Peter had gotten all five of us bus passes for the three days as a gift for us, which made life so much easier. He showed us through town a little bit before we arrived in Raheny, which was where they lived. Briga made us some tea and coffee as we got settled and freshened up. We headed back into town to check out some of the sites. We went on the hop-on hop-off bus which described various areas around the city then naturally got off at the Guinness Brewery stop at St. James’s gate. We toured the brewery which was very neat. Arthur Guinness signed the lease for the building for 9,000 years-they knew they were on to something good. It was interesting to learn about the hops, barley and water used to make the beer as well as the advertising that has been done for it over the years such as the “Lovely Day for a Guinness” with the famous Parrot. We also learned how to pour a pint of Guinness, it must settle for 2 minutes before filling the rest of it up. Who knew there could be so much to a beer? At the end of our tour we enjoyed a pint of Guinness at the Gravity tower that overlooked the whole city. After the tour we went to dinner in the Temple Bar area then had a few drinks at The Temple Bar. It was a fun atmosphere and we were able to enjoy some live Irish music, everyone was dancing and singing a long. Once the played Galway Girl I knew that I was where I belonged. We met some great locals who were a lot of fun. After getting home and accidently setting the house alarm off-sorry Briga :/ we settled in for some much needed sleep. The next day I went to mass with Peter at the church he usually goes to then came back and enjoyed a nice home cooked breakfast. It was a beautiful day, we were very fortunate. Peter and Briga filled me in on some Irish history while we were waiting for the rest of the girls to get up. They described how the Protestants discriminated against the Catholics for so long-so bad that the Catholics couldn’t vote they even had to have there church facing away from the town center and even though it was designed to reach the main street they would not let it go out that far. It was a time they don’t like to think or talk about. Briga and I also sat out in her garden and chatted for a bit. They had wonderful stories to tell that mixed with Irish humor was extremely enjoyable to listen to.  We headed out to Howth, which is a harbor town that was a little ways away. It was very beautiful, lined with cute shops and restaurants and tons of sail boats. We walked along the pier and took in the beauty of it all. We also enjoyed some fish and chips by the water. We rushed into the town center to shop and Pennies which was a clothing store that had cute but cheap clothing among other things-you can imagine 5 girls rushing around there trying to hurry to be home in time for dinner. Briga had made us a delicious meal with Roast Beef and tons of vegetables. I had a Parsnip for the first time which was actually very good. After some wine and funny banter between Peter and Briga Peter took us to the Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin. We received certificates for pouring a pint of Guinness and enjoyed some Jameson. Peter referred to us as his daughters and constantly was looking out for us. The next day Peter took us around town so we went to St. Stephen’s Green which was a beautiful park which little bridges and tons of vibrant tulips and lilacs and little ducks. After that we headed to Grafton Street where we saw the famous Molly Malone statue and took in the fun shops, musicians on the road and beautiful flower vendors. We had lunch off Grafton St. then headed towards the Jameson Distillery. On our way we stopped at a place called The Queen of Tarts for some sweets then stopped at St. Michan’s Church. It is a very old church in Dublin with a lot of crypts underneath it. We were able to take a tour and see two of them, it was very unexpected. We had to climb down narrow stairs into what looked like a dungeon there were three caskets that had been broken so we could see their dead bodies! These bodies were around 600 years old! One of the bodies what that of an old crusader, at the time it was said to be good luck if you were able to touch a crusader’s hand so we were allowed to touch his hand for good luck. First and last time I think I will touch a skeleton. The Sheares brothers were also buried who were leading a rebellion in Ireland years ago and were caught and sentenced to a brutal death. After the tombs and mummies we headed to the Jameson Distillery just in time to catch the last tour. Jameson is different than American whiskey because it is aged in used barrels and is distilled three times rather than one time which Jack Daniels is. After the tour we enjoyed a glass of Jameson with Ginger Ale, which is now my favorite drink. After we headed home for another home cooked meal of turkey and vegetables. I also had my first Irish Coffee that Briga made for us all- very good! Such a process to make it it was. By that time we were too tired so we settled in and chatted with Briga and Peter before going to bed. We had an early flight so Peter dropped us off at the airport. It was very sad saying good bye to them, I felt like there wasn’t enough time there and so much more to see. The people were wonderful, I could not thank Briga and Peter enough for the kindness they showed us. It is people like them that make this world such a beautiful place. I know that I will not be able to stay away from Ireland too long, whether it was my Irish background or the comfort of people speaking or simply the beauty of the city I fell in love. With 600 churches and 900 pubs in the city its hard not too. Peter would speak of how he goes to mass sometimes at night on Sundays then heads to the Brazen head after for a beer, this is why the Irish are loved so much. Up Next: LONDON BABY!

 

Carpe Noctem

So much for Carpe Diem, it is about seizing the night. Budapest had one of the best night life I have experienced yet. Like any other place though: it is only as beautiful as the people you share it with. Elizabeth and I met some truly beautiful people. It still amazes me how we are traveling this world and becoming so close with these people then leave and possibly never see them again. We stayed at two different hostels and had two very different, very wonderful experiences. We arrived in Budapest, which is actually two towns on different sides of the river- Buda and Pest, on Wednesday evening and made our way to the Budapest Centrum Hostel. There was a little sign on a huge apartment complex and following the run down stairs up to the first floor we were a little worried… When we entered we immediately felt at home in the cozy hostel. Alex the owner greeted us and showed us our room where we shared it with a girl named Yo-Yo from Japan. We were greeted by two other couples from Germany as well. Alex gave us a map and showed us the places we needed to visit and eat at. So we made our way to one of the restaurants he suggested for dinner. Menza was our first Hungarian food experience and it was delicious. We enjoyed a pancakes with chicken in it and a mushroom sauce and sour cream. I had pork and the mushroom sauce for dinner as well. It was a very retro hip atmosphere and it turned out to be a great first experience in Budapest. When we got back Yo-Yo wanted to take us to a “dance party” her tour guide told her about. We got on the metro and headed to a sketch part of town. The vibes flew between Elizabeth and I wondering what we were getting ourselves in to. We finally found the place and as we entered we realized this is not what we thought it was going to be at all. It was a Knights of Columbus sort of place where many older people were dancing to older Hungarian music. We were a bit thrown off but they were so welcoming and insisted on us dancing. I would say I picked up pretty well thanks to my line dancing skills, Elizabeth on the other hand struggled a bit. After 20 minutes of dancing we were already working up a sweat and these people dance for 5 hours non stop-talk about a workout! On Thursday we set out to take in the sights of Budapest we crossed the river to the Buda side since we were staying on the Pest side. We went up to a huge castle looking place and decided to check out the history museum since we really did not know much about Hungarian history. Here is your history lesson: Budapest stopped being  a communist country in 1956 after a revolution but really didn’t die out until the late 80s. They just joined the EU in 2004 so they still do not use the euro. One dollar equals about 170 HUF-it felt like monopoly money and a joke when one plate for dinner was 2300. During WWII there was a big Nazi presence so when getting rid of the Jews they would put them in the frigid Danube river (which is the river that separates Buda and Pest). After the history museum we did a little more exploring then made our way to the Central Market where we tried a traditional Hungarian dish-Lognas which is fried bread with any toppings you would like on them-very filling and very bad for you but very delicious. We also tried some Hungarian pastries as well. After that we went to St. Stephen’s Basilica which I think is one of the top 3 I have been in yet. The sparkling gold and colors were breathtaking. Then we made our way to the Parliament but were discouraged when we saw that all the tickets were sold out for the day. That night we helped Alex made a traditional Hungarian dish for dinner. It consisted of potatoes, water, onions, sausage and paprika-it was so easy to make and so delicious! That night we had some new people join us and some people had left for other adventures. There were three men from Poland and three women from Argentina . We were the youngest ones in the house with everyone else being around 30. After dinner we ended up sitting around talking and drinking, boy did those Polacks love their drinking! Alex and the girls from Argentina headed to bed but we stayed and taught the guys how to play “Kings Cup”- which one of them took the rules so he could play with his friend- I would say it was a success. Then we continued to have friendly debates and conversations about life. That morning we headed to the Parliament with the girls and the guys  headed out to an IT presentation then home. While waiting for our time slot in the Parliament we witnessed their military men practice their march for the National holiday. The Parliament was very neat inside, the dome was amazing. We saw the room where the meetings were held, even the cigar holders outside of the room that the men kept burning while they would go in for speeches. It is the 3rd largest Parliament in Europe with 691 rooms! We only saw about 6. After that we checked out of Budapest Centrum Hostel and checked into Carpe Noctem. We knew what was coming-this hostel was infamous for being a very lively hostel so when we checked in and noticed the white board with the nights plan saying: “Don’t worry you WILL have fun, you WILL get drunk, you MAY even get lucky".” We knew this place would live up to its reputation. We went a place where we enjoyed from Thai food for lunch then went over to the Buda side to watch the sunset on the top of the hill. We went up to an old castle and an old church. The castle looked like a giant sand castle and the church was absolutely beautiful from the outside- I have never seen a roof like it! We strolled around on top of the hill taking in all of Pest. The area was cleaner and more colorful than we had been in the city before. It was my favorite part of Budapest I had been to yet. Then we headed down to the Hummus Bar for dinner which was delicious of course- you can’t go wrong with hummus. Then we headed back to the hostel which was starting to pick up by this point. We joined a group for some cards where they taught us how to play “13” which is a card game. Then we got ready and all headed out for the night.  They had organized a pub crawl for all of us so the first bar we went to was pretty quiet and had some swings and the bar for chairs. B-ron (who worked at hostel) kept everyone together making sure no one was left behind. The bar had a specialty shot that consisted of vodka, cranberry juice and tobasco sauce-surprisingly good with a kick. The next bar had a band playing and a little dance for-so naturally that is where we headed. There was a group of boys around 16 who were trying their hardest to dance but failed in the rhythm department. So Elizabeth, Sonya, Andrea and I decided to help them a bit. We created a circle where we would jump in and dance one at a time then I taught them how to swing dance. They picked up easily because I did not take no for answer even though they were a bit timid. By the end of the night they were pros so when I told them to ask Elizabeth to dance they were still a little too nervous. Then it was on to the next bar and we continued to enjoy our night and get to know everyone. Everyone smokes inside the bars there so it hurt our eyes after awhile. On Saturday we headed to the famous baths! This was what we were looking forward to most. The building consisted of several saunas and pools-outside and inside pools all sorts of temperatures. Hot, dry, aromatic saunas you name it they had it. It was the perfect day to enjoy the baths with not a cloud in the sky. We also treated ourselves to massages as well. We met up with some people from the hostel and had a lot of fun with them in the whirl pool area and on the jets throughout the outdoor pool. It was the perfect day of relaxation. That night we went out on another bar crawl this time led by Max which was a blast. By this time we had become very close with everyone so it was like going out as a big family. We were celebrating Sonya’s birthday at midnight which made the night even more exciting. Music, dancing, and fun-what more could we ask for? This morning we had to say good-bye to everyone which was a little more upsetting than I thought it would be. Imagine mixing people from New Zealand, Argentine, the US, Holland, Australia, England, Brazil all together and what do you get? The BEST time of your life. So many different backgrounds and personalities made it so much fun. It is amazing how close people can become after only a few days. I hope that I will keep in touch with these people for years to come. I am still getting used to this feeling when traveling but it was definitely another successful trip. Great people, great sights, great stories. I still have to pinch myself and remind myself that I am actually living this life and still trying to figure out how I got to be so blessed to experience something like this.

The Chain Bridge that connects Buda and Pest.

St. Stephen’s Basilica

The Parliament

The Castle

The Basilica

Heroes Square and the Baths

The best part: The People