Always Moher

The day after I flew home to Dublin from Rome, I sat my first exam at Trinity. Two days later I took my second (Taking classes just to pass is an amazing thing). As I am sure I have mentioned to many of you, the organization at TCD is an absolute nightmare, and I went into these exams having no idea what to expect. As it turns out, I was in a room with 1300 other students all monitored by what they call Invigilators. It felt like taking the ACT on steroids with proctors that have cool accents, and was a little overwhelming. But I am fairly confident I passed both of them, and had just under three weeks until my third and final exam as a Trinity student, as a study abroad student, and as a junior.

The next day Erika--one of my friends from Washu currently studying in Madrid--flew into Dublin to visit! We woke up early Friday morning to go on a day tour out to the west coast of Ireland, the highlight of which was a trip to the Cliffs of Moher. Perhaps the most well known wonder in Ireland, the cliffs were absolutely breathtaking.

The bus tour had many other stops as well, including a spot used during the filming of the seventh Harry Potter movie! It was a really fun but long day, and it was great that Erika got to see more parts of Ireland than just Dublin on her stay. That night we got home around 9:30, and Claire--one of our other friends from Washu--arrived in Dublin around 10:30 from Oxford, where she is studying. Though all of us were pretty tired, we decided to push through and go to a pub. 

Precarious Rickshaw Ride

We met Markie, Maggie, Connor, and Michael at Doyle's, a pub right next to Trinity that we go to a lot. By the time we were ready to leave, all three of us were so exhausted that we didn't feel like walking the 45 minutes to my apartment. The solution: a rickshaw. Though common in Dublin, I had never taken one of these carts pulled by a random guy on a bike before. But for the 7 euro I was willing to offer, he agreed to pile us all in for a ride all the way to Donnybrook. Speeding down the streets of Dublin, legitimately merging with traffic on a rickety little cart, we eventually made it home after the exciting (and judgement-questionable) adventure.

Saturday was dedicated to showing them around Dublin, but we got unlucky and had freezing cold weather. I think there is a Dublin curse that the weather is awful only when people come to visit. We still explored for the day, seeing Trinity, the Book of Kells, Grafton Street, and so on. Having people visit is really nice because I get to see Dublin through fresh eyes each time, and the city never fails to impress me again and again. We even did the Jameson Whiskey Distillery tour which was a lot of fun!


Sunday was their last full day in Ireland, so after a lazy morning and a nice breakfast we took the bus to Howth, the small coastal town north of Dublin where I also took my family. The plan had been to go hiking, but again we were unlucky enough to have bad weather. I swear it really isn't common in Ireland! In the end we stayed in the town, wandering through a weekend market and exploring the harbors. After a weekend of late nights and cold weather, we were all worn out and decided to have a movie night. Having Claire and Erika visit really made me start looking forward to senior year.

Once Claire and Erika left, the bittersweet week of goodbyes began. While I'm in Ireland until May 20, a lot of my friends finished exams and had flights home a lot earlier than me. On Tuesday the group all went out together one last time, and we had a goodbye dinner on Wednesday. Jamie, the first to leave, flew out Thursday morning. That night, IES arranged a formal farewell dinner for all of the kids in my program, and we were treated to a nice three course meal. It kind of felt like the last supper, because Friday morning I was leaving Ireland for a five day trip. By the time I got back, Markie, Connor, and Michael would all be back in the states. Along with Maggie, the five of us went out for a final drink at pub near where we live. We kept our goodbyes short, though they were so hard, because our common place is here in Dublin. The people I met and became close with are really what made this semester so special, and though will keep in touch its hard to wrap our heads around the fact that we are leaving and it won't ever be quite the same.

I'll cover my trip to Berlin and Belgium in my next post soon, and am going to skip ahead to the day after I returned to Dublin (Wednesday May 13). Kristina finished her exams while I was gone, and was traveling to Norway, Scandinavia, and Finland for two weeks, meaning I wouldn't see her again this semester after she left on the 14th. So for our last day together, we decided to do something a little crazy and go swimming!

It was actually a really nice day out, but only about 50 degrees. Kristina has heard about a swimming spot not too far outside of Dublin called Forty-Foot, so we hopped on the train and decided to check it out. It ended up being a little spot with lots of rocks on the ocean that used to be only for men, funny enough. There is a spot perfect for jumping into the water, an adventure we were not going to pass up even though the wind was bitter. We climbed out in swim suits and shorts, and paused at the edge to think about what we were about to do.

But there was no going back, so on my count Kristina leaped in. She popped up with a loud oh my god, and without thinking I asked how the water was. With an impressive lie, she managed to get out that it was fine. So on her count, in I went!

My body had never gone into shock like it did hitting that water. It was FREEZING! It was actually hard to breathe, so we quickly swam to the way out and ran up onto the rocks. Once we got our breathe back, we couldn't stop laughing.

After warming up in the sun--after that water the shore felt so warm!--we decided to do it one more time. Jumping in was a lot harder now that we were expecting the cold, but it wasn't as bad round two. So worth it! Today was one of my favorite days in Dublin of the whole semester.


We changed back into our clothes and walked back into town, and decided to stop for ice cream. Why not after a day at the kind-of-beach?

After showering and getting ready so we were relatively presentable back at Kristina's apartment, we went to a nice Italian dinner near St. Stephen's Green. The pasta and wine actually rivaled some of what I had in Italy! We went back to her room and ignored the fact that it was late and she had an early flight, hanging out for another hour. Finally it was time for me to go, and we said goodbye for now, since we will definitely be visiting each other and keeping in touch. I'm hoping she'll come for American Thanksgiving!

Sorry for the sentimentality, but as I countdown my days left in Ireland and watch my friends slowly leave, I know it's not going to be stopping anytime soon. Look out soon for a post about my trip to Germany and Belgium!


As always, thanks for reading :)

Italia

Sometimes I still can't believe that I have been exploring/galavanting all over Europe for the last 4 months. I got home just 48 hours ago from an 8 day trip to Italy with friends...it's absolutely unreal. Going to the country of pizza, pasta, and ancient history has always been something I dreamed about. So for the last week before exams began, Sarah and I, along with two of our other friends, went to Venice, Florence, and Rome.

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that as of Friday morning, my plan had been to just travel to Rome for 4 days. Originally, the we had all planned to do the three cities, and the other three of my travel buddies were still following that itinerary. After I had already bought my ticket to Venice, Trinity exams schedules were released, and I had one Monday April 27 and another Wednesday April 29. Trying to be responsible and aware that my time in Ireland is slowly drawing to a close, I decided to just meet them in Rome early Wednesday morning. When I tried to change my flight, Ryanair told me that the change fee was at least 30 euros. Since my Venice ticket only cost 36 euros, I didn't bother jumping through their hoops and simply bought a new ticket to Rome.

So Friday night, when friends were over before Trinity Ball, I realized that I could be in Italy within 24 hours. How could I pass that up? I asked Sarah if it was even possible for me to piggy back on their hotels in Venice and Florence (had they gone with hostels it would not have been), and she said it was definitely possible, not taking me seriously--maybe thinking it was just the wine talking. At 9 PM I checked in, and had made up my mind. Ladies and gentleman I am proud to say I spontaneously decided to go to Italy 12 hours before the flight. Unpacked and a little panicked about what I had just done, we left for Trinity Ball. The next morning was a bit of a fiasco, but by 1 PM I was on my way to Venice.

Venice

I have heard that some people don't like Venice; I was definitely not one of them. Getting lost in the twisting streets with canals and bridges around every corner was beautiful, inevitable, and so much fun. The first night we had out first of many Italian dinners followed by gelato, and walked through the more touristy streets. On Sunday, our full day, we wandered for a few hours, seeing St. Marcus's Square and Basilica and covering about half of the island. That night before dinner we splurged and did a Gondola ride--we wouldn't have been able to forgive ourselves otherwise!

Monday we had a late afternoon train to Florence, so Sarah and I spent a while looking through different shops and souvenir stands. Then for a few hours we sat on the edge of a bridge overlooking a beautiful and busy canal, our feet dangling fifteen feet above the water. It was relaxing and so pretty. Before leaving, we following our hotel's suggestion to a small restaurant that locals like to visit. It ended up being one of my favorite meals in Italy! For only 10 euro each, we were surprised to receive fresh bread, bottles of water, a bottle of wine, and delicious homemade pasta. The waitress then asked if we wanted the second course, which none of us had room for.

Florence

After a quick high speed train, we were in a city that had an entirely different feel to it than Venice. After dropping stuff off at the hotel, I met up for dinner with two of my best friends from WashU--Rachel and Megan--who are architecture students studying for the semester in Italy. We caught up over some delicious pizza and wine, and I got all of the insider tips on what to do with two days in Florence.

We woke up relatively early Tuesday morning and headed to the Accademia, which is the museum housing The David. The hour and a half long line was worth the wait, because even though I am not much of a museum person the huge sculpture actually exceeded my expectations. Next we visited the famous Duomo, one of my favorite buildings in Europe, and climbed up to the top of the dome. An absolute must do! The view from the top was beautiful; florence from above is not to miss. The rest of our day sped by with a visit to the Bargello (a sculpture museum in an old castle/prison), visiting a big central market, and just exploring Florence. One exciting find: Eduardo's, the best gelato we had in Italy!

One tip Megan gave me was to watch the sunset from Piazza Michaelangelo with a bottle of wine. Sarah and I found a pretty 5 euro bottle of Tuscany red wine, which ended up being the best we had in all of our time in Italy. The four of us headed out to find the Piazza, having no idea what to expect.

It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in all of my travel abroad, definitely near the top of my list. Photos in no way can get close to doing it justice. Piazza Michaelangelo ended up being on a hill overlooking the entire city of Florence and the mountains surrounding it. Watching the sun set over an already beautiful city was breathtaking.

Rome

Wednesday afternoon we left Florence in a high speed train, bound for Rome. Since I jumped on the first half of the trip at the last minute possible, I had to buy my train tickets only a day or two in advance. Somehow for this ride it worked out in my favor, because I randomly got bumped up to first class! With ten other passengers in my car maximum  I had cushy leather seats, and a few minutes into the ride a man came around with wine and chocolate. Living the life!

Our first full day in Rome was amazing. In the morning we spent a few hours in the Coliseum, which was unreal to see in person after growing up watching Gladiator with my parents. Afterwards we went to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, an impressive display of ruins from Ancient Rome. Following our pasta filled lunch break, we stopped by the Pantheon (which in my opinion was nothing too special) and took a break overlooking the Spanish Steps. We tried to see Trevi Fountain, but it was under construction for our whole stay.

After dinner we decided we should see a little bit of nightlife in Rome, and opted for the touristy Ice Bar. It was completely made of ice, at -5 degrees celsius which meant we had to wear these ridiculous looking thermal coats. Even the cups holding our ice-snow-cold themed drinks were made of ice! It was a very cool experience :) (that pun has not been made enough I assure you...)

We didn't stay for too long, but on our walk home stopped by the Coliseum. It was amazing to see at night, and we sat on a ledge looking over it for a long time. Friday while our two friends slept in, Sarah and I sat outside a small cafe people watching and sipping Italian lattes. Once they woke up, we walked across Rome to Vatican City.

We spent an hour walking through the Vatican Museum, not lingering because the rooms were pretty crowded. The map room was my personal favorite, though of course the Sistine Chapel was gorgeous. We got to skip the line since we precooked tickets, but the line for St. Peter's was dauntingly long.

Luckily we didn't have to wait in it! My dad had given me an Italy guide book he and my mom used on their trip, and in the Rome section was a handy little tip. If you pay for tickets through a tour group, there is a small special access door at the back of the Sistine Chapel that leads right into St. Peter's. Technically for tour groups only, the author suggested trying to just walk through. So it was the Catholic with three jewish/nonreligious people that suggested sneaking into one of the holiest places on the planet.

It worked! We simply walked through with a tour and got to bypass the two hour long line outside in the heat. For me, St Peter's was the highlight of the Vatican. We even got to go below ground and see the tombs of past popes. The basilica itself was the prettiest and most magnificent I have ever seen, and in the last four months I have seen lots of impressive churches. The whole basilica had an awe-inspiring and humbling air to it, and I was sad to leave.

We spent a few hours sitting in both St Peter's square and a nearby cafe, taking a break from our long day of walking/lines/sun. I had heard multiple times about a small restaurant near the Vatican that my parents loved from their trip, so we decided to try it for dinner.

The Holy Canoli
(yes eaten in Vatican City) 

The definition of a whole in the wall, it was one of my favorite meals in Italy! Antonio the owner was really friendly, and we were the only ones in the restaurant for most of the meal. On his suggestion I had spinach ricotta ravioli in walnut sauce...yum!

Deciding we wanted to see a new part of Rome, we stayed north of the river and walked towards a wine and chocolate bar Sarah and I had found online. It ended up being in a very young, chic, and local part of the city that we wish we had explored more. A few words on this bar...it was not at all what we expected! Everything was served in chocolate glasses--which was awesome--but innuendos ran rampant. It is not the place for those easily shocked/to go with your parents, but was hilarious and a great time.


On Saturday, Sarah and I again went to a small cafe while the other two slept in. Once they met us downtown, we went to the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument (huge white building) to see a birds eye view of Rome. While not nearly as impressive at that of the Duomo, I really enjoyed it. We followed it up with a few hours of souvenir shopping, which is always fun.

On my last night in Rome, I got to see St. Peter's Square at night, which was one of the prettiest places I have been so far. Seeing it lit up and very much emptied out was beautiful.

In an amazing stroke of fate, one of my best friends Glenna happened to arrive in Rome Saturday night...on her 21st birthday! We went to a late dinner where I had perhaps my favorite pasta dish (gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce) and got late night gelato as we caught up for a few hours. It was amazing! Who would have ever guess I would be spending my freshman floor mates birthday with her in Rome.

Overall it was an amazing trip. I am absolutely in love with Italy, and can't wait to go back one day.


Thanks for reading!

Good Irish Craic

The day my family left, I went to my last day of classes at Trinity College.

And today, I had my first exam.

In between I had just over three glorious weeks of freedom to hang out in Dublin, explore more of Ireland, and take an 8 day vacation to Italy (which you will be able to read about in my next post). Putting it in Irish slang, it was definitely good craic.

After my grandma, dad, and sister left, it was Easter weekend. To celebrate on Sunday, I went with Maggie to a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral, which neither of us had been inside of yet. It is a beautiful church, but the mass itself was an experience. It had little speaking, a lot of singing, and felt almost more like a performance than an Easter mass. It had a weirdly cold tone to it. On the handed out booklet, there was even a note saying that when the choir sings it is a time for meaningful and silent reflection...not exactly inviting you to join in. Still, it was worth it to see the cathedral! Afterwords we met Connor and Michael for a nice brunch at a nearby restaurant, celebrating both the holiday and the end of classes with mimosas and french toast.

On Tuesday, Kristina and I woke up bright and early (after two hours of sleep each...) to catch a 7 AM bus for a day trip down to Waterford, Ireland. Outside of being home to the famous House of Waterford Crystal, the town actually was the first ever to be founded in Ireland, by Vikings in 914. It has a lot of important history behind it that we discovered by wandering into a few medieval museums. The highlight for me though was definitely the House of Waterford factory tour.

From my grandma and my mom, I had already been familiar with Waterford Crystal. But I had no idea how famous it really was. They make the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, give the US President annual gifts, receive orders from the Queen of England, and produce lots of sport championship trophies. In the tour we got to see all of the different stages of the crystal, to its original shaping as seen below, to the final hand carving process. Afterwards we explored the attached store, but sadly I didn't bring enough money for the $40,000 bear sculpture.

The rest of the week was spent relaxing in Dublin, including my first official rugby game, and picnics in both St. Stephen's Green and St. Marion's Park. The next Sunday, Sarah and I went on a trip to the west coast of Ireland in county Sligo. We spent two days in the absolute middle of no where...to call a taxi you called someone's home phone, there were two restaurants within five miles, and neither cell phone service nor ATMs existed. However it was gorgeous, and we were there to go horseback riding!


We both had said we were relatively beginners, because even though I took lessons for awhile when I was younger, my horseback riding days are few and far between. And this stable was  definitely not for beginners, whatever they told us! It was a lot of fun but definitely an adventure. The terrain was often very steep and rocky, with horses that very much liked to run. Staying seated on an english style saddle (aka no horn to hold) when a horse is bouncing down a 45 degree angled slope is slightly terrifying.

On the first day we got to ride on an amazing beach, which is definitely a dream come true. I say that even though: On the way back, there was legitimately one bird on the beach. As my horse and I rode past, it took off--as birds usually do. My horse must not have seen it, because she suddenly spooked pretty badly and threw me off. Yes I actually fell for the first time off of a horse. Sarah was lucky enough to be riding behind me, and got to watch the show. I was told it was a pretty graceful fall, but my tailbone was not happy with me for a few days. The rest of the ride was comparatively uneventful, and the beach was the highlight of horseback riding for me.


Continuing the trip, I am proud and slightly shocked to say I have found my favorite place in Ireland: the small coastal town of Strandhill. It was surrounded by everything you could imagine: giant dunes, mountains, the ocean with huge waves crashing on rocks, and a calm bay with the prettiest beaches I have ever seen.

In the afternoon I hiked up the mountain shown below, Knocknarea. The way up was mostly stairs leading through a forest, and the top was fairly flat and huge. The next day I went two more hikes, taking me around the peninsula into the prettiest cove of beaches imaginable, surrounded by mountains with crystal clear water. I have never been somewhere that seemed so untouched by people, almost like it was from another time. On the way back I went over giant dunes, which were a lot of fun to slide down and gave some more great views of the bay.

Strandhill

Sarah had taken an earlier bus home to study for exams, but I planned on catching the 6:30 PM bus out of Sligo. I arrived at the station around 5:30 to be safe, and waited outside since it was so nice out. The buses have big electronic displays in front, displaying their destination. I waited for the one reading Dublin to finally pull in, and around 6:45 got concerned because they are almost always on time. I asked inside...and the lady told me it had pulled out right in front of me. I was shocked and positive that it had not happened. In the end it turned out the bus driver forgot to change his new destination display, so no one waiting outside had gotten on the bus. They told us that there was one more bus that night...at 1 AM. #strandedinsligo

I was not up for waiting 6 hours at a tiny bus station with no wifi, and looked around to see a Best Western right behind the station. Lucky enough they had an open room, and I decided the 65 euro for a bed and free breakfast was definitely worth it. I slept in a king size bed and took the noon bus the following day. Having so much free time and no responsibilites is the life of luxury, though study abroad and my bank accounts are not getting along so well!

I got home Thursday afternoon, and had that night to relax. On Friday my roommates and I all woke up around nine because we had to go pick up our tickets for that night downtown...to Trinity Ball!

Trinity Ball is an annual TCD tradition in which the school brings tons of bands and artists, usually with a few big names in the mix, to campus for a late night concert. Why is it called a ball? Because the dress code is black tie! Most of the Irish guys were wearing tuxes, and the girls wore a mix of long and short cocktail dresses. The four of us picked up our tickets, and headed to Grafton Street to find Sarah a new dress and a new pair of shoes for me. After two successes (and a personal victory for Nicole who convinced me to buy adorable 6 inch wedges to wear on cobblestone), the three of them got their hair done at a blow dry bar, while I decided to do my own (after having just spent an unexpected 65 euro...). We followed the morning up with froyo, and headed home to clean up and get ready before hosting a preparty for a bunch of our friends.

The day was so much fun, and Trinity Ball itself was enjoyable but to be honest nothing too special since we didn't know any of the artists, and it was freezing by midnight. The coolest part by far was seeing Trinity's campus, which is always clean and plastered with stay off the grass signs, turned into a giant festival ground.

Friday morning, my plans were to be in Rome Wednesday to Sunday. Saturday afternoon I was on a plane to Venice. Stay tuned for that story, as well as to hear about an amazing trip to Italy!

As always, thanks for reading!

The Dynasty Arrives

Once upon a time, three generations of Knowles stormed the Emerald Isle.

Day 1

Almost three weeks ago, my dad, grandma, and younger sister Laura landed in Ireland. I met them bright and early Saturday morning to begin a fun and busy week (prepare yourself for another long post). After the fiasco that is renting a car, we headed up into Northern Ireland to drop our bags off at the castle that was going to be home for the night.

Narrow Water Castle

Narrow Water Castle is a still functioning castle; the current resident has had the castle in his family for over six generations, though his uncle currently holds the title of lord. We were staying the night in an apartment in what used to be the servants' quarters. After the hour long car ride that had me nervous the entire time--my dad was driving on the left side of the road after being awake for over 24 hours...--it was a welcoming sight.

Fit for royalty

Laura immediately dropped into one of the beds, and we didn't see her again for at least three hours. My dad, grandma, and I decided to take a short walk into the enormous grounds, where we found gardens, an old treehouse, and lots of sheep. Once we got back, my dad too decided to take an hour power nap. Only my grandma remained, and she was hands down the winner in beating jet lag.

Once everyone was awake, we drove over to a small coastal town called Carlingsford so they could experience their first Irish pub of the week. After a nice dinner at a local restaurant, we headed back to the castle. With just a single episode of NCIS, all three of them passed out by 10 PM.

Day 2

The next day we woke up bright and early by Laura standards...aka around 8. After a quick breakfast of homemade brown bread and fresh coffee, we drove into Belfast to go to the Titanic museum.

A good looking bunch

The museum was fantastic. There were around nine different galleries, exploring all the way from why Belfast was the perfect location for its construction, to how the Titanic's story is represented in movies and literature today. For me, the most powerful exhibit was the gallery holding the only first-hand and real-time records about what really happened that night in 1912. On the walls of a dark blue, winding room were the exact telegraph messages exchanged between the Titanic and other ships/land stations nearby. They spanned from early messages of everything is well, all the way to one last attempt begging for rescue. It cuts off in the middle, and was the last anyone was ever to hear from the Titanic.

Afterwards, we ate lunch in a cute french inspired cafe near Queen's University, and headed back to Narrow Water.  Since the castle is still functioning, its almost always closed aside from weddings. However we were lucky enough to be there on a rare day that it was open for a few hours to host a wedding tour, so we actually got to go inside!

Inside it truly looked like something out of Downton Abbey. We headed downstairs into the basement, which had stone walls, arched door ways, and little tables of wedding photographers, caterers, dress makers, etc spread out for visitors to explore. After seeing more of the castle, I thought the coolest part was the old paintings on the walls of people who had lived in the castle over time, going back hundreds of years. The current owner's ancestors!

After packing up our bags, we said goodbye to Narrow Water and headed to our next stop: Cabra Castle. Though not a functioning castle, Cabra is still decorated with some original furniture and tons of old portraits, but also has a nice restaurant and pub inside. We were again staying in the old servants' quarters, though this time we had three separate rooms. They were incredible, and the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in! After settling in we headed to the pub for a pre-dinner drink, and then headed up to the restaurant for a delicious four course meal with after dinner tea that was legitimately fit for royalty. Laura and I adventured outside and happened to find one of the castle's two irish wolfhounds, and he was almost up to my waist! (and incredibly smelly since I think he lives mostly outside)

Cabra Castle

Day 3 (My favorite day of the trip)

After another delicious meal in the restaurant, we packed up and said goodbye to Cabra Castle. I think we all wished we had been able to stay a little longer; it is definitely my favorite place I have ever stayed. The dream: having my wedding in their fairytale giant ballroom. Anyway, today was dedicated to seeing still standing house that both my grandma and her father grew up in, as well as their little hometown of Shercock. It turned out to be a place where not only did everyone know everyone, everyone remembered the McMahon's (my grandma's family), even though they had left Ireland over 60 years ago.

Our GPS got us to the town center (consisting of maybe two restaurants, a pub, and an ice cream parlor, and one or two shops), but from there we needed to ask directions to Pat Ruxton's. Pat, who I am distantly related to in some way, bought the house from my great-grandmother and has kept it standing at her request, though it's now used as a storage shed. After an adventure that involved hailing the postman down for directions, to being at Pat Ruxton Junior's house instead of Senior's, we finally pulled into the right drive.

Pat walked out of his barn and greeted us like old friends, though he had no idea who the strangers that had randomly pulled into his backyard were. After a moment he recognized my grandma, who had been by a few times in the last thirty years. We got to go inside my grandma's childhood home, and see where the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms had once been. It even had the original roof. It was amazing to see a standing part of our family's history.

Afterwards Pat invited us in for tea, and refused to take no for an answer. With traditional Irish hospitality, he laid out biscuits, put a kettle on the stove, and called his daughter in law to bring over milk because we simply couldn't have tea without it! Once his wife got home from the store, she apologized profusely for not having freshly baked cookies or scones ready for us, even though we had dropped by unannounced.

As we chatted, it came up that we were also looking to visit a man named PJ O'Hanlon, who used to own a store in the next town over. It was no longer there, so we weren't sure how to find him, and
neither were the Ruxtons. So Pat spent at least half an hour calling the entire town looking for PJ. He rang a neighbor, who suggested another neighbor, who thought maybe this man would know, and so on.

Burns Pub

The mission ended in success, and we had an address to find PJ. However our short visit had turned into a few hours, so we decided to save it for another day. Before leaving Shercock, we continued our adventure by stopping to visit an old family friend who had just turned 102 (also involved tea and brown bread, we almost couldn't take anymore hospitality!), and the town's church where my grandma's 11 year old brother had been buried. Another example of Irish kindness was when we couldn't find his grave in the pouring rain and freezing wind, and a random older gentleman braved the weather to help us find it. Before saying goodbye to Shercock and driving back to Dublin for the night, we went to Burns Pub. When my dad and grandma visited in the late 90's, not only did they have a fun afternoon there but actually stumbled upon another distant relative!

Today was one of my favorites in my stay, because over and over again we experienced true Irish hospitality. My sister and I also got to see a real piece of my grandma's childhood and our family history, which (not to be cliche) was priceless.

Day 4

Day 4 was dedicated to Dublin. We headed to breakfast at a local cafe, where my dad was to become a short term regular. Afterwards we walked to Trinity College, so my family could get a tour of where I have been studying this semester.

Main Square and the Library

Though shopping was my grandma's idea, Laura and I were more than happy to go along! So we headed down Grafton Street, a bustling pedestrian street lined with shops and performers in Dublin center. Laura and I both ended up with Trinity sweatshirts from my dad, and jewelry from my grandma was was sweet of them both. The weather was again not great--the five days they were here were not joking or exaggerating five of the worst I have experienced in Dublin--so we decided to drive to Howth for lunch, a seaside town 20 miles outside of the city.

After eating at yet another pub, my grandma took refuge in the car while my dad, Laura, and I braved the weather. We climbed a wall overlooking the ocean, and getting almost knocked over by wind was worth the view. We walked along the pier, and actually saw some wild seals in the harbor! Finally we ran laughing back to the car once the wind turned the rain into little needles. It was a great afternoon, that continued with a stop at the Guinness Storehouse for a tasting and tour.

After a break int the apartment, we headed to the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin. A late night dinner was well worth it, because we got out own table in the room that filled up quickly, because live music is played every night. Advertised to begin at 9:30, following with the relaxed Irish culture the band started a little after 10. It was maybe six or seven men, all ranging in age and instruments, performing traditional and lively music. I think that this was everyone's favorite night, and I am proud to say that my grandma outlasted me in a pub.

Day 5

On the last day of their Ireland vacation, we drove out the Carrick Macross, the town where my great-grandmother grew up. It is also the home of PJ O'Hanlon, my second cousin twice removed, who still owns the house she grew up in along with his grandfather.

PJ and the house

We dropped by his house unannounced on a workday, and were lucky enough to catch him at home. Then PJ apologized to us for having to go to a meeting, but was able to make time for us in the afternoon. After grabbing lunch at the Fiddler's Elbow, we met back up with him. We made a pitstop
at his mother's house--who keeping up with Irish hospitality offered us a drop of brandy--and then drove up to the house of my great-great-grandparents. It was in great condition, and had a large open kitchen, a bedroom for my great-great-grandparents, and two bedrooms shared among nine kids. It was amazing to see, and you could almost picture growing up there with plenty of land for horses, cows, and sheep, a well across the road to get water, and miles to the nearest town.

Childhood home of my great-grandmother

PJ then took us to the graveyard where my great-great grandparents are buried. My grandma had never been there before, and was definitely moved.

One of many

Following our routine, we drove back to Dublin and took a break at the apartment. For our final night out, we headed into Temple Bar, a few square touristy blocks filled with pubs. My grandma's birthday was only a few days away, so we surprised her with a brownie and candle, as well as a new charm for her pandora bracelet of a little castle. We went to a few more pubs before calling it a night.


Day 6

With a flight at 11:30, we headed to breakfast at my dad's favorite cafe for one more Irish meal. Now I have been in and out of Dublin airport plenty of times, and the longest it has ever taken me to get through security was maybe 25 minutes. So I told them that leaving at 9 would give them plenty of time...not thinking about how they had to go through a second round of security known as Customs. They barely made their flight, and my poor grandma had to literally run through the airport. A fitting ending, because the week took of running and we never had a dull moment.

Overall the week with my dad, grandma, and Laura was one of my favorite in Ireland. We met relatives, saw places where my ancestors and even grandma grew up, stayed at gorgeous castles, traveled through beautiful areas of Ireland, and went to 12 pubs in 5 days. Definitely a success.

As always, thanks for reading :)

County Kerry

Imagine the photos of Ireland featured on postcards, and you are picturing County Kerry. Touring this beautiful south western county of Ireland would have been challenging without a car, but luckily the American program I am studying through--IES--offered a weekend trip for us in mid March. We left Trinity on a nice coach bus bright and early at 7 a.m., and arrived in Killarney National Park by noon.

Our trip began with an hour long boat tour, leaving from Ross Castle and taking us through three different lakes. As we glided across the clear, mirror-like water, we were surrounded by mountains on all sides. There was a layer of mist that gave the trip a mysterious and kind of mystical feeling.

Once we reached Lord Brandon's Cottage, we began a roughly seven mile hike that took us over a mountain, into a valley, and across farmland that had sheep pretty much every two feet. Afterwards our bus took us to our hotel in Killarney, a quaint town that has been one of my favorites so far. Markie was my roommate at an incredibly nice hotel, such a change from hostels! 

The next morning IES took us to Inch Beach, on a tour of the Dingle Whiskey Distillery, and to a pottery making lesson--all before lunch.  I had been skeptical about using over an hour of our tightly scheduled time on a distillery tour, but it actually ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Not even three years old, the company is actually set to sell its first barrel of whisky in a few months, and is the first distillery to open in Ireland in over 125 years. We got to see the actual distillation process, learn about Irish whiskey history, hear how the company started, and taste samples of their homemade gin as well as un-aged whiskey.

Gorgeous Inch Beach with sand reflecting the sky

We then had an afternoon to explore Dingle, a super cute little town on the coast. After sampling some of the famous Murphy's ice cream (Salted Caramel + Caramelized Brown Bread), Markie, Connor and I checked out a small book store and then just wandered around for a while. We decided to make a pit stop for "lunch" at a small cheese shop, which was 100% the right decision because for around 4 euro Markie and I split a cheese board which was amazing. We spent the end of the afternoon sitting on some rocks in the sun right next the the harbor.

The next morning, Markie, Connor, Julia and I went on a self guided hike that took us back to Ross Castle and a little but deeper into the national park. By noon it was time to board the bus and head back to Dublin. Overall it was a really fun weekend, and County Kerry held many of the most beautiful sites I have seen in Ireland yet.

St. Paddy's Festivities

If you ever have the chance to visit Ireland for St. Patrick's Day, you'll be visiting a very different Dublin from the one I have gotten to know and love.

This year St. Patrick's Day fell on a Tuesday, but there was a festival starting the Saturday beforehand, i.e. from March 14-March 17. Neither I nor any of my friends really knew what to expect going into the weekend, to be honest. Friday late morning I noticed lots of people pulling wheely suitcases behind them, and knew it had begun.

Saturday a small group of us went to a pub to watch the Ireland vs Wales rugby game--shoutout to Ireland for winning the 6 nations title the next week!--and decided not to explore the St. Patrick's festivities just yet. On Sunday, we went to the 2015 Beer and Whiskey Festival, which was a ton of fun. There were stalls upon stalls of all different local beer, whiskey, and cider companies, and live music playing all day. I sampled a lot of the different ciders, and don't think I can ever go back to drinking it out of a can!

Tuesday morning, I woke up early and donned my St. Paddy's Day outfit: a green and white Ireland Rugby, thick green Irish wool socks, and an "Irish Drinking Team" baseball hat that would not have been complete without its can opener on the brim. Finishing it off with a shamrock on my cheek, I definitely looked ridiculous but was ready to go. I headed over to Markie, Maggie, Kelsey, and Jamie's apartment around 9 to meet up with some of our guy friends and cook a gourmet breakfast including pancakes, sausage, bacon, toast, and hash browns. While having 9 people in a small kitchen was a little crazy, it was a blast!

Around 11 we walked downtown to get spots for the parade, which started at noon. That was our one mistake, because it was already packed with people! The only spot we could get was about 8 people deep, so I couldn't actually see any of the parade. After a few minutes we decided to give up and head to a local student pub, which began our day of pub hopping through Dublin.

(Side note: my one goal of the day was for someone to use my hat to open a beer. This dream came true in the bathroom of a pub when two girls asked around for a can opener as they pulled two bottles out of their bag. Mission accomplished :) )

Overall, it was a really fun day! I want to reflect on my very first comment of this post, that visiting Dublin for St. Patrick's Day is visiting a very different place than the city I have gotten to know, because it not only explains why I found the holiday to be a little over-hyped but also reveals something I find pretty cool.

Streets packed with people celebrating all day was crazy and fun, and I would definitely recommend coming to Dublin for the holiday if you ever have the chance. Had I only been here for the weekend, I think I would have loved every second of it! The thing is, I have lived here long enough that I feel like I know Dublin on a slightly deeper level, and I missed it that weekend. Almost every Irish person I know fled the city for the duration of the holiday, most of them using the exact phrase "I avoid it like the plague," which was interesting. People from all over the world travel here and take over the city pretty much to drink; they are energetic and excited to be in Ireland, which is awesome, but when Dublin is your home that would be exhausting.

What I found to be really cool was that I was in the grey area between tourist and local--more towards tourist since I am only here for 5 months, but still. I definitely enjoyed St. Patrick's Day, but I was also missing Dublin and was ready for it to be over.

Maybe I really am becoming a Dubliner?


Thanks for reading :)



Shortly into the semester my iPhone camera broke, so a few credits are due to Markie and Julia for photos here and there!

The Calm Before the Storm (of tourists)

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! 

Being in Dublin the last few days has been crazy, and to be honest I'm not sure what to expect for tomorrow. But all of that will be covered in another post later this week. For now... a little bit of catch-up (I'm seeing a trend here).

Maggie, Markie, Kelsey, Me, Sarah

It's been almost four weeks since you last heard from me, when I was catching up on a little bit of work before Reading Week. As I said, Trinity gave us the full last week of February off. While most Irish students really do take the week to both do a lot of schoolwork as well as go out with friends, for study abroad students it is a perfect time to travel. I planned a trip to Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Paris with four of my friends here--Markie, Maggie, Kelsey, and Sarah.


We left Friday morning, and by late afternoon had arrived at our hostel in Vienna, Austria. Markie did most of the hostel research, and we stayed in 5 great ones. All were clean and in amazing locations, usually a walkable distance to city centre. In Vienna, there was actually a bar and two pool tables in the basement. We were there from Friday until Sunday morning, and had some of our most interesting experiences of the trip there, to say the least--one included nearly being pick-pocketed which was a necessary wake up call. Compared to the other places I have been, there was a very noticeable animosity to a majority of the people we encountered. All of us agreed it was our least favorite city, though still gorgeous. The museum quarter is filled with beautiful, huge, and intimidating white buildings, with lots of green space in between. 

Vienna

On Friday after walking around the city center and getting dinner, we decided to sample Vienna's nightlife. By recommendation of someone working at the hostel, we went to a club called Prater Dome. If you ever find yourself in Vienna, I would definitely recommend it! It is the nicest club I have been in; and probably one of the most expensive. We had some fun cocktails and explored the club. It was very posh, if I had to choose a word to describe it. There were two levels with lots of big rooms, each having their own theme and bar. We spent most of our time in the pop and latin rooms.

The next day we explored Vienna on foot, including the beautiful palace just outside of the city. After the late night and busy day, we decided to go back to the Prater, which is actually a permanent carnival. It was a lot of fun! There was a famous giant ferris wheel, and a few rides we decided to try out. After a few rounds of pool back at the hostel, we called it an early night. 

Late Sunday morning we caught our bus to Budapest, Hungary. Being honest, Budapest is the reason I pushed for the trip into central Europe because one of my best friends from WashU--Katie--is studying there for the semester. I absolutely adored the city, and would really love to go back someday because there was so much more to see. During the day we walked around to visit some of the popular tourist sights, including St Peter's Cathedral and Buda Castle. Budapest is actually two cities separated by a river (Buda and Pest), with the castle lying right on its banks. It was one of the prettiest views I think I saw all trip. 

Budapest

After a nice Hungarian dinner and a break at the hostel, we set out to explore the famous Ruin Pubs. As a side note, everything in Budapest is insanely cheap. 1 USD is about 290 Forints, and for the time we were in the city I pulled out 40,000 Forints and had over 10,000 left over; that's less than 100 USD, including paying for the hostel. 



The Ruin Pubs are a must do when in Budapest. The district that is home to these pubs was once the Jewish quarter before World War II, and they are all inside old ruin buildings. We went to two of them, and like Vienna they had multiple rooms each with its own flavor. My personal highlight: Katie meeting up with us along with a few of her friends. The night included sampling some interesting Hungarian alcohol, cheap but very good wine, and great music. It was my favorite time out of the entire trip.




The next morning, we woke up early to try out the well known Turkish baths with Katie and one of her friends. Well worth it! The experience was very unique--and included Sarah having to rent a bathing suit, which was hilarious. We soaked in all of the different baths for over two hours, sitting alongside the many old men playing chess and elderly women who seemed to all know one another. I could definitely see myself retiring in Budapest and joining them one day. 

The next morning, Markie, Sarah and I were privileged enough to leave our hostel at 4:30 AM to catch a 5:25 train to Prague. (Kelsey and Maggie had accidentally bought that last two 7:25 tickets...). The 7 hour train ride actually flew by, though I wasn't able to sleep at all. A good portion of it we hung out in the dining car with coffee and watched the countryside roll by. 

As cheesy as it might sound, the best way I can describe Prague is that it came right out of a fairytale.  Old Town Square specifically would be at home in Disney World. We spent the day exploring, including seeing the Lennon Wall, Prague Castle, and most of the downtown area since Prague is very small and compact. It is also extremely touristy, with souvenir shops every few feet. The next day we went on a free three hour walking tour, which I am so glad we did. Hearing snippets of Prague's history was really cool. Fun fact: Prague's streets were actually raised a full story to keep up with rising water levels, which is why many restaurants and bars are in the basement of buildings. They were originally the first floor! 

Prague

Thursday rolled around, and after another morning of walking the city, we caught a 5:25 (PM this time thank goodness) plane back to Dublin. At this point we were all splitting up the following morning, with Maggie traveling to Northern Ireland, Kelsey to Milan, and Markie and I to Paris. Plane tickets were actually cheaper with one night at home, which was perfect since my suitcase is so small!

First meal: Baguette with Brie Cheese

Paris is hands down my favorite city I have been to. Markie and I were there Friday to Tuesday morning (Paris over class any day, right Mom?), and while almost four full days was plenty of time to get a taste for the city, I could see myself being there for weeks and not see it all. 

Selfie at the top!

On Friday we arrived at our hostel around noon, and took a two hour walk to the Eiffel Tower. (It was definitely worth it to see the smaller streets of Paris, though after that we switched to taking the metro.) My first view of it felt so surreal, because I couldn't quite

wrap my head around actually being in Paris! Every view felt pretty similar. After waiting in the line for about an hour, we finally got to go up to the top. The view is amazing! Going up the Eiffel Tower is a must do the first time you're in Paris, but I probably wouldn't go up it again. For me, seeing it from a distance was way more magical.

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Markie and I ventured into a random little French cafe for dinner, and called it any early night after getting some Nutella and banana crepes for dessert. This hostel had a foosball table that we monopolized for a while before bed.

Day 2 was museum day. A great perk to being registered with immigration here in Ireland is that I have a student GNIB card, and as someone living in the EU for more than three months, I got free entrance to all of the museums! We started with the Louvre, and continued on from there. Markie and I had the same pace--pretty much a walk through of each museum--which was perfect. My favorite was a museum that housed lots of Monet's paintings, who is my favorite artist. After so much walking, we went to Shakespeare and Company, which is a famous independent bookstore that many famous writers once hung out at, including James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway. They had a piano that Markie actually played for a few minutes, where she gained a small crowd to watch her performance. As a book nerd, I really loved it!

That night, we ate dinner at a small fondue restaurant that was one of our most fun experiences! We found out later its actually well known and we were really lucky to stumble upon it and get seats. For one price, we we were served a small plate of appetizers and a pre dinner drink, followed by a GIANT pot of delicious cheese with unending baskets of bread pieces. We also each got a baby bottle of wine. And by baby bottle, I am not kidding. Like a circular jar that had a little nozzle on the end. It was fantastic!

On day 3, we went to the Palace of Versailles which was my favorite palace/castle so far. While the interior is really pretty, it is the grounds that I found the most impressive. We spent most of the day exploring there, and tried a French club that night.

On our last day, we just wandered the streets of Paris. This was actually probably my favorite part, because I feel like we got a better feel for the city. After stopping by Notre Dame in the morning (okay at this point pretty churches are starting to look the same), the day included eating macaroons in the rain, window shopping in districts way out of our price range, and walking down the river with a continuous view of the Eiffel Tower. At the end, we both splurged a little and bought Long Champ bags because since they are cheaper in Paris, we had to get one right?





After a lovely French dinner my parents were nice enough to buy us--steak potatoes and wine, yum!--we stopped back at the hostel to make a game plan. In the end, Markie and I ended our trip to Paris by sitting on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower, eating waffles covered in Nutella, and splitting a bottle of champagne as we watched it sparkle. It was the perfect end to an amazing trip.




For the next two days--and even now!--I found myself missing Paris. Why only two days? Because after getting home to Dublin Tuesday morning, I left Thursday afternoon for a weekend in Madrid! Maggie and I had planned the trip to visit school friends, as there are a ton of WashU people studying there. However we ran into a small problem when Maggie went to the doctor on Thursday and ended up having Pneumonia. She had to back out of the trip, but I decided to go ahead on my own.

The friend I was mainly visiting was Erika, who I was hanging out with the whole time but who I unfortunately could not stay with since she is doing a home stay with a Spanish family. I was a little nervous about staying in a hostel by myself, but Maggie and I had chosen a highly rated one in Puerta Del Sol (aka the heart of Madrid) and it went really well! I felt really independent which was cool too, even though Erika pretty much dropped me off every day. 

The weekend was great and included 70 degree blue skies, an infamous Spanish club, a picnic in the beautiful Parque del Retiro, touring a palace, renting boats on a small lake, and plenty of Spanish food. On my last night in Madrid, we actually went to a soccer game! Atletico fans were so into the game, it was a ton of fun. Monday morning my flight was at 10:30 AM so I said goodbye to Erika and set an alarm for 7, planning on leaving the hostel at 7:30 to give myself plenty of time. 

When I woke up, I took a few leisurely minutes to actually wake up and then glanced at my phone. 

9:08

I have never leaped out of bed so fast. I literally threw on pants, shoved my stuff in my bag, threw my keys at the guy at the front desk, and ran for a taxi. No way did I think I was going to make it, and I probably scared the driver as I was such a mess. I almost called my parents in a panic (hello 3 AM wake up call) before I took a breath and realized they would just say the only thing I could do was buy another ticket. But still, I was freaked out. I got to the airport at 9:45, and went right to security.

 Somehow--literally miracle of miracles--there were only maybe five people in front of me. I was in the airport within ten minutes! By 10 AM I had made it to my gate, and got there just in time to join the queue to board. How, I am still not sure. But I made it home to Dublin!

In the week since then, I had two sleepless nights to finish two 8 page essays I pushed off, saw an adaption of a Midsummer Night's Dream set in a nursing home, and have enjoyed all of the crazy things going on because of St. Patrick's Day. We'll see what tomorrow has to bring!

Wow, sorry for writing another novel! So many different experiences in the last month, and they have all been amazing. I still can't believe how lucky I am to be doing all of this, and I hope you've enjoyed hearing about some of it! I promise to write again within a week to relay all of the St. Patty's Day festival craziness. 

Thanks for reading!


PS: If you want a postcard, send me your address!