Biking in Phoenix Park.

After realizing this past weekend how little time I have left in Dublin, I'm trying to take full advantage of the time I do have. So, today Becca, Celia, and I rented bikes and rode many miles around Phoenix Park, which is a park near where we live. The man who gave us our bikes told us that it was 5 times the size of Central Park in New York. I had not yet discovered this since I am usually out of breath by the time I run to the park. Let alone running 15 miles around it. But anyways, I brought my camera along so I made us stop for a cheesy picture on our bikes. Thank you self-timer.

Another cool thing about Phoenix Park is that there is a section where hundreds of deer just sit all the time. Another time I was there I walked through the huge herd of them and they all looked at me. So many eyeballs looking at me at once. Kind of scary, but it's really cool that they are there all the time.

After our brief photoshoot, we made our way around the park and stopped for ice cream and slushies on our way back to the bike place. The day was so beautiful and I'm thankful that there are so many great things like this to do in Dublin. I miss being here already and I haven't even left yet.

Becca, Celia, and I. Love the self-portraits.

Galway/Aran Islands.

Thursday morning all 40 something of us American study abroaders took off on a bus headed to the west of Ireland to visit Galway and the Aran Islands. When we arrived in Galway, we were dropped off in town with a few hours to explore before dinner at the hotel. Galway is much smaller than Dublin and although it had a lot of the same store and restaurant options, as a whole it just seemed more "Irish" and less city-ish. After exploring the town we had a chance to relax a bit before dinner (which was included.) I love free things. Later that evening we went to a pub called Kingshead and watched a band play some great cover songs.

On Friday morning we took a two-hour bus ride to Kylemore Abbey which is now used as a girl's boarding school in Connemara. We toured the grounds and the gardens (which were a little less than impressive since nothing was in bloom), but seeing the abbey and being surrounded by such beauty made it a really great day. Below is a picture of the abbey.

My favorite part of the trip to Kylemore was the bus ride. The views were seriously amazing and a much different landscape than the east coast of Ireland where I live. Also, there were so many sheep. We stopped along the way to take pictures of the beautiful scenery and also a great picture of our beautiful group.

I love these people.

On Saturday we got going pretty early and took another scenic bus ride to catch a ferry to the Aran Islands. The island we went to is called Inis Mor and it's the biggest of the three islands. The day was so sunny, which made the hour long ferry ride to the island so nice (and the entire day). Once we made it there we got into mini-buses for a tour of the island. It was so beautiful. Exactly what I picture when I think of Ireland. People still live in cottages with thatched roofs. So crazy. We took the bus to Dún Aonghasa, which is a fortress dating back to 1000 BC. So old. It sits on the edge of some pretty huge cliffs. They apparently aren't as high as the Cliffs of Mohr, but I for sure got my cliff fix by seeing them. We then had a few hours to explore the island ourselves, and while some people rented bikes, a few of us just walked along the beach. We headed back on the ferry around 5 and were back at our hotel just in time for dinner.

Later that evening a group of us headed into town again, but this time with our awesome leader/mother while abroad, Elizabeth. We went to several different pubs around Galway and had such a fun night out with her. She was totally one of us for the night, and most definitely a better dancer than I am. This afternoon we headed back to Dublin after an action-packed four days. After being with everyone this weekend it for real makes my stomach hurt to think about leaving this place and all these great people in just three short weeks. Sad. But I'm looking forward to all the fun that these last few weeks will bring as well. And that is all.

Just another beautiful view of Inis Mor of the Aran Islands.

Spring Break in Paris.

It was 12 AM when Becca and I were half asleep on the hour bus ride from the airport into the city, when suddenly she grabbed my arm and said "LOOK!" When I looked to my right I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time sparkling like diamonds in the distance. Seriously, it was like diamonds. I got goosebumps it was so beautiful.

We arrived in the city and promptly had to begin figuring out the metro system. It wasn't too unfamiliar as it reminded me a lot of the Washington D.C. metro.A friend from Elon that graduated with my sister, Brian Carroll, lives in Paris and hosted us in his great apartment for the weekend. He lives about 10 minutes away from the Eiffel Tower, so when we woke up on Friday morning, we immediately made our way to the tower. We took all sorts of cheesy pictures in front of it, and the whole time I was just so in awe that I was seeing it in real life and not just in a movie or other peoples pictures. We didn't go up the tower, but we did eat ice cream underneath it, which is probably just as awesome. Just joking, but seriously. We then made our way to the Arc De Triomphe. Which I thought was in London. All these historical places get mixed up in my brain. But nonetheless, we saw it and then walked down the Champs-Élysées, which is a street of really expensive shops and restaurants. So. Much. Walking. We continued on to the Louvre and spent a few hours wandering around. My personal favorite was seeing the Mona Lisa. Seeing well-known things like that in real life is cool to me. Museums aren't my favorite place in the world, but I did enjoy seeing art by people I had heard so much about. We then met up with a friend of Becca's who is studying in Paris, and went out to dinner with her and Brian. I ate the best meal of my study abroad experience that evening. Thank you Paris.

Saturday morning Becca and I got up and took the metro to the Palace of Versailles. We struggled to use the metro system well that day. After wandering around the town of Versailles for an hour wondering where the heck the palace was, we finally found it. It was quite extravagant. All of the King Louis' that contributed to the decorative style of this place loved gold. A lot. Fun fact about our tour of the palace: We had head-sets. They totally came with our tickets. I felt like a real tourist, and didn't hate it. After getting tired of looking at ridiculously decorated rooms, we headed out to the garden, and just layed. For so many minutes. Maybe even hours. It was so relaxing, and the beautiful sun made it so enjoyable. We then took the train back to Paris and walked our butts off to make it to the store Longchamp (it's a purse store) before it closed. Literally as we walked up and were about to open the door, the lady inside locked the door in our faces. Closed. Until Monday, after we left. Awesome. We then felt like it was appropriate to treat ourselves to a nice dinner since we spared spending money on semi-expensive French bags. And that is precisely what we did.

On Sunday, we slept in and Brian made us croissants. So good. We ate so many. But I felt that it was legitimate since we were in France and all. Brian then took us to Notre Dame and the area where the Moulin Rouge is (aka the skethcy red light district). Becca and I then went to the Musée d'Orsay which is a museum with art from Monet, Van Gogh, and Degas. It was really neat to see such famous work. We then sat on a bridge over the Seine River and watched the sun set before heading to eat dinner. The waiters were quite flirty with us at dinner, and one of them even fed Becca the last bite of her dessert. Those French men, so romantic.

Although I was happy to come back to Dublin on Monday, it really was a great trip and I'm so thankful for Brian's hospitality and the opportunity to see so many famous things. I'm going to Galway this weekend with our study abroad program, so stay tuned for more travels!

The Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

Me in front of the Palace of Versailles.

Notre Dame.

The Louvre.

St. Patrick's Day.

Dublin has been bustling with tourists since the beginning of the weekend when the St. Patrick's Day Festival began. There were lots of things going on in the city like acrobatic shows, bands, and other things all in celebration of St. Patty's Day. On Friday, my friend Celia and her friend Kirstin who was in town, headed out to try and see the acrobat show. We ended up not being able to find it, but instead stumbled upon a CARNIVAL. Joy to the world. Celia and I rode "The Waltzer" which is essentially the European version of the "Tilt-o-Whirl." AMAZING and totally worth the 4 euro. We laughed so hard, and also managed to take some hilarious pictures, but I will spare you the craziness of our faces and instead show you the colorful beauty of the carnival. Loved it.

On Saturday, a bunch of us went to a sports pub called Wool Shed to watch Ireland play (and beat!) Scotland in a 6 Nations rugby match. Rugby is intense. We then headed out to a different pub afterwards and ended up running into some friends we had met a few weeks earlier. Dublin gets smaller and smaller the longer I'm here.

On Monday the city was so packed with tourists that it wasn't even enjoyable being out. I wanted to wear a sign that declaring that I was not a tourist. I refrained. But seriously it was packed.

St. Patrick's Day finally arrived on Tuesday and we woke up early to claim our spots at the parade. It was a little different than I had expected considering it seemed that whoever had designed the parade was high on multiple drugs. There were lots of cool costumes, but none of it really had to do with St. Patrick's Day. Although everyone attending was decked out in all sorts of green and leprechaun-like apparel. The day was really fun, and I'm happy to say that I lived through St. Patrick's Day in Ireland.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Crazy Costumes.

Pisa, Florence, Cinque Terry ITALY.

Ciao! I'm back from my Italian adventure, and I'm still in awe of how incredible it was. While on the plane to Pisa Wednesday evening, Becca and I made friends with two Italian guys. One who spoke English and one who did not. We laughed so much at our inability to communicate with eachother, but managed to learn a few important phrases for our weekend.

When we arrived at the Pisa airport, Jappi, a worker from our hostel was waiting for us with a sign. We felt like the rich and famous. Our hostel was adorable, and we had a room meant for 6 all to ourselves. The next day, we woke up and headed out to find breakfast before catching a train to Florence. We were a little intimidated to go into some places because of our lack of Italian speaking (we didn't know much more than the basics of ciao and grazie).

Once figuring out the train system, we took an hour ride to Florence, and were immediately accosted with people selling umbrellas. Because it was raining. Sad. Despite the rain, we headed into the city saw the Duomo (although we didn't know it was the Duomo while we were in it...), ate delicious pizza, window shopped, had the world's best gelato, ran into one of my good friends, Stef, from high school in a market (crazy!), toured the museum where the statue of David stands, and all the other tourist-y things Florence has to offer.

We headed back to Pisa that night for dinner, and afterwards went in search of the leaning tower. Just as we were about to give up and go back to our hostel, we rounded the corner, and there it was. Standing in all it's leaning glory. Although so many people said it was uneventful to see, I actually thought it was awesome. It was so much more lean-y in real life than I had expected.

The next day we took an hour long train to the second part of our trip, the Cinque Terre. One of the best moments occurred when our train arrived in Riomaggiore (which is where we were staying). We had just been in a really long tunnel traveling through the mountains when we came to our stop and could finally see the sun shining so brightly on the beautiful ocean (it seriously looked like diamonds). We RAN off the train and squealed like children. I can't remember the last time I felt so joyful.

The squealing continued all throughout the day (and the entire trip) because the town we were staying in, Riomaggiore, was the cutest, most colorful place in the world. After eating more pizza for lunch, we explored every inch of the town and sat and basked in the beauty of it all.

That night, we took the train to Monterosso (one of the Cinque Terre towns), and enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner (so many carbs in Italy). The next day, we woke up and ate our breakfast on a rock looking over the Mediterranean. We walked from Riomaggiore to the next town over, Manarola, on the Via dell'Amore (which means walk of love). Unfortunately we couldn't walk between all the towns because of a rockfall, but the portoin of the hike we got to do was BEAUTIFUL. Below is a picture of what we saw.

When we arrived in Manarola, we ate lunch and then sat on some rocks near the water and just layed. For so long. It was 65 and sunny, and living in Dublin that was the greatest gift of all time. I had been craving the sun on my face like that. We then took the train to Corniglia, which was the next of the Cinque Terre towns.

We had to walk up 382 stairs after getting off the train in order to get to Corniglia, but it was completely worth it, because while we were there we sat in a vineyard that looked over the sea. It was incredible.

We then headed to the towns of Vernazza (where we indulged in more gelato), and Monterosso to see the sunset. Both of these towns were equally as beautiful as the rest. So much beauty on just one short span of coastline.

Sadly on Sunday it was time to head back, and even more sad was that I developed a 24-hour stomach virus. Not the best thing to have in a very long day of travel on trains and planes. Becca cared for me well though. I'm just thankful that I didn't have it on the other days. Regardless of getting sick, the trip was AMAZING and I'm already pumped about going back someday.

Natalie's Visit to Dublin.

Whew. What a weekend it's been. I think I did more this weekend than I have since the first week I arrived in Dublin. This weekend was much anticipated because Natalie, one of my very best friend's from Elon, who happens to be studying abroad in London, was coming to visit. I took the bus to the airport on Thursday afternoon and anxiously awaited her arrival. It was like Christmas. We ran to eachother when she came out of the baggage claim. And then I cried. A sweet reunion it was.

After heading back into the city, we quickly dropped her stuff off, breathed for a second in my apartment and then we were off to explore the city. It was exciting for me to be able to show her my life in Dublin and to feel so confident as I navigated us around the city. I was also pumped about getting to do some of the tourist-y things I hadn't done yet.

We visited Christ Church Cathedral and then headed to a place called Queen of Tarts. Below is a picture of the masterpiece of an apple crisp that I indulged in. Yum.

We met up with Becca, who is friends with Courtney, another London-er who was visiting, and walked around Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green, and Grafton Street. We later headed to dinner, rested, and then a group of us went to Copper Face Jack's which is one of our favorite bars/clubs. It was definitely a hilarious and very fun evening. Below is a picture of Becca, Courtney, Natalie, and I in St. Stephen's Green Park.

On Friday, we slept in and had a late brunch at a cafe called Lemon that makes delicious crepes. Afterwards we just walked around some more and made our way back to the apartment. For dinner Nat and I went to this restaurant called "The Church," which is a church built in the 18th century that was converted into a bar/restaurant/club. It's really cool inside and we felt like real adults as we dined in such a classy place. Afterwards, we saw the movie "He's Just Not that Into You" and laughed so much. It's really good, you should definitely see it.

On Saturday, we slept in again and ate more crepes (I love crepes.) and then headed to the Guiness Factory. I'm not a big fan of beer, let alone Guiness, so I wasn't really planning on going to the factory, but we did, and I'm really glad. It was interesting to see how it was made, and also the view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar was awesome. Definitely worth seeing.

Later that day, we headed out for an early dinner to watch the Ireland vs. England rugby match. Ireland won. And we had a great dinner. We then did a little pub hopping, just so I could show her all of my favorite places. We got to see a few bands, and met some really fun new friends. We had a really great night and laughed and danced so much.

Sadly, today was Nat's last day in Dublin, but a great one it was. First of all, I found 50 euro. Seriously. Just laying on a bridge we crossed. I wasn't mad about that. We then discovered a great park that I had never been to, and also saw a super model. Yes. A super model. We were in the store Top Shop and Nat (who knows quite a lot about celebrities) noticed a girl she had seen on celebrity gossip websites. Her name is Agyness Deyn, and apparently she is England's up and coming super model. Natalie talked to her and I took a picture of them together. I had no idea who she was, but it was still cool. We then laughed at the fact that Nat said to her, "This is random...but are you a SUPER model?" Haha. And then we saw a double rainbow. Basically, today was awesome. Except that Nat left. But we really had such a great weekend together and I'm so excited to see her life in London in April.