Traveling Ireland and Getting to Germany

Oh my gosh, Ireland is beautiful!!! I highly recommend leaving Dublin and spending time in the country-side. We drove from (and by we, I mean Tom) Dublin to the Cliffs of Mohar and on the way were some adorable towns, beautiful green pastures and lots of sheep and cows. We stopped at a small castle on the way and a beautiful lookout on Galway Bay. Then we found a cute little spot for lunch in one of the towns. There may have been a lot of folks at the Cliffs of Mohar, but geez were they amazing!!

After the Cliffs we headed to Kilarny, our sleeping location. There we met Pauline at the Parkfield B&B and followed her recommendation for a delicious dinner at Mac's. There we had some amazing food and spectacular ice cream. I had a baked hake that was amazing!! and a sticky toffee pudding with homemade ice cream :) We left Mac's very happy but very full! Our next (and final) stop for the night was Murphy's Pub (in honor of Brian Murphy, one of my classmates traveling with me). There was Murphy's Stout and live music (yes, it was even Irish). By the time we made it home we were quite ready for bed. The morning brought with it a full Irish breaky and even some sunshine.

Today we drove from Kilarny (although we could have easily stayed a few more days) to Blarney, home of the Blarney castle and Blarney stone. We got to the castle while it was still relatively early, so the crowds were light. We hiked up the castle, and kissed the stone known for blessing those who kiss it with the gift of eloquence :)  

Finally we had to make our way back to Dublin for our flight to Frankfort. Tom was an excellent driver and stayed on the wrong side of the road the whole time (even when we weren't sure where we were going or where the GPS was sending us). We made it to the airport with plenty of time and our flight brought us safely to Frankfort. Now we've settled in our home of Weisbaden.

Tomorrow...school :-P 

Dublin - Day 1

It was an early start this morning, but I'm now in Dublin!! And so far I can't complain. My classmates are sleeping off their jet lag, but we already did quite a bit.

Once I got in to the hostel, we started trekking around the city by finding Christchurch and St Patrick's Cathedral. Both are quite beautiful, but you have to pay to go inside...we did go into St Patrick's but not Christchurch. Then we found a random, and I mean random, pub for lunch on our way to the Guinness Storehouse. At this point, my poor classmates are starting to get very tired since they didn't sleep well on their trip over...but we still made it to Guinness since our room at the hostel wasn't ready yet. Guinness was possibly the nicest brewery tour I've ever done!

 We started with the 9000 year lease signed by Mr Guinness himself and went through some standard stuff (ingredients, process etc) but then we got to take the opportunity to learn how to pour the perfect pint. I, of course, volunteered to be the first one up. And it really wasn't that hard once our 'professor', he looked like he could barely drive, broke it down for us. And then it tasted amazing!! Finally we got to go up to the 7th floor which has a panoramic view of Dublin...quite cool even on a less than stellar day.

Today might end a little bit more low key (we're all tired) but tomorrow we're going to the Jamison distillery and planning on a pub crawl...oh and a day tour too...

Cheltenham Spa

Cheltenham Spa is where my good friend from Purdue, Brienne, lives. I'm so happy to see her and her new home is a cute town in the Cotswold area of England. I got to her town around 5p yesterday and we went out for a delightful dinner, then I learned about the game of Snooker (no, not Snookie...). It's a billiards like game, but with lots more rules. 

Today Steve had to go to work, but Brienne and I took the time to hang out and explore town a little bit. This even included a full tea with finger sandwiches, scones and delicious deserts. Oh and the tea was pretty tasty too. 

 After our tea we continued exploring and walked through some beautiful little community gardens.

Now its time for some relaxing before dinner and then tomorrow, I'm heading to Dublin!!

Almost on the move again

I can't believe it, but I'm about to start another one of my crazy journeys...


This time it will be for a study abroad at the European Business School in Weisbaden, Germany. But first, I'll be going to England to see a good friend of mine who recently moved there. And then to Ireland to meet up with some of my classmates.


And we even are planning our weekends already! One to Prague and the other to Munich!


I can't wait...but at the same time there is so much to do before I leave (like finish classes and pack up my apartment).


I promise more...if you're still out there (it has been a while after all)