Julie and I arrived in Dublin with no glitches at all. Thank god! We got to our hostel and checked in. We ended up meeting a new friend from Canada and she went to lunch with Julie and I. We later went back to the hostel and took naps because we were so exhausted from our traveling that morning. After our nap we saw that it was raining outside so we decided to go and see a movie. The movie was really good and totally worth it since there isn't much to do in Dublin at 530. Everything is closed for the night.
We got back to the hostel and made a delicious dinner and then went to Temple Bar for some drinks. That night the three of us met a brother and sister who were visiting family in Ireland. We decided that we should all meet up in Galway in two nights.
The next day Julie and I had a bit of a lie in and woke about around ten-thirty or eleven and we went to an early lunch\ late breakfast. It was the longest meal of our entire trip. The service was horrible. We wasted what felt like our entire day. We then made our way to O'Connell St to pick up a hop on hop off bus tour of Dublin. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. We stopped of at one of the Cathedrals and we snuck in so we wouldn't have to pay the entrance fee. The Cathedral was really beautiful. We spent very little time there because we felt that we had bigger things to do... Like go to the Guinness Factory.
The Guinness Factory was really cool the building is huge. There is a self guided tour that takes you through all of the steps of how Guinness becomes Guinness. Then at the top floor of the building you get a free pint. I skipped out on the pint because I really don't like beer all that much, but Julie learned how to pour the beer and how to make a shamrock with the foam. Needless to say we really enjoyed the tour. When we got back onto the bus the last few stops that we could take were closed so we didn't see anymore of Dublin, but we were much more productive in Galway.
We arrived in Galway on Saturday which turned out to be the best day to arrive in the city. On Saturday's Galway has an open market so Julie and I visited and I had the best crepe that I have ever had. I am in love with them. I might have to open my own stand somewhere in Santa Barbara. We spent a little while walking around the market when it started to rain so we went back to the hostel.
We got back and noticing that there was a tv we went and joined another girl. She was from Australia and we later learned that she was going to be our roommate. Her name is Leah and she is amazing! I miss her and I just saw her last night. So we wouldn't wake each other up late at night we decided that we should just all go out together that night. It was a great idea. The thing to do in Ireland is to drink before you go out to the bars because alcohol is so expensive here. It isn't even worth it. So we played a bunch of drinking games and then headed to the Kings Head a pub that was around the corner from the hostel.
Our idea to stay with Lead all night ended up being a lot cause Julie and I headed in early because we had a tour early in the morning to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher is the most beautiful place that I have ever been to in my life. We really lucked out because we had great weather. It was perfectly clear out but the wind was enough to blow a person away.We then went to the caves in The Burren and after going spelunking or to Moaning Caverns it was kind of a let down. The whole day was worth it thought just to see the cliffs.
That night we went to the first pub that we saw and watched the EuroCup finals. Since we were out of Germany and Austria it wasn't as packed as we were expecting and the fans were very mellow. We had a good time anyways and ended up staying until the place closed.
The next morning Julie and I woke up bright and early to get on the tour to the Aran Islands. It is a long journey for a small little island. We thought that we would rent a couple of bicycles for the day because that is supposedly the best way to see the island but when we got there it was pouring rain and we decided against it. Instead we payed the same amount that we would have for a bike rental and sat in a van and took a tour of the island.
There are very few places to visit on the island, but it is beautiful just the same. We went to the fortress on the east side of the island. It was our one and only hiking excursion in Ireland. It is so windy near the coast line here. It amazes me! The scenes are spectacular. The fortress is situated on the cliffs and it is a straight drop right into the ocean. Most people laid on their stomachs to peak over the edge, but Julie decided that, that wasn't enough. She was going to dangle her feet over the edge of the cliff. It made a lot of people around us really nervous.
Our next few stops on the tour were just places of interest where we stopped to take pictures. When we got back to the main village we still had two hours to kill before our ferry left. We thought it would be no problem to fill in the gaps, but we were completely wrong. We sat in a cafe and twiddled our thumbs because it was raining outside again!! When we got back to the mainland and got on our bus we found out that there wasn't any room left. There was no way that Julie and I were going to wait two hours until the next bus arrived at 730! So we jumped onto a different bus that ran with a different company. (the bus driver took pity on us!)
That night we met a lot of people while cooking dinner. We met three Canadians, a boy from Vermont; Forrest; a girl from Oregon; Katie; and a girl that attends UCLA; Caroline. We had a great time sitting around the kitchen singing Beatles songs while Forrest played the guitar. After eating the group decided that they were going to go out to the clubs but Julie and I were going to stay behind and actually get some sleep. Before they all left Julie and I talked them into going on the bus tour through Connemara and to the Kylemore Abbey.
The next morning at breakfast we met up with Josh, one of the Canadians, and Caroline and even though they had gotten in really late they were going to join us on our tour along with Katie, Miles, and Mike (the other two Canadians). Our third tour did not prove to be as exciting as the previous two. The views were awe inspiring and we got the best pictures from our trip. It was beautiful. We got back later that night and Julie cooked for eight of us. It was by far the best meal that I have had. It was delicious. We then met a friend of Katie's who was on a seperate tour and we joined her group of friends and Leah, our old roommate, and headed to Monroe's the pub just a few minutes walk from the hostel.
Leah and I decided that we didn't want to stay at Monroe's so we ditched everyone and went to a different pub just down the street. When we left we were going to go to one of the pubs but decided to get a midnights snack instead. We ended up sitting and talking for an hour and a half about life. It was great to be able to talk to her.
Meanwhile Julie and Katie were at Cuba the club that Leah and I were going to go to after eating. Leah and I never made it though. We were side tracked by our life discussion. We both had a really good time away from eachother that night and when we woke up the next morning we grabbed Katie and Forrest and headed to Cork!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Amsterdam and Bilthoven
There is no better way to spend two days in the middle of your trip than to stay with a family. After the train issues getting there anyway. The Smits were the most hospitable people that you can imagine. They wouldn't let us lift a finger. Jackie (the mom) barely let us do our laundry. It is nice to be babied after traveling, trust me. They took us to a fantastic dinner and we had a very nice visit talking about what we have done previously. They had 4 computers that we could use it was so nice! I couldn't believe it, it was nice to not have to fight for it. haha... The two younger kids were there Benjamin and Sophie. I love kids it was really refreshing to be with a family. Sophie was absolutely adorable, so was Benjamin.
The next day Bob and Jackie took us out and about in the area and showed us the most beautiful historic towns. It was really cool because neither of them had been to one of the towns that we visited it was called Marken. It was a really cute port town that you can really only walk around. They said that it was one of the only towns that still works around the town the same as it did in the past.
That evening we had a delicious meal at home and enjoyed the company of the two older girls who came to visit for desert. Desert was the real treat. Bob made delicious crepes from scratch with strawberries and icecream.. Yummy.. We enjoyed a quite evening after that we watched a movie and slept in nice and late the next day.
Upon arriving in Amsterdam we were a little overwhelmed, we certainly wish that we could have had more time there to see all of the sights. The first thing that we did was go on a boat tour of the city as well as go to the Van Gogh museum. What an incredible place! I am not a huge fan of all of his work, but some of his pieces are just incredible. I was hoping to see his really famous piece with the night sky, we cant remember the name of it at the moment.. Anywho it was really fun to see everything.
We got back to the hostel and these guys stopped us and said "hey you guys are in our room!!" They had been resting when we arrived and recognized us. It turns out that they are from Oakland! What a small world, another Californian in Europe haha.. We have meet so many people from California its crazy! Well we went out and about with them to see the night life. We went to a couple of bars and had a drink or two. Good times, learned a new card game.
The next day we went on a walking tour of the city because it is free of course. Well we were under the impression that it lasts about 2 1/2 hours maybe 3 it lasted like 3 1/2-4! We weren't complaining too much except for our hangovers. Our tour guide was so good, she didn't top our guide in Rome but she definitely came close.. We were a little worried because we had booked a reservation to go to see the Anne Frank house, luckily it got out just in time..
The Anne Frank house was really cool, she had so many hardships and so many fears. I cant believe how very brave she was. That was a huge highlight of the trip.
We hadn't eaten too much so we splurged on the Hard Rock, we were craving a good cheese burger and what better place? That night I stayed in because I was a little tired from the night before, but that didn't stop Alison and Ellen and the boys from going on the Pub crawl. They had a lot of fun, it sounded like. One of the bartenders blew fire that sounded pretty cool! But I like sleeping, and I don't regret it at all..
We could not believe how crazy it is to see all of the women in the windows in the Red Light. They literally stand in the windows and do everything but strip naked it is so gross. Most of them are really nothing to look at. We also didn't look too long it was very uncomfortable. I saw a couple of them calling and chanting for the guys walking on the street. It was a little too much for me, so we didn't stay around too long.
We left on the 26th and were sad to go, especially because we were leaving Ellen. It was such a blast to have her on the trip with us even for just a little while. She is such a doll, I think that we are going to have to get her to move to California for a little while.. haha... I guess we will be seeing her again soon so no worries..
The next day Bob and Jackie took us out and about in the area and showed us the most beautiful historic towns. It was really cool because neither of them had been to one of the towns that we visited it was called Marken. It was a really cute port town that you can really only walk around. They said that it was one of the only towns that still works around the town the same as it did in the past.
That evening we had a delicious meal at home and enjoyed the company of the two older girls who came to visit for desert. Desert was the real treat. Bob made delicious crepes from scratch with strawberries and icecream.. Yummy.. We enjoyed a quite evening after that we watched a movie and slept in nice and late the next day.
Upon arriving in Amsterdam we were a little overwhelmed, we certainly wish that we could have had more time there to see all of the sights. The first thing that we did was go on a boat tour of the city as well as go to the Van Gogh museum. What an incredible place! I am not a huge fan of all of his work, but some of his pieces are just incredible. I was hoping to see his really famous piece with the night sky, we cant remember the name of it at the moment.. Anywho it was really fun to see everything.
We got back to the hostel and these guys stopped us and said "hey you guys are in our room!!" They had been resting when we arrived and recognized us. It turns out that they are from Oakland! What a small world, another Californian in Europe haha.. We have meet so many people from California its crazy! Well we went out and about with them to see the night life. We went to a couple of bars and had a drink or two. Good times, learned a new card game.
The next day we went on a walking tour of the city because it is free of course. Well we were under the impression that it lasts about 2 1/2 hours maybe 3 it lasted like 3 1/2-4! We weren't complaining too much except for our hangovers. Our tour guide was so good, she didn't top our guide in Rome but she definitely came close.. We were a little worried because we had booked a reservation to go to see the Anne Frank house, luckily it got out just in time..
The Anne Frank house was really cool, she had so many hardships and so many fears. I cant believe how very brave she was. That was a huge highlight of the trip.
We hadn't eaten too much so we splurged on the Hard Rock, we were craving a good cheese burger and what better place? That night I stayed in because I was a little tired from the night before, but that didn't stop Alison and Ellen and the boys from going on the Pub crawl. They had a lot of fun, it sounded like. One of the bartenders blew fire that sounded pretty cool! But I like sleeping, and I don't regret it at all..
We could not believe how crazy it is to see all of the women in the windows in the Red Light. They literally stand in the windows and do everything but strip naked it is so gross. Most of them are really nothing to look at. We also didn't look too long it was very uncomfortable. I saw a couple of them calling and chanting for the guys walking on the street. It was a little too much for me, so we didn't stay around too long.
We left on the 26th and were sad to go, especially because we were leaving Ellen. It was such a blast to have her on the trip with us even for just a little while. She is such a doll, I think that we are going to have to get her to move to California for a little while.. haha... I guess we will be seeing her again soon so no worries..
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