Get comfortable, people. You are about to read a semi-detailed account of 16 of the most extraordinary days of my short life. Hope you enjoy 🙂 As always, there are lots more pics on facebook!
Day 1- Rome.
Friday morning, I left home super early to embark on this adventure. We got to the gate about 20-30 minutes before the flight was supposed to take off, and we went ahead and got in line. The flight was delayed almost an hour, so we started to get a little hungry while waiting, but we didnt want to eat anything until we got to Rome. Little did we know, we would be FAMISHED by the time we could finally eat. Anyway, so we finally get to ROME! and we are all so excited. Until we get on this cramped smelly bus that took us into the city. There was sooo much traffic, and it took us like an hour to finally get there. Then, we had to find our hostel, which is always the worst part of a trip. Hostels rarely have signs, and theyre usually on really random back streets. Needless to say, we had a little trouble. After walking in circles in what seemed to be China town, we finally stumbled upon our hostel. We pushed the button to ring into the building, but noone buzzed us in. A lady came up behind us and said, “No abres?” (Italian for “It doesn’t open?” and very similar to the Spanish “No abra?”) We said no, so she unlocked the door. We followed her into the building, but we had no idea what floor the hostel would be on. This wasn’t included in our directions. I went back outside to look on the buzzer thing to see if maybe that had a room number. It said 23 or something by the hostel name, said I thought we’d try for the second floor. When I came back into the building, the lady was speaking Italian to Taylor and motioning for him to get into the elevator. In case you were wondering, no. We don’t speak ANY Italian, and it wasn’t nearly as similar to Spanish as we had hoped. So he tries to figure out a way to tell her that she could go ahead, but we gave up and just got in. She got in the elevator too, closed the door and pushed the button for the top floor.
SIDE NOTE: European elevators, especially in apartment complexes, are tiny. This one was no exception. No more than us three could fit in that thing.
Anyway, so I push the button for the second floor but the elevator just went right past it. Apparently I didn’t push it hard enough. So we just said we’d ride it to the top with her then go back down. So she gets out at the top floor, but she doesn’t close the door behind her. So when Taylor tries to close it, she turns around, yells no, opens the door again, and says “Art in Accommodation!” (the name of our hostel) with an Italian accent and doing the Italian thing with her hand that people always do when mocking Italians. I wanted to die laughing, but I didn’t think that would be nice. Anyway, so we follow her into this little office, and she has still yet to say anything to us but those three words. Super. Awk.
So Taylor then says, “I’m sorry, do you speak English?”
She puts her hand up at him. UH! So rude. Then she says my name and asks for our passports. THEN she proceeds to tell us that we are two hours past our arrival time. We tried to explain that our plane was delayed and the traffic was crazy, but she didn’t listen. So rude! We’re giving you money lady. Geez. Anyway, I gotta stop being so detailed, or this will take years..
First we wanted to go to the Trevi Fountain, and on the way, we randomly stopped for pizza at this little place because we were famished. It was super cheap, only 7 euro for 2 pieces and a drink. But soo good. I got ham, and Taylor got one with mushroom, tomato, and basil, and we split them. Amazingly good. The crust was so crispy, and I’ve never seen those kind of mushrooms before but they were THE BEST. The Trevi fountain- absolutely magnificent. It’s way huger than in the movies, and the water was so clear. But of course, there were sooooo many people. After we went for our first gelato! The owner said if it wasn’t the best of our life, then we didn’t have to pay. In retrospect, not the best, but it was only the first! We headed back to Trevi fountain to find our friends. We realized while we were waiting that there was so much English. It’s a weird language dynamic because I don’t know any Italian, so I can’t decide if I should speak Spanish or English.
Then, we went to the Spanish steps, which were nice, but nothing compared to Trevi. Anddd they don’t really serve a purpose. They’re just steps that people sit on.. We spent the rest of the evening moseying around town shopping for souvenirs. I’m so bad at that, I never know what to get for anyone else.
We went to dinner at this most adorable little restaurant. The owner sat us and was really nice, but the waiter was kinda prissy when we only ordered pasta. I had homemade stuffed pasta rolls full of cheese and spinach. Absolutely exquisite. I wanna learn to make pasta!
Day 2- Rome
We got up early and went to breakfast that’s included with our hostel. Strangely enough, it’s not at the hostel, but a few blocks away in a bar. They gave us coffee and a croissant-no choices. But the croissant was really good. After, I was still kinda hungry, so we went to a bakery. I got a mini canoli, tart and eclair. The eclair was the best thing everrrr. Then, we took the super crowed and dirty subway to the Vatican. There was a huge line for the Basilica, but it moved pretty fast. There were so many solicitors trying to give us tours, but we didn’t fall into their traps! The basilica was breathtaking, HUGE and beautiful, outside and in. It was really cool to see where Peter was buried.
Then we went to the Vatican museum and Sistene chapel. The Vatican museum was huge, with some work by Raphel and Davinci. And it was so crowed. This German tour guide acted like she was going to back hand me when I tried to go around her. She wasn’t moving…sorrry.
The Vatican museum is a trap, btw. You have to go through a thousand rooms to get to the Sistene. It’s impossible to enjoy all the art because 1. theres SO much and 2. there are WAY too many people. It’s just like a procession through the whole thing. The Sistene was a lot smaller than expected, but so amazingly beautiful.
After a mediocre lunch at a tourist trap, we went to see Castel San’Angelo. It’s really big and magnificent, but we didn’t think it was worth the time to go in. We crossed this beautiful bridge where this guy was playing Bach on the cello. He asked Erin for a hairclip to hold his music because the wind kept blowing his music away. He was so incredibly talented, so we stopped to listen for a few minutes. 🙂 Then we walked through some back streets and looked at some really cool little artisan boutiques. And, of course, we had some really yummy gelato. Next we went to a market, but it was closing :(. Next, we went to the Pantheon, but it had just closed. 😦 Double fail! Next, we went to Villa Borgese, which is like the central park of Rome. It had an amazing view of the city. On the way home, we picked up some yummy pizza, again!
Day 3- Rome.
First thing in the morning, we went to the Pantheon. It was closed, again. Who knew they have church in there? So we decided to go to the oldest gelato bar, which was right around the corner, and got the most impressive gelato of the trip. It was massive, and super yummy!
Then to the ancient city! It is so absolutely incredible. It’s so cool to be a place where Jesus and or his disciples could have been. In the Palatine, they had ancient artifacts from as old as 7 bc. Older than Jesus! Like he could have eaten out of that plate. So incredibly cool. The ruins were beautiful, and there was a fantastic view of the city. The coliseum was breath taking as well, of course. It’s so grand, but the concept of gladiators is really disturbing. But it’s cool to sit and imagine that place in it’s prime, with 70000 people cheering for blood sport. After that, we just sat outside for like an hour enjoying the nice weather and the scenery. For dinner, we went to this little authentic restaurant on a side street. We got some amazingly fresh brushetta–that stuff is so good! I had some pasta in this spicy chili pepper tomato sauce. Yum! It tasted like they had literally just crushed the tomatoes for it. In Italy, pasta isn’t an entree, it’s a first course. So they I enjoyed a nice roasted chicken! Yummy!
Day 4- Rome.
In the morning, we went for a walk through this pretty little neighborhood called Trastevere. On the way there, we saw the mouth of truth, which is a statue in the wall of a church that is supposed to bite off the hand of liars. Careful! Across from that were the temples if venus and hercules, which were nice, but we couldnt go inside. Next we hiked up to this park with yet another really grand view of the city, as well as this impressive fountain. For lunch, we went to this bakery on a back street that had amazing and super cheap pizza. After lunch, we went to the pretty Tiber island on the way to the Jewish ghetto. The major site there were the remains of a small coliseum where they had public executions. At the top, there are apartments where modern princes and princesses live. Cool!
Then we walked all around pretty back streets and saw a turtle fountain. We eventually got back to the trevi fountain, where we enjoyed some more gelato and shopped for souvenirs. Finally, we were able to go inside the Pantheon. It’s massive, and nice, but not too much to say. The outside is much more impressive. After a few hours of that, we met Jeni for dinner at this restaurant recommended by a friend. We thought that we were ordering off the special 15 euro menu, so we got brushetta, ham and mushroom pizza, and I had lobsterrrr pasta! Yum! But…apparently we didn’t get the special menu, but the very nice waiter let us have it anyway. Making for a good day!
Day 5- Florence
We got up super early to catch a train to Florence. Sadly, this eastern European couple was in the bathroom foreverrrrr so we got really behind. Out of breath, we finally got to the train station after being dangerously close to getting lost. Then we had the toughest time finding our train. Luckily, we got there right in the nic of time, and sat down about 10 mins before it took off. In that minute, some sketchy man tried to scam us with some deal for a faster direct train for 20 euros. Not thanks, dude. He didn’t even look legit! Three and a half hours later, were outside the train station in the new city of Florence, and it’s raining the hardest that I’ve seen yet in Europe. And we had to try to navigate thru tiny, umbrella packed streets with our luggage to try to find our hostel. Not the best moment of our lives, but we made it. We were absolutely stunned by how great our hostel is. The guy is super nice, and he gives us this great map and tells us where all the great sights are and the grocery stores :). Then he shows us to our super nice room, which has a balcony overlooking a garden. We were super happy, especially after having such a bad experience in Rome. Immediately we headed to lunch at this little restaurant that was recommend by our travel book called….something in Italian idk. Anyway, it’s packed full, and the only open table is for six. So the two of us sit, and about 5 mins later this german family sat next to us. So cool! I wish they spoke English cause it would have been really cool to chat with them. So the kitchen was open and literally like right beside us. I saw the guys making our food! I had ravioli stuffed with cheese and spinach in a meat sauce. With a side dish of spinach- which was the best of my life. After that we went to the duomo, which is this massive cathedral with a dome. It’s super incredible on the outside, but the 30 mins we spent waiting to go inside certainly were not worth it. It was pretty plain inside, except it was massive. The dome however, from what we could see, looked beautiful. But to see all of it, you had to pay, and… we didn’t.
After we went to this museum behind the duomo that basically holds all of the stuff from the duomo. It’s been redone since it’s original facade because the king wanted to modernize the plaza. But then he died. So it took quite a while for them to figure out how to redo it. But the museum holds all of the pieces that were taken off or out of it. Pretty cool concept, but I wish they would have left good enough alone. Also, outside the duomo is the area where Michelangelo carved David. It’s of course completely different now, but still cool. After that we went to the grocery store to stock up for dinner and headed back to the hostel. We met this nice guy named Andrew from Cali while we were cooking. He’s studying abroad in London, so he told us all about good stuff to do there.
Day 6 Florence
First thing this morning, we got in line for the Uffizi museum, said to be the worlds best museum of Renaissance art. After an hour and a half in what seemed to be a stagnant line, they finally let us in to a really stunning museum. Plenty of works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Rapheal, and other Renaissance greats. We spent about two hours in there before we headed out for a fantastic, classic Tuscan meal. Again, a restaurant from the book was a score. We all had a fixed lunch menu which included three courses plus dessert. First pasta, carbonara spaghetti for me. So very very good. Very different from the carbonara back home. The sauce was much lighter, coating the noodles but they weren’t swimming in it. Then I had pork steak, and deep fried mixed veggies. Bet ya didn’t expect that one huh? Yep, deep fried was on the menu, and it was super good. After that, a fantastic tiramasu. And I officially dont need to spend anymore money on food cuz I am completely satisfied after that meal. After lunch, we went to the leather market, but I didn’t find anything worth buying. After we went to the Boboli gardens, which is basically the backyard to the Pucci palace. Btw, google to Medici family and that palace. It’s a pretty interesting story. But the gardens were huge. Sadly there’s not much in bloom right now, but it was so nice to spend time in a wooded area. There were tons of statues, several fountains, and lots and lots of greenery. After that, we hiked up to plaza Michelangelo for an amazing view ofthe city. Florence is absoluelty beautiful.
Next was a free, but nice church, but it was so dark and you had to pay a euro to have the lights turned on for five minutes! So after that we went for gelato at what is said to be the best place in town. I’d probably agree, it was pretty darn good, but I had a different kind that is made with a cream base instead of milk, so it was much creamier. On the way there though, we stopped in at this little store where this lady was making and selling jewelry. It was really neat because she was working on some when we came in. I bought an adorable pair of rose earrigs from that sweet lady :). Then we headed back to the hostel where I made a very tasty chicken pesto for dinner. We talked with Andrew again, but this time about career choices and camp. He told me about his beliefs, which is nicknamed jews for Jesus. It was really interesting to hear his perception on it all.
Day 7-Florence
A supa chill day. We had already seen the majority of sights, so we decided to spend the day at markets! First we went to the central market, which was just meat and produce. We got some kiwis, a tomato, Lettuce, ham, and olives for lunch. In the end, the only thing that seemed better than grocery store quality was the ham. The kiwis were actually pretty mushy. On the way in and out of the market, there are a bunch of little stands selling souveniers and leather products, so we looked around there as well. After eating all our market goods back at the hostel, we went out to find what we thought was going to be an artisan and craft market, but it ended up just being an area of shops. Which was slightly disappointing, but still ok with me. We went in a bunch of cool stationary and leather shops. We got more souvenirs, and Jeni and I both found cute affordable boots to replace ours that are falling apart. Yay! After that, we explored the city more on the way to the last recommended gelato shop on the list. It’s called Gelateria de Neri, and it’s supposed to be what locals say is the best. I would most certaintly agree. It was my favorite yet. I had cookies and cream and caramel. Yum yum yum. It was much smoother and tastier than any other kind. Favorite! After we headed home to make a cheap spaghetti dinner!
Day 8-Siena
We caught an early morning train to Siena. Only about an hour from Florence, it makes for a perfect day trip. It was an absolutely beautiful city. Absolutely picturesque, exactly what you would imagine for an Italian city. When we got there, there was a nice info desk where they gave us a free map and directions. We went straight to the Piazza del Campo, which is a big famous plaza right in front of the castle. On the way, we stopped and got some pizza to eat while we were sitting there. After we ate, we went in the castle, which turned out to be really cool. There were lots of paintings and other palacy things like swords and such. Taylor got in trouble for taking pictures hehe. I didn’t though because I’m more sneaky. On the top floor of the palace, there was a fantastic view of the city- absolutely beautiful. After the palace, we made our way to the duomo area. Across from the duomo, there is an old hospital that was converted into a museum, Saint Maria Della Scalla. This was probably my favorite part of the day. On the top floor, they had this big room that showed what the daily life of the hospital was like when it was operating. The hospital was operated by St. Catherine, the patron saint of the city. On the floor below, there was a chapel like area which is where she supposedly spent all of her nights praying. It was super dark and creepy, and for some reason, there was a scull on the wall of the entrance in a glass box. It still had teeth. Ew! On the very bottom floor, which was like the basement, was the hospitals treasure, gold and porcelain and such. However, it was displayed in this labyrinth like maze thru the super old basement. It was so dark and creepy. There was little side rooms that just looked like they were waiting to be the scene of the next horror film. Also on this floor, there was an archeological museum, which showed the process of restoring statues, which is happening alot in the city as well as the rest of Italy. We heard a tour guide in the Uffizi in Florence say that Italy doesn’t really produce much art anymore, but they are masters at restoring it. This was a great example of that. After that, we went into the duomo, which was pretty impressive. It was much more impressive in the inside then the one in Florence. Then we went to the home of St. Catherine, which had been converted into a church. Not what I had expected at all. I was hoping for like a house, but it just looked like a normal church. Disappointing :(. Next we went to this church where they had her head preserved in a display case on the wall! Yuck! Two dead heads in one day- supa weird. After we just decided to walk around the city, and we stumbled upon this little market and this amazing gelato shop. It was such good gelato, we were very pleased. Best nutella gelato yet. I’ve gotta learn how to make that stuff. After that, we headed back to the train to go home to pack up for Pisa.
Day 9- Pisa
Regretfully, we left our wonderful Florentine hostel early in the morning to head to Pisa. After about an hour on the train, we arrived in Pisa. We had small map in my travel book, but our hostel was right off the side of it. We checked a big map outside the train station, and luckily there were only a few turns between the station and what we thought was our street. The hostel said that I was only a km away from the station so we decided to walk. I think the 1km is a tad bit understated. We were walking for a while. The location of it was pretty terrible, pretty far out of the city. Luckily, it’s an Italian city, so it was still walkable. Anyway so we finally find it, and the gate is locked and noone is answering our buzzing or our telephone calls. Finally after about 10 mins of standing outside the gate, Taylor realizes that there’s a button on the back of it to open it. Wow. So we let ourselves in to what is like a front yard/garden/ patio, and sit on the front porch for like 15 mins. Noone answers the door. Noone answers the phone. Finally, a maid came outside to take the out the trash. We scared her haha. She hesitantly let us inside, but just told us to try the number again. Luckily someone answered this time. Mind you, were paying international calling rates. Ugh. Anyway so via tele the lady tells us that our key was hiding behind the please call sign, our room is upstairs, and breakfast is at 830. Thanks lady. See ya lata. Luckily, the place is super cute and nice and the beds reall comfy, so were not too bothered. We head out to go eat, but everything is closed. We finally found this restaurant near the tower where we had some pretty good pizza. After, we went to see the sights, which really isn’t much.
The tower is cool and all, but way too expensive to go up. We went in the duomo which was pretty nice, but after that, there was literally nothing else to do. We tried to go to the botanical garden but it was closed. So we went to get gelato, of course. After we went to buy our tickets to go to day trip to lucca the next day. Then we went back to the hostel for a nap. When we woke up, we went to the grocery store but failed to find anything we could make for dinner without a kitchen. So after searching all over deserted suburbia, we finally found an open pizzeria. For some reason everything was closed. Anyway the pizza was good and dirt cheap, so we were happy. I….don’t like Pisa.
Day 10- Lucca
We took a day trip to a near by town of Lucca. We bought our 3 euro train ticket the day before, so we were ready to roll in the morning. Unfortunately, as soon as we left the b&b it started raining. And it rained hard. The entire walk to the train station. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. We made it to the station just in time for our train, and it was packed. Where was everyone going on this rainy Easter morning? Not real sure. Luckily, after searching the entire train, we found some seats. When we got to Lucca, it was still raining, but I could tell that the city was beautiful. The train station is just outside the ancient city walls, so we got to see them as we were going in. I loved it, it was so pretty and the Grass around was so lush and green. To enter the city, you have to go thru these tunnels in the walls. So cool! I felt so medieval.
When we got into the city, we followed the crowd to a church that was actually on the list of things to see. We went inside, but they were having a service so we didn’t look around. We snuck back out a few minutes later to go see the nex thing on our list. We decided to go first to this famous cafe in hopes that the rain would stop. It was in this cafe that the famous playwright Pucci sipped coffee and pondered over his work. It was really nice, but I got this little biscotti that was super overpriced. After, the rain had calmed down a bit, so we went to plaza anfiteato for some souvenir shopping. The plaza is in the middle of the city, and it’s shaped like an amphitheater and completely surrounded by buildings. This is because in the medieval days, it was an ampitheater. Whenever it was destroyed, the outer walls were converted into apartments, and the inner stones were used to building churches in the area. After I found a nice magnet, we headed to the next sight on our list, a church. I don’t really remember what it was called, but it was beautiful. There was this really impressive baptistery inside, which is what the church is most famous for. After only about 5 mins inside, the organ sounded signifying that a service would be starting soon. We left the church quickly, and as soon as we stepped out of the door, we saw our good friend Margaret! (the girl we recently started doing bible study with) We had no idea that she was in Lucca; it was so crazy that we ran into her there. She was headed into the church for the service, so Taylor and I decided to stay as well. The thought of going to an Italian mass had never crossed our minds, despite the fact that it was Easter. But now I seemed like a great idea. Did I understand anything? Absolutely not. Well I got a word every now and then, since I know about 8 words in Italian. But, it was nice to be in a house of God. It was definitely different though; it was my very first mass. But cool. After we went to lunch with Margaret, and I had my last Italian meal. Sadly, it did not go out with a bang. I had shrimp pasta, but it was cold and plain. Boo. Oh well, we had some really nice conversation. We hoped from that restaurant to a gelato bar, where we sat and talked more about the meaning of Easter and such. After a while, we headed back to the train station where we said our good byes.
Day 11- London
Not much to say about this day. The flight to London got in around 130, but we didn’t make it back to our hostel til about 4. We had to wait 30 mins for the bus, then take a metro a good way. Our hostel was just around the corner from our stop, so that was nice. The hostel is definitely not what I expected. It was like a dorm. You had to pay for the wifi, and while there are several kitchens on every floor, they don’t provide pots or pans to cook in. We soon discovered that most of the people there had their own bc they’re living there. Who knows why. We met one guy from Egypt that’s studying and living there. He asked us why we were learning Spanish. I’ve never really had that question before. The only thing we did was go to an awesome late lunch at Tortilla, which is alot like Chipotle. Then we went to the grocery store to get food for the week. Somehow we managed to get three dinners and lunches and two breakfasts on only 20 pounds. Go us! We cooked out dinner and went to bed early.
Day 12- London
We got up super early to to Stonehenge. I was excited because I had really been looking forward to it. We woke up at 600 and got showered. Unfortunately, we realized 30 mins later that the clock on Taylor’s phone was wrong and it was really 730. We even double checked all our time telling devices and they all said 730, except for his phone. I had set my watch the day before when we ate after asking the cashier what time it was, so I trusted it the most. We even double checked with a guy in the hall. 730. We had to be at the station by 830, and we didn’t know how long it would take, so we rushed out the door. We followed our google map directions and subsequently got very lost. A underground worker guy told us that we were in the wrong part of town, but at this point, after searching all over, it was all already 835, and there was no way to find it in time. We had tried calling several times, but the call wouldnt go through. We decided to go to the right part of town to beg for our tickets to be changed to a new time. We weren’t very optimistic, but we thought it was worth a shot. We headed to the right subway stop. When looking for the office, we found a guy who was wearing a shirt with our tour groups name on it. He said he was on his way to the office and that we could follow him. When Taylor said that we missed our bus, the tour guide said they might change our time. Then he said, but I don’t think you missed it, when was it? 830 we said. He asked what time it was. 9 I answered. He seem surprised and then said he didn’t think so. We rounded the corner to find a group of people waiting for the tour. What time is it? We found out that it was really only 8, so we were an hour ahead. God has a sense of humor. We were so relieved that we made it. It took about 2 hours by bus to get there, but it was worth it I think.
The audio guide told us all about the rocks and the legends behind the structure, and it was all very interesting. And the rocks were HUGE. Very cool.
When we made it back to the city, we went to Kensington Palace! I was really excited about this as well. This is the palace where Princess Diana lived, and now Kate and William have decided to make it their home. It had recently been redone, and the exhibits were really cool. First was an exhibit of Queen Victoria’s life, which was really cool. Her wedding dress was on display, and you could even go see the bed that she died in. Her letters that she wrote to her husband were on display as well. It was really cool how they displayed it all though. It wasn’t like a museum at all; it was very artistic and took a bit of interpretation. It kinda reminded me of Alice in Wonderland or something. Another really cool part of the castle was that they had a few of Princess Diana’s gorgeous dresses on display. Loved it! And of course, the gardens outside the castle were breathtaking as well.
Later that night, we went on a Jack the Ripper walking tour, which was really cool. Our guide took us to the different murder sites and told us the back story. Coolest thing was seeing part of the old city walls, which separated the city of London from the rest of London. It was interesting because the city and the metropolitan had separate police forces, and they didn’t work together. Major part of the reason why Jack the Ripper was never found. Interesting story!
Day 13- London
First thing in the morning, we headed over to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater to buy tickets for the play that night. Sadly, the season doesn’t start until the end of April. Whatever we had read online was incorrect. Sad day. So then we just walked around the city, seeing the sights, on the way to Tralfalgar Square where we ate some sandwiches. After, we went to the National Gallery, where I very much enjoyed some works by Monet and Van Gogh, two of my favorite artists. After that, we went to the British Museum, which is home to alot of Greek and Egyptian artifacts, as well as the Rosetta Stone. Very cool! Next we went to the Arsenal Emirates Stadium, making Taylor’s dreams come true. After we ended the day with Platform 9 and 3/4 from Harry Potter!
Day 14- Dublin
We got into Dublin pretty late in the afternoon, so we were hungry. We walked around the side of the city by our hostel for a bit, looking for a good place to eat. We went by the movie theater to buy our tickets for Hunger Games, which were only 4 euros!! What a steal. After, we went to this pub that was just off the main road and had the most amazing dinner. I had fish and chips, which were the best ever. Way better than that crap I had in London. It came with this coleslaw like carrot salad and some awesome tartar sauce. Taylor had Beef and Guinness pie, which was really good. When we were almost done eating, this nice older couple came in and sat beside us. They were from Northern Ireland, and they were vacationing in Dublin. They were really nice, and they told us all the stuff that we should see. And they had wonderful Irish accents! So nice. Btw, the Irish are like the nicest people in the world. They reminded me so much of the South. Like, if Britain was the North, Ireland would be the South (culturally, obviously not geographically). After, we went to see Hunger Games, in this massive theater.
Betcha can’t find Taylor! The movie was very good. I definitely cried..
Day 15- Dublin
First thing in the morning, we went for much needed haircuts. Luckily we found a building that had two salons, one for women and one for men, together. One on the first floor and one upstairs! I was glad to get my haircut, and the lady was really nice, but I’m not in love with the cut. Oh well. After that, we went on a walking tour of the city. It was really cool because it was a free, three hour tour, and the guides are paid only by tips so everyone can enjoy no matter what! The tour was great-super informative, and I think we saw the ENTIRE city. But after about 2 and a half hours, I was exhausted. But, it was great. We learned a ton of Irish history, so that was cool. We saw Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, birthplace of Johnathan Swift, Trinity College, and the tour ended at this beautiful park.
The only thing we didn’t see on the tour was St. Patrick’s cathedral, so we went to see it after the tour. It was very pretty but…closed :(. Oh well!
Day 16- Dublin
In the morning, we walked alllllll the way to the Guinness Storehouse, which is on the edge of town. Taylor got in line while I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, he told me that some guy had given him tickets. The guy had ordered 2 online, but when he came to check in, they gave him 4. How lucky! So we went inside, and the storehouse was really cool. The way they exhibited it was really cool. First they showed you all the ingredients, then they took you through the process of how it is made. In between those two, you get to taste a little of it! And then at the end, you go up to this rooftop bar, which is completely surrounded by windows, so there is a great view of the city. And you get a free pint! I….passed on that though. But Taylor enjoyed his!
After the storehouse, we went to Kilmainham Goal which is even further out of the city. It’s this super old jail that has now been converted into a museum. How cool!
The guide was really cool, we got to look into the cells and everything. The guide told us this terrible story about this one woman whose husband and brother had been executed because of their involvement in a rebellion against the British, so they imprisoned her because her story was too sad and they couldn’t have that get out. How terrible! Then she painted a Madonna and child on her cell wall. After the Goal, we walked back across town (FOREVER) in the coldest cold that I’ve felt in quite some time. On the way, we stopped in at this chocolate cafe that had REESES!!!!!! I bought two bags of Reeses pieces and a package of 3 peanut butter cups. I was so unbelievably happy. What a wonderful note to end Spring break on 🙂
Wellll, I hope you enjoyed! I know I did. Seriously, the most enriching days of my life. I will never forget Spring Break 2012.
shelbybrinkley 