Spring Break Plans!!!

So for a while there I was pretty positive I wasn't going to do much for my Spring Break. I had planned out a day trip to Vienna and that would be it. That was until my wonderful mother suggested something completely EPIC! She suggested that I take a trip to Trieste, Italy. Have any of you ever been!? I have been doing my research the past several days and I'm not sure if I'll ever want to leave! As of tonight I'm spending 4 days there and I just can't wait! So many castles and museums to visit! Did I mention the BEACH? I'm pretty picky about beaches and oceans but from the pictures I've seen online, I think these beaches are just what I'm looking for! 

I had to post and let the world know just how excited I am to be going. :-D 

If you all have any suggestions on what to see/do there please feel free to comment! Comment away at that, I can look at the stats for number of views but comments are way better! 

Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Here's a link for info about Trieste on Wikipedia- Enjoy

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trieste

-A

14 Tage!!!! :-D

100 Tage!!!

Hello Everyone!!! I'd like to Thank those who have donated to Children's Miracle Network via Phi Mu and Dance Marathon! You can still donate up through next weekend! So if you've been thinking about donating and help make Miracles happen don't delay!! Every dollar helps!

Ok I'm off my little soapbox.. On with the post :-)

As of yesterday there are only 100 days left for me here in Salzburg. I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by! It seems like yesterday I was making my 100 Day Paper Chain counting down to go to Salzburg. My roommate and I are trying to find a creative way to count down the days until the end of the semester. We're open to suggestions!! Any who, I can't believe my time is almost up. I have made so many friends here and I'm not ready to say goodbye. This just means I'll have to hangout with them as much as I can over the next few months. Which means more awesome tales for you all! :-)

We still have a lot to do though between now and June 30th. I've got quite a few presentations and papers to write.. Fun stuff haha.. Spring Break starts next week, so I'm going to have to figure a little day trip in there somewhere.. We've got a lovely long weekend trip to Berlin planned and it happens to fall on my birthday! So that'll be fun.. A friend of mine is getting married! So for both of them :-) Then at the very end of June my family is visiting! We're doing a sort of WWII trip together. They're starting in Munich then meeting me here in Salzburg to see the Eagles Nest. Then we're going to Venice!! EEK! Next we're going to do a tour of France, more specifically Southern France, Paris!!, Northern France, and Normandy. Then we're heading back to the States.

So really I've got a lot going on over the next 100, well 99 now, days to keep me busy and updating with more stories :-) I hope you all have enjoyed this blog as much as I have writing and living it.

Have a Fabulous Day!!
-A

St Paddy's Day in Österreich!

Here’s my St Patrick’s Day update! Luck O’ the Irish! Haha

So Saturday was a great day world wide to be Irish. I woke up early and ready to celebrate! A group of us had planned on meeting around 12 to head to Dubliner to hang out and celebrate. Needless to say that didn’t happen haha! I had decided to talk a walk around the city and enjoy some sun before heading to the pub. The guys woke up late and took a while to get ready.

Finally we made it to Dubliner and the bartenders were excited to see us haha! We were the first customers of the day haha. They even had a hair clip with a shamrock they’d saved for me. The pub was all decked out as well. It was pretty neat. The pic I got isn’t the best but you should get the idea. So we ended up staying about 6 hours and had a great time. So much Irish music and Craic. The stew was fabulous and the company was even better. I did my first Irish Carbomb, it was shockingly good haha. I didn’t get wasted like a lot of people do on the holiday. I just enjoyed the time with friends. Some got a lot more drunk than I did but hey I’m not going to stop ya! Oh and the Stew and homemade Soda Bread was FABULOUS!

Decorations!

Andy and I at Dubliner

More Decorations

Needless to say you need to go to Dubliner if you’re ever visiting Salzburg. One of the Best Irish Pubs in Austria! J

PS I now know how to pour a Baby Guinness and a Guinness!! I learned last week haha J

Ok so I’ve posted three posts in the last few hours. I hope you have enjoyed them. I know the last two were kind of short but it’s a story nonetheless. As I said in the previous post pictures will be added soon! I promise!!!

Habt ihr eines schönes Tag!! 

Cork!! Corcaigh!!!

Here is the Cork update!! There’s at least one more post for today after this! Pictures will be added soon I promise! It’s hard to upload so much plus pictures on the wifi here so please bear with me!

Enjoy!!!

Alrighty, so the bus ride from Belfast to Dublin wasn’t bad but very very cold. Since we were soaked from walking in the rain we couldn’t get warm. I swear the bus driver didn’t turn the heat on at all. We made it back to Dublin and had a little over an hour to waste before our bus to Cork left. We went to the little café in the bus station and got hot chocolates and breakfast. They have MARSHMALLOWS in Ireland! Oh how I’ve missed marshmallows in my hot chocolate. After a bit we boarded a very packed bus to Cork.

The ride to Cork is about 4 hours including a 30 min pit stop about halfway. We were sitting towards the back of the bus and I had fun listening to conversation between the three girls behind us and the two guys in front of them. Turns out the guy knew her sister, small world! One girl had to pee really bad and asked the driver when the stop would be. She had about 15 minutes to wait. I didn’t think she’d make it haha! I’ve never seen someone run off a bus so quickly. I don’t even think the bus was turned off yet! At the petrol station was a great selection of sandwiches, chips, and juice. I got a yummy BLT, Doritos, and an Orange Juice. The next half of the trip went by quickly. The landscape again was beautiful. We played word games and listened to music the rest of the way.

We finally arrived and had no idea where the Bed and Breakfast was that we were staying at. We splurged a bit on the last part of the trip because 1 we knew we’d be exhausted and tired of random roommates and 2 none of the hostels made the cut based on ratings. We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast called Belvedere Lodge. I highly recommend it! Staff is really nice and the rooms are cozy, plus there are bathtubs! If you haven’t seen a bathtub in 6 months you’d be happy too haha! So we caught a cab and checked in. It was around 2 in the afternoon and we were exhausted so we just chilled. We’d decided that since the touristy things weren’t really running since we were in the off season that Cork would be the relaxing part of the trip. We just chilled in the room, surfed the net, and I watched an ep or two of Warehouse 13 on Netflix. When we finally got hungry we decided to go out to dinner. We made it to the second petrol station, which was maybe a 2min walk from the Lodge and decided to just get sandwiches for dinner. Haha! They were delicious and cheap!!

Sitting Room

Little Gazebo outside our room

That night we watched a funky dating show on tv. It was hilarious! The poor guys never stood a chance based on what they had to say and such. I’m surprised the one even got a date! The next day we wandered Cork. There’s a great shopping street off of St. Patrick’s Street. We grabbed lunch at a little café and then shopped. I bought a great women’s rugby shirt that I could wear for St Patrick’s Day. We also found a great little bookstore and got books for the journey home. I got Patricia Cornwell’s first book Post Mortem. I haven’t finished it yet but I’m loving it so far! We also grabbed some much needed face product that we can’t find in Austria haha! Then we grabbed dinner to go from a Subway and caught a cab back to the Lodge. We went back to the petrol station for drinks and chips for our meal and snacks/ breakfast for the trip back the next day. Another relaxing night of packing and reading before the trip home.

The next day a cab met us at 6 and took us to the station. We waited a bit for the bus then boarded. We got brunch at the pit stop then we were back in Dublin before we knew it. We had a while before our flight since it was at 5 and it was only around Noon. We decided to catch the bus to the Airport and eat dinner there. Of course RyanAir wouldn’t let us check in until two hours before our flight. So we did what we do best, we found a Starbucks. Finally we checked in and set out to find our gate then food. First we found a lovely giftshop and I got a few things for family. Then we found a Burger King which was the best Burger King this side of the ocean as fat as I’m concerned.

At last we reached our gate and waited to board. I wasn’t ready to leave, I really could have stayed there forever. The people are so friendly and there’s so much history and love for the country. Well we boarded and I may have cried once we took off. I hope to one day make it back and see more of the country!

This update is much shorter than the others as we didn’t do much but all in all had fun.

Next up: St. Patrick’s Day in Salzburg! –Once again another shorter post but hey it’s an update right?

-A

Belfast! Béal Feirste!!

Here is the update on Belfast! Enjoy!

PS: There are only two more weeks until Bowling Green State University’s Dance Marathon! Please help us raise money for Children’s Miracle Network! The link on the right of my profile links you to my Sorority’s (Phi Mu) donation page for Dance Marathon! Remember it’s For The Kids (FTK)!!!!!

Thanks!

-A

So we finally made it to the bus station after stopping at Starbucks, like I said before when a little bit of home is available you have to indulge haha. We enjoyed our breakfast and then it was time to board the bus. It’s about a 2 hour bus ride up to Belfast from Dublin. The bus itself was pretty nice. It was a charter bus and it was fairly empty, so there weren’t too many distractions or disruptions. The bus ride was fairly uneventful. I tried to sleep, but who wants to sleep and let Ireland pass you by? The landscape was beautiful and so green. I saw numerous sheep and horses. Also there are mountains, I think they qualified as mountains or just really big hills haha, at one point that were simply amazing. Every now and then you could catch a glimpse of the ocean on our way North.

Here’s some quick information one must know before we get into Belfast. It’s in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK so the currency is the Pound. Also, while some may not admit to it, there is still some strong feelings about the separation of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Some believe there should be a unification of the two parts while others are loyal to the Crown. Belfast also has a rocky history of turmoil and unrest. They are working past their dark history and working to improve their city. The main college in Belfast is Queen’s University, which was founded by Queen Victoria in 1845 and opened in 1849. Also the RMS Titanic was built in Belfast “Built by Irishmen and Sunk by Englishmen” is a popular saying seen a lot more of recent due to the 100 year anniversary of the ship sinking.

On with the story…

We arrived around 10 AM and had to find our hostel. We were staying at Arnie’s Backpackers which is just down the street from Queen’s University. It’s a bit of a hike from the bus station though. We made it finally and checked in. What’s neat about staying at a backpacker’s lodge is that the staff are students or travelers traveling Europe or studying at the local university. The guy that checked us in that day is from Detroit, Michigan! What are the odds!? It was cool to see someone from the States that knew the area well and could tell us the cool places to visit. So Akasha and I went out for lunch, after getting some money.. The Pound is a funky currency.. Just saying. So we ended up grabbing some Fish and Chips at a place that won “Best Fish N’ Chips in Belfast” It was alright, let’s say we didn’t go back haha. Then we wandered the main part of the city and found the current City Hall and the Victoria Square. My goodness what a mall!!! It was both an Indoor and Outdoor mall. So many stores to visit and they had an Apple Store! Which means free wifi! Haha. We spent some time there then headed back to find a place with Trads music (recall from the previous post that Trads is Traditional music).

We were told of a great pub on the other side of town called Madden’s with great music. So we set out that way after looking up directions. It was a good 30-45min walk and we arrived to where our directions led us. A parking lot. Confused we asked the guy working the parking lot if he knew of the pub. He said no and that the only bar was the one across the way. It didn’t look like our type of bar so we decided to go into the mall that was right there. Hoping there was free wifi to look up directions again was a lost cause. Finally I walked up to the info desk and asked the very nice lady if the Pub still existed. She was so excited about the pub it was hilarious! She said to go out the doors opposite we walked in on and it would be right across the street. Sure enough it was! An odd thing about this pub is that you have to be buzzed in. No biggie though they let everyone in. Akasha and I walked in expecting to hear music and for there to be a crowd. That was not the case. We were the only “Outsiders” there. The bartenders were very nice though and pretty much took us under their wings. Barry and Declan are their names if you’re going anytime. They taught us Gaelic and the history of Belfast. They also asked us a bunch of questions about our time abroad and such. It ended up being a great time, no music that night though except for the two guys playing pipes and drum which was cool. Declan showed us the upstairs which where they have a whole other bar for Trads nights which happened to be Friday’s and not Thursday’s. It’s really neat and I def recommend going there if you get the chance. We also met a few of the local patrons to the pub and they were all nice. Who turns down a free drink or two because you chose to visit Ireland? Not us haha. They also showed us this freaky looking drink, which I can tell you I would NEVER drink in my lifetime or the next. It was a bottle with some kind of alcohol, not even the Barry knew what it was as it’s been there for many years, that had a Snake eating itself. GROSS! It didn’t smell very good either. The night finally wound down and Declan got us a cab back to our hostel.

Freaky Drinks.. EWW!!

The next day we spent taking a bus tour of Belfast. That was really cool. You get to hear all about the history and see some interesting sites. One place in particular I remember is the former City Hall in Ulster. It was destroyed by the locals and continues to be vandalized to this day. Across the way from the former City Hall is the former prison where a child died. Since the child’s death laws were placed against having children and adults in the same cells let alone prisons. Another interesting bit of history we learned was about the Europa Hotel. It is considered the most bombed hotel in Europe. It was bombed 33 times and numerous more were found and diffused during the “Trouble Times”.  After the tour we went shopping for a bit in Victoria Square and I Skyped my dad and best friend from just outside the Apple Store of course. Afterwards Akasha and I went to lunch at The Kitchen Bar per a suggestion by Declan the night before. It was DELCIOUS! I had the Roast of the Day which was Chicken and came with potatoes a salad and Soda Bread. Akasha had a flat bread pizza and we split a bowl of Irish Stew and Soda Bread. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Irish Stew and Soda Bread!? It’s divine! After our meal we were overly stuffed and people watched for a while. It’s amazing how different the style is in Ireland in general compared to Austria. It’s more laid back in ways and in others its very stylish and put together. I definitely saw more hoodies and sweats in Ireland than anywhere in Austria. However there is still the sense of “getting ready for the day” and “looking your best” there. I might also add that there are quite a few handsome men that were walking around that day haha!

After we sat around for a bit we went to the “New City Hall” to meet up for a Ghost tour of Belfast. Needless to say that didn’t happen. Thank goodness. It was sketchy at best but something good did come out of not meeting up for the tour. We met a church group that had a member from Toledo there! How crazy is that! She even went to school in Texas! Small world yet again. Also the leader of the group that night, who was a native of Belfast, had actually been to Cedar Pointe! Very cool. So we talked for a bit then decided to call it an early night since we had to meet an early, 6AM, bus back to Dublin the next day. So we headed back to the hostel and it was drizzling and pretty dark. As Queen’s University came into view you would have thought you were transported to Hogwarts! It looks so cool at night!

We were in a bit early and decided to take advantage of the free internet. NETFLIX works in Ireland!! I may have died a bit and gone to heaven. So I watched an ep of Fawlty Towers since we were technically in the UK then packed up so that I wouldn’t wake our roommates up in the morning.

The next morning we set out for the bus station, remember it was a bit of a hike from the hostel, and it was POURING down rain. We didn’t know a number for a cab so we walked. We were soaked to the bone but made it. We boarded the bus for Dublin and fell asleep.

Next up Cork!!

Éire

Well School has started and I have a bit of down time today to FINALLY update my blog about Ireland. I apologize for the delay. Break went by so quickly, my computer was out of sorts for a few days (which nearly killed me), and school started back up. All in all a crazy time.

So here we go..

The night before my friend and I headed out to Ireland we went to our favorite local pub here in Salzburg. It’s called Dubliner and it’s literally our form of “Cheers”. It’s an awesome pub and everyone knows everyone. The bartenders are fabulous and fun loving people. You walk in and feel welcome and at home. Sunday nights a couple guys come in with their acoustic guitars and sing some Trad music. Trad, meaning: Traditional Irish music. I love it and it’s a great way to start a vacation. We stayed for a bit and enjoyed good times singing and having a good Craic. Craic is Gaelic for “Good Time”(Pronounced Crack) :-)

The next day we were to head off to Dublin. I was super stoked and woke up early to finish packing and make sure I had everything sorted for traveling. I had planned on going to the bank to exchange some money but that fell through as every bank that I visited was on their “Lunch Pause” meaning they were closed. I did get to walk along the river and see a beautiful sight that in the last six months of living here in Salzburg had yet to see. I was across from the Altstadt and had a great view of the Festung and Altstadt. I decided that I need to walk that side of the river more often. I’m hardly ever over on that side because I live on the other side of the river. Haha.

Finally the time came to head to the Airport. We wanted to be there early enough to make sure that we made it to Security and to our gate on time. Little did we know that unlike in the States, where you can check in up to 3 or 4 hours early due to security lines and such, they didn’t let us check in until 2 hours before departure. So we sat and waited. Akasha colored in her coloring book and I Skyped my dad. Finally we got to check in and go through Security. One thing I LOVE about security here is that we don’t have to take off our shoes. I had my snowboots on since they’re waterproof and why pack heavy shoes?.. I didn’t realize how small the Salzburg Airport was until we got through Security. There are only 8 gates. EIGHT! I joked that I’d hate for our gate to abruptly change and have to run all the way across the airport to another gate. We had some time to kill so we shopped a bit and got snacks to last us until the next day around lunch since we’d be arriving late and had to meet a tour bus super early in the morning. Our flight is called and we have to walk across the runway outside to get to our plane. Did I mention that it was snowing like a mad man!? Of course as soon as I decide to leave the country it snows a bunch. Side note: they got several inches that night and it was all gone by the time we returned :-( We were flying RyanAir which is a Budget Airline with cheap airfare. The flight went without problem and to start it off on the right foot Akasha and I sang “Here We Go” by N’Sync during takeoff. We were quite the sight dancing in our seat and singing haha.

Upon landing we had to go through Customs and get our passports stamped. That was thrilling. Not. I always end up with the grumpy workers. Oh well, I made it in without problem :-). Now all we had to do was collect or checked luggage and make our way to the hostel. Well it took about 40min for our luggage to finally make it to the belt. We were on Irish time now so things happen when they happen, it may not be quite on schedule but it’ll all work out in the end. I had it all worked out on how to get to our hostel from the airport. We had to take the 16A bus to a certain stop then it was a little walk to the hostel. Finding the correct bus was difficult. The buses aren’t labeled like you’d think they would be. I finally asked someone and they pointed to a bus that was leaving, that was labled 41, and said that’s a 16a bus. Oh well, there were cabs, so we took one and made it to the hostel around 1AM. We checked in and tried to not make too much noise since we had roommates that were asleep. I was exhausted and fell asleep a little after 2 and we had to be up at 6 to walk to the meeting spot for our tour the next day..

I woke up and couldn’t believe I was actually in Ireland. Let alone Dublin. I could see the Liffey right out my window and I was so excited! I got up, got ready and went to look up directions to the meeting place. It looked like a fairly straight shot from our hostel but knowing me I’d miss it haha. We were staying on Aston Quay (pronounced Kay) and had to go to Suffolk Street which is where the main tourism office of Dublin is. Well we only missed it once because I didn’t know that the tourism office is in a remodeled church! That was pretty cool. So we boarded the bus and got comfy for the 2 hour ride across Ireland to Galway where we’d be going to County Clare, Contae an Chláir in Gaelic, to see the Cliffs of Moher. It was an amazing drive. I was loving every second of it. I had my Irish playlist on repeat and watched the sun rise over the green fields of Ireland. We crossed over the River Shannon just as the sun was rising over the hills. The landscape between East Ireland and West Ireland changes from the Peat bogs to rolling hills. I saw many horses and Sheep. So many sheep. We took a pit stop at a nice little petrol station that had a convenience store attached for snacks. I got a delicious bacon chicken wrap and a Red Bull. Now that I was wired I’d be able to make it through the day haha.

The Liffey

Sunrise over the River Shannon

We arrived in Galway around 9 and waited for our new driver to arrive to take us around and up to the Cliffs of Moher. Our tour guide and driver was name Desmond. He was the sweetest old man that of course once he started talking to me I swear had a crush on me. Mind you he was about 70 and was a mix of Bilbo Baggins and a Leprechaun. He told a lot of great jokes and new his history. I’m not sure how he got the bus to and from the Cliffs as some of the roads I swear were not big enough nor made for a tour bus. Yet he did it with ease. We got to see old Castles of Ireland tombs and lots of sheep! We even visited the Fairy Fort which  it is said to be the home of Leprechauns. There was even a hidden Leprechaun in the tree. I may have caught him on film haha. It was all good fun.

We had lunch in Doolin, at a little pub. My first legit meal in Ireland was Bangers and Mash with a glass of Guinness. For those not familiar with how beer is served you can either get a Pint or a Glass, Pints being the bigger of the two. Since we were touring and still had a long day ahead we, meaning Akasha, myself, and another student we met who’s studying in Spain, had a glass with our meal. Akasha got the Irish Stew and it was to die for. The bread alone, which is Soda Bread, is SO GOOD! It’s dense and sweet which is perfect! After lunch Desmond played Galway girl over the sound system and Akasha and I may have freaked out a little. If you have ever watched the movie PS I Love You then you know that Gerard Butler and Jeffery Dean Morgan both sing this at different times in the film. It’s a great song and the best version I’ve heard, aside from the live versions at Dubliner on Sunday’s, is by the Pogues. Check it out on iTunes or YouTube!!! So we are finally making our way to the Cliffs. All of a sudden we’re there and it’s a sight to behold. It’ll literally take your breath away. What’s even better is the weather was perfect for seeing the cliffs. It was overcast but no rain! It was also very windy. I can’t really put into words how amazing it was to be standing at a place that is mentioned in so many songs that I’ve heard since I was a little girl going to the Cleveland Irish Festival. I also was standing at a place that my Great Uncle has visited. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the beauty..

The Cliffs of Moher

 O'Brien's Castle

We spent about 2 hours wandering the Cliffs and enjoying the view and a great slice of Chocolate Cake. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay any longer and had to head back to Galway and finally back to Dublin. We arrived back in Dublin around 6PM and had time to grab a quick dinner from the grocery store then we slept. I was exhausted from such a full day of touring and traveling.

The next day we slept in a bit and then wandered the great city that is Dublin. First we had to get a plug adapter. I was crazy in thinking that since Ireland is in the EU that they’d had the same plugs. OOPS so we went next door to an electronic shop and found a fairly cheap converter. Then we  went to Starbucks. Yeah, I know it’s and American thing but seeing a bit of home at a place that is the closest to home that I’ll be for the next 6 months I had to have a decent Hot Chocolate and slice of Banana Nut Bread. Then we went to Grafton Street. The main shopping street in Dublin. There you can find the statue of Molly Malone. I had recently read a story that takes place in Ireland and was written by someone from Dublin so it was neat to see actual places from the story in real life. We walked the length of Grafton Street and into the beautiful park St. Stephen’s Green which was built in 1663. It’s a beautiful park with a couple lakes and fountains. We made a wish in the fountain then came upon a tour bus. It was a Hop on Hop off bus that went to Guinness Storehouse and Jameson distillery. We figured why not? So we hopped on and went to St Patrick’s Cathedral. I had hoped that we’d be able to visit for free since in the US and Austria it’s free. This is not the case in Ireland. Since they do not receive State Funding they charge a fee to visit. We opted to take pictures of the outside. A little disheartened about not seeing the inside we decided to head to the Guinness Store House to tour and learn to pour the Perfect Pint. One neat fact that I learned was that the Guinness World Book of Records was started by Guinness himself! They were sitting around one day and wanted to know some fact and they decided to create a book to contain all the records for the fastest, tallest, loudest, etc. I bet you didn’t know that! I also got to learn how to Pour the Perfect pint of Guinness. I even received a certificate for completing the class. Did you know that to properly drink a Guinness you should Gulp it. A Guinness should be finished in approximately 6 Gulps. Yeah, that’s not happening. I have seen it done though haha.

 Molly Malone and a Leprechaun 

 9000 year Guinness Lease

I poured the Perfect Pint :-)

Next we hopped back on the bus and were bound for the Jameson Distillery! We got to see the Wellington Monument, which is the second tallest Obelisk in the world next to the Washington Monument in DC. The monument is in Phoenix Park which was established in 1662. Here you can find people playing sports such as Football, walking, running, playing with pets, and skeet shooting. You’ll also find a heard of Fallow Deer which were brought to the park for hunting games a long time ago. They are no longer hunted but you can see them through out the park. We could see them from the bus and it was neat that they were so comfortable so close to humans. At the end of the Phoenix Park you’ll find the American Embassy as well as the Dublin Zoo! We passed several war monuments and then we may have missed the Jameson Stop.. Well we did miss it but headed back to Trinity College to check out the Book of Kells. We walked onto campus and it was gorgeous! It’s how you’d picture European colleges. Old buildings and nicely dressed students on bikes and such. We followed the signs for the Book of Kells and made it to the library. They were charging 12 Euro to view it. We said ‘Nay Nay’ and hopped on the bus to the Jameson Distillery. We finally made it and it was the last tour of the day. By now we’d been running around Dublin all day and it was close to 5 o’clock. We learned how Jameson was started and how it’s distilled. We also got to look into how it’s aged. Then the best part of the tour is a tasting. I love Jameson as much as the next person and can drink it on ice perfectly fine, but I wanted to try something new so I had a Jameson and Cranberry juice on ice. It was pretty good but I still prefer mine straight on ice.

 American Embassy

Spire of Dublin

Trinity College

Once we were done with the tour we decided to walk to the Main Bus Station for Bus Éireann. We bought tickets to Belfast and Cork and back to Dublin. I was excited for the next part of our trip but sad to leave Dublin. We still had one last night in town though. We grabbed Papa Johns for dinner, we haven’t had it for over 6 months! Then we went back to the hostel to chill before we went out to the pubs. We decided to try out a pub that a friend of ours told us about from Dubliner. He’s actually from Dublin and gave great directions, had I remembered to put them back in my purse from my bookbag! I had looked at them once and thought I knew where to go. I was only off by a street or two but we didn’t find it. We did however get some delicious Gelato and found another pub. This first pub was a complete dud. It was on Suffolk street and admittedly we were early, but it wasn’t what we were looking for. So we decided to head to the “Evil Temple Bar” as Ken likes to call it. We walked around trying to find a pub with live Trad music and good atmosphere. We ended up not finding it on Temple bar but back a pub in a hotel on Aston Quay. We decided to stay for a few drinks, which I had Smithwicks. You can’t find it in Austria anywhere that I know of so I was drinking it while I could. Haha. Oh and you have to pronounce it correctly. It’s not Smith Wicks it’s Smittiks. The live music was pretty good but wasn’t Trad music. He sang Pink Floyd and Van Morrison as well as a few other songs. I knew them all and sang along. He laughed when I caught him singing the wrong words and I had them right. It was a good night and a good way to end our stay in Dublin.

The next morning we checked out and made our way to the bus station, via Starbucks and caught the 8 o’clock to Belfast..

To Be Continued…