The last part of our Spring Break trip was Ireland. We flew to Dublin, Ireland and our bed & breakfast was only about a five minute drive from the airport. Our bed & breakfast was an adorable little place that looked like it was from a fairy tale town. We stayed in 2 seperate rooms, because they accidentally gave our large room to another family. So Kari, Chelsea, and I stayed in a room while Jess & Rachel stayed in another. The rooms were quaint & cute.
The first day in Ireland we took a tour bus. I expected more rolling hills & landscape in Ireland, but since we stayed in Dublin it was just a typical city. So, we took the bus tour which drove us around and pointed a few things out in the city. There didn’t seem to many famous buildings in Ireland, I guess most people visit for the landscape surrounding the city. The main thing we did on the first day was take an Irish dance class. The Irish dance class taught us three different Irish dances, we listened to Irish music, and also watched a professional Irish dancer between lessons. The lessons were really fun. We were really uncoordinated and terrible at the dances but that just made it more hilarious and fun. Also, I might mention, a spanish highschool class also took the dance class with us so they all thought we were American idiots!
After the dance class we simply got dinner and walked around the city. Enjoying the city, people, and music. It got late really fast and we headed back to the hotel because Chelsea & I weren’t feeling well & everyone was really tired from traveling so much within the past week.
The next day in Ireland, I was extremely sick & didn’t leave the bed & breakfast. The girls went out to see a movie (The Hunger Games) and walk around the city. I stayed in the room and slept. I FELT MISERABLE. That night I literally laid on the bathroom floor all night and got about an hour of sleep. We took an early plane in the morning back to Pisa, Italy.
So overall, I didn’t get to see much of Ireland. But what we did see was beautiful. I wish I could go back now that I feel better and explore the countryside. (Maybe one day)
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland (I’m not sure what any of these buildings really are! haha!)
Irish Dance Class in Dublin, Ireland. : We learned 3 different dances and listened to Irish music.
Edinburgh, Scotland was by far my favorite place I have been on this entire trip. (minus Italy). The town was small, quaint, and cute. Every person we ran into was extremely nice. We were all exhausted by the time we got to Edinburgh but we stuck through it and visited every place we could. From London to Edinburgh we took the night train which took about 7 1/2 hours. None of us slept on the train through the night because there was no heat and we were all freezing. We had scarves wrapped around our heads and curled up in layers & layers of clothes. As soon as we arrived in Edinburgh at 7:30 a.m. we had to run down the street to get on our scheduled tour, which left at 8. Talk about exhaustion! But it was worth it. We traveled the whole first day we were in Edinburgh. We took a bus trip through the countryside seeing different Loch’s and villages. It was the best day trip I have taken.
On the day trip through the country side we saw hairy-coo’s (hair cow things) and lots of sheep. The roads were skinny and windy through grassy mountains with waterfalls, lakes, and rivers everywhere. It was the prettiest landscape I have ever seen. Finally after several hours of bus riding, we arrived at LochNess (loch simply means lake if you didn’t know.) LochNess is the lake where people believe the monster Nessie lives. Ofcourse we had to visit here! How many other people can say they went to Scotland to find Nessie?! We searched the Lake and hung out by the rocks but we didn’t spot her. I also bought a shirt saying I am a “Nessie Hunter” (Had to.)
After visiting this lake, we started heading back to the city of Edinburgh, which took several hours. So, ofcourse all four of us were fast asleep on the bus and missed much of the ride. We finally arrived back at 8:30 p.m. So it was a long day. Luckily, our bed & breakfast was nearby. It was so cute! It was a little house with a little lady running it. She was extremely friendly. We were so relieved when our room had a private bathroom with a toilet that flushed and a shower with hot water & free towels. (After the terrible hostel in London) We fell asleep as soon as we arrived at the b&b.
The next day in Edinburgh, we didn’t have much time since we had to board our plane to Ireland at 6, so we took a walking tour. The walking tour took us all around the city to famous buildings/areas and taught us alot about Scottish heritage. We saw where J.K. Rowling started the Harry Potter series, where many Christians were massacred for displaying their beliefs, Edinburgh castle, cemeteries, etc. Supposably Edinburgh is one of the most haunted cities in the world. Learning about their culture and past was very interesting. We also learnt about a lot of writers that started there. The walking tour was definitely worth it, it only cost a few pounds and we got to see everything important in a small amount of time.
I was very amused, as you can tell by the pictures, by all the kilts and bagpipes for sale. I thought this was a myth, but every corner you turned had a kilt & bagpipe shop. I wanted to buy a kilt…but I refrained from doing so.
Another interesting random fact about Scotland; they have their own drink. They call it ‘liquid bubblegum’ or something like that. But apparently it is neon orange and loaded with sugar and caffeine. They said if you drank it, you would be wired all day. I did not drink it. But an old man in our walking tour group got one. I didn’t see him for the rest of the day….I think he might of just passed out somewhere probably! HAhA!
I was extremely sad to leave Edinburgh. I wish we would have spent more time in the small town. The people were so kind and the town was homey and cute. I hope one day I will get the chance to go back and spend more time there.
Edinburgh, Scotland (final set.)
More of Edinburgh, Scotland
The Hunt for Nessie — At LochNess
Edinburgh, Scotland (Part 1: Day trip through countryside)
Our first stop for Spring Break was England. We ofcourse stayed in London, England. Where do I start with London? Well, I LOVED IT! Even though our hostel was the sketchiest and scariest hostel we have stayed at thus far, I still loved London.
London is a beautiful city. Obviously they speak English and have a lot of American restaurants/stores/etc. but London still varies greatly from any American city.
The first thing we had to do while in London, was ofcourse, ride a double decker bus! Duh! (We watched “What a Girl Wants” with Amanda Bynes before we left, so it was a given.) We rode at the top of the open double decker bus, all the way in the back, so we had a clear view of every place we drove by. Which was kind of a stupid idea since it was freezing out, but we wrapped our scarves around our heads like gypsies and dealt with it. The tour bus was actually a great idea because we saw everything we wanted to see, that would typically take days to see, in one day. We saw the London Bridge (not as exciting as people make it seem, and I was still nervous as to why people said it was falling down haha), we saw the Tower Bridge (which at first I thought was the London Bridge because it was way cooler), we saw parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, the Queen’s Gardens, the Queen’s Palace, where Kate and William got married, etc. etc. etc. We saw so much that I can’t even remember all the names and places!
I was rather disappointed at the Queen’s Palace however. Even though it was gorgeous and astonishing to actually be able to see it in person, I was disappointed because the guards are not standing at the gates like in movies. You cannot make fun of them or try to make them laugh. Which is what I was looking forward to the whole time. I was devising a whole plot of what I was going to do to try and make them laugh in my head on the plane. But that was all a waste because they are actually standing at the doors of the Palace; far away from where a normal human like us can stand. BUT. The palace was still beautiful and I dreamt of being Kate Middleton and being the princess :). But HEY, isn’t Harry still single? HA!
We also bought tickets to the London Eye. Which, if you haven’t heard of it, the London Eye is an enormous ferris wheel which gives you a view of the entire city. Yes, once again, I think I might have pooped my pants. Heights just aren’t my thing. I thought I would be fine since you are standing up in a large pod that fits about 10 people…but that thing goes really high! It was still exciting though, and I go a lot of great pictures of the entire city.
Other than visiting famous parts of London, some side things that we did were watch a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Which who knew, St. Patrick isn’t really from Ireland, he’s from London? We also stopped to see the Olympic clock that counts down to this summer’s Olympics in London! And ofcourse, we ate Chipotle…twice. Which is probably why I got sick at night. But it was worth it.
On the second day of being in England. We went on a bus day trip to Salisbury, England. Which is where…hold your breath…Stonehenge is! Stonehenge is one of those places you always hear about and learn about, but it never dawns on you that it actually exists. Stonehenge was the favorite part of my trip. We got to listen to all the myths surrounding Stonehenge and how it was built ( I still believe the alien story haha!) . It was extremely interesting. Not to mention it is out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by beautiful green fields full of sheep. It was a beautiful environment to be in, and it was a gorgeous day out.
Overall, those were the main highlights of England. I have a billion pictures to share once I return to Amurrrica!
