July 20 & 21

Yesterday (the 20^th) we did a lot of relaxing. Ashton and I wanted to be outside so we walked to the hotel that’s close to Katherine and Pete’s house. The weather was great so we sat on the porch of the hotel’s restaurant and ate until we couldn’t eat anymore! Fish & chips are my new fav! We took the scenic and mostly uphill walk home to try and burn off some calories.

Today (the 21^st) we had breakfast, watched some TV, then got ready for a long day. Katherine took us to Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry for lunch. It was beautiful and had 47 acres of gardens. Powerscourt has a Ritz-Carlton so there were also specialty shops and a golf course. This would be an awesome place to revisit! When we left Powerscourt, Katherine drove us to Glendalough (pronounced “glen-da-lock”), a valley settled in the 6th century by the priest, St.Kevin. The drive to Glendalough was picturesque to say the least. We saw some really gorgeous views of the Wicklow mountains, walked a lot, and took tons of pictures.

Now we’re exhausted and about to pack up for the long haul back to the states tomorrow. We’ll be on 3 flights beginning at 6:30 in the morning…Dublin to London to Boston to Atlanta. Soooo much fun.

Pictured above: Me at Glendalough, me before we walked into Glendalough with baby Gabby, the front of Powerscourt, THE BEST FISH & CHIPS MEAL EVER, me before lunch at the hotel, Ashton and her cousin Oscar (digging for gold & helping her put on make-up)

July 18th & 19th

Yesterday (the 18th) we woke up and started getting ready to head into Dublin. Katherine was so nice and drove Ashton and me to the nearest train station, called the Dart. On the way in, we stopped at a seaside town called Dun Laoghaire for lunch. After we ate, we got back on the train and were in Dublin in less than 20 minutes. We walked to one of Dublin’s well known tourist attractions, the Guinness Storehouse. This was kind of like the World of Coke in Atlanta, except for beer of course. We spent about 2 hours in Guinness and at the end we got a complimentary beer at the Gravity Bar which was at the top of the building overlooking the entire city of Dublin. When we left Guinness, we walked around the city and did some exploring. We ended up at a beautiful park called St.Stephen’s Green. It was kind of like New York City’s Central Park, but smaller. We walked back to the Dart station and Katherine picked us up when we got to the stop closest to her home. We watched "P.S. I Love You" and drank wine before we went to bed in honor of our vist to Ireland. We are cheesy, but were really in the mood for a chick-flick and this was obviously the best choice.

Today (the 19th) we went to Donnybrook, a very nice suburb of Dublin, with Katherine and Pete and their baby Gabby for a tennis match at a tennis club. Pete use to play tennis and some of his friends were competing. We had lunch at the club then walked around the city of Dublin to check out the shopping. I got a t-shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe that is pretty cool! We drove back and Katherine made us a spaghetti for dinner. Now we’re hanging out and planning something for tomorrow…maybe a hike on the coast since the weather is going to be nice...a high of 65 degrees!

Pictured above: Me at St.Stephen's Green in Dublin, me outside of Guinness Storehouse, me at the Gravity Bar inside of the Guinness Storehouse, view from the train on the way into the city (not too shabby)

July 17th

Today was so relaxing! Ashton and I slept-in and when we woke up, Katherine (her cousin) made us porridge for breakfast. We took our time getting ready and weren't in a hurry at all! This was refreshing because we have constantly been on the move since we left Atlanta on July 2nd. Shortly after we got dressed, Katherine drove us and her two kids (Oscar and Gabby) to a nearby town for lunch. It was soooooooooo good, and probably the best meal I've had since I've been "across the pond." The restaurant we ate at had a gift shop attached to it with the cutest stuff. When we left, Katherine drove us to Bray, a beach town close to her home. There was a carnival going on so a band was playing and families were everywhere. The coast in Ireland is just how I imagined it: green and beautiful. We grabbed a coffee before we left at a place called "Finnbees Coffee House" and then headed home. About to watch some TV and plan something fun for tomorrow!

Pictured above: the most delicious/filling cheeseburger and fries I had for lunch (will definitely be hitting the gym pretty hard when I get home), me on the beach in Bray, Ashton and me in the gift shop where we had lunch

July 14, 15, 16

The past few days have been a whirlwind. I just realized it was Saturday and that I hadn’t blogged in the past couple of days. I haven’t had much internet access and I lost my phone in Paris, so I’ve been feeling a little disconnected.

On the 14^th, we left Paris and headed to London. The train ride from Paris to London was about 2 hours…I tried to sleep the entire way but couldn’t because I was pumped about London. When we arrived, we had free time for most of the day and saw a few tourist attractions like Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and the outside of Westminster Abbey. After we walked around and explored the city, our group had a “Medieval Times” dinner that was so much fun and very close to the Tower of London. Food was good, entertainment was good and it was unlimited beer and wine. Everyone ended up dancing the night away and took the Tube (London metro-system) back to our hotel.

The next day (15^th), the study abroad program with the group was officially over. Some people went home to the states, some went to Germany, our professor and his wife left to explore the English countryside and Ashton and I planned on staying in London. We reserved beds at a hostel about a month ago and thought this would be an inexpensive way to stay in Europe for a week longer. When we actually got to the hostel and saw what we were in for, we had a little crisis. We knew it wouldn’t be the ideal place to stay, but I guess we were a little too optimistic. We went to dinner at a place called “Giraffe” in SoHo and did some shopping to kill time. Then we tried to figure out where we going to stay for the rest of the week. The hostel refunded our money and we got a hotel room at a nearby Travelodge for the night.

This morning (the 16^th), we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel then searched for other hotels and places to stay in London for the rest of the week. The Travelodge was all booked and everything else in London was either outrageously expensive or just as sketchy as the hostel we originally booked. That’s when we randomly decided to relocate our Eurotrip to Dublin, Ireland.

Why Ireland? Because Ashton has family in Dublin that welcomed us with open arms. We booked a flight and RUSHED to London-Heathrow airport with all our luggage. Half way to the airport, the Tube shut down so we had to RUSH out of the Tube station and get a taxi to take us to the airport. We checked in and RUSHED to the departure gate. We made it to our flight just in time. I was starving at this point because I hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast and it was 5:00 p.m….not to mention the work-out I had to endure hauling bags and sprinting around London in attempts to make it to our flight on time.

It only took us about an hour to fly from London to Dublin and I took a nap on this flight. One thing I’ve learned on this trip is how to sleep at any time. You never know when you will get an hour of rest again so it’s best to rest when you can. Ashton’s cousin’s husband, Pete, picked us up from the airport and now we’re at their home, which he told us is 10 minutes away from where the movie "P.S. I Love You" was filmed. If you haven’t seen it, you should because the scenery is beautiful. He also told us about several things we could do this week and that him and his wife, Catherine (Ashton's cousin) have all the House episodes recorded on their TV and we can watch them when we want to relax. This is one of my favorites so I'm starting to feel at home again!

We’ll be here until the 22^nd and the next city I’ll be in is Atlanta, Georgia! Stay tuned to hear about our adventures to Ireland!

Pictured above: Ashton and me in the Dublin airport before we got picked up, Andrew (one of my classmates) and me at a pub before we all left London, Ashton and me at the Medieval Times dinner doing a dance called "The Bernie" (please click on the link to to see the real thing on YouTube), the front of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben

July 13

We didn't have anything on the itinerary this morning so we got to sleep longer. We all went out last night so we definitely needed the rest! After lunch, we went to the Louvre which was FULL of people. It was so big that it was kind of overwhelming, but I got to see the Mona Lisa so I was happy about that. When we left the museum, we had crepes then came back to the hotel. Great day in Paris! Don't want to leave!

Pictured above: Me at the Louvre

July 12th

Today was FULL of activities. We had our first breakfast at the hotel we're staying at in Paris and it was soooo good. Our first appointment was at at the French Interior Ministry. After we listened to a brief lecture, we were able to walk around and see many rooms in the headquarters. The Minister of the Interior was out today for heart surgery so we didn't get to meet him! But apparently he is a big deal, as he is one of Nicolas Sarkozy's friends and former cabinet member.

When we left the Ministry, it was raining outside so it was kind of gross. But by the time we got to the Eiffel Tower, the bad weather went away and it cleared up outside. I took tons of pictures of the tower! Ashton and I had a Nutella crepe to complete the experience and then we took a boat tour of the Seine River.

After the boat tour, some of use took a train to see the Palace of Versailles. This was the most incredible thing I've ever seen and I could not get over how huge it was in real life. This is a MUST SEE. We walked around the Palace for a few hours then ate a quick sandwich before we jumped on the train back to our hotel. Now I'm resting and getting ready for another big day tomorrow!

Pictured above: Eiffel tower in case you didn't realize that already, Dr.Herbel and me in front of the Seine, room in the French Interior Ministry

July 11th

Today we woke up, had breakfast and headed for the train station. We rode on the train for 2 hours and I slept the entire time! When we arrived in Paris we rushed to our hotel, changed clothes, and had an appointment at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. After a lecture there, we headed to a restaurant for dinner with our new tour guide, Jessica. Now we’re at the hotel in Paris and resting up for a big day tomorrow!

Pictured above: some of my classmates and me in front of the Arc de Triumph after dinner, Ashton and me at the OECD, Ashton and me on the train to Paris, David and me waiting to get on the train

July 10th

There isn't much to blog about today. We didn't have any activities scheduled so we slept in, had a late breakfast, did laundry, then took the bus into town for lunch. We ended up walking up to the top of the cathedral in Strasbourg that I love so much. It was gorgeous! After that we had gelato and came back to the chateau...it's our last night here! :-(

Pictured above: pretty staircase in the chateau, view from the top of the cathedral, me at the top of the cathedral, classmates (Sam & Ashton) and me getting ready to walk to the bus station when it was rainy

July 9th

Today we left the chateau after breakfast and went into the city to visit a history museum, the Musee historique de la ville de Strasbourg. We were in the museum for about 2 hours and then rushed to the bus station for a day trip to Freiburg, Germany. This city was comfortable because everyone was so friendly. We did a little shopping and of course I had a German bratwurst for lunch. Yummy!

In Freiburg, there were little water canals in the street called "Bachle" which are used as a gutter system. They are surprisingly very clean and the locals say that if you accidentally trip or fall into one of them, then you will marry a Freiburger. I didn't fall into a canal but my feet were killing me so some of us took off our shoes and put our feet in the water while we were walking around.

This town really made me want to see more of Germany so maybe one day I can return. Gute Nacht! ("good night" in German)

Pictures below: the chateau when the sun went down tonight, a pretty building in Freiburg, me resting my feet in the water canal, me with the delicious brat I had for lunch, a welcome sign in the Freiburg train station, Ashton and me on the train to Freiburg, a random picture of a little boy waiting at the train station in Strasbourg...I thought he was so cute!)

July 8th

We spent today wandering around Strasbourg and I really enjoyed it! It was pretty relaxing because we didn't have to be up for breakfast until 8:30. After breakfast we had a short class meeting with our professor, Dr.Herbel. We spent about an hour talking about all the places we've been so far and discussing the composition of the EU. We also got our tests back and I made an A! When we were done talking, we hung out at the chateau and had a delicious lunch that Dr.Herbel's wife got for us from a local grocery store. When we finished eating, we went into town and took a boat tour of the River Ill, a tributary of the Rhine. We got to see parts of the city we haven't seen yet and it was really informative and beautiful.

After our boat tour, we had free time for the rest of the day. We visited the cathedral again and went inside. It was so majestic and it took my breath away. It's just as stunning on the inside as it is on the outside. When we left the cathedral, we explored an area in Strasbourg called "Petite France." We finished the day off in the city with some shopping and a quick dinner at a sandwich shop. Now we're at the chateau again, drinking cabernet on the porch and listening to James Taylor. Doesn't get much better than this!

Pictures above: me standing outside of the cathedral, outside of a restaurant in Petite France, stained glass window in the cathedral, another picture of the inside of the cathedral, Dr. Herbel and Mrs.Herbel before our boat tour, Tina (one of my classmates) and me in front of the River Ill

Thursday, July 7th

Today we woke up really early and had our first breakfast at the chateau. Everyone was dragging because we stayed up so late. The Parliament members can really get down, especially to the Bee Gees. Their party last night was a lot of fun and I met several MEP's from Great Britain and Germany. After breakfast, we went into town to visit the European Parliament. It was pretty cool that we got to see Parliament in session...it was also neat because of all the translations that were happening. Pretty awesome considering 23 languages were being spoken in the room and work was still getting done! We listened to the English translations on headphones as the MEP's addressed the Parliament. Following the Parliament session, our group met with a German MEP who I had coincidentally met at the party last night. He said he'd been to Atlanta before and the town of Villa Rica also. I've never been there so I thought that was kind of random, but then again...a girl from Butts County, Georgia hanging out with EU Parliament members is kind of random too.

When we left, we walked around the city of Strasbourg which is so beautiful! We had lunch at a little French restaurant which was delicious...just like everything I've eaten this week. After lunch we had one last appointment for the day: the Council of Europe. We listened to another lecture, which was interesting, but it was difficult for everyone to stay focused today because we were so exhausted. I took a nap when we got back and I'm definitely going to bed early tonight. Bonne nuit!

Pictures below: main auditorium in the Council of Europe headquarters, the girls in my class and me taking a break, statue of Johannes Gutenberg who was from Strasbourg, Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, Ashton and me at lunch, another picture of the cathedrale, outside of the EU Parliament