Londra e Irelanda! Wait...they speak English!

(DISCLAIMER...VERY LONG BLOG)
I'm home!...That doesn't sound quite right.  I don't think Firenze has earned that title quite yet, but I am back in Italy, "the real world," and I have finally made time to blog about my first experiences of traveling while abroad.

Let me just say that I have been seriously blessed my whole life with vacations that are true vacations.  Not to say that this wasn't a vacation...but it was a very different experience to be staying at hostels in rooms with 6-10 strangers and living out of a small school backpack for 8 days in UK fall weather.  With that said, I was still so happy I got to go.  I traveled with five other girls who graciously invited me to come along when they found out I had no one to travel with, and there were a lot of personalities to mesh and a lot of different plans to try to accommodate in one week with so many people.  It was a growing experience in many ways, just as this whole school year has been so far, but I realized that even though there are somethings that I would like to change about myself, I am, overall, pleased with the person I am and how I live my life.

Anyway...
London.  I loved it.  When I moved to Firenze I was wondering what appeal I ever saw of living in a big city but when I got to London I remembered!  There are so many reasons why London was so different from Firenze...
1. They speak English
2. They speak English
3. There is theater and dance!
4. There are huge parks to escape to where you forget you are in the city...and they are easy to get to...
5. You can get around the city in a matter of minutes with the RELIABLE public transportation (The tube)
I am not bashing Florence, just highlighting London's positive attributes.

The first day in London (after getting to the hostel at 3am) we saw most of the classic tourist attractions...Big Ben/Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square. SO MUCH. Go, go, go.  Then I met up with my British friend Jo, who was studying abroad at San Jose State last year and we had dinner.  It was so wonderful to see someone from home!  It was also a nice break to get away on my own.  After a couple hours to catch up, Jo walked me over to the Royal Haymarket Theater and I saw Sweet Charity...my first West End show!  It was strange to be there by myself but the show was wonderful!


Sunday we went to King's Cross Station and saw the "real" Platform 9 3/4 and attempted to catch the Hogwarts express, but we decided we should probably stay on this side of reality.  From there we headed over to Regent's Park were I could have spent all day.  It was absolutely beautiful with all of the fall colors and afternoon sunlight.  I was so excited when we got to The Queen's Gardens and went into the rose garden...there was a rose there with a name that made my day:


Monday, our last day, the girls all had plans to go to The British Museum.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I dislike museums and since it was my last of only three days in London I decided to do my own thing and told them I would meet back up with them for afternoon tea.  I got up and got out (since it was just me) and spent my day in Covent Gardens after a first stop at Grosvenor Square.  My time in Covent Gardens was wonderful and what I considered to be my best day in London!  I listened to a string quartet playing near a restaurant, went inside the Royal Opera House, walked around where most of the theaters were, sat in a garden behind a church...with no one's agenda but my own.  It was wonderful.

Legos Anyone?

After afternoon tea we all went over to Tower Bridge (which had a striking resemblance to one of our first lego sets).  At dusk I left the girls and headed over to Covent Gardens to see Chicago, my last hurrah.  Tami and Jessica joined me and we had the classic dinner of fish and chips before I headed over to the theater.  Chicago was amazing and...I need to take more jazz classes!  I had great seats and loved it, but again I would have loved it even more if I had been there with someone!


 IRELAND...

St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin

St. Steven's Green, Dublin

We left our hostel in London at 4:00am and by the time we arrived at our hostel in Dublin it was only 11:00am.  Our first stop was St. Steven's Green, a park that my good friend Bria told was a must see.  It was so beautiful!  I know that I keep going on and on about the parks I visited, but it was just such a perfect time of year for the trees and everything was beyond exquisite.  We had dinner in the Temple Bar area that night where I had my first pint of beer ever (Smithwick's).  I'm glad I went to Dublin just to say that I have been, but the city was nothing spectacular.

The next morning we took a 4 hour bus to Galway.  Because of all the stops it was twice as long as it would have been by car, but the Irish countryside scenery was breath taking.  Quite different from Dublin, when we arrived, Galway was about as cold as London but had bone chilling winds to go with it.  I was glad that I knew how to dress and pack for cold weather!  Some did not.

I ate vegetable soup two times of my own accord while in Ireland and my family can tell you that this is completely unlike me!  Let me tell you though, the Irish know how to make soup.  It was thick and hearty...more like stew, which is the most common Irish dish. (Turns out the Irish don't eat corned-beef and cabbage...that was an Irish-American immigrant meal.)

The next morning three of the girls and I woke up and took a bus tour to The Cliffs of Moher (and other places along the way), and the other two girls went back to Dublin to go to the Guiness factory.  The Cliffs of Moher...the same caliber as Niagara Falls, for those of you that have been there.  Absolutely astounding.  I was so in awe of God while I was there.  One of the girls I was with asked, "You have to wonder what happened to make this!?"  For her The Cliffs were a mystery of science, for me they showed the magnificence of God and His creation!

Musicians in an Irish Pub

That evening we were exhausted from a day in the intense high winds up on the Cliffs of Moher, but after the rest of the girls left for Dublin, Tami and I went out to hear some more Irish pub music.  We brought along some new friends from the hostel and had a fun night of music, dancing and socializing (I finally had a Guiness and I really liked it!).  While in Galway I met people from Ireland, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, England, Spain...It was pretty neat!

A stop on the way to The Cliffs of Moher...I forgot it's name!

Our last day in Galway and our last full day in Ireland, Tami and I spent just walking around the city.  We ate scones and hot water (It really hits the spot and good for students on a budget! Bria taught me this one!) and warmed up after walking in the rain all day.  We left for Dublin at 6:30 that night and left for "home" (Italy) the next morning.  After eight days I was ready to be home especially after traveling from 8:00am-10:00pm for a trip that was only from Ireland to Italy (bus, airplane, bus, train).

There it is folks!  You lasted until the end of this ridiculously long blog and now you have heard a few of the stories of your friend, daughter, sister, granddaughter and niece, the new-found wold traveler!