8.31.2009

Buon Giorno Roma!

We made it to Roma!.......... after a long and exciting day we are unpacked and all settled in. Car, Bethany, and I found a fruit market about 15 feet away from our apt... I AM IN HEAVEN!! We also found the cutest bakery up the street. We clearly did not know how to speak Italian but we managed to buy a couple pizza-like things and biscotti... I'm definitely going back. Now that it's finally evening in the U.S. I am skyping! Finally!! :)
We took a 3:45am bus to the airport and flew out at 7:10. The Swiss Alps.... Carolyn and I were sooooo excited when we saw these!! And Italia, below...Our apartment is adorable! So colorful, so new, and sooo IKEA! Its so big... I live with 6 other girls and, so far, 3 of us are here. It's really safe as we have a gate at the entrance and are on the first floor. We have balconies galore, 2 bathrooms, wireless internet, and huge windows.
Ciao!

8.30.2009

Arrivederci Dublin!


We leave for Roma in 3 short hours... I can't sleep... I'm too excited! A few random pictures from my week in Ireland.This old man made us laugh so hard during our trip to the monastery! He just popped his head in and didn't crack a smile at all and then just walked away.
Looks delicious, right? This is from McDonalds! We ate dinner there tonight... they have "twisty fries" which are exactly like Arby's curly fries... I was one happy camper.

Our hostel! Abigails is located right by the Temple Bar District. Let's just say it is the perfect location.

Miss Molly Malone on Grafton StreetUntil two years ago Ireland exported a lot of coal... this is a picture of the turf (or peat, as we call it) they were removing. After one thousand years it becomes coal... I'm sure that wasn't the best explanation of the process........ they haven't been able to do this because of the rainy weather over the past 2 years. BlockquoteThe double arches I mentioned yesterday...


This is the river and one of the bridges that is across the street from our hostel... gorgeous, huh!?Last night in Dublin... We have been brushing up on our Italian... ha wish us luck. Ciao!

Dunlaoghaire Festival

It's our last day in Ireland! We fly out tomorrow morning!! I AM SO EXCITED! After waking up late this morning (we had a loooong night... drunk girls and stories :) an old man coming into our room, etc) we got on the wrong tram (my fault!) and then caught the Dart to Dunlaoghaire for their cultural festival. Despite the rain it was fun!


The group :) Me, Carolyn, Bethany, Betsy, Katy, and AshleyLove the signage on these two restaurants.... I had a really good lunch today at a little coffee shop called Insomnia. It was a ham, brie, and apple chutney sandwich... so good!
How adorable is this little girl?!

brownies!

I love brownies... I made brownies last week before I left.... now I am craving brownies again.... I saw this pan and now I want this pan!

Mom- you asked for Christmas ideas later this fall, well, here is my first item! :) You can find this pan at http://www.bakersedge.com/ ...

8.29.2009

Wicklow and the countryside

All of us girls went on a bus tour to Wicklow, a town in the country on the southeastern coast of Ireland) today... I took quite a few pictures but here are the best ones.... one more day in Ireland and then we are off to Roma!! I. can. not. wait!!!
Dunlaoghaire (Dun-leery)- a small town south of Dublin. It was absolutely adorable... we are going back tomorrow for the town celebration!

We shopped a bit on the way... there were so many things I wanted to buy in this shop Avoco but, surprise surprise, I walked out empty-handed.Pictures don't do this lake justice... the entire day was breathtaking. It was definitely a 'fresh' day today (as our bus driver told us, "its not cold, its fresh!"I like that!) so standing on top of this huuuge cliff was breezy and cold but it was Awesome.
These mountains are called Sugarload Mts because they are made of quartz and they look like sugar as they sparkle in the sun.This is the property and area that many movies are shot at including Braveheart and P.S. I love you! The owner of the house (in the picture) charges 30 thousand euro every week for producers to use his land. All vehicles and props are left in a field at the top of the field and only the things needed are brought down on golf carts... very neat!These next few pictures are from Glendalough... a small and VERY old monastery? It was so beautiful. There are 2 lakes there and hundreds of gravestones. They also have the highest watch tower still standing in Ireland (100km tall) and the only double arched entrance still standing. Carolyn and I were in search of an 'Egan' gravestone for her but instead found soooo many Bridgets on gravestones.... we decided Patrick & Bridget Byrne were the most common names. I lost count at 14 Bridgets.... here are a couple of them.

Remember the picture of my in front of The Oliver St. John Gogarty bar (its bright green with flags and gold signage...)?? We went there for dinner and drinks tonight. Carolyn and I tried Dublin coddle- a dish with sausage (interesting..... to say the least) and potatoes, onions, more sausage and bacon... but the best part was our dessert. Just like our coffees from Bewely's it was the creamiest ice cream we had ever had!! It was called Homemade Brown Bread Ice Cream... and thats exactly what it was! Brown bread crumbs in vanilla ice cream with strawberries..... I could go for some Cold Stone right now :)
Oh my gosh! I almost forgot :) I went back to Grafton St today with Car and made two purchases.... I bought gold metallic gladiator sandals and a really great light blue/orange scarf!

eat pray love


Ireland is such a beautiful place.... we toured the Eastern coast today on our way to and from Wicklow, and to sum it up as pretty or quaint or lush would not do it justice. It was gorgeous. absolutely gorgeous! Along the way I read the book I had started in the airport Wednesday (called Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert) and I can't put it down! [Lace, it's sooo good! You were right :)] The section I am reading now covers the author's travels in Rome, Italy and now I can not wait to get to Italy!!

8.28.2009

Grafton Street

Which 2 girls can shop ALL day and not buy a single thing?? ..... Carolyn and I.

We shopped all day today on Grafton Street, which had great shops, cafes, flower markets, etc etc.... but we didn't buy a thing! Both of us kept finding adorable tops, cute heels, or great scarves and still didn't buy anything. Around 8pm we turned around to get dinner and decided to buy a couple things on our way back that we looked at earlier buuuut the shops were cosed! Tomorrow after our tour of Wicklow we are going to RUN to Grafton and buy a few things that we fell in love with today :)


Car and I had THE best coffees today at the place above called Bewely's... Car had a Bewely's White (a latte) and I had a cappuccino... seriously one of the creamiest and best coffees ever.

After shopping we went to dinner and both had a doner kabob (lamb and cole slaw w/ spicy chili mayo on flat bread) with french fries and coke :) delicious! We were both starving and it definitely hit the spot... after getting b!tched at after not understanding the two girls working there.

our doner kabobs...
after dinner Car and I met up with the rest of the group and went to a bar called Mercantile....
The Irish guys we met told us tons of info about Ireland... places to visit and things that annoy them about Americans. The top two things: how we say Tuesday (It's supposed to be pronounced choose-day) and thirty-three (It's supposed to be pronounced Tirty-tree)... it was a fun night!

8.27.2009

hitting it hard!


We have been in Dublin a total of 15 hours since we landed and we have seen:

1. Temple Bar District
2. Dublin Castle
3. Guiness Storehouse and Brewery
4. Kilmainham Gaol [Jail]
4. Jameson Whiskey Distillery

and got a city tour, went to a quaint local cafe, ate at an Irish Pub, visited the oldest pub in all of Dublin (The Blazen Head which was built in 1139!) and toured the city.


Its been a long day and I am heading to bed because I haven't slept in a while...

A few pictures to highlight the day...
and one last thing.... this will make you smile....

This lady in front of Carolyn and I kept arranging her pet 'dog' so he could breathe okay and his head was out of her bag.......... does she know its a Scooby Stuffed Animal!?