Ireland - land of rain, castles, music and beauty.

After three months of being apart, my family flew to England to visit me! I was so excited to see them and share my adventures. We spent the first two days of their visit with our British family members. On Easter Sunday, we attended a family get together complete with an Easter egg hunt! I was able to meet relatives that I've only been able to contact via internet. After hearing about them through my Nana's stories, it was wonderful to finally be able to spend time with them in person. Everyone was so nice, and we had a great time.

The following Monday, my parents, sister, cousin and I headed to Ireland! We flew via Ryanair with very little problems. The flight only lasted thirty minutes. After hearing horror stories about the airline, we were rather nervous. However, I'm happy to report that we didn't run into any issues. We did have a bunch of rowdy Irish youths on our flight, but that's a story for another time...

I loved our accommodation. Our room was fantastic, and the staff was so incredibly friendly. We made friends with the night porter, Brian. He was such a helpful, sweet man!

We stayed at Staunton's on the Green. I would highly recommend it! Our room had a view of St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park in the center of Dublin. In order to get to the main attractions of Dublin, we had to walk through the park. It was so beautiful, and the walk was a great way to start the day.

Our second day in Ireland was probably my favorite. We took a rail tour to see the Cliffs of Moher. The tour was incredible; we went to so many beautiful places. From Dublin, we took a train to Limerick. From Limerick, we headed to Bunratty Castle.

After taking a tour of the castle, we made our way to the stunning Cliffs of Moher. I couldn't get over the incredible view. My sister, cousin and I kept walking around in awe.

The rail tour took the entire day. We were exhausted by the end of it, but I definitely think it was worth the time. The day after seeing the Cliffs, we decided to have a more laid back day. We took a hop-on hop-off bus tour of Dublin. While my parents and sister went to the Guinness Factory, my cousin and I went to Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison. It holds so much history; many leaders of the Irish rebellion were imprisoned and executed there. It is seen as an important part of Irish history due to its ties with Ireland's struggle to gain independence from Britain.

The following day, we headed off to kiss the Blarney Stone. Blarney was so beautiful! I could have spent all day there. We climbed up to the top of the castle and got in line to kiss the stone. In order to do this, you need to lie on your back and practically bend backwards over the edge of the castle. My mom almost didn't go through with it, but in the end, she overcame her fears and was able to kiss the stone. :) Everyone in line gave her a round of applause haha.

Our time in Ireland ended too quickly. We flew back to England and spent the remaining day with family once again. We went to a pub and shared family stories and old pictures. It was fantastic. I was able to see old pictures of my Nana that I had never seen before. We had an absolutely amazing time with everyone, and I wish my family could have stayed longer. Our farewells came too soon. I loved seeing my family, and their visit was incredible. :)

Now I shall leave you with this youtube clip of a lovely Irish song. Our driver sang this to us while we were on the hop-on hop-off bus tour. It has been stuck in my head ever since. Enjoy!

Katie's Visit

This weekend, I was reunited with my old roommate and lovely friend Katie. Before her visit, I hadn't seen her in almost eleven months! She has been studying abroad in France, and I've missed her terribly. Once I knew for sure that I would be studying abroad as well, we began talking about meeting up in Europe. After many attempts to plan a reunion, we finally found a plan that worked for both of us.

Katie arrived in England on Friday, and I picked her up at the train station. Silly me nearly walked right past her! It was so great to finally see her after such a long time away! After our greeting, I treated her to afternoon tea. I wanted her to have a British experience, haha. :) There is this adorable restaurant in town called the Borough. We had finger sandwiches, fruit, pastries, and of course, tea. It was delicious! After tea, we walked around town for a little while. I was able to show her some of Lancaster, including the castle and Dalton Square.

The next day, we woke up bright and early so that we could head to Scotland with my friend Emma. The train ride was two and a half hours long, but it was beyond beautiful. As soon as we stepped out of the train station, we were greeted by the sound of bagpipes. It gave us a great laugh.

When we arrived, the weather wasn't the best. It was cold and cloudy. However, the poor weather could not take away from the beauty of Edinburgh. To say Edinburgh is gorgeous would be an understatement. The architecture is astounding.

I was really happy because I was finally able to visit the Elephant House. This has been a dream of mine for years. The Elephant House is a coffee shop that J.K. Rowling would frequent while writing Harry Potter.

After visiting the Elephant House, we got some lunch at my favorite restaurant, Nando's. Lancaster doesn't have a branch of Nando's, so I was pretty excited to finally have some after two months. When we were finished eating, we went to the National Museum of Scotland. It had a lot of many interesting facts and displays. My favorite part of the museum was the rooftop terrace; it provided a great view of the city.

By the time we were finished with the museum, the weather had finally begun to clear up. It was such a difference. The sun was finally out! We took advantage of the weather and went to Princes Street Garden. This was my favorite part of our trip. The park was stunning. We laid down in the grass and enjoyed the sun. Where we were sitting, we could clearly see the castle. I know I keep saying how beautiful Edinburgh is, but there's no other way to describe it.

All in all, I had a great time with my friends in Edinburgh. I was sad to see Katie leave, but I'm so happy I got to see her. Hopefully we'll be meeting up again soon!

Munich!

The Monday after Lent term finished, I traveled to Munich, Germany with two of my friends. Emma, Shauna and I arrived in Munich late Monday night. When we first arrived in our hostel, we thought that the three of us would have to be sleeping in two connected twin beds. Cuddles, anyone? Upon further inspection, we discovered a third bed in a tiny, attic-like corner of the room. This is where I slept, and I actually quite liked it. It became a bit of a joke among the three of us. :)

The next morning, we took a walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable about Munich. We began our tour in Marienplatz. The architecture is amazing!

Our tour took us all over Munich. The city is incredibly rich with history, especially due to World War II. We saw a few memorials, including the Viscardigasse. The Viscardigasse is an alley which has a pathway of gold bricks. During the Third Reich, Hitler built a memorial to 16 dead Nazis that were killed during the Beer Hall Putsch. This event was an attempt by Hitler to seize power in Munich. After the memorial was built, everyone who passed it was forced to salute. If someone did not salute, they were either brutally beaten or sent to the Dachau concentration camp. In an act of civil defiance, people began taking a shortcut through this alley in order to avoid the memorial. These bricks symbolize the path they chose.

After our tour, we visited the Peterskirche, a church right near Marienplatz. For one euro, you can climb steps to the very top and get an incredible view of the city. There are 303 steps to climb, but it's so worth it!

Later in the day, we participated in a beer challenge. The Germans certainly love their beer. Munich is often called the beer capital of the world! It's not my drink of choice, but I wanted to experience the Bavarian lifestyle. Haha. The beer challenge took us to a beer garden and three bars. I loved the beer garden; beer gardens are outdoor areas where people go to eat and drink. There are tons of benches surrounded by stands to buy food and beverages. It was so nice to be sitting there with my friends, enjoying the weather and laid back atmosphere. I also loved going to the Hofbräuhaus, a beer hall we visited during the beer challenge. It was so much fun! The place was buzzig with people, and they even had a traditional umpapa band playing.

Despite what the above picture may illustrate, I did not drink a lot. Haha. A lot of the people on the challenge with us were poking fun at me because of it, but it was all in good fun. :) Even though I didn't drink a lot of beer, the challenge was incredibly fun. We met some nice people, and we were able to experience the Bavarian way of life. However, my favorite part of our Munich trip was our tour of Neuschwanstein. Emma, Shauna and I took a two and a half hour train out to a village in southwest Bavaria. The ride there was incredible. The Bavarian countryside is breathtaking. We passed so many fields, hills and moutains. The Bavarian Alps are gorgeous.

In order to get to the castle, we had to hike up a rather large hill. It was definitely worth the effort. Neuschwanstein is awe-inspiring. It's actually the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Shauna and I toured the inside of the castle. It was so ostentatious and grand. There was even a room decorated to look like a cave! The castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II, a man with a very interesting history. He dedicated the entire castle to his favorite composer, Wagner. The castle was never finished; therefore, the back of the castle is covered in scaffolding.

The parts of the castle that they did finish are really picturesque. After touring the interior, we walked to the bridge. The Marienbrücke crosses the giant gorge near the castle. Many people flock to it in order to catch a glimpse of the castle in its entirety. This can be a bit problematic because the bridge itself is very narrow. Although it was very crowded, I was still able to enjoy the view.

I had such an incredibly time in Germany. I loved everything about it. I had a great time with some great people. Germany absolutely stole my heart, and I would love to return someday.

End of Term

Sorry I haven't updated lately! March has been a very busy month for me. Here at Lancaster, terms last about ten weeks. My Lent term just finished a little over a week ago. Now I have almost an entire month off for Easter break. One of the reasons the break is so long is because this time is supposed to be used for revision. After the break is finished, the exam period begins. I just can't get over how long of a break we're given. It seems so strange; back home, our spring break lasts about two weeks.

During my Lent term, I was enrolled in four modules. I have no classes during the summer term. Therefore, I am pretty much waiting for my exams to begin. My exam schedule is quite nice. I have three exams; my last exam is May 31st. Instead of taking an exam for my fourth module, I was able to write an essay to replace it. Once I finish my last exam, I will have the entire month of June to myself! I definitely want to try to do some traveling.

I feel like time is going by too quickly. I've been in the UK for three and a half months. I truly love living in Europe, and I'm going to be devastated when I have to leave. Don't get me wrong... I miss everyone back home, but I'm really happy here. I have experienced so much, and I've seen so many incredible places. Studying abroad has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.