Ireland

The trip started off with us traveling through the night and not getting any sleep on Thursday night. Not a good idea, the air ports were absolutely freezing! Anyway, Friday when we arrived in Dublin and it was cold and rainy. We decided to take a tour of the Guinness brewery. It was awesome. We ended up in the Sky Bar at the end of the tour. There we got a free pint of Guinness and a view of the entire city of Dublin. It was well worth the 11 euro entrance fee. We went into the Jameson gift shop but did not take any tour. We didn’t want to pay the entrance fee again. We are so cheap. We also went to a movie on Friday night, I know that sounds lame, but it was rainy and cold and we were very exhausted from the night before. It was so comforting being in a movie theatre. Considering that we don't have any television in our room back in London and I haven't watched a movie in over a month, it was very relaxing and I felt right at home.

We woke up at 5:30 am on Saturday morning, sort of well rested. It was difficult to sleep because we were sleeping in a room that had 16 beds. It was rough. But we took a bus tour to see the Ireland countryside and the Cliffs of Moher. The tour lasted from around 6 am to 7 pm. I absolutely loved the tour. Even though when we went, it was rainy and pretty cold, the fog hadn’t settled in yet so I was just glad that we could fully see the cliffs. We also stopped in several other small villages that were interesting to the Irish culture. I also loved getting out of Dublin. It seems like a nice town, but in my opinion, it is sort of run-down and reminds me of a bigger version of Camden in London. So Saturday night we went to the Temple bar. Even though we were at a very tourist pub in Dublin, I wasn’t expecting to hear the song Sweet Home Alabama played a few times. It was fun though. We met the Dublin football team. Even thought the place was absolutely packed, people still tried to move for you and when you needed to order a drink they moved away from the bar for you. There was just a noticeable difference in hospitality.

Sunday we went to Kilmainham Gaol. It was a historical jail for Ireland and I really enjoyed the tour of it. Apparently the original “Italian Job” was shot there and so was one of Daniel Dey Lewis’s movies. We also visited Trinity College, the Dublin Castle and St.Mary’s church. We were very productive for the short amount of time we had. We didn’t arrive home last night until about 12:30am. I was completely exhausted and now I’m sick. I have a sore throat and I can feel it getting substantially worse every day.

Honestly words can't describe how beautiful the Irish countryside was. I will post more pictures soon so you can see what I mean. I will write more soon. Love and miss you all.

Tiredness and funny experiences

Hello again!

So one of the guys on the trip had a bird shit on him in the beginning of the trip and we have not let him live it down ever since. Another friend of mine was walking and a homeless man randomly spit on my friends leg. The homeless man followed up with saying, "who done that?... not me," (in a slow awkward voice). My friend didn't even wipe the spit off of his leg. Ha ha. You had to be there. Also, I trip at least 5 times a day because of uneven sidewalks. It's just ridiculous.

Anyway, we are about 4 and a half weeks into the trip now and I am feeling the lack of sleep and constant busyness catching up to me. I have been attempting to train for another marathon that I am doing with my sister this fall and it is getting harder and harder to find motivation to run when I am walking at least 3 to 6 miles on top of that and touring so many different places. My feet are always sore and dirty. We went to St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey today. It was quite claustrophobic walking to the top of St. Paul's in VERY small spaces but totally worth it to see the view. Anyway, it's late but I will write more soon. Tomorrow I'll try to tell you the differences that I have noticed so far. Take care.

A quick summary of everything that I have done so far

Hi everyone! I miss all of you very much. Please check this blog for the most up-to-date news on what is happening here. It is much more simple for people to read this than for me to tell several different versions of one story.

Growing up in a small town in wisconsin makes London that much more intimidating. My first walk through the city left me with a feeling of claustrophobia and overwhelming anxiety. Ididn't know what to expect. I like big cities but knowing that I would be here all summer and without my support network from back home made me worried.

It didn't take long for that feeling to go away though. After two nights I was already feeling pretty comfortable with my roommates and surroundings. I live right next to a wonderful park which is comforting because I really would need trees near me. I share one room with three other girls, it's different than what I'm used to but we all seem to get along pretty well.

I have been working at my internship for 3 and a half weeks now. It has been very interesting. My boss has given me responsibility and put some trust in me to get things done. He really has done a good job at guiding me, but letting me learn some on my own too. The work environment is a relaxed and friendly place. My co-workers seem to balance work and play very well. I work at a very young company and I am impressed with how much they have accomplished so far. I am glad to be apart of their team.

The class that I have been taking here is with the rest of the Stevens Point interns. Every monday we meet with our professor from 11am-4pm. I actually enjoy the class because half of it he lectures, then we have an hour lunch break, then the other half we walk around different parts of London and he narrates history lessons to us. He is entertaining. So far we have seen the Tower Bridge, the British Museum, Big Ben, and many other things. Next week will be going to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Museum. We are seeing St. Paul's Cathedral for class this Friday.

The first Friday that I was here, Harrison, a friend of mine on the trip, got a group of us on the VIP list for a music premiere on a yacht. It was awesome. The yacht was centrally located on the Thames River. It was something I could never experience in Wisconsin. That weekend group of us went to the city of Bath. The city is beautiful and the Roman Baths are really interesting. I loved the cathedral in the center of the city along with the entertainers in the streets. It was nice to see the English countryside for a bit. The second weekend that I was here I went to Paris, France with my roommate Lisa. It was amazing. We took the Chunnel to Paris and stayed in an adorable little hotel. We managed to walk 10 miles in one day. Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the pyramid within the Louvre I found to be absolutely breath taking. It is true, the bread and wine are amazing. However, it didn't take more than 10 steps out of the train station to have an interaction with an elderly French woman that hated us after she found out that we didn't speak french. Anyway, I would recommend a night boat tour to anyone. It was cheap and we were able to see Paris by night!

The next monday, when I got back from Paris, it was my 21st and golden birthday. I had class and then a group of us drank some wine in the park and went out to eat at an Italian restaurant called Strada right on the Thames River. Afterwards we went to King's College Bar which was on the top floor of a building that looked over the Thames River. It was a great view and the drinks were cheap. It was also the first night that I ever tried a tequila slammer. Later we went to a club on Leiscter Square then headed home. It was a great night but the next morning was my first real experience of being home sick. I read a card that my aunt had sent me that all of my family had signed before I left. I really do miss all of them.

Tuesday of last week I went to a play called the White Guard. It was a smaller production about the Russian Army on the brink of civil war. I actually enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

I found out that mom sold her house and will be officially moved out of it before I get back from my trip. That was sad news, but on the bright side, she gets a new beginning and I am very excited for her-even if that means I will be temporarily homeless when I get back to the states.

Last weekend a group of us spent the weekend wandering around London, Buckingham Palace and Hyde park. We also spent at day at Windsor Castle. We saw the "Changing of the Guard" and the royal band played ABBA. The songs, "Mamma Mia" and "Dancing Queen" were stuck in my head for the next few days. It was hilarious but apparently they don't have any traditional ballad, they just play music that is well liked and fitting with recent times. My favorite part about Windsor Castle was that we could go in it and view the State Apartments. We could see the bedroom where the queen resides and all of her other living accommodations like dining and dressing rooms.

This week some friends and I went up to Parliament Hill which over looks the entire city of London. It is absolutely gorgeous. Nothing is more relaxing than having some wine in the park with friends and an amazing view.

I am going to try to go paddle boating in the park this weekend and visit another small village as well as re-visit Camden Market which is currently the biggest tourist attraction in London. Oh and Banana/Nutella Crepes are amazing here!

I need to get some sleep now but I miss you all. I am really learning a lot here though. Thanks for all of your support.

Cheers!