Dublin again

Okayyyyyyyy then. I think I left off after getting back on the ship after our field lab. Amber and I wanted to go out tonight and so we did. After dinner on the ship we went out and found a bar with wifi! We split a bottle of wine (or two) and caught up on social media. 

So classy 

Funny Irish. 

We then decided to venture out of our cave and headed to temple bar, the touristy and drunken idiot filled area of Dublin. I think you should come here if you ever come to Ireland just for a drink or two and then afterward you should venture dither and find something more local. It was full to the brim of drunk SASholes and we only stayed a little while. We stayed long enough though to have a baby guinness shot! It's a little glass and looks exactly like a guinness but it's a shot! Wee! I think it was baileys and kahlua. But who knows. After wandering around a bit we stumble across a Johnny rockets knock off and have some more food. This always happens. I always say I won't stop for food during the night tonight but I always do. So now I've just accepted it. 

Amber had been somewhere cool last night and we headed there in a cab. It's called hard core street. So I was a little concerned. When we got there though it was just another bar area. We hopped around and met some people and just had a pretty good night. Got back late. And this contributes to amber and I finally leaving the ship around 4pm the following afternoon. I'm not proud of that but I can't run on zero sleep so 4 it is. Amber and I went out and stopped for food. we needed to find something to do for the rest of the day. Our original plan was to catch the huge Gaelic game going on that day, but we, uh, slept through that, but on the bright side everyone was still out celebrating and hammered! Dublin won so there was a great energy in the city that would continue into the night. And morning. 

I had heard of a place called howth that was a short train ride away from the city that was beautiful so we decided to do that. I think the ticket was only 5 euro and I recommend the trip to everyone. Howth or howth head is a little town with a harbour and beautiful cliffs and even more beautiful views of the city. 

Sunset and the many many masts of sailboats 

Cliffs

Me and the cliffs 

Pano of the harbour and amber 

We got there late and the sun was setting. I wanted to go climb to the top but that would mean walking back in the dark so unfortunately that idea was vetoed. 

We met another girl from SAS and we stopped for a beer with her at a bar with live music and American football on. We chatted and chilled there and got hungry for some fresh seafood. Howth is known for the fish. 

Guinness, fish, and chips!! 

We caught the last train back to the city and found another bar. We talked to some very nice Irishmen who were unfortunately still wearing the losing teams jersey. We chatted with them and had a few drinks and then walked back to the area where the shuttles to the ship were. We had missed the last one but met some more Irishmen who were substantially more drunk than the last. They were very interesting until they offered to have us come back to their place for wine. We declined and got a cab back to the ship. We did much better getting back at a reasonable hour tonight, it helps when you know you have to get up at 9am. We had decided to do the tour of the guinness brewery and storehouse on the last day. 

The brewery was cool to see and I learned how to pour the perfect pint of guinness!! So if Miami doesn't work out at least I've got that going for me. 

Old guinness advertisement 

Pouring my pint

The finished product

The tour was fun and a great way to spend our last morning! Another recommended thing to do in Dublin. They also have amazing amazing food there!! The guinness and beef stew in particular was fab. The end of the tour is on the seventh floor at the sky bar. It's got 360 views of Dublin and is the perfect place to enjoy your guinness!

We walked back to the city center and stopped for internet before getting back on the ship, took the shuttle back, boarded and prepared for the trip to Lisbon, Portugal! 

Dublin pictures

So many selfies 

Something important 

Howth Head outside the city a bit 

The harbour. Those are all sail boats

Hey

Fresh fish and chips and a guinness!

Pouring my own perfect guinness at the guinness brewery 

More pouring. This is the roomz

I've had too much guinness. 

Panoramic from the top of the sky bar in the brewery. Central Dublin

Cheers! 

Dublin day 1 and 2

Dublin is a pretty cool place to be! It's a lot of fun and has plenty to keep everyone occupied. If you are a history buff this should be your top destination. Ireland's history is so complicated! I have been briefed on it several times and I still can't keep it straight. 

After our pit stop in the morning yesterday, Sumi, Maia and I went to Trinity College. The book of kells is there, the most amazing piece of art to come out of Ireland ( so I have heard). The line was longgggg. So we just walked around the grounds and saw the beautiful grass. Grass IS greener in Ireland, I swear. It was orientation for the freshman and there was an activities fair and we kept being asked to sign up for clubs and organizations. 

After trinity we didn't know what to see so we just went shopping.. The whole day! In Ireland the premier shopping area is Grafton Street. It's got stores the whole way down. They had a River Island which I love, I almost bought a beanie that said G 4 life.. Which is true. But I thought that was obvious by looking at me so I didn't need a hat that said it. 

There was a department store that was fabulous, we spent a lot of time walking past Chanel, saint Laurent, Chloe and prada handbags. Torture. 

Didn't buy anything

My debit card did start to work again however. So that is a relief! 

They have many a thrift shop in Dublin, that was fun and interesting. I got a dress for 10 euro and was feeling like quite the bargain hunter. Avoca is a brand they have here that isn't in the states (at least not tampa). They had such a great mix of books, cooking utensils, mugs, clothes, bed covering, scarf, jewelry, cookbooks and a little patisserie downstairs. It was a mix of anthropology, urban outfitter and William Sonoma. Very cool. 

Haha

After shopping in and around Grafton we ended up on a Main Street and found a lovely cafe called Le petit Parisienne that had a great selection of baked goodies. I, trying to be healthy, passed on the sweets and had a fantastic tomato soup and they included a little homemade bread that was the best I've ever hadddd! Ugh. Food. 

We were walking back when we spotted an urban outfitters. We had to go of course. It was in the main touristy area of Dublin called Temple Bar. This area was filled with shops and vintage places and great bars and cafés. That is where I'll probably be tonight! At urban I found a pair of shoes that I had been wanting and bought them and it was a great end to the shopping day! 

At this point we were ready for dinner and wandered in circles being indecisive for half an hour until we settled on the very first pub we considered in the first place.. Naturally. They had a ten euro special including a hamburger and a pint of Guinness and it was super. 

I had to be swiped into the ship by twelve that night because I had a field lab the next day, so after a long dinner and drink we made our way back to the ship. 

I worked out and went to bed so I could could be awake for the field program the next day.  

I woke up late after sleeping a little too well perhaps and was dashing upstairs to meet my class and I collided with them as they were on the way down. 20 seconds later and I would have missed it! Phew. If you are late for a field lab they give you dock time which is time you have to spend on the ship when you are in the next port. 

This field lab was for my class Race and Ethnic Relations. We had a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, lunch, and then a walking tour led by a guy in Sinn fien, a political group in Ireland. 

Some very eerie statues commemorating the potato famine. During that time 1 to 1.5 million people died of starvation and another 1 to 1.5 million left the country. Previous to the famine Ireland had a population of 8 to 9 million and afterward they were at 6 million. Isn't that unbelievable? 

I don know if the picture is good enough to see, this last statue is of a man and he has a child over his shoulders. As we were driving by our guide told us the story behind it. This man with his child over his shoulders had been late to the soup kitchen the first and second day. On the third day they held it open for him and discovered that the child had been dead and the father couldn't part with the body. 

The potato famine really puts a bad light on the British. They too were affected by it and they only provided aid to those who lived in England. They did nothing to help the Irish even though they were a colony. The horrible thing is that Ireland had been wanting their independence and were not granted it and they were still treated like this. 

We made it to the Gaol and had a tour and a history lesson. Out guide was really great and I enjoyed it. 

The balcony in this picture was where they did public hangings. 

This is the main area. We learned about the conditions of the gaol and how prisoners were treated. It was bitterly cold in the winter because there were no windows. During the potato famine they had the most amount of prisoners. They had about 104 cells at the time. Take a guess at how many people they had. I don't remember. But I do remember that they had 5 people per cell as a minimum, many had 8 or 9. Women and children overflowed into the hallways. But people would purposefully get caught stealing so they could go to gaol. They were guaranteed one meal a day inside and otherwise they may not get that. 

This is where they did the executions of many of te revolutionary leaders. Michael Collins was held in Kilmainham for a whole as well as many others that were political leaders. 

I said that Irish history is confusing because they had a war against Britain for independence I think and then right after that they had a civil war. There's been a lot of fighting. That much I'm sure of. Oh and also I learned that the whole idea of the Catholics and Protestants fighting and it being a religious conflict is not true. That's the biggest misconception people have. Our guide said that this was spread around by the British even recently because it validates them having a huge amount of troops here, to keep the peace or something, but they are not there for that at all. 

Anyways don't quote me on all of this I'm just trying to be a little scholarly in these posts and share some cool info lol

We went to lunch at a really funky place called cafe en seine, if you are in Ireland you should hit this place up. 

We also got to see some other famous/ notable things. 

This is the shelbourne hotel, apparently the most famous in Dublin. 

Typical Georgian style Dublin is known for. 

A Presbyterian church. 

We went back to the ship around 4. This is where I'll leave you for now. 

Update

Hello all! I have made it to Dublin, Ireland. Stopped for coffee right now and enjoying some wifi. 

The train station was a mess on the next morning in France. My debit card stopped working. And then the back up credit card I have also would not work. I may have shed some tears of frustration in the station. I can still do that though because I have three weeks until I'm 20. After that though I can't cry because I'll be in my twenties. 

Some advice, always always have US cash. Shout out to my dad for making sure I had some before I left! If he didn't do that I may have possibly missed the trian and consequently the ship! Also, get the chip of your cards that allow them to be read in Europe! 

I didn't see much of Le Havre, by the time I got back I was exhausted and it was time to get back on the ship anyways. It was rainy the next day and we were still docked in France but couldn't get off the ship. The next day we took off for Ireland. Nothing of note has happened on the ship. Just classes and relaxing. 

I have four days in Ireland and I'm planning on taking it easy do expect some pictures and stories soon! 

And yes, I will have a Guinness for you. 

Paris a la Carrie Bradshaw

And by a la Carrie Bradshaw I mean alone. Solo dolo adventure time! 

I walked from the cafe to another cafe to a Starbucks to the hostel. Paris is beautiful wherever you look. I got to the street where the hostel was located and walked up and down about three times looking for it.. I find it eventually though, right across from the Christian Louboutin flagship store 

Neighbors 

I have to wait around a little bit for my room to be ready. The hostel looks ok so far. Not too bad for a last minute booking. I go up to the room and no one is there. I look around and there's no toilet in the room. Hm. The shower looks.. Interesting. Definitely not going in there barefoot. I rest a bit and dry off, it's been raining since I got to Paris. I think to myself that the rain will probably stop soon so I shouldn't buy an umbrella. God laughed and took note. 

I didn't change from what I wore on the train. I wanted to arrive to Paris looking fashionable but I ended up wearing running shoes the whole time and a Tshirt  and leggings. Shameful. I started walking to what I thought was the river. I walked and walked, enjoyed wandering and found myself in what appeared to be a mini china town in Paris. Or at least an area with exclusively Asian restaurants. Paris is great because you can turn one corner and the neighborhood totally changes. One minute Asian town, the next you are in a main square with a Dior store and Cartier. Eventually I start trying to head toward the river. I go the direction I think it's kind of in. Usually I am really good with direction and navigating myself but this time I just couldn't get there! I would walk for five minutes and pull out my iPhone map, orientate myself, walk for five minutes, pull out my iPhone and be walking the opposite direction again! It got to the point where I was laughing to myself in the street so I pulled over for some wifi as food.  This will be a theme in my trip to Paris. 

Being the history buff that I am whenever I saw something that looked big, old or important I pulled out my phone and took a picture. 

I was trying to take a picture of the huge Dior banner but this big dumb statue got in the way

Looked important 

So I'm still trying to get to the blasted river Seine and I find myself on rue de st honoré (I think) and this is the bigwig shopping street. This is where Beyoncé goes to shop. I'm assuming. Chanel, Lanvin, Max Mara, Valentino, Balenciaga, Hermes, Longchamp, Dolce and Gabbana, Givenchy, John Galiano.... Michael Kors is laughable in the mix. Meanwhile I'm walking around looking like a homeless person staring at the fancy men in suits that open doors for rich people. I still have no umbrella. God was like remember when you decided not to buy one? LOL 

I was having a good time nonetheless. People watching and window shopping is fun fun and I was in Paris! No time to be hindered by rain! I still was not at the river.. I am seriously worried about my ability to read a map at this point.

I stopped at a cafe because I was getting very damp and feeling a little run down at this point. I had coffee and a ham and cheese baguette which perked me up a bit. I'm walking and walking, now on a different, larger street and popping in and out of whatever store catches my eye. I kind of glance down the way to my right and there's the arc de triumphe .. Casual. I then deduced that I was on champs de élysées which means I HAD TO BE CLOSE TO THE WATER !! 

I was indeed close and I proceeded to walk down avenue de Montaigne (I later realized as a looked at an actual map) and saw a bridge finally! I look up and I see the EIFFEL TOWER and it is SPARKLING. It lights up every hour and I timed it perfectly accidentally! It was 9pm and still raining. I was looking good 

Really good..

Sparkle sparkle 

Yayyyy! Although, funny, all these pictures were taken at 10pm because I was too slow to whip out my camera at 9. Ha

I waited around at a cafe because I really needed a picture of it sparkling. I ended up having the best tiramisu I've ever had!!

Cafe George lV on rue George lV I think. For those of you that like tiramisu and go to Paris at some point.. 

So I'm dead tired now and want to go to sleep. I was running on one hour of sleep still. I look at the map and I'm like yeah I can walk home easily. 

Well, no. Actually it was quite a long walk home in the rain. I still refused to buy an umbrella. Smart Maren laughs at stupid Maren. Why wouldn't you get an umbrella Maren?? It rained all day! I don't know Maren! I truly thought it would stop raining and the later and later it got the less value I would get out of said umbrella! Ugh. Internal monologue. 

Anyways. My phone died on the walk home. And it's interesting how quickly not knowing where you are changes how comfortable you are. I was walking along the water back to the Louvre. I passed some more important things. Might have been a palace? I was walking really fast because it was late and raining. 

I had to use a paper map (Stone Age) to get back to the hostel. Paris is even more confusing at night as you can imagine. I walked mainly in areas with lots of people so I wasn't too worried. I found my way to the hostel! Yes! Good job Maren! You're still an idiot for not buying an umbrella but we can just let that go now. I wanted a shower. But I forgot to buy shower shoes. So I washed my face and went to bed, using my towel I brought with me as a blanket. Hostel life. I passed out instantly and that brings me to day two of Paris. 

I wake up at 1030 ish and I really need to bathe. I get up and investigate the shower situation. There appears to be a button that you push to start the water. There doesn't appear to be any way to adjust the temperature. Already this is lookin good. I assess my resources and make a plan. With surgical precision I put yesterday's dirty socks in the shower, shoulder width apart. The paper used to hold my train ticket is placed outside the shower. My face wash is put on the side of the shower. My dirty shirt is taken off first and laid on the ground. My clean towel goes on top of the shirt. Everything else goes into a separate dirty pile. At this point I have only my socks on. I step on top of the dirty socks in the shower, they will be my buffer between the grimy shower floor and my feet. I take one sock off and throw it onto the pike of clothes, then the next, all while staying perfectly on my marks. Now.. The button. I prepare myself for any temperature of water. Ice cold. That was nice. I also realize that that water is spraying half into the shower and half out of the shower. This is affecting the dryness of my "after shower socks". I also was in the wrong place because my shower socks were not set up for this sideways water flow. I had to adjust by leaning heavily to the left. The water kind of warmed up. The button had to be continuously pushed for water to come out so I showered with one hand, which was difficult. As I step out of the shower onto my makeshift mat of paper, I realize that the water has flooded the rest of the bathroom and some of my carefully placed piles of clothes. The towel was dry mostly so I begin to towel off. Now I have no shoes to walk back to the main room. My socks I had planned to put back on were soaked. I needed a plan. And quick. The Indians were closing in behind me and if they caught up with me I was toast. I've got it! I pick up the dirty shirt and place it in front of me a ways. I then grab the dirty pants and throw them in front of the shirt. I hop onto the shirt and then the pants. I grab the shirt and throw it ahead of the pants. I did this until I arrived safely at my bunk bed and bag of clothes. I put on new socks and then climbed Down to my shoes to then go to the bathroom and get the rest of my crap. Climbing and hopping around with only a towel on mind you. 

I'm sure you are all wondering why I described in such detail my monumental struggle against the evil hostel shower.. NEVER FORGET SHOWER SHOES. Never again. 

Back to Paris.. I leave the hostel (only slightly cleaner than I arrived mind you) around 1130 and walk to the 3rd arrondissement, le Marais. I heard it was a great place to walk around on a Sunday, it used to be the Jewish neighborhood and most things would be open. It was also the closest to my hostel. It is a great place to walk around. 

Here's a random church I found. I felt guilty going inside because I was committing the ultimate sin.. Jeans and tennis shoes.. Forgive me Jesus

I'm not sure what this is but it looked nice 

This is me trying on some shades. I always have to include some selfies. 

I had a delicious and probably the best club sandwich somewhere and this is the toilet at the restaurant. I'm really curious about what it says. 

It was sunny out and beautiful. I shopped and walked until 4 ish. There are bookstores and boutiques as well as crazy nice restaurants and stores like Diesel and Levi's. There was a neat store that sold statues and notebooks exclusively. Those of you that know me know that I was in heaven! I had to exercise great restraint because I wanted to buy all of them ! I dropped by a bookstore and bought Vogue Paris and caved and bought a notebook as well. There is a certain street in this neighborhood called rue de soemthing with an R that is totally cool and I think is the highlight. It's all Jewish. I turned left off of a regular street and all of a sudden I was in falafel heaven and there were stars of David everywhere and even bearded men in yarmulkes. The whole shebang. It was really interesting and fun to walk through. I went to a bakery for a pain au raisins, and went back to rue de rivoli to find a bench or something. I noticed on my map I was close to water and decided to head that way. 

This is how I ended up on Ilé Saint Louis. I crossed a bridge and all of a sudden there were tons of people with ice cream. I was confused. Apparently this is the place to get ice cream in Paris. I don't know. I walked through a street of jewelry shops and ice cream shops and then crossed another bridge and saw soemthing that looked old and important and pulled out my map. It was Notre Dame! I love finding everything on accident. I think it makes it more exciting that way. 

I found a secluded park on te side/back of notre dame and stopped there to rest. It was a beautiful spot. 

I walked back the way I came and stopped for sorbet and then stopped again and had cappuccinos and read my vogue. 

The river at night 

I walked back along rue de rivoli and stopped at Starbucks for wifi. 

I also stopped later for dinner. 

I just stop for food.  I feel like I ate my way through Paris. I'm like really done with food now though. I regret nothing!!

So I'm back at the hostel now and not bothering with showering. Honestly it's easier just to be dirty for 12 more hours until I get back to the ship. 

I'll be taking the train to Le Havre to meet it. Then I go to Dublin. 

I'm really glad I went to Paris. It's beautiful. It's definitely not the same as Amsterdam or Antwerp, you can't just walk across in a day. It's huge. Massive. 

It was much too short of a trip and I will be back!! I'm sorry that I'm not very good at recommending places to go and eat and things like that. I'm a bad tourist I just walk around aimlessly. I do have fun though. 

Deuces

Ypres (have fun trying to say that correctly) and the best of Belgium!

Belgium! Land of chocolate! 

A funny little country sandwiched between France, Germany, and Netherlands, Belgium is freaking awesome. It is very similar to Amsterdam and the Netherlands as everyone speaks english and it's like 100 times better than anywhere in the US. Basically. They have three official languages And antwerp (where the ship is docked) is where 80 percent of the world's diamonds go. 

Ypres is where I started my adventure in Belgium and I am here on a field lab which is a required trip for my world literature class. It is worth 20 percent of the final grade. We started at the Flanders field museum. It was really gloomy but very informative. Museums on wars and things generally make me uncomfortable. They kind of just put all of this suffering and death in your face and it is a lot to handle. Ypres is actually a very cute town, I got my first taste of Belgian frites (French fries)! They are divine. We saw the menin gate where they have a ceremony every night at 20:00 to honor the soldiers that died in Flanders field. The whole area was the bloodiest fields of the First World War. We were also able to visit Tyne Cot, the largest cemetery on the continent, as well as the trench of death, a preserved trench from WW1. The whole experience made me disgusted with war. 

Menin gate

Ypres

View from the gate

Tyne cot

Tyne cot

Old trenches

Poppies- the symbol of Flanders fields

We got back to the ship rather late, just in time for a quick dinner and then I was getting ready for some tomfoolery in Antwerp. The city is a typical European city, it's fantastic, I love it. 10 points to antwerp for being awesome. We went to a pub and met some British people. They have the crudest sense of humor, I cringed half the time they were talking. Cringing and laughing myself silly.  We went to a karaoke bar, my new favorite thing!! Really embarrassing story though, this guy and I tried to sing hey baby by DJ otzi or something (Brynne Jordan Amelia betsy, you know the one) but they on a different hey baby!!! One that I did not know at all! Yikes.. 

Toward the end of the night we ended up at a really cool bar called the White House. We met a lot of guys who all worked at a nearby cocktail bar, Applemans. Fun fact: if you want a cocktail you have to go to a "cocktail bar" otherwise.. No cocktails. We stayed out much too late, as per usual, but we met a nice guy who offered to show us around the next day. 

Bar selfies are the best selfies 

We woke up the next day and headed to town, only 5 minutes from the boat which is super nice, and met up with our friend who took us all around antwerp. We went through the main shopping streets and through antwerp central station. I bought my ridiculously expensive ticket to Paris! Good stuff. 

Shopping

Inside the station

He also took us to the Antwerp Zoo, one of the oldest in Europe. We had a grand time with all the animals, I took too many pictures. 

What are you looking at? 

Elephant for momma

Penguins

The zoo was really pretty and a great way to spend a few hours. Afterward we ended the day with Belgian waffles (had to!) and me being too cute. 

Zeta crown

Nutella and raspberry jam!

Back on the boat for dinner and a quick workout and then out again. Usually I'd sleep but that's not an option when there is so much to see! We went to Applemans because my roommate amber wanted to see her boy toy with whom she was canoodling all night. We stayed there and had wifis and cocktails. I has a Prosecco for me, and one for my mother. It was the cheapest drink at 6 euro. I am not about these prices.. Beer is best lol

The actual cocktail bar is really fun and has an amazing selection of drinks if you ever find yourself in Antwerp. It's right next to the cathedral! They also have cute waiters.. ;) 

We went back to the White House so that amber and her boy toy could canoodle some more. I am forever destined to be a third wheel. 

This brings me to my next point.. I am opening up a school. It shall be called the University of Third Wheelers. I have such extensive knowledge of the subject I feel compelled to share it!! We will have many classes on the topic of you and the couple you are third wheeling ranging from "third wheeling 101" to "how to strike up conversation with strangers because your couple is making out.. Again". Some other favorites include "how many trips to the bathroom is too many trips to the bathroom" and " candy crush saga: a third wheelers best friend"! I hope to open up this schooling within the next year. 

Honestly I had a great time making friends and talking to locals. Not because I had to.. Because I wanted to. The buddy system is tricky.. I am a nice buddy and stayed for many hours at the bar so that they could canoodle. Got back to the ship at 5 and got a restful 1 and a half hours of sleep before I got up for my train to Paris! 

Antwerp is beautiful even at seven in the morning, freezing cold, pouring rain on me and my bag, for 30 minutes on the way to the station. Just kidding.. That part sucked. A lot. But I am in Paris !! Finally! I booked two nights at a hostel, it's very rainy here but I think and hope it will clear up a bit so I can rent a bike and go all over the city today. This is where my hostel is

Literally the perfect location!!

I'm going to leave the cafe I have been holed up in for the past 2 hours now and walk of the croissant :) hehe 

Ta ta for now!