Bon Voyage

If you've been keeping up with my blog and read Ireland Part 1 and 2 then it should of no surprise that I found a way to come back for a second trip :D

For Easter we had a 3 day weekend, so Meagan and I decided to take off one day of school and make it a 5 day weekend! We flew into Dublin, but unfortunately we weren't able to stay with the O'Connor family again so we hosteled it the whole time. The first night we were in the heart of the city, where all the restaurants and bars were and right next to our favorite pub, the Ol' Dubliner. While we were getting settled in we met these three girls who happened to be from Seattle, Washington just visiting Ireland as a graduation present to themselves. We decided to hit up the pub with them that night before midnight because it was the eve before Good Friday and in Ireland EVERYTHING shuts down at midnight and then opens up again at midnight Friday night. As usual there was a band their playing old Irish folk songs and contemporary music. We had a blast just dancing away, screaming the lyrics along with everyone else at the bar.We started talking to two New Zealanders who were their on vacation too but were actually working in London. I told them that the following week I was going to be in London with my mom, so one of the guys, Rob took my phone and wrote down a whole slew of restaurants, pubs, and places to see while I was there and then included his number so we could hang out sometime if I got the chance. They were so much fun to hang out with, we learned that they had been traveling all over the world for the past year, going to Greece, India, Ireland, France, Germany, Croatia Amsterdam, Italy etc. I was SOoo envious that they got the chance to go to such amazing locations. I wish I lived in Europe so that it would be easy and less expensive to travel to all of these beautiful countries. Europeans are so lucky that it's all centrally located for them.

Anyways, the next day was Good Friday and so most everything was closed but we met up with one of the O'Connor family friends who we met last time we were here, Zee from Bulgaria. We wanted to go see Kilmainham Gaol, which is an old prison in Dublin that they have turned into a museum, however we got there too late and we missed the last tour, so we made our way to the Dublin Castle and the Cross church but because of Good Friday those were both closed as well so we just took pictures from the outside. We got really discouraged that everything was closed so we hung out at a cafe for awhile just chatting, trying to come up with things to do. We finally gave up and headed out to grab some dinner and have a nice quiet night in at our hostel. Thankfully we got a good night sleep because Saturday was a very long day.

We woke up bright and early and headed to the Guinness Factory on Saturday where we got a tour and learned about how Guinness was founded and made and then got a free pint of Guinness once we made it to the top of the viewing deck..again proud moment to finish a Guinness :) We then hurriedly made it back to the center of town to meet up with Eoin and Neill O'Connor who were shopping for their mom's birthday present. They were so lost, they didn't even know where to start but thanks to us, we found them the perfect pair of earrings for her. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and caught up since the last time we saw them. We decided that we would meet up later that night for some dinner and drinks and board games...our favorite:)

We met up that night at a pub called the Black Sheep where you can bring your own board game and play as you have a drink. Neill showed up with his friend Paraic because Eoin had a birthday party to go to, so we set up their game (Dominion) and set out to kick their booty. It was this really intense card game, where each card held a power or an attack and you tried to attack others while gaining points, it was really confusing but really fun.

Sunday, we got invited to Easter Dinner at the O'Connor family's house, but until then we had some time to kill so we decided to check out the Leprechaun museum in Dublin. Meagan was BEYOND excited since she grew up believing in them all her life. It was a really fun and interactive museum where they had a room full of GIANT furniture that you could climb all over and feel small in. Needless to say we got a lot of pictures:) Then we headed on over to the O'Connor house where their ENTIRE family was. I don't know how they cooked for us all but it was such a blessing to be there, included in the family and sharing a nice meal with everyone. Easter is one of my favorite holidays, for it's religious and family aspect and I was afraid that we would be stuck in a hostel for it. After dinner Meagan and I helped Emer clean up and then we got recruited to play a slew of more card and board games. I don't think we left until 1am :/ No doubt that it was the highlight of our trip.

Monday morning we got a message from Paraic and Neill that they wanted to take us golfing :( and since we had no plans we decided to go. We decided to make it a competition where Neill and I were a team while Meagan and Paraic were another. Incase you don't know, I am a HORRIBLE golfer yet the first 5 or so holes I was doing excellent, maybe that went to my head because, the rest I just bombed :( Neill and I lost but he was such a good sport about it and was encouraging me the whole way even though I was completely embarrassed. That night Paraic took us to his favorite pub, the oldest in Dublin where we tried Irish stew for the first time, it was ABSOLUTELY delicious, we spent the whole rest of the night listening to old folk songs and chatting away.

This trip was completely different from the last trip to Ireland, very laid back and just playing it by ear but it was perfect for Meagan and I. We enjoy the Irish culture and people so much that, that's all we really wanted to do. I hope that I can come back there, or perhaps live there for some period of time in the future...maybe someday as an au pair?? Who knows. But I know this won't be the last time I'll set foot there.

Dublin Castle

Outside on the grounds

Guinness Factory

Guinness Factory with Meagan

Inside the factory..it has so many floors!

All the different styles Guinness has made

Instructions :)

Hops

The water they use to manufacture their beer

Our free pints

View from the top deck

Enjoying our Guinness

Got burgers after

the famous bridge in Dublin..so cute

Paris! one of my favorite cities in the whole world. This was my second trip to Paris and so I was able to refresh my memory of some sites while getting a first look at others as well.

This trip was the first excursion I took with my whole study abroad group, my director included. I loved having her take us here cause she has so many connections and has been doing this for so long that she knows absolutely everything about the city and shows us the best places.

We left early on a Thursday morning and took the train from Grenoble to Paris. I planned on sleeping, but with a group of 13 rambunctious Americans, that didn't end up happening. Instead, I spent my time playing and teaching card games. Once we got there we headed straight to the hotel to drop off our stuff and headed over to Notre Dame which was only a couple minutes away. Miranda, my director gave us a little history lesson of the Cathedral and then we toured the inside. We then roamed around central Paris, winding in and out of the streets. Miranda led us to the Eiffel Tower to take some pictures. Along the Seine River next to the Eiffel Tower, was the dinner cruise we were taking. We hopped on board and realized that the AIFS Cannes group was joining us as well. In their group they had 35+ girls and 4 guys : / wooowza!! After seeing them and talking to a couple of them, I became so thankful for my little, intimate group of 13. We all know each other incredibly well, we are close, we always hang out together and there are no cliques. Whereas in the Cannes group, not everyone knows each other and there are tons of little cliques. We had a nice little cruise along the Seine, going past the Bastille, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame etc. while eating dinner and watching the sunset. Once we got through our 3 course meal we headed out onto the deck to take some pictures.

Once we got back to the hotel, we decided it was time for the whole group to go out together, so we got all dressed, researched some places and headed out. We stopped by the market to grab some beers and bottles of wine and began roaming around the Latin quarter. We stumbled across an old pub that had a jazz concert going on for free but we soon realized it was free because they expected you to buy drinks which were 10 euros EACH! Needless to say we rushed out very quickly. Then we headed down more streets following the noise of crowded bars. We came across a jammed packed bar that had cheap drinks so we went in and found a table to hold us all. We spent the next few hours laughing and joking around, sharing stories and people watching until the wee hours of the morning.

The following day, Miranda took us around to Place de la Concorde where you can see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Champs Elysees, and Arc de Triomphe all in one square. She told us the history of Place de la Concorde and then headed to Vendome where some of the most expensive jewelry shops and cafes are in Paris and where there is a famous monument for Napoleon Bonaparte. As we kept walking she led us to the Opera Garnier for a tour. The inside of the opera is one the most highly decorated, most beautiful buildings I have ever been in. You could just imagine in the 1800s how everyone would get dressed up in ball gowns and tuxedoes, showing off their wealth walking elegantly around, eyeing each other and gossiping about. Miranda showed us one of the box seats, the sitting room and the different social rooms people of money would go before and after the shows. The rest of the day was our own to do with what we wanted, so a group of us girls headed over to Versailles. I had been here once before but it was nice to refresh my memory and appreciate the history I've learned since then. In Versailles you can see the hundreds of acres that Louis XIV owned and that Marie Antoinette paraded around when she and her husband reigned before the French Revolution. You can see her room, the kings room, the secret passageway she escaped through when the commoners stormed the palace and the Hall of Mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed after WWII. Unfortunately some of the fountains and gardens were undergoing construction when we were there so we didn't get to ride bikes through any of them :(
That night we found out that the Louvre was free for all students, all of us were thrilled and hustled down there to spend a good 4-5 hours wandering about the exhibits. The first time I came to the Louvre I was bored and had no appreciation for the art and history the place held, but after 5 years of further education and experience, I had a whole new perspective. After we left, we were starving and so 4 of us found a little pizza place right along the Seine. The restaurant owner, a very old italian man didn't know a lick of english and knew very little french so he spoke to us in italian and broken french. It was really amusing trying to hold a conversation with him. What was even more amusing was that even though he knew we didn't know Italian he decided to blab away as we just sat and stared at him.

The next day Miranda planned a tour around Montmartre which is the little suburb outside of Paris where Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet lived and painted for a majority of their life. The tour guide showed us Van Gogh's apartment and famous places he painted. We made our way to the top of the hill where Sacre Coeur. I've also been to this Cathedral before and it is by far the most awe inspiring cathedral I have ever been to and has always been my favorite. It is so majestic and the feeling you get when you walk into the place is unreal. Once we toured, the rest of the day was ours and so me and a small group of girls made our way to Moulin Rouge...because you can't NOT see Moulin Rouge while you are in Paris. It was a little amusing to see some of the girls faces who have been a little sheltered their whole lives but they enjoyed it nonetheless. We took pictures of the iconic windmill and then headed back towards our hotel. At this point we ended up splitting up to do different activities. Some of us wanted to check out this new oyster restaurant nearby that was having a special, so Gabrielle, Megan, Peter and I headed over for dinner and split 40 oysters and a bottle of champagne. We had such a fun time that we ended up spending 3 1/2 hours there. We decided to head back to see what everyone else was doing for the evening and as we walked over the Seine we came across the "lock bridge" which is a chain linked fence bridge where lovers right their names and dates on a pad lock and lock it to the bridge. The ENTIRE bridge is filled with locks and every couple of months someone has to come around and cut all the locks off for more people to be able to put theirs on because it is so popular. It's sad that they have to cut them off but it is so cute and romantic to see how many couples there are that come through Paris.

The following day was our last day and so we woke up early and headed out to tour the Latin Quarter which holds the Sorbonne (burial sites of famous philosophers, historians, musicians, authors etc.) Fontaine St. Michel, and les Jardins de Luxembourg (Luxembourg gardens). Afterwards some girls and I quickly headed to the Shakespeare & Company to pick up some books and gifts for families back home. It is actually the only store in Paris where only native english speakers work, so it was refreshing to be able to speak english and ask questions without having to second guess myself and prepare my question in my head before asking :)
Once we were done shopping we went straight to the train station to head back to Grenoble.

Some people say Paris is overrated but I still regard Paris as one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen and is still one of my favorites that I've been to in Europe. I hope that I get the chance to go back as often as I can because it always offers more and more each time I come.