June 3

Dublin day 2

We walked to Croke Park in the morning, which wasn't that exciting, but it was something to do, and on our way back we found an actual park to relax in. Like the other day, we napped in the park, under the shade this time. I walked around the park by myself while the others slept and around 2 we left to get lunch. It was a Tesco, meal deal lunch, kind of day. We took it back to the hostel and then met up with Nicole to walk to the Guinness factory. We ended up super lost, because we were walking around the actual factory, about 5 blocks wide, and not the storehouse, where the excitement is. We had to ask this sweet old man, who had a cute accent and it was just great. We ended up getting there about 30 minutes later than planned, but we found a way around the time issue. The storehouse closed at 6, and we got there around 4:15, so we were pressed for time. We got in line, but it was pretty long, so I suggested we just buy them online and pick them up, because they had an area to do that there. We did, and it was cheaper! It was really funny. As we were waiting in this line, we were typing in credit card information and suddenly we were leaving the line and getting our tickets. 

The walk through was interactive and really, really, cool, but we didn't have nearly enough time there. There are 7 floors in total, and we ended up skipping 3 of them to get our free beer. We learned how to pour our own Guinness, the correct way. The glass must be kept at a 45 degree angle, and not filled to the top, then it has to rest, and once everything has fallen, you fill up the last little bit with straight Guinness and no CO2. This is achieved by pushing the other way on the handle. We took our beers up to the sky deck, which had the best view of Dublin. 

June 2

Dublin day 1

Our week long break began with a 4:30 am wake up call and two buses to the make it to the airport. The first bus was the casual, double decker, red city bus but the second "bus" was very sketchy. It was more of a shuttle than a bus, basically a van that fit 12 people. We got on, no problem, because we had bought tickets the night before, but one family was not as fortunate. There were 3 people that wanted to ride, but only 2 available seats. Only one of these people were actually flying out, and the other two, her parents, were going to the airport and wanted a round trip ticket back. Super weird. This lady also had 2 HUGE suitcases, that did not fit in the designated area, nor in the van, because it wasn't that big of a van. It was a ridiculous morning. Once we took off, our driver went over every speed bump, pretty big ones, at, at least 45 mph. He did not slow down at all and everyone was getting very annoyed, and very nauseous by being thrown into the air every 10 seconds. 

On the flight we were all sat next to each other, which was nice, and even though it was only an hour, Aleesia and JT passed out. I got the window seat, thankfully. I am still amazed every time I fly, that I am thousands of miles above humanity and I've got my head in the clouds, literally. I love it. 

We bused it to our hostel, checked in, and left our bags so we could go explore. There isn't a whole lot to do in Dublin, so we decided to just walk and see where we end up. We ended up at Trinity College, a place where I had wanted to see the library, because the photos online are amazing, but they wanted us to pay 9 Euros to get in! Ha, no. Instead, we walked around the campus and ended up at a park, that had a huge open area and a grass track to run on. Aleesia and JT took naps while I watched the runners go by, many, many times. We also got burned. London has a high of about 65 F and it's cloudy and rainy just about everyday, so we were not expecting 85 F weather and the sun to be in our faces. Once my friends woke up we played a little bit of Rummy before going in search of food. 

We ended up at this really great burger place, and our waitress was so cute. She asked if we wanted anything to drink and we looked at each other and we're kind of like, "nah, no, that's okay." She looks at us all looking at each other and offers water because it's hot and still sensing our hesitation she then mentions that it's free. We met up with our friend Nicole after lunch and then went back to the hostel to figure out a game plan. On the way we stopped for quite awhile to watch this really great band called "Key West" perform on the street corner. They were really good and it was a great night for some live music. There was also this old drunk man that kept interrupting them and stealing their alcohol...he was the Irish stereotype. 

We sat in the hostel for a few hours just talking and whatnot, then we decided we could go to sleep because it was too early so we walked around some more. We stopped at a subway for dinner and another friend, Nahee, saw us through the door and ran in screaming, cause she does that. Nahee was in Valencia with us, and she still is for the summer. She traveled to Dublin with her mom, but it was supposed to be her and JT at first, but plans change. We took our dinner back to the hostel and in that time period Nicole convinced us to go out with her and her roommates. They were doing a pub crawl with their hostel (a different one than ours) and we met them at one of the pubs. Nicole's friends were all frat guys from Marquette University in Wisconsin...they were nice, but at the same time, everyone knew that they were frat guys. 

June 1

The first day of June, and the last day of London Summer Session 1. A month has already gone by and it flew like the roadrunner on steroids. I've already experienced so much in this short time, it's crazy. FSU took us to The National Gallery for afternoon tea as a going away lunch. There was tea, coffee, and champagne along with little sandwiches, candies/cakes, and scones. It was a very British farewell...but we'll be back for 2 more. It wasn't nearly as emotional or heartfelt add our going away lunches in Valencia, but that's because some of these people were only here for this session, we didn't even get to know them I'd they weren't in our classes. FSU also gave us an ornament for a Christmas tree, but they referred to them as "bobbles." They call glass ornaments, ornaments, but anything else like plastic or wood is called a bobble. Hm. The more you know.

It was a rainy day, so we played some cards and packed for Ireland. I went for a quick run, because you never know when it's going to start down pouring here, then came back and used up my food. We're headed off to Ireland for 5 days, and then we'll have 2 days off before we start with new classes. This session Jacqueline and I are taking theater. I'm so excited.

May 31

About 8 hours after taking our finals, Jacqueline and I went to Aleesia's apartment, with the plan of them learning Oklahoma, but that didn't happen. Instead we watched Twilight and went on a cookie dough run. They don't have pre-made, frozen cookie dough here, though, how awful?! We went to 2 stores before walking all the way to Tesco, but Tesco has never let us down, and it still hasn't! They had Betty Crocker cookie dough mix, all we had to do was add water. Jacqueline and I bought two bags of those and throughout the night, the cookie dough disappeared. At 11, we decided we needed to do our nightly walk. This time we made it to the river, and as we crossed the bridge a man was playing guitar and we had a spectacular view of the Eye and Big Ben. We just stood, watching the water and enjoying the music for a few minutes before continuing our walk. It was a perfect night, it wasn't even raining. Per my request, we sat along the river, our feet hanging off the edge, a few hundred yards away from the Eye and waited until Big Ben struck at midnight. The lights of the tower went off, but it still rang out. It was like ringing in the New Year, but, the halfway point.

May 30

Like most mornings, I woke up, and went on a walk before starting my day. I actually slept through the night because I shut the blinds and opened the window before falling asleep. Once again, on my walk, I got totally lost and wandered back with the help of google maps. I knew the vicinity that I was in, but I couldn't figure out which way I needed to turn on the road so I kept going in circles. I made it though, and after studying for my exam, our class met up with our teacher for a pre-exam study session.

Aleesia, Jacqueline and I went on a walk later that night to Trafalgar Square and watched the sunset. The plan was to walk to the water, but we didn't make it that far. It wasn't cold out and there were no clouds in the sky, it was so gorgeous. We came back to apartment 14 to play some peanuts, of course, and we let time slip away.

May 29

I got absolutely no sleep on Saturday night. My nose was stuffed and the room was much too hot. I don't think I slept more than 2 hours, total. It was an awful night, and because of this I decided that I would get up at 8:30, because it had already been light out for 4 hours. I went for another walk, I've learned that walking in the city is easier than running. My favorite past time has become walking around the city for about and hour or so, getting lost, and trying to find my way back either with google maps or the signs pointing towards museums, tube stations, or roads that I recognize... It's really fun, until it starts raining, but that's another story.

I came home and made myself some spicy chili, because England has the ingredients to do that, easily. It is really good, if I do say so myself. I tried to lay down for a nap after that, but with my roommates walking in and out of the room so often, it didn't really work.

Around 7 I wanted this really delicious fudge hot chocolate, that I can only find at the Sainsburys Locals, which are larger than Sainsburys, but all the Locals close at 6 on Saturday. I went in search anyways, and ended up lost and empty handed, but I got another walk in, which was good for me. 

Aleesia, Jacqueline and I then bought tour tickets for Ireland, and Jacqueline and I finished our hostels/train plans for the 2nd trip.

May 28

We all slept in as late as we could on Saturday because a lot went on the night before. At 1, Christian, Aleesia, Jacqueline and I decided to take a walk around the city. We headed towards the Southbank and walked over the London Bridge, which is just an average bridge. Seriously, there is nothing special about the London Bridge. We walked along the Thames and ended up at Borough Market at closing time. Aleesia had never been, so we took her through what we could before the shops started closing up. 

Back at the apartments we had an impromptu fam dinner. I made chicken noodle soup, Jacqueline made some garlic bread with bread form the market, and Christian and Aleesia just sat around, but we were using their apartment, that was their contribution. 

While dinner was being made, Aleeisa and Jacqueline started another round of peanuts and they didn't even stop to eat. The game started at 7:22 and didn't end until 9:26, with very few breaks in between. I wouldn't let them stop, and it was one of the most entertaining things I've witnessed in a long time. They were so frustrated. I was really hoping it would get them off their addiction for the game...and it might have.