Florence, Rome, and Verona, Oh My! (Part Two)

So the next morning, after being rudely awoken by our alarms after only four hours of sleep, Jacqui, Brittany, and I got up to catch our train to Rome. (And I'll just say that I can't thank the two of them enough for coming with me--they truly are amazingly wonderful friends. Both of them will be returning to Rome in a couple of weeks as part of their study abroad program in Italy, something they had already paid for, but they willing came with me because they knew how much I wanted to see Rome and without them, I doubt I would have had the courage to go by myself. And being able to go to Rome with some of my very best friends was of course an awesome experience; traveling there with them made it so much more fun and memorable. So thank you Jacqui and Brittany for being the best friends a girl could as for! I love you both!)

For the first time since I can remember, I actually fell asleep on the train ride there. Unlike my sister, I was not blessed with the ability to fall asleep anywhere, in any position, at any given time. This especially applies to trains, buses, cars, and planes and so clearly I was much more tired than I originally thought I was--and I thought I was pretty tired to begin with.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day, but we were going to try and see it in one. So once we got there, we sought out a Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour as this was likely the only way we were going to be able to see everything we wanted to. Our first stop was a rather well-known place in Rome. Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't. The Colosseum anyone? Now this might sound stupid, but it looked much older than I thought it would. Obviously, it's an ancient arena, but as I had only ever seen it in pictures before, seeing it person was very different. And I'm not sure what I had originally thought Rome would look like, but I don't know if I expected the ruins to literally just appear among the every day buildings as they do. It was shocking in a way to turn the corner from a normal road and suddenly see the Colosseum, but it's also what makes Rome so unique. It's no wonder they call it the Eternal City.

Welcome to the Colosseum. And may the odds be
ever in your favor.

Our bus made a loop around the arena so we could admire it from all angles before dropping us off across the street. Though the Colosseum is set in the heart of the city, it, along with the Roman Forum, are in a wide open area so that you can better appreciate them for what they are and their historical significance. The three of us walked up a little hill where you can take a good picture in front of the arena before walking down to get in line. As both Jacqui and Brittany are going back to Rome they decided to wait outside while I went in. The line took a little bit longer than I expected, but it was worth it to see the inside of the Colosseum. It would have been fun to take a tour and learn more about the place as I discovered I knew very little to begin with, but being under a time crunch, I took a walking tour by myself and saw the arena from all different levels and sides. It was amazing to think of what it must have looked like in it's prime as it is still such a sight to behold today.

Inside the Colosseum

After I had my fill, I met up with Jacqui and Brittany again outside. The ticket I had purchased for the Colosseum also granted me access to the Roman Forum so I decided to walk around there quickly. Without a doubt, it was interesting, but as I didn't really know much about it beforehand I don't think I was able to fully appreciate it. However, it did inspire me to look it up when I got back and read about how central it was to Roman life. Once I left, the three of us hopped back on our bus and asked the tour guide where would be a good place to eat since all of us were starting to get hungry. She suggested we get off at the next stop and walk over the bridge, so we followed her advice and ended up at a cute little outside restaurant just down the street from the river. Obviously as this was my first opportunity to order Italian pizza, I jumped at the chance and got a white mushroom and sausage pizza. It was much thinner and more oily than back home, but it was delicious and everything I had hoped it would be.

Where we ate lunch

After a pleasant lunch, we got back on the bus to go see the Pantheon. We were actually dropped off in front of Castel Sant'Angelo which lies across a bridge vaguely reminiscent of the Charles Bridge in Prague with all of the statues lining the sides and which offers some great views, although we didn't actually go inside. Instead, we walked along the river for a bit before turning down the street towards the Pantheon.

The greatest friends ever
Castel Sant'Angelo

Though Rome is very different from Florence, they have the same narrow, cobblestone streets and as we were walking through them we happened upon a gelato place. Since all three of us lack self-control when it comes to any kind of dessert we stopped to get some. I got caramel and dark chocolate gelato on a waffle cone and it was amazing! I know I tend to say this about everything I eat abroad, but it was seriously the best gelato ever. Even though I'd only had gelato once before, that's besides the point, and it was still amazing when comparing it to ice cream, which it basically is.

Excuse me while I stuff my face with gelato.

The Pantheon turned out to be right around the next corner as well so we took some time to walk around the inside before heading back to the bus to go see the Vatican. By the time we got there it was night so St. Peter's Basilica was all lit up and we could easily see it from the distance we had to walk to reach it. The Square was lit up as well, not to mention huge (I couldn't help but try and picture the scenes from Angels and Demons), but it was the inside of the church that was truly amazing. I had no idea the inside was so intricately designed and as the three of us walked in, we literally stopped in our tracks to try and take it all in. I won't try and describe it because I don't think I can, but I took some pictures so you could see for yourself.

St. Peter's Square

After taking some time to walk around, we got on the next bus that pulled around to see our final stop, the Trevi Fountain. We had to move quickly for this one because we were trying to make our intended train back to Florence so once we got there, we navigated through the mass of people (it was ridiculously crowded) to make our wishes and take pictures. Though we weren't able to spend that much time, the fountain itself was absolutely gorgeous, even more so that it was illuminated, and we also spotted a bride and groom taking pictures on the far side of the fountain. I can only imagine they came out great!

Inside the Church!

Of course, because we got actually got to see everything we wanted to see, we ended up missing our train, and of course the next one wasn't for another two and half hours because obviously it makes sense to run them every half hour from five to eight but not eight to ten. And of course because this was the last train it was three and a half hours back to Florence and not the hour and half one we took before. (Am I making my sarcasm clear?) So after we were done freaking out, the three of us decided to take it in stride and go in search of dinner. We ended up at a random restaurant a little ways away from the train station where I got pasta with little chunks of tomato, which was pretty good, and spent our time there until it was time to actually get our train. Three and half hours later (I actually dozed off on this train too, running around Rome for a whole day will do that to you) we found ourselves in a train station in Florence, but of course it wasn't the train station we left from which is a five minute walk from Brittany and Jacqui's apartment so we had to call a cab and finally, at close to 3 o'clock in the morning, we arrived back to immediately fall asleep. After all, we had yet another train to catch in the morning to go to Verona, but that's a story for another blog post. And even with the unexpected travel difficulties I'm so, so happy I was able to see Rome as it was amazing and definitely something you have to see on a trip to Italy. Cheers!

My wish already came true!
I'm getting to travel the world with my best friends.

Florence, Rome, and Verona, Oh My! (Part 1)

This weekend was such a whirlwind I don't even know where to begin. I'm still having difficulty processing everything I got to do in 72 hours, but let's just begin with the fact that Italy was awesome!

Thursday afternoon, my friend Maddie and I left to catch our flight to Florence. It was the longest flight we've had to take (and probably will take) so far, a little over 2 hours. But, compared to a 9-hour bus ride and the 7-hour flight to London it still paled in comparison. Besides, you can't even get to Florida in that time! And we were lucky enough to be able to sit next to each other and wrapped up in our conversation, the flight passed by quickly. We got into Florence a little after 6pm and took a bus to the train station where our friends were coming to meet us. Soon after we arrived, we saw a group of our friends approaching and  ran over to greet them. Even though we had seen them two weeks ago, we were all still so happy to see each other again.

As we chatted, they led us through the narrow streets of Florence to their apartment. The door to their apartment on this random little street in Florence was so nondescript that even after almost four days there, I would always walk past it until someone pointed it out to me, which I found amusing. But once inside, we got to deposit our things on our beds (lucky a couple of their roommates were traveling and we were able to take their beds) and then sit down to a wonderful family dinner of chicken parm and pasta that they had so nicely cooked for us. (Fun Fact: I discovered that chicken parm is not, in fact, Italian). Over dinner they told us all about the last leg of their fall break to Prague while we recounted our trips to Ireland and it almost felt like we were back at Stonehill again.

Maddie and Jacqui on the streets of Florence

After dinner, Jacqui suggested we all go out for gelato, which Maddie and I readily agreed to. They took us to their favorite place where I ordered dark chocolate gelato which was absolutely delicious. With dessert in hand we all went to sit and eat on the steps of the Duomo, an enormous church that towers over the other buildings in Florence. Remember how I said after a while all the churches and cathedrals begin to look the same? Well, this one was very, very different. Unique and beautiful, it rises suddenly from the rather cramped buildings that blend into one another to form the streets and it's so massive it's difficult to take in all at once. And at night, it seems to give off its own light. We spent a good time chatting and eating in it's shadow before heading back to get some sleep.

The Duomo

The next morning we got up on the early side because Jacqui and Brittany's program was having a field trip to Academia to see the real statue of David. Their program leader, an adorable woman named Chiara, let Maddie and I tag along with the group and even let us use our friend's museum passes (who weren't going and were nice enough to let us borrow them) so we could get in for free. Chiara was not only really nice but really knowledgeable about everything in the museum and I definitely learned more from her than I would have just walking around on my own. The statue of David itself was massive. I wasn't expecting it to be quite that large but if anything it made it more impressive. I couldn't believe Michelangelo actually carved that from marble. If I tried that all you would get is a pile of rubble. Of course, again, we were not allowed to take pictures so either imagine the statue as three times the size of a normal man or go to the old stand-by and Google it.

Chiara took us around more of the museum and then led us to a little shop were they recreate paintings by cutting tiny pieces of different stones and rearranging them to form the picture. Yes, it looks just as difficult as it sounds, but the fact that these artists were able to perfectly recreate these paintings using only bits of colored rock was truly amazing! I would've bought one had they not been so expensive because, as you can imagine, there is a ton of labor that goes into making them. After this side trip, we went to another church where the entire interior had been created using the same technique to make the picture mosaics! To say I was blown away was an understatement. I can't even imagine how many people and how much time went into building it. It was an astonishing feat, especially for something built so long ago. Once again, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside, but just take a look at the picture of the small mosaic and multiple that by at least 1,000. It was amazing.

Yes, that picture is made up entirely of little stones 

After the field trip, our friend group decided to grab some lunch. We headed to a place called Mario's to eat where I got roasted chicken and salad. It was good, but I definitely couldn't wait to try pizza and pasta! Also, I was surprised to find that their bread was so bland, but Jacqui explained to me that traditional Tuscan diets are very plain and so their bread usually doesn't have any salt in it, making it rather tasteless. That's not to say it was bad, but it definitely wasn't the Bertucci's rolls or Olive Garden bread sticks we are so use to eating by the basket at home.

Following lunch, Jacqui, Brittany, Jordan, JoAnna and I went to climb to the top of the Duomo, something they had been dying to do since they arrived in Florence. Like many other things I've climbed on this whole Europe adventure, this climb was steep, dizzying, and completely worth it by the time we reached the top. After 463 steps straight up, we were greeted by a spectacular panoramic view of Florence spread far below us with the green hills rising in the distance. With the sun peeking from between the clouds to throw steaks of light across the scene it was more than picture perfect. I hadn't even had time to catch my breath before it was stolen again. And I could have stayed up there just looking at it all day long.

From the top of the Duomo

We actually spent a decent amount of time up there, leaning on the railings, just talking, trying to absorb the view and feeling of being so high and imprint it in our memories. Finally, once the sun was starting to get low in the sky we all headed back down to the ground. Brittany and Jordan had to go work on a photo project so Jacqui, Kayla, JoAnna, and Colleen and I headed to Michelangelo Square so I could see a different view of the city at night. Originally, we wanted to try and make it there for sunset, but the walk was a little longer than we thought and I wanted to stop to take some pictures along the way. We made it up just after the sun had set and all of the city lights had come on and it was just as beautiful as my friends had promised it would be. We spent some more time up there walking and talking before we turned to head back to their apartment because some of our other friends from school were arriving that night! It's so funny how well these meet-ups all over Europe have worked out with very little effort.

Me and Jacqui

Our friends Jenny and Courtney who are studying in Denmark (Jacqui and I lived with Courtney last year) weren't due to arrive until after nine and Kayla and Colleen had offered to cook dinner that night so the rest went to just hang out for a while. I was actually so tired from only getting four hours of sleep the night before that I took a quick nap before we all reconvened for dinner during which our friends who are studying abroad in Rome also showed up so the apartment was full to bursting with a giant Stonehill reunion.

Another view from the top.

 Once everyone had caught up with how everyone else was doing abroad, we (well the majority of us) decided to make the most of our night all together in Florence and go out. We went to a club called Space that the Italian girls had been to before and spent hours there dancing to what was a great music selection (a lot of people/places in Europe play mostly American music). It was so great to be with everyone from school again and it was one of my favorite nights abroad yet. We ended up leaving pretty late, but we didn't want the night to end just yet so Brittany, Jordan, and I decided to go find a secret bakery!

Going out for a night on the town

Secret bakeries are just what their name implies. They are industrial bakeries that don't open until late in the night, normally past 2am, usually down a nondescript side-street with no precise location or marking. They bake all night to cook the pastries that will fill the shelves of the city's cafes in the morning and, many people, tourists, students, and Italians alike will try and hunt them down, because on the odd chance that you come across one, you can buy a fresh pastry for only 1 euro. I had heard about them before my trip to Italy and it was on my bucket list to find one before I left. None of our friends had yet to find one, but the three of us were determined to. Luckily, Kayla had a friend who had studied in Florence previously and knew the general location of one, somewhere near Santa Croce, and so with only a landmark in mind we set off to see if we could discover the elusive secret bakery. Once we reached Santa Croce, we turned down a side street, hoping our noses would alert us to the location of one as you can usually smell them from far away and that it how most people tend to find them. Funnily enough, as we were walking down the street, we bumped into another girl and boy who were also looking for the bakery. The girl told us she had been here once before and believed it was just ahead, and what do you know, but two minutes later we found it!

Yum!!

Literally just a large window in the wall with a small metal counter, the secret bakery looks like the back of any normal bakery. But the smells coming from it were amazing and our mouths immediately started watering at the sheets upon sheets of pastries on the cooling racks! One of the bakers smiled when he spotted our little group and came over to take our order. The three of us each got two chocolate-filled pastries with sugar and honey on top and they were even more delicious than they sound! We couldn't help but eat both by the time we got back. And with our chocolate-craving satisfied, and another great adventure checked-off our bucket list we headed off to bed. After all, we had to be up early to catch our train to Rome!

(Side note: This post was started last week before I went to Paris but I ran out of time to finish so now I'm frantically trying to catch up! So be sure to check tomorrow for the rest of the Italy post!)

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November!

So of course, I've fallen behind on blogging. In my defense, the last two weeks have been super busy here as will the next couple so I will try my best to keep up with everything. I'm going back in time a bit for this blog so I can catch up. This one will probably be short in preparation for the novel-length Italy one that will follow, so here it goes.

A couple of weeks ago, the Wednesday before Halloween, my friend had to go to the Tate Britain for a class assignment so I decided to tag along. The gallery is part of the Tate gallery network in England and is the oldest one for those who are unaware. (I'm only saying that because I had no clue what it was until I went there). It contains art from the 1500s all the way to present day. To be honest when I agreed to go along, I wasn't particularly interested in going, I was just going to go, but I was pleasantly surprised when we got there. So much of the art was so different from what I was expecting that I found myself actually really enjoying walking around to look at the different pieces, hence why I decided to include the field trip in my blog. I took pictures of my favorite pieces and have included them below for your viewing pleasure. And who knows, I also might use one as inspiration for my Creative Writing London blog.

I'll give you one guess as to what it is.

Azalea Garden by Patrick Heron

Angel of Anarchy by Eileen Agar

Construction for St. Just by Peter Lanyon

I didn't really do anything for Halloween as literally all of my friends were traveling that weekend and London isn't too big on the Halloween scene anyway. Instead, I used the weekend to catch up on some much needed sleep as I was still sick and it definitely helped!

The following Tuesday, the 5th of November, is actually a bigger holiday here in London. Also known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day, this date refers to the arrest of Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, for attempting to blow up the House of Lords. In celebration of the plot's failure, people lit bonfires around London and now the day as well as the weekend preceding it is often celebrated with firework shows. So to celebrate, a big group of us went to the Southwark Park fireworks. We crowded in a giant field with an enormous audience and had a great view of one of the coolest firework displays I've ever seen! The explosions were set to music, not to mention timed and orchestrated almost perfectly,
and even though it was kind of a short show (only about 20 minutes) it was awesome! Afterwards, we walked around the fair that was nearby for a little while and watched in awe as a dancer on a stage performed with a flaming hula-hoop! Definitely a cool night!

Waterfall Fireworks!

 

Can someone teach me to do this?

Thursday November 7th was also my friend Lisa's 20th Birthday! But since I was leaving for Florence that afternoon I went shopping with her and her friends the day before to look for a new dress for her, and then we went out to Wagamama's to eat. Afterwards we came back to eat a surprise birthday cake I had made her that morning while her friends distracted her. (Side note: the grocery store did not have cake frosting nor did anyone who worked there actually know what I was talking about, so I had to make it from scratch. I personally prefer to make frosting from scratch anyway, but I was on a time crunch and more importantly, how on earth does no one know what frosting is? It's on the cake box!!) We also gave her a birthday present we had all chipped in on--a Claddagh ring from Ireland since we knew how much she had wanted one. It was a little tricky trying to get one for her without her noticing--we had her friend Katie distract her in the store while her friend Lexie and I picked one out, but we succeeded! And she was so happy to get it!

Anyway that's pretty much it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to write and post my Italy blog tomorrow! Be sure to check back! Cheers!

Erin Go Bragh

Sorry about the delay, but here is the promised update about my trip to Ireland, or in other words my homeland as an Irish ginger (is that redundant?).

Anyway, let's just begin by saying that this trip could have started off much better than it actually did. Me, my friend Lisa, and her two friends from school were set to leave for Dublin early Thursday afternoon. However,   4:00 in the morning that same day found me curled up in bed with a pounding headache, a fever, and unable to swallow because my throat hurt so badly. Doesn't that sound like so much fun? Yeah, no. I actually felt so sick, I wasn't even sure I was going to make it to Ireland. Later that morning, after only 4 hours of sleep, I was feeling only slightly better, but I really didn't want to miss the trip if I could help it. I took medicine and said goodbye to Jacqui and Brittany who were leaving for Prague that morning and tried to rest more, only to realize around 11 that if I was going to Ireland I desperately needed to do laundry because I legitimately had nothing to wear except for the shorts and t-shirt I was already wearing having forgotten to do it after I returned from Prague. Awesome. So after almost two hours of laundry and packing, I was feeling a little better from the meds, and decided that I was definitely going to Ireland. I thought that was going to be my biggest hurdle for the day. I spoke too soon.

The four of us left at 1:30 in the afternoon to go to Victoria Coach Station so we could take a bus to the airport. Our flight was at 5:30 and we were planning to arrive there at 3:00 so we had some extra time built in for traffic. We checked online and double-checked at a ticket window at the Station and were told that the bus left every fifteen minutes and got to the airport in half an hour. This. Was. A. Lie. Not only did the bus leave every half hour but it took an hour and a half to get there. Which means we got there at 4:45. Fifteen minutes to get our boarding passes stamped and go through security = sprinting through the airport. And sprinting through the airport sucks twice as much when you're sick.

But, the luck of the Irish was upon us because we did end up making the flight and we did make it Dublin. Our flight landed around 7:00pm and we took a taxi to our hostel. Our taxi driver was extremely friendly (we would soon come to realize nearly everyone in Ireland is really nice) and he wasted no time telling us all of the places and restaurants we had to visit. (He was also quick to comment on my hair and my name which was really funny.) After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, we grabbed a quick dinner, and then headed to bed after what had been a long, stressful day.

The next morning, Lisa's two friends were taking the "P.S. I Love You" Tour (based on the movie), so Lisa and I were left to explore the city on our own. After a quick breakfast, we headed up to the main street to start our own walking tour. Literally as soon as we opened a map the next person to walk by us stopped to ask where we needed to go and pointed us in the right direction with a smile. This would proceed to happen every time we opened a map and as small as it might seem, it was one of the things I loved about being in Ireland. (I joked with Lisa that it was because of my red hair). I also saw the Gaelic version of my name everywhere which was really cool.

St. Stephen's Green

Our first stop was Fusiliers' Arch, which is the gateway to St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park area Lisa and I took our time walking through because it was so nice outside. From there, we headed to the Dublin Castle, which was much less castle-looking than I thought it was going to be, but still interesting. We walked around for a bit before moving on to see both Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral. You had to pay to tour both those places so we walked in as far as we could and then took pictures outside. (To be quite honest, every church, chapel, and cathedral in Europe starts to look the same after a while.) Soon after, it began to down-pour so Lisa and I high-tailed in to the next stop on our list: The Guinness Storehouse.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

This was probably one of my favorite parts of Dublin, and I don't even really like Guinness. And I know what you might be thinking; seriously, one of your favorite stops was the Guinness Tour? But the tour itself--which is self-guided--is actually really cool and Guinness plays a pretty big role in the community as it is. The tour is composed of a seven-floor walk through that is in the shape of an enormous Guinness Pint which is awesomel if you look up at it from the bottom.

Starred in our own Guinness Ad

The first couple floors take you through how Guinness is actually made and how the company was founded while the next couple showcase how the company has evolved itself and in advertising over the decades as well as the role it plays in the Irish community and world. It was all actually very interesting. One of the floors is even dedicated to a mini-tasting experience where you learn how to "expertly" taste Guinness, which was fun to do. You also get a complimentary pint of Guinness at the end of the tour which you can either redeem in the "Academy" where you learn to pour your perfect pint, or in the Gravity Bar. Lisa and I decided to get ours at the Gravity Bar which is surrounded by glass windows and offers an awesome panoramic view of Dublin. As I'm not a huge fan of Guinness, I only had half of my glass (don't worry I didn't mix it with any medication), but hanging out in the Gravity Bar was really cool as the sun had come out again and we could see for miles.

Afterwards it was close to dinner time so Lisa and I decided to grab food in the bar/cafe on the level below us. We both ordered vegetable soup and a sandwich and when I say it was the best vegetable soup I've ever had, I'm 100% serious. Even Lisa agreed. We were both literally scraping our bowls, it was so good.

The next day, Saturday, Lisa and I had originally planned to take a train to Galway (on the other side of Ireland) so we could see the city as well as the Cliffs of Moher. However, since we hadn't bought train tickets ahead of time, they were too expensive to buy that day and we had to stay in Dublin. Not that I'm complaining about staying in Dublin, but I do really, really wish I had gotten to see Galway and the Cliffs of Moher, especially after hearing such great things about them from friends who had gone before. Even now, a week after coming back I still wish I had been able to go. Ah well, you can't have everything. Guess this just means I'll have to go back eventually!

Yum!

Instead, our first stop that day was to get a traditional Irish breakfast. Now what does this consist of? Well, it's close to a normal American breakfast (though of course the Irish were around first) and it's a big plate with a fried egg, sausage, bacon, toast, black and white pudding, and baked beans. Can you say comfort food or what? And it was all great! Obviously the black and white pudding and the baked beans were the odd ones out, but I tried and liked them both! Also, the name of black and white pudding is deceiving since it's not actually pudding or even remotely close to it. They are actually very similar to hash browns. But all in all very yummy and very filling!

Our next stop was to see Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university. The campus was beautiful, though we didn't stay for too long as it started to downpour again. To get out of the rain, the four of us went to the National Museum of Ireland (look at us being all educated and cultured) to see the "Bog People." These bog people were human sacrifices over 2,000 years ago who had been tossed into the peat bogs after death for disposal. However, because of the unique properties of the bog, their bodies have been really well persevered, especially parts of the body that are usually the first to go such as their hair, skin, and fingernails. Yes, it was even more creepy than it sounds. Cool maybe, but to be honest they looked like zombies, and they skeeved me out. I can do skeletons, but not these things. And no, I don't have a picture of them. A, we weren't allowed to take pictures, and B, I wouldn't have anyway. If you want to see what they look like Google them because they still give me goose-bumps. Moving on.

Trinity College

We walked around some of the shopping areas in Dublin afterwards but as it was still raining, not to mention cold, we stopped for some hot chocolate at a cafe. We spent a bit of time there warming up until we set out to walk around again. It was dark out by this point, and we just happened to pass by the Dublin Castle as we wandered around, where we saw a line of people snaking out the door and around the corner. Intrigued, we went up to a worker and asked what it was for. The woman explained it was part of the Halloween Festival and that "Dracula's Castle" was being put on inside. She said if we wanted to wait it would only be about 15 minutes as it moved pretty quickly so we decided to stay to check it out as the excited line seemed to be a good indicator of the event. (One of the things we immediately noticed about Ireland is that they were much more into Halloween than England was. All of the pubs and stores were decorated for the holiday and we saw tons of kids dressed up even though it was a week early, whereas you would have never known in London it was anywhere close to Halloween. All of us loved it since it felt more like how home would feel around now.)

Spooky Decorations at Dublin Castle

As we slowly moved up in line and got closer to the entrance to the Castle courtyard, we saw this massive moving skeleton standing over the doorway being operated by four people as well as torches lining the walkway that every few minutes would throw up huge fireballs. Needless to say, it definitely amped up the excitement. We finally got to go inside where we saw a bunch of different fire-sculptures all over the place as well as actors all dressed up in costume walking around scaring people and instigating mock-fights with each other. Dracula was pacing back and forth on the balcony, overseeing everything as dozens of people walked around admiring the fire show and trying to avoid being caught by the actors. Even though it wasn't really a haunted house, it was really cool and different! It's kind of difficult to describe in its entirety, so you'll have to check out the pictures!

Fire show!

After we got our fill of the Halloween excitement we went to grab dinner at a pub called O'Neill's (how much more Irish can you get?). I got Irish roast beef, carrots, potatoes, and gravy and it was all delicious! It was the closest thing to a real-home-cooked meal I've had since I've been abroad. (Yes, I cook most of my own food, but we all know nothing beats Mom's cooking.) Then, to round off the night we went to another pub to see an Irish step-dance show, just to get another taste of Irish culture. The show was pretty good and between that and the castle, it was a great way to end our last night in Dublin.

Irish step-dance

Also, before I go, a very very happy birthday to Emily, Morgan, Riley, and Aunt Carol!!! I'm sorry I wasn't able to actually wish you all a happy birthday in person, but I hope you all had absolutely fantastic days!! Love you all!