...too corny? pshh.
Howdy dear friends! So I've been enjoying the last few days in total relax-chill-let-my-mom-feed-me mode, being back in Holland for the Holidays. Now to recount my first part of my trip in Ireland before the food lethargy sets in...
Aaron and I met up at O'Hare airport where he forewarned me of all the Irish accents at our terminal. So excited. I had found a mini Bailey's bottle in my fridge (no idea how long it's been there), so it was only appropriate to start our journey off with it.
We land in Dublin Thursday morning and take the bus into the city. Yay doubledecker front seats. After checking into our hostel (Aaron had found this place... best hostel I've ever stayed in -- Barnacles in Temple Bar), first things first: we need our first Guinness.
Dublin... the rumors are true. People are so freakin' nice and helpful. They do not, however, all look like Colin Farrell. And when they go out, girls all wear 7" heels, skirts (IN THE WINTER!), and 7 layers of makeup #didnotfitin. But seriously though, people are awesome. Always wanting to help.
We made our way to Phoenix Park, more beer, and the Guinness Brewery. This is where jet lag hit. hard. 7 floors of information and history of Guinness. We could barely make it up the stairs. So we might not have absorbed all the knowledge there was, but we surely absorbed Guinness at the top of the Gravity Bar looking out onto Dublin.
Back to our hostel... night out? Why of course. Pub crawl with about 10 other peeps from all over the world, starting dance parties, ...and somehow spending a lot of money. (Note: Americans have a habit of buying rounds. A lot of other countries don't.) That night Aaron lost his jacket, I lost a glove, but we kept our dignity. Good job.
The next day we head to Galway (bus naps are the best). Galwayyyy. My favorite town in Ireland. You still have the friendliness we had encountered in Dublin (if not moreso), aaand you get the town quaintness. Cobble stone streets, local farmer's market (where I met up with Helen's brother), and making friends with locals at the pubs.
We spent less than 24 hours in Galway because the next morning we caught the tour to Cliffs of Moher and some other surrounding seeings. GO TO CLIFFS OF MOHER! So breathtakingly beautiful. And our driver/tourguide was hilarious... would.not.stop.talking. Dunno how he can multitask like that. Some highlights of that tour: The Cliffs (don't jump, it's high), a 5,800 year old tomb, a celtic cemetery, and an iconic sunset.
Headed back to Dublin that night for Aaron's last night in the Ire. We wanted to take it easy, but somehow found our way back to our favorite pub from the pub crawl (Peader Kearney's) where we danced to some Irish jigs for the rest of the night.
Sunday Aaron desserted me ;) After he left in the morning, I wandered around and discovered some things on my own, such as: Trinity Dublin College, the Book of Kells exhibit, and Stephen's Green. At TDC, I saw a double rainbow(!!), the Book of Kells' artistry inspired me, and Stephen's Green astounded me in the middle of the city. Hello inner tourist.
Met up with my CS host for the night, who took me out for a few pints with his friends. Later met up with his roommate, played an excellent wing-woman role (so good at that), and ended up at a hipster bar singing karaoke and dancing away (there might be blackmail material out there).
The next day was the first chill day. Might have been lazy pants, until we eventually ventured out for food, and Simon took me to St Patrick's Cathedral. More being a tourist then went on my way. Met up with CS host #2 who is ridiculously too nice and had a good evening with some more pints.
A girl I had met in the hostel and some other person had told me to go to Belfast, so that convinced me. The next morning I went off to Northern Ireland and checked out Belfast city. Got there around noon, adjusted to the British unit system (it's part of the UK), learned about its history and current political situation by taking a tour of City Hall, got misled twice (Castle Court is not a castle, but a mall; and Victoria Square is not a park, but another mall) and finally met up with my CS host and the other girl he was hosting for the night. Goooood night in, we made a Mexican dinner with some mean guacamole and fajitas to show our appreciation, drank good wine, and had long conversation into the middle of the night.
Next morning I met up with a tour at Carrickfergus Castle down the road, headed to Carrick-a-rede Ropebridge, checked out the oldest whiskey distillery at Bushmills, and made a friend at Giant's Causeway while checking out the ridiculousness of the rocks.
One of the many benefits of travel is the friends you make along the way. They both make the experiences and make them last. People are awesome.
Since the 20th I've been back in Holland with my momz. It's good to be back with family and nice to have this "break" before I start my Asia travels. Love spending this time with her and old good friends to remind me where I am grounded and what home means. These days are filled with laughter, reminiscing, LOTS of Indonesian food, and reconnecting. On the 27th, my favorite cousin from Germany and her recent-fiance will be coming to visit so I can't wait to see them, as well as the other friends I still need to meet up with. Here's to a happy new year. The next morning I'll be heading off to Turkey.
Oh, on the bus ride to Dublin airport, I also found out I got accepted to INSEAD :) Looks like I'll be living in Fontainebleau as of next August... then heading to Singapore for the second part of the program. Suuuuper excited. My cousin's wedding in Munich is in June, so I'm thinking of just sticking around in Europe and doing some more travels before starting schools. Yay more travels!
Take care, friends all over the word, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a fantastic Happy New Year wherever you are! I appreciate you all :)
In 4 days I will be going on my "retirement" trip ;) I quit P&G at the end of October, stuck around until now because of some grad school interviews and taking care of some business for when I'm gone, and now my trip is finally sinking in...
From Dec 12-20, I will be in Ireland for the first time! I somehow convinced Aaron to come with (tickets were ridiculously cheap at the time -- $650 RT!) so he'll be there til the 17th.
Dec 20-Jan 1, I'll be back in Holland for the Holidays. Mom's there right now, my favorite cousin is meeting me there, and one of my best friends will be bringing in the new year with me :D
Jan 1 -- I have a 24 hour layover in Istanbul... Never been before, and am expecting to completely fall in love with it in a day.
Jan 2-14, I'm heading to India and meeting up with UD who just moved back! ALSO, Kyle will be meeting up with us there too and she'll be spending the rest of the trip in Asia with me!!! Yay travel buddy!
Jan 15-end Jan, we'll be in Cambodia joining Kelly at Transitions with her mural project :) Hopefully get to do some sightseeing on our time off, too.
end Jan-mid Feb -- checking out Vietnam and hopefully squeezing in Thailand in there, too.
mid Feb-Feb 25, want to spend a couple weeks in Indonesia. Haven't been back since mid-90's and wanna get back in touch with my roots ;)
Feb 26-28, flying back to Dublin for a couple of days to catch my flight back to Cincinnati on the 28th!
Needless to say, I'm ECSTATIC about this trip! Now... because I wanted to keep the travel to "carry on" size only, I have the challenge of packing for cold and warm weather and keep it under 15 lbs. Impossible you say? Negative! With the help of some forums and tips from friends on Facebook, I've got it down.
Here's what I've got it down to:
- 1 pair of Jeans (will be wearing these), 1 yoga pants (will double as pj's), 1 leggings (will be wearing these under the Jeans), 1 pair of shorts
- 2 dresses - 1 sundress, 1 casual but can be nice
- 2 long sleeve shirts (will be wearing 1 of them)
- 1 sweater & 1 cardigan (will be wearing 1 of them)
- 4 t-shirts
- 3 tank tops
- 1 skinny towel
- 3 pairs of socks
- 7 pairs of underwear (wearing one of them...)
- 3 bras (wearing one of them... is this tmi? ha)
- 2 bikinis
- 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of flips flops, 1 pair of boots (will be wearing them)
- 1 belt
- 1 scarf (wearing it!)
- 1 coat (will be wearing this too... and most likely leaving it in Turkey)
- 1 sarong (can also be used as a scarf)
- toiletries
- sleeping bag (for 55F, only weight 1.5 lbs!)
- phone/charger (+whatever adapters I may have)
- passport (doy)
This is it :) Did I forget something...?
Will be back Feb 28 with NOM starting the next day! In the meantime, expect updates here :)
ADVENTURE TIME!
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Alright. So, I think I can officially claim myself an overall lucky person. I mean, I really can't complain. I've got it good. But sometimes... just sometimes... things go even better than just good. Sometimes things go perfectly well, in an almost creepy way.
Perfect Thing #1: The ticket
We were at a friend's beer tasting, when I happened to look up tickets to Miami over Thanksgiving. Hey, I was bracing myself for the cold of Cincinnati winter and wanted an alternative now that I was almost "retired" and would have more time. Holy crap. $260 direct roundtrip? "Who wants to go with me?" And that's how Ryan and I bought impromptu tickets to Miami for a week.
Perfect Thing #2: The car
We had gotten an uber awesome deal (part of perfect thing #2) for a rental car for $120 for 6 days. When we get dropped off at the rental place, we saw a Fiat 500 in the lot. "Wouldn't it be cool if we got that?" We did. Sweet little car.
Perfect Thing #3: The host in Miami
We couchsurfed for our first and last night in Miami. Our host? An awesome lady who lived in a highrise fancy condo building on the water in Downtown Miami with a view of the water and Miami beach with an extra parking space in her garage (which was filled with uber fancy cars...). And she owned a bunny that hopped all around. Yeah. Ryan even saw 2 dolphins in the morning. Good morning, Miami.
Perfect Thing #4: The perfect pit stop
On our way to the scenic drive to the Keys, signs for the Everglades. Hey, why not. For a little detour, we got to see alligators and lots of birds. Sadly, no Florida Panther (I think that would have been a Perfect Thing all on its own).
Perfect Thing #5: An awesome "Thanksgiving" meal
Thank you, Yelp. Because of Yelp, I experienced some of the most amazing meals I've ever had. Including a delicious Cuban sandwich with fresh mango juice in the Keys.
Perfect Thing #6: The hotel booking in Marathon
We decided to book a hotel for the first night half way down the Keys and I had booked the cheapest hotel I could find online for $90. When we got there to check in, I empathized with the check-in guy how he was working on Thanksgiving day. "It's ok, you're my last check in for the day... I get to go home now!" "That means you'll hook us up with the best room, right?" "Let me see what I can do..." We got a recently renovated suite with 2 queen sized beds... for $60 total.
Perfect Thing #7: The sunset in time
After checking in, we checked out more of the immediate surrounding islands, but wanted to make it back to the recommended Sunset Bar & Grill for the sunset at 5:40. As we got there at 5:35, the place was packed and the cars were parked all the way out for a distance. We found a parking spot right in the front and made it in time to watch the beautiful sunset. And then enjoyed some drinks at the tiki bar.
Perfect Thing #8: The Bond marathon
Ok, so some of you may know that I have a recent obsession with Bond movies after I attended the Cincinnati Orchestra's "Bond & Beyond" concert. I made it a personal mission to watch all 23 Bond movies and have been checking out whichever Bond movies are available at the library at the time. We got back to our hotel and a Bond MARATHON is on the Syfy channel. Hell yes. I watched a total of 1.5 Bond movies before passing out.
Perfect Thing #9: Beach day at Bahia Honda
Bahia Honda State Park has the longest stretch of sand beaches in the Keys. My friend Aaron had also highly recommended it and said it was a little piece of paradise. True. Beautiful beaches and not crowded. We spent a day there soaking it all up (Ryan a little more so since he resulted in a sunburn just on the right side of his stomach...)
Perfect Thing #10: CS meet up in Key West
After Bahia Honda, we made it down to Key West. Before meeting up with some couchsurfers, I had another one of the best meals of my life: Puerco Asado with yellow rice, plantains, and beans... topped off with Flan and Key Lime Pie (Perfect Thing #9.5). Oh and we checked out Hemingway's house and found free parking wherever we went (Perfect Thing #9.75?) The CSers were great and since we didn't have a place to stay at yet that night, one of them told us about this secluded place by the shore that we could pitch our tent up for free. After a night of roaming Duval st and drinks, we pitched our tents next to each other.
Perfect Thing #11: Private island beach day
Another thing the CSer had told us about, was that if we went to the Westin hotel, told them we wanted breakfast on their private island, we could get a free ferry ride to the island (which Oprah celebrated her birthday on this year), and sneak off to the private pristine beaches. So we did. We were expecting ridiculous prices for the restaurant, but my Eggs Benedict were about $10 and our table on the patio overlooked the beautiful beaches. Not bad. We then passed out on the chaisse lounges on the beach and wondered how the hell we lived such a lifestyle...
IMperfect Thing #1: No hot water
Ok, so I feel like I need to throw in the ONLY thing that WASN'T perfect on this trip just to balance it out a little. After Key West, we headed back to the northern Keys since we had scuba diving and snorkeling the next day in Key Largo. The hotel I booked (again the cheapest) was comfortable and all... but had no hot water. What. the. hell. Especially after all the perfect things I'd been experiencing, this was just a SHOCK to me ;)
Perfect Thing #12: Scuba diving & snorkeling
I had 2 dives left to get my scuba diving certification. This place, Ocean Divers, had been recommended to me by the Cincinnati Diving Center where I had taken my classes. Awesome awesome people. The best. So much fun on the boat and Ryan was allowed to tag along for some snorkeling. While on the boat, the crew kept commenting on how they had never seen the water SO clear! Of course. We're there. That's why. Everything's perfect. I saw a stingray, a baracuda, and lots and lots of colorful fish. And completed my certification :)
Perfect Thing #13: Free campsite?
We had booked a campsite at John Pennekamp State Park for that night, but didn't realize the park closed after 5pm. After a scrumptious dinner with our umpteenth key lime pie, we got there and the gates were down... So we lifted the bar and drove underneath (yay small car). Campsite was comfortable and they had HOT WATER SHOWERS!
Perfect Thing #14: Getting my interviews in
So, I got interviews to one of the schools I applied to, but... they didn't have any alumni to interview me in Ohio, Kentucky, OR Indiana. I mentioned I was going to be in Florida over Thanksgiving so was able to take care of the 2 interviews while I was there. And they just so happened to be across the street from each other!
Perfect Thing #15: Gelato on the boulevard
We had some time to kill and were driving around Miami Beach when we decided to stroll along the boulevard. "You know what'd be great right now? Gelato." Bam. We pass a gelato shop. It's like someone heard me.
Perfect Thing #15: South Beach day
We had told one of the CSers we met in Key West about the amazing host we had in Miami who we were returning to, so she ended up staying with her our last night there too! Our last day we spent on South Beach enjoying the constantly beautiful weather (we'd had on the whole trip) and finishing it off with another AMAZING meal at El Bolivar with some fantastic Yelp deals -- $20 for $40 worth of food (lunch specials were $10, sangria and beers were $2.99), and a free glass of wine. Nom nom nom.
Perfect Thing #16: Finishing it off with a mojito
We got to the airport with a little over an hour to spare til boarding time, but security line took foreeeverrrr. Instead of missing our flight, our flight was conveniently delayed 15 min when we got to our gate, so Ryan treated me to a mojito to top off all the perfectness of the trip.
