St. Patty's day in Dublin!!1

Well, I can officially check this one off my life to-do list! It was a whirlwind trip, I left monday night at around 8pm, and arrived in Dubin at 11:30. We had some drama with our hostel, but it all worked out in the end which is all that matters. The next day, we woke up, and headed to O'Connell Street to watch the parade! The things in the parade were so insane! there were lots of marching bands, a few were from the states and one was even from Elgin Park in Surrey! There were lots of people dressed elaborately as birds, or bugs, or spaceships and other weird things, definitely an interesting experience. It felt a lot like the Salmon Festival Parade, only weirder, but same atmosphere. That lasted about 2 hours, and after a quick break in our hostel we headed into Temple Bar, and went to some Bar called Buskers. We had met a girl from Victoria at the parade, and she joined us. We met some crazy strangers on the streets (a guy wearing a lime gree bikini?) At the bar, at around 3:00 lots of people were already well into their celebrations. We met some crazy people from all over the world.. Australia, Italy, Spain, Greenland! Some guy taught me some tango, and we watched some Hurling over a few pints. It was certainly an awesome experience. Later at the hostel, I met some really cool Swedish guys, who I talked to for a couple hours to wrap up my St.Patty's experience. I then ggot up at 7am to catch my flight home, and now here I am, back to the grind trying to finish some papers that are due tomorrow EEk! 

Anyways- I am staying put until the end of term- so soon! But then the travels really begin!

So I've been slacking...

I have lots to catch up on! 

After my travels to Budapest, me and my friends flew to Brussels, to meet the rest of my school. After a stressful journey trying to find our hotel, we finally arrived, and after I enjoyed some much needed alone time, we all went out to Delirium, a bar famous for its plethora of beer. Over 200 different types I believe. I tried a few sips of cherry beer, but it isn't my thing I guess. The next morning, after a wonderful hotel breakfast, I got to wander the city, which would have been much more enjoyable had it not been raining, and had I not been so tired. We saw Mannequin Piss, and pretty much just wandered the whole city. Then, we got on a coach bus for a 6-7 hour bus ride to Paris. We arrived in Paris, and unfortunately our hostel was kind of in the middle of nowhere, and since we arrived so late we didn't do much that night. The next day, I went to the Louvre which was cool, but SO big and very overwhelming. I didn't see the Mona Lisa, because I was saving that for this summer! That night we went to the Eiffel tower which was so beautiful at night. Every hour it lights up too which was pretty. Then we went to a restaurant for food and drinks, and back to our hostel where we met some interesting french people, particularly an aspiring actor (hahaha). The next night we wanted to go out clubbing, but it was a bit of a disaster (apparently french people dont like people from other countries...) so we decided that Paris is more of a cultural city than a party city. We then spent allllllll day on a coach bus traveling back to the castle for some much needed R&R&P (partying!)

The next week I was holed up doing lots of work, so it was very nice to take a break this weekend in beautiful Croatia! I headed down to Dubrovnik, AKA the Pearl of the Adriatic AKA Paradise on Earth (according to George Bernard Shaw, and I must agree). The city was sooo beautiful, even when it was raining (as it was when we arrived, and for the most of the first 2 days) Our hostel was basically our own little apartment, right in the heart of the Old town which is a small area jam packed with ancient but beautiful buildings, right on the Adriatic Sea. I really can't even put into words how beautiful the city really is. The first night we wandered around the small side streets, and got surprised many times by stray cats that were everywhere. We went down to the water, which was so beautiful at night. The next day, we walked the city wall, which is a 2km walk around the old town. The view was amazing, unfortunately it starting raining about halfway through, but like I said, even in the rain and with a grey sky the city is still beautiful. The food was also amazing. So much seafood, and so cheap! We went to an Irish pub that night but didn't stay long, the city doesn't really inspire a crazy nightlife. Our last day was so sunny and beautiful. We walked up to the fort overlooking the sea, and the sun made the water the most beautiful shade of turquoise. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon soaking up the sun by the water and relaxing, before we had to leave the sun for the english rain :( 

I can now see not only why the British call Dubrovnik the new hot spot, but also why Shaw called it Paradise on Earth- it was so amazing and I would go back in a second- Hopefully if I do, I will get to climb the hills and cross over into Montenegro/Bosnia, which we just didn't have enough time for. 

Until next time- I wil be filling you in on my St.Patty's day in Dublin!

Mel