I may not be a novelist...

but you may think so after another monster post like this! lol Ok. Here's what happened on my second long week of vacationing :)
Note: when I say we, I mean me and another american exchange student, Samantha, that came with me. I'm not using the royal we yet.

LONDON

Day 1 : friday, april 11th

Nothing too big happened today, besides having to get up at 7am for a German Grammar class at 8am. I wasn't too happy about that, especially after being out a little late last night (there was a showing of Princess Mononoke at the theater with a discussion afterwards! I couldn't pass it up!). I did not, however, go back to sleep after my class but kept prepping for break. We took the train to Nantes at 2:30, arrived at around 3, took the bus to the airport and our flight was at 5:45. The flight went fine (we even arrived a bit early), but what was completely suprising was the security at the airport! I guess I should have known better - we were going into the UK, after all, and they have kept the most independance while still being a member of the EU. It was just funny after there being really no extraordinary security at all when I went from Germany to France before. Anyhoo, the airport was a bit of a ways from the airport, and by the time we queued to get pounds, to get tickets to the city, etc. it was already around 8pm. The hostel was quite nice, and once we got checked in and settled in, we finally got some dinner (nothing special - I got Subway. lol At 10pm you're not too picky.) Since it ended up being quite late, we just chilled at the hostel and went to bed at a decent hour so we could get up early and spend all day in London tomorrow!

Day 2: saturday, april 12th

So, our hostel is about two or three tube stops from the heart of London, so we hadn't actually seen London the night before. We bought a day pass to all the public transport and then took the tube to the Buckingham Palace stop. To get to Buckingham Palace we crossed through Green Park and St. James Park, and the got to see the Palace, the guards, etc. After seeing the palace we took a tour of Westminster Abbey, which was one of my favourite things we did. This place was practically oozing history and significance...I don't even know where to begin! The monarch is always crowned at Westminster, and the coronation chair is there (although the stone in the base of the chair is temporarily back in Scotland. They did steal it, afterall), and so many famous people are buried there! For starters, Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stewart (a bit ironice that their final resting places were so close together), and then there were people like Chaucer, Dickens, Darwin, Lord Byron, etc etc etc. It was just overall really awesome. We then walked down to Big Ben and Parliament, which was incredible. This is the first city I've visited that I've really seen a lot of on TV before going there, and when I saw Big Ben, the enormity of where I was/ what I was doing finally hit me. We then found a little café nearby to grab lunch. A very stressful little Italian café. I would never go back there again - the food was a bit expensive and you had no time to relax...I felt like I was having a cornea just by watching everyone bustle around. Luckily, we later found restaurants that were a lot more agreable. Ah well. After lunch we visited Trafalgar Square and Piccadily's Circus (which really was a bit of a circus...after our stressful lunch it was a bit much for me!) on the way to the British Museum, which was awesome. I wish we had had more time to visit, but it closed at 5:30! We were, however, able to see the Rosetta Stone and the entire Egypt exhibit, which was quite interesting. After the museum (and a bit of shopping ^_^) we headed down to the London Eye to catch a flight (they call them flights...I thought that was funny), which was a very nice and relaxing way to unwind. A bit expensive, but definitely worth doing once. For dinner we headed back near Piccadily's Circus into London's Chinatown for some yummy Vietnamese Food (and we tried some Vietnamese Beer, which was actually quite good!). After dinner, we wandered a bit in the surrounding area and then headed back to the hostel for the night.

Day 3: sunday, april 13th

Woke up rather early this morning so I could catch mass at Westminster Cathedral at 9:00...we just made it in time after switching underground lines a time or so to get as close as possible before having to walk. The Cathedral was incredible, but it was a bit sad to see such an amazing cathedral so empty and obviously suffering from financial burdens (There was a bit sign outside - Westminster Cathedral needs your help!) After the mass we headed directly back to Buckingham Palace to get a good place at the gate for the changing of the guard (there wasn't one yesturday)...and we waited for an hour and a half through the rain for nothing. Yup. No changing of the guard. It was interesting, however, to be surrounded by French kids on one side, some German teens on the other, and an older German couple behind us. When it was just after 11:30 and everyone was wondering what was going on, the German wife remarked to the husband that this was not, afterall, German punctuality. lol I thought that was funny. So, we left a bit disspointed but determined to still make the most of our day. We headed to Hyde Park, where we relaxed and ate some sandwiches we got from a vendor in the Park itself. Hyde Park was quite beautiful - I would love to be able to come and chill in the park whenever I want! After a leisurely lunch we headed down to the Southwark region of London and discovered the Southwark Cathedral, which is apparently another history-filled church. After exploring it for a little bit, we headed down to Shakespeare's Globe for a tour. When I say Shakespeare's Globe, I mean the recent reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe (with as much attention to historical accuracy as possible). It was quite interesting to tour and had it been a week later, we could have bought tickets for 5 pounds and seen the play as "groundlings"(i.e. standing in front of the stage). Another day, I'm afraid. After the Globe, we walked across Tower Bridge and walked around the Tower of London (old royal castle/ famous prison - Henry VIII dumped several of his wives there) - it was to late to tour, unfortunately. At this point we were definitely tired and hungry, so we headed back across the Thames to a Fish and Chips place we had seen and enjoyed it with a pint of British Ale (mine was called Timothy Lord Taylor, which I thought was cool). After dinner we visited Baker Street (known because of Sherlock Holmes) and saw Big Ben and Parliament one last time (it was gorgeous by night!) before heading to bed.

BELFAST

Day 1: monday, april 14th

Our flight was at noon, but we still ended up getting up early to take the shuttle, make it through security, etc. We got int Belfast a little later than planned (about thirty minutes), and found the hostel with the help of a professor from Queen's that we met on the plane, which was very nice. What wasn't nice, however, was having to walk back to the bus station right after we got to the hostel so we could withdraw money (they didn't take credit cards >_<), but we picked up some sandwiches on the way back and after having paid for the rooms and put down our stuff, we headed down to Queen's University to eat lunch in their grass. (It was a beautiful day outside - I left my jacket in the hostel!) After lunch we explored campus a little bit and then walked through the Botanical Gardens, which were gorgeous. There were so many people lounging around the park - I loved it! After a good bit of time in the parc and its greenhouses, I grabbed my jacket and we headed downtown to see the city center, where we saw a lot of cathedral quarter (a lot of older buildings, most of which have been converted to shopping centers, different schools, etc...along with City Hall and the Belfast wheel, the Custom House, etc) and the docks. At that point we were hungry and a bit tired of searching for places to eat without any reccomendations...low and behold - Burger King. Yup, we ate there. And before you get to dissapointed in me, I want you to know it's the FIRST time I've had fast food since I've been in Europe, and it's interesting to do it atleast once to see how it compares. It was basically exactly the same, but the burgers were smaller. We headed back to the hostel after dinner and talked with some hostelmates for a while - two guys from Canada that had both quit their jobs to go and explore Europe for a couple months, clear their heads, etc. It was a really nice chat and we ended up going to bed a bit late.

Day 2: tuesday, april 15th

We started off the day trying to buy our tickets to Dublin, but when we figured out we had to buy them the day of, we wandered around the city center until 11am, when we met up with four other girls from our hostel to go on a black taxi tour (it's cheaper with a group of three or more, and we were three groups of two - two other american girls and two canadian girls), which was incredible. If you ever go to Belfast, you have to do the tour. My only regret is I wished we would have talked about the IRA side of things a bit more (a lot of it was focused on the Ulster side of things...we saw a lot of Ulster murales) - seeing both sides evenly is a lot more interesting and enriching. This is not to say that it wasn't really interesting, because it was, and we got to see a lot of different areas linked to the conflict, as well as some general areas of interest (the docks where the built the Titanic, etc). After the tour, all six of us ate at the Crown Bar, which has a bit of a funny history: the wife was protestant and the husband was catholic, and they couldn't agree on the name of the bar. The wife wanted to name it the crown, but that was too royalistic for the husband. Naturally, the wife won out in the end, but as a final nudge, the husband had the name of the bar written on the floor at the entrance, so as you walk in and out you step on the Crown! lol I had some loverly Irish stew :) After lunch, we didn't know what else to do - we had seen a good deal of the city center already, and everything else of interest was a bit of a ways outside of Belfast (I would have LOVED to see the Giant's Causeway, but that is a day trip, and we only had a day and a half >_<), so we wandered around city center for a bit and then headed back to the Botannical Gardens to people watch, read, and relax. I was feeling abit funny (starting to get sick), so it was the perfect way to pass the afternoon. Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel for a bit, surfed the internet, and then got some sandwiches from a nearby grocery store (since we had a nice lunch and the aim of the game is to be a bit cheap when it comes to food!) We talked with some of the people from the hostel for a while - the two canadian guys and the two canadian girls, as well as another American girl we met a bit later, and I met a friend of Riikka's! Riikka had mentioned that her friend was studying abroad in Cork this semester, and I completely forgot...then she happened to be vacationing in Belfast at the same hostel as we were! Such a small world! We talked for a bit and then we and the guys headed to a bar next to the Crown (Fibber Magees) for some traditional Irish music. A very nice night.

DUBLIN

Day 1: wednesday, april 16th

Even though we woke up a bit late and got ready very slowly, we still managed to buy tickets and catch the 10am bus to Dublin at the last minute! (and it was so cheap - 15 euro!) We arrived in Dublin around 1:30 and found our hostel super easily (it is right next to the train station). I was quite impressed, actually - it was so streamlined and nice, although a bit stingier than the other. The only annoying thing was we had to wait until three to put our bags in the room or pay two euro for a deposit box. We decided to lug our bags to a nearby café and have a leisurely lunch, change my pounds to euros in a nearby bank (it seems weird to be relieved to be in Euros again...they're not much better than the pound anymore), and then we dropped our junk into our room. After that we headed straight to the Jameson's Distillery (Irish whiskey) for a tour before it closed. It was quite interesting, and I discouvered that whiskey is actually quite tasty. After the tour we set out to explore the city: we saw Christ Church Cathedral, the venue where they played Handel's Messiah for the first time, St Pat's Cathedral (which was also not Catholic, to my suprise! As I would learn the next day, the strong Anglican presence in Dublin is a reflection of the time when the Normands controlled Dublin. Under British control it was also the most controlled city, and Trinity College was established as a means to hopfully convert the Irish nobility to Protestantism), St. Pat's Garden, Dublin Castle (outside of it and the connected gardens), etc. We then headed down to Temple Bar for dinner and were quite suprised to find out how expensive Temple Bar actually is! We sucked it up, however, and had a nice dinner at a restaurant there - I had traditional Leak and Potato Soup with Irish Bailey's Cheesecake for dessert :) Mmmm. Another thing I discovered about Temple Bar - a lot of bars have a restriction of 21 years or older...and even 23 years or older, even though the legal drinking age is 18. It must be a way to crowd control/ keep young idiots out. There was one bar, Gogarty's, that Kelly and Christin reccomended and that had free Irish music, and I couldn't believe that it was just for 21 and over, so I just walked straight in. Then, Sam got carded (and she, luckily, is 21! lol) So we got into the bar fine (by accident), but the drinks were really expensive, and I felt a little funny about being there, so we stayed for about 20 minutes, listened to the music, and left. We then heard a pretty awesome street band, wandered around Temple Bar a bit more, and then found our way back to the hostel...eventually. (We got a little lost, but nothing too serious.)

Day 2: thursday, april 17th

Woke up today and discovered, oh joy, I'm losing my voice. Atleast I'm in an english speaking country! lol So, we headed over to Trinity College at around 10am to see the Book of Kells before a walking tour at 11am, and then saw there was an admission fee. Of course. Not wanting to be rushed when were spending money to go, we decided to wait to see it and simply explored the campus and the gift shop until 11. The Historical walking tour was amazing - the whole of Irish history in two hours! I really learned so much. The only downside was that it was practically winter outside and we spent much of that time outdoors, huddled together - not the best thing when I'm sick, but it was definitely worth it. After the tour, we beelined for a bagel shop and got a nice big bowl of soup and a bagel. I felt much better after that (and after repeatedly blowing my nose. Not that you wanted to know that part). After lunch we headed over to the Guinness Storehouse, and while this tour was not guided, it was so organized that it wasn't that big of a deal. I would still say I prefered the Jameson tour to the Guiness one, but it was really interesting to go one both, and I had my first pint of Guinness on the top of the storehouse in this bar with a 360 degree view of Dublin. Sweet. And the Guinness was quite yummy, although definitely not a beer I could drink everyday (quite heavy and strong). After the storehouse we went to see St. Stephen's Green, which was very beautiful, and then headed back to the hostel to recharge a bit (nap for Sam, internet for me). After about a half an hour we found this little pizza shop near the hostel that had some really good pizza, so we enjoyed a low key dinner before leaving to find the Arlington Hotel for some free Irish music and dancing and a drink. Interesting story - the Arlington Hotel restaurant is a bit like Chaffin's Barn (i.e. dinner and a show - the music and dancing), and the bouncer was being a bit of a jerk, telling everyone you had to have reservations. That make sense for dinner, but there was also a bar. Luckily, a couple of hostel mates we had met earlier in the day (a canadian couple - again! So many canadians!) showed up just as we were about to leave, told the bartender someone in the restaurant had told her you could enter and order a drink and enjoy the show without any problem. So, he gruffly asked, "How many in your group?"She had seen us standing to the side, and gestured us over, and then he asked for our IDs. I finally went up and told him I wasn't 21, he asked how old I was, looked at my ID, and asked, "How do you say your name?" I pronounced Tuzeneu, and he said "huh. like Scooby Doo. Go on in." lol So I went into the bar and finally got my pint of Irish cider (Bulmer's). mmm. Funny addition to the story - Sam got carded again at the bar, and I got my drink without any problem. Don't know how I managed that! So, we basically chilled in the bar (we had to stand up because all the tables were for dinner guests) until the show was over. It was some splendiferous Irish music and dance :)

GALWAY

Day 1: friday, april 18th

So, I slept like a log last night, minus the part where one person was snoring in such a way that I thought they might drown. It was a bit gross and scary, but I eventually fell back asleep. lol I then woke up and caught the bus to Galway at 10am (Sam stayed in Dublin until that evening and then left for Glasgow, Scotland. I would have loved to see Scotland, but I wanted to see some more of Ireland first.) I got into Glasgow at around 1:30 and found my hostel with a map and streets with no clearly marked road names. I was quite proud, although it wasn't too terribly complicated. I grabbed a sandwich from a Spar (Kelly and Christin were right - those sandwiches are great!) and ate lunch by the river side. Galway is so pretty, and I love that people still speak Irish there (Irish people call Gaelic "Irish;" when in Rome...^_^) and that Irish and English (or sometimes just Irish) are written on signs, etc. I basically spent the afternoon wandering around the city, which is beautiful but definitely smaller without much touristy things to do. It would be a fabulous place to spend an extended period of time, but with a couple days when you're all alone, you're not quite sure what to do with yourself. I saw st. Nicholas'Cathderal, a Spanish Arc from the 1500s, Lynch's Castle, which is now a bank, and went in lots of cute little shops. was feeling a bit tired, so I recharged a bit at the hostel and met a couple american girls who were very nice and friendly. After a bit, I walked allong Claddagh Quay and saw a whole bunch of swans - I was so suprised, but it was definitely beautiful. I then went to a fish and chip place in town that apparently has a pretty big reputation (John Locke ate there, so it must be important. And a Sinn Fein party member, as I would learn later.) and I met a Californian couple there that was currently working in Dublin (the set up was such that you just sat where you could find a seat, it was packed, so I sat next to this couple and their dad). After dinner, they invited me to come check out a couple bars with them and I happily agreed. We started off in one bar noted for it's old-world character/feel and then settled into another bar with some traditional music (I have to profit while I'm in Ireland! I can't get enough of Irish Music!!!) They were both so nice and funny, and I had a really nice time. I also met thre American students studying for a semester in Galway at that second bar and talked with them for a while before heading back for the night.

Day 2: saturday, april 19th

Today I went on the tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher - it was incredible! The Burren is a really interesting region; originally very rocky, but fertile (it's largely made of limestone, which absorbs water), and FULL of random remains of ancient tombs, churches, protective tree circles, etc. I couldn't believe it. One day, I am going to come back to Ireland and just trapse around the Burren for a couple weeks to see all the treasures it has to offer. I decided that if I haven't gone back by the time I'm forty, I'm going to drop everything and go. I'm pretty sure I'll be back before then, though :) The cliffs were AMAZING. I wish I could have spent more time there (we only had an hour), but it was enough to see them, appreciate them, and be satisfied. It was quite funny, though; after a certain point there was a big sign that said "Private Property: do not cross beyond this point, etc etc"and then you see TONS of people past the sign. Needless to say, I went. What was nice about this part of the cliffs is that there were no annoying stone walls, so you could stand right on the edge of the cliffs, really see and appreciate them. While on the tour, I met a couple of French students and one German student who were taking an English class in Dublin and hung out with them during the tour. It was nice to talk a bit of French again (although I tried to speak English most of the time until they started to speak to me in French. They are, after all, in Ireland to practice English, and I wouldn't have liked it if someone kept me from practicing French in France!) I was so shocked, though - the French students said something like I was almost bilingual! They were being kind and hadn't heard me speak loads of French yet, but it was a major confidence booster. This semester really has paid off (but I still flub up lots - no worries!) I got back to Galway around 5pm and went to mass at the cathedral at 6pm...there was a choir from New York visiting and they sung lots of songs I new, which was a nice reminder of home. After mass, I grabbed something simple for dinner and ate at Claddagh Quay (where there are all the swans) and then headed back to the hostel and read until around 9:30, when I went out with the two American girls I had met. We went to one quite famous bar and then headed to a rather popular bar for younger Irish, which was a very different experience from last night. In the middle of our adventures, we met up with six Irish boys from Belfast from our hostel. It was so interesting and fun getting to know them, talking to them, etc. I had a blast and stayed out rather late :) It is vacation, after all!

DUBLIN - Part Two

Day 1: sunday, april 20th

I was a bit bummed - I didn't think to give my e-mail to any of the girls/guys I met last night (a couple of the boys were really interested in Nashville - it would have been cool to show them around if they every visited!), but I woke up early and was quite tired. Ah well. That's what's so interesting about backpacking - you meet so many amazing people, but in all actuality you may never see them again. A bit sad, but definitely worth it. A different way of looking at life. Anyhoo, I headed back to Dublin today (have a flight from Dublin to Nantes tomorrow morning), checked into the same hostel, and went to see the Book of Kells, which was quite interesting to see! I then did quite a bit of wandering to see what big things I still hadn't seen: Irish Independance Memorial Garden, Pro Cathedral (yes, there is a Catholic Cathedral in Dublin! Although it's modern, small, and a bit hidden. The inside was gorgeous, though, and a couple of students were singing and playing music while I was circulating through the cathedral - they were getting ready for the 6pm student mass, which would have been awesome had I not already gone yesturday), and the Four Courts (i.e. Parliament). At this point, my legs were getting really tired, and I was just tired in general after last night, so I got another slice of pizza from that yummy pizza place Sam and I had found, took a really nice shower at the hostel, wrote a little bit, and passed out at 10pm. lol

Day 2: monday, april 21st

Basically, I woke up todayat around 8am and caught the shuttle to the airport at 9. My flight was technically at 11am, but it was a bit delayed, so I got in ten minutes too late to catch the 2pm shuttle to Nantes' city center >_< I was not amused, but I had no choice but to wait an hour for the next shuttle (luckily, I bought a sandwich in Dublin before I left). I caught the four o'clock train back to Angers and got home at around 4:45. It's a bit strange - Joselyne is on vacation this week, so I'm on my own until she comes back! (And who knows when that will be exactly - she's not a planner. lol) I was glad to be alone last night, though - I had time to arrange all of my stuff, etc. So, I had a wonderful week of break. I can't believe it's already almost the end of April! This semester is passing by so quickly...and I would be done in a week if I were at UD! eep! Good luck to everyone on finals, by the way!!! And thanks for being so patient as to read up until this point on my blog - you all get major brownie points!!! :)

Captions: in a phone booth by Big Ben...pretending to call someone for the sake of a picture. lol; with Sam and the four other girls on our Black Taxi Tour - we're by the Peace Wall, on which we all got to write a short message; the Irish band at the Arlington Hotel; the Cliffs!! Don't think you needed a caption for that one.