Misty, drizzly Ireland (Part 1)

So as most of you already knew, I chose Ireland as my next big trip over here in Europe. Having a bit of Fightin' Irish blood in me, I thought I should at least check out the place and see what it's all about! I went with the sister tour company of the group I did the Scotland tour with back in September. They're really organized and show you the major highlights. Just like the Scotland tour, this one was 3 days in total and took us all around the western coast of Ireland - the most scenic part of the country. I've decided that the big cities really don't impress me that much, and that I much prefer the scenery and countryside of the countries I visit.

My trip started when I flew into Dublin on Thursday afternoon (my actual plane is pictured above). Had heard what I cool place Dublin was and couldn't wait to explore. My first stop of course was the Guinness Brewery where they brew the famous black (and VERY stout!) beer. Barely made it there in time for the last tour, so I kinda had to rush around a bit - but I saw the highlights. At the end of the tour, you go up to the 7th floor to the "Gravity Bar" and receive your complimentary pint of the black stuff. I was expecting it to be absolutely wretched, but it's actually not bad! Everyone that has had it in Dublin says that it's like no other. Just to give you a clue - you literally let the stuff sit there and "settle" for AT LEAST 5 minutes before you can even drink it and get the full effect! HA!

I then headed over to Christ Church Cathedral and that was really lovely as well. Built in 1038 - it's truly amazing!

The next morning was when the tour officially started. I got up super early to get loaded up and everything and of COURSE it was drizzling and cold, which I knew was NOT a good sign. Everyone was really friendly though and guess what??!!! There was a Class of 2008 Aggie from Fredericksburg onboard!!! His name was Paul, but we all referred to him as "Tex" for the rest of the tour. A true red head himself, he said he fit right in! Talk about a small world though - we were buds from that point on... Also made friends with two girls from the States that are studying abroad in Denmark, Kimberly (from Mississippi) and Kristen (from Ohio). So the 4 of us hung out pretty much the whole trip.

In the afternoon, we went to Locke's Distillery - the oldest pot distillery of whiskey in the world. Pretty cool b/c we got to sample and everything - talk about some STRONG stuff though - whew!!! Then we went to the "Barren Plateau", which is where icebergs drug a bunch of silt through the area thousands of years ago and left behind a barren limestone landscape with huge cracks in the ground. Looked pretty cool!

Further down the road, we came across this area with a "fairy ring." Basically it's a slightly wooded area circled by trees with a mini "valley" of sorts in the center (see pic). Irish legend has it that you're never EVER allowed to walk within the fairy ring or evil spirits and forces will enter your body and possess you forever. You're allowed to walk along the top of the "ring" and you're supposed to make a wish while doing so. Some of the Irish take them VERY seriously and our tour guide was one of them. She was paranoid about one of us falling in an! HA! A girl accidentally tripped on a tree root when we were walking around the circle and all of us were concentrating on making our wishes and not entering the center that we all screamed when she tripped! Was quite comical...

While trying to pass the time on the bus while driving later in the afternoon, our guide had us play this REALLY strange game. Didn't really have a name, and I'd never heard of it before but basically it consists of handing out matchsticks to everyone to hold in between their teeth like a straw. Then there are two teams and two lifesavers (obviously with holes in the center). The object of the game is to get the lifesavers to the end of the line on each team WITHOUT the use of your hands! So it's kinda like a modified version of ring toss. Talk about invading someone's personal space though! HELLO!!! The couple pictured in the picture was actually a true couple from Australia, but there were MANY people that were a bit squeamish about the whole thing (myself included!). There were two Australian guys seated next to each other at the back of the bus that flat out refused to do it b/c it was too "homosexual" for them - we were all dying laughing b/c they were dead serious and didn't think it was funny at all! :-)

The afternoon was topped off with a trip up "corkscrew hill" and as the name suggests - it was quite an experience going up it in a HUGE coach bus with a stick shift. Frank (our driver) did a great job though and no lives were lost. We made it back to the hostel (in Doolin) safely that night, and then all headed down to the local pub for some of the BEST Irish stew in the world. Fell from the clouds of heaven I'm tellin' ya! There was a local Irish band playing that night and they even had their kids playing - was very cute!

It was a very exciting first day - even though the weather was less than ideal... :-)

Prague (Czech Republic) - Part 2

Day 2 in Prague started out after a good night's sleep and late morning. However, the weather was the complete opposite from the day before (absolutely POURING!) so we decided to do our bit of shopping in the local stores. We first needed a hearty breakfast though, so we ended up at this little French place for a yummy breakfast and much needed coffee. Had a few communication problems with the waiter, but it was OK b/c the food was excellent!


After that we went by a historic Jewish cemetery where all of Prague's Jews were buried until 1600. 12,000 tombstones were all crammed into this TINY tree shaded patch of land. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 Jews are buried in that tiny space, being 12 bodies deep! Absolutely crazy!!!

Jo, Ashley, and I picked up some GREAT things in the shops. For those of you that don't know (as I didn't know either before I arrived), Prague is famous for their garnet stones as well as their amber jewelry. My birthstone is garnet, so it was a good excuse to get a really pretty ring with a garnet stone as my main souvenir to bring back with me. Jo got a garnet ring as well and Ashley got a pair of garnet earrings (her birthstone as well!).

We also picked up a few other great things that I can't mention b/c they're all souvenirs for you guys back at home - but we got some great deals! I exercised my "negotiation/bargaining skills" and I always get a rush when I've bought something at a great price and actually worked hard to GET that price - HA! :-) I love doing the whole, "Ok well I'm not interested and can get that for much cheaper next door" thing to the shopkeepers while walking out of their store and then they basically drag you back in to negotiate! What a thrill! :-)

We then went back to the hostel to get changed into appropriate clothes (for a change - HA!) and get ready for dinner. Ashley found this place called U Maltezskych rytiru (yeah we couldn't pronounce it either!) in the guide book that sounded really cool and we made reservations. It was basically an old Gothic cellar that was once an inn for the famous Knights of Malta. It's family owned and run by the Cernikova family. Jo and I split the venison chateaubriand and Ashley had the wild boar. Everything was FANTASTIC and the atmosphere was incredible!

We sat at the very table that President Havel and many other famous guests frequent. Toward the end of the evening, Mrs. Cernikova (a woman of about 60 or so - see pic) called us into the other small room and told us the story of the place and about the Knights of Malta. She included a ghost story about the shopkeeper who used to own the place and his two daughters. She even did voices and it was hilarious!


They're also famous at the restaurant for their apple strudel, so we had to of COURSE order some of that as well. Delish!

After saying our goodbyes and leaving the restaurant we walked back to the hostel and saw the famous Charles Bridge one last time in the dark. It's quite different than it is during the day in terms of the people that frequent it and the scenery. Very romantic!!! ;-)

The next morning we just did our last little bit of exploring and then arranged for a taxi to come and pick us up and take us to the airport. Sadly, it was time to say farewell to Prague and head back to London...

We had a great time though - and I'd LOVE to go back again sometime! A definite must if you ever find yourself in eastern Europe!

Girls weekend in Prague!!! (Czech Republic) - Part 1

Prague was absolutely STUNNING! It is by far one of the most gorgeous places I've been to in Europe so far. It's a smaller city (very compact and easy to get around in) and is so charming and inviting - not to mention a pretty clean city. The architecture there is amazing as well! Several people had warned me before the trip that English speaking people are harder to come by than in western Europe, but we didn't find this to be the case at all. Everyone was VERY friendly and willing to help when we asked questions.

The girls weekend started out VERY early for us 3 ladies. BTW, I went with my good London friend Jo and my London A&M Club friend Ashley. The taxi came to pick Jo and I up at my place at 5:15am on Saturday morning - WAY too early! We then met Ashley at the airport and hopped on our "Easy Jet" (Sleazy Jet) flight to Prague. We arrived around noon, got some cash out of the airport ATMs, and then took a taxi to our Hostel (Hotel Rosemary). I can honestly say that out of ALL of the hostels I've been in throughout western Europe - this one was hands down the nicest! :-)

The weather was gorgeous that first day and we took full advantage of it! We went and saw sights such as the Astrological clock, Prague Castle, Petrin Hill with the 1/5th scale Eiffel Tower, and walked around in the Old Town. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe (where the waitress told me off for no good reason at all and we left no tip - but that's another story...) right near the Astrological clock so we could see it when it struck the hour and the little dancing figures came out at the top. We ended up sitting next to 4 American ladies though and they were there on a girls wknd of sorts as well.

That night after doing our sightseeing/touristy bit (and sampling some local gelato - Yum!), we headed over to this steak and cocktail place that Ashley had read about in our tour guide book. It's called "Cowboys"and has a very nice outdoor terrace that you can sit out on and overlook the city. One slightly quirky thing they had there was a huge plastic cow with "Cowboys" printed on both sides - on a rotating rod so the entire cow turns around continuously. Was quite a strange sight to see and we of course got a pic!




After cocktails, we went to dinner at a place called Palffy Palac and it was an absolute HOOT! First of all, we were completely inappropriately dressed: I was in jeans and an A&M shirt, Jo was in a sweatsuit, Ashley was in shorts, and we were ALL in tennis shoes. This place was SUPER nice and of course the wait staff (as well as other guests) kept looking at us when trying to get us a table. We didn't care that much though b/c we weren't about to walk all the way down the steep hill to go back to the hostel and change and then walk all the way back UP the hill just so we could look a bit nicer. They ended up seating us outside (of course!) and in the back corner not really near anyone else - HA!

The food was delicious though and we ended up having a bit of excitement toward the end of the meal. It started when out of the corner of Ashley's eye she saw a tiny mouse scurry across the terrace and behind a potted plant. Jo immediately freaked out and said to keep an eye out in case he emerged again. I was slightly uneasy myself, but having not seen the thing with my own eyes, wasn't really that bothered. Then he came out again and this table of ladies next to us started SCREAMING and stomping their feet to get him to go back in the corner. He still wasn't really near us though - so I wasn't worried. Of course the entire terrace was roaring with laughter, and I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. Then it happened though - while Jo was in the bathroom Ashley saw him scurry over and under the table DIRECTLY next to us! I then caught a glimpse of him, FREAKED OUT, screamed, and then immediately jumped onto my chair for some reason, doing the "mouse dance". For those of you that know me, it was very similar in nature to the "bug dance!"

The entire terrace of the restaurant was in complete chaos laughing at my reaction to the mouse as well as Ashley's. I was still standing on the chair screaming every time I saw the gosh darn thing and Ashley couldn't stop laughing. Jo came back from the bathroom to all of the chaos - and then things started to calm down a bit. Just when I thought everything was getting back to normal - out of NOWHERE comes this flying object that hits my arm and because of being so jumpy I of course jump out of my skin, scream, and it all starts again. As it turns out - the table of Germans next to us thought it would be hilarious to make a little fake mouse of of their wine bottle corks (see pic) and chuck it over in my direction to get another rise out of me. Of course I didn't let them down. Everyone erupted in laughter again (as did I), but it was then time to leave finally!

After we got back to the hostel we got changed and then went out to two of the local clubs. Ashley was a hit and jumped on stage (see pic) to dance with the random guy that was already up there dancing! However, we quickly left that place when it was obvious there were a few strange folks there and headed over to Mecca - another popular club in Prague. It was definitely more of a dance music type of place and we had a good time, even though the fact that we'd been up since 4am was becoming quite obvious! Got in at about 2am and immediately hit the sack!

All in all, it was a fantastic first day in Prague!!! :-)