First of all, I am so sorry I haven't posted anything in SO long. I am back in the states and I felt like I just needed time to settle in and try to cope with the fact that I'm no longer living in Italy. I think I had culture shock once I came home. I became so comfortable with traveling all the time, constantly planning activities for our trips, and trying to take time to enjoy Rome everyday. It was really hard for me to come back home and do absolutely nothing. Of course it was nice to relax, but that gave me TOO much time to look back at my time abroad and reflect on all of my experiences. Now I am ready to finish these last few travel posts.

This was our second to last trip that we had planned to Catania and Taormina Italy. I traveled with my usual crew (Kelsey, Alaina, and Katie), but we also had an awesome addition to the group- Katie's mom Lisa. She studied abroad when she was in college, and when I say studied abroad I mean she basically backpacked and hitch hiked everywhere. It was the 80's and she had so many amazing stories to share. We arrived in Catania and hopped on a bus into the downtown historical district. There were tons of tourists here. Sicily is known for arancini which is a fried rice ball that is mixed with cheese and veggies or meat of your choice and yes it is as amazing as it sounds. I think I had two a day... Yikes. We stopped at a little cafe and had our first rice balls and a few beers. Don't judge, it was really nice out and we were celebrating the warm weather!!  After our quick bit to eat, we went into a beautiful church in the main square. We shopped around a bit and went into a few outdoor markets. We got lost a few times, but I didn't mind exploring around the city. Soon hopped on another bus to our hotel. We settled in and immediately went out to the pool to lay out. For anyone from Michigan, this weather was paradise. However, my friend Katie from California was not having it. No one would get in the pool with me, so I jumped into the freezing cold water by myself and eventually I persuaded Katie into coming in with me. After this, we showered and dressed up and met Katie's mom at the hotel bar for a little cocktail before dinner. I felt quite fancy and mature in this moment. We went out to dinner and I ordered a pizza. I spent the rest of the night showing my friends vegan youtube videos (bonny rebecca- she's amazing, check her out!!) and we went to bed because we had an early morning!

The following day, we went to Taormina. We had a little miscommunication with our cab driver. He told us 90 euro when we thought he said 19 euro. After searching our purses for money, the cab drove off and we were left in this deserted town. We arrived fairly early and Italians don't start their day until late on the weekends. This sea side town is picture perfect. I felt like I was walking in a movie. We got coffee and biscuits for breakfast. Then we window shopped until the stores opened. By noon the entire city was filled with people. They had a ton of ceramic tiles, dishes, and bowls that were all painted with bright colors. For lunch, we ate arancini and other foods from the local shops. We took some really cool pictures of the water and all the landscapes. The entire city is built on a mountain, so it looked very similar to places in Greece. This trip was one for the books. I will always remember these breathtaking views, the amazing food, and the friendly people of these cute cities.

On February 5-7, the girls and I went to Dublin for the weekend. All of us were really excited for this trip. We planned a Guinness tour, Jameson Tour, a walking tour, and a pub crawl. To say got a taste of Ireland is an understatement. On the way there, our plane was delayed and we arrived in Dublin later than expected. We rushed to our hotel and then rushed to the Guinness Storehouse for our tour. It was rainy and everyone was stressed out because our tickets for the Guinness tour were set for that day. We made it on time! Once we got to the Guinness Storehouse, we did a self-guided tour and at the end we were able to pour our own glass of Guinness. I didn't know if I would actually like the beer, but I was very excited to pour it. Our guide was very talkative and nice. He asked us where we were from and he said that he actually lived in Holland, Michigan for a few years. I poured my glass of Guinness and we took photos with our Guinness certificates. Next, we went to the gift shop where I bought a few presents for myself and my family. We were still drinking our pints as we were shopping and no one seemed to care. As we were leaving the storehouse, we realised there wasn't anywhere to put the glasses. Naturally, we put them into our gift bags and carried on outside (free souvenir?). By the time we got to the hotel, Kelsey and I were starving. Being the light weights that we are, we went to the bar at the hotel and ordered a cheesecake and a massive bowl of mashed potatoes to split. Less than a half hour later, we were leaving the hotel once again to meet up with our friend Brenna from Saint Mary's. She is studying abroad in Maynooth, Ireland for the semester and we planned on meeting her at the pub crawl. We arrived at the first bar and the director of the program (who looked like Jesus) immediately gave us 4 euro for 2 pints coupons. We went inside and chatted with other people in the pub crawl. I met a girl from Australia who studied for a semester in Manchester, England and two boys from Virginia Tech who were studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. Overall, the pub crawl was quite the experience. We went to about 5 bars and each of them were completely different. Most of them had live music and dancing, but the crowds differed. Eventually we decided it was time to head back to the hotel because we had a big day ahead of us!

On Saturday, we woke up and got ready for our Sandemans walking tour. This is the same tour guide company that we used in Munich, Germany. Before the tour, we stopped at a really cute cafe and got breakfast. I'm in love with the breakfast here. During the tour, we saw the Dublin Castle, the Cathedral, Trinity College and much more! We walked down one of the streets that was filmed in the movie P.S. I Love You. and we also visited the pub where U2 was born. After the walking tour, we ate lunch and explored the city on our own for a bit. In the afternoon, we headed to the Jameson Distillery. We ended up going to the wrong Distillery, let's just say my friend Katie had no idea what she was doing when she bought our tickets. But it all worked out. We had to wait for an hour or so, but that gave us enough time to buy souvenirs and drink Irish Coffee. This was the first time all of us could relax and enjoy ourselves. We befriended the bartender and he let us go behind the bar and took a photo of us. We did so much in such a short amount of time and the day was catching up with us. The tour was short and sweet. We ended up trying a lot of Whiskey (more than I needed). And at the end they gave us whiskey and ginger ale cocktails which were amazing.

After the Jameson tour, we took a cabbie to dinner. The concierge at the hotel recommended a restaurant not too far away. We got in the cab and he took off in the opposite direction of our hotel. I was pretty confused, but went with it because to be honest my judgment was clouded and I trusted my soberer friends. However, when we arrived at this restaurant, I realised I was right. We ended up at some bar that only served people 21 and over and to make it even worse they didn't serve food. We had to take another cab back to the restaurant that our first cab driver didn't know of. By the time we got there, we were famished. I ordered traditional Irish stew and it was delicious. They served our stew with beer bread as well. I didn't taste any beer, but it was good! After this, we headed back into the Temple Bar District and began bar hopping. The first bar we went to was absolutely packed. There was a live band, dancing, and lots of chanting and singing. This weekend happened to be a big rugby weekend. Ireland was playing Wales and it was a massive deal. The bars were packed with guys and not to mention old men, all of which were too drunk for their own good. We finally found a bar that we liked and within minutes we met some new friends. Unfortunately, these guys weren't Irish, but Welsh will do! They were from Cardiff, Wales and came to Dublin for the weekend to see the rugby game. We talked for some time before a live band went on stage. Every song was either Johnny Cash, U2, or some song you think you've heard, but barely know the words to. Of course, everyone else in the bar knew the songs as they were belligerently screaming the lyrics. One of the guys I met, Nate, kept singing the songs to me, thinking I would catch on... But I didn't. Before I knew it, it was way too late and it was time to say goodbye. We headed back to our hotel and crashed. I still keep in touch with Nate and I think were trying to meet again when we go to London next week!

Sunday morning we woke up and got another traditional Irish breakfast. Beans on toast is my new favourite breakfast food. By midday, rugby fans crowded the streets and bars of Dublin. Everyone wore their team's colours as they paraded around the town. We shopped and snacked around for a little bit before heading back to the hotel to leave. We got a cab to the airport and before I knew it, we were back in Rome.

This weekend was definitely one that I am going to remember. I've never experienced anything like Dublin before. Everyone is your best friend in Ireland. They cherish family, beer, and sports over stressful things like work. I definitely want to try to be more laid back like these people. I will be going back to Ireland someday because I feel like I could've stayed there for weeks and weeks. I want to see the countryside, the cliffs of moher, and the more traditional lifestyles of Ireland.

Here are my photos from Dublin---------------------------------------------------------------------------------