Snap back to reality

I’ve been home from Europe for a few days now and it’s really started to hit me that I’ll be living in a new state 2 weeks from now. One of the reasons I’m so happy that I went abroad right after graduation is because I was able to delay the nervous breakdown I’m currently having about graduating from college and moving to a new city. Instead of having 5 weeks to freak out about it, I only have 2. But trust me when I say that the stress is real.

I think the events of yesterday had me realizing that I’m leaving and life is about to change from everything I’ve been used to for the past 23 years.

First things first, I had a dentist appointment yesterday morning. I used to hate the dentist. I once spent over 2.5 hours there because I didn’t want Dr. Morris (my dentist) to pull out a tooth. The 2.5 hours still wasn’t enough to get the job done; I had to go back a week later for another appointment because I just didn’t want that tooth to come out. Honestly, I’ve always been a stubborn person and I don’t think it’ll ever change. At least I’ve accepted it! Now I just need everyone else to…..

But getting to the point, they were trying to schedule my next appointment in 6 months. Suddenly it hit me that they won’t be my dentist in 6 months and even if they were, I have no idea when I’ll be home to schedule something. When I was at Northeastern I just needed to hop on a train and could be at my dentist, doctor, etc appointments in 45 minutes. Small freak out número uno.

Next I went out for sushi with my best friend from college, Jess, for a return/birthday celebration. We started talking about what happened in Boston for the last three weeks while I was gone. And again, it hit me, I’m going to have to keep asking this because I won’t live there! Moderate freak out número dos.

Last on the events of yesterday was my attempt at purchasing a car. I’ve never had to go to a car dealership to get a car. I’ve never had to deal with the negotiating of buying and selling cars to get the best deal. My mom, who is basically in sales, kept telling me what to say and what not to say. I had to bite my tongue so many times so I wouldn’t give anything away. If it were up to me I would be as blunt as possible.
“I want this car, for X price, definitely no more than X price. I want it today in a specific color with whatever included. What can you give me?”
Negotiations are done. Over. Complete.
The concept of lying to play an endless game with someone is just pointless to me. Safe to say, I didn’t leave with a car but the search continues! Third freak out of the day.

In 2 short weeks I’ll have a new dentist, be living far away from my regular social scene, and will need to be adequate at adult negotiations. Learning all of that in one day! No wonder why I had a headache later that night 🙂

Hostels: the good, the bad, and the really fucking annoying

In the past three weeks I have stayed at 5 different hostels. Prior to my trip to Europe I really had never considered staying at a hostel. I never heard of anyone staying at one and I’ve never seen the movie Hostel (thank god), but when we were planning our trip in Europe, Jenn said that we needed to look into hostels because hotels are too expensive for us poor college students.

I’m going to start with the negatives because I want everyone likes a post that ends on a positive.

The Bad/Really fucking annoying:
1. The snoring folk. This one is pretty obvious. For our last night Iceland we had to switch rooms due to a weird booking situation. Instead of the 6-bed coed room we were staying in, we moved over to a 4-bed female room. Better right? No. The girl that was also in our room had a male friend (boyfriend, fuck buddy, idk) that slept in our room as well. His snoring could have woken up a deaf person a mile away. It didn’t help that Jenn and I had to wake up at 3am to catch a bus to the airport. I made sure to make a lot of noise at 3 as payback for keeping me up all night: let’s call it “Hostile in hostel”. I think it should be legal to smother people who snore to loud. Not to the point of suffocation but to the point where they wake up, are so afraid of you, and can never go back to sleep.

If you can’t tell, I really like my sleep.

2. The unfortunate showering situations. While we were in Madrid, we didn’t have attachable shower heads. It made shaving extremely difficult….

3. The heavy breather. We had a roommate in Madrid who was a very loud mouth breather. I’m not sure if you’ve ever come across one of these creatures but they are usually really out of shape and small tasks like standing up is as strenuous as running a marathon. All the time. These are a few texts Jenn sent to me during our stay in that room:

“Like how much energy are you exerting to fart and lay in bed that your diaphragm needs to work so hard?”

Oh yeah, and she farted a lot.

“If you wake up and I’m not there it’s because mouth breather inhaled with so much force that I got sucked into her respiratory tract.”

We’re not horrible people, we just like quiet.

4. The people who’ve never heard of “6 inch voices”. Basically when I was in elementary and middle school that phrase was used to explain how loud to talk in the library. Essentially, pretty quiet so as not to disturb other people. We encountered a few of these on our trip. One such group of girls would wake us up at 7am, talk loudly, and unpack and repack their entire suitcase, which oddly enough had a lot of plastic bags and crinkly paper (really fucking annoying).

Again, they were disturbing my sleep. And I really like sleep.

The Good:

I know after that list, you might be surprised that these hostels had a few good qualities.

1. The hot chocolate. In Iceland, Jenn and I went on the hot chocolate tour of Iceland which usually included a hot chocolate at a cafe in downtown Reykjavik and then another back at the hostel before we went to sleep. The hot chocolate at the hostel was definitely on the list of best I’ve ever had.

2. Sant Jordi Hostel in Barcelona:
I could probably make an entire post about how much I liked this place but I’ll try and keep it to a paragraph…or 2. We only stayed at this hostel for 2 nights but we got to meet so many people when were there. The first night, there was an event at the hostel to learn how to make your own sangria which cost 3 euros. If I had to be more truthful about the event it would be: Party Boy Bernardo makes a bunch of sangria and it’s all you can drink. There were about 20 of us from the hostel just drinking and playing beer pong that night.

The next night was the Soccer (futbol) game between the 2 Madrid teams. Since the sangria wasn’t finished the night before, we pulled out the jug and all 25 of us in the common room watched the game and drank. This was the night of my birthday actually so Jenn and I decided to go to the bar and club everyone was going to that night. On the way to the metro, everyone sang happy birthday to me and then bought me drinks when we were at the bar. I thought I was going to be a little sad not doing anything for my birthday but these kids definitely made me feel special and welcome at the hostel.

Like I said, Jenn and I only stay there 2 nights but we learned so much about different people and their travels. One guy, Cory from San Diego, was on his leave from the Airforce stationed in Germany and was spending 6 days in Barcelona. Jason started traveling a month ago and is backpacking until the end of August; his next stop is Taiwan. There were so many more, I wish I could tell everyone’s stories. It was such an amazing experience to talk to all these people and hear where they have been, what they’re doing, and where they’re going. They changed my outlook on travel and meeting new people.

Hostels are hit or miss. I had both. Some are just going to be places to sleep and others are more than hostels, they are life experiences.

10 Things I’ve Learned in my 23 Years

Today happens to be my 23rd birthday. Coincidently, it happens to be my last day in Spain before our 17 hour trip back to Boston. Oh and did I mention that we will be sleeping at the airport? Happy fucking Birthday to me! Just kidding, I’m really not that hostile.

I have graced the world with my presence for 23 amazing years. You’re welcome. Actually, thank my parents. They were the ones who “got it on” 23 years and 9 months ago and ta-da, here I am!

Since I have ample time to write today while I am at the airport, I decided to create a list of 10 things I have learned in life so far. With this list I hope to inspire young people to follow these simple things to learn from my mistakes….oh wait, who am I kidding? I’m so full of shit sometimes that I actually believe myself.

Anyways, here goes!

1. Always carry Chapstick with you.
Men and women. You never know when you’re going to have an impromptu make out session. No one likes dry lips!

2. Always over dress for the occasion.
You never want to be that asshole wearing jeans at a black tie event.

3. Do your best to make a good first impression.
I am the queen of the RBF (resting bitch face), meaning I look angry and pissed off all of the time. Most of my close friends like to tell me that they were afraid of me when we first met. A close friend once informed me that his supervisor thought I was “cold and unfriendly”. I really took this to heart because I had only met her one time. Is that really how people think of me when they meet me. I have consciously trying to have a great impression for people who I first meet. Smile. Eye contact. Small talk.

4. Stop taking yourself so seriously.
Life is too short to act like everything is the most important thing ever all the time. Just relax and have a little fun once in a while. I’ve worked the 9-5 (and in Boston that means 7-5) and I understand the importance of being professional and meeting deadlines, but you need to give yourself the chance to let your hair down once in a while. It’s spring time now mad the weather is getting nicer, I challenge to take a really long lunch sometime this week. Go sit outside or go for a walk and relax. You deserve it. Just don’t get fired….

5. Listen to your elders.
No matter what you try to convince yourself, they know more than you do. They’ve made the same mistakes, told the same lie to their parents, etc.

6. No one gives a flying fuck how popular you were/are in high school. Stop trying.
To be honest, it’s better to be fat and/or nerdy in high school. Nerdy because that means you’re smart and will most likely make more money when you grow up. And fat because you’ll learn to go to the gym. Metabolism will catch up to the skinny girls at some point.

7. Cultivate new friendships.
I’m not saying to ignore old friendships, you need to embrace them. But you also need to realize that new friends can be just as meaningful as the old ones. I’ve seen a few things on twitter and Instagram like #nonewfriends. That should never be someone’s idea about friendship. You learn things from new people so always make new friends and try to learn from them.

8. Take risks.
Life is going to be boring if you keep doing the exact same things everyday for the rest of your life. Talk to that cute guy at the gym you make eye contact with all the time. What’s the worst that could happen? Go on a trip to Europe. Go skydiving. Tell people how you really feel. All of which I have done. Life’s too short not to take chances, on yourself and in life.

9. Enjoy the holidays.
Yes, holidays are stressful. Having dinner prepared for the right time. Buying the right gifts. Spending time with family members that you’d rather not. We’ve all been there. Just relax and do what you want to do. If you want to eat too much or drinking too much, go for it. If you don’t want to do something, don’t do it! Holidays are like vacations. Ignore the stresses of work and the rest of your life and just have fun.

10. Keep learning.
I just graduated college and I am definitely not done learning. You can learn everyday; whether it be from visiting a new place or learning from a friend. Try to keep learning no matter what you do. Take up a new hobby, learn a new language, visit a new country and learn the culture. It will open you up to more wonderful experiences.

I know that being 23 years old doesn’t make me an expert in life, but I have been involved in a lot of things so this is my advice to people older and younger. There may be something’s that you do not agree with but everyone has their own experiences in life that shapes who they are and what they believe.

The Final Stretch: Madrid

So here is one of my last few posts for my travels abroad. Jenn and I are leaving tomorrow morning from Madrid and we only have 3 more days left in Spain before our trip back to the great U S of A.

Our first adventure when we got to Madrid was actually finding our hostel at 11:30 at night. A lot creepier than I had imagined actually. The side roads are small and dark at night so it would be similar to a dark alleyway Boston. Once we found are street, we came up to the address that the hostel was located but all that was there was a large door with graffiti all over it. No hostel sign to be found. All I kept thinking was “house with the red door” from the movie Taken…..
But my Dad’s awesome so if that ever happened he would go all Liam Neeson on their ass. I’m a little bit more morally compromised than his awkward running daughter so he could find me in no time!

Anyway, I digress. We got buzzed into the hostel and walked up to the second floor and were immediately relieved when we saw hostel signs and other people. Exhausted from our travels, we went straight to sleep.

From our two full days that we spent in Madrid there were a few things that I have learned:

1. They have very strange eating hours.
One Wednesday we went to a restaurant called Da Nicola, an Italian place that has a wide variety of gluten free options. The hours you ask? 1:30-4:00 and 8:30-10:30. Apparently this is standard lunch and dinner hours for people in Spain. They have a large lunch in the middle of the day and then a smaller late dinner. It was partly annoying but also fascinating.

2. Sangria is like juice and you can get it any hour of the day.
Spain is known for its grapes and therefore, for its wine. We had sangria for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was delicious. Although I was probably dealing with a bit of a buzz the entire time I was in Madrid, it was entirely worth it.

3. Their clothes are not designed for girls with curves. (Guys may want to skip this, it’s a girl thing…)
I wouldn’t consider myself a big girl. I was once. And then I was a twig at one point. Right now, I would consider myself healthy. I have big boobs and a big butt. They are both a blessing and a curse. When trying on clothes in Madrid I realized that they do not have many clothes made for women with curves. Guys would ask: why don’t you just get a bigger size? It doesn’t work like that. If I go up a size or two, some other part of the outfit would be too big. When I say it’s a blessing and a curse…. I pretty much mean that it’s a curse. Yes, I get male attention but more than not, it’s not the respectable kind.

4. And the architecture here is absolutely beautiful.
We noticed the architecture when we were on our adventure to find our hostel but due to the lateness of the evening we didn’t feel safe stopping and taking out our phones in the middle of the sidewalk to take touristy pictures. When we walked around on Tuesday and Wednesday we were able to stop and look more closely at the building and different styles of architecture was used to make the building. If you are ever in Madrid walking around side streets, make sure you look up. What looks like messy, small restaurants and shops on street level are just the ground floor to beautiful buildings and apartment above. It’s a whole different atmosphere up there.

Jenn and I leave tomorrow morning for Barcelona! Last stop on our trip!
I’m hoping to continue this blog so don’t think you’ll be rid of me that quickly….

Winter is Coming

This will probably be my most exciting and nerdy post of the entire trip. After the seriousness of last post, I wanted to lighten the mood by talking about the greatest day of my life: the Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland. Okay, I’m being a little dramatic but for a Thrones obsessor, it was fantastic. According to the tour guide, we were actually taking the same bus that the cast and crew used to be transported to the sites. First that came to mind:

I COULD BE SITTING IN THE SAME SEAT THAT JON SNOW HAS SAT IN. (Insert girlish scream)

For those of you who do not watch or do not care to know about the wonderful Game of Throne experience, please skip to the end of this post to read about our visit to Giant’s Causeway.

The first two places we drove by were “The Wall” which is the main camp for those who take the black, such as the lovely Jon Snow and the second was the rock where Ned Stark beheaded the ranger who abandoned the Night’s Watch (first episode of the show). These places we in the distance so I wasn’t able to get good pictures of them.

The next place we went to was the area where Westeros was filmed. This is the Stannis Baratheon and Lady Melisandre story line. We saw the area where Lady Melisandre’s boat arrived on the beach of Westeros and is met by Davos.

We then we able to go into the cave where Lady Melisandre (who happens to be my least favorite character on the show) gives birth to the shadow assassin.

After spending a little time taking pictures we got back on the bus and headed to Pyke, home of Theon Greyjoy’s father Balon, Lord of the Iron Islands. One of the scenes filmed here was the awkward first encounter Theon had with his sister, Yara, who he did not realize was his sister…. Acca-awkward!!!! (Pitch Perfect reference)

The last and definitely coolest place we visited was the Dark Hedges. These are snake trees spanning about one mile in Northern Ireland. Shockingly only one scene was filmed here…for 8 seconds. This is the King’s Road where Arya goes with the recruits for the Night’s Watch to escape King’s Landing after her father, Ned Stark, is beheaded.

Overall it was an amazing tour and it heightened my obsession for Game of Thrones. They already signed a contract for season 5 and 6! Woohoo. Okay I’m done now.

GIANT’S CAUSEWAY

Until actually being in Ireland, I had never even heard of the Giant’s Causeway. When I found out that we were going there for the last part of the tour I was like “Cool?”. I had no idea what to expect. The causeway is a group of interlocking basalt columns about 3 miles from the Northern Ireland town of Bushmills (yes, like the whiskey).

It was down pouring when we got there and apparently it take about 25-30 minutes to walk there even after we got off the bus. All I was thinking was that this better be amazing if I have to stand in the cold rain for am hour. Trust me, it did not disappoint.

On our bus ride to the causeway, our tour guide told us a story of how people believe the causeway came to be. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention. I was having Game of Thrones withdrawals. From what I remember, there was an Irish giant named Fionn mac Cumhaill who was challenged by a Scotish giant to fight. Fionn built the causeway so they could meet in the middle of Scotland and Ireland.

A more believable story is that the causeway was created as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Whichever story is true, all I know is that the causeway was marvelous. I wish I could use so many more adjectives to describe it but I don’t know if I can think of enough. It was unlike anything I had seen before. The way the rocks formed, we were able to climb them like stairs to get to the top.

Hands down the most interesting day I have had on my trip so far. Even if you don’t like or watch game of thrones, the landscape of the tour was amazing all on its own.

Today we are headed to the airport for our final leg of our journey. ON TO SPAIN!

Putting things into perspective

I may have forgotten to mention in a previous post that in Dublin we have been staying with Jenn’s friend, Shantanuh.

The night after we got back from Galway, before heading to Belfast, we went with Shan to his friends place for a birthday party. Everyone else there goes to Northeastern as well so we didn’t have to worry about awkward introductions and long silences in conversation. At one point in the night we were sitting down with Shan’s friend, Ebraham, who is originally from Egypt but is studying abroad in Ireland for a semester. Jenn and I got to talking about our trip and at one point he said “I wish it was that easy for me to travel places”. A little confused, I asked him to explain.

Apparently if you are Egyptian, you must fill out an application to visit most countries, even if it’s just for a vacation. Call me naive but I thought anyone with a passport could buy a plane ticket and visit another country for a short period of time. I didn’t realize that depending on your nationality, you could potentially be rejected from visiting somewhere. This was definitely a very eye opening conversation for me. I came to realize that I have been overlooking others ability to travel places. Why are people with a United States passport any different than someone with an Egyptian passport? Although I do not know a lot about the visa application process, I think that if a country wants to have an application to visit, it should be required of all travelers not matter what nation their passport represents. It had me realizing that I take some many things for granted in life and should be more aware of others’ situations.

We left Shan’s friends place and head for a bar called Quay. Definitely a very fun atmosphere. The best part was, it was open until 4:00am. We got Burger King in our way back to Shan’s apartment (first time I’ve had BK in like 10 years….) and drunkenly prepared our bags to head to Belfast in the morning.

Flash forward 6 hours to 10:00am and waking up was definitely difficult. Headache, nauseous, you know the drill….
We walked to the bus and headed to Belfast for our 2 day trip.

After checking into our hostel, we called scheduled a taxi tour from the West Belfast Taxi Tour. Just a heads up, this will be one of my more serious posts while I’m traveling. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the history, I’ll try to give a brief description of the conflicts that had, until recently been occurring in Ireland. Northern Ireland, such as Belfast, is separate from Southern Ireland, which includes Dublin, Galway, Cork, etc. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and is controlled by Britain.

The conflict in Ireland was caused primarily by the differences in religion. People from Northern Ireland being Protestant, also known as Loyalists who wanted to remain a part of Britain. The southern part of Ireland is primarily Catholics and wanted to be separated from the British state.

Anyway, until recently there was fighting going on in Belfast between the Protestants and the Catholics. Our taxi driver, Tom, a Catholic himself, was recalling the danger he experienced living in Belfast. In 1991, one of his very close friends was shot right next to him when they were driving in the city. According to Tom, taxi drivers are primarily Catholic because it is one of the few jobs in which they work for themselves. Tom took us around Belfast to the wall that divides the two sides of the city. It was interesting to hear all of his first hand experiences and to see all the murals that have been put up throughout the entire conflict.

Although Tom had experienced some difficult times and discrimination during his life, he has such a great attitude of how Northern Ireland will recover from the history of the past. He made Shan, Jenn, myself take a picture in front of the wall saying “someday you can show your grandkids this picture because when it’s taken down it’ll be as historic as the fall of the Berlin Wall”. According to politicians in Ireland, their goal is to have the wall torn down by 2023.

Having heard these stories, I was able to reflect on the differences in certain areas of the world. There are sometimes when I feel bad for myself but after hearing the first hand experiences from Tom, my situation was really put into perspective and I was humbled by the opportunity to hear his story and his hopefulness for the future.

Like I said, this will be one of my more serious posts for the trip. Traveling so far has been so much fun but it is important to learn about other people and the history of their country; personally, it helped me learn a little bit more about myself and how lucky I truly am.

We had a lot of Crack

Before someone calls my parents and tells them I’ve started doing illicit drugs in foreign countries, I would like to inform you that in Ireland “crack” is their way of saying “fun”. It’s funny in Ireland because for us Americans, it sounds hilarious once you know what it means. But imagine a conversation with an Irish person in the States.

Opening scene.
Random Irish man dancing on the sidewalk.
Police officer (to the man): What do you think you’re doling?
Irish fellow: Having some crack! Care to join me?

In no way would that story end well.

Anyways we had gone to Galway on Wednesday morning and planned to see the Cliffs of Moher. These cliffs have been seen in movies such as Harry Potter. Another luck of the Irish situation and it was an extremely foggy day. We could barely see 10 feet in front of us, nevermind the cliffs. Luckily we were able to go see another set of cliffs outside of Galway, they weren’t as spectacular as the cliffs of Moher but they were still beautiful none-the-less.

We returned back to the city of Galway where we checked-in to our hostel and decided to go walking around the city some more. Following the recommendation from my brothers girlfriend, Lauren, we ventured to a pub in the center of Galway called Tig Coili. When Jenn and I got there around 7, I was a little skeptical of the place. It seemed like a lot of hardcore Irish locals and I didn’t know how they felt about American tourists (6 drinks later and they loved us). We were planning on staying for a drink or two but we may have extended our stay for a little bit longer. We were sitting up at the bar talking to the two bartenders (who I was flirting a lot with only to find out the really hot one was married. On to my next Irish man!) when a band started to play some traditional Irish music. I was told this was called a “session”.

After an hour or two when I had a little buzz going on and Jenn was straight up drunk (light weights…insert eye roll) we were approached by an older man, Jimmy. At first I was concerned. All I was thinking was “please don’t try and hit on us. I don’t want this to spoil our good time”. Turns out he just heard us talking and could tell, from our apparent accents, that we were from the states where his wife was born. Wheeeeew. Dodged an awkward bullet right there. If I had to sum up jimmy in 3 words: drunk, inappropriate, and hilarious. Probably the best conversation I’ve had in a while.

After we said goodbye to our new friend, we met a group of kids that were around our age. One of the guys said him and another two there were in a band together. Pretty hot, I thought. And then I found out that it was some type of fiddle music group. Still cool but definitely deduct at least 1-2 points on their hotness level for that.

Next thing we realized it was past 12am and we had definitely exceeded our 2 drink plan for the evening. Maybe they were just making fun of us but I could tell the bartenders liked me because they let me come behind the bar and pour a few drinks for people. Highlight of my night…well besides when I got a hug from the hot, married bartender (hey, a girl can dream).

We met a few girls from the states and their Irish, male suitors and decided to go to a club with them down the street with another live band. I really wish I could tell you the name of the club but I really just can’t recall….whoops! We made it back home and Jenn had an drunken impromptu photo shoot in the hallway of the hostel. Waking up the next morning to catch the bus was not enjoyable at all but definitely worth it! So much crack!

Luck of the Irish

Okay, I know I said I was going to have a whole other post about the food in Iceland but I just can’t control the excitement I’m feeling towards my first full day in Ireland. You know when you get somewhere and you just feel like you belong? That’s how I feel about Ireland right now. Minus the fact that I’m not a ginger and have an Italian last name, I could 100% see myself living here.

It might be the fact that the atmosphere reminds me so much of Boston that I am already in love. So today was our first day exploring the city. We got in at 8:00 last night after leaving from Iceland at 7:00am. This morning we woke up and we to a coffee shop to grab some food before we decided to go to Trinity College, our first planned destination. We entered the coffee shop called Insomnia (very clever I thought) and the first thing I noticed….. chaos. I know I know, you must be wondering why I enjoy chaos; it’s because in a new place, chaos feels natural to me. No one noticed I was a tourist! It sounds strange, yes, but chaos is my own form of relaxation.

I thought my day was going to be ruined when I discovered that my sunglasses were stolen. Was I wicked pissed off? Yes. But I tried not to let it ruin my entire day. Maybe I’m not Irish enough to fall under that “Luck of the Irish” situation but I believe in karma, something bad is going to happen to the individual who stole my sunglasses I’m just upset I won’t be able to be there to smile when it does.

(Disclaimer #2: I’m blunt. If I think it, I say it. Some people may call that bitchy but I like to refer to it as honest.)

If you can recall from my previous post about the friendliness of car drivers in Iceland where they actually stopped for pedestrians, Ireland is the complete opposite. Besides driving on the left and WRONG side of the road, it was exactly like the Boston drivers. Pedestrians do not have the right of way, people were beeping, “no right on red” signs mean absolutely nothing, and cyclists, while riding with the cars, will never follow the correct rules of the road. None of that probably seems attractive to you, but to me, I was home. I was experiencing the fast paced environment like Boston only alongside people with slightly odd accents.

I was a little disappointed when we got to Trinity College because there was a lot of construction going on. Not that the place wasn’t beautiful but I wish I got to see an unimpeded view of all the architecture. Never the less, the buildings and style of the entire campus was definitely wonderful to see.

Our next stop on the trip was St. Patricks Cathedral or the National Cathedral, which has been the largest church in Ireland since it was built in 1220. I think living in the United States has slightly sheltered me from seeing the architecture of older buildings. There are similar church’s that are inspired by older building such as this but they have yet to have to the historical significance that this one did. There was a small fountain in the center of the grassy area on the side of the cathedral. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect so some locals were sitting on the benches eating lunch or reading the paper. It had a very welcoming feel to it.

I just finished reading a book called The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, a book in which I would recommend (make sure you have some tissues handy). There was a line in the book that has resonated with me throughout my entire trip.

“People always get used to beauty, though.”

It has me wondering; are people from Dublin “used to” the historical beauty they have right in their city? Do they want to stare at St. Patricks Cathedral when they walk by or have they seen it so many times that it is just another building to them? I felt the same in Iceland. Did looking out at the national park ever become boring? Did the geyser and the glaciers and the volcanos stop fascinating the people of Iceland?

I think one thing major lesson I have learned on my trip already is to always appreciate the beauty of the environment. The sites, the sounds, the people. If you are from Boston, next time you stand on the Mass Ave bridge, look out at the view. If it’s a nice spring day, look at all the boats on the water. Look at all the people running around the Charles (they could be training for their first Boston Marathon). Look at the skyline and of all the other bridges and buildings surrounding the esplanade.

Just really look. Anywhere even. Not just Boston.

Its impossible to get used to beauty. After time, it just gets harder to appreciate it because it is so familiar. Take the time to stop and embrace it once again.

Unfortunate grooming habits

I was considering having this be my last post about Iceland but I want to talk about the food I had in Iceland. You’ll understand why I should keep food separate from this post once you get to towards the end. I’ll do my best to try and be as organized as possible. I’ve been told by many people that my stories tend to be in circles. I start with a point, get completely off track (like what I’m doing right now), and somehow manage to be back at the point. It’s my screwed up way of organization. It makes perfect sense to me though!

Anyways. On our third day in Iceland we took a trip to the Blue Lagoon, a touristy hot spring 30 minutes outside of Reykjavik. It was interesting to say the least. We got on the bus and everyone was wearing winter jackets and hiking boots, while Jenn and I were sporting maxi-dresses and Keds. Adorable but underdressed? I was thinking to myself “what are these people thinking?! It’s not even that cold outside!”… They were probably shaking their heads at the crazy American tourists that thought it was beach season. Maybe living in New England has prepared me for colder climates? But what was most important was that I was comfortable.

The way to pay for things at the lagoon was through a wristband. Yes, I’m a nerd but it felt very futuristic. Like maybe one day everyone will have wristbands with their credit cards attached. Maybe add a cellphone in there too and iPhones will become completely obsolete. The lagoon was amazing, warm relaxing water but not overly crowded like waterparks in the United States. The ones where, sorry to gross you out but, the water is probably more urine than actual H20. I love kids, I do, but this was like a relaxing adult waterpark completely with a spa bar. Definitely my kind of place.

After an hour in the lagoon we went upstairs to some patio chairs and decided to relax and read. Flash forward 3.5 hours and that was a fantastic nap….

Okay so here is where things are about to get a tad inappropriate. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. We decided to have a quick lunch and then get the bus back to our hostel. We gathered our things and went into the women’s locker room to change. Maybe it was the excitement to see the lagoon when I first got there but how was I not super uncomfortable with all these naked women walking around?? I should start to consider myself modest or just way to self conscious but these women had no second thought about their lack of dress. Also, I’m not sure if it’s a European thing, but the grooming habits of these women were…..non existent? All naturale! Vomit.

I got dressed faster than the morning after a one night stand with an ugly guy. Get out as fast as you can! Avoid eye contact! Make as little noise as possible! Leave everything behind! Not that that has ever happened to me….

It was horrible. I think I am officially scared for life. Painted a pretty picture for you, didn’t I?

All kidding aside, besides the unfortunate locker room experience, the lagoon was quite beautiful. Had I had unlimited funds when going here I would have bought one of the awesome bathrobes, eaten at the restaurant over looking the resort, or done one of their spa treatments. Next time!

Awkward Restaurant experiences

There is always a bit of awkwardness when you visit a new country. What is the culture? How do people interact with each other? What constitutes offensive language? During my trip in Iceland, we found the dining out in restaurants can sometimes be the most awkward situation of all. Those of us born and raised in the United States must assume “Hey, we get seated, the waiter brings us a menu, we order, they bring us the bill…” Ta-da! We’re done and good to go. Right?…..WRONG!

For us Americans who are used to being shoved out the door so the waiter can seat another party, this was definitely more relaxing but significantly more stressful. Jenn and I went out to eat a few times. One being a great place called Cafe Paris, upon entering no one came up to us and asked “how many?” We stood there looking around trying to figure out what the hell was going on. We finally picked up that we were supposed to seat ourselves. So many table options! Where should we sit?!

We grabbed a seat by the window and waited. And waited some more. “Maybe they don’t see us?” I thought, so we decided to change seats to a more central location. The next table we sat at had a menu so we started to peruse. More waiting and a waiter finally came to ask if we needed anything. I ordered a Swiss Mocha and a Bacon Burger.

No one came over during our meal and asked if we needed anything or if we were enjoying our food. Very different. Zero tip for him! After our meal was over, we noticed a sign in the table that said “Please pay at register.” Ok. Sure. Why not? We went up to go pay and to our surprise, there was no area to tip the waiter. It all made sense now!

The don’t work for tips so they can work at their own leisure. I’m not trying to say they were being lazy but maybe they actually cared about the patrons’ enjoyment of the restaurant and meal. We were not being rushed out the door. The meal went at our own pace. After finishing our burgers and chocolate beverages, we just sat and talked. No one came up to ask us if needed anything (is the US, that usually means “you’re taking too long at this table. Can you get up soon?” or my favorite “seriously, get the fuck up, this isn’t social hour”). Believe me, I’ve worked at restaurants before, the happy waiters and waitresses turn into crazy, angry people when they don’t get a good tip.

Ask anyone who knows me, I like to stand out. I am loud, the opposite of subtle, and completely blunt when someone asks my opinion. But in a foreign country, I would give anything to fit it and be able to conform to their social cues and acceptable way of dining in a restaurant.

My tip for the day: Read up on dining in foreign countries. You will save yourself stares from the locals and awkward standing as you are waiting to get seated (which in Iceland, will never happen).