i started this blog at the beginning of the year in anticipation to write… as you can tell i haven’t written a whole lot since this is my second post of the year. oops. but don’t worry i’m not giving up on this whole blog thing quite yet. i’ve thought about different things to post to try and start writing again, but i just haven’t felt super passionate about anything lately. i feel like at the beginning of the year i was stuck in a rut, and i wasn’t able to get my creative juices flowing. then, i did something i’ve always wanted to do: travel. at the beginning of the school year i signed up for a school trip to europe. i was nervous, anxious, and excited all at once; it felt like forever until the trip finally got here. months came and went until it was June 25th and i was standing in an airport with my passport in my hand. it didn’t seem like it was really happening. i couldn’t wrap my head around that fact that in 28 hours i would be standing in Ireland. the first plane ride took us to Toronto. we had a short layover, then a 10 hour flight to london. that flight was long and hard. i didn’t fall alseep once even though my body was begging for the rest. once we arrived to london we had one more short flight to Shannon, Ireland. we were finally there.

IRELAND

think about if you’ve ever seen any movie that takes place in Ireland. got it? well Ireland really does look like that. when i say it’s “green”, it’s not just any green. there’s something special about that shade of green that i had never seen in my life before; it was fresher and moodier than the green i see in the mountains everyday. there were small stone walls as fences that grew bushes on them. as we were driving you would see a castle ruin in the middle of a field. it crazy to think about how people who live in Ireland see these castles everyday and don’t think much of it because that’s normal to them. see a man walking down the street with his pet goat? normal. sheep roaming freely over the hills? normal. now i won’t bore you and go into extreme detail about everything we did, but i am going to mention some of my favorite things about each place.

the first thing about Ireland i would like to mention is David. David was one of the waiters at the first hotel we stayed at, and every girl on the trip fell in love with him. he is a beautiful human being, but then he said “no worries” when i said thank you and his accent just made him 10 times more beautiful. David, if you’re reading this, thank you for being a great start to the trip. None of us girls forgot about you and we talked about you for the rest of the trip. Every guy we saw for the rest of the trip was put on a scale from 1 to David. Also, thank you for following me back on instagram. i still get giddy when you like my posts.

the second thing i would like to talk about is the burger i had in Dublin. Haislee, Jacqueline, and i were walking around Dublin trying to find a place to eat lunch. when my stomach finally couldn’t take it anymore i spotted out the first restaurant i saw and said, “let’s just eat here.” so we walked into this little burger joint called Bunsen. one thing you should know about me is that i am not a huge fan of burgers, but this burger was life changing. it was so juicy and flavorful, and don’t even get me started on the sweet potato fries. that burger was by far the best meal i’ve ever had. if you ever go to ireland please do me a favor and try it. if you’re not planning on going to Ireland, then please go look them up and look at pictures of that glorious burger.

one of my favorite things we did in Ireland was going to watch the Celtic Steps perform. i didn’t know what to expect when we showed up, but it was so much better than anything i could’ve imagined it to be. it started out with people on the stage playing traditional Irish music with a variety of instruments. the music instantly put me in a good mood. everything about it from the beat to the vibe in the room gave you a feeling that i can’t even put into words. as if that wasn’t good enough, dancers began coming out and clogging. they moved their legs in all directions hitting the floor to the beat. it was absolutely amazing. as i’m writing this i’m listening to traditional Irish music to bring back the feeling i had at that show.

the last thing in Ireland i would like to talk about was the garden. the first two nights we stayed just outside of a town called Killarney. on the first day, we had the option to ride in a jaunting car (basically a carriage pulled by a horse), or we could explore Killarney by foot while the others did the jaunting cars. i chose not to ride in the cars, and it was the best decision i made. why you might ask? because i experienced my first real “awe” moment in the town of Killarney. we walked past this opening that lead into this green space. walking in you immediately felt calm and relaxed. there were trees filled with the sound of the bird when you first walked in, then it opened up to this large open space with a sidewalk where people were biking, walking, and running. even with the people there, it was still silent. you could only hear the birds and the light breeze blowing past you. the moment was so serene that i will never forget how i felt when i stepped into that garden.

WALES

we went from Ireland to Wales on a ferry, but the ferry was not what i was expecting. if i’m being honest, i was expecting a ferry to look more like a fishing boat, so when we walked into a nice restaurant area with a bunch of seating area, i didn’t even realize we were on the ferry until we started moving. i got a little sea sick, but then i walked outside and the fresh sea air instantly made me feel better. i loved leaning over the side and watching the water slap the side of the boat.

we reached Wales just in time for lunch, and it was my first time trying fish and chips. i wasn’t very excited because the only time i eat fish is if it’s in sushi, but to my surprise it actually wasn’t bad. i had fish and chips at least 5 more times while i was on the trip.

i don’t remember what the town was called that we first stopped in, but it looked like a tiny little fisherman town. there was a castle there with a bunch of tunnels inside of it that use to be hallways. it was so cool to explore and roam through it. we also got ice cream from this cute little ice cream shop, and their coffee ice cream was very delicious. it was a super laid back day after the ferry ride, and i thoroughly enjoyed myself in that tiny little town.

SCOTLAND

before we got to Scotland, our teacher repeated multiple times that “they are the biggest losers in history, and they’re proud of it.” wow he wasn’t kidding. we had a tour guide that took us around the city and every time she talked about a battle she would say they came in “second place.”… there’s two countries in a battle… if you get second place you lose haha. also, the rivalry between scotland and england is still so real. when we were looking at a booth on the street of scotland, the worker asked us where we were traveling next and when we told her London she responded “oh i’m sorry”. it was just so funny but also amazing how much love and pride these people had for their country.

one of the funniest parts of the trip, and i think everyone who went can agree with this, was the ghost tour in Edinburgh. the ghost tour took us into the tunnels that ran underneath the city. before we went into the tunnels, the tour guide gave us background information while we were standing in the street. My friends and i were standing there listening when this old man came up behind us and whispered “he’s a liar” into our ears. then he yelled it louder for everyone else to hear. we all thought it was apart of the show because the tour guide stayed in character, but when the tour guide walked up to the man and said “excuse me sir but i’m trying to do my job.” we all realized that this was very real and that old man was very drunk. he continued to yell about how everything was a lie and mumbled other things that none of us could make sense of while we all laughed until we had tears in our eyes.

another really cool part of Scotland was the William Wallace memorial. when you climbed to the top, you could see the horizon to every side of you. the wind blew stronger and the air was fresher.

while we wandered through edinburgh, almost every corner we turned there was a man in a kilt playing a bagpipe. i know most people thing that’s just a stereotypical thing about Scotland, and i think i even believed that before i got there. but men really do know how to play bagpipes while wearing kilts. and they’re actually extremely good at it.

LONDON

London… the place i wish i could go back to. we only got two days in London and that was nowhere near enough time. there’s so many things i wish i would’ve had time to see and do, so i will definitely be planning on going back sometime on the future. but even though it was two days, i fell in love with the city. we first showed up at our hotel, then walked down to the subway station. i can see how people are scared of the subway because of the all the people and the commotion, but once you get the hang of it, it’s actually quite enjoyable at times.

the first full day we were in London, we went to Buckingham and Windsor Palace. We only stayed at Buckingham to watch the changing of the guard – which was actually a really cool experience. and Buckingham palace is beautiful on the outside, so i can only imagine what the inside looks like in person. next we went to Windsor, and my breath was taken away. most of the palace was restricted to tourists, but the parts we did get to see were unreal. one of the rooms we walked into had giant paintings on the walls that i was stunned by, but then i looked up and my jaw dropped. there were big, shiny chandeliers hanging down, and gold designs across the ceiling. i literally can’t even put into words how beautiful it was. it’s crazy to think that people actually live there everyday.

one of my favorite memories in London was the London Eye for multiple reasons: 1) being able to see London from that high up was stunning. we were so high up that it made Buckingham look small. reason number 2) my teacher was terrified. none of us realized that he was that terrified of heights until the moment we got on he ran to the back, grabbed onto the railing, and didn’t let go until we got off. he couldn’t even turn himself around to take a picture with his family. we were all laughing so hard, especially his daughter and i when we got him on video and he could barely answer the questions we were asking him.

PARIS

everyone calls it the city of love, but for me it was the city of passion. everything i saw there was the perfect example of true passion. the street artists, the performers, even the people that simply walked down the street had this feeling of passion surrounding them. a moment that gave me a passionate feeling down my spine was watching ice skaters that came out into the streets and performed on roller blades. it was a young man and woman that glided through the square. every movement they made was filled with passion. you could easily tell they loved what they were doing, and they felt deeply passionate about it. i got chills multiple times during their performance.

we first went to the heart of the city and got free time to explore around. my friends and i found a place to buy macaroons, and they were delicious. i’d never had a macaroon before this trip, but now i understand the hype about them.

the second day we did most of the things that you would expect people to do in Paris. one of those things was going to the Louvre. when i signed up for the trip, the Louvre was something that i was most excited for. let me tell you, it did not disappoint. the building was structurally beautiful and seeing the texture of famous art that you hear about all the time was unbelievable. at one point my friend brinley and i sat on one of the circle benches and had some good, deep conversation while being surrounded by these beautiful paintings. how many people can say they had deep life conversations while sitting down the hall from the mona lisa?

the last night in Paris we went on the riverboat ride. I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t actually get to go right up to the eiffel tower, but it was still beautiful seeing it from the river. that night i soaked up everything i could. when we went down the river i mentally went through every stop of the trip, and appreciated every moment that came to my head. this whole experience is something that i will forever be grateful for. it taught me to be flexible, patient, and grateful. it showed me history, culture, and people. my heart is heavy while i’m writing this. i’m filled with sadness that this trip is over, but i will forever remember the amazing people i traveled with, the amazing things i saw, and the amazing places i went. thanks for reading 🙂