Fangs For The Memories. Do You Get It?

Going on trips every weekend can seriously tire a person out, especially if you are doing it non stop, which in my case it has been the past three weekends in a row. I mean obviously having the opportunity to be able to travel as much as I am is such an amazing experience and I am so thankful to be able to do it, but taking the time and taking a break is something I am valuing this week and this weekend. With having been non-stop traveling the past three weeks, I have a break this upcoming weekend and so far all I have planned is homework. It is something that I am looking forward to immensely. One reason is to catch up on my sleep because with how amazing 6 a.m. flights are so I can have the entire day to explore in the new city I am in, that also means I need to leave my campus around 3 a.m. and because I leave that early, I never even get to sleep for that night before traveling. To sum that up, it pretty much says that I am running on 0 hours of sleep my first full day of traveling which you can imagine how tiring that can get. This next week I will be spending time studying for exams, doing homework, and catching up on my sleep which I look forward to.

So the last time I wrote, I talked about my week or so experience with my aunt and our weekend trip to London. Leading into a few days after that, I took a weekend trip to Scotland. All other weekends, because I do not have Friday classes, I leave very early Friday for my flight, then come back that next Sunday any time during the day. This particular weekend that I went to Scotland, our entire campus wasn't running because we had off school. The reason why is because it was a bank holiday so there was a run that was going on as well as it is an Irish national holiday, so all schools had off as well as some businesses weren't even open.

Now with being off of school that Monday, my friends and I decided to book an extra night to stay in Scotland when we originally were buying our plane tickets. It was a perfect place to stay for that extra day because there was so much to see and go explore. So starting off at the beginning, Haley and I had another 6 a.m. flight so we left UCD's campus around 3 a.m., got to the airport, went through security, ate some breakfast and waited to get onto our flight. We got to Edinburgh and took a bus straight into the city. It was absolutely beautiful out. The weather was a bit chilly, but it was a perfect fall day.

Upon arriving into the city, we stopped at this cute little coffee shop which was decorated for Halloween which obviously made me very happy, then we made our way to the Royal Mile. That particular coffee shop was so cute that if it was in Dublin, I would go to it all the time. Now the Royal Mile is a mile long street that stretches straight in the center of Edinburgh where the Edinburgh Castle is on one end and then the Queen's Royal Palace is on the other. So after the coffee shop we explored the Royal Mile. We walked up to the castle which we were going to go in, but since I had my carry on suitcase we couldn't go in. After that we then saw some shops and then we finally stopped into a restaurant called Royal McGreggor because of how hungry we were. Haley got traditional haggis so I was able to try her food and not going to lie, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. For all the people who do not know what haggis is, it is a traditional Scottish meal that is mainly made of sheep or cow organs, so you can see where I would be hesitant to eat it, but it wasn't too bad. After lunch, we met up with our friend Maddy. Maddy was there for pretty much a day and a half before Haley and I even got there so Maddy gave us a little tour of everything she has already seen. We went to this ice cream parlor called Mary's Milk Bar which was delicious, and she also showed us JK Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley which is actually called Victoria Street. The street is so adorable and that entire area was something I enjoyed walking around just because of the atmosphere. It was a beautiful city to wander around in. Now after we saw the alley and got ice cream, we went and checked into our airbnb. From then on we walked back to the Royal Mile and stopped at the Royal Palace. It cost a bit much to walk around so we just walked into the gift shop and looked at what the palace had to offer. The woman working there saw us admiring the gorgeous diamond tiaras so she allowed us to try them on and not going to lie I felt like royalty. It was very weird, but they honestly were so gorgeous. After that we walked back up the Royal Mile, we stopped in some shops and then we went to this Italian restaurant called Bella Italia and then we walked more throughout the day. Because of how much we walked that day, my legs were not feeling to great so that was kind of a down side, but since it was getting later we went to a coffee shop called the Elephant House that Maddy heard was a must do. Now this particular coffee shop was where JK Rowling wrote the first few books from the Harry Potter series so the bathroom is entirely written in Harry Potter quotes and notes to JK Rowling. It was super cool to go in there and see everything that was written, especially to see the sign that said "This Way To The Ministry." After that, we went to a few bars. One was called George IV and the other was called the Frankenstein bar which was super fun. Since Halloween was coming up, it was like you were walking into a different universe with how many Halloween decorations there were. After the bar we walked into the "most haunted place in Europe" which is this cemetery named Greyfriar's Kirk. This particular cemetery also has Tom Riddle's grave buried here so it is a bit of a tourist attraction. For those of you who don't know, Tom Riddle is He Who Must Not Be Named's real name in Harry Potter. Since it was so dark out, I wasn't that happy going in so I heard one leaf rustle and I wanted out of there, but we decided to just walk on the other side where there was some light. We stopped walking for about a minute or so and at this point in time I was facing both Haley and Maddy. I glanced at Haley and I saw something behind her, which I then looked at Haley and told her that there was a fox behind her and there one was. I knew it wasn't going to eat us, but with Haley and Maddy started running the opposite way, I just decided to follow them especially because the fox was following me. After the cemetery we met up with Nicole, Carolyn and their friends Miles and Becca. We then watched an improv comedy show which was super funny, then we got Nicole's bag from Becca's room and we went back to our airbnb and went to bed.

It is now Saturday morning and with how bad my legs felt the day before I decided to not do a major attraction in Edinburgh. It is called Arthur's seat and the climb is practically a 90 degree climb and it was not something I wanted to put myself through so since Nicole did the climb the day before we went out to a late breakfast/early lunch and walked around parts of the Royal Mile that she didn't get to see. We both ordered french toast with bananas and they were absolutely delicious, but they make them slightly different in regards to they just put the egg at the bottom of it, but it was still really good. After that we walked to a little market where Nicole got an antique necklace and I bought a few photos. Then after the shops, we met up with Becca and then met up with Haley and Maddy. We all walked up to the castle, but with it costing money we only saw the front of it, but it was still gorgeous. After that we walked back to Diagon Alley where we went to another market called Grass Street Market then we walked up Diagon Alley and saw these adorable little shops along the road. There was this cute book store that I fell in love with. We then went back to the Greyfrair's Kirk cemetery where we saw Tom Riddle's grave in the day time which then Haley and Maddy did their own thing and went to Colton Hill and Nicole and Becca wanted to go to the Elephant House so we went back there and that is when we met up with Carolyn and Miles. After the Elephant House, we went back to Mile's apartment and we played ping pong for a bit while we waited to go to dinner. For dinner we then met back up with Haley and Maddy and we all got some Korean food which I found so amazingly delicious. I've never had Korean food before, but this place Miles and Becca recommended and since they study at University of Edinburgh they know all the hole in the wall places. After Korean food we went to this chill pub called the Pear Tree where we all hung out out for a bit, played some scrabble, met some of Miles and Becca's friends and had some drinks. From Pear Tree we then made our way to a club\pub and beer garden called the Three Sisters. We got drinks then went downstairs to the beer garden and sang and danced for a few hours. We went back to our airbnb then pretty late, but it was still a fun day all together.

Sunday was a fun day too. We all woke up early and we headed to this famous market called the Stockbridge Market. They had all such cute little businesses and the food was absolutely delicious. I was able to eat some homemade veggie and pork stuffed dumplings as well as drinking homemade tea. After the market we walked to the Botanical Gardens which they were gorgeous as well. After the gardens, Maddy needed to go to the train station to get a train to Glasgow so Haley went and dropped her off while the rest of us went to Colton Hill. The view was so gorgeous and it was breathtaking. It was chilly up there, but there were so many different views from everywhere you looked so it was worth it. After Colton Hill we went to the National Gallery which was beautiful to see as well. We then met up with Haley at Mary's Milk Bar and we all then walked to this Italian restaurant called O'Oliviero where I got lasagna and it was so good. I haven't had lasagna in a while so it was a good dish to order. After dinner we went back to Miles's apartment to grab Carolyn's bag and while we waited we played ping pong again. We then went back to the airbnb and went to bed because we had a very early flight the next morning. We all woke up around 4 and left by 5 to get to the bus station on time so we could make it to the airport and make our flight. We ate some breakfast at the airport, then we got on our plane and made it back to Dublin. Once getting back to Dublin we did what we normally do. We get on the air coach and make our way back to campus. Nicole and I stopped at our small grocery store on campus before walking back to our dorm, but after buying a few things and getting back, I did some homework and was happy to be back in my room. So to give a brief summary, Scotland was amazing and I wish I could have gone to a few other cities there, but that just gives me another excuse to go back.

Now coming back from a four day weekend, including traveling, it was a quite tiring experience. As I have said before, I love traveling and having this opportunity, but with getting back on a Monday to then not get any sleep from Halloween and then that Thursday because I had to wake up at 3 a.m. that Friday, it was a lot this past week, but that's beside the point because this past weekend was something to remember as well, as well as this past week.

To start off, after Monday ended, Tuesday began, naturally. So with Halloween being one of my favorite holidays, it was definitely something I was looking forward to and as you can see with my punny joke of a title that is thanking my friends for all the memories from these past two weeks while also incorporating Halloween into it, I hope people appreciate it because I thought it was quite fitting. Anyways so leading up to Halloween, Tuesday night Nicole and I went out on an excursion to help me find a costume. Now as you can see in the photos below I was attempting to be a pumpkin with the things I already had/little items I bought at a knock off store here. Nicole was a cheetah and Carolyn was a zombie, but back to Tuesday, Nicole and I went downtown and we then got me a costume. After that we went to the chain Italian restaurant here called Milano and we split some appetizers and some pizzas. They were really delicious so if you're ever in Dublin and want to try a chain, I suggest Milano's. So then Wednesday I went to my classes which since I found out that Halloween originated in Ireland, which they call it Samhain, I learned a lot of history involving Ireland and Halloween. To sum a few things up, Ireland goes all out with Halloween because of the history it has here and it was so cool to be apart of it. I learned that even though yes it originated here, they now adopt some traditions that after it was brought to America and other countries and then brought back here, that they like them, such as carving pumpkins. Back before carving pumpkins was brought to Ireland from America, they used to carve turnips. Now how difficult would it be to carve a tiny turnip compared to a big round pumpkin? I don't know about you, but I think that's quite difficult. Something else that Ireland does is they light off fireworks and light bonfires specifically for Halloween. They have a parade and really embrace the holiday because it isn't just a holiday for them. Halloween aka Samhain is one of their quarter days here in Ireland. So their quarter days are pretty self explanatory, where there are four different days picked out of the year. There is Saint Brigid's Day which is February 1, May Day which is May 1, Lunasa which is August 1 and Samhain which is November 1, which technically it is the night of October 31 into November 1. Why these days are so important is because they each mark the beginning and end of particular seasons, which some in general are the beginning and end of harvest as well as winter. Now as well as that, trick or treating is also big here. Back in the older days of Ireland and Halloween, Samhain was referred to as "Mischief Night" which I have heard it being called that back in the states, but here it is taken to an even higher standard. When someone would go trick or treating and if they didn't receive a treat, then a trick would be played on that person, so clearly mischief was a big thing, as well as fairies and storytelling which is an entirely different story. The last thing that I found interesting is they really like guising. Now guising is dressing up as something or someone else that you are not, so it is like us Americans dressing up in a costume for Halloween night. Now on the biggest Aran Island, Inis Mór, they take guising very seriously, to the point of the young walk with canes and a hunch back, they point to order a drink so no one hears their voice and they order a drink they would never order so their disguise isn't given away. It is a very serious tradition that is still taken quite literal here. So going off of that, I got dressed up into a costume and went out for the night with my friends. Carolyn, Nicole and I went to this International students party that UCD was hosting at this bar called Lillie's on Grafton Street. We didn't stay for long, but we did stay long enough to get a drink, which Carolyn and I both got 'sex on the beach' and Nicole got a gin and tonic. After that bar, we were making our way to another bar called Flannery's, which somewhere we have all been before. On our way there Nicole wanted a donut so we went to this 24/7 donut place called Boomerang on Grafton Street and the guy gave us two free donuts since we bought two which was pretty cool. After that we made our way to Flannery's and we stayed there for a bit, but because we all had to wake up early the next morning, we got a taxi back to UCD around 1:30 or so. The taxi then dropped us off, which it dropped us off at the wrong side of campus so we walked very far in the cold, which was fine, but it was unfortunate at the same time. We got back to our dorm and I didn't go to bed until around 2:30 a.m., but it was still a fun and eventful Halloween.

After Halloween I had class, just like any other day. I went to my Thursday classes, but then I started off the weekend just like any other traveling weekend I've done. I didn't sleep Thursday night, I then left UCD's campus around 3 a.m., got to the airport, got through security, ate some breakfast, then waited to board the plane and then actually got to my destination. Now this past weekend, the destination point was Amsterdam, Netherlands. I've always heard good things about Amsterdam so this was one of the trips I was really looking forward to, aside of course from all the other trips I have gone on/still have yet to go on.

The plane ride was quick so Haley and I arrived in Amsterdam around 8:30 a.m. Once we got to Amsterdam, we got on our hotel shuttle and made our way to the hotel. Since we booked our staying so late we had no other choice than to stay in a hotel right at the airport, but with the price being decent, a free shuttle service to and from the airport and the train station being right underneath the airport, it worked out really well. We had to wait about 20 minutes until our room was ready, but we were able to check in early so we got our room keys and headed upstairs. We put our bags down then went back downstairs to the shuttle and got back to the airport. We bought train tickets, got on the train and arrived in downtown Amsterdam. From the train station we started wandering. We found this Italian restaurant, which now that I'm writing it, these past two weeks I've had a lot of Italian. Anyways, we each got a mini pizza and we had to go back to the train station to ask a question, but since we were so close it wasn't a big deal. We then made our way towards this place where we would be meeting Haley's friends and going on a booze cruise through the canals of Amsterdam. Since we got there earlier than expected, we saw this little museum so we walked in. There was a pathway outside it with statues of Hercules and other goddesses of Greece. We walked into the museum, but the prices weren't cheap so we walked right back out, but the courtyard with the statues was pretty to see. We were then hungry so we went to this pub on the corner called Cafe t'Hooischip and I got a slice of apple pie and Haley got an order of meatballs, but once we were done it was time for the booze cruise. We got to the meeting spot with 15 minutes to spare, but Haley's friends were running late so we were debating on taking the next cruise. They finally got there and right when we got on the boat, it started to rain. We threw on some ponchos they gave us and went on the cruise. We were sitting next to this Scottish man the whole time so we had a blast talking to him and drinking and enjoying the scenery. After the booze cruise we went back to the same bar because we were both cold from the rain and we were waiting for Nicole to meet up with us anyway. We then walked to this restaurant called the Rib Factory where Nicole met us and we ate a late dinner. After dinner we made our way to the Ice Bar. Haley's little (from her sorority) told us to go to this ice bar because it was super cool, so the night before we came to Amsterdam, Nicole, Haley and I all bought a ticket. Our ticket was 20 euro and what that included was admission to the place and three drinks. When you walk into the bar, it is just a normal bar, but then they bring you into another room where they give you a pair of gloves and a jacket. You then walk into the ice bar. Everything as you can imagine was covered in ice, which was super cool. See what I did there? Anyways, you get three tokens when you show them your ticket, two silver tokens for inside the ice bar which you can get a shot and then a beer and then a gold token for the normal bar after the ice bar so you can get a normal drink. Now inside the ice bar, you can pick which alcohol you want in your shot glass, which is a shot glass made of ice so I picked the chocolate vodka one if anyone is surprised. Then I decided against the beer so I now have the second silver token as a keep sake, but after we all got too cold, we left the ice bar and went to the normal bar. Nicole and I got 'sex on the beach' and Haley got a mojito. We stayed and finished our drinks then got an uber back to the train station. We then took the train back to the airport, got back on the shuttle, arrived back at the hotel, showered, I talked to my mom and dad for a bit, but then we all went to bed. Throughout the night Haley and Nicole woke up to try and get tickets to the Anne Frank house because it is very difficult to get tickets and we found out that they sell 80% of the tickets months in advance and then the remaining 20% the day of, which is unfortunate.

Saturday we woke up early, tried for Anne Frank again, but didn't get any and then ate some breakfast in the hotel. The breakfast was complimentary so that was a nice touch. After breakfast, we went back to the airport, took the train back into the city and decided to keep trying on the Anne Frank tickets, but to not base our entire day off of it just incase. We then walked to the Tulip Museum which was super cool. It was interesting to see how the tulip came about and how it was named that and why it is such an important flower to the Netherlands. After going throughout the museum and spending some time, and money, in the tulip gift shop, I went back on the Anne Frank website and I found three tickets for a 2:30 slot and at this point in time it was only 11:30 so you bet we bought those tickets right away. After buying the tickets, we walked to the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, but of course that cost money so we didn't explore the entire thing, but the outside was gorgeous. After that we went to this courtyard where a lot of Christian women live, who are practically nuns, but without taking any vows. This particular place burned down years ago, but they rebuilt it and now 108 women still live there. There is a beautiful church right on the grounds so that was amazing to see. We were then starving and we still had some time so we got some food at this traditional Dutch restaurant called Tomaz. It was really delicious, but I was so excited to go to the Anne Frank house so I was counting down the minutes until we were leaving and making our way there. Once we finished eating, we got our check and headed towards Anne Frank. We had to wait in line, but not for long, and then we were inside. We got this electronic phone looking thing that when you entered a room in the building and if you pointed it at one of the electronic compartments on the wall then someone would speak into it and tell you about that particular room you were in as well as anything that was on the walls. While walking into the secret annex where Anne and her family were hiding, you didn't use the technology, but it was so interesting to see where they lived and hid for two years. Walking through the secret annex as well as the house, it made Anne and her family's story so much more personalized. It was super interesting, but it also made me really realized what families went through with trying to hide during the holocaust and then getting caught without an actual reason. Like in Anne's case, her father Otto said that there was never a reason why they got caught, that it was just a random raid. As I said above it was super interesting and amazing, but something really hit home that I wasn't expecting. Otto was the only person in his family to survive, which I already knew, but he said that after he found out his wife was dead and that he would never see his children again, he got Anne's journal from someone else that lived in the house. What surprised me was Otto said that he read Anne's journal and he said he didn't realize how serious Anne was and how aware of the situation she was. He said that no matter how close a family and parents and children really are, that parents don't really know their children fully. It really surprised me because I guess it can be somewhat true. I mean I know I am very close with my family and my parents specifically, but there are some things that they do not know about me and things that I do not know about them. It just really puts into perspective that people are not always who you think they are, whether that's good or bad. Now after the Anne Frank house, Nicole really wanted to go to this market called Albert Cuyp Market. There are these world famous mini pancakes that a father and son make specifically at this market so of course we went and got some. The business is called Poffertjes and I got some with nutella and strawberries on them and wow they really lived up to their expectations. I recommend them and I miss them. As well as those pancakes, a famous dessert from Amsterdam is the stroop waffle and yes, I got that as well. I bought a sweater too, but after the market since it was closing very soon after us getting there, we went to a burger place across the street where Nicole and I shared a burger and Haley got some wings and fries. After all that food, we went to the tram station to go find somewhere and walk around again. We found a few places that sold marijuana which I wasn't surprised since now Amsterdam is now kind of a staple of selling marijuana, but we then went back to the train station, got back to the airport, then got on the shuttle for the hotel, got to the hotel, showered and went to bed. Haley and I had an early flight in the morning so we woke up around 6 a.m., went down for some breakfast then took the shuttle to the airport for the last time, went through security then waited, what felt like hours, for our flight. Our flight was slightly delayed, but since we were already on the plane, it wasn't that bad. We got back to Dublin, went through customs, got on the air coach and got back to UCD. Now that it is Monday night I am so thankful for this weekend break I am getting. I had an amazing weekend and Amsterdam is near the top of my favorite list right now with how gorgeous all the canals surrounding the entire city was, but my bed and my room have never looked so good.

Currently while finishing this post, I am listening to Christmas music and although some would argue that it is too early and that I am forgetting about Thanksgiving, this Christmas is a lot more special to me than any of the other Christmas's in the past. This particular Christmas my family is coming to get me from Ireland and in my mind, listening to Christmas music is getting me even more excited for them to get here. It also is forcing me to realize that it is already November, and in reality I only have about a month and a half left here. It is a weird and sad feeling to realize that my time here is coming to an end, but with Christmas being such a fun time of the year and also finally seeing my family after 4 months, I couldn't be happier. So now that I'm getting into the Christmas spirit, I'm also looking forward for these next 46 days to fly by.