When In Rome

Not really having a plan or a way of communication besides email and Facebook, it seemed impossible for us to actually meet up with Kristen's dad, who was also traveling around Europe on his own, but when in Rome...

After a few short emails between each other while in Dublin, we decided spur of the moment to meet in Rome for a few days. Communication was limited, and in the end before our flight took off, the plan was to meet at the train station around 9pm (FYI- the train station is quite big and we did not pick a meeting place since we really had no idea what it looked like in the first place. We pretty much just took our chances). But some how with luck being on our side, when we got there, it took no more than ten minutes to find each other. 

It was pretty crazy to think it even possible to meet with such a vague idea of anything, but we pulled it off. Arriving pretty late and being starving little children (not really), we quickly found an Italian restaurant and sat down. It was fantastic. The homemade pasta was delicious and we were all just thrilled that we had all arrived in Rome and met up so easily. After dinner it was around 11:30 and we all were pretty exhausted, so we just went to bed, getting a great night's sleep and waking to our first full day in Rome.

Sadly it was raining when we woke up, but we did not let that ruin our day. Instead we decided what better way to spend the day than go shopping. (Kristen's dad did need a makeover and Brittany is the fashion guru). So after a major rain downfall, we walked into the first men's store we saw. It was great, we had such a fun time picking out a more "European" style outfit for him and at the end of the night, we have to say he looked pretty "dapper" (Brittany's lingo). After making Kristen's dad all spiffy, he treated us by buying us some warm and elegant jackets and a delicious, authentic Italian meal. 

We were quite spoiled. Although Kristen's dad is only staying for a few days, we have to say this was a great way to start our adventure in Rome!

Off to Roma :)

Although we have had such a great time in Ireland, we just couldn't help ourselves from going to other places in Europe.  As you know we really had no set plan and it just seemed like the right idea to go see some more of Europe. So we got rid of our big backpacks, smooshed some clothes into the smallest bags we had, and to Roma we went!

Lucky for us, some of the people that we had met told us about Ryanair, which has really, really cheap flights so jumped right on board and looked to see where the cheapest flights were going in Europe and that is where we headed. The actual flight was quite funny because it felt like you were actually watching a live shopping network. Every other second they were trying to sell us something whether it was cigarettes, perfume, or food, but it wasn't a bad price to pay in order to go to Rome.

So far Rome has been great! It is a lot cheaper than Ireland and every street that we walk on has something beautiful and old to look at. Even after walking the streets, eating amazing homemade pasta and gelato, and sitting in cafes along the street, it still is unbelievable to both of us that we are actually here and we think that sometimes we might just be imagining the entire thing, but then we wake up to an old Italian man just singing "Roma" to us and we know really are here!

Technology= Fail

So this trip, we have learned that the technology gods really hate us. Both of us in one way or another have broken or had extremely bad luck when it comes to our gadgets and gizmos. In the first place, we really didn’t bring that much technology with us. Neither of us even have a phone, but with every piece of technology that we did bring something bad has happened with it.

First there was the camera. One day as we were walking the streets of Dublin and there was a picture moment, Kristen took out the camera but it completely just stopped working and the lens thingy was stuck. We ended up having to buy a new camera because we had to document our trip in some fashion.

The next piece of technology was Brittany’s Ipod. We were in our room one night listening to her music (because for some reason she really is not a fan of Kristen’s music… strange) and all of a sudden all of her music just disappeared on her Ipod. She was left with nothing. Fortunately for Brittany, Kristen was kind enough to let her to download her music for the rest of the trip so she does have some music on her Ipod even if it isn’t any of her punk/rock music.

Then there has been the constant stop and go of the wifi with our computer. We constantly have to go to cafés and the like in order to get free wifi. Not that it is at all bad, but even when our hostels advertise that they have free wifi, our computer does not seem to recognize it… maybe we are just too impatient and want a reason to go get some bread, but in all seriousness our computer is very slow. So much so, that one day when we were in Starbucks trying to get online, our computer wouldn’t get online at all. Every other person around us was online, but we were unsuccessful.

Technology is just not our friend, but we have learned to be a little more patient with it and now just expect that something bad is bound to happen when we do use it. Maybe one day we will figure it all out.

The 8th Wonder of the World or Food? Hmmm...

So on Sunday, we decided to be really big tourists again and take a tour bus to what they advertise as the 8^th wonder of the world the Giant’s Causeway, which are these beautiful rock formations on the coastline of Northern Ireland hat came about from an acient volcanic eruption. Although Kristen had signed them up for the tour the day before without a clue in the world of what the tour exactly consisted of, we were both quite excited to be leaving the beautiful city of Belfast behind us.

On the way there, we drove along what they said was the fifth most beautiful coastline drive in the world and in hindsight it was quite gorgeous even if they had lied to us (who knows). We also walked across a hanging rope bridge that crossed the cold, but stunning Atlantic green waters and then we made our way to the 8^th wonder, the Giant’s Causeway. When we got there, however, it was around three o’clock and time for our daily meal, because we were getting hangry pants. Luckily, there was a cute little pub near the scenic path of the Giant’s Causeway so we decided to stop in there first to get something to eat.

First, let us make it clear that since we were on a tour we only had an hour and a half at this location so we had to be somewhat cautious of time, but at this point food was our biggest priority and we thought we would have plenty of time for both. Unfortunately, our time management skills need some work. After eating a delicious meal of vegetable pie with mash potatoes and finishing it off with toffee pudding next to the fire, we had only thirty minutes to go see what we were suppose to see in the first place. Also, we should probably mention that in order to see these rock formations, you had to walk approximately twenty minutes there and twenty minutes back.

So knowing time was of the essence and having our bus driver give us a look of craziness for trying to still see the rocks or for picking food first, we booked it on down the path. Now when we say book it, we mean it. Brittany even for a short while ran (Yeah, serious business). Anyways we made it down there, took a few quick snapshots and booked it back up the hill, making it in perfect time for our bus (actually, we were even earlier than some of our other fellow travelers). We were quite happy that we not only had an amazing meal, but we also got to see the 8^th wonder.

As pathetic as it may seem, food in our book seems to come first in whatever circumstance. As we got off the bus at the end of the night our bus driver asked if we had made it to see the rocks and after we assured him that we did (who knows if we actually did, but we did get some beautiful picture shots and we think we saw it…), he congratulated us on being the fastest tourists to ever see the rock formations. Yay us! 

Iremerican

One of things that we enjoy most about traveling is people watching. Yep we sound like creepers, but everyone does it, we are just admitting it. So after getting a semi- nice sleep Friday night (actually let us rephrase that, it was a pretty bad night’s sleep), we headed out to town.

So first you may be wondering why we were not able to sleep. Well it all comes down to the beds. They were plastic and as Brittany says, “When beds are plastic it just makes you want to piss all over them.”(Explanation: no, really don’t have one on this). So with the beds being plastic, sleep was limited and since Kristen couldn’t sleep, she actually saw her first fight that night outside her window where a guy literally pushed a woman right into the middle of the streets, but that really has nothing to do with the story at hand…

So anyways after our interesting night of basically no sleep because of the plastic beds, we headed out to the city to see if we could find the better half of Belfast. However, as we stepped outside we realized how absolutely freezing outside it was and although we were all for exploring the city we settled on going into the stores, trying on shoes, and listening to Christmas music and enjoying the warmth. Nevertheless before completely quitting our adventure of walking the city and “acting” like we were really shopping, when in reality we were in their stores’ just to steal their heat, we did go into the center square where there was a Christmas festival and we drank not only real hot chocolate, but also split a kangaroo burger (very chewy, but good).

After hopping from store to store for awhile, we ended up going to a mall where we could stay warm for more than five minutes at a time and that is where we ended up sitting at a café for probably more than three hours just people watching and finding some interesting observations.

So here goes what we think of the Northern Ireland folk- they are pretty much American except ten years behind us when it comes to style. But in all seriousness, in general, Ireland is pretty much American.  The guys our age wear a lot of Abercrombie and Hollister... a little weird. They all use a lot of hair products whether it is hair gel, hair dye, or hair spray. The girls wear a lot of make-up. And the sad and not so kind observation that we kept on making the most is the Irish people we were seeing were just average. No one was particularly attractive. Harsh? Yes, and it probably isn’t entirely true, but we just wanted to share a little of our people watching experience with you!

The Not So Happy Side of Traveling

After being in Dublin for quite awhile, we decided it was about time to venture out again and go see Northern Ireland. A bunch of people we had met so far suggested going to Belfast so not really having any specific plan, that is what we decided to do Friday morning.

As we walked to the bus stop, both of us started to regret going shopping the other day. Although we are not exactly sure how much we were carrying, it felt as if both of us were carrying a really big dead body on our backs (kind of morbid, but true). To make it worse, we passed the bus stop and kept on walking another twenty minutes until realizing we had missed it in the first place.

When we finally made it to the bus, we were thrilled but unfortunately our bad luck was just beginning for the day. We ended up taking a double-decker bus, which is quite exciting; however, being on the top we realized it sways a lot and both of us got nauseas, not to mention the overwhelming amount of round-abouts we went around at least once (we think the bus driver may of thought himself actually driving a roller coaster (if that is at all possible), so we actually went around the round about a few times before actually making a turn).

After our heads stopped turning when we got to the central bus station, we headed to the information desk to see if we could get a map. The lady was quite helpful and she asked if we needed help getting to our hostel; however, us not being the brightest had forgotten to write down the actual name of our hostel and gave her some very vague ideas of what we thought our hostel might be named. “Well,” she said, “It could either be this one,” as she pointed out on the map, “or it could be this one on the other side of town.” Well, with us not really having a clue we took our chances and headed to the one that sounded most promising with our big backpacks in tow.

Sadly, if you have not figured this one out yet, we had picked the wrong one. So after Kristen asked a very drunk man for directions (not her smartest moment) and we had been walking in the ghetto for awhile, we went to the first hostel we saw, stupidly asking if we had made a reservation at their hostel. Sadly, we had not. After finding out the news, we headed out again, not only annoyed from walking to the opposite wrong end of town and being sore from our backpacks, but becoming hangry pants.

After a long silence of walking through one of the most depressing cities we have ever seen, we finally made it to our hostel, which really was on the other side of town. Fortunately for most of our trip we have been very lucky with our hostels, but this one did not hit the mark. We had done very little research on it and ended up staying in a very ghetto part of town.

At this point, we were both a little down, so after getting some food at KFC (Ireland seems to have a lot of them and let’s just say the food is not like it is back in America) we decided to go to bed. Yes it was only five o’clock, but we really were not in the best of moods and to be completely honest we both pretty much wanted to sleep away our time there (even though we had booked the room for three nights).

Funny enough, it ended up that neither of us were able to sleep the full fifteen hours we had been wanting to, but it was okay. We both ended up getting some sleep so although we both still were not exactly happy with the circumstances, we ended up laying in our beds, laughing at the whole situation, talking for hours, and figuring out answers to the world’s problems or more so ours. What started off as a very bad day, ended up being not so bad and filled with laughter :)

An Irish Thanksgiving

With both of us being in Ireland for Thanksgiving this year, we decided it was necessary for us to at least attempt to make a Thanksgiving meal and celebrate the American holiday and we also wanted to show our Aussie friend, Hamish, what it was all about. With that being the case when we woke up Thursday morning we headed to the store. Kristen was in charge of the sides, which ended up consisting of mash potatoes and cooked carrots and Brittany made her famous fried pecan chicken. So yes, it wasn’t completely the typical American Thanksgiving meal with turkey and stuffing, but it was close and we were excited to do some real holiday cooking.

Even though there was only three of us, we made a meal for a small little army (hey, we are American), so we ended up sharing the meal with some other American girls who were at the table. However, even with their help, we had leftovers (Yep, now it was a true Thanksgiving). If we have to say ourselves, the meal was absolutely delicious and we stuffed ourselves. We even bought a chocolate cake for dessert, because sadly they did not have pumpkin pie.

After the meal, we headed up to the common room where we did some real R&R. We watched movies for the rest of the day since American Football was not really a possibility and let’s be real neither of us really ever watched football to start with. One of the movies that we watched was National Lampoon’s Christmas (funny enough it is a movie that both of our families watch during the holiday season, so we felt it appropriate and although everyone else in the room, mostly Aussies, were not fans of the movie, we made them watch it anyways. It was the perfect Thanksgiving and for being in a different country we pulled it off pretty nicely. We hope everyone else had a very Happy Thanksgiving as well!

Museums are not for Everyone

Today after doing a little damage shopping (hey, we are girls- no shopping at all is impossible) we headed to Ireland’s history museum. Now some of you may be saying “Wow, that sounds like fun” and others are probably thinking the complete opposite. Well that is how it went when it came to us as well, and because of that, it was quite an interesting afternoon.

Luckily, for the most part, we have enjoyed all the same activities and know how not to get on each other nerves; however, today Kristen really had to control making really “smart” comments and Brittany had to control herself from beating Kristen up after some of those just too perfect “smart” comments slipped from her mouth. (So, if you haven’t guessed yet, Brittany, being her nerdy little self, enjoys museums and learning new “fun facts” (she even got the kids museum activity sheet when we got there and yes she actually filled it out). Kristen, on the other hand, has a little more difficulty enjoying these great wonders of history.

Although both found the preserved bodies of the bog quite interesting and a little disgusting, the rest of museum was Brittany territory only. But when traveling with someone, one always has to give and take a little, so Kristen did try to be on her best behavior.  In spite of this, at one point, Brittany thought Kristen had gotten kidnapped; however, Kristen was just in a corner reading a book about Oscar Wilde…

Yes, we think the only way to really describe the day would be interesting. Our Aussie friend, Hamlet, also joined us and was a much better “team- player” compared to Kristen. But while he was in the bathroom, we both had to laugh because we knew it wasn’t his thing either, he was just playing the part of the kind gentleman, who thoroughly enjoyed the arts. Whatever the case may be, by the end of the day, Kristen probably owes Brittany once again…  

The Pub Crawl

So being in Ireland, one must do what the Irish do, which apparently means drink… A LOT. No in all seriousness, both of us, although we like to have fun, have not and actually cannot keep up with the Irish and their drinking abilities. It is absolutely crazy. Actually the section where our hostel is located is Temple Bar, believe it or not. So with that being the case there is literally a bar, or pub, on every single street corner and with that comes the constant fiddling, the very plastered and “Jersey Shore” looking Irish girls, and the best entertainment. So after going out on our own a few nights in Dublin we decided we needed to participate in at least one Pub Crawl and see what it is all about.

Being our cheap selves (do you see a theme?), we decided to go out Tuesday night, because it was half off and we also could do it the next night for free. We went to five different bars (one was actually in the movie P.S. I Love You and although we really don’t remember the scene it is cool to say that we went there anyways). At each bar, before we went in we got a free shot (however they were baby shots) and then the rest of the drinks at the bar were discounted. Sadly, even with this being the case, we both ended up spending more money than expected. We guess that what always happens…

But while “crawling” through these pubs we met quite a cool group of people from Australia, who actually was part of our walking tour in the morning. There was Courtney, Beck, and Phoebe (who not only looked like Phoebe from the show Friends, but also acted like her. It was great). We ended up teaching them the American way of how to play Beer Pong and Brittany got quite competitive. It was the Americans against the Australians and the entire bar was watching and cheering. It was so much fun and quite hilarious especially when the Aussie girls started swatting the balls while still in the air. Fortunately, with a little more practice we beat them but they absolutely loved it and even after some trash talking we were all still able to be friends.

The night ended like all drinking nights do, with a trip to McDonalds or as the Aussies say Mackies. With two double cheeseburgers and curly fries (yep that is right, they have curly fries) the night was a success.

Homemade Cooking or Something of the Sort...

Living on a pretty tight budget, we have managed to figure out ways to save a few extra Euros here and there and one such way is buying food at a grocery store. Lucky for us, the hostels we have been staying at have fully equipped kitchens so we are able to actually cook warm food! (Yes, this is a very exciting fact, and we may sound somewhat pathetic telling you this, but if you were walking around in the cold, wet rain too you probably would be just as excited about warm food.)

So after taking a free walking tour of Dublin and feeling numb in our feet and hands from the bitter cold, we decided to cook pasta with our new Australian friend named Hamish. It is cheap, delicious, and warm. What more could you ask for? Off to the grocery store we went, picking out the cheapest pasta, the cheapest sauce, some off the shelf tiramisu (we were having an Italian meal, so although probably not a very authentic Italian dessert for two girls on a budget it was quite a treat), and of course the bread (you can absolutely never forget that!).

With our hands filled with food, we quickly went back to the hostel to prepare because at this point we were getting a little hangry pants and that is no good. The pasta was delicious and although starved so at this point we probably would have eaten anything anyways we still think it was nice to have cooked a meal. But if we are being completely honest, we must give most of the props to Hamish, who was the main chef in this endeavor. Nevertheless, when it was all said and done, we were quite full and happy people with leftovers to spare :) 

Hanging Out with the Brennen Brothers

Unfortunately both of us never grew up with a brother; however, this weekend we were able to stay with Bernard and his family and we had a blast and decided both of us want a brother in our family! Mom what do you think??

Besides having an identical twin (who Kristen mistakenly thought was Bernard the first time she met him…oopps!), Bernard has four other brothers as well. Although we never met the two older brothers this trip (since they do not live at home), we were able to hang out with Sharron, who is the smart, mature fifteen year old; Dermot, who is the jokester and the one we stayed with in Dublin one night (not the brightest idea); and Keiren, who is the much quieter and studious twin.

They were such a sweet family, and at the end of our stay, we both wanted to just put the entire family into our pocket and take them with us. They were very entertaining. Just like any other family who has their quirks and ways about them, the Brennan family did as well. Although for the most part the brothers were on their best behavior (following Bernard’s warning), they were all constantly bickering like siblings do. Whether it was what day the week really should begin on or what was the name of bread we were actually eating, they each had their own answer. Most of the time we just sat there, listening and observing (and although they do speak English we think that we only understood about 32% of what they were actually saying, so for the most part we would just nod and smile).

However, we really have to say, they were very hospitable (besides the bathroom… which Brittany even said she would clean, but that never really happened). They made us typical delicious Irish meals, allowed us to do our laundry, and constantly were building the fire (which was the only heat source in the house… it was a bit chilly).

Sadly, we went back to Galway today with Bernard who has to go back to class, but we had a great time and will always remember our time with the great Brennen Brothers!

Working on the Farm

Saturday morning, Kristen’s friend Bernard (who she met at Johnson and Wales in America, but now lives back in Ireland) and his twin Keiren picked us up in Galway and took us to their farm in Sligo, which is about an hour and a half away.

It was the coolest experience. Although Bernard and Keiren are not big fans of working on the farm and more so the business men, the two younger brothers Dermot and Shannon love it and were ready to show us around. After putting on farm clothes (or more so borrowed sweatpants and sweatshirts from the boys) and our wellies (big farm boots), we headed out to the farm with the younger two and they showed us about.

From the cows to the alpaca named Christopher (who Brittany later named Topher for short), we saw it all.  They had dogs, baby cows, beef cows, milking cows, and chickens. We were even able to feed the cows and drove around on a four wheeler to count the sheep. Also, we got to drive the tractor around! Sadly, Brittany being herself and being quite unlikely when it comes to transportation, broke the four wheeler on a whim and we had to take that back to the farm so they could fix it.

On the bright side, it was actually kind of sunny out (which we are finding out is very unusual for Ireland) and although it was still cold outside, when we came back from our farm work (or more so watching the boys do farm work and them fixing all our mistakes) there was cabbage stew and tea prepared by the older boys simmering on the stove top. 

Hostel or Dorm Room?

Since being in Ireland, we have been staying for the most part in hostels. Now we know that some people have some scary ideas of what hostels are really like, so we like to set the record straight.

Hostels are more or less like a college dorm room. We usually are with ten to twelve other random people. If you want to keep to yourself you can, but if you want to meet someone new, you also can very easily. Everyone is very friendly. A lot of them would probably be considered hippies more or less with their very minimalist outlook and long hair.

We sleep in bunk beds and can’t complain. They are pretty comfy (better than the floor at least). The showers have warm water; however it stops working after about twenty seconds so you have to continually push a button to keep it going, but really no big deal. There is free wifi, a lounge room, and sometimes free entertainment to boot! We also get a free breakfast (toast and coffee) if we get up in time (but that occurs probably only half the time). The best part is the staff. Everyone is so friendly and helps us with any question we have.

We think if anything, the biggest complaint we have would be the snoring and farting that you hear throughout the night. Yep, both! After awhile you do get used to it and fortunately for Kristen she can’t smell anything anyways so the farting is not really an issue, but it is comical. And although both of us are very mature people, we can’t help but chuckle just a little bit when we do hear something a little ghastly come from a random corner of the room.  

Shenanigans in Galway

The Aussies are back! Yes, those gorgeous guys and that catch of the day that Brittany was so lucky to find had come to Galway too and they were staying in the same hostel with us again. Coincidence? We think not! (There is picture evidence on our Picture page; however the photos did not turn out exactly. You will just have to take our word for it, but we promise!)

So with the constant rain and cold weather, there was not much we could do than to go out and experience the pubs in Galway with our good-looking Aussie friends. Did we mention that it wasn’t just Brittany’s catch who was a professional Australian football player, but he had actually come with a whole slew of them. True story! Besides Scott Worthington and his cute baby-face, there was Joel, Michael, Aaron, and Luke and each of them had something going for them. Whether it was their huge arms, beautiful smiles, or long hair, they knew they were good looking and they knew they could get away with anything. Fortunately for us, we hit it off with them and although we are too cheap to actually pay to do the “pub crawl” that they had signed up for (which is where someone takes you around from pub to pub) we secretly followed them and were able to get in for free. Yep, we are pretty resourceful! Anyways the Aussies were quite entertaining and they always had a sly comment or joke up their sleeve. One even told us that his job was to sing to the orphans!

Besides the Aussies we were able to hang out with, we also met a girl named Emily who was studying in Copenhagen, but she was from Texas. She was very sweet and reminded us a lot of our friend back home named Emily. She even decided to stay an extra night in Galway to hang out with us again.

So that night, our “poor man pub crawl” was quite a success. Besides the hanging out with the sexy Aussies, meeting our new friend Emily, and getting in places for free, Brittany had to play mama bear. After a guy wouldn’t leave Kristen alone, Brittany went up to him, shoved him away, and told him to get out (in her nicest way possible of course). Fortunately, he did after Brittany and the security guy came over. Yes, Kristen knows she owes Brittany one…

As the night winded down, we headed back; however before the night was done, Mr. Cute Aussie paid for all of us to crowd into a little carriage so a poor man on a bike had to wheel us all the way back home.

Success: We Did Not Fall Off The Cliffs

Today we went to the cliffs of insanity (and yes, these actually are the cliffs of insanity from the movie The Princess Bride) and we lived to tell you the story. They really are insane. Tall and intimidating, they tower over the cold greenish- bluish waters of Ireland, but they were absolutely beautiful.

We took the bus and although we both are not big on being the normal “tourists,” today we were and it was not as bad as we thought. We took so many gorgeous pictures and stood like the typical tourists at the perfect photo opportunities.

Along the way we also met two Aussies who actually were in the same room with us the night before. (Disclaimer- they were not actually sleeping with us… we would never do that… but you got to love the hostels) Anyways, they were very nice and we ended up eating lunch together. Both had graduated from college and were traveling for about four months before they got real jobs. Tis Crazy!

So after talking with them and some other very attractive Australians, we decided that in our next lives we would like to be born as Aussies who seem to all live on the beaches, are very good looking and travel for months on end.

Hangry Pants

Luckily, both of us travel very well together. For the most part, we like seeing the same attractions, going to the same places, and eating the same food (Yum bread!). However with that being said, there are points in this trip where both of us get a little cray-cray. When Kristen is running low on sleep she uncontrollably laughs and can’t stop. Whereas when Brittany is tired, she has to really refrain herself from throwing a punch (probably most times at Kristen). And then there is “hangry pants,” which both of us experience.

We are cheapsters. That is just the facts. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. So one meal a day is usually our budget and the repercussion of this is our daily spout of being hangry pants. This just means we are not only hungry, but we also become angry because our stomachs are yelling at us. But since we try to continue to keep a cordial relationship at all times since there really is no escaping each other, we do not yell or scream at each other. Instead, we just become silent, walk very slow, and if words do come out of our mouths they are pretty incoherent.

It is something that we have learned to deal with and now we can even laugh at after we have had some food in our bodies, but it is the life of a very economical traveler and we are okay with that!

The Catch of the Day

After a rough Monday night of sleep, no shower, and being a little moody, we thought it would be a great idea to go to the Jameson Distillery. Actually we had bought the tickets a day before and we had a scheduled a tour time so there was really no changing it even if we smelt as if we had slept in the dumpster (and that probably was the case).

It ended up being a great tour and at the end of it we did get a free drink, so we couldn’t complain too much. But after the tour, we couldn’t get out of there fast enough and back to our hostel where we could take nice warm showers. It felt a little bit like heaven, not going to lie, and I think our roommates were quite happy with it as well.

Feeling fresh and awake, we decided to listen to some “reggae” Irish music that was being played at our hostel. There, we ended up meeting and decided to go out with a cute Asian/Canadian guy, a couple of hunky guys from Australia, and a writer from Tennessee. And from there it became yet another night of great stories or people.

There was the writer from Tennessee, who was getting his masters in Northern Ireland. He had just done some freelance work on whether or not prostitution should be legal or not. Although a little dorky, he was very intriguing and smart.

Then there was the cute Asian/Canadian guy who fancied Kristen, but being her normal self after a little while she wasn’t having it. He was arrogant and was a huge talker, who proclaimed himself a “lover” (whatever that means). He eventually got kicked out of the bar for some unknown reason…

And then there was the “Catch of the Day.” Scott Worthington (yes, this is his actual name) had a smile that could melt anyone away, glassy blue eyes, short blonde hair, and a body of an athlete. Brittany had her eye on him from the beginning and as the night went on, she played her cards right and ended up with Sam. The thing is, he wasn’t just the cutest and nicest Australian guy we ever had met, but he is an actual professional Australian football player! Kudos to Brittany who caught that fish :)

Getting Down on the Farm... Or Not

Monday morning we decided to be tourists for the day and go visit the Guinness storeroom to see how to make the perfect Irish beer. We also walked around the city, took a bunch of random pictures, and stood outside a bunch of famous churches (since that is what we are supposedly suppose to do as tourists and we are both far too cheap to pay to go inside). It was great!

Eventually Kristen got connected to her friend’s brother named Dermot, who lives in Dublin at the University College of Dublin. Although neither of them knew each other, Bernard (Kristen’s friend) had said we could stay with him since it would be free. So that is what we did. We hopped on the next bus and headed over there. The plans to meet were very vague and there was suspicion of whether we would actually meet up or end up just taking a nice bus ride through the city. Luckily, to our surprise, Dermot and his friend were waiting at the bus stop for us.

When we got to the place, a bunch of us sat around in the living room and talked. There were probably five to ten guys in the room at all times (it always seemed like some one was coming or going). They all seemed very young (even though they were our ages) and all of them were going to school for the same thing- agriculture (or farming). It was quite a unique crowd of college guys to say the least. Not only did they play good ol’ country music (yes, the kind of music that we just love back home), but they also liked to play “games,” or more so, they liked to play games on us. Let’s just say in the games Brittany ended up getting her butt soaking wet and Kristen ended up breaking a mug.  

Since it had been a busy day and both of us were exhausted, sadly we were not the best of company and all we could say about the night is it was interesting and another lesson was learned. Although it is nice to have free places to stay and we are so thankful for them allowing us to stay there, it is even nicer to have a place to lodge where you know you can stay for sure and a bed or pillow to at least sleep comfortably for a few hours. But thinking positively, we did just get to experience another aspect of Ireland, which is surprisingly very similar to life back home. 

Knowing How to Play the Game

It has always been a known fact that Kristen’s ability to “play the game,” make flirty eyes, or say something sexy is pretty much non-existent; however, every day since being here both of us have managed to get free drinks and it is not just because of Brittany’s boy talents. Actually what we realized is that we can pretty much just show up at a pub sit down, talk for a few minutes, and then “pop” all of a sudden a guy is by our side ready to buy us a drink- What Irish hospitality!

Saturday night after we had said goodbye to our Holland family we ended up meeting this other younger guy from Ireland who wanted to show us the most “happening” places. So with not much of a plan, we decided why not. We ended up at this pub that was quite crowded and filled with a bunch of tourists, but both of us were awake and ended up meeting some interesting people.

Brittany met and hung out with an Italian punk rocker, while Kristen ended up talking and dancing with an Italian guy and Spanish guy who was studying politics in Ireland. (So yes, although Brittany did make out with the better catch that night, we recognized that Kristen flirting disability wasn’t going to be an issue at all in this country).

Sunday afternoon we both took it easy, but that night we ended up having two other girl roommates from California. Although we were not planning on going out, the girls invited us, or more so said we had to go out with them. So we did. However, since it was Sunday night the pubs closed a little earlier, but being very persistent California girls, we eventually found one that was open.

As we walked into the pub, we did our normal thing, which was just to find two empty seats, but apparently that is not what California girls do. Right away they made contact with an older man and started flirting like no one’s business because they wanted their free drink. It was quite a sight. Both of us looked at the other in amazement and disbelief. Not only did they look like vultures as they went from one guy to the next, but they looked pathetic.

The funny thing is, as we did our normal thing of just finding a place to sit and talk, really both not in the mood to be there in the first place, we both were bought more drinks than either one of them.

So yes, maybe Kristen will never learn how to flirt “properly,” but her and Brittany know how to play the game enough to not look desperate and as Brittany says “get results with little effort.”

American Football is for Pussies

It was only our second day in Ireland and already we had full plans for the day (even though just a few hours beforehand we really had not a clue in the world what we would be doing). Luckily the night before, we had met a very nice Holland family who had two extra tickets to the South Africa and Ireland rugby match, and they were able to give us a great deal on the tickets. So that day we headed to meet them at the same pub we had met them the night before to get our tickets and hang out with them for the day.

So let us just set the record straight now, we have met so many people already that not remembering names will become a common theme in our blog so for the sake of argument we are just going to give every one a different name and try to explain them as best as possible.

In the Holland family, there was mom, or Mary, who was quite a lovely lady and had helped us out the night before by telling the old creeper man to leave us alone (even though it probably was just Mary’s secret plan in order to hook up her son with Brittany). Then there was her son, Max, and her husband, John. Both of these fine gentlemen were also quite enjoyably pleasant and a little quieter than Mary. They had come along with their friend named Julie who was shy at first but warmed up to us and became the favorite for both of us. Then there was Bob. He worked with John, and man, was he something else. He was friendly at first, but as the day went on this friendliness became a little much.

However, we were, to some extent, at the grace of these people since they had given us their extra tickets, so we followed them around for the day. We went to pub after pub since the game didn’t start until 5:30. Every place we went to they bought our drinks, we talked about the game and got to know each other a little more.

When we eventually made it to the game, the stadium was packed with 55,000 people. It was incredible; however, if we are going to be honest the actual game was not the most fascinating part. It was the players. These men looked like they could knock down tiny towns with their huge muscles and size. In some sense they looked like warriors, but quite charming ones. We were in a trance. Sadly, we didn’t meet them that day, but we do believe it is in our near future, and in that case one of us will be getting married.

But back to the actual game, since we had gotten the tickets from the Holland family who was cheering for South Africa, it was kind of necessary for us to do the same and fortunately we had cheered for the winning team. Although this was the first full rugby game that either of us had gone to and we were a bit unsure of the rules, it was a good match and in the end we both learned a little something about the actual game. The one thing that was very interesting was the fact that when a player kicked on either team the entire stadium was quiet. It was an unusual and somewhat eerie scene. Also both sides, especially the Irish, were quite nice to the opposing team. It was even funny when they tried to smack talk the other side because it seemed so innocent.

After the game, of course we had to go out to celebrate some more, but by the end of the night both of us were exhausted and we went to bed dreaming not about the actual rugby match, but about those nice looking rugby men, soon to be husbands ;) 

Lesson Learned- Don’t Kiss German Men Through a Window

Although tired from our flight, we thought that it was necessary to go out our first night and paint the town red, or more so green (since we are in Ireland). When we walked into the pub, it was crowded, the Irish music was blaring, and all eyes were on us. Whether or not we were ready for the full experience of Ireland, it was right in front of us and there was no turning back. Besides being hovered over by an old man right away, we met a friendly couple from South Africa, a family from Holland (who soon became our adopted family for a couples of days), and a group of guys from London.

However, in the midst of all of these fine people we had the opportunity to meet, there was one in particular fellow who was quite memorable for the night- the tall German man (Not sure of his actual name, but for this story let’s just call him Oscar). No, Oscar was not the man you would call gorgeous, or the man who bought us a number of drinks, or the man for any other reason that you may think we would find him memorable for- instead it was for his quite eager and aggressive behavior.  Let us explain.

When we first saw him, he was outside of the pub on the other side of the street, but he was calling us over with big hand gestures suggesting that we leave with him and his buddies. Although humorous, we were quite comfortable right where we were, so after a few more times of trying to convince us, he came over to the window, placed his lips on the outside of it, and waited for Brittany to give him a kiss. Of course being innocent Brittany and not thinking any harm of it, she kissed him back through the window…

Seconds later, Oscar had made his way through the crowded pub, grabbed Brittany, tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and started to leave. Kristen, of course, could not let this happen and grabbed Brittany by the arms pulling her down from him. After a few laughs, a few more attempts to carry Brittany out of the pub with him, and a few conversations of how this just would not work, we thought that would be the end of it; however, that was not the case. In his last attempt, Oscar tried to carry both of us out of the bar. However, us being the secretly strong people we are (or more so having the ability to squirm out of big German guys arms), Oscar was unsuccessful once again. Defeated, Oscar left with neither of us, but he will be one of those guys we will always probably remember.

Know Who You Are Traveling With

When we booked our trip, we thought that we had booked it out of DC; however we soon realized our actual place to lift off was in Baltimore, an hour North (at least we figured it out before we ended up going to the wrong airport entirely). Luckily, Shirley (Kristen’s mom) and Lori (Kristen’s aunt) were able to bring us up and took us out for the night. Although Kristen is used to traveling with her wonderful mother by now, Brittany was able to enjoy the full experience- times two, since Shirley and her sister are pretty much one in the same person. And let’s just say Brittany enjoyed it quite a bit ;) 

Besides the constant questions and bathroom stops on our short (but at some points what seemed like forever) road trip, it was quite fun and filled with laughter after many wrong turns and the consistent talk of food. 

To say the least, we had a great time and it was a successful start to our trip. We ate A LOT, took A LOT of pictures, and did a little shopping. However, we also learned that it is very important to travel not only with someone you love, but also with someone who travels the way you do. (Sadly, Shirley and Lori you didn’t make the cut for Ireland, but you were great one-day traveling partners and we will always remember the trip)