Feeling extra lucky in DUBLIN

December 18th Meredith and I arrived in Dublin, Ireland at about 9:30pm and we were STARVING. I really didnt think I was going to make it to our hotel without getting some food in my system, but no worries guys- I didnt just settle with chinese food-There is a little Kebab shop right outside our hotel that we stopped at. If you havent tried Kebab I suggest everyone try it when you come to Europe, and no, it is not meat and veggies on a stick. It is a mix of beef or chicken with lamb, and there have been little kebab resturaunts in every country that I have been to so it is worth trying.

NOW... I want to start off by saying that when I first got to Dublin, I thought it was going to be the biggest waste of time honestly. Our hotel was the smallest one we have had yet, and when I look out our window lets just say it wasn't the lavishing view that we were spoiled to in Amsterdam, and Poland. It had that "dirty city" feel at first, but has Dublin ever proved me wrong. We started off our day by going to the Book of Kells, and me being a Harry Potter nerd, I thoughourly enjoyed looking at a library of old books that I wasnt allowed to touch.

If you couldnt tell, Harry Potter based their library off of this exact library. I will say for those of you planning to take a trip to Dublin, it is really not as big as it looks in this picture, but still a site worth seeing. Next we mozied on over to the Dublin Castle..super casual(: This was something I took a lot from. There was so much history and I liked learning about the city. FUN FACT ALERT--they actually still close down the castle for actual balls. Queen Elizabeth II has been here along with Barack Obama and many other public figures.

Something that I thought was really weird to see was the cars drive on the oppostie side of the road, and the steering wheels are on the oppostie side to! By this time my taste buds were tingling again so it was time for a late lunch, and of course we had to try some of their famous Irish coffee😊

Trying to immerse ourselves as much as possible, we decided to do a pub crawl. This was my first pub crawl and it most definently will not be my last. We met so many people, and again mom, we were safe I promise!!

The next day is really what sold me on this country, and when I pictued Ireland this town is what I pictured. Howth was about 45 minute bus ride, and it was a small little town with the famous cliffs! We also stopped to see the Howth castle. It is closed in the winter, but we were allowed to walk around the outside. Meredith and I walked along the water line and just enjoyed the nice weather that we surprising had! For dinner, I devoured probably the best plate of cod fish I have ever had. I wish I would have tried it my first meal here because I would have probably got to enjoy it about 4 more times.

My trip so far has really opened my eyes a lot. I have always been really indecisive, and second guess every decision I make and I really want to work on that. I almost missed out on this opportunity to travel Europe because I was scared to take a risk in my life. I am so blessed with this opportunity and when I get home I want to live life to the absolute fullest. I have thought a lot about my family on this trip as well. This has been AMAZING, but being away I really start to appreciate family, and I am lucky I get to come home on Christmas Eve to a house full of people who love me, and there are people who don’t have that luxury.

(enterance to Dublin Castle)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

next stop PARIS

Holly Catherine