Last Post!!!

It's beginning to look s lot like Christmas! Emily and I are finished with finals! Yay! It is an amazing feeling to be done. Time flew by but finals studying and the exams went by way too slow.

Hey guys! Last blog post! Emily and I leave on Saturday!

Our final Sunday in Dublin we went to a delicious brunch after mass. We had mimosas and pancakes and enjoyed hanging out with our friend Lynda and taking a break from studying for finals.

We literally studied for two weeks and only left the house to go to the gym. It was not fun and we are glad it is over.

Our final week we also had a roommate dinner and because we were all exhausted we just ordered pizza, a ton of pizza.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Emily had her last final (I was done on Tuesday) and we just chilled and baked cookies and enjoyed some wine.

We are now packing and putting our tetris skills to the test by trying to fit everything and keep the bags under weight.

Finals were rough, we are happy to be leaving that and we are definitely ready to be home, but we are also sad to be leaving Dublin and the friends we made here. We met some great people and went on some amazing trips. We are still in awe about the places we have been and the things we've seen. This was, like everyone said it would be, the experience of a lifetime. And as many times as we complained about school or the crazy Dublin weather or the expensive and inconvenient public transportation system, we loved it here and know how lucky we are that we were able to have this experience.

Hope you all enjoyed the blog posts and thank you for reading and caring about our lives.

Can't wait to see everybody!

-Sam and Emily

Band Perry Concert and Malaga, Spain

Hey all!

Sorry for the late post but Sam and I have been settling back into studying for finals weeks. We both have our first ones today but at least that means one less until we come home!

Last week we did a few fun things :) On Wednesday, we went into Dublin to see the Band Perry! This is an American country band from Alabama so it was nice to hear some country accents. The band was AMAZING and put on such a good show. Sam and I had a great time :)

On Friday, we left for our last European venture to Malaga, Spain. It is the 6th largest city in Spain although we thought it was really small and we could easily walk everywhere. It's on the southern tip of Spain and has a large port and about 3 miles of beach. Needless to say, Sam and I were in heaven :) It was warm and sunny the whole time! After we got there and checked into our hostel, we quickly went through all of the touristy things there are to do in Malaga. We saw the Cathedral and decided to go there for mass on Sunday, we went to the house where Picasso grew up and the Picasso Museum, and we climbed up to the Alcazaba and Castilla Gibralfaro. We could see the whole city from there and got some beautiful pictures. After that we got some tapas and a glass of wine and headed back to the hostel for the night.

Catedral de Malaga

Catedral de Malaga

View of the port from the Castle

Sam and I with our tapas and wine :)

On Saturday, we put on capris, t-shirts, flats, and sunglasses and headed to the beach! We went wandering and shopping on the way stopping at the pretty gardens and looking at all of the tourist stands. Then we went through the port and scoped out all of the restaurants on our way to the beach. We walked in the sand for a bit then found a little beach shack and ordered a pitcher of sangria and some chocolate crepes and just enjoyed the sun and the waves. Later, we had a really nice dinner at the port with a bottle of wine and dessert too :)

Palm trees!

More palm trees!

The port where we will park our yachts one day ;)

Sangria and chocolate crepes :)

At night while we were having dinner

We woke up early on Sunday and went to mass, did some final shopping, and checked out of the hostel. Then we went back to the port and sat in the sun reading for a long time. After a final meal and an ice cream cone by the water, we had to say goodbye to our beautiful little spot and head to the airport. It was a wonderful vacation that Sam and I needed before the craziness of finals. We both agreed it was our favorite trip :)

Inside the Cathedral

Last view of the port with the Cathedral in the background

 Now we're back in Dublin and preparing for our 2 weeks of finals but by Wednesday of next week we will both be done. All we will have to do then is pack all of our stuff (no small feat) and make our flight on Saturday morning. We can't wait to see you all in 11 days!!

Love and miss you,
~Emily and Sam

London and my 21st!

Hi! Hope everyone is doing alright. This past weekend Emily and I went to London with our friends Claire and Kendra. It was a blast and we saw and did a ton of stuff.

Friday when we got there we walked along Oxford street and Regent street, which are main shopping streets, we walked over to Westminster Abbey and just checked out the outside. We also checked out Big Ben and Parliament which are right near the Abbey. Next we went to King's Cross station to see Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. Then we headed out of the city center to the Warner Bros studio where they filmed the Harry Potter movies and got to see a bunch of props and sets and learn a bit of behind the scenes stuff about the movies. We then went back to the city center and had a delicious Italian dinner. After dinner we tried to go to the London Eye, but unfortunately it had already closed. We were all exhausted so we headed back to the hostel and passed out.

Hogwarts Castle

Oxford Street

Parliament and Big Ben

Saturday we started by walking to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. After that we went to check out Piccadilly Square. Then we ate brunch at a cute place in the west end near all of the theatres. After lunch we headed to Her Majesty's Theatre to see the musical Phantom of the Opera. It was amazing, just no words for how great the voices were, especially the Phantom, he was crazy good. After the musical we grabbed some dinner at Chipotle and got a little taste of home. Then we walked to Hyde Park to go to Winter Wonderland a Christmas carnival that was going on. It was cool, but there were lots of people there and it was a little overwhelming. When we'd had enough of the carnival we got a drink at a pub nearby and then headed home.

Buckingham Palace 

Her Majesty's Theatre

On Sunday, Birthday day, we went to a nice breakfast and sipped on some bellinis. Then we got on the tube and went to the river Thames and explored the cites along the river. We saw the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and then walked to St. Paul's Cathedral which was beautiful inside and out. Then we headed back to the London Eye and rode on it around sunset. After the Eye we headed to an area called Camden and got our ears pierced. Then we got dinner and continued celebrating my birthday.

Tower Bridge

St. Paul's 

View of the river Thames from the Eye

The drink list, documented by Emily, included the following...
1. bellini
2. Blue moon at ye
3. il padrino wine at strada
4. il padrino
5. il padrino
6. Elephant head at elephant head
7. House White at Poppies fish and chips
8. Bah Humbug beer at Oxford Arms
9. Bah Humbug
10. Brandy Alexander (chocolate and vanilla ice cream, nutella, brandy) at The Diner
11. Brandy Alexander
12. Jameson & Ginger Beer @ Lock 17
13. Shot of Sambuca at Lock 17
14. Another shot of Sambuca
15. Little Miss Sunshine at the Bucks Head
16. Purple People Eater at the Bucks Head
17. Tequila shots at Zebrano
18. Tequila shots at Zebrano
19. Margarita at Gem
20. Rum and coke at Gem
21. Tequila Shots!!! At Gem

All in all it was a fabulous birthday, definitely the best one yet. It all went surprisingly well and we all easily made it back to the hostel in one piece. London, overall, was great and I would love to go back sometime.
We are really excited for a concert on Wednesday and Spain on Friday. These last few weeks will be crazy, but great.
Thanks for reading! More to come soon!
-Sam and Emily

Gaol Field Trip and Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving! Sam and I are sad to miss this time with family and friends but we are so thankful we have each other and can have our adventures in Ireland. Plus, we leave for London tomorrow so that helps too ;)

Last weekend we went Kilmainham Gaol with our Irish History class. It was a place where a lot of political prisoners were held during the Irish Rebellion in 1916, the War for Independence, and the Irish Civil War. Several movies have been filmed there including the Italian Job. It was an interesting field trip and Sam and I spent the rest of the day shopping all around Dublin.

Picture of the inside of the Gaol where the Italian Job was filmed

This week has been our last week of lectures so all we have left is finals! Next week is reading week so we are taking advantage and going to London and Malaga, Spain. After that, we have to hit the books for two weeks of finals and then head home. We have begun the final countdown :)

Tonight, we had Thanksgiving in the Global Lounge put on by the Study Abroad Office. We hung out with a bunch of our friends and enjoyed eating and drinking with them. Then, we all sang the national anthem to celebrate our American holiday haha

A mix of Ireland and America to decorate the tables

Miss and love you all! Happy Thanksgiving :)

~Emily and Sam

Weekend Adventures

This weekend was mainly filled with homework, but we did manage to have some fun as well.

Thursday after class Emily and I needed to do a little shopping so we decided to go to a big shopping mall south of campus that we hadn't had a chance to check out yet. The mall was way bigger than we thought and very crowded. It turned out that that night was "Rock and Shop" an event where a bunch of stores have really great deals to jump start Christmas shopping. Almost like a way more mellow and normal version of Black Friday. It was a little overwhelming, but we managed to get our shopping done pretty easily. The mall was already decorated for Christmas and it definitely put us in a Christmas mood a bit earlier than we're used to.

nicely decorated tree outside the mall

Saturday we had a field trip for our Irish Business History class to Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was a very early morning, but overall a good trip. We first stopped at a church in Drogheda where St. Oliver Plunkett's head is displayed. Lots of mummified people in Ireland. Anyway. 

St. Peter's Church

Then we went to Belfast and saw some lesser visited areas where there is still conflict today among the Irish and UK supporters. We went to the republican museum where they have displays and information about past political prisoners. 

We then went to Belfast city center and were able to hang out for almost an hour. There was a Christmas market going on and we walked around and looked at all the delicious food and crafts. 

We then headed to the Titanic museum in Belfast. The ship was built there and they have a really nice museum with information about the ship from the very start of designing and building it to discovering it on the ocean floor. 

view of the outside of the museum. made to be as tall as the actual Titanic ship.

After that we went back to Dublin where we grabbed some dinner downtown and checked out a couple pubs we had never tried before. It was a fun night and Dublin was all decked out for Christmas as well :)

Thanks for reading! 

-Sam and Emily 

Paris

Hey everyone!

Hope all is well at home! This past weekend Sam and I went to Paris from Thursday until Monday with our friends Bobbi and Lynda. We got there Thursday evening and after checking in at the hostel, immediately headed to the Eiffel Tower and took some wonderful night pictures. Then, we headed back to the hostel area and had a three course French dinner. Sam tried escargot and thought it wasn't too bad :)

Eiffel Tower on our first night

On Friday, we walked to Notre Dame. We really loved the gorgeous church and decided to go back for mass on Sunday. Then we climbed up a small curving staircase in one of the towers to get to the top. Even though it was cloudy and raining, we got some pretty cool pictures. After this, we headed to the Louvre and were excited that we got in for free :) We saw the Mona Lisa, Mary Magdalene, the three graces, Aphrodite, and so much more. It would have taken a week to actually walk the whole thing but we hit the highlights. We walked and had a chocolate croissant stop on our way to the Paris Opera House. Sadly, we were about a minute late to visit so we decided to go back the next day. We went back to the hostel to rest and then went out for Pizza since we were staying in Place d'Italia.

Sam and I in front of Notre Dame

At the Louvre

We got up early on Saturday and ran to catch the metro after figuring out our ticket situation (it didn't like all the change we were trying to use haha). Then we got to the Eiffel Tower and had our own little photo shoot :) We went all the way up to the top of the tower and got some more really cool pictures. At the top we spotted the Arc de Triomphe and decided to head there next. On the way, we found a cool little street market that had all kinds of fresh fish and produce so we stopped and got chocolate croissants and Sam got a loaf of brioche. We made it to the Arc, took some pictures and then grabbed the metro to the Moulin Rouge. We took some more pictures then walked up the hill to Sacre Coeur. We thought that was beautiful and the view from the hill was amazing. We walked down and through the shops on the way back to the metro. There was a cool chocolate shop with a model of Notre Dame made out of chocolate! We headed to the Opera House so that we could finally see it but it was closed to visitors that day. We were really disappointed so we asked at the ticket office if there were tickets for anything and, since Aida was on strike, we went to see a ballet later that evening. Our seats were kind of awful but they were cheap and we got to see a performance at the Paris Opera House so we were happy :)

Eiffel Tower photo shoot

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur

Chocolate model of Notre Dame

Paris Opera House!

Sunday morning, we went to mass at Notre Dame. The mass was in Gregorian Chant and, being the music nerd that I am, I absolutely loved it! There was a children's chorus to sing all of the mass parts and it was easier to follow the Latin than the French. The only sad part is we have no idea what the Homily was about but other than that it was absolutely amazing. After this, we headed to the Bastille district and found a huge street market. We all had crepes which were delicious and then we just wandered around for a bit. That evening, we headed back to the hostel, past a huge antique street market, so that Lynda could get her stuff and head back to Dublin. After we said goodbye, Sam, Bobbi, and I went for pizza again and our waiter tried to teach us some French haha

Batille district

Paris market

Monday was our last day in Paris. We wandered around the city to the Art bridge and the love lock bridge before crossing Pont Neuf. Sadly at this point, Bobbi's phone was stolen by some gypsy girls but we didn't realize it until we had already walked away. At that point we were ready to be home so after contacting her family, we stalled by shopping for a bit then headed to the airport. All in all it was an absolutely fantastic trip that I'm sure none of us will ever forget. We all felt really lucky to be able to see this beautiful city on our travels and cross a lot of things off our bucket lists :)

Love lock bridge

Shout out to Lynda for being our fearless navigator the whole trip!!! as well as being the only one who could pronounce French haha

Sam and I will be busy for the next few weeks with end of term and final projects and papers. We will try to update before we head to London the day after Thanksgiving for Sams 21st Birthday!!!

Missing you all at home!
Love you lots,

~Emily and Sam

parents' visit!

My parents got into Dublin on Wednesday. We met up by 10am and spent the entire day out and about. Luckily we had great weather, not too cold and it was even sunny. We went to the Jameson distillery, the Guinness brewery, Dublin castle, and then, when it got dark and we couldn't see anymore sights, we went to a traditional Irish dinner at the oldest pub in Ireland, the Brazen Head. We walked for hours and saw half of the main city sights that first day. We went back to the hotel and had a drink, mom discovered her new favorite drink is Jameson and ginger ale with lime :)

Thursday we got up super early and headed to the train station to take a rail tour to western Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher. We also saw Bunratty Castle and Galway city. It was a very very long day but it was sunny and only windy at the cliffs. We ended the night with another round of mom's new favorite drink and then headed to bed for our next early morning. 

cheesin at Bunratty Castle 

cliffs 

Friday we went on a bus tour to Southern Ireland to see the Ring of Kerry. It was another beautiful day and it made the impressive sights there even better. The tour was a little unorganized and long, but we made it through and we did see some beautiful sights. 

Saturday we opted for a later morning and took a tour to Malahide castle just outside of Dublin. It was a pretty cool castle and, until recently, had been in the same family for about 800 years. After the castle we went to the Dublin suburb of Howth and mom and papa had some tasty seafood. We were back in Dublin by the late afternoon and did a little shopping and had Emily meet us for dinner. We went to a pub and had more traditional Irish food. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and hung out for a bit.

Sunday was the earliest day. We were up by 3am to head to Scotland, Emily joined us as well. We landed in Edinburgh by 9am and had a full day around the city. We saw Edinburgh Castle which was very impressive. We saw churches and just walked around and looked at the great architecture  of all the buildings. We saw everything we could before the sun went down. Papa also did a little digging into his family history and discovered some new aspects of the ancestry he did not have any idea about, for instance, we may not be Scottish after all. For dinner we went to a pub called Jekyll and Hyde and had some traditional Scottish food. 

Monday we had another full day in Edinburgh. We went to the registry to look up more details on the family. We walked the royal mile and saw the Scottish parliament building. Unfortunately they were not debating that day so we didn't get to see any action. We also went to a huge museum with artifacts from Scotland's past as well as things from around the world. We went to an art museum as well and saw some cool paintings. We went to Edinburgh dungeon, which we thought might be some educational museum type place about the awful events of Scotland's past, but it ended up being a scary historical Disney type attraction. Papa was not amused and mom and Emily and I were a little afraid to walk around the corners. After that our stress levels were high and we decided we needed some food. We searched for this pie place from mom's guidebook and had some savory little pies for lunch. We did a little tourist and regular shopping and had a mid afternoon drink. Then went to the hotel to have some rest before dinner. We went to dinner at a pub called the rose and crown and papa had some traditional Scottish haggis, which we are still not entirely sure what it is. After dinner we went to an old pub called dirty dicks and had an evening drink before heading back to the hotel. 
We were extremely lucky in Scotland and only had to deal with the cold and a some wind on the first day. 

Tuesday we left Edinburgh in the morning and spent mom and papa's final day in Dublin checking out the south city center. We saw Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and did more tourist and regular shopping. Emily met us for dinner and we went to a pub with our friends Claire and Kendra and Kendra's parents. We had a nice family dinner. Sadly Emily had to get back to school for her SMC Skype class, but the rest of us headed to another pub to have a final drink with the parents.

I think overall mom and papa thoroughly enjoyed their visit, I mean they got to see me so we know it was great :) They had pretty awesome weather for Ireland, papa had his daily Guinness, and mom discovered she likes whiskey, which papa was excited about too. 

They leave Wednesday morning and Emily and I leave Thursday afternoon for Paris! 

Hope everyone is well and enjoyed reading! 

-Sam and Emily