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