Since I last blogged I was in the big city-- Madrid. Remember when I said "sprawling metropolis?" Well, I sort of take that back, but it really is a lot different than many of the smaller places I've been traveling to. For example, there was a theatre district like a very small scale NYC or London. There were um, "skyscrapers" (not really, but let's just say really tall buildings), and the metro is complex (much better than the C-Train!) like Paris. My overall impression of Madrid was a positive one, but I much prefer the smaller destinations I think. Also, I think I was anxious to get my flight to Dublin so I had other things on my mind.

Getting to the Madrid airport was fairly easy. I had been told it would take me ages, but it seemed to go by fast and without incident. Once I got to the airport I checked in and was free from my bag!! I ended up wandering the airport shops and gave into duty free temptation..... Nina Ricci Le Paradis.Retail therapy strikes again.

Once I got to Dublin, it was fairly easy. Customs was a breeze--- "How long are you here?"..."Have a good time"... ha....then I collected my bags and off I went to find Seamus &Family's house. The best thing is the bus drivers are all very helpful. Maybe I'm a bit biased but everyone is friendlier here...I don't know. I feel way more comfortable and when I'm in a shop, on the bus, or wherever, I feel like I'm being taken care of in a strange way. I suppose hospitable is a word that might describe it...

Anyhow, I'm rambling. I eventually found my way to the house and it felt really good to be there. I feel right at home. I've got to watch the kids play sports (gaelic football) and I even got to see a funny class play last night.

I haven't done much touristy type things yet as I haven't been feeling all that great, but I'm up for it today and wouldn't you know it's raining. Ha! But that's why it's so green here..and all the trees are blooming.

Note: The black dog is Sheeba! That is the family dog and she's pretty awesome. Though, she doesn't like men with hats or white vans. She can hop tall fences and makes friends wherever she goes. She is quiet I haven't heard her bark yet!

written by  Sarah Andrea on April 30, 2010 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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After a day of wandering the city centre yesterday, my cousin Aideen came down and met me for a drink at a pub in Temple Bar. What turned out to be "a drink" turned out to a very late night and several pubs/bars later. Every pub is bustling with people and even moreso on a bank holiday weekend.

As I said, this weekend is the bank holiday weekend...not sure what the holiday is for other than celebrating Spring maybe. Aideen and I think we might go checkout one of the festivals happening this weekend called SoGo. My other cousin Aisling is working and can't meet us until Sunday which should be good fun -- like last time...

Other than that, no news to report. I'm not sure how long I will stay here for but at least until the bank holiday is over. I should probably start looking at making some plans now. I know it will be hard to leave.

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 1, 2010 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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It seems the wind has blown me to Liverpool ...and by wind, I mean volcanic ash cloud. The original plan was to fly to Poland, but word came that the ash cloud was making it's return and rather than chance it and get stuck with a ticket to fly, I decided to get a ticket to ride...the ferry. Once I decided I left Dublin on the overnight ferry and as of this morning I've been out and about.

See, there's this thing called BEATLEMANIA!! And I has it... ha!

Beatles Story

I've decided to stay an extra day in Liverpool because there is so much I haven't seen and done . Plus, the guest House that I'm staying in is sooooo sweet! It wasn't that expensive, but I feel kinda posh. The weather today has been so damp and cold. I find it very hard to warm up even after buying some warmer clothes in Dublin. That's why I love this room-- a kettle, loads of tea /coffee , comfy bed and a giant bathtub... oh it's going to be so good.

Leaving Dublin was a hard thing to do. I feel so comfortable there and the CRAIC was good! I even got to get out of the city and visit Wicklow and the Glendaloch area. Gorgeous!!

As for food, I'd say my "diet" is a bust... curry n chips,... need I say more?

And as for what's next I'm not entire sure. I know I want to get to Prague and Berlin...and of course, Copenhagen for the 15th. As for anything else that comes along (Amsterdam etc,) it's all a bonus really. I'm loving this trip.

You know, Sir Paul McCartney has been quoted as saying Liverpool is the capitol of Ireland. Ha..maybe that's why I like it.

I'll keep you updated! Now, to warm up..

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 5, 2010 from Liverpool, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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After that I went to the pub for lunch and then a bit of shopping. This reminds me... there are a few things I'm going to have to leave behind...haha....can't carry everything. Trust me, I could buy so much more but am showing great restraint!

Where I'm not showing any restraint would be with food. Seriously, how can one pass up a MARS muffin?!?!

Anyways, I've got to plan the next leg of the trip..... I've got a few ideas ...

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 6, 2010 from Liverpool, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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I will edit this blog later to explain further and what I've been up to today...ha! But right now I'm hungry and in search of perogies.

Remind me to tell you why I have a new nickname.... Skullcracker. It's a good-er.

To be continued!

Part 2;

Ok so my last night in Liverpool I ended up booking a flight to Krakow. I had many options of where I could go, but this seemed the best one. Also, I bought a pocket-size book on Krakow in the bookstore that evening and I knew it was a good sign when the cashier started chatting me up about Krakow and how much she enjoyed it. So the next day I departed Liverpool for Krakow.

It was relatively easy to get to the airport and check in. John Lennon Airport is not that big. It reminds me of a train station in a way because you don't know your gate number just by looking at your boarding pass. Everyone waits around a departures board until their flight comes up telling them what gate to proceed to. This was my first time flying...easyJet. It's a bit strange-- they don't have assigned seating and it felt like a long time waiting to board the plane standing in a line while all the boarding passes were checked. At that point, they bussed us to our plane and it was basically a free for all. Even the people who paid for "speedy boarding" were on the same bus so.....?.......Anyhow, it was very low cost. I'm not complaining...I had a great window seat. It's just an observation.

When I was standing in line waiting for the bus to the plane, I noticed two things..... 1) A loud group of 20 or so men in red shirts indicating they were part of a Stag weekend. And...2) ANOTHER loud group of 20 or so men in Blue shirts indicating they were on stag weekend!!! ------- Oh great! :/

So I got my window seat and waited to see who would sit beside me. Chances were they'd be wearing red or blue. Ha! Blue shirts it was. Quickly into the flight we made friends and it turned out to be really enjoyable. My two friends (from Blackpool) shared their £20 easyJet feast of grilled cheese , wine and kitkat bars with me as if I was part of the group. They insist I come out with them this weekend to the bars. I didn't last night because they were more on a organized tour, but tonight is the free night to go wherever they want. They even joked they were going to get a t-shirt made up for me just like all of theirs...but the question was, what would be my nickname on the back? We didn't know...yet. As the flight progressed we were talking about my trip and where I was going after Krakow. I mentioned I was going to see a band that I like soon and naturally they asked who. I said, "Ah you won't know who they are" ..."they're Swedish".... First guess was Abba (ha!!) and then an Abba tribute band (double HA!!)......and then "Shrek" (Steven) says "Isn't there some really famous death metal band from Sweden? Is that it? They're called Skullcracker or something??" And we all just looked at each other and laughed because of ALL the people who would LOOK like they're into death metal can you imagine it to be me?????????? Hahha.....so then we decided that would be my nickname and it would probably be appropriate to get a large tattoo of it in memory of this 2hr flight.

Anyhow, once I got to Krakow it wasn't very long to get from the airport to the city except for this strange walk from the airport to the train. Literally I walked 10 mins to the end of a forest to the platform. Strange. Anyhow, it's really pretty here. What I noticed on the descent was an area of very green rolling hills and valleys. Really stunning.

Last night I went to a more traditional Polish type restaurant ...meat filled dumplings. Very nice. And I tried a hot tea with vodka..lots....wow!!! Interesting. I wouldn't order it again, but at least I can say I tried it!

Now, I'm off to explore.

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 7, 2010 from Krakow, Poland
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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A Spanish Rose

Love You XO

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 9, 2010 from Krakow, Poland
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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I feel really tired so I'm going to keep this short. When I decided my next stop would be Prague, I had two choices-- 1) A day time train approx 8hrs with a few stops/changes OR 2) An overnight direct train with sleeping facilities. I made my choice based on the fact that the night train would allow me more time to explore Krakow and then without wasting time sleeping (pppffttt!) I would end up in Prague and Voila I'm all set. What I didn't count on was how um, err...well I was a little hungover and grumpy from Saturday night with my new friends. Of course, checkout was 11am so I had a whole day to kill with VERY little sleep and feeling not the greatest.... perhaps it would have been more productive to sit on a train, I dunno. Well, except if I had done that I would have had even LESS sleep if any..Ha! Anyhow, lesson learned.

Night trains. What can I say... I had a reservation in a 3 girl couchette. There really isn't any room for anything in those rooms. Thankfully I had the bottom bunk because I don't know how I would have climbed to the 2nd or 3rd with this post-Saturday night hurt. So I crawled into bed all zombie-like and I think I actually slept.

The train arrived in Prague just before 7am and I can't say much about anything after that... I'm having a bit of a rest and watching some Czech tv. I think Prague might be one of the greatest cities ever, but I just haven't experienced it yet. Later. I feel like I need a shower. I will get refreshed and start from scratch.

To be continued...

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 10, 2010 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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Let me tell you what I've been up to lately. Wait, let me make some coffee and I'll continue the story....

.......Ok, my last entry ended with me tired after an overnight train from krakow. Well, I'm still tired (ha!) but I've been pretty productive. Once I refreshed myself and was able to start over it was much better. I walked all over the old town and ate traditional Czech cuisine (goulash, bread dumplings). Later in the evening I went to a concert in St.Nicolas Church. The concert was by the Prague Brass Ensemble.

The following day I took part in the ultimate organized tour of Prague. I don't always sign up for walking tours, but I thought it might be a good idea as I know nothing of the history of Prague and I could do with a little organization. WEll, the tour was 6hrs and my feet were already sore from before so you can imagine. I think cobblestone is beautiful, but it is really, really hard on your feet, legs, back etc. It's all so uneven and it really doesn't matter what shoes you wear. You're going to be sore. And as someone who enjoys wearing ballet flats, let me tell you....you can feel EVERYTHING! Anyhow the tour included a river boat cruise and a 3 course lunch where I got to know some of the people on the tour. This came in handy for after the tour...

The tour ended up at Prague Castle which is not like a castle at all.... more like a city within a city. Included in the ticket of the tour was a separate"ghost" tour later in the evening. So with about 3 hours to spare, a few of us walked back into town and went for a bite to eat. Yes, I even had a Czech beer!! When in Rome...

The ghost tour was very cheesy, but our guide (same as the day tour) is very sarcastic and funny so it was tolerable ...ha. I can see how Prague could be creepy at night with all the different little passageways and everything but there are so many people around it's not easy to get scared.

And this brings me to this morning. It's really nice to stay in bed a bit later and not worry about missing something as i think I've covered all the main points. However, there are a few little things I'd like to visit in a more leisurely manner. Also I'll be planning my weekend in Copenhagen! Very exciting.

More later..

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 12, 2010 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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I just arrived in Copenhagen where I'll be spending the weekend.

The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen took about 4hrs by land AND sea! I even got half-way through a book. The journey was one of the smoother journeys of this trip, I think. I didn't feel overly frustrated. In fact, I think it's fairly easy to get around here and people seem friendlier so far. I'm not saying they were unfriendly in Krakow or Prague, it's just a different lifestyle here I imagine.

My "hotel" is novel. When I walked into my room I got this giddy smile on my face-- not because it's big and posh, but because it's small and compartmentalised...like a cabin on a ship! I love it!!! It reminds me of the cruise to Cabo.

I think I might like this whole Scandinavian thing... hmm.

To Be Continued!!

Vi ses..(see you)

written by  Sarah Andrea on May 14, 2010 from Copenhagen, Denmark
from the travel blog: Europe 2010
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