Mont St Michel

Welcome to Mont St Michel, a spectacular tidal island that took 500 years to complete. With its rich history, the place is as interesting as it is beautiful.

Zoo, Draughts and Darts

We went to the zoo today. Along the way, we decided to stop for lunch and a cute little place nearby, called the Phoenix Park Tea Rooms. It was a deliciously simple lunch of soup and bread, washed down with a coke. On a chilly day such as this, the soup was very pleasant. Perhaps on my next trip, I will try the tea.


Dublin Zoo is pretty awesome and I had a great time seeing the animals and snapping pictures. The animals appeared content and well-fed, which is always a good thing. There were also some fun, interactive things with which to learn.

Check it out! I almost have chimpanzee hands!








We should probably stop eating at Bel Cibo. The food was mediocre at best (again) and the service was terrible. They acted as though they were doing you a favor by serving you at all. I can safely say I would not recommend that restaurant.


The Richmond was much more fun and entertaining tonight than usual (it usually has more of a laid-back/older crowd, reminiscent of "the club" back home: nice, but not exciting). While enjoying a spectacular pint and a half of Smithwick's, Dad and I were invited to partake in a game of darts. Now, my dart throwing skills are far less than spectacular and I warned our new friends. Still, they insisted we play a game or so. Of course, the first dart I threw bounced off the wall and landed on the floor in two separate pieces. (I told you I warned them, right?) Well, that was entirely unacceptable and they decided I had to try again. My next throw stuck, it stuck right by the bulls-eye and I got quite a few points for my team. I won't lie, though. After that one spectacular (for me) throw, I returned to my usual unskilled throwing, sticking a few darts in the wall. After the game of darts, I made a new friend (someone actually near my own age! at the Richmond!) named Ruadhan. Perhaps we will keep in touch after I leave.

Pint count: 14.5

Irish Beer is Too Easy to Swallow!

Oh, the joys of Ireland. Today, we went to the National Leprechaun Museum. The stories were fabulous and I am quite interested in reading up on Irish mythology. The museum, itself, left a bit to be desired, but the experience was still amazing. It is a cute little place with a lot of potential. It just opened in 2010, so there is plenty of room to grow.

After the museum, we went to the mall. I got some candy and pistachios. How can you not enjoy candy and pistachios?

When we got back to the hotel, Dad, the Gormans, and I decided to go out to the pubs. Our first stop was at The Cobblestone. It's a quaint little pub near our hotel. I had a Jameson on the rocks... it was about 3 shots in one glass with a couple of ice cubes. I still say you should never taint such a pure whiskey with mixers. It is just too good by itself.

The Gormans were a bit too tired to join us for the rest of our pub hopping, so they returned to the hotel. Dad and I went to his favorite pub, The Richmond. There, I partook in (2) 1/2 pints of Smithwicks Irish Ale. Amazingly, I have found a beer that is too easy to swallow! If you know me, you know that I am generally not a big fan of beers. However, this is Ireland and you have to try the beer! Smithwicks is a smooth tasting ale with mild undertones of coffee. It is even better than the Bulmers cider I've been chugging down!

After our drinks at The Richmond, we returned to the Cobblestone for another pint and some live music. The pub has musicians every night. Tonight's group consisted of about 30 people with violins, mandolins, and pipes. If you're in the mood for a good pint of beer and authentic Irish music, then the Cobblestone pub is the right place for you.

Pint count: 6
Whiskey count: 5

Just so you know, my first work of art has been put up for display in a museum. Here I am with my lovely piece titled "Jennifer, Age 25"... I am slowly becoming world famous. :)

Museums, Beaches, and (In)appropriately Named Drinks in Barcelona

I toured with the group today. Our first stop was at the surprisingly uninspiring Picasso museum. I'm not sure what it was about his work, but I found myself completely lacking any sense of awe in its presence.

At our next stop, we crashed a wedding in the Sta Maria del Mar church. It was a strange occurrence. A small area near the altar was roped off, but the church remained open for us tourists to ogle and snap pictures. I suppose that sort of thing is common in Barcelona.

We had lunch at Bubo. It is a casual little restaurant with outdoor seating across from the main entrance of the church. I ordered the 4 cheese pizza. It was pretty bad... but that's what you get for ordering an Italian dish in Spain. Haha, so I can't complain. The rolls were very good, though. Especially dipped in EVOO and balsamic vinegar. I'll have to make rolls with EVOO/balsamic dressing at home.

The final stop for the group was the Miro Museum. Finally, a museum that impresses. Miro's work is a fantastic use of bold, (mostly) primary colors and sharp lines. I found his pieces to be quite awesome. You should definitely check it out if you ever happen to be in Barcelona.

After the final museum of the day, the group split up and we went our separate ways. I decided to join a couple of the students for a trip to the beach. As it was kind of chilly and I didn't have my bathing suit, I chose to sit in the sand with our things as the 2 boys went wave riding in the Mediterranean. Hopefully they enjoyed themselves, I thought it was pretty fun... and Ed's "sand art" was pretty amazing. :) Before we left, I walked into the water, about calf high, to have my picture taken in the Mediterranean Sea. By the way, the water was quite cold!

Once we were finished with our outing to the beach, we returned to the boys' hostel and I waited until they were ready to go to dinner. We ate at a nice little pub down a side street near the cathedral. I shared a seafood paella with Shane and the other 2 had pizzas. I ordered a beer with my dinner and can honestly say it wasn't bad. Especially considering that I tend to dislike the majority of beers with which I come into contact.

Following dinner, we stopped at another bar, had a shot called "ABC" (Absinthe, Bacardi, and a citrus liquor that started with a C). It wasn't bad, definitely wasn't fantastic... and we saw no "green fairies" this time around, but it was fun to try. Afterwards, the boys dropped me off at the apartment. I waited for the return of my family and Lori with a few drinks in the plaza nearby as the boys returned to their hostel to parttake in far cheaper drinks than those available along the streets of Barcelona.

By far, the tastiest, most interesting drink I have had thus far in my travels abroad was enjoyed at an interesting little place called Santamonica. The drink was (in)appropriately named "Porn Star Boost". Inappropriate for obvious reasons, appropriate for the garnish they used... a garnish I didn't realize would be involved until the waiter reached my table. Haha, it sure was hillarious."Porn Star Boost"... see what I mean?

"I don't talk to strangers..."

True to my travelling form, I went exploring on my own today. I couldn't really tell you exactly where I went for most of the day, but I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own and came across some interesting things.

I wandered through the streets and alleys of Barcelona, stopping in at a few shops, picked up a shirt and sunglasses. By lunch time, I got a bit tired of wandering around aimlessly, so I stopped at a nice little tapas place. They were out of one of my choices and gave me the wrong thing for another choice. However, the food I did get was pretty good. A lovely lunch complete with crab salad on a toasted bagguette, skewered barbecue flavored pork, and skewer of shrimp, mushrooms, and bacon. I finished the meal with a cup of coffee and looked at my map.

Making my way around the city, I decided to treat myself to a bus tour. I purchased a ticket from a rather strangely grafitti'd booth and hopped on the bus for the green line. It was a nice way to get off the street and see a large part of Barcelona. I would definitely recommend taking a bus tour of the city on the first day. It allows for a brief overview of everything there is to see and lets you know where everything is.

The bus had started at a park filled with statues, once the ride had come full circle, I decided to check them out. It was a lovely experience until a rather creepy man started talking to me by the fountain. Strangely, at the exact moment he started talking to me, the vast collection of tourists swarming the park suddenly vanished. Leaving little time for mistakes, I executed my escape perfectly. I simply asked him if he had the time. He told me the time, I said I had run to meet my group for dinner (or else I'd be late, of course), and left.

Of course, I didn't have to meet anyone for another hour and a half, so I made my way to the open market with all the delicious fruit. There, I came across a few of the students, so I just hung out with them until it was time to go to dinner.

We all ate dinner at a trendy restaurant near our apartment called Tasty. I ordered the seafood spaghetti dish and it was delicious! There was the perfect amount of garlic and everything was cooked perfectly. I guess it's time to add mussels to my list of tasty things to eat!








After dinner, a few of the students and I wandered around and came across a cute little sports bar by the water. The bar is called Nit Borbo. I ordered a Bellini and watched the futbol game. It was a good time.