London and the Last Goodbye...

We did so much better in London. We got in super late and took a cab to our hotel (our correct hotel mind you which is always a good start).  The lobby was nice but the halls and our room was so tiny we could barely get our luggage through.  We literally checked in and went to bed. We got up early again on Tuesday.  Beth was the first to shower, and that's when we realized we couldn't turn the water temperature lower than 20*C (or about 90*F).  After that was fixed, we both got ready and headed out, prepared for a full day of sightseeing.  

Luckily, Beth is a planner and we had a whole list of things to accomplish, all arranged geographically.  First, we hit up Kensington Gardens and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.  Then Hyde Park and Hyde Park Corner (the busiest traffic corner in London).  Then Buckingham Palace (where we didn't see the changing of the guards...we actually didn't see any guards at all. And the Queen wasn't home which was weird because she definitely knew I was coming but whatever.) We stopped and had breakfast then headed to Queen Victoria Station (the biggest tube station in London) and bought day passes. We took the tube to The Eye (the giant ferris wheel) and waited in line until our time to ride.  There was a couple moments of panic when we thought we weren't going to actually get on since we bought our tickets from this really shady street vendor and they had Flight time: 2:30 on July 30th stamped on the back, but all was well and the "flight" took about an hour.  Next we went to Big Ben and House of Parliament, where my camera conveniently died. Then off for a really interesting tour of Westminster Abbey.  We took the tube over to St. Paul's Cathedral (which is HUGE) then walked across Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theater and the Tate Modern Art Museum. Then on the tube again to Piccadilly Circus, where we had drinks and appetizers.  And finally the tube back to our hotel.

We took a nap, and had dinner at a cute little Italian place right down the street from our hotel. After all our travels, we realized we could take the tube from right outside our hotel all the way to the train station where we caught the Express (the 45 minute train that runs from the city to the airport) back to London Stansted. Our plane left at 9:30, so to be there 2 hours early we had to be at the train station at 6:30 to catch the Express which means it was another early morning. But we made the plane with (surprisingly) no problems and we were off to our final day in Dublin.

We picked up my checked bag at lost luggage, and skipped a much needed nap in favor of shopping and doing the Jameson tour (which is way better than the Guinness factory by the way if you ever have to choose).  We ate dinner near our hotel and indulged in a final pint of Hooker (Galway, that is). Then at my mother's insistence we had a drink at the actual Temple Bar (which amazingly I had never been too...at least I don't think I'd ever been there).  Encouraged  by the 2 (or 3) previous pints we headed to Fitzsimmon's Bar down the street and had another pint while listening to this guy with a great voice singing all sorts of American songs. Then back home for a final pint in the hotel bar, and therefor I blame my mother for my slight hangover on the flight home.  

Which seemed way longer (and actually was an hour longer) then the flight there, especially since my sleeping meds didn't work.  I had a small incident at the airport. I almost cried when the airline attendant told me my checked bag was 3 lbs. to heavy. She was so surprised when I just whipped open my bag at the desk (no lock to mess with this time) and just started throwing things out that when I stood back up she just told me it was fine without even checking the weight. We made it to O'Hare just before a bomb threat was called in, but finally made it on our plane to St. Louis, and finally HOME.

It was a long summer. It was kind of cold and my job kind of sucked, but I met really great people and had the time of my life traveling around and going out like crazy.  Everyone asks me if I'm glad I did it, but I can't even think of a reason I wouldn't be.  I learned a lot. I had a lot of fun. And now...I have to look for a job and try to grow up but it was a hell of a way to end my college career.  

Love to all, and thanks to anyone whose read this and finds it the least bit interesting.....E

Croatia a.k.a The Most Stressed Anyone Has Ever Been On Their Way To The Beach.

So by now most of you who read that have already heard all this...but I figured now that I have the time I might as well officially wrap things up. 

My friend Beth finally made it to Dublin after being delayed in London over and hour.  She was a real trooper, and we spent the whole day (literally all day) walking and walking and she didn't even complain.   She ended up getting in around 10 am and after a quick shower we went downtown for lunch to our favorite place, Bewley's.  It took FOREVER...but after lunch we went all over the place.  We took the Trinity tour (which walks you all around the campus and tells you about all its history).  It ends in the Book of Kells, which, by the way, is kind of a let down. You can't read any of it, and the tour guide doesn't actually take you inside so you're on your own to figure out what exactly is going on, and then of course you end up in the bookstore.  

Then we walked up to St. Patrick's, and it was closed.  Then we walked all the way over to the Jameson Factory, and it was closed. And by that time all my friends were coming downtown for our last dinner together, so we hiked it all the way back to O'Connell to meet them. We had a real Irish dinner down in the Temple Bar.  By then Beth was getting tired, so we skipped out when everyone went to the Comet and headed back to the apartments.  Everyone started drifting back home and we all sat up chatting and laughing for a while. Finally, the last goodbyes were said and we all went to bed.

Saturday started early.  I was up at 5 to shower, finish packing, close up my room, and say goodbyes to my roommates before the taxi picked us up at 6:50 am (the driver was actually 15 minutes early which started the stressfulness since I had 2 months worth of crap to haul down the stairs in a hurry, along with an overflowing trash bag.) We made it to the airport and I was pretty nervous considering I'd spent the last week worrying about my luggage and now it was judgement time....

To help you understand, I will explain a little bit about RyanAir...the airline we were flying with for all of our subsequent travel locations.  You are only allowed 15 kilos (33 lbs.) in your checked bag, but for a small fee (20 euros a kilo) you can check whatever you want. You are also only allowed 10 (22 lbs) kilos in your carry on (and, if you were wondering as many people apparently are since I found this information in the frequently asked questions, you are not allowed to carry on a parachute, avalanche travel kit, or your own life vest or raft.  Luckily, passable items include babies and golf clubs). I crossed my fingers and just tried to casually throw my bag on the check table.  It was 9 kilos over (I had Beth stand pretty far away with my carry on so they wouldn't ask any questions).  The airline representative started adding up the total on her fingers so I figured it couldn't be that bad...130 EUROS. THEY WANTED ME TO PAY 130 EUROS--OR NEARLY 250 USD--- PER FLIGHT TO HAUL ALL MY STUFF AROUND WITH ME. I laughed. There was no way that was happening. 

Here's where we encounter our next problem. When attempting to find a way to cram more stuff into my already packed carry on, I realized I had locked the keys to my luggage lock inside my actual luggage. Awesome. To make it worse, turns out the Irish aren't invasive and don't riffle through any checked bags, nor do they have bolt cutters to break into suspicious luggage. The one time I really wanted my civil liberties to be violated and nothing.  So I'm running all around the airport until someone sends me to airport police. I make friends with the chief after he hears my sob story, and he convinces the valets to knock my lock off with a hammer.  On our way back to the station I find out that I can check unwanted bags at lost luggage for the duration of my trip.  So I whip out my trusty backpack and Beth and I take over the Airport Police Station lobby to repack my bag.  To give you a mental picture, my stuff is spread out all over the floor and on top of my open checked bag.  Beth is throwing things into my now empty carry on as I fling them out of my now disorganized check bag. We stuff a couple things in my backpack, she sits on my suitcase as I zip up the leftover contents, we drop the bag at left luggage, and off we go.  The airline worker is amazed that my bag is now online 10 kilos. 

You would think that this would be the end of our drama...but no. We land in Zadar, Croatia and grab some kunas (Croatian currency) and a cab to our hotel.  I'm a little bit suspicious when the cabdriver doesn't know where our hotel is.  But I say Falkenstiener and he hands the sheet back to me and heads out.  When we go to check in the desk clerk keeps saying things like "You flew into this airport?" and "Do you have a car here?" which are never comforting signs. Finally they inform us that our hotel is a complete other part of the city and proceeds to pull out a map of the entire country.  Turns out, OUR HOTEL WAS 5 HOURS AWAY. In a completely other city serviced by an entirely different airport.  This could be a bit of an issue.

Luckily, the desk clerk was possibly the nicest human being on the face of the planet and found a way to transfer our entire reservation (including our reduced price) to their hotel since they were a chain.  The problem? It was a family resort that especially catered to children and Beth and I spend the next couple of days looking like drunk, incompetent mothers. But our room was nice, and more importantly it wasn't 5 hours away, so we made it work. 

We had drinks that afternoon, then took a long nap before dinner, and then enjoyed all inclusive drinks that evening.  Sunday, the second day we were there, we got up and took the train (which was actually a tractor pulling a cart ) into town to catch the ferry to the islands.  We got tickets to the closest one since that was the easiest to pronounce, and were disappointed not to find the beautiful sandy beaches we thought were awaiting, but giant concrete slabs instead.  Still, we got a lot of sun, had a lot of fun, and swam in the Adriatic Sea. Monday we had to check out at 10 am, so we took the tractor back into town for a bit of shopping, then went back and laid out all day at our hotel.  We hosed off in the beach shower, and changed clothes.  We grabbed our last free dinner before catching a cab back to the airport.

I promise promise promise to post pictures soon....E