Reunion Time

Friday was when all of the Holy Cross kids were arriving in Amsterdam.  I was so excited to see everyone!  The last time a lot of us were together was Oktoberfest in September, and even at that, it was so crazy you barely got to talk to anyone.

On Friday morning, Jane, Nicole, and I sought out another cool cafe to start off the day.  We were planning on doing a bike tour of the city once more of the HC kids arrived, and the weather was perfect out!  Not too sunny, not too cold, and no rain.  I was really excited for the bike tour because Amsterdam is a city where a majority of the people get around on bikes.  I was ready to feel like a local!

Once our friend, Betsy, arrived from Scotland, we were off to the tour.  This was a four hour tour taking you all over the city, telling you everything you could possibly know.  We went by all of the museums, famous neighborhoods, parks, everything.  The best part was the last stop, a brewery.  This brewery was attached to the only windmill left in Amsterdam!  It was a really fun way to end the day of riding around!

After the tour, we stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading to the hostel.  We needed to get ready for our big reunion with the HC crew!  Everyone was meeting for a pizza boat cruise down the canals in Amsterdam.  When we were all together, there were about thirty of us!  The boat people did not like us very much because we were really loud, but what do you expect when we are reuniting?!  It was a really fun night, and great catching up with everyone hearing about their abroad experiences.  The group consisted of people studying in Scotland, Ireland, Spain, England, and a few other countries.

After the cruise we walked around the city for a little while finding a place we could all sit together and grab a drink.  We were all pretty tired though, so this did not last too long!

We headed back to the hostel, because we had a full day the next day.  Be back soon with more details!

XO,

Caitlin

Mike's Bike Tours 

Jane, me, Nicole, Betsy, ready to ride! 

A picture I took mid-biking...many of you know I have had issues with biking, so this is impressive.  Don't worry, Mom, I didn't fall off!

Me, Jane, Nicole, and Betsy at the IJ Brewery.

Touring around:

HC 2016 in Amsterdam!

To Amsterdam, We Go!

Thursday was the start of my last European trip this semester.  Five HC Cork girls were headed to Amsterdam.  Coincidentally, about 30 other Holy Cross kids would be there for the weekend, so it was a great little reunion!

We had an early start to the day of travel.  Our cab was picking us up at 4 AM to being us to Cork Airport.  I need to emphasize CORK AIRPORT, this was a beautiful thing.  The Dublin ride is so long and boring that flying out of Cork was such a treat.  The flight to Amsterdam was a very short one, only an hour and fifteen minutes.  It was also super easy to navigate the Amsterdam Airport and make our way towards the hostel.  We were off to a great start!

The hostel we stayed in, Stayokay, was a very large one with many locations around The Netherlands.  It was really nice, a huge upgrade from Hostel Elf in Prague.  After dropping off our bags at the hostel, we stopped for lunch at a pancake place, De Vier Pilaren.  Dutch pancakes are kind of like crepes but a little thicker and not folded.  I had a banana and chocolate one, it was super delicious and so filling.  After lunch, we walked around the city for a few hours and checked out the shopping area around our hostel.  The hostel was in an awesome location and centrally located in the city.  Also, very close to many great shops :)

After shopping for a little while, we went to the hostel to check into our rooms.  We cleaned up, made our beds, and unpacked a little bit before heading out again.  Jane, Nicole, and I decided to explore the city a little more while the other girls took a nap, we were in dire need of coffee.  It was a gorgeous day out, and I did not want to waste one minute on my last trip!  One of my favorite things to do in new cities is to seek out some small, local cafes.  The one I found for us to try was Sweet Cup, right by the hotel.  It was such an awesome place, and even better because their was an adorable basset hound greeting you at the door!  We also discovered some great street food stands, and I tried a raisin dutch doughnut.  For some reason, I have seriously been craving Dunkin' Donuts doughnuts lately, which is weird because I am not an avid doughnut eater at home, but this treat definitely hit the spot.  Amsterdam is a beautiful city.  It is intertwined through lots and lots of canals, and almost everyone bikes there.  It was so different from every other city I have gone to thus far.  I was loving it so far!

When Julia and Chelsea woke up from their naps, we went to the Heineken Brewery to partake in the Heineken experience.  It was a really fun tour, with lots of free beer tastings (always a plus)!  Included in this tour was a canal cruise.  It was a really neat way to see the city on the water, and a fun way to kick off our weekend.

After the brewery, we stopped at a pub for a quick bite to eat.  We were all really exhausted from our long day of travel, so it was going to be an early night.

So far, I was really enjoying Amsterdam.  Be back soon with more details of the weekend!

XO,

Caitlin

Amsterdam streets

 I loved this little guy at Sweet Cup!

Afternoon walk with Nicole and Jane pictures:

Me, Jane, Nicole

The Heineken Brewery 

Well, I do love free samples.

Cheers!

Heading Out, Again!

Wednesday was even more beautiful out than Tuesday.  It was in the mid-50s and sunny, no rain, no wind, perfect Ireland weather.  I cannot believe that it is already mid-November!  This semester is absolutely flying by.

Jane and I took a personal morning to go into town.  We wanted to start planning our Amsterdam trip that we were leaving for early Thursday morning.  I also really wanted to bring Jane to Duke's Coffee Company, one of my favorite coffee shops in the City Centre.  We sat there for a really long time and just chatted.  It was really nice to just sit there and hang out.  Even more Christmas decorations were going up in the area where Duke's is, so it was fun to see the transformation in progress!

After coffee, Jane and I walked around the city for a little while.  I was looking for ear warmers for the trip to Amsterdam.  My mom bought me some last year for HC, because it is like the arctic there, but I forgot to bring them with me!  I did not have any luck, but it was nice just strolling around the city.  It was crowded with people shopping for the holidays!  I can't get over how weird it is that Christmas is already so big here, but I guess because there is no holiday, like Thanksgiving, they start early.

On our way back to the apartments, I picked up my laundry.  I do not think I will ever be dropping it off at the launder again because it was a little more expensive than I figure, but I learned my lesson!  Only a few more weeks until I am home...maybe my laundry will last and I can just take it back with me?  Just kidding, I know that would give you a heart attack, Mom!

Off to bed!  I have an early day for Amsterdam tomorrow!

Be back soon with details of my Holy Cross reunion in Amsterdam!


XO,

Caitlin
 

Duke's is decorated!

My Chai Tea Latte, AKA the holidays in a cup.

Christmas is Coming...

Tuesday was a gorgeous day.  I wanted to soak up all of the sun that I could!  I am hearing from my roommates and many other people that this is going to be a terrible winter in Ireland.  So, I will take every beautiful day I can get!

I have definitely been seeing a spike in my laundry with all of my traveling.  On Tuesday, I desperately needed to get my laundry done.  I was a little, okay not a little, VERY lazy and brought my clothes to the launder.  They clean and fold all of your clothes for you, which would save me lots of time.  Laundry is so expensive at my apartment, I thought I would test it out.  Since I was in town dropping off my laundry, and it would not be ready until Wednesday, I had to go buy more socks!

When I was in town I noticed that everything was covered in Christmas decorations, even more than when I was last there!  I love this, it makes me feel like Christmas is sooner than it actually is.  I am a Christmas person, so this is totally okay with me.  To keep going with the Christmas spirit, I bought another gingerbread cookie at the English Market.   I can't walk by these and not get one, they are way too good!

After my afternoon break, I went back home and went to class.  I was already halfway through my school week..weird!  Next year is going to be a huge reality check...

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Christmas-y Oliver Plunkett! 

Never Leaving Bed

Monday was a super lazy day.  Grace and I arrived in Cork at around 3 AM that morning from the airport.  Thankfully we made the 11:30 PM bus, otherwise we would have had to take the 1:30 AM one, which would have been horrible.  I have to say, I am not going to miss the Dublin bus rides when I am back home.  This, however, was my last trip to Dublin until I fly home for Christmas...crazy!

Since we got home so late, I decided not to go to my first class.  It was rainy and cold, perfect weather to stay in bed.  I unpacked and did a little work that was due later that day, and finally decided it was time to emerge from my room during the afternoon.  My roommate, Meadhbh, and I went to the veggie stand down the road and Centra to get some food.  I didn't need much to get me throughout the week because I was leaving again on Thursday!

After my grocery shopping, I went to class ( I couldn't skip all of them, even though I wanted to very badly), and then the gym.  It was turning out to be a great day, actually!  The sun was peeking out behind the clouds and there was no more rain!  I was pretty exhausted, so it was going to be an early night.  I have been so lucky to do all of the traveling that I have done, but I think I can say I have never been so exhausted in my life.  Leaving every weekend has been tough, but I have enjoyed every minute of my travels.  

Be back soon!

XO, 

Caitlin

Right outside my apartment, I see the sun!

A great Monday perk on the gates of UCC.

Paris is True Perfection

Sunday AKA my last day in Paris, unfortunately.  I did not want to see this weekend end.  It was an unbelievable weekend.  But, luckily I get to return to another pretty awesome city, Cork!

We woke up on Sunday around 9:30 AM and had to pack our stuff up in the hotel room so we could checkout.  Grace and I had a late flight, but Lauren and Mikela had an early afternoon train to catch back to Cambridge.  Once we checked out, we grabbed brunch at a cafe down the road.  Brunch is not a thing at all in Ireland, so it was a great change.  I definitely miss Sunday Brunch very much!  I had eggs and french fries (I guess the French's replacement of home fries?).  It was so good, and a huge meal that held me over until dinner.

When we finished brunch, it was time to part ways.  Lauren and Mikela headed for the train station, and Grace and I headed back towards the Eiffel Tower.  We figured out how to use the metro system, which was incredibly easy (maybe we should have figured this out before the last day...oops), and walked around the Seine for a little.  There was an awesome running/walking path that was filled with people.  I felt like a local walking around there!

As we were walking around, we saw advertisements for the tours of the city along the river.  We had time to kill, so we figured it would be a great activity.  It was definitely a cool way to see the city, especially now that we have walked so much of it.  I would definitely recommend something like this to visitors.  It was a great change of pace from what I normally do when visiting countries.

After the river tour, we walked around the area a little more.  We wanted wanted to pick up some items from the street vendors!  I needed to get my Paris print to add to my collection.  I really love the one I got.  It is a very pretty painting of the Arc de Triomphe and the area around it.  Once I am done with my travels this semester, I will put up a picture of the prints I have so far!

We headed back towards the area our hotel was in to hit the great shops that we saw on Friday.  I figured I needed to buy some sort of piece of fashion on this trip, I was in one of the fashion capitals of the world.  I ended up getting a few things!  I cannot say what they are because I know my sisters read this and then it will spoil their surprises :)

Shopping worked up an appetite, so we grabbed a quick dinner at around 5:30 before we left for the airport.  Our flight was at 10:30, so we arrived about two hours early.  We got back to the airport the same way we got picked up, the private shuttle service.  This was such a good idea on Grace's part.  When we arrived to the airport I almost had the infamous Ryanair luggage troubles.  My bag was barely overweight, so I had to do some rearranging, but it all worked out!

I feel like I say this after every trip, but this was my favorite city thus far.  Paris is absolutely incredible and I WILL be back one day, no matter what.

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

The great architecture in Paris.

View from the river tour!

A Magical Day

Saturday had a full list of touring in store for us in Paris!  It was our only full day, and Grace's official 21st birthday!!  We had no time to waste.

Our first stop of the day was Versailles.  It was very easy to get there from the city.  But, we had to make a pitstop at a bakery first.  How could we start our first day in paris without a croissant?  I had a chocolate croissant which was as good as I remembered them from my last time in Paris.  Once we had our croissant boost, we headed towards the RER stop near out hotel.  The RER is a Paris train system that would bring us to Versailles, and it was incredibly easy to use.  We stayed at Versailles for a few hours, and it was magnificent.  The palace was so grand and beautiful, the grounds were never ending, everything was incredible.  And to make it even better, we got in for free!  Since we are students studying in Europe for more than three months, there is no admission charge.  I have to say, birthday magic was pretty great!

After touring the palace for a few hours, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back to the city.  We still had many places to see!  Our RER stop was right near the Notre Dame, so we went there as our first stop in the city.  It was crazy busy, so we could not go inside.  However, the outside was gorgeous.  The detailing was so intricate, and it was so big!  Maybe I will come back to Paris one day and go to the top :)

We then walked along the Seine River for a few hours looking at the trinkets from the street vendors, and just taking in the scenery.  I swear you could walk forever here and never get bored.  I was in such awe of Paris.  The city is beautiful, and even though it is a major city, you do not feel overwhelmed or cramped at all.  It is perfect.  

As we walked along the river, we saw that many of the street vendors were selling locks that you could write your name on and put on the Love Lock Bridge.  We thought that this would be an awesome idea, especially to commemorate Grace's 21st.  When we got to the Love Lock Bridge, we had a hard time finding a place to put our lock!  There are so many attached to the bridge that the wiring is starting to bust open and plywood is now covering a lot of the sides.  However, we managed to find a perfect spot!  

Once we finished moseying around the city for some time, we decided it was time to get dinner and celebrate Grace's day a little more!  we found an adorable, very, very small restaurant.  There was one waitress and one chef!  We had a fantastic meal and then sang "Happy Birthday" (in English!).  It was such a nice evening.  After we ate, we bought a bottle of wine and crepes, and headed to the Eiffel Tower to have one last "hoorah" for Grace's birthday.  I did not feel like my life was real.  I was eating a crepe with a glass of wine, looking at the sparkling Eiffel Tower right in front of my eyes.  This was truly an unbelievable day.

Be back soon with more details on Paris!

XO,

Caitlin     

Now, those would be nice to have at your house (Versailles).

GORGEOUS

Me, Mikela, Grace, and Lauren at Versailles!

Versailles!

Versailles!

The Notre Dame and Me, Mikela, Grace, and Lauren.

Our lock (right over the blue one)!

We saw a wedding and could not stop watching them!  This WILL be me in Paris one day!

Hello, beautiful.

Happy birthday, Grace!

Perfection!