Spring break is only half way done, as I still have a week before returning to classes. Sadly, the vacation is pretty much over because I am dedicating the rest of my time in getting some assessments done so that I will not be as swamped as I was the first time around.
—
DUBLIN, Ireland
Thursday, April 14:
My break started at approximately 1:00 PM when my advertising class was finished. I rushed back, to do some last minute packing and to make lunch before we had to leave for the airport. Our flight into Dublin was very quick, just about an hour. We easily got to the hostel and checked in by about 7:00 PM. 
That night Maxine and I decided to just walk around the city. We stopped into two bars with live music, the first was an older crowd so we quickly left. The second was awesomely decorated with band memorabilia, more of a “rock and roll” theme to it. We sat and listened to music for a while before returning to the hostel.
April 15:
The next day started early, with more roaming around the city. Our first stop was to Trinity College. 
Next we walked a considerable distance to the National Museum of Ireland. There weren’t too many people around, so we took a massive photo shoot in the front of the building with my new remote for my camera, along with the frustrations of having it work. Inside the museum I explored exhibits on modernizations of furniture design, Irish fashion throughout the centuries, Irish soldiers, and a collection of Oriental pieces from a local collector. No photographs were allowed, but I was able to snap the front and back of a Daoist priest’s robe, which, to me at least, was the most interesting piece in the museum.
We went back to the hostel to rest for a while because we were tired, were in need of some snacks (salt & vinegar chips and chocolate chip cookies), and then took a nice nap.
After we woke up, we took a trip to the bar from P.S. I Love You and late night burritos! I have concluded that most of the Mexican food you will find in the UK seems to be in the form of Chipotle-like “restaurants”. This one was by far our favorite because it was the only one to have nacho cheese.
April 16:
Saturday started at 5:00 AM, as we booked a trip to the Cliffs of Moher which needed us to be at the stop at 6:40 AM. We started our morning with a trip to McDonalds, where we got coffee and myself a Bacon & Egg McMuffin, which not to my surprise tasted exactly as the Egg McMuffin at home. Due to our last minute booking, we were sadly placed onto a van rather than a large comfortable coach for the entire day. 
The discomfort was well worth the trip. However, along with the serious discomfort it appeared that we had also gotten stuck with the worst tour guide I have ever met. He was a very nice man, but one that was not well informed, who told us vague comments such as, “These buildings were made many years ago by the Irish.” On the bright side, we drove through the Irish countryside and seaside, and were exposed to the most beautiful spots.
Our trip ended around 9:30 PM, which meant that Maxine and I couldn’t go on a pub crawl that night. Instead, we headed to Temple Bar and listened to some live music and called it a night after our insanely long and tiring day.
April 17:
Sunday morning began with a delightful stroll in St. Stephen’s Green Park before our attendance to Church. I have noticed so far in the UK that there is a lot of father-child bonding that takes place, as the park was filled with these couples. The park was filled with lots of beautiful flower beds.
Sadly, our research was very brief and we ended up at an Anglican Church. There were minor differences in the service. We attended St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was beautifully decorated. 
After church we headed over to the Guinness Storehouse. The museum was incredibly interesting, taking you through the ingredients and process and history of Guinness. I had never tasted it before, and was surprised to see that I did not hate it as I assumed I was, and that it had a resemblance to coffee, with a bean/nutty flavor (at least in my opinion). 
The tour finished with a trip to the top of the storehouse, called the Gravity Bar. The ticket included a pint of Guinness, which nearly took us an hour to finish.
As we left the storehouse, Maxine made a friend outside.
We once again returned to recharge our batteries before heading out for our last night in Dublin, which we spent relaxing at a cool bar.
April 18:
The next morning we checked out of the hostel after breakfast and spent time wandering the city for the last time, and also stopping for some quick souvenirs. For lunch we stopped in our favorite convenience shop/fresh deli for a chicken baguette (the third and sadly final one we would ever have) and a bag of kettle salt and vinegar chips!
After lunch we spent some time looking at the bridges before heading to the airport and flying back to London. I even caught a man who appears to have fallen asleep outside during his break.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102647158458748261194/WeekendInDublin#
—
The three days we spent in between Dublin and Paris were spent recuperating from our exhaustion and taking a day trip walking around London with our friend Chris and going to the Garden Museum, which actually wasn’t too interesting. 
—
PARIS, France
Friday, April 22:
Friday morning started off early, at 5:00 AM with our rush to our pick up stop for our coach tour to Paris. Unfortunately for us, the tube line that we were supposed to take was closed and we luckily made it just in time taking the bus. We drove for about two hours to Dover and transferred onto a ferry to take us to France. Our trip on the ferry lasted another hour and a half, followed by another hour and a half journey from Calais into Paris. Once we got there we headed to the River Seine and went on a boat cruise. After it concluded we continued our tour of the city on our coach and checked into our hotel. That night we went to the Champs Elysees for dinner. We ate at a small French cafe. I had a chicken and mushroom crepe and Maxine had a potato omelet. Sadly, mine was very dry, lacking any sauce and Maxine was upset that her omelet was too wet.
We continued to walk around the city towards our hotel and stopped by to take pictures at places.
—
April 23:
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL DAVE)
The next morning we got up and had a marvelous breakfast, with the most incredible croissants that simply melted in our mouths. Those put us in a great mood as we went to Sacre-coeur, Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. Followed by a trip down to the Moulin Rouge. 
Next we visited Notre Dame and walked around the nearby streets.
After, we took a trip to Versailles and entered the Palace of Versailles, which was by far the most spectacular palace/castle I have seen yet. 
Later that night we headed to the Eiffel Tower and walked around the city.
April 24:
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER & Happy Easter!)
The next day we had completely free, as our trip offered an optional trip to Disneyland Paris which we chose to skip, because it’s not often that we are in Paris. After breakfast, we attended Mass for Easter Sunday. The church was at the beginning of the Champs Elysees, so we went to the Arc de Triomph. 
After we went to the Eiffel Tower to get some day shots and to actually go into it, but the line was so incredibly long and it was so hot outside that we decided to come back later in the day.
We visited the Opera house from Phantom of the Opera. And then went souvenir shopping. 
After shopping, we walked to the Eiffel Tower and we successfully able to cut the still incredibly long line to get into the building. We still had to wait over an hour, but it was well worth it. The view was incredible, but it was also pretty cold. 
When we left we were both incredibly tired and starving, so we ate at a nearby café. We ordered penne pasta and a chicken club sandwich and fries to share. Maxine also had a glass of some French white wine. Our dinner was amazing and ended our night fabulously.
April 25:
Our last morning in Paris consisted of another delicious breakfast and then a trip to the Lourve. We were fascinated by all the amazing art, and especially the Monna Lisa. There was such a huge crowd around her, Maxine and I had to survive a violent crowd in order to get good pictures of it. 
After the Lourve we walked around the outside of the building and enjoyed the scenery before heading back to the coach for our journey back to London.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102647158458748261194/WeekendInParis#
—
<!— /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”“; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} —>
Some random/interesting points I’ve picked up on:
In the UK, people don’t seem to like the idea of warm water: there are usually two faucets one for scalding hot, and one for freezing cold.
French men enjoy women with messy hair: Maxine got hit on a considerable amount of times on a day which she agrees had to be one of her worst hair days.
French people have no shame in asking for cigarettes: I was approached by 4 different people in less than half an hour.
The Paris metro smells absolutely horrible, with the scent of body odor and urine all around.
—
As of now, it’s mostly work, and little play when we take a break from our studies to attend the wedding festivities and watch the parade on Friday.
That night we went out with Meghan, Sarah, Mike, Jon, and Chris. We had dinner at Roadhouse followed by a trip to a pub called The White Lion and another called the Porter House all in Covent Garden. When we got home Maxine had sneakily laid my present on my bed (two shirts I had been eyeing from H&M and cupcakes!) 
