Spring break!

So we had quite the whirlwind Spring break tour...Dublin, Venice, Florence, and Rome.  Dublin was absolutely amazing, despite the fact that it was kind of expensive.  It's got a more European feel than London, which seemed pretty American.  We did a day tour of the countryside (Wicklow and Glendalough), which was beautiful.  We went to where Braveheart and P.S I Love You were filmed and then had lunch at a carvery in Wicklow.  We also went to the ruins of St. Kevin's Monastery in Glendalough.  Pretty cool.  Here's a pic of Guinness lake...looks like we photoshopped ourselves in.  

Venice was cool as well--quite the experience only being surrounded by water.  It's definitely the most confusing city I've ever been in--we got lost quite a few times.  Our hostel was an old palace, so there were ornate wall hangings and paintings and canopy beds everywhere.  Plus we got free breakfast AND dinner--a great deal.  It's definitely the coolest hostel we have stayed in so far.  

Florence was my favorite city in Italy...home to the world's best gelato, aka Grom and Gelateria de Neri.  Per the suggestion of one of my friends who studied in Florence last semester, we went to Trattoria de Anita.  Honestly, the best pasta I have ever eaten--the waiter worked his magic with the cook and let us have the famous truffle sauce, despite the fact it's not served usually at lunch. 

Rome was great as well--we did a walking tour so we really got the history of the city.  The Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the 

Roman Forum, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica, St. Maria Maggiore....the list goes on.  

LONDON!

Haven't posted for awhile, but I just got back from London after spending 5 days there in my friend Shelby's flat. On Friday, all the people from the Brussels internship program met up in London, so I got to hang out with my fellow ADPis from Mizzou...Shelby, Patty and Maria. We did every touristy thing possible and loved it. British Museum and Egyptian mummies, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Gallery (Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, etc) and much more.

Probably the best part of the weekend was our adventure to Buckingham Palace to watch Changing of the Guard on Sunday. Very cool thing to see, but no need to stay for the whole thing--Maria and I gave our spots to some lucky people and went in search of a typical English breakfast. Let's just say it was heavenly--bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, fried tomatoes, (beans??), and coffee. And all of that for only 3.95 pounds. Pretty great. Later on that day, we did some hardcore shopping and discovered what may very well be shopping Nirvana--Primark. It's like the Forever 21 of London and pretty cheap. Belts and tights for a pound.

On Monday, Shelby had to work, so I spent the day exploring by myself and mastering the use of the Tube. I visited Portabello Road Market (in Notting Hill), which was so great--I picked up some beautiful scarves as souvenirs which I ended up wanting to keep for myself :) I also snapped a picture of the Travel Bookshop from the movie Notting Hill. Unfortunately, Hugh Grant was nowhere to be found...

We're headed off to spring break this week, so this may be the last post for a bit. We're visiting Dublin, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome. Wish us luck!