The Forgotten Post

Wednesday October 19th.

Woke up. Had breakfast in the hotel, bread and cereal, shocker. Hopped on the bus again and this time had a tour of Luxembourg from the bus, luckily since the European weather was finally catching up to us. There was some walking tour that included the  Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. The place was flooded with white crosses and some had golden writing meaning they were medal of honor recipients, there were ones with the Star of David and there would be white rocks on them that the family members put there in remembrance, and there were even a couple of graves for unknown soldiers. It was a beautiful sight, however it was also sad. 

Got back on the bus and drove into the town of Luxembourg and walked up to the presidents house, literally touched the door because their crime rate is so low that they don't have to worry about security, I kid you not. Then we were set loose, Mike and I went into some little burger shop and had delicious burgers where they opened the buns and put the lettuce, onions, cheese, and burger out and put the fries inside the burger and topped it with mayo. You had to eat the fries before the burger, goodness it was delicious. Then Mike and I went and met up with the group and waited for our bus to arrive. Once it did we were off to the next hotel in Brussels, dropped off our bags and got back onto the bus and drove to our last group meal. Sad. A place called  De Moedermeule  (The Mother Mill http://www.moedermeule.be/index.php) We sat down and had a 3 course meal, none of it was good, seriously I barely ate but it was all worth it because our teacher Prof. Dr Liliane Van Hoof showed up and we then had a graduation. Got a certificate of completion for studying at The University of Antwerp, a group picture and a hug. Hopped on the bus for the final time. Went back to the hotel and had to pack my stuff into two bags, one to stay in a locker in Brussels and one to go to Italy with me. Played Farkle and tried watching a terrible movie called Talladega Nights with Sara, Ali and Katie. Then goodbyes and goodnights.

Thursday October 20,

Woke up. Before the crack of dawn and say bye to my buddy Mike. 7 of us are now off on our owns this time to Rome, Jenacious Bogart,  Amanda Olek, Alyda Hultstrand, Michelle Full, Sara Jensen, Sharon Boots and myself, Cram all our stuff onto a shuttle bus to the airport. Uncram and find lockers to hold our bags so we don't have to pay a fee for bringing another bag on our flights. Got through security and hop on our connecting plane to Amsterdam.Once we walked outside we smelt you-know-what right away, I didn't think it was going to be like that, fooled me. Grabbed a taxi and were off to the Anne Frank House, when we got there, there was a huge line with an hour or two wait at least so we said pass and stayed in the taxi to the Heineken brewery and  checked it out and then the group walked to the Hard Rock Cafe took pictures and such. Walked through some random stores where I found a Rick Astley record and contemplated buying it, didnt in the end. Then we were starving so we went to McDonalds. Walked through some souvenir shops, nothing but pot stuff everywhere. Took a walk through the Red-light District luckily it was daytime and we didnt see the raunchy stuff. Saw one lady in a window wearing almost nothing and a few marijuana seed shops and a place called Coffeeshop Reefer, made me laugh. Made our way back to the airport and hopped on the plane to Italy.

Once we got there we somehow managed to buy train tickets from the airport to inside the city of Rome. Hopped on a train and then another train, hoping we were going to the right place. It's late and we are now walking around Rome looking for our hotel, when we found our destination it wasnt a hotel, it was an apartment that someone was renting us for a few nights and it was BEAUTIFUL! 3 bedrooms, patio, living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bathrooms. Poor Jen and Sara had a queen bed to hard that they should've slept on the floor instead, my twin bed was so soft! Then the 7 of us went out for food, we found a pizza place that had pizzas for 5 euro each, we were all over it. It was delicious although we were confused by two things. 1. A guy came around and put toys on our table, then collected them after a few minutes. 2. the bill was a lot higher than we thought, turns out you have to pay for napkins and plates, boo. Went back to the residence and crashed.

Friday October 21st

Woke up. Went to a little market and bought the breakfast/lunch for less than 2 euro. Our residence was only 3 or 4 blocks from the Vatican so thats where we first took off to. We got stuck though, a road that had a ton of lanes and no lights for pedestirans, then we realized stairs that go underneath the road. Duh. Walking up to the Vatican gave me goosebumps. It was amazing. Took tons of pictures and just stood there taking it all in. Then some guy walked up to us telling us he's a booking agent for a company that can get us into the vatican without waiting in the atleast 4 hour line all we had to do was follow him. We got a 15 minute pretour by a lady in the same agency. This was going against everything we were taught the entire trip 

1. If someone comes up to you and talks to you in English

2. Don't follow people if they ask you to

3. Stay in public don't go where people can't see you

4. Don't give out money

5. Everything is a scam!

So we started to follow him to the agency but when we arrived they lady was yelling at a guy because he was mad that they'd waited over an hour. So I decided I was out, Jen, Olek and Boots also pulled out of it. So we went back to the vatican an got on a double decker bus that takes us around the city with an audio tour. It was a tour that you could hop on or off at any stop, so we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe and the ladies had some drinks and bought souvenirs. Then we hopped back on and the 3 girls got off at the Coliseum. I stayed on and went back to the vatican to meet up with the girls that went through with the agency, they said it wasn't a scam and was well worth it. We all hopped on the bus and went through the city and hopped off at the Trevi Fountain, it was ginormous and of course made my wish. Back to the bus and stopped at some random big building for a potty break, little did we know there was a sweet church at the top of the building. After climbing what seemed like a million steps we were looking over the panoramic of the city, one of my favorite sights of the entire trip. Then Jensen asks whats in here and we go through a door and come across the church. It was white and marble and looked like none of the other churches we were in before. Ran to catch teh bus, sorry Jensen and your bad ankle. And got off at the Coliseum, by now it was getting dark out and the place looked better than in movies and pictures. Hopped on the last bus of the night ending at the vatican and walked back to the residence and met up with the other girls. Since it was Michelle Full's 21st birthday the 7 of us then went to find food. Found a pasta place and ate some mushroom pasta thing, I'll say it, FRICKEN YUMMY! And we all shared some wine, still not my thing. On our way back to the residence we stopped at a gelato shop where the two men working were priceless. We even sang to Full in the gelato shop with the workers, good times. Note to self, Nutella gelato is pure gelato. Made our way back to the residence. I showered when we got there and managed to get everything wet, walls, ceilings, floor, painting, mirror, toilet, toilet paper. It was a total fail. Then I watched some WWE in a foreign language and went to sleep.

Saturday October 22nd and Sunday October 23rd

Woke up. Little did I know this would be the longest 48 hours of my life. Everyone broke into little groups, Jensen and I heading off on our own. Went to the vatican and jumped on a bus to tour one more time. Stopped at the Hard Rock so she could souvenir shop and I was on a mission for a souvenir and at basically the last place there was to look, found it! As we were walking to the bus stop Jensen asks about the line forming outside a church. I asked an older lady who loved my hair and was told it was a crypt full of monks, yep you bet we went in and it was sick, in a good and bad way. Skulls and bones were everywhere. Then back on the bus, stopped at the Coliseum once more and watched all the vendors run from cops, hilarious.Went back to the residence and grabbed our bags and bussed to the train station, had some McDonalds and then hopped on a shuttle bus to the airport, only cost 7 euro thanks crabby guy who's name tag said free service. Got through security and went flew back to Brussels. It was a little after midnight and we then had a 11 hour layover until our next flight. 

So we slept in the airport, and by slept I mean layed on the floor freezeing and sleeping maybe 20 minutes. Somehow time passed and we had to get our luggage out of the lockers that we'd left there days before. We get there and pray our stuff is still there. It was. Now we had huddle and unpack and repack and throw things so our bags would make weight, somehow we did it. Made it through security and waited for our flight to be called, nope it was moved so we moved to another gate and then hopped on our plane back to the beautiful Untied States! USA! USA! USA! Watched a few movies on the way back, tried to sleep, no luck. We arrive in Chicago and have a 3 hour layover, BEST LAYOVER EVER! I was in the Chicago airport watching Tim Tebow start his first game of the season against the Miami Dolphins. With under 3 minutes left and down by 15 Tebow Time first happened, he threw a TD and recovered an onside kick and scored another TD and converted the 2 point conversion with a deisigned QB run. Then in OT we kicked a FG to win. FELT SO GOOD TO BE BACK IN THE US! Then our flight was called and we hopped on a tiny plane where the flight attendant was telling us how hung over she was, it was awesome. After a flight less than 2 hours we could see Fargo. Got off the plane to be welcomed home by what can only be described as a parade of family and friends. Thanks Mom, Dad, Amber, Sam, Julian, Brady, Joe, Saucy, Maddie, McDougall, Hillary, Caitlin, Adam and Brandon for being there to greet me. Sorry I was kind of crabby, I had just gone 48 hours without more than 20 minutes of sleep, I had nothing left to run on. 

12 new countries, 13 new friends, 1 Dubya, 7 pounds lost, $1,000 in spending, countless miles walked, even more flying and driving, 5 of the best weeks of my life. Worth every second.

They Call Me Turtle

Fast Forward

Day 1.

Woke up. Traveled on the bus to Strasbourg, walked around some, ate along a river, went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Day 2.
Woke up. Went on a tour of Strasbourg with a tour guide whose accent was so thick we couldn't understand him plus it was covering really boring material and there wasn't much to see in Strasbourg. Took a two hour nap. Took a boat ride around Strasbourg there wasn't jack to see so after I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Semi-Slow Down

Day 3.

Woke up. Bussed for some amount of hours to Interlaken, Switzerland. Our hotel was literally in a little town between mountains and my view from my room was the mountains it was b-e-a-u-ti-ful. We went out to eat at some restaurant that served cold nasty food and the waiter was inappropriate so it was a major let down. After dinner Alyda, Michelle and I went for a walk trying to get to the lake but after walking through a few farms and fields we decided to head back. I watched some football via stat tracker and then went to bed.

Day 4.
Woke up. Took the bus to the train took the train to another train and finally arrived at the top of the Swiss Alps. My god what a view! Took some group photos and individual photos and then were set free for two hours. Walked around the top of the mountains some. Then we went into the ice cave which had tunnels and sculptures throughout it made of, well obviously, ice. Then Alyda and I went for a walk and took an elevator to the very tip top of the mountains for the Sphinx view it was incredible, mountains, the clouds, it honestly looked like a painting. Took the elevator back down and went looking for the zip-line only to find out it was closed, cruddy. So we went through some tunnel and ended up on another side of the mountain where we walked a couple hundred yards before sitting down because the air was so thin we were so tired and out of breath and getting headaches. Again the view was truly something people need to see. Then it was time to head out, train to train to bus to hotel. Once at the hotel we got picked up to go canyoning. Dan (Skunk), Ben (John Deere), Amanda (Queen), Katie (Beaver), Sharon (Lips) and I (Turtle) all go to the shop and put on wetsuits and jackets and waterproof shoes and life jackets and a helmet (the helmets had names on them, names are posted next to real names), got back into the van and drove up the mountain some before we got out to walk for a few minutes. After some safety speech we hopped into the river and started walking down it. Then we got to a 5 foot drop where we stood on a rock and jumped in but the guy held onto us and pulled us when we jumped so we'd land ass first. It was FREEZING! Then we crawled underneath a rock and over some rocks before we got to the first cliff. We had to repel down which was awesome then I tried swimming into a waterfall but got royally owned. We walked down the river some and got to a real drop off. We all got in line and one by one did flips off a rock into the water below, a solid 25 foot drop. It was sick! Then we climbed a rope and went back up to jump off it again. We were instructed a few times to lay in the water perfectly stiff and we were carried by the current down the river. We stopped at a waterfall and took a group photo, went behind the waterfall and through it, so cold my head had the worst brain freeze of all time. We walked some more and got to a HUGE cliff, you bet we jumped off. I was terrified but jumped anyways, one hell of a thrill and serious adrenaline rush! There was another jumping spot where we had to jump then superman and turn to our side otherwise we would crash into rocks on either side, also sweet. After laying on our backs and floating some more we reached the end and got back into the van and back to the shop to shower, change and get a free drink. After being taken back to our hotel I went to a pizzeria in the hotel and had some delicious pepperoni pizza with Sharon and Ben. Went back to my room and got to talk to the one and only Jenacious, something that hasn't happened in a long time which sounds weird but since we're on the same trip but its all good. Then Michelle came in as Jen left and ended up talking until 1am when she left and my roommate Mike needed to be let into the hotel. So after chatting a while with Mike we finally got to bed.

Day 5.

Woke up. Had breakfast at the hotel in Switzerland and hopped on the bus, today was a lot of traveling. Read a lot of Goblet of Fire, currently on page 585 of 734. We stopped for lunch and bathroom breaks in France and then when we got back on we watched the newest Star Trek movie, still good the second time through. Finally got to the hotel, in Luxembourg, and dropped our bags off in our rooms and took off for dinner in Trier Germany. We went to a wine vineyard and got to taste 6 different wines throughout our 3 course meal. I'm no fan of wine but these were decent I guess. Bussed back to the hotel and now I'm tired so I'm heading to bed. For those of you keeping track at home...Left the hotel in Switzerland, ate lunch in France, ate dinner in Germany, sleeping in Luxembourg. Four countries in one day!

One And Done

Woke up. At 4am. Had some cereal and got in the bus for a 10 minute ride to the airport. Hung around there for a bit and hopped on the airplane from Dublin to Brussels. I read four pages before it was time to sleep. Woke up again, this time the airplane was landing and we were hopping onto a train that was going to take us to our home away from home, Antwerp. When we got back to the residence it was time to pack, it was time do clean the laundry. When I was waiting for my clothes to dry I took off to the post office and sent another bunch of postcards. After the post office and laundry I had to head back and pack up all my stuff because we are moving out of the residence tomorrow morning for good, sad. Six o'clock rolls around and we have to meet up with Dr. Wright for our last supper in Antwerp. We walked to some Japanese restaurant that's a lot like Kobe's where they make it on a grill in front of you. First up were sushi, crab leg on rice, and raw salmon on rice. I ate everything but the raw fish, I had it in my mouth but the thought of a eating a raw fish was too much for me to handle so I spit it out. A second serving was made this time it was salmon, white fish and a zucchini and on another plate was some sprouts and randomness. I've never had salmon before but my gosh it was mouth watering, and the other fish thing was solid. The zucchini and nasty sprouts stuff sat untouched, for obvious reasons. Then they gave us a spoonful of lemon sherbert as a palate cleanser. The next round of food was chicken, but it was covered in soy sauce so I had to dip it in honey mustard to make it edible. The next round (yeah we thought it was never going to end, we were plenty full by now) were some noodles and peppers and another plate consisting of fried beef, potentially steak I'm not sure he cut it so fast and served it just as fast. Our last serving was ice cream topped with strawberries, pineapple, honeydew, and kiwi and it was served in a glass of dry ice so it was steaming when we got it, it was excellent. After the restaurant even though we were stuffed we agreed we had to go to the pub in Antwerp one last time, with the motto "one and done" so I finished my last Bulluka (can't find the official spelling aka De Koninck) and came back to finish packing before we leave in the morning for Germany.

Wakey Wakey At The Zoo

Day 1 of Scotland

Starting after my last post...Before going to bed I was about to go to sleep, the Mike told me Tebow is starting the second half. Sprang up and searched desperatly for a stream finally found it and I'm so glad I did. Sorry Mike for tackling you, screaming, jumping all over the room and down the hotel hall when Tebow scored, converted the 2 points, Rivers fumbled, Tebow scored again, they got the ball back with 20 seconds left and Tebow drives to the 30 thanks to a S.I.C.K. Catch by Brandon Lloyd and the crazy scramble last second pass. Tebow Time is here and now <3 then it was time for a 3 hour nap before the next day started...

Woke up. Literaly as the Packers game was ending, sad right? My night of sleep consisted of sleeping though one NFL game. Anyways ate breakfast at 5am and hopped on the bus for a two hours, so I read more Goblet of Fire and napped. Then woke up and were told to get off the bus because we were on a ferry and not allowed to sit in the car so we went to the passengers deck. There were two movie theaters one playing Hop and one playing Pirates of the Caribbean, two movies I couldn't care less about. So Sara, Alyda and I found a spot underneath the stairs in the main lobby and fell asleep. We woke up and got back onto the bus 3 hours later. After another 3 hours on the bus we arrived in Edinburgh Scotland. Dropped our stuff at the hotel, no internet, eff. Then were let loose for an hour to get food so Mike and I went to a tiny shop that sold sandwiches and breakfast, it was cheap and good. Then the group went on a tour around the city and went through a graveyard that had the names that inspired J.K. for Harry Potter names like McGonagall, Moodie and the notorious Tom Riddell. Passed the coffee shop that J.K. wrote the first and second Harry Potters. The tour also consisted of where the town hangings were held, a lake that was full of poo, conveniently called Poo Lake, now turned into a hill, a castle that inspired Hogwarts, a castle that was taken over by 30 men because it was only protected on one side and a statue of John Knox, to me it was a statue of Dumbledore. After the tour we went out to eat at some restaurant and I had this thing called Haggis, cut off all the good parts of a sheep and throw it away put the rest inside of the sheep's stomach throw in some oatmeal and fat from the sheep's liver fry it and eat it, sounds disgusting...it was delicious! Then it was time for the ghost tour! Six of us went on it and we went to graveyards at night and were told about hangings, murders, fairies (the evil ones not tinkerbell type) witches and more murders. I love that kind of stuff so it was awesome. The tour ended at a pub where we were given a coupon for a free pint of beer. After the my free pint we went back to the hotel and I went right to bed.

Day 2 of Scotland

Woke up. Another morning before 6am ate breakfast at the hotel and hopped on the bus only to sleep another two hours before our first destination, some church by a river it was cool but nothing spectacular. Another hour or so before our next stop, Loch Ness. Sadly a disappointment, no Nessy spotting, but it was cool to be there. After some pictures we found food, Fish n Chips, yes I'm addicted to it. Then another two hours on the bus before we stopped in the Highlands to take pictures, the scenery the entire ride was spectacular and the pictures once again don't do it justice. Another 4 hours on the bus with little 20 minute spots here and there and we were finally back at the hotel. Sara and I went out on the town on a mission, a kilt. You bet I found one and bought it. Crew House get ready because I'll be in it a lot. Then went back to the hotel and read maybe two pages of HP before I fell asleep.

Day 3, leaving Scotland

Woke up. Literally the crack of dawn, 5am to eat and be on the bus by 5:30. Once on the bus I found a nice spot on the floor in between the rows, laid down and two hours later woke up. The ferry was late however so we had a half hour delay just sitting in the bus. We finally got onto the ferry to make our 3 hour voyage from Scotland to Northern Ireland. It didn't go the way we planned though. Sara, Katie, Ali, Mike and I were sitting together and I leaned back in my chair to see if it reclined, it did. So Sara and Katie recline theirs too. When we sat forward in our chairs and they fell off, laughing our asses off we grabbed our stuff and booked it to the other side of the ferry. The internet on the ferry is so sketchy, I've been replying to Facebook things and when I come back to the page the comments are gone. I try to tweet and it says it posted but might be having problems. I feel like a ghost, I can see and try to interact but nothings getting through. Also there's an obnoxious block on sites. Okay I understand blocking streaming sites and downloading sites but when my fantasy football pages are all blocked I'm pissed. ESPN and NFL don't load either so I'm no happy camper right now. Got back onto the bus for a few more hours of driving before we got back to the hotel. Grabbed myself a broncos colored Dublin sweatshirt and came back to the hotel to shower and sleep.

SO TODAYS A BIG DAY!!!! Sam turned the big 1-8 XXX mags, cigarettes, and the lottery are now accessible to ya but if you pick up a smoke I'll kick you're ass. And the one and only Adam Watts, the landmark age of 21! Just remember to take it slow otherwise you'll end up in the tub or toilet...and stay off the damn roof!

My Hotel Window Doesn't Open.

Day 4 of Ireland/Northern Ireland

Woke up. Had breakfast and hopped on the bus only to fall back asleep. Woke up again this time in a new country, Northern Ireland, at some cemetery where there were celtic crosses which were cool but it seemed like a random stop. We went an hour out of our way to stop for 15 minutes seriously pointless. Got back on the bus and read 5 pages before I was sleeping again. Woke up once again, this time we were at a place called the Giants Causeway. We walk down this long path and there are these hexagonal stones that acted as stepping stones to the North Atlantic Ocean. I was walking on them all the way down to the ocean, had a few slips of course but nothing lead to me falling down. it was low tide so there were some pools of water trapped and it was cool to see because there were little fish in the pools. Around the corner there was a wall with coins in the cracks so a few of us were trying our darndest to snipe them, failed. People put coins in the cracks so when high tide comes it smashes the coins into the crack for good it was pretty cool idea. I know I'm doing a bad job of explaining what I was seeing so just trust me when I say it was sweet. Got back on the bus, slept, woke up. We were now at the Titanic Shipyard where it was built and released into the ocean. Basically it was a huge hole that we went to see, anticlimactic but still kind of cool. Bussed to the hotel and then took a Black Cab Tour. Basically got in a taxi where the driver was our guide. Our first stop was this tiny neighborhood with murals on the sides of houses with stories because there's a huge rivalry between the Catholics and the Protestants. As we were getting into the taxi three kids the ages between 10-15 walked passed and the taxi driver made small talk before getting into the car. When he got in he told us he has to be smart when it comes to talking to the kids because they aren't afraid to stone someone in broad daylight. Our second stop was at this wall full of graffiti that was made to be like the Berlin Wall and keep the two sides separated. Our cab driver stopped us as we were getting out and told us we were going to be criminals and he then gave us markers to write on the wall. As we were tagging the wall a rock was thrown over the wall and hit the fence across the street, then it happened again. I was legitimately scared to be there. So we hopped in the taxi and went to see some more murals of men who starved themselves in protest. It was strange and seriously I didn't feel safe and just wanted to get back to the hotel. Luckily that was our next stop. A few of us went to the pub right next to the hotel and I had the classic Fish n Chips. Sooooooooo goooooooood! There was live music and the guy was singing some good American songs, that was comforting. Went to the grocery store and got some snacks for tomorrow and now I'm avoiding the girls in 327 because they're straight up embarrassing. Watching football via gamecast, from Belfast Northern Ireland.

Ireland, Me Motherland

Day 1 of Ireland

Woke up. The time was 5am and we were to the bus station by 540. The bus to the airport left at 6 and we arrived at the airport by 7. When I brought my luggage through security they took my shaving cream even though there's almost nothing in it. They took my toothpaste even though it was less than half full and definitely under the 3oz but since the container itself can hold over 3oz they took it. Shampoo, also confiscated. Alyda, Sara and I sit down because we now have a 2 hour wait until the plane leaves so I decide to watch Sons of Anarchy, every video is corrupt so I have nothing to do now, I’m also heartbroken. We finally get on the plane and before takeoff I'm already sleeping. Next thing I know I'm being woken up by Ali because she's scared because the plane is shaking a lot for landing, it was really windy, Alyda also turned around to say she was freaking out, we landed perfectly. The bus we got picked up in is called the Paddy Wagon it's a big green bus with leprechauns on the side, a little embarrassing and definitely made for tourists but I like it now. Everyone was starving so we drove into Dublin and got dropped off for our first meal in Ireland, McDonalds naturally. Got back on the bus and drove to the Guiness brewery for a self guided tour. It was cool they had hops growing in the walls and Barley in giant containers that we could touch and a waterfall inside the building. It basically walked us through the entire brewing process and after 5 floors of the tour the top floor was called the Gravity Bar which was a bar with a 360° view of Dublin and we got a free drink. However earlier on the tour there was a free sample of Guiness and it was disgusting so I used my free drink on a Coke. After we left the brewery it was back to the big green leprechauny bus. We drove to meet our tour guide for a walk around Dublin. The tour was basically in the rain in 55 degrees weather but it was cool, no pun intended (when people say that they definitely intended the pun) We walked across a bridge that was made by the same people that built the Titanic, they told us that after we walked across it of course. We saw a church that was once a speak easy, a casino and a brothel, classy. Walked onto the campus in town where the library in Star Wars was based off of. And basically learned that the Irish failed at trying to gain their independence plenty of times and then plenty of people died because potatoes (mash em, smash em, put em in a stew) went bad. After the frozen wet tour Michelle Alyda and I set off to explore the city in more detail. I bought some socks and a delicious calzone that was stuffed with steak, potatoes and onions. I'm honestly nerding out over all the green and shamrocks here though (I'm back home) After a while I went back to the hotel only got get stomped by Sara and Katie in a few games of Farkle before heading to bed.

Day 2 of Ireland

Woke up. Went to the grocery store to get some lunch for later and went back to the hotel for the breakfast before heading back onto the big green bus. After an hour or so of driving we stopped at Limerick Castle and took a group photo, I ventured to a shop nearby and found sweet relics but they were asking too much so I went back to the bus as we took off for our next stop. After waking up from a nap we arrived in at The Burren which is a bunch of rocks right next to the Atlantic Ocean. Took some sweet pictures (that I will post on Facebook when I get decent internet) and did some mini rock climbing to get close to the water. We left there and went to a place called the Cliffs of Moher. Took a group photo and then were set loose, this place was spectacular. It was a huge cliff over looking the Atlantic Ocean again and on one side was a little castle and on the other was a long path where you walk basically on the edge of the cliff to get anywhere where a wrong step can send you 100 feet into the ocean. This was also the place where The Princess Bride filmed the Cliffs of Insanity. I wish I could explain this place better but I cant find good words for it. We left in the big green bus again and took a ferry to get across a channel, we were told there was a chance of seeing dolphins however none were spotted. After getting off the ferry we arrived in the town of Killarney and found our hotel, bad internet. It's kind of sad the first thing everyone does when we check into a hotel is check the internet...we're in a foreign country but want internet more than we want to explore this tiny town, fail. We go to dinner at a pub as a group and I get breaded mushrooms and fish & chips, it was quite tasty. Back at the hotel lead to Facebook and blogging, followed by sleep.

Day 3 of Ireland

Woke up. Had breakfast in the hotel, its never that great except for the yogurt that's delicious. After breakfast we went on a carriage ride thought the Killarney National Park where we stopped at an old castle and took some pictures. We continued our tour through the city but didn't learn much because our instructor was talking to our guide the entire time so I learned nothing. Thanks. After the ride we got on the bus for a long ride to Blarney Castle. When we got there we took the usual group photo and were set loose. As we were walking up to the castle I heard something that made me so happy, someone was singing Little Lion Man. Ran around the corner and two kids were playing guitar and singing so I requested another Mumford song and they played The Cave, so good! Blarney has a rock that if you kiss it brings you the ability to lie for seven years, so I got on my back at the top of the castle and hung over a ledge and kissed it. Then we walked around and crawled around in some caves under the castle and got a little dirty. After the caves we went to the dungeons, also under the castle, and were crawling basically like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, on all fours through tiny holes until we hit the end of the rocks. Back on the bus, napped and read The Goblet of Fire some more before we arrived at the Rock of Dunamase. The rock was basically the ruins of a castle, little pieces here and there. It was like an adult playground, so we climbed it. Took a really cool picture of all of us scattered around the remnants of the castle too. As I was climbing I managed to rip a hole in the front of my pants right between the legs, oops. Back on the bus and back to Dublin, in the time of two days we literally made it around the entire country of Ireland. Tonight's night consisted of us going to a restaurant where I ate goat liver, tasted okay but the after taste was like the smell of a wet dog, gross. Then I followed it with a steak that was super good. Topped the meal off with a warm chocolate brownie and ice cream covered in powdered sugar and a strawberry. I'm currently uploading to Facebook and watching Dumb and Dumber. Tomorrow, Northern Ireland.

London Sucks And So Does Kyle Orton

Day 1 of London

Woke up. Got up this morning at 6am had time to brush my teeth and make a sandwich before the group of us nine went to the train station to hop onto the train and head to London. In total the ride is 3 hours, one to Brussels and two more, under the sea, to London. I watched through episode 12 of Sons of Anarchy, jaw droppers in that show are sick. Finally arriving in London we got off the train and into a taxi, my first ride in a taxi and this driver had some guts, driving between cars with literally inches to spare and weaving in and out of traffic like it wasn't even there but I guess this is normal for London. We got to our hotel but we only booked it for eight people because nine and they make us get another room. This of course meant I was left to walk a few blocks on my own and basically hide from the workers as we checked in, later realizing it's a lot harder to sneak a guy into a group of 8 girls than it wouldve been to sneak a girl in with a group of 7 girls and a guy. All worked out in the end though. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and walked the streets to the free tour we signed up for. On the way we stopped at an all organic food place, naturally I had the cheapest thing I could find an egg salad sandwich but it was the best thing I had eating in Europe besides the mushroom ham and cheese crepe in Paris. The group then headed to the free tour, we ended up having a really funny tour guide and we saw plenty of the notorious places in London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey to name a few. Short summary of each, Buckingham Palace was tiny compared to Versailles. Big Ben looks a lot sweeter in movies and television it's not nearly as big as I imagined. Parliament looks amazing and the flag the size of a tennis court is sweet looking. Westminster Abbey looks like a church from the outside. Once the tour was over we went with the guide to a little bar named The Old Monk that had 2 meals for 11 pounds so I had some sandwich filled with veggies, nothing spectacular but Sharron Boots got Fish n Chips so I jacked some of that, mmm yummy. After the bar and after literally dodging traffic we made our way to the original Hard Rock Cafe. Downstairs was what's called The Vault and down there was autographed guitars, pictures, and clothing worn by everyone famous like Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles, Metallica it was pretty awesome. After the Hard Rock we walked back to our hotel looking like tourists with our maps and stopping at every street corner to make sure we were going the right way. The hotel had the nicest showers and bathrooms but the rooms were kind of gross. Plus we only had eight beds for nine people so the lovely ladies pushed two beds together and slept three across. Did I mention there was no internet, I was crabby. Anyways, it was getting later in the night and we took off to a pub crawl that included five bars, a free shot at each bar and half price drinks. The first one we met up with a girl we met on the free tour earlier in the day and sat and talked. The second one we went to I ended up talking to this couple that was from Australia and they had been traveling for four months. The third one had hats that hung from the ceiling with lights in them and was really sweet, we gave it the nickname the Michael Jackson bar because there were free sparkly hats and gloves on the tables. The fourth bar was a dance club and was super packed and the tour guide ended up leaving without us so we took a taxi back to the hotel and made sandwiches before heading to sleep.

Day 2 London

Woke up. I slept in of course, Sara Jensen and I slept in as long as we could and finally ended up leaving the room around noon. We took off to Westminster Abbey, luckily we were procrastinators thought because when we got there there was a road block because the new courts year was taking place so 800+ judges in their black robes and fake hair pieces were crossing from Westminster Abbey to Parliament and Westminster wasnt open yet. So we detoured and found our way to the line to pay and get in, we waited maybe 15 minutes to get in and once we were we found out there was no pictures allowed, I took one then got scared. The place was pretty amazing though and it came with a free audio guide so we walked around the place holding the voice recorder to our ears. Saw where kings and queens were buried, the coronation chair where kings are crowned and the tombs of William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Can someone please tell me why Darwin is buried in a church though, last time I checked hes the one that challenged the bible. After Westminster Sara and I walked passed Big Ben and made our way to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, not really a London attraction but we really wanted to go. We saw some weird things like a guy who can swallow oranges whole, touched water that was as cold as the water when the Titanic sank, maybe 10 seconds in it and I had to pull my hand out, the largest rocking chair in the world and the rice that has whole stories written on them. Then there was the mirror maze, it was sweet! I stood in a place so Sara saw three or more of me and I wouldn't move and when she got close enough I would pop out and scare her. There were little kids running into mirrors as I laughed at them with their parents. After 15 minutes we finally got out, I knew the way out and kept steering Sara away from the exit. There was also the room where you stand on the bridge as the tube room spins around you, yeah that messed me up pretty bad then I tried running and ended up basically running sideways. After Ripley's we parted ways and I was on my own on my way to the Grim Reapers Tour. On my hour and a half walk to the tour I found the most amazing thing in London, Doctor Who Store. I walked through a couple of times in pure amazement before heading out. Once I got to the tours starting location I had a 15 minute wait. When the tour began it was me and 9 others ranging and we introduced ourselves and where we were from. Only one other American on the tour and she was from Ohio and wasn’t even a Browns fan, I was disappointed, others were from Germany, Australia, Russia and Iceland. The tour included the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and the spots where the women were killed and found by Jack the Ripper. It was my favorite thing I did in London. After the tour I asked the guide how to get back and he said he'd tell me at the pub that everyone in the group was going to so I follow. When we get there I ask again how to get back he says I should have a beer and chat before I head out, so I turn around and walk out of the bar in frustration. I am now lost in the middle of London. I asked an old man and his wife how to get back to the Tower of London and the man was very helpful and basically walked me back to the Tower. Again I was on my own, at night and was walking back to the hotel which was a few miles away, the city looked beautiful at night though, Big Ben actually looked cool and the London Eye was lit up blue. An hour and a half later I finally got back to the hotel laid in bed and passed out.

Day 3 in London.

Woke up. Sara and I stayed in the room as long as we could because we didnt want to spend anymore money and had nowhere we really wanted to go so we were trying to kill time until we headed back to Antwerp. We made our way to some free museum and sat outside and talked for an hour and a half before finally going in. We basically walked in one door and out the other, the place was boring so we were in it for maybe 10 minutes. Then we stopped at a sandwich shop and grabbed it to go and walked to a park across the street from Buckingham Palace and ate and did some sudoku puzzles. Then we walked to some souvenir shops before heading back to the hotel. We met up with Katie and Ali and sat in the lobby talking for a while before grabbing our bags and heading to the Tubes (subway station) where Sara and I got to ride for free because it was so packed. We made it to the train station and were looking for Platform 9 ¾ and when we got to its location there was a sign that said “Platform 9 ¾ has been moved” My heart sunk. There was no way I was going to come to London and not see it so I ran a few blocks to its temporary spot and had a stranger take my picture. Then I ran back and met up with the whole group. There was internet in the station so Sara went on her iPod and looked up the broncos score, I honestly wanted to cry. I had accepted the fact that the broncos were ganna lose but a blowout hurts. Luckily Tebow got to play! Von Miller showing why he's the #2 overall draft pick with two more sacks, 4 sacks in 4 games, love it. After I recovered, we got on the train from London to Brussels. I finished Sons of Anarchy season finale, so good. When we got to Brussels we were praying there was a train back to Antwerp, luckily there was so we took it and finally made it to our home away from home.

Day Between London and Ireland.

Woke up. I went to the laundry mat with Jenacious and then came back to the residence to change and then we made our way to the train station. This time we were headed to a brewery in a town an hour away. Slept on my way there. Took a tour in AB InBev brewery but the cruddy thing was that none of the machines were running so we didn't get to see the bottles being filled but after the tour was when the fun started. We got a free drink, then I had one of the girls who couldn't finish it. Then we got to take a class on how to pour the perfect beer from tap. We got to be our own bartender and learn the ways to clean, pour and serve perfectly and drink what we pour. Then I took the challenge of pouring 3 at once, I struggled on the first glass but poured the other two fine. Then got to drink one of the ones I poured. Waiting for the others to try I had another guys beer that he'd poured. Yeah I was a bit tipsy when we left, 5 free beers thanks to NDSU :) After we left we got back on the train and I leaned against the window and fell right asleep. Walked back to the residence and packed my clothing for tomorrows week long trip. Then went on Facebook to find out a roommate moved out of the house without giving anyone else notice, not happy about this. However I finally did get to Skype with Maddie. Woot! It is bedtime though, have to get up in under 6 hours for our voyage to Ireland.