6 weeks later...

I have been in Ireland for 6 weeks. Time. is. flying.

Today, after class,  I had lunch with a "friend of a friend" to put it simply. Christy, one of my room mates from PSU, was a camp counselor in PA two years ago with Aveen, who lives in Dublin where she attends pharmacy school.  Aveen picked the place, called  Café en Seine:

Café en Seine- on Dawson Street in Dublin

It was nice having a native Dubliner navigate the restuarant/ café scene.  She described the place as "when you walk in, you're transported to Paris." This was an accurate description.  It was the perfect spot for an intimate conversation, and there was great atmosphere.  We chatted for almost 2 hours before she had to go to work. 

After lunch, we departed, and I wandered down Grafton Street and did some shopping.  I have never been in a big city completely alone before.  I was uncomfortable at first, but after stopping in a clothing store, the  familiarity was enough to keep me on my way.  (It's funny- some things are universal...)  I walked by Trinity College as well as St. Stephen's Green before heading home via bus. There was also some aimless wandering...

Since I've arrived in Dublin 6 weeks ago, I've been exposed to so many new things- things that have changed me and opened my eyes to new possibilities.  I'm starting to realize what living thousands of miles away from home does to a person. When one first moves, everywhere and everyone is new and unfamiliar.  Soon the newness wears off; soon, the only thing left is yourself and this place.  But, if you're lucky,  you've met a group of people that make this place something of a home. I'm happy to say I'm one of the lucky ones.

Rule #1: You can't be boring- London Adventures

WELCOME TO LONDON AND TO HYDE PARK HOSTEL!

Yes please, I would love to sleep in a triple coffin bed  with 20 other people

Now that all of the creatures of the Hyde Park Hostel have been documented, explaining the remainder of the trip will be easy.


Friday: 

•  Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace
• Friday morning couldn't have come fast enough.  Between the tucking in and coughing I barely got any sleep at all. We grabbed some maps and started heading east along Hyde Park towards the Marble Arch: 



Hyde Park



Hyde Park Sculpture



Marble Arch

Right across from the Marble Arch, we spotted a "Pret." We were in serious need of caffeine, so we headed in:



Obsessed



Mocha- get one




To our surprise, it was an amazing place.  The food was fresh and reasonably priced.  I had a Thai Avocado sandwich and a mocha.  We also got a little touristy and asked if someone could take our picture:  (this would be the equivalent of asking someone to take your picture while eating lunch at Panera...)



Happy to be alive

After brunch, we then decided to hop on the Underground (the Tube) and head towards the London Eye and Big Ben. 


As we exited the platform, this is what awaited us: 



London Eye and Thames River



Big Ben



Big Ben and House of Parliament




Pammy, Ben and me



Big Ben and Little Erin



Thames- right beside the London Eye

After some exploring, we decided to ride the London Eye. It was definitely worth it: 



London Eye



View from the top

View of the River Thames

London Eye

We then found Westminster Abby relatively close to the House of Parliament.  We didn't pay to see the inside of Westminster, but continued on to Buckingham Palace. 




Westminster... are you there, Kate?!



Detail of the gate outside Buckingham Palace



Buckingham Palace-the Queen was there the day we visited ( you can tell by the flag)

 After all of the walking, we took a dinner ( and drink) break: 



Fish 'n Chips

Saturday:

• Waffle Palace, Trafalgar Square, Diagon Alley, Tower of London, Tower Bridge
• After a long night at the Black Lion ( a pub down the street from our hostel), we went to the Waffle Palace for some much needed treats. 

Smoked Salmon Panini

 After lunch, we took the Underground back into the main part of the city in order to check out Trafalgar Square:

Trafalgar Square Fountain- most of the water was frozen solid

Red Tele booth

Fab Five in Trafalgar Sq.

 The National Gallery is a free art museum in the square.  Although we could not see the entire collection without paying a fee, we were still able to see a lot of famous works including The Last Supper as well as famous works by Van Gogh and Monet:

Trafalgar Sq.

England's National Gallery

We then took a quick detour to the street which served as Diagon Alley in HP!!!

Diagon Alley

Goodwins Court -aka Diagon Alley

After a quick break at the hostel, we then ventured out to find the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.

Tower Bridge ( NOT LONDON BRIDGE!!)

Tower of London at night

That night, Pam and I got a little wild...

MP and I chillin with some Norwegians

Sunday:

• Abbey Road, Chelsea v. Man U.
• The next morning, we took the Tube to Abbey Road, and returned just in time to catch the end of the Chelsea v. Man U football game.  It had snowed 3 inches the night before, so it was a rough day: 



Abbey Road!

Blackbird Lyrics

The famous walkway

Aww yeah!

Chelsea v. Man U game 

We then made our triumphant return to the Waffle Palace.  It was a classy establishment:

This is the stuff of dreams...

Velvet Walls seems to be a common thread here

Belgium Chocolate Waffle... to die for

We'll miss ya HPH!

• Monday: Traveling Zombies

• We found a pub that stayed open for the Superbowl thanks to Pam and Dan. ( pics to follow)  After the game ended it was after 3,  so we went directly back to the hostel, grabbed all of our things, and headed to the bus stop.  We had some difficulty (to say the very  least) in figuring out which bus stop was the correct one to Standsted...not sure if the tequila had anything to do with it though...  After a rough bus ride, a sleepy flight, and a final haul back to Blackrock, we were all more than glad to be home.  And do you want to know what the best part is? That I don't even have to think about it; Blackrock is home.

"Guys, we're totally the most popular people in the Hostel right now" - London

Last night I didn't go to sleep.  We watched the super bowl ( which didn't end until after 3 am due to the time difference), checked out of our hostel, and hopped on a plane back to Dublin. I'm running on three hours of sleep and both mentally and physically embracing my inner creature.  Regardless, I can't stop smiling when I think about the past few days.  It has truly been the best weekend I've had this semester. It's a blur, but here is my best attempt:

Hyde Park Hostel...saying our goodbyes 

Thursday Night: Arrival and Induction into Hyde Park Hostel
After a 55 min flight from Dublin to Stansted and a 1 hour bus ride from Stansted to our hostel, we were finally home. And by "home" I mean a terrifying place called "Hyde Park Hostel." Hyde Park Hostel is both the most disturbing and entertaining place of which I have ever called "home."  Therefore, it deserves its own section (see below).  As we opened the door to room 52, which held 21 people in triple-decker bunks I can only liken to stacked coffins, I immediately regretted not splurging for the 15 euro per night hostel down the street. The people who filled the bunks weren't the friendly backpacking college students with whom  I had imagined I would be sharing a room. Quite the contrary: Here is a brief break-down of the colorful residents of room 52 in the Hyde Park Hostel. No description is adequate in accurately conveying the odd mixture of fear, disgust and amusement experienced by all involved. Enjoy:

• Stinky Lady
• Stinky lady was the first person I had the pleasure of meeting after my arrival to HPH.  Naturally, she was in the bunk below me and offered me her extra blanket.  I refused, but to my horror found the blanket on me later that evening.  Although she didn't tuck me in ( see: Bald Man) it was equally horrifying.  Stinky lady appears to be a semi-regular customer at HPH Monday through Thursday.  She enjoys coughing, sharing blankets, and seductively laying on her bunk.  Maybe she had a good heart? She didn't speak English, so we'll never know.
• Bald Man



 Zach, Bald Man, Dan



Can't believe it's really him!



Reenactment

• Bald man slept in the bunk across the room from me on the bottom of the three beds. Bald man is best known for the infamous "tuck-in" of Thursday night, or "The Tuck seen 'round the World".  At 4:30 AM on the morning of Friday, February 2nd, bald man awoke, removed his own blanket from his person, and proceeded to very gently yet thoroughly tuck Dan into bed.  I witnessed the whole thing, as I was too scared to sleep.  Bald man dabbles in construction, not speaking English, and is friends with Stinky Lady. Pictures to follow.
•  
• Bad Man
• Arguably the King of the Freak Show, bad man was a on the top bunk dweller just one row over from my bed. To be fair, any bunk would have been too close in proximity to my own.  We were first introduced to Bad Man after his interaction with Lauren on the second day:  
• Bald Man:  "What is your name?" 
• Lauren (with hesitation): "Lauren." 
• Bad Man: "Oh, I want to remember you." 
• THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. Just minutes later, he popped his head out from behind his bunk and named every single one of us. I had never even spoken one word to him (none of us had except for Lauren just moments ago...  Apparently he had been ease-dropping all day and had been keeping track of all of our names. Terrifying. He also has soul-less eyes..so that's good. Bad Man's hobbies include wearing suits, building a fort over his bunk, and secretly peaking out from behind his sheets. 
• Porno
• Friday night, Pam decided that she no longer wanted to sleep in her bunk. Oh Pam, what a mistake...wah.  When she awoke on Saturday, (with no recollection of moving) she lifted up her sheets and found a porn mag. Pam: "Is that ass real?" Classic. Although having no way to prove its origin, we have a very strong feeling it was Porno man.  Pam decided it was best to just go with it, and slept in that bunk for the remainder of the weekend. Although finding the mag. was bad enough, her old bunk was located between Bad man and Hairy man ( more on him later), so it was a sound call.
• Meth Massager
• Meth massager and I were introduced in the hallway the first night.  I was trying to find a bathroom in order to brush my teeth and to my delight, I was alone with this creature in the hallway.  He literally had no teeth and tried to tell me that he was a masseuse.  Right.  He then asked me if I wanted a massage with the stipulation of "tonight only."  #girlproblems.   Thankfully Zach was exiting the room at that moment and walked into the hallway... Never walk alone in the hall in HPH... lesson learned.
• Hairy Man
• Although Hairy Man and I never had a conversation, I feel as though we really hit it off. Every single morning, he would get up, stretch, stare, and pace in the room.  I was awake for all of this ( again, couldn't sleep).  Hair man slept on the bottom bunk of the three bunks next to mine ( I really was located in a prime spot...) Hairy Man was also spotted outside the hostel in Spar.  He entered Spar, walked to the counter, stared at the cashier for a few seconds only to turn around and leave.  I'd say he was simply a lost soul.  Oh, and he was obscenely hairy which only added to his amazing personality.

Detailed list of every day to follow... I just had to get this out before I forgot it all...the Creatures of HPH deserve to be recognized.

Seeking higher ground for safety and drink