Tymon Park - Dublin, Ireland

Scenes from Dublin’s Tymon Park

Tymon Park - Dublin, Ireland

One of Dublin’s main attractions is the huge Phoenix Park, one of the largest walled parks in Europe. It’s basically the Central Park of Dublin, and it really is so beautiful and wonderful.

BUT, I’m here to tell you about another great park in Dublin that stole my heart – Tymon Park. Now that I’m a #local, I have had a bit of time to explore this lesser known park. I truly believe it’s one of the best parks in Dublin.

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A Pit Stop in Brussels

A Pit Stop in Brussels, Belgium

A Pit Stop in Brussels

You know what I hate? Leaving a city I just got to and not getting to really see it. It’s just such a tease. Such was the case with Brussels, Belgium. But even though I only got to see the city for a few hours during my little pit stop, I still really enjoyed my time there! Here are a few things to do in Brussels if you only have a few hours there!

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Howth, Ireland

An Afternoon by the Bay | Howth, Ireland

Howth, Ireland

Greetings (finally) from Ireland! I have been so SO busy since I flew across the pond that this is my first post since my big move to Ireland! I hope you all missed me while I was away : )

Things have been absolutely nuts over here. We’ve been so busy searching for jobs and apartment hunting. BUT we were able to squeeze in a night out for my friend’s birthday (no regrets on that one, though).

It’s been an absolute whirlwind, and it seems like we’ve been here a lot longer than 6 days. Each day is so exhausting! However, I find myself (sorry, “meself”) slowly adapting to the Irish culture and life in Dublin.

We’re staying at an amazing Homestay in an area of Dublin called Templeogue (which I’ll post about later). We’ve been going around Dublin on what we’ve not-so-lovingly dubbed “The Search.” AKA, going around Dublin with resumés trying to find a job.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to have a place to call “home.” I’m ready to hang up my clothes and stop living out of a suitcase, buy and store groceries, AND have people back home start sending me presents…

Throughout all this mayhem, we were able to sneak a trip to Howth, a Dublin suburb on the Dublin Bay. What started out as a quest to go apply for jobs at few places turned into a lovely afternoon filled with great views and food. And a lot of wind.

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Festival International de Louisiane

Festival International de Louisiane 2015 / My last weekend in America

Festival International de Louisiane

Summer is upon us people, which means it’s music festival season!

How appropriate that my last weekend in the US before my big move was spent at my favorite event in my hometown – Festival International de Louisiane. I’ve been dying to share with ya’ll about this festival because it really is my favorite thing about where I live!

Every year, it’s weekend filled with family, friends, music, food, and so much happiness. And Festival International de Louisiane 2015 was no different! It was a great way to spend my last weekend before I really cracked down on finishing up packing and cleaning before my big move tomorrow!

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5 Things I'l Miss Most about the US

5 Things I’ll Miss About the US When I Move Abroad

5 things I'll miss most about the US once I move abroad

I have been totally and completely MIA from this blog since last week. Things have been CRAZY around here. I had my last day of work, I had the last day at my gym, I had a weekend getaway to a little beach on the Louisiana coast with a bunch of my best friends as a farewell trip.

Anyways, a lot of “lasts” have been happening all of a sudden, and it’s hitting me now more than ever that I AM MOVING TO IRELAND A WEEK FROM TODAY. Like…what?! Some nights, I have trouble falling asleep because I can’t stop thinking about it and everything I need to do before then. And it’s really starting to hit me that I will be gone for an entire year. I sometimes get emotional thinking about it!

America’s not perfect, but it has got some pretty great things. Like, all-you-can-eat buffets, for example. Well, since the day of my departure is looming ever closer, I’ve started to think about what I’m gonna miss most about the US when I move abroad. Well, 5 things/places/events I’ll miss from where I live in the US at least.

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train travel

5 Reasons Why I Love Train Travel

5 Reasons why I love train travel

One unique experience that I’ve found about traveling through Europe is how popular and easy it is to travel by train. Anytime I visit anywhere in the US, I’m driving or I’m flying. Although there are trains, they’re not nearly as efficient or popular as they are in Europe. Travelling by train in Europe is absolutely worth it.

Although trains used to be the cheapest way to travel around Europe, in recent years there have been a lot more airlines that offer affordable flights. Airlines like RyanAir or Easyjet offer really cheap flights around Europe that have many people thinking traveling by train may not be worth it, since typically the journeys are longer.

But personally, I LOVE IT. It’s a unique part of the European travel experience to travel by train. Obviously planes are very efficient, but there’s just something about trains. Here are 5 reasons why I love train travel.

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The Abbey Road Fail

The Abbey Road FAIL

The Abbey Road Fail

“Hey, look! It’s Abbey Road! We should go check it out!” I said to my friends while pointing to the tube map in my hands.

That’s how it all started. I saw a stop on the DLR line called “Abbey Road.” We were all the way in Belgravia area, by the Victoria Station, which was pretty far from the Abbey Road station, even on the tube.

But, I convinced my friends to come check it out with me. After all, I’m a huge fan of The Beatles. How cool would it be to see the real Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded the legendary album? And to take a (super touristy) picture on that same corner of the road as the Abbey Road album cover??

Besides, it wouldn’t be that hard, right? We could just take the tube to the station and check it out. WRONG.

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Florence and Venice in 72 Hours

Florence and Venice in 72 Hours

Florence and Venice in 72 Hours

My first time visiting Europe was when I studied abroad after freshman year of college in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the most amazing 6 weeks of my entire life. It was what really started my obsession with traveling. During my time in Innsbruck, we only had classes Monday-Thursday mornings. So, as soon as the final bell rang (OK, there was no actual bell, this is just figurative) we would head to the Innsbruck train station to hop on a train to other countries for the weekend. Most weekends, we would focus on one place – some of my weekends were spent in Prague, Amsterdam, London, etc. Well, one weekend we decided to take on the heaping task of seeing TWO fantastic cities in a little over 3 days – Florence AND Venice.

How could we cram in two beautiful Italian cities in just 72 hours? Here’s how it went down.

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Borough Market – London, England

Marvelous Markets, pt. 1: Borough Market – London

Borough Market – London, England

Do you love London? Do you love farmer’s markets? Do you love food? I’ll answer all of these for you: YES. Well, those happen to be 3 of my favorite things. Although I haven’t posted too much about it (because I honestly don’t even know where to begin) I’m OBSESSED with London. Plus I LOVE markets of all kind – whether that be food, produce, secondhand, flea, etc. And, obviously, this gal loves to eat too! And I’m really good at it. #moretolove

One of the (many) reasons London my favorite city is because it has TONS of markets. I haven’t been to all of them yet, but I have absolutely LOVED the ones I have been to! And one of the best London markets I’ve been to is Borough Market.

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