Day 11- Dublin

Today was a really nice day.  After waking up, I ate some paella that I bought from Tesco for 30 cents because it was about to its expiration date.  After eating, I did a load of laundry which was long overdue.  I managed to wash 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of capris, 3 shirts, pajama pants, and a pair of shorts.  While my laundry was going, the last 2 people in our group arrived from Richmond, VA.  Everyone but Zahrah and I went out to get a beer.  I stayed in and read my 2nd Hunger Games book while my clothes dried.  Finally, I managed to finish the book and I did NOT see that ending coming.  Once everyone returned, we went and did a tour of the Jameson Distillery with a free taste test at the end.  At the beginning of the tour the guide asked for volunteers and most of my group raised our hands, so we all got batons which allowed us an additional taste test at the end.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I liked the Jameson (Irish whiskey) and I also like Scotch whiskey (Johnnie Walker Black).  After the tour we headed back to the hostel to get changed for the pub crawl.  We were doing the pub crawl a) to have fun and also b) to try to get to know some people in our hostel, but unfortunately, only one other person from our hostel went on the tour.  It was still a great time though.  I hung with the 3 different leaders of the crawl and we went to 5 different pubs/ bars.  The last stop, ironically, was the Village Venue that we went to last night.  This time though, all of the floors were open so I was able to go to the top floor and dance.  It was really funny to see that they played only American music.  The Irish apparently love their old school hip hop.  After the pub crawl, we went to eat at Eddie Rockets which is basically the exact same thing as Johnnie Rockets, but in Ireland.  I got a deli dog (hot dog, sauerkrat, swiss cheese, deli sauce, and pickles).  It doesn't sound great- but it was delicious.  Once we ate we headed back to the hostel; I read a few pages of the 3rd Hunger Games book and passed out.

Day 10- In Transit

We slept in til around 10am this morning and then had to check out of our hostel.  We headed straight to the Edinburgh airport via taxi to catch our flight to Dublin, Ireland.  It was such a mess trying to make our suitcases be under the maximum 20kg.  Zahrah's bag was originally 26 and Sana's was 24.  Mine was 21, so I didn't have that much I had to do.  We all moved our heaviest items into our backpacks to make it work.  I don't know how I will make it on the next flight from Dublin to Geneva though because I bought something in Dublin... we shall see.  The flight was really easy- just 45 minutes.  As always, I started to try and finish the 2nd Hunger Games book, but I ended up falling asleep.  A few brief minutes later I woke up and we made our way via taxi to our next hostel.  This hostel is the nicest one I have stayed in so far.  There are 4 of us in a room and it is really nice because it is just my friends and I- no strangers.  We are able to leave our things out and not have to worry about locking them up at all.  There is a bathroom with shower in our room instead of a shared one.  There are also outlets everywhere. In the last hostel, there were only 2 outlets and one didn't work.  After getting settled we went out to have a beer at a local pub called The Village Venue.  I had a really good fruity cider.  We then got late night food and went to bed. 

Day 9- Edinburgh, Scotland

Today was awesome.   We slept in kind of late, then Ryan went to Tesco and decided to cook a feast.  I helped him 'butcher' the chicken after we boiled it.  The knives in the hostel were so dull though that
I ended up pulling it apart with my fingers.  We also had cabbage soup, fruit, and baquette bread. We turned the chicken and bread into chicken tikka sandwiches which were amazing. 
After eating and cleaning up our dishes, Sana and I tried to go see the Edinburgh Castle but it was about to close 30 minutes later so instead we went souvenir shopping.  An hour later we met up with Zahrah and Ryan at Primark, a cheapppp department start in the UK.  I ended up buying 2 really cute shirts w/ matching skirts as well as an umbrella and a belt.  I had been resitant to buying an umbrella because they were cheap quality and at least 10 pounds (16ish dollars).  However, Primark had an adorable decent one for 4 pounds so I got it. After shopping for what seemed like an eternity we went back to the restaurant that we tried to go to the first night we were in Edinburgh, Indaba.  It was actually really good. I had the seared tuna small plate and a small plate of Spanish cheese and jam.  I have recently discovered my love for cheese and jam (even without pita or naan or other breads).  After dinner the girls stayed in and Ryan and I went o Brew Dogs, the pub that they all went to last night while I was in a cold medicine induced coma.  I had a 10% alcohol beer "Imperial Pilsner". Ultimately, i had 2/3 if a pint total, so I felt fine, but it was pretty tasty.  The bartender even let me take 2 glasses with me- saving me 13 pounds! :)    After coming back to the room, Ryan and I shared the chicken legs that I bought/cooked the night before.  Then we packed and I skyped my mom.  Now, I'm about to try to finish reading Hunger Games II and fall asleep.  We leave for Dublin via plane tomorrow.

Day 8- Edinburgh, Scotland

Well today was an awesome day.  Sana, Ryan, and I went hiking up Arthur's seat.  The man at the lobby in the hostel said that it would only take like an hour to get from the hostel to the top of Arthur's seat, but it was way more than that.  From being sick, my muscles were so fatigued that at first I didn't think I was going to make it to the top.  We kept trekking though and sure enough I made it to the top!! The views were absolutely amazing and there was a nice breeze.  We got some awesome pictures of each other and I even got some with me doing my signature yoga poses.  After hiking up and down for 3 hours, we sat a top one of the hills and ate.  Sana had french bread and cheese which was delicious and I ate my leftover falafel shawarma wrap cold; surprisingly, it was even more tasty that way.  After eating we headed back down the mountain.  We ended up going some random way that led us down a very narrow path with prickly, yet beautiful yellow flowering bushes.  Ultimately, we made it back to the bottom and headed back to the hostel to meet up with Zahrah who had slept in. We then walked to Tesco to get lunch/dinner.  I made cauliflower w/ cheese and some chicken wings.  Before my food had finished cooking though, Sana and Zahrah gave me a bowl of their potato and leek soup which they had added a bunch of Siracha to.  I couldn't taste it much because I was sick, but the spice helped to clear out my nose. It also helped to fill me up.  So I saved the chicken legs for tomorrow's lunch.  I did force myself to eat the cauliflower as I figured some veggies were necessary.  I'm trying to do better about my diet while I'm here.  I had been eating soooo badly, but am fixing it NOW.  No more hot chocolate constantly and mash and frites and chips.  (mashed potatoes, chips, and french fries).  I took some medicine yesterday around noon and again right before dinner.  After dinner I came upstairs to read some of my Hunger Games book and ended up passing out. Zahrah, Ryan, and Sana went to a microbrewery while I rested.  They seemed to have really enjoyed it, but I don't feel I missed much since I'm not a beer fan anyway and I needed the rest.  Around 12:30 they came in and I awoke feeling quite a bit better.  I forced down 2 yogurt bars, read a little more, and went back to sleep. 

Day 7 - Edinburgh, Scotland

Today was a decent day, but I feel like we really didn't do much.  I got up before the others and took my shower and went downstairs to use the internet.  Around 3pm everyone was ready and we headed to Camera Obscura.  It was sort of a place for kids but it was pretty cool.  It was a lot of allusions and camera tricks, etc.  The last part was a tube you walked through w/ a spinning vortex.  I thought that I was going to fall over, but ultimately it was ok.  There was an awesome view from the top of the building and I got a lot of great pictures.  The streets here are so pretty.  Ryan said the entire town is a World Heritage site so it has been really well preserved. 

After that we had lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant that was really good.  I got a falafel shawarma wrap and naan.  Then we had double apple shisha for 10 pounds - half the price it was in London.  It was freezing outside while we were doing the shisha, but they gave us blankets which was pretty cute. 

On the way back to the hostel we stopped and got snacks from Tesco and now are just sitting in the downstairs lounge at the hostel.  I'm drinking hot chocolate trying to feel better- though it's not really helping.  We'll be hitting the hay pretty soon.  Big day tomorrow...

Day 6- In transit

Today we are leaving London to head to Edinburgh, Scotland. I ended up sleeping in Zahrah's lounge again and we woke up really late. I headed back to my hostel... just to learn that the Central line of the Tube was closed.  After going around and around for 2 hours, I finally made it to my hostel.  I changed my clothes, checked out, and ran out the door.  I met up with them at the London Eustin station to wait for our train. Once on the train, we got to share a 4-person table.  We drank orange juice and vodka and ate pringles and talked.  Eventually we all fell asleep at different points.  About mid-way there we had to switch trains, which was nice as it gave us a chance to wake up a little and stretch our legs.  I had intended to finish the 2nd Hunger Games books while on the train, but kept falling asleep instead.  Once we arrived in Scotland it was a heck of a trek to the hostel.  We had to manually carry all of our luggage about a mile uphill.  We made it of course, checked in, changed, and headed to dinner.  It was Ryan's birthday so we wanted to take him to dinner whereever he wanted.  After walking a mile in the pouring rain (with no umbrella, just a rain jacket) we arrived at the restaurant; it was closed.  We began walking back toward the hostel planning to eat somewhere on the way back.  With the pouring rain and the lack of a map because it had gotten soaked we ended up on the wrong road. Instead of seeing bar after bar after bar, we saw nothingness.  Ultimately, we were headed the right way, were just one block over so we got it straight. We holed up in a local pub and Zahrah and I (who were the soaked ones) went down to the "toilet" to use the hand dryers.  We took some layers off and dried them the best we could, but they were still damp.  We had a few drinks for Ryan's birthday, but I only had one- I have a killer soar throat.  After a few drinks we stopped off for food and headed back to the hostel to go to bed.

It seems my body is attacking me for this trip.  I have a soar throat, stopped up nose, breakout on my chest,  and a fever blister.  The good news is....  I poked a hole in my toenail the other day and now it doesn't hurt anymore. :)  So my muscles are all set... fever blister is getting there... just need to shake this cold.  Last night certainly didn't help. 

London- Day 3

Today was the first day that I didn’t have to go anywhere when I woke up and boy it felt good.  The plan was for Sana and Ryan to come over to my hostel once they got up and moving.  I woke up around 9am, chatted with some people in my room, headed down and ate some cocoa krispies, and then got back in bed to read.  I ended up falling back asleep for who knows how long, at least a few hours.  I woke up and got dressed and on my way back from the bathroom, I walked right into Ryan and Sana.  We walked across the street to the British Museum which is apparently the oldest museum in the world.  It was really cool.  We went to several different sections including: Japan, China, Ancient Egypt, Mexico, North American Indian, and Easter Island.  We also saw several selected works from Picasso as well as the Rosetta Stone.  It felt a little surreal to see mummies and the Rosetta Stone.  My camera started dying after taking pictures of 20 different Buddha sculptures and Sana’s started to die as well.  We decided to go back tomorrow to see the Islamic World exhibits and I will bring my better camera.  We went across the street after that to an “Italian” restaurant and had burgers and poor service for 5 pounds per person.  We then went and met up with Zahrah outside of her school building which is only 3 blocks from my hostel. We went with them to Pizza Hut which is so different than back home.  Here the sauce and the cheeses taste differently. 

After Pizza Hut we went to the St. Paul area to look for some shoes for Sana.  We didn't really have much luck so we went back to the hostel. 

----   Will complete later...