Month: April 2023

After catching up on schoolwork and sleep from my trip to Amsterdam I was lucky enough to get another visit from my family! This time my parents were coming with my brother, his fiance, my sister, her boyfriend, my cousin, my aunt, and my uncle! I had been looking forward to their arrival since I landed in Dublin. 

We got to do a lot of exploring of the city like walking up and down Grafton Street to see live music and shop. We spent some time in St. Stephen’s Green and did a day trip to Howth where we did some of the cliff walk! My family also toured the Guinness Factory and the Jameson Factory, two of Dublin’s most popular spots.

We did a day trip to the Wicklow Mountains which was absolutely beautiful. At the beginning of our trip we stopped at the forty-foot which is where people go swimming all year round in Ireland, even if it’s freezing! This day was not the day for swimming but I plan to go back for a swim before the end of my trip abroad! We also stopped at the Powerscourt Gardens along the way where we ran into the famous singer Zach Bryan which was super cool. Although the weather wasn’t great it was very neat to see the gardens and Glendalough valley which is in Wicklow National Park.

Next I traveled back to London along with my family where we spent three nights! Here we explored Covent Garden, Borough Market, and Notting Hill! Notting Hill had the cutest outdoor market with stands full of food and clothes for sale. We got to see Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace as well. We also visited all of the signature spots like Big Ben, the Tower of London, the London Bridge and we went in the London Eye! It was amazing to get to explore the city while being with my family! It was sad to see them go but we definitely made the most of our eight days together! 

 

Last Thursday I flew to Amsterdam with my friends Gabbie and Gracie! We got in late at night but Friday we had a day full of adventures planned! In the morning we explored the fascinating city while doing some thrifting and shopping. They have the best thrift stores and vintage clothing shops! Next I went to the Heineken factory which had a very cool interactive tour and a roof deck with an amazing view of the city! 

After this I tried Amsterdam’s famous Fabel Friet which had the most delicious french fries! They had tons of different toppings and sauces that you could choose to put on your delicious fries. I put cheese and garlic truffle sauce on mine and it was amazing! 

Next we had tickets for the Anne Frank House which usually sell out weeks in advance but I was lucky enough to get them. This audio guided tour was very well done and it was breathtaking to be able to see the actual space where Anne Frank hid during World War II. I feel so lucky that I was able to see inside the house and learn so much about Anne Frank and her family.

After the tour we had a quick bite to eat and walked around the city some more before heading to our boat tour. We had a nice cruise along the water while getting some information about the city, it was great! Something I did not know was that there are some boat houses that people have docked in the canal and they actually live there, which I thought was fascinating. 

Our next day we took off to Keukenhof which is “The Garden of Europe” located about 45 minutes outside of Amsterdam. Let me tell you it was absolutely beautiful! The pictures I included cannot do it justice but the tons of tulips were gorgeous. This was the perfect time to go because they are in season. We spent the day wandering around and taking pictures, it was quite relaxing! 

Unfortunately the next day we had to leave the amazing city but we got back to Dublin in time for an Easter dinner at our favorite restaurant The Hairy Lemon!