You could say I am living the dream; or you could be here living up every moment with me

AMSTERDAM FOR 5 DAYS, DUBLIN FOR 4 DAYS, BARCELONA FOR 2 DAYS.

I honestly have no clue where to start with this about Fall Break but here goes nothing. You could say that studying abroad for a whole semester is a 3 month vacation which it is but this 11 day fall break extravaganza was THE vacation of a lifetime. We went in knowing almost nothing about each and every place we chose to visit, just going with the flow and figuring things out on the go with a group of amazing people. Jeff was very helpful in the planning of our trip by booking all the hostels and making sure we saw places we needed to see. Every person contributed something key and important to make this journey a life-altering experience. The trip began on Friday October 22nd, of course we had to go out the night before and party in Rome because that is just how we are here in ROMA. We got up around 5ish to take the tram, to the bus to termini, to another train to the airport, and then finally getting on our plane at the fumincino airport. Before boarding the plane we met a girl Hannah who was studying in Dublin.

^ IAMSTERDAM ^


The legendary "Red Light District"

Once we finally arrived in Amsterdam we took a van taxi to some random hotel in the city center and met a super sketchy hippie dude who rolled up on a bike and walked us to our apartment which was located right around the corner from the Red Light District and above a coffee shop. All day we just spent time exploring and looking for different sights around the city. We walked all the way to the Anne Frank Haus and than were too lazy to wait in line. We did get to goto mexican for dinner which was amazing. I had a chicken burrito and it was the best thing I have ever tasted since I am so sick of Italian food at this point in time. We did not really do anything to crazy that night and went to bed kind of early. I was in a room with Jimmy. Saturday morning after getting a bad nights rest because we seemed to be in a sketchy part of town we all woke up and showered, went to a local breakfast place and had a traditional American breakfast which was nice for a change. We walked around and tried to find the northface store so that mike and jeff could buy north faces since it was a lot colder in Amsterdam than expected. Jimmy bought a really cool winter hat. We planned on going on the tour of Heineken factory later that day but we were supposed to meet some of the girls so we went and had a couple beers at a local bar near the factory. Once inside the Heineken factory we took the self-guided tour which was unexplainable. They showed us how the beer was brewed to perfection. After the Heineken tour we went to the Van Goegh Museum which was definitely interesting to see to say the least. After doing those touristy attractions Jimmy and I went to Wagamama which was a Chinese/Japanese stir fry deal which was outstanding. Later that night we had a bunch of people over to the apartment for Jeff's birthday party but the apartment was pretty packed so a couple of us went downstairs to a local bar and hung out for a little before we went out! We all walked to the "club scene" of Amsterdam where we partied and danced all night long, Jimmy and I even wondered through the Red Light on the way home. We got back to our apartment around 3 a.m. and of course we did not have a key. Jeff lost his roommate Chris earlier in the night so I went with him to look. Amsterdam is not a city that you want to be walking around at night all over town because it is really really sketchy to say the least. We went to bed at 6:00 a.m. and woke up at 9:45 a.m. since there are 6 of us guys it takes about an hour to shower but luckily we had our own in the apartment. Sunday was Jeff's 21st so our day was going to be crazy. We went to breakfast with the girls when we woke up and then Mike, Jeff, and I went on a wireless internet search but the wireless is garbage in Amsterdam. The boys and I then went to a bar called "Players" which is sort of like an American sports bar where we watched the Manchester United soccer game and had this amazing beer that the really cool bartender called "white beer" We then met up with Tiana, Rach, and Christie. Some people went to a coffee shop before dinner while a couple people and me went to a bar. We all then went to Chinese for dinner and it was outstanding. I had sweet and sour chicken and a egg roll, surprise surprise. After dinner Jeff went and got both of his ears pierced because it is just something he does for special occasions. He is crazy. Took another journey through the red light and ended up just having a chill night at the bulldog. Monday was our 4th day in Amsterdam and everyone's bodies were definitely starting to feel the affects. We woke up and grabbed subway and then headed to the Anne Frank Haus. It was an amazing experience to be able to tour here house the way we did. We then journeyed home and watched "the inside man" and napped a little bit. We went out to the local grocery and bought some necessary items and went back to the apartment and played suites and hockey. All the girls then made there way over to our apartment and we went to see a live sex show which is something you just have to do when you are in a different world like Amsterdam. That was pretty interesting. Tuesday was our last day in Amsterdam and I feel like I was pretty ready to leave and move along with our journey. We got up and grabbed subway and coffee and checked out some of the carnival that was taking place in the city center. Something random about Europe is almost every big city has a "city center". We cleaned up the apartment a little bit and packed our bags to leave the fantasy world we have lived in for 5 days. We took Air Lingus to Dublin and I sat next to Jimmy, all of us ended up passing out the whole time. We took two cabs from the airport in Dublin to our hostel called "Jacobs Inn" where we had a 10 person room for all 9 of us. After getting settled in we wanted to go and check out the pub scene so we went to a pub called "O'shays" and drank some beverages and ate. I had a steakburger with mashed potatoes which was awesome as expected. After spending an hour or so at dinner we went back to the apartment and pre-gamed a little and off we went to a club called the Purty Kitchen. It was multi-leveled and really fun. We danced all night, but it seemed as if all the people in the club were either older or younger than us. Dublin was so nice because people actually spoke English and I could understand what people were saying.

This is a view of the castle in Dublin..

Wednesday morning I woke up at 6:30 instead of 7:30 because my phone alarm was set wrong :(. It worked out pretty well thought because I started my day very early. After an hour long run I went back to our 10 person hostel and woke up the boys. We went to a pub called the Dubliner for beers and lunch, but we were lucky enough to get the "lunch special" which was a chicken club or fish and chips with any draft beer for 10 euros. We then all went to another pub that had ten euro pitchers of fosters which we sat and consumed for a little over two hours. Next was the Guinness factory to take a tour of how they made there beer, that was amazing as expected. At the end of the tour with our ticket we got a free perfect draft glass of Guinness at the bar on top of the building called the "Gravity Bar" It had an un-explainable view of Dublin. It was also raining this day and I forgot my raincoat in the hostel. Before dinner we went and had appetizers at a local sport bar, quesedillas and nachos. We then went to "Elephant Castle" and got famous buffalo wings which were very tasty but not like buffalo wild wings or hooters to any extent. We then went back to meet up with the girls and headed to a pub called "Buskers" where we listened to live music and watched the Giants and the Rangers in the World Series. I was so exhausted I only watched 3 innings before Jeff and I walked home to end another awesome night in Europe.

Our ten person hostel in Dublin which was surprisingly very nice.

Thursday morning we planned on visiting the countryside of Ireland and we did just that. After we all got up and showered we grabbed subway and headed over to the train station. We bought tickets to go to Malihide where they have a famous castle and a variety of unreal views of the ocean. We went into a castle and took an audio tour which was interesting but not my cup of tea, Jimmy is convinced the castle is haunted. After hanging out and walking around all day we took the "dart" which is the name of the train about 30 minutes home back to Dublin. Once back in the city we were determined to go to TGI Fridays for some reason so after two hours of walking around we finally found it! The food was surprisingly good, I had a chicken sandwich and mashed potatoes. Dinner was nice and relaxing, some of us shared stories while others listened carefully. After that we all got ready and headed to temple bars, temple bars is a huge area in Dublin that has all the cool bars and clubs! We ended up at a bar called XX1 which was really fun, danced the night away once again with Rach and Christie (who has a broken ankle but somehow that doesn't stop here). Then walked home later with Jimmy and Ty! Friday was one of the best days of the entire trip. I got up super early to go on a run! Then when I got back I woke up Ty and we walked to get coffee. We stopped in at casino and played; putting 50 euro on red each we bet basically our life savings. Thankfully we won so we stayed and gambled a little bit. I found Nike leggings for running for only 35 euro so I bought them. And then we just walked around all day and hung out until our taxi for the airport at 5:00 p.m. from our hostel. We got to the airport and what do you know... our flight is delayed till 10:40 instead of 8:40 p.m. So we all ate dinner and relaxed for hours, until our plane got delayed again until 11:45 p.m. This was really putting a damper on our plans because we were planning on partying Barca when we got there @ 2 a.m. After a long plane ride and longer taxi ride, we finally arrived at the Sun and Moon Hostel. Once we got to the 4x4 room with 8 beds in it and no sheets or blankets on our beds we dropped the girls off and headed out to the clubs but it only lasted for about two hours because everyone was exhausted. The clubs were amazing with tons of levels and ridiculous music with crazy colors and lights everywhere. The women were BEAUTIFUL. Saturday morning we got up around 11:00 a.m. so that gives us a solid four hours of awful sleep. We made our way to this sandwich shop called "Bo De B" it was so good! Then we met up with Jimmy's Santa Clara friends who study through the same program as us in Barcelona. They took us to the fresh market was definitely a crazy sight to see. One of our friends is vegan so that didn't work out so well. Next we went to a pub and watched soccer for hours. Then Ty and I tried to walk back to the hostel but got so lost that we had to take two different cabs since no driver knew were our hostel was. We split a kabab for lunch. Then we all met up and made our way to this place that is three euro pour your own drinks, they give you the bottle of booze and a chaser and you actually make your own drink. It is definitely bad news. We then cabbed it to "Elephant" which is another crazy Barcelona club. Everyone uses cabs everywhere in Barcelona because the night life is sketchy at times and some of the places are not walkable. After dancing and partying all night once again with Santa Clara nation and everyone from the Rome Program, I took the tram home... It was an experience where I lost one of my clogs. Awesome. Crazy night though!

View from Parc Guell, the picture doesn't do justice.

Sunday morning was kind of rough because we once again slept for four hours. Jeff and some of the girls went on their own adventure while the boys and I went to see some of Barcelona. We walked everywhere and saw so much awesome sights. The beach is ridiculous, it is beautiful. We then journeyed to Segrada Familia which is a famous crazy architectured church that is still being remolded. After that we cabbed it to Parc Guell which was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. It had an crazy view of the whole city and the beach! On our walk home we made dinner reservations at Princessera 23 which was a local restaurant. We went back to get everyone else but they weren't back yet. We had a all boys dinner which was kind of nice for a change while the girls did their own thing. We met them all at the three euro drink place around 11:00 p.m. where tons of people met up. Finally we tried to get into a club on the beach called "Opium mar" but there was no chance with it being Halloween and all. The girls got in but we didn't of course. So we went to another place called "Catwalk" which was very entertaining anyways. Most of the girls and some other people came and met up with us! We partied all night and ended up on the beach, not getting home till 7:00 a.m. where we got back to the room got our bags and left for the airport to catch of 10:30 flight back to Rome, all with NO sleep. Then back to Roma it was.

This vacation was too perfect and fun to put into words. We could not have been luckier with the way everything worked out and I am so happy I got to see and do all the things that we did with the people I was with. I enjoyed every moment of it. There was no drama, no injuries (Christie's ankle", no sicknesses (Rach haha), no jail time, or anything bad of that sort. Obviously it cost a lot of money but what do I expect? I saw three of the most amazing cities on earth. It was a perfect blend of variety and I am pleased that I had the opportunity to experience the whole thing. I am very appreciative that I am able to study abroad and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It is never too late.


There are so many details and amazing experiences I left out, I could just not put this trip into text. It is impossible. Be safe at home, Love and miss you all. 6 weeks left in ROMA.