Things have been very busy around here lately! Between midterms and paper deadlines everyone seems to be cramming in all their semesters work into these next two weeks! I have my first midterm on Wednesday in industrial economics and I know it will be challenging so have good thoughts for me (: It's funny because my professor sent us and email explaining that an A+ is anything between a 76 and a 100...I have never heard of such a thing, but I am not complaining haha I am also putting the final touches on my spring break plans! I am sooooooo excited to travel Europe with my best friends the first week and once of my friends from Syracuse is even meeting us in Rome! It will be a lot of traveling for one week, but even though I am going to be exhausted I will still be in shock/excitement when I see my parents and sister for the first time the following week! I am so lucky to have my family visit me (:

This past weekend was somewhat chill and on Saturday my friends and I snuck into a day trip to visit Trim Castle and Newgrange. Technically the trip was for students who were studying abroad for an entire year and not one semester, but nobody caught on and I am pretty good at playing dumb so that was my backup plan if we got in trouble haha Trim castle was interesting because that is actually where they filmed parts of Braveheart. They even showed us the window that the son's girlfriend was thrown out of. After that we went to Newgrange and I absolutely loved it. I am not much of a history person, but Newgrange fascinated me. Newgrange is over 5,200 years old and the roof has yet to leak which is hard to believe. It is hard to explain the architecture, but it was very cool to be standing inside such a historical place. 

Top of Trim Castle!

The window from Braveheart

Our awesome tour guide at Newgrange!

Just some random rock?

So many sheep!! My sister would have been in heaven!

Best hot chocolate! (besides the one at the patriot's games)

Rugby games have been huge here these past weekends and I actually find the professional games to be very entertaining. Yesterday my friends and I went into the city to a bar called "Woodshed Baa and Grill" (http://www.woolshedbaa.com/dublin/) to watch Ireland lose to Scotland....it was still a great game though and the bar was so much fun! I tried Fosters (australian beer) for the first time and it was actually pretty good! Just going into the city on a Sunday to drink beer, eat pulled pork sandwiches w/ chips, and watch rugby is an amazing way to spend the day haha I have visitors coming this Thursday from Seville, Spain. My best friend from home is studying abroad in Seville so her and her roommate in Spain are traveling to Dublin to spend the weekend here with me! Hopefully I have mastered my tour guide role by now haha All is well here and kinda hectic for the next two weeks, but that is expected! Missing everyone back home xoxo

Soooo apparently Justin Bieber was denied from the club I always go to last night here in Dublin hahaha Sorry but I just found that out and it made my night! Justin was here for two concerts over the weekend and apparently he did not bring his ID to the club and the Irish bouncer made fun of him and did not let him in...rookie mistake Justin and the Irishmen have no mercy! Anyways, I had the most amazing weekend with my best friends from Syracuse here visiting for my birthday weekend. On Thursday for my birthday a bunch of my UCD friends and I went to this club called the Palace where not only was it free for everyone to enter since it was my birthday, but we were also allowed in the VIP suite where we even got a free bottle of champagne! I was kinda bummed being away from home for my 21st birthday, but my friends here all came out and celebrated with me. We had an amazing night and I would not have changed anything (:

Since my best friends were visiting from London I tried to plan fun things for them to do and keep them entertained. On Friday afternoon I took them into the city to show them around and shop of course! We found this amazing burrito place too for lunch! Later that night one of my Irish roommates came with us to Captain Americas (great burger restaurant) and then we went to O'neills pub near Grafton Street where we listened to live music. Just when I was finally starting to feel like I wasn't a tourist I was sitting in the pub requesting Galway Girl...oops! I also made my friends try Guinness which I think they liked, but they knew better than to say they didn't like it in an Irish pub haha

 On Saturday we took the dart (train) for a 30 min ride to Howth which is a small town (maybe city?) along the coast of Dublin and it was only five euros roundtrip! It is absolutely beautiful and yet again I found myself climbing cliffs and running through mud. I was never really a nature girl as a kid and I am pretty sure I played with my dolls outdoors so this whole being dirty and climbing through bugs on mountain trails is new to me...Good thing I had a brother and played sports growing up because I am finally adjusting to this whole being one with nature thing! 

It was actually pretty hard saying bye to my friends on Sunday morning because I didn't realize how nice it was to be with familiar faces until they got on the bus for the airport. I will see them in less than 3 weeks though when we meet in Paris (: Then the week after I get to see my family (: (: Unfortunately midterms are coming up next week so I will be locking myself in the library this weekend....meep I guess it is about time I did some work... hope all is well back home!! xoxo 

Tomorrow my best friends from Syracuse are coming to Dublin for my birthday and I am so excited! Today I cleaned my room, cleaned the kitchen, and did all my laundry...that is dedication! I actually keep forgetting that tomorrow is my birthday...I guess it is because I am in a different country so the time difference just confuses me because technically my birthday starts at 5am here haha I have lots planned for this weekend though as I want to show them the best of Dublin, but also test out some new places I have never been to. Cant wait xoxo (:

As much as I loved Galway...I will always be a Dublin girl at heart! Last Friday I left for Galway with about 200 other UCD study abroad students to see this beautiful city for the weekend. Full time Irish students organized the entire weekend and came along with us to show us a great time! I was so exhausted when I got home last night, but it was a weekend I will never forget. On Friday we went to the Cliffs or Moher which might have been the most beautiful and breathtaking place I have ever been! It is funny because when you are standing at the top it doesnt feel like you are that high, but once I looked at the pictures I realized that I probably should not have been standing so close to the edge haha I didnt sneeze or trip though (:

I probably should have backed up a few steps....oops

The following day we went to the Aran Islands which was about a 45 min ferry boat ride. The Aran Islands are beautiful and I finally got to see many many animals!!! A sheep actually stopped our bus in the road and it finally felt like I was in the countryside. The Aran Islands actually only have 800 residents who live there and they have 1 middle school and 1 high school....sounds like a everyone must know eachother, but there cant be much gossip because there really is not much there besides the animals and nature haha I had a great day riding a bike around the island and I also had a good irish coffee! 

Cant remember the last time I rode a bike...

 I thought we were going to take a nice picture until he bit me

 Cows of the Sea!

Such a peaceful place!

On our last day in Galway we went on a drive around the beautiful countryside. It was very early, but I have never seen such open space! It felt like we were in a place like Colorado and the pictures cant even explain how beautiful everything was. Unfortunately the roads were so curvy that some people got sick on the bus...

Before we left we finally got to spend time exploring the city! Lots of my friends went to the Claddagh store where they bought rings (I am waiting to "buy" mine when my parents visit....cough cough) The city itself is small compared to Dublin, but there are lots of shops and pubs! It was Sunday and it was amazing how many people were at church! The churches were absolutely stunning! The nightlife is also very fun (:

Sooooo apparently there is a lot more to Ireland than just Dublin?? I am very excited to be leaving for Galway tomorrow morning where I will be until Sunday! As much as I love the city, it will be nice to see the countryside and fingers crossed I get to see some sheep blocking the roads! I am going with a group at school who plans the entire weekend, books the hostel, and the international students tag along for an epic weekend. It is cool because the event is run by Irish students so we really get to see the touristy places (like the Aran Islands), but we also get to see the nightlife. It should be lots of fun, but also very exhausting! I cant wait to post pictures! This week I decided that outside of my classes I should be more involved so I have started to attend free fitness classes at the gym! Syracuse makes us pay for these classes so I have to take advantage of this perk. On Monday I went to a circuits class which was lots of fun and I was definitely sore the next day. Tuesday some of my friends wanted to go to spin class so I said sure why not?! Ya.....that was a mistake. I forgot that I am not a coordinated person and Brenna and bikes simply do not mix. However, today was the most hilarious class of all....my roommate and I decided to go to cardio boxing. Sounds like a legit workout right? Nope...it was like we were at fat camp and I think I burned more calories laughing than actually working out. The guy who ran the class was good looking, but Im not sure he really liked us by the end because we tried to grab our stuff and leave early...At one point the good looking instructor guy had us stand in a line with our hands up and random strangers came up to us and punched our hands...All I was thinking about was flu season..Guess that is what happens when you work in a hospital haha all together that fitness class was a joke, but I got same great laughs!! I am going to try to get to bed early though because I have a very busy weekend ahead of me and I am not even done packing! This is my last weekend as a twenty year old too (: wahooo!

What happens when you give out free pints and then tell us to leave...

Didn't realize how old this beer is!

View from Gravity Bar 

So pretty at night!

I couldn't resist! 

What day is it?? I have officially lost my perception of time here in Dublin. With watching the Super-bowl at 11:30 pm on a Sunday night and people going out on Monday, I honestly never know what day it is. This past weekend I went into the city a lot and was basically the ultimate tourist. I even went to the Guinness Factory which was a lot of fun and I got a free pint! The woman asked me if I would like a small glass of Guinness or a pint...I think the answer is obvious considering it was free..The factory was HUGE and the tour itself was pretty good, but I was not a fan of not having a tour guide. Following arrows painted on the floor can get boring. At the end of the tour though you get to go to the 7th floor gravity bar which was amazing. I found it to be quite funny that the 7th floor let you look over all of Dublin and it was so beautiful once it got dark and the building lights went on. If you look out the window of the 7th floor of a building in Boston I am pretty sure you will just see the building next door so it was cool that we were able to see the entire city! I also went to a market in Temple Bar that they have on Saturdays. I got a veggie burrito there which was really random, but it was great and I don't regret it at all. My friend got mint hot chocolate with baileys in it and it was incredible....something I will definitely make at home when I miss Dublin (: Tonight I am on dinner duty in my apartment so hopefully I don't mess up too bad! I bought all the ingredients for alfredo and then I realized that there is no alfredo sauce in Dublin....awkward...so I guess I am doing cheesy sauce and I will just tell them it's a family recipe haha. My most exciting news though is that I have booked my trips for Spring Break. From March 8th to the 16th I will be traveling with two of my friends to Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Seville. One of my best friends from home is studying in Seville so it will be great to see her and her school! The day after I get back to Dublin (St. Patrick's Day) my parents and sister will be arriving and then we are touring Ireland together. It will be the best two weeks and I am counting down the days (: (: I should do some work now though because I am not on vacation.....yet. Happy Monday!!

You can officially follow my blog by email now! Sorry it took me so long to figure out how to do that (:

 Me and my Boston College friends with the Merry Ploughboys!!(Great Irish Band) 

 Irish step dance show at the pub!

My first (and probably last) rugby game! American football is much better! Go Pats! <3

Hi everyone! It's officially been over two weeks that I have been in Dublin! I am finally getting used to how everything works and it is already time to start planning my trips and plans for the semester! This weekend a lot of my friends went on a school trip to Cork! I would have loved to go, but I am going there with my family in March when the weather is beautiful so I stayed back to save some euros haha I didnt realize that campus would be so empty though...but it gives me time to catch up and start booking trips. Next weekend I will be going to Galway with school which I am really excited for (: And the following weekend will be my 21st birthday and my roommates from Syracuse (they are currently studying abroad in London) are coming to Dublin to celebrate with me!! It just doesn't feel real yet! Everyone here that I have talked to keeps saying how quickly these 4 months will fly by and I am starting to see what they mean. For spring break we have two weeks off and the first week I am hoping to go to London, Prague, and Amsterdam! And the second week my family is coming to visit me which will be amazing to explore all of Ireland with them (: The other night one of my irish roommates actually made us all irish stew which was amazing. He even brought the beef from his farm back home since he goes home on the weekends. Not only was the stew amazing, but my other roommate from Holland also gave me dutch cookies which were ten times better than an american girl scout cookie haha.. Overall things here are going well and this is basically my only chill weekend for awhile. I should try to catch up on some work because people lied to me when they said that my classes here would be easy... well that's it for now and im sending my love from Dublin!