London: Day 1 - We've arrived!

We said our goodbyes to Kelsey and Dan, since they flew home to Minnesota. The rest of us arrived in London, crammed ourselves and the luggage into a taxi, and went to the Hilton London Euston Hotel. It was a gorgeous hotel and our rooms even had little balconies. My mom, Rita and I were sharing a room, so they brought in a cot into the room for me to sleep on. The weird thing was that it had a belt...like I'd need to be strapped in so as not to roll out of the bed.

After unpacking and having some lunch, mom, Rita and I decided to go take the "Ghosts by Gaslight" walking tour around the area of Trafalgar Square. Our tour guide was fun, though he sure kept a quick pace! There were times when we were literally jogging to catch up to him. But he seemed to really know all the nooks and crannies of the area. We saw:

the Benjamin Franklin House
the recently re-opened Savoy (and yes, that's a Bentley parked in front)
Somerset House
The George bar
Temple Church
and Royal Courts of Justice

Once the tour was done we hopped the London Underground (mind the gap) back to the hotel area to meet Gram & Gramps for dinner. We ate at a place called Prezzo, which was just a couple doors down from the hotel. It was really great Italian food and I had the "Bianca" pizza: goat's cheese, asparagus spears, semi-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and tomato. Definitely something I'd love to try making back home with Steve. After that it was time to go back to the hotel, climb into my cot and get strapped in for the night ha.

Family Visit - Dublin

After driving around Ireland for a couple days, my family spent a few nights in Dublin. And they were right in the thick of it too - Temple Bar. The second night they were in Dublin I met them for dinner at O'Neill's. We all had a few pints, some tasty food (I had the Beef & Guinness Stew), and then enjoyed some live music. It was fun because I actually know enough Irish songs now to make requests, like Whiskey in the Jar.

For the last day in Dublin we all got tickets for the Hop On - Hop Off bus. I decided that I really wanted to see Kilmainham Gaol, especially since it's not something I can see straight off the DART. My grandparents, Kelsey, and Dan also joined me on the tour. It was really interesting and we had a great tour guide, but I still think the Alcatraz tour might be better. The bus then took us through Phoenix Park, which I hadn't seen yet. It's one of the "largest enclosed recreational spaces within any European capital city" and also has the Dublin Zoo. There wasn't really much else worth noting. The next day I met my family at the airport and headed off to London!

In Prague!

Well today I landed in Prague and in less than 12 hours, Steve will be joining me here. I have to admit I was actually nervous about coming to Prague even though it's been on my list of places to visit. Maybe it's the combination of horror stories about pickpockets and scamming taxi drivers, or having watched the movie Taken. Regardless, I was happy when my airport shuttle driver told me that it really is a safe city. Sure there are pickpockets, but apparently there is very little violent crime. So here's hoping I make it through the weekend without any issues!

Steve and I are staying in an apartment hotel, so the room is more like a studio apartment. There's a kitchen with fridge/freezer, stove, microwave, and dishes. I actually walked to a local grocery store and cooked myself some pasta for dinner tonight. But there is one odd thing about the room - there are two different bathrooms. The one off the living room area only has a toilet and sink, while the bathroom off the bedroom only has a shower and sink. I guess it makes sense on some level, but still seems a bit odd to me.

The last couple days I have been busy trying to finish an essay for my Employment Law Contracts class. Of course, there has been a fair amount of procrastination - including a day of shopping in City Centre with Colleen. I think my internet issues at the dorms are finally resolved, so upon my return there will be more blog updates about my family's visit and our trips to London and Paris. I also am trying to organize my photos, but considering I've taken over 1600 photos thus far, it has been a challenge.