arrivederci america: Dublin and Amsterdam!

I am slacking on my blog and I want to apologize! We have had schoolwork this week, which is a first. I know, hard life right? But I promise I'm going to get you up to date tonight! Continuing on Spring Break, we went to Ireland for a few days. The main reason we went was for St. Patrick's Day! After we arrived in Dublin, we went to the Kilmainham Prison. This was a prison for men, women and children. You may wonder why children were imprisoned? ( I definitely did)...For small things such as stealing a loaf of bread. Harsh, if you ask me! It is famous because it imprisoned many leaders of the Irish rebellions. They executed over 100 people. Now a lot of movies are filmed there and even a U2 video!

Just arriving in Dublin!

Kilmainham prison - the execution hall...

inside the prison...

on our boat tour of Dublin...

Grand Canal Docks - where U2 has a recoding studio and shot one of their album covers!

We went to Belfast that night, because it was a lot cheaper than Dublin. Our hostel guy was really nice but we were curious because he had on the same outfit for three days? We were very concerned. We're thinking that he lived there and slept on the couch. But he was really sweet, and the good thing was he cooked us a homemade breakfast each morning! But don't be fooled...English bacon is not American bacon and they served it with beans. Mmmmm. For St. Patty's Day, we went to the parade which was nice. I'm thinking that it's like Mardi Gras in Mobile - family style. We then went to an Irish pub and had chicken fingers (FINALLY!) and listened to an Irish band and watched Irish dancers. It was a lot of fun!

The parade in Belfast....

My yummy cookies and cream cupcake!

Next up was Amsterdam! Amsterdam was beautiful with over 100 canals going through it. The only problem was the bikers! They have no respect for pedestrians. Bikers have their own bike, lane which personally I think is absurd. AND when you're in their bike lane (and don't know it, like me) they just ring their bell and then almost HIT YOU. Im sorry, but in America number 1. we dont have a bike lane, number 2. pedestrians have the right of way always, and number 3. you don't just run a person over because they're in your way. Well Amsterdamians don't think that way. I swear, I almost got hit 14 times. And it made me remember my hate for bikers in Auburn. They are the same way! One time I got side swiped by one and you would think a generous person would stop and make sure I'm ok, but this boy just keeps going and yells as he's riding into the wind. Well Amsterdam brought back my hatred for bikers (sorry if you're a biker). But other than the bikers, Amsterdam was fabulous. Everyone was so friendly and helpful and we had some really yummy food! Red Light District was a little scarring but we only walked through it for a total of probably 3 minutes on it. While in Amsterdam we visited Anne Frank's house where she hid in, which was probably my most favorite part. We also visited the Van Gogh museum and Heineken factory, which were both great! We had such a fun spring break but after 3 places and 5 flights in 10 days, we were ready to get back to the palace and Ariccia! It is startig to feel like home now. Enjoy the pictures!

With the I amsterdam sign!