The luck of the Irish

After an overnight flight I finally arrived in beautiful Ireland. I attempted to get some zzzz's on the plane but it felt like an ice box and I'm positive I looked like a dork wrapped up in 3 blankets. Nonetheless, we landed safely and I stepped off the plane to thaw out, hello Ireland! Land of Guiness and gingers! My first impression of the Irish: they are kind, humorous and like to have fun!
I meet a girl in transit from the airport, a teacher from New Jersey, and we have been exploring the city together since. Mom, i know you will be happy to hear this. I'm rarely ever by myself during my travels. Backpackers are like a secret society, I went so many years without knowing these people existed. When I discovered them, I thought "oh my God, they are just like me!" They have an insatiable thirst for travel, like me! One of the things I love about traveling is the people I meet on my journeys. I've met some pretty amazing human beings over the years.
Dublin is a fairly small city so it's easily seen on foot. St Patricks cathedral is amazing. Trinity college, Molly Malone statue and the Temple bar are must sees. Me and Lauren did a day trip tour to Kilkenny. We saw a castle that was built in 1170! Whaaattt?! That's difficult to comprehend. The fact that I'm standing in a building with so much history blows my mind. I love you Europe for being so old :)
The girl at the front desk of our hostel decided it would be a good idea to put us in a mixed dorm of 16 beds. After hiking up 3 flights in a stifling hot staircase, jet lagged with our shoulder-crushing backpacks on our back we finally found our room... which came with an old drunk Irish man sleeping with his pants undone. Brilliant! Ok, so I gave it a chance and gave him the benefit of the doubt. After he woke up he actually turned out to be a pretty friendly guy (maybe too friendly) but then when another man whom was as old as my dad comes in and passed out in a bed I thought, "oh, hell no. What is this? The dorm for old drunken men?" I requested another room which put me and Lauren safely in an all girl dorm. Ah, the joys of staying in a hostel! Lots of stories which I'll save for another day. We ended up meeting some very interesting Canadian and German girls and didn't have to sleep with one eye open :(
The Irish like their meat but I have managed to find some good vegetarian grub. However, they have an odd obsession with mayonnaise, yuck. We ate a traditional Irish meal along with a must-have Guinness beer, which tasted lovely.
Whats the story behind leprachauns? Leprechauns are small shoemakers and for every shoe they make they get a gold coin which they keep in a pot at the end of the rainbow. Still no leprechaun sightings but my eyes are peeled...
Another tidbit I learned while in Ireland: The famous Kennedy's are Irish and were cursed for 5 generations after they knocked down a fairy ring in order to build a mansion in southeast Ireland in the 1800's. Don't believe it?Think about it, they HAVE had a ton of bad luck. Lesson learned: don't mess with fairies.

Central Park

countdown

With only one week left in NYC I am becoming anxious to leave. I'm going to miss this city and everyone that I met here. I had so many fun times here! This city fits my personality so well. So fast paced and exciting! Last night was exceptionally fun. My 2 BFF's came down from Boston and we had an epic night filled with hookah smoking and bum fights. Ha! I wish I had a video.

I've had a few hiccups recently, I dropped my iphone on the street and shattered it, so I guess I will be getting a new one. Seems like I tend to have problems right before I leave my destinations. The last week that I lived in Hawaii was the worst~ I lost my blackberry and my car was towed. Ugh. Also, I'm really stressing out about my India visa. I discovered I'm unable to get my visa at the consulate here in the city and have to obtain it in Chicago since I am a Minnesota resident. So I decided to do something completely insane: I mailed in my actual passport to the consulate in Chicago! It sounds crazy I know but I guess you have to in order to get one. So now I wait, with only 2 weeks before I leave the country, I am biting my nails and praying that nothing happens to my passport in the mail. It's getting down to the wire. I was talking to one of the doctors at work and he said when he mailed his in, he got another persons passport back! wtf. I felt instantly nauseous when he said that. I understand that things can get a little hectic at a place like that, but for the love of God, PLEASE don't let anything go wrong with my visa! But I have faith, I have really good luck for the most part (except for my last week in Hawaii) and things usually end up going my way. My passport is one of my most valuable possessions, and it's not easily replaced. Stay tuned....

I can't believe it is just a little over a month before I leave New York to start my globetrotting! I've read up on all the places I will be going and am fully prepared. I can't wait to get there! My first stop will be Ireland. Over the next month I need to get my visa for India and get a few vaccinations and I am set! Hepatitis A, yellow fever, polio, Japanese encephalitis, uffda! I've never even heard of that one before! Anyone that knows me well knows how anti-vaccine I am so I'm not too keen on getting them but if I have to in order to travel I'll do it! I have a 5 inch thick book on India that I have put a pretty good dent in, reading it on the subway to and from work. I have been working so many hours here to fund my trip. It will be worth it in the end. Burning the candle at both ends by getting out to explore the city in between. I'm in constant motion. I need a vacation :)

I love the fact that I will be going solo and can go anywhere and do anything that my heart desires. Independence at it's best. I feel the most alive when I am traveling. And I'm never really alone, there are so many backpackers out there and it's so easy to make friends. So often I get the reaction of "Aren't you scared?" from other people, some people that are maybe less traveled. But really I'm not, I look at it as an adventure and memories to last a lifetime. I will come back a better person with a huge collection of awesome pics and memories that will be with me forever. Journaling is perfect to capture all my feelings and details that I would otherwise forget. The sights, smells, and sounds... Reading the journals from my past trips brings me right back to the moment, love it!

My very first blog.... I decided to start a blog to chronicle my travels around the world. As you all know, I'm living somewhere new every few months, with international travel in between. Monotony is not my style. I'm currently living in New York City. Such a fun town! Never a dull moment. I plan to be here until the end of June, then I will be taking a sabbatical to backpack through Europe for 3 months. Then Egypt and India from there. Who knows, maybe I will keep going and hit up southeast Asia from there! There's no telling what crazy idea this girl will get in her head next. But there is one thing that is for sure, I love to travel! It's an addiction I'm content with. The more I see the stronger my desire to travel becomes. I've always been adventurous, and now that I am set in my career and able to fund my wanderlust it has made life amazing. I feel very fortunate. I couldn't imagine a better job than a nurse. It's my passion. The fact that I can combine nursing and travel is soooo groovy :) My job has allowed me to live in Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Hawaii, Alaska, The Virgin Islands, Boise, and New York! The list will continue to grow. I have no immediate plans of stopping. Stay tuned for more adventures!