When in Rome!

Italy is incredible. I could have spent twenty-six days backpacking through the country. There is still so much to see, I am already planning for my next trip :)

I started in Rome. Flew from Santorini back to Athens, then caught a flight to Rome from there. We were nervous at the Athens airport, as we heard nothing good about Alitalia Airlines. But all went well and the flight was uneventful, and we all landed safe in sound with our backpacks.

Our friend Rich from Quinnipiac was spending a semester in Rome. So after a night in a (pretty sketchy but cheap) hostel we met up with him. He was an amazing host, giving us tons of great tips on food, sights, and of course four spots to sleep in his apartment! He has a really nice large apartment and we met his seven (!) other roommates. At one point we were so loud in his apartment the Italian man upstairs started screaming "basta" out of his window. We got the hint and ironically went out to an Irish pub for the night.

Rome was beautiful. It was fantastic weather, in the 70's and sunny every day. Rome is a gigantic city and you can't walk anywhere without bumping into some sort of ancient ruins. Rich tells us that they have such terrible public transportation in Rome, and every time they try to build the subway they have to stop because they find more ruins!

I became a master of the map and knew Rome like the back of my hand by the time I left. The Trevi Fountain was one of my favorites. It is a beautiful fountain full of sculptures. It is said that you should throw two coins into the fountain; the first to ensure a return to Rome and a second for a wish. We headed to the Spanish Steps next, which you could barely see because they were covered in tourists. The Colosseum is another incredible sight. We were just walking down the street when bamn! there it is right on the side of the road. It is a massive amphitheater and when standing in it you feel as if you are right there with gladiators. Behind the Colosseum in the Roman Forum and Palatine hill which is an ancient Roman civilization. There a ruins everywhere. The four of us health science students went to the Crypt of the Capuchins next. It is a series of small chapels beneath a church. It is the resting ground of 4,000 friars who died in between the years 1528 to 1870. Their bones have been arranged in patterns, piles and sculptures along the walls, ceilings and floors. We were of course fascinated and after two semesters of Anatomy we couldn’t walk through without names of bones and millions of surface markings running through our heads.

Of course I was in Italy, so I ate lots of Italian food, my favorite. We went to quite a few great cheap restaurants thanks to tips from Rich's roommates. Lots of pasta, pizza and panini’s. Then of course gelato. Rich showed us a place that apparently has the best gelato in Rome called Gialettia. They had an endless amount of flavors. So many choices we would stand at the counter forever debating.

Wednesday in Rome we took the day and headed to the Vatican, the smallest country in the world. It was the perfect day to go we found out, as on Wednesdays the Pope gives a weekly address. We got there just in time to hear the end (in Latin of course). We went to the Vatican museum and beat the huge crowd from the address and got right in with no waiting. The museum is ENDLESS. We wondered for a good two hours following every "Sistine Chapel" sign as we looked at the art. It took us another hour or so as we speed walked through it just to get to the Sistine Chapel, but it was worth it. The chapel was packed and even with the "No camera" spiel on the speakers in five different languages flashes went off left and right. The ceiling was stunning. Seeing all the paintings in person after years of hearing and seeing them in textbooks was unbelievable. I was surprised at how the chapel was in the shape of a rectangle. In my mind I had always pictured it more circular. After, we wondered into St. Peters Basilica and up the 520 steps to the Coppola. It got a bit claustrophobic as the walls started turning in when you got up to the dome. The top was packed with people. There was an amazing view of the city below but I tried to get down as quick as possible to breath when I found there was another longer line to get down! Downstairs the church has the biggest interior of any Christian church in the world. I loved the beautiful stained glass windows. La Pieta, Michelangelo’s sculpture of Mary holding Jesus was in the church. It was behind glass, because apparently a few years back a crazy guy went after it with a bat (I love hearing all the fun facts from tour guides as you pass by). La Pieta is the only sculpture that Michelangelo signed and is most famous for that. I spent my day in Vatican city with three girls who have been to Catholic school most of their education. So I learned much more than I bargained for, and got all of my endless questions answered.

Rome was beautiful. Great weather, friends and food. I loved all the sights and the culture. I consider it one of my favorite cities and would fly back in a heart beat.

Greece!

Athens was the first stop. It took a whole day of travelling to make it there; first flew to London with a six hour layover, then 1497 miles onto Greece with Aegean Airlines (probably the best airline ever). The hostel was great. Right in the middle of the city and had an amazing view from the terrace on the roof of Acropolis at night. Our lovely European student cards got us in for free to Acropolis, which is an amazing site. Once you make it up there it is breathtaking. It is built on this huge hill which can be seen from all over Athens rising above the city. One night we even watched the sunset from up near Acropolis. The view was amazing and the city of Athens is looked endless. Went to the Olympic Stadium and the Temple of Zeus too. I was a bit disappointed not to see Zeus sitting in his chair, Disney movies raised my expectations a bit too much. Who knew that Zeus was long gone! I think I tried all the famous Greek food. I lived on gyros all week. They were really cheap and delicious. It is a choice of meat, tomatoes, onion and tzatziki sauces wrapped in pita bread. Of course I had spinach pie, lots of Greek salads, tried Moussaka and all sorts of Greek deserts like baklava, kadafi, profiteroll and ravani.

In front of the Temple of Zeus.

Acropolis

We took a five hour ferry to Ios, one of the Greek islands. It is known for the younger crowd and backpackers but the season hadn’t quite started and the island was pretty empty. Everyone seemed to be painting and opening up for the season. We stayed at Far Our Beach Club which was right across the street from the beach. When they picked us up at the port they told us we would never want to leave. The owner kept trying to talk us into an upgrade. Telling us our rooms would be pretty cold at night this time of year, and the upgrade for 5 more Euros not only has a TV but also an air conditioner. He was making a lot of sense. Haha. We stuck it out for our ten euro a night “double room with a shared bath.” They walked us over to our rooms and showed us to two bungalows. They were white washed circular rooms with straw roofs. The inside had two beds, a table and chairs. I loved it. My friends were a bit unsure. The whole Beach club is more of a camp ground. We were one of the few guests and everything was still being prepped for the season. Therefore the bathrooms hadn’t been cleaned since probably last November. We headed straight to the beach and spent the whole day swimming and enjoying the sun. We had the whole beach to ourselves. That night we went into town which is about two miles away. There is a shortcut from the beach which involves walking up this huge hill to the top. It was quite the adventure walking to the only bar Flames. But we had a great time once we got there. The next day our noon ferry was cancelled. So we spent another day on the beach before taking the ferry to Santorini around five.

The beach in Ios

Bungalows!

Santorini was beautiful. We stayed at an amazing hostel, a great deal and with our own room including a bathroom and kitchen! It was right across from the black sand beach, Perissa beach. In the morning we hiked up a “hill” to see Ancient Thira. It was full of ruins of the ancient city and had an amazing view of the beach and island below. Later we went into Fira, the main city. It is full of shops and restaurants with an amazing view of the caldera. We took a cable car down to the port, and turned right back around taking the donkeys back up. It was about 1588 steps and a blast; one of my favorite adventures of the trip. That night we missed the bus back to Perissa beach but it worked out perfectly as we met up with some Ireland/Qu friends and caught up on our travels. The next day was Easter and Kristina’s birthday. We celebrated by going out to the volcano then swimming in the hot springs. Not so hot this time of year as it was only 15 degrees Celsius. Plus we had to jump off the boat, swimming through the freezing ocean to reach the Iron and sulfur hot springs. We ended the day watching the sunset from Oia, on the other end of the island and I wasn’t ready to leave Greece.

Hike up to Ancient Fira


Donkeys!

Up on top of the volcano!

26 Days, 10 cities, 5 countries, and 1 backpack...

Phew.

I finally made it back to Cork yesterday night, after a long day of the walking, the metro, multiple buses, and a plane. As I was sitting next to the Eiffel Tower yesterday morning, I wasn’t ready to end my travels. I was ready to pack up my bag and move on to the next stop- maybe Prague, Amsterdam or Berlin. But my funds were low, my clothes were dirty, I had a flight already booked back to Ireland and two exams looming in the future to study for. It wasn’t until I heard the Irish accent pronunciation of “C-ark” that I realized how much I missed everything back in Cork. I woke up this morning disoriented in my own bed. It was strange not to wake up at 7am to a hostel room full of roommates. Taking a long shower in my own bathroom without flip-flops was fantastic. I had an amazing time traveling Europe, but am glad to be back.  

For my month of traveling, I started off in Athens and took a ferry to the Greek islands Ios and Santorini. From there I flew to Rome, and made my way up Italy onto Florence and Venice. I took a train over to Nice on the French Riviera and a day trip to Monaco. I flew to Barcelona then ended my trip in Paris.

I met up with friends in Santorini, Rome, Florence, and Barcelona catching up with stories as it seemed like we had been away forever. I met tons of new friends on the roads, as our paths crossed at hostels.

I saw all the amazing sights; the Acropolis, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, ancient ruins, St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Sagrada Family, Notre Dame and the Palace of Versaille. I walked on a volcano, rode donkeys, saw Michelangelo’s sculptures, took a gondola ride, spent a few days on the Mediterranean beaches, and wondered through the Louvre. I tried all sorts of Greek, Italian, Spanish and French foods; from spinach pie and paella to crepes and gelato.

I have mastered metro systems, maps, planes, train timetables and the bus system. There are so many ways to get from here to there. I am going to enjoy the next couple days of sticking around Cork with no place to go.

We were really lucky, and had a great trip with no setbacks. A canceled ferry here and a delayed flight there, but other than that traveling went smoothly compared to lots of stories we heard.

I am back in Cork for a few days, lots of odds and ends to get done, but when I get a chance I will write some posts about all my travels and adventures. My camera broke in Ios :( but when I bum the photos off of my three traveling buddies I will be sure to upload some! Time to get back to reality and go grocery shopping and start some much needed loads of laundry. 

Not all those who wander are lost

One more last blog update before I hit the road!

The past week I have been wrapping things up in Cork. Classes are over. At UCC we have the whole month of April off. The Irish, who have exams from the whole year use the month to study. The visiting students only have finals from the second half, so we take the chance to travel. I have two exams in May and two papers due. I finished up my final papers this week and got them out of the way. So I will be taking off for Europe for the month then back to Cork to study for my Physiology and Physics exam in May.

I got my haircut earlier this week. It was too long and driving me nuts, I went to a hair place near campus that gave students a 15% discount. It was called “Curl Up ‘n Dye” which I thought was a great name.

On Wednesday, a few of us went to the Rugby Tournament. My friend Kristina joined the team, and one of my Irish friends is also on the team. We heard it was going to be this big event kind of like a carnival, so we went to check it out but we were the only three fans on the side lines! It was a lot of fun though watching the games. And they loved having us “enthusiastic Americans” who cheered them on. Kristina's only just started so she was basically the water girl and flag girl. But she played in three games! She even caught the ball and was tackled to the ground so it was pretty exciting! I went out with the Rugby girls on Thursday night to celebrate. Those girls are nuts but it was a blast.

I am planning on packing all day today and I leave bright and early tomorrow for my backpacking trip. Nine cities in 26 days! Monday morning I fly from Cork to London for a six hour layover then catch my flight onto Athens. I am spending a few days there, and then going to the Greek islands; Ios and Santorini. Next I am flying to Rome to stay with a friend from school and making my way up Italy onto Florence and Venice. Then taking the train over to Nice on the French Riviera, and flying to Barcelona for a few days then up to Paris!

I am not sure how much internet I will have access to, so we’ll see if I get any blogging in. If not I will be back in Cork on May 1^st with lots of pictures!

Until then!

St Paddy's Day!

So another update.

I am finishing up my last two weeks of classes. I cannot believe how fast the courses flew by. I have two papers that I have finally been assigned so I am hoping to finish them up before April when I am backpacking through Europe. I had my last Physiology lab yesterday which was absolutely ridiculous. We didn’t even do half of the lab, because apparently they don’t have enough equipment? So we just sat in a lecture hall as the professor talked us through it. Compared to 3 hour Quinnipiac Anatomy labs where we are completely hands on, these are a joke.

St Paddy’s Day was on Tuesday! We had the day off over here :) They had a big parade down in Cork. All the Irish really talked it down, saying ours in the states were better. But I loved it! It was absolutely packed downtown. We got there late and couldn’t really see much but they had a few big blow up floats, like a dragon and robot. So we saw those! The rest was student and kids marching. Everyone was green with all sorts of Irish St Paddy’s day accessories. A group of us came back to the apartment and sat outside all day in the beautiful weather. It was like a summer day! We walked down to the fields and watched a few soccer games too. We went out later at night to hit up the pubs and everything was packed! It was a great day though! :)

I have finally finished planning my backpacking trip for April. So many planes and trains and hostels! I am sticking around in Cork this weekend, hoping to get some essays written. 

The Ring of Kerry

I went on a school trip this past weekend to the Ring of Kerry in County Kerry on the south-west coast of Ireland. The Ring of Kerry is a 170 km circular road all along the coast starting and ending in Killarney. Marion, one of the professors who teaches Irish organized the trip as she is from the area. She had a whole set schedule for us packed full of events. The trip was a decent price and included food, transportation, events, sightseeing, admissions and the hotel.

We left on Friday around 3:00. There were about fifty kids on the trip, all international students. It was an hour and a half to Killarney, where we stopped at a bus stop and picked up a few more students then we traveled another hour or so to the Ring of Kerry Hotel in a town called Cahersiveen. We stopped for our first photo op seeing a beautiful rainbow. It was a bit foggy out, but a beautiful view of the mountains and ocean. It is so strange of me to see the mountains here, as they are all rock and grass. I am used to the Appalachian covered in trees, so when I see the ones here they look more like hills to me.

The hotel was nice; I shared a room with my travel buddies, Kristina, Julia and Brianne. It was definitely a step up from the hostels we are used to! Dinner was delicious! We had a whole room to ourselves for our three course dinner. There were about five options to choose from, I opted for a Turkey/ham dish complete with mash and veggies. After the meal along with salad and rolls I was stuffed when they brought out pastries for desert! After dinner we had a speaker native to Cahersiveen tell us about his life living out in Kerry. He had some interesting stories. After the speaker the whole group met up downstairs in the hall for a traditional Irish Ceili; where we learned Irish dancing. Marion had a little band play including a guitar, drum and accordion and used the mike to call out the steps to us all. We learned the Siege of Ennis, Stack of Barley, and Waltz of Limerick to name a few. It was a blast, and after a few wrong steps everyone caught on.

On Saturday we were up early for a buffet breakfast that we all filled up on. Then we hopped on the bus heading to Valentia Island right off the coast linked by a bridge to the mainland. Over 600 people live on the island. Our first stop was on Foilhommerum Cliff which is the site of the first transatlantic cable from Newfoundland to Valentia in 1857. The view was absolutely amazing from here; be sure to take a look at the photos I have up. Next we went to the Skellig Experience, a heritage center that opened just for us. Marion arranged quite a few stops that are usually closed until tourist season starts in April. The center was about the Skellig Rocks, two islands out off the coast which are sea bird colonies (home of the Puffins!) and the site of Christian Monastic architecture. You can take boats out to them but only in good weather in the summer. We made an unplanned stop next, to hike up Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs, the highest mountain on the Island that goes right up through a farm. We saw hundreds of sheep on our way up, and many lambs, some only an hour old! The top was another amazing view of the ocean and islands. The next stop was Valentia Slate Quarry where slate has been sent out all over the world. It has been used for the British Houses of Parliament and Paris’s Opera House to name a few. The whole time Marion gave us her catchy narratives about the land and views. She would always ask Tommy, our bus driver for his input. He was an amazing driver, taking the coach bus all over the island down windy one lane roads with Marion going “hmm we probably shouldn’t be going down here.”

Marion is from Bellinskellig, so on our bus tour over in that area she pointed out all her families houses next to the sea. We went to Ballinskellig Beach and walked out to McCarthy castle, well what was left of it. We had to walk across a stream from the tide so it was lots of rock hopping to avoid being soaked. We went back to the hotel for soup, and sandwiches then had the afternoon free. A few of us walked down through the town of Cahersiveen looking at all the shops and found a pub to watch the Rugby match. Ireland was playing Scotland in their second to last Six Nations Game, and continued to be undefeated as they won 22-15. Dinner was another delicious meal, where I had tortellini and cheesecake. After Marion set up a table quiz for us, which are very popular in pubs over here. You have a group of five or so and there are a few rounds of ten random questions. Some questions included were; What is the capital of Pakistan? What is the hardest substance of the human body? What is a baby turkey called? How many pieces are on a chess board? My group thought we did so great, and were really excited for the final score to see who won the prize. Marion gave the first place team, and second and we urged her to continue for the third and then fourth. It turns out we came in second to last! The only reason we did that well was because the last place team didn’t complete the game and left half way through! Ha. And we thought we did so well! That night in the hotel was a big function as the Junior Gaelic football team had won the finals. So the whole town had up Red and green flags for Cahersiveen and Kerry’s colors of gold and green too. So the hotel was full of activity.

On Sunday, the group did a walking tour of Cahersiveen and wondered up around the coast to the Stone Forts. The forts were circular with hundreds of steps all over to the top which was grass. Beautiful sights on the top and we had a blast climbing all over. After we headed back for a quick lunch we packed up and continued on the rest of the Ring of Kerry. We went to Derrynane House, the home of Daniel O’Connell, an Irish political leader who gained the Catholics the right to vote. We were back on the bus forever, with a quick stop at Cahar Daniel, a scenic outlook. It was a bit windy but an amazing view. We also drove into Killarney National Park which was absolutely amazing. Be sure to check out the photos I put up on flickr, although they don’t do the Park justice. We finished up the Ring of Kerry back in Killarney and then headed back to Cork.

The Ring of Kerry is one of Ireland’s most popular spots; the view of the Atlantic is beautiful as you follow the coast along. The trip was great, and it was nice not to plan something for a change! Pictures are up!    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjhastie/sets/72157615377402120/

Buses, Trains and Planes to Scotland!

I jetted off to Scotland last week. Had a wonderful time; I think Scotland is my favorite trip yet. The country is right over the Irish Sea, but it took us buses, and trains and planes to reach our destination of Edinburgh; a bit too much traveling for my liking.

We originally bought tickets to Glasgow for a ridiculously cheap price; flying out Thursday night and back Saturday night. Then when I met a few Scottish people, everyone’s advice was to visit Edinburgh. There is a frequent train in between so the plan was to fly into Glasgow and take the train to Edinburgh.

I spent most of Thursday traveling. I left my flat around noon and after missing the first bus by seconds (and the buses in Ireland are never on time!) we waited an hour and caught a bus to Shannon Airport, about two hours away. After seeing a beautiful rainbow in Shannon we flew to Glasgow Airport. It was a short flight, about forty minutes. We got to Glasgow and the second we touched down Brianne was in love with the country. She went on and on about how much she loved Scotland- and we hadn’t even stepped foot off the plane! While waiting for the flight attendents to let us off we chatted with a few Scots who taught us to pronounce Edinburgh as “Edin-butta.” After visiting the information booth at the airport we found that we needed to take a train from the airport into Glasgow city center. We had just missed this train (what luck!) so we waited an hour for the next. While I waited, Brianne and I hit up the Irn-Bru vending machine! A Scottish friend introduced us to the soda in London and Brianne and I drank more Irn-Bru than I can count throughout the weekend. I don’t know how to explain the taste… but it is delicious! [it reminds me of something you would like Jer].

So we caught the train into Glasgow which was a 45 minute ride. Once there we had to walk to the other train station. A few people saw me with a map and were so helpful offering help! The train from Glasgow to Edinburgh was about 45 minutes. We finally made it and our hostel was only a short walk away.

We stayed at Royal Mile Backpackers which is on the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is about a Scottish mile, and the road runs from Edinburgh Castle, down to the palace where the Queen stays when she visits. It is full of shops, pubs, and historical buildings. Edinburgh Castle is built on top of a volcano, and due to icebergs which carved out most of the land but not the trail right after the castle, the Royal Mile is a high ground compared to the rest of the city. Our hostel was really nice, had a great atmosphere. The rooms and beds each had creative names. We stayed in the room called “Addictions,” my bed was labeled Chocolate and some of the others were Shopping, Alcohol, Gambling, and Smoking. We each had our own locker and safe, which was a first for any hostel I have stayed at. By the time we actually made it to the hostel it was already 9. We decided to be adventurous and headed out to explore the city. At one of the pubs I tried a Brother Cider, which was Toffee Apple flavored, that everyone seemed to be drinking and the next night I tried a Strawberry and Pear. Best drink in Scotland! I wish they had it back in Ireland.   

The next morning we woke up early and grabbed some breakfast. I tried haggis, a must since I was in Scotland. It was interesting, full of spices. It is the sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs all minced up with spices and oats, cooked in the stomach. YUM! Ha- I tried not to think about that when I was eating it. After breakfast we took a free walking tour. We saw a few other groups from Cork who were also in Scotland for the weekend. Everyone was taking advantage of the cheap flights this weekend! The walking tour was great. The tour guide gave us the historical background of the city full of fun facts and stories. We went up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle, which was built on top of volcanic rock. So it has a great defense, as no one can scale up the rock easily. The castle was beautiful. Edinburgh is full of haunting and ghost stories as we learned a few on the tour. It is in Edinburgh that the famous body snatchers Burke and Hare originally stole dead bodies to sell to science for Medical dissection. When they ran out of dead bodies they went on a killing spree. There were also many witch burnings and the site of hangings. The pub across the street is called The Last Drop, as you would go there for your last dram of whiskey before the hanging. We went through Greyfriars Kirkyard, a haunted graveyard where Benjamin Mackenzie spends his time haunting and many people have been hospitalized after visiting. Lots of people were reburied in this graveyard, and it was after seeing so many coffins with scratches inside that wakes became more popular. So people would know for sure that the bodies were dead and didn’t bury anyone else alive. Some of the caskets have these cages built around them to protect the people from body snatching. It was great history and lots of eerie stories. After the tour, we walked up Calton Hill to see the sun set which was beautiful.

I stopped in this heritage center that you can find your tartan and clan of your ancestors. I am part Scottish on both my mother and fathers side so I stopped in and looked up my history. I found out that Hastie, from my father’s side, was a part of the Clan Graham, and Dunbar, from my mom’s side, was a part of the Clan Murray. I bought bookmarks of each with the tartan, crest, and some information on them. It was really neat to look up the history and see where my ancestors came from.

For dinner we stopped in at The Last Drop where they slash the prices in half if you show your hostel card. It was a Friday night and I can’t even count how many Stag and Hen parties I saw all night. Edinburgh is clearly the place to go. We stopped in a pub later for some Scottish music, which was very similar to the Traditional Irish music with the fiddle and flute.

On Saturday we went to the National Museum of Scotland in the morning. I saw Dolly the first cloned sheep, who is stuffed and displayed in the museum. After, we went to the Elephant House for tea and to write some postcards. The Elephant House is the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. The view from the back is amazing as you can see Edinburgh Castle and also the “original” Hogwarts, a boy’s school out the window. Just looking out you can see where she must have gotten her inspiration from.

We caught the train back to Glasgow around noon. There were street performers everywhere! So we listened to some bagpipes and drums on our way to the train station. Next it was the train to the airport, and flight back to Ireland. We landed in Shannon and waited an hour for the “next bus.” It wasn’t until 8:45, after waiting in the rain for a bit, that the bus driver going to Limerick informed us that there were no more buses back to Cork tonight. We found the Bus information desk back inside, but of course no one was there, no one was answering the information phone and all the schedules that we needed were out of reach at the back of the desk. Right as we were debating jumping the desk to get the bus timetables a jolly security guard came over. We explained out dilemma of getting back to Cork and just as he was telling us that we would have to spend the night in the airport the bus driver going to Limerick came running in. He came all the way inside to get us to let us know that we could take his bus to Limerick then take the train back to Cork. We took his advice and hopped on the bus to Limerick. We were not too excited about this, as our Irish roommates always warn us about Limerick because “Limerick is where you get stabbed.” We caught the train at 10:00. Luckily there was one other passenger in the car who got off at Limerick Junction. We asked where she was going and realized we better get off too, or who knows where we would end up. We transferred trains and then on our way to Cork bought our tickets. We asked for student tickets pulling out all our “Student ID’s” as we all have so many cards proving we are students. The conductor then informed us that they only take their student card which you have to buy from them- and you can’t buy it on the train. So we ended up paying an outrageous amount to get back to Cork. By the time we made it back to Cork, we were so mad about spending so much money that we walked all the way home from the train station. For the forty five minute walk we thought about all we could have bought for the price of the train ride. “I could have bought ‘five sandwiches from Hillbillies’ for less than the cost of that train ride.”

Scotland was wonderful! I absolutely loved Edinburgh, and seeing all the historical buildings and cobblestones. The traveling was another story... but we made it to Edinburgh and back to Cork, so in the end it all worked out! 

Pictures!!