Day 6 (Europe & Going)

We woke up pretty early,

Had to make it to breakfast, ya know?

When we pay for something we want

everything we can get from it.

It wasn't anything special.

Corn Flakes & Skim Milk (Yuck)...

Food is great no matter how bad though.

We quickly checked out soon after eating.

Not exactly sure where we planned on going.

We did decide that we needed more food.

So we headed to the local grocery store.

Good ol' Tesco's. 

It isn't fancy Irish food,

But a loaf of bread, can of beans, and jam.

All goes a long way. 

We took a risk by adding some jalapeños 

To add up flavor.

Great decision, beans + jalapeños 

Equal happy campers.

After that we wanted to go to the park.

Phoenix Park, supposedly biggest park in Europe. 

So we walked down the streets of Dublin.

I managed to score a few photos worth some gold.

The streets of Dublin are beautiful! 

I feel like you can look in any direction,

Take a photo, 

and bam now you're a pro photographer!

Any picture is a good picture here.

On our way we stopped at a Korean shop.

Looking for Siracha sauce.

Sadly they didn't have it, but I had fun 

speaking the little Korean I knew to the guy.

Turns out my Korean skills earned 

Darien and I a free Korean dinner!

He said he'd message us on Facebook 

sometime this week and he'd treat us.

Super great guy.

We hope to hear from him soon,

He gave us some great travel tips.

As does every great person we've ran into!

We made our way to the Dart, Trax.

Took our "free ride" to the park! 

Well till we heard Museum,

We got off at that stop because we had time.

Turns out we loved the museum so much 

that we spent the rest of the day in there!

Seriously,

Darien and I loved that place!

First off it was free,

Second it had so much history and 

amazing things to see.

Our cameras have over 150+ pictures

of that place alone. 

Honestly it was a blast.

The front desk even held our bags

while we toured around!

After the Museum we were exhausted,

So we went back to Isaacs Hostel,

Being a Friday night finding a cheap 

room is almost a joke! 

Even though we checked out of Isaacs

we used their lobby and abused wifi.

Found a cheap hostel called Spire Hostel.

Super cheap,

Now I could have gone cheaper,

Darien is very Frugal & Logical.

I'm more paranoid, intuitive, & safe.

Well now that I'm in Europe I am.

So since I do the bed finding

I usually will find a room with 6 beds

less people to rob us, 

And not a sketchy poor looking hostel,

Lots of homeless people use them.

Nor ridiculously priced hostels.

But a happy medium.

I know Darien wants us to go cheaper,

But being safe has hit me hard being away from home.

Going with that I've been homesick.

Really bad.

Thinking about home is hard.

I try to distract myself, but being in a 

foreign place, with no organization...

It's scary. And I never thought I was one

to run to home when I'm scared.

But I miss having stability.

So the best I can do is keep Darien & I 

safe till then. 

Regardless of my homesick problems,

We have been having fun.

It's not hard not to enjoy yourself here!

Anyways, I got us a 6 bed room for €14.

When we got there is was nice!

We always end up in the top of the stairs though.

Carrying giant backpacks up 3 flights..

It's exhausting.

Once we got there we were the first ones there.

We got to choose our beds and we had our own bathroom(: 

For that price we got an amazing deal!

We relaxed and Darien fell asleep fast!

He fell asleep around 8pm.

I however stayed up.

I caught up in my journal.

Partially on the blog.

I was behind but now I'm only kinda behind.

...And now I, I'm done with day 6.

I am now just going to take a break.

..ZZZzzzzzzz

Day 5 (Europe & Going)

We woke up at 9am because we had to be out by 10,

The lady that hosted our Bed & Breakfast had work so we had to leave early.

It was terrible.

We were so comfortable and we didn't want to leave.

We pulled ourselves up and made our way out the door.

We decided to have a nice relax day.

We got some food and chilled by the shore all day ^_^

It was beautiful.

It was relaxing.

And we had free wifi right there!

We couldn't have been happier. 

Occasionally our phones would die,

So we went down the road to the train station.

It was less beautiful.

But being able to charge our phones was great!

The train guards didn't even care!

So we would do that back and forth from the beach all day.

We were trying to find a train out of bray.

But our main objective was free housing.

We signed up for HelpXchange and couch surfed. 

Not a lot of luck but we carried on.

We ended up finding this app that shows nearby hostels. 

It was perfect!!

We found one hostel in Wicklow, 

decided to book it there instead of online.

Bought our train tickets and...

Apparently you can buy train tickets,

But really not have train to take.

when we asked what time we use them..

The guy said you'll have to wait to get a refund tomorrow -__-

Super lame.

It was late at night, we had no where to sleep.

So we sat in the train station to charge our phones.

Darien got up to use the restroom,

And I pulled out my journal & started writing.

Just as I am about to start writing in my journal

A security guy comes up to me.

I thought I was going to get in trouble

for loitering.

But he said, "do you have everything?"

I was super confused,

I asked him what he meant.

And he continued to ask if I was missing anything important.

I padded my pockets,

Phone Check.

Wallet Check.

Passport Check.

Backpack sturdy behind me.

I couldn't see/think of anything important missing.

He wouldn't stop asking, he kept saying are you sure?

I was pretty positive. 

He pulled out our inReach GPS device..

I felt so retarded.

He said someone stole it but they caught them in the act.

It blew my mind. I had it in my top pocket!

It would be near impossible for someone 

to get that without me noticing,

But low and behold someone did!

He asked info about us and we told him 

about our travels, where we were from,

what we plan on doing, if we're having fun.

He was a legit cop so we weren't worried

talking to him about us.

When he heard we were heading 

towards Cork he laughed.

Apparently we were going the wrong way.

Well kind of, 

We were going down the east coast

when Cork is south. 

Imagine being in Maryland going down 

the east coast to get to Texas.

That's the easiest way I could explain 

what we were doing.

He brought his security friends

and we talked a bit.

They gave us a lecture on how to be safe

but they helped us with much more.

Quick time out!!

We have had certain songs stuck in our heads.

The night (Day 3) we headed to Dun Laoghaire,

I had the song "Get Low" by Lil' John stuck in my head. 

Now that night we went from looking out

from old castle windows,

To walking on walls by the train.

"From the windows, to walls"

We walked for so long and we got hot.

"Till the sweat drops down our balls,"

Later that night we met 5 girls who were pretty drunk, but super helpful.

"All these bitches crawl."

That song literally followed perfectly with our day.

The day we walked all the way to Bray,

The song Thrift Shop was stuck in my head.

"I'm gunnu pop some tags, 

only got €20 in our pockets"

We needed to find jackets, quick.

Didn't want another cold sleepless night.

Darien pointed out that he had €20 

in his pocket,

I pointed out to him that it was funny he said that 

because of the song I was constantly replying in my head.

So I had givin' Darien an ultimatum of 

Either finding us jackets before 8:30pm

Or we end up going to a B&B.

"I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up."

We walked around for quite a bit,

Any cheap good jacket would do.

But I had gotten the win.

We didn't find one, so we were off to the B&B!

"This is freaking awesome!"

It was an old lady,

She gave us a room and it was full 

of old people stuff.

"I wear your Granadads clothes."

But we didn't care,

The comfort was amazing!

"I look in-cred-i-ble"

We sure felt incredible in those beds!

"I'm in this big ass coat."

Those beds were huge and full of blankets.

"From the Thrift Shop down the road."

Our B&B was right down the road of

our hangout spot ^_^

...Then!

As we left the beach to get our train tickets.

A singer was singing "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk.

We were up all night and those cops made our night.

We were so lucky to have their aid.

They took us back to Dublin, 

Told us to not pay for tickets on trains.

They wouldn't charge us. 

And that if we're short a place to sleep

We have the security phone number

so he can help us out(;

"We're up all night to get lucky."

Anyways,

Once we landed in Dublin we went to Isaacs Hostel.

It was soooo nice!

Super good price too, €14 each.

We shared with 8 people and had 

Tons of benefits.

Darien and I abused the ping pong table.

They had free wifi,

Tons of lounge rooms with comfy couches.

And man we slept so well.

That night was successful.

The trip has been rough,

We've had some big bumps starting into this.

But we've learned we have social skills.

People rock.

And this will benefit us a lot here soon.

Till tomorrow!!

P.S. Tuna with honey, it was quite good!

...Dun dun dun!!!! 

Day 4 (Europe & Going)

We woke up around 7:30AM

We had little sleep,

Plus our bodies didn't rest well.

They hurt worse than the day before.

However we packed up and headed into town.

The girls from last night mentioned an Internet Café we should check out.

Said that we should look on getting 

tickets on the "Dart", same thing as Trax.

We also had to get some groceries.

We started at an Internet Café.

They charged us €4 for an hour. 

Which is about $5.33

Good thing Darien is more strict

with our budget than I,

Because I would've stayed longer.

We found out flying is our cheapest route!

Flying! Weird right?

Our tickets to Barcelona, Spain

(Yeah, awesome right?)

Were €30 for the both of us!

€7 for each ticket, plus tax and insurance.

And one check bag was €25.

So it came to about €56! 

Flying is always the best way out of these bloody islands.

After getting that situated we got ourselves food.

Since we use the cheapest budget we use grocery stores.

Tesco & SuperValu are our best friends!

They don't have Wal*Mart here!

So our food costs are really low!

We live off Pita Bread & Jam.

With the occasional fruit here and there.

After that we walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Poor Darien got some bad blisters.

I got none! Wool Socks, they're must have. 

Just be glad you didn't see him pop it!

We seriously walked forever.

Our direction was South, and south was our destination.

Worst idea ever.

We were tired and sore!

But we kept walking!

We walked about 20 miles to a city called Bray. 

We took a bus for the last 2-3 miles there.

We needed it!

We couldn't find housing,

Darien wanted to go hobo style.

But it was cold, we forgot our jackets

... we know, we know, don't scold us ...

But I convinced Darien,

With a proposition, 

if he could find a place that sells jackets

Before 8:30 then I would sleep outside.

If not we're staying in.

I won, most places here close super early!

"I love it(:"

So we stayed at a lovely Bed & Breakfast

It was €50 for the both of us

But holy cow, the place was amazing.

At least for what we've been through.

It was like a home, with our own bedroom.

However the shower sucked!!

Worse than the hostel!

Sure it was clean but that devil burned you!

It would also freeze you!

There was no warm temperature.

It was either freezing cold or blistering hot!!

Damned thing coulda killed you I swear (literally)!

It was very painful, 

Luckily those beds made up for it.

Imagine a cloud, but one you can't fall through.

Tempurdic beds had nothing on those beds! 

It has about 3 blankets, that were super silky, smooth, and thick enough to keep you warm.

I'm a claustrophobic guy, but this thing didn't constrain me.

I felt like I was floating in air over a ocean.

Did I forget our window had a direct view of the coast?  

Both Darien and I fell asleep quicker then 

we could enjoy any other heavenly things the place had to offer. 

Sadly we didn't take many pictures,

Got lost in the real beauty of the world to remember our worldly connections.

However I did snag this. 

I took the master bed, she was a beaut. 

She even had padding on her backboard!

Ahhh, Bray was gorgeous from that room.

Anyways we sent love to our family by messaging them that night and then we knocked out.

Can I say it was perfect? Cuz that night, if you forget about what we spent, was amazing.

It's nice being able to rest after long exhausting trips.

You can't overwork yourself.

So taking breaks like this,

Even if it costs more

Refreshes you. 

So indulge yourself fellow readers!

You deserve it every once in a while(:

... If I don't post tomorrow, than might have fought the old lady to stay in this amazing bed... 

G'night!

Day 3 (Europe & Going)

The first few days had been stressful,
I think being in Dublin made things a lot harder due to our tight budget.
Everything is so high priced in this city.
McDoubles cost €2 which comes to $2.68
Also they don't have Hot N' Spicy McChickens either :(
I never thought I'd say this but even McDonalds is out of our budget.

We ended up walking our way out of Dublin.. by accident.
We were trying to find a ferry or train out but it was too pricey.
So we found this huge Movie Theater, it was ridiculous.
The place was way to big for its population.
It was about 4 stories high
and only 6-8 people were in there that we saw.
Also they seemed to be obsessed with the movie "Pain & Gain"
The posters for that movie covered every wall, floor tile, and banner.

Anyways we didn't go there to see movies,
We only used that place for a bathroom and a place to charge our phones.

After that we headed south
Aiming for Cork, which is the southern most city.
After walking for a short while out we found an amazing beach.
We spent a good couple hours just grabbing sea shells.
You literally could find any sea shell you wanted.
We ended up taking so many of them

and just walked down the coast.

There was a lot of cool views from the coast,
we even saw this fort/castle thing.
We should have slept there 

and I'll explain that later.
But we did look like true backpackers,
We walked on the walls by the train tracks,
and met a lot of nice strangers.

Our first town we reached we met another crazy guy.
His name was Frank-Quin.
This one made slightly more sense than the last one.
However he was crazy none the less.
It was good talking to him though he was a nice guy.
Then we got super tired as we got in the city.

**BEWARE**
[HIGH WORRY WARNING]

[NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MOTHERS TO READ JUST SCROLL PASSED]

[ALSO NOT THAT RELEVANT]
We took a break on this bench by a red clock tower.

Wished we took a picture of it,

It was spectacular!
But we were so exhausted, our backs could only handle so much.
We just sat there in the middle of the night.
Enjoying our relaxing moment while we could.

Slowly just closing our eyes promising a mini break.

Once I opened my eyes I knew I had fallen asleep. 

I woke up in a panicked state because I had mixed my dream with reality.

I had no idea where I was!

So I told Darien we had to up and go.

Which wasn't that bad of an idea..

It wasn't a safe place to sleep in the first place.

We ended up meeting some girls on the street who were very nice.

No not prostitutes.

Just drunk college girls.

They showed us cheap housing.

But for us it wasn't cheap at all.

So they pointed us in the safest place they recommended to sleep on the streets.

It was a public park that was tiny!

But by rich people, so pretty friendly.

So we set up camp there. 

Slept very little but it seemed to work!

About to further the in betweens of this.

**END**

[MOM YOUR GOOD TO CARRY ON]

Walking the town at night was interesting.

It was a good interesting more the less.

Being that we were exhausted from walking,

And that we were very tired

And it brought on a whole new experience.

Dragging our aching feet barely covering any ground.

It was quiet. No noise, just us.

Thus adding on the loud thoughts.

Hallucination quickly took its opportunity on us.

We kept thinking the other would mention something. 

Plus being dark, quiet, and alone it was easy to get scared. 

Anyone/Anything we saw we would be cautious about.

We walked down a road with tons of stores,

And we saw about 5 girls yelling.

They yelled at us saying "HEYYYY"

Due to our hallucinations we didn't bother to say anything back.

You know, didn't want to look stupid.

So we carried on and we didn't see them as we went on.

We walked all over.

Seriously, it was past tiring at this point.

We couldn't find any good areas to sleep.

Everything just seems to sketch.

Then we ran into a dead end.

Luckily we weren't hallucinating this,

But we found the 5 girls.

They asked about us, our story, 

Who we are, where we're from, yada-yada-yada.

Sorry we didn't take a picture with them. 

They did of us though! 

We're friends on Facebook, hopefully they post it soon!

Anyways.

We had fun going around town with them.

We found this fox they were terrified of.

They said they were vicious,

But Darien and I played with it.

We gave it an orange, it didn't eat it

But it loved us! We've never seen on up close till then.

Anyways it was a fun night and then we slept. 

Anyways the trips been amazing!

People are very friendly.

It's amazing what you can learn from others.

Even if they aren't purposely teaching you something.

Being able to help one another is amazing.

It really brings out the best in us.

This world is huge, and we have much to learn!

Can't wait to see what more this trip has to offer(:

See you again soon!

Day 2 (Europe & Going)

... Oh Ireland,

This place is quite deceiving. 

I wouldn't consider this place spiffy,

But the cost of things here say otherwise.

It's a really small city,

We both got bored and decided we want out.

Whether to the country side or to another country,

We don't plan on being here long. 

Camping seems a lot more difficult,

especially with the fact that there is no where to camp

because a lot of the land is privately owned. 

We'd like to see the sites of Ireland

But most of them are quite a ways out,

And we can't afford a way out there.

People here are really nice,

Although we've ran into a crazy one.

He talked a lot about how tourists and how the public is ruining Ireland's independence.

The funniest thing about that was he didn't know we were Tourists because he talked a mile second and I think he wanted us to agree with him.

Once he heard our American accents you could just see him have this awkward look. 

But he just continued going! 

*Using Ireland's famous words, "Ya understand what I'm saying?"

Then after repeating what he just said he apologized for our time and walked away. 

We walked and walked.

We saw trinity college and it was fascinating!

We found comfy couches and sat there,

Almost slept there, we were so tired.

You can only see/do so much on a budget like ours.

So sleeping on college couches didn't seem like a bad idea.

We ended up going to a cheap hostel.

10 euros a night but shared rooms.

Our roomies were awesome.

Very friendly and accommodating.

One of them told us about how he had recently bought a violin

and with our experience we gave them a short lesson on the violin.

And they offered us spirits.  

The showers/bathrooms were so weird though! 

First off you ask where the toilets are,

Not bathroom, not restroom, just toilet.

They'll be very confused otherwise.

Second, we share them with everyone in the hostel not just our roomies.

When I first went in there were tons of girls.

I thought I was in the ladies room.

But nope, they giggled as they pointed me to the toilets next to them

when I asked where the men's toilets were. 

Peeing with ladies in the room was very awkward. I'm glad I didn't have to use my other end.

Showers are just disgusting and not very private. Even wearing water shoes I still felt gross standing in them. 

Worst part is we didn't bring soap... 

The showers were very cold.

That's not even the worst part.

If they had just been cold it would've been better.

But no... The showers teased us with slightly warm water.

For me the shower felt warm so I took the opportunity to hope in, I was quite happy with their showers, right as I adjusted to the warmth the water switched to freezing cold water, and the tempting would switch right at the time your body could adjust to it.

It turned out to be the quickest shower I've ever taken

Wifi is hard to find so not sure how often I'll get to post but I will always have drafts ready!

So I may post many posts in one day. 

Also sorry if paragraphing looks weird,

My phone doesn't show me what my posts look like from a computer screen view.. 

Not sure how well we will survive.

But we still are staying positive and carrying on.

Day 1 (Europe & Going)

The thought of leaving home to go to another country is beyond comprehension. 

Stepping out of the daily schedule to go out and experience something new is frightening. 

We grow up learning routines so our comfort zones tend to shrink the more we build ourselves into them. 

I think too often we enclose ourselves from the world because we seek comfort. 

It isn't easy stepping out of our comfort zones because of the many anxieties and time consuming efforts. 

You never know what to expect.. 

So leaving the comfort of having a family close and a different world we've grown up on tends to bring on a new feeling. 

At first it becomes frightening, anxiety kicks in with its clever tricks of making the world seem stronger than you. 

Few make it out alive with their mission still set. 

How I view it is that anxiety is a tool to test your inner strength. 

Are you willing to give up when the going gets tough or are you going to fight?

How badly do you want this?

Anxiety is a tough coach but a teacher none the less. Where there is a will there is a way.

This is the beginning. 

I have a world full of opportunity. 

And I am only getting to see a portion of the geography and culture. 

I am honored to participate in such a journey. 

I hope to experience this from many perspectives and learn from these new views.

I aim to grow from all of this and take advantage of my youth so I can keep an open eager mind throughout my years. 

Mom, Dad, Aunt Pauline, Uncle Troy, other family, friends, and random blog spotters! We appreciate your support! I will keep updating as much as I can. We hope all is well at home. Darien and I love you and will put in our very best to do you all proud(: 

  Photo: Airport Drop-off! 

Day ZERO Part 2 (Europe & Going)

The old phrase of time flying when you're having fun never fades.

Bear Lake seemed to run by in a blink of an eye. 

The first day we hiked and injured ourselves, but things turned out well.

Once we got to the lake it was so beautiful. 

For a lake the turquoise water was beyond clear.

We first just hung out on the beach.

Walking out into the water, you wouldn't expect it, 

but you would go on forever before actually getting waist deep!

That was the real beauty of it though. 

Tides would roll in softly, 

Being in the water it was nice to just relax 

and let the waves float you away. 

After our relaxing moments in bliss the weather took a turn.

The rain poured on us during our dinner!

Knowing my family however, 

We created a canopy with a tarp over our campground.

It was really nice. We all sat close to the fire and bonded. 

I was happy to be with my family before our big trip. 

Once we got our boat... 

We let loose and became MaD hAttErS. 

Our "rented" speedboat tore up the tides!

To top that off we had to get a tube. 

Each of us took it on, and it was like riding a bull at a rodeo.

Especially when we hit those wakes!

Most of us only fell when the tube would flip, 

but we all abused it till we passed out. 

Once we got back we packed up and headed home.

Almost thought about making s'mores. 

Good thing we didn't.. 

Mother Nature wasn't done yet, 

she brought much more rain then the night before.

But luckily we were packed and on the road by then. 

That was our pre-trip. 

I couldn't imagine spending it with anyone else.

That was our vacation.

But in less than 12 hours we will be off.

Out of our comfort zones and into the wild.

My cousin and I will be putting in our best effort,

and take Europe by storm. 

This is our Journey, it won't be easy.

But with our strength, intellect, and potential... 

We'll make our marks & define ourselves. 

Here we go... 

 

Day ZERO (Europe & Going)

Here I go, into the abyss..

I never thought I'd be going on this journey, well anytime soon that is. 

It's funny that these trips are the most exciting trips one could dream of, but once they actually start I go into paranoia of whether or not it will happen, if I'll be ready for such an experience, or if  I'll have everything I need. I still don't feel like my pack has everything, like i'm forgetting something.. This day will be my uphill battle on this adventure,
DAY ZERO. 

Days like this I get everything packed 

I double, triple, quadruple check my bags till I have satisfied my anxiety. 

This is it.

I am taking the leap, 

and boy is it scary psyching myself up for this.

But I'm staying optimistic. 

I believe this anxiety is just preparing us for whats to come. 

Even better, it'll be helping us enjoy ourselves once we finally reach the comfort of our destination.
Wherever that should be... 

I'm still at home, waiting. Bear Lake is our first stop.

Most of my cousins have already left to reserve us a spot.

I'm sure they are still driving, it's a while away.

As for us my aunt and uncle are putting everything together...

..Figuratively..

Seems I have taken this opportunity to take a break.

Quick summary of what is going down.
My cousin and I have planned a trip to Europe.
We will be taking a single backpack,
for each of us of course, and that is all.
We fly there Sunday, August 25, 2013.
However our family wanted to have one last hoo-raw,
so we are off to Bear Lake this weekend.
Then come Sunday our flight is off! 
We will be going where the wind takes us.
An adventure with no cause,
heads up high and survival instinct kicked in.

To think this is happening is beyond me.

I couldn't be any more proud or terrified at the same time.

I don't feel one is ever ready for such a big move.

Living in Europe for 4 months.

No money, Just communication.

I feel like I will be using my social game to get me through all of this.

It seems to be my only hope! 

As for now, we're off to Bear Lake.

I will be ready.

I will enjoy myself.

I will carry on with strength and wisdom.

AND I WILL WRITE MORE! 

...stay tuned for more...