Day 10 (Europe & Going)

Ah this morning sucked!

Not only did we go to bed late,

but at 7AM the fire alarm went off -_-

But didn't stop us from falling back asleep!

The fire alarm goes off all the time.

We didn't worry about a real fire.

Haha not the safest thing to do,

If there was a real fire than most of us 

in that hostel would probably get hurt.

We got up around 9:30 just in time for breakfast

We saw Steve the guitar player and 

ate breakfast with him.

Maria the Norwegian girl however didn't show.

After breakfast we packed up and checked out.

Giving our goodbyes to our good friend Steve.

We went to the post office and delivered 

post cards to our family & friends.

We didn't know how we planned on 

getting to Galway so we went back to

the hostel to use the wifi.

Good thing too, we saw Maria, the Norwegian girl! 

So we hung out a bit while Darien & I

situated our travel situation.

Steve was there too! 

So our cool group just all chilled in Isaacs Hostel.

After booking a bus,

For extremely cheap! 

So 129 Miles, we paid €5!!

That's about $6! 

Yeah pretty sure we're getting a free ride.

Yeah we parted ways with our friends,

And made our way to Galway!

The bus ride was awesome!

Seeing the inner country was epic.

Wish I took more pictures 

But I did manage to snag this one picture.

It was beautiful seeing the inner parts of Ireland.

The place is very green, and you get to see

some random castles here and there.

But we didn't really get a good view.

Once we got to the hostel I made a mistake...

I booked it for the day after.. 

Luckily there was still a room available! 

So we settled down and relaxed for the day.

You'd think we're being boring but no!

Traveing is exhausting! 

We also had late nights and were very tired.

So today our plan was to stay low,

Keep to ourselves, no making friends.

Friends means late night.

So we just kept to ourselves to bedtime.

In the process we did make an amazing dinner!

It was sooooo gooooood!

For the first time we got full.

Food definitely has gained a higher meaning 

in our lives since the beginning of our trip.

After that we played more cards

till we got tired enough to go to bed.

So now we plan on doing something tomorrow.

Don't know what but something for sure(;

G'night readers!

*Abiding by the rules of our card game*

SPEED!!

Day 9 (Europe & Going)

This morning we had odd experience.

We woke up to this Italian guy cooing 

& petting this girl in our room.

We thought he was her boyfriend but

once she realized what was going on

she told the guy off.

Telling him to back off because she 

didn't know him.

For a second I was pretty worried,

but she was pretty aggressive about 

making the guy stop.

It was good thing that she is able to 

handle herself in those situations.

We got up but with nothing planned.

We went downstairs for some good ol' ping pong.

We were still pretty tired from last night.

So ping pong slowly wore us out.

We made our way to the couch and 

caught up on some American TV(:

It hasn't been long but knowing we'll

be here for 4 months we are bound to 

have lazy days, and today was that day.

I was very happy with the shows we got to watch.

Glee

The Big Bang Theory 

(^We just got into it, we love that show!)

And saved the best for last...

Please feel free to give the nearest object 

near you a little drum roll. 

Because this next show is Legen...

WAIT FOR IT!!!

And I hope you're not lactose intolerant 

because this next word is..

DAIRY!

LEGENDARY!

How I Met Your Mother!!! :D

For those that know me,

You'd know I'm close to being the 

biggest fan of the show.

... Biggest fan being relative(; 

It was really nice to kick back and relax.

After letting the day quickly fade,

We decided the couch potato in us has 

overstayed it's welcome.

So we went up to the lobby to play card 

games instead(;

It was great! 

We even had this musician playing music 

in the lobby and he was killer!

He had everyone in the room clapping.

He played Guitar and his name is 

Steve Lewin, look him up. 

He plays the alternative/acoustic type.

Highly recommend!

Anyways after he finished Darien & I

congratulated him on his performance.

We actually got talking more and 

ended up hanging out the rest of the night.

We grabbed a few drinks and got

back to our card games.

Got to know this Norwegian girl named

Maria. 

Beautiful girl. 

We got her to join in on the fun.

We were able to get to know each other

fairly well and it was all around a good time.

We started making our way throughout 

the city and it was absolute!(;

Once we got back everyone went 

straight to bed while I began a new 

nightly ritual, started a few nights ago.

Got ready for bed, 

Made my way to nearest table.

Poured myself some tea,

and recorded my events of the day.

Now that I'm finished I'm off to bed.

"Lets Fight!"

- Darien Thayne

 

Day 8 (Europe & Going)

Waking up sucked.

After being up all night and only getting 

little sleep it was terrible.

We went downstairs to get us some 

delicious breakfast for our starving souls.

This hostel we got lucky,

They had Raisin/Banana mix Bran.

Believe us when we say we felt spoiled.

That stuff was amazing!

After eating we packed up our stuff

and checked out of our Hostel.

I made reservations back at 

Isaacs Hostel the night before.

So we made our way there.

Once we got to Isaacs we quickly got 

back into our ping pong game.

While having wifi Wonwook Lee messaged me.

He wanted to take us out for Korean!

Him and his girlfriend, Emily.

We met around 1:30 and they were

incredible. Seriously, they were very nice.

They treated us to a Korean restaurant.

I had Bulgogi and Darien had Dagalbi.

Our dinner ^_^

This is Me, Emily, and Darien.

This is Me, Lee, & Darien

Darien and I were honored to meet such a great couple.

They were very kind hearted, good people.

It was fun swapping stories.

I know we will have to see them again 

before we head back to America.

They left quite an impression on us.

One we can never forget.

Can't wait to meet them again! 

Shortly after we headed back to the hostel.

We just relaxed and watched TV.

Found out Darien & I are quite fond of 

The Big Bang Theory. 

Hilarious show.

After watching a few of those great 

episodes we had made more friends

in the hostel, Angelo & Cloudio, they are from Italy and they are amazing chefs! 

and they made us spaghetti!  

Friends are MUST haves in foreign countries.

It's amazing how lucky we have been.

I really have a lot of gratitude for such 

great friends that we have met on our 

journey! 

Sorry Mom's but this was the best spaghetti we've ever had.

After dinner Darien and I 

went for a nice walk around town.

Didn't see/do anything too interesting.

But it was nice to have a break. 

Once we came back we played ping pong.

This time a more evil way.

Loser ate jalapeños and you could only

get a 1/4 slice of bread if you won 

3 times in row. 

Terrible game. 

Darien and I were ready to puke. 

It was great...

Other than that our day ended pretty boring.

I think we're going to pass out soon.

So till tomorrow! 

Day 7 (Europe & Going)

Come 2AM still updating everything

I quickly knocked out myself.

We had this hostel reserved for two 

nights so we got to sleep in the first day!

We had the option to wake up for breakfast,

But neither Darien nor I woke up for it.

We got up around noon.

Plenty of sleep for the both of us(:

No one was in our room,

So we still had the room to ourselves!

So being able to get a shower when I 

wanted was nice!(:

We had two showers in our own room.

This day we were set on going to the park!

We took the dart to get there.

With a quick stop to a thrift shop,

had to get jackets! 

The weathers been getting cool.

Once we got to the park...

The place was BEAUTIFUL! 

I love this picture below.

I shot it from the ground.

If you look closely you'll see a mom 

and her son playing in the grass(:

This pillar was in the front of the park. \/

Darien wanted to make it look like a hat,

Although it doesn't,

 it still holds as a great photo! \/

Front view(; thing was huge!

Chose your beauty! Rocky or greens?

A cute pavilion with a family up front.

We didn't go in but we got a sneak peek(;

It's insane, we only saw a portion of it!

But yet it was the most beautiful park!

So well maintained! 

You can just tell the great adventures we 

had just by the pictures!

After the park we headed back home.

We met Henndrick our new roomie!

He is from Germany, 

and speaks English very well! 

Very nice guy.

We played cards for a short while,

Then we had separate plans for the night.

We made use of our cheap ramen and ate.

And he went out to the bar with a girl(;

Now this morning, I forgot to mention,

We met a guy named Lucas.

He was the hostel cleaning guy.

After getting to know him he invited us

To his party he was hosting in the lounge.

So anyways he saw us in the kitchen and 

reminded us of food and drink he had 

out on the patio.

So we came and hung out with them.

It was a bit crowded where he was so 

Darien and I sat by some lovely ladies!

Getting ourselves out there socially was hard,

Everyone in our hostel was mainly from Spain.

So language barrier really came into place.

However their English was pretty well!

So we made some friends.

After a few drinks and food 

we were off into the city nightlife! 

It was a blast!

We got into a Irish pub for free,

They played perfect music,

The Killers, Blink 182, Green Day, Metallica, Guns N' Roses.

All I needed.

But yeah mainly rock(: 

We danced and had tons of fun.

Just a few of the girls we met \/

Marta & Nola were the girls we were

hanging out with the most.

Very sweet girls.

We had tons of fun dancing, teaching them the cup song, and when we left... 

We got the Spanish kiss on each cheek

from the both of em'!

It was a good night. 

Once we got home, we found two more roomies.

Everyone was asleep so we will wait till 

tomorrow to meet them.

Till next time!

... This guy is caught up.

Woot woot!

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!