As I said good-bye to my mom at the security checkpoint, I knew in the back of my mind that it would be months before I would see her, but I really felt that it would only be a short jaunt over the pond and back…I have yet to come to realize that I am here for a good while. So after saying good-bye, I sat with my two friends Audrey and Bridget who would be joining me on a trip to Paris, Rome, and Florence before we were to settle into Ireland. We could not believe what we were actually about to do with our lives. Nonetheless, we boarded the plane and about seven hours later landed in Dublin. After going through quite possibly the friendliest customs checkpoint in the entire world and lugging our massive bags onto carts, we were met by three friends, Kellie, Annie, and Kelsey all who have been in Ireland for the year. Without these three, I am quite confident we would not have made it to Maynooth.
The bus ride from the airport to Dublin, and the train ride from Dublin to Maynooth, plus a long walk, was a journey in itself, but we were able to immediately move into our apartments as we made it to NUIM. I was able to meet three of my four roommates, all of whom are great and extremely helpful! But most of the first day in Ireland was spent unpacking, setting up a cellphone, and battling jetlag. Even though I wanted to collapse onto my bed and sleep for days on end…the three of us battled through and ended up meeting what I am sure is to be a dear friend, the main pub in Maynooth, the Roost. I also know where the library is located Mom. But the next day was also filled with unpacking and sleep, while also exploring the quaint town of Maynooth, which is so cute with all of its little shops. I cannot even begin to describe its appeal, I only suggest coming to visit me and experiencing it firsthand. We also went and saw the south campus of our school which is gorgeous…there are no words. Later that night I went with my roommates to see Sherlock Holmes and had a great time despite the fact that we missed the ending in order to catch the bus back! I then had to pack for my stint around Europe and hadn’t even started so by the time I was done and asleep, I had a nice hour before my alarm went off and I had to meet John the taxi driver outside the apartments to head to the airport at 4am.
So despite a bit of difficulty of hunger pains and sleep deprivation, Audrey, Bridget, and I made it to Paris and were able to navigate the metro to our hostel. To say that I was nervous to stay in a hostel with complete strangers sleeping in the same room as me would be an understatement, but eh one life to live. So we landed at Oops! and basically threw our stuff down and then headed out to meet a friend of one of Audrey’s friends at Notre Dame who lives near Paris. Louis, our tour guide, took us around the Latin Quarter and then to Montmartre, up to Sacre Coeur. Even though it rained the whole day and we all felt miserable, you couldn’t help but love the beauty of Paris. After bidding farewell to Louis, we headed back to Oops and took a much needed nap which is when we were not alone in our 4-person room, but had a roommate from Canada, but had not yet met. After grabbing a quick dinner and hanging out in the lounge area of Oops!, we headed to bed and still had yet to meet our roommate from the North.
The next day we headed out and started with mass at Notre Dame. We ended up with really good seats and it was incredible to listen to the mass and being able to get bits and pieces of all that was being said-maybe seven years of French is finally beginning to pay off. But it was incredible to say the Our Father in French along with everyone else, it was something I had always hoped to do. One of my greatest life goals came true after mass when the man who I had been sitting next to asked me if I was Parisian. HA. Me? I thought he was joking, but in French I kindly replied that unfortunately I was American and only wished that I was Parisian. A yankee? Yep.
After that excitement, we headed to see the Tuileries gardens and walk down the Champs-Elysees and see l’Arc de Triomphe. Although I have been to Paris before, I never get bored of seeing all that it has to offer. We then headed back and went to our favorite little market to get some supplies for dinner and were able to enjoy it at Oops. One major landmark of Paris that we had yet to see was the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to head there that night and just as we were walking up, it began to light up—so magnificent! However, the Eiffel Tower at night can also be a bit frightening with all of the vendors bothering you to buy their light-up toys or plastic Eiffel Towers. As much as I find their merchandise to be great and cherished gifts, we were scared away and made it back to the nearest metro station. Making it back to Oops and talking with some of the other people staying there, we began to hear several interesting stories and met the likes of a few interesting people from Brazil, Argentina, and Lithuania. It amazes me what you can learn from a single person and what their story is…and let me tell you that hostel was chalk-full of stories of travel, endlessly fascinating.
On the third day and still having yet to meet our Canadian roommate, we made it to the Louvre to see the likes of Mona and Venus de Mayo. It was interested me in how different Paris is from the winter to the summer, being able to walk right into the Louvre without a line in comparison to standing in line forever surrounded by thousands of tourists makes me prefer to wear a parka and walk around in the cold, rather than being warm and able to wear what I please. After our adventures in the Louvre, we again met up with Louis at a small café and had drinks. A short visit Louis made us realize how much we were going to miss Paris and wanted to stay for just a bit longer. But again we made our way to Oops for dinner and some packing while also another night in the Oops lounge meeting fellow travelers, including finally our roommate Nolan who took a year off from college and works on a farm in the Alps. I’m telling you there are so many people in hostels who can endlessly fascinate you. Not wanting to make the mistake of only having an hour of sleep before waking up early to catch a flight, we headed to bed.
Waking up at 5am…more like 5:20 to leave by 5:30, we ended up sprinting to the metro to catch a bus to the airport. However, a dense fog decided to cover the Paris area and so our plane was delayed an hour. Our entire flight was then told to wait in this restaurant for an hour. Then the lovely French flight attendants who spoke little English, had us wait for another hour for buses. Then everyone was put on three coach buses and driven to Lille. If I had known what I was in for, I would have just stayed in bed in Paris and enjoyed it there for a few more days. Apparently Ryan Air likes to bus its passengers around the continent, so as I learned 2 hours later and within smelling distance of Belgian waffles and chocolate, our flight was diverted to an airport in Lille, France also known as: the France/Belgium border. But hey, life’s a journey.
Despite the craziness of the day, we landed a few hours late in Rome and made our way to the Tiziano Hotel to inform our friends, who are studying abroad there with SMC, that we were in fact alive. After getting settled in our hostel, the Beehive, we went out for a glass of wine and caught up with a friend Olivia, who showed a bit around the area. While we were enjoying catching up with our vino, we were approached by an American woman who was happy to hear English and American accents. She asked us where we went to college and immediately as we said Saint Mary's, she let out a gasp and pulled out her right hand on which the famous SMC ring was prominently placed. We all returned the gasps and she whipped out her camera and insisted that we all get a photo together. What a small world it is! She was also in Rome with her husband, who went to Notre Dame so it was nice to know that even far from home, the world is connected--even by the bubble of Notre Dame, IN. From there, we walked around a bit more and then headed back to our hostel and took a much needed sleep.
The next day, we moved from our hostel to the hotel where our friends live and were placed in our own room for the night. It was great to finally just have a room to ourselves and not have to sleep with all our important information. Our friends took us to a few sites in Rome, such as the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. Everything in Rome is magnificent in all magnitudes-the history in that city is incredible. The “orphans” as we called ourselves, were able to enjoy our best meal yet, that was more than our general 4 euro range. It was Olivia's birthday and so we were able to celebrate with her and enjoy great company! It was great to be able to catch up with friends and hear about everyone’s adventures in Europe. We then went to Campo di Fiori area and experienced a bit of the Roman nightlife. However,the next day we were leaving Rome and were off to Florence…
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