30.10.10-- My vacation

Just got back from Dublin, Ireland! It was great fun, minus the cold. Apparently though, I'm frileuse (such a word doesn't exist in English, but it basically means someone who is always cold), because my three other travel buddies said the weather wasn't so bad! Personally, I had two coats on the whole time! So, as I promised, here are pictures of my Dublin vaction. Unfortunately, my camera died partway through, so I am relying on photos taken by my other friends who were there with me!

The Gravity Bar at the Guinness Storehouse...very top floor, with a marvelous view of Dublin! Those who are over 18 years old also get a free pint of Guinness at the end of the tour! 

My travel buddies, from left to right-- Zsuzsanna from Hungary, Stefan from Germany, Lauren from Chicago, and me!

The Ha'Penny Bridge-- the first time an Irish person mentioned it, I had NO IDEA what she was saying to me. Then she realized I was an American tourist and said "Ha'Penny....like half penny..."

Coming from France, I wasn't expecting much concerning the food here...but this was DELICIOUS

This giant monument thing is how we found our way home at the end of the day...it unfortunately resembles a needle, and it was apparently constructed during a dark time in Dublin when there were a lot of drug addicts on the streets...

Dublin City Hall

Dublin Castle-- those walls are 12 feet thick for prisoners!

Oh noooooooooooo--- trapped at Dublin Castle!

General thoughts-- Dublin (or perhaps Ireland in general) is incredibly expensive. I am glad I saved up some money this summer in anticipation of frequent traveling, because I definitely needed it! Another thing was the Irish people themselves-- they are SO FRIENDLY! Interestingly enough though, Dublin is kind of like Paris or New York-- no actual natives live there, it's all tourists! I would have liked to have visited other areas of Ireland, such as Cork or Limerick, but there was simply no time! I met a lot of nice people in the hostel I was staying in, which was also great fun. I'm fairly certain that if knew a year ago that I'd be this independent, I would have been too scared to study abroad!

So....after Dublin, we went to Paris for some sightseeing. (Yes, I went to Paris again, after being there about 2 weeks ago...)

Typical tourist photo at the Eifel Tower

I hate to admit it, but I spent most of my time in Paris sleeping and recovering from Dublin! So we didn't do much other than the Eifel Tower, some walking, and a visit to the Musée du Louvre (and that was my 3rd time there...)

View from under the giant glass triangle! So pretty!

Anyway, now I'm just having post-vacation blues....I want to go back to Ireland! And Paris! I definitely don't want to be going back to classes! I did miss Nantes, though, in a weird quirky way... :P

More later! (I still have to post my Paris pics from 2 weeks ago!)