some photos.

here's some of the polaroids i took of the trip.
i'm hoping to put them on display and possibly sell some prints at a local coffee shop.
let me know what you think.
: )

day 30: the end.

i am at the end of my european adventure.
today, i fly from dublin to boston,
and then from boston to orlando.

i know that i will be more excited than ever
to stop catching planes and trains,
and actually stay in one place for a while.
but, i'm so very thankful for the opportunity
to have gone on this adventure.
and i'm only 21.
i know very few people get to see as much as i have at my age.

i'm not sure yet what this trip will teach me,
or maybe it has already taught me something and i just don't know it.
but, i have so many memories and experiences that i will forever hold dear.
and for that, if only that, i am grateful.

i will miss berlin the most i think.
maybe it's because we stayed there the longest,
but it was a good home to me and i miss it already.

i will miss the different languages, cultures, people.
i will miss trying to find my way around places.
i will the public transportation.
i will miss the cool, dry weather.
i will miss the mountains and lakes in switzerland.
i will miss cafe morgenrot.
i will miss the rigaer 105 community.

but, i am glad to be home.
i am glad to see my friends and family again.
to have a place that i call home.
and free water. that's one thing europe should work on.

i hope you all have enjoyed reading about my adventure.
i am so thankful for you all and your interest in my life.

day 29: ireland.

today was perfect.
a little bit of exploring.
a little bit of relaxing.
a little bit of family.

after a familiar breakfast of cereal, toast and hot chocolate,
brian took me to newgrange.
newgrange is one of the three larger grave passages in ireland.
it was built over 5,000 years ago.
it is a mound-shaped tomb made up of stones.
historians don’t know exactly what it was intended for,
but their guess is that newgrange was a place for rituals and ceremonies or a place where they buried the dead.
the coolest part about it though is that there is a tiny passage way to the center of the tomb,
and every year, the winter solstice illuminates the entire chamber, through the passage way, for about 17 minutes. other than that, the tomb is completely dark.


after newgrange, brian took me back to the family’s house for supper.
yvonne, brian’s wife, was wonderful.
she had made sure to prepare various vegetarian options for me.
this of course was after they were going to prepare some lamb for me. haha.
they thought maybe i would like it as much as my dad.

supper time was wonderful.
brian and yvonne have 5 kids, from ages 24 to 6.
maybe it’s because i don’t come from one, but i love big families so much.

and the best part about my stay was that i got to share a room with aoife, their 6-year-old daughter.
she’s brilliant. i really enjoyed her.

after dinner, brian, louise (the oldest), and I went up to killiney hill,
which looks over the city of dublin.
it was beautiful.
we walked around for a while and let the dog run around.


once we got home, i wasn't feeling well,
so i layed down and feel asleep.
it was around 7 pm and i didn't wake up until 8 am the next morning.
i guess all of that traveling had finally caught up with me.

here's what my dream backyard looks like:

day 28: a day at the airport...no, really.

the night before was the perfect last night in europe with kate and lang.
we went out to a pizza place with andrea, her daughter, hannah, and their friends.
the three of us all ordered the spinach and feta pizza…
i just added some mushrooms and black olives too it.
lang and i also had quite the experience with the squatty potty.
let’s just say it was interesting.

afterward, all of us walked across the street to enjoy our last bit of real gelato.
i had a bowl of snickers, dark chocolate and mint.
man, am i going to miss italian gelato.

back at the house,
the three of us spent the evening packing up our things, again.
andrea is so sweet; she made us each spritz aperols to enjoy.

this morning, we woke up fairly early to make it to the airport by 9 am.
andrea was kind enough to drive us there and on the way we found a field of poppies.
lang and i had been waiting for this moment since we arrived in italy almost a month ago.
it was the perfect end to our trip together.


kate’s plane left at 11 am.
lang’s left at 1 pm.
mine, on the other hand, wasn’t until 9 pm.
so, i literally spent an entire day at the airport.
it wasn’t as bad as i thought though.
i finished my anne lamott book.
read the book of hebrews.
read almost all of the shack.
did a lot of listening to music.
spent some time sitting on a bench outside.
paid for 2 hours of internet.
oh, and i finally found a chocolate magnum bar!
best moment ever. kate and lang will understand this. haha!

when i was finally able to check my pack,
i went to the gate and found out that my flight was delayed another hour.
so i did some exploring in the shops.
the only interesting thing i found was this anne lamott book in italian.


i didn’t end up leaving venice until 10 pm,
arriving in ireland a little before midnight.
the flight was a little lonely,
but I was quickly reunited with friends.

our family friends in dublin picked me up at the airport
and brought me to their house where i will be for the next 2 nights.

tomorrow, brian, a friend of my dad’s,
will show me around dublin a little.

day 27: home sweet home... kind of.

today was so, so good.

we woke up and left the house by 9
to go to the town market.
they had tons of stuff there.
hidden treasures.
so many things i wanted to buy for friends,
if i only had more money.


along the way, lang helped me find this camera.
it's film. and it was made in germany.
and only 30 euro, which is nothing here.
since being on this trip,
i've rediscovered my love for film.
i can't wait to get home and have some fun with it.
after the market, we all went out for lunch.
i ordered a vegetarian pizza,
with zucchini, pine nuts, olive oil and all kinds of cheeses.
i don't think italy is capable of having bad food.
soon, we're leaving to meet some of andrea's friends for drinks and dinner.

tomorrow, we leave very early in the morning for the airport.
katie's flight leaves at 11ish.
but, mine won't leave until 9 pm, so i guess i'm going to have tons of time to get some reading in.

see you tomorrow night, ireland.

day 26: another traveling day.

today we rode 4 different trains,
from lucerne, switzerland to pordenone, italy.
we left around 10 am and finally arrived around 7 pm.
thank goodness i can say that i'm done with that.
well, at least for a while.

when we arrived at pordenone,
a friend of lauren's aunt, andrea, picked us up
and brought us back to her house,
where we are staying for two nights.

she took us to an amazing italian restaurant.
the waiter was so sweet and friendly.
and he brought me ranch to go with my salad,
which apparently doesn't ever happen.

andrea bought us delicious drinks: spritz aperols.
and treated us to dessert: lemon sgroppinos.

tonight, we watched "hotel for dogs" with andrea's daughter, hannah.
hannah and i loved the movie
and couldn't stop laughing the whole time.

the days here in europe are starting to drag on
and the traveling has become exhausting,
but being able to stay in a home with two wonderful people,
who already feel like family has been amazing.
i am so thankful for them and their hospitality.

tomorrow, andrea is taking us to the market.
i can't wait. i love antiques.

day 25: the best one.

today, was definitely the best one yet.
we woke up early and caught a train to ballenberg, switzerland.
the train took us through the countryside.
it was breathtaking.
here's a few photos from the train.




ballenberg is a huge piece of land that was recreated to look like old switzerland.
there were farms.
animals.
fields.
gardens.
trees.
it was amazing.



after a while, we all took a break and bought some ice cream.
i climbed down into where the goats and rabbits were.
i guess i should have waited until i was done eating.

i've been taking a lot of photos with my polaroid land camera.
i wish i could share them all, because i enjoy it so much more than digital,
but i'll have to wait until i get home and i can scan them in.
here's the negative of a photo i shot today.
i always think the negatives look so cool,
but i haven't thought of anything to do with them.






tomorrow, we leave for italy.
i am already missing the countryside and mountain air.
maybe one day i can come back to this magical place.