Dublin

I ventured to Ireland about a week ago with Allison and my friend I met in Amsterdam, Ellea. There was a lot of food (steak and Guinness pie, shepherds pie, and countless potatoes), a lot of beer, and a lot of really amazing scenery. We took a free city walking tour, which I really wish we had in America. Basically natives of a city guide tourists around the city and tell them cool stories and you only pay them what you think they earned. It's a really cool concept.

My favorite part of the Ireland trip was our day excursion to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. The pictures don't even do it justice.

The Liffey!

Temple Bar District

Pouring a pint of Guinness at the factory! Guinness tastes much better in Ireland.

Pub crawlin'.

Sky to sea gradient.

Howth, Ireland.

Irish country side!

Daredevil. 

Queen's Day

I'm really awful at blogging in a timely fashion. I'm going to try to catch up tonight, so when you see like five new posts, that's why.

My friend Allison came to visit me for Queen's Day, which is basically a giant celebration where people wear orange (Holland's country color) and get really drunk in the streets and ride on boats. It's actually to celebrate the Birthday of Holland's previous Queen, but that's how people "celebrate." Prior to all of the Queen's Day shenanigans, we explored Amsterdam and I showed her my favorite spots. I finally took my picture with the I Amsterdam sign, which I actually wrote a paper about regarding Amsterdam's city marketing. Yes, we actually have to study in Amsterdam sometimes. We went to a cute little town called Zaans Schaans, which has the most windmills I've ever seen. We also visited the most gorgeous library I've ever been to. 

On Queen's Day we walked around and attempted to drink gross, warm Heineken. We ditched the Heineken halfway through the day and made some Dutch man very happy. The day after Queen's Day we saw a Train concert. I haven't really listened to them much, but it's Allison's favorite band so we went! It was a good time and the venue was an old church!

The picture is blurry, but Allison's pants are bright orange. And they matched the floor...

So crowded.

Probably my favorite bar in Amsterdam.

Before Train.

I'm in love with Amsterdam.

I'm really not enjoying the new Blogger layout, like everyone else (what the hell Google). I've had strep throat for the past four days and have pretty much only left my bed for grapes. Seriously. I am way behind on blogging and hopefully something good can come from this terrible illness. But on happier note, I find a new reason to love this city every day. A few weeks ago I went to the flea market with my friend Ellea in Noord. I'm used to seeing all of the same things in Springfield, MO, which has spoiled me on the flea market front. We have over fifteen at least. We had to take a cute, lil' ferry to get there and it was a beautiful day! I managed to only buy some pretty mid-century shot glasses and a set of tin canisters. I am now an international canister collector. I fell in love with an antique, wooden Heineken case, which would have made a beautiful shelving unit, but I don't think American Airlines will accept that as my "personal item."

After the flea market, we went to a brewery inside of a windmill! I got the sampler to make my papa proud and stole a couple coasters. I also spotted a Boulevard Pale Ale in the bar's giant collection of bottles. I was impressed.

Here's an update of my life in photos and instagrams!

Dreary, beautiful day outside of school.

There was a ferris wheel in Dam Square. This was the view. 

So many vintage chairs!

I think the concept of a Botel is awesome. 

I like white beers, I'm coming to find. 

It's Blitz!

Exploring Eastern London was my favorite part of the London trip. I always enjoy escaping the tourists and crowded city centers. We originally ventured to this part of town to see original Banksy graffiti, which we did. At first we thought we had stumbled into the ghetto a little bit, but then after further exploration, we concluded it's a hip part of town and they prefer things that way. Eastern London is kind of vintage heaven. I did not spend a dime, which I have no idea how I managed. The pound is a lot more than the dollar and the vintage was not too cheap, not like in good ole' Springfield, Missouri. There is a Lomography store there, which also has the cutest little developing area. I'm really proud I didn't buy anything, especially here. We also went to London's first vintage department store and I was completely smitten. After, we browsed through a shop with literally hundreds of gorgeous leather weekend bags, but I did not see a single Samsonite. This surprised me a little bit, but it's probably good because lord knows I have enough.

Banksy dog. 

So much cool street art.

Scarves!

They had an entire polka dot section.

Yes, these are all vintage Burberry trenchcoats. At £100 each though, it was pretty easy to turn down.

Photobooth fun, haha, I obviously was not prepared for the first shot. 

London

I met my future roommate, Allison, in Eindhoven to fly to London. We both had our first hostel experience and I'm so happy we were together. Our London shenanigans included: joking about being "panicked on the streets of London" when almost getting hit by traffic, seeing lots of museums (despite our lack of interest in museums), exploring markets, enjoying afternoon tea, eating Hummingbird Cupcakes, meeting one of my all time favorite actors, drinking beer in the coolest bar built in an old horse stable, going to Westminster Abbey for Easter Sunday service, and endless hours searching for "rubbish bins." It was a fabulous time, although I'll be staying in Amsterdam for a bit. London is pretty expensive.

The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum.

So much lace.

Steep escalators. And This Water lemonade, which I should probably start buying in bulk online or something.

Portobello market.

Fascinators!

Meeting Zach Braff after his play All New People. It was really good.

Pimm's and lemonade, a traditional English drink we were told.

Eastern London gets it's own post because it was that amazing, so stay tuned. 

You are a Tourist.

I'm becoming much more familiar with Amsterdam and at times it even feels like home. I received this city guide moleskin for Christmas. I am starting to work on it now and can't wait to have my very own guide to this amazing city. I've had several visitors this past week and I got to explore the city as a tourist again. Namely, I went to the Heineken Experience, which I hadn't found a good excuse to spend so much money on before then. Here are some pictures from my adventures with my friend Alex.

This man in an apron taught Alex how to ride a bike. 

Chipsy King!

It had to happen eventually...

My favorite part of the Heineken tour. Minus the free beer of course. 

I bought some gawdy, Dutch slippers!

Church by my house lit up blue for Ascension week.

Right outside my apartment building. I'm in love.

And I'll leave you with this.