It has BEGUN!

Here I am everyone! First stop is Dublin. It took me all of 20 seconds to get lost after I found my hostel. Beautiful city. It's a nice cool and sunny day. I'm sitting in an internet cafe right outside of Trinity College. I've slept for only 5 hours but I'm having a blast!

For the record my dad was correct about everything so far. Yes the phone was a lot more necessary than I thought. Yes the hotel in Heathrow was a good idea. Although it cost me an arm and a leg. 175 pounds for one night! Although there were cheaper ones. The problem was that my flight to Dublin was at 6:45 so I had to pick an airport hotel whose shuttle had a short route. It limited my options. Still the sleep wasn't just nice, it was NECESSARY. I thought I would sleep on the plane, but this 7 foot tall overweight gentleman decided to sit behind me in a seat far to small for him. There were empty economy seats with more leg room, but they cost an extra $20. Apparently that was too much for him. Instead he threw a temper tantrum at the stewardess for bumping into him, the woman next to him for taking part of the arm rest, and me for trying to recline my seat. Meh, I should have guessed something like that would happen.

So far the 40 year old toddler has been the only hiccup. Everything else has been a blast! Just being back amongst English-ish culture makes me feel like I'm back in Brighton. Mix that with all the new sights and stuff to see in Dublin. I'm exhausted and excited and loving every minute of it! And I'm also rambling. So I'll finally get to the part you all probably care about. Activities.

I have a few hours before I can really crash in the hostel. So I'm gonna go get lost in Trinity College area, maybe part of the Temple Bar district. Then I'll go back, shower and get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow is the Guiness and Jameson tours, plus some more random wandering of Temple bar area. The following day I activate my train pass. I think I'm going to just spend the day riding the best of the nearby Irish rails. Then I'll come back to the hostel for some web chatting and flight arangements!

That's enough babbling for one day. I'll be sure to post again around Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks for all the well wishes everyone! OH and I'll try to post my calendar on the facebook group so that anyone who wants to join me will have an easier time. Remember FLYERTALK. It's a forum and a little hard to look through, but you cannot find better flight deals ANYWHERE.

You Always Forget to Pack Something

And I forget to pack everything. No matter how much planning ahead. Yesterday it was a padlock and plug adapters. Today it was bathing suit and benadryl. But for the 231st time... I am all packed and ready to go!

I also finished packing today for my buddy Eric's wedding which is tonight. Kristen and I are driving down in a few hours. Very very excited. Tomorrow is a full out family reunion. My grandma, Uncle Mark, and I believe Uncle Chris are all coming to visit with their families.

My plan is to stay up all night tomorrow so that I pass out on the plane ride to England on Sunday. I have an 8am flight to Heathrow, I get in at 7pm and then I have a 7am flight to Dublin. So I'd rather be asleep on planes and awake in airports than vice versa. It's going to be an exhausting couple of days. I can't WAIT! Expect more rambling tomorrow about how excited I am.

T-minus 9 Days

I have been just awful at posting updates. That's mostly because I am working non-stop on this trip and on the new house my family purchased. You see, the weekend I leave for this trip, I also have a wedding to go to in Maryland and a large family gathering. The wedding is for my buddy Eric from Elon. And the family gathering is my grandparents and my uncle and cousins are flying in from Italy. Not to mention my sister down from NYC. So there is a lot to do.

When I go to sleep after Eric's wedding, the night of the 18th, I will be staying up until I get on the plane at 8am sunday morning. I'm sleeping on the plane because I have to stay overnight in Heathrow to wait for my flight to Dublin. It's gonna be a rough couple of days. But very very exciting.

I'm starting to make a list of all the places in Europe I want to see with my 21 days. There isn't enough time, not by a long shot. It would take me a lifetime to see everything. One place I know I want to see is Stuttgart. Two or three expensive car companies, Legoland, and a short train ride from Bavaria and a dozen ancient castles. It's gonna be awesome!

Visa Visa Visa

This week has found me being pretty lazy. I gave my project defense Tuesday, and have tried to relax a little since then. I have most of my Vietnam visa setup. Picture taken, form filled out. Now I just have to get the certified check and send it in. Not too bad. The Chinese visa is worse, I have to go into New York City when I get home and spend the whole day getting that one. Hopefully that will be the only visas I need. Meh. A boring post but 58 days until I leave. Very excited!

Insurance, Flights, and Volcanoes

Unless you're living under a rock, I'm pretty sure you know all about the recent volcano eruption this week in Iceland. Apparently the planet Earth is breaking apart at the seams. We've had like 10 quakes in the past month over size 7. And now a nice blanket of ash for Europe. I'm just hoping it doesn't stop my trip dead in it's tracks. I've bought some level of insurance, but that's mostly for medical evacuation and so forth. It won't cover a major natural disaster like this. Sad face. I also bought my flight from Istanbul to Hanoi. A nice little 15 hour travel time. If we're lucky, I'll be going. Until next week everyone.

FINALLY Back Home

I'm home thank god. 1 hour of traffic in Baltimore. 1 hour of traffic in NJ at 11pm at night. 3 hours at Panera in Maryland finishing my midterm. What was my midterm? To write a C++ mp3 player with GUI for linux. Given to me at 3pm on Thursday, due at midnight Friday. !trivial. (For non-programmers, that translates to NOT trivial). BUT It's all over, and it is good to be home.

Today I have hiking shoes, backpack, and possibly computer shopping today. Have a great break everyone!

Valentines Day in NJ

I'm the worst blogger ever. I hope I get better when I'm traveling. Anyway, I'm on my way to NJ for a valentines weekend with Kristen! I haven't seen her since John Hopkins so I'm pretty excited! I'm actually in the plane, on my iPhone typing this. Sorry if there's any errors. Oh and as an update to the trip, Hawaii (or some other pacific island) is now officially on the table for my trip. Kristen and I will planning that more this weekend. I should go, the steward/stewardess just gave me an evil eye.... I really can't tell if it's a man or woman. Until next time!