So I have not been blogging the past few weeks and I am very sorry for that... but it was for good reason. I have been flying in and out of Dublin on the weekends to various locations and even took a bus trip up to Northern Ireland with the whole Champlain crew. My travel bug is definitely being treated with so many new sites and landmarks and lifetime to do list check off's.

It all started three weekends ago when we headed to Bruges and Brussels for a girls weekend away and a romantic valentines day with lots and lots of delicious waffles. After arriving at the airport we caught the train into Bruges but it was a little confusing with two different languages and a transfer. We caught the conductor's attention when we accidently sat in first class and then we were told that we had missed our transfer. We hopped off at the next station and danced around at a deserted train stop waiting for the next train to take us back to our transfer station. Once that was all sorted off we were off to Bruges with beautiful countryside and trees that looked straight out of a Harry Potter movie. On the way back we even caught a glimpse of a windmill! Once in Bruges we were mesmerized by the cobblestone streets and old brick buildings. This little medieval town was winding with canals, small shops, and restaurants.

We rushed to our Bed and Breakfast (which we got at the price of a hostel), and met up with the owner who let us in. We were a little shocked when she started speaking Spanish to us. Cassie and I turned to Lindsay, who took Spanish in high school, but we were all confused as to what she was telling us. We continued to nod our heads and smile and eventually settled in our room with private bathroom, half kitchen, and dining area. We spent the next two days wandering around Bruges and exploring the most beautiful town I have ever seen.

On Valentines day we headed back into Brussels for a day's worth of sites and a romantic dinner for three. After seeing the peeing boy and the peeing girl, grand place and much more we settled in at our hostel for a game of gin rummy. That night we slept in a long room lined with bunk beds holding 14 people, 11 of them complete strangers including a boy from Brazil who was studying in London and had perfected his English by watching episodes of Friends. The next morning we caught a very early flight back to Dublin after we somehow made it through to mob of people checking out and caught a train to the airport.

Usually, after a trip like that, you'd want to rest and recover so that is what we did. The next weekend was spent enjoying Dublin and taking time to walk down Grafton and go out to O'Brien's for a pint with the locals, but then it was time to gear up again. After celebrating my 21st birthday on Friday I headed to the airport early Saturday morning to pick up my boyfriend, Sean. I was a bit starry eyed but I managed to retrieve him and get him back to the apartments with enough time to pack up and head out to Northern Ireland for the weekend. Almost all of the Champlain Dublin abroader's climbed onto a tour bus for a weekend of countryside, and history.

Our first stop was Belfast where we took a political tour of the city and had a chance to see the murals and the wall that still divides the city including the gates that continue to close every night. Later that day we headed off to our first castle stop and took a tour followed by a drive through the countryside on the way to our hostel where we crashed for the night.

To Be Continued... (I need to clean up after a weekend in Paris) and pictures to come later because I can only upload them at the academic center....