Ireland. Netherlands. France. Italy. Spain. Portugal.
Matt & Britt backpacked Western Europe and posted along the way to keep in touch with those at home. Enjoy!
"The American dollar is strong" "If there's a time to travel to Europe - it's now!" "10 reasons you need to travel Europe... now"
Day 1 - Galway, IrelandWe arrived in Dublin around 8:00 AM local time with only a couple hours of sleep. Jazzed by the fact that we're in Ireland (!!!), we pick up our rental car. Matt's left-handed manual skills on the left side of the road are impressive. We stopped at a local (and seemingly popular) creperie in Dublin for a bite to eat and some caffeinated beverages. Then off to Galway we went! A brown sign on the side of the highway read "somethingsomething distillery" and we hopped off the next exit at the old Kilbeggan whiskey distillery for a tour and tasting. After arriving in Galway, we checked in and headed back out. This time, for some freshly-caught local seafood from a restaurant over 110 years old - needless to say it was worth the brisk walk. Ireland is much cooler than either of us had expected, but nothing a few layers can't fix. We ended the night exhausted from a lack of sleep (and a few pops) by checking out some authentic Irish music in two nearby bars.
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After falling asleep before 8 the night before (thank you, jet-lag), we woke up around 7 that morning. Keeping our priorities in
Late wake-up in Limerick today. We were up and checked out in 15 minutes flat. Matt noticed a "milk market" on Limerick's city
A day of traveling. Today's alarm awoke us around 4:15AM. By 4:37, we had packed, grabbed tea and coffee, checked out,
Amster-daaaayummm! Amsterdam is a lovely city. Bikes outnumber cars, coffee shops outnumber cafes and virtually
If you thought New England's weather was fickle and crappy at times - move here. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful - cool
Woke up in Volendam at around 8:45. Matt took a walk and brought back pastries and coffee while I slept in a bit and showered... such a sweetheart (:. We then checked out and headed into town for some mini Dutch pancakes and to hop on the ferry to the once-"island" of Marken. We sat on the top level for the half-hour ferry ride. It was beautiful and super windy, but between the views and the company it was very enjoyable. The island is very small. Up until 1959, the mainland had no access besides through ferry. But that year, they built a road to connect the island of Marken with Volendam. After we got back to the main land, we caught the bus back to Amsterdam for our last full day in the city. We checked in and headed out for a canal tour. It took us through a few of the 1,200 canal bridges that span the city. The canals are also home to more than 2,500 boat houses throughout Amsterdam. Some amazing, authentic Tibet food was our dinner and we snagged some pastries nighttime snacking and the next day's train ride.
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Goodbye, Amsterdam! Hello, Paris! After a three hour train ride we made it to Gard Norde station in Paris. Arriving was a little
Things you should know: 1) not knowing French while visiting France sucks and will make you feel extremely ignorant. Matt and I
These were traveling days. In the morning of Day 10, we grabbed snacks for our 7-hour train ride to Ventimiglia while in Paris
We checked in to the hotel only a few blocks from the train station and settled in. Unlike the other locations, we're booked for
Our day started with a complimentary breakfast located under a beautiful outdoor terrace. We soon took off for something
Woke up in Rome around 7:30/8 to revisit a pastry shop we passed the night before. We grabbed quite a few snacks and some
Started our morning with a brief walk to the hotel's 3rd floor terrace and a complimentary breakfast. Soon we were off to the
Woke up in Nice and quickly packed our things. Per routine of anyone's morning, we headed out in search of snacks and coffee.
We started our day a little later than normal (I blame the free shots from La Roda). Seeing as though the train station did not,
Before our train to Madrid, Matt and I walked the area for some pastries, coffee and fresh fruit. Our ride to Madrid was comfor-
We placed our bags in the hotel's storage and made our way to El Rastro, a huge flea market known go locals. It takes place
The sleeper train to Portugal was... interesting... to say the least. I advise anyone of following criteria to avoid this option if
Our last full day in Europe... weird to think about. However, we're treating it like any other day. So we took off for what we
Today, we leave for the States. As cliche as the feelings may be, its truly bittersweet. We loved Europe and loved having this