Dublin Trip

On May 27th my sister and I went off to Dublin Ireland. I've been once before, during their lovely rain storm in October of 2011, but lucky for us, the weather was perfect.

DAY 1: ARRIVE AND BEER

To start our trip we flew with Norwegian Air, which was great since they had wifi on board.

Once we landed we took bus 747 to Gardiner Street Lower, which was where our hotel was.
We stayed at Abbot Lodge Guesthouse. The location was perfect! Down the street from the busy O'Connell Street and the perfect shopping strip, Henry Street. We were also a nice 10 min walk to Fleet Street. A bonus was the tour we booked starts it's pick up 10 mins away on Abbey Street. More on the tour later. 

My Review of Abbot Lodge Guesthouse


Guinness Store House  was one of the places on my list to see. Last visit to Dublin I didn't take the tour, so this was a definetly TO DO! Spent a good 4 hours roaming around from floor to floor, looking at all they shared. 

I didn't expect to be a self guided tour, to be honest I didn't know much about what to expect from the tour. I had enjoyed the tour and seeing the history of Guinness and how they operate their product. 
  

Plus the tasting room and a free pint while enjoying the panoramic view of Dublin. 

DAY 2: TOUR BUS DAY

To spend the only FULL day we had in Dublin, we booked a day trip via Collins Day Tour. For a 30 euro adult ticket we toured Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny City. I really
recommend this tour group, our guide is from the area and she shared so much interesting facts about the history and some famous people that live in the area of Wicklow. 

Along the way to the places was the Irish countryside, rolling green hills with sheep, it was beautiful, also rocks, lots of rocks. 

It's an Irish tale, if your fingers can touch while hugging a cross,
 you'll be married in the year. I'll have to Google this.  

DAY 3: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

After visiting Dublin, we had a layover in Copenhagen. From the airport my sister and I went out for an adventure. Once we left we both realized we do not speak the language. Danish is more like Swedish, so we were just lost, however the people there do speak English.

Our goal was to find the mermaid, so we walked along the marina and took our picture. We stumbled upon Amalienborg and watched the guards change, but honestly we were clueless of the place until we Googled later. 

But the next best part... the restaurant we had a late lunch at. So good. We went to Havfruen. I had the fish of the day and my sister had the steak. 

Then it was back to the airport and say good bye to our adventurous 3 days. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Any questions? Leave a comment :) 

Thanks for reading!

Graduation

Wow! 3 years and 11 months went by and look I finally graduated!

Monday June 9th I officially graduated from my University in Finland. I finished my thesis back in April and the wait is over!

What's next? I don't know. All I know is that I'm going to enjoy my freedom before I make anymore big decisions. 

Living in Finland has taught me a lot and comparing both US and Finland, both places have their own special something, though my life has been much easier in Finland. 

Graduation Present:  Kalevala Necklace

Living here, I see how easy it is to travel to neighboring countries and having the urge to live in one of them. Maybe my future lays in the UK, Spain, Netherlands or even Finland. Why not? What I thought my life would be like after graduating, it has changed, and now I know not expect things to stay as they are. 

Let the job search begin and summer to start! 

Thanks for reading! 

Half Marathon Experience: Helsinki City Run

I DID IT! I finally ran my half marathon that I was training for these past couple months!

May 10th I ran in the Helsinki City Run and finished! It's been my goal to run in a half marathon and I'm glad I got to check it of my to-do list.

That's 21km, 13 miles, and my time... 2:07:56. :)

Looking back during my training I got hurt a couple times, sat out 2 weeks and had a slow recovery training before the big day. What helped me through it was the satisfaction I would get once I crossed the finished line.

My savor was Tiger Balm , Ibuprofen and Zip Fizz Energy Drink. ( I wrote about Zip Fizz HERE)

I'm normally a long distance runner, so 21km wasn't bad, but my knees start to hurt around 15km mark, which is painful, but manageable.

My after race dinner at Chicos... mmmmm... so worth it :)

Now I can't wait for the next one, I think I found my new hobby. I normally run alone for exercise, so why not be social and... run alone with people? There is some logic there. :)

Anyway....

Thanks for reading!