Actions, Reflections, Predictions, and other things ending in -tions

Well....I am back.....

Let's Rewind.

So I have not posted in a long while, because well...I have been very busy. For four weeks after my Euro-trip, I resided in the city of Lyon, France. I was there attempting to expand ma vocabulaire francaise. While I slightly succeeded in improving upon my foreign language skills, most of the time I spent reflecting upon my last 7 months abroad, and figuring out what matters most in life. For all the other girls (17!!) I was in France with, it was just the beginning of their abroad adventure. But for me, it was my last hurrah.

In truth, I was all partied out. I was sick of the mind-numbing euro-techno always playing at bars and clubs. I was not phased by the weird cultural differences that the other american girls seemed to notice. I was annoyed, not even offended, when a disgusting street man would grab at me or make lewd remarks. I was even just relying on my survival instincts when some drunk man pointed who-knows-what at me and my friends on the street.

In short, I was exhausted.

All that aside, France was a wonderful experience. I met some wonderful people while in Lyon (and now have friends in Germany, Australia, China and Taiwan....and West Virginia...which I also believe is a different country). I found much time for myself, and also marveled at the beautiful things France had to offer (The basilica in Lyon very well could be the most amazing structure on earth).

After Lyon, we had a wild week in Paris, which to me went by in the blink of an eye.

And then...that was it.

I got on a BO filled plane..and went back to the United States of America. I sat next to a Dutch Family, behind a Turkish Family, across from some French and in front of my American counterparts, and I thought...ya this seems right.

I got off the plane, and saw my amazing boyfriend waiting there for me (God his hair got long!). We embraced, gazed into each others eyes after what seemed like a lifetime apart, and I whispered ever so gently in his ear, "I reek of BO...I gotta go to the bathroom"

We made our way immediately down to Cape Cod, where part of the Gallagher Clan was residing. I saw Mom and Mary, and after spending a relaxing weekend on the beach, I saw Dad, Frankie and Danny. I didn't see my car...I was then informed that my family had crashed it in my absence...no surprise there.

So I went from living this exciting, jet-setting adventurous life...to living at home with my parents, with no car, no job, and loan payments piling up. Woot!

But if there is one thing I learned from all these travels, its to appreciate the things you have. When I heard Danny crashed my car, I was of course upset, but I was also just happy he was OK. The Annie from over a year ago wouldn't have been so quick to think that way. When I got home and looked in my closet, I realized I had so much stuff I just didn't need. The Annie from over a year ago would have thought I needed to go shopping for something new. When I come home, I know I have a place to stay and food to eat, and family and friends who care about me...the Annie from over a year ago would have immediately been looking to move away again.

Don't get me wrong, I am still the exact same person. Not a whole lot has changed, except some outlooks on life. And now, life begins. I am actually going to be a real person. I am done for a while with classes, and grades, and other social college nonsense.

So I am going to do what I do best and make it all work...but I will definitely be keeping you posted!

And if you know if anyone is hiring.......

Peace

G

England: A journey to find a hostel

So the bus ride from Dublin to London was...interesting...

We boarded the bus, and couldn't help but smell the fact that we would be sharing this experience with a few, large, creepy (Roma?) men. Mary and I sat together, Mackenzie alone, and behind her a girl who seemed around our age. The girl was sitting peacefully alone, when the largest and grossest of the men plops down next to her. I thought back to my nights on public transportation, or the days of riding the Fung Wah, and understanding the severe torture this girl would be suffering had we not intervened.

"Mackenzie....Save her!!"

So Mackenzie invited Jamie to sit next to her, a charming young woman from Ireland, and thus the first act against the Creeps was performed. Before we boarded the ferry, the bus driver specified that we would all have same seats upon reboarding...an idea that we will later find out is harder to accomplish than one would think.

So after the ferry ride, and watching "My life in Ruins" ...twice...we went to go back on the bus. My seat had been taken, which is not a big deal, as there was plenty of extra room on said bus anyways. So I sat in a row with space available right in front of us...no problem right? WRONG

So the Creeps get on and start pointing in my face and saying "no no no same seats" in horrendously broken english. Now, anyone who knows me will understand that the one thing I hate more than men talking to women as if they are inferior is when someone points in my face. So after discussing some choice words with him and pointing out how ridiculous he was for there were two open seats directly in front of us, he finally sat down...only to recline his seat all the way back directtly into my lap. Obviously, I was not happy...

I ended up moving seats and telling everyone to watch their stuff because who knows what those disgusting creeps were capable of. We got off at customs, and of course, upon reentering the bus they were sitting in our seats and laughing like 7th graders...

It was at this point, our boston came out.

Mackenzie became to loudly point out that they had a horrendous odor, and no one wanted to sit next to them anyway. At this point, we rallied the bus to take out perfumes, sprays, and any nicely scented oils to spray at them to try and mask their odor. I continued to point out how absurd and disgusting they were, as they tried to beg my forgiveness.

And that was the day, the creeps learned...don't mess with Mass.

We finally arrived in London, and desperately searched for an available hostel....of course...to no avail. We got some internet and some breakfast at a bar, where we discovered a hostel with availability near Fulham Broadway. Booked and done....we were on our way.

We walked up to the Hostel with a look of dismay...it appeared completely shut down. Upon further inspection we realized that no, it was not shut down, it was merely the shadiest place we would ever agree to spend the night. You had to enter behind a bar, the beds were not made, there were flies everywhere, broken toilets and no shower curtains....but hey...it was only 10 pounds a night.

Luckily everyone there was super nice. We wandered around London, being touristy and checking out all the ridiculous attractions. London is a great city, and it was the perfect place for us to end our journey. We got a chance to meet up with Jamie again and she took us around, showing us the sights (including platform 9 3/4s (mackenzies dream) and Abbey road (me and Mary's dream)).

We had a wild night dancing with some equally crazy brits at a club up the street, and the next day (at 2 in the morning) it was time to go. We boarded a shuttle in the dead of night to bring us to Luton airport, which appeared to be the setting of the next Stephen King novel. People were passed out everywhere, waiting for the Langoliers to come and eat them up- pacman style. We got on the plane, this time without being under the influence of any mind- altering substance, and made our way back to Paris.

We chilled out, relaxed, and then I brought mary to the airport, where, after yet another lost bag bomb scare, we said our tearful goodbyes.

The next day Mackenzie and I boarded yet another plane, this one to Lyon, for my last Northeastern Hurrah, a programe to learn french, and experience a whole new ridiculous world.

Ireland: I'm just trying to get you guys to think a little bit...

Board the Bus to Dublin....woot!

arrival, Isaacs hostel, south africans...Awesome

In truth, Dublin was like one big long day. We made friends with so many friendly Irish people that I don't even know how to begin. Maybe it was when we were singled out by the band, maybe it was when we drank with a few 70 year old ladies, maybe it was when we lied to everyone we met about our ethnicity, livelihood, past, present and future, or maybe it was when we kept making mary fall in love, but Dublin was wild.

I think it all really revolved around 2 guys.....who are only known as Jedward. Jedward, apparently, are two guys who were on the X factor (the UK idol equivalent) who are two obnoxious teen twins with bad hair and voices to match. However, apparently Jedward mania had struck Ireland and died out just before we arrived, and we caught the dollar store discount knockoffs of such an obsession. 5 dollar "I heart Jedward" t-shirts became our new fashion trend. We went bar to bar, meeting people who appreciated our love of Jedward.

One day we decided to break free of Dublin and check out the surrounding areas. We went on a poorly led, but ironically hilarious tour, which resulted in a castle tour and a scenic overlook that could make you swear a leprechaun was about to pop out from behind the trees.

Dublin was wild, and I don't know if the blog could accurately capture the ridiculousness of it all...so instead, we got on a bus...then a ferry...then another bus to get to London....

And madness ensued....

Northern Ireland: A Failed Journey to Filthy McNasty's

Mary-"Annie, is the plane moving?"
Me- "Yes....but upon further inspection.... no."

Belfast

is

My Favorite Place on Earth

We got off the plane in a haze, and next thing we know we are on the streets of Belfast looking for a hostel. Maybe it was the muffins, or the fact that Belfast looks like a Bizarro Boston, but we had no idea how to get anywhere. We must have appeared obviously confused, for luckily some woman stopped and asked us if we were lost. Upon telling her our destination she advised us to get a cab and pointed us in the right direction...however she then said that we should save cab money and give us a ride. She was so sweet and motherly, that we jumped into her little car and she drove us, on the other side of the street, to our destination.

We got to the hostel with one thing and one thing only on our minds. Food. We managed to wander out of the hostel and find a Restaurant called Darcy's Bistro (The next day we will realize Darcy's is BRIGHT pink...which could have been a key factor in our dining decision). We ended up ordering and spending what seemed like an eternity just staring at each other, as the couple next to us looked as us like we were so crazy.

Finally the food comes, and we awkwardly dig in. We proceed to feast like kings, not paying attention to anything but what is on our plates. At one point, I come up for air when I see Mary sitting across from me. She has a plate that formerly held raviolis on the table in front of her and is holding a salad to her mouth and literally shoving salad into her mouth.

"Mary...Mary!"
"What?"
"Put...the..salad...down"

We had hit an all time low.

The next day we woke up early to get on a bus to go visit the natural wonder of the Giant's Causeway. Giant's causeway is a volcanic rock formation...that totally rocks!! (get it?) We were obviously obnoxious during the trip, and ended up befriending some fellow American Travelers from Iowa!! They were really sweet and we ended up making plans to meet up with them later to go to a bar....

Filthy McNasty's

We had heard the name and knew it was where we needed to be. So after witnessing two fights (which is a strange Irish phenomenon. We saw quite a few street fights in our time and all of them followed a similar format: Yell, Cuss, Take of your shirt, hit the other person a couple times, then walk away cussing...shirt still off....and refuse to put your shirt on for the rest of the day), we met up with the girls and asked some taxi drivers to take us to a nice irish bar to start our night.

At Fibber Mcgees, there were naughty nuns, a frat bar crawl, a man in a female lifeguard suit, cowboys, and an assortment of old creepy men for our amusement. Andrew and Billy became our quick friends, regardless of the fact that we couldnt understand a single thing they were saying (ask mary for the impression..its spot on). Andrew kept insisting (we think) that we had to see the band that was playing. So sure enough the band came on and played an assortment of songs that I could only relate to the music played when Rose went to hang out with Jack in the bottom of the Titanic. After dancing like crazy people there, we decided it was time for some McNasty's.

As we walked down the street, we ran into some people and asked where the classy establishment was. We were answered by two gay men and one 20 something, both pointing us in different direction. This quickly became a battle of trust, and after bombarding them with questions, we took the advice of the 20 something...Sean...and went with him to the wild party at Whites Tavern. We walked with him, picking up Tom from a windowsill along the way, and proceeded to show people from Belfast how to REALLY break it down. We stunned the party with our awesome american dance moves, and stunned the girls from Iowa with our ability to break it down and bring the party.

All around, a great experience, and the bar was set pretty high for Dublin!

The Netherlands: A journey to get some Space Cakes

There we were, standing in the Gare du Nord in Paris, watching our train to the Netherlands pull away from the platform 10 minutes early.

We stood there, with the other passengers who missed the train, as well as some of the staff, in disbelief as we watched the choochoo go on by.

What's even stranger.....We thought that would be the weirdest part of our day.

So we went to the ticket counter, and told them the train left early and we couldn't get on. We managed to Debbie down the clerk to comp our later tickets, and so we had a couple hours to kill in the train station as we awaited our next train.

So

We slept.

On the dirty grungy floor we took comfort. Even the homeless people were looking at us strangely as we sprawled out and waited. For about 2 hours we slept like stray dogs on the concrete...when all of a sudden, we were awakened by a bunch of seemingly unconcerned police men trying to clear everyone out of our area. We all stood around confused for a few moments until we heard an explosion...then saw everyone running. In my panicked state, all I could think of is "If me and mary get blown up on our first full day together my mom is going to be so mad at me." Yet, upon further inspection we noticed that everyone was merely running back to their original seats. Obviously, I was befuddled.

I approached a police officer, who was smoking a pipe, and asked what happened. He explained to me the protocol when a bag is found left in the station, how they blow it up. No big thang....

Finally we got on the train.

We got off in Rotterdam to be greeted by two of our favorite Hollanders...Sander and Rozie!!! We had met them in Turkey and were pumped to spend some time with them on their home turf!!! Rozie had made us a delicious dinner, and we spent the night with some celebrity gossip and rotterdam partying!!! it was awesome!

the next day we awoke to go out with our wonderfully tall and fantastic tour guide Sander. We explored Delft, Leiden and Amsterdam with him, and it was so awesome. Seriously, I want to live in Leiden now!

Of course Amsterdam was ridiculous. We walked through the red light district, and even got a complimentary butt-slap by one of the prostitutes. We went to Anne Franks house, which was a really cool experience.....but we only had a few hours left before we caught a plane to Belfast, so we decided to stop in a nice dutch coffee shop and by some pastries that would..ahem..relax our taste buds...

We said goodbye to Sander :(, and boarded our plane to the next destination...Belfast...

Recap: Eurotrip

So, in the past 5 weeks.....a lot of things happened. I considered writing one giant blog, but then i thought again about it, and decided to break things up a bit. So, the following posts will detail some of the rediculous events that occured during Eurotrip 2010.

Paris- Back to the Modern World

See ya Turkey!!!

So Mackenzie and I embarked upon our first mission...getting the hell out of dodge...and by Dodge I mean Ankara. This was no easy task, because 2 girls living in a place for 6 months accrue alot of interest..ing things. So after arguing with a Taxi man to take us to the bus station and leaving a guitar in the middle of ASTI...we managed to get on our plane on route to the modern world.

Touch Down in Paris.

we managed to get all of our stuff to Mackenzie's cousin's place, which was awesome. We spent the night getting used to paris, and then passing out.

In the morning we woke up early to pick up Mary from the airport. We had a fantastic day walking around the city and ended up meeting up with Marion, our old french-exchange student, and decided to go wild for the Fete de la Musique that was going on!!

And that's when we ended up in Saint Michel, in a bar near La Fountaine. We passed by the naked people jumping into the fountain, only to get drinks at the Hooters for Women,which was a bar where closeted gay men pretended to be straight and bartend in only their speedos....please...no straight guy has abs THAT nice.

We spent the night at Marion's house, and woke up the next day, Mackenzie Mary and Myself...to embark upon one of the greatest adventures of our lives...mission Eurotrip.