Once again I missed posting by a week but in my defense, I didn't have time to post. My past two weeks have been filled with travel both international and within Finland. After my last post, I went to class then I got on a train to Helsinki airport for an early morning flight to Dublin. Ireland and Dublin were absolutely AMAZING!!! I have never loved a country, city, or people like I loved Ireland and Dublin. My first day there was very low key because I had homework to do before my friend's flight arrived the following day. I ended up just going to the National Museum of Archeology and the National Museum of Natural History. They were both super interesting and free. The next morning I woke up super early to go back to the airport to get my friend who flew from Knoxville to visit. That day was all about the Guinness Storehouse which is such a cool experience and you get to pour your own pint! To my surprise, I actually really liked Guinness even though I'm not a beer person and I finished my pint, unlike my friend. We also visited Dublin Castle, Trinity College (Book of Kells), and St. Patrick's Cathedral. The next day had two big events Kilmainham Gaol and the Jameson Distillery. Thanks to me waking up early we got tickets to the gaol which is an old prison in Dublin that housed many political prisoners during the rebellion. Jameson made me realize that I really don't like whiskey or scotch...however, ginger ale, Jameson, and lime is fantastic. I also outdrank my friend at Jameson. That night we ate fish and chips before heading to a pub for some Irish music and dancing. The next day we returned to St. Patrick's because when we first went there was a graduation so we couldn't go inside. It is an absolutely stunning cathedral with beautiful stained glass. Then we walked to Dublinia which is all about Vikings and medieval Dublin. Vikings actually founded the city of Dublin and the museum was pretty cool and interactive. That night we went to the famous Temple Bar which was packed and is mainly a tourist bar but you have to go if you're in Dublin. The next day was a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. The Cliffs were breathtaking and so much fun to hike! Galway is a fun little city where time flies. The day trip was an amazing way to end the entire adventure because the next day we were off to the airport for me to go back to Finland and she went back to TN.
Once I got back from Dublin I had one day of class then I was off again seeing more of Finland with two former MC exchange students Lilli and Ella. We went to Porvoo and Helsinki. Porvoo is such a cute town with an adorable old town. This was my second time in Helsinki so there wasn't much to see that I hadn't already seen because you can really see any Finnish city in one day. We did go to this place called prison island which was like an escape room and was really fun! It was good to see them again after first meeting back home at MC.