Notre Dame vs. Navy: The American Invasion

In preparation for the BCS National Championship game tonight between Notre Dame and Alabama, I thought it was a good time to rewind to Notre Dame's very first game of the season. This, of course, took place in none other than Dublin, Ireland! Perhaps it was the Luck of the Irish that led them to victory in that game and the title of the only undefeated football team this year (aside from the ineligible yet perfect Buckeyes... Urban Meyer, what!?).

Despite what tonight's championship brings, Notre Dame's first game brought our first visitors and made for a fun weekend. Fun, but also overwhelming! It was estimated that some 35,000 Americans descended upon Dublin for the Emerald Isle Classic, hence my referral to it as the "invasion." After living in Ireland for a bit, my senses went into overdrive from the ubiquitous sounds of boisterous American voices and sights of ball caps, tennis shoes, logoed polo shirts and lanyards. It was nuts having that many Americans here in Dublin!

We braved the tourist-ridden Temple Bar area, which we rarely visit as it is, 2 days in a row to meet friends for a night out and the pre-game Tailgate Party. As you see above, the streets were crowded as far as the eye could reach in every direction. Like I said, it was quite overwhelming, but we made it through the masses to a rooftop bar, where we planted ourselves to watch the game and enjoyed an uncharacteristically beautiful day.

Even though the city was packed and I was asked every day for weeks if I was visiting for the game, it was a blast. It's always great to show friends your city, and get a little reenergizing boost from home. It seemed like all the visitors had a great time in Ireland and it was a successful event for The Gathering, an Irish tourism initiative encouraging people with Irish ancestry to visit the country (the weekend was rumored to have brought in ~ €100 million!).

We won't be able to watch the game tonight since it starts at 1:00 AM for us, but best of luck to the Fighting Irish! We're rooting for you from across the pond!

Home for Christmas

I'm dreaming tonight, of a place I love, even more than I usually do

And although I know it's a long road back, I promise you...

I'll be home for Christmas!

I kept listening to this song in the days before our trip home and the lyrics took on a new meaning for me this year. It's written from the perspective of an overseas WWII soldier, so our situation is clearly incomparable, but I can certainly relate to the feeling of longing to be with friends and family for the holidays now more than ever.

Our trip home was short-lived and logistically chaotic, but well worth it. In one week...

We landed in Chicago on the 22nd and spent the night with friends

Left the next morning to drive to Cincinnati and stay a few days

Drove to up to Cleveland on Christmas morning

Flew to Chicago on the 28th and stayed one more night

 (B drove back home to Cincy and drove back to Chi town with his family)

Flew back to Dublin on the 29th

Talk about a whirlwind!

Best airport greeting EVER! 2 of B's sisters, dressed up as Xmas trees (with working lights and all), surprising us at O'Hare Airport 

During our lightening-speed midwest tour, we saw lots of friends and family and even managed to squeeze in a little wedding planning. To anyone I didn't have a chance to see, I apologize and hope to do it next time (since next time will likely be our wedding!). Family always comes first, so I was extremely happy that I was able to see all of my family, even if it wasn't all at the same time!

Christmas Day 2011 when we were all together - missed you this year, Captain Billy!

As an added bonus, we got to see the first big snow of the year (without it affecting our travel!) and celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple :) It wasn't your typical relaxed time off, but it was a fantastic trip. Big thanks to everyone who made time for us and arranged their schedules around our limited time home... it means the world to us!

I miss everyone already, but I'm glad we had safe and smooth travels back to Dublin. We're excited to ring in the New Year with friends and welcome the start of what promises to be another crazy year!

Christmas is all around... London

Even though I still have many trips to cover, I'm going to jump out of order here and talk about our recent trip to London. We visited for the first time -- well, my first time (B has been there a few times for work) -- a month prior, but I'll lead off with this trip because a lot of our time was spent at Christmas markets (my new obsession!). As Christmas is a week from today, these holiday posts have a diminishing shelf life!

If you're wondering, the reason we took 2 trips to London 4 weeks apart was to see friends. My old boss from the States was traveling there for a wedding and we planned to meet up. Also, London is just a fabulous city and it's a quick flight for us, so it's easy to do a weekend trip! 

We left on a Saturday and returned on Monday morning and had plenty of time. Sightseeing was out of the way from the previous visit, so we could slow down and enjoy the city, holiday festivities, and company of good friends.

Hyde Park

On Saturday afternoon, we missed a matinee showing of Wicked that we had planned on attending, but that simply meant we had more time to enjoy the afternoon before an early sunset. These hours were devoted to strolling through Hyde Park and sipping on Glühwein (German mulled wine) at the Winter Wonderland Festival.

Let me say, London knows how to do holiday decorations! The "Winter Wonderland" was like a typical carnival, times 10! There were lights everywhere, endless coasters/rides/funhouses, diverse food huts, drink stands and full fledged bars/clubs, live bands, etc. A favorite discovery of ours was a "Merry-go-Round for adults": an open-air bar, with a rotating carousel in the middle (with a bar in the middle of it too!). Brilliant. 

After our wondrous winter adventure, we met up with my friend and his wife for some drinks and quality catch-up time. I was so happy to see a friendly face from Chicago, in London of all places! The next morning, we reconvened and, with coffee and croissant in hand, walked around the beautifully decorated neighborhood of Covent Garden.

When our friends departed for the rest of their European excursion, we Tubed it over to Xmas market #2, the Cologne Market at the Southbank Centre. It's situated along the Thames, so market-goers can simultaneously devour their bratwurst and spiked hot chocolate, browse artisan "whosits and whatsits galore," and enjoy views of the London Eye and Big Ben across the river. So pretty at night!

Between friends and festivities, the weekend definitely put me in a great mood. Being in London, I kept singing the lyrics from the Love Actually song: "I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes... Christmas is all around me, and so the feeling grows!" As I close this post, I'm listening to it yet again...

"So if you really love Christ-mas... C'mon and let it snow!"

Beakers & Babies

A week from tomorrow, we head back to the states for the holidays. I can't believe it's that soon and I can't believe it'll be 5 months since we were home last. Our upcoming trip would probably have been our first, had it not been for a good friend's wedding this summer. It's a long trip home, but we're glad to make it for our loved ones. So, in preparation for our approaching travels, I thought I'd share a bit from our previous trip. 

My time home in July made me feel like a grownup, featuring Beakers and Babies... not to be confused with beaker babies or test tube babies. Our good friends, Sarah and Craig, dubbed "The Beakers" years before they made it official, got married in Ohio (actually in/near Dublin, Ohio, which was pretty coincidental). I was thrilled to be standing beside my college girls, synchronously crying, watching our good friend take her vows!

So lovely, right? It was great to be back home and share in the happiest day of their lives... Which brings me to babies. Nope, no babies for the Beakers yet (for anyone who was confused at the title haha)! 

Another dear friend, whom I've known since first grade (coincidentally another Sarah), had her first baby! She and her husband, Shaun, welcomed a baby boy the same day that my other friend got married. Big day for the Sarahs! 

As I'm rarely home, I had joked with her about working her birthing schedule around my visit. I tried to persuade her to put extra jalapeños on her burger when we went out to eat, strongly encouraged different oils, long walks and well, other things, ha. Luckily, none of that was necessary and she had her baby a week or two before her due date! I'm convinced the precious little guy was listening to me :)

So, even though I'm far away most of the time, I was lucky enough to be there for these important firsts... the first wedding of my college friends, the first baby of my friends from home. I'm not sure when we became these grownups, but I have to say I kind of like it! 

These joyous occasions, paired with much needed family time (including wedding dress shopping with my Mom, yay!), made for such a great trip! I'm so looking forward to being back with friends and family again soon. Now, who wants to get married or have a baby this time I'm home? Think about it.

Roma!

As I said in my post about our Venice trip, I've always been dying to go to Italy. Well, I got my wish in back-to-back weekend trips to Venice and Rome. One week after our bank holiday in Venice, we flew back to Italy to meet up with a Chicago friend at the end of her 10 day Italian adventure. It was the best of both worlds: sightseeing together during the day, and meeting up with friends for dinners and drinks at night.

After a little hiccup the first day -- the hotel didn't have our reservation and had to book us at a "sister" hotel farther away from where we wanted to be -- we got settled and took off to see the sites. 

We strolled over to Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. St. Peter's Basilica is one of the largest churches in the world, has a spectacular interior, and contains tombs, relics, and Michelangelo's La Pieta statue. The museum is gigantic and holds classical sculptures and Renaissance masterpieces. As for the Sistine Chapel... breathtaking!

Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures inside and I, perhaps foolishly, obeyed and didn't sneak any. The pictures below are from the ornate hallway leading up to the Sistine Chapel and are just a taste of the extraordinary detail and beauty displayed inside. 

After spending about a half day in The Vatican, we wandered back toward our hotel, stopping at other sites along the way, i.e. Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori.

Fun fact: apparently 3,000 euros are thrown into Fontana di Trevi each day. So I guess that means I need to go camp out by the fountain and start stealing people's wishes!

Trevi Fountain

Piazza Navona

Following a long day of sightseeing, we freshened up and walked the few minutes to Piazza di Spagna, where we shared little bottles of wine on the Spanish Steps and watched the sun go down. Here we also met up with B's work friend from Chicago and had dinner at a nearby restaurant into the late hours of the night.

Gina!

Top of the Spanish Steps

It was a great start to the trip! Since there is so much to see and do in Rome, Part 2 is coming soon...