Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Travelling Around Dublin
















Hello!

It's quite late here and I'm ready for bed. I thought I would give an update before I fall asleep. I had a slow start to my day but it turned out to be a great day.

I visited the Dublin Castle and got a guided tour around it. It was very beautiful and I liked learning about the history. (picture above) I also went to the Chester Beester Library and it was basically turned into a huge gallery of history, alot of which was religious. It was neat to read a lot of random information. haha

I also did some random walking and picture taking around Dublin. I got a quick chance to walk down the main shopping street in Dublin and of course the first shop I walk into is amazing. I broke down and bought a really cute top! ha

As for this evening...I had an absoulte blast. At the hostel they give free Irish Dancing lessons twice a week so I decided to check them out. It started at 8pm, we did a warm up, learned some moves, then a whole routine, and then we danced and danced. I seriously had SO much fun. I use to Irish dance when I was younger and I really enjoyed this...it truly brought back memories of dance. The really neat thing was they chose the best female and male dancer for the evening and they got a free nights accomdation..and I won! It was special and gave me a few extra Euro's for the rest of my trip! Sweet hey??
Anyway, I have had a good day in Dublin and I look forward to walking around and doing some more touring tomorrow. I got to phone home today for free as well which was AWESOME. First time I talked to my mom in 3 weeks. It was great!!!
Hope all is well back home! I'll update again later.

Maryse
Pictures Above:
(Red Building is the Hostel I'm staying in right now)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Incredible Ireland!

Hello!!

Well I made it to Dublin no problem! I got on all my flights with ease. My goodness I have hardly been in Ireland for a couple of hours and I'm in absoulte awe of how beautiful it is. My jaw dropped as I was taking the bus to my hostel. I never thought that a city could be so amazing. I love the housing made with bricks and stones, the shapes of the typical houses is wonderful. I just wish I could describe what it's like and how amazing I think it is.

I am looking forward to exploring tomorrow and soaking up this amazing, beautiful, green country of Ireland. More great news is that I have decided I'm going to continue on in my travels and stay in Europe longer. My plan is to travel England for awhile before I come home. I am doing amazingly well, enjoying myself, and I'm already half way across the world I might as well keep travelling!!

It's crazy for me that looking back now Greece is all a memory for me its no longer a reality. I most definetly enjoyed my time on the Greek Islands and in Athens. It is a relief to be out of the crowded city of Athens and in a country that at least speaks my own language. It was perfect timing for me to leave and I truly got to see everything I wanted in Greece. Now I have a completely different culture and area to be excited about!

I will update tomorrow evening after I travel around for the day. Tomorrow I'm going to stay in Dublin all day and roam the streets, shops, and visit a few churches.

Sending my love home! Missing you all!

Maryse

Monday, August 17, 2009

The Amazing Acropolis!





Hello,

Well...its quite late in Greece. I had a good last day in Greece. I really enjoyed my time at the Acropolis today. It was so beautiful, and such an amazing view of Athens. I brought a book from home about travelling Athens and it happened to have a written tour of the acropolis so I did get my own personal tour...haha the book!! ha

Anyway, there is not a lot to write about my day. Hopefully the pictures will do some justice. I`ll write once I`m in Ireland whenever I get there! ha

Hope all is well back home!!

Maryse

Last day in Athens!




Hello!!

I know that I havent written a detailed blog entry in awhile so I will try and do so now! Yesterday I spent the whole day at a beach in Athens and had a blast. I know it seems silly that I was just on a boat for two weeks but we really didn't get time to relax on a beach. I met a few people from England and they were sooo great to hang out with. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

Today I'm going to the Acropolis by myself! My plan is to find an english tour there and sneak around behind them and catch all the facts. haha Kidding! I'm really looking forward to seeing the parthenon as well as having a great look at Athens from up high. This is my last day in Greece and I plan to soak it all up. I'm leaving a day early for Ireland tomorrow because of flights.

I have caught up on sleep since I got off the boat which is nice.

I know that a few people were interested to know a litle bit more about my experience on the boat. I'll mention a few quick things now:
-The food was amazing on the boat. A women named Sandra was our cook. She is the wife of Theo our skipper/captain. They live on the boat year round.
-I learned how to wind surf on the trip which was a lot of fun. It took me awhile to get good at it but it was fun.
-You already knew that not many people were my age so I didn't make any deep relationships but for the most part I enjoyed people's company! haha
-I got to see a ship wreak and snorkel around it which was cool.
-And we studied the book of Romans pretty much the whole trip. I learned a lot and enjoyed the teachings!

That's a bit more information on the boat. I have sooo many stories to share with each of you when I'm home.

God Bless,

Maryse

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Off the Boat and In Athens





Hello!

Well I have made it safely to Athens. I'm at a very nice hostel, much better than the last one. I am very tired from the sailing but it was good. The last few days were filled with great adventure, lots of sailing, time in the sun, climbing, wind surfing and great bible studies. It was a great trip.

As for now I'm going to be in Athens for a few days before I leave for Ireland. When I think about what I'm going to do there and why I'm going there I just laugh because I have no clue. I'm sure it will be a great experience though.

As for now I'm just going to relax a bit. I'm going for dinner tonight with two of the people from the boat so that should be nice. I promise to update again soon when I'm not so tired. My ankle is much better by the way.

God Bless,

Maryse

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Back in Skopolis

Hello,

This will be a quick entry here! We weren't actually suppose to be stopping at an island until the trip ends on Saturday. However, one of the men on our ship had a medical emergency with an infection so he is currently at the hospital.

As for myself, the past few days have been mostly good. The day after we left here we went to an Island owned by Monks and its forbidden to walk the land and no women are aloud on the island. Of course we get there and Theo our skipper tells us that we can go for a hike no big deal.

Well...there are NO trails its all rock, hills, and scratchy bushes. This place is like never walked by men there are only wild goats.In the middle of this island there is a huge mountain and of course me and three of the guys decided it wouild be a fun idea to climb the mountain. Everyone else stayed back on the boat. ha It took us two hours to get to the top, it was a complete scramble but WOW the view was outstanding. Unfortunetly on the way back down my foot got stuck between two rocks and I sprained my ankle. We were pretty much racing daylight to get back to the boat in time so we weren't stuck in dark. This was a bit painful but much worse the next morning. For the past two days I haven't put any weight on it, but it feels much better today! I'm glad!

Anyway...I'll update way more once I'm off the boat on Saturday!

God Bless,

Maryse

Friday, August 7, 2009

Safe Night, Leaving Skopolis, and Photos!








Hello!

We had a safe night with a little wind! Praise God! I was just informed we may not recieve internet until I'm off the boat in a week so I wanted to post a few more photos and let you know I'll be safe even if I'm not blogging.