For all those going abroad in the near future.

Make friends with locals.

Not only can they show you the best places to eat, drink and hang out, talking with people from other countries and backgrounds is fun. They are interested in everything that makes you different from them just as you are curious about them. You'll figure out if "Italians really do this and that?" It lets you joke about the stereotypes about each other and argue about who really has the accent. You'll find out that British people don't really drink tea and eat crumpets all the time but they do say "mum" and "proper" and their impression of an American is, "omg that's so awesome!" It lets you learn more than reading an article about that country's government or tourist attractions.

Research a little before you travel.
Nothing is worse than spending hours figuring out where you want to eat or how to get there. Google map directions to several places and screen shot them. Make a google map with your hostel and all the attractions you want to see. Then you can decide where you want to go first or where a good place to meet up is. This also will save you from walking all the way to a site just to find out it's under construction or costs 100 euros. Also, as a food snob it prevents you from spending money on a crappy meal. Figure out logistics. How much money will you need for transportation from the airport to your hostel? What about bus tickets or a metro pass?

Travel in small groups, or travel alone. Yeah, yeah everyone tells you not to travel by yourself but some of my best experiences were when I was by myself. If you aren't independent enough to go to a different country or city completely by yourself at least once, then try staying in a different hostel or room but meeting up with the group for dinners or main attractions. This allows you to explore at your own pace, eat where you want to eat and wake up and go to bed when you want to. I wouldn't recommend going out and drinking by yourself or walking around alone at night but taking some time to experience a city alone is truly relaxing. While it seems fun to travel in a big group with all your new friends, this quickly grows old. It's hard to please everyone and everyone has their own ideas on what they want to see and for how long. You'll deal with some control freaks, people who always get lost, people who take forever to get ready and people who can't make up their mind. While these qualities are inevitable, and you may even have a couple of them yourself, dealing with more than one can be frustrating.

Travel with different people.
Remember this is your experience and no one should take away from what you want to see and get out of the experience. If you think someone is holding you back, let them go and do their own thing, don't hold each other back just because you want to do different things. Maybe your best friend wants to go to a soccer game and spend 150 euros while you could care less about sports and just want to buy a 30 euro drink at a fancy bar. Don't spend the money if you don't want to! People budget their money and time differently. This doesn't mean you should never travel with your best friend, but you might not necessarily travel best with them and traveling (like living) with someone really lets you see a whole person, which may be a good or bad thing. When you travel with different people you are able to have different experiences and especially early on, you'll learn who you travel best with.

Don't plan your trips too far in advance. 
Sometimes an opportunity will come up to travel to a place you don't have on your initial list. Sometimes the spontaneous trips are the best ones. Leave a couple weekends open in case you decide to do one because changing flights and trains is expensive and complicated.

Do day trips from the big cities you visit.
Some of the most beautiful places weren't the touristy areas or the giant monuments in big cities. I loved going to North Berwick, a tiny beach town near Edinburgh. It's nice to get away from the crowds and see where locals go. Either look something up before or ask your hostel receptionist or waitress. Many locals are more than willing to recommend their favorite spots and relieved that people want to see more than the cookie cutter attractions.

Explore the city you're living in.
Get to know the streets and landmarks. Get lost. Find different ways to get back home. Help a tourist find their way around. Make the city your home. You'll feel safer and more comfortable and locals will treat you with more respect if you act like you know what you're doing. Find a place to read, to sun bathe, to throw a ball around. Get outside, even if it's raining.

Talk to the person next to you on the plane, bus or train. You hear really cool stories, get advice or find connections. People are nice and interesting and you never know who you might meet. Ask them where they're headed or where they're from (not in a creepy way). You might meet a girl from Britain on the bus from Croatia who is studying in the same city as you and knows a good place to get hot chocolate.

Take pictures. 
Let yourself be a tourist. Take pictures at the beginning and the end of your trip to see how your city has changed and too see how you and your friends have changed. Maybe you don't get on Facebook much, but your family and friends will want to see photos when you get home so you have something to point to when you are telling your stories. Even if you snap them all on your iphone, some pictures are better than none.

Eat your weight in pasta.
Try rabbit or wild boar or whatever the local delicacy is. Maybe you'll love it maybe it will be the most repulsive thing you've ever tasted. Stay away from American fast food; you're in Europe. Eat the food of that country or city! Learn to cook. You'll save a ton of money and find out what you like best and maybe make some friends if you share.

Relax, don't get too stressed out and find someone to talk to or another outlet because with the time difference or lack of phone service or sketchy wifi sometimes it's hard to keep in touch with your best friends from home.

Have fun. You're about to have the experience of a lifetime.

The Island of Malta

Not one of the places I thought I would ever end up, and to be honest I thought Malta was part of Italy and may or may not have gotten it confused with Sicily before. Malta is its own country, heavily influenced by the UK. That means English is one of its official languages and is a popular destination for European teenagers to learn language. Our taxi driver gave us 3 reasons why Malta is such a popular destination for people our age learning English. 1. The nightlife is good. We were staying in Paceville which is the heart of the club and bar scene in Malta. Almost a ghost town during the day, starting after dinner time, the streets become crowded with young people made up for a night on the town. Midnight seemed to be when most places were just starting to get crowded and noise could be heard from our apartment until 6am. 2. English is the Maltese people’s second language, which means they talk a lot slower and more direct than other English speaking countries. It is easier to learn here rather than a place like England which has its own slang, accent, and dialect. 3. The weather. While we happened to come on a weekend that wasn’t the sunniest, Malta’s weather is never “bad.” Although it was cloudy with a high of 59, the low dropped only to 55, even at night. In the summer months there are bustling beaches, clear, blue water, and rays for tanning.

Got the exit row on the way there!

Date Pie

The Azure Window, G

Ramla Bay

Malta had everything: a city with department stores, cars, buses and restaurants. Ancient ruin like structures and stone buildings and churches. Natural rock formations, clear water, and sandy beaches. Palm trees, grassy fields and hills.

UK: Rainbows in Edinburgh

We were lucky to just miss the rain when we went out in Edinburgh. We walked up to Edinburgh Castle and tried not to get blown off the side of the hill. There was a perfect rainbow right over the city and if you look close you can see the faint appearance of a second double rainbow.

 We found the end of the rainbow!!

When we climbed up King Arthur's seat there was another rainbow in the distance!

UK: Dublin Feb. 21-24

We arrived in Dublin to a sunny Friday afternoon. We cleared customs and got another stamp on our passport. We ate at Celts for dinner, which is a pub and restaurant. Since the pub area was full they let us sit in the upstairs restaurant which was much fancier and we were accompanied by a few couples on dates. We had Balmers, the traditional Irish cider, which tasted pretty much like sparkling apple juice. 

On Saturday we went on a free walking tour and learned about Irish history by a hilarious tour guide. Later we went to the Guinness factory, learned about the process of making the beer and got a pint full of Guiness. None of us could actually finish it so we poured the rest into another glass which filled it so we could take the glasses home. Not sure if we were supposed to take the glasses, but they are in my suitcase now! 

Dublin Castle

The famous Temple Bar, the whole "Temple Bar" area has a ton of pubs and restaurants

A lot of street performers, including these guys!

Cheers at Gravity Bar at the top of the Guinness factory

Emily and I went to a place called Banker’s bar because we were in the search for some good soup and brown bread. Both were delicious and we stayed for the comedy show. The comedians were surprisingly very good, despite me not being a stand-up comedian fan. One of them attempted to do an American impersonation of a Texan, which was so inaccurate it was funny. They also made fun of people from “posh” cities and it was great that they got so involved with the crowd. In anatomy class we learned about BMS shoes, which are the shoes like Sketcher Shape Ups which have the curved sole and supposedly help strengthen your ankles. We learned in class that this is a bunch of BS, so it was hilarious when one of the comedians brought up the shoes asking how people can walk on them when he would fall right over.

On Sunday we went to the Blarney Castle. We took a bus tour with Paddywagon tours, with just 5 of us, so they put us on a different bus which ended up being 3 hours each way. It was sort of a bummer, but we got to stop at a little town called Cork which had a lot of shops. Unfortunately pretty much everything was closed except the Burger King since it was a Sunday.

Outside the Blarney Castle

Me cooking in the kitchen

View from the top

7 years gift of the gab!

My first real sweater purchase!

We made it to Blarney and it was perfect since it was off season there was no line at the top to kiss the stone. We were caught off guard when we figured out what we actually had to do to kiss the stone. The grounds were beautiful and we didn’t have very much time there because of the tour so we missed seeing the caves and the rest of the garden area. We got to go into the Blarney Woolen Mills and I bought a giant cozy sweater and a headband for about 20 euros! Hooray for clearance rack! Next we went to the town where the Titanic left the port, but none of us when into the museum. It was a cute little beach town and we walked up and down what I think was their only street.

Just me and my new best friend

For dinner Emily and I made our own nachos with cheese, beans and salsa in the hostel microwave and got soup. All the bread was gone from the grocery store bakeries so we went into a random pub asking if we could just buy some brown bread. The bartender went to the kitchen and just gave us free brown bread. 

On Monday Emily and I went to breakfast at a pub. I got the vegetarian breakfast which consisted of eggs, toast, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, and a potato cake. I ate the brown sauce with my eggs which is like a thick Worcestershire sauce but without anchovies. This prepared us for our horseback riding trip in Bray. We took a DART train to Bray, then a bus to Brennanstown Riding School. Emily had only ridden a horse once or twice and I hadn’t ridden a horse for probably 6 years, but the riding guide was so friendly and helpful and let us trot around the arena before going out on the trails. My groin and butt were sore for a couple days after riding! We went to the top of a mountain side which had an amazing view of the countryside.

On the train to Bray

Horsey riding with Emily!

These pictures don't do it justice