The Journey

Finally, after many requests, I am starting a blog to journal my adventures. As many of you know I left the United States on February 24, 2010 for the journey to Europe. I arrived, after a really long flight, to Brussels International airport in Belgium. Somehow I managed to get on the right trains and made my way to the University town of Maastricht in The Netherlands. Really wished I would have started this blog then, because I have way too many stories from 2.5 weeks there to re-tell. In a nutshell, I was planning on traveling a lot around that area, but fell in love with the people and the town, so I spent most of my time getting to know Maastricht. I did make a solo day trip to Brugges, Belgium for chocolate and beer tasting, a tour of the canal and lots of sightseeing. Lovely city, but no sightings of Colin Farell unfortunately. Also did an afternoon trip to a nearby town called Valkenburg where I toured a castle and underground cave system. One small problem...the tour was in Dutch so I had no clue what the heck was going on. Made it to Aachen, Germany for a quick afternoon trip to check out the handsome Germans, eat black cherry cake, and buy the most amazing bread I have ever tasted. And last, but not least, I made a day trip to Amsterdam to explore the Van Gogh museum, the city, the canals and of course the red light district. During my time in the Netherlands I ate hot Belgium waffles and frittes covered in heavy duty heart-attack sauce almost every other day, explored the cobblestone streets and cafes, rode on the back of a bicycle after a couple of beers (highly recommended), partied like a college girl, developed wonderful relationships, and truly felt joyous again. Not bad huh.
After much debate, I decided I needed to continue on my journey to my dream destination of Ireland. So I booked my flight and made it over all by my happy self! Arrived solo in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day evening and yes, it was NUTS!!! The next day I ventured off to explore the city, which of course included a trip to the Guinness factory. Oh, how Guinness tastes more sublime in Ireland. There I chatted it up with the bartenders in the skybar and got them to make me a shamrock in the head of the beer. Somehow also managed to get a free beer along with it. Gotta love being a woman! Met a German/Greek guy who was also traveling alone and accompanied me for a musical pub crawl. We drank more Guinness, sang songs (yes... we hit a bar that happened to start playing 'The Wild Rover' as soon as we arrived!) and laughed our butts off at everything! Good times! The next day I headed towards my current destination of a small seaside town named Ahakista, located on the Sheep's Head Peninsula in Cork County. I am participating in a work exchange program for the next month. In exchange for room and board, I am helping the owners of the house open a vegetarian/wholefoods cafe to supplement their art gallery and future garden path. It is so wonderful to be surrounded by good healthy food, beautiful art, and amazing views of the ocean and mountains. If Maui and New Hampshire were smashed together they would create this place. Yesterday I went for a lovely hike behind the house, and it was so quiet (except for the occasional curious cow) and spectacular. The beauty that surrounds me is exceptional and reminds me how grateful I am to be a part of this beautiful world. I am even grateful for the drastic changes that have come across my path, through what seemed to be negative experiences, to have vibrantly opened my eyes and heart to the beauty of life. Life is one big crazy journey and truly will be how you perceive it to be. Unfortunately it took some pretty gnarly experiences and emotions to figure that out, but overall, I will say that it was worth it. I am on the way to truth, joy and peace, and couldn't be more excited. Thanks to all you amazing people in my life who have supported me, listened, prayed, and just plain old loved me. You are all angels and I am truly blessed to have you in my life. I hope you enjoy this blog as I will do my best to write often in it. Peace, love, and light...Cheers!