Norway!!!! Day 1, Oslo

I have so many posts to catch up on about Ireland, but first I want to talk about our spring break trip to Norway! I knew that I wanted to travel somewhere different for spring break, and when I learned about a friend living in Norway, that was where I had to go. It was an amazing experience and blast! The country is beautiful, and even though it was the trip of multiple mistakes and mess ups, it was still amazing. :) We mainly stayed in Oslo, except for the one day we went to Sweden. Here are the pictures from our first day!

Coming into Norway! 

The Nobel Peace Center

Oslo's Harbour 

Trolls! These little guys are all over Norway... 

The City Hall

The City Hall

This is where they give out the Nobel Peace Prize. 

This room is so huge! 

Oslo Harbour from City Hall

 Me in front of the City Hall building

The Parliament Building 

At the Akershus Fortress

The Akershus Fortress

Me in front of the Royal Palace

On the palace grounds, with Oslo behind me

The Royal Palace 

These were all the sights we saw in the first day. We also went to the National Museum to see the painting "The Scream." That was really neat as well! :) All in all, it was a gorgeous first day in Norway. 

Belfast

At the end of February we took a trip to Northern Ireland. For those who don't know, Northern Ireland is actually a different country. It is under control of the United Kingdom, and therefore the currency is different. They use pounds as opposed to euros. 

One of the most heart-wrenching stops on the trip was to the city of Belfast. This beautiful city is torn apart by the Troubles. The Peace Walls were especially saddening. I am happy that they keep the residents safe, but it sad that they are necessary. 

Murals are also very common in Belfast. Most are political, discussing issues common to the Troubles. Others are different, like this tourist one. 

Howth

One weekend, a few members of our group got together and headed to the fishing town of Howth. It was incredible! The scenery is gorgeous, and we had a blast hiking around. We hiked for a few hours, then stopped at a pub to catch the rugby game. 

Sunday, it was market time! Howth has a wonderful farmers market on Sunday. We had a great time wondering around and munching on all the different foods. I finally tried black current jam and it was yummy! 

Glendalough

A few weeks ago we took a group field trip to the monastic sight of Glendalough. This is located in the incredibly beautiful Wicklow Mountains. This is a collection of amazing hiking trails and an old monastic community.

The museum 

A replica of the monastic sigh 

That is actually the door, not a window :) 

Killiney Walk

There is a beautiful area a few DART stops away from Dublin called Killiney. I call this the sort of "Beverly Hills" of Dublin. It is full of gorgeous houses, a few cute restaurants and shops, along with an incredible view. I will let the pictures speak for themselves :) 

Nutella Cheesecake Recipe

The other day I entered the Happy Pear Baking competition. It was a blast to get involved in the Greystones community!

I have an obsession with Nutella. Okay, it is probably more like a stalkerish, insane, desperate need for Nutella. I love it. A LOT. As I told a friend of mine, it is my life blood. Literally. 

Greystones(Again!)

It was such a beautiful day out that I had to take more pictures of this lovely little fishing town, Greystones. Enjoy!

The National Museum and Library

On Saturday, a few other girls and I headed to the National Library and National Archeology Museum. Words can barely describe how I feel about so many beautiful books in such a gorgeous building! This is one of my new favorite libraries, next to the Long Room of course. :) After the library, it was off to the Museum of Archeology to hang with the bog men. Who knew thousand year old remains could be so intriguing? It was a lovely day exploring Dublin. I had a blast!

Pictures!

The National Library

The Bray Cliff Walk

Yesterday we went on the most amazing walk along the sea. We walked from Greystones to Bray. I will let the pictures speak for themselves!