Day 170

Today we all woke up and decided that we should finally get back to Gislaved..so we caught the bus and got back here mid afternoon and layed around and all lounged on the pull out bed at Lies and Christinas apt. :) I feel like i have known them forever..its so wierd! They are amazing girls..i ahvent been around anyone who has made me laugh this hard except Jordana hahaha All 4 of us together would be ridiculous. So today we just hung out around the house..me and Liesl rode bikes to ICA to get some food, and left Christina at home to cook us food..both of us are awful in the kitchen..and Christina is great..so we put some serious faith in her to feed us..while we were gone she was gonna cook us all pancakes..but when we returned all tired and sweaty from our short 3 minute bike ride..(dont judge..i'm going to start working out again the second i get home) there were no pancakes in sight! :( boo Christina haha..the pans they had were seriously from 1943..not ideal for pancakes..so we had to resort to using the panini maker for pancakes haha..they werent much to look at, but they tasted fabulous:) Honestly..good job Christina..after eating off and on all day..we decided to get ready and do something with our lives..we got ready and headed off to the thai resturant to..guess what? EAT duh..then we caught the bus to this nearby town to one of their friends' house..which ended up being pretty fun:) Just a bunch of swedes..so the 3 of us definetely crashed and took over that party:) Then we later got a cab ride home. We got back to the apt and found that the locks have been changed and we were locked out for like an hour!! During that time we made frinds with Christina and Liesl's neighbors..while we waited for security..so we talked with them as much as we could..although we didnt speak Albanian or swedish haha..Christina started speaking spanish to them at one point and they looked real confused haha anyway we finally got in to the apt and were hungry..so me and Liesl made Chrstina cook us pancakes:) And i got into it with Liesl becuase i wanted to have some chips and dip..but i couldnt find the ranch i bought at the store..and i accused her of hiding it from me..i swear i bought it at the store and she hid it from me because she knows how much i love it and was craving it..and she got off and watching me search the apt high and low for it..i still havent found it..but the search is not over..whata little theif haha K off to bed..5am well More Later!
xoxo Kerri

Day 169

So today we woke up and decided to get something to eat..thats one of the many things i love about Christina and Liesl..we can all put away food like no other..i love it. We had so much fun together yesterday..i really love these girls..we all sre super sarcastic and laid back and our personalities mesh unbelievably well. I havent said that about anybody ever either, besides Jordana..so that just lets you know how high up they are on the friend list:) We laughed so much yesterday i feel like i got in a 10 hr ab workout, no joke haha Anyway, so after our pizza for breakfast, we were trying to figure out our next move, and decided we havent had enough of this town yet..so we got a hotel hahahaha..we checked in, took showers and naps and then were ready to go for round 2 in Halmstad!! We went for dinner and then to a couple of different places to hang out..we bounced around alot alot..we must have checked out every pace Halmstad has to offer haha We met some friends along the way including one of my personal favs..Gaston..his name was legitly GASTON like from Beauty and the beast hahaha what a character..literally. So we had a great time in Halmstad..2 thumbs up for sure..I wouldnt mind playing in Gislaved because there are a couple cool towns thata re just 30 minutes away, and Stockholm is only 5 hrs away! And Gisalved isnt even THAT small of a town..alot bigger than Norsjo i can tell..just by walking around..but it would be so so much fun if me , Liesl and Christina could all play together..it would be amazing. Well, we'll see what happens..too early to think about that now..still on vacation;) More Later!
xoxo Kerri

Day 168

So I didnt sleep one bit last night..just paranoid about missing my flight..even though its not til 6 tonight..if i would have known the kind of day it was going to be today I WOULD HAVE SLEPT!! So i caught the bus to the airport, giving myself plenty of time to get there..and this is where the fun starts..i stood in line forever and when i got to check my bag in finally, they said it was too full so i had to get out of line, rearrange all my stuff, and get back in line..so i stood in line again forever and got up there and they said when i bought my ticket, i didnt choose the online check in..so i would have to get out of line again and go stand in a different line and pay 20 euro to do the airport check in..by this point i was beyond frustrated..so i stood in another line, payed for that, then FINALLY in the line to check my freaking bag..which finally happened..and took like 1n hour 1/2 it was ridiculous..ive never had so much of a hassle ever geeeeeeeeez. So i caught my flight okay..and then landed and called Darashaya my friend who i was supposed to stay with. It was 11pm and so i told her i landed and was taking the bus into Stockholm central...she told me tonight just wasnt a good night for her and that maybe we could get together another night. I thought she was joking. I couldnt even belive it. Here i was on the bus to Stockholm, totally expercting her to pick me up on the other end, and she straight up DITCHED me. I was so pissed and upset..i jujst did not know what to do. It was too late to do anything! I didnt know anyone else there, and she just left me in the worst situation ever. I tried calling her and she just did not answer. I was brainstorming ideas on the way to stockholm central and my options were pretty limited..I called my other friends, in Gislaved (a small town a few hrs south of Stockholm) and no trains or busses ran that late to them..or i would have done that:( so it looked like i was going to be spending the night in stockholm central station..so i got to the train station and little did i know..it closed at 1am!! So I was on my way out not knowing what i was going to do or where i was going to go, and i heard these 3 spanish guys asking the security guard where was open..so i asked them and we all headed to this kebab house which was open til 5am..so it looked like i wasnt going to go to sleep tonight either..i would now be running on 4 hours of sleep in 72 hours! Which i did not know was possible..So we all sat down at the same table..me and these 3 spanish boys..they were in the same position..just needed somewhere to hang out until trians and busses started running again..So we sat and talked and ate from 130am until 5am..they were super entertaining..one of them did magic tricks, the other one juggled, and i had an arm wrestling contest with the other one haha thoroughly entertaining haha So i said goodbye to them at 5..they caught their bus and i had to wait for my bus at 8am still..another few hours to go until i could try and sleep on the bus!! ahhh I finally got my bus and passed out for a good hour and a half..i dont know why i couldnt sleep for longer..i just was not comfortable at all..I was so so beyond exhausted..never have i ever been so tired! So i FINALLY got to Gislaved around 3pm and got to Christina and Liesl's..I literally set my suitcases down and they told me we were going to catch a bus to this town nearby to hang out with some friends..i was like of course..we WOULD be hopping on a bus right after i just got off of one for 6 hours hahah..but i was okay with it:) We caught the bus to this town Halmstad..which is this awesome town..its like the perfect size, so pretty, has some cool resturaunts and shops and the people are super nice. So me, Liesl and Christina went to this place called Harry's and had some dinner and the whole resturaunt played this music quiz..name that song, band and year type thing..so that was fun..the songs were all American except one swedish song..so i think we did pretty good:) Later on we met up with Christina and Liesl's friends..Murray and Patrick..who play vball for a teram nearby..so it was fun to meet them..anyway I neeeed to get some sleep for the first time in like 4 days now..so More Later!!
xoxo Kerri

Day 167

So today i woke up and me, Ross, Hodge and Jimmy went to this local place to get a traditional irish breakfast..which they called a heart attack. It was fried everything..it was so so good:) mmm it was fried potato bread, fried pancakes and a couple other fried things that were amazing:) and we all had strawberry milkshakes..best breakfast ever. Then I said goodbye to Ross:( I had to go back to Dublin..I wish i could have stayed longer i really really do..His friend Michael drove me to the bus station where I caught my bus and prayed to God i wouldnt miss my flight. I should have been okay if the bus would have taken the same amount of time it took to ge there..which was 2 hours..but there was major traffic..so it took 3 1/2 hrs!!! So by the time i got to the hotel to get my bags..I had missed my flight!!!!!! Aaaahhh I called Ryanair..my airline and there was NOTHING I could do about it..no refund, nothing..I would have to book a completely new flight for tommorow..So i spent the next couple of hours searching for a flight and then rushing to the travel agency place before it closed, to book my flight..I made it..thank god..and so i was all set to leave for tommorow. It set me back a little more than i would have liked..but i was only upset for like an hour..Im totally over it now. Shit happens..and ya I probably should have been more responsible and taken a really early early bus to get back in time..but what can you do now? I know now for next time..make sure to give myself more than enough time! So ya..its all good..It was still worth it..thats how much fun i had in Belfast and nothing can ruin that for me:) So after i booked my flight today, I roamed around Dublin for awhile..and went to this international call place to call Jordana cause she wrote me a message on facebook saying she needed to talk ASAP..so i called her and calmed her down:) Stupid boys..stupid stupid boys!! Aaaahh..anyway there was this guy at the call place and we were kind of talking for awhile while i was in line to pay and he wanted to take me out for coffee..normally i would have said no..but after missing my flight, having no agenda..i said okay. There were a ton of people out on the town still so i want too worried about it..we went and had coffee and talked for wahile..he was a really nice guy..named Guiseppe, from Italy. It took some time off my hands at least so that was good:) After that I went back to my hostel and was on the computer alll night..just did not sleep..I was super paranoid i was going to miss my flight tommorow haha even though its not til 6pm:) So I stayed up all night just in the hostel..and around 3 am i met this guy who was in the common area..Chuck..he was a really cool guy..an american, from Vegas. It was so funny..his family is from New Mexico and we know some of the same people..one person, Tyson in particular..just a small world haha So he was on his way to Prague to live with his best friend and join his buisness..which is a pub crawl business haha..He even offered me a job as being a Pub crawl leader haha That would be an extremely fun job..but he said its 6 nights a week and it sounds a little much, but still..good to have a job offer and people to know in Prague:) Anyway More Later!
xoxo Kerri

Day 166

Today was a really really fun day. I slept in for awhile, then woke up, got ready and went over to Ross's friends house and met all of his friends. Then we all walked to this local place and got sandwiches..We ate our sandwiches while we walked to this local pub where we were going to watch the Manchester United vs Liverpool game:) The walk down to the pub was gorgeous. We walked right along these cliffs..and the grass was so green where we were..and you could see the contrast of the green grass and the ocean..it was unbelievably pretty. Where we were was outside of Belfast about 20 minutes in this town called Larne..so I was totally in a local town..not too many tourists have gotten this experience Im sure:) So we got to the pub and started watching the game and had a couple of drinks..it was such a local place..it was really really fun. everyone knew eachother and eachothers family..it was really fun to be around. I met everyone in the pub:) There was this table of older irish men that wanted me to talk to them..i ended up talking to them for like 2 hours..they owned Larne (the city) futbol club. They were reaally funny..and one of the guys was Ross's friends Uncle..so they were really fun to talk to:) So we were watching the game and right toward the end..Ross decided to put a bet down on the game..and it was NOT looking good for him..but then at the last minute..Man U scored a goal and Ross won 3700 dollars!!! crazzy..so he was super excited about that haha..that was pretty cool. After the game I said goodbye to all my new friends haha and we headed back to Dale and Hodges house and hung out there for the rest of the night:) I had the best time. Today was such a good day..I love love love Belfast!!! More Later!
xoxo Kerri

Day 165

So today I woke up and caught the bus into Belfast, which is 3 hours away. I was going to meet my friend Ross, mt friend I met on the plane. Mark wanted to do this tour of the cliffs, but i said i really wanted to go to Belfast so we had our last day together yesterday:( He was the best travel buddy anyone could ask for. We had the BEST time ever..seriously..he is hilarious. my guy friend soulmate:) So bus ride over wasnt bad..i got there and went shopping for a couple hours then called my friend..but he was at work until later..so his friends came and met me at St Annes Cathedral..this gorgeous cathedral in the middle of town..so they picked me up and drove me around. They took me to the famous cemetary which was the coolest thing I have ever seen. I t was so crazy. Old headstones everywhere and uneven graves, and the worlds largest mass grave from the Irish Famine..there was a huge cleared space in the middle of the graveyard which i thought was really odd..and then Chris and Michael explained to me that it was the largest mass grave site ever..something like 80,000 bodies were buried there. Insane. Then they took me around to the famous graves like Bobby Sands who was a member of the IRA, who was imprisoned and led the hunger strike, because the members of the IRA who committed crimes didnt want to be subjected to the same treatment as other prisoners.. so he died..and the government didnt do anything about it..it was a huge deal..so the boys told me that story along with some other crazy stories..just crazy stories..there was one about a guy who came to a funeral of people he rivaled and just showered them with grenades..just crazy.. and then they showed me the different sides of the cemetary..the protestant side and the catholic side. Then we drove arounds the ghetto..the war zone where all the political craziness has gone on..and they showed me the peace wall. There is just so much history there..it is fascinating. Completely fascinating. I loved every second of it. There were political murals everywhere..and in the catholic neighborhoods there were curbs painted green and then there were curbs painted blue red and white in the protestant neighborhoods..its still like that..still. After all that me and Michael went to go get some food and went to hang out at his house..waiting for Ross to get home. I met his Mom and Dad and brother..it was fun..then we watched the movie Into the Wild..crazy movie..but so good. Then Ross finally got there and we all hung out and watched South Park and had some wine..it was a good time.. Gotta love the irish boys;) More Later!
xoxo Kerri

Day 164

Today it was a little rough to wake up..but me and Mark promised our brazilian friend Maurizio we would we would all go to the Jameson Distillery together..so i woke up, got ready and we went to the Bodies exhibit first cause we thought that would be fun to do..and it was..it was super informatiional and really interesting. They had intense security in there though..i thought i was gonna get kicked out or something..i got in trouble for drinking my soda in there and for taking a picture haha ooops..i was just waiting for aomeone to tell me that no gum was allowed and throw me out haha but we made it the rest of the way through so it was good;) Then we went to the Jameson Distillery which was not nearly as intense as the Guiness tour, but that was good..I did NOT have the energy to be climbing 7 stories high;) But it was a fun little tour..i got a little sovenir for my sisters boyfriend Dylan, cause she said he likes Jameson..so hopefully he'll like it:) After the Distillery we left Maurizio and me and Mark went to get some food..after that, I wanted to shop some, so me and mark split up and I shopped for a couple hours..then proceeded to get lost for another 2 hours in the rain mind you..so I was soooooaked and lost:( I finally got a cab back to our hostel after realizing that i just was not capable of finding it if i hadnt for the last 2 hours haha oops..I really am directionally challenged..its awful. But it was a fun adventure. After that i went back to the hostel and me and Mark met a bunch of friends there and played some games with them and then we all decided to go out together. Everyone kind of ended up doing their own thing by the middle of the night..Mark went back to the hostel cause he was gonna get up and do an early tour the next morning, and i didnt want to, so I went off with our friends Becca and Ben and found a place to dance for awhile..it was a really fun night..until the end of the night when i realized that I was missing a significant amount of money and have no idea where it went:( But I cant change that..so Im done thinking about it now.. anyway..More Later!!
xoxo Kerri

Day 163

So today we woke up early and went to breakfast at this yummy place by our hotel, before we caught our tour bus:) I found us a tour of the country..its called the Wickelow tour..Tony was our tourguide..our first stop was this seaport where I saw seals..the cutest things ever:) i got a good pic of one too:) Then we drove through the mountains and saw Guiness lake, and the bridge from the movie PS I love you, the movie, then we drove more on the worlds most narrow road ever, mind you, like zero room for 2 cars..it was unreal..We stopped for lunch at this little town and had traditional irish beef stew and guiness..of course..it was so so good..the irish stew was the best..its beef stew with mashed potatoes at the ottom..pretty tasty. Then we made it to Glendalaugh..where scenes of Excalibur and Braveheart were filmed. It was so incredibly beautiful. So beautiful. We had like 2 hours to spend there..so me and Mark took a hike through the mountains and took a ton of pictures along the way..we took so many nature pics we decided to play a little game..one of us would hide, like among a bunch of trees or something and the other would take a picture..kind of off centered so it was hard to see the person hiding..it entertained us for a good hour haha its like Wheres Waldo..but we called it Wheres Mark and Kerri..we were entertained. All day today I just have not been able to stop thinking about how lucky i am to be here and to have this opprotunity to travel and be in this beautiful country:) I really am in love with this country. I love everything about it..people are so polite and freindly and just real...and that they speak english too:) There are so many things to do and see..and i love the accent here..especially with guys:) So after the tour..me and Mrk headed back to the hostel, got ready really quickly and then headed to Trinity College where we met like 30 other people for the Backpackers Pub Crawl:) This night was ridiculously fun..I wont go into deteail haha but we made a bunch of friends..from Switzerland, England, Zimbabwe, Brazil, and a couple girls from NY. Our tourguide, Gary, was ridiculous..I cant believe that his boss trusts him with his job..he was such a character..so funny. He had curly long red hair and some jacked up teeth..use your imagination.. He would gather us all around him, stand on a nearby table and tell us to be quiet..like we were his 4th grade class..he said "Until everyone is silent, we arent moving onto the next bar..It's fine..I can wait all night" no one listened to him the whole night it was hilarious we eventually just moved on without him haha I made pretty good friends with this cute little English boy along the way..we had fun together just dancing and hanging out..he was more sarcastic than I am..so you know i enjoyed his company;) It was a great great night..so much fun! More later!!
'xoxo Kerri

Day 162

Our first full day in Dublin..me and Mark got up earlyish and began our journey:) We walked around for a good 5 1/2 hours..we saw everything! We saw Trinity College..we walked in, sat down, played fusboll and pretended like we were students there haha..then we kept walking around Dublin..we walked through 2 gorgeous gorgeous parks..everything is so clean here..then we went to St. Patricks Catherdral..which is episcopal..not catholic, which i didnt know..and felt retarded findidng out..oops:) Then we made our way to the guiness Storehouse which was so so much fun. It is unbelievable how massive that place is..it literally takes up like 6 blocks. But we went to the main building..which was 7 stories high..so we took a tour and it was amazing how much history there was..it was really cool..and at the top/end of the tour there was the gravity bar where you got to drink your guiness..which me and Mark were ready for after the whole day of touring the city and our 7 story trek to the top! The view was gorgeous though..you got to see a 360 view of Dublin..so it was amazing. So we sat down and took a rest for awhile, made a couple friends (we made friends everywhere we went) :) Mark would flirt with the girls to get us student discounts everywhere, and i would flirt with the guys to get us drinks haha After the Guiness factory we went to this place called The Arlington. We had some traditional Irish food and some drinks and watched the Italy vs Ireland soccer game..which was awesome:) Later the musicians came..2 guys playing irish music and then there were river dancers too..it was so so fun to watch..Those people move their legs so so fast..I thought they were going to fall off..bubt it was really entertaining. Me and Mark were so exhausted after that..we went back to the hostel..although i stayed up pretty late trying to find us a plan for tommorow. I found a really good tour for us of the irish countryside..so im super excited..but we have to get up super early for us..so i better go to bed..More Later!!'
xoxo Kerri