I've got the Luck of the Irish......NOT

Hannah and I were in Dublin, Ireland about a week ago! What better weekend to visit the Green Isle than the weekend after St. Patrick's Day. (March 19-23)


Well we spent our last night in London with Mary and my mum just hanging out in the hotel before we had to leave. Hannah and I woke up at 3 am to leave us PLENTY of time to catch our 6:35 am flight out of Stanstead Airport....NOT. When we went to wait at the bus station, it never showed. By this time it was about 4:30 and Jannah was freaking out. We finally hailed a taxi to get us to the train station. We got the 5:00 am train which got us to the airport at 5:58 am., this was nerve-racking since our flight stopped check in at 6:05.

We lined up at the doors of that train like horses at the gate. Right as they opened, we were off like frickin' Seabiscuit. I don't think I have ever ran that fast through a crowded London Airport, at 6 am, with a back-pack on my back, in boots in my entire life. But do not fret my readers, due to my uncanny ability to juke ordinary civilians out of their socks, we made the flight as the last passengers to board. We were probably the hottest two people on the flight. No, literally we were sweating bullets.

We landed in Ireland around 9:30 am where it seemed that there was an American foreign exchange student convention. We all seemed to have the brilliant idea to come to Ireland this weekend. We got on the bus to take us to our hostel, and we met some people who are from the states (New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island) who happened to be staying in the same hostel as us (or so we thought.) We all ran around together for the rest of the day, including our hour long adventure in actually trying to locate the hostel.
At breakfast I found out right away that these kids were pretty cool. I decided to test the waters a bit by dropping one of my jokes that I usually find way more entertaining than anyone else...

We got to talking on the subject of camping and how much we all enjoy it. I took it as the prime opportunity to drop this line...

"Yeah, I love camping. My last trip was definitely in-tents (intense)"

They laughed. I knew. These kids are legit.

The highlight of the day was probably the tour of the Guinness Brewery that we all went on. We were able to see how it's made, the ingredients, and the history of the beer. I was also able to put my waterproof camera to use many times throughout the tour. People's reactions were priceless. (dropping the camera in the waterfall in the brewery [oops], dropping it in my beer [oops], dropping it in Hannah's beer [nope, that one was on purpose])
On the 7th and final floor, the Gravity Bar- which is the highest bar in Dublin that overlooks the entire city- they give you a pint to enjoy. I didn't think I liked Guinness until I had it while enjoying the view of Dublin. It was awesomely perfect.


After this, we were all exhausted from the day's events so we made it back to our Hostel. Well their hostel, Hannah and I were informed that he overbooked for the weekend and would be transferring us to a different location. When I brought to his attention that I saw our names on his calendar, he informed me that we should be lucky that he is even giving us a place to stay, and that it is totally legal for him to erase our names and just put us out on the streets. Well, even though that would totally be NOT legal, I stopped arguing with the man who spoke crap English. We grabbed our bags and headed out to our new hostel.

That night, we met up with Stephen, Erik, Corey, Marta, Katie, and Amelia and went to eat at the BAD ASS cafe (my suggestion) where I naturally ordered the BAD ASS Burger (the actual name.) The plan was to go out after, but Jannah called it a night and went to bed.

Hannah and I woke up Saturday and wandered around the city a bit. We were informed that today was a big day in Dublin. Ireland was playing Scotland in Rugby later and we would be dumb to miss out. Well we're not dumb, so we stumbled into an Irish Pub, the Palace, and posted up for the big game. Guinness was obviously our drink of choice. Right away, we started making friends with the people around us. We met a couple guys from Chicago who have been coming to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day for the last 15 years, which I thought was pretty cool. They ended up going to the game and Jannah ended up ordering another pint.

Well Ireland ended up losing =( which sadly crushed their dreams of winning the "Triple Crown" of Rugby: beating Whales, England, and Scotland in one season. They just needed this last 'W' against Scotland.

Jannah was getting worn out from a day at an Irish Pub and we decided to head home. However, on our way we ran across this dance club and well...we never turn down a dance club. Hannah and I ended up running into this guy who evidently was a great swing dancer. It was amazing! I knew a little about basic swing dance, some of the steps and spins, but THIS GUY knew lifts. We did the lift where I get picked up and swing my legs from one side to the other. To say we beat up the dance floor would be a cruel injustice, we murdered it.

On Monday we reunited with our American friends to go on a tour of the countryside. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. Our tour guide was hilarious! She took us to the coast (Dun Laoghaire Harbor), through the countryside, the mountains, and lakes. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw sights from the movie PS I Love You, the village where Braveheart was filmed, and the Guinness Estate (huge doesn't begin to describe it) through the Wicklow mountains/National Park. We also got to hike out to Glendalough where they have beautiful lakes, forests, and mountains. This lake provided, yet another opportunity to put my camera to the test. Later on the hike we were able to see an old village with churches and beautiful scenery. When the tour ended, the others had to go back to London. We were now on our own.



On Tuesday Hannah and I did the inner-city tour of Dublin. We saw Trinity College (where it monsoon-ed on us), the National Gallery of Art, St. Stephen's Green, Temple Bar, Christ Church, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a nice day to relax. St. Stephen's Green was the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. It was filled with flowers, a pretty pond with crazy hungry birds, cute bridges, and couples being all lovey, so Jannah fit in perfectly. (no homo)

Later that day, we went to Temple Bar for dinner and a drink. I had my first Irish Coffee! It's the perfect combination of "sophisticated" "sweet" and "party" in a cup.

After dinner, we packed up our stuff and got a taxi to the Dublin Airport so we would definitely have plenty of time to catch our 6:05 am flight. We took naps in McDonald's until about 4:30 then went to check in for our flight. When we approached the gate Hannah got her ticket scanned to enter. Then it was my turn, I didn't have the same luck. Upon closer review, Hannah's ticket was for the 6:05 am flight, and mine was for the 6:30 pm flight. Classic Mix-up. After my passport charade you think I'd learn.

Well Hannah and I said our goodbyes and she left for security. I headed back to my bed in McDonald's. It was easily one of the longest days of my life (18 hours in the Dublin airport) I think the longest conversation I had was with the lady at Starbucks when she asked if I wanted whipped cream on my Mocha Frappucinno, which I obviously answered yes to! But for being alone for 12 hours, I had a semi-productive day: I took 3 naps in McDonald's, played some solitaire, walked around the entire airport into every shop, I ordered lunch, watched a Cricket Match (I had no clue what was going on), I played myself in pool ( I WON!!) and I learned how to say "Please, do not abandon your luggage in the airport or it will be destroyed." in about 3 languages.

Finally, it was time for me to board my 6:30 flight. Upon arrival to Stanstead, I caught the night bus to Hatfield. I have never been more excited to be back! It was pouring rain on my walk to my flat, but I was smiling from ear to ear and walked with pep in my step.

All in all, it was an amazing trip! Dublin was absolutely beautiful and the friends we met were great!!

Well it's time to get dinner! Hannah and I made some tuna salad the other night, BIG MISTAKE. I have never ever been so made-fun of for food in my life. We got accused of "ruining the entire flat" and we were informed that they "could not believe we would eat that stuff." So we ate our dinner in Hannah's room in seclusion. Her room now smells of Chicken of the Sea, which surprisingly, is a horrible smell to have engulfing your bedroom.

cheers!

bird

The Keehn Girls Do London

First off, sorry to all my blog followers out there (all 4 of you). I have been super busy and on the go lately, unable to keep up on my posts!

My mom and Mary came to visit Jannah in London a week ago. I was so excited for them to arrive I could hardly sleep and pretty much couldn't stop smiling, which actually isn't that out of character for me at all. They arrived on Sunday, March 14. I was so excited to get to see them, I have missed them like crazy!

Well right away we began the day with exploring parts of London. I took them to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the National Portrait Gallery, an Irish Pub and much more! We spent much of the day laughing, mostly at my mother's expense at first. It was nice to get a break since most of the time their jokes are geared towards me. For some reason my mom could not grasp the concept of the London Underground. Often we would hop aboard a tube and she would have the most blank stare of confusion upon her face or sometimes even be left standing on the platform all together as we took off in a completely opposite direction at 60 mph.



[While standing inside a train on the underground heading towards our next destination...]

Mom: "So...are we still on the underground?"

This made for a very easy target. That Monday, mom treated us to a showing of Les Miserables at Queens Theater. It was easily the best live performance I have ever seen, next to Mary's 8th grade rendition of Pinnochio of course. The orchestra was amazing, the acting was perfect, and the singing was beautiful. I left the performance with a strong urge to pursue a future in music. This was quickly killed when I began to belt out Le Mis ballads in the streets of London and I received awkward stares from strangers and my own family was begging me to stop.

On our way home we stumbled across another Irish Pub, O'neils, which I quickly fell in love with.
4 Vodka/Cranberries for the girls - check
1 booth right near the dance floor - check
1 Strange British boy who awkwardly wanted to be my dance partner - check
1 Congo Line who needed a fearless leader (me) -check

And yes, I led that line without hesitation throughout the bar. I also prided myself on getting the DJ to play ABC by the Jackson 5 which was a huge hit, well at least at our booth it was.

The rest of the week we spent seeing even more sights of London: Big Ben, Parliament, The Jewel Castle, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and St. Jame's Park (where I unsuccessfully attempted to coax a royal squirrel into my purse, I got damn close though!) It was so great having someone to share all of the sights with! We also happened to meet the author of the Henry Egg children's book series, Lee Benson, who had us randomly stand in front of Parliament and hold the eggs that he uses in his sketches. I think he liked us.

Another highlight of the week was all of the great restaurants we ate at! My favorite being Thai-in-a-box, followed by Japanese-in-a-bowl, then Fish-on-a-plate, and lastly Irish Whiskey-before-noon, which I would not recommend to anyone even if it IS St. Patrick's Day, thanks mom! :o)

The next day we spent at the London Tower (thanks Mary!!) It was absolutely amazing! There
is so much history behind those walls. There were churches, dungeons, prisons, houses, towers, castles, and gardens. There was so much to see, it was magnificent! Mom also had the opportunity to live up to her potential as "THAT" tourist who asked random questions in front of a tour of about 50 people, while Mary and Jannah tried to disguise ourselves in the crowd.

While inside one of the many museums of the tour I was off wandering around taking pictures of the different exhibits. While walking, I felt like there was someone taking pictures of me looking at the various things; I would turn around and see about 30 people with their cameras out, so that didn't help. Then these random guys started coming up to me and asking to read the historical significances to them, since they did not know much English, I gladly cooperated. I started putting all the pieces together when I was just talking with my mom and the Spaniards took a picture of us conversing. They then came up and put their arms around me for a group photo! Instead of coming to my rescue, my mom offered to take the damn picture then took one with her camera as well! THANKS MOM! I didn't leave Hannah's side for the rest of the tour.

We spent about 3 hours within the tower, but I could have spent all day there. The amount of history there was absolutely amazing. After the tour we got ice cream and spent about half an hour trying to capture the famous "jumping" picture in front of the London Bridge. After about 17 takes, my mom's camera skills or lack thereof, we finally snapped one...only to have Mary delete it on accident! We finally just settled on one because when it comes to taking photos, Maggie is more than challenged.

Me: "Hey mom, your finger is covering up the flash."
Mom: "Hmm...I wonder which finger it is...Oh! Look there's a hat on the ground!"

Overall it was an awesome week! The food was great, the sights were spectacular, and the hotel was beautiful and in a great location as well. About every time we would walk up and down the street, there was a kindly Arab man who would try hollerin' at Maggie.

Crazy Hookah Man: "Oh, you are surely their sister, right?" "Ayyy, Mummy!!"

This definitely provided us with great entertainment and enough of a reason to not eat at his restaurant.

Again, thank you Mummy and thank you Mary for coming! I know Hannah and I had so much fun with yall here! You are missed so much! LOVE YOU!

[Que: inside joke]

Well...I am not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...so I better get going!

cheers!

janie

Ich bin ein Berliner

This past weekend, Hannah and I went on our first out-of-England trip, Berlin, Germany. We found a bus that went from a bus stop right near the mall in Hatfield, directly to Luton, the airport we would fly out of. Downside: The bus left at 10pm on Friday and our flight did not leave until Saturday at 6:45 am. Therefore, Hannah and I (Jannah, is what we refer to ourselves now to save time) spent the next 8 hours wandering the airport, playing Rummy and Crazy 8's, reading ridiculous British Tabloids, people watching, and eating hummus. We probably slept for 30 minutes.

On our way through security Ievidently posed some sort of security risk when the button on my pants set off their alarm, so I got frisked for the first time, lucky me. We boarded the plane and
within the first 10 minutes after take-off, Jannah was zonked out for the remainder of
the ride.


Upon arrival, we got our passports stamped and made our way through the gate and met up with my cousin, Jesse who has been living in Germany for the past 6 years. He served as a great tour guide and I am completely positive that we would have gotten very lost without him.



He took us around to all of the great sights in Berlin: The Church of St. Nicholas, the oldest church in Berlin, St. Thomas Church, the biggest one, the famous TV tower, the Holocaust Monument, the Berlin Wall, and many others. It was an amazing day out!




From there, we went to check into the Sunflower Hostel which had a wonderful location near the train station and a cafe that probably served the best falafel I've ever had (the only falafel I've ever had.) Later that night, Jannah met up with Jesse and his buddy Steve. Steve took us to this hole-in-the-wall place that honestly looked like a hallway out of an old warehouse. There were posters, grafitti, and tons of twinkle lights. There were different rooms off each side of the hallway with guys playing some live music and a couple bars. It was definitely a culture shock, but a couple Wodka Schnapps and Biers later, I was loving it! (I happened to pick up on a couple German words, very culturally stimulating)



Sunday, there was a giant Flea Market going on about a 5 minute walk from our hostel. We met up with Jesse and headed out that way. They had EVERYTHING! It was so great, there were scarves, hats, jewelry, art, clothes, junk, antiques, junk, and lots of things that my mom would've not been able to live without that I would have had to talk her out of buying. I got a very pretty ring that I haven't taken off since I bought it! After showing us around the market, Jesse had to get back home, we were sad to see him go.
Hannah and I then went to the grocery store to get some stuff to make sandwiches, I have never been so confused while grocery shopping. The only thing that I was certain of was the "Wodka" which I had become very familiar with the night before. Eventually, we found bread and jelly but spent about 15 minutes trying to decide as to what jar might have peanut butter inside. We finally picked one out, and naturally, we made the wrong choice and got stuck eating Honey-butter-mush-bleh and jelly sandwiches for a couple days.

On our way back to the Hostel, we decided that this would be a good day to just stay in and take it easy. Hannah and I went down to the lobby and were playing some cards when the group of people at the table over asked if we wanted to "join in a proper card game?" We thought that sounded really fun, so we joined them! MISTAKE. 1) Their "proper" game was Circle of Death 2) They were drinking Jaeger 3) They were Irish. I think they invented drinking. Well the rest of the night Hannah and I spent trying to decipher what they were talking about half the time and the other half trying to disguise our lack of drinking abilities. We had so much fun, they were all hilarious.

On Monday, Jannah woke up, had another Jelly and Bleh sandwich and decided to go explore some other parts of Berlin we hadn't seen. We saw so many old shops and cafes and a lot of great old architecture. I also stumbled upon, quite possibly, the greatest ice cream shop ever, coffee and chocolate, I was speechless, literally.

Later that evening we met up with our newly made Irish friends, and once again, we assumed the title of "the Americans" for the rest of the night. We all signed up for a pub-crawl that was being put on for all of the guests in the hostel: Only €10, 3 German pubs, 4 free shots, 1 dance club, and 1 free beer. (I think it sounds best to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas") Well the night was a success gallivanting around Germany with the Irish + 2.
Unfortunately, Our pub-crawl guide proved to be a total jerk who enjoyed not giving our table our drinks which we paid for and leaving half our group at the previous pubs. Therefore, Irish Mitch thought it only fair to squirt soap all over her back without her knowing. We all concurred.

Well since the clubs didn't close until about 7am. Most of our group made it back to the hostel and hung out in the lobby listened to music and watched the sun rise. It was a great way to end/kick off our last night/day in Berlin.

3 hours of sleep, a jelly and honey-gross sandwich later, Hannah and I were headed for the airport to catch our flight.

Going through airport security was, again, a real treat! Hannah got drilled on all of the information on her passport. "Wherk were yough born?" "Whenk is yourgh birthkday?"
I then, had the privilege of being frisked...again, while Hannah's bag got rummaged through while they talked German and pointed at us. Good times!

When we finally boarded the plane, I was getting situated in my seat when over the plane loud-speaker the announcement blared: "Will a 'Jane Keehn' please make herself known?"

My first thoughts:

"They really must not like me, I better not have been selected to do that damn strip search..."

and

"It's not my birthday..."

Turns out I just dropped my insurance card in the terminal. Whew.

We arrived back in London around 11:00 pm tired and ready to catch the 11:30 bus back home. But that would just be too easy, of course on a Tuesday night the next bus after 10:30pm would not leave until 2:55 am. We just decided to pass out on the floor of the airport until 2:30 am, and that's just what we did. We caught the night bus and were back in Hatfield by 4:30 am and completely exhausted.

It was such a fun trip! So glad we went, and we will probably get to see our Irish friends in 2 weeks when we head to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day!

The upcoming week will also be great fun, my mom and sister are coming to visit for the week and my friends, Gabe and Melissa!

Keehn Girls + London = Epic Weekend.

Can't Wait!!

cheers!

Janie

Weekend in London - PUNK!

So last weekend Hannah's flat mate, Stu, was able to set us up with a really cool deal. He got us on a list to get into PUNK! which is this night club near Piccadilly Circus in London. Hannah and I boarded an evening train on Saturday and were on our way. Sadly, we had to get aboard the train that makes about 12 stops between Hatfield and London, and it makes for a pretty long ride.

I was just staring out my window, taking in the sight is Wembley stadium when I turned back to find this angelic face looking back at me. Obviously, I began to laugh uncontrollably and bugged Hannah until she would make the face for the camera. "Don't worry, I'll delete it."




I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to out-do her face, and this was the best I could come up with, pathetic attempt, I know.



Well we met up with Rosie upon arrival at King's Cross station and went back to her apartment. The 3 Muskateers reunited at last. We got ready and set up a lovely game of "Eff the Dealer" and "Circle of Death". We did not really pay any attention to the rules, just a fun way to make each other look ridiculous while drinking.

We semi-lost track of time so we had to hurry to the train station to make it across town to PUNK before they stopped letting people in. So there were 3 girls decked out in dresses and high heels gallivanting through the train station trying to navigate. We finally arrived and got there just in time!

Upon arrival, we found Stu and the bottle of vodka for our table. It was great from there on out. We spent the rest of the night wandering around this club dancing, laughing, and meeting new people. While Hannah was ordering a drink at the bar I discovered this gathering on the stage. I stood in front of the stage looking up in awe at the free-flowing champagne, dancing, and celebrating, we needed to get up there. Luckily, the birthday boy agreed. Rosie, Hannah, and I got invited to come up and join this guy's birthday party! It was so much fun! We were dancing fools!

By this point in the evening, Hannah and I had to switch shoes. In the middle of the club, I unbuckled my shoes to give to Hannah since she needed the extra surface area on her heels. That night, she reminded me of the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz on roller skates. Her balance was basically, non-existent which provided her with multiple dancing opportunities/people to hold on to. It was hilarious.

Well naturally, we shut the club down and our Footloose night had to come to an end. Hannah's and mine feet were killing us, so we ditched our shoes while trying to hail a taxi to get us home. I the proceeded to sing an off-key rendition of "Barefoot in London" to the tune of "Walking in Memphis." I don't think anyone really appreciated this gesture.

There were only bike carriages at this point in the night so we each took turns going from biker to biker asking the price to take us home. It was my turn, and I approached the carriage

Me: "How much would it be to 3 of us to Windsor?"
Biker: "30 pounds"

And we did NOT have that much money on us so that wasn't going to work.

As I turned around, there was this guy just standing there. Out of nowhere, He asked:

Puddle Kicker: "Are you American?"
Me: "Umm...yes."

He then thought that the appropriate action to this response would be to kick a giant puddle of water in my direction and then walk off without a single word. I was completely caught off guard. It literally looked like I had taken a shower with my clothes on. Sadly, due to the craziness of the entire situation, the best comeback my friends could come up with was to yell: "YOU'RE DUMB!" at the Puddle Kicker as he strolled away. Thanks guys.

We were about to just give up on the biker taxis and walk when (most likely out of pity) some guy goes "I can take you for 15 pounds."
That was our guy! We all hopped in the carriage and he began to pedal away from the club. I found a blanket on the bench that I wanted to cover up with due to the fact that I looked like a wet dog and was freezing, however Hannah was sitting on it.

Me: "Hey Hannah, stand up just a bit, the blanket is underneath you."
Hannah: "I can't."
Me: "Don't be silly, yes you can!"

(I then proceed to yank the blanket out from under her. Woops)

Under normal circumstances I'm sure that this would not have been that big of a deal. However, Hannah's center of gravity was a bit off this evening and she proceeded to tumble out of the carriage. I felt so badly! But, she would be proud to say that she did not spill her purse!!

Well during our little trip home, we made small talk with the biker. He was a very nice guy 22, from Turkey. As we were riding along we all pitched in our 5 pounds to pay him at the end. However, came to the realization that we had no money left to tip him with. Sometime after this observation, Rosie established that he was now going to be my boyfriend and that I would be in charge of "tipping" him at the end of the ride. I just laughed, my nervous laugh, because there was no way that was happening.Rosie: "So, where are you from?"
Turkish Boyfriend: "I'm from Turkey"
Me: "Oh, that's too bad, I prefer Ham."

He didn't get it...total let down.
________________________________________________________

Well we arrived at Rosie's apartment, and we all hopped off and start walking toward the gate.

Turkish Boyfriend: "Don't I get my kiss?"

FML. Me being a team player, the only single one out of the three of us, and being forced against my will, walked up to my "boyfriend" and puckered my lips and go in for a nice innocent peck. He had something entirely different planned, however. He leaned in and KISSED me, big time. I pulled away..."Uhh...Okay, so are we good now?" He proceeded to grab my neck and pull me in for yet another big ol' kiss. (I brushed my teeth for a solid 5 minutes that night.)

By this point, Hannah and Rosie were basically rolling on the ground laughing, offering no sense of support or concern for my dignity or safety.

I walked away with a look of complete shock. That is the last time we don't leave money for a tip, that is a solemn vow.


Berlin this weekend!

cheers.

Jane