SURF AND YOGA!

OMG! This was so awesome! I'm so glad I signed up for this program
through SAS. The weather was kinda crappy in the morning so I thought it
was going to get cancelled... thank god it didn't! We took a bus to this
little beach resort about an hour away and it turned out to be a really
nice day out! I opted to surf first... the waves were pretty crazy. We
got a little lesson...wet suits and all... and then went right out into
the water. I got up a few times and it felt so good to be at the beach/
in the ocean. Then we did yoga inside while the other half of the group
surfed. Had a really good pineapple and cheese sandwich and sangria!
(Didn't compare to Lobster Trap though!). The owner gave me a t-shirt of
the resort. (Unik Lounge.. look it up!). It really was an awesome day...
we were there from about 10AM to 2PM. Wonderful first impression of
Portugal :) Had a really fun night out back in Lisbon too!

Spent the second day just exploring Lisbon a bit. I decided to travel on
the boat to Cadiz instead of over landing (save money/ relax). We're
getting into Cadiz bright and early tomorrow! I'm planning on spending
half the day exploring/ shopping and the other half posting up at the
beach! Weather is supposed to be a lot nicer than it has been the last
few days! The second day I'm doing a guided market tour/ tapas tasting.
It's going to be a lot of seafood so I'm excited! I had some cod in
Portugal... horrendous. So hopefully Spain seafood is better!

I'll post more pictures after Spain!

and more beach!

Beach!

Beach!

Fishing!

After going across the rope bridge!

Here's some flowers mom :)

COWS EVERYWHERE!

The boys

Giant's Causeway

Kiss me I'm Irish

I'm not Irish, but this was by far my favorite place so far! The boat
docked in Dublin so I spent the first night there, but then I went up to
Northern Ireland with Dani and Savannah. Thought of Jon when I was at
all the little Irish pubs.. he would've LOVED them! Dani has a friend
who worked at Disney with her that goes to school there. Him and his
friends had an adorable little house and were SO funny and nice. They
showed us around and we were able to see/ do SO much more than we
would've been able to exploring on our own. James was nice enough to
drive all the way down to grab us Saturday morning. We picked up his
friend Broadie then went to see the port where the Titanic was built in
Belfast, Ireland. It was very cool... I'm obsessed with the Titanic.
Later that day I took a stab at driving Broadie's little red mini
cooper. It was a standard and we had to drive on the opposite side of
the road but Dad.. you would've been proud! Haha. We ate at a great
little place called the Nook... I had some Beef and Guinness pie.. an
Irish classic. After that we drove up and down the coast a little to
Giant's Causeway. It's a natural wonder of the world.. google it you'll
be amazed! So beautiful! It's huge cliffs and these natural rock
formations that are unreal. We spent a few hours there hiking around and
enjoying it all.

The next day we went a little further down the coast to a place called
Carrick-a-Rede where we walked over a really cool rope bridge and did
some more hiking. The landscape and views were amazing! You guys
would've loved it.. especially Bruce. We did some Irish mini golf (which
is nothing like the fun and games put put at home) right on the beach.
Lots of fun! They took us down to a beach after that before we went to
dinner. At that point the sun was setting so it was gorgeous. There were
men fishing ... I got some great pics to frame for dad. After spending
one more night at their place we headed back to Dublin on a bus this
morning (Monday, September 23rd).

I'm back on the boat now.. we're setting sail and heading for Portugal
and Spain. We'll be in Portugal Friday and Saturday then Spain on
Monday/ Tuesday. We're allowed to travel on land, but I'm planning on
staying on the boat and just taking full advantage of the two ports...
not going to travel out of the two cities (Lisbon and Cadiz) because I
heard they are both great! The first day in Portugal I'm doing a surf
and yoga day on the beach... fingers crossed that the weather is good!

Hope everything is going well at home :)

XOXO
Katrinket (Donny this is for you! LOL)

7 cities in 5 days!

I'm surprised I'm even awake enough to write after the jam-packed 5 days I've had! I traveled overland between the Antwerp and Le Havre ports so was able to see 7 whole cities in 3 countries (Belgium, Netherlands, France)! Sorry I can't post any pictures right now, but I'll get them up eventually... I have about 300. Here's the run down of what I did :)

Day One
    We got into Antwerp, Belgium and I loved it the second I got off the boat! It was so adorable.. a really small city with cobblestones roads and old looking buildings. Did some exploring... got delicious french fries and tried some Belgian beers. The waffles were UNBELIEVABLY good.. I got one with strawberries, chocolate and whip cream on it. Brian (my friend from Bentley) and I took a train to Leiden in the Netherlands around 7. He has a friend (Denise) that studied abroad at Bentley who showed us around and we stayed with for the next couple nights. It was really nice to have someone who lived there to show us around. That first night we hung out with her and some of her friends from the University of Tilburg. We had the pleasure of riding bikes around.. which everyone does in Europe. It was fun and interesting to say the least on the late night ride home (I'll share the hilarious details in person when I get back).

Day Two
    We woke up and had some traditional Dutch breakfast foods (Cornbread, ham, Nutella, cheese). She had us try this Slankie stuff that was kinda like a combo of cheese and butter... so of course it was good. Also... stroopwafles are to die for. They are like waffle cookies with caramel in the middle. Safe to stay I had about 20 in the 48 hours we spent with her. She showed us around University of Tilburg campus a bit then we went to the city of Lieden which was nice. We ate on a rooftop restaurant, went in a mill (they are all over the place in the Netherlands) and looked around the shopping area. There was a store called Oil & Vinegar that had all sorts of oils and dips. You could taste test everything... and I literally did try everything. There was really good honey mustard, balsamic glazes, brushettas and such! Reminded me of the Southern Living dips/ bread that we always have at family parties! She then took us to the Haag which is another city before we went back to stay over at her parents' house.

Day Three
    We got up pretty to head into Amsterdam! We pretty much got a full day in there. We went to the Anne Frank House, but it was closed because of Yum Kappur which stunk because I heard from a bunch of other SAS kids that it was a really cool experience. Did some more taste testing at a place called Old Amsterdam Cheese... YUM. Got Kiera a pair of wooden Dutch shoe slippers that are the cutest things ever! We went to the Heineken Brewery. It was just about two hours long, but very cool. We got to learn all about how the beer was made and how the company came about/ grew. There were some cool interactive parts.. such as tasting and getting free Heineken! After this we said bye to Denise becasue she had to go home, and a little later that night we took an overnight (10PM-7AM) bus to Paris. I was able to talk to Mom and Bruce a little bit from Kate and Jon's wedding, but the WiFi wasn't strong enough to FaceTime. I was really bummed out thinking about missing it, but Kate you looked amazing and I was 150% there in spirit to make up for not physically being there :) LOL

Day Four
    Was already beyond exhausted by the time we got to Paris at 7AM, but we dove right into exploring. Both of us had been there so we kinda just wandered around. Saw the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triumph and Moulin Rouge again. We made it back to Le Havre, where the boat was docked, via train at about 5PM.

Day Five
    Today, I had a really cool field program for my World Geography course. We went to some D-Day sites from WWII. It was a two hour bus ride out to the beaches. We started at the Pointe de Hoc which is where the allies invaded on D-Day (June 6, 1944). It was very informative and interesting-- our tour guide and teacher were both great! From there we went to Omaha Beach (I took some sand home!), the American Cemetery/ Memorial, and a D-Day museum. I learned so much and had a really great time. So far, it's been one of my favorite things that I can't wait to show picture of and tell you all about when I get home! Just got back from that a few hours ago. I've been getting re-settled on the boat and just relaxing. Going to get some work done and probably pass out soon since it's been an exhausting five days. Hard to believe just three days of class then I'll be in Dublin!

Talk to you all soon!
XOXO

Hamburg and Berlin.. check!

Hi everyone! I'm at an internet cafe by the ship.. we're leaving Germany later on today! I loved it here! On the first day I went to a concentration camp outside the city a bit. It was an experience that is really hard to explain, but I'm glad I went! The rest of the day we explored a little bit... ate lots of bratwurst and drank some German beer. Had a really good dinner in Hafencity which is a part of Hamburg. We went out in the Red Light district at night which was... interesting to say the least, but wicked fun! Friday morning, me and a few girls took a three hour train ride into Berlin. Lot's of sightseeing (the pic above is the Berlin Dome) and exploring! We stayed over night there and came back to Hamburg in the afternoon yesterday. Took it easy last night because I got up at 6AM to go to this fish market. Here's some pics from that! Next time I post I'll be in either Belgium or France! XOXO

Germany Bound!

Hi everyone! We're less than 24 hours from Hamburg, Germany! For the
last ten hours of our trek we're going through the Kiel Canal
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_canal) which links the North Sea and
the Baltic Sea. I had to post a picture because when I looked out the
window of the ship, I was shocked at how much it felt like we were going
through the Cape Cod Canal! We'll be in Germany for 4 days. I'm planning
on spending some time in Hamburg and venturing to Berlin to see the
Berlin Wall and the Holocaust Museum!

xoxo
Katrina

St.Petersburg!

 

Getting ready to leave St. Petersburg! Had a great time exploring the city and getting even more used to life at sea. The top left picture is me in front of the Hermitage museum. I wrote the Tim McGraw quote "Live Like You Were Dying" out on pieces of paper and I'm going to hold them up in front of different things throughout my trip so I can put together a cool frame. The building in the back ground of the picture on the top right is the Church of the Spilled Blood. It was by far the prettiest building in Russia. And, of course, I had to try on and take pics in RUSSIAN FUR HATS for you mom :) Love you all ... I'll post again after Germany!