Somewhere along the line, life started happening, and now I have 21 years tucked neatly under my belt.

Frightening, really, that my light up sneakers have turned into high heels, my Babysitter’s Club books have evolved into political theory, my playdates have shifted to bar nights, and my sticker collection has morphed into a passport stamp collection.

I long for the days when theses weren’t hanging over your head, when “papers” were only 5-paragraph book reports, when thoughts of the future didn’t mean much more than the next couple of days, let alone the rest of your life.

I long to be 7 years old, sitting on the soft sand in Long Beach Island, NJ with my friends and family, just waiting for the sun to set and dinner to be over so that I could go to my favorite ice cream shop.

Somebody, please, take me back there?

…buuuut, it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside!  Sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, and just a wee bit of a chill (that I actually find quite refreshing!)!

Therefore, I made an executive decision and decided that I’m going to go explore Paris in all its sunshine-y, late winter-y beauty.

Alas, no blogs for the time being.  But fear not!  I have class later on until 9:15, but after that, I will be sitting down with a bottle – I mean glass – of red wine, and blogging the night away :)

*   *   *     several hours later     *   *   *

Okay!  So I am finally in a position to get my life in order!  I had a pretty busy week, what with a paper due on Tuesday, a paper due today, and an exposé today in my Environmental Diplomacy class.  My exposé was on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is the leading scientific and intergovernmental body for the assessment of climate change.  Its job is to provide to the world with accurate scientific, technical and socio-economic information.  The whole point of exposés is to unearth the controversy or questions surrounding your assigned topic, and so I focused on how politics is affecting the IPCC, and whether or not the IPCC will be able to overcome the problems it is currently facing (i.e. conflicts of interest, political fragmentation, political pressures, etc.).  Alright, I suppose that’s enough of an environmental lesson for now.

Moving on!  After I got out of class, I was in an incredibly giddy, adventurous mood, as I said earlier on in today’s entry.  I decided to check out Rue Mouffetard, which is known for its cute stores, cafés, restaurants and markets.  It was such a great, interesting little street!  It took about 10 minutes to get there from my apartment, and then about 20 minutes to walk slowly from one end to the other.  I found a few tiny stores who had cheap shoes, clothing, and accessories (who knew stuff like this existed in Paris?), and saw a Greek restaurant and a sandwich shop I want to try sometime over the next few weeks.

After I reached the end of the street, I sat in a little park where parents were watching their children play.  Little French kiddies are adorable!  One mother was teaching her little girl how to slide down a slide.  Unfortunately for her, the poor girl wasn’t quite grasping the concept, and her mother eventually gave up, laughing.  Another mother and her 1-year old son were sitting next to me on the bench, and he just smiled and giggled when I said bonjour in my little kid voice.  As I was sitting there watching the children play, I realized how quickly life flies by.  Those little kids aren’t going to be little kids for long.  It’s kind of crazy that my own childhood is becoming fuzzy in my memory, and I’m only 10-15 years removed from it.

Anyways, I eventually decided to head back towards my apartment, and as I was passing the Panthéon, I decided to wander in and check it out.  I got in for free (woohoo, Sciences Po ID strikes again!), grabbed my little info booklet, and started walking around.  I saw Foucault’s pendulum, which was pretty cool.  What I thought was more interesting, however, was checking out the cyrpt down below.  I saw the tombs of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Pierre & Marie Curie, Jean Moulin, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas and Emile Zola.  So many famous people!

After my crypt wanderings, I sat on the steps just outside and admired the beauty of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  I took a few pictures, and then eventually started my long walk home.

I arrived in 3 minutes.  As in 120 seconds.  Man, I just love the location of my apartment.

Anyways, we finally boarded the plane, and as we took off, I marveled at the adorable innocence of children around the world.  In front of my, there was a little English boy telling his mother he thought that clouds were the consistency of cotton candy.  Behind me, there was a boy telling his father that he wanted to be a professional traveler when he grew up.  They were both so adorable.  I didn’t get a chance to listen to them very much, because within minutes, I was passed out, most likely with my tongue hanging out and a wee bit of spittle beginning to form at the corner of my mouth (kidding…sort of).

Before I knew it, the pilot was announcing our arrival in Dublin.  I got off the train and felt a smile bubbling up.  Everything was in English!  It felt as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders; I hadn’t realized how stressful it was to constantly be thinking in French and trying to figure out how to ask for directions, advice, and suggestions from people, until I no longer had to do it.  In addition, I saw these weird, shimmering white things on people’s faces…teeth?  Could it be?  Were people actually…smiling?!  Yes, genuine smiles, even early in the morning.  Hell, even the simple thought that I was in Ireland was enough to put that large, dopey grin on my face.

I hopped on a bus to get to the heart of Dublin, and just missed the walking tour I wanted to go on.  I managed to find the tourist information office and grabbed a map and some brochures.  I thought I knew where I was going, but as I’m directionally challenged, I ended up on a random street corner, holding my map upside-down (and probably inside-out) trying to figure out where I was headed.  I must have had an absolutely bewildered look on my face, because a kind-looking older man came up to me and said, You look like you could use a bit of direction! To which I responded YES PLEASE!  And with that, kind old Jerry began leading me to the bus stop, which was easily a 10-minute walk out of his way.  We discussed some Irish history, the best places to grab a pint and eat fish & chips, and he was the nicest stranger I’ve encountered in months.  I mean, geez, ask for directions in Paris and you get scowled at!  Talk about a difference!

Anyways, I got on my bus (thank you, Jerry) and was off toward Kilmainham Gaol.  I made it just in time for the guided tour, where I learned a lot of interesting things about both the jail and Irish history.  The jail was built in 1796, and operated as a prison for around 130 years until 1926.  Our tour guide told us that children as young as seven years old were imprisoned for crimes such as petty theft, which I still can’t get over.  I’ll spare you the rest of the history…

After taking some spooky photos in the jail, I made the 15-minute walk to the famous Guinness Storehouse!  I was overwhelmed by how tall it was – seven stories, and shaped like a pint of Guinness to boot!  The tour itself was self guided, and I learned all about the ingredients in Guinness (barley, hops, yeast, water!) and how they are combined to make the perfect pint.  The tour culminated in a free pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar, which is the 7th floor of the building.  It offered amazing views of Dublin, so I snagged a seat by the window and looked out onto the city sprawling in front of and beneath me.  It was incredible.

I slowly enjoyed my pint, and eventually decided to make my way from the Storehouse to my hostel.  After a lovely 40 minute stroll through Dublin, I arrived at Isaacs Hostel.  Chrissy had actually done the research on hostels, and I must say, she did a great job.  It was located only 5 minutes from O’Connell Street, and about 10 minutes from Temple Bar.  The hostel itself was really nice, new and clean, and the desk staff was extremely helpful and friendly.

After I dropped my stuff off, I decided to explore the city some more.  I walked down O’Connell Street and peered into the storefronts (English bookstore? SO AMAZING).  I walked by the beautiful Trinity College.  I walked down Dame Street, and “accidentally” stumbled upon a little pastry shop Kelsey highly recommended, called Queen of Tarts.  I knew I simply had to go in, so I ordered some of their famous carrot cake.  I (very carefully) shoved it into my purse to save it for after dinner (pretty sure I looked ridiculous carrying around a piece of carrot cake, but…well, that’s just me).  Carrot cake upright in tow, I decided to check out Beshoff on O’Connell Street.  This was the fabulous fish and chips place that Jerry recommended earlier in the day, so I had high expectations.  I ordered the cod and chips (even though I think Jerry told me the haddock was where it was at), and was very pleased with the delicious greasiness of the meal.

With a tum full of fish and chips, I decided to head over to the Celt on Talbot Street to wait for Chrissy, who was due in within a couple hours.  It was an adorable little Irish pub with live music and great beers on tap.  I tried Cashel’s, which the bartender told me was similar to the Bulmer’s I originally ordered.  Lo and behold, I discovered my affinity for cider!  I had a few pints and ended up talking to the bartender and to a Scottish girl and her mom.  I still can’t get over how friendly every one is!  After a few hours in the Celt, I was feeling pretty sleepy, so I headed back to the hostel.  Chrissy made it eventually, and the two of us decided to call it a night so that we’d be recharged and ready to roll for our tour of the Wicklow Mountains early the next morning.

After less than 24 hours in Dublin, I was already wondering why I didn’t choose Trinity College instead…