I have become a world traveler...

Hello everyone…



Sorry for the delay in blog posts. Also, I couldnt get my picturess to upload,  so check back in a day and i will hopefully have them up! Things have been very crazy over the past few weeks from illness to a crazy night on the town to a beautiful and exciting journey through Prague.


My illness just kept getting worse… very disappointing. It kept me inside for a while, but as soon as I was feeling better I was right back to running! A couple weeks ago was Copenhagen Fashion Week here in Copenhagen. There were models everywhere. The fashion shows were all over the city along with crazy private parties thrown for the designers, models, and other special guests. One night a group of friends and I went out on the town and myself and 2 others decided to take a detour to this club where all the “pretty people” go. Its one of those pretty exclusive places that always has a very long line. As we walked by, we decided to stop and check how much the cover would be… The bouncers just let us in. After dancing to the raging techno music, a man came up and started talking to my guy friend and we find out that he is the manager! So after a long conversation with him, we discovered we were at a private party for fashion week! It was sooo fun! I had been wondering why all the women were SOOOO tall!


Before my experience at the club, I met with Rebecca (the first au pair) for a really nice dinner in a café right next to my apartment. She was in Copenhagen for the week to buy all of the shoes for next winter for her shoe store in Hornslet, DK. I hardly recognized her! She is absolutely beautiful and I was so happy that even just being with me for one year when I was 5 years old, that she could know me as well as she did. It was pretty amazing to see how much of an impact being an au pair has had on her life, as well as the lives of the other au pairs I have seen. Rebecca and I sat together for a few hours and looked through a photo album from when she was my au pair. It was so funny to see us all from when we were so young. The next evening, I met Becca at the metro, and we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and then headed to her brothers apartment in Copenhagen where she was staying. I met one of his sons, and we all sat around and talked about everything and everyone and ate candy! It was such a relaxing and wonderful night. It really made me feel happy to know that I had a place and people to be with that could make me feel so at home in such a different place. I also met with Christina Lindquist at a café after she finished with work. It was amazing to see her as well. She and Rebecca are both very happy. Christina is living just over the bridge in Sweden. It was so fun to reminisce with both of them.


On Friday, I left Copenhagen for a trip to Prague. All I can say is WOW! This is a very beautiful city with so much history behind every beautiful building that I saw. We stayed in a disgusting hostel in the very center of the city, and saw so many things. It was a very large group, but it still worked out very well. The first full day was spent sightseeing. We went to the castle, the incredible cathedral, and saw the most amazing view. In order to get to the castle, you have to climb tons of stairs, but you end up looking over the entire city. Every building is unique, yet beautiful in some way. The most amazing part of Prague, was the fact that the sun was shining! Not really used to the Vitamin D in Denmark, so I was instantly feeling energized and wanted to see everything. One of my favorite sights was the Lennon Wall. It is an incredible graffiti wall that began as a tribute to John Lennon after he was killed. Today, the wall is still standing, as colorful as ever.


The nightlife in Prague is out of this world. We went to this amazing sky bar on top of the Hilton in Prague. This place was clearly a very exclusive venue. Everything about it was phenomenal. The drinks that they served were known around the world. They have been talked about in the New York Times, and have won awards for being the most amazing drinks in the world. They were good, and beautiful with all of the interesting garnish, but the best part was how cheap it was. They were only about $8 USD… In Copenhagen, I probably would have cleared out my bank account for one! We also went to a 5-story club, which is the largest club in Europe. It was really fun with all of my friends. We stuck together, and felt like we were taking the place over. Us DIS people travel in packs… On the last day in Prague we climbed the clock tower in the center of the city. The view was fantastic. You could see the beauty from a whole different level (literally). This was a trip that I will never forget.






The next week, I met with Benedicte in the city, after she finished at the library for the day. We went to a café that is pretty much Denmark’s version of Starbucks, and just sat and talked for a long time about my plans for the rest of my Danish experience. The weirdest part is that it made me realize that I don’t have that much longer left here. I am traveling so much and I can hardly believe that it is the end of February. Benedicte and I made some plans to meet up at other times during my time here. I ended up meeting her at the library to do some studying last Tuesday. It was nice to get out of the apartment and have the quiet time to focus. I am now officially registered with the University of Copenhagen Library! Pretty cool!!! After some studying, we had lunch with one of B’s friends and then I had to head back to my area for class. After I finished with class, B came over to my place and I made her dinner. It was so delicious, I can hardly believe I can cook that well :-). I made salmon wellington, green beans, a mozzarella-tomato salad with balsamic dijon vinaigrette, and berry cobbler for dessert… pretty much the best meal I have had since I have been here. Soooo delicious!


After a long week of paper after paper being due for my classes, I finally made it to DUBLIN! This place is unbelievable. It is winter here and everything is still green! The people here are so friendly. Every Irish person just wants to help. Our hotel is connected to a restaurant and someone stands outside in the cold with a huge pot of soup and gives it to people for free to keep them warm! No one would ever do that in the US unless there was a catch! I came here with a very small group and it ended up being the best travel group I could have ever asked for. Everyone had such a great time together! The cherry on top was that my friends from Barcelona came to Dublin and I got to hang out with them. Ashley, Erin, Greer, and their friend Alex stayed in the same hotel as my friends and I and we went out the first night together. I really missed seeing familiar faces. It was so nice to see them, and so fun to hear about their experiences since they have been abroad!


The first day in Dublin, my group and I headed to the Guinness brewery. It was such a fun experience. The best part was at the end, we went up to the top to get a pint of Guinness, and look over all of Dublin. The bar was windows on every side and gave us a panoramic view of the city. After the brewery, we went out to dinner and then began our night on the town. I met up with the Barcelona girls and went to a club called The Palace. After the palace, I dragged Greer with me to meet up with my friends and we went to a place called Dandelion. That was the highlight of my evening. We danced the night away with a much older crowd. No matter the age in Dublin, it seems like they never forget how to party!


Yesterday my friends and I piled onto a hop on hop off tour bus and saw the entire city. We began the tour at St. Stevens Green which is so amazing. It is a huge park with ponds and waterfalls and gazebos. It was so beautiful. I wish I had enough time to just find a bench within the gates and read a good book. The green grass was so vibrant, and even though the weather was cold, it felt like it could be spring time. After the garden, we headed to St. Patricks Cathedral. The inside of this church was amazing. The gothic style was just breathtaking. So much history lies within the walls. It was truly incredible. After leaving the cathedral, we made our way to Kilmainham Gaol, which is an old prison that housed many political figures in Ireland. We took a tour into the jail, and it was really interesting to hear the history and how things worked back then. After a long day of jumping on and off a bus, we headed back to our hotel for dinner at the restaurant inside, and got to see some Irish dancing. Now I am sitting in my hotel room alone at about 6am Ireland time, because all of my friends had to catch an early flight to their study tour in London. I am going to go back to sleep and when I wake up I will be getting on a plan to my next exciting adventure in Scotland.


Hope all is well with everyone back in the States. Sorry it took so long to post again, but from the information, you can probably see why! Love and miss you!


-Alli