Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels


December 21- January 4

End of December Marvin came to Innsbruck and after a few days, we were on a plane heading to Ireland. We flew in Dublin around 3pm and got to our hotel. We were staying right across the street from the Christchurch and a ten minute walk to Trinity College. The location of the hotel was perfect and we never had to take public transportation. The first night we went to dinner at Bull and Castle for steak and ribs. The next day we headed to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. We then walked to Grafton street and then headed up towards the Cathedral. The Cathedral of St. Patrick was amazing. High ceilings and stain glass. After the cathedral we headed to Christchurch. Very different inside then the Cathedral. For dinner we went to Porterhouse for beer and bar food and then walked around Temple bar. The next day we headed to Kilmainham Goal and took a tour. Then after the tour we walked to Phoenix park and then to the Jameson distillery for whiskey tasting and tour. After Jameson we headed to Guinness for beer tasting and tour. We then went back to Porterhouse for dinner. Christmas Eve we took a Cliff of Moher tour. We got up at 6am and drove 4 hours to the Cliffs of Moher. On the way we stopped in Limerick and saw the River Shannon. Then we went to the Cliffs which were breathtaking and after the Cliffs we headed tot the Burren.  After the Burren we went to Corcomroe Abbey and then lunch. On Christmas, we went to church at Christchurch and then walked around, most things were closed. We had dinner at our hotel. The next day we went to St. Stephens Green and then off to the airport to head to Paris. 

We got into Paris very late the 26th. So the next morning we started our adventure. We head to the
Sacré-Cœur, the basilica in Paris. After that we walked to the Place de la Concorde and walked around to see the old Grand Palais and the Invalides. We then stumbled upon a grocery store that had mini restaurants in it. It was very cool and thats were we got lunch.  We then headed back to the hotel for a nap. We went to dinner at Le Bistrot Sud Ouest. It was very good and I got duck and Marvin got lamb. The next day we headed towards the Eiffel Tower. We decided not to go to the top during the day because the line was very long. So we headed toward the Military museums which ended up having the museum passes we wanted. The passes were a great idea. We didn't have to wait in as many lines and the lines we did have to wait in were short. After we got the passes we headed the the Museum Rodin and saw the famous statue the Thinker. After that we headed the the Museum O'rsay. Which was a beautiful building and beautiful works of art. Then we headed back to the hotel which had a view of the Eiffel Tower from the balcony. We then went to dinner and again very, very good. After dinner the line to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower was smaller so we went up. The next day we headed to Norte Dame and the Lourve. The Lourve is huge and very overwhelming! I could see how people spend a whole day there. We headed back to the hotel and then got dinner at another very good restaurant. The next day we went and saw the pantheon and then off to the train to Amsterdam.

When we got to Amsterdam the first thing we noticed were the people! There were so many tourists.  We headed to the apartment that was 30 mins by tram. The apartment we stayed at was so homey and comfortable, I really felt like I was at home. That night we just got take-away sushi. The next day we went into town and saw the old churches and Rembrandt house. For dinner again take-away sushi. It was such good fish! New Years Eve night we just stayed in and watched fireworks from our balcony. New Years day we headed to the Van Gogh museum and Anne Franks house. After that we did the Heineken Experience. We walked around and saw all the lights and went to the Christmas Market. The next day we went to Vondel Park and then it was off to the train station to Brussels.

When we got to Brussels we were in the middle of the city and our hotel was 30 seconds away from the Grand Place. So, we saw the Town Hall and the Mannekin Pis. The next day we head to go see the basilica and the cathedral. We also saw the Royal Palace. We had lots of waffles and some chocolate. The beer was also very good. The next day, we went on a guided tour of the town hall and saw the Jeanekke pis which is the female version of the Mannekin Pis. We then headed to the airport.

The last day Marvin was here, we went up to the very top of the mountain.

Pictures are posted on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/shannonthomp/media_set?set=a.10204222886706152.1073741848.1046910070&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/shannonthomp/media_set?set=a.10204222890586249.1073741849.1046910070&type=3

August- December

Well I had decided that I wasn't going to post for my second year in Austria but decided that I will start again!

So beginning of August I moved back to Innsbruck to start my second year playing for VC Tirol.

August
Heading from DC to Istanbul was great smooth easy 10 hour flight with four seats to myself. Little did I know I was then going to be stuck in Istanbul for 19 hours. I luckily met one other American and two Austrians from Tirol. We all got a hotel and then headed back to the airport the next day. I finally made it to Munich and then off to Innsbruck. When I got back in Innsbruck, I then had to leave to go to Maribor a 6 hour drive. I went to Maribor with my coach to get two other Americans. We picked two girls and were driving back to Innsbruck. The next two weeks we didn't have any training or anything so we just went to the fitness center and got readjusted. The last week in August we had training camp for a week that had two-a-days.

September
September was a great month because my sisters and Jim came to visit! They came mid September and we went to Zurich for the day and then saw the Neuschwanstein castle. They also drove to my tournament in Carcare, Italy. After the Italy tournament we headed to Verona for the night and the next day. September we only had our one tournament which we did well in!

October
In October we started our regular season play. We won most of our matches and played very well. We also started our German class.

November
I went to Salzburg for the day with my coach and teammate. We just walked around and explored different churches and the castle. November was a good month for playing. We won most matches and bumped up to third place. We celebrated Thanksgiving with some of our Austrian friends.

December
December my parents came and visited in the beginning of the month! They were able to come to two of my matches. I was able to spend a few days with them in Innsbruck, Vienna, and Munich. I took them around the Christmas markets. We finished the first half our season in second place.