It's about that time again...

So I got this crazy idea in my head tonight. For awhile, I've been feeling the itch to travel. Lying awake at night, dreaming of the places I could be (this is what happens when you live in a small town) has me practically drooling over cities all over the world. But I don't want a city where I can't speak the language; Spain was great fun, but I'm not sure I'm ready to do that again. Australia? I love flying, but just getting to Hawaii almost killed me. Iceland? Too cold. Somewhere in the US? Nah, international is better (I'm a bit of a snob). London? Close, but still a bit strange--not so interested in fish and chips. Then it hit me. Dublin.

I've always wanted to go to Ireland. Always. I thought about this summer, but tickets are easily a thousand bucks and I don't have the kind of money for that. So then I thought "Hey! I have a lot of time off at Christmas break. Who needs to work when you can go to Ireland?" Flights around Christmastime are, for some strange reason, about half of what they are in the summer (less tourism, I guess) and you can get a roundrip for about $600 which really isn't too bad. I found some awesome hostels that will help keep the price down (after all, I'm not there to sit around in a hotel room anyway) and some awesome guided tours. Plus they do this thing called a pub crawl that guarantees it will be both unforgettable and forgotten (too much beer does that to you, I guess). Hehe!

Man, I really want to go. Now to find someone to go with me (I'm not sure I'm ready to do it all on my own) and to convince my parents it's a good idea. Oh, and to watch my mother turn green with envy. Now if there was only a way to get to Scotland while I was over there anyway...