Hello! I am Nicole Miller a senior Advertising & Public Relations major with a minor in Psychology. I have been lucky enough to travel outside the country to Jamaica, the Caribbean, and Mexico, which are nothing like Iceland and Ireland. I enjoy food, knitting, and exploring. With that being said I cannot wait to eat local cuisine and buy lots of Icelandic sweaters. I hope to experience these cultures with an open mind, and take lots of pictures. Check out my daily blog to see what I will be eating and seeing on this trip!
This semester went by much faster than I thought! I feel as though I was just signing up for this course and now I am preparing to leave. Looking back on all I have learned this semester I am very excited to see these beautiful countries in person. From the hot springs in Iceland to the Peace Walls in Ireland I know that it will be an adventure exploring these new places.
In preparation for this trip I still have so much to do. I have only started to make a list of things that I need to pack, which is making me feel a bit anxious. I have looked up a lot of places to eat while on this trip, you can see where my priorities are. I hope that once finals week is over I will be able to gather my things to prepare for the trip. I am anxious but even more excited than I thought I would be. I cannot wait to see, taste, and adventure around Iceland, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland!
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WE HAVE LANDED! We made it to Iceland. The flight was hands down the best that I have ever been on. Somehow I lucked out and was able to get the seat recliners, TWO pillows and TWO Blankets. There were also free movies on the plane, and not crappy ones either. We were then served a meal on the plane which I had also never experienced. My dinner was chicken with kale. It was served cold, and also had cashews. It may not sound that good, but it was delicious.
Once my dinner and movie were over I fell asleep and when I woke up we were about 30 minutes from landing. 
It was weird not to see a beach (warm beach) when looking out the window because that is what I am used to.
There were a couple really cool features in the airport. First stop was the bathrooms. They have individual floor length stalls. They were more like dressing bathrooms. They were pretty clean and had these really neat sinks.
The water comes out of the middle part and then the two side bars are air dryers. There are no paper towels, just the air. I thought they worked pretty well compared to the ones back home. When leaving the bathroom they had an interactive survey to see what you thought of the cleanliness of the restrooms. The other picture is of a bird that was on the wall when you go into the bathrooms.
The next adventure was finding something for breakfast. As soon as you got to the exit, there was a Dunkin Donuts and a convenience store. I wanted to try the Skyr that I had read and hear so much about.
It was actually really good! It tastes just like Greek yogurt, but a little bit more tangy. It comes with that tiny spoon which was cool. There were a ton of favors but for my first try I went safe with strawberry.
We left and went on a small sight seeing bus tour.
This is the President of Iceland’s house. There were no guards just a rope and a sign. Our tour guide Helga said that he is about 45, a historian, and has 5 kids. His wife is from Canada and he is popular with about 90% approval from the people. There is no time limit but she told us he wants to be president for about 8-12 years. 
The front building is a church then the back two are his home….. The picture below is a cemetery but also the front yard of the church. 
We then visited another church in Reykjavik. It had a guard outside that excited everyone… A cat.
The church organ is supposed to be one of the biggest ones ever. The churches that we saw are much different from what I am use to or was expecting. They are beautiful but much more plain, and simple.
The above picture is of a whaling ship in Reykjavik.
Once we got back to the hotel we walked around the surrounding area for a little. We visited a flea market and we made a couple friends. One was a young boy who let us try the dried fish jerky. It was everything I imagined and more. Dry, flaky and salty. 
Next there was a man selling animal goods. I talked to him a little about licensing and gun permits here which is interesting. There are only certain times to kill certain animals and you must let the government know what you have killed. He told me that you have to be 20 to have a gun to hunt with. He was very nice, and also those giant white things are whale teeth.
Sunday night we went to dinner at the Reykjavik Restaurant. It was amazing! We had cauliflower soup, which I had never had before. It was honestly one of the best soups I have ever eaten. It was kind of like a less heavy broccoli cheese soup, but better. 
For the entree it was pork with veggies and a potato soufflé. It was really great! I am usually not a fan of pork, but this was amazing!
This picture was taken at about 9:00 p.m. And it was bright as the middle of the day.
For the grand finale it was coffee and this wonderful chocolate lava cake. In addition to the cake there was a whipped cream/cool whip kind of toppling with fruit as well.
It is now about 10:30 p.m. And just now is the sun starting to go down. Safe to say I will be sleeping with an eye mask!
Day two started with a delicious breakfast provided but the hotel. I had porridge, eggs, an potatoes. They also had really great homemade granola bars that I took with me for lunch.
Our first stop was a little historic walk around the square with our tour guide Helga. She told us a little about Reykjavik history and showed us some statues, and a cathedral. The cathedral was nothing like the ones you think of in other countries. It was pretty small in size and was stone. We did not get to go inside but I would imagine it was pretty plane in there too.
Our first real stop was one that we tried to make the day before but it was closed. It was a really cool observatory that they are creating into a museum. The mesuem part was under construction but we were able to use the 360 degree deck to take pictures.
We boarded the bus and on we went to the Golden Circle Tour. The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route that people take to see some of the Icelandic nature sites. Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park. This place was probably one of my favorites. The national park has the North American Tectonic plate on one side and the Eurasian plate on the other. In the middle is a valley. The house is the Prime Minister’s summer home.
When walking down the path Helga told us all to touch the rock. It was warm which was cool, but it was the edge of the North American plate. Walking down the path there was also smaller waterfall.
Our next stop was a small dairy farm. There we met some cows, ate REALLY good ice cream, and met some farm dogs. It was a really cute little stop, it just had the weirdest smell.
On we went to Geysir. There we saw a couple different geysers, and one erupt three times. It was really cool to see, you just walk around all these different bubbling puddles of water and then one explodes. There was also a weird smell from the heavy mist.
Our last stop was to Gulfoss waterfall. Where you arrive you are not able to see the actual waterfall. When we walked to the edge there were a bunch of stairs that we had to walk down. As soon as we got down the stairs we were hit with mist and wind, but it was beautiful. It was a giant multi level waterfall. We continued down the path along the waterfall to see different angles. Once we got to the top we had to climb on some big rocks but we were able to see the top.
My friend Maggie brought a Pens towel so we go cheer on the pens from Iceland!
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Monday nights dinner was equally as awesome as the rest. It started with a sea scallop. There were people at the table that had ordered a soup, but did not like it so we ate that too. It was a cream of mushroom soup, and was delicious. The following course was the main dish, a very tender piece of chicken with a barley side dish. It also came with pickled onions that I was not too fond of. Lastly, we ended with very strong Icelandic coffee and a sort of cheese cake dessert.
Later that night we went out to a bar. The bar was Big Lebowski theme ( I have never seen the movie) but it was cool. My friend Kristin noticed that a man looked familiar at the bar. Turns out that he and his friend are both famous. One is a director the other is in that show supernatural. The bar was a great acme sphere and felt very safe. We made friends with the girls next to us who turned out to be our age and also work at the bar.They were super nice, and gave us free drinks.
The next morning we had two media visits. First was Promote Iceland. I really enjoyed hearing what the speaker had to say. So far I absolutely love the Icelandic people. They are straightforward, but sweet. They are funny and approachable. He talked about how they promote the people of Iceland rather than the nature. Now that I am here I think that it is an amazing concept. Next, we came back from lunch. We were in the lobby booking our Blue Lagoon trip when an Icelandic girl asked us to be in her friends music video. We said yes and followed along. We were just extras, but it was really awesome. We stood in a bar just pretend talking while the shot the scene. Unfortunately , we could not stay the entire time.
Our second media trip was to the Grapevine. The Grapevine is a newspaper and magazine that writes about Icelandic culture. Their office is in downtown Rekyavik, right by our hotel. They are located at the top of a building with only a couple rooms, but it is very cute. The men that work there talked to us about the photos, content, and print process. It was super interesting because they followed similar themes as Promote Iceland. They were very straightforward and did not change who they were for anything or anyone. I love that about the Icelandic people..authenticity.
Once we got back we collected our items and headed to the Blue Lagoon. I have been waiting for this part of the trip since I found out we were coming here. The Blue Lagoon is a hot spring that they have turned into a spa. It was unlike anything I have seen or done before. You have to shower before you get in, then you immerse yourself in this beautiful hot pool. They give you a mud mask, but we upgraded to the next level which included a drink, mask, and nice towel. We floated and walked for about three hours. I could have fallen asleep in the lagoon, it was amazing.
It is currently midnight and we have to leave for the airport at 3:15. HERE WE COME DUBLIN, TOP OF THE MORNING TO YA!
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It has been a very long day… The Blue Lagoon was so worth it but it left us being super exhausted. I loved the fact that yes this is a tourist thing, but it is also a native thing. It is such an awesome experience to do something local rather than tourist.
Our flight departure was set for 6:15 the next day for Dublin. We stayed up, and got ready for the airport. I was sad to leave Iceland but excited for what was to come in Ireland. We flew WOW airlines, the new low cost airline. Their colors are a bright pink, which is very eye catching. The security process in the Iceland airport is very efficient. Once we got to the gate we had to wait for the doors to open to go any further. Multiple flights checked in at the same time, then they put us on shuttles to take us out to the plane. I have never boarded an airplane from the tarmack before, so that was a new experience. Unfortunely, the seats were not nearly as comfy as the deluxe Delta ones but that is okay. When we went to land in Dublin the pilot was going too fast so the wheels touched down but we immediately flew back up. We had to make a loop then re-land the plane.
Dublin is much warmed than Iceland which I really like. It is one more hour ahead, so it is 5 hours ahead of home. We started the day with meeting our tour guide and driver. They are the ultimate adorable irishmen. We went on a short bus tour until we stopped for lunch. The first thing I noticed was how much better the prices are here than in Iceland. At dinner I order a cider which in Iceland would be about $14, where as in Dublin I paid $4.
We stopped for lunch and just walked around for a bit. After that we were able to visit the Parliment or Dail as they call it. We had a little tour of the building and watched two proceedings. They were both interesting, one was about police (guarda) wiretapping and women/children’s rights. We were also able to meet one of the senators along with the speaker. They were super nice.
We are staying in an apartment style place and we have an amazing view! In the evenings we went to dinner at one of the oldest pubs in Ireland. It was super cute, and the food was wonderful. Our starter was a Greek salad, then Guiness stew for the entree. We ended with chocolate cake and now I am ready for bed. I am excited to visit more of Dublin tomorrow.
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This morning started out by waking up and taking a very quick shower. Our place has a small water tank so we were instructed to take fast showers. I’m not sure why but so far all of the showers only have half doors. It is kind of confusing and also annoying because it gets cold and water everywhere.
Our first stop on the trip was to Dublin City University. My first impression was that it was a very nice campus. They have a couple really pretty court yards which is a nice break from our Point Park campus. We had a professor speak to us and she was very informative. She spoke about the recent history of media in Ireland and how it has changed up to this point. It was very crazy to hear about because everything in Ireland was very Catholic and “conservative”. They used to have a tv show once a year about the best housewife in Ireland. She also talked about some of the media outlets and how they function which is always interesting. It was great to get her point of view because she lived through it, but also since she studies it. Ireland has a lot of influence from the U.K. And US. That is interesting to me because a large majority of the US could care less about international news (which is sad). She told us about how in Ireland you are not taxed on income you make that are from creating art. Most of this is things like literature and movies.
We had some time to eat in the cafeteria which was super cost effective. I got an entire meal for about $6.
Our next stop was Harmonia magazine. They have a couple different publications that they create which are Woman’s Way, U, Irish Tatler, Food and Wine, and Tatler Man. They do a couple other ones as well. They talked to us about publications, design, ad selling and more. It was really interesting to hear them talk. I am not sure what I want to do with my life so it is always beneficial to hear about other jobs.
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Last night we went to a really awesome pub. I had probably one of the best soups I ever have eaten in my life. It was a seafood chowder. The night ended with a live Irish band that played Coldplay…enough said.
Friday started with meeting the people of Heneghan PR at their offices. It was a gorgeous Georgian style building. The Georgian houses all have these beautiful bright colored doors that add a ton of character. We then walked to a hotel to listen to them speak. It was really cool to talk with them especially because they have an intern from America. The son of the man that started it talked to us for a bit. We also heard from someone that works in accounts. She is soon moving to LA for work. The PR agency deals mostly with business to business communications rather than consumer PR. They also deal a lot in crisis communications. For me that was really interesting to hear because that is what most people think of PR, and Point Park never really talks about it.
There was also a man working there that was the press secretary equivalent and has been to the US a couple times. It was interesting to hear him talk about his job, because he was in the US around 9/11 and the 2008 crash.
The second person we heard speak was the President of the Press Photographers association of Ireland. He was by far one of my favorite people. He was such a genuine, and very funny man. He was so passionate about photography even though at times it was not his main career. He was a big highlight of Dublin.
We then went to Trinity College to look at the Book of Kells. I had very high expectation for it, but it was way to crowded for me to enjoy it. The college was amazing to look at, but I would get confused because all of the buildings look very similar. The book of Kells are the four gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that were drawn and written down by four monks. I was so excited because everyone had such great things to say about it. I, being a Christian thought that it would be a moving experience.
Tomorrow is our free day,and hopefully tonight we are going to watch the big rugby match.
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Today was our free day. It started off great because I was able to sleep in till about 9:00. We decided that we would go to a local shopping center and walk around. It was a bit of a walk but the morning weather was nice. We made it to a pretty big outdoor mall type of area that was super crowded. We were told to look for a site called Penny’s because they have cute lower cost clothes. Once we got there it was madness. There were people everywhere and the store itself was three floors high. The clothes and everything in it was amazing. I walked around for about an hour and ended up buying sunglasses and two blouses for $20. We then went to a Lush down the block. It was really awesome to see one here because I used to work at one back in the states. They have some different products at the ones here and in the UK do it was cool to smell and see those.
We ate lunch at a little pub that was cute and reasonably priced like most places we have come across while in Dublin. We then met our friend at the museum and walked back to our place. We decided we would take the DART which is similar to the T out to the ocean view. It took us much longer than expected. We first left but had to come back due to a torrential down pour. Then once we finally made the 30 minute walk commitment we got lost. Finally, after a man helped us to the station we waited for the train. Once we got out of Dublin it was such a different view. The train took us along the coastline which was gorgeous. We ate dinner at a pretty nice restaurant along the water. It was an amazing view and great company. Getting back was also a bit crazy because we got lost on the way back as well. All in all it was a great day off and I am ready to see Belfast.
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Today we started our day by taking a train up to Belfast. It was such an awesome experience because I have never done that before. It was a bit hectic because our tickets were messed up, but in the end it ended up great. The view on our way there was breathtaking. The train runs along the water and past some farms. We saw a bunch of sheep and cows in huge fields. Once we got to the station we immediately boarded a bus with our new tour guide.
We stopped for lunch at the city hall which was both delicious and pretty to look at.
The tour guide took us around a couple different parts of Belfast. We first looked at the Titanic shipyards. That was super cool because I love the movie, and think that that part of history is very interesting. Belfast used to be a huge ship making area, but as much anymore. They surprisingly have a lot of tech companies coming into that area now. The most exciting was that our tour guide pointed out the studio where they film and house a lot of Game of Thrones scenes. I really wish that we could have visited that. There is a titanic museum that is supposedly really great but unfortunately we did not have enough time.
We drove to a bunch of different government buildings that were gorgeous. The bus also stopped at a castle that had a cat garden (no real ones).
One of the most moving parts of the trip have been driving through the housing where they still have walls and gates dividing the catholic and Protestant.There were tons of people who lost their lives, and still attack and fear because of the politics and rooted hatred. We saw children playing in the front yard while in their back yard there is a three tier fence to block bombs from coming over. Thankfully, we were able to see a peace wall. A peace wall is a barricade that is dividing a community, but people have come together and signed with words of peace. There are also some murals that used to be fear and propaganda, but have turned to history and peace. They were all beautiful and show that the community has come a long way. Sadly, there are still some up that show the hatred that runs deep in some families.
For dinner we went to McHugh’s pub. So far for group dinners we had the meal picked for us, but tonight we were able to choose. I had the salmon which was delicious. I love the Ireland is an island because the seafood here is great. We ended with a lovely dessert. It has been a full day, and tomorrow we are off to explore the BBC, Irish News, and the rest of Belfast.
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Tuesday we traveled to Galway. The day started with a bus ride down, and out of Northern Ireland. The route we took was full of gorgeous country sides and farms. It was a bit shaky and I got a little car sick.
We stopped off in the town of Kells. It was a pretty little town that I don’t think is used to a lot of tourists. We walked around the site of a church and graveyard. There was also a huge round tower there. Our tour guide Joe told us that the towers have been able to stand for so long since their doors were built about 12 feet about the base.
We stopped for lunch in another little town. It was a cute tea room with really great food. I got a thanksgiving sandwich, obviously not called that because they don’t celebrate that.
When we finally made it to Galway we had time to regroup then we were off on a walking tour. We walked to the city center and it is absolutely amazing. It is all pedestrian, so you can easily walk up and down the street. There are tons of bars, shops, and store for locals as wells as tourists. We had dinner and went out for a few drinks. We went to a bar that had a bunch of police patches and we found the Pennsylvania state Trooper one which was cool. It was a great first day in Galway and I think that this is probably my favorite place!
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Today was our last day in Galway. I think that this has been one of my favorite places so far. The people are so nice, and the city center is wonderful. We started the day with a media visit to the Galway Bay FM radio station. It was really cool to see how they operate, they are privately owned. I really enjoy radio and have been on air a couple of times. We were able to watch a live broadcast which was really cool.
The rest of the day was a free day. We wondered around the city center more which was nice. I tried to start my article project but I had to switch because the people are the yarn shop were too busy for me. I am going to do it on advertising in Ireland and how the culture is used to advertise. So far I have talked to some people and received great feedback.
We walked down to the water and we’re looking for wifi when a man operating a street train started talking to us. He offered us a ride on the tourist train for 5 Euro so we said why not. It took us all around Galway, through Claddagh, and to the salt hill. It was an awesome way to see more of the city, and was pretty cheap.
The salt hill was absolutely beautiful. It was right on the water and looked out for miles. Claddagh is a cute little fishing town and was adorable. I am sad that tomorrow is our last day but I am excited to go home and tell my family and friends all of my stories.
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Today is our last day. I am sad to leave, but very excited to go home. It had been such a learning experience to come on this trip. From learning about other countries and their media, culture and way of life, to learning a lot about myself. I am grateful for all the highs and lows I have experienced on this trip.
We started the day by driving to a limestone area. The drive there was great because it was all country side. We saw more farms and grassy areas. That is what I had in my mind of Ireland rather than the cities where we stayed. We finally made it to the first stop. It is technically a national park, but doesn’t look like a park. We walked around and it was super cool. It was all uneven rock with about 2 foot cracks where some vegetation would grow. It was gorgeous.
We then drove to the Cliffs of Moher. I had heard a lot about these before coming to Ireland and had very high expectations. They we’re absolutely breathtaking. We walked up the left side and saw the castle from afar. It was crazy because there was no rope to hold anyone back. People were sitting really close to the edge but I stayed back because it was really scary. We then walked to the right hand side where there is a tiny castle. It was awesome to see the cliffs from afar. The ocean crashes against the bottoms, and there were birds flying overhead. We had beautiful weather and so we sat outside in the sunshine for lunch.
We are going to a medieval dinner tonight and I am very excited. I’m excited to get home tomorrow because it is my birthday!