Preparations

Safe home in Seattle after finals. Preparations now begin for travel to Europe!

While I was browsing magazines for traveling supplies, mostly compact backpacks, I found a line of RFID-blocking wallets and other purse-like items. I had to ask what they were, and once I knew what they did, I was mildly surprised. The first I had heard about RFID was on an NCIS episode, and I didn't know those things were real.

Pictures

So I was browsing the gadgets I could add to this blog, and I found one called "Slideshow" which will run a slideshow of my favorite pictures. I think when I get overseas, I'll put that gadget up with all the pictures I've taken. That way they can be easily found without having to scroll through all my posts.

Anyway - school finals begin today, and end for me on Wednesday. There's a study abroad informational meeting on Wednesday. It'll be interesting to see what they say!

About the Background Picture

Currently, I have as the background a picture I took in Wales when I was twelve. I was hoping to have a picture of the entrance to Newgrange as the background, but it was too big, and I don't have any other pictures of Ireland on my computer. Once I get home, I'll make sure to upload a picture from Ireland.

Welcome to My Travel Blog

Hello, Readers! This is Marta Stahlfeld, author of the Darkwoods series. I attend Wisconsin Lutheran College, and for my Honors degree, I'm required to spend one semester studying abroad. I selected American College in Dublin for my study abroad school.

My study abroad adventure begins with a two-week trip to Italy with Dr. Moldenhauer, where I will get to study Italian authors and authors from England and America who wrote extensively about Italy. We will be staying in a former convent in the town of Orvietto, but we will be taking day trips to Rome, Assisi, and Florence! I leave for Italy on January 3rd (and arrive on the 4th) and then I leave for Ireland on January 14th.

I'll have a few days to explore Dublin before classes begin, and I plan to visit Newgrange, Monasterboise, and Trim Castle as soon as I can. Then classes begin!

So that's going to be the beginning of my travels to Europe. I'll make sure to post as many pictures as I can! I hope everyone's December is going well.