This is a little late, but I saw your post about Ireland and thought I'd chime in because I am uploading photos of my own trip there now. Dublin really is the best place to start out- the Dublin Area Rapid Transportation (DART) train is fairly cheap and it allows you to see not only the city itself, but also towns like Hoath, which are breathtaking in their own right and other attractions along the eastern coast of the country, like the Guinness brewery. If you are more interested in the urban aspect of Dublin, I would suggest you check out my blog on just that subject. There is a lot to do in the Temple Bar district, but it's also clogged with tourists much of the time and the night life elsewhere is fairly nuanced, so you can learn from my mistakes in that regard. Ireland in general is a great place to visit. Because it is much smaller than the US, the things you are going to want to see are pretty easy to get to, especially if you stay in Dublin. Everything is amazingly green there, so much so that you won't really understand what I mean until you go. Check out Trinity College too, I believe they still have the book of Kells on display.

Hello : ) Thanks for your comment! I would definitely encourage you to go on a trip to Italy! Let me know if you have questions, I love talking about travel plans with people!

I have been up and down the whole East Coast of Australia. I would recommend going to Byron Bay, you need to go there. It is so stunning. All of Sydney is amazing but I loved Macquarie Botanical Gardens I believe it was called. The Art Galleries are beautiful in Sydney. Circular Quay is a very fun place to walk around and discover, take a boat from there to Manly beach and Bondi beach. I also loved the Blue Mountains and The Three Sisters Rock Formation. To view them you take a scary roller coaster like contraption free falling down the side of a mountain. Up the coast , I recommend Cairns, and from there taking a boat to the Great Barrier Reef. REMEMBER: Bring your own snorkeling equipment! They provide them, but they are not sanitized. I got really sick after I snorkeled there. If you have time try to go to Melbourne. It's the Aussies equivalent to Seattle. It's really trendy and fun, but cold. All my Aussie friends told me that Tasmania is not worth going to and if you have to go somewhere besides the West Coast...go to Perth. I have never been, but would love to.