The way we naively view the situation is that if we soak up enough of the local culture each evening (a.k.a Guinness), the comfort of our sleeping arrangements really should matter very little

For the moment there is calm. The whirlwind storm between the pre-collection, pre-collection sales campaign and preparation for the show itself has given way to the tranquility of the main collection sales campaign.

The designers are relishing leaving the show room while the sun is still up, having weekends free and working pretty regular hours. For me, it means coming in to work later and getting to leave earlier.

While there is relative serenity among the staff at Maurizio Pecoraro, this is also a vital time before the spring/summer collection starts to really get underway. Maurizio himself has been in the middle of vital fabric research, which will help determine the direction of the entire collection.

Through this momentary calm in the storm, I have been enjoying typical study abroad student activities like traveling. This past weekend, my roommates and I took advantage of the proximity of Switzerland, and traveled an hour north to the quaint, lakeside village of Lugano. We were lucky enough to be received by a clear, blue sky and a bright sun beaming down 70 degree temperatures.

This upcoming weekend, however, as two of my roommates and I make the two and a half hour flight north to Dublin, we will be greeted by more Wisconsin-like temperatures and snow.

Cheers!

Normally this would not be such an issue had the three of us not procrastinated in booking our hotel. Although we are not sure, we suspect there might be some festivities happening in Dublin over the weekend, since nearly every room was booked for Friday and Saturday nights. Being of the adventurous sort (not to mention our student-like budget), we started searching for pocket-friendly alternatives.

Eventually we settled on an option we sarcastically refer to as “urban camping.” Since we had previously decided we wanted to rent a car for one day to explore the Irish country side, we thought, “Why not rent a car for the entire trip and just sleep in it? It’s only three nights, right?”

Well, this thought led to the renting of a Renault Scenic, a 5-seater station wagon. Our initial inquiry into the possibility of renting a VW van was squashed by the car rental agency’s age restrictions (if only one of us were 26!). Either way, we will be spending just €46 each for three nights accommodations, with car rental costs included.

The way we naively view the situation is that if we soak up enough of the local culture each evening (a.k.a Guinness), the comfort of our sleeping arrangements really should matter very little. Additionally, we see this as an opportunity to wake up early each morning to take in as much site seeing as possible. As for the manual, opposite side of the road details, we will deal with it when we get there.

I am sure our parents would beg to differ at our lackadaisical approach. Thus, the three of us decided to wait until our return to inform our parents of our economical, albeit questionable, travel accommodations.

If by the time this article comes out and my parents still have not heard from me, as my mom is a graduate student here at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and will likely read this article first thing Monday morning, the Dublin jails, hospitals and morgues (last resort) may be getting some telephone calls from an irate/frantic sounding American woman.

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