#efeducationfirst

My tour was a lot of fun for work! We had a great group and everyone got along so well which was nice. Our tours cap at 35, but we had a small group of 17 which was actually really nice and intimate. Our tour director was wonderful! The tour started in Galway, the cutest city on the water. Galway was definitely my favorite city. We mostly had a free day our first day, so I wandered all around and did some shopping followed by a nice, long walk to the beach. It was so beautiful!

We had an excursion the first evening to a Castle Banquet Dinner. It was kind of cheesy since everyone who worked at the banquet dressed up in medieval clothing and addressed me as “my lady” but it was really fun and not everyday you eat dinner in a medieval castle!

The following day we went to the Cliffs of Moher which was SO stunning. I was in awe the entire time looking at the cliffs. The countryside of Ireland is just so beautiful.

The next day, we went to Blarney Castle first thing in the morning and I got to kiss the famous Blarney Stone. The castle was beautiful, but even more so, the castle grounds were really pretty and I loved just roaming around. Afterwards, we went to Cobh, a small town on the water, and learned about the launch site for ships bound for North America which was really interesting. Following, we had an excursion that evening to Kinsale, another cute town on the water, and visited an old fort and had a lovely dinner.

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The tour ended in Dublin, so back to Dublin again! We had a full guided sightseeing the first day and then a free evening, so I got to see my friend, Conor, from when I studied abroad in Australia. It was so good seeing him! We went out to dinner and to a really cool bar with some of his friends.

On our last day, we had an excursion to Glendalough which was beautiful. Then we had a free rest of the day in Dublin, which I did some shopping to finish getting gifts for people. We had a big farewell dinner and drinks, and it was sad saying bye to my group! It’s funny how you can get close to people in just a weeks time!

I really had such a good experience on my first tour assignment for work and am so lucky to have a job that continues to let me explore the world!

When we got there on Friday, we had a free day in Denver until our big first night “hoedown” party. We explored downtown Denver and got brunch at The Delectable Egg. It was delicious, and then we continued to explore downtown Denver and day drink. Followed by a very necessary nap.

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We did a silly scavenger hunt to reveal the location of the big party and solved clues exploring around the city. It was kind of fun, and the party was at…COORS FIELD. Yes, EF casually rented out an entire baseball stadium and brought in a mechanical bull for a hoedown. The evening was so much fun, even though I only lasted for 12 seconds on the mechanical bull.

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The next day, we went hiking in the Red Rocks. It was so beautiful and unlike anything I’ve seen before. The only places West I have been are San Diego and Los Angeles, so Colorado was very new to me and I loved it so much. The mountains are so beautiful and the rock formations were fascinating. Following the hike, EF rented out the top of the Red Rocks Amphitheater and the top half for a big breakfast. Yes. another casual move. It was surreal, siting in the amphitheater eating a breakfast burrito. It’s a bucket list item to be able to see a concert there! The Colorado Classic was going through Red Rocks that day, so we also got to cheer on Team EF briefly.

We had product time afterwards and did some actual work related things, but then that evening, they took us to the Velorama Musical Festival. I have never been to a music festival before, so I got to scratch that off my bucket list! We had a big VIP tent and we got to see Cold War Kids and Modest Mouse. It was awesome! We went out afterwards to a bar once the musical festival ended. Just “work” things!

Our last day, Sunday, we spent the morning volunteering and building bikes for 2nd graders. Since we recently bought a professional cycling team and were there for the Colorado Classic to cheer on Team EF, it was fitting to build bikes! We then went back to Velorama since the Colorado Classic was being held there that day and spent the afternoon back in our VIP tent cheering on the bikers. I didn’t really care that much about Team EF, but actually being there to cheer them on was so much fun!

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Laura and I then went to explore on some Limes and scootered all the way to Voodoo Donuts. We went through some pretty sketchy areas and it took quite some time, but WE MADE IT and the donuts were worth the hype. That evening, we had our product team dinners which were so much fun. Go Ahead’s was held at a super cool restaurant that had ping pong and corn hole. After the dinner, we went to a karaoke bar and all made fools of ourselves until the late hours of the night, slept for an hour, and then boarded planes back to Boston.

It was quite the weekend. It was so memorable and just so much fun. I’m so lucky to be work at EF; it is the best work environment and such a fun place to be every day. I’m also so blessed that EF introduced me to some of the best people I have ever met. Honestly, I have the best team ever and they are so much fun. I love all of them and just feel so, so lucky to have the best colleagues!

Thanks for an awesome summer weekend, EF!