And here I am, back at Muhlenberg after a great semester!
The flight was fine...long, but what I expected. Finished a book or two, and took a nap. Met my parents at the airport, drove down to the Berg, and dropped off my stuff. Next morning, we drove down to Virgina (after a nice lunch) and got all ready for the graduation party, which was a lot of fun. Then drove back to Muhlenberg, and here I am!
It was a great experience, I'm really lucky to have been able to have gone. Thanks for reading about it. Hope you enjoyed the blog!
Love,
Justin
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Dublin, take 2
Last trip of the season, I fear, but it was a fun one. Dan and I went to Dublin for a day. We had to get up really early to catch the bus, and it took like 3 hours to get there. But get there we did, then we went right over to the book of Kells, which was AMAZING. It told us all about how they made Vellum (calf skin) and binded the book together, and about the symbolism of some of the symbols and stuff. I hadn't realized how small, and thus intricate the book was. It was really amazing how fine the detail looked, even after all these years. It was stunning. Then there was this old library we walked through to get out that had lots of old books like that, too.
Then we walked to go to a river cruise, but luckily the tide was out and not due back in until 4pm, cuz I didn't want to go anyway. So after that we went to the tourist office to find out how to get to the brewery and newgrange, an place built 1000 years before Stonehenge, with a hole in a rock formation that only catches the light on the winter solstice. But it was too far out of the way for us to go, unfortunately. So we continued on to the guiness factory, which was neat. We learned all about how guiness was made, from the barley (it's the roast barely that gives the drink its distinctive dark red, almost black look) to mashing the barley, to adding water, to adding yeast, to boiling it, to adding hops (which act as a preservative as well as adding flavor, so they'd load up the beers with hops if they had to go on long journeys overseas). We saw some cool guiness ads, learned how to sample different beers (but they only gave us one...jerks), and got to the top where they let you pour your own pint, which was neat. I tried to make a shamrock, but it didn't work out too well. There's a picture. Also, little known fact, it takes a guiness exactly 119.5 seconds to completely settle. After that, it was getting kind of late, and shops were closing down, so we took an earlier bus back, which was way to long and hot and I felt sick on. But we got back, and there you have it. The last trip in Ireland. Probably.
So thanks for reading about my travels, hope you enjoyed them, and I'm sure I'll be telling all of you about them in person fairly soon.
Love,
Justin
Pictures:
Then we walked to go to a river cruise, but luckily the tide was out and not due back in until 4pm, cuz I didn't want to go anyway. So after that we went to the tourist office to find out how to get to the brewery and newgrange, an place built 1000 years before Stonehenge, with a hole in a rock formation that only catches the light on the winter solstice. But it was too far out of the way for us to go, unfortunately. So we continued on to the guiness factory, which was neat. We learned all about how guiness was made, from the barley (it's the roast barely that gives the drink its distinctive dark red, almost black look) to mashing the barley, to adding water, to adding yeast, to boiling it, to adding hops (which act as a preservative as well as adding flavor, so they'd load up the beers with hops if they had to go on long journeys overseas). We saw some cool guiness ads, learned how to sample different beers (but they only gave us one...jerks), and got to the top where they let you pour your own pint, which was neat. I tried to make a shamrock, but it didn't work out too well. There's a picture. Also, little known fact, it takes a guiness exactly 119.5 seconds to completely settle. After that, it was getting kind of late, and shops were closing down, so we took an earlier bus back, which was way to long and hot and I felt sick on. But we got back, and there you have it. The last trip in Ireland. Probably.
So thanks for reading about my travels, hope you enjoyed them, and I'm sure I'll be telling all of you about them in person fairly soon.
Love,
Justin
Pictures:
 |
| Dublin |
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Two trips for the price of one!
So, a few quick trips. First we went to Dingle for an overnight, which was quite fun. Stayed at the Grapevine hostel, got some shopping done, walked along the harbor for a bit, and then went to the pub for a drink and some great music. Interestingly, when we got back to the hostel, there was an older guy in our room (it was an 8 person room, the only one they had left), and he didnt' have any pants on while he was sleeping. Quite nude from the waist down, which is usually where you keep your clothes. Ah, well, an experience, anyway.
The next morning, we got up, went to a great bakery, and started chatting with the proprieter, which was kinda cool. For the first hour. Then we missed our bus. Yet still we kept talking
3 hours later we FINALLY got out of there, and none to soon. He had some great stories (they passed a law outlawing the name Dingle, they can only call it An Daigain, the Gaelic name, even though the population voted to overturn it by a 95% majority. So his son made a 16-foot high sign out of wood that looks like the hollywood sign, and it says Dingle.) Interesting stories, but not 3 hours interesting.
So then we'd missed our bus, so we walked around again for a while, before catching the bus back. Really pretty scenery.
Part II
Then this weekend I travelled to Leeds to see Nana and Gramps. It was quite a lovely trip. Got in on Friday morning, after not being able to find the taxi that was supposed to pick me up. I got in a bit early, I guess, and I didn't see him, so I walked to where they parked, then figured I should go back, and then found him. It took about 45 minutes to make it to Nana and Gramp's, and then we had a great Irish breakfast of eggs and bacon. Then we relaxed for a bit before going to the coal museum, which was actually a more fun than that sounds (though I guess that's not hard).Afterwards, we watched some snooker on TV, which is a really cool game! it's like pool, except better. You have 5 colored balls on the table, and then a triangle full of red ones. You have to sink a red ball, then you hit a colored ball, then a red, then a colored. The balls all have different points: red 1, yellow 2, green 3, brown, pink, and black at 7. When you hit a colored ball in, they take it out and put it back in its position. So you hit a red, then you hit the black, and that gives you 8 points (1 for red, 7 for black). but then they put the black back, so you can hit a different red, then the black again, for another 8 points. And you keep going until you can't hit a ball any more. And once all the reds are in, you have to hit the colored balls in the pockets in order. It's really great! we watched the championship, too. Then we went to a fish and chip shop, which was great, and they knew the waitress, which was cool. Afterwards we went to the golf club, which was really nice. Beautiful inside and outside. I tried some English beers, which was fun. Afterwards, we headed to bed, since it'd been a long day for me.
Next day I was supposed to meet up with a friend in Leeds, but she didn't get back to me, so we walked around Sandal castle, which was really cool. Only a few walls still stand, but it was still cool. Then Gramps and I had a half pint at a local pub, and then we headed out to the sculpture museum, which was pretty neat. Then Nana and Gramps had some friends over, which was nice to get to talk to them. (and yes, the phrase "cheeky monkey" was uttered). Then Bright and Early I got up, drove to the airport, got on the plane, only to have the stairs not retract back into the plane. Yup. So the other engineers couldn't' fix it, because the other planes didn't have retractable stairs. So they were going to fly a guy over from Dublin, but we ended up taking a ryanair plane that had just flown in and taking that back to Shannon, so i ended up back in Shannon at 11 instead of 9, so it was fine. Luckily it was at that leg of the flight. And now I'm back safe and sound!
Maybe one more trip to Dublin to go...
The next morning, we got up, went to a great bakery, and started chatting with the proprieter, which was kinda cool. For the first hour. Then we missed our bus. Yet still we kept talking
3 hours later we FINALLY got out of there, and none to soon. He had some great stories (they passed a law outlawing the name Dingle, they can only call it An Daigain, the Gaelic name, even though the population voted to overturn it by a 95% majority. So his son made a 16-foot high sign out of wood that looks like the hollywood sign, and it says Dingle.) Interesting stories, but not 3 hours interesting.
So then we'd missed our bus, so we walked around again for a while, before catching the bus back. Really pretty scenery.
 |
| Dingle for the Weekend |
Part II
Then this weekend I travelled to Leeds to see Nana and Gramps. It was quite a lovely trip. Got in on Friday morning, after not being able to find the taxi that was supposed to pick me up. I got in a bit early, I guess, and I didn't see him, so I walked to where they parked, then figured I should go back, and then found him. It took about 45 minutes to make it to Nana and Gramp's, and then we had a great Irish breakfast of eggs and bacon. Then we relaxed for a bit before going to the coal museum, which was actually a more fun than that sounds (though I guess that's not hard).Afterwards, we watched some snooker on TV, which is a really cool game! it's like pool, except better. You have 5 colored balls on the table, and then a triangle full of red ones. You have to sink a red ball, then you hit a colored ball, then a red, then a colored. The balls all have different points: red 1, yellow 2, green 3, brown, pink, and black at 7. When you hit a colored ball in, they take it out and put it back in its position. So you hit a red, then you hit the black, and that gives you 8 points (1 for red, 7 for black). but then they put the black back, so you can hit a different red, then the black again, for another 8 points. And you keep going until you can't hit a ball any more. And once all the reds are in, you have to hit the colored balls in the pockets in order. It's really great! we watched the championship, too. Then we went to a fish and chip shop, which was great, and they knew the waitress, which was cool. Afterwards we went to the golf club, which was really nice. Beautiful inside and outside. I tried some English beers, which was fun. Afterwards, we headed to bed, since it'd been a long day for me.
Next day I was supposed to meet up with a friend in Leeds, but she didn't get back to me, so we walked around Sandal castle, which was really cool. Only a few walls still stand, but it was still cool. Then Gramps and I had a half pint at a local pub, and then we headed out to the sculpture museum, which was pretty neat. Then Nana and Gramps had some friends over, which was nice to get to talk to them. (and yes, the phrase "cheeky monkey" was uttered). Then Bright and Early I got up, drove to the airport, got on the plane, only to have the stairs not retract back into the plane. Yup. So the other engineers couldn't' fix it, because the other planes didn't have retractable stairs. So they were going to fly a guy over from Dublin, but we ended up taking a ryanair plane that had just flown in and taking that back to Shannon, so i ended up back in Shannon at 11 instead of 9, so it was fine. Luckily it was at that leg of the flight. And now I'm back safe and sound!
Maybe one more trip to Dublin to go...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Tour of Ireland with Mom and Dad
Mom and Dad got in early Tuesday morning. I wasn't quite ready for them, I was still shaving, but they were good about my room being a mess. I guess they've gotten used to it. We had breakfast at that pub by the library, which was a good traditional Irish breakfast, of which we would have many more over the course of our B+Bs. They were pretty jet lagged, so after they got settled in they took a quick nap and I changed some money and got stuff packed so I wouldn't have so much stuff to bring back. After that we went out to city center to get some shopping done, and go to the library, and stuff like that. We went to Doalns for dinner and pub music. We kinda got lost finding the first B+B, but got there eventoually, and I stayed there instead of driving all the way to UL again, what with the roads being narrow, a ton of roundabouts, and a stick shift.
So we got up, and drove out to Bunratty, which means 'end of the river'. There was much more to it that I saw last time, we walked around the grounds and saw peacocks and Irish Wolf Hounds, which were huge and awesome and used to get rid of the wolves on the island. The castle itself was cool, and we had the same guy we had last time giving the tour. We learned the prefix 'mc' means 'son of,' and 'O' means 'grandson of'. Interesting tidbit.
After Bunratty we went to Craggaunowen, which was a cool place with a castle and a ring fort on the lake. They'd build on the lake so invaders couldnt' get to them. And there was an awesome walk that was all lush and green and mossy in the forest, and they had wild boars, too, which was kidna cool. Then on to the Cliffs of Moher, which weren't as easy to see as I remember, but still really cool. Really windy, too. After the cliffs we went down to Doolin, and ate at that same pub. We had had a huge breakfast, so we only had soups, a theme we'd continue after eating huge breakfasts at every place. Then we had to drive all the way to Dingle, take a ferry over the crossing, but we finally got to this nice place called the lighthouse, overlooking Dingle Harbor, which was cool. We checked in, got a Pizza and a few beers, and listend to some traditional music at the pub.
The next day we did some shopping at Dingle, which actually had a few really cool, hippy-type shops. Then we drove to the dingle peninsula and drove that little ring, which was really neat! The roads were really narrow, though, but the views were spectacular. Lots of tall mountains, sparce brush, lots of Sheep, and the ocean right there. We saw some old 4 BC stone forts and huts, all made out of un-mortared stone, and what are called Beehive huts, which are cool stone huts with tops. They look like beehives, go figure. We drove out around the point, and on te way back we hit the Gallarus Oratoary, which was another cool stone dwelling, used as a church. Really neat. Drove the rest of the way and got to Killarney. This one was a little off the beaten path, and the map was useless, but we got it eventoually. We had some pub food, but there was a band practicing next door, and they were loud and bad. But it's all good. We were planning on doing the Ring of Kerry, but seeing as we'd already done all that driving, we decided against it. We went to Muckross house instead, which was really cool, and had BEAUTIFUL grounds. Rock walls, various plants, huge trees, and the house was pretty cool too. This drive from Killarney to Cork was really neat; we actually did do a bit of the Ring of Kerry, and took a nice scenic route, but towards the end we were all fed up with driving and got to Cork, but the trip was nice and green. Cork was a nightmare getting into; we came at it a different way and there was TONS of traffic. We only looked around for a little bit, but we walked to St. Finnebarr's cathedral, which was really cool. Passed the Beamish brewery, which is sweeter than a guiness, but i dont' like it as much. Then we drove to Kinsale, which is the Gorme capitol of Ireland, and also a harbor, which was really neat. We had a DELICIOUS Italian dinner for Dad's birthday, and it was really good. Checked into the B+B (Which was a GARISH yellow) and went into town to have a drink. Turns out one of the guys was working in Waterville (Ireland) so I struck up a conversation with him. Kinda cool.
Then next morning, after the obligatory delicious breakfast, we drove back through Cork and did Blarny castle, which was AMAZING! The castle was big and imposing, and they built it on a cliff, and made the sides come to a point, kinda, so it looks even bigger and taller than it is. The grounds around the castle are really cool, they have some sweet caves and stairs and trees and a sacrifical rock and druid's circle. It's awesome. And the castle itself was really great, too. The stone was cool, but they guy who had to help you was very "GO GO GO!", so you didnt' really get a chance to appreciate it, but I do remember it had a kinda chunk taken out of it. Though I do feel a bit more loquacious...After Blarny, we went to the Fota wildlife park, but it was expensive and cold, so we kept going to the Jameson Whisky distillery, which was really cool. I got to do the taste testing!! I learned that Scotch is Scotch Whisky, and the difference is that Irish Whisky is distilled thrice, Scotch twice, and American only once. Also, Irish Whisky uses a smokelss heat source to heat the barley, while Scotch uses peat, which gives it that (gross) peaty taste and smell. But I learned I like Powers Whisky best, then Jameson, then Paddy, then Jack, and Scotch is just disgusting. But it was well worth the trip. I even got a certificate!
After that we (and by 'we' i mean 'dad', because I sort of passed out after those 6 shots of whisky) drove through Waterford, where they make waterford crystal, and over to Graiguenamangh, where our B+B was. Took a while to find it, it was kind of out of the way, but nice. There was NO food to be found, though, so we just had some stuff from the grocery store. Dad and I went to a small Irish pub, and he taught me how to drive standard. Kinda of. We found a church parking lot, but it was on a hill, and I smoked the clutch. Ahh, well.
Next day we drove to Kilkenny, which had a really cool castle, still kept up, and set up like victorian times. Really neat, and big grounds, too, though not as impressive. We went to St. Mary's cathedral, as well as St. Candice's, which were both cool. Then we traveled on to the Rock of Cashel, which was really cool. A big castle on this huge precipice. It was the center of Munster King's power until 1101, when they gave it over to the Church. You can see the Romanesque style chappel, and the huge gothic cathedral, too. It was pretty sweet.
Then, we just drove back to Limerick! We got everything fully packed up, and I stayed the night at the B+B, since they had an extra voucher, and I probably wouldn't be able to use it. In the morning, they dropped me off, I spent 20 minutes trying to print boarding passes (because the library is horrible), and Mom and Dad headed home!
It was really great seeing them, and now I've only got about a month left before I'm home again...at least one or two more posts before then, though
So we got up, and drove out to Bunratty, which means 'end of the river'. There was much more to it that I saw last time, we walked around the grounds and saw peacocks and Irish Wolf Hounds, which were huge and awesome and used to get rid of the wolves on the island. The castle itself was cool, and we had the same guy we had last time giving the tour. We learned the prefix 'mc' means 'son of,' and 'O' means 'grandson of'. Interesting tidbit.
After Bunratty we went to Craggaunowen, which was a cool place with a castle and a ring fort on the lake. They'd build on the lake so invaders couldnt' get to them. And there was an awesome walk that was all lush and green and mossy in the forest, and they had wild boars, too, which was kidna cool. Then on to the Cliffs of Moher, which weren't as easy to see as I remember, but still really cool. Really windy, too. After the cliffs we went down to Doolin, and ate at that same pub. We had had a huge breakfast, so we only had soups, a theme we'd continue after eating huge breakfasts at every place. Then we had to drive all the way to Dingle, take a ferry over the crossing, but we finally got to this nice place called the lighthouse, overlooking Dingle Harbor, which was cool. We checked in, got a Pizza and a few beers, and listend to some traditional music at the pub.
The next day we did some shopping at Dingle, which actually had a few really cool, hippy-type shops. Then we drove to the dingle peninsula and drove that little ring, which was really neat! The roads were really narrow, though, but the views were spectacular. Lots of tall mountains, sparce brush, lots of Sheep, and the ocean right there. We saw some old 4 BC stone forts and huts, all made out of un-mortared stone, and what are called Beehive huts, which are cool stone huts with tops. They look like beehives, go figure. We drove out around the point, and on te way back we hit the Gallarus Oratoary, which was another cool stone dwelling, used as a church. Really neat. Drove the rest of the way and got to Killarney. This one was a little off the beaten path, and the map was useless, but we got it eventoually. We had some pub food, but there was a band practicing next door, and they were loud and bad. But it's all good. We were planning on doing the Ring of Kerry, but seeing as we'd already done all that driving, we decided against it. We went to Muckross house instead, which was really cool, and had BEAUTIFUL grounds. Rock walls, various plants, huge trees, and the house was pretty cool too. This drive from Killarney to Cork was really neat; we actually did do a bit of the Ring of Kerry, and took a nice scenic route, but towards the end we were all fed up with driving and got to Cork, but the trip was nice and green. Cork was a nightmare getting into; we came at it a different way and there was TONS of traffic. We only looked around for a little bit, but we walked to St. Finnebarr's cathedral, which was really cool. Passed the Beamish brewery, which is sweeter than a guiness, but i dont' like it as much. Then we drove to Kinsale, which is the Gorme capitol of Ireland, and also a harbor, which was really neat. We had a DELICIOUS Italian dinner for Dad's birthday, and it was really good. Checked into the B+B (Which was a GARISH yellow) and went into town to have a drink. Turns out one of the guys was working in Waterville (Ireland) so I struck up a conversation with him. Kinda cool.
Then next morning, after the obligatory delicious breakfast, we drove back through Cork and did Blarny castle, which was AMAZING! The castle was big and imposing, and they built it on a cliff, and made the sides come to a point, kinda, so it looks even bigger and taller than it is. The grounds around the castle are really cool, they have some sweet caves and stairs and trees and a sacrifical rock and druid's circle. It's awesome. And the castle itself was really great, too. The stone was cool, but they guy who had to help you was very "GO GO GO!", so you didnt' really get a chance to appreciate it, but I do remember it had a kinda chunk taken out of it. Though I do feel a bit more loquacious...After Blarny, we went to the Fota wildlife park, but it was expensive and cold, so we kept going to the Jameson Whisky distillery, which was really cool. I got to do the taste testing!! I learned that Scotch is Scotch Whisky, and the difference is that Irish Whisky is distilled thrice, Scotch twice, and American only once. Also, Irish Whisky uses a smokelss heat source to heat the barley, while Scotch uses peat, which gives it that (gross) peaty taste and smell. But I learned I like Powers Whisky best, then Jameson, then Paddy, then Jack, and Scotch is just disgusting. But it was well worth the trip. I even got a certificate!
After that we (and by 'we' i mean 'dad', because I sort of passed out after those 6 shots of whisky) drove through Waterford, where they make waterford crystal, and over to Graiguenamangh, where our B+B was. Took a while to find it, it was kind of out of the way, but nice. There was NO food to be found, though, so we just had some stuff from the grocery store. Dad and I went to a small Irish pub, and he taught me how to drive standard. Kinda of. We found a church parking lot, but it was on a hill, and I smoked the clutch. Ahh, well.
Next day we drove to Kilkenny, which had a really cool castle, still kept up, and set up like victorian times. Really neat, and big grounds, too, though not as impressive. We went to St. Mary's cathedral, as well as St. Candice's, which were both cool. Then we traveled on to the Rock of Cashel, which was really cool. A big castle on this huge precipice. It was the center of Munster King's power until 1101, when they gave it over to the Church. You can see the Romanesque style chappel, and the huge gothic cathedral, too. It was pretty sweet.
Then, we just drove back to Limerick! We got everything fully packed up, and I stayed the night at the B+B, since they had an extra voucher, and I probably wouldn't be able to use it. In the morning, they dropped me off, I spent 20 minutes trying to print boarding passes (because the library is horrible), and Mom and Dad headed home!
It was really great seeing them, and now I've only got about a month left before I'm home again...at least one or two more posts before then, though
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| SouthWest Ireland with the Parents |
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sangria on the Beach
So, Spain was pretty awesome. We got there, and it was actually warm! I'd forgotten what that was like in Ireland. We ended up on the wrong bus, without knowing it, but luckily some nice lady who also spoke English heard us freaking out and told us the other buses and stuff we had to get on. So we got to the hostel, all settled in, and walked along the beach, which was 1/2 a block away from our hostel, it was amazing! And the people at the hostel were really nice too. My roomate was from Argentina. It was the off season, but apparently Palma de Mallorca, the Island we were on, is a huge destination for German partiers,like our spring break stuff. We saw a huge 'super pub' called Mega Park, it was a huge beerhall thing. We had schnitzel in there, it was ok. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
So we got there, walked around a little, and ended up at a cool Italian place. The old guy taking care of us must have been bored, cuz he kept coming over and doing magic tricks and stuff, or pull a fake gun on one of us, or give someone an exploding pen, or give us 75% shots, it was pretty crazy. After that we got a few things of Sangria and this thing called Shandy, which is half beer half lemonade. No one else liked them, but I thought they were really good. We drank them at the beach at night, which was beautiful, and just hung around.
The next day was pretty much spent at the beach drinking sangria with these huge straws. There are pictures on the blog. It was awesome. There was a grocery store right across the beach, and a gallon of Sangria was like 2 euro. Oh if only we had those prices in Ireland!! So we did that, we read, we talked, we jumped in the water (which was cold! It wasn't really super-warm on the beach yet), made a sandcastle, and drank more sangria. We ended up taking a nice long nap after it got cold out, then going into the city. Stuff was closing, so we ate at McDonald's (for Shame!) and ended up at this hole in the wall ex-pat pub, that was kinda nice. I had a Caronita, and they offered a lime, but put a lemon in. Ahh, well. Couldn't stay long cuz we had to hit the last bus, but it was good.
Next day we went to the beach, Dan and Carolin (his German Girlfriend) had to leave, so we spent the day with them on the beach, then when they left we took another Siesta. Sitting in the sun really takes a lot out of you! We went to the German Beer hall for lunch, and because it was the offseason everything was like 30% off. I had the schnitzel, which was like breaded pork, but it was just ok. For dinner we bought wine and cheese and baguettes and ham and sat on the beach and watched the waves and ate...it was heavenly. At night we got some drinks and had White Russians, which were really good, and played cards and stuff. Pretty chill.
Next day, it was cold and windy, so we didn't' spend to much time at the beach, but we went into the city to shop around and stuff. We had Tapas, which are appetizer thingys. Not bad. Got back, had more bread and cheese in the room this time, because the girls were too cold, then we had black russians, because we still had all the stuff left for russians, just no milk, so we got coke instead. Then, the awesomeness happened. We decided to go out to this cocktail bar the hostel recommended. So we went, and it was a Canadian guy, John, who owned it. He was really nice, gave us a free shot to sip on while we were deciding, and gave us good, off-season prices (4 euro for a drink instead of 6) So we were excited. And Cielito used to work as a bartender, so she was asking about all these drinks, what he had for ingredients, and that stuff. He didn't have any limes, but we had bought like 5 for our drinks beforehand, and only used one, so she ran off to get limes to make mojijtos for us! He had her get behind the bar, gave her mint and rum and she used our limes, and made us and him one. And then she stayed behind the bar all night, pouring drinks for the 10 or so people that were there, and also for us. It was awesome! John was so cool, Cielito kept feeding us drinks all night, there was actually good music on, and there were funny austin powers pick-up lines in the bathroom. It couldn't have gotten much better! But wait, it does! At the end of the night, he was like '15 euro, we'll call it even.' We must have drank at least 100 euro worth of alcohol between the three of us (well, two of us, Brette didn't really drink to much), but we only had to pay 15! In fact, we went to another pub afterwards with him and I bought him a beer, and our two beers came out to almost that much, for 2 beers! And we were drinking all night! it was great! Everything you wish to happen to you at a bar, and it did. AMAZING times. There are a few pictures, and Cielito's going to make a drink list of everything we had that night, so I'll put that up later.
Needless to say, I wasn't feeling to great the next morning, but I didn't have to throw up or anything, so I'll count it as a victory. And the hostel had a great breakfast, which helped, too. So the last day we got up, walked around Palma for a bit, the girls did some shopping, we had some nice sandwiches which were called something, but I forget, and we headed for home. Plane ride was fine, got back safe and sound, and here we are!
Next trip is Ireland with the Parents!!
Drink List (for all of us, I didn't have that many on my own)
3 shots apple schnapps
2 beers
3 super strong mojitos
2 japanese slippers
2 appletinis
1 cheeky monkey
1 squashed frog
1 screaming orgasm
3 shots sambuca
2 flaming sambuca shots
3 jagerbombs
3 kiwi drip tray shots
and here are the pictures
So we got there, walked around a little, and ended up at a cool Italian place. The old guy taking care of us must have been bored, cuz he kept coming over and doing magic tricks and stuff, or pull a fake gun on one of us, or give someone an exploding pen, or give us 75% shots, it was pretty crazy. After that we got a few things of Sangria and this thing called Shandy, which is half beer half lemonade. No one else liked them, but I thought they were really good. We drank them at the beach at night, which was beautiful, and just hung around.
The next day was pretty much spent at the beach drinking sangria with these huge straws. There are pictures on the blog. It was awesome. There was a grocery store right across the beach, and a gallon of Sangria was like 2 euro. Oh if only we had those prices in Ireland!! So we did that, we read, we talked, we jumped in the water (which was cold! It wasn't really super-warm on the beach yet), made a sandcastle, and drank more sangria. We ended up taking a nice long nap after it got cold out, then going into the city. Stuff was closing, so we ate at McDonald's (for Shame!) and ended up at this hole in the wall ex-pat pub, that was kinda nice. I had a Caronita, and they offered a lime, but put a lemon in. Ahh, well. Couldn't stay long cuz we had to hit the last bus, but it was good.
Next day we went to the beach, Dan and Carolin (his German Girlfriend) had to leave, so we spent the day with them on the beach, then when they left we took another Siesta. Sitting in the sun really takes a lot out of you! We went to the German Beer hall for lunch, and because it was the offseason everything was like 30% off. I had the schnitzel, which was like breaded pork, but it was just ok. For dinner we bought wine and cheese and baguettes and ham and sat on the beach and watched the waves and ate...it was heavenly. At night we got some drinks and had White Russians, which were really good, and played cards and stuff. Pretty chill.
Next day, it was cold and windy, so we didn't' spend to much time at the beach, but we went into the city to shop around and stuff. We had Tapas, which are appetizer thingys. Not bad. Got back, had more bread and cheese in the room this time, because the girls were too cold, then we had black russians, because we still had all the stuff left for russians, just no milk, so we got coke instead. Then, the awesomeness happened. We decided to go out to this cocktail bar the hostel recommended. So we went, and it was a Canadian guy, John, who owned it. He was really nice, gave us a free shot to sip on while we were deciding, and gave us good, off-season prices (4 euro for a drink instead of 6) So we were excited. And Cielito used to work as a bartender, so she was asking about all these drinks, what he had for ingredients, and that stuff. He didn't have any limes, but we had bought like 5 for our drinks beforehand, and only used one, so she ran off to get limes to make mojijtos for us! He had her get behind the bar, gave her mint and rum and she used our limes, and made us and him one. And then she stayed behind the bar all night, pouring drinks for the 10 or so people that were there, and also for us. It was awesome! John was so cool, Cielito kept feeding us drinks all night, there was actually good music on, and there were funny austin powers pick-up lines in the bathroom. It couldn't have gotten much better! But wait, it does! At the end of the night, he was like '15 euro, we'll call it even.' We must have drank at least 100 euro worth of alcohol between the three of us (well, two of us, Brette didn't really drink to much), but we only had to pay 15! In fact, we went to another pub afterwards with him and I bought him a beer, and our two beers came out to almost that much, for 2 beers! And we were drinking all night! it was great! Everything you wish to happen to you at a bar, and it did. AMAZING times. There are a few pictures, and Cielito's going to make a drink list of everything we had that night, so I'll put that up later.
Needless to say, I wasn't feeling to great the next morning, but I didn't have to throw up or anything, so I'll count it as a victory. And the hostel had a great breakfast, which helped, too. So the last day we got up, walked around Palma for a bit, the girls did some shopping, we had some nice sandwiches which were called something, but I forget, and we headed for home. Plane ride was fine, got back safe and sound, and here we are!
Next trip is Ireland with the Parents!!
Drink List (for all of us, I didn't have that many on my own)
3 shots apple schnapps
2 beers
3 super strong mojitos
2 japanese slippers
2 appletinis
1 cheeky monkey
1 squashed frog
1 screaming orgasm
3 shots sambuca
2 flaming sambuca shots
3 jagerbombs
3 kiwi drip tray shots
and here are the pictures
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| Spain |
Monday, March 24, 2008
All Around Italy!
We pretty much did Rome in a day! We took the bus to the main station, which is HUGE. We spent half an hour looking for a map. Then we got some authentic Italian Pizza, which was GREAT! Most of their crusts are really thin, except when you get to the Naples area. And each piece is like a quarter of the Pie! The food in general was AMAZING. (Molly was telling us that the American idea of Italian food is not always the case; it comes from the south of Italy, where they have huge portions and lots of people in the family and stuff. Not all Italian food is like that). Anyway, We went to San Maria Maggiore, a really pretty Church. Then we walked to the Barberini-fontana di Trevi, because Molly suggested the Trevi Fountain. But this wasn't the right one. We found the right one, and walked to it, It was pretty cool, lots of sculptures and stuff. Then we walked to the Pantheon, which was once again disappointing. Not many sculptures. Got some Gelato, which is AMAZING. (Italian Ice Cream, but so much better and richer) We kind of got lost trying to get to the Parliament building, which turned out to be disappointing. Then we decided to go to the Spanish Steps, because Molly suggested it. We were close to the Piazza del Popolo, which was cool, a nice fountain with statues and stuff. Lots of those Living Statues. Also, side note, pretty much every street has a Piazza, a little circle thing with an obelisk in the middle. But most of the obliques have Egyptian hieroglyphs...weird. Anyway, then we went to the Spaninsh Steps, which also weren't that great. Just steps. Woo Hoo. We decided we'd go try to see the Colosseum. Originally them. we were going to wait for Molly, but we figured what the heck, and walked there. On the way, they had this cool building decked out with statues. I guess the Italians call it the Typewriter, it's a modern building. We walked the Dei Font Imperiali, the main road to the Colosseum, and it had statues of the Cesars, which was neat. At the Colosseum, they have people dressed up like Romans to take your pictures with. So we walked all around te Colosseum, but couldn't find out how to get in. Apparently it closed at 4:30, so we figured we'd go with Molly later. Then, wince we still had a few hours to kill, we walked to the St. Giovanni in Laterano Church, which was beautiful. Lots of sculptures of saints, which were really neat. Then we went back to the Colosseum, walked around for a bit, and walked the Circo Massimo, a big grassy area. We took a break, cuz our feet were killing us. Then we walked along the Tevere river, past 9 bridges,m and past this cool castle of St. Angelo, which has three different layers, all built on top of each other. One is medieval, one is renaissance, and one is something else. It was a long way to get to Mollys, but we got there eventually.
(It was really weird being somewhere i don't' speak ANY of the language. I keep wanting to respond in French, that's the first other language that comes to mind. But i can't even ask 'do you speak English', because i dont' now how. But the weather was AMAZING...can't beat it. i think it's the first time i didn't have to wear a coat! and the food is amazing. And the little houses and shops are all Italian design and stuff, so it was a very good fist day. Lots of smokers, though)
When we got to Molly, she took us back to her place, talked a bit, had some pasta, checked e-mail, showered, pretty much relaxed, it was nice. But we had to wake up at 6 to get the train to Pompeii. Slept on the train to Napoli, which was our changeover. Got on a train to Pompeii, but we should have gone to Pompeii escavi, not the city of Pompeii, which we did. So we had to go back a few stops. But we met some nice older Americans, and talked to them and found it together. Ate lunch at a nice little place, more thin-crust pizza. Pompeii wasn't as cool as i was expecting. lots of parts of old stone buildings. Got to see some of the pottery and bodies that were preserved by the ash, that was cool. The city is REALLY big, so we spent a long time walking. We took a break in t a cool Colosseum, really nice view of the city and Mt. Vesouvious, because Pompeii is on a hill. On the way back we split a thick crust pizza, which was good, but salty. Got the train tickets, but it was supposed to leave in 3 minutes, so we were freaking out, and some guy helped us. We thought he worked there, but he wanted euro and stuff. Kinda awkward, because we didn't' really have much change to give him and he got mad. Anyway, we got back to Molly, had more pasta, played chess, and slept.
Next day was a fairly early start. Went to the Colosseum, whcih was cool. Fairly big, and i guess they still have concerts and stuff there. I think there was a jazz concert coming up, beachhead they piped in some Jazz, which was cool, if not the ambiance I was expecting. Colosseum was neat. In the center they had a bunch of particians, i guess, that would have been under the wooden stage, for animals, and to make channels when they had naval battles. Before that, we went up to the Foro Romano and the Palantino, which was cool. You buy tickets for all three, those and the Colosseum, so we skipped the long lines at the Colosseum, and got our tickets there. Then, after the Colosseum, we went to the Vatican. Saw St. Peter's Basilica first, because the line for the he Sistine chapel and musi vaticani was super long. We got to see a tv screen of the pope giving mass, which was cool. But it started raining, while we were in line for the basilica, but it was still nice. The basilica was cool big, lots of neat sculptures and wavy columns. La Pieta was there! Then we tried to se the Cupola, and waited in line for it, but it was like 7 uro, so we changed our minds. But we met a nice family from the states and talked to them in the line, so it was nice. Then we waited in line for the museum, which took an hour, but moved quickly. The musi was cool, lots of sculptures. The Thinker, this famous one with the guy and his sons and the snake..i forget what i's called. Anyway, at the end was the Sistine chapel, which was huge and amazing. Also saw the classical school of Athens, which took up an entire wall and is part of an entire room, that was really neat. After that, our feet really hurt, but we walked over to St. Angelos again, but we couldn't really see it. Then we went back to Mollys, had a nap, and took her out to a neat little Italian restaurant, the falcone. We had this cool fried rice and cheese things, called panzerotti or something like that. Then we got tickets to Florence, which we had to wake up at 4 in the morning for. Napped on the train, and got to Florence fine.Walked past San Lorenzo market, which was really cool. picked up some beaks and stuff for hemp making. Then we found the Duomo, which was beautiful! All green stone and intricate sculptures. Saw the bell tower, which was really big and cool, done in the same style. Then we saw the Bapistry Doors, which were all Gold, and had scence from the bible on them. Really, really neat. Then went into the Leonardo da Vinci museum, which was kinda cool. They had a sculpture garden, which was cool, and had a copy of Michelangelo's David. And some Adonis one, and Hercules, too. We waited in line to see a weird little thing, which was kinda useless, just a lame museum. Then we went down tot eh bridge called Ponte Vecchio, which had Tons of Jewlery, all gold and diamonds and stuff. Then we waited for the Musi D'Uffizi, which was cool. Had lots of famous stuff, some da Vinci, Botticelli (birth of Venus, and La Primavera), Caravvagio, Durer, Michelangelo, raphel, titiann, Rubens, Rembrant...lots of them. We had to miss the Bargello, which had Donatellos David, and the Accademia Dell'Arte, which had Michelangelo's David, but it was ok. We walked back, got a t rain ticket to Pisa. It was freezing, raining, windy, and miserable. But we saw the tower, which was neat, and smaller than i expected. Got some cool pictures. We got tickets to the other train station we were leaving out of, because it wasn't the main station. Then we went to dinner. But i guess we thought the ticket to get to the other station was at 12, when really it was at 11, so we stayed to late at dinner and had to walk in the freezing rain to get to the train station,. Not fun. And the station was really sketchy, and out train was 45 minutes late. We didn't' get out of there until 2:30 in the morning, and the train was so crowded, we had to fight to get any where. We finally found our compartment, but the whole thing sucked. We got in around 6, so we went walking around Venice, which was really neat. Lots of small houses, canals, and by midday there were lots of vendors. I spent too much money, got more beads, a shirt, and mostly food. But at like 8 in the morning, the tourist info place finally opened, and we got a map. We saw the Ponte di Rialto, which is a famous bridge, i guess. Saw San Marco Basilica, which was almost as intricate as the one in Florence. I realized i hadn't needed to delete pictures, silly me. So i don't have as many as i'd like, but i'll get some from Dan. There was also this really tall tower, and a live orchestra playing, which was neat. We were going to go into Duncale Palazza, but we cheaped out and walked around some more. Ate at a kinda good place, and wandered around aimlessly for a bit. Went into a casino, which was interesting. Dan played Blackjack, and broke even, which is good. In order to get in, you had to pay 10euro, but you got a ten euro chip. The kicker is, that chip is non-redeemable, you have to play with it. So dan got out on his first try, then played with mine and got 20 euro, so we each got the ten we put in back. We then walked around some more, ate at various places and had lots of good pastries. Then we left on the train for Bergamo station, which is by Milan. Walked around Bergamo for a bit, it was kinda nice. But the airport SUCKED. I guess they had a policy against sleeping, so every hour or so they'd coe around, wake everyone up, and move us to the other side of the station. Grr... But we got to London, and it was Snowing! Kind cool. Dan had wanted to go into London, but he changed his mind, which was good for me, i didn't want to pay the 25 euro to take the train there and back, because i'd already been to London. We had like an 8 hour layover, and it was Easter. But it was nice, there was this really big window, and we sat underneath it and read in the sunlight, it was great. Then we got back to Shannon, took a bus, and i slept for like 14 hours! took me all day to upload pictures and blogs, so now i'm going to bed.
Pictures are here:
(It was really weird being somewhere i don't' speak ANY of the language. I keep wanting to respond in French, that's the first other language that comes to mind. But i can't even ask 'do you speak English', because i dont' now how. But the weather was AMAZING...can't beat it. i think it's the first time i didn't have to wear a coat! and the food is amazing. And the little houses and shops are all Italian design and stuff, so it was a very good fist day. Lots of smokers, though)
When we got to Molly, she took us back to her place, talked a bit, had some pasta, checked e-mail, showered, pretty much relaxed, it was nice. But we had to wake up at 6 to get the train to Pompeii. Slept on the train to Napoli, which was our changeover. Got on a train to Pompeii, but we should have gone to Pompeii escavi, not the city of Pompeii, which we did. So we had to go back a few stops. But we met some nice older Americans, and talked to them and found it together. Ate lunch at a nice little place, more thin-crust pizza. Pompeii wasn't as cool as i was expecting. lots of parts of old stone buildings. Got to see some of the pottery and bodies that were preserved by the ash, that was cool. The city is REALLY big, so we spent a long time walking. We took a break in t a cool Colosseum, really nice view of the city and Mt. Vesouvious, because Pompeii is on a hill. On the way back we split a thick crust pizza, which was good, but salty. Got the train tickets, but it was supposed to leave in 3 minutes, so we were freaking out, and some guy helped us. We thought he worked there, but he wanted euro and stuff. Kinda awkward, because we didn't' really have much change to give him and he got mad. Anyway, we got back to Molly, had more pasta, played chess, and slept.
Next day was a fairly early start. Went to the Colosseum, whcih was cool. Fairly big, and i guess they still have concerts and stuff there. I think there was a jazz concert coming up, beachhead they piped in some Jazz, which was cool, if not the ambiance I was expecting. Colosseum was neat. In the center they had a bunch of particians, i guess, that would have been under the wooden stage, for animals, and to make channels when they had naval battles. Before that, we went up to the Foro Romano and the Palantino, which was cool. You buy tickets for all three, those and the Colosseum, so we skipped the long lines at the Colosseum, and got our tickets there. Then, after the Colosseum, we went to the Vatican. Saw St. Peter's Basilica first, because the line for the he Sistine chapel and musi vaticani was super long. We got to see a tv screen of the pope giving mass, which was cool. But it started raining, while we were in line for the basilica, but it was still nice. The basilica was cool big, lots of neat sculptures and wavy columns. La Pieta was there! Then we tried to se the Cupola, and waited in line for it, but it was like 7 uro, so we changed our minds. But we met a nice family from the states and talked to them in the line, so it was nice. Then we waited in line for the museum, which took an hour, but moved quickly. The musi was cool, lots of sculptures. The Thinker, this famous one with the guy and his sons and the snake..i forget what i's called. Anyway, at the end was the Sistine chapel, which was huge and amazing. Also saw the classical school of Athens, which took up an entire wall and is part of an entire room, that was really neat. After that, our feet really hurt, but we walked over to St. Angelos again, but we couldn't really see it. Then we went back to Mollys, had a nap, and took her out to a neat little Italian restaurant, the falcone. We had this cool fried rice and cheese things, called panzerotti or something like that. Then we got tickets to Florence, which we had to wake up at 4 in the morning for. Napped on the train, and got to Florence fine.Walked past San Lorenzo market, which was really cool. picked up some beaks and stuff for hemp making. Then we found the Duomo, which was beautiful! All green stone and intricate sculptures. Saw the bell tower, which was really big and cool, done in the same style. Then we saw the Bapistry Doors, which were all Gold, and had scence from the bible on them. Really, really neat. Then went into the Leonardo da Vinci museum, which was kinda cool. They had a sculpture garden, which was cool, and had a copy of Michelangelo's David. And some Adonis one, and Hercules, too. We waited in line to see a weird little thing, which was kinda useless, just a lame museum. Then we went down tot eh bridge called Ponte Vecchio, which had Tons of Jewlery, all gold and diamonds and stuff. Then we waited for the Musi D'Uffizi, which was cool. Had lots of famous stuff, some da Vinci, Botticelli (birth of Venus, and La Primavera), Caravvagio, Durer, Michelangelo, raphel, titiann, Rubens, Rembrant...lots of them. We had to miss the Bargello, which had Donatellos David, and the Accademia Dell'Arte, which had Michelangelo's David, but it was ok. We walked back, got a t rain ticket to Pisa. It was freezing, raining, windy, and miserable. But we saw the tower, which was neat, and smaller than i expected. Got some cool pictures. We got tickets to the other train station we were leaving out of, because it wasn't the main station. Then we went to dinner. But i guess we thought the ticket to get to the other station was at 12, when really it was at 11, so we stayed to late at dinner and had to walk in the freezing rain to get to the train station,. Not fun. And the station was really sketchy, and out train was 45 minutes late. We didn't' get out of there until 2:30 in the morning, and the train was so crowded, we had to fight to get any where. We finally found our compartment, but the whole thing sucked. We got in around 6, so we went walking around Venice, which was really neat. Lots of small houses, canals, and by midday there were lots of vendors. I spent too much money, got more beads, a shirt, and mostly food. But at like 8 in the morning, the tourist info place finally opened, and we got a map. We saw the Ponte di Rialto, which is a famous bridge, i guess. Saw San Marco Basilica, which was almost as intricate as the one in Florence. I realized i hadn't needed to delete pictures, silly me. So i don't have as many as i'd like, but i'll get some from Dan. There was also this really tall tower, and a live orchestra playing, which was neat. We were going to go into Duncale Palazza, but we cheaped out and walked around some more. Ate at a kinda good place, and wandered around aimlessly for a bit. Went into a casino, which was interesting. Dan played Blackjack, and broke even, which is good. In order to get in, you had to pay 10euro, but you got a ten euro chip. The kicker is, that chip is non-redeemable, you have to play with it. So dan got out on his first try, then played with mine and got 20 euro, so we each got the ten we put in back. We then walked around some more, ate at various places and had lots of good pastries. Then we left on the train for Bergamo station, which is by Milan. Walked around Bergamo for a bit, it was kinda nice. But the airport SUCKED. I guess they had a policy against sleeping, so every hour or so they'd coe around, wake everyone up, and move us to the other side of the station. Grr... But we got to London, and it was Snowing! Kind cool. Dan had wanted to go into London, but he changed his mind, which was good for me, i didn't want to pay the 25 euro to take the train there and back, because i'd already been to London. We had like an 8 hour layover, and it was Easter. But it was nice, there was this really big window, and we sat underneath it and read in the sunlight, it was great. Then we got back to Shannon, took a bus, and i slept for like 14 hours! took me all day to upload pictures and blogs, so now i'm going to bed.
Pictures are here:
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| Italy |
Dublin for St. Patricks Day!
Got to the bus and airport, no problem. Got to Dublin eventually, by this time we were starving. But all the places had jacked up their prices for St. Patties Day. We eventfully found a fairly good cheap place, and had some breakfast food.s Then we walked around for a bit, found our hostels and stuff. Brette had tons of trouble getting out of her second night, because she wanted to leave early. My hostel strait-up cancelled my booking without telling me. I guess there was a huge thing going on, and they said they sent an e-mail, but i never got it. They did find me another hostel, but it was 27 euro instead of 17. I'm going to try to get them to pay for it. Anyway, dealing with those things took up a while. Afterwards, we wandered around. Saw Trinity College, which was pretty, but the Book of Kells was closed. We tried to find some Jazz Bars, and some random guy on the street told us where one of them was, and also explained all the famous Irish musicians over the ages. We were supposed to go to JJ SMiths, but that jazz didn't start until 8, so we went to try to find food. On the way i saw these cool braziers with actual fire outside some shop, and went over to check it out. Turns out they had live Jazz upstairs, which was sweet! It was the Dublin Jazz orchestra, and they were really good. They played a lot of stuff we had played in our jazz band at Muhlenberg, and had some cool vocals and solos. We met up with Cielito, then pretty much passed out. Before that, we ate at Supermacs, because everything else was too expensive (no relation to a McDonalds with Super Powers...I asked)
On St. Patties day, we got up, met at their hostel, and met a bunch of other people from their hostel, which was cool. Two dudes were from Zimbabwe, one guy was Israeli, and another girl was American. They were pretty cool. We saw the parade, which was neat. They didn't' really have any floats, only two, a cool robot and a motorcycler. Not many balloons, either. An owl and some cool dragons, and they made them dip down over the crowd, it was cool. Mostly walking people dressed up in really neat costumes. There were so many American marching bands, though...i think more than the Irish stuff! We saw Council Rock South, props to Jeff. Grabbed some pub food and drinks at one or two different pubs, pretty cool. Did the pub crawl for a bit, but it was really crowded, so we went back to the hostel to hang and play some games and stuff, which was fun. THen Dan and I caught the bus to the airport, and caught the plane to Luton, London, and slept at the airport. It sucked. Got up early, slept on the plaine, and off to Italy!!
Here's the Album:
On St. Patties day, we got up, met at their hostel, and met a bunch of other people from their hostel, which was cool. Two dudes were from Zimbabwe, one guy was Israeli, and another girl was American. They were pretty cool. We saw the parade, which was neat. They didn't' really have any floats, only two, a cool robot and a motorcycler. Not many balloons, either. An owl and some cool dragons, and they made them dip down over the crowd, it was cool. Mostly walking people dressed up in really neat costumes. There were so many American marching bands, though...i think more than the Irish stuff! We saw Council Rock South, props to Jeff. Grabbed some pub food and drinks at one or two different pubs, pretty cool. Did the pub crawl for a bit, but it was really crowded, so we went back to the hostel to hang and play some games and stuff, which was fun. THen Dan and I caught the bus to the airport, and caught the plane to Luton, London, and slept at the airport. It sucked. Got up early, slept on the plaine, and off to Italy!!
Here's the Album:
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| Dublin for St. Patties |
Scotland!
We left early in the morning on Wednesday. No reason to, but had to make sure we were there early, or course. Got to the airport, got in, no problem. They had free samples of Irish Whisky in the airport duty free store, which was cool. Plane ride was fine, got some reading in. Got to Scotland fine...bumpy ride and lots of wind, but it was good. Emma met us at the airport, and helped us get on the bus, which was nice of her. We got a bus to the Edinburgh bus station, which is right near the royal mile, which is the mile between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. So Emma's flat was pretty centrally located. We dropped some stuff off at Emmas, then went to climb Arthur's seat, which is this cool rock formation thing. We hit a crazy storm on the way yp, and waited for it to pass in a parking garage. We walked up a little crag, then i decided to do the actual Arthur's Seat. (which apparently is named for some actual Arthur king guy, not the Mythical King Arthur. Ahh well) SO WINDY!! I couldn't even stand up properly at the top, it was crazy! Fun, though. Then we came back down, had lucn at a nice Spanish place Emma recommended, and went out for drinks with Emma and her friends, which was cool. We went to Greyfriars bobby, which there is a story about. I guess there was this guy and a dog, and they were insuperable, and when the guy died, the dog slept on his grave every night until he died. I guess Disney make a movie about it. Then we went to a bar that had flavoured shots, that was kind of cool. Then we went to Nicol Edwards, which is one of the most haunted pubs in England. Emma had friends there, and they gave us a free tour! Pretty sweet. Not really scary, but cool catacombs under the pub.
Next day we took a train to St. Andrews, which was a really nice, quaint Scottish town. We had to do some finagling, because we took the wrong train, but we got there eventually. I guess there is a famous golf course there, which Brette was big into, so we took lots of pictures there. The club house was so fancy, though! So expensive! Sheesh! We walked around a bit,had a nice lunch of tomato soup and sandwich in some pub. We also saw St. Andrews Campus, which was really neat. We saw this amazing cathedral..half of it had fallen over, but there were some walls that were still standing...it was awesome! there was a graveyard around it, and a wall from a castle behind it, as well....So cool! We headed back after that. We ate at a kinda fancy resturaunt back in Edinburgh, and had Haggis, which was actually really good. Had traditional Scottish desert, cranachan, which was really good. Fruit and whipped cream type stuff, which shortbread, very nice. Then we came back to Emmas, watched little miss sunshine cuz brette hadn't seen it, and fell asleep.
Next morning we got the bus to Pitlochry, which is by Perth, and is the Gateway to the Highlands. It was amazing! Reminded me of New England, actually. First time i saw actual trees, and mountains in the background, and lakes and rivers,....it was awesome. There was a neat little bookshop right by the train station, and it had really nice copies of Lord of the Rings, which i got for 50 pence each! I shouldn't have, I don't' have space to bring them back, but i couldn't resist. We walked up a little nature trail, by this damn that has fish ladders, but the salmon werent' in season. We stopped at the McKay bar (for mike), and has a really good steak stew. They had Pie and a Pint deal, so we had that, haha. We then walked to the Brewery, but it was closed. When we asked about it in the hotel pub, they gave us free samples of the microbrews, which was really nice of them! They tasted pretty good. Then we walked around main street, which was nice, and walked past a farm to catch our bus back. it was sooo pretty there. We saw some sheep and stuff. Got the train back, and went to the world's end pub, which was good. So called because it is on the spot that the old city ended, before the expansion, so it was the end of their world.
Next day we did the stuff around Edinburgh. Got a bus tour, which was good. We heard a bagpiper, which Brette was very excited about, but he didn't' sound very good. All dressed up, though. Edinburgh Castle was really cool. its on a huge mountain/hill. Emma told us that by law, everyone is required to be able to visit the war memorials, and there is one in the castle. So we asked to go see it, and they walked us up into the castle, and we didn't' have to pay to get in! We walked around a bit, trying to find the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. We found one, but there was supposed to be another, real one. We looked for it for a long time, but couldn't find it. Eventually we ate at this cool college hippy type coffee shop thing. Really neat. Then we saw the campus of the university of Edinburgh, which was ok. We came back to Emmas and decided to go see the Palace of Holyrood before going to see the monuments and stuff around. We stopped in some shops, and decided not to actually go into the palace. The girls wanted to shop instead of going to the monuments, so i decided to climb Arthurs seat again. Then we ate a the tollbooth pub, which was nice and quaint. Then we went to Emmas recital, which was really good. We tried to find soe traditional music, but we couldn't and gave up. Off to Dublin next!
Here's the Album:
Next day we took a train to St. Andrews, which was a really nice, quaint Scottish town. We had to do some finagling, because we took the wrong train, but we got there eventually. I guess there is a famous golf course there, which Brette was big into, so we took lots of pictures there. The club house was so fancy, though! So expensive! Sheesh! We walked around a bit,had a nice lunch of tomato soup and sandwich in some pub. We also saw St. Andrews Campus, which was really neat. We saw this amazing cathedral..half of it had fallen over, but there were some walls that were still standing...it was awesome! there was a graveyard around it, and a wall from a castle behind it, as well....So cool! We headed back after that. We ate at a kinda fancy resturaunt back in Edinburgh, and had Haggis, which was actually really good. Had traditional Scottish desert, cranachan, which was really good. Fruit and whipped cream type stuff, which shortbread, very nice. Then we came back to Emmas, watched little miss sunshine cuz brette hadn't seen it, and fell asleep.
Next morning we got the bus to Pitlochry, which is by Perth, and is the Gateway to the Highlands. It was amazing! Reminded me of New England, actually. First time i saw actual trees, and mountains in the background, and lakes and rivers,....it was awesome. There was a neat little bookshop right by the train station, and it had really nice copies of Lord of the Rings, which i got for 50 pence each! I shouldn't have, I don't' have space to bring them back, but i couldn't resist. We walked up a little nature trail, by this damn that has fish ladders, but the salmon werent' in season. We stopped at the McKay bar (for mike), and has a really good steak stew. They had Pie and a Pint deal, so we had that, haha. We then walked to the Brewery, but it was closed. When we asked about it in the hotel pub, they gave us free samples of the microbrews, which was really nice of them! They tasted pretty good. Then we walked around main street, which was nice, and walked past a farm to catch our bus back. it was sooo pretty there. We saw some sheep and stuff. Got the train back, and went to the world's end pub, which was good. So called because it is on the spot that the old city ended, before the expansion, so it was the end of their world.
Next day we did the stuff around Edinburgh. Got a bus tour, which was good. We heard a bagpiper, which Brette was very excited about, but he didn't' sound very good. All dressed up, though. Edinburgh Castle was really cool. its on a huge mountain/hill. Emma told us that by law, everyone is required to be able to visit the war memorials, and there is one in the castle. So we asked to go see it, and they walked us up into the castle, and we didn't' have to pay to get in! We walked around a bit, trying to find the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. We found one, but there was supposed to be another, real one. We looked for it for a long time, but couldn't find it. Eventually we ate at this cool college hippy type coffee shop thing. Really neat. Then we saw the campus of the university of Edinburgh, which was ok. We came back to Emmas and decided to go see the Palace of Holyrood before going to see the monuments and stuff around. We stopped in some shops, and decided not to actually go into the palace. The girls wanted to shop instead of going to the monuments, so i decided to climb Arthurs seat again. Then we ate a the tollbooth pub, which was nice and quaint. Then we went to Emmas recital, which was really good. We tried to find soe traditional music, but we couldn't and gave up. Off to Dublin next!
Here's the Album:
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| Scotland |
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Cork Day Trip
Quick post today, not all that much actually happened. I had a shindig over here last night, and we all agreed to wake up and get to the bus station for 8 so we could get the bus into the city and then into Cork, where we were going for a day trip, provided through the school. I guess i got it in my head that i had to wake up at 8, not be there for 8, because i set my alarm for 8, not 7:30. So everyone else assumed i had taken an earlier bus, and left without me. So i was late, had to wait in the bus station for an hour before the next bus came, and it was a not a good situation all around. But I did get some reading in, so it's not all bad.
We i got there and finally met up with people, we waited around for the hop-on-hop-off bus, but it took forever, so we decided to wander around for a bit. It's actually a really nice city, i like it better than limerick. Lots of side streets, little shops and markets and cafes and stuff, very quaint.
so we had a lunch ticket for a museum cafe, and we walked to the museum. It was pretty good, nothing spectacular. They actually had representations of venus di milo and some other stuff we saw at the louvre, so seeing these reproductions was kinda lame, haha. But lunch was really good, I had sea bass.
Then we wandered around for a bit more, waiting for the bus, which finally came and took us to the goal, also known as a jail. it was kinda cool, we had tickets for an audio tour, which was long, but interesting, i guess. Then we got back on the bus, which has some cool information about the city. We saw some cool churches and stuff on the way, which was neat. Then we shopped around for awhile longer, then took the bus back, and here we are! A fun day, if not a lot that happened. But next week is Scotland, Dublin, and Italy, so more from that later!
Justin
We i got there and finally met up with people, we waited around for the hop-on-hop-off bus, but it took forever, so we decided to wander around for a bit. It's actually a really nice city, i like it better than limerick. Lots of side streets, little shops and markets and cafes and stuff, very quaint.
so we had a lunch ticket for a museum cafe, and we walked to the museum. It was pretty good, nothing spectacular. They actually had representations of venus di milo and some other stuff we saw at the louvre, so seeing these reproductions was kinda lame, haha. But lunch was really good, I had sea bass.
Then we wandered around for a bit more, waiting for the bus, which finally came and took us to the goal, also known as a jail. it was kinda cool, we had tickets for an audio tour, which was long, but interesting, i guess. Then we got back on the bus, which has some cool information about the city. We saw some cool churches and stuff on the way, which was neat. Then we shopped around for awhile longer, then took the bus back, and here we are! A fun day, if not a lot that happened. But next week is Scotland, Dublin, and Italy, so more from that later!
Justin
Sunday, February 24, 2008
New Albums
I changed the albums around by trip, so now they should be easier to find stuff. I'll try to embed a link here so you can see them from my blog
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| Paris |
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| England |
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| Bunratty, Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Galway |
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| University and Limerick City |
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Paris!
Oh, Paris! Where to begin?
So we left at 2:30 in the morning tuesday night/Wednesday morning. We feared we would have to sleep in the airport again, but we found a taxi willing to take us all the way to the airport for 45 euro, which, between 6 people, would be cheaper than the bus anyway. (the taxi guy and us sort of have a relationship; we hang out in big groups, and he runs a 'maxi-taxi', as Cielito calls it. really just a van-taxi, but he picks us up when we're out late. And by late, i mean after 11:30 when the buses stop running to Limerick). So we got to the airport at like 4 for a 6 am flight, and again, no on was at the ticket window. We kinda went to sleep, and then started talking to this cool guy named jeremy who was studying in Paris and told us all the free things to go to (the louve is free after 6 on fridays, george pompidou was free Wednesday after 7, that sort of thing).
So eventoually we got on the plane. (i got priority boarding for 8 euro...i was so mad. i forgot to uncheck the box). We got there safe and sound, and walked around a little bit. We took a metro to the Champs Elysee, which was really cool. Lots of shops and stuff. We ate at the Pomme and Pain, a baguette store, which was great. We went to L'arc de Triumph, and that was amazing. We walked around, past a few big buildings we couldn't figure out what they were (I think they were museums) and came to Invalides, a place where they used to put disabled and retired war veterans. There was a museum, but we didnt' want to pay so we just walked around a little bit, it was actually kinda cool. We found their hostel (Absolute Paris, which I would highly recommend) and then Dan and I found our hostel (Blue Planet...DO NOT RECOMMEND) Dan wanted to pay for a nice hostel, i still dont' know why. It said it had a bathroom in the room and breakfast served. The bathroom turned out to be a sink, breakfast was from a vending machine, and they tried to put us in a four person room when we payed for a three person room. Not cool. So we kinda got screwed on that one. Anyway, after that, we tried to find George Pompidou, a modern art museum, because it was free. It was actually a lot cooler than i was expecting, i have to admit. Then we had crepes for dinner, which was really nice, and when tot bed.
(a few interesting happenings, before I forget: There were like 3 gaming shops right outside our hostel, and like 5 comic book stores I found. So crazy. Also, A few people came up to me to ask for directions; i guess I look French. Also, I started up a conversation on the subway with some lady, which was really cool)
Then, the next day (Thursday) we spent forever in the mornign getting ready. My partners did not have the same vacation mindset as I. I'm used to 'we are on vacation, get as much as you can, sleep when you're not in PARIS', and they kinda lazed about, took a while getting ready, and were late all the time. so we pretty much wasted a morning. Eventually we went to St. Chappelles, which was really pretty. Then we walked over to Notre Dame, which was AMAZING. So beautiful. Lots of stain glass, lots of statues, beautiful architecture...they didnt' allow cameras, but I wish you all could have seen it. After we ate lunch at Panis, which Devon recommended to me (i had a crocqe monsier, which was really good) the girls just wanted to go to the Musee D'Orsai, but I wanted to go see the Pantheon, which i was expecting would be a cool Greek thing. Not so much. We went off, and it was Chrisitian, which was cool, but no statues or anything. Just graves. It was some cool people, (none of which i can remember at the moment), but overall disappointing. Then we met up with them at the museum, whcih was awesome. Lots of sculpture, which was really cool, and a bunch of Monets and impressionism upstairs. Then we got kidnda lost, but ended up at a fancy dinner at Le Tango D'Chat. It was really nice, we had wine and everything. Then we went to bed.
Next day, Dan and I got up early so we could actually do something in the morning. We went to Le Chateau de Vincennes, but it was kinda closed for renovation, and not much to see inside. But the outside was beautiful, and it was used by a few kings or something, I couldn't' really tell. But it was a nice walk. Then we wanted to go to Jim Morrison's grave (from the Doors), but it was too far away, so we chose a random attraction and went there. It's cool, on the subway maps (which i find much more confusing than London's) they have the spot marked with any attractions and stuff to see. So we went to L'Opera, which, big surprise, was under construction and not open. But it was pretty outside of it. We walked around and ended up at the Ministry of Defence, but didn't go in. Then we met up with the others and went to montmartre, which was beautiful. Lots of shops and stuff. Then we walked up to Sacre-Coeur, which was so pretty you can't imagine it. Huge, on top of a hill, overlooking all of paris, so much nice sculpture and architecture, lots of gargoyles, and its still used as a church, which was cool. Eventually we went down, saw some artists and stuff. I think Mom said this was where she got her picture drawn...i dont' know, but they had some good ones. Then we walked down to the Moulon Rouge, which was cool, I guess...got some pictures in case anyone wanted to see it. Then we hit up a nice pub thing, which had good food.
Then we tried to see the Catacombs, and after we finally figured out how to ask someone where it was (try to convey "Catacombs" without knowing the words for bones, skeleton, buried, dead, or underground. Not that easy), we got there to find, once again, under construction and closed. It was supposed to be littered with bones, and the walls made of bones and stuff like that...ahh, well.
Then we went to a cool garden somewhere, and I got a thing of roasted chestnuts. They were good...kinda meaty, but it was very hard to eat the entire thing...a few would have been plenty. But they had some cool statues in the garden as well. Then we went to the louvre, which was amazing, as expected. We saw the Mona Lisa (which isn't as small as everyone says,) my camera battery died, we say Venus di Milo, Winged Victory, some Botticelli, a lot of really neat italian renaissance paintings...it was great. We ended up loosing one of our party, so while looking for him, i got to see a lot more of the museum, which was cool. Then we went to dinner outside the Eiffel Tower, which is beautiful at night! Oh my God! You can't even Imagine. And we ate at the Castle restaurant which was cool. I had a hamburger with a fried egg on it, which was actually really, really good. Then we went to bed.
This morning we got up, and found that the metro station that stops at the Eiffel Tower was closed for Construction (I didnt' realize how much construction there was until writing this...) So we got off one early, walked in the opposite direction, and eventually got to where we needed to be. You'd think it'd be easy to find the freakin' Eiffel Tower, but it wasn't. So we went up to the top floor, and it was AMAZING. you could see all of pairs, all the things we did, which was really cool. They had a bunch of different floors, and we didn't' have time to stay and look as much as i would have liked. (Dad, you'd like this: They had a thing inside that had a picture of the view you were looking at, and it was numbered, and they told you what the numbers you were looking at were. They also told you what direction and how far away other famous places were, like the statue of liberty is this may miles away, that sort of thing)
Then we got back, metro'd to the airport, flew over, and here we are! all safe and sound! and tired! So now i'm off to put up pictures...hope you enjoyed the recount of my journeys!!
So we left at 2:30 in the morning tuesday night/Wednesday morning. We feared we would have to sleep in the airport again, but we found a taxi willing to take us all the way to the airport for 45 euro, which, between 6 people, would be cheaper than the bus anyway. (the taxi guy and us sort of have a relationship; we hang out in big groups, and he runs a 'maxi-taxi', as Cielito calls it. really just a van-taxi, but he picks us up when we're out late. And by late, i mean after 11:30 when the buses stop running to Limerick). So we got to the airport at like 4 for a 6 am flight, and again, no on was at the ticket window. We kinda went to sleep, and then started talking to this cool guy named jeremy who was studying in Paris and told us all the free things to go to (the louve is free after 6 on fridays, george pompidou was free Wednesday after 7, that sort of thing).
So eventoually we got on the plane. (i got priority boarding for 8 euro...i was so mad. i forgot to uncheck the box). We got there safe and sound, and walked around a little bit. We took a metro to the Champs Elysee, which was really cool. Lots of shops and stuff. We ate at the Pomme and Pain, a baguette store, which was great. We went to L'arc de Triumph, and that was amazing. We walked around, past a few big buildings we couldn't figure out what they were (I think they were museums) and came to Invalides, a place where they used to put disabled and retired war veterans. There was a museum, but we didnt' want to pay so we just walked around a little bit, it was actually kinda cool. We found their hostel (Absolute Paris, which I would highly recommend) and then Dan and I found our hostel (Blue Planet...DO NOT RECOMMEND) Dan wanted to pay for a nice hostel, i still dont' know why. It said it had a bathroom in the room and breakfast served. The bathroom turned out to be a sink, breakfast was from a vending machine, and they tried to put us in a four person room when we payed for a three person room. Not cool. So we kinda got screwed on that one. Anyway, after that, we tried to find George Pompidou, a modern art museum, because it was free. It was actually a lot cooler than i was expecting, i have to admit. Then we had crepes for dinner, which was really nice, and when tot bed.
(a few interesting happenings, before I forget: There were like 3 gaming shops right outside our hostel, and like 5 comic book stores I found. So crazy. Also, A few people came up to me to ask for directions; i guess I look French. Also, I started up a conversation on the subway with some lady, which was really cool)
Then, the next day (Thursday) we spent forever in the mornign getting ready. My partners did not have the same vacation mindset as I. I'm used to 'we are on vacation, get as much as you can, sleep when you're not in PARIS', and they kinda lazed about, took a while getting ready, and were late all the time. so we pretty much wasted a morning. Eventually we went to St. Chappelles, which was really pretty. Then we walked over to Notre Dame, which was AMAZING. So beautiful. Lots of stain glass, lots of statues, beautiful architecture...they didnt' allow cameras, but I wish you all could have seen it. After we ate lunch at Panis, which Devon recommended to me (i had a crocqe monsier, which was really good) the girls just wanted to go to the Musee D'Orsai, but I wanted to go see the Pantheon, which i was expecting would be a cool Greek thing. Not so much. We went off, and it was Chrisitian, which was cool, but no statues or anything. Just graves. It was some cool people, (none of which i can remember at the moment), but overall disappointing. Then we met up with them at the museum, whcih was awesome. Lots of sculpture, which was really cool, and a bunch of Monets and impressionism upstairs. Then we got kidnda lost, but ended up at a fancy dinner at Le Tango D'Chat. It was really nice, we had wine and everything. Then we went to bed.
Next day, Dan and I got up early so we could actually do something in the morning. We went to Le Chateau de Vincennes, but it was kinda closed for renovation, and not much to see inside. But the outside was beautiful, and it was used by a few kings or something, I couldn't' really tell. But it was a nice walk. Then we wanted to go to Jim Morrison's grave (from the Doors), but it was too far away, so we chose a random attraction and went there. It's cool, on the subway maps (which i find much more confusing than London's) they have the spot marked with any attractions and stuff to see. So we went to L'Opera, which, big surprise, was under construction and not open. But it was pretty outside of it. We walked around and ended up at the Ministry of Defence, but didn't go in. Then we met up with the others and went to montmartre, which was beautiful. Lots of shops and stuff. Then we walked up to Sacre-Coeur, which was so pretty you can't imagine it. Huge, on top of a hill, overlooking all of paris, so much nice sculpture and architecture, lots of gargoyles, and its still used as a church, which was cool. Eventually we went down, saw some artists and stuff. I think Mom said this was where she got her picture drawn...i dont' know, but they had some good ones. Then we walked down to the Moulon Rouge, which was cool, I guess...got some pictures in case anyone wanted to see it. Then we hit up a nice pub thing, which had good food.
Then we tried to see the Catacombs, and after we finally figured out how to ask someone where it was (try to convey "Catacombs" without knowing the words for bones, skeleton, buried, dead, or underground. Not that easy), we got there to find, once again, under construction and closed. It was supposed to be littered with bones, and the walls made of bones and stuff like that...ahh, well.
Then we went to a cool garden somewhere, and I got a thing of roasted chestnuts. They were good...kinda meaty, but it was very hard to eat the entire thing...a few would have been plenty. But they had some cool statues in the garden as well. Then we went to the louvre, which was amazing, as expected. We saw the Mona Lisa (which isn't as small as everyone says,) my camera battery died, we say Venus di Milo, Winged Victory, some Botticelli, a lot of really neat italian renaissance paintings...it was great. We ended up loosing one of our party, so while looking for him, i got to see a lot more of the museum, which was cool. Then we went to dinner outside the Eiffel Tower, which is beautiful at night! Oh my God! You can't even Imagine. And we ate at the Castle restaurant which was cool. I had a hamburger with a fried egg on it, which was actually really, really good. Then we went to bed.
This morning we got up, and found that the metro station that stops at the Eiffel Tower was closed for Construction (I didnt' realize how much construction there was until writing this...) So we got off one early, walked in the opposite direction, and eventually got to where we needed to be. You'd think it'd be easy to find the freakin' Eiffel Tower, but it wasn't. So we went up to the top floor, and it was AMAZING. you could see all of pairs, all the things we did, which was really cool. They had a bunch of different floors, and we didn't' have time to stay and look as much as i would have liked. (Dad, you'd like this: They had a thing inside that had a picture of the view you were looking at, and it was numbered, and they told you what the numbers you were looking at were. They also told you what direction and how far away other famous places were, like the statue of liberty is this may miles away, that sort of thing)
Then we got back, metro'd to the airport, flew over, and here we are! all safe and sound! and tired! So now i'm off to put up pictures...hope you enjoyed the recount of my journeys!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
London Adventures!
The following is a log of my journeys in london, starting the 15th of February, Friday.
Well, I missed two buses and a Euro bus while waiting for Martha and Amanda, but we made it to the bus station fine. Finished the last half of Translations (a book for school) on the way to the airport. Got to the airport, had to wait to check in - no one was there. Checked in, Amanda got food at the airport, looked around a bit, and boarded the plane. Slept for a bit, then started "reading in the dark", also for class. Plane got in, and we were in London! We were very excited. We took the direct train into the city. Right outside was the Gherkin, it's a big cylindrical building that looks like a cucumber, apparently, so they call it the gherkin. Within 10 minutes someone came up to us and joked about the Gherkin. Very nice guy, sounded Australian. We decided to look around, maybe find a pub. I guess we looked lost, so some other lady asked if we needed directions. That's two nice people in 20 minutes. We found a sushi place, and i had some very good sushi. Eventually we found a sandwich shop: burger and fries (take away) for 2.50 pounds. cheap! They have all the food take away or eat in. Eat in is a few pence more, i think it has something to do with the Value Added Tax, I'm not sure. Needless to say, I would take away every time, usually eating it right outside the store while we waited for a bus or something.
I found my hostel easily enough, and luckily I didnt' get locked out! Apparently it closes at 10, which could have been problematic. Very clean room, very nice. A bit cold, but all in all not bad. I had a 16 person room, but there were only 4 in it, which was cool
The next morning, I got to our meeting place early (we had to use meeting places because our phones didn't' work over there) and got a muffin and started reading. The girls were late, so i started to get worried. Turns out they were doing construction on the tube. But we flagged down one of our buses (we got the Big Bus Tour, which was awesome, You could hop on or off, and it took to you all the touristy stuff and told you a little about the city, Very handy) We crossed London Bridge (which wasn't falling down, contrary to the children's song. That's just misinformation, as far as I am concerned) It took us to London Castle, which is actually a palace, one of the 4. It was really cool! We listened to the tour guy for a while, then the girls got cold and bored (It was really cold there...even for me) so we went of on our own. We saw the crown jewels, which were beautiful! Then we hopped back on the bus, got to see the eye and big ben, took lots of pictures from the bus. We then went to Westminster Abby, which was really cool. We saw Darwen's Grave/Monument (I couldn't really tell who was buried there, and who was just memorialised), Newton's, Shakespeare, Browning, Shelly, Byron, a bunch of famous people. Other than that, it was just pretty cool. Very intricate. Then we had lunch at a nice sandwich shop, and went to the place for the ghosts of London tour. The guy was pretty good, but it was FREEZING. We went to lots of pubs, and i had whiskey to keep me warm. Bad idea. Disgusting. We saw Ben Franklin's house (when he was the ambassador to London), The Curiosity Shop (which is a novel from Dickins), and where sweeny todd would have lived, if he actually did, by Front Street. Finally, we ate a pub, Shakespeare's head, which took forever, but was overall good. Then i went back to the hostel.
Oh, also points of interest: they had the Sherlock Holmes bar, which was mentioned in Hounds of the Baskervilles, so they renamed it the Sherlock Holmes. And we saw the Australian War memorial.
Day the Third
Got up today, once again made it to the meetign place before them. We were supposed to make the tour for the changing of the guard, but they were late so we had to run to catch up. I got really mixed up at Trafalger's square, but they had these cool lion statues, kinda looked like Aslan. And there was this really neat chalk artist that did a cool classical picture. Anyway, we made it to the walking tour. They took us on "the mall" which is the area infront of Buckingham that the queen rides up in. It's 2/3rds of a mile. We saw the horses go by, the Blues and Reds, which is WIlliam and Harry's Regiment. We went to St. James (one of the other palaces, with London Castle, Buckingham, and Kensington). We saw the old guard, they did there thing, and came down to head to buckingham for changing of the guard. There was a marching band, but they couldn't play for a bit because there was a mass going on at St. James. So we ran to the mall, and watched as they all came down and marched to Buckingham. (the band played then. It was rather melancholy.) we moved to where the new guard was coming in. They all wore the bearskin hats, and the bearskins come from Canda. Depedning on the ornimentations/feathers, you can tell what group they are in. Another band played. We didnt' actually see the chaning of the guard, but it would have been boring and taken forever anyway. The tour guide did a little reinactment..kinda lame. Then we went to the Big Bus Terminal to get a bonus card. We were going to go to Camden Market, but it burned down last week. Go figure. So we walked back (it was cold) to a cheap pub we had seen, but it was closed. So we had pizza, which was pretty good. Then we went to the brittish museum! REally cool. We saw the Rosetta stone, bunch of mummies, greek and roman stuff, and chineese tapistreis. Those were cool. They had stuff on them, but the words in chinese for 'butterfly' sounds like 'long life', so when they painted a butterfly, it also meant long life, so lots of puns. it was cool, i remember that from when i went to China. Speaking of that, they also had an exhibit of Terra Cotta warriors, haha. Then we went to Kensignton castle, but it was dark, and we couldn't really see it. Then we went to the Underground, and to King's Cross, and we went to platform 9 3/4! we took lots of pictures, haha. (harry potter, for all of you who didnt' get it).
Then we went to find Hard Rock Cafe, the original, which was founded in London. But we realized the last train to get us to the airport left at 11:30, and didn't start until 5:30 in the morning, but our plane was at 6, so we would have had to get there earlier than that. So we decided to sleep in the airport. So we had to get a quick bite at some sandwich shop, hustle and bustle and get to the hostel where we were supposed to say and try to get our money back. We did, and i only lost the 2 pound booking fee, which wasn't bad. We made the last shuttle at 11:30. We stayed at the airport until 5:30. I found a fairly comfortable spot under a kiosk, and my bag made a nice pillow, since it was mostly clothes. We got up, had breakfast. Security took forever, and they took my toothpaste (jerks). We made it, but it was foggy at the airport, and we're delayed. A bunch of other planes were cancelled, so we got really worried. We finally made it on, but they didn't' have a pilot, so by the time everything was said and done, we left 3 hours after we were supposed to. Thankfully it was on the way back!
This concludes the London Adventure. Thank you for reading. Tune in next time, same inconsistent blog time, same blog channel, for my Paris Adventure!
Well, I missed two buses and a Euro bus while waiting for Martha and Amanda, but we made it to the bus station fine. Finished the last half of Translations (a book for school) on the way to the airport. Got to the airport, had to wait to check in - no one was there. Checked in, Amanda got food at the airport, looked around a bit, and boarded the plane. Slept for a bit, then started "reading in the dark", also for class. Plane got in, and we were in London! We were very excited. We took the direct train into the city. Right outside was the Gherkin, it's a big cylindrical building that looks like a cucumber, apparently, so they call it the gherkin. Within 10 minutes someone came up to us and joked about the Gherkin. Very nice guy, sounded Australian. We decided to look around, maybe find a pub. I guess we looked lost, so some other lady asked if we needed directions. That's two nice people in 20 minutes. We found a sushi place, and i had some very good sushi. Eventually we found a sandwich shop: burger and fries (take away) for 2.50 pounds. cheap! They have all the food take away or eat in. Eat in is a few pence more, i think it has something to do with the Value Added Tax, I'm not sure. Needless to say, I would take away every time, usually eating it right outside the store while we waited for a bus or something.
I found my hostel easily enough, and luckily I didnt' get locked out! Apparently it closes at 10, which could have been problematic. Very clean room, very nice. A bit cold, but all in all not bad. I had a 16 person room, but there were only 4 in it, which was cool
The next morning, I got to our meeting place early (we had to use meeting places because our phones didn't' work over there) and got a muffin and started reading. The girls were late, so i started to get worried. Turns out they were doing construction on the tube. But we flagged down one of our buses (we got the Big Bus Tour, which was awesome, You could hop on or off, and it took to you all the touristy stuff and told you a little about the city, Very handy) We crossed London Bridge (which wasn't falling down, contrary to the children's song. That's just misinformation, as far as I am concerned) It took us to London Castle, which is actually a palace, one of the 4. It was really cool! We listened to the tour guy for a while, then the girls got cold and bored (It was really cold there...even for me) so we went of on our own. We saw the crown jewels, which were beautiful! Then we hopped back on the bus, got to see the eye and big ben, took lots of pictures from the bus. We then went to Westminster Abby, which was really cool. We saw Darwen's Grave/Monument (I couldn't really tell who was buried there, and who was just memorialised), Newton's, Shakespeare, Browning, Shelly, Byron, a bunch of famous people. Other than that, it was just pretty cool. Very intricate. Then we had lunch at a nice sandwich shop, and went to the place for the ghosts of London tour. The guy was pretty good, but it was FREEZING. We went to lots of pubs, and i had whiskey to keep me warm. Bad idea. Disgusting. We saw Ben Franklin's house (when he was the ambassador to London), The Curiosity Shop (which is a novel from Dickins), and where sweeny todd would have lived, if he actually did, by Front Street. Finally, we ate a pub, Shakespeare's head, which took forever, but was overall good. Then i went back to the hostel.
Oh, also points of interest: they had the Sherlock Holmes bar, which was mentioned in Hounds of the Baskervilles, so they renamed it the Sherlock Holmes. And we saw the Australian War memorial.
Day the Third
Got up today, once again made it to the meetign place before them. We were supposed to make the tour for the changing of the guard, but they were late so we had to run to catch up. I got really mixed up at Trafalger's square, but they had these cool lion statues, kinda looked like Aslan. And there was this really neat chalk artist that did a cool classical picture. Anyway, we made it to the walking tour. They took us on "the mall" which is the area infront of Buckingham that the queen rides up in. It's 2/3rds of a mile. We saw the horses go by, the Blues and Reds, which is WIlliam and Harry's Regiment. We went to St. James (one of the other palaces, with London Castle, Buckingham, and Kensington). We saw the old guard, they did there thing, and came down to head to buckingham for changing of the guard. There was a marching band, but they couldn't play for a bit because there was a mass going on at St. James. So we ran to the mall, and watched as they all came down and marched to Buckingham. (the band played then. It was rather melancholy.) we moved to where the new guard was coming in. They all wore the bearskin hats, and the bearskins come from Canda. Depedning on the ornimentations/feathers, you can tell what group they are in. Another band played. We didnt' actually see the chaning of the guard, but it would have been boring and taken forever anyway. The tour guide did a little reinactment..kinda lame. Then we went to the Big Bus Terminal to get a bonus card. We were going to go to Camden Market, but it burned down last week. Go figure. So we walked back (it was cold) to a cheap pub we had seen, but it was closed. So we had pizza, which was pretty good. Then we went to the brittish museum! REally cool. We saw the Rosetta stone, bunch of mummies, greek and roman stuff, and chineese tapistreis. Those were cool. They had stuff on them, but the words in chinese for 'butterfly' sounds like 'long life', so when they painted a butterfly, it also meant long life, so lots of puns. it was cool, i remember that from when i went to China. Speaking of that, they also had an exhibit of Terra Cotta warriors, haha. Then we went to Kensignton castle, but it was dark, and we couldn't really see it. Then we went to the Underground, and to King's Cross, and we went to platform 9 3/4! we took lots of pictures, haha. (harry potter, for all of you who didnt' get it).
Then we went to find Hard Rock Cafe, the original, which was founded in London. But we realized the last train to get us to the airport left at 11:30, and didn't start until 5:30 in the morning, but our plane was at 6, so we would have had to get there earlier than that. So we decided to sleep in the airport. So we had to get a quick bite at some sandwich shop, hustle and bustle and get to the hostel where we were supposed to say and try to get our money back. We did, and i only lost the 2 pound booking fee, which wasn't bad. We made the last shuttle at 11:30. We stayed at the airport until 5:30. I found a fairly comfortable spot under a kiosk, and my bag made a nice pillow, since it was mostly clothes. We got up, had breakfast. Security took forever, and they took my toothpaste (jerks). We made it, but it was foggy at the airport, and we're delayed. A bunch of other planes were cancelled, so we got really worried. We finally made it on, but they didn't' have a pilot, so by the time everything was said and done, we left 3 hours after we were supposed to. Thankfully it was on the way back!
This concludes the London Adventure. Thank you for reading. Tune in next time, same inconsistent blog time, same blog channel, for my Paris Adventure!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, and Galway
Hey everyone!
So last Saturday I took a bus trip. We had to get up really early, and I had gone out the night before, so morning wasn't that great, but I managed to get some sleep on the bus, which was good. And we found a short way to get to the bus station, which was awesome. Brette, Jackie, Cielito, Amanda, and Martha went, so a full crowd. We started off with a little tour of Limerick, which was OK...I guess the guy who wrote Angela's Ashes lived there, they showed us that pub. (I thought of the office, and the Finer Things club, for those of you who know what I'm talking about).
We then went to Bunratty Castle, which was neglected for a long time, but now is up and running. They had an awesome Great Hall where they do those mideival feasts, like at Midevil Times, so that would have been cool to go to. But they had all the furniture donated from other places, and its all around the same time. It was pretty cool. There were lots of thatched roof cottages around, too. (where is Trogdor when you need him?) We saw peat fires, and the way they lived years ago. The Thatch had to be 18 inches thick, and often had mice in them. So there's your trivia.
We then drove to Doolin, a little town on the ocean, for lunch at O'Connor's pub, which was really good. I had seafood chowder and chips, which was delicious. Lots of other people got a beef stew, which was also pretty good. It was very picturesque, and we met this american couple that makes stain glass windows over there, which is cool.
We then went to the Cliffs of Moher, which was AMAZING! They were beautiful! You walk up and there's a gift shop called the 'gifts of moher', and i lost it. The cliffs themselves were great. IT was a beautiful day for it. You can walk all along them, and then it turns into wilderness, and you can walk there at your own risk. That part was cool. Gets REALLY heady. But still safe. (Kind of). Lots of funny pictures, haha. And lots of signs warning you from falling over. Just in case, I guess.
Then we went along the coast road to Galway, and had some picture opportunities there. They have what are called famine houses, where people used to live during the famine. They keep them there and let them fall down as a reminder of the famine. We passed a graveyard where there were just a bunch of stones, because during the famine they didnt' have time or energy to make all the headstones. Also, there are a bunch of falling down castles, but the governement won't let you knock them down, they have to fall over on their own, which is really cool. There are lots of rock walls. They took the rocks from the field and made them into the walls. But during the famine, families couldnt' get food unless they did "a fair days' work for a fair days' pay". There wasn't any work, so they had to work all day making these walls to get their bucket of gruel for the family. Now it's still pretty rural over there. We got stuck behind two tractors and a herd of cow. For the farming families over there, the last child to leave home is expected to say home and take care of the family and the farm. So they have these big dances every year, as sort of a matchmaking thing.
Then we got to the Burren, which was really cool. All rocky, left over from the glaciers. You'll have to see pictures, i can't describe it justly. We passed "Black Head" which is this cool natural formation that looks like a face. Then we came back! It was great fun.
So then, next on the agender, I'm going to London this weekend and Paris next weekend, so any tips are greatly appreciated!
I'll update you all later, once those happen. And don't forget to check my albums, I added more pictures.
Thanks for reading!
Bye!
So last Saturday I took a bus trip. We had to get up really early, and I had gone out the night before, so morning wasn't that great, but I managed to get some sleep on the bus, which was good. And we found a short way to get to the bus station, which was awesome. Brette, Jackie, Cielito, Amanda, and Martha went, so a full crowd. We started off with a little tour of Limerick, which was OK...I guess the guy who wrote Angela's Ashes lived there, they showed us that pub. (I thought of the office, and the Finer Things club, for those of you who know what I'm talking about).
We then went to Bunratty Castle, which was neglected for a long time, but now is up and running. They had an awesome Great Hall where they do those mideival feasts, like at Midevil Times, so that would have been cool to go to. But they had all the furniture donated from other places, and its all around the same time. It was pretty cool. There were lots of thatched roof cottages around, too. (where is Trogdor when you need him?) We saw peat fires, and the way they lived years ago. The Thatch had to be 18 inches thick, and often had mice in them. So there's your trivia.
We then drove to Doolin, a little town on the ocean, for lunch at O'Connor's pub, which was really good. I had seafood chowder and chips, which was delicious. Lots of other people got a beef stew, which was also pretty good. It was very picturesque, and we met this american couple that makes stain glass windows over there, which is cool.
We then went to the Cliffs of Moher, which was AMAZING! They were beautiful! You walk up and there's a gift shop called the 'gifts of moher', and i lost it. The cliffs themselves were great. IT was a beautiful day for it. You can walk all along them, and then it turns into wilderness, and you can walk there at your own risk. That part was cool. Gets REALLY heady. But still safe. (Kind of). Lots of funny pictures, haha. And lots of signs warning you from falling over. Just in case, I guess.
Then we went along the coast road to Galway, and had some picture opportunities there. They have what are called famine houses, where people used to live during the famine. They keep them there and let them fall down as a reminder of the famine. We passed a graveyard where there were just a bunch of stones, because during the famine they didnt' have time or energy to make all the headstones. Also, there are a bunch of falling down castles, but the governement won't let you knock them down, they have to fall over on their own, which is really cool. There are lots of rock walls. They took the rocks from the field and made them into the walls. But during the famine, families couldnt' get food unless they did "a fair days' work for a fair days' pay". There wasn't any work, so they had to work all day making these walls to get their bucket of gruel for the family. Now it's still pretty rural over there. We got stuck behind two tractors and a herd of cow. For the farming families over there, the last child to leave home is expected to say home and take care of the family and the farm. So they have these big dances every year, as sort of a matchmaking thing.
Then we got to the Burren, which was really cool. All rocky, left over from the glaciers. You'll have to see pictures, i can't describe it justly. We passed "Black Head" which is this cool natural formation that looks like a face. Then we came back! It was great fun.
So then, next on the agender, I'm going to London this weekend and Paris next weekend, so any tips are greatly appreciated!
I'll update you all later, once those happen. And don't forget to check my albums, I added more pictures.
Thanks for reading!
Bye!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
List of Limericks
I started putting Limericks in my Away messages, quite appropriately, I think. I'll keep a list of them here, per request.
A bather whose clothing was strewed
By winds that left her quite nude
Saw a man come along
And unless we are wrong
You expected this line to be lewd.
'Tis a favourite project of mine,
A new value of pi to assign.
I would fix it at 3,
For it's simpler, you see,
Than 3 point 1 4 1 5 9
There was a Young Lady whose eyes,
Were unique as to colour and size;
When she opened them wide,
People all turned aside,
And started away in surprise.
Linda Blair with great favour confessed,
She'd been exorcised, thus finding rest,
But alack and alas
Her old demon came back
and now the poor girl's repossessed.
I once took our vicar to tea;
It was just as I thought it would be:
His rumblings abdominal
Were simply phenomenal,
And everyone thought it was me.
There was a young lady named Kite
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She left home one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
I once took our vicar to tea;
It was just as I thought it would be:
His rumblings abdominal
Were simply phenomenal,
And everyone thought it was me.
here once was a girl named Irene,
who lived on distilled kerosene.
But she started absorbin'
A new hydrocarbon,
And since then has never benzene!
There was a young lady named Kite
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She left home one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
Said an ape as he swung by his tail,
To his offspring both female and male,
"From your offspring, my dears,
In a couple of years,
May evolve a professor at Yale."
There was a young lady named Harris
Whom nothing could ever embarrass
'Til the salts that she shook
In the bath that she took
Turned out to be Plaster of Paris.
Though Ireland is really pretty,
The people here aren't very witty
I'll tell them a joke,
'bout a gal and a bloke,
and the look that they give me's pure pity
A young schizophrenic named Struther,
Who learned of the death of his Brother,
Said, "I know that its bad,
But I don't feel too sad.
After all, I still have each other."
The incredible Wizard of Oz
Retired from his business becoz
due to up-to-date science,
To most of his clients,
He wasn't the Wizard he woz.
God's plan made a hopeful beginning,
But Man spoilt his chances by sinning;
We trust that the story
Will end in great glory,
But at present the other side's winning.
Archimedes, the well known truth-seeker,
Jumping out of his bath, cried "Eureka!"
He ran half a mile,
Wearing only a smile,
And became the very first streaker.
There was a young lady named Rose
Who had a large wart on her nose.
When she had it removed
Her appearance improved,
But her glasses slipped down to her toes.
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean -
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
A bather whose clothing was strewed
By winds that left her quite nude
Saw a man come along
And unless we are wrong
You expected this line to be lewd.
'Tis a favourite project of mine,
A new value of pi to assign.
I would fix it at 3,
For it's simpler, you see,
Than 3 point 1 4 1 5 9
There was a Young Lady whose eyes,
Were unique as to colour and size;
When she opened them wide,
People all turned aside,
And started away in surprise.
Linda Blair with great favour confessed,
She'd been exorcised, thus finding rest,
But alack and alas
Her old demon came back
and now the poor girl's repossessed.
I once took our vicar to tea;
It was just as I thought it would be:
His rumblings abdominal
Were simply phenomenal,
And everyone thought it was me.
There was a young lady named Kite
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She left home one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
I once took our vicar to tea;
It was just as I thought it would be:
His rumblings abdominal
Were simply phenomenal,
And everyone thought it was me.
here once was a girl named Irene,
who lived on distilled kerosene.
But she started absorbin'
A new hydrocarbon,
And since then has never benzene!
There was a young lady named Kite
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She left home one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
Said an ape as he swung by his tail,
To his offspring both female and male,
"From your offspring, my dears,
In a couple of years,
May evolve a professor at Yale."
There was a young lady named Harris
Whom nothing could ever embarrass
'Til the salts that she shook
In the bath that she took
Turned out to be Plaster of Paris.
Though Ireland is really pretty,
The people here aren't very witty
I'll tell them a joke,
'bout a gal and a bloke,
and the look that they give me's pure pity
A young schizophrenic named Struther,
Who learned of the death of his Brother,
Said, "I know that its bad,
But I don't feel too sad.
After all, I still have each other."
The incredible Wizard of Oz
Retired from his business becoz
due to up-to-date science,
To most of his clients,
He wasn't the Wizard he woz.
God's plan made a hopeful beginning,
But Man spoilt his chances by sinning;
We trust that the story
Will end in great glory,
But at present the other side's winning.
Archimedes, the well known truth-seeker,
Jumping out of his bath, cried "Eureka!"
He ran half a mile,
Wearing only a smile,
And became the very first streaker.
There was a young lady named Rose
Who had a large wart on her nose.
When she had it removed
Her appearance improved,
But her glasses slipped down to her toes.
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean -
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Short One, Nothing Exciting
27 Jan 2008
Not much new today. Woke up, went for a run, got my internet cord, can't figure out how to get my internet working, and went into the city with Taryn. I had to get actual food. I should be good for a while, anyway. We ran into Brette and Cielito there, which was crazy. The bus was an hour late coming back, but it was the cheap bus, so I guess it was ok. (by cheap, I mean 1 euro, not 1.45) Then got back here, ate, and worked on my REUs. Wish I had internet. Now I'll probably just mess around until I go to bed. w00t.
Not much new today. Woke up, went for a run, got my internet cord, can't figure out how to get my internet working, and went into the city with Taryn. I had to get actual food. I should be good for a while, anyway. We ran into Brette and Cielito there, which was crazy. The bus was an hour late coming back, but it was the cheap bus, so I guess it was ok. (by cheap, I mean 1 euro, not 1.45) Then got back here, ate, and worked on my REUs. Wish I had internet. Now I'll probably just mess around until I go to bed. w00t.
2nd entry
January 26th
So lets see what else is new. I did all the orientation stuff Thursday and Friday. It was long and boring, but useful, I guess. Long days, though. And at night I'd been going out with people and hanging out and stuff. Thursday we went into the city, I think, and Friday we also went into the city. People needed a bunch of stuff. I've been hanging out with Brette (a girl) and Jackie, who are from Moravian, Amanda and Martha, (Amanda's also from Moravian) and Dan, Canadian, and Cielito, Australian. They're all really cool, I like them. We went out last night (Friday) to a bar, but I was too cheap to have more than 2. We got a cab back, because the buses stop running at 11:30, and we didn't get to the pub until like 10:30. We ran into some other people there, who I knew from orientation. Woke up this morning at 9 because the sun was in my eyes. We had a Vegemite party for Cielito, because it's Australia day today! It's not bad, actually, in small doses. Tastes like salt. We went into Limerick today and saw King John's Castle. It was pretty neat. We got some good pictures. I got postcards and stuff. We stopped by St. Mary's Cathedral, but we couldn't get in. Lots of graves around there. I guess it was an Anglican church. Then we came back, and I figured out my courses. Or, at least what courses I'm going to go to for the first week, then we'll re-analyze after that. The only thing that sucks is that my folklore class will run an hour into my science fiction in literature and film class, if I take both. Ech. But there are enough other classes and stuff, and I'm sure that they'll let me just kinda be there, if I ask the professor. I'm thinking about auditing a few, but I'm not sure what the point would be. I'll talk to people and see. I'm going to go around campus tomorrow and see where all the classes are, in what buildings and everything. Still don't have internet. It's getting kinda annoying. And I've got to do my applications and get those out so I can stop worrying about them. And I think I might go to an office party tonight..i.e. watch the office, haha. And I think I'll take Cielito out for a drink tonight for Australia day. It'll be expensive, but its the least I can do. Plus, I'm kinda feeling the pub tonight. I shouldn't be, but I am. This habit is going to burn a hole right through my pocket, haha.
I think that's about it for now. I'm going to make myself do research applications.
More to come,
Love,
Justin
So lets see what else is new. I did all the orientation stuff Thursday and Friday. It was long and boring, but useful, I guess. Long days, though. And at night I'd been going out with people and hanging out and stuff. Thursday we went into the city, I think, and Friday we also went into the city. People needed a bunch of stuff. I've been hanging out with Brette (a girl) and Jackie, who are from Moravian, Amanda and Martha, (Amanda's also from Moravian) and Dan, Canadian, and Cielito, Australian. They're all really cool, I like them. We went out last night (Friday) to a bar, but I was too cheap to have more than 2. We got a cab back, because the buses stop running at 11:30, and we didn't get to the pub until like 10:30. We ran into some other people there, who I knew from orientation. Woke up this morning at 9 because the sun was in my eyes. We had a Vegemite party for Cielito, because it's Australia day today! It's not bad, actually, in small doses. Tastes like salt. We went into Limerick today and saw King John's Castle. It was pretty neat. We got some good pictures. I got postcards and stuff. We stopped by St. Mary's Cathedral, but we couldn't get in. Lots of graves around there. I guess it was an Anglican church. Then we came back, and I figured out my courses. Or, at least what courses I'm going to go to for the first week, then we'll re-analyze after that. The only thing that sucks is that my folklore class will run an hour into my science fiction in literature and film class, if I take both. Ech. But there are enough other classes and stuff, and I'm sure that they'll let me just kinda be there, if I ask the professor. I'm thinking about auditing a few, but I'm not sure what the point would be. I'll talk to people and see. I'm going to go around campus tomorrow and see where all the classes are, in what buildings and everything. Still don't have internet. It's getting kinda annoying. And I've got to do my applications and get those out so I can stop worrying about them. And I think I might go to an office party tonight..i.e. watch the office, haha. And I think I'll take Cielito out for a drink tonight for Australia day. It'll be expensive, but its the least I can do. Plus, I'm kinda feeling the pub tonight. I shouldn't be, but I am. This habit is going to burn a hole right through my pocket, haha.
I think that's about it for now. I'm going to make myself do research applications.
More to come,
Love,
Justin
First Times!
Blog
1/22-1/23
So I made it safe and sound to Ireland! The plane trip wasn't bad. Got a lot of reading in, took a short nap, then got some more reading in. They showed 'Mr. Woodcock' on the plane, no interest to me. But they played Scrubs while we were eating (chicken, it was actually not bad) so I enjoyed myself. I remember thinking when we hit turbulence 'at least if I have to go down in a plane, it can be while I'm watching scrubs.' But we didn't go down, we got there all right, and when we went through customs, the guy had all the students wait to one side, so I found all the other Limerick students there. There's one from a school right next door, can't remember which one. Moravian? no, something like that. Anyway, she's nice, her name is Bret. A couple other nice people, but I couldn't get their numbers or anything because I didn't have a phone, and no one knew their extension, e-mail, or room number. So hopefully I'll see them tomorrow for orientation.
The plane got in at 5 in the morning Limerick time (we're 5 hours ahead over here, so it would have been midnight back at the states). It was pitch black, which I wasn't expecting, and raining, which I was. I thought we were getting in at 7am, not 5, but I guess that's when the plane was flying back out to Dublin. So all us American kids were standing around, waiting to be picked up. Eventually someone came and got us, and me and three girls and another guy went to our respective dorms. I'm the only one from the group in Dromroe, but it's a nice place. Not to far from everything, have my own room, my door locks, own bathroom, and we have a full kitchen and living room, pretty much. So that's cool. The houses themselves kinda look like they belong in an old western; they're wooden and all connected. I guess it's kinda cool.
So I got in, went to the desk, the lady gave me my key, but I could only wrangle one suitcase at a time. (she also gave me bed linens until I got my own. I thought they were provided. shucks). So when I got to the door, the key didn't work. So I had to go back anyway, and she fixed it so it worked, and I got in. I guess this is all about 6:30 or 7 in the morning, I didn't really have any sense of time, what with no watch, clock, or anything. So I got settled in, unpacked and all. There is so much space here, it wasn't hard at all. Lots of shelves, I guess. Probably could fit twice the number of clothes I have. So unpacking didn't' take long. I got my computer unpacked, and that gave me the time, so I got my clock, so now I've got a good sense of time. The alarm clock also has a 2nd time function, where it shows me what time it is in the States, which is cool. It's also 24-hour, so I'm trying to get used to that. It's taking me a while.
So I got unpacked, and by this time it was 8:30 or 9, and only starting to get light outside. I would have thought it'd have gotten much lighter much earlier, but it's a pretty cloudy place, and even when it's light out, it's not bright. So I went for a walk around, up to some of the other dorms, went to the library to use the internet, since I don't get internet until I get my student ID number, which I don't' get until orientation tomorrow. So I've been going over there fairly frequently to use internet. The keyboards are different over there, it's kinda weird. Different buttons over the numbers, like when you hit shift, and the return key is only the long half of the backwards 'L' that it is, so I kept hitting the asteric, which is where the arm of the enter key should be. (I hope that makes sense, I guess you just had to be there.) They've got lots of books, but they're all non-fiction. -sigh- I can interlibrary loan books, I guess, but we'll see how much time I have for pleasure reading. (Speaking of pleasure reading, I finished Narnia. I don't' remember reading it before, though I know I did. Good books, but got a little preachy towards the end.)
So where was I? The rest of yesterday I didn't' do much, went for another walk, saw my roommate Amy for a few seconds between her running to work and whatnot. Did some more reading, and took a nap at 12, which was a bad idea, because I didn't wake up until 3. Then I went to the library again, went for another walk, and came back and went to bed at 8. Not very exciting, really.
I woke up at 1:30, finished the last book of Narnia, went back to sleep, and slept until 10, when I made myself get up. Then I went to the registration thing, to see how to get a Sim card, and she said I should go into Limerick, which I did. I took the bus (which was extremely clean. I wish we had public transportation back in the States) and it was only 1.35 euros. Dropped me off, and I wandered around for a bit. Eventually I found a phone place, and the lady was really nice and got me a card and everything for about 10 euros. It's prepaid, for 10 euros, and I just have to keep topping it off. So then I shopped a bit, had a delicious wrap, and came back around 2. I just called Taryn, and we're going to meet for a pint in half an hour, so I figured I'd write before I forgot what happened. Oh, interesting things I saw in Limerick: Down by the water, they had about 8 swans, swimming around, just like we would ducks. They were beautiful. (And when I came back to campus, I saw a heron in a tree. It was cool!) Also, there was an internet cafe called “LOL!” which I thought was funny. There is a gas station called EMO, and I saw a store that was from the UK called French Connection, or something, so the acronym they chose was FCUK. (Close, but no cigar).
And that's it so far, I'm sure I'll update soon in the beginning, then forget as time goes on, but what can you expect?
Love,
Justin
1/22-1/23
So I made it safe and sound to Ireland! The plane trip wasn't bad. Got a lot of reading in, took a short nap, then got some more reading in. They showed 'Mr. Woodcock' on the plane, no interest to me. But they played Scrubs while we were eating (chicken, it was actually not bad) so I enjoyed myself. I remember thinking when we hit turbulence 'at least if I have to go down in a plane, it can be while I'm watching scrubs.' But we didn't go down, we got there all right, and when we went through customs, the guy had all the students wait to one side, so I found all the other Limerick students there. There's one from a school right next door, can't remember which one. Moravian? no, something like that. Anyway, she's nice, her name is Bret. A couple other nice people, but I couldn't get their numbers or anything because I didn't have a phone, and no one knew their extension, e-mail, or room number. So hopefully I'll see them tomorrow for orientation.
The plane got in at 5 in the morning Limerick time (we're 5 hours ahead over here, so it would have been midnight back at the states). It was pitch black, which I wasn't expecting, and raining, which I was. I thought we were getting in at 7am, not 5, but I guess that's when the plane was flying back out to Dublin. So all us American kids were standing around, waiting to be picked up. Eventually someone came and got us, and me and three girls and another guy went to our respective dorms. I'm the only one from the group in Dromroe, but it's a nice place. Not to far from everything, have my own room, my door locks, own bathroom, and we have a full kitchen and living room, pretty much. So that's cool. The houses themselves kinda look like they belong in an old western; they're wooden and all connected. I guess it's kinda cool.
So I got in, went to the desk, the lady gave me my key, but I could only wrangle one suitcase at a time. (she also gave me bed linens until I got my own. I thought they were provided. shucks). So when I got to the door, the key didn't work. So I had to go back anyway, and she fixed it so it worked, and I got in. I guess this is all about 6:30 or 7 in the morning, I didn't really have any sense of time, what with no watch, clock, or anything. So I got settled in, unpacked and all. There is so much space here, it wasn't hard at all. Lots of shelves, I guess. Probably could fit twice the number of clothes I have. So unpacking didn't' take long. I got my computer unpacked, and that gave me the time, so I got my clock, so now I've got a good sense of time. The alarm clock also has a 2nd time function, where it shows me what time it is in the States, which is cool. It's also 24-hour, so I'm trying to get used to that. It's taking me a while.
So I got unpacked, and by this time it was 8:30 or 9, and only starting to get light outside. I would have thought it'd have gotten much lighter much earlier, but it's a pretty cloudy place, and even when it's light out, it's not bright. So I went for a walk around, up to some of the other dorms, went to the library to use the internet, since I don't get internet until I get my student ID number, which I don't' get until orientation tomorrow. So I've been going over there fairly frequently to use internet. The keyboards are different over there, it's kinda weird. Different buttons over the numbers, like when you hit shift, and the return key is only the long half of the backwards 'L' that it is, so I kept hitting the asteric, which is where the arm of the enter key should be. (I hope that makes sense, I guess you just had to be there.) They've got lots of books, but they're all non-fiction. -sigh- I can interlibrary loan books, I guess, but we'll see how much time I have for pleasure reading. (Speaking of pleasure reading, I finished Narnia. I don't' remember reading it before, though I know I did. Good books, but got a little preachy towards the end.)
So where was I? The rest of yesterday I didn't' do much, went for another walk, saw my roommate Amy for a few seconds between her running to work and whatnot. Did some more reading, and took a nap at 12, which was a bad idea, because I didn't wake up until 3. Then I went to the library again, went for another walk, and came back and went to bed at 8. Not very exciting, really.
I woke up at 1:30, finished the last book of Narnia, went back to sleep, and slept until 10, when I made myself get up. Then I went to the registration thing, to see how to get a Sim card, and she said I should go into Limerick, which I did. I took the bus (which was extremely clean. I wish we had public transportation back in the States) and it was only 1.35 euros. Dropped me off, and I wandered around for a bit. Eventually I found a phone place, and the lady was really nice and got me a card and everything for about 10 euros. It's prepaid, for 10 euros, and I just have to keep topping it off. So then I shopped a bit, had a delicious wrap, and came back around 2. I just called Taryn, and we're going to meet for a pint in half an hour, so I figured I'd write before I forgot what happened. Oh, interesting things I saw in Limerick: Down by the water, they had about 8 swans, swimming around, just like we would ducks. They were beautiful. (And when I came back to campus, I saw a heron in a tree. It was cool!) Also, there was an internet cafe called “LOL!” which I thought was funny. There is a gas station called EMO, and I saw a store that was from the UK called French Connection, or something, so the acronym they chose was FCUK. (Close, but no cigar).
And that's it so far, I'm sure I'll update soon in the beginning, then forget as time goes on, but what can you expect?
Love,
Justin
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