hello loved ones,
i'm back from the southern europe part of my trip. before i get into it though, dad thought it would be a good idea to at least give you a run through of my irish trips before i get on to the most recent stuff
so, february 20th... i went to kerry. it's beautiful countryside and it was a lot less stressful for me because it was a school planned trip, i signed up and paid before the trip started and the rooms and meals were covered by that. they took us around by bus and showed us all the gorgeous scenery.
the food was fantastic too! our tour guide was a woman named marion, she's a teacher at ucc and her family owns the hotel we stayed at in kerry, so we basically had the run of everything. she and out bus driver, tommy, had a VERY funny dynamic. anytime marion wasn't sure of a fact she was giving us, she would say, "isn't that right tommy?" and he would correct her. for example:
"there are not so many people working at this building now, maybe less than ten, isn't that right tommy?" -marion
"no, no, no, it's definitely more than ten" -tommy
he also drove us onto a lot of roads that definitely were not supposed to be driven on... at one point it looked like we were barely squeezing by and as i looked out the window a street sign that said "strictly no buses" passed by my face... evidently these rules don't apply to tommy and his bus. those weren't the only rules broken, we definitely found ourselves in places like daniel o'connells house, that were not open during the winter time-- for everyone but marion.
it was a short trip but a lot of fun, we did a ceidli dance and went to bed exhausted the first night but i felt like i was in the scene from titanic when jack and rose go below deck to the real party with the irish passengers.
the next weekend, i didn't really have anything planned but i hated the thought of wasting the weekend so i joined a few friends who were going to kinsale. it's a beach town near cork. it would definitely have been busier in the summer, but it was really cute. it had a very small town feel to it, in the way that it was quaint and everyone knew each other.
we went to charles fort, which is one of the best examples of a star fort in europe... its basically a fort shaped like a 5 pointed star. inside, i almost broke my leg when i tried to hop up on a little wall, and tripped... of course
back in town we stoppd at a pub for lunch and ended up watching the england vs. ireland rugby match... it was SO much fun to watch it in that environment, where obviously most of the town comes to the same place to watch the important sports matches.
the following weekend, i went to galway. i really liked it in galway. it had a small town feel for ireland's 3rd biggest city. my hostel was right in the middle of the action. it's beautiful there and there was a lot to do, the city has a great night life.
we went to the cliffs of moher there but it was SO incredibly windy and foggy. i could only see the cliffs if i looked down to the water, and i had to fight my way up the stairs because the wind was so strong. it was fun though because the wind made being on the cliffs exciting.
we met and irish coast guard man and he liked my hot pink wellies. he was exactly what you think of when you think of and irishman of the sea, big raincoat, rain boots , knit cap and big scruffy beard.
well, its 2am technically on easter so i'm going to bed. i'll write more either tomorrow or the next day... in the words of my mother, TTFN
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
barcelona
hello again my friends,
i'm back ... it's a wednesday afternoon i had a final last night and a paper due tomorrow but i already finished it. i might try to work on a music paper at some point, it's not due until may 8th but i would rather get it out of the way...
so, now, barcelona.
well, we went on valentine's day actually we left on the 13th, friday the 13th and in europe they use military time so we were actually in the air at 13:13 (1:13) on friday the 13th... creepy huh?
i went with 3 of the friends i made here, kelly and julia are from monatana and maura also goes to qu. they told me they spoke a little spanish, to get by on... not so much hahaha we were fine though... i was very out of my element not being able to speak the language actually
we stayed at a nice hostel, highly reccommended. it was kind of industrial but we had a private room so that was nice.
i've learned that apparently, i'm not much of an adventurous eater so finding things i liked in spain was a little bit of a challenge especially because oftentimes, i couldn't read the menu.
i do have to say, i really wanted to see spain, particularly barcelona, but going on this trip was more about seeing my mom than anything else so when i couldn't find her on saturday i was really stressed out ---REALLY stressed out.
on saturday we went to las ramblas and la bocqueria. my friends were really excited about the bocqueria because it's like a big, fresh, market. kelly is a real foodie and she loves to cook so she was in heaven, maura will try anything once so she really liked it too. i thought it was cool, and i got a really good pastry there.
we wandered around a bit and then decided to try and find mom's hotel. while walking there we passed a market square with arts and crafts tables i really like those kind of things so we stopped for a bit. the architecture in barcelona is beautiful, i wish i knew more about the city because knowing the history would have made it all come to life.
i was expecting a smaller more rural type setting but barcelona was much more metropolitan, and busy than i realized.
after leaving a note for mom at the hotel (which she never got) we hopped on the subway to parc guell. i still am not sure how to say the name, i say it "gwell" others say "guy-el" so, i don't know. either way, i loved it. it was so pretty there, i loved the mosaics of everything. and to top it off, we had a beautiful warm sunny day which is a compete contrast to the weather in ireland in february. it was SO nice to just be outside in the sun and not have to be bundled in a coat under an umbrella. and i really loved the dragon/lizard thing at the front.
we got a fantastic lunch there, i still think about it sometimes hahaha ... in the park they have a little cafeteria thing and you can get baguettes there with differerent sandwich parts, i got ham and cheese and the cheese was melted on the bread and the ham was thin and delicious. i actually think it all tasted better because we were eating it outside.
so, i thought mom's group was supposed to come there that day so we were waiting around for 5 hours before i decided that it was starting to get dark and they probably weren't bringing the kids to the park at night. reluctantly i dragged my feet out of the park back to the hostel. we went out for dinner on las ramblas and MOM CALLED!
i was on edge all day and night until i talked to her, i was at breaking point because i wanted to see her so badly and i couldn't find her and no one spoke my language and they couldn't help me
but, finally we made our way to the restaurant she was at and when i found her in the back i just burst into tears... it was rather embarassing but i didnt care because i was so happy to see her.
ms turk said i made her and ms schneider cry too -- can't help it i was too happy and so relieved.
when they left we made a plan for me to meet her at the hotel the next morning. so i could go on the day trip with them. the other girls walked around barcelona some more and i met mom while she was eating breakfast. i got to sit next to her on the bus on the way to the dali museum and we got to talk the whole time, it was SO great.
dali is a weirdo by the way... he's the one who did the melting clock painting and a lot of other freaky things.
when we got back, some of the high school kids didn't want to go to the soccer match so my mom had to keep an eye on them instead. we brought them to las ramblas for some shopping. there were 5 of them and they were really nice. it was so funny how they kept trying to talk to everyone in their high school spanish. but hey, i was impressed that they were trying so hard.
i had to leave early the next day so my friends decided not to come to dinner with the group but the chaperones let me go instead. it was hard SO hard to say goodbye at the end of the night
i cried the whole taxi ride home and in bed and i even went so far as to think maybe this 5 months would have been easier if it hadn't seen her at all...WRONG
i wouldn't give that one day back for anything even though i still miss them all
i had a great time in spain, i loved the weather and the architecture and getting to see my mom but i would defnitely go back again after i learned more about barcelona because i don't think i appreciated it to its fullest
i'm back ... it's a wednesday afternoon i had a final last night and a paper due tomorrow but i already finished it. i might try to work on a music paper at some point, it's not due until may 8th but i would rather get it out of the way...
so, now, barcelona.
well, we went on valentine's day actually we left on the 13th, friday the 13th and in europe they use military time so we were actually in the air at 13:13 (1:13) on friday the 13th... creepy huh?
i went with 3 of the friends i made here, kelly and julia are from monatana and maura also goes to qu. they told me they spoke a little spanish, to get by on... not so much hahaha we were fine though... i was very out of my element not being able to speak the language actually
we stayed at a nice hostel, highly reccommended. it was kind of industrial but we had a private room so that was nice.
i've learned that apparently, i'm not much of an adventurous eater so finding things i liked in spain was a little bit of a challenge especially because oftentimes, i couldn't read the menu.
i do have to say, i really wanted to see spain, particularly barcelona, but going on this trip was more about seeing my mom than anything else so when i couldn't find her on saturday i was really stressed out ---REALLY stressed out.
on saturday we went to las ramblas and la bocqueria. my friends were really excited about the bocqueria because it's like a big, fresh, market. kelly is a real foodie and she loves to cook so she was in heaven, maura will try anything once so she really liked it too. i thought it was cool, and i got a really good pastry there.
we wandered around a bit and then decided to try and find mom's hotel. while walking there we passed a market square with arts and crafts tables i really like those kind of things so we stopped for a bit. the architecture in barcelona is beautiful, i wish i knew more about the city because knowing the history would have made it all come to life.
i was expecting a smaller more rural type setting but barcelona was much more metropolitan, and busy than i realized.
after leaving a note for mom at the hotel (which she never got) we hopped on the subway to parc guell. i still am not sure how to say the name, i say it "gwell" others say "guy-el" so, i don't know. either way, i loved it. it was so pretty there, i loved the mosaics of everything. and to top it off, we had a beautiful warm sunny day which is a compete contrast to the weather in ireland in february. it was SO nice to just be outside in the sun and not have to be bundled in a coat under an umbrella. and i really loved the dragon/lizard thing at the front.
we got a fantastic lunch there, i still think about it sometimes hahaha ... in the park they have a little cafeteria thing and you can get baguettes there with differerent sandwich parts, i got ham and cheese and the cheese was melted on the bread and the ham was thin and delicious. i actually think it all tasted better because we were eating it outside.
so, i thought mom's group was supposed to come there that day so we were waiting around for 5 hours before i decided that it was starting to get dark and they probably weren't bringing the kids to the park at night. reluctantly i dragged my feet out of the park back to the hostel. we went out for dinner on las ramblas and MOM CALLED!
i was on edge all day and night until i talked to her, i was at breaking point because i wanted to see her so badly and i couldn't find her and no one spoke my language and they couldn't help me
but, finally we made our way to the restaurant she was at and when i found her in the back i just burst into tears... it was rather embarassing but i didnt care because i was so happy to see her.
ms turk said i made her and ms schneider cry too -- can't help it i was too happy and so relieved.
when they left we made a plan for me to meet her at the hotel the next morning. so i could go on the day trip with them. the other girls walked around barcelona some more and i met mom while she was eating breakfast. i got to sit next to her on the bus on the way to the dali museum and we got to talk the whole time, it was SO great.
dali is a weirdo by the way... he's the one who did the melting clock painting and a lot of other freaky things.
when we got back, some of the high school kids didn't want to go to the soccer match so my mom had to keep an eye on them instead. we brought them to las ramblas for some shopping. there were 5 of them and they were really nice. it was so funny how they kept trying to talk to everyone in their high school spanish. but hey, i was impressed that they were trying so hard.
i had to leave early the next day so my friends decided not to come to dinner with the group but the chaperones let me go instead. it was hard SO hard to say goodbye at the end of the night
i cried the whole taxi ride home and in bed and i even went so far as to think maybe this 5 months would have been easier if it hadn't seen her at all...WRONG
i wouldn't give that one day back for anything even though i still miss them all
i had a great time in spain, i loved the weather and the architecture and getting to see my mom but i would defnitely go back again after i learned more about barcelona because i don't think i appreciated it to its fullest
Saturday, March 21, 2009
london london london
well, i already mentioned how the start of london wasn't such a good one.
when we finally took off early the next morning-- after another delay-- midflight they tell us that the airport we were supposed to be going to ( i can't even remember which one anymore) is closed because of snow, we were supposed to be landing just outside london, instead we are taken to birmingham 2 hours outside of london. we land and sit on the plane for a while because they're waiting to hear from the other airport. then, we get off the plane they crammed us literally like sardines into this tram to take us into the airport, who knows why. i'm lucky the door didn't close on my butt like i thought it would because that's how close to the door i was.
once inside the airport we waited for an hour or so before hearing an announcement about the buses that were taking us to the original airport ( not to london itself ) oh because they re opened the airport at 930 am. What time did we land in birmingham? 10 AM !!!!!
so it's like the amazing race to get to the buses, families are getting separated, children are crying, old ladies are tripping people with their canes... none of us knew how long it would be before the next bus came so we ended up getting on the bus for the 2.5 hour drive. the bus was super crowded, every seat was taken and the people behind me were making out the whole time. the bus ride, that was supposed to take about 2 hours or so took 4.5 hours because of traffic, i almost killed myself. --- really ----
my anger has clouded over this part of my memory but somehow we got to our hostel on friday night, too late to be on time for our reservation for the london eye. on the bright side, our hostel was GORGEOUS. we paid a good price for the rooms, it definitely wasn't the most expensive place i've stayed but so far it's been the nicest. it was the home of arnold palmer of palmers biscuits, an old cookie company in england. that night we just stayed at the hostel, we were too tired from traveling to go anywhere else.
we revamped our plans for the next two days because of the day and a half we had lost. we had a big list of things to do and we actually managed to accomplish most of them!
first we went to buckingham palace for the changing of the guards at 1130. i dont think i would go again, it's too hard to see the whole ceremony and it was really crowded for something that wasn't so exciting. after that we hopped on the double decker bus tour and took it to westminster abbey and the houses of parliament. parliament was so much more beautiful than i realized and we spent twice as much time in westminster abbey as we meant to, but it was so amazing inside that we didn't mind. unfortunately, you can't take pictures in there, but there was so much history -- and you know i love that--
big ben was right next door and i feel like it's my friend hahha, its such a familiar beautiful thing. everytime i see it i can't help but think, second star to the right and straight on till morning from peter pan . actually, big ben is the name of the huge bell inside the tower, the clock is just called the westminster clock techinically. but no one, not even locals call it that.
so after a quick lunch, we got back on another red bus and sat on it for a while, we learned a lot about london and its history and we got to see a lot, like fleet street, st. paul's cathedral, and london and tower bridges. we decided to hop off near the london eye and try to redeem our previous reservations and they let us! we got right on, the line wasn't long at all and it was sunset! the whole half hour, the sky was lit up in gorgeous colors and it was breathtaking. it really made up for the hell traveling we had the day before.
after that we went to the national gallery in trafalgar square we saw some beautiful pieces-- van gogh was there and some seurat pieces that i love it was closing though so we went to the SHERLOCK HOLMES RESTAURANT! for dinner! it was one of the places i wanted to go to the most. the menu was themed like his mysteries and there was a room set aside to be like his study. unfortunately i got really sick that night, really run down and achy-- this was the start of my month long cold. terrible but i really was having a great time!
after dinner we went back to the hostel because we were starting an early day on sunday. when we left the hostel, we started out towards abbey road, to take pictures where the beatles did. it was a little harder to find than i thought it would be actually but we got there and took our touristy pictures before heading out on the subway to the baker street stop. i went to the sherlock holmes museum and the other two went to the beatles museum. the sherlock holmes museum was really cute but very corny. it was set up like his house with different rooms showing different mysteries. when i went into the first room an older man introduced himself as dr watson. he offered to take a picture with me but of course my camera was dead so i couldn't. the rest of the house was interesting. the dummies were very life like and that was creepy but i had fun after that, we got on the train again headed for harrods, hyde park, and the natural history museum. my friends wanted to see the darwin exhibit and i wanted to see the princess diana memorial so we went our separate ways. i really, really, enjoyed the walk by myself. we had been together non stop for hours straight so getting to walk by myself in the sunshine was a nice feeling especially in the park. even though it's a huge tourist attraction you tell there were SO many locals who use hyde park on sundays. i saw older people out for a stroll, young couples out running, families having picnics, others walking dogs. it was really a great thing to kind of be removed from the situation and see normal things like this going on.
The diana memorial was nothing like i expected but it was so beautiful and perfect; i loved it anyway. it was a big circle with all different water elements through it. in some places it moved quickly and others it lazed along. there were fountains in some parts, and shelves in others. there was a sign in front that said diana would have enjoyed people playing in the fountain so please feel free to do that. trail your hands and feet in the water and enjoy. it was so sunny and nice out and i had my wellies on so i sat on the side of the fountain and put my feet in. the water was cold, i could tell through my boots, but just sitting there in the sun, alone, watching the water swell and jump, and ebb and flow over my shoes was so calming. it was one of the times i've felt the most peaceful. it was so nice to just sit and relax and not think about anything. i think the memorial was one of my favorite places.
next, we went to harrods. i loved it there. it's like a whole different world inside. i definitely didn't get to spend enough time though. you know when you want to be in a place and take your time but the people you're with want to leave. even when they say, no take your time, you feel rushed? that's how i felt in harrods. i managed to see a few things but i could have spent hours inside. when i ever go back to london i will definitely be going back there. i couldn't afford most everything but i love to just browse around and watch people. it's nice to be treated like you can afford those things too.
when we were done, we got on another red bus back to the tower of london which was what we were supposed to do for the afternoon. unfortunately, we arrived too late and we weren't allowed to go in -- our first big loss of the weekend-- we decided to take our complimentary boat cruise instead. that was fun we learned about some things on either side of the thames. when we were done with that it was dark out so we hopped the subway to mayfair. I really liked mayfair, it was so pretty there. we had reservations at the absolut ice bar and when we got there they gave us capes and mittens to wear inside. it was so cool! everything was made of ice! the bar, the glasses, the tables and chairs. it was fun in there but we didn't stay long. we were hungry and we found this cute italian restaurant on a little square off the main street. i had the best meal i've had so far in that restaurant. i got spaghetti carbonara and it came with two strips of REAL bacon on top. the cream sauce was fabulous and it was a big portion. after dinner and dessert, we took the train back to the hostel.
we checked out the next morning and got our flights back to cork without a hitch.
so, that's london! despite the travel mishaps and the terrible sickness i had, it was probably one of my favorite places on this trip because there's SO much to do, you could never be bored.
and now, i need to go write a paper about the famine even though its a rare sunny and warm day outside! :(
when i get this essay done, i'll come back and write about barcelona! until then, xoxoxo
when we finally took off early the next morning-- after another delay-- midflight they tell us that the airport we were supposed to be going to ( i can't even remember which one anymore) is closed because of snow, we were supposed to be landing just outside london, instead we are taken to birmingham 2 hours outside of london. we land and sit on the plane for a while because they're waiting to hear from the other airport. then, we get off the plane they crammed us literally like sardines into this tram to take us into the airport, who knows why. i'm lucky the door didn't close on my butt like i thought it would because that's how close to the door i was.
once inside the airport we waited for an hour or so before hearing an announcement about the buses that were taking us to the original airport ( not to london itself ) oh because they re opened the airport at 930 am. What time did we land in birmingham? 10 AM !!!!!
so it's like the amazing race to get to the buses, families are getting separated, children are crying, old ladies are tripping people with their canes... none of us knew how long it would be before the next bus came so we ended up getting on the bus for the 2.5 hour drive. the bus was super crowded, every seat was taken and the people behind me were making out the whole time. the bus ride, that was supposed to take about 2 hours or so took 4.5 hours because of traffic, i almost killed myself. --- really ----
my anger has clouded over this part of my memory but somehow we got to our hostel on friday night, too late to be on time for our reservation for the london eye. on the bright side, our hostel was GORGEOUS. we paid a good price for the rooms, it definitely wasn't the most expensive place i've stayed but so far it's been the nicest. it was the home of arnold palmer of palmers biscuits, an old cookie company in england. that night we just stayed at the hostel, we were too tired from traveling to go anywhere else.
we revamped our plans for the next two days because of the day and a half we had lost. we had a big list of things to do and we actually managed to accomplish most of them!
first we went to buckingham palace for the changing of the guards at 1130. i dont think i would go again, it's too hard to see the whole ceremony and it was really crowded for something that wasn't so exciting. after that we hopped on the double decker bus tour and took it to westminster abbey and the houses of parliament. parliament was so much more beautiful than i realized and we spent twice as much time in westminster abbey as we meant to, but it was so amazing inside that we didn't mind. unfortunately, you can't take pictures in there, but there was so much history -- and you know i love that--
big ben was right next door and i feel like it's my friend hahha, its such a familiar beautiful thing. everytime i see it i can't help but think, second star to the right and straight on till morning from peter pan . actually, big ben is the name of the huge bell inside the tower, the clock is just called the westminster clock techinically. but no one, not even locals call it that.
so after a quick lunch, we got back on another red bus and sat on it for a while, we learned a lot about london and its history and we got to see a lot, like fleet street, st. paul's cathedral, and london and tower bridges. we decided to hop off near the london eye and try to redeem our previous reservations and they let us! we got right on, the line wasn't long at all and it was sunset! the whole half hour, the sky was lit up in gorgeous colors and it was breathtaking. it really made up for the hell traveling we had the day before.
after that we went to the national gallery in trafalgar square we saw some beautiful pieces-- van gogh was there and some seurat pieces that i love it was closing though so we went to the SHERLOCK HOLMES RESTAURANT! for dinner! it was one of the places i wanted to go to the most. the menu was themed like his mysteries and there was a room set aside to be like his study. unfortunately i got really sick that night, really run down and achy-- this was the start of my month long cold. terrible but i really was having a great time!
after dinner we went back to the hostel because we were starting an early day on sunday. when we left the hostel, we started out towards abbey road, to take pictures where the beatles did. it was a little harder to find than i thought it would be actually but we got there and took our touristy pictures before heading out on the subway to the baker street stop. i went to the sherlock holmes museum and the other two went to the beatles museum. the sherlock holmes museum was really cute but very corny. it was set up like his house with different rooms showing different mysteries. when i went into the first room an older man introduced himself as dr watson. he offered to take a picture with me but of course my camera was dead so i couldn't. the rest of the house was interesting. the dummies were very life like and that was creepy but i had fun after that, we got on the train again headed for harrods, hyde park, and the natural history museum. my friends wanted to see the darwin exhibit and i wanted to see the princess diana memorial so we went our separate ways. i really, really, enjoyed the walk by myself. we had been together non stop for hours straight so getting to walk by myself in the sunshine was a nice feeling especially in the park. even though it's a huge tourist attraction you tell there were SO many locals who use hyde park on sundays. i saw older people out for a stroll, young couples out running, families having picnics, others walking dogs. it was really a great thing to kind of be removed from the situation and see normal things like this going on.
The diana memorial was nothing like i expected but it was so beautiful and perfect; i loved it anyway. it was a big circle with all different water elements through it. in some places it moved quickly and others it lazed along. there were fountains in some parts, and shelves in others. there was a sign in front that said diana would have enjoyed people playing in the fountain so please feel free to do that. trail your hands and feet in the water and enjoy. it was so sunny and nice out and i had my wellies on so i sat on the side of the fountain and put my feet in. the water was cold, i could tell through my boots, but just sitting there in the sun, alone, watching the water swell and jump, and ebb and flow over my shoes was so calming. it was one of the times i've felt the most peaceful. it was so nice to just sit and relax and not think about anything. i think the memorial was one of my favorite places.
next, we went to harrods. i loved it there. it's like a whole different world inside. i definitely didn't get to spend enough time though. you know when you want to be in a place and take your time but the people you're with want to leave. even when they say, no take your time, you feel rushed? that's how i felt in harrods. i managed to see a few things but i could have spent hours inside. when i ever go back to london i will definitely be going back there. i couldn't afford most everything but i love to just browse around and watch people. it's nice to be treated like you can afford those things too.
when we were done, we got on another red bus back to the tower of london which was what we were supposed to do for the afternoon. unfortunately, we arrived too late and we weren't allowed to go in -- our first big loss of the weekend-- we decided to take our complimentary boat cruise instead. that was fun we learned about some things on either side of the thames. when we were done with that it was dark out so we hopped the subway to mayfair. I really liked mayfair, it was so pretty there. we had reservations at the absolut ice bar and when we got there they gave us capes and mittens to wear inside. it was so cool! everything was made of ice! the bar, the glasses, the tables and chairs. it was fun in there but we didn't stay long. we were hungry and we found this cute italian restaurant on a little square off the main street. i had the best meal i've had so far in that restaurant. i got spaghetti carbonara and it came with two strips of REAL bacon on top. the cream sauce was fabulous and it was a big portion. after dinner and dessert, we took the train back to the hostel.
we checked out the next morning and got our flights back to cork without a hitch.
so, that's london! despite the travel mishaps and the terrible sickness i had, it was probably one of my favorite places on this trip because there's SO much to do, you could never be bored.
and now, i need to go write a paper about the famine even though its a rare sunny and warm day outside! :(
when i get this essay done, i'll come back and write about barcelona! until then, xoxoxo
Friday, March 20, 2009
the return...
hello all,
I'm back! mostly because it's friday and i'm not going anywhere this weekend. Shocked?
i know... me too...
now, where to start,
i guess i'll go back to the start and give a brief bit on everything so far... i don't know if i'll be adding pictures this time around, maybe i'll go back and add some when i finish writing but for now i just want to get the words down first and plus, you guys have all seen the pictures anyway.
so, here goes:
Belfast: way back in January i went to a place called belfast right now is not such a good time to go actually just a week ago they had some problems in nearby antrim and soldiers were shot by a dissident IRA group so i guess it was good that i went when i did
we flew from cork to dublin on ryan air it literally took 40 minutes, the flight attendants didn't even have time to push the snack cart all the way down the aisle. it's a good thing i didn't get anything because i wouldn't have had time to eat it! after we landed in dublin we took a bus to belfast. we stayed in a backpackers hostel that was more like a house with extra beds in all of its rooms. i just recently found out that it was rated as one of the best in the world. i wouldn't go that far. it was nice and clean but it was barebones.
we found a lot of great places to eat in belfast. there was one hotel/restaurant called benedicts that was really upscale but between the hours of 5 and 7 everyday they had a special that whenever you ordered that was the price you paid. so say you ordered your dinner at 6:15, you would pay 6.15 euro for the meal which is a GREAT deal.
i really really enjoyed the history of the area. i still don't fully understand everything that happened in northern ireland, but i know a basic bit of information. our black taxi tour was SO interesting. the black taxis are driven by "non-partisan" people who take you to all the major sights from the conflict. the city is definitely still divided. the cuts of the violence are just under the surface and i felt like at any second up there something could erupt. it seems like a tough place to grow up. anyway. our driver was named Hans, he's from holland but moved here when he was younger to be a foreign correspondant. he told us some pretty cool stories about how his cab has been hijacked many times because he has been threated with a gun in the face to pay protection fees. eventually, he had had enough and went to talk to the bosses of both the catholic and protestant sides -- separately of course but, he hasn't had his car stolen since, and if it is, he would have it back in ten minutes. one time, when he refused to pay someone, he was shot in the foot and couldn't walk or work for weeks. earlier on, before he was a cab driver, he burned a bus on his front lawn to keep the fighters from coming into his house. all in all, he seems like the kind of guy you would want on your side in a fight.
the murals all over town were really interesting. it's so strange to go around a modern city and see such recent artifacts. there are murals from both the protestant and catholic sides but the scariest one i saw was in a protestant ghetto and there was a man painted on it in a sniper outfit the way he was painted made it look like he was always looking and pointing his gun at you- no matter where you stood. it was as if it was saying you are always being watched in this area. where hans took us to see murals in the protestant section was a place he said even HE wouldn't go to at night. so you know things are still happening. in the protestant areas of the city things are painted red white and blue, the colors of the english flag and the catholic part is all fenced in by "peace walls" the gates between the two close at night and good luck to ya if you end up caught on the wrong side, it's not likely that you'll see morning.
on our way to one of the peace walls hans one of my friends asked hans how they knew how to fight each other since religion isn't really very visible. he said people just know who each other are, you're guarded against any stranger and they're just brought up to know who is on their side. he gave us a common question to identify protestant vs catholic.
someone walks up to you on the street and asks you the colors of the irish flag-- all 5 of my friends answered green white and orange. i said green white and gold because that's what my grandpa always taught me. hans turned around and immediately identified me as a catholic. the catholics refuse to say or use orange because of its protestant conotation. the problem with this question is that YOU don't know which side is asking you. so how do you know how to answer?
-- yeah, me either--
he took us to a wall with peace murals all over it and gave us markers to write our own messages of peace on it we were surprised but gladly accepted the offer
on both sides of town extortion is still a common occurance. both the protestant and catholic business owners pay protection fees to the bosses on each side or they would lose their stores, inventory, lives etc.
in the catholic sector, hans took us to the bobby sands memorial which was also beautiful.
he told us not to take pictures of anyone and to be careful where we pointed our cameras because some people would come and take the film, or the camera, or break it, or worse hurt you
things are obviously still very tense.
when we got back to our hostel we decided to go to the queen's botanic gardens-- there wasn't much to see-- it was january----
then we went to some of the shopping streets and i found my new favorite store in the world. its a small vintage clothes store called the rusty zipper -- it was a goldmine. as soon as i walked in i saw this blue dress with white stars on it that came with a red belt... they had put it on display for obama's inauguration i tried it on and it fit perfectly i LOVE it on the way to our dinner reservations (which i made us late for) i saw a 50's style housedress that i really regret not trying because it's nagging me now that i'll never know but i have a feeling it would have been perfect. it was so pretty with all little flowers all over it . sighhhhhhhh
anyway
GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just googled it and there's a website!!! i'll be back...
just kidding, if i don't do this now i don't know if i ever will
after dinenr we went to the crown saloon. the most famous pub in belfast. it was a lot of fun there, and we actually arrived pretty early which meant we got our own private booth complete with a bar-bell and door. it was so beautifully decorated in there, everything was so ornate, and with our little door closed i felt like a mob boss. the walls around the booth were just high enough to cover people's heads so we could still hear how busy everything was. we sat next to this mirror that was really really old and was damaged from a bomb that hit the hotel across the street. the europa hotel is the most bombed hotel in all of europe- it's been hit over 50 times. one of them did damage to the crown saloon. we didn't end up staying there for long because we had a really early morning the next day
so, the next day we went to giant's causeway. i didn't know what it was before i went but i will never forget it now. we took a paddywagon tour there, which meant we had a lively tourguide and stopped at a few other places along the way. it's basically northern ireland costal cliffs but because of the way the rocks were formed, they have an octagonal shape and are just in the craziest formation. the best way to describe it would be to say go look at the pictures but even they don't do it justice. we lucked out with the WORST possible weather ever. i guess they could have closed it down but it was literally pouring sheets of rain, it snowed, hailed and sleeted on us. the wind was painful and fierce but it was SO exciting because of all this. sure it would have been nice on a beautiful sunny day, but it was much more memorable this way. although i do wish my raincoat was actually weatherproof like the label claimed it was...
so, those are the highlights from belfast! i'll do london next! xoxo
I'm back! mostly because it's friday and i'm not going anywhere this weekend. Shocked?
i know... me too...
now, where to start,
i guess i'll go back to the start and give a brief bit on everything so far... i don't know if i'll be adding pictures this time around, maybe i'll go back and add some when i finish writing but for now i just want to get the words down first and plus, you guys have all seen the pictures anyway.
so, here goes:
Belfast: way back in January i went to a place called belfast right now is not such a good time to go actually just a week ago they had some problems in nearby antrim and soldiers were shot by a dissident IRA group so i guess it was good that i went when i did
we flew from cork to dublin on ryan air it literally took 40 minutes, the flight attendants didn't even have time to push the snack cart all the way down the aisle. it's a good thing i didn't get anything because i wouldn't have had time to eat it! after we landed in dublin we took a bus to belfast. we stayed in a backpackers hostel that was more like a house with extra beds in all of its rooms. i just recently found out that it was rated as one of the best in the world. i wouldn't go that far. it was nice and clean but it was barebones.
we found a lot of great places to eat in belfast. there was one hotel/restaurant called benedicts that was really upscale but between the hours of 5 and 7 everyday they had a special that whenever you ordered that was the price you paid. so say you ordered your dinner at 6:15, you would pay 6.15 euro for the meal which is a GREAT deal.
i really really enjoyed the history of the area. i still don't fully understand everything that happened in northern ireland, but i know a basic bit of information. our black taxi tour was SO interesting. the black taxis are driven by "non-partisan" people who take you to all the major sights from the conflict. the city is definitely still divided. the cuts of the violence are just under the surface and i felt like at any second up there something could erupt. it seems like a tough place to grow up. anyway. our driver was named Hans, he's from holland but moved here when he was younger to be a foreign correspondant. he told us some pretty cool stories about how his cab has been hijacked many times because he has been threated with a gun in the face to pay protection fees. eventually, he had had enough and went to talk to the bosses of both the catholic and protestant sides -- separately of course but, he hasn't had his car stolen since, and if it is, he would have it back in ten minutes. one time, when he refused to pay someone, he was shot in the foot and couldn't walk or work for weeks. earlier on, before he was a cab driver, he burned a bus on his front lawn to keep the fighters from coming into his house. all in all, he seems like the kind of guy you would want on your side in a fight.
the murals all over town were really interesting. it's so strange to go around a modern city and see such recent artifacts. there are murals from both the protestant and catholic sides but the scariest one i saw was in a protestant ghetto and there was a man painted on it in a sniper outfit the way he was painted made it look like he was always looking and pointing his gun at you- no matter where you stood. it was as if it was saying you are always being watched in this area. where hans took us to see murals in the protestant section was a place he said even HE wouldn't go to at night. so you know things are still happening. in the protestant areas of the city things are painted red white and blue, the colors of the english flag and the catholic part is all fenced in by "peace walls" the gates between the two close at night and good luck to ya if you end up caught on the wrong side, it's not likely that you'll see morning.
on our way to one of the peace walls hans one of my friends asked hans how they knew how to fight each other since religion isn't really very visible. he said people just know who each other are, you're guarded against any stranger and they're just brought up to know who is on their side. he gave us a common question to identify protestant vs catholic.
someone walks up to you on the street and asks you the colors of the irish flag-- all 5 of my friends answered green white and orange. i said green white and gold because that's what my grandpa always taught me. hans turned around and immediately identified me as a catholic. the catholics refuse to say or use orange because of its protestant conotation. the problem with this question is that YOU don't know which side is asking you. so how do you know how to answer?
-- yeah, me either--
he took us to a wall with peace murals all over it and gave us markers to write our own messages of peace on it we were surprised but gladly accepted the offer
on both sides of town extortion is still a common occurance. both the protestant and catholic business owners pay protection fees to the bosses on each side or they would lose their stores, inventory, lives etc.
in the catholic sector, hans took us to the bobby sands memorial which was also beautiful.
he told us not to take pictures of anyone and to be careful where we pointed our cameras because some people would come and take the film, or the camera, or break it, or worse hurt you
things are obviously still very tense.
when we got back to our hostel we decided to go to the queen's botanic gardens-- there wasn't much to see-- it was january----
then we went to some of the shopping streets and i found my new favorite store in the world. its a small vintage clothes store called the rusty zipper -- it was a goldmine. as soon as i walked in i saw this blue dress with white stars on it that came with a red belt... they had put it on display for obama's inauguration i tried it on and it fit perfectly i LOVE it on the way to our dinner reservations (which i made us late for) i saw a 50's style housedress that i really regret not trying because it's nagging me now that i'll never know but i have a feeling it would have been perfect. it was so pretty with all little flowers all over it . sighhhhhhhh
anyway
GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just googled it and there's a website!!! i'll be back...
just kidding, if i don't do this now i don't know if i ever will
after dinenr we went to the crown saloon. the most famous pub in belfast. it was a lot of fun there, and we actually arrived pretty early which meant we got our own private booth complete with a bar-bell and door. it was so beautifully decorated in there, everything was so ornate, and with our little door closed i felt like a mob boss. the walls around the booth were just high enough to cover people's heads so we could still hear how busy everything was. we sat next to this mirror that was really really old and was damaged from a bomb that hit the hotel across the street. the europa hotel is the most bombed hotel in all of europe- it's been hit over 50 times. one of them did damage to the crown saloon. we didn't end up staying there for long because we had a really early morning the next day
so, the next day we went to giant's causeway. i didn't know what it was before i went but i will never forget it now. we took a paddywagon tour there, which meant we had a lively tourguide and stopped at a few other places along the way. it's basically northern ireland costal cliffs but because of the way the rocks were formed, they have an octagonal shape and are just in the craziest formation. the best way to describe it would be to say go look at the pictures but even they don't do it justice. we lucked out with the WORST possible weather ever. i guess they could have closed it down but it was literally pouring sheets of rain, it snowed, hailed and sleeted on us. the wind was painful and fierce but it was SO exciting because of all this. sure it would have been nice on a beautiful sunny day, but it was much more memorable this way. although i do wish my raincoat was actually weatherproof like the label claimed it was...
so, those are the highlights from belfast! i'll do london next! xoxo
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
i'm a bad person
i'm sorry-- you can all scold me when i get back-- i really really want to update but i have two essays to write this week and i'm desperately seeking an internship.
anyway i just decided to come on and inform you of my spring break plans:
march 31st i leave cork for montpellier, france from there, to Nice, Arles and Monaco. then to Venice and Rome to fly back to Cork for Easter. I leave Cork again on April 16th to go to Amsterdam with a friend from home and go back to her dorm in Florence for a week. depending on money, the length of my stay, and how much i liked it, i could go back to monaco for a day or two. from florence i go to paris at the end of april and fly back to cork on may 1st.
in may, i'm planning on going to greece - santorini and mykonos probably (or just santorini) this is the relaxing trip.. just a few days on the beach with minimal sight seeing. later in may i'll be going to scotland with part of the girl squad and then returning home on may 31st!!
crazy huh? oh, and i'll be in cork for my 21st birthday. miss and love you all! xoxo
anyway i just decided to come on and inform you of my spring break plans:
march 31st i leave cork for montpellier, france from there, to Nice, Arles and Monaco. then to Venice and Rome to fly back to Cork for Easter. I leave Cork again on April 16th to go to Amsterdam with a friend from home and go back to her dorm in Florence for a week. depending on money, the length of my stay, and how much i liked it, i could go back to monaco for a day or two. from florence i go to paris at the end of april and fly back to cork on may 1st.
in may, i'm planning on going to greece - santorini and mykonos probably (or just santorini) this is the relaxing trip.. just a few days on the beach with minimal sight seeing. later in may i'll be going to scotland with part of the girl squad and then returning home on may 31st!!
crazy huh? oh, and i'll be in cork for my 21st birthday. miss and love you all! xoxo
Thursday, February 19, 2009
chowder
this is a quick ode to kelly's chowder
kelly
the chowder you made me
was delectable
best meal i've had in ireland yet
the potatoes, corn, bacon, and carrots
were
fabulous and i think anyone would be jealous of how well i ate tonight.
thank you for feeding me delicious things.
kelly
the chowder you made me
was delectable
best meal i've had in ireland yet
the potatoes, corn, bacon, and carrots
were
fabulous and i think anyone would be jealous of how well i ate tonight.
thank you for feeding me delicious things.
Happy Birthday Daddy!!!
quick post...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!
i wish i could be there to celebrate with you but i love and miss you tons and i hope you have a good day anyway. i'm about to go to class like a good student but i will call you later tonight..
love, Erin
as for everyone else, i promise promise to try and get my most recent trips up here asap.
love you!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!
i wish i could be there to celebrate with you but i love and miss you tons and i hope you have a good day anyway. i'm about to go to class like a good student but i will call you later tonight..
love, Erin
as for everyone else, i promise promise to try and get my most recent trips up here asap.
love you!!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
London Calling... or not...
hello all,
so, i was supposed to go to London today, the flight was leaving Cork at 1pm. but, as luck would have it, there was too much snow in Dublin for the plane to leave so our flight was... dun dun dun... CANCELLED!!! we got another flight for tomorrow morning at 8:10 (yuck) but at least i still get to go! i promise ... to TRY and get up an entry about belfast before i leave for barcelona next friday. maybe, if i'm lucky i'll get the london entry up as well. i do have an essay due next thursday though, so as dr. furst says, that takes presedence. i'll be heading to bed early tonight as i have to be up around 5:30-GASP! tomorrow.
love and miss you all! xoxoxo
so, i was supposed to go to London today, the flight was leaving Cork at 1pm. but, as luck would have it, there was too much snow in Dublin for the plane to leave so our flight was... dun dun dun... CANCELLED!!! we got another flight for tomorrow morning at 8:10 (yuck) but at least i still get to go! i promise ... to TRY and get up an entry about belfast before i leave for barcelona next friday. maybe, if i'm lucky i'll get the london entry up as well. i do have an essay due next thursday though, so as dr. furst says, that takes presedence. i'll be heading to bed early tonight as i have to be up around 5:30-GASP! tomorrow.
love and miss you all! xoxoxo
Thursday, January 29, 2009
just a quick post...
i wanted to write my dream down... you probably don't care but it was a little interesting so whatever ... i also wanted to make a short post in between my longer ones... anyway, here goes.
i was at a hotel with two of my friends from Ireland, Kelly and Ashley. we were attending a lecture seminar about journalism presented by george clooney's dad.
all of a sudden geo cloons ---;) beck!--- shows up!
we chat and laugh like old friends, he likes my wit, i can tell. he wants to be my friend.
THEN in a pause in the seminar, i look to my left and PRINCE HARRY is staring at me, i did a flirty thing with my eyes and look away.
after the journalism thing is over he comes up to me and asks if he can take me on a date tonight.
"Of course!" i say.
i spend the rest of the day on cloud 9 -- the prince LOVES me ! he can't resist me! it's going the be great! we'll be in love and have so much fun! la la la !!
then he leaves the hotel and i go up to my room with my friends and i decide -- you know what? george would LOVE to hang out with me and my friends, let's go find him. so we go up to the top floor, which is not full of penthouse rooms as one would expect. instead, it's full of stations that are separated by curtains, like the recovery room at the hospital or the clinic. there are a lot more celebrities up there too.. all men though i think jim belushi was one.
anyway, geo is on his-- yeah, geo... we were tight remember?-- geo's on his phone but hangs up quickly when ashley, kelly, and i get to his room/stall. we chat for a while and make plans to hang out one day. he laughs at everything i say and it thoroughly charmed by me.
the girls and i head back to our room and i start to get ready for my date !!
i decide to wear my black dress with the new red belt i got, with my leopard print flats (all of these clothes i really do own, the belt is new)
it looks amazing on me in my dream of course but i start to get worried because my hair looks like crap and i have no makeup on - scary!
i wonder if i'm running late and then realize that Harry never gave me a time he was picking me up!! nor did he take my number or give me his!!! OH NO!!!
so i'm racing to get ready and look out the window every couple of minutes to see if i can see him outside- i might lose my chance with the prince if i'm late!!
THEN I WOKE UP.
yeah... i know ...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
finally... blarney and belfast!
hi everyone!
sorry it's taken so long, i have a whole list of excuses including a laundry fiasco, crappy internet, and a walking tour...
so let's backtrack - i went to Blarney on the 18th for the day. it was UNBELIEVABLE and definitely ranks in one of my top ten days of my life. we caught a bus in cork that took us right into the town center at Blarney. here's something to know about the weather in ireland... you NEVER know. the internet could tell you that it will be raining and you look outside... it's not. or, you could see a ten percent chance of rain for the day and as soon as you walk outside it pours. so, when i got up it was POURING torrentially, and if you heard the wind, you would have turned over and went right back to sleep. but, i let the weather deter me once, and it wasn't happening again. so i got up and got dressed - in your favorite outfit :) my spandex and hot pink rain boots. let me tell you, i looked hip. but the stares i got as a i walked through the city could tell you a different story. i wanted to be prepared nonetheless and when i walked out the door, the rain stopped.
mom- i had my awesome rain jacket anyway and it totally came in handy later in the day.
we picked up some breakfast on the way to the bus, it was only 9:30 so we got bagels and i was going to get a bacon egg and cheese, but the bacon here is SOOOOO not bacon. it's like really fatty ham, so i passed and went for cream cheese instead.
the town of Blarney seems so small when i look back, but i'm sure i couldn't have seen all of it. there were just a couple of restaurants and a hotel, aside from the tourist magnet of the castle.
the castle is not that big at all, not what i pictured a castle to be like at least.
but there were a lot of gardens and grounds around it.
there were some parts of the grounds, like this one...
that were almost torn apart because of the storm i mentioned before. there were branches all over the ground because of the wind and rain.
the castle looks almost like just a section of a larger castle, but there were a lot more rooms inside than you would have expected from the outside.
there were some cute spots for photo ops on the way up to the entrance, so i took advantage :)
once you get inside the castle walls there's a convenient gift shop that you have to pass going in and coming out. and just like 6 flags, when you get finished kissing the stone, you can buy a picture of yourself doing it on the way out.
... i did it... please don't judge me for it... but none of my friends got good pictures of me doing the actual kissing, so the one the staff took was the best i could get...
given my claustrophobia,
i led the way up the castle. the stairways were incredibly narrow and steep. there wasn't even room for a railing, you could grab onto a rope that was hung from the middle of the tower if you needed it. 
the windows along the way made the climb a little easier for me to handle, but i still couldn't breathe all the way in until we went into the rooms off of the staircase, and i took a big, deep breath once we reached the top.
along the way, there were rooms you could stop off in, like the kitchen, the dining hall, a few bedrooms. the signs that guide you along the way are really cute. they have witty sayings on them that keep you interested...
it had been raining on and off since we got the bus but when we emerged at the top of the castle it was clear and there were rainbows! i know it doesn't sound that exciting but in that moment, i was so caught up in the fact that i was at the top of a castle in the middle of ireland with rainbows all around it really was amazing. i had to stop for a minute just to look around and actually BE in the moment. there were sheep in the field in the distance, everything around was green and i was so caught up.
unfortunately, at this point, my camera started dying, i guess it was tired from taking 90 pictures in less than an hour.
this is me kissing the stone... i went too quickly ...so we went over to the kissing stone and an older man is there to help you lean over backwards and reach the stone. it was thrilling being upside down that high! there are bars under the opening so there's no way you're falling through but it is a little disorienting.
my friends said they were scared the whole time. i didn't mind it though. i had this feeling of like, just full happiness, at that moment, when we had all kissed the blarney stone at the top of a castle in rural ireland under rainbows, that i was filled up with joy and excitement, and that the moment couldn't get much better.
the walk back down through the castle was even more steep and narrow, if that's possible, and when we got out, it had started raining lightly again.
they had these really cool benches right outside the exit...
we decided that since we had already paid, we'd walk around the gardens anyway. we were all well equipped with raincoats and rainboots so we started touring the gardens.
at one point we got to this totally secluded area that seemed like a secret. it had a thick canopy from the trees so we could still hear the rain hitting the leaves but we weren't getting wet, there was a stone wall with a door behind us and it was darker in there because of the shade on such a cloudy day. we were surrounded by bushes and stone statues and we were totally alone. it was a magical moment because it was almost an out of body experience. i can remember telling all of them to just stop and listen for a second. take a minute to breathe it all in because it was a "check yourself minute". i literally had to stop in my tracks, close my eyes and appreciate EVERYTHING around me. it was unbelievable, what that moment felt like. it was so peaceful and beautiful and quiet.
after we appreciated our circumstances, we continued on through the gardens to see the waterfalls and pathways.
there were these weird dead things with leaves that were HUMONGOUS! i couldn't help but think of the children's books i read when i was younger that told about frogs and other animals who would float down streams and rivers on rafts of leaves. i'm pretty sure that if those things were real, these leaves would have made damn good boats.
behind this one waterfall there was a stairway built into the rock. the legend there says that the owners of blarney castle allowed a witch to come to the property and take some firewood, as long as she made the wishes of visitors come true. so what you have to do is climb the stairs up and back down, backwards, and think only of your wish, the whole time. then, she'll grant it.
sorry! i can't tell you my wish! otherwise it won't come true ;)
it started raining harder after that so we made our way to the giftshop!!!
this is where i ran into a problem, because the gift shop was called the Erin Giftshop...
since you all know me so well, you can probably see why this was an issue.
i wanted EVERYTHING ... i mean, how often do you come across a giftshop that shares your name??
i know now aunt cacky, that they're pretty common here, and my friend's haven't let me hear the end of it. they saw a bus the other day that was named erin and they all turned at the same time and said "WOULD YOU BUY THAT TOO????" and i turned right back and said, "YEP!"
:)
i got a few things there, i won't tell you everything but meg, caitie, and chelsea, you'll be pretty happy with what i got ;)
mom, i've honestly been trying to only get things that i can't find anywhere else, like in the blarney giftshop i got a mini blarney stone - hokey i know but i had to ... well not had to.. you know what i mean...
daddy, i promiseeeee i'm not going crazy, my account won't be empty too soon
deirdre, shauna, dec... i go into basically EVERY giftshop i pass trying to find awesome souvenirs for you guys, so basically, you'll be the reason i come home with no money because you make me go into these places that hold so much temptation for me.
after the shopping excursion we grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back home to cork. yes, i had money left for lunch, even if it was just a salad.
it happened to be my friend from montana's birthday that day but she spent the weekend in Galway, so when she and her friends got back we had a mini birthday party for her
all in all, a TERRIFIC day.
now, since it's 1:30 am i'm going to bed... but i promise not to make you wait so long for my Belfast update. if everything goes well, i'll have it up on friday!
love you all! xoxo
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
january 20th, 2008
I am so lucky, and proud to be an American. i will never forget this day as long as i live. this is just a short post, but i wanted to get it out there that i have hope that Barack Obama will do great things with this country. i know not everyone who is reading this agrees with me and i respect that, but i am excited for the future of america, and i'm jealous that i couldn't be in washington d.c. on one of the most historic days in our country's history.
love you all!
love you all!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
i'm back from my movie, time to continue
.:. saw bride wars with anne hathaway and kate hudson - really cute but kind of short - anyway.:.
back to business
ah, yes, classes. like i said, most are made for international students so i think they understand that we have a huge desire to be traveling and they don't make the course load too heavy. for most i have one essay and one test, others there are two essays... TOTAL... for the whole semester... cool huh?
one downside - it takes at least 20 minutes to walk from my dorm to class... i know deirdre i know, that's what you walk anyway... but quinnipiac spoils me, and its a long time to walk with just my thoughts in my head and no one to talk to. luckily i only have to walk to class alone once a week :)
so when we got here i had brought my berkshire blanket (!) tricia! and thought that would be enough... NOT SO .
the first night i was like having seizures in the bed i was shaking so bad. i had on a sweatshirt, two pairs of pants and socks. i even slept with the hood of the sweatshirt up all night. the heat hadn't been on in a month or so, so the room was COLD. i finally broke down and spent the 7 euro on a duvet the next day and i've been fine since then. i'll just leave it behind for the next girl to use if she wants.
i'm sure all of you have heard at this point that i didn't have internet for the first WEEK!!!
it was rough. i wasn't able to talk to anyone or set anything up. i didn't really feel settled in until i got it hooked up. but now, i am officially all settled in except for all the things i keep trying to hang up on these door hooks i bought. they keep falling down in the middle of the night and waking me up.
oh! i guess you would probably want to see what the school looks like... here...
{well technically this is it at night, and you can't see it clearly. when i get a better one i'll post it.}
also, here's what some of the surrounding houses look like ...
this is on the way into town... or well the city, but it's hard for me to call Cork a city after being around NYC so long.
well... its about 2:30 am and i'm going to Blarney Castle tomorrow, so i'm off to bed but i'll catch you up more tomorrow! night!
back to business
ah, yes, classes. like i said, most are made for international students so i think they understand that we have a huge desire to be traveling and they don't make the course load too heavy. for most i have one essay and one test, others there are two essays... TOTAL... for the whole semester... cool huh?
one downside - it takes at least 20 minutes to walk from my dorm to class... i know deirdre i know, that's what you walk anyway... but quinnipiac spoils me, and its a long time to walk with just my thoughts in my head and no one to talk to. luckily i only have to walk to class alone once a week :)
so when we got here i had brought my berkshire blanket (!) tricia! and thought that would be enough... NOT SO .
the first night i was like having seizures in the bed i was shaking so bad. i had on a sweatshirt, two pairs of pants and socks. i even slept with the hood of the sweatshirt up all night. the heat hadn't been on in a month or so, so the room was COLD. i finally broke down and spent the 7 euro on a duvet the next day and i've been fine since then. i'll just leave it behind for the next girl to use if she wants.
i'm sure all of you have heard at this point that i didn't have internet for the first WEEK!!!
it was rough. i wasn't able to talk to anyone or set anything up. i didn't really feel settled in until i got it hooked up. but now, i am officially all settled in except for all the things i keep trying to hang up on these door hooks i bought. they keep falling down in the middle of the night and waking me up.
oh! i guess you would probably want to see what the school looks like... here...
{well technically this is it at night, and you can't see it clearly. when i get a better one i'll post it.}also, here's what some of the surrounding houses look like ...
this is on the way into town... or well the city, but it's hard for me to call Cork a city after being around NYC so long.well... its about 2:30 am and i'm going to Blarney Castle tomorrow, so i'm off to bed but i'll catch you up more tomorrow! night!
it's pouring out... are you surprised?
well.
i'm here. it's a saturday afternoon and it's pouring, according to the news last night, yes dad, i'm watching the news here, there are supposed to be 70 to 80 mph winds!!! i kind of want to go outside just to see if i can stand in it without blowing away. i had plans to go to Cobh today which is a little town nearby. it's actually the port where the titanic left on it's fated maiden voyage. anyway since it's pouring, that's not going to work out. hopefully it won't be so bad tomorrow because i'm planning on going to the Blarney stone. i was supposed to go there last sunday too but the weather got in the way.
now, speaking of the weather. oddly, it seems to only really rain on the weekends. out of the two weeks i've been here, i would say it's probably rained 4 times. not as bad as i thought.
so, on to what i've been doing. well, i got here on saturday january 3rd, that you knew already. my flight left the US at about 6:45pm, it was a little delayed. it was a long flight... 5 hours shouldn't seem bad especially since i had an aisle seat which, given my claustrophobia, was a very good thing. anyway, it was pretty boring because most of the time i was trying to sleep but it wasn't working. there was this weird movie on about people who lived under the ground and never saw the sun. the plane only had like 3 tv's so there was no choice in what i got to watch. the people that flew out of boston had their own tv's on the seats in front of them. oh well, maybe on the way back.
when we finally got in, it took about an hour for us all to get through customs.
then, we piled onto buses and took a 2 hour ride to school. we went mostly through the countryside which was beautiful, it was like a big green patchwork quilt.
two things that struck me immediately: the driving on the opposite side of the road. i'm used to it now, but when we were leaving the airport it looked like everyone was trying to pass us on the wrong side of the road, it was very disorienting. second, EVERY house we passed on the way in was adorable. even if they were small they were tidy and well kept but there were a lot of really nice houses that wouldn't be out of place in America.
when we got here, all 56 of us had to get our suitcases out from under the bus and across a busy cork city street. it was quite a sight, all the quinnipiac girls trying to lug their 100 pound suitcases across before the cars came. we all made it safely at least. my room is on the 4th floor, thank God there's an elevator because there was NO way i was getting 80 pounds worth of stuff up that many stairs. Some of my friends were not so lucky.
my room is set up really weird. i opened the front door to apt. 70 and immediately said out loud, "Whoa this is weird!!!" i still don't know if that's the first impression i gave any of my irish roommates, i hope not. you open the front door and it opens to a mini hallway with 6 doors. 5 bedrooms and a common room -- that's another story in itself!
my room is number 1, right behind the front door. i have my own bedroom and bathroom which is nice. here's what they look like.
i literally have one tile of walking space in my bathroom which is kind of crazy but since it's just me, it's manageable.
now, on to the common room.
there's a kitchen and a sitting area in the common room. last monday, the day after i arrived, the sink somehow clogged and no one could wash their dishes FOR A WEEK. the guy came to fix the sink this monday. so, needless to say, i've been using other people's kitchens and avoiding my own as much as possible because the smell was awful. this is what it looked like.
it still smells but i think it's because of the things other people are cooking in there. i've made some good friends who let me use their kitchens which is great! because mom and dad would not be happy if i just sat in my room and ate popcorn all day ;) -- only sometimes! i promise!
as for the real reason i'm here--class-- hahahha! no, really, it's good. i have 4 classes and i go to class 6 times a week. i don't have class on wednesday and friday which is actually really good because the biggest nights to go out here are tuesday and thursday. weird, i know but all the irish college kids go home on the weekends so their moms will cook for them and do their laundry. they actually told me that. so here's the schedule,
monday: i have introduction to irish traditional music at 5pm. good because i could stay somewhere a little longer if i was traveling for the weekend
tuesday: aspects of irish folklore and intro to irish history for visiting students. both of these classes are really big, especially for international students.
wednesday: sleep
thursday: marriage, women and society in early ireland. then folklore again, then marriage women society again. my teacher of m,w,s in early ireland is an american guy and his fingernails are longer than mine - weird! plus he has a lot of nervous energy, his hand are always shaking and it makes me nervous as a result
friday: sleep again
not too shabby
well i have to run for now, it's time to go to the movies! but i will definitely add more soon! xo!
i'm here. it's a saturday afternoon and it's pouring, according to the news last night, yes dad, i'm watching the news here, there are supposed to be 70 to 80 mph winds!!! i kind of want to go outside just to see if i can stand in it without blowing away. i had plans to go to Cobh today which is a little town nearby. it's actually the port where the titanic left on it's fated maiden voyage. anyway since it's pouring, that's not going to work out. hopefully it won't be so bad tomorrow because i'm planning on going to the Blarney stone. i was supposed to go there last sunday too but the weather got in the way.
now, speaking of the weather. oddly, it seems to only really rain on the weekends. out of the two weeks i've been here, i would say it's probably rained 4 times. not as bad as i thought.
so, on to what i've been doing. well, i got here on saturday january 3rd, that you knew already. my flight left the US at about 6:45pm, it was a little delayed. it was a long flight... 5 hours shouldn't seem bad especially since i had an aisle seat which, given my claustrophobia, was a very good thing. anyway, it was pretty boring because most of the time i was trying to sleep but it wasn't working. there was this weird movie on about people who lived under the ground and never saw the sun. the plane only had like 3 tv's so there was no choice in what i got to watch. the people that flew out of boston had their own tv's on the seats in front of them. oh well, maybe on the way back.
when we finally got in, it took about an hour for us all to get through customs.
then, we piled onto buses and took a 2 hour ride to school. we went mostly through the countryside which was beautiful, it was like a big green patchwork quilt.
two things that struck me immediately: the driving on the opposite side of the road. i'm used to it now, but when we were leaving the airport it looked like everyone was trying to pass us on the wrong side of the road, it was very disorienting. second, EVERY house we passed on the way in was adorable. even if they were small they were tidy and well kept but there were a lot of really nice houses that wouldn't be out of place in America.
when we got here, all 56 of us had to get our suitcases out from under the bus and across a busy cork city street. it was quite a sight, all the quinnipiac girls trying to lug their 100 pound suitcases across before the cars came. we all made it safely at least. my room is on the 4th floor, thank God there's an elevator because there was NO way i was getting 80 pounds worth of stuff up that many stairs. Some of my friends were not so lucky.
my room is set up really weird. i opened the front door to apt. 70 and immediately said out loud, "Whoa this is weird!!!" i still don't know if that's the first impression i gave any of my irish roommates, i hope not. you open the front door and it opens to a mini hallway with 6 doors. 5 bedrooms and a common room -- that's another story in itself!
my room is number 1, right behind the front door. i have my own bedroom and bathroom which is nice. here's what they look like.
i literally have one tile of walking space in my bathroom which is kind of crazy but since it's just me, it's manageable.
now, on to the common room.
there's a kitchen and a sitting area in the common room. last monday, the day after i arrived, the sink somehow clogged and no one could wash their dishes FOR A WEEK. the guy came to fix the sink this monday. so, needless to say, i've been using other people's kitchens and avoiding my own as much as possible because the smell was awful. this is what it looked like.
it still smells but i think it's because of the things other people are cooking in there. i've made some good friends who let me use their kitchens which is great! because mom and dad would not be happy if i just sat in my room and ate popcorn all day ;) -- only sometimes! i promise!
as for the real reason i'm here--class-- hahahha! no, really, it's good. i have 4 classes and i go to class 6 times a week. i don't have class on wednesday and friday which is actually really good because the biggest nights to go out here are tuesday and thursday. weird, i know but all the irish college kids go home on the weekends so their moms will cook for them and do their laundry. they actually told me that. so here's the schedule,
monday: i have introduction to irish traditional music at 5pm. good because i could stay somewhere a little longer if i was traveling for the weekend
tuesday: aspects of irish folklore and intro to irish history for visiting students. both of these classes are really big, especially for international students.
wednesday: sleep
thursday: marriage, women and society in early ireland. then folklore again, then marriage women society again. my teacher of m,w,s in early ireland is an american guy and his fingernails are longer than mine - weird! plus he has a lot of nervous energy, his hand are always shaking and it makes me nervous as a result
friday: sleep again
not too shabby
well i have to run for now, it's time to go to the movies! but i will definitely add more soon! xo!
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