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

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

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

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