Finally, I'm up to date on my posts! This past weekend 5 friends and I traveled to London. We got in around 6 on Friday afternoon, figured out the tube and successfully found our hostel. It was a little far out of the way, but we all got to stay in the same room, and there were no strangers there with us. We felt confident in leaving our things in the room when we left for the day. The only downside to many places here is that they don't have air conditioning. Probably 90% of the time it's perfectly fine, except for this weekend. It was a very hot, pretty dry and sunny weekend so everywhere we went was warm, especially our room at the hostel. It wasn't ideal, but it was cheap, and sometimes that's what makes it fun. If not, it was at least memorable! That night, we went into central London to walk around Picadilly Circus and West End. We started to get pretty good at the Underground system, and really enjoyed that experience. We found a cute cafe to eat, also found an Internet cafe to check e-mails and headed home pretty early.
On Saturday, we started our day with a walking tour of London. We saw most of the major sites including Buckinham Palace during the Changing of the Guard, Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. It was another gorgeous day, and our tour guide was very funny! It was a long tour, so by the end we were all starving. We found a really cool noodle place to eat, and mine was a spicy beef dish. It has been interesting trying to find food that everybody likes, and is a reasonable price. (Especially in London!) Next, we split up for a while because we had some different interests. I went to the Salvador Dali museum with two others. It was very interesting, to say the least. Dali was a crazy guy. But what I didn't know was how many works he had done, and how many different mediums he used. He did mostly sketches, but he also got into sculpture, furniture design and glass blowing. Then, we headed towards Trafalger Square to meet up with our friends and spend a little time in the National Gallery. We didn't have much time before they closed, but I can now say that I've seen a real Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Cezanne and others. After that, we headed back to the hostel to clean up. We decided to try Covent Gardens for dinner and a night on the town. When we got there, it was already pretty late, so most pubs weren't serving food anymore. We were looking at restaurants, but many of them had very expensive menus. We were about to give up and go somewhere expensive, when we turned a corner and saw a TGIFriday's! It seemed corny, but they had good food which they were still serving, and reasonable prices. Plus, we were all ready for some buffalo wings and cheeseburgers! Then, we walked around trying to find somewhere to hang out. Most of the night clubs had a pretty steep cover charge, and a long line. We came across a casino that looked pretty fun, so we decided to go in. A few of the boys tried their hand at craps and poker, but nothing really came of it. The rest of us kind of walked around in awe and talked about playing slots, but it never happened. We took a taxi home since the Underground was closed, and had a very nice cab driver. He kept talking about his new wife and her crazy father, so that was pretty entertaining.
We got a little bit later start on Sunday, but we had a more solid plan. So, we headed straight for our first attraction which was the London Dungeon. We grabbed some breakfast in the subway station on our way, and I had the most delicious bagel sandwich that I want to re-create at home. it was a toasted bagel with cream cheese, bacon, tomato slices and guacamole. It was surprisingly refreshing! We waited in line for the tour, but it was very worth it. The London Dungeon is an attraction that's very similar to a haunted house. There was some historical significance, with references to Sweeney Todd, Jack the Ripper and the fire of London. They had a short water ride, and a free-fall carnival type ride at the end. It scared the crap out of me. I'm generally a really jumpy person, and every little thing startled me! I tried not to scream, but I'll be honest, it happened a few times. Next, we headed for the London Aquarium. It wasn't very big, but they had some really cool rays and sharks. They had a ray that was probably as big as a Smart Car, this thing was huge. For little kids and families, this was a great spot. It is very kid-friendly and it brought back memories of visiting aquariums in Tennessee and Georgia as a kid. One of our group members had just gotten in the night before, so he hadn't seen some of the big sights, so we walked all over London... again. This time, I just people watched and really enjoyed just being in the big city. It was a little cooler, and definitely more comfortable weather for walking around. Then, we had our most difficult hunt for food yet. We needed to find a place that served food and also would play the Brazil/USA soccer game. We asked a bunch of restaurants, but most of them didn't even have TVs. (Very different than the US...) Finally, a bartender told us the place to go. It was very similar to a sports bar in the US. We ate our dinner, and dilly dallied around so that we could keep our table during the game. It started to really fill up, and there were a lot of Brazilians there. By the time the game started, it was packed, and standing room only. We were really lucky to have a table, but it was really hot in the restaurant with all those people. Regardless, it was a fantastic atmosphere, with both sides cheering for their respective teams. It was a relatively high-scoring games, the final score being Brazil 3, USA 2. It was the final round for the Confederation Cup in South Africa. It's a bummer that we lost, but amazing in itself that we got to the finals! The Brazilian fans (most of them from our bar) proceeded to Picadilly circus where they were cheering, climbing the sculpture in teh middle and waving Brazil flags. It was such a cool thing to be a part of.
After that, we headed back and tried to go to sleep in our mini-sauna room to rest up for today. We woke up a little before 5am to pack up and catch the 5:30 train for our 8:15 flight at Stansted. We were cutting it close, but got to the airport around 7:20. Thank goodness there were short lines for security, and we made it with about 15 minutes to spare. We made it home safely, and I've had a very relaxing evening to rest, unpack and catch up with everything from the weekend.
I can't believe there's only one week left of my program! But, I'm ready to head home to see my family and eat some Chipotle! That's what I'm craving the most. What I do love, however, is the cool temperature. It's going to be a scorcher when I get home. I think I'll gladly put up with it in order to have a car, a cell phone and a TV again, though. It's been weird not having any of the three, but sort of refreshing. Being over here just really makes me appreciate all the things in the States that I take for granted every day. Probably because I didn't really know anything different, but now that I do, I'm sure to appreciate them so much more!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Donegal
Thursday we visited Donegal. It is just west of Derry, right on the Northern Ireland/Republic border. There is a beautiful national park there that we had time to explore. There is an old castle, called Glenveagh castle. It is right on the ocean and has some beautiful gardens, where I was able to take some amazing pictures.
When we got off the bus at this site, our bus driver told us it was about a 2km walk to the castle. So, we all set off thinking it would be about a 15 minute scenic walk. Well, it was extremely scenic, but it was about a 5km walk. It took us about 40 minutes in the hot sun to get to the castle. About the time we got there, it was almost time to go back to the bus, so the group leaders gave us some extra time. Still, we got to walk the gardens and see the outside of the castle, but we didn't have time to go inside.
We were supposed to go to a second park, but we ran out of time to do so. Our next planned stop was at a very famous pub in Donegal. It is called Leo's Tavern. Leo was there, and the cool thing is that he is the father of the musical artists Enya and Clannad. Leo himself is a musician, and he played the accordian and sang traditional Irish tunes as we ate our meal, and told some stories to go along with them! It was a really fun atmosphere, plus the food was delicious!
Overall, it was a fantastic day in Donegal. The weather was gorgeous, even a little hot. On the bus ride home, we passed through some of the most magnificent scenery I have ever seen. I didn't take many pictures, because they just wouldn't do justice. So, I engrained the sights in my memory, and I'm sure they will last me a very long time.
When we got off the bus at this site, our bus driver told us it was about a 2km walk to the castle. So, we all set off thinking it would be about a 15 minute scenic walk. Well, it was extremely scenic, but it was about a 5km walk. It took us about 40 minutes in the hot sun to get to the castle. About the time we got there, it was almost time to go back to the bus, so the group leaders gave us some extra time. Still, we got to walk the gardens and see the outside of the castle, but we didn't have time to go inside.
We were supposed to go to a second park, but we ran out of time to do so. Our next planned stop was at a very famous pub in Donegal. It is called Leo's Tavern. Leo was there, and the cool thing is that he is the father of the musical artists Enya and Clannad. Leo himself is a musician, and he played the accordian and sang traditional Irish tunes as we ate our meal, and told some stories to go along with them! It was a really fun atmosphere, plus the food was delicious!
Overall, it was a fantastic day in Donegal. The weather was gorgeous, even a little hot. On the bus ride home, we passed through some of the most magnificent scenery I have ever seen. I didn't take many pictures, because they just wouldn't do justice. So, I engrained the sights in my memory, and I'm sure they will last me a very long time.
Bushmills
On Tuesday, we finally took our "company visit" (really we took the tourist tour) of Bushmills whiskey distillery. It was a really cool tour, since the distillery is actively in operation. As soon as you walk up to the buildings, you can smell the yeast.
There are a few interesting things I learned that I want to share! I didn't know the difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky until this tour. There are two main differences, first, the spelling, the Irish wanted theirs to be different right off the bat, so they added an "e" to the name. Secondly, the Scottish smoke their barley as it dries, which gives it a "smokey" flavor when it's finished. Also, to make the whiskey, after the yeast is added and all the chemical reactions have taken place, they keep it at really high temperatures, and they collect the steam that escapes. This is the actual whiskey that you drink. Most of their "leftovers" from the process, like the gooey mixture that is leftover from this process is sold to local farmers as feed for their animals!
Those are my fun facts, but the other neat thing we got to do was taste test the whiskey. I'm not a huge fan of the taste, and luckily they offer an option for people like me. They make what they call a "Hot Toddy." It's a shot of whiskey with hot water flavored with cinnamon, sugar and allspice. It was actually pretty delicious!
There are a few interesting things I learned that I want to share! I didn't know the difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky until this tour. There are two main differences, first, the spelling, the Irish wanted theirs to be different right off the bat, so they added an "e" to the name. Secondly, the Scottish smoke their barley as it dries, which gives it a "smokey" flavor when it's finished. Also, to make the whiskey, after the yeast is added and all the chemical reactions have taken place, they keep it at really high temperatures, and they collect the steam that escapes. This is the actual whiskey that you drink. Most of their "leftovers" from the process, like the gooey mixture that is leftover from this process is sold to local farmers as feed for their animals!
Those are my fun facts, but the other neat thing we got to do was taste test the whiskey. I'm not a huge fan of the taste, and luckily they offer an option for people like me. They make what they call a "Hot Toddy." It's a shot of whiskey with hot water flavored with cinnamon, sugar and allspice. It was actually pretty delicious!
Lots of updates- Belfast
OK, so it's been a while since I updated, so I think I will just do a series of updates from the past week. Last weekend, (June 18-22) most of our group stayed in Derry for the long weekend. Traveling every weekend is not only exhausting, but expensive. So, we took a weekend off, but still had a wonderful time. It was very relaxing, I got caught up on sleep, laundry and some reading. I also went out with my friends to a dance club that we had not been to yet, and it was great! On Monday, we traveled to Belfast for the day. They have a very large shipyard, and boast building some of the largest and finest boats in history, including the Titanic and it's two identical sister ships, the Olympic and Brittanic. So, we took a tour to see the places where the Titanic was built. It probably would have been very neat, except that most of the area is under construction. The city of Belfast has invested lots of money recently to rebuild the area into what they are calling "Titanic Quarter." In about three years they will have apartments, restaurants, shopping, a park and a really cool Titanic museum. For now, there is mostly rubble. Thus, the tour was pretty boring, the highlight was probably having construction workers whistle at all of us girls!
However, we got to see the dry dock where the finishing touches were put on the ships, and that was actually very cool. There was a lot of really smart engineering that went into it, plus it is just huge. You can really get a feel for how big the boats really were. Then, we did some shopping, got some dinner and headed back to the bus station. On our way, we saw something quite interesting. There were TV cameras outside of a restaurant pointed up to the sky. We didn't stop to inquire, but one of our student leaders, Andy was interested. He stepped behind the cameraman to look in the same direction, but just gave us a shrug because he couldn't see anything. As we got closer to the bus station, there were more cameras and people stopped on the sidewalk looking up into the sky. Someone finally told us what was going on. There is a ferris wheel right next to city hall, and someone had climbed up it, and was sitting on the top! (He had also taken off most of his clothes, but thankfully left some shorts on.)
We were shocked, and making guesses as to what he was doing up there. Of course, many people thought he was going to jump off. It was scary, but also very intriguing. After a while, a good crowd had started to gather, and there was a lot of chatter about what was going on. Finally, some businessmen standing near us gave us some info. Apparently, this guy was part of a group they call "travelers" in Europe. Basically, they're a band of gypsies or trailer families. They had been camping out in the city, and the city had ordered them to move. They had just finished their trial at the City Hall, and apparently it didn't go in their favor. So this gypsy man decided to protest by making a scene and climbing the ferris wheel. It was quite an ordeal to get him down. There were 4 firemen/policemen who climbed up the wheel (with harnesses, of course). They got within about 40 feet of the man and looked to be talking to him. I guess they coerced him down, because he started climbing down, without a harness. He got to where the firemen were, and they had a harness ready to go for him, but he refused to wear it! He continued to climb down on his own, and even beat the firemen to the ground. He was quickly arrested, probably for a public nuisance. (You can find more info and pictures on a BBC link on my facebook page, and some pictures of my own!)
That basically summed up our day in Belfast. It was a very wild day, with super boring stuff, and super weird stuff.
However, we got to see the dry dock where the finishing touches were put on the ships, and that was actually very cool. There was a lot of really smart engineering that went into it, plus it is just huge. You can really get a feel for how big the boats really were. Then, we did some shopping, got some dinner and headed back to the bus station. On our way, we saw something quite interesting. There were TV cameras outside of a restaurant pointed up to the sky. We didn't stop to inquire, but one of our student leaders, Andy was interested. He stepped behind the cameraman to look in the same direction, but just gave us a shrug because he couldn't see anything. As we got closer to the bus station, there were more cameras and people stopped on the sidewalk looking up into the sky. Someone finally told us what was going on. There is a ferris wheel right next to city hall, and someone had climbed up it, and was sitting on the top! (He had also taken off most of his clothes, but thankfully left some shorts on.)
We were shocked, and making guesses as to what he was doing up there. Of course, many people thought he was going to jump off. It was scary, but also very intriguing. After a while, a good crowd had started to gather, and there was a lot of chatter about what was going on. Finally, some businessmen standing near us gave us some info. Apparently, this guy was part of a group they call "travelers" in Europe. Basically, they're a band of gypsies or trailer families. They had been camping out in the city, and the city had ordered them to move. They had just finished their trial at the City Hall, and apparently it didn't go in their favor. So this gypsy man decided to protest by making a scene and climbing the ferris wheel. It was quite an ordeal to get him down. There were 4 firemen/policemen who climbed up the wheel (with harnesses, of course). They got within about 40 feet of the man and looked to be talking to him. I guess they coerced him down, because he started climbing down, without a harness. He got to where the firemen were, and they had a harness ready to go for him, but he refused to wear it! He continued to climb down on his own, and even beat the firemen to the ground. He was quickly arrested, probably for a public nuisance. (You can find more info and pictures on a BBC link on my facebook page, and some pictures of my own!)
That basically summed up our day in Belfast. It was a very wild day, with super boring stuff, and super weird stuff.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Off-Roading in Galway
Our bus arrived in Galway late afternoon on Sunday. It was much easier to find our hostel this time, but we still got a little turned around. Regardless, our hostel was great. We stayed at the Kinlay House and it was absolutely charming. The decor was very bright, with lots of artwork details. Even the windows had flowers painted on them! We checked in, and this time our room of six consisted of all people in our group. So, we weren't worried about leaving our stuff in there since we didn't have any random roommates. We got cleaned up and went on the search of some dinner. There is a main strip of shops that forks at the bottom, one way has restaurants, the other way has pubs and night clubs. It was a pretty easy set-up! We checked out all the menus posted on the outside of the restaurants, and found a fairly reasonable restaurant. I got the salmon with mashed potatoes, and it was delicious. Just what I needed after a long day of travel. That evening we found a pub with traditional Irish music, then called it an early night.
Yesterday, (Monday) the six of us that were travelling together, Andy, Shannon, Cory, Drew, Pat and I went to the Aran Islands for a day trip. We bought our ferry tickets first thing in the morning, drove to the ferry (Andy and Shannon had rented a car) and boarded at 10:30am. We got to the Islands around 11, and rented bicycles right away. We had a map, but decided to just ride bikes until we wanted to stop and take some pictures. We stopped a few times for pictures, and then stopped at a picnic area for lunch. We had brought sandwiches and snacks, so we just ate all that. Then, we went to the main attraction on the island, which was the almost 3000 year old fort that was built by the people that first inhabited the island. So far, the bike ride had been really fun, and mostly downhill. We parked our bikes, and then walked up this huge hill to get to the fort. The fort was really neat, and we got some great pictures. We headed back down and back on to the bikes.
We were riding along nicely until we started to go uphill. It was a pretty good climb, and our group was starting to get farther apart, as some people were going faster than others. Andy was way ahead of the group, blazing the trail. Pat, Cory and I were pretty much together, and Shannon and Drew were slowing down a little. We hit a pretty good hill, and my gears didn't shift in time (these weren't great bikes) so I came to a stall. By this point, everyone was walking. I was forced to hop off my bike and walk it up the hill. There was a fairly flat spot before the next hill, so I got back on my bike and got my gears back in order. I went up the next hill and expected to see Andy waiting for us at the top. However, I rounded a bend and I could see him even higher up, going up another hill! So I kept going, waiting to see him at the top of that one. By the time I was about halfway up, I realized there was yet another HUGE hill, and Andy was nowhere in sight. I just kept chugging along, and went up one of the steepest hills I had ever biked on. I got to the top and finally saw Andy waiting there. I stopped, took a while to catch my breath and get a sip of water. A few minutes later, the rest of the clan topped the hill. They had all walked up the whole hill, and were still extremely tired! Everybody was proud to have gotten up there, and it was quite a sight to see. We could see almost the entire island from this high point. From there, we knew it would be mostly downhill!
Now comes the best part of the day. We continue along the path, and sure enough it's going downhill. We're all laughing and having a great time together until the paved road became a gravel path. We still stayed together, but the path got rockier and steeper. By the time we were halfway down the hill, we were practically off-roading over big rocks, and very unsteady terrain. It was awesome! I was having the time of my life weaving around big rocks, and trying not to slip in the loose gravel and going fast downhill all at the same time! It was quite a rush! We got to the bottom of the hill, and all got caught up to plan our next destination since we still had a few hours left. There was supposedly a beachy area at the end of the island, so we decided to head that way. On our way, we passed a small cattle drive. A few farmers were taking about 6 cows to another pen, but they were just taking them on the town road! So, we followed them for a while, making jokes about being part of a cattle drive in Ireland. We passed them and continued to the beach.
When we got to the "beach" it just looked like a huge expanse of sand with a small stream, and some puddles. We decided to check it out anyways and splash around. As we kept walking, we realized there really was a beach that led right to the ocean! There were dead jellyfish on the beach that we poked with sticks, we splashed around in the shallow water, I collected a bunch of beautiful seashells, and we took pictures of us jumping up in the air. It was almost time to board the ferry, so we headed back, grabbed some snacks (Kate, I found Curly Wurly's!) and returned our bikes. We loaded the ferry, and Andy and I sat on the sun deck on the top. (The rest of the group was pretty sunburned.) We were having a great time chatting and enjoying the sunshine and the nice cool ocean spray when we noticed an ominous black cloud right over the mainland that we were heading to. As we were docking the ferry, it started to drizzle. It quickly picked up and turned into a heavy rainfall. We were stuck on top of the ferry, getting soaking wet! We were some of the first off the boat, so we ran to the car to wait for the others. They showed up a few minutes later, just as wet! As soon as we got into the car it stopped raining so we had a good time joking about our misfortune.
We got back to the hostel, showered and asked the front desk for a good restaurant suggestion. She suggested we go to this Italian restaurant about 10 minutes away. We took her advice, and it was a great one! It was an authentic Italian restaurant where everyone who worked there could barely speak English, so we knew we were going to get a great meal. I ordered a calzone since they had a huge pizza oven, which is their specialty. It was amazing, but different than calzones I have had at other restaurants. I think I'll keep trying them, to see which kinds I like the best! We headed back to downtown Galway and hit a few pubs with our entire group from Derry. Since it was a Monday night, the bar closed fairly early. On our way out, there were salespeople from a night club offering us stamps on our hands for free admission to their night club. We decided to take them up on it! When we got to the night club, it was very hip and modern. It was completely dark, with crazy colored lights on the dance floor, some video screens and all the bars were lit up by huge panels that changed color. They played a good mix of mostly American music, with some techno in there sometimes. Our group had an absolute blast dancing the night away! Since there are about 20 of us, there was never a shortage of somebody to dance with on the dance floor. It got to be pretty late, and the club was closing so we headed back to the hostel. It was convenient, because we were all staying in the same place so we could walk together!
I fell asleep really quickly, and got up early this morning to do some shopping before I had to leave Galway. I got a few souveniers for myself and my family. (getting excited?) Then, Drew and I got to drive back in the rental car with Andy and Shannon. It was so much nicer than taking a bus, and probably much cheaper. I got back to Derry safely just a few hours ago, and I'm going to read my articles for class tomorrow and call it an early night!
Yesterday, (Monday) the six of us that were travelling together, Andy, Shannon, Cory, Drew, Pat and I went to the Aran Islands for a day trip. We bought our ferry tickets first thing in the morning, drove to the ferry (Andy and Shannon had rented a car) and boarded at 10:30am. We got to the Islands around 11, and rented bicycles right away. We had a map, but decided to just ride bikes until we wanted to stop and take some pictures. We stopped a few times for pictures, and then stopped at a picnic area for lunch. We had brought sandwiches and snacks, so we just ate all that. Then, we went to the main attraction on the island, which was the almost 3000 year old fort that was built by the people that first inhabited the island. So far, the bike ride had been really fun, and mostly downhill. We parked our bikes, and then walked up this huge hill to get to the fort. The fort was really neat, and we got some great pictures. We headed back down and back on to the bikes.
We were riding along nicely until we started to go uphill. It was a pretty good climb, and our group was starting to get farther apart, as some people were going faster than others. Andy was way ahead of the group, blazing the trail. Pat, Cory and I were pretty much together, and Shannon and Drew were slowing down a little. We hit a pretty good hill, and my gears didn't shift in time (these weren't great bikes) so I came to a stall. By this point, everyone was walking. I was forced to hop off my bike and walk it up the hill. There was a fairly flat spot before the next hill, so I got back on my bike and got my gears back in order. I went up the next hill and expected to see Andy waiting for us at the top. However, I rounded a bend and I could see him even higher up, going up another hill! So I kept going, waiting to see him at the top of that one. By the time I was about halfway up, I realized there was yet another HUGE hill, and Andy was nowhere in sight. I just kept chugging along, and went up one of the steepest hills I had ever biked on. I got to the top and finally saw Andy waiting there. I stopped, took a while to catch my breath and get a sip of water. A few minutes later, the rest of the clan topped the hill. They had all walked up the whole hill, and were still extremely tired! Everybody was proud to have gotten up there, and it was quite a sight to see. We could see almost the entire island from this high point. From there, we knew it would be mostly downhill!
Now comes the best part of the day. We continue along the path, and sure enough it's going downhill. We're all laughing and having a great time together until the paved road became a gravel path. We still stayed together, but the path got rockier and steeper. By the time we were halfway down the hill, we were practically off-roading over big rocks, and very unsteady terrain. It was awesome! I was having the time of my life weaving around big rocks, and trying not to slip in the loose gravel and going fast downhill all at the same time! It was quite a rush! We got to the bottom of the hill, and all got caught up to plan our next destination since we still had a few hours left. There was supposedly a beachy area at the end of the island, so we decided to head that way. On our way, we passed a small cattle drive. A few farmers were taking about 6 cows to another pen, but they were just taking them on the town road! So, we followed them for a while, making jokes about being part of a cattle drive in Ireland. We passed them and continued to the beach.
When we got to the "beach" it just looked like a huge expanse of sand with a small stream, and some puddles. We decided to check it out anyways and splash around. As we kept walking, we realized there really was a beach that led right to the ocean! There were dead jellyfish on the beach that we poked with sticks, we splashed around in the shallow water, I collected a bunch of beautiful seashells, and we took pictures of us jumping up in the air. It was almost time to board the ferry, so we headed back, grabbed some snacks (Kate, I found Curly Wurly's!) and returned our bikes. We loaded the ferry, and Andy and I sat on the sun deck on the top. (The rest of the group was pretty sunburned.) We were having a great time chatting and enjoying the sunshine and the nice cool ocean spray when we noticed an ominous black cloud right over the mainland that we were heading to. As we were docking the ferry, it started to drizzle. It quickly picked up and turned into a heavy rainfall. We were stuck on top of the ferry, getting soaking wet! We were some of the first off the boat, so we ran to the car to wait for the others. They showed up a few minutes later, just as wet! As soon as we got into the car it stopped raining so we had a good time joking about our misfortune.
We got back to the hostel, showered and asked the front desk for a good restaurant suggestion. She suggested we go to this Italian restaurant about 10 minutes away. We took her advice, and it was a great one! It was an authentic Italian restaurant where everyone who worked there could barely speak English, so we knew we were going to get a great meal. I ordered a calzone since they had a huge pizza oven, which is their specialty. It was amazing, but different than calzones I have had at other restaurants. I think I'll keep trying them, to see which kinds I like the best! We headed back to downtown Galway and hit a few pubs with our entire group from Derry. Since it was a Monday night, the bar closed fairly early. On our way out, there were salespeople from a night club offering us stamps on our hands for free admission to their night club. We decided to take them up on it! When we got to the night club, it was very hip and modern. It was completely dark, with crazy colored lights on the dance floor, some video screens and all the bars were lit up by huge panels that changed color. They played a good mix of mostly American music, with some techno in there sometimes. Our group had an absolute blast dancing the night away! Since there are about 20 of us, there was never a shortage of somebody to dance with on the dance floor. It got to be pretty late, and the club was closing so we headed back to the hostel. It was convenient, because we were all staying in the same place so we could walk together!
I fell asleep really quickly, and got up early this morning to do some shopping before I had to leave Galway. I got a few souveniers for myself and my family. (getting excited?) Then, Drew and I got to drive back in the rental car with Andy and Shannon. It was so much nicer than taking a bus, and probably much cheaper. I got back to Derry safely just a few hours ago, and I'm going to read my articles for class tomorrow and call it an early night!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Adventures in Dublin
Yesterday morning we left our little home in Derry to travel south to Dublin. We arrived at the bus station around 4pm. What we didn't realize when we got there, is we had no idea where we were! We had the address to our hostel, but did not map out how to get there prior to leaving our dorms in Derry. We tried getting online, but there was no WiFi in the bus station, and there didn't seem to be an information service. We had a map, but we had no idea where we were at that point. So, we walked around for a while until we found some street names that were on our map. We made it to our hostel in about 20 minutes, so it wasn't a very far walk. We freshened up and went on the hunt for an ATM and some dinner. We found an ATM, and the Dublin Hard Rock Cafe. We sat down at the Hard Rock, and realized that a cheeseburger would cost us about 20 Euros. So, since a waitor had not stopped by yet, we bailed! The hostess gave us a strange look, but we hoped she just figured we were visiting the store! Instead, we went to a small pub because we saw a sign outside for a sandwich special. Most of my friends ordered the sandwich special, but when they got the food, it was a very wimpy sandwich. I lucked out and ordered a chicken wrap, and had a wonderful meal. It had vegetables in it, and even came with a side salad! It was very refreshing, since about everything over here seems to be fried. Then, we went exploring in the Temple Bar area, which was extremely lively with many street musicians and other various performers. We stopped at a pub that had a sign for live Irish music, and sat at a table that was a beer barrell. The Irish music started, and the band was made up of three musicians. A singer/percussionist, a guitarist and a bagpipe player. They played traditional songs, and many people in the pub were singing along. The singer got some of the audience members involved, and it was a great time. We got back to the hostel fairly early, because we knew we'd have a long day of touring ahead of us!
Today was just what we expected, a long, but exciting day. We mapped out a touring route last night, so we set off at 9:00 this morning. Our first stop was Dublin Castle. However, when we got there, the sign said that they didn't open until 2pm! So, we headed to our next stop which was St. Patrick's Cathedral. The gardens didn't open until 10am, which would be like a 15 minute wait for us. So, we waited outside the gates, then entered and took pictures of the outside of the cathedral and the gardens. We could have paid an entrance fee to get inside, but we decided against it. Next, we headed to the Guinness Storehouse. We took their tour, which was extremely interested. It was a self-guided tour that started off by taking you through the ingredients, then the steps of the brewing process. As you go through the tour, you progress up the levels of the storehouse. Other floors include their growth of the company and transportation systems, advertising campaigns, an interactive quiz, and finally the taste test! Every visitor gets a free pint of Guinness on their 7th floor, called the Gravity Bar. It is a 360 degree circular room, with windowed walls. As you walk around, you can see all of the city of Dublin. My group had a great time chatting about the tour and reminiscing about our memories so far. Then, we were in need of lunch. Since we hadn't had great luck with food so far, we decided to go to a Subway! Our sandwiches were delicious, and the store was very similar to those in the States. By this time, a few of us were pretty tired of walking, so we decided to invest in a tour bus. The tour company we chose was a "hop on, hop off" bus, that goes all around the city all day. We took about half the route to get to our next stop, which was the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. We got to the entrance, and it was a pretty expensive entrance fee. So, we decided to pass up the tour, and just shopped at the gift shop and took pictures outside. On our way back to the bus stop, my friend Cory got the great idea that he wanted to "punt" a pigeon. So, he tried sneaking up on the city birds and kicking them. He didn't have any success, those birds are a little too quick for him. We got back on the tour bus, and continued about halfway around the city. It was a double-decker open air bus, and we got to sit on the top on a nice sunny day. It was a wonderful way to see the city, without becoming too exhausted! Next, we stopped at Trinity College. There wasn't much to do, and again there was an entrance fee into the library to see the Book of Kells. Since the book didn't mean much to any of us, we just walked around the campus a little bit, and took some pictures. We still wanted to get back to the Dublin Castle, but a few were tired, so four of the six of us went to the castle. We got there around 4:30, and the last tour left at 4:45; we were just in time! After the tour, we headed back to the hostel, where I'm sitting right now to write this blog entry. We're planning on going out to dinner around 9 (it's 7:00 right now) and then enjoying the Dublin nightlife. Tomorrow, we are taking a bus to Galway on the western coast for the remainder of the weekend.
Cheers!
Today was just what we expected, a long, but exciting day. We mapped out a touring route last night, so we set off at 9:00 this morning. Our first stop was Dublin Castle. However, when we got there, the sign said that they didn't open until 2pm! So, we headed to our next stop which was St. Patrick's Cathedral. The gardens didn't open until 10am, which would be like a 15 minute wait for us. So, we waited outside the gates, then entered and took pictures of the outside of the cathedral and the gardens. We could have paid an entrance fee to get inside, but we decided against it. Next, we headed to the Guinness Storehouse. We took their tour, which was extremely interested. It was a self-guided tour that started off by taking you through the ingredients, then the steps of the brewing process. As you go through the tour, you progress up the levels of the storehouse. Other floors include their growth of the company and transportation systems, advertising campaigns, an interactive quiz, and finally the taste test! Every visitor gets a free pint of Guinness on their 7th floor, called the Gravity Bar. It is a 360 degree circular room, with windowed walls. As you walk around, you can see all of the city of Dublin. My group had a great time chatting about the tour and reminiscing about our memories so far. Then, we were in need of lunch. Since we hadn't had great luck with food so far, we decided to go to a Subway! Our sandwiches were delicious, and the store was very similar to those in the States. By this time, a few of us were pretty tired of walking, so we decided to invest in a tour bus. The tour company we chose was a "hop on, hop off" bus, that goes all around the city all day. We took about half the route to get to our next stop, which was the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. We got to the entrance, and it was a pretty expensive entrance fee. So, we decided to pass up the tour, and just shopped at the gift shop and took pictures outside. On our way back to the bus stop, my friend Cory got the great idea that he wanted to "punt" a pigeon. So, he tried sneaking up on the city birds and kicking them. He didn't have any success, those birds are a little too quick for him. We got back on the tour bus, and continued about halfway around the city. It was a double-decker open air bus, and we got to sit on the top on a nice sunny day. It was a wonderful way to see the city, without becoming too exhausted! Next, we stopped at Trinity College. There wasn't much to do, and again there was an entrance fee into the library to see the Book of Kells. Since the book didn't mean much to any of us, we just walked around the campus a little bit, and took some pictures. We still wanted to get back to the Dublin Castle, but a few were tired, so four of the six of us went to the castle. We got there around 4:30, and the last tour left at 4:45; we were just in time! After the tour, we headed back to the hostel, where I'm sitting right now to write this blog entry. We're planning on going out to dinner around 9 (it's 7:00 right now) and then enjoying the Dublin nightlife. Tomorrow, we are taking a bus to Galway on the western coast for the remainder of the weekend.
Cheers!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Scenic Northern Ireland
Wednesday I witnessed some of the most beautiful sites I have set my eyes on. We took an entire day to view the scenic countryside of Northern Ireland. Our bus left the student village, headed northeast and stopped after about an hour. We were at a scenic overlook viewing the Atlantic Ocean. Next, we went to the Dunluce Castle ruins, where we had a great time climbing around and exploring the cliffs and the water. Then, we hopped back on the bus to Giant's Causeway. This is an incredible site to see. The rocks are like columns, all stacked up next to each other. Many are in hexagonal/octagonal shapes, like stepping stones. We had a great time climbing all over the rocks, and simply sitting down to enjoy the scenery. Then, it was a long hike up the top of the hill to get back to the visitor's center. It was starting to get very warm by this time, it was a gorgeous day. Last, we saw the Carrick-a-reek rope bridge. We got our tickets and waited in line. It's only a one way bridge, so you have to wait until the warden lets you go. When you are looking down from the land, it is a loooong way down! Then, when you step on the bridge, it is bouncy from the weight distribution. We hung out on the cliffs for a while before getting back on the bus. I could try to describe everything I saw, but words cannot do it justice. You'll have to see my pictures online! Then, we tried to take a tour of the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, but we were too late in the day by that point. We were starting to get hungry, so we asked the bus driver to take us to get some "real" fish and chips. He took us to a fish and chips place that had won many awards for having the best fish and chips in Ulster. It was true, they were very delicious!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
