Alright, if you hearken back to my earlier posts about the strange ads we have here, you'll remember that they get pretty outrageous. The most horrifying ad I've seen so far is for Cadbury chocolates, although the ad itself (in what I've come to understand is something they do a lot) has nothing whatsoever to do with chocolate. I give you... the eyebrow kids! It's pretty terrifying, but it only gets worse when the little girl pulls out the balloon... *shudder* Try to sit through the whole thing. It's only a minute long. Good luck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVblWq3tDwY
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Laura in Galway!
If you're not sick of me after all those videos... Laura came to visit me last weekend!! She got here Friday evening, so we had a quiet night in with some pasta and some Robin Hood =) Saturday we planned to go to the Aran Islands, so we got up early and walked downtown to pick up the bus, which took us into Connemara to pick up the ferry. There are three Aran Islands: Inis Mor, Inis Meain, and Inis Oirr. Inis Mor (which means "Big Island") is, of course, the biggest, as well as the most touristy, as far as they go, and that's the one we went to. It has several forts and other historical buildings, as well as just tons of gorgeous scenery and a seal colony! It takes something like 40 minutes to get there by ferry, and it was a bit rough, so, sadly, I got sick on the way there (I was certainly not the ony one), but we got there soon enough and the rest of the day went well! We rented bikes (very shiny silver things they were too... basically shouted "tourist" to anyone within 10 yards of us) and set out along the left side of the island toward Arkin Castle, which was not all that impressive once we got there, but it was a nice short ride with very nice scenery. We also made a dog friend, who kept offering me a piece of plastic he had found on the beach, and who ran along back with us for almost a mile until we met another biking group coming towards us, and he ran off with them instead. We got some lunch at a hotel near the pier before setting off again in the opposite direction, stopping in at Spar for a drink and a snack for later, and a fellow biking tourist (an Irish one) suggested we take a certain road, which turned out to be an excellent suggestion! It took us right down the island along the coast, through lovely fields and past beaches, and we found the seal colony! Mike was there with a friend of his too (they had gone Friday and stayed over), and we ran into them a few times, which was fun!
A few miles of biking took us to the base of a hill, where we abandoned the bikes to walk up to Dun Aonghasa (Dun Angus, Angus's Fort) - the best Euro I've ever spent! Although the walk up nearly killed me after all that biking (I'm no Olympian, as you know), we finally reached the top, where a great breeze was blowing. It's a ring fort built right on the cliff, so when you go in through the walls to the inner circle you find yourself in an open space where you can walk right up to the cliff and sit yourself down to look over the edge (see the pictures). I could have stayed there all day... it was oddly soothing to lie on the edge of that cliff, with the waves crashing far below, and that wonderful breeze blowing. But, no rest for the bikers: we had to head back to make sure we made it to the ferry on time. As it turns out, there were many slight inclines on the way that we hadn't noticed, but they turned into excellent downhill slopes on the ride back! Consequently it took us much less time to get back, leaving us some time to pick up some postcards at the visitors' center and to walk on the beach. I did not got sick on the ferry back, you'll be glad to hear, and our bus back to Galway was a double-decker, and we sat on the top level! Hoorah! We got home, made tacos, and crashed with some more Robin Hood after a full and exhausting day.
Sunday we slept in (yay!) before heading out for brunch at Mister Waffle, followed by a stroll down the Salthill Promenade along the beach to go to the aquarium. We were obviously the oldest ones there not accompanied by small children, but we had a grand time with the fishes and marine life! We got there just in time for a tour of the touch-pools, and (after a terrified looking boy had given it back) Laura held a big spider crab! Our favorite place was the tank with the rays and the dogfish. They kept popping their heads out at us! We petted them, and the dogfish was sandpapery (because, Laura knew, they're members of the shark family). The wings of the rays were very smooth. I was slightly mesmerized by the big slowmoving conger eels, although they freak Laura out. They're apparently pretty common in the waters around Galway, and it would DEFINITELY freak me out to see one while swimming! We went out to hear some music that night, wrapping up a lovely weekend, and she left Monday morning to spend a couple hours in Dublin (she was there all last semester) before heading up to Belfast. Yay visiting! API is going to Dublin this weekend, so more fun to come!
A few miles of biking took us to the base of a hill, where we abandoned the bikes to walk up to Dun Aonghasa (Dun Angus, Angus's Fort) - the best Euro I've ever spent! Although the walk up nearly killed me after all that biking (I'm no Olympian, as you know), we finally reached the top, where a great breeze was blowing. It's a ring fort built right on the cliff, so when you go in through the walls to the inner circle you find yourself in an open space where you can walk right up to the cliff and sit yourself down to look over the edge (see the pictures). I could have stayed there all day... it was oddly soothing to lie on the edge of that cliff, with the waves crashing far below, and that wonderful breeze blowing. But, no rest for the bikers: we had to head back to make sure we made it to the ferry on time. As it turns out, there were many slight inclines on the way that we hadn't noticed, but they turned into excellent downhill slopes on the ride back! Consequently it took us much less time to get back, leaving us some time to pick up some postcards at the visitors' center and to walk on the beach. I did not got sick on the ferry back, you'll be glad to hear, and our bus back to Galway was a double-decker, and we sat on the top level! Hoorah! We got home, made tacos, and crashed with some more Robin Hood after a full and exhausting day.
Sunday we slept in (yay!) before heading out for brunch at Mister Waffle, followed by a stroll down the Salthill Promenade along the beach to go to the aquarium. We were obviously the oldest ones there not accompanied by small children, but we had a grand time with the fishes and marine life! We got there just in time for a tour of the touch-pools, and (after a terrified looking boy had given it back) Laura held a big spider crab! Our favorite place was the tank with the rays and the dogfish. They kept popping their heads out at us! We petted them, and the dogfish was sandpapery (because, Laura knew, they're members of the shark family). The wings of the rays were very smooth. I was slightly mesmerized by the big slowmoving conger eels, although they freak Laura out. They're apparently pretty common in the waters around Galway, and it would DEFINITELY freak me out to see one while swimming! We went out to hear some music that night, wrapping up a lovely weekend, and she left Monday morning to spend a couple hours in Dublin (she was there all last semester) before heading up to Belfast. Yay visiting! API is going to Dublin this weekend, so more fun to come!
Some St. Patrick's Day fun!
I still have more to fill in between last post and this - Laura's weekend here and our trip to the Aran Islands - but in the interest of trying to keep up with Julie (I fail), here are some videos from St. Patrick's Day, which was gorgeously sunny and warm! Downtown was packed, and everyone wore tacky green accessories just like at home! I met up with Julie, Jaye, Jess, and Heather downtown, where we basked in the warmth and enjoyed the parade. The others felt it went on for too long, but it was WAY shorter than Scranton's parade... only a little over an hour! There was also a distict "ocean" theme, which sort of overshadowed any type of St. Patrick theme there might have been. There were also TWO groups from Canada in the parade (why?).
Some things missing included: the first hour of the parade being taken up by the Irem Temple guys; pipe bands (there was only one!); the Pixie Chicks (thank God); the Grump (replaced by the Easter Bunny, a penguin, and some sort of fish thing); everyone I know in some section of the parade or another; the medieval combat people (sort of replaced by little kids dressed up as Order of Malta knights... but they had no horses or billowy cloaks).
New experiences included: dancing jellyfish; hundreds of children playing the tin whistle; a meditating guy on a float flanked by women doing tai-chi-esque movements; many hurling teams made up of small chanting children; the float for the lifeboat people with one of their people "saving" a victim, who spurted realistic blood!; Pink Floyd.
Here's a hurling team (followed by a giant sliotar, or hurling ball). Sorry for all of the pitching about on my part... it was very crowded. I essentially had a small boy sitting on my face the entire parade instead of on his father's shoulders as was the original plan.
Had I known there would only be one pipe band, I would have taken a video of it, but as it is here is some other type of music. The one thing is sort of like a bagpipe:
Leprechauns!
Afterwards we stopped at Supermacs (a fast food chain) for some lunch, which we brought down to the Spanish Arch - ABSOLUTELY FULL of people milling about, eating, drinking... the side across the river was full too, and every now and then one of the sides would start yelling, and then the other would start to see who could be louder.
Jess and Jaye's roommate Fergus came to meet us, and we headed for Eyre Square. We picked up their other roommate Mark on the way. Shop Street was full too, and Eyre Square was full of teenagers (lame) - where did all these people come from?! To escape the teenagers, we went into the Skeff to hang out, and the barman made a shamrock in my Guinness! We went back down to the Spanish Arch after that, which had gotten even fuller since we had been there last, to meet up with some of the other Menlo girls.
In all that fine weather I got a little bit of sunburn!! Very exciting stuff. All in all an excellent day, even though I did miss Fergus singing the Rattlin' Bog song (see Julie's blog for a video).
One final crowd shot:
Some things missing included: the first hour of the parade being taken up by the Irem Temple guys; pipe bands (there was only one!); the Pixie Chicks (thank God); the Grump (replaced by the Easter Bunny, a penguin, and some sort of fish thing); everyone I know in some section of the parade or another; the medieval combat people (sort of replaced by little kids dressed up as Order of Malta knights... but they had no horses or billowy cloaks).
New experiences included: dancing jellyfish; hundreds of children playing the tin whistle; a meditating guy on a float flanked by women doing tai-chi-esque movements; many hurling teams made up of small chanting children; the float for the lifeboat people with one of their people "saving" a victim, who spurted realistic blood!; Pink Floyd.
Here's a hurling team (followed by a giant sliotar, or hurling ball). Sorry for all of the pitching about on my part... it was very crowded. I essentially had a small boy sitting on my face the entire parade instead of on his father's shoulders as was the original plan.
Had I known there would only be one pipe band, I would have taken a video of it, but as it is here is some other type of music. The one thing is sort of like a bagpipe:
Leprechauns!
Afterwards we stopped at Supermacs (a fast food chain) for some lunch, which we brought down to the Spanish Arch - ABSOLUTELY FULL of people milling about, eating, drinking... the side across the river was full too, and every now and then one of the sides would start yelling, and then the other would start to see who could be louder.
Jess and Jaye's roommate Fergus came to meet us, and we headed for Eyre Square. We picked up their other roommate Mark on the way. Shop Street was full too, and Eyre Square was full of teenagers (lame) - where did all these people come from?! To escape the teenagers, we went into the Skeff to hang out, and the barman made a shamrock in my Guinness! We went back down to the Spanish Arch after that, which had gotten even fuller since we had been there last, to meet up with some of the other Menlo girls.
In all that fine weather I got a little bit of sunburn!! Very exciting stuff. All in all an excellent day, even though I did miss Fergus singing the Rattlin' Bog song (see Julie's blog for a video).
One final crowd shot:
Monday, March 16, 2009
Visitors!
Before I went to Belfast, Hannah (my cousin, for those of you not related to me) sent me a message to say that she was going to be in Ireland that weekend for a funeral (some of her mom's family still live down in County Cork), and would I mind a visit? Pssh, of course not, says I! So, on Monday evening Hannah and I met up, and she stayed with me until Thursday morning! That night we stayed in to catch up, and she went to bed early after all her travels, and I finished a paper (crazy times here, let me tell you). The next day I had classes, and she wanted to explore, so she did. We went to McDonagh's for dinner, which means delicious fish and chips, then headed to Tigh Taaffe's for some music, where Ethan met up with us for some craic. We swapped over to Quays and heard another excellent band before heading home.
Last year, I took the best class ever, Tolkien and Lewis, and met a girl named Brittany, who, like the rest of the class, shares my geekish love for all things Tolkien and Lewis. We never really saw each other after the class, but this semester she is studying abroad/interning in London, so I've been following her blog on here. She was coming to Ireland for her spring break, so we agreed to meet up when she came to Galway. As you can read if you choose to stalk her blog, she had a generally lovely time on this fair isle, as I knew she would =) So, she got into Galway late on Tuesday, and Hannah and I wanted to spend Wednesday on a day trip to Connemara, so we invited Brittany along. However, we woke up to a heavy snowfall, so we decided to cancel that plan. The weather was pretty gross all day, so it was a good call. Brittany ended up going to the Cliffs of Moher for the day, and Hannah and I did some Galway wandering, which included a blissful hour browsing through Kenny's Bookstore, the best place ever. We went for dinner with Brittany, but it was too early to hit the pubs, so we all went back to Corrib Village for some tea, which, sadly, Brittany spilled on her sweater. BUT the good news is that Heather sent me some Oxy Clean spray, which worked like a charm (go Heather!). We went downtown to the Spanish Arch Hotel to meet up with Jess and Jaye to hear another band, who were a cool mix of Spanish and Irish members, and I bought their CD.
Hannah left the next morning to spend a couple days in Dublin before heading home. It was so good to see her!! I haven't really been homesick, but I miss my family... there are so many of them, I'm used to having at least some of them around! And I hadn't seen Hannah in a really really long time, so that was a bonus. I met Brittany for dinner that night (McDonagh's! Score!) but, due to a cold of doom, I was forced to be lame and head home instead of joining her for some music and a pint. I can't always be winning, you know. But it was really nice to see Brittany again! The rest of that week and the weekend were spent recuperating from my cold (so many tissues... even the mansize! And yes, they have a classification of large tissues here called "Man size") and not writing my papers, so that was all very quiet and restful... getting me ready for this weekend, when Laura came to visit!!
Last year, I took the best class ever, Tolkien and Lewis, and met a girl named Brittany, who, like the rest of the class, shares my geekish love for all things Tolkien and Lewis. We never really saw each other after the class, but this semester she is studying abroad/interning in London, so I've been following her blog on here. She was coming to Ireland for her spring break, so we agreed to meet up when she came to Galway. As you can read if you choose to stalk her blog, she had a generally lovely time on this fair isle, as I knew she would =) So, she got into Galway late on Tuesday, and Hannah and I wanted to spend Wednesday on a day trip to Connemara, so we invited Brittany along. However, we woke up to a heavy snowfall, so we decided to cancel that plan. The weather was pretty gross all day, so it was a good call. Brittany ended up going to the Cliffs of Moher for the day, and Hannah and I did some Galway wandering, which included a blissful hour browsing through Kenny's Bookstore, the best place ever. We went for dinner with Brittany, but it was too early to hit the pubs, so we all went back to Corrib Village for some tea, which, sadly, Brittany spilled on her sweater. BUT the good news is that Heather sent me some Oxy Clean spray, which worked like a charm (go Heather!). We went downtown to the Spanish Arch Hotel to meet up with Jess and Jaye to hear another band, who were a cool mix of Spanish and Irish members, and I bought their CD.
Hannah left the next morning to spend a couple days in Dublin before heading home. It was so good to see her!! I haven't really been homesick, but I miss my family... there are so many of them, I'm used to having at least some of them around! And I hadn't seen Hannah in a really really long time, so that was a bonus. I met Brittany for dinner that night (McDonagh's! Score!) but, due to a cold of doom, I was forced to be lame and head home instead of joining her for some music and a pint. I can't always be winning, you know. But it was really nice to see Brittany again! The rest of that week and the weekend were spent recuperating from my cold (so many tissues... even the mansize! And yes, they have a classification of large tissues here called "Man size") and not writing my papers, so that was all very quiet and restful... getting me ready for this weekend, when Laura came to visit!!
Belfast, continued: Exploring the city
We slept in on Sunday, tired after a day of sightseeing (and sprinting up hills) and a late night watching episodes of a great BBC show called Merlin (pretty amazing). When we eventually got up, we decided to stroll through the Botanical Gardens next to Queens before heading downtown to explore. The gardens were lovely, although it was still too early for some of the parts, but daffodils and other early spring flowers were all over. We went into the tropical building and saw fishes and Spanish moss and other cool plants and things that made us think of Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. You walk around the upper level, and there's a path running down that takes you into the lower section, but it was closed off, and we were sad. Next, to the greenhouse to see lovely flowers all in bloom. A mother and her little boy came through, and she was in raptures, "Aren't they lovely, just lovely." The boy, however, had screwed up his face, "It's a horrible smell, ugh..." This exchange repeated itself several times, all in their charming accents. The accents of the North are closer to Scottish accents, which was interesting to hear after getting used to the accents here. Sidenote: yesterday, at mass, we had a visiting priest who is from Ireland but is currently in the Diocese of Atlanta, so his accent was SO Americanized, and it was very strange to hear. Not, of course, that I never hear American accents, but every now and then his Irish accent would slip back in, and the combo was strange.
So, after seeing the plantlife we went downtown, which is very large and full of a mix of shopping and historical buildings. During our explorations, we came across an alley-thing with a statue mounted on the side of one of the buildings in it, so we went through the muralled (as in, covered in paintings) tunnel to explore and found it was of Jim Larkin, who we had never heard of, but who I found out later is pretty famous for his work in the labor movement. Fun stuff. We also saw Prince Albert on the clock tower, which leans a bit due to the river running underneath it, and lots and lots of rainbows! We pondered the Salmon of Knowledge, whose scales are covered in pictures of historical people and events, and then it started to rain, but we found ground chimes!! A square on the ground of nine metal squares that each produced a different tone when you stepped on them!! It was great!! We made some lovely songs, but then it really started to rain, so we sprinted to a nearby courtyard to hunker under something for a while. We headed to Victoria Square, which is a semi-indoor, semi-outdoor shopping mall with a huge dome that you can go up into and see all around the city, which we did. We also went into the swanky department store and picked out furnishings for our apartment next year before heading to the really great toy section, where we were entranced by a jet-propelled penguin that can magnetically catch baby penguins on its back through the cunning use of magnets that they had in a small pool of water. I still rather regret not buying it. We also saw a beautiful building that, inside, had a beautifully painted dome - and it was a Tesco's supermarket. Ah Belfast.
We went to mass at 5, and after that we went to wander a bit more and find some dinner. The catch: downtown Belfast pretty much shuts down around 6 or 6:30. No one is around. Stores are no longer open. There are no restaurants except for a couple expensive ones. What to do? Well, we headed back to Victoria Square for some good ol' Irish Chilis. Yep, you heard me. It was really good. We wound our way home after that, passing one store in particular that had really stellar mannequins (see shutterfly), and stopped in to the Crown Pub for a pint, which is a cool, cozy little place with little booths that have doors. The next morning I was catching an uber-early bus, so we woke up at some obscene darkish hour of the morning and I headed off for my long, long bus ride back to Galway. It's always nice to get back, even though I had a really great time exploring Belfast and especially at the Giants Causeway. Whenever the bus passes the Oranmore stop, I know we're almost there! I'm so lame.
So, after seeing the plantlife we went downtown, which is very large and full of a mix of shopping and historical buildings. During our explorations, we came across an alley-thing with a statue mounted on the side of one of the buildings in it, so we went through the muralled (as in, covered in paintings) tunnel to explore and found it was of Jim Larkin, who we had never heard of, but who I found out later is pretty famous for his work in the labor movement. Fun stuff. We also saw Prince Albert on the clock tower, which leans a bit due to the river running underneath it, and lots and lots of rainbows! We pondered the Salmon of Knowledge, whose scales are covered in pictures of historical people and events, and then it started to rain, but we found ground chimes!! A square on the ground of nine metal squares that each produced a different tone when you stepped on them!! It was great!! We made some lovely songs, but then it really started to rain, so we sprinted to a nearby courtyard to hunker under something for a while. We headed to Victoria Square, which is a semi-indoor, semi-outdoor shopping mall with a huge dome that you can go up into and see all around the city, which we did. We also went into the swanky department store and picked out furnishings for our apartment next year before heading to the really great toy section, where we were entranced by a jet-propelled penguin that can magnetically catch baby penguins on its back through the cunning use of magnets that they had in a small pool of water. I still rather regret not buying it. We also saw a beautiful building that, inside, had a beautifully painted dome - and it was a Tesco's supermarket. Ah Belfast.
We went to mass at 5, and after that we went to wander a bit more and find some dinner. The catch: downtown Belfast pretty much shuts down around 6 or 6:30. No one is around. Stores are no longer open. There are no restaurants except for a couple expensive ones. What to do? Well, we headed back to Victoria Square for some good ol' Irish Chilis. Yep, you heard me. It was really good. We wound our way home after that, passing one store in particular that had really stellar mannequins (see shutterfly), and stopped in to the Crown Pub for a pint, which is a cool, cozy little place with little booths that have doors. The next morning I was catching an uber-early bus, so we woke up at some obscene darkish hour of the morning and I headed off for my long, long bus ride back to Galway. It's always nice to get back, even though I had a really great time exploring Belfast and especially at the Giants Causeway. Whenever the bus passes the Oranmore stop, I know we're almost there! I'm so lame.
In which I go to Belfast to visit Laura
Alright, I'm going to not be quite as longwinded as I usually am (or try not to be, anyway) in the interest of getting caught up with my blog, which has fallen sadly out of date. My friend Laura from Pitt, with whom I will be living next year, is studying at Queen's in Belfast this semester after having spent last semester in Dublin, so I haven't seen her in forever, so when we both had a free weekend I decided to head up and crash at her place for a few days. I left on Friday (27 Feb.) later than I probably should have (it's a 7 or 8 hour trip), but I wanted to go to my classes (lame, I know). The trip involves changing buses in Dublin, and I got to the station literally 3 minutes after my other bus left, so I hung out for an hour at the Dublin station before catching the next one. I got into Belfast at 12:30, and the bus let us out in a dark alley, no lie. So I called Laura, who was waiting in the nearby hotel, and she came to get me, but she had a new haircut that I was unaware of, so this small, short-haired, bespectacled person is coming towards me down the dark alley... but it was her, so that was lovely. Her housing is dorm-style, and her floor was having a pirate party, which was enthusiastically attended by what looked like the whole building and then some. We retired to her room to chat and relax until about 2 am, when the fire alarm went off, so we went for a walk and got food.
The next day we took a bus tour to the Giants Causeway, which is an incredible section of the Antrim coast formed by volcanos 60 million years ago (or by dueling giants... hence the name. Long story.). On the way we saw lots of stunning coast and countryside. Taking a bus tour in the North had distinct differences from tours in the Republic: as we drove through Belfast on our way out, our guide pointed out which buildings had been damaged by bombs during the Troubles, and as we drove along he pointed out the highly fortified police stations and gave us a short history of the military movements in the area during the Troubles up to the present day. It was surreal the following week, when those soldiers, pizza boys, and policemen were shot, to know that I had seen similar fortifications only a week earlier, had heard the guide talking about how much better it was now that the violence had stopped after the Good Friday agreement. Crazy.
Our first stop was the castle at Carrickfergus, and yes, I sang the song. It's very pretty and right on the water. There's a statue of William of Orange (I shook a righteous fist) next to the car park and a statue of a guard along the battlements, which made me laugh a little. Laura and I scaled the wall a little way up and had general climbing merriment (the guard continued to point his gun in the opposite direction... he had no idea...). When we walked over to the water, there were tourist children in little grated openings in the walls, looking like they were imprisoned, and that was sort of funny too (don't worry, they were eventually released after a short spell in the stocks). The countryside continued to be gorgeous as we traveled along, seeing more of the coast and mountains, driving inland a bit through the glens, and through villages. According to our driver, the smaller villages are pretty much either exclusively Catholic or Protestant, and you can tell by the presence of the Union Jack (or lack thereof). Also, we saw some murals, which I was really interested in, in one of the Protestant villages, which was cool. They also paint the stones along the sidewalks red, white, and blue.
We stopped off at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which was so cool. It's really for fishermen crossing over to the little connecting islands, but it's also a stellar tourist spot (come pay to walk across our bridge!). Anyway, we had a good time, touristy or not. It's sort of cliffy, and there were cool little caves at the bases that you could see while on the bridge. We went from there to Giants Causeway, and the rocks there are just incredible: perfect hexagons, and pillars, and piles of them to climb around on, and crashing waves. We took pictures standing in the Giant's Boot (a rock that looks like a boot) and climbed the paths up the mountain to more cool pillared stones amid the grass and plantlife. We did much exploring and scrambling on rocks and being queen of the elements and/or mountain, and just soaking in how incredible of a place it was. Such an unpicturesque island I chose to come to... The visitor's center and car park are at the top of a pretty steep hill that you walk down to get to the Causeway, and there's a shuttle bus that runs up and down regularly, so we decided to catch it on the way up. We waited. And waited. And waited. Our own tour bus was going to be leaving soon, so we headed off at a quick pace and ultimately sprinted up the hill (I hate physical exertion. So much.) to get back to the bus, which was starting to leave without us. We had to endure the walk of shame as we walked down the aisle to our seats, red and sweaty and windblown from our trek up the cliff. We stopped again to see a huge sprawling castle ruin on the edge of the sea, which was really lovely. A little way out from the castle you can see something pointing up out of the water, which is the spire of a church. There was a town there on an island that is now submerged. This happened relatively recently, our driver told us. It was so weird! Knowing there was a village out there. It's terribly sad, but I really want to take a little boat out and see it, you know? Our final stop was the Bushmills Distillery to pick up some whiskey and observe the making-process. We were cutting it close to closing time, but we had just enough time to get in and get out, but as we started to go in we were shunted back by a security guard... apparently THAT day they were closing a little early. Lame. Our fault? I think not. The driver told some lame jokes on our drive back into Belfast while we alternately dozed and appreciated the lovely scenery. We went out for pizza that night (delicious!) and got some snacks to settle in to her room for an evening in. Turns out I was still longwinded, so I'll continue the Belfast tale soon.
The next day we took a bus tour to the Giants Causeway, which is an incredible section of the Antrim coast formed by volcanos 60 million years ago (or by dueling giants... hence the name. Long story.). On the way we saw lots of stunning coast and countryside. Taking a bus tour in the North had distinct differences from tours in the Republic: as we drove through Belfast on our way out, our guide pointed out which buildings had been damaged by bombs during the Troubles, and as we drove along he pointed out the highly fortified police stations and gave us a short history of the military movements in the area during the Troubles up to the present day. It was surreal the following week, when those soldiers, pizza boys, and policemen were shot, to know that I had seen similar fortifications only a week earlier, had heard the guide talking about how much better it was now that the violence had stopped after the Good Friday agreement. Crazy.
Our first stop was the castle at Carrickfergus, and yes, I sang the song. It's very pretty and right on the water. There's a statue of William of Orange (I shook a righteous fist) next to the car park and a statue of a guard along the battlements, which made me laugh a little. Laura and I scaled the wall a little way up and had general climbing merriment (the guard continued to point his gun in the opposite direction... he had no idea...). When we walked over to the water, there were tourist children in little grated openings in the walls, looking like they were imprisoned, and that was sort of funny too (don't worry, they were eventually released after a short spell in the stocks). The countryside continued to be gorgeous as we traveled along, seeing more of the coast and mountains, driving inland a bit through the glens, and through villages. According to our driver, the smaller villages are pretty much either exclusively Catholic or Protestant, and you can tell by the presence of the Union Jack (or lack thereof). Also, we saw some murals, which I was really interested in, in one of the Protestant villages, which was cool. They also paint the stones along the sidewalks red, white, and blue.
We stopped off at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which was so cool. It's really for fishermen crossing over to the little connecting islands, but it's also a stellar tourist spot (come pay to walk across our bridge!). Anyway, we had a good time, touristy or not. It's sort of cliffy, and there were cool little caves at the bases that you could see while on the bridge. We went from there to Giants Causeway, and the rocks there are just incredible: perfect hexagons, and pillars, and piles of them to climb around on, and crashing waves. We took pictures standing in the Giant's Boot (a rock that looks like a boot) and climbed the paths up the mountain to more cool pillared stones amid the grass and plantlife. We did much exploring and scrambling on rocks and being queen of the elements and/or mountain, and just soaking in how incredible of a place it was. Such an unpicturesque island I chose to come to... The visitor's center and car park are at the top of a pretty steep hill that you walk down to get to the Causeway, and there's a shuttle bus that runs up and down regularly, so we decided to catch it on the way up. We waited. And waited. And waited. Our own tour bus was going to be leaving soon, so we headed off at a quick pace and ultimately sprinted up the hill (I hate physical exertion. So much.) to get back to the bus, which was starting to leave without us. We had to endure the walk of shame as we walked down the aisle to our seats, red and sweaty and windblown from our trek up the cliff. We stopped again to see a huge sprawling castle ruin on the edge of the sea, which was really lovely. A little way out from the castle you can see something pointing up out of the water, which is the spire of a church. There was a town there on an island that is now submerged. This happened relatively recently, our driver told us. It was so weird! Knowing there was a village out there. It's terribly sad, but I really want to take a little boat out and see it, you know? Our final stop was the Bushmills Distillery to pick up some whiskey and observe the making-process. We were cutting it close to closing time, but we had just enough time to get in and get out, but as we started to go in we were shunted back by a security guard... apparently THAT day they were closing a little early. Lame. Our fault? I think not. The driver told some lame jokes on our drive back into Belfast while we alternately dozed and appreciated the lovely scenery. We went out for pizza that night (delicious!) and got some snacks to settle in to her room for an evening in. Turns out I was still longwinded, so I'll continue the Belfast tale soon.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Paris!! Day 3
I was GETTING to this point, Julie, but since you insist, I will mention it first. One of the biggest parts of our trip to Paris was a man named Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Technically, it was a large ad of his for a clothing line, I believe. If you don't recognize the name, he's an actor, so go imdb him, and he's also the one true love of Julie. There are many large multi-sided signboards throughout the city with advertisements and posters on them, and basically, wherever we were in Paris, Jonathan would lead us down the right way: "Um, I'm not really sure which road it is... oh look, there's Jonathan!" and that would be the correct way. "I'm really hungry, I could really use... oh look, Jonathan!" and there would be the perfect restaurant. It was really uncanny, but I tell you the complete truth. Anytime we needed something, he was there, smirking down at us with those lovely eyes (and, frankly, an unfortunate goatee as well), leading us on.
So, Sunday came, and Finn (my program leader) was taking whoever wanted to go to mass up to Sacre Coeur, the beautiful church on the top of Montmartre. There are many, many, many stairs up to the church, giving the Rufus Wainwright song "Complaint de la Butte" from Moulin Rouge a whole new meaning: "the stairways up to the butte can make the wretched sigh, while windmill wings of the Moulin shelter you and I." Anyway, ponder that as you will, and I refer you to my pictures for a visual. At the base of the staircases is a carousel, which is fun, and as you go up there are people selling things for tourists and things. Now, if you look back at my pictures of the Eiffel Tower, there is one that shows a line of men holding large metal rings, which held Eiffel Tower keychains and things to sell to you. Here, on the stairs of Montmartre, there are "string salesmen," or so I have termed them. They form a line across the stairs, and if you pass too close to them and they can grab your arm, they wrap a type of string around your wrist and apply heat to it to make it into a bracelet of sorts, then insist that you pay for it. I didn't know this at the time, but as we approached where the men were, Finn hissed "keep your hands at your sides, keep them down, don't make eye contact." We all made it through un-stringed, you'll be glad to hear.
When you finally reach the top (Julie and I took the last flight Rocky-style), you are treated to the dueling gorgeous views of the church in front of you and a panoramic of the city behind you. Mass was in French of course, but we could follow along in the programs (written, French and Spanish are similar enough that I could pick out some things). The singing was breathtaking... I'm really running out of adjectives here, people, I'm sorry. Anyway, they were Benedictine nuns, and they sang in multi-part harmony sometimes and other times it was just the one, but it was beautiful, especially in combo with the super-intense organ music going on. We also joined in the singing, since it was printed for us, and I think we did pretty well.
Julie and I met up with Jaye, Jess, and Shaina after mass for our first foray onto the transportation systems of Paris and from thence on to Versailles! Finn had given us day passes for the Metro, so we took that to Notre Dame, where we would pick up the train. We stopped off for some lunch (paninis and crepes from an outdoor shop) and then headed out. After some initial difficulties trying to buy tickets (yes Julie, you were right) our train came conveniently quickly, so we hopped on and headed out of the city. Versailles is a whole new kind of insane: I've seen my share of castles at this point, but I'd never seen a PALACE. Certainly not one with gold everywhere, and statues, and incredible ceilings and paintings and fabric-covered walls and decorative pillars inside of rooms and huge long halls of paintings and busts of war heroes and battles and of course the Hall of Mirrors. Go look at my pictures please. We stood in a long long line to get in, but totally worth it: not only did we get to go in, of course, but we also got to be treated to "Monsieur le Desk," the very cute French man working at a desk in the ticket office (he gives out information, we had to pass him to buy tickets), who very charmingly talked to us in French until I said we didn't understand, so then he swapped over and gave us English maps of the palace. Such a nice boy... I liked his hair so much (name the quote!). After making our way through the many sections of the palace we went out to the famed gardens, which, despite the fact that it was not quite prime viewing season, were nonetheless great. We met up with Ethan, Mike, and some of the others while we were out, which was nice, and they wandered with us for a bit before heading in, since they hadn't seen the inside yet. The shrubbery (with a path! a path!) was in lots of fun shapes, including "umbrella" and "pointy cone shape," the former of which Jess and Jaye crouched under, and the latter of which Mike said "I want to go touch that tree," and proceeded to do so, because it was so perfect. We also found thrilling statues of "Lion Crushing Scary Boar Thing" and "Lion Crushing Genitals of Large Hound."
We had just enough time when we got back to Paris to hit up a bakery for some baguettes and pain au chocolat before meeting up with the group to go to the airport. We were at the airport FOREVER waiting in a HUGE security line from hell, but we eventually got through and back to Shannon, where our driver was waiting, and we headed home. We dropped off the Menlo people first, leaving the seven of us Corrib Villagers to stretch out after a long cramped ride, and arrived at the village to find that RAG week had indeed started. We were met by the extra security, who checked the outside of our bus (for clingers-on? are we in a James Bond film?) before letting us through. The merriment had started, the "party patio" below us was getting into gear, their playlist (which would haunt us throughout the week with songs like "Who Let the Dogs Out?: Remix" and a selection of odd techno-like sounds) pounding. We made it through the week alright, it almost died out by Wednesday, but picked up for Thursday, the final hurrah. It was definitely an experience, and apparently it was so crazy this year (there was a mass arrest, I hear) that they've canceled it for next year. A pity, really, since I hear they raised a good chunk of money. Ah well. *Hums "Making Memories" from the Disney sing-a-long songs video*
"Ou est la piscine?"
So, Sunday came, and Finn (my program leader) was taking whoever wanted to go to mass up to Sacre Coeur, the beautiful church on the top of Montmartre. There are many, many, many stairs up to the church, giving the Rufus Wainwright song "Complaint de la Butte" from Moulin Rouge a whole new meaning: "the stairways up to the butte can make the wretched sigh, while windmill wings of the Moulin shelter you and I." Anyway, ponder that as you will, and I refer you to my pictures for a visual. At the base of the staircases is a carousel, which is fun, and as you go up there are people selling things for tourists and things. Now, if you look back at my pictures of the Eiffel Tower, there is one that shows a line of men holding large metal rings, which held Eiffel Tower keychains and things to sell to you. Here, on the stairs of Montmartre, there are "string salesmen," or so I have termed them. They form a line across the stairs, and if you pass too close to them and they can grab your arm, they wrap a type of string around your wrist and apply heat to it to make it into a bracelet of sorts, then insist that you pay for it. I didn't know this at the time, but as we approached where the men were, Finn hissed "keep your hands at your sides, keep them down, don't make eye contact." We all made it through un-stringed, you'll be glad to hear.
When you finally reach the top (Julie and I took the last flight Rocky-style), you are treated to the dueling gorgeous views of the church in front of you and a panoramic of the city behind you. Mass was in French of course, but we could follow along in the programs (written, French and Spanish are similar enough that I could pick out some things). The singing was breathtaking... I'm really running out of adjectives here, people, I'm sorry. Anyway, they were Benedictine nuns, and they sang in multi-part harmony sometimes and other times it was just the one, but it was beautiful, especially in combo with the super-intense organ music going on. We also joined in the singing, since it was printed for us, and I think we did pretty well.
Julie and I met up with Jaye, Jess, and Shaina after mass for our first foray onto the transportation systems of Paris and from thence on to Versailles! Finn had given us day passes for the Metro, so we took that to Notre Dame, where we would pick up the train. We stopped off for some lunch (paninis and crepes from an outdoor shop) and then headed out. After some initial difficulties trying to buy tickets (yes Julie, you were right) our train came conveniently quickly, so we hopped on and headed out of the city. Versailles is a whole new kind of insane: I've seen my share of castles at this point, but I'd never seen a PALACE. Certainly not one with gold everywhere, and statues, and incredible ceilings and paintings and fabric-covered walls and decorative pillars inside of rooms and huge long halls of paintings and busts of war heroes and battles and of course the Hall of Mirrors. Go look at my pictures please. We stood in a long long line to get in, but totally worth it: not only did we get to go in, of course, but we also got to be treated to "Monsieur le Desk," the very cute French man working at a desk in the ticket office (he gives out information, we had to pass him to buy tickets), who very charmingly talked to us in French until I said we didn't understand, so then he swapped over and gave us English maps of the palace. Such a nice boy... I liked his hair so much (name the quote!). After making our way through the many sections of the palace we went out to the famed gardens, which, despite the fact that it was not quite prime viewing season, were nonetheless great. We met up with Ethan, Mike, and some of the others while we were out, which was nice, and they wandered with us for a bit before heading in, since they hadn't seen the inside yet. The shrubbery (with a path! a path!) was in lots of fun shapes, including "umbrella" and "pointy cone shape," the former of which Jess and Jaye crouched under, and the latter of which Mike said "I want to go touch that tree," and proceeded to do so, because it was so perfect. We also found thrilling statues of "Lion Crushing Scary Boar Thing" and "Lion Crushing Genitals of Large Hound."
We had just enough time when we got back to Paris to hit up a bakery for some baguettes and pain au chocolat before meeting up with the group to go to the airport. We were at the airport FOREVER waiting in a HUGE security line from hell, but we eventually got through and back to Shannon, where our driver was waiting, and we headed home. We dropped off the Menlo people first, leaving the seven of us Corrib Villagers to stretch out after a long cramped ride, and arrived at the village to find that RAG week had indeed started. We were met by the extra security, who checked the outside of our bus (for clingers-on? are we in a James Bond film?) before letting us through. The merriment had started, the "party patio" below us was getting into gear, their playlist (which would haunt us throughout the week with songs like "Who Let the Dogs Out?: Remix" and a selection of odd techno-like sounds) pounding. We made it through the week alright, it almost died out by Wednesday, but picked up for Thursday, the final hurrah. It was definitely an experience, and apparently it was so crazy this year (there was a mass arrest, I hear) that they've canceled it for next year. A pity, really, since I hear they raised a good chunk of money. Ah well. *Hums "Making Memories" from the Disney sing-a-long songs video*
"Ou est la piscine?"
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Paris, Part 2
Sorry I fail at keeping this blog... So, Saturday morning we partook of the stellar breakfast offered by the hotel before heading out for a bus tour to hit the tourist highlights, including the Champs D'Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, the Trocadero (which serves as an excellent viewing place for the Eiffel Tower), and Les Invalides. The Arc was fun, because it's surrounded by the roundabout of ruination and despair (if you even think about crossing it, a car will hit you, just to save time), but there's an underground passageway that takes you right up under it, so you can see all the gigantor sculptures and things (quote: "That guy's hand is all over that guy's thigh!"). There was also a very cute policeman there as well - bonus! We finished up the tour at Notre Dame, where we were once again made paranoid about pickpockets before going inside. GORGEOUS. SO incredible (or, should I say, incroyable?). And no one was pickpocketed! We then had the rest of the day to as we liked, so we walked around outside a bit before setting out. There were a group of three immigrant women taking it in turns to dress up in shiny gold robes and Egyptian masks in the hopes of collecting money, and I took a picture because, well, she was shiny! An old homeless French man came up to me and asked why I would take a picture of that, and I said "something to look at, I don't know" (clearly I was full of wit that day), but he didn't quite understand me, so I said, "it's just sort of fun," and he shrugged but looked satisfied, "ok," and walked away. Ah Paris.
We (Jaye, Julie, Jess, Shaina, and I) went down a sidestreet to find some lunch and got gyros at an adorable restaurant. We ate in their underground cave, all nicely decorated with Greek paintings and such. We went across the road for gelato and did a little touristy shopping, then headed off along the Seine to look at the vendors and make our way to the Pere LaChaise Cemetery. We walked past the Bastille Memorial and through the hipster part of town, full of cool stores and people in lots of black leather. When we got nearer to the cemetery, we found ourselves blocked by a vibrant rally/protest thing. Our French skills (hello, the check please, I would like a baguette and cheese) were not quite sufficient to allow us to know what it was all about, but many people had identical stickers (see picture on Shutterfly) that mentioned the Antilles. Many of the people in the rally were black, so I don't know if they were all immigrants and that was what it was about or what, but there was much shouting by the rally leader, and singing, and you couldn't help feeling a little stirred up yourself. Mob mentality, I suppose. There were some fears that we might be tear-gassed if we lingered too long (we were only there for about a minute), so we found a break in the parade line and moved on.
Pere LaChaise Cemetary is the resting place of many many famous people in the arts world, as well as regular families. We went because Julie wanted to see Jim Morrison's grave, but we also wanted to see Oscar Wilde. We also saw Moliere and Proust. I looked and looked for Chopin (they give you maps to help you find the famous people) but I just couldn't find him, and sadly Georges Serault was in a different part of the cemetery that we didn't make it to. It's an incredible place, eerie and beautiful and awesome, which is why I took so many pictures. If graves skeev you out, you should avoid that section of photos. We then headed the long long way back to our hotel to rest before dinner - Jaye has a friend studying in Paris, so she was going to come out with us. We had a lovely walk, past the Place de la Republique, but it did go on for ever and ever, so it was nice to get back to the hotel. Shaina and I collapsed in my room and watched some Pink Panther. At one point later in the night, we were in the lobby, and some boys walked past us to leave the hotel, and said "bonjour!" to us, to which I replied, "bon nuit," and then one of them said "nighty-night" in his regular British accent, to which Julie replied "g'night." The boy laughed and called to his friends, "they're English, you twats!"
So we went to dinner, and had delicious food, and had some awkward conversation with the waiter, who was from Algeria, and who, through a sad combination of overhearing part of something Jess said and misinterpreting a joke, thought that we were on the prowl for men. After he gave us the check, he very very awkwardly stopped an acquaintance of his from leaving (we were sitting in the enclosed outside area) and asked us, "he's handsome, isn't he?" After he gave us the check, he hovered, not even kidding waiting for us to ask for his number. We refrained. We walked the couple blocks down to see the Moulin Rouge by night, and it's cool with the windmill all lit up and people everywhere. Crepes were purchased, and we headed back towards the hotel, and our walk was peppered with catcalls and things. Julie and I walk a little faster than the others, so we were walking in two groups, and at one point, as we came upon a group of boys around our age I guess, one of them took a swig of beer, turned to us, and spat it at us. Technically, it skimmed my scarf and the front of my coat, and Julie got the brunt of it (all on her hand-knitted-by-Grandma scarf!). We said nothing but walked on, faster, and speedwalked our way back to the hotel, where we waited and commiserated over our beer-spit smell while the others walked Jaye's friend to the Metro. Not the highlight of the trip. The others came back and we hung out a little before heading to bed, because Sunday was a big day: Sacre Coeur and Versailles!! Which I will tell you about another time. And my trip to Belfast. Eventually.
We (Jaye, Julie, Jess, Shaina, and I) went down a sidestreet to find some lunch and got gyros at an adorable restaurant. We ate in their underground cave, all nicely decorated with Greek paintings and such. We went across the road for gelato and did a little touristy shopping, then headed off along the Seine to look at the vendors and make our way to the Pere LaChaise Cemetery. We walked past the Bastille Memorial and through the hipster part of town, full of cool stores and people in lots of black leather. When we got nearer to the cemetery, we found ourselves blocked by a vibrant rally/protest thing. Our French skills (hello, the check please, I would like a baguette and cheese) were not quite sufficient to allow us to know what it was all about, but many people had identical stickers (see picture on Shutterfly) that mentioned the Antilles. Many of the people in the rally were black, so I don't know if they were all immigrants and that was what it was about or what, but there was much shouting by the rally leader, and singing, and you couldn't help feeling a little stirred up yourself. Mob mentality, I suppose. There were some fears that we might be tear-gassed if we lingered too long (we were only there for about a minute), so we found a break in the parade line and moved on.
Pere LaChaise Cemetary is the resting place of many many famous people in the arts world, as well as regular families. We went because Julie wanted to see Jim Morrison's grave, but we also wanted to see Oscar Wilde. We also saw Moliere and Proust. I looked and looked for Chopin (they give you maps to help you find the famous people) but I just couldn't find him, and sadly Georges Serault was in a different part of the cemetery that we didn't make it to. It's an incredible place, eerie and beautiful and awesome, which is why I took so many pictures. If graves skeev you out, you should avoid that section of photos. We then headed the long long way back to our hotel to rest before dinner - Jaye has a friend studying in Paris, so she was going to come out with us. We had a lovely walk, past the Place de la Republique, but it did go on for ever and ever, so it was nice to get back to the hotel. Shaina and I collapsed in my room and watched some Pink Panther. At one point later in the night, we were in the lobby, and some boys walked past us to leave the hotel, and said "bonjour!" to us, to which I replied, "bon nuit," and then one of them said "nighty-night" in his regular British accent, to which Julie replied "g'night." The boy laughed and called to his friends, "they're English, you twats!"
So we went to dinner, and had delicious food, and had some awkward conversation with the waiter, who was from Algeria, and who, through a sad combination of overhearing part of something Jess said and misinterpreting a joke, thought that we were on the prowl for men. After he gave us the check, he very very awkwardly stopped an acquaintance of his from leaving (we were sitting in the enclosed outside area) and asked us, "he's handsome, isn't he?" After he gave us the check, he hovered, not even kidding waiting for us to ask for his number. We refrained. We walked the couple blocks down to see the Moulin Rouge by night, and it's cool with the windmill all lit up and people everywhere. Crepes were purchased, and we headed back towards the hotel, and our walk was peppered with catcalls and things. Julie and I walk a little faster than the others, so we were walking in two groups, and at one point, as we came upon a group of boys around our age I guess, one of them took a swig of beer, turned to us, and spat it at us. Technically, it skimmed my scarf and the front of my coat, and Julie got the brunt of it (all on her hand-knitted-by-Grandma scarf!). We said nothing but walked on, faster, and speedwalked our way back to the hotel, where we waited and commiserated over our beer-spit smell while the others walked Jaye's friend to the Metro. Not the highlight of the trip. The others came back and we hung out a little before heading to bed, because Sunday was a big day: Sacre Coeur and Versailles!! Which I will tell you about another time. And my trip to Belfast. Eventually.
Monday, February 23, 2009
PARIS!!! Day 1
First, I'd like to start by explaining that this week is RAG week. It started in the forties as a charity week to "raise a grand," and it still is that, but it's also an occasion where everyone drinks all the time. Not just every night, but all day too. There are bands throughout the city, we saw a fire juggler/eater lasst night on Shop Street, and several f the clubs are having "foam parties," where people basically dance around in foam. We went out last night, and it was pretty crazy on the streets, but it was also a fun atmosphere. The people I was with weren't getting drunk, just having a couple drinks and listening to music - we found a really great traditional music band at the Quays - but everyone else in town seems to want to quaff as much as they can fit into their systems. Corrib Village has also stepped up security, hiring extra people and cracking down on checking CV IDs. Yesterday evening, around dinner time, Mike, Ethan, Kristen, and I were in the living room, Kristen and I on our computers, the boys watching soccer, when someone knocked violently on our door. We thought it was the boys downstairs, so Kristen went to get it. A second later, a very large man strides into our kitchen and looks around seriously at us for a minute as we stare back. "Did a boy in a brown jumper run through here?" Uh... no. He stares around again, then just walks out. It was hardcore. And weird. But anyway, Paris!
I took well over 400 pictures this weekend, because Paris is absolutely gorgeous, and because I think pictures are fun. Still, I managed to whittle them down to about 350 or so, which is what you'll eventually find on shutterfly (only Friday is up now). We were picked up Friday morning at 6am to get to Shannon airport. The beginning of our trip was rather uneventful. Once we got to France, we met up with the API groups from Limerick and Cork (who were just not as cool as us... not even kidding) and headed into the city, about an hour away by bus. The first thing we noticed: we were driving on the right again!! It was the strangest sensation, not knowing if it felt more right or wrong. We got into Paris and to our hotel, the Carlton, which is at the base of Montmartre and two blocks down from the red light district and the Moulin Rouge. Just to contextualize, my soundtrack for the weekend included "Foux De FaFa" by Flight of the Conchords, "Complaint de la Butte" by Rufus Wainwright, "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" from Anastasia, "Via Con Me" by Paolo Conte (yes, it's Italian. Go watch French Kiss and you'll understand.), and "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.
We settled into our hotel (I was rooming with one of the Cork girls) and had a little while to go eat before getting picked up for our trip to the Louvre. Jess, Jaye, Shaina, and I went to a nearby restaurant, "Au Rendez Vous," and got Croque Monsieur, which is grilled ham and cheese, but it's really more like a grilled hm sandwich with cheese melted on top. It was delicious, in any case. I only know a very little French, but enough to get by, so we were able to be pretty conversant once we all cobbled our French knowledge together. Well, we could order and ask for the check, ask where things were, say we don't understand or don't speak French, etc. We went to the Louvre, and it was breathtaking. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours, so we split up ino groups with tour guides and got the "highlights" version of the Louvre, which included the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo among other things. Apart from all of the incredible art, just the building itself is stunning, as you'll see from all of the ceiling pictures I took. I don't usually like to take pictures in museums, but I tried to capture as much of the feeling of it as I could so you could start to understand if you haven't been there. Trying to get to see the Mona Lisa was crazy, everyone pushing and shoving and crowding and putting their cameras in your way all while you're trying to just see it and keep from being pickpocketed.
After the Louvre, we all split off to do whatever we liked. I think it was about 9 pm at this point, so we wanted to go eat dinner. We walked through the vibrant streets of Paris, past the Opera House, past countless apartment buildings with the charming railings, and ended up at La Pharaon restaurant, where some people got dessert and I got a baguette and Brie - delicious!! We walked the rest of the way home and stopped at the grocery store (MUCH cheaper than in Ireland) for more baguettes and Brie, wine, and cookies and had an excellent night in the hotel. The next day we had a bus tour in the morning and free time for the rest of the day, so more to follow...
I took well over 400 pictures this weekend, because Paris is absolutely gorgeous, and because I think pictures are fun. Still, I managed to whittle them down to about 350 or so, which is what you'll eventually find on shutterfly (only Friday is up now). We were picked up Friday morning at 6am to get to Shannon airport. The beginning of our trip was rather uneventful. Once we got to France, we met up with the API groups from Limerick and Cork (who were just not as cool as us... not even kidding) and headed into the city, about an hour away by bus. The first thing we noticed: we were driving on the right again!! It was the strangest sensation, not knowing if it felt more right or wrong. We got into Paris and to our hotel, the Carlton, which is at the base of Montmartre and two blocks down from the red light district and the Moulin Rouge. Just to contextualize, my soundtrack for the weekend included "Foux De FaFa" by Flight of the Conchords, "Complaint de la Butte" by Rufus Wainwright, "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" from Anastasia, "Via Con Me" by Paolo Conte (yes, it's Italian. Go watch French Kiss and you'll understand.), and "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.
We settled into our hotel (I was rooming with one of the Cork girls) and had a little while to go eat before getting picked up for our trip to the Louvre. Jess, Jaye, Shaina, and I went to a nearby restaurant, "Au Rendez Vous," and got Croque Monsieur, which is grilled ham and cheese, but it's really more like a grilled hm sandwich with cheese melted on top. It was delicious, in any case. I only know a very little French, but enough to get by, so we were able to be pretty conversant once we all cobbled our French knowledge together. Well, we could order and ask for the check, ask where things were, say we don't understand or don't speak French, etc. We went to the Louvre, and it was breathtaking. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours, so we split up ino groups with tour guides and got the "highlights" version of the Louvre, which included the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo among other things. Apart from all of the incredible art, just the building itself is stunning, as you'll see from all of the ceiling pictures I took. I don't usually like to take pictures in museums, but I tried to capture as much of the feeling of it as I could so you could start to understand if you haven't been there. Trying to get to see the Mona Lisa was crazy, everyone pushing and shoving and crowding and putting their cameras in your way all while you're trying to just see it and keep from being pickpocketed.
After the Louvre, we all split off to do whatever we liked. I think it was about 9 pm at this point, so we wanted to go eat dinner. We walked through the vibrant streets of Paris, past the Opera House, past countless apartment buildings with the charming railings, and ended up at La Pharaon restaurant, where some people got dessert and I got a baguette and Brie - delicious!! We walked the rest of the way home and stopped at the grocery store (MUCH cheaper than in Ireland) for more baguettes and Brie, wine, and cookies and had an excellent night in the hotel. The next day we had a bus tour in the morning and free time for the rest of the day, so more to follow...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Twitter and other Geekiness/Travel
Well, as if Facebook, this blog, email, and my shutterfly site weren't enough for internet time wasting, I have recently joined the Twitter community. If you're unfamiliar, Twitter is basically a "status posting" kind of place, where you tell the world what you're up to throughout the day. It's a great way to stay connected, blah blah REALLY what it's about is following your favorite celebrities and indulging the impulse to have other people know and care about what you're doing. And I have joined! Yes, and, after finding a few friends I know on Twitter and following them (getting updates on their posts), I immediately started looking for celebs. I should insert now something about celebrity, and how it's so sad that we can't leave these people alone, and we shouldn't care so much about what they do. But I won't, because really that's just silly. I found Stephen Fry!! I get updates about what Stephen Fry does throughout his day! Also Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Greg Grunberg (Heroes). Why do I care? I dunno... maybe I'd like to be part of a larger sphere? Maybe I'm hopelessly curious about things that don't concern me? (a lifelong vice...) In any case, there we are. This all came about because I was (of course) stalking a friend of mine on facebook and read that she had been trying to get Stephen Fry to follow HER on Twitter, but had failed. So my new goal is to get Stephen Fry to follow me. Updates to follow.
Continuing on (I hope this all isn't too painful for you), Friday was the LOTR marathon on campus, and I had a great time as expected. My friend Jess met me there, and another girl I know was there, so it wasn't just me alone in a corner, fear not. There was actually a good showing, and other people (not the all-three-movies-so-we-can-get-a-t-shirt crowd) came throughout the day. As the first film started, and I began mouthing along to the opening monologue, I looked around and saw others doing the same... I was not alone! I like watching movies in a large group. The dynamics make it more enjoyable, don't you think? There was an hour break between the films, and they fed us sandwiches between 1 and 2, and pizza between 2 and 3. We watched youtube videos in between as well, which were mostly painful. Many of us were successful in remaining for the complete trilogy, and we should be getting our shirts soon - pictures will follow.
Paris is on Friday! We leave at six am, and get back around midnight on Sunday, so it's a full weekend. Our hotel is in Montmartre, pretty much down the street from the Moulin Rouge from what I could tell from the map and near Sacre Coeur Church. API has booked a bus tour for us on Saturday morning to hit the major tourist points - Champs d'Elysees, Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame - and a trip to the Louvre on Saturay evening, but otherwise we have free time to run off as we will and explore the city! I've never been to real Paris before (we won't speak of the hours in Charles de Gaulle...), and I can't wait to explore another part of Europe! Ireland is different from the US in its own ways, and I'm interested to see how things will be in Paris. I've been warned that upon entering a shop you should always greet the staff with "Bonjour!" or risk being shunned by their Parisian wrath. I am now imagining me setting off a string of "bonjour"s throughout the store, workers popping up from behind display cases and clothes rack to reply, resulting in a musical shift to the song from Beauty and the Beast.
This weekend, in a further attempt to not spend money, was spent quietly at home, reading, using the computer, hanging around the apartment. For Valentine's Day Kristen and I made Cadbury cupcakes, which were very tasty, but otherwise the holiday was, as always, not really necessary since I had no paper valentines to pass out to the class. Sunday passed in much the same way, minus the cupcakes, but I decided I needed to get out of the apartment. Next to the village, between us and the river, is a path that leads me to school in one direction and to unknown places in the other... so I went that way. I knew what was there, actually: Menlo Castle and some sports grounds, but I had never been there, so off I trekked. It's a lovely path, with some sort of marshy land at parts on either side. Menlo (or Menlough) Castle was built in 1569 and was inhabited, I believe, up until the beginning of the 20th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1910, and no one has fixed it, so there it stands in its ivy-covered half-burned glory. It's across the river, so another day's exploration will bring me across to scrabble amidst the rocks, if I can. After that I strolled through the woods and along the sports pitches until I came to neighborhoods (and a horse in a small field!) and from thence wound my way back to Corrib Village just as the rain was starting. I'm heading off downtown now to meet Jess, Julie, and Jaye (I'm considering changing my name to "Jora") at La Salsa for some Mexican food and to continue planning our England trip. Yay! We're planning to go on April 3rd, spending two full days in London, a day in Oxford, and a day in Bath before returning home (in time for Mary and Tine to visit me!). I love exploration! More details will follow on the England trip when they become available, and of course stay tuned for my trip to Paris!
Continuing on (I hope this all isn't too painful for you), Friday was the LOTR marathon on campus, and I had a great time as expected. My friend Jess met me there, and another girl I know was there, so it wasn't just me alone in a corner, fear not. There was actually a good showing, and other people (not the all-three-movies-so-we-can-get-a-t-shirt crowd) came throughout the day. As the first film started, and I began mouthing along to the opening monologue, I looked around and saw others doing the same... I was not alone! I like watching movies in a large group. The dynamics make it more enjoyable, don't you think? There was an hour break between the films, and they fed us sandwiches between 1 and 2, and pizza between 2 and 3. We watched youtube videos in between as well, which were mostly painful. Many of us were successful in remaining for the complete trilogy, and we should be getting our shirts soon - pictures will follow.
Paris is on Friday! We leave at six am, and get back around midnight on Sunday, so it's a full weekend. Our hotel is in Montmartre, pretty much down the street from the Moulin Rouge from what I could tell from the map and near Sacre Coeur Church. API has booked a bus tour for us on Saturday morning to hit the major tourist points - Champs d'Elysees, Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame - and a trip to the Louvre on Saturay evening, but otherwise we have free time to run off as we will and explore the city! I've never been to real Paris before (we won't speak of the hours in Charles de Gaulle...), and I can't wait to explore another part of Europe! Ireland is different from the US in its own ways, and I'm interested to see how things will be in Paris. I've been warned that upon entering a shop you should always greet the staff with "Bonjour!" or risk being shunned by their Parisian wrath. I am now imagining me setting off a string of "bonjour"s throughout the store, workers popping up from behind display cases and clothes rack to reply, resulting in a musical shift to the song from Beauty and the Beast.
This weekend, in a further attempt to not spend money, was spent quietly at home, reading, using the computer, hanging around the apartment. For Valentine's Day Kristen and I made Cadbury cupcakes, which were very tasty, but otherwise the holiday was, as always, not really necessary since I had no paper valentines to pass out to the class. Sunday passed in much the same way, minus the cupcakes, but I decided I needed to get out of the apartment. Next to the village, between us and the river, is a path that leads me to school in one direction and to unknown places in the other... so I went that way. I knew what was there, actually: Menlo Castle and some sports grounds, but I had never been there, so off I trekked. It's a lovely path, with some sort of marshy land at parts on either side. Menlo (or Menlough) Castle was built in 1569 and was inhabited, I believe, up until the beginning of the 20th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1910, and no one has fixed it, so there it stands in its ivy-covered half-burned glory. It's across the river, so another day's exploration will bring me across to scrabble amidst the rocks, if I can. After that I strolled through the woods and along the sports pitches until I came to neighborhoods (and a horse in a small field!) and from thence wound my way back to Corrib Village just as the rain was starting. I'm heading off downtown now to meet Jess, Julie, and Jaye (I'm considering changing my name to "Jora") at La Salsa for some Mexican food and to continue planning our England trip. Yay! We're planning to go on April 3rd, spending two full days in London, a day in Oxford, and a day in Bath before returning home (in time for Mary and Tine to visit me!). I love exploration! More details will follow on the England trip when they become available, and of course stay tuned for my trip to Paris!
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