I think this was just about the shortest month ever. In this short month I've realized that time flies when your having fun. And that life just gets in the way sometimes. And that life is what happens when your busy making other plans sorry cliche vomit. Actually, I have been so busy that I haven't even had time to take out the garbage in our bathroom which actually contains a moldy avocado pit. Sorry Liza.
Anyways, I just got back about an hour ago from Belfast and the weekend before that I was in Paris so we have SO MUCH so catch up on. I hardly know where to begin but I guess I'll start with that today is the first day of the rest of your life. And by that I mean another cliche. But I guess I'll start with Belfast because it was a short trip and fresh in my mind. Our program organized it so they picked us up bright and early in the morning. It was only a 5 hour drive which was a pleasant surprise because there were rumors that it would be 9 hours. We had an hour long break at a mall which made me feel like I was in America because a) a mall is a mall is a mall and b) they too have annoying salespeople in the middle of the mall who barrage you and who I have to quickly walk by and lie to ('SORRY I'M MEETING SOMEONE' is my go to excuse) and also the women who curl little girl's hair whose scalps are covered in millions of bejeweled hair clips and fake hair extensions.
We got to Belfast around 3 where they called out our names and room numbers. Of course I got put in a room with 22 other girls. TWENTY TWO. I'm all for hostels and saving money and kind of living in squalor but 22? girls in one room? That means 44 feet, about 15 pairs of Ugg boots which collectively smell like 879 feet, and at least 15 girls I knew would be coming home at an ungodly hour which was a horror to imagine because I was still EXHAUSTED from Paris.
But I of course smiled and took my key, put my things down and then walked around with some friends to explore. However, it was cold, rainy and the 9 euro boots I bought at Penny's (the equivalent to Target) were living up to their 9 euro reputation and pretty much asked mud and cold water to slosh around and inside my feet. Even with the dreary weather the city was still bustling and my friends and I wandered around City Hall, the Theater and did a lot of people watching (which I think is one of the best and most interesting ways to get to know a new place). The next morning we woke up early and went to the Giant's Causeway (ranked the 4th greatest natural wonder in the UK, BOOYA) which was very cool and so beautiful. The weather cleared up which was really nice, blue skies and sun so we could see the Causeway in all its glory and listen to all the funny myths and also learned about the geology of the place. Our tour guide is also a geology teacher at a nearby secondary school- she told us how Gaint's Causeway used to be a volcanically active place which is why the rocks look the way they do (like flat 6 to 8 sided cylinders) because the water that ran down them cooled them into how they look today. She also told us the myth, which the trusty and true Wikipeida explains as, "Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn." And there you have it.
When we got back to Belfast we went to a pub to watch the rugby match (don't laugh, I actually get really into it albeit I don't understand, I just scream loudly and mimic everyone else's reactions). The heads of our program did warn us however not to go into one pub because it would be extremely unsafe as they are a Loyalist pub. Of course that pub was located directly across the street from our hostel. But we found an Irish one which was warm and welcoming. Then we had a big dinner at a nearby Hotel which was exciting and fancy seeming. We went to pub next to it after and but when everyone else left for a club, I stayed with a couple of people to finish our Guinness and then hit the hay. That night I was so tired (and also made a make shift curtain/fort with towels) so I had a very good night's sleep. This morning we woke up and went back to the hotel for a lecture about the murals around town depicting the politics of the area. It was so interesting and really sad, some of them are so disturbing and violent. The lecturer is a professor at the college in Belfast and as a hobby has been documenting the murals for the last 30 years. He explained it not as Protestants vs Catholics but Nationalists vs Unionists, which makes it a political issue not so much religious.
Then we had a bus tour of all the murals, some areas we had to drive by because it wasn't safe enough to go out. They told us that its safe nowadays, but just in case they only let us walk around certain areas to take pictures. We also went to the place where the Titanic was built! It looked waaaaaay smaller than what I was expecting, but I can see how in the early 20th century it was mindblowing. Then we journeyed home and here we are.
Moving right along. I left with three friends last Thursday for Paris. Remember my London/Uezbakistani boarding pass mix up? Well this time I typed my name as Abby Moly Robbins instead of Abby Molly Robbins. Not that big of a deal you would think especially because of how graciously they reacted towards my more major mistake on my last boarding pass. It was no big thang on the way TO Paris but on the way back? Wow. First of all the airport was a zoo with lines up the wazoo and then once I was almost through it, a man told me I had to go ALL THE WAY BACK because it said Moly but my passport said Molly. I felt that wave of panic I've described before because I just waited on that God forsaken line and what if I missed my plane and what if they charged me because it was spelled Moly but alls well that ends well and it ended well.
I'm not sure why I started describing the end of my trip either. But we landed in France and had to take an hour long bus to get to Paris which was easy enough, and then had to take the metro to our hostel. Not so easy. After 5 years of French classes I'm embarrassed of how little I remember, but being in France made me realize I remember more than I thought, I just need to move there I think and be forced to speak it all the time. But anyways. We get to the metro, I ask for my ticket, and then its Audrey's turn which ends up with her getting yelled at and money and a ticket thrown at her. Teal and Dayna somehow manage getting yelled at but not money thrown at them, and then we stared at the metro map for far too long and then realized it was the wrong map and then called the hostel for directions. We soon made it and the hostel was a few blocks away from the Eiffel Tower which was all lit up sparkles every hour on the hour. It was such a pleasant sight. We checked in, ran to a small food store to get things to make dinner (always tryna save a buck) ate real quick and then ran to see the Eiffel tower. I was just so happy to be there and hear French and see beautiful old apartments and cafes and wishing I lived on every block I walked past.
Now I'm sleepy and will make this a To Be Continued Post. Keep you on your toes and asking for more.
Liza just informed me she took out the trash and that the avocado pit looked like it was growing cotton on it. What a gal.
Until tomorrow!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Goodge
So London was a successful first trip, Uezbakistani nationality and all. The good people at Ryanair were actually surprisingly nice, helpful and didn't charge me an extra dime. They even played a song each time we landed, the same song they play at horse races, I don't really see the connection but it certainly put us all in a spirited mindset. I sat with Liza and Zach on the way there, she sat in the middle holding our hands since she's a nervous flier. I sang my version of the Reba McEntire theme song to relax her as well as the 90s classic, "Said Boom Boom Boooom Errybody say Wayo0o" to which she would respond, "Wayo0o0". We are perfect traveling buddies since her yin is my yang, my yang is her yin, she is the Dingle to my Dangle.
We left Thursday afternoon but we were up at 6:30 am because we had to register with the police here. Since we didn't need to get visas we had to do this instead. I didn't have to register until 7:40 but it took us 30 minutes to wake up and get ready and somehow 40 minutes to find the place even though it was only 10 minutes away. I don't know if its due to the off season or just if its being out of America, but it is easy as pie to get through the airports here. Everything went smoothly, we met up with some kids from our program who were also going to London, so we all traveled together except when we landed in Gatwick Airport, we parted ways since they had booked tickets for a train and Liza and I decided to save a buck and take the bus. Bad Thing #1. Long story short, Liza sat next to a Very Creepy Man who said things like "Do I scare you?" and insisted that he would show us a place to stay when the bus got to London. Obviously we were planning on going towards the complete opposite direction of him when the bus got to London, but I grew worried while getting my luggage from under the bus when a woman expressed her concern for us and so Liza and I ran to the bathroom, locked ourselves in a stall and came up with a game plan which was to tell him we would wait at the bus station because a friend was meeting us. Thank goodness he got the hint and left.
But then I realized that my phone shut off and I didn't know my PIN number to unlock it so I could call Sam since we arranged that we would be staying at his apartment for the weekend. Bad Things #2 and #3. I couldn't turn my phone on annnnd of course didn't write his phone number down. Luckily I asked a nice fellow at a taxi stand if he knew of a cell phone place around, but he said better yet, ask my friend Martin over there in that cafe. Martin was nothing less than a life saver and my phone was on and working but Bad Thing #3 was that Sam's phone wasn't working. Bad Thing #4 was that Martin informed us that since it was getting late and it was so last minute, a hostel would be so expensive (and London is already expensive enough thank you) so of course our Plan of Action was to call Dad I mean Zach. Zach was staying with Kiley and the rest of the gang we traveled with but had to split up with at the airport and who were all staying with Kiley's cousin Sally. Long story short we end up spending the night at Sally's. After that there were no more bad things; she and her husband were SO gracious, hospitable, fun, sweet, and lived in the most BEAUTIFUL apartment. We all had pizza, drank wine, went out to a pub and then we all had a sleepover in the living room. Zach and I both forgot pajama bottoms but we made do with what we had (he his boxers and rug/blanket and I with my dress/makeshift nightgown) and might have made everyone else a little bit uncomfortable. Pretty perfect.
The next day while everyone did touristy thangs, Isabelle and I met up and went to Portebello Rd. which I will forever love. We went there everyday after that too just enjoying the vendors, shops, music and food. Oh the food. Then I FINALLY got in touch with Sam, went to Sally's to get our stuff, handed them a bottle of wine as a Big Fat Thank You and made our way over to Marble Arch where Sam lives. It was so great seeing him, I hadn't seen him for two whole years but I tell ya it felt like I saw him just yesterday. It also felt SO GOOD TO FINALLY SHOWER and then also so good to eat and not just eat but to eat Shwarma which I hadn't had for two years and which I've only had in Israel. This shwarma did all shwarma justice. And the chips? Get out of here. So good. Too good. With hot sauce? See ya later. That night we went to Nottinghill/Portebello Rd. again because Isabelle were under the impression that it would be the best place ever 24/7. Wrong. We went to the one pub that was open, felt weird, had one drink there and then went back to Marble Arch to smoke some hooka and then went to bed.
The next day we wandered all over having so much fun and that night planned on meeting Sam and his friends at the SECOND BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD buuut that was a bust and we stayed in and had so much fun at the Second Best Apartment in the World. The next day we went to Hyde park and Abbey Rd. which we got to when it was getting dark/rush hour. I had already been there years before but will never stop being one the coolest places ever so I just as excited as everyone else and just as frustrated at the amount of cars preventing us from getting a good cheesy touristy picture walking across. I was also getting VERY into it whenever I kiiiiind of sooooort of got a good picture of everyone. When I looked at the picture of me walking across I noticed an ORB OVER MY FACE. You know what that means. John and George are with me. I mean, all of them are but I've always felt akin to those two. That orb is like a big fat kiss of approval. I bet they even read this blog.
That night was also the night of the Superbowl which means 100% Nothing to me but everyone else cared a little bit. We planned on watching it in a pub but then Sam enticed us with the prospect of homemade Chili and so obviously we stayed in and ate bowls of chili and half payed attention to the game. Since I'm such a seasoned vet at chopping veggies (thank you Foodtown) I was a skilled helper and had a hot burning sensation all night in my hands from chopping up chili peppers. Totally worth it. The next day we went to the Tate Modern Museum which I've also already been too but I loved it even more this time around. Then we had to get going by the time we got out, said goodbye to Sam and his roommates and headed back to Gatwick. No buses or creepy men this time. When we got back to Shannon Airport in Ireland we SPRINTED through because we thought we could make an earlier bus to Galway. Picture a gaggle of girls running with backpacks and the smallest one screaming "WE CAN DO IT! RUUUUUUN!" (yes, the smallest one is yours truly). Turns out there was no earlier bus, and we had to wait for the 12:45 am. Needless to say we were exhausted and I didn't wake up until 12:45 pm.
I had so much fun and I'm so glad we were able to stay with Sam. So fun, so comfy and so free. One of my favorite parts was taking the Tube (but BOY is that expensive) and giggling at funny names of stations like Goodge amongst other things that are only funny to the immature mind. I'm excited to relax this weekend though and I guess get some work done (I literally haven't done anything yet. Don't worry Mam, nothing is due until the end of the semester) and I can't wait for the Market on Saturday and to eat the doughnuts there. It might be unhealthy how often I think about them.
We left Thursday afternoon but we were up at 6:30 am because we had to register with the police here. Since we didn't need to get visas we had to do this instead. I didn't have to register until 7:40 but it took us 30 minutes to wake up and get ready and somehow 40 minutes to find the place even though it was only 10 minutes away. I don't know if its due to the off season or just if its being out of America, but it is easy as pie to get through the airports here. Everything went smoothly, we met up with some kids from our program who were also going to London, so we all traveled together except when we landed in Gatwick Airport, we parted ways since they had booked tickets for a train and Liza and I decided to save a buck and take the bus. Bad Thing #1. Long story short, Liza sat next to a Very Creepy Man who said things like "Do I scare you?" and insisted that he would show us a place to stay when the bus got to London. Obviously we were planning on going towards the complete opposite direction of him when the bus got to London, but I grew worried while getting my luggage from under the bus when a woman expressed her concern for us and so Liza and I ran to the bathroom, locked ourselves in a stall and came up with a game plan which was to tell him we would wait at the bus station because a friend was meeting us. Thank goodness he got the hint and left.
But then I realized that my phone shut off and I didn't know my PIN number to unlock it so I could call Sam since we arranged that we would be staying at his apartment for the weekend. Bad Things #2 and #3. I couldn't turn my phone on annnnd of course didn't write his phone number down. Luckily I asked a nice fellow at a taxi stand if he knew of a cell phone place around, but he said better yet, ask my friend Martin over there in that cafe. Martin was nothing less than a life saver and my phone was on and working but Bad Thing #3 was that Sam's phone wasn't working. Bad Thing #4 was that Martin informed us that since it was getting late and it was so last minute, a hostel would be so expensive (and London is already expensive enough thank you) so of course our Plan of Action was to call Dad I mean Zach. Zach was staying with Kiley and the rest of the gang we traveled with but had to split up with at the airport and who were all staying with Kiley's cousin Sally. Long story short we end up spending the night at Sally's. After that there were no more bad things; she and her husband were SO gracious, hospitable, fun, sweet, and lived in the most BEAUTIFUL apartment. We all had pizza, drank wine, went out to a pub and then we all had a sleepover in the living room. Zach and I both forgot pajama bottoms but we made do with what we had (he his boxers and rug/blanket and I with my dress/makeshift nightgown) and might have made everyone else a little bit uncomfortable. Pretty perfect.
The next day while everyone did touristy thangs, Isabelle and I met up and went to Portebello Rd. which I will forever love. We went there everyday after that too just enjoying the vendors, shops, music and food. Oh the food. Then I FINALLY got in touch with Sam, went to Sally's to get our stuff, handed them a bottle of wine as a Big Fat Thank You and made our way over to Marble Arch where Sam lives. It was so great seeing him, I hadn't seen him for two whole years but I tell ya it felt like I saw him just yesterday. It also felt SO GOOD TO FINALLY SHOWER and then also so good to eat and not just eat but to eat Shwarma which I hadn't had for two years and which I've only had in Israel. This shwarma did all shwarma justice. And the chips? Get out of here. So good. Too good. With hot sauce? See ya later. That night we went to Nottinghill/Portebello Rd. again because Isabelle were under the impression that it would be the best place ever 24/7. Wrong. We went to the one pub that was open, felt weird, had one drink there and then went back to Marble Arch to smoke some hooka and then went to bed.
The next day we wandered all over having so much fun and that night planned on meeting Sam and his friends at the SECOND BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD buuut that was a bust and we stayed in and had so much fun at the Second Best Apartment in the World. The next day we went to Hyde park and Abbey Rd. which we got to when it was getting dark/rush hour. I had already been there years before but will never stop being one the coolest places ever so I just as excited as everyone else and just as frustrated at the amount of cars preventing us from getting a good cheesy touristy picture walking across. I was also getting VERY into it whenever I kiiiiind of sooooort of got a good picture of everyone. When I looked at the picture of me walking across I noticed an ORB OVER MY FACE. You know what that means. John and George are with me. I mean, all of them are but I've always felt akin to those two. That orb is like a big fat kiss of approval. I bet they even read this blog.
That night was also the night of the Superbowl which means 100% Nothing to me but everyone else cared a little bit. We planned on watching it in a pub but then Sam enticed us with the prospect of homemade Chili and so obviously we stayed in and ate bowls of chili and half payed attention to the game. Since I'm such a seasoned vet at chopping veggies (thank you Foodtown) I was a skilled helper and had a hot burning sensation all night in my hands from chopping up chili peppers. Totally worth it. The next day we went to the Tate Modern Museum which I've also already been too but I loved it even more this time around. Then we had to get going by the time we got out, said goodbye to Sam and his roommates and headed back to Gatwick. No buses or creepy men this time. When we got back to Shannon Airport in Ireland we SPRINTED through because we thought we could make an earlier bus to Galway. Picture a gaggle of girls running with backpacks and the smallest one screaming "WE CAN DO IT! RUUUUUUN!" (yes, the smallest one is yours truly). Turns out there was no earlier bus, and we had to wait for the 12:45 am. Needless to say we were exhausted and I didn't wake up until 12:45 pm.
I had so much fun and I'm so glad we were able to stay with Sam. So fun, so comfy and so free. One of my favorite parts was taking the Tube (but BOY is that expensive) and giggling at funny names of stations like Goodge amongst other things that are only funny to the immature mind. I'm excited to relax this weekend though and I guess get some work done (I literally haven't done anything yet. Don't worry Mam, nothing is due until the end of the semester) and I can't wait for the Market on Saturday and to eat the doughnuts there. It might be unhealthy how often I think about them.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Ode to Ryanair
Oh wait. Just kidding. I HATE THEM.
So like I said earlier, leaving for London tomorrow. Today after class that ended at 3 I met Seamus and his wife Beatrice for "afternoon tea" at the Spanish Arch Hotel which one of his niece's runs who I was also able to meet. Silly me to expect tea for afternoon tea. Instead we had a pint/wine and then went out to dinner and had more wine. I didn't get back until 8 because we had such a lovely time. If I had to describe Beatrice with one word it would be Sassy. My kind of woman.
HOWEVER since I was being wined and dined I missed checking in online and printing my boarding pass with the rest of the girls. Since Beatrice is such a standup gal she drove me home so I could get my passport and then drove me back to school so I could use the printer. Of course I don't know how to use the computer/printer/machine you use to put credit on your account to print things so I asked the person standing nearest to me if I could just pay them if they signed in and let me use their account. Marissa is also a stand up gal and we walked all over campus trying to find open computers and she wouldn't even take the money I owed her! Granted it was 20 cents but still. A stand up gal.
HOWEVER maybe it was the pint/winewinewinewine/chocolate cake Seamus and Beatrice insisted I had or maybe it was the SLOW AS MOLASSES computers in the computer labs at school but by the time I checked in online and printed my boarding pass I realized that my nationality is listed as Uzbekistan. UZBEKISTAN. You can imagine the wave of PANIC that came over my body. I was so panicked that I broke out into a cold and DAMP sweat, the kind that makes people around you look at you all bewildered and ask if you're okay, but I didn't even CARE because I was so panicked. Because Ryanair, the bane of my existence, charges you up the you know what for god knows what. For example, they charge you 100 euro if your name on your boarding pass if different than on your passport.
So lets imagine what will happen when my passport says my nationality is United States of America and my boarding pass says I'm Uzbekistan. A) I'm charged 100 or more euro. B) I'm deported. C) I'm jailed in a foreign country for stealing my own identity and then years from now appear on the National Geographic Show "Locked Up Abroad" which usually features people who try smuggling some kind of drug into a country and then are locked up in said country for a ungodly amount of years. Don't they realize at this point that smuggling drugs never ends well? or D) Have to take the bus back to Galway which after talking with Seamus and Beatrice wouldn't be THAT bad because this weekend they and their (and I guess my) extended family are going to their weekend home right on the water for a cousin's birthday/horse race/rugby match/party in their local pub.
Of course I tried calling costumer service to explain and try to check in again and print out a boarding pass that says my correct nationality, but naturally they were closed.
Jamie Fox was right when he sang "blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol." Or maybe its more accurate to say blame it on Ryanair's DUMBO policies. Or on computers that freeze up. Or maybe I should just blame it on the alcohol. Can't be too sure these days.
So like I said earlier, leaving for London tomorrow. Today after class that ended at 3 I met Seamus and his wife Beatrice for "afternoon tea" at the Spanish Arch Hotel which one of his niece's runs who I was also able to meet. Silly me to expect tea for afternoon tea. Instead we had a pint/wine and then went out to dinner and had more wine. I didn't get back until 8 because we had such a lovely time. If I had to describe Beatrice with one word it would be Sassy. My kind of woman.
HOWEVER since I was being wined and dined I missed checking in online and printing my boarding pass with the rest of the girls. Since Beatrice is such a standup gal she drove me home so I could get my passport and then drove me back to school so I could use the printer. Of course I don't know how to use the computer/printer/machine you use to put credit on your account to print things so I asked the person standing nearest to me if I could just pay them if they signed in and let me use their account. Marissa is also a stand up gal and we walked all over campus trying to find open computers and she wouldn't even take the money I owed her! Granted it was 20 cents but still. A stand up gal.
HOWEVER maybe it was the pint/winewinewinewine/chocolate cake Seamus and Beatrice insisted I had or maybe it was the SLOW AS MOLASSES computers in the computer labs at school but by the time I checked in online and printed my boarding pass I realized that my nationality is listed as Uzbekistan. UZBEKISTAN. You can imagine the wave of PANIC that came over my body. I was so panicked that I broke out into a cold and DAMP sweat, the kind that makes people around you look at you all bewildered and ask if you're okay, but I didn't even CARE because I was so panicked. Because Ryanair, the bane of my existence, charges you up the you know what for god knows what. For example, they charge you 100 euro if your name on your boarding pass if different than on your passport.
So lets imagine what will happen when my passport says my nationality is United States of America and my boarding pass says I'm Uzbekistan. A) I'm charged 100 or more euro. B) I'm deported. C) I'm jailed in a foreign country for stealing my own identity and then years from now appear on the National Geographic Show "Locked Up Abroad" which usually features people who try smuggling some kind of drug into a country and then are locked up in said country for a ungodly amount of years. Don't they realize at this point that smuggling drugs never ends well? or D) Have to take the bus back to Galway which after talking with Seamus and Beatrice wouldn't be THAT bad because this weekend they and their (and I guess my) extended family are going to their weekend home right on the water for a cousin's birthday/horse race/rugby match/party in their local pub.
Of course I tried calling costumer service to explain and try to check in again and print out a boarding pass that says my correct nationality, but naturally they were closed.
Jamie Fox was right when he sang "blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol." Or maybe its more accurate to say blame it on Ryanair's DUMBO policies. Or on computers that freeze up. Or maybe I should just blame it on the alcohol. Can't be too sure these days.
Strands of Dingle
This has been such a busy busy week already after such a nice and relaxing weekend. I leave for London tomorrow afternoon, but I have to register with the Guarda tomorrow morning at 7:40 so I don't get deported or something BUT I also don't want to miss my plane so I'm sure I'll be all kinds of frazzled tomorrow. We have a place to stay Friday and Saturday night but we don't know exactllly where we'll be sleeping tomorrow night or Sunday night but we'll figure something out. If anything Rick Steves said that spending a night homeless is a worthwhile experience.
But anyways, on to more interesting things. This weekend my friends and I took a 6 hour long bus ride to Dingle which simply ruled. Not the bus ride, actually it was kind of horrible. Weird smells were wafting and other people's flesh was slowly but surely creeping towards my body. I spent a VERY uncomfortable two hours on one the rides. But we got there Friday night and the Rainbow shuttle picked us up, driven by Scott, a friendly as can be Austrailian who has traveled and worked all over the world. We got situated in the Rainbow hostel, an old little cottage with two little kitties roamin' around, and then Scott drove us into town to hit up da pubs. Since its the off season it was pretty dead but we made friends with some locals (of course I became fast friends with Sean O'Connor an ancient looking farmer whose family has been farming Dingle ground for over 150 years. We're lucky we met him because he only comes into town one night a week, he's got too many sheep to worry about to be out drinkin' on the town) and then we danced to a cover band in the next pub over and had a grand time.
We went home kind of early because we knew the next day would be a long one. However, poor Courtney is pretty much allergic to Life Itself, but severely allergic to the previously mentioned little kitties roamin' aorund. She had to sleep in a separate room than us because she was wheezing up a storm the poor thing, and the next morning when we went to go rent bikes she took a bus back home. So we walked into town and rented bikes from a place that is half pub half hardware store, with bikes in the back. Soon enough we riding off into the distance, ready to bike the 25 miles all around the Dingle Penninsula. (As an aside, the word Dingle was and is hilarious to us, and some of the names of the stores were just as hilarious, like "Strands of Dingle" or 'It must be Dingle!' and we made up many Dingleicious phrases over the weekend). We made a pit stop for some yummo sangwhiches in a small town and some cake for us all to share. We biked onward and the scenery was literally so beautiful that I thought I died and went to Aesthetically Pleasing Heaven. Also the Dingle Gods were on our side weather wise, I had my jacket bungied to the back of my bike and it was sunny and warm all day. We found a church and while in line formation did Dingle Doughnuts in the parking lot and then lit a candle inside for Courtney. We also trespassed a little bit because lets face it, what's a trip without some trespassing? But actually, the fence might have just been there to keep the sheep in and not us out...but we can't be sure. But we got an even better view of the cliffs and water from inside the fenced area, and the moment called for some Sound of Music outbursts, so we naturally obliged. We even found what we coined "Dingle Death No. 1" which was a sheep skull laying the grass. We documented it and then hopped back on our bikes and rode on. Also there were some points in the ride where we realized there was literally no one around us for miles which was such a good feeling. I love traveling but its exhausting always been around so many tourists at the same time, so it felt so great to be on our own Dangin through the winding roads of Dingle. It wasn't until the last half hour that our bums were really starting the feel the last 20 miles and some "good" samaritians told us a "short cut" that was completely uphill and we almost wanted to die. However, it was worth it in the end because going downhill full speed was quite exhilarating.
When we got back into town we rewarded ourselves with some hot chocolate and pie, and then walked back to the hostel where we died/napped for an hour. Then we woke up and made dinner and chatted with Scott and Brennen, an American who came to Europe looking for the perfect place to write/think about his "projects" which deal with poetry/sociology/architecture/anthropology but we found out as the night wore on that he's a bit nuts. Also Collin, a teacher from Cork was staying for the weekend to Surf and we all went out to a pub later that night. We met some more characters there too, but I could hardly keep my eyes open so I was in bed by 2 am. The next morning we woke up and hiked around where the bay meets the ocean and enjoyed some more breathtaking scenery. We found a little beach cove with a waterfall and of course by that time it starts getting cold and rainy but I had left my coat at the hostel because just an hour before there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Damnation. Also, while running to get into a picture KAPLUNK I'm ankle deep in water and sand. But soon it became sunny again and we walked into town for some warmth and food and then we had to catch a 3 o'clock bus back to Galway. Suffice it to say it was a long journey back home but it was one of the best weekends ever and I cannot wait to go back.
I'm sure London will be just as much as an adventure. I'll keep you posted if and when I find a place to stay. Maybe a park bench in Hyde park won't be that bad. Sleep with the stars. And ehhhh homeless people.
But anyways, on to more interesting things. This weekend my friends and I took a 6 hour long bus ride to Dingle which simply ruled. Not the bus ride, actually it was kind of horrible. Weird smells were wafting and other people's flesh was slowly but surely creeping towards my body. I spent a VERY uncomfortable two hours on one the rides. But we got there Friday night and the Rainbow shuttle picked us up, driven by Scott, a friendly as can be Austrailian who has traveled and worked all over the world. We got situated in the Rainbow hostel, an old little cottage with two little kitties roamin' around, and then Scott drove us into town to hit up da pubs. Since its the off season it was pretty dead but we made friends with some locals (of course I became fast friends with Sean O'Connor an ancient looking farmer whose family has been farming Dingle ground for over 150 years. We're lucky we met him because he only comes into town one night a week, he's got too many sheep to worry about to be out drinkin' on the town) and then we danced to a cover band in the next pub over and had a grand time.
We went home kind of early because we knew the next day would be a long one. However, poor Courtney is pretty much allergic to Life Itself, but severely allergic to the previously mentioned little kitties roamin' aorund. She had to sleep in a separate room than us because she was wheezing up a storm the poor thing, and the next morning when we went to go rent bikes she took a bus back home. So we walked into town and rented bikes from a place that is half pub half hardware store, with bikes in the back. Soon enough we riding off into the distance, ready to bike the 25 miles all around the Dingle Penninsula. (As an aside, the word Dingle was and is hilarious to us, and some of the names of the stores were just as hilarious, like "Strands of Dingle" or 'It must be Dingle!' and we made up many Dingleicious phrases over the weekend). We made a pit stop for some yummo sangwhiches in a small town and some cake for us all to share. We biked onward and the scenery was literally so beautiful that I thought I died and went to Aesthetically Pleasing Heaven. Also the Dingle Gods were on our side weather wise, I had my jacket bungied to the back of my bike and it was sunny and warm all day. We found a church and while in line formation did Dingle Doughnuts in the parking lot and then lit a candle inside for Courtney. We also trespassed a little bit because lets face it, what's a trip without some trespassing? But actually, the fence might have just been there to keep the sheep in and not us out...but we can't be sure. But we got an even better view of the cliffs and water from inside the fenced area, and the moment called for some Sound of Music outbursts, so we naturally obliged. We even found what we coined "Dingle Death No. 1" which was a sheep skull laying the grass. We documented it and then hopped back on our bikes and rode on. Also there were some points in the ride where we realized there was literally no one around us for miles which was such a good feeling. I love traveling but its exhausting always been around so many tourists at the same time, so it felt so great to be on our own Dangin through the winding roads of Dingle. It wasn't until the last half hour that our bums were really starting the feel the last 20 miles and some "good" samaritians told us a "short cut" that was completely uphill and we almost wanted to die. However, it was worth it in the end because going downhill full speed was quite exhilarating.
When we got back into town we rewarded ourselves with some hot chocolate and pie, and then walked back to the hostel where we died/napped for an hour. Then we woke up and made dinner and chatted with Scott and Brennen, an American who came to Europe looking for the perfect place to write/think about his "projects" which deal with poetry/sociology/architecture/anthropology but we found out as the night wore on that he's a bit nuts. Also Collin, a teacher from Cork was staying for the weekend to Surf and we all went out to a pub later that night. We met some more characters there too, but I could hardly keep my eyes open so I was in bed by 2 am. The next morning we woke up and hiked around where the bay meets the ocean and enjoyed some more breathtaking scenery. We found a little beach cove with a waterfall and of course by that time it starts getting cold and rainy but I had left my coat at the hostel because just an hour before there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Damnation. Also, while running to get into a picture KAPLUNK I'm ankle deep in water and sand. But soon it became sunny again and we walked into town for some warmth and food and then we had to catch a 3 o'clock bus back to Galway. Suffice it to say it was a long journey back home but it was one of the best weekends ever and I cannot wait to go back.
I'm sure London will be just as much as an adventure. I'll keep you posted if and when I find a place to stay. Maybe a park bench in Hyde park won't be that bad. Sleep with the stars. And ehhhh homeless people.
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