I had the sad realization last week that I have less than one month left in Dublin. There are so many places that I want to visit yet, but I know it is virtually impossible. I feel like I just started to get to know the city and my favorite places and I've met so many wonderful people, and it seems this will end just as soon as it started.
It is bittersweet, because I'm also really looking forward to coming home. I miss everyone more than they probably know and there are so many things to look forward to over the next few months/year.
Anyways..I have 4 classes and only three days until the end of term. I end classes this week and then our two weeks of finals don't start til the 5th of may. My finals don't start til the 7th so I decided to a bit of traveling during my reading break. I will be spending 4 days in Berlin with Brian, Jeff, and John (the other three students from Wisconsin). Then I will be traveling to Budapest to visit my friend Elliot! So i will spend a few days in Budapest and then head to Vienna before heading back to Dublin--where I'm sure I will spend the rest of my time in the library or cafes.
My last few weeks have been pretty amazing though. My parents came to visit over Easter and I had so much fun! We spent a day in Dublin/Howth (a small town on the coast just north of Dublin). We then headed to Cork where we traveled North to the Dingle Penninsula. I had wanted to go there since before I came and it was not a letdown in the slightest. I think it was best that we had rented a car also--even though it was a bit nervewrecking watching my father drive -- just kidding, he did great...except for the time that the metal pole almost went through the window :). I think my favorite part of the dingle penninsula was a beach that was tucked in the curvature of the cliffs. I made my mother come in the ocean with me. I managed to stay completely dry, but she was not as skilled as I and got a bit wet :) We also saw beautiful scenery and some really interesting old churches/cemeteries. The dingle penninsula was also very intersting for me because we had spent some time in my irish history course discussin the famine. Throughout the pennninsula you could still see the walls that once separated the properties and the ruins of the old houses. The penninsula has never been repopulated to the extent it was in the pre-famine era and since the land is not ideal for farming, the ruins of these lands still remain.
That night we headed back to Killarney-where we were staying-and grabbed some dinner at the pub conencted to our hotel. I enjoyed some delicious seafood chowder and a bailey's coffee :) We also had the privilege of listening to the best Irish folk band that I have heard in my time here!! They played a song by Christie Hennessy with which I am now obsessed.
The next day we set out early to do the ring of kerry--a 120ish km drive around another penninsula on the west coast. On our way to Kenmare, we stopped at the Killarney National Park to see the Muckcross House and Torc Waterfall. We stopped a bit prematurely though and I forced my parents to do an 8km walk--which could have been completely avoided. They may have been cursing me under their breath, but they were pretty good about it and it turned out the walk was beautiful (or at least I thought so). The ring of kerry was a lot different than I expected. It kind of showed a different side of Eire. Everybody always sees the beautiful green scenery and rolling hills and such. But the mountains here were extremely rocky and more brown than green. I found still found it beautiful, but for different reasons. I also got to enjoy my first ferry ride along the ring! However, I was too busy trying to take a picture of the GPS and our car being in the middle of the ocean to realize we were even moving. Oh well...turns out I have my blonde moments in Ireland too.
The next day we had to wake up EARLY to head back to Cork on our way back to Dublin. I was more than surprised to find starbucks in the Cork Airport--but I certainly wasn't complaining. I think my parents were pretty impressed with the efficiency of RyanAir and we actually made it back to Dublin 20 minutes early--on our 30 minute flight.
That was Monday then, and we headed to the Kilmainham Gaol and the GUinness Storehouse. I had wanted to do the Gaol for a very long time because I heard it was really interesting. It was and I think my parents enjoyed it. So much history and so many famous Irishmen/women have been held/killed there. I think it was one of the best things I have seen yet in Dublin. Afterwards we headed to the Storehouse--an essential stop on any trip to Dublin. It was my third time and I think I officially have the tour memorized! It was still fun though to be there with my parents. Every other time, I have pulled my own pint, but this time I finally enjoyed my pint in the gravity bar. It was delicious as always. My father even drank his whole pint--despite being allergic to beer. He survived though--I think it just proves the superiority of Guinness (especially over German Beers such as Kolsch--right Sara?)
While my parents were here they also visited the two Cathedrals, Dublin Castle and the Old Jameson Distillery. I also made sure they made it to Temple Bar--touristy but a very crucial stop on their visit! My father made fun of my mother for taking a picture--until he saw about 50 other people doing the same.
Since I have been busy trying to study--which is so much harder to do than back in Madison. But I think I'm starting to get the hang of it again. Saturday, though, I went on my last trip with my study abroad group. We went to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains. It was an early morning but I'm so glad I got up for it. We climbed to the top of one of the mountains and I surprisingly didn't fall--even though we climbed up about 200 meters in a muddy stream. I think it was my favorite trip of all the ones we did. Our guides were pretty cool and the scenery was beautiful. It was also an old monastic settlement so we found out a bit of history of the site. There was a cemetary there that had been in use for almost 1300 years (i think that was how many--maybe more). THe weather was beautiful too, which always helps and we got two free meals and a free pint.
We have our farewell dinner tomorrow which is our last event of the semester. I can't believe how quickly this time has gone by!!
Miss you all, but I will see you soon! I will be heading back to the states on the 16th and then to Minneapolis sometime in the last few days of May.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
needless to say, its been awhile..
before my last post i had yet to travel out of ireland, i have now been in four other countries, one twice.
there is so much to tell that i cannot even begin to write it all down, but i will do my best here...
ITALY:
My first trip away from Ireland was to Venice, Italy. I was fortunate enough to travel there during Carnevale, perhaps their biggest festival of the year. It is, I believe, the 10 days before Ash Wednesday. We ended up staying in a hotel on the island a Mestre, just a short bus trip onto the main island, Venezia. It is basically impossible to go to Venezia with a plan/map. There are so many streets and alleys, all nameless, which makes it virtually impossible to navigate. Thankfully, it didn't really matter to us. As soon as we got to Venezia our first night, I begant to fully comprehend the scale of Carnevale. There were tons of little stands set up selling masks and capes and other traditional italian accessories.
We were lucky to get there right around dusk and so we saw the sun set as we meandered our way through the streets and along the canals. That night I got my first Italian gelatto (sorry Madison, it was far better than Paciugo). We also happened upon a band/dj playing in one of the piazza's. After walking around a bit, we headed back and ended up just drinking some wine and dancing in the middle of the piazza. It felt surreal, but it was a great way to start off the trip.
The above photo is a picture of a canal on my first night.
The next day then, our one goal was to find San Marco Basilica. I think if you knew exactly where you were going it should have taken about an hour to walk to. Considering we just kind of meandered, turning when we pleased and stopping to look at shops along the way, I was rather impressed we got there in just over 2 hours. The Basilica looks out onto San Marco Piazza and it was fantastic. From the balcony of the basilica you can see both water and the piazza which was just filled with people.
THe first picture is of the Basilica, second is a view of the piazza from the balcony of the basilica, and the third is an example of how many people were dressed.
Our final day in Venice we spent trying to visit some of the other islands. 2 of my friends and I first when to Venezia though, and while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive we got our faces painted!
After that we headed to Lido, a small island that you could probably walk around in about an hour. There is a very famous beach there, and I felt the need to go step in the Mediterranean Sea despite it being February still! We were almost the only people on the beach.
We went to the island of Murano after, it would have been really awesome to tour the glass factory there, but being Sunday and now evening, it was closed. We walked around a bit, but then headed back to Venezia and the San Marco Piazza for our last evening in Venice.
THe next day we took a train to Bologne (that's where we were flying back to Dublin from). We walked around the city for a bit, and saw Pluto's fountain (i think it was called) and I got a cappuccino at a cute little cafe while some of the other's went shopping.
I then came back to Dublin late Monday night and spent about 48 hours catchiing up on school and preparing for my trip to Spain the next weekend!
SPAIN (part a)
I went to Spain to visit my old roommate Maria. I left on Thursday for Madrid and spent the better portion of the day walking around the city. I saw the Templo de bod, the Plaza de Espana, Palacio Real, San Francisco Basilica, and many many many other things. I did A LOT of walking. My favorite part, though, was the Catedral Almuneda. I paid to go to the to top and it was totally worth it. There were a few balconies: one looked over the courtyard of the Palacio Real, and the other ones looked out over the rest of the city. The cathedral was so different than any other church I had been in, and I really enjoyed how the sun hit the beautiful colors inside.
On Friday, I did a lot more walking around the city center and also visted the Museo del Prado (their national museum). I also made a point to visit the Retiro Gardens--one reason I am now obsessed with Spain. It was not just the Retiro Gardens that I loved, but every garden I visited. They are extravagant and beautiful. The type of place where I could just casually walk through or sit and read a book or have a picnic or do an endless amount of other things. As soon as I walked through the entrance gate, I felt completely relaxed; it was like entering into a different world, but I was still in the city center of Madrid.
Both of these photos were taken in the Retiro Gardens.
The real reason I went to Spain, as I mentioned above, was to visit my roommate Maria. It was beyond fantastic to see her, and seeing her really made me realize how much I missed having her by me every day. In Madrid, she took me out for my first Tapas experience--it will certainly not be my last. Then, on Friday afternoon we headed to Valencia--which is where she went to University. We spent the night there and the next day her and Julio took me around to see the sights of Valencia. It turns out the architect who built the famous art museum in Milwaukee, is actually from Valencia and has been designing a whole mall of buildings in their city. They have a theatre, aquarium, science museum, playground, and many other things -- just designed by him. I guess he is also the architect in charge of the 9/11 memorial. This picture shows most of the buildings...but there are still a few left out.
Saturday afternoon, then Maria, Julio and I headed to Gandia (Maria's hometown). I was able to meet her family--who were WONDERFUL, and enjoy a traditional Spanish siesta with them. The only difficulty was they didn't speak English and my Spanish is a bit worse than terrible. :( Maria served as our translator though, and if I ever have the opportunity to go back I plan on being much more proficient in my Spanish skills. Afterwards, we walked around Gandia and took a short drive to the beach (for which Gandia is famous). We got 'dinner' then with some of their friends--however we didn't start eating until 11:45 p.m. Then after finishing around 1:00, we headed to a bar. A bit of a different time schedule than home, or even Dublin. :) It was perfect though and I had a really wonderful time.
Finally, on Sunday we headed back to Valencia on route to Madrid. It was the first of March and the start of Fallas--a huge festival in Valencia. It seemed like the entire city was gathered in the city centre and we headed there around 2:00p.m to watch a 10ish minute firework display. It was quite the experience, which you can pseudo experience if the video below actually works! :)
We then returned to Madrid Sunday night, so I could get ready for my flight on Monday. I then spent about 72 hours back in Dublin preparing for my first week and a half of spring break! (ALREADY!)
PARIS
This was the first stop on my spring break. I actually had no intent of going to Paris while I was here becaue I didn't feel like a weekend spent there would be enough time for me to truly get what I wanted out of it. But, when the opportunity presented itself to spend 5 days there I simply couldn't resist. I have wanted to come to Paris for as long as I can remember. I remember being in grade school and seeing my dad's pictures and movies set in paris (passport to paris obviously :)!) and I formed an obsession with the city. It was even the setting of the mystery 'book' I wrote in 6th grade. It was also the entire reasoning behind me taking french in high school. So, naturally, I had high expectations.
We were supposed to arrive in Beauvais (a city just north of Paris, have to love Ryanair's locations) at around 9:00 a.m. and then take a bus Paris. We flew above Beauvais for about an hour before they determined it was too foggy to land. As a result, we got diverted to Lille -- an airport even further from Paris. After landing there we had to take a bus to Beuvais, then transfer to another bus which would take us to Paris. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got to Paris around 5:00 p.m--a bit later than planned. It didn't end up mattering though, because Paris ended up exceeding my highest of expectations.
After checking into our hostel we took the metro to Trocadero. From Trocadero we walked to see the eiffel tower. I can't even describe how I felt the first time I saw it--it was just one of those perfect moments. We got off the Metro and we couldnt see the tower which was supposed to be really close. Then as we turned the corner of a building, there it was. To make it even better, after about staring at it for about 10 seconds the light show started. I couldn't say anything, I just gaped and actually almost cried. If I would have left Paris that night, I think I would have been satisfied. Here is a photo from my first night there...
This started my obsession with the eiffel tower, and I probably have about 60 photos of that alone. Anyways, I was in Paris for 5 days, so I was able to see many many things. We toured the Notre Dame, Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triumphe, Sacre Couer, and Moulin Rouge. We made a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower and climbed the stairs up it, visited the Jardin de Luxembourg, Pantheon, and did some shopping (window shopping that is) on the champs-elysees. On top of that, I indulged in countless crepes, gaufres, and other delectable pastries. I think my diet mostly consisted of carbs those 5 days--i just couldn't resist! Our hostel roommate also recommended this place called Angelina's. It is renowned for its hot chocolate. My friend Ann and I each got one, and while it looked small it was perfect. So rich and thick and amazing. We also went to L'aduree which is a restaraunt that is famous for its desserts. I got a macaron (specialty of Paris). I have forgotten the exact name, but it had carmael and apples and amazingness all sandwiched between the two parts of the macaron.
I traveled there with my friends Lyndsie and Ann. On one of the days we also decided to take the train to Versailles. The palace itself is more immense than I imagined. The gates are covered in gold, and it emits this essence of history (if that's possible). We walked through part of the gardens (which if you were to do the entire thing would take you more than a day in itself) and also to Marie Antoinette's estate. We walked through a few of her buildings and also her 'village' she set up. It was cute, I felt like I was walking in candyland or something (minus the candy--but with that sense of mysticism). For some reason we sat on her farm for awhile, looking at the pigs, cows, ducks, roosters, horses, etc. I'm not sure why we stayed there for so long, but it was enjoyable.
I have so many pictures from Paris, I don't even know what to show you. But here are a few I hope you enjoy!
SPAIN (part b)
From Paris, I flew directly to Barcelona. There I met up with one of my friends and a bunch of her friends from UCD. It turned out to be so much fun! I didn't get in until after 11p.m. my first night and either did they. We went out for some kebabs, but then decided to call it a night.
Our next day we went to the most acclaimed tourist attraction in Barcelona--La Sagrada Familia. I was unaware that the church was not yet completed; in fact, it won't be finished for another 20-30 years! Considering they started building it over a century ago, I found that rather impressive! La Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi. During my time in Barcelona, we also visited La Pedrera (one of his apartment buildings) and Park Guell.
I also got my version of a 'relaxing' spring break in Barcelona. Almost every afternoon, we would head to the beach!! We stood in the water, but it was a bit too cold for swimming yet. Instead, we just layed around, chit chatting, playing frisbee, and enjoying the general atmosphere of the barcelona life style. My favorite moments from Barcelona, were those spent on the beach I think. When I was there, I remember thinking there is no place right now that I would rather be.
I was only in Barcelona for 3.5 days, but I also went to the Olympic Stadium, the Boqueria and Las Ramblas in general, and to this tourist attraction where they had set up a pseudo traditional spanish town. It's kind of hard to explain, but you could walk around and see different craftsmen at work. For example, I saw one man molding glass figurines and another making guitars from scratch!
One of the evenings we went to a bar called Espito Chupitos. It was quite the experience. It was a shot bar and they had over 550 differnt types of shots!! They even had one called a harry potter (which I obviously had to try). It was a shot with a orange slice on top of it. They would then start it on fire and sprinkle cinnamon on the fire to make it spark like a wand! Clever to say the least.
I was both sad and happy to leave Barcelona. Sad because I had such a wonderful time, but happy because when I returned to Dublin, I was to wait at the airport for my friends arrival!!!!!!
IRELAND
For their spring break, three of my friends (Sarah, Maggie, and Angie) came to visit. Little did the emerald isle know what they would be getting themselves into with the arrival of my three friends from Madison. All 4 of us had next to no sleep, but instead of resting for a bit, we decided to get our trip started!!!! We went out to lunch at this cafe called the Queen Bee (a place that I had wanted to try for awhile) and then headed to tour the Old Jameson Distillery. It was there that Angie and I received our accreditation as Official Whiskey Tasters. (see how much I'm learning here!)
The dates of their spring break were very fortunate as it meant they were here for ST PATRICKS DAY. I think it was single handedly one of the best days of my life. No Joke. All decked out in our feather boas and various head accessories we decided to brave the parade. The parade in itself was semi-dissapointing, but from there we decided to make an impromptu round around temple bar with some others from UCD. It was SO MUCH FUN. I don't know if it was just being with my friends or being able to pretend that I was Irish and semi pull it off or hereing Galway Girl 6-7 times, but it was a really fantastic day.
Here's a photo to show you just how Irish we can be (even if its only at heart):
While in Ireland we also took a trip to Howth (a small port town just north of Dublin), visited the GUinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, and Grafton Street for some shopping. After traveling to Scotland, which I will talk about below, we had two more friends join us! Elliot and Amyx! My flat was a bit cramped...but it was great to have them here for a few days!!
The day after St. Patricks though, we had a flight to Edinburgh--at 6:30 in the morning. That meant we had to be at the airport by 4:30 a.m. Brutal. But we were all in pretty good humor. I think we established early on that none of use would be getting very much sleep!
In Edinburgh our one goal was to see Edinburgh Castle. It was right next to our hostel and shouldnt have been that difficult. However, after wandering the city for our first day the castle was closed by the time we actually made it there. It ended up being ok though. Edinburgh itself was far more beautiful than I anticipated. The buildings are majestic, as is the scenery. Supposedly, JK rowling got her inspiration for hogwarts somehwere in Edinburgh--but I really never found out where. After wandering around for most of our first day, we booked a tour to Loch Ness and the highlands for day 2.
The tour itself was 12 hours!!!! We made a few stops along the way for photos and food. At one stop we had the privilige of meeting Hamish--some sort of Scottish Animal. It looked tame when we approached it for a photo, but as soon as we stood by him he started rearing his head and thrashing his horns. I wonder which one of my friends smelled. hmm. At that stop, Sarah and I also tried Haggis which is Sheep heart, liver, lungs mixed with oats and a slew of other things. I think its better I didnt know what it was before trying it!
This is us and Hamish:
Eventually we made it to Loch Ness and went on a boat tour. We sadly didn't see Nessie (any of the supposed 18). But it was still worth it I think. Loch Ness is actually HUGE. I didn't really comprehend it. If you took all the water out it would hold the world population (I think 3x, but maybe it was just once). We drove along it for almost an hour before we got to the dock of the boat tour--one huge lake.
The next day we took a bus up to St. Andrews to see the links course. I had a lot of fun at St. Andrews and seeing the course (well the 6 or 7 of them) was quite an experience. I know my dad, or any golfer really, would have enjoyed it immensely. We also walked through the St. Andrews Cathedral--or what was left of it--and walked by the ruined Castle.
After three pretty packed days then we headed back to Dublin!
It was really fantastic to have my friends here. I really really miss everyone back home, so it was nice to have some company here! I was very sad to have them leave, but I couldn't have been happier that everyone came. I know some of my favorite memories from my entire trip will be from their visits! I will see everyone in about a month and a half, except Elliot! I will get to see him in just about a month when I go visit him in Budapest!!!
Anyways, since then I have decided to start hanging around ireland a bit more and also start cracking down on some school work! I even went to the library twice!!
Last weekend though, I toured Leinster House (the parliament building for the republic of ireland) and then traveled up to Belfast with my study abroad group. We there toured Stormont, which is there parliament building. The Northern Ireland parliament was a bit more impressive than Leinster House, maybe because it is modeled after Westminster. At stormont, we got to eat in the members only dining room too!
Afterwards we did a tour of Belfast and saw the main buildings, the shipyard where Titanic was built, the most bombed building in the world (Europa Hotel), and also many of the wall murals. The murals were very interesting as they were a depiction of the conflict between the Unionists and Nationalists. We also saw some wall murals pertaining to america--many in a not so positive light.
It was interesting/intense to be in Belfast last weekend. A few weeks ago, two guards were murdered by the IRA (Irish Republican Army). This marked the first political murders in over 10 years. I really was unaware of the extent to which there still is a conflict. We didn't go searching for trouble, but we ended up running into a few men who had been involved in a riot that broke out outside the football match. They were accompanied by police in riot gear, armored cars, and helicopters flying overhead. I wouldnt exactly call that 'fun' but it was definitely an experience.
From Belfast, then, three of my friends and I took a bus up to Giant's Causeway. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Island of Ireland. We were able to walk the cliffs looking down on the causeway before actually heading there. There are a bunch of myths about how the causeway was formed, but I think its generally accepted its just a very unique volcanic rock formation. I haven't uploaded my photos yet from last weekend, but I will try to remember to post them the next time.
After visiting Giant's Causeway we took a bus to a rope bridge. After a nice walk, we arrived at the rope bridge which is suspended between two cliffs. I'm not afraid of heights, but I expected a little bit of anxiety before I crossed. I really didnt find it terrifying at all, maybe because the scenery was beautiful. I felt like I was in Hawaii or the carribean, minus the fact that it was rainy,windy, and just a bit chilly. The water was gorgeous and there were coves built into the cliffs that you could see after crossing the bridge. I could have stayed there for a very long time just staring at the scenery.
Well.. thats brought you up to speed on all my travels for now. If you made it this far I am very impressed. I don't have anything too huge planned for this weekend. I will be going to newgrange tomorrow, which is an ancient tomb. Supposedly it is older than either stonehenge or the pyramids. Then I'm hoping to FINALLY hit up the market they have on saturday mornings in temple bar.
As for other things going on in my life..the flat next to mine started on fire early this morning. So at 6 in the morning I got herded out of my flat, barefoot. Of the maybe 60 fire alarms we've had so far this semester, I was actually surprised to find this one was legit. They've been cleaning the apartment all day, which looks all together ruined. I've been trying to air mine out all day; but its been futile. It still smells like smoke after more than 12 hours. Thankfully, though, there was not any damange to my flat or any of the others.
I hope you all have great weekends and are getting ready for Spring! It's been beautiful here the last few days...about 60 degrees AND SUNNY!!! (its a new concept for us :)!)
Miss and Love you all,
Lisa
before my last post i had yet to travel out of ireland, i have now been in four other countries, one twice.
there is so much to tell that i cannot even begin to write it all down, but i will do my best here...
ITALY:
My first trip away from Ireland was to Venice, Italy. I was fortunate enough to travel there during Carnevale, perhaps their biggest festival of the year. It is, I believe, the 10 days before Ash Wednesday. We ended up staying in a hotel on the island a Mestre, just a short bus trip onto the main island, Venezia. It is basically impossible to go to Venezia with a plan/map. There are so many streets and alleys, all nameless, which makes it virtually impossible to navigate. Thankfully, it didn't really matter to us. As soon as we got to Venezia our first night, I begant to fully comprehend the scale of Carnevale. There were tons of little stands set up selling masks and capes and other traditional italian accessories.
We were lucky to get there right around dusk and so we saw the sun set as we meandered our way through the streets and along the canals. That night I got my first Italian gelatto (sorry Madison, it was far better than Paciugo). We also happened upon a band/dj playing in one of the piazza's. After walking around a bit, we headed back and ended up just drinking some wine and dancing in the middle of the piazza. It felt surreal, but it was a great way to start off the trip.
The above photo is a picture of a canal on my first night.The next day then, our one goal was to find San Marco Basilica. I think if you knew exactly where you were going it should have taken about an hour to walk to. Considering we just kind of meandered, turning when we pleased and stopping to look at shops along the way, I was rather impressed we got there in just over 2 hours. The Basilica looks out onto San Marco Piazza and it was fantastic. From the balcony of the basilica you can see both water and the piazza which was just filled with people.
THe first picture is of the Basilica, second is a view of the piazza from the balcony of the basilica, and the third is an example of how many people were dressed.Our final day in Venice we spent trying to visit some of the other islands. 2 of my friends and I first when to Venezia though, and while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive we got our faces painted!
After that we headed to Lido, a small island that you could probably walk around in about an hour. There is a very famous beach there, and I felt the need to go step in the Mediterranean Sea despite it being February still! We were almost the only people on the beach.
We went to the island of Murano after, it would have been really awesome to tour the glass factory there, but being Sunday and now evening, it was closed. We walked around a bit, but then headed back to Venezia and the San Marco Piazza for our last evening in Venice.
THe next day we took a train to Bologne (that's where we were flying back to Dublin from). We walked around the city for a bit, and saw Pluto's fountain (i think it was called) and I got a cappuccino at a cute little cafe while some of the other's went shopping.
I then came back to Dublin late Monday night and spent about 48 hours catchiing up on school and preparing for my trip to Spain the next weekend!
SPAIN (part a)
I went to Spain to visit my old roommate Maria. I left on Thursday for Madrid and spent the better portion of the day walking around the city. I saw the Templo de bod, the Plaza de Espana, Palacio Real, San Francisco Basilica, and many many many other things. I did A LOT of walking. My favorite part, though, was the Catedral Almuneda. I paid to go to the to top and it was totally worth it. There were a few balconies: one looked over the courtyard of the Palacio Real, and the other ones looked out over the rest of the city. The cathedral was so different than any other church I had been in, and I really enjoyed how the sun hit the beautiful colors inside.
On Friday, I did a lot more walking around the city center and also visted the Museo del Prado (their national museum). I also made a point to visit the Retiro Gardens--one reason I am now obsessed with Spain. It was not just the Retiro Gardens that I loved, but every garden I visited. They are extravagant and beautiful. The type of place where I could just casually walk through or sit and read a book or have a picnic or do an endless amount of other things. As soon as I walked through the entrance gate, I felt completely relaxed; it was like entering into a different world, but I was still in the city center of Madrid.
Both of these photos were taken in the Retiro Gardens.The real reason I went to Spain, as I mentioned above, was to visit my roommate Maria. It was beyond fantastic to see her, and seeing her really made me realize how much I missed having her by me every day. In Madrid, she took me out for my first Tapas experience--it will certainly not be my last. Then, on Friday afternoon we headed to Valencia--which is where she went to University. We spent the night there and the next day her and Julio took me around to see the sights of Valencia. It turns out the architect who built the famous art museum in Milwaukee, is actually from Valencia and has been designing a whole mall of buildings in their city. They have a theatre, aquarium, science museum, playground, and many other things -- just designed by him. I guess he is also the architect in charge of the 9/11 memorial. This picture shows most of the buildings...but there are still a few left out.
Saturday afternoon, then Maria, Julio and I headed to Gandia (Maria's hometown). I was able to meet her family--who were WONDERFUL, and enjoy a traditional Spanish siesta with them. The only difficulty was they didn't speak English and my Spanish is a bit worse than terrible. :( Maria served as our translator though, and if I ever have the opportunity to go back I plan on being much more proficient in my Spanish skills. Afterwards, we walked around Gandia and took a short drive to the beach (for which Gandia is famous). We got 'dinner' then with some of their friends--however we didn't start eating until 11:45 p.m. Then after finishing around 1:00, we headed to a bar. A bit of a different time schedule than home, or even Dublin. :) It was perfect though and I had a really wonderful time.Finally, on Sunday we headed back to Valencia on route to Madrid. It was the first of March and the start of Fallas--a huge festival in Valencia. It seemed like the entire city was gathered in the city centre and we headed there around 2:00p.m to watch a 10ish minute firework display. It was quite the experience, which you can pseudo experience if the video below actually works! :)
We then returned to Madrid Sunday night, so I could get ready for my flight on Monday. I then spent about 72 hours back in Dublin preparing for my first week and a half of spring break! (ALREADY!)
PARIS
This was the first stop on my spring break. I actually had no intent of going to Paris while I was here becaue I didn't feel like a weekend spent there would be enough time for me to truly get what I wanted out of it. But, when the opportunity presented itself to spend 5 days there I simply couldn't resist. I have wanted to come to Paris for as long as I can remember. I remember being in grade school and seeing my dad's pictures and movies set in paris (passport to paris obviously :)!) and I formed an obsession with the city. It was even the setting of the mystery 'book' I wrote in 6th grade. It was also the entire reasoning behind me taking french in high school. So, naturally, I had high expectations.
We were supposed to arrive in Beauvais (a city just north of Paris, have to love Ryanair's locations) at around 9:00 a.m. and then take a bus Paris. We flew above Beauvais for about an hour before they determined it was too foggy to land. As a result, we got diverted to Lille -- an airport even further from Paris. After landing there we had to take a bus to Beuvais, then transfer to another bus which would take us to Paris. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got to Paris around 5:00 p.m--a bit later than planned. It didn't end up mattering though, because Paris ended up exceeding my highest of expectations.
After checking into our hostel we took the metro to Trocadero. From Trocadero we walked to see the eiffel tower. I can't even describe how I felt the first time I saw it--it was just one of those perfect moments. We got off the Metro and we couldnt see the tower which was supposed to be really close. Then as we turned the corner of a building, there it was. To make it even better, after about staring at it for about 10 seconds the light show started. I couldn't say anything, I just gaped and actually almost cried. If I would have left Paris that night, I think I would have been satisfied. Here is a photo from my first night there...
This started my obsession with the eiffel tower, and I probably have about 60 photos of that alone. Anyways, I was in Paris for 5 days, so I was able to see many many things. We toured the Notre Dame, Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triumphe, Sacre Couer, and Moulin Rouge. We made a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower and climbed the stairs up it, visited the Jardin de Luxembourg, Pantheon, and did some shopping (window shopping that is) on the champs-elysees. On top of that, I indulged in countless crepes, gaufres, and other delectable pastries. I think my diet mostly consisted of carbs those 5 days--i just couldn't resist! Our hostel roommate also recommended this place called Angelina's. It is renowned for its hot chocolate. My friend Ann and I each got one, and while it looked small it was perfect. So rich and thick and amazing. We also went to L'aduree which is a restaraunt that is famous for its desserts. I got a macaron (specialty of Paris). I have forgotten the exact name, but it had carmael and apples and amazingness all sandwiched between the two parts of the macaron.I traveled there with my friends Lyndsie and Ann. On one of the days we also decided to take the train to Versailles. The palace itself is more immense than I imagined. The gates are covered in gold, and it emits this essence of history (if that's possible). We walked through part of the gardens (which if you were to do the entire thing would take you more than a day in itself) and also to Marie Antoinette's estate. We walked through a few of her buildings and also her 'village' she set up. It was cute, I felt like I was walking in candyland or something (minus the candy--but with that sense of mysticism). For some reason we sat on her farm for awhile, looking at the pigs, cows, ducks, roosters, horses, etc. I'm not sure why we stayed there for so long, but it was enjoyable.
I have so many pictures from Paris, I don't even know what to show you. But here are a few I hope you enjoy!
SPAIN (part b)
From Paris, I flew directly to Barcelona. There I met up with one of my friends and a bunch of her friends from UCD. It turned out to be so much fun! I didn't get in until after 11p.m. my first night and either did they. We went out for some kebabs, but then decided to call it a night.
Our next day we went to the most acclaimed tourist attraction in Barcelona--La Sagrada Familia. I was unaware that the church was not yet completed; in fact, it won't be finished for another 20-30 years! Considering they started building it over a century ago, I found that rather impressive! La Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi. During my time in Barcelona, we also visited La Pedrera (one of his apartment buildings) and Park Guell.
I also got my version of a 'relaxing' spring break in Barcelona. Almost every afternoon, we would head to the beach!! We stood in the water, but it was a bit too cold for swimming yet. Instead, we just layed around, chit chatting, playing frisbee, and enjoying the general atmosphere of the barcelona life style. My favorite moments from Barcelona, were those spent on the beach I think. When I was there, I remember thinking there is no place right now that I would rather be.I was only in Barcelona for 3.5 days, but I also went to the Olympic Stadium, the Boqueria and Las Ramblas in general, and to this tourist attraction where they had set up a pseudo traditional spanish town. It's kind of hard to explain, but you could walk around and see different craftsmen at work. For example, I saw one man molding glass figurines and another making guitars from scratch!
One of the evenings we went to a bar called Espito Chupitos. It was quite the experience. It was a shot bar and they had over 550 differnt types of shots!! They even had one called a harry potter (which I obviously had to try). It was a shot with a orange slice on top of it. They would then start it on fire and sprinkle cinnamon on the fire to make it spark like a wand! Clever to say the least.
I was both sad and happy to leave Barcelona. Sad because I had such a wonderful time, but happy because when I returned to Dublin, I was to wait at the airport for my friends arrival!!!!!!IRELAND
For their spring break, three of my friends (Sarah, Maggie, and Angie) came to visit. Little did the emerald isle know what they would be getting themselves into with the arrival of my three friends from Madison. All 4 of us had next to no sleep, but instead of resting for a bit, we decided to get our trip started!!!! We went out to lunch at this cafe called the Queen Bee (a place that I had wanted to try for awhile) and then headed to tour the Old Jameson Distillery. It was there that Angie and I received our accreditation as Official Whiskey Tasters. (see how much I'm learning here!)
The dates of their spring break were very fortunate as it meant they were here for ST PATRICKS DAY. I think it was single handedly one of the best days of my life. No Joke. All decked out in our feather boas and various head accessories we decided to brave the parade. The parade in itself was semi-dissapointing, but from there we decided to make an impromptu round around temple bar with some others from UCD. It was SO MUCH FUN. I don't know if it was just being with my friends or being able to pretend that I was Irish and semi pull it off or hereing Galway Girl 6-7 times, but it was a really fantastic day.
Here's a photo to show you just how Irish we can be (even if its only at heart):
While in Ireland we also took a trip to Howth (a small port town just north of Dublin), visited the GUinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, and Grafton Street for some shopping. After traveling to Scotland, which I will talk about below, we had two more friends join us! Elliot and Amyx! My flat was a bit cramped...but it was great to have them here for a few days!!The day after St. Patricks though, we had a flight to Edinburgh--at 6:30 in the morning. That meant we had to be at the airport by 4:30 a.m. Brutal. But we were all in pretty good humor. I think we established early on that none of use would be getting very much sleep!
In Edinburgh our one goal was to see Edinburgh Castle. It was right next to our hostel and shouldnt have been that difficult. However, after wandering the city for our first day the castle was closed by the time we actually made it there. It ended up being ok though. Edinburgh itself was far more beautiful than I anticipated. The buildings are majestic, as is the scenery. Supposedly, JK rowling got her inspiration for hogwarts somehwere in Edinburgh--but I really never found out where. After wandering around for most of our first day, we booked a tour to Loch Ness and the highlands for day 2.
The tour itself was 12 hours!!!! We made a few stops along the way for photos and food. At one stop we had the privilige of meeting Hamish--some sort of Scottish Animal. It looked tame when we approached it for a photo, but as soon as we stood by him he started rearing his head and thrashing his horns. I wonder which one of my friends smelled. hmm. At that stop, Sarah and I also tried Haggis which is Sheep heart, liver, lungs mixed with oats and a slew of other things. I think its better I didnt know what it was before trying it!
This is us and Hamish:
Eventually we made it to Loch Ness and went on a boat tour. We sadly didn't see Nessie (any of the supposed 18). But it was still worth it I think. Loch Ness is actually HUGE. I didn't really comprehend it. If you took all the water out it would hold the world population (I think 3x, but maybe it was just once). We drove along it for almost an hour before we got to the dock of the boat tour--one huge lake.
The next day we took a bus up to St. Andrews to see the links course. I had a lot of fun at St. Andrews and seeing the course (well the 6 or 7 of them) was quite an experience. I know my dad, or any golfer really, would have enjoyed it immensely. We also walked through the St. Andrews Cathedral--or what was left of it--and walked by the ruined Castle.
After three pretty packed days then we headed back to Dublin!
It was really fantastic to have my friends here. I really really miss everyone back home, so it was nice to have some company here! I was very sad to have them leave, but I couldn't have been happier that everyone came. I know some of my favorite memories from my entire trip will be from their visits! I will see everyone in about a month and a half, except Elliot! I will get to see him in just about a month when I go visit him in Budapest!!!
Anyways, since then I have decided to start hanging around ireland a bit more and also start cracking down on some school work! I even went to the library twice!!
Last weekend though, I toured Leinster House (the parliament building for the republic of ireland) and then traveled up to Belfast with my study abroad group. We there toured Stormont, which is there parliament building. The Northern Ireland parliament was a bit more impressive than Leinster House, maybe because it is modeled after Westminster. At stormont, we got to eat in the members only dining room too!
Afterwards we did a tour of Belfast and saw the main buildings, the shipyard where Titanic was built, the most bombed building in the world (Europa Hotel), and also many of the wall murals. The murals were very interesting as they were a depiction of the conflict between the Unionists and Nationalists. We also saw some wall murals pertaining to america--many in a not so positive light.
It was interesting/intense to be in Belfast last weekend. A few weeks ago, two guards were murdered by the IRA (Irish Republican Army). This marked the first political murders in over 10 years. I really was unaware of the extent to which there still is a conflict. We didn't go searching for trouble, but we ended up running into a few men who had been involved in a riot that broke out outside the football match. They were accompanied by police in riot gear, armored cars, and helicopters flying overhead. I wouldnt exactly call that 'fun' but it was definitely an experience.
From Belfast, then, three of my friends and I took a bus up to Giant's Causeway. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Island of Ireland. We were able to walk the cliffs looking down on the causeway before actually heading there. There are a bunch of myths about how the causeway was formed, but I think its generally accepted its just a very unique volcanic rock formation. I haven't uploaded my photos yet from last weekend, but I will try to remember to post them the next time.
After visiting Giant's Causeway we took a bus to a rope bridge. After a nice walk, we arrived at the rope bridge which is suspended between two cliffs. I'm not afraid of heights, but I expected a little bit of anxiety before I crossed. I really didnt find it terrifying at all, maybe because the scenery was beautiful. I felt like I was in Hawaii or the carribean, minus the fact that it was rainy,windy, and just a bit chilly. The water was gorgeous and there were coves built into the cliffs that you could see after crossing the bridge. I could have stayed there for a very long time just staring at the scenery.
Well.. thats brought you up to speed on all my travels for now. If you made it this far I am very impressed. I don't have anything too huge planned for this weekend. I will be going to newgrange tomorrow, which is an ancient tomb. Supposedly it is older than either stonehenge or the pyramids. Then I'm hoping to FINALLY hit up the market they have on saturday mornings in temple bar.
As for other things going on in my life..the flat next to mine started on fire early this morning. So at 6 in the morning I got herded out of my flat, barefoot. Of the maybe 60 fire alarms we've had so far this semester, I was actually surprised to find this one was legit. They've been cleaning the apartment all day, which looks all together ruined. I've been trying to air mine out all day; but its been futile. It still smells like smoke after more than 12 hours. Thankfully, though, there was not any damange to my flat or any of the others.
I hope you all have great weekends and are getting ready for Spring! It's been beautiful here the last few days...about 60 degrees AND SUNNY!!! (its a new concept for us :)!)
Miss and Love you all,
Lisa
Friday, February 6, 2009
I have spent the last week and a half almost entirely in Dublin. I enjoy being in the city centre a lot more than being on campus, so I normally head there whenever I have a significant block of free time. I really enjoy just grabbing a coffee and walking around for a few hours or sitting in St. Stephen's Green.
Part of the reason I chose the Dublin program was because UCD plans a few trips around Ireland for the study abroad students. On Saturday I will be going to Kilkenny. Also, last Thursday they planned for us to go to an Irish House Party (which was actually at a hotel). Basically, there was a traditional Irish band who taught us a few Irish songs and dances. Apparently one of the band members used to be a dancer for Riverdance, so she was pretty fantastic to watch. It was good to meet some of the other students and afterwards we all ended up going to a pub together. When we got to the pub there were a bunch of people sitting around a huge table just playing music. People could join in as they pleased--it reminded me so much of the live music at Brocach's in Madison. (Which you should all go to if you ever get the opportunity because it's amazing)
On Sunday then, I went to Dun Laoghaire with my friends Ann, Lyndsie and Kim. It was only about a 20 minute bus ride from campus. I heard there was an international market and I really wanted to check it out. It was possibly the cutest little town I've ever been to. The town is right on the coast but if you look away from the coast you can see mountains. I had pretty high expectations for the market and was not let down in the slightest. They had food from more places than I could imagine and it was hard not to buy something at each stand. I only ended up buying a few pastries, pesto, and sausage. Almost every stand had samples though, so naturally I tasted something from just about every stand. After the market we grabbed lunch at a burger restaraunt someone recommended. It was fantastic, but I think my burger was about 6 inches tall. Despite being signifcantly underdressed and freezing we then we spent some time on the pier and walking around town.
The next morning I woke up to a sadly familiar sight-snow. The girl I sat by on the plane had told me it hadn't snowed in Dublin in about 3 years, and apparently snow hasn't actually stuck to the ground in even more. Of course though, I arrive and it snows--blizzards even. I was expecting lots of rain, but I didn't bring appropriate clothing for snow so I have been freezing most of the week. It doesn't help that the heat in our kitchen/living area doesn't work. It snowed monday, tuesday and yesterday. The Irish people aren't used to snow so they don't really have any organized way of dealing with it. A normal 30 minute ride home from the city centre took me about an hour and everything was super slippery because I'm pretty sure they don't use salt. I guess taxis were canceled too which made getting to and from the airport insanely challenging. One nice thing though, was that my night class on Wednesday was canceled. It actually didn't snow at all on Wednesday so it was an odd experience for me to have a class canceled on the pretense of snow when I remember getting almost 15 inches of snow last year and still having class. Yesterday the snow caused COMPLETE CHAOS around campus--seriously. I remember learning about mob mentality, and I have finally witnessed it. I was trying to get into Quinn yesterday around 3 but the doors were all locked, I found this odd on a Thursday. A lady quickly cme opened the door for me and I learned they had to lock the doors because a bunch of students came into the building with snowballs and started pelting the professors and students in class. I also saw about 20 people standing on both sides of the road and when someone would walk by everyone would just start pelting snowballs at them. There were gangs of people throwing snowballs everywhere around campus, I heard they would force cars to stop then surround them and open the doors and throw snowballs at the passengers. I also saw people build snowmen on cars and build walls of snow around parked cars so they wouldn't be able to back out. I was walking to Merville (another residence) with a few friends last night and there was a group of about 10 people who would follow us and throw snowballs because they found it funny. I found it entertaining early in the day, but these antics were taken to such an extreme that it became violent. I saw one defenseless girl get surrounded and absolutely demolished by probably over 50 snowballs at once. I've seen my fair share of snowball fights, but I don't think I've ever seen them used as weapons to this extent. It was probably even worse that the snow was half ice chunks too.
Anyways, this week Antonella (my roommate) took Elena and I to the most fantastic cafe I have been to, ever. It doubles as a bar and restaraunt so it is very large. There are several different rooms and each has a little different character, I believe I could spend every waking moment there. It's not starbucks in the sense that there is no Wisconsin mural and Sarah/Lauren aren't sitting across from me, but it will more than suffice. Plus there is a starbucks 3 stores down :).
This week was Irish week on campus so there were a lot of events promoting the Irish language and Irish culture in general. They had a band playing at our student bar almost every night and on Tuesday I went to see a band called the Kilas. I guess they are pretty well known in Ireland; they sang all songs in Irish so I didnt actually understand anything, but it was still great craic.
Other than that, next weekend I will be going to Croke Park which is the National Irish Stadium. Apprarently it holds more people than anywhere the Super Bowl has been held. We will also be going to Malahide Castle. The weekend after that I will be going to either London or Barcelona and the following weekend I will be going to Madrid/Valencia. I can't believe how fast the semester is going--I have been here for nearly a month and looking forward I have something plannned for almost every weekend. It's crazy!
Well, I think that's it for now but I'll try and write again soon.
Cheers, Lisa
Part of the reason I chose the Dublin program was because UCD plans a few trips around Ireland for the study abroad students. On Saturday I will be going to Kilkenny. Also, last Thursday they planned for us to go to an Irish House Party (which was actually at a hotel). Basically, there was a traditional Irish band who taught us a few Irish songs and dances. Apparently one of the band members used to be a dancer for Riverdance, so she was pretty fantastic to watch. It was good to meet some of the other students and afterwards we all ended up going to a pub together. When we got to the pub there were a bunch of people sitting around a huge table just playing music. People could join in as they pleased--it reminded me so much of the live music at Brocach's in Madison. (Which you should all go to if you ever get the opportunity because it's amazing)
On Sunday then, I went to Dun Laoghaire with my friends Ann, Lyndsie and Kim. It was only about a 20 minute bus ride from campus. I heard there was an international market and I really wanted to check it out. It was possibly the cutest little town I've ever been to. The town is right on the coast but if you look away from the coast you can see mountains. I had pretty high expectations for the market and was not let down in the slightest. They had food from more places than I could imagine and it was hard not to buy something at each stand. I only ended up buying a few pastries, pesto, and sausage. Almost every stand had samples though, so naturally I tasted something from just about every stand. After the market we grabbed lunch at a burger restaraunt someone recommended. It was fantastic, but I think my burger was about 6 inches tall. Despite being signifcantly underdressed and freezing we then we spent some time on the pier and walking around town.
The next morning I woke up to a sadly familiar sight-snow. The girl I sat by on the plane had told me it hadn't snowed in Dublin in about 3 years, and apparently snow hasn't actually stuck to the ground in even more. Of course though, I arrive and it snows--blizzards even. I was expecting lots of rain, but I didn't bring appropriate clothing for snow so I have been freezing most of the week. It doesn't help that the heat in our kitchen/living area doesn't work. It snowed monday, tuesday and yesterday. The Irish people aren't used to snow so they don't really have any organized way of dealing with it. A normal 30 minute ride home from the city centre took me about an hour and everything was super slippery because I'm pretty sure they don't use salt. I guess taxis were canceled too which made getting to and from the airport insanely challenging. One nice thing though, was that my night class on Wednesday was canceled. It actually didn't snow at all on Wednesday so it was an odd experience for me to have a class canceled on the pretense of snow when I remember getting almost 15 inches of snow last year and still having class. Yesterday the snow caused COMPLETE CHAOS around campus--seriously. I remember learning about mob mentality, and I have finally witnessed it. I was trying to get into Quinn yesterday around 3 but the doors were all locked, I found this odd on a Thursday. A lady quickly cme opened the door for me and I learned they had to lock the doors because a bunch of students came into the building with snowballs and started pelting the professors and students in class. I also saw about 20 people standing on both sides of the road and when someone would walk by everyone would just start pelting snowballs at them. There were gangs of people throwing snowballs everywhere around campus, I heard they would force cars to stop then surround them and open the doors and throw snowballs at the passengers. I also saw people build snowmen on cars and build walls of snow around parked cars so they wouldn't be able to back out. I was walking to Merville (another residence) with a few friends last night and there was a group of about 10 people who would follow us and throw snowballs because they found it funny. I found it entertaining early in the day, but these antics were taken to such an extreme that it became violent. I saw one defenseless girl get surrounded and absolutely demolished by probably over 50 snowballs at once. I've seen my fair share of snowball fights, but I don't think I've ever seen them used as weapons to this extent. It was probably even worse that the snow was half ice chunks too.
Anyways, this week Antonella (my roommate) took Elena and I to the most fantastic cafe I have been to, ever. It doubles as a bar and restaraunt so it is very large. There are several different rooms and each has a little different character, I believe I could spend every waking moment there. It's not starbucks in the sense that there is no Wisconsin mural and Sarah/Lauren aren't sitting across from me, but it will more than suffice. Plus there is a starbucks 3 stores down :).
This week was Irish week on campus so there were a lot of events promoting the Irish language and Irish culture in general. They had a band playing at our student bar almost every night and on Tuesday I went to see a band called the Kilas. I guess they are pretty well known in Ireland; they sang all songs in Irish so I didnt actually understand anything, but it was still great craic.
Other than that, next weekend I will be going to Croke Park which is the National Irish Stadium. Apprarently it holds more people than anywhere the Super Bowl has been held. We will also be going to Malahide Castle. The weekend after that I will be going to either London or Barcelona and the following weekend I will be going to Madrid/Valencia. I can't believe how fast the semester is going--I have been here for nearly a month and looking forward I have something plannned for almost every weekend. It's crazy!
Well, I think that's it for now but I'll try and write again soon.
Cheers, Lisa
Monday, January 26, 2009
Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's taken me so long to write again..
First off I have been so bad about getting my address out so for reference it is:
Lisa Koth
B-14-6-3
Belgrove Student Residences
UCD
Belfield
Dublin 4
IRELAND
...the Irish love their separate lines apparently.
I started class this past week and so far it has not been too bad. My classes seem much different than back at Madison. First, each class only meets once a week for about 3 hours. On top of that, only about half the students show up and of the students that do show up at least half of them are international students. From my understanding, the low turnout results because there is a shortage of housing on campus and students who live less that 2 hours away are forced to commute each day. In my first class last week, the professor showed up 30 minutes late and then proceeded to answer his cell phone 5 times during lecture. I was so confused and almost offended at this lack of professionalism; however, the rest of my professors were punctual. We have spent a lot of time discussing the U.S. in each of my classes and it is very interesting to get an outsider perspective of the financial crisis/recession.
I only have class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so I finally was able to go grocery shopping on Thursday. I'm hoping my meals have a bit more diversity than toast and spaghetti. I found this great little market that sells fruits and vegetables 10 for 1 euro. They had everything from clementines and bananas to peppers tomatoes. I'm not able to choose which ones I want, so after taking out the bad ones its really more like 6 for a euro--but still a great deal.
On Friday, then, I ventured to the city of Cork with a few friends. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland and the city centre reminded me a lot of Dublin. After arriving at our hostel Friday night I realized my wallet was missing--which included almost every form of identification I had in Ireland, all my credit cards and money. I went back to the bus station in hopes of finding and luckily did. Needless to say, I will carry my wallet somewhere differently next time.
Saturday morning, we headed to Blarney to see the Blarney Castle; it is only about 20 minutes from Cork. We lucked out because it was an abnormally gorgeous morning for Ireland. The sun was shining during our whole tour of the Blarney Castle. I had heard the castle was a bit of let down, but I loved it. My friends made sure we covered almost every inch of the castle--including an underground tunnel/cave, murder hole, and kissing the blarney stone. It was really enjoyable and I took a ton of pictures which I will try and post to this blog. I thought of my McCarthy relatives because one of the signs talked about great craic (fun) and how the McCarthy's were great entertainers--I decided there must be some relation!
After the castle we ate traditional pub food [which I am still not sick of] and then headed to Blarney Woolen Mills which is a huge shopping store that carries anything and everything Irish. We then headed back to Cork and decided to make dinner at our hostel. While our hostel was actually quite nice, the kitchen had a few shortcomings. In order to keep the oven closed we had to prop a chair up against it. In addition, it was a gas stove. I had one in Madison so I did not foresee this being a problem. However, in order for the stove to be lit we had to turn on the gas and then start a fire with an outside flame so we ended up having to borrow a lighter from the guy at the front desk. Even if it took an abnormally long time to make the dinner, it ended up being quite fun and delicious. We met a lot of people in our hostel and then ended up just hanging out in the common room that night watching the top 50 hits of the 90's in the UK--it was great craic.
On Sunday then, we wanted to ring the bells of a famous church in Cork -- it has a huge golden fish on its steeple. We soon learned what should have been obvious -- Sunday is not the day to tour Churches. We were going to sit in on Mass then, but we weren't sure of the times and arrived half way through. After that, a few of my friends headed back to Dublin. The rest of us continued to walk around Cork. We had really only walked around the first evening and so I had not seen much of the city in the daylight. It was beautiful. I love how every church is an architectural phenomenon and I also enjoy the random statues and monuments constructed in the middle of streets. One aspect of Europe that I love is that everything is so old. One of the churches we walked into had a sign saying Christian gatherings had been held there for over 1000 years!
After grabbing an amazing lunch which included hot chocolate from Butler's chocaltier [a candy shop on the same scale as Vandewalle's) we headed back to Dublin. I really enjoyed the bus rides [both ways] because it allowed me to a lot of the Irish Countryside. The beautiful landscape is something I do not see in Dublin and definitely not in Wisconsin--although I did see many cows.
I don't have any crazy travel plans for the weekend because there is TradFest in the city centre. I believe this is a fairly large festival and there will be many cultural activities and Irish musicians playing. However, I did book a trip to Spain at the end of February!!! I will be visiting my old roommate, Maria, and am so excited! I will be spending a few days in Madrid and then heading also to Valencia.
I hope you are all doing well; although I am having a lot of fun, I miss you very much so please stay in touch!!
Love, Lisa
Sorry it's taken me so long to write again..
First off I have been so bad about getting my address out so for reference it is:
Lisa Koth
B-14-6-3
Belgrove Student Residences
UCD
Belfield
Dublin 4
IRELAND
...the Irish love their separate lines apparently.
I started class this past week and so far it has not been too bad. My classes seem much different than back at Madison. First, each class only meets once a week for about 3 hours. On top of that, only about half the students show up and of the students that do show up at least half of them are international students. From my understanding, the low turnout results because there is a shortage of housing on campus and students who live less that 2 hours away are forced to commute each day. In my first class last week, the professor showed up 30 minutes late and then proceeded to answer his cell phone 5 times during lecture. I was so confused and almost offended at this lack of professionalism; however, the rest of my professors were punctual. We have spent a lot of time discussing the U.S. in each of my classes and it is very interesting to get an outsider perspective of the financial crisis/recession.
I only have class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so I finally was able to go grocery shopping on Thursday. I'm hoping my meals have a bit more diversity than toast and spaghetti. I found this great little market that sells fruits and vegetables 10 for 1 euro. They had everything from clementines and bananas to peppers tomatoes. I'm not able to choose which ones I want, so after taking out the bad ones its really more like 6 for a euro--but still a great deal.
On Friday, then, I ventured to the city of Cork with a few friends. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland and the city centre reminded me a lot of Dublin. After arriving at our hostel Friday night I realized my wallet was missing--which included almost every form of identification I had in Ireland, all my credit cards and money. I went back to the bus station in hopes of finding and luckily did. Needless to say, I will carry my wallet somewhere differently next time.
Saturday morning, we headed to Blarney to see the Blarney Castle; it is only about 20 minutes from Cork. We lucked out because it was an abnormally gorgeous morning for Ireland. The sun was shining during our whole tour of the Blarney Castle. I had heard the castle was a bit of let down, but I loved it. My friends made sure we covered almost every inch of the castle--including an underground tunnel/cave, murder hole, and kissing the blarney stone. It was really enjoyable and I took a ton of pictures which I will try and post to this blog. I thought of my McCarthy relatives because one of the signs talked about great craic (fun) and how the McCarthy's were great entertainers--I decided there must be some relation!
After the castle we ate traditional pub food [which I am still not sick of] and then headed to Blarney Woolen Mills which is a huge shopping store that carries anything and everything Irish. We then headed back to Cork and decided to make dinner at our hostel. While our hostel was actually quite nice, the kitchen had a few shortcomings. In order to keep the oven closed we had to prop a chair up against it. In addition, it was a gas stove. I had one in Madison so I did not foresee this being a problem. However, in order for the stove to be lit we had to turn on the gas and then start a fire with an outside flame so we ended up having to borrow a lighter from the guy at the front desk. Even if it took an abnormally long time to make the dinner, it ended up being quite fun and delicious. We met a lot of people in our hostel and then ended up just hanging out in the common room that night watching the top 50 hits of the 90's in the UK--it was great craic.
On Sunday then, we wanted to ring the bells of a famous church in Cork -- it has a huge golden fish on its steeple. We soon learned what should have been obvious -- Sunday is not the day to tour Churches. We were going to sit in on Mass then, but we weren't sure of the times and arrived half way through. After that, a few of my friends headed back to Dublin. The rest of us continued to walk around Cork. We had really only walked around the first evening and so I had not seen much of the city in the daylight. It was beautiful. I love how every church is an architectural phenomenon and I also enjoy the random statues and monuments constructed in the middle of streets. One aspect of Europe that I love is that everything is so old. One of the churches we walked into had a sign saying Christian gatherings had been held there for over 1000 years!
After grabbing an amazing lunch which included hot chocolate from Butler's chocaltier [a candy shop on the same scale as Vandewalle's) we headed back to Dublin. I really enjoyed the bus rides [both ways] because it allowed me to a lot of the Irish Countryside. The beautiful landscape is something I do not see in Dublin and definitely not in Wisconsin--although I did see many cows.
I don't have any crazy travel plans for the weekend because there is TradFest in the city centre. I believe this is a fairly large festival and there will be many cultural activities and Irish musicians playing. However, I did book a trip to Spain at the end of February!!! I will be visiting my old roommate, Maria, and am so excited! I will be spending a few days in Madrid and then heading also to Valencia.
I hope you are all doing well; although I am having a lot of fun, I miss you very much so please stay in touch!!
Love, Lisa
Saturday, January 17, 2009
I moved into my dorm on the UCD campus Wednesday--it's no smith hall, but it's actually much nicer than I anticpated. There are three bedrooms, so I will have two other roommates. One of my roommates is from Italy. I also had one from California but she decided to go back home for the semester. Hopefully, though, Antonella and I will have another roommate before long.
The only people at UCD seem to be the study abroad and Erasmus students so the campus is still pretty dead. I guess most of the students won't be arriving until tomorrow.
Yesterday was my orientation--nothing too exciting except we learned about a few of the organized trips we will be taking. The international programs office seems pretty developed and they have a lot of activities planned--I will be able to travel to Belfast, the Wicklow Mountains and a whole slew of other places. On Tuesday, they are also having an event for the Inauguration--I'm quite excited for that as I thought I might miss it.
I have spent lots of my time in the city centre. There is just so much to see and I can't get enough of the atmosphere. There are street musicians, still people, and just so much diversity. I knew there would be a lot of tourists, but I love walking down the street and hearing so many different languages.
The weather here is a bit dreary. It's never too cold but it rains almost, if not every day--but on the bright side, I did see my first rainbow [in Ireland] yesterday!!
I'm actually quite excited for classes to start Monday. I'm not used to having so much free time and I think it will be good to get back into the swing of things.
The only people at UCD seem to be the study abroad and Erasmus students so the campus is still pretty dead. I guess most of the students won't be arriving until tomorrow.
Yesterday was my orientation--nothing too exciting except we learned about a few of the organized trips we will be taking. The international programs office seems pretty developed and they have a lot of activities planned--I will be able to travel to Belfast, the Wicklow Mountains and a whole slew of other places. On Tuesday, they are also having an event for the Inauguration--I'm quite excited for that as I thought I might miss it.
I have spent lots of my time in the city centre. There is just so much to see and I can't get enough of the atmosphere. There are street musicians, still people, and just so much diversity. I knew there would be a lot of tourists, but I love walking down the street and hearing so many different languages.
The weather here is a bit dreary. It's never too cold but it rains almost, if not every day--but on the bright side, I did see my first rainbow [in Ireland] yesterday!!
I'm actually quite excited for classes to start Monday. I'm not used to having so much free time and I think it will be good to get back into the swing of things.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Greetings!
I have been in Dublin for three days now -- I have had my sufficient share of challenges but am altogether having a great time and learning A LOT.
My plane ride over was rather uneventful, in fact it was much smoother than I anticipated given the weather conditions at the time. Once I arrived in customs, though, I faced my first challenge. Turns out the little blurb in my mother's travel book (which I read on the way to Chicago) about only being allowed to stay in Ireland for 90 days unless a return ticket is booked actually is true. As I held up the passport line and had to have my picture put on file with the Irish government, I felt like some super sketchy person who was trying to attempt something illegal. Thankfully though the lady let me through because my stay is only a month or so longer.
Because my housing doesn't actually open until tomorrow, I have been staying at a hostel for the past couple nights. I had printed off walking directions from the shuttle drop off spot and thought I was good to go. Instead of the 5 minute walk I should have had, I spent almost an hour walking in circles trying to find my hostel and figure out the maze that seemed to be the city centre of Dublin. Since finally arriving at my hostel, though, my trip has improved significantly.
I have spent most of my time the past few days just walking around. The first day I spent most of my time in the Grafton Street area -- one of many many many shopping areas. There were more stores than I could have dreamed of. However, it was a Sunday and a lot of places closed early. I wasn't really sure what to do then, so I found a Starbucks. My coffee which would cost me $1.74 back home, cost me 2.7 euros. Awesome.
I then slept for a very extensive period of time which was followed by my first experience with hostel [hopefully not all European] showers. My shower is like the faucets in some public restrooms where you have to push the handle down and then it runs for a few seconds before shutting off. So after pumping the handle for about five minutes (not even an exaggeration) I finally got hot water but then had to push the water back on about every 5-10 seconds.
Yesterday I spent most of my time in the Temple Bar and O'Connel street areas. Like Grafton Street there is an endless amount of shopping to be done. I would walk into a store and then realize that it was actually like 50 stores all merged together. One "store" was basically a shopping mall in itself(without actual store divisions). I walked into one thinking it was just Gap...turned out it was French Connection, United Colors of Benetton, Tommy Hillfiger, River Island, and like 20 more stores too (seriously). I decided it was a good thing I still have to move all my stuff to the UCD campus because otherwise I might have done some serious financial damage--there were just so many sales! I actually didn't buy anything though (be proud Dad!) I also went to St. Stephens Green which is a relatively large park. It kind of reminded me of one of the hofgarten we visited in Munich.
Today has actually been my favorite day thus far. For breakfast I went to Lemon which is a little crepe place by the Trinity campus. My hostelf roommate and my sister's friend Maddie recommended it so I figured it would be good--it was. If you are coming to visit me, I guarantee we'll be going there. I then decided to brave the bus system in order to get to the UCD campus. I thought it would be smart to find my dorm before actually moving in and avoid the hour of walking that it took me to find my hostel. It wasn't overly complicated and I made it to campus. I hadn't been sure what to expect, but I realy liked it. I went to the business school, my dorm, and then to a castle which has now been turned into the law school. There are tons of green areas and a fake pond kind of like the one in front of the Washington Memorial. I sat on the lawn by the pond and read for awhile and then headed back to the city centre. I went to a pub in hopes of grabbing dinner but they had stopped serving food. I went somewhere else then and got my first Guinness in Ireland. Delicious. I ate alone because I don't know anyone besides a few people from my hostel. It was kind of lonely, but I thought it kind of pathetic I hadn't been to a pub after three days in Ireland.
So that was a bit longer than I anticipated...I move into my dorm tomorrow and then have orientation Friday. I'll let you guys know when I figure out my address and also when I get a phone number.
I realize many of you are enjoying subzero temperatures and snow. Rumor has it, there hasn't been snow in Dublin for three years.
On that note, miss you all and hope everything is well!
<3 Lisa
I have been in Dublin for three days now -- I have had my sufficient share of challenges but am altogether having a great time and learning A LOT.
My plane ride over was rather uneventful, in fact it was much smoother than I anticipated given the weather conditions at the time. Once I arrived in customs, though, I faced my first challenge. Turns out the little blurb in my mother's travel book (which I read on the way to Chicago) about only being allowed to stay in Ireland for 90 days unless a return ticket is booked actually is true. As I held up the passport line and had to have my picture put on file with the Irish government, I felt like some super sketchy person who was trying to attempt something illegal. Thankfully though the lady let me through because my stay is only a month or so longer.
Because my housing doesn't actually open until tomorrow, I have been staying at a hostel for the past couple nights. I had printed off walking directions from the shuttle drop off spot and thought I was good to go. Instead of the 5 minute walk I should have had, I spent almost an hour walking in circles trying to find my hostel and figure out the maze that seemed to be the city centre of Dublin. Since finally arriving at my hostel, though, my trip has improved significantly.
I have spent most of my time the past few days just walking around. The first day I spent most of my time in the Grafton Street area -- one of many many many shopping areas. There were more stores than I could have dreamed of. However, it was a Sunday and a lot of places closed early. I wasn't really sure what to do then, so I found a Starbucks. My coffee which would cost me $1.74 back home, cost me 2.7 euros. Awesome.
I then slept for a very extensive period of time which was followed by my first experience with hostel [hopefully not all European] showers. My shower is like the faucets in some public restrooms where you have to push the handle down and then it runs for a few seconds before shutting off. So after pumping the handle for about five minutes (not even an exaggeration) I finally got hot water but then had to push the water back on about every 5-10 seconds.
Yesterday I spent most of my time in the Temple Bar and O'Connel street areas. Like Grafton Street there is an endless amount of shopping to be done. I would walk into a store and then realize that it was actually like 50 stores all merged together. One "store" was basically a shopping mall in itself(without actual store divisions). I walked into one thinking it was just Gap...turned out it was French Connection, United Colors of Benetton, Tommy Hillfiger, River Island, and like 20 more stores too (seriously). I decided it was a good thing I still have to move all my stuff to the UCD campus because otherwise I might have done some serious financial damage--there were just so many sales! I actually didn't buy anything though (be proud Dad!) I also went to St. Stephens Green which is a relatively large park. It kind of reminded me of one of the hofgarten we visited in Munich.
Today has actually been my favorite day thus far. For breakfast I went to Lemon which is a little crepe place by the Trinity campus. My hostelf roommate and my sister's friend Maddie recommended it so I figured it would be good--it was. If you are coming to visit me, I guarantee we'll be going there. I then decided to brave the bus system in order to get to the UCD campus. I thought it would be smart to find my dorm before actually moving in and avoid the hour of walking that it took me to find my hostel. It wasn't overly complicated and I made it to campus. I hadn't been sure what to expect, but I realy liked it. I went to the business school, my dorm, and then to a castle which has now been turned into the law school. There are tons of green areas and a fake pond kind of like the one in front of the Washington Memorial. I sat on the lawn by the pond and read for awhile and then headed back to the city centre. I went to a pub in hopes of grabbing dinner but they had stopped serving food. I went somewhere else then and got my first Guinness in Ireland. Delicious. I ate alone because I don't know anyone besides a few people from my hostel. It was kind of lonely, but I thought it kind of pathetic I hadn't been to a pub after three days in Ireland.
So that was a bit longer than I anticipated...I move into my dorm tomorrow and then have orientation Friday. I'll let you guys know when I figure out my address and also when I get a phone number.
I realize many of you are enjoying subzero temperatures and snow. Rumor has it, there hasn't been snow in Dublin for three years.
On that note, miss you all and hope everything is well!
<3 Lisa
Friday, January 9, 2009
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