23 April 2009
My Mid-Tudor Crisis
I was in a class this semester entitled the Mid-Tudor Crisis. The object of the class was to produce a 4,500 word essay due 22 April. I did quite a bit of research last week (note, not before break like I probably should have) and had quite a few notecards (my system is to put one fact per notecard and then put them in order the way I want it in my paper). I thought the stack would give me about 2,500 to 3,000 words - wrong! it gave me 1,500 and by the end of the night I had it bumped up to 2,000. This was on Monday night....and it was due Wednesday! So on Tuesday, I went to the library (I went around 4:00 and actually got a seat - the library is absolutely packed right now!) did some research and got almost 3,000 words with that. My plan when I left the library was to come home and research like crazy on the internet and finihs my paper Wednesday morning (wow, I'm still in paper mode....my mind was just trying to figure out how not to have all these being verbs). When I got home, the internet was out! This happened the night before my Rome mid-term was due, also, so I've decided the internet likes to hide when I have a paper due. Fortunately, I'd sent the paper to my mom for proofreading Tuesday morning so I just had to wait until Wednesday to go to the library and finish. My dad also got on and e-mailed me a bunch of websites so I didn't have to find sources on Wednesday. Fortunately, all of this helped, and I finished my paper at 4,149 words at 2:00 (it was due at 5:00). Talk about a stressful time! This morning was my final for Celtic Mythology, Religion, and Folklore - 2 classes down, 3 to go! I kind of don't like that these classes are finished (especially the Mid-Tudor one - I really like it). It means that the semester is really coming to an end. Next Wednesday, I have an exam for my Rome class (not gonna lie, I'll be glad to be done with it) and Katherine leaves. Then, it's May! When did that happen! Kelsey's "people" will come and Viviane and I will accompany them to the Arran Islands and Connemara, then Kelsey leaves on 13 May. On 26 May, my "people" come...and 7 days later, I go home. :( It's all gone by so fast. We have our farewell dinner from Butler tonight (last chance for free food!) I don't want to say farewell...we need to have another welcome dinner! It's going to be so depressing to say goodbye to everyone...maybe I should have come for a year...
13 April 2009
Spring Break
Warning: this post will probably be insanely long!
Our Spring Break adventure started on Sunday, 5 April. We took the bus to Dublin and immediately had a good omen for the trip as it was only 5 euro instead of the usual 15! Our flight to Brussels was also 5 euro so we decided it was the 5 euro trip. :) Our hotel in Dublin was in a fairly good location and was very tiny and cute. We honestly probably wouldn't have been nearly as excited if it didn't have a spiral staircase with a loft (yes, we are easily entertained). It also had a submarine bathroom - porthole in the door and the sink was actually IN the shower! We then went on a walk around Dublin - first stop, St. Patrick's Cathedral. We didn't go in because we are cheap, but we walked around the gardens, which were absolutely gorgeous! After passing a creepy statue and the place that sells fish 'n' chips the size of a small child (sadly, we did not eat there), we saw the place where Handel's Messiah was first performed and then on to Dublin Castle (I'm very disappointed that last year we didn't realize we were staying a block from a castle!) The Castle had a labrynth design in the garden so naturally we walked through it. On the way back to the other side, we ended up walking in a single file line and, I think, really entertained a guy who was sitting on a park bench near by. We decided to go to the Temple Bar area for supper and waited for 2 hours to get into a place that served Boxty - it was worth it. Naturally, no dinner is complete without a trip to get gelato!
Monday morning we woke up at 5:00 in order to get to the airport in time for our flight to Brussels - yuck. The cab driver was very nice and asked us where all we were headed. We explained our plan of winging it, but we were flying from Hamburg to Dublin on the 13th. He was surprised that we were coming back to Ireland and in my head I was thinking, "Why wouldn't we come back? We live here!" Obviously, I am well adjusted. :) Our hotel in Brussels was in a very sketchy area, but it was nice. While trying to sightsee in Brussels, we ended up getting on the metro, heading to what we thought was towards the city centre, walking from the metro stop to where we thought the city center should be, and ended up exactly where we started! Turns out, we get turned around on a metro...Once we found the city centre, we enjoyed Belgian Waffles IN BELGIUM! It was very exciting. The Grand Place in Brussels is very pretty, but it's really the only thing in the city worth seeing. Kelsey and I decided they made it the capital of the EU because it didn't have anything else going for it. On the way to the train station to figure out our tickets for the next day, we had many sketchy men around us. Our response to this, start speaking random Irish. Three of us had taken an Irish language course so we taught the other one a few phrases (mostly she just said slan, which means goodbye) and spoke in nonsense Irish until we got back to the hotel. We had lots of stares on the metro....
Tuesday, we went by bus from Brussels to PARIS!!!!!!!! I love Paris, in case you couldn't tell. :) On the way, we got stopped at the border for passport check, then again about a half an hour outside of Paris. After they had brought the drug dog onto the bus, they started checking the bags...evidently the dog liked Katherine's bag because she got pulled off the bus and had her bag searched. Good thing she could speak French! She was asked several times when we were in Amsterdam (we've never been) and was told she better just tell them because they saw the map of Amsterdam on her seat....map of Amsterdam = map of Brussels. The rest of us were very entertained and took pictures from inside the bus. Our hotel in Paris was perhaps my favorite on the whole trip. We had an awesome view of Montmartre from our window. The elevator was super tiny, though, and could only fit one of us with our bags, but we were on the sixth floor so we waited and took turns. After making plans to go to Lyon, we went to see the Eiffel Tower. It sparkles every hour - I was happy! We didn't go up in it, but we took LOTS of pictures.
Wednesday we saw a million things and walked 100 miles! Our first stop was Notre Dame. I didn't get any pictures inside because they were having mass and when I was there in high school I was annoyed with the tourists walking around taking pictures so I just walked around and tried to stay away from the congregation. We then decided to go the Paris Pantheon. EU citizens get in free so...we decided we are "Irish" and gave them our NUIG IDs. It worked! We then spent the rest of our time there practicing our Irish accents. Turns out I can only do an English accent. Our next stop was the Louvre. They had the same deal for EU citizens, but it turns out we're not Irish so it didn't work. :( After spending 3 1/2 hours in the Louvre and seeing the Egypt wing, the Venus de Milo, Nike, and the Mona Lisa, we walked down the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe...turns out that is a looooong way, but, we got crepes so it was ok. We then went to Montmartre and, after initial sketchiness, enjoyed walking around the little village. We went to the Sacre Couer Church and became very ashamed of our fellow citizens as some American students were having a party on the steps leading up to the church. Our response was to shout insults at them in Irish. We then finally went back and collapsed into bed. Wednesday was also my mom's birthday so I got to call her and wish her happy birthday from Paris!
Thursday, we took a train to Lyon. If you EVER get the chance to go there, DO IT! It may have surpassed Paris as my favorite city in Europe....I haven't decided yet. Our hotel here may qualify as the sketchiest hotel of the trip, but the city made up for that. Our first stop was to sit by the river and watch the little kids play in the water - they were so cute! We then walked around the city looking for a place to eat. The deciding factor was the fact that they guy came out and explained the menu to us (well, to Katherine as she was the only one who spoke French!) and it was actually open at 6:00 (most of the restaurants weren't open until 7:00 or 7:30). It was an excellent choice! We ended up sitting there for over 3 hours! The waiter also joked with us a lot (the language barrier made everything funnier), and we made the chef happy by taking pictures of our food. We then bought wine and apples to take back to our hotel room - very French!
Friday, we decided to go up to the big church on the hill above Lyon. We climbed 230 stairs - yes, we counted - and then continued up a sloping rosary garden. We didn't actually go in the church as we were worried about making our bus to Frankfurt, but the view was well worth the climb. After we checked out of the hotel, we became vagabonds! We took a night bus to Frankfurt Friday and a night bus to Hamburg on Saturday so we really had no home...it was fun! Kelsey and I also discovered to just use the bus's bathroom as if you get off the bus, the bus may leave you, and Vivane may have to frantically run up to the driver and tell him to stop. Thanks Viviane!
Saturday morning we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany. Evidently the Germans trust the French more than the French trust the Belgians because we did not have our passports checked upon entering Germany. It made us nervous because people kept asking us, "Why are you going to Frankfurt?!" but it turned out to be a lovely city. We decided to go the zoo - I'm not sure which was more entertaining, the animals or Kelsey being really excited about the animals. On the way to the zoo, we stopped at Starbucks for breakfast...the chairs were so comfy Katherine ended up taking a little power nap (which, I'm sure, was much needed!) After lounging for a couple hours in Starbucks, we went to the zoo. At the zoo, I realized that my bank card, garda card, and driver's license were no longer in my pocket. Bad realization. After the zoo, we found a place that served Frankfurters. We discovered that our idea of a Frankfurter and there idea of a Frankfurter are quite different so we had sausages instead. We also discovered that Germany has very expensive water. Water is usually free...In Germany it is 2.50. Good to know. After dinner we proceeded back to the train station where we hung out in front of the storage lockers and took vagabond pictures. This is when I realized that the cards I thought I'd lost were really in the pocket of my other jeans. Good realization.
Our bus for Hamburg left at 12:45 AM and lasted 7 hours. Upon arrival, we found our hotel almost immediately (first time that had happened all trip) and found out the room would not be ready until 3 PM. It was then 8 AM. Our dreams of sleep and showers were dashed. They did, however, have a breakfast room where we sat and ate and checked e-mail and maybe even slept a little. We also looked up Mass times as it was Easter and Kelsey and I really thought we should go to church. We found a 12:00 Mass that was in English (yay!) so we went to that, then walked around Hamburg and ate lunch. By the time we were done with that, our room was ready so we went back and took showers and really long naps. We then thought we should try to eat hamburgers in Hamburg so we went in search of a restaurant. Turns out very little is open at 10:00 at night on Easter Sunday. We ended up eating at a little restaurant that served Croatian food (we think), which was very good. The waitress was adorable - she was so impressed that we were American and tried to explain the menu even though she didn't speak any English (good thing Vivane speaks German!) We then collapsed into bed yet again and had the best night's sleep in the world. This was probably my favorite hotel of the trip, and it was also the cheapest!
This morning we left for the airport at 9:00 and arrived in Dublin at 2:00. We then found a bus going directly to Galway so we got on it and arrived home at 6:00. It was a wonderful trip, but I am glad to be home!
Our Spring Break adventure started on Sunday, 5 April. We took the bus to Dublin and immediately had a good omen for the trip as it was only 5 euro instead of the usual 15! Our flight to Brussels was also 5 euro so we decided it was the 5 euro trip. :) Our hotel in Dublin was in a fairly good location and was very tiny and cute. We honestly probably wouldn't have been nearly as excited if it didn't have a spiral staircase with a loft (yes, we are easily entertained). It also had a submarine bathroom - porthole in the door and the sink was actually IN the shower! We then went on a walk around Dublin - first stop, St. Patrick's Cathedral. We didn't go in because we are cheap, but we walked around the gardens, which were absolutely gorgeous! After passing a creepy statue and the place that sells fish 'n' chips the size of a small child (sadly, we did not eat there), we saw the place where Handel's Messiah was first performed and then on to Dublin Castle (I'm very disappointed that last year we didn't realize we were staying a block from a castle!) The Castle had a labrynth design in the garden so naturally we walked through it. On the way back to the other side, we ended up walking in a single file line and, I think, really entertained a guy who was sitting on a park bench near by. We decided to go to the Temple Bar area for supper and waited for 2 hours to get into a place that served Boxty - it was worth it. Naturally, no dinner is complete without a trip to get gelato!
Monday morning we woke up at 5:00 in order to get to the airport in time for our flight to Brussels - yuck. The cab driver was very nice and asked us where all we were headed. We explained our plan of winging it, but we were flying from Hamburg to Dublin on the 13th. He was surprised that we were coming back to Ireland and in my head I was thinking, "Why wouldn't we come back? We live here!" Obviously, I am well adjusted. :) Our hotel in Brussels was in a very sketchy area, but it was nice. While trying to sightsee in Brussels, we ended up getting on the metro, heading to what we thought was towards the city centre, walking from the metro stop to where we thought the city center should be, and ended up exactly where we started! Turns out, we get turned around on a metro...Once we found the city centre, we enjoyed Belgian Waffles IN BELGIUM! It was very exciting. The Grand Place in Brussels is very pretty, but it's really the only thing in the city worth seeing. Kelsey and I decided they made it the capital of the EU because it didn't have anything else going for it. On the way to the train station to figure out our tickets for the next day, we had many sketchy men around us. Our response to this, start speaking random Irish. Three of us had taken an Irish language course so we taught the other one a few phrases (mostly she just said slan, which means goodbye) and spoke in nonsense Irish until we got back to the hotel. We had lots of stares on the metro....
Tuesday, we went by bus from Brussels to PARIS!!!!!!!! I love Paris, in case you couldn't tell. :) On the way, we got stopped at the border for passport check, then again about a half an hour outside of Paris. After they had brought the drug dog onto the bus, they started checking the bags...evidently the dog liked Katherine's bag because she got pulled off the bus and had her bag searched. Good thing she could speak French! She was asked several times when we were in Amsterdam (we've never been) and was told she better just tell them because they saw the map of Amsterdam on her seat....map of Amsterdam = map of Brussels. The rest of us were very entertained and took pictures from inside the bus. Our hotel in Paris was perhaps my favorite on the whole trip. We had an awesome view of Montmartre from our window. The elevator was super tiny, though, and could only fit one of us with our bags, but we were on the sixth floor so we waited and took turns. After making plans to go to Lyon, we went to see the Eiffel Tower. It sparkles every hour - I was happy! We didn't go up in it, but we took LOTS of pictures.
Wednesday we saw a million things and walked 100 miles! Our first stop was Notre Dame. I didn't get any pictures inside because they were having mass and when I was there in high school I was annoyed with the tourists walking around taking pictures so I just walked around and tried to stay away from the congregation. We then decided to go the Paris Pantheon. EU citizens get in free so...we decided we are "Irish" and gave them our NUIG IDs. It worked! We then spent the rest of our time there practicing our Irish accents. Turns out I can only do an English accent. Our next stop was the Louvre. They had the same deal for EU citizens, but it turns out we're not Irish so it didn't work. :( After spending 3 1/2 hours in the Louvre and seeing the Egypt wing, the Venus de Milo, Nike, and the Mona Lisa, we walked down the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe...turns out that is a looooong way, but, we got crepes so it was ok. We then went to Montmartre and, after initial sketchiness, enjoyed walking around the little village. We went to the Sacre Couer Church and became very ashamed of our fellow citizens as some American students were having a party on the steps leading up to the church. Our response was to shout insults at them in Irish. We then finally went back and collapsed into bed. Wednesday was also my mom's birthday so I got to call her and wish her happy birthday from Paris!
Thursday, we took a train to Lyon. If you EVER get the chance to go there, DO IT! It may have surpassed Paris as my favorite city in Europe....I haven't decided yet. Our hotel here may qualify as the sketchiest hotel of the trip, but the city made up for that. Our first stop was to sit by the river and watch the little kids play in the water - they were so cute! We then walked around the city looking for a place to eat. The deciding factor was the fact that they guy came out and explained the menu to us (well, to Katherine as she was the only one who spoke French!) and it was actually open at 6:00 (most of the restaurants weren't open until 7:00 or 7:30). It was an excellent choice! We ended up sitting there for over 3 hours! The waiter also joked with us a lot (the language barrier made everything funnier), and we made the chef happy by taking pictures of our food. We then bought wine and apples to take back to our hotel room - very French!
Friday, we decided to go up to the big church on the hill above Lyon. We climbed 230 stairs - yes, we counted - and then continued up a sloping rosary garden. We didn't actually go in the church as we were worried about making our bus to Frankfurt, but the view was well worth the climb. After we checked out of the hotel, we became vagabonds! We took a night bus to Frankfurt Friday and a night bus to Hamburg on Saturday so we really had no home...it was fun! Kelsey and I also discovered to just use the bus's bathroom as if you get off the bus, the bus may leave you, and Vivane may have to frantically run up to the driver and tell him to stop. Thanks Viviane!
Saturday morning we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany. Evidently the Germans trust the French more than the French trust the Belgians because we did not have our passports checked upon entering Germany. It made us nervous because people kept asking us, "Why are you going to Frankfurt?!" but it turned out to be a lovely city. We decided to go the zoo - I'm not sure which was more entertaining, the animals or Kelsey being really excited about the animals. On the way to the zoo, we stopped at Starbucks for breakfast...the chairs were so comfy Katherine ended up taking a little power nap (which, I'm sure, was much needed!) After lounging for a couple hours in Starbucks, we went to the zoo. At the zoo, I realized that my bank card, garda card, and driver's license were no longer in my pocket. Bad realization. After the zoo, we found a place that served Frankfurters. We discovered that our idea of a Frankfurter and there idea of a Frankfurter are quite different so we had sausages instead. We also discovered that Germany has very expensive water. Water is usually free...In Germany it is 2.50. Good to know. After dinner we proceeded back to the train station where we hung out in front of the storage lockers and took vagabond pictures. This is when I realized that the cards I thought I'd lost were really in the pocket of my other jeans. Good realization.
Our bus for Hamburg left at 12:45 AM and lasted 7 hours. Upon arrival, we found our hotel almost immediately (first time that had happened all trip) and found out the room would not be ready until 3 PM. It was then 8 AM. Our dreams of sleep and showers were dashed. They did, however, have a breakfast room where we sat and ate and checked e-mail and maybe even slept a little. We also looked up Mass times as it was Easter and Kelsey and I really thought we should go to church. We found a 12:00 Mass that was in English (yay!) so we went to that, then walked around Hamburg and ate lunch. By the time we were done with that, our room was ready so we went back and took showers and really long naps. We then thought we should try to eat hamburgers in Hamburg so we went in search of a restaurant. Turns out very little is open at 10:00 at night on Easter Sunday. We ended up eating at a little restaurant that served Croatian food (we think), which was very good. The waitress was adorable - she was so impressed that we were American and tried to explain the menu even though she didn't speak any English (good thing Vivane speaks German!) We then collapsed into bed yet again and had the best night's sleep in the world. This was probably my favorite hotel of the trip, and it was also the cheapest!
This morning we left for the airport at 9:00 and arrived in Dublin at 2:00. We then found a bus going directly to Galway so we got on it and arrived home at 6:00. It was a wonderful trip, but I am glad to be home!
02 April 2009
School is OVER!!!!!!
Wow....it's only April and school is over! Yes, I still have three 5,000 word essays and 2 exams, but I only have 1 class tomorrow, and I'm done! My exams are 23 and 29 of April, one of my essays is due 22 April and the other two are due 18 and 20 of May! The scary part is it still doesn't feel like I'm in school. This whole semester I haven't really felt like I'm actually in school - I'm just kind of hanging out in Ireland with some classes thrown in. I'm really sad that my Irish class is over. We got certificates today to prove that we'd taken the class - It was exciting. :)
I leave Saturday morning with 3 of my friends for Dublin to start our Spring Break! On Monday morning we fly to Brussels, and from there, who knows! We're going to go to Berlin and Paris for sure (I think...lol) and maybe Amsterdam. I'm so excited! A week and a half gallivanting around Europe - how exciting is that! We're going to come back on the 15th because Viviane has an exam on the 17th and Kelsey and I have papers due the 22nd. That weekend, however, we are going to London, and the next weekend Kelsey and I are going to Italy!
On a sadder note, Katherine leaves the 29th...I think that's when it will really set in that this whole experience is almost over. I don't want it to be over! I would rather start over and do it again! I still have so much I want to do...I want to go to Scotland at some point (if my bank account holds up...this is looking more and more questionable), the Arran Islands (which should happen the second weekend in May), Connemara (this is just a day trip from Galway so it should be easy enough to get done), and Kilkenny (I went there last year and really want to go back!) So much to do, so little time and money. Sad day...
I leave Saturday morning with 3 of my friends for Dublin to start our Spring Break! On Monday morning we fly to Brussels, and from there, who knows! We're going to go to Berlin and Paris for sure (I think...lol) and maybe Amsterdam. I'm so excited! A week and a half gallivanting around Europe - how exciting is that! We're going to come back on the 15th because Viviane has an exam on the 17th and Kelsey and I have papers due the 22nd. That weekend, however, we are going to London, and the next weekend Kelsey and I are going to Italy!
On a sadder note, Katherine leaves the 29th...I think that's when it will really set in that this whole experience is almost over. I don't want it to be over! I would rather start over and do it again! I still have so much I want to do...I want to go to Scotland at some point (if my bank account holds up...this is looking more and more questionable), the Arran Islands (which should happen the second weekend in May), Connemara (this is just a day trip from Galway so it should be easy enough to get done), and Kilkenny (I went there last year and really want to go back!) So much to do, so little time and money. Sad day...
18 March 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was awesome!!! We started out the morning by fixing a big breakfast at my house around 10:30, then heading to the parade that started about 12:30. The parade was really cool - the red sails of Galway Bay and the swans on the River Corrib were all represented. They also had the different ethnic groups marching (i.e. the Asian-Irish and African-Irish). There were a lot of schools that had their kids playing the tin whistle, snare drum, and bells - that was cool! After the parade we went to eat at the Skeff (a local pub) where they had St. Patrick Day specials - surprisingly enough, there were no traditional (well, what an American would think of as traditional) foods on the list! We then went back to Katherine and Viviane's apartment and watched P.S. I Love You much to my enjoyment! :D We then decided that it was time to go out as the Traditional Society was doing a session at the Crane Bar, which ended up being packed and the musicians didn't play that much. So we decided to grab dinner (we had pizzas - how St. Patrick's Dayish is that!) I then came back to my apartment as I had an essay due today and needed to finish it... :( It was so nice outside, though - we really couldn't have asked for a better day! I was walking around in short sleeves WITHOUT a jacket! I was amazed.
Today after our Irish class, Katherine and I took her friends to the bus station and then lay in Eyre Square and people-watched and enjoyed the beautiful weather that continued into today - let's hope it stays this way for a long time!
Today after our Irish class, Katherine and I took her friends to the bus station and then lay in Eyre Square and people-watched and enjoyed the beautiful weather that continued into today - let's hope it stays this way for a long time!
14 March 2009
Yesterday, 3 other girls and I had a music session with out Irish language lecturer. It was so much fun! It was kind of interesting for me because I don't play any of the instruments we had so I kind of tried to play the tin whistle...I'm not sure how many notes I got right, but at least I tried! 2 of the other girls just knew a lot of songs, but they did have music books so Katherine and I could play too. I learned how to play the bohdran and the spoons! I'm not sure how successful I was at either one, but it was still fun!
09 March 2009
Belfast
Northern Ireland was pretty amazing! I really wasn't sure if I would like it - I've been taking a class entitled The Northern Ireland Problem, and I've found myself taking on the Irish Nationalist view of Northern Ireland and the UK. Belfast was definitely a lot more industrialized than Ireland is - it had more of a big city feel to it and it's actually smaller than Wichita! It takes 6 hours to get there because we have to drive across Ireland to Dublin, then up to Belfast. We left about 10:00 in the morning on Thursday and got to Belfast about 3:30 - 4:00 that afternoon. We then had a welcome dinner at the hotel - we all gorged ourselves at the group meals since it's the last free food we get until the farewell meal! Kelsey and I then walked around Belfast looking for an internet cafe....we discovered that the map lied and we were not going to find one in the area we were in so had to backtrack to the hotel and go the other way! I thought it was amazing that two girls could walk around Belfast today, alone, at night, and feel perfectly safe (we're even both Catholic!) - that view will soon change - I will discuss in a minute.
Friday was our excursion day! We started out going to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. It was a little scary when you were walking across and the bridge was bouncing up and down, but they had lots of nets and ropes to catch you if you fell. The scenery around it was beautiful - I'm a little fascinated with the ocean so I have a LOT of pictures of the waves (Kansas is landlocked - give me a break!) The next stop was Dunluce Castle....it was soooo cool! It's definitely just the ruins left, grass floor and no roof, and the kitchen fell into the sea a long time ago, but it's still pretty cool looking. We only had 10 - 15 minutes to explore, which was not even close to enough time, but I still got some really good pictures. After lunch we went to Giants Causeway. This was the only part of the day that it rained, but it was still a lot of fun! Again, I took way too many pictures of the ocean, but I was really entertained that we were right on the coast (I've always been looking at the ocean from cliffs, never actually right up next to it!) Kelsey and I decided we've never been so wet and cold and happy at the same time!
Saturday was our free day in Belfast. We started out by going to Belfast Castle, which is absolutely gorgeous! They were setting up for a wedding, but they still let us walk around and take lots of pictures - I think all of us decided we wanted to get married there, too! :) It had a princess staircase in the back so we all lined up and took "prom" pictures - it was a lot of fun! After we were done at the castle, we went to the market and the mall and did a little shopping (I got new flats - I was pretty excited about them!) We then ran back to our hotel in time for the Black Cab Tour because we were not watching the time carefully enough! The Black Cab Tours take you around parts of Belfast and show you the murals painted on the walls that deal with the Troubles. Before leaving for Belfast, I was under the impression that there really wasn't anymore violence in Northern Ireland and that the wall was still up more as a tourist thing than a necessary thing. Nevermind. The first thing our cab driver told us we needed to know was, "If I say run, you don't ask where, you just run!" I'm not sure how much of this was a lets see how much we can scare the Americans thing, but it worked! I got to sign the wall and they explained to us that even though a ceasefire was declared in 1998, that didn't mean the Catholics and Protestants ran into the streets and gave each other hugs. These two groups still hate each other and the wall is still needed. There are a lot of gates through the wall that are open during the week, but all but one of these gates are locked from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 a.m. Monday to lower the tension between the two groups. That tour was definitely worth making the trip to Belfast.
After our group meal, we decided to go to the Belfast Wheel (basically a smaller version of the London Eye). It was raining a little, but nothing too bad so we got on and started going up. We stopped at the top and realized the storm was a little worse up there! The wind was blowing the box around and the rain and wind sounded horrible inside. It was probably one of the scarier things I've ever done! We went around all 5 times, but then when we got off, the workers were going to go up and test it to make sure it was safe....I guess we were the guinea pigs!
We left Belfast at 11:00 Sunday morning and got back to Galway at 5:30 - a fairly decent time to start working on my paper again.....except the internet was out! Thankfully, I have a very loving dad and brother who took pity on me and e-mailed me several sites that I could look at this morning when I came to the library! So my paper's turned in and all is good in the world - now lets hope I get my other stuff done before the night before it's due!
Friday was our excursion day! We started out going to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. It was a little scary when you were walking across and the bridge was bouncing up and down, but they had lots of nets and ropes to catch you if you fell. The scenery around it was beautiful - I'm a little fascinated with the ocean so I have a LOT of pictures of the waves (Kansas is landlocked - give me a break!) The next stop was Dunluce Castle....it was soooo cool! It's definitely just the ruins left, grass floor and no roof, and the kitchen fell into the sea a long time ago, but it's still pretty cool looking. We only had 10 - 15 minutes to explore, which was not even close to enough time, but I still got some really good pictures. After lunch we went to Giants Causeway. This was the only part of the day that it rained, but it was still a lot of fun! Again, I took way too many pictures of the ocean, but I was really entertained that we were right on the coast (I've always been looking at the ocean from cliffs, never actually right up next to it!) Kelsey and I decided we've never been so wet and cold and happy at the same time!
Saturday was our free day in Belfast. We started out by going to Belfast Castle, which is absolutely gorgeous! They were setting up for a wedding, but they still let us walk around and take lots of pictures - I think all of us decided we wanted to get married there, too! :) It had a princess staircase in the back so we all lined up and took "prom" pictures - it was a lot of fun! After we were done at the castle, we went to the market and the mall and did a little shopping (I got new flats - I was pretty excited about them!) We then ran back to our hotel in time for the Black Cab Tour because we were not watching the time carefully enough! The Black Cab Tours take you around parts of Belfast and show you the murals painted on the walls that deal with the Troubles. Before leaving for Belfast, I was under the impression that there really wasn't anymore violence in Northern Ireland and that the wall was still up more as a tourist thing than a necessary thing. Nevermind. The first thing our cab driver told us we needed to know was, "If I say run, you don't ask where, you just run!" I'm not sure how much of this was a lets see how much we can scare the Americans thing, but it worked! I got to sign the wall and they explained to us that even though a ceasefire was declared in 1998, that didn't mean the Catholics and Protestants ran into the streets and gave each other hugs. These two groups still hate each other and the wall is still needed. There are a lot of gates through the wall that are open during the week, but all but one of these gates are locked from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 a.m. Monday to lower the tension between the two groups. That tour was definitely worth making the trip to Belfast.
After our group meal, we decided to go to the Belfast Wheel (basically a smaller version of the London Eye). It was raining a little, but nothing too bad so we got on and started going up. We stopped at the top and realized the storm was a little worse up there! The wind was blowing the box around and the rain and wind sounded horrible inside. It was probably one of the scarier things I've ever done! We went around all 5 times, but then when we got off, the workers were going to go up and test it to make sure it was safe....I guess we were the guinea pigs!
We left Belfast at 11:00 Sunday morning and got back to Galway at 5:30 - a fairly decent time to start working on my paper again.....except the internet was out! Thankfully, I have a very loving dad and brother who took pity on me and e-mailed me several sites that I could look at this morning when I came to the library! So my paper's turned in and all is good in the world - now lets hope I get my other stuff done before the night before it's due!
04 March 2009
Snow!!!!!
It snowed today!!! Thankfully, none of it stuck (I don't think I would enjoy walking to and from school in snow!) but it came down at least twice in big puffy flakes!
I'm going to leave this post short as I am still working on my mid-term paper for my Rome class and would like to have it done before I leave for Belfast tomorrow!
I'm going to leave this post short as I am still working on my mid-term paper for my Rome class and would like to have it done before I leave for Belfast tomorrow!
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