After battling a virus and frantically warding off snow, I was able to take off from Dublin and make it back to the good ole' US of A.
Besides being really happy about being home, I miss Dublin already and everyone there. Best semester ever and I can't believe it's over.
Anyway, time to indulge in some American food and egg nog as I drift into hibernation for the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for reading the blog- hope it was enjoyable!
December 23, 2010
December 19, 2010
Donezo!
Finished up exams!
I'm about as ecstatic as Buddy the Elf is here.
Also, in case you haven't heard Coldplay's new Christmas song, give it a listen. Pretty good.
I'm about as ecstatic as Buddy the Elf is here.
Also, in case you haven't heard Coldplay's new Christmas song, give it a listen. Pretty good.
December 17, 2010
The Final(s) Days
In my attempts to procrastinate from studying, I figured I'd write one of my final posts.
It's impossible to believe that I leave Dublin in less than a week. Where did the semester go? I'm in an state of utter denial. In an ideal world, next semester I could come back to Dublin but bring everyone from Georgetown and Georgetown itself over with me. Or maybe I could pack Dublin with me. Either way, I need to find a lot of money or get a reality check.
At this point I've had 3 papers and 2 finals with the last final on its way tomorrow. Despite the vacation from Georgetown-work, I feel like I probably learned more this semester than any thus far. Maybe that's a romanticized version of the truth, but I feel there's some validity to it. Hell week is about to draw to a close and then I'll be ready to head back to the States.
In other news, the other day I went to a sold out Deadmau5/Calvin Harris/Steve Aoki concert with Chris at The O2 for a crazy study break. Between the spastic lights and amazing house music, it was a really wild experience. We loved every second of it and came out of it feeling ready to crush our next exams.
Yes, he wears a mouse helmet that's actually a computer. SO COOL.
And for your viewing pleasure:
And with that, my top albums of 2010 are as follows:
1) LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
2) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3) Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
4) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
5) Vampire Weekend - Contra
Runners Up: The National - High Violet, Caribou - Swim, Four Tet - There Is Love In You, The Walkmen - Lisbon, Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
Most listened to song (darkhorse pick/nerd alert): Ravel - Jeux D'eau
I'm not ashamed to say that my list is totally and 100% subjective, so sorry to any of the haters out there (you too, Pitchfork.com).
Guess it's time to get back to studying. One last thing- 1 week til Christmas!
It's impossible to believe that I leave Dublin in less than a week. Where did the semester go? I'm in an state of utter denial. In an ideal world, next semester I could come back to Dublin but bring everyone from Georgetown and Georgetown itself over with me. Or maybe I could pack Dublin with me. Either way, I need to find a lot of money or get a reality check.
At this point I've had 3 papers and 2 finals with the last final on its way tomorrow. Despite the vacation from Georgetown-work, I feel like I probably learned more this semester than any thus far. Maybe that's a romanticized version of the truth, but I feel there's some validity to it. Hell week is about to draw to a close and then I'll be ready to head back to the States.
In other news, the other day I went to a sold out Deadmau5/Calvin Harris/Steve Aoki concert with Chris at The O2 for a crazy study break. Between the spastic lights and amazing house music, it was a really wild experience. We loved every second of it and came out of it feeling ready to crush our next exams.
Yes, he wears a mouse helmet that's actually a computer. SO COOL.
And for your viewing pleasure:
And with that, my top albums of 2010 are as follows:
1) LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
2) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3) Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
4) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
5) Vampire Weekend - Contra
Runners Up: The National - High Violet, Caribou - Swim, Four Tet - There Is Love In You, The Walkmen - Lisbon, Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
Most listened to song (darkhorse pick/nerd alert): Ravel - Jeux D'eau
I'm not ashamed to say that my list is totally and 100% subjective, so sorry to any of the haters out there (you too, Pitchfork.com).
Guess it's time to get back to studying. One last thing- 1 week til Christmas!
December 16, 2010
Joyeux Noel
Currently, I'm battling my final exams and papers. What better way to combat the end-of-term woes by recounting my killer trip to Paris?
As soon as classes ended at the beginning of the month, my friends and I were scheduled to fly to Paris for the week. At the same time, the fury of the gods rained down on Western Europe in the form of snow. To make matters worse, Ireland shuts down at the very sign of snow (if you think US roads are bad in snow, you no longer have room to complain). Needless to say, our flight was canceled. Trying to keep our cool and our hope afloat (i.e. not frozen), we booked an outbound for 6 the next morning. Luckily, the snow temporarily stopped and we were able to take off from the icy runway.
By the time we got to our hostel in Les Gobelins (after landing in Beauvais and bussing the two hours to center city Paris), it was about 12. We dropped off our stuff and immediately hit up a cafe to begin our delicious food marathon. I think at some point someone must have realized we hadn't seen anything yet, so we took the metro to Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. You know that feeling you get when you enter a cathedral, thinking "seen one church, seen 'em all"? I frequently experience that, so this will speak volumes. I walked into Notre Dame and thought "WHAT IS THIS?" It was undeniably cool. The gargoyles, flying buttresses, intricate stained glass windows, mammoth pipe organ, and fact that it took 3 centuries to complete the church made it a standout in my mind.
10 points to whoever sees the hunchback
After thinking we spotted Quasimodo ringing the bells and Victor Hugo below taking notes, we walked along the Seine in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. The cold temperature was pretty unreasonable as we passed by the Latin Quarter, Pont Neuf, the Musee D'Orsay, University of Paris, and Les Invalides so we had to duck into a cafe for some hot Chocolat (think Johnny Depp). We covered a lot of ground during that walk and got acquainted to the massive scale of the city. Eventually, we lost sight of the Eiffel Tower to the buildings in front of us and thought we lost the way. But with a couple of more impromptu turns down sidestreets, the Eiffel Tower emerged like a mechanical monster casting enormous shadows over awe-struck bystanders. WOW. So cool. Nightfall just descended as we got our tickets and hopped on the elevator to the top, with the city lighting up and the strobe lights of the Tower beginning to flash uncontrollably. We stopped off on the first observation deck with an incredible view of the City of Lights, pointing out all the major landmarks as we made a 360 along the railing. Then it was time to take the small elevator to the very top. When we got off, we were intimidated by a number of things: the freezing temperatures, the vertigo-inducing feeling of standing on metal rods at the skyscrapingly high elevation, and the beauty of the city below us. It was incredible. But after the suggestion of hypothermia, we were ready to head back to the hostel to warm up followed by a mouth-waterng three course meal accompanied by vin.
And people didn't like this when it was first built
On day two of our trip we decided to conquer The Louvre. Actually. We ambitiously covered most of the hallowed halls of the palace and all the art within it over the course of the whole day.
So the Egyptians were here?
Some really unbelievable stuff in there- Venus, The Coronation of Napoleon, Delacroix's works (Chopin included), the Wedding Feast at Cana, and of course the Mona Lisa. Mona wouldn't stop looking at me even though I told her I wasn't interested (her smile was weird). After failing to find the Holy Grail under the glass pyramid (thanks for the bad tip, Robert Langdon), we got on the metro to Champs de Elysee. Humming the familiar tune to ourselves, we strolled around the shopping district lined with Christmas-decorated trees until we arrived at L'arc de Triomphe. When we got under the Napoleonic arch, there was some sort of WWII ceremony going on between French and US military members. The monument is a lot bigger than I thought it would be (and I thought it would be pretty big). Anyway, that night we celebrated Jeff's 21st with a really good dinner in Place d'Italie with some authentic Bordeaux vin.
On Sunday, we said goodbye to Jeff and Aodhan as they made the journey back to Dublin. This was our really chill day. We leisurely explored the city, starting off with the Hotel de Ville, Centre Pompidou and the Marais. It's the home to film premieres and high profile concerts as well as an array of bizarre modern art.
Centre Pompidou looks like it was designed with pipes and a crayola box
Anyway, we then checked out Mariage Freres which is considered to be one of the best tea shops/rooms in the world. They have a collection of thousands of teas with spices from all over the globe. It smelled really good in there. Then we went to the Jardin des Tuileries to check out the frozen-over flowers and fauna. We tried to picture what it would look like in Spring. Next, we walked over to Musee d'Orsay but weren't able to get in since the line wait was over two hours long. Who knew? Instead, we went to the Conciergerie which was one of the main prisons at the time of the Reign of Terror. Inside was an exhibit on portrayals of French monuments in film (an added bonus). We also saw Marie Antoinette's holding cell before her beheading. Continuing the day's chill theme, we strolled through the Latin Quarter. We grabbed a bite to eat in the Left Bank. There, Kelsey and Angela gave escargots a try, but I had to pass. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped in a piano bar to listen to some music and sip on some vin.
When Monday came around, we decided to check out some less mainstream sites. First we saw all the Christmas decorations Galleries Lafayette and their musical themed windows at the department stores. Across the street was the Academie Nationale de Musique, or more commonly the Palais Garnier. This enormous building serves as the inspiration for the Phantom of the Opera (including the fallen chandelier) and was the model for the movie adaptation. Now, it houses the majority of ballet productions in Paris as well as some opera. The intricate architecture was really overwhelming.
No masked menace singing his heart out when we were there
Next, we walked towards Place de la Concorde that once was the home for the guillotine. Unexpectedly, we saw some headless people. On a monument/obelisk depicting the horrors during the Revolution, that is. It's also now the home to the ministry of Justice (too funny). The square is the largest in France and one of the bigger ones in Europe. All around it are the most expensive jewelry stores in Paris decorated with snowflakes and Chrstmas-y things.
We then hopped on the metro towards uptown where we saw Sacre Coure in Montmartre. The large basilica rests on top the highest point in Paris, overlooking the whole city. It was just a spectacular view outside as it was inside with all the religious frescos. I couldn't stop thinking of Amelie while we were there.
anyone see the traveling gnome or Amelie?
Then we took a train to the east part of the city to check out Chateau de Vincennes. The fortress was once a medieval Castle equipped with a moat. When we got there, the tours stopped running, so we just explored at our own pace- checking out the church, castle, and courtyard.
Kelsey used to live near here. I wonder if this was her place?
That night we had our final French dinner at a popular place by our hostel which inevitably ended in a food coma.
On Tuesday, we had to wake up pretty early to go over to Versailles. And by "had to," I mean extremely willingly. We couldn't wait to see the palace with our all-access passes. Walking up to the palace was an extremely humbling experience. The gates of gold, ornately decorated stone, and brilliant statues made the White House look like a joke.
Man, I wish I were a Louis
Inside is some of the most impressive architecture you'll ever come across. Not only that, but the scale was INSANE! At the time of our visit, there was a Takashi Murakami exhibit that decorated the hallowed halls. It was really cool to see the contrast between Japanese pop art/superflat with the neo-Baroque/superclassical of the surroundings. Really amazing.
In the Hall of Mirrors
Then we walked in the blizzard through the gardens to the guest house. Very cool, but very cold.
After spending the day on the grounds of Versailles, it was time to catch our flight back to Dublin to get started on finals. But not without one last stop for some delicious food.
Better get back to studying. I have two more finals- one Friday and one Saturday, then it's home free. It's really scary to think I have less than a week left in Dublin at this point, but I'm definitely ready to see everyone for Christmas. Probably have a couple more posts in me before it's time to say goodbye to the old country.
As soon as classes ended at the beginning of the month, my friends and I were scheduled to fly to Paris for the week. At the same time, the fury of the gods rained down on Western Europe in the form of snow. To make matters worse, Ireland shuts down at the very sign of snow (if you think US roads are bad in snow, you no longer have room to complain). Needless to say, our flight was canceled. Trying to keep our cool and our hope afloat (i.e. not frozen), we booked an outbound for 6 the next morning. Luckily, the snow temporarily stopped and we were able to take off from the icy runway.
By the time we got to our hostel in Les Gobelins (after landing in Beauvais and bussing the two hours to center city Paris), it was about 12. We dropped off our stuff and immediately hit up a cafe to begin our delicious food marathon. I think at some point someone must have realized we hadn't seen anything yet, so we took the metro to Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. You know that feeling you get when you enter a cathedral, thinking "seen one church, seen 'em all"? I frequently experience that, so this will speak volumes. I walked into Notre Dame and thought "WHAT IS THIS?" It was undeniably cool. The gargoyles, flying buttresses, intricate stained glass windows, mammoth pipe organ, and fact that it took 3 centuries to complete the church made it a standout in my mind.
10 points to whoever sees the hunchback
After thinking we spotted Quasimodo ringing the bells and Victor Hugo below taking notes, we walked along the Seine in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. The cold temperature was pretty unreasonable as we passed by the Latin Quarter, Pont Neuf, the Musee D'Orsay, University of Paris, and Les Invalides so we had to duck into a cafe for some hot Chocolat (think Johnny Depp). We covered a lot of ground during that walk and got acquainted to the massive scale of the city. Eventually, we lost sight of the Eiffel Tower to the buildings in front of us and thought we lost the way. But with a couple of more impromptu turns down sidestreets, the Eiffel Tower emerged like a mechanical monster casting enormous shadows over awe-struck bystanders. WOW. So cool. Nightfall just descended as we got our tickets and hopped on the elevator to the top, with the city lighting up and the strobe lights of the Tower beginning to flash uncontrollably. We stopped off on the first observation deck with an incredible view of the City of Lights, pointing out all the major landmarks as we made a 360 along the railing. Then it was time to take the small elevator to the very top. When we got off, we were intimidated by a number of things: the freezing temperatures, the vertigo-inducing feeling of standing on metal rods at the skyscrapingly high elevation, and the beauty of the city below us. It was incredible. But after the suggestion of hypothermia, we were ready to head back to the hostel to warm up followed by a mouth-waterng three course meal accompanied by vin.
And people didn't like this when it was first builtOn day two of our trip we decided to conquer The Louvre. Actually. We ambitiously covered most of the hallowed halls of the palace and all the art within it over the course of the whole day.
So the Egyptians were here?
Some really unbelievable stuff in there- Venus, The Coronation of Napoleon, Delacroix's works (Chopin included), the Wedding Feast at Cana, and of course the Mona Lisa. Mona wouldn't stop looking at me even though I told her I wasn't interested (her smile was weird). After failing to find the Holy Grail under the glass pyramid (thanks for the bad tip, Robert Langdon), we got on the metro to Champs de Elysee. Humming the familiar tune to ourselves, we strolled around the shopping district lined with Christmas-decorated trees until we arrived at L'arc de Triomphe. When we got under the Napoleonic arch, there was some sort of WWII ceremony going on between French and US military members. The monument is a lot bigger than I thought it would be (and I thought it would be pretty big). Anyway, that night we celebrated Jeff's 21st with a really good dinner in Place d'Italie with some authentic Bordeaux vin.
On Sunday, we said goodbye to Jeff and Aodhan as they made the journey back to Dublin. This was our really chill day. We leisurely explored the city, starting off with the Hotel de Ville, Centre Pompidou and the Marais. It's the home to film premieres and high profile concerts as well as an array of bizarre modern art.
Centre Pompidou looks like it was designed with pipes and a crayola boxAnyway, we then checked out Mariage Freres which is considered to be one of the best tea shops/rooms in the world. They have a collection of thousands of teas with spices from all over the globe. It smelled really good in there. Then we went to the Jardin des Tuileries to check out the frozen-over flowers and fauna. We tried to picture what it would look like in Spring. Next, we walked over to Musee d'Orsay but weren't able to get in since the line wait was over two hours long. Who knew? Instead, we went to the Conciergerie which was one of the main prisons at the time of the Reign of Terror. Inside was an exhibit on portrayals of French monuments in film (an added bonus). We also saw Marie Antoinette's holding cell before her beheading. Continuing the day's chill theme, we strolled through the Latin Quarter. We grabbed a bite to eat in the Left Bank. There, Kelsey and Angela gave escargots a try, but I had to pass. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped in a piano bar to listen to some music and sip on some vin.
When Monday came around, we decided to check out some less mainstream sites. First we saw all the Christmas decorations Galleries Lafayette and their musical themed windows at the department stores. Across the street was the Academie Nationale de Musique, or more commonly the Palais Garnier. This enormous building serves as the inspiration for the Phantom of the Opera (including the fallen chandelier) and was the model for the movie adaptation. Now, it houses the majority of ballet productions in Paris as well as some opera. The intricate architecture was really overwhelming.
No masked menace singing his heart out when we were thereNext, we walked towards Place de la Concorde that once was the home for the guillotine. Unexpectedly, we saw some headless people. On a monument/obelisk depicting the horrors during the Revolution, that is. It's also now the home to the ministry of Justice (too funny). The square is the largest in France and one of the bigger ones in Europe. All around it are the most expensive jewelry stores in Paris decorated with snowflakes and Chrstmas-y things.
We then hopped on the metro towards uptown where we saw Sacre Coure in Montmartre. The large basilica rests on top the highest point in Paris, overlooking the whole city. It was just a spectacular view outside as it was inside with all the religious frescos. I couldn't stop thinking of Amelie while we were there.
anyone see the traveling gnome or Amelie?
Then we took a train to the east part of the city to check out Chateau de Vincennes. The fortress was once a medieval Castle equipped with a moat. When we got there, the tours stopped running, so we just explored at our own pace- checking out the church, castle, and courtyard.
Kelsey used to live near here. I wonder if this was her place?
That night we had our final French dinner at a popular place by our hostel which inevitably ended in a food coma.
On Tuesday, we had to wake up pretty early to go over to Versailles. And by "had to," I mean extremely willingly. We couldn't wait to see the palace with our all-access passes. Walking up to the palace was an extremely humbling experience. The gates of gold, ornately decorated stone, and brilliant statues made the White House look like a joke.
Man, I wish I were a Louis
Inside is some of the most impressive architecture you'll ever come across. Not only that, but the scale was INSANE! At the time of our visit, there was a Takashi Murakami exhibit that decorated the hallowed halls. It was really cool to see the contrast between Japanese pop art/superflat with the neo-Baroque/superclassical of the surroundings. Really amazing.
In the Hall of Mirrors
Then we walked in the blizzard through the gardens to the guest house. Very cool, but very cold.
After spending the day on the grounds of Versailles, it was time to catch our flight back to Dublin to get started on finals. But not without one last stop for some delicious food.
Better get back to studying. I have two more finals- one Friday and one Saturday, then it's home free. It's really scary to think I have less than a week left in Dublin at this point, but I'm definitely ready to see everyone for Christmas. Probably have a couple more posts in me before it's time to say goodbye to the old country.
December 8, 2010
To whet your appetite...
Gonna post a detailed description of my trip to Paris, but in the meantime I'll make you all jealous with a list of everything I ate there:
-Canard au Grand Marnier
-Boeuf Bourguignon
-Le Thon
-Steak Hache
-Croque Monsieur
-Plate du Fromage et Baguette
-Soupe a l'oignon francais
-Saucisse Tartine
-Tomate Salade
-Frites
-Croissants
-Crepe Sucre
-Gaufre
-Creme de Caramel
-Mousse Chocolat
-Ile Flottante
-Creme Glacace Cafe
-Thes
-Cafe au Laits
-Vin (so many kinds)
Hope I made your mouths water.
-Canard au Grand Marnier
-Boeuf Bourguignon
-Le Thon
-Steak Hache
-Croque Monsieur
-Plate du Fromage et Baguette
-Soupe a l'oignon francais
-Saucisse Tartine
-Tomate Salade
-Frites
-Croissants
-Crepe Sucre
-Gaufre
-Creme de Caramel
-Mousse Chocolat
-Ile Flottante
-Creme Glacace Cafe
-Thes
-Cafe au Laits
-Vin (so many kinds)
Hope I made your mouths water.
Pilgrims and Indians in Ireland?
Hey devoted readers. Sorry it's been so long since I've written, but things have been a bit crazy around here lately. Naturally, I gotta catch y'all up to speed.
Two weeks back, my folks made the trek to the old country to share an expatriate Thanksgiving with none other than myself. They arrived on Tuesday and stayed through the following Monday. I met the jet-lagged pair at their hotel on St. Stephen's Green after class on Tuesday for an abbreviated tour of center city Dublin (an lair, in Irish). We walked around Grafton, O'Connell and ended up at a great fish and chips joint near my place. I also introduced them to authentic Guinness. Mom and Dad were struggling to stay awake at that point, so I saw the kids off to bed and hit the books. The next day, they did a bus tour of the city while I was at UCD. I later met up with them and showed them the Harcourt/Camden club area where we had dinner at The Bleeding Horse. There, we feasted on Guinness stew with a pint of Bulmer's cider. Lackadasically walking in a food coma, we hit up O'Donaghue's for some Irish music and good ole craic. Thursday was Thanksgiving, of course, so we went to The Shelbourne Hotel for a 5-star dinner. The Hotel was actually the residence of Michael Collins and many of the Irish revolutionaries at one time, so the exterior is still decorated with a few bullet holes for history's sake. Our food was ridiculously good. While Irish beef and vegatables with red wine isn't traditional for Thanksgiving, I could definitely get used to it.
Friday came along and we had to wake up at the crack of dawn to hop on a bus that would take us to Northern Ireland. Our first stop was Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge where we sufficiently experienced vertigo looking down into the salmon-infested waters. On the horizon from the little island, we could clearly make out Scotland.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Next on the tour was Giant's Causeway. This topographical phenomenon was formed from an ancient volcano spewing lava which instantly cooled into hexagonal columns with the freezing waters. We walked down the cliff to the main collection of rock formations and almost got blown over in the process. It was way cool.
Giant's Causeway
Following the Causeway, we went to Dunlace Castle which is the inspiration for Cair Paravel in Chronicles of Narnia. The mammoth castle is situated on the cliffs of one of the northern most points in Ireland. After connecting with my man C.S. Lewis a bit, we headed to Belfast for a quick tour of the city. It was crazy learn how much violence went on there for such a built up metro area. Nevertheless, we all really liked it. We finally made it back to Dublin really late and got our sleep on.
On Saturday, we we had another early morning for a tour of Central and Southeastern Ireland. Well, on Friday night, a snowstorm as mighty as the fires of Hell decided to descend upon an unsuspecting Ireland and sent the country into a state of chaos. Streets were unpaved, salt was missing, sleet was pouring, and children were crying (well maybe not the last one). Anyway, we weren't able to make it to the famed mountains of Wicklow and see Glendalough. Instead, our tour took us on the trecherous roads to Kilkenny. This medieval town is host to one of the bigger castles in the republic, a great Cathedral, and expensive shopping. The castle was amazing! I was a big fan. Anyway, the bus took us on the snow-infested roads to The Rock of Dunamase. Situated on a large hill with a breathtaking 360 degree view of central Ireland, this castle dates back to the 8th century. Nearly slipping many times on the snow and ice, we finally made it to the top and looked out over the beautiful countryside. Then it was time to head on home to Dublin.
The Rock of Dunamase
After a weekend of intense touring and travelling, we took it easy on Sunday. I had some work to do so I sent my parents down to Dun Laoghaire (Dunleary) for a chance to spot Bono walking the beaches. Unfortunately, they didn't see Paul or his neighbors Enya or Van on that particularly cold afternoon. That night, we warmed up with some shepherd's pie as we said goodbye.
It was awesome getting to experience the motherland with Mom and Dad. I was really grateful that they were able to make the trip out and see me over Thanksgiving. That week was really one of the highlights of my time here. There's nothing like getting in touch with your ancestral roots with your parents.
The following few days were jam packed with paper-writing before I got on a flight to Paris. And before the snowstorm of a century hit Europe.
Two weeks back, my folks made the trek to the old country to share an expatriate Thanksgiving with none other than myself. They arrived on Tuesday and stayed through the following Monday. I met the jet-lagged pair at their hotel on St. Stephen's Green after class on Tuesday for an abbreviated tour of center city Dublin (an lair, in Irish). We walked around Grafton, O'Connell and ended up at a great fish and chips joint near my place. I also introduced them to authentic Guinness. Mom and Dad were struggling to stay awake at that point, so I saw the kids off to bed and hit the books. The next day, they did a bus tour of the city while I was at UCD. I later met up with them and showed them the Harcourt/Camden club area where we had dinner at The Bleeding Horse. There, we feasted on Guinness stew with a pint of Bulmer's cider. Lackadasically walking in a food coma, we hit up O'Donaghue's for some Irish music and good ole craic. Thursday was Thanksgiving, of course, so we went to The Shelbourne Hotel for a 5-star dinner. The Hotel was actually the residence of Michael Collins and many of the Irish revolutionaries at one time, so the exterior is still decorated with a few bullet holes for history's sake. Our food was ridiculously good. While Irish beef and vegatables with red wine isn't traditional for Thanksgiving, I could definitely get used to it.
Friday came along and we had to wake up at the crack of dawn to hop on a bus that would take us to Northern Ireland. Our first stop was Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge where we sufficiently experienced vertigo looking down into the salmon-infested waters. On the horizon from the little island, we could clearly make out Scotland.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Next on the tour was Giant's Causeway. This topographical phenomenon was formed from an ancient volcano spewing lava which instantly cooled into hexagonal columns with the freezing waters. We walked down the cliff to the main collection of rock formations and almost got blown over in the process. It was way cool.
Giant's Causeway
Following the Causeway, we went to Dunlace Castle which is the inspiration for Cair Paravel in Chronicles of Narnia. The mammoth castle is situated on the cliffs of one of the northern most points in Ireland. After connecting with my man C.S. Lewis a bit, we headed to Belfast for a quick tour of the city. It was crazy learn how much violence went on there for such a built up metro area. Nevertheless, we all really liked it. We finally made it back to Dublin really late and got our sleep on.
On Saturday, we we had another early morning for a tour of Central and Southeastern Ireland. Well, on Friday night, a snowstorm as mighty as the fires of Hell decided to descend upon an unsuspecting Ireland and sent the country into a state of chaos. Streets were unpaved, salt was missing, sleet was pouring, and children were crying (well maybe not the last one). Anyway, we weren't able to make it to the famed mountains of Wicklow and see Glendalough. Instead, our tour took us on the trecherous roads to Kilkenny. This medieval town is host to one of the bigger castles in the republic, a great Cathedral, and expensive shopping. The castle was amazing! I was a big fan. Anyway, the bus took us on the snow-infested roads to The Rock of Dunamase. Situated on a large hill with a breathtaking 360 degree view of central Ireland, this castle dates back to the 8th century. Nearly slipping many times on the snow and ice, we finally made it to the top and looked out over the beautiful countryside. Then it was time to head on home to Dublin.
The Rock of Dunamase
After a weekend of intense touring and travelling, we took it easy on Sunday. I had some work to do so I sent my parents down to Dun Laoghaire (Dunleary) for a chance to spot Bono walking the beaches. Unfortunately, they didn't see Paul or his neighbors Enya or Van on that particularly cold afternoon. That night, we warmed up with some shepherd's pie as we said goodbye.
It was awesome getting to experience the motherland with Mom and Dad. I was really grateful that they were able to make the trip out and see me over Thanksgiving. That week was really one of the highlights of my time here. There's nothing like getting in touch with your ancestral roots with your parents.
The following few days were jam packed with paper-writing before I got on a flight to Paris. And before the snowstorm of a century hit Europe.
November 22, 2010
London Calling
The Eye and Parliament from the Thames
Last Thursday, some friends and I headed to London town. We flew into Luton, which has to be one of the smallest airports in the Western world, then took a train into St. Pancras/Kings Cross station. A friend of ours who lives in London met up with us at the home of Platform 9 3/4 and took us to a pub. We had a couple drinks then grabbed an unbelievably delicious kebab and passed out.
The next morning, I met up with Christian and it was off to Westminster. After strolling through the area and taking pictures of Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Big Ben, we went to the Cavalry museum. Apparently the horses are vicious- the sign warns tourists that they may "Bite or Kick." Fortunately, we didn't witness any such violent action and walked to The Eye unscathed. Some of us went on the famous ferris wheel conveniently located right next to the British Film Museum. The view from the top was unreal; we had a panorama of the city with clear, blue skies (I know, right?).
From the top of The Eye
Coming down from that high, we ventured to Trafalgar Square. There we had a lion- and fountain-themed photo shoot. Once some little kids began following our lead, we felt it was time to stop and go inside the National Gallery. They had lots of great stuff in there- Van Dyck, Matisse, Degas, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, etc. We probably could have stayed there for days.
National Gallery in Trafalgar Sq
At the end of our speed session through the museum, we went to Piccadilly Circus. All I could think of was "An American Werewolf in London." Pretty sure I was the only one. It's essentially Times Square in London. Next, we saw The British Museum. SO COOL. To summarize, the British hoarded the treasures of the ancient world and put them in one place for you to see. That is, most of the Parthenon and of ancient Egypt is in there. That was probably my favourite part of the trip. Ironically, it has very little to do with England other than the fact that they're a world super power. Anyway, the next visit was to Covent Garden. We ooed and ahhed over the Christmas decorations and pricey shops, then grabbed some dinner. That night, we went to a bar in Soho. I ordered one drink the whole night because the prices were insanely high- like 5 pounds for a bottle. It worked out okay though, since we were exhausted from the long day.
On Saturday, we had a later start but eventually made it across town to The Tower of London. That place is massive. Some people went inside, but Christian and I decided to keep the 16 pounds and walk across Tower Bridge instead. We got a good view of City Hall and The Thames. When the others finished the tour and I finished my Egg Nog latte (score), we took a bus to St. Paul's Cathedral. We got there just before mass was about to begin so it was packed. The design takes a lot from St. Peter's. Needless to say, it was beautiful. Then, we crossed the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern.
Millennium Bridge
Ambitiously, we attempted to complete the whole museum in 1 hour flat. Impossible. The building is enormous and literally impossible to cover that amount of ground in that short amount of time. But we did see some fantastic Surrealist stuff (lots of Dali), some Picasso, Munch, Warhol, etc. We practically sprinted to see as much as possible. Then we grabbed dinner at a nice Italian place situated next to The Globe. Our view was of Shakespeare's old stomping grounds, the Thames, and London Bridge. Not bad. I had to shake off a food coma before hopping on the Tube to Harrods. The prices were out of control. I've never seen stuff so expensive in my life. One bottle of whiskey was 12,250 pounds (almost $24,000). Parked outside were rows of Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Bentleys, Rolls Royces and every other luxury car you can name. We felt bad about ourselves, so we bought gelatto and went to a huge carnival in Hyde Park. Aptly named "Winter Wonderland," this carnival seemed to take everything from Oktoberfest (Germans included) and redesign it all with Christmas decorations. It seemed to fit with the theme of the weekend by being an overwhelmingly large festival. There were so many winter drinks (spiced hot rum, heated wine, Irish coffee, punch, spiked hot chocolate) and plenty of rides to choose from. In the center was a huge ice skating rink. It was seriously awesome- I felt like a 6 year old. That night, we went to Leicester Square in Soho to go clubbing. Those prices were exhorbitantly high- some were 50 pounds cover! We ended up going to the cheapest one we could find and ended up dancing to a playlist that would have been appropriate for a wedding. Very interesting DJ to say the least... but we had a blast anyway and it was a good ending to the weekend.
Sunday morning, we lethargically traveled back home to Dublin. What a weekend.
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