Home Again

So after an up (got first class from Dublin) and down (missed my connection in chicago...extra 4 hours!) trip back to Baltimore, I'm back at work...yes, on my lunch break, I'm writing you all!

Being back at work is really not too bad...kinda nice actually...though not nearly as fun...haha...go figure.

Looking back on the 1400km that we drove, I think that the Cliffs of Moher were the best place that we visited, and the best part of the trip was that my friend Dan is very interested in traveling the world. It's awesome to be apart of showing someone all that there is too see, and helping them learn that this is so much more left to see!

Another thought, that I think I wrote about already...there is no better artist than Mother Nature...amazing...

The last day...Relaxation!

Woke up late...wondered onto the streets of Galway...entered the mall that's nearby and found a coffeeshop/cafe for breakfast...by the way, I never mentioned what a full irish breakfast is...sausage (yum), hashers (bacon), eggs, black and white pudding (tasted a little, didn't like it), tomato, bread, and coffee/tea. Good stuff. We didn't quite have a full breakfast, but it was good nonetheless.

Anyway, we happen to be staying next to Eyre Square which used to be called JFK square, not sure what happened, but it's nice. All we did today was wonder over tot eh college, then to the shopping center for souvenours (on one end of the city), see the cathedral, walk through the spanish arch area, and then walk to Claddaugh (the other side of the city..north to south anyway)...and sit there looking out of the Galway bay...reflecting on great trip. Just a slow day in Ireland. This is a great city. Awesome mix of culture (lots of music), people (lots of young people, but a good deal of older folks too), urbanity, and small town lvinging. It's big enough to be a city, but small enough not to be overbearing as a city. There are enough cars, but it's easy to walk around and relax, without being bothered by them. The restaurants and cafes seem to be full of cosmopolitan folks, but they don't seem stuffy or stuck up. It's been described as an up and coming city...and I would say that's exactly right. If you're looking for a place in Ireland to visit, you won't go wrong in Galway.

So in all of these posts so far, I've failed to mention how awesome the people are here. We haven't met a person who wasn't nice and wasn't willing to help us out. I have found that the people are not overly polite in the terms we'd expect, but it in no way is an indication of anything reflecting us or them. What I mean is that the people can be short with their small talk or cordialities, but are very nice if you ask them questions or need something. We read that the people will excuse an social faux paus, and I think it's true...they are just soo nice!

The normal day has light showers that last for 2 mins at a time, it's amazing!

okay, that's enough for now...hopefully the contents of these posts have inspired a visit to ireland...because it's wonderful!!

An uncomfortable bike and ripped pants

After getting a wonderful history lesson on Doolin, the Cliffs, and the Burren, we were off to sleep, and soon to waking the next morning for our trip to the Aran Islands, which are 8km off the coast of Ireland. We were up early, so we decided to go look at the beach that our host mentioned...down the road, past an old cemetary...hike and scramble through the brush and rocks...and soon we see waves crashing against the rocks...as if we were at the base of the Cliffs of Moher. It was a wonderful show of power...as one swimming in those waves would have no chance against the fury of the water slamming into the rocks. This was quite a way to start the day at 8am...the spray of the water hit us in the face and woke us up. Soon after we got back to the car after a bit of wandering in the rock and brush...

Off to the Ferry for the Aran islands...wasn't such a great adventure for this poor chap. We got on the boat, which left about 1/2 hour after it was supposed too...then we decided to go up to the top of the ferry, which was okay for a while...in the choppy water moving us all over...but the ride too 2 hours...and once you got over the beautiful scenery it was kind of annoying...oh well. Getting to the island, we stepped off and headed to the bike rental...and off we went on the Ring of Aran trail...or so we thought. We actually headed a couple of miles in the wrong direction...which wasn't so bad, because the ride was nice, and we got back into town in time for lunch to be served at the restauarants. So we had a very nice meal, and headed off the other way...this time on the ring...as far as we could tell. Soon after this, I realized that my back was killing me on this bike...and after much anguish (cuz I like to bike!!), I got off and walked with it. I forgot to mention the ripped pants...so I being the stupid lad I am, forgot that my baggish cargo pants would get caught in the gears of the bike...which they did, and soon the pant leg was in shreds...good times...

Anyway, as we were riding (me ride/walking)...we got to a stone fort...which was really pretty awesome, and very old...couple thousand years old I believe. Hard to describe, but the pictures are pretty cool.

So at this point, I realized that the bike was too big for me, in that the handlebars were too far away for me to be comfortable, and I did I bad job of picking a bike...knowing this, and having torn pants...I decided I'd had enough, and we went back down towards the town...returned the bikes, hit the shops...and found a balcony to sit, drink hot chocolate, listen to music and read...while looking out of the sea...wonderful!

Soon the boat came for us...and we had a 2 hour journey back...this time in the cabin, sitting and sleeping...much better...

Off to Galway after that...good times to be had there!!

Castle, Cliffs, and the Burren, just another Day in Ireland!

Leaving the Ring of Kerry was a relatively unwelcome change, as we'd seen some of the most beautiful scenary to date there...but the irish breakfast got us on a good start to the day, and we drove up and around Limerick and stopped at Bunratty Castle. Dan went in and checked it out, while I purused and purchased from the souvenoir shop there.

Onward we went, next stop the Cliffs of Moher. So if you were like me, you thought this was the place from the Lord of the Rings...stupid me, but man, it could have been. If you want to go to place that will take your breath away, and make you realize that no matter how much we has humans try, we cannot make anything nearly as beautiful as what Mother Nature can do...go to the Cliffs of Moher. You can walk out well beyond where it says to stop, and with each step you get closer to feeling like it's the most amazing place on Earth. I've seen many places with beautiful scenery, and this ranks up there as one of the best. The Cliffs are a sheer 250m or so, and you can walk right up to the edge and look down...you're thankful that such an amazing place exists. Hopefully the pictures we took will capture it...

From there, we caught our breath, and drove to a small town called Doolin, where we'd spend the night. It's on the western tip of ireland, and from there you can take ferries to the Aran Islands (tomorrow)...it's a quaint little town that's basically farms and tourism (3 hostels, 5-6 hotels, and a number of B&B's for a town of 300 people!)...anyway, we drove out to the Burren from here, which is basically mountains of rock that are flat, and stretch on forever! They were formed during the Ice Age, and uncovered as a function of farming that allowed the soil to errode over many thousands of years. You wouldn't think there would be much to rocks...but once again, I stood in awe of the diversity with which the Earth could amaze me. The other neat thing about this place was the fact that flowers grow between the rocks...because the soil is very rich under the rocks...crazy!

When we got back to the hostel, we found the host giving a slide show about the area, as he was a photographer, and rock collector. It was an awesome way to cap the evening!

okay, so next post will be about the Aran islands, and Mitesh ripping his pants!

Blarney and the Ring

So now I'm a day behind on the blog, but it'll had to do...

after I last wrote, we met up with Anna's friend Connor in Cork...and he showed us some of the nightlife of cork...we were sitting at the bar at our hostel, listening to a couple of lads cover some english and irish songs...interesting crowd, 2 dirty old men, a bunch of travels, and acouple of local girls who looked like they should be in Baltimore! We went to a couple of other places after that...one that had people up to 80 years old, as well as other locals and tourists...it was an ecclectic crowd! The night ended after another bar, and a doner kebob to keep the hangover away!

okay, so the morning started by a quick drive up to blarney castle, and the kiss of the blarney stone...yes I did wash my face after...and now I have the gift of eloquence according to legend...the castle was nice, but a bit of a tourist trap...

and then a bit more driving brings us to Killarney, the city and the national forest...and the ring of Kerry...180km of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world...words really can't describe the beauty...but there were mountains and beaches, water hitting rocks...animals, lovely small towns...narrow roads...breathtaking...the pictures are amazing!!! once again, being away from everything I know is absolutely great when you're in a place like that...

okay...so I have go now, but the cliffs of moher and the burren are still left to write about...words just won't do them justice either!

Blarney and the Ring

So now I'm a day behind on the blog, but it'll had to do...

after I last wrote, we met up with Anna's friend Connor in Cork...and he showed us some of the nightlife of cork...we were sitting at the bar at our hostel, listening to a couple of lads cover some english and irish songs...interesting crowd, 2 dirty old men, a bunch of travels, and acouple of local girls who looked like they should be in Baltimore! We went to a couple of other places after that...one that had people up to 80 years old, as well as other locals and tourists...it was an ecclectic crowd! The night ended after another bar, and a doner kebob to keep the hangover away!

okay, so the morning started by a quick drive up to blarney castle, and the kiss of the blarney stone...yes I did wash my face after...and now I have the gift of eloquence according to legend...the castle was nice, but a bit of a tourist trap...

and then a bit more driving brings us to Killarney, the city and the national forest...and the ring of Kerry...180km of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world...words really can't describe the beauty...but there were mountains and beaches, water hitting rocks...animals, lovely small towns...narrow roads...breathtaking...the pictures are amazing!!! once again, being away from everything I know is absolutely great when you're in a place like that...

okay...so I have go now, but the cliffs of moher and the burren are still left to write about...words just won't do them justice either!

A bottle of Killarney and the Copper Coast with a Cork on top

Only in country the size Ireland can one person see a Castle, beaches, emerald and sapphire water, sheer cliffs, rolling countryside, winding roads, sheep, cows, roads barely wide enough to pass 2 cars, city busses, factories, Cathedrals that have smog damage, all the stores you could want, an irish bar, and a chinese restaurant to end the day...well almost end the day, at least to the point that I'm writing this.

So I've noticed that there seems to be three types of restaurants here...the pub, the Indian restuarant, and the Chinese restaurant. You cannot get corned beef and cabbage in the Indian restuarant, but you can get beef vindaloo, which I've only seen on the the menu once before. The Chinese restaurant had Chicken Maryland on the menu, which I didn't actually ask about, but maybe I should have.

There's a town called Tragore, which has a great beach, a boardwalk, and an amusement park called Splashwater. Seems like a fun place to live, and definately a chance at a simplier life...actually we drive through what life really could be today...it boils down to having your health, beautiful nature, and living from one day to the next for the people on the southern coast of ireland. They definately have traditions, and much of them seem to revolve around simple pleasures...don't need a big screen TV to enjoy a fresh egg in the morning.

So the other day, we met a guy named Tim...he's from New Zealand and he's waiting for his paperwork to play rugby for the Dutch...crazy world...he's been in Ireland for the last 6 months just living off of savings and picking up a few bucks here and there...what a life...but he did have the BSM going...and he was into betting all the porn in the world...go figure.

okay, so maybe this post sounded like it was going to be philosophical, but as it turns out it's not...just to cap it with something to think about though...

when you are driving along, admiring the scenery, avoiding the brush on the side of the road, not entirely sure if you are on the right road or not...slowing down to see a town here or there as you drive through...swerving into the stopping area to get yet another picture...and everything that's 'normal' is a half a world away...

nothing...exactly nothing else is on your mind...and that is wonderful.

Lesson's Learned Today

Don't go on vacation without a watch...Dan.

Don't go on vacation without an alarm...Mitesh.

Bill Clinton owns 2 houses in Ireland...John Connelly.

JFK was the best thing to ever happen to America...John Connelly.

Divorce takes 4 years of separation in Ireland...JC.

okay, so the first 2 might be useful, the last three are interesting...

Nature...It's good for you

SO I only have a few minutes today...we saw a beautiful place called Glenn Da Loch...mountains, valleys, trees, and an old monastery...wonderful!

Now we're in Kilkenny...drinking beer, walking around, and going drive some more tomorrow...

my thoughts for today...no matter how much nature you see, and how one place looks like another...there's never too much, and when you're in Ireland, eating chicken curry...well it's pretty darn awesome...Slainte!

These people drive on the LEFT!!!

So we got the car today, and good times were had! We managed to put 150km or so on the car, not get honked at, screamed at, flicked off, and for the most part not hit anything...we hit a curb each with turns too tight! Overall the first day of driving on the left hand side seemed to go pretty well. We have a small Nissan Micra, which suits us just fine. Once you get used to looking everyway, even behind you, and turning tight to the right, and wide to the left...wait, got it backwards! :)

We went to a placed called Bru Bonne today...which is the Palace on the Bonne river, or something thereabouts...there are neolithic tombs that were made about 5000 years ago. They really are spectacular feats of engineering, as well as a beautiful spiritual place. I have some great pictures, and better postcards!

So funny thing happened...apparently my watched stopped sometime last night, but we didn't know it...basically we ran about 1.5 hours behind the entire day, but caught up when we stopped to eat lunch. The waitress kindly informed us that it was 3pm...to the chegrin of Dan and I who thought it was 1:30...and had tooled around in the car more to kill time than anything...we had to catch the buss to go to Knowth (once of the tomb sites) at 3:15...we hightailed the car, ran in, and walked on the bus just about 30 seconds before they were leaving...nice job! So we'll be checking time a little better from now on!

We got back to Dublin after some driving fun...contruction and traffic mess things up here pretty good too!! We ate an Indian restuaruant, and I might have gotten one of the best compliments ever...the Indian waiter said he'd never seen white people eat with their hands...I was so proud!! ;)

off to the forest tomorrow!

No...I did not fly Aer Lingus

So we just got into Dublin this morning, and I thought I'd write a post, mainly because yahoo mail isn't working, and I was hoping I could kill some time, or actually just write something about what we've seen today...and then it would be back up, and I could still be within my one euro cost...yeah.

Trinity College, Stephen's Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guiness Brewery, Temple Bar, doner kabob's, pints, chips, and a hostel visit...looking the wrong way down the street, wandering towards yet another spire in the sky, and not being able to find the castle...this has been the day so far...

yesterday I was watching F16's at the air and water show in Chicago...good times. Anna you'll be glad to know that I'm a little tired after all the walking yesterday and today...but ready for more tomorrow...the pints tonight should charge me up...

that's it for now, bye!

Wedding Bells

NO!

In answer to question number one from all you all presumptious people...no, there are no wedding bells ringing for me...so really, just relax, have fun...and read on...

So there were wedding bells this weekend for my cousin, actually, she's "technically" a niece, since her grandmother and my father are first cousins...that means I'm her 2nd uncle...if that makes sense...if you're brown and reading this, yeah, it does...if not, it probably doesn't...and for the others...well, let's just say she's a cousin.

Anyway...a grand ceremony with a garba (an evening of dancing), the wedding itself, and the reception (PAR-TAAY) to cap it off, was order of the day. Everyone involved surely had a wonderful time, despite the "post-mortem" as some would call it...yes, yes, the rehashing of what went "wrong" and what could have been done better...it's like the "Sunday Morning Wedding Planner"...really, kind of funny...the unspoken part of it though, is the understanding that a wedding is hard work, and minor details always slip through the cracks!

Single guys are supposed to meet people at weddings...really, this is what I was told at the end of the wedding ceremony...it was supposed to be motivation to go ahead and get some wedding bells of my own...you know...the kind you wear on your ankles...hehe...kidding...I'm not a big fan of those...they are too loud when I take a step! ;)

Seriously though...the theme of the night beyond the actual wedding and reception was that me and another cousin (same deal, technically a nephew...) need to be looking to get married...when are we going to spring the good news on the world...you know...becausse that's the only useful good news around! Okay, okay, so it's not unreasonable for folks to give us a hard time...even suggest a girl or two...of course that's not really what happens...or something...

So...I being my charming self, definately made friends with a few of the girls involved...since my cousin was the bride (not the same cousin as they were saying to get married, because this cousin already got married...got it? good)...her friends seemed to be all female...so of course, who would I make friends with myself, than her friends...anyway...so back to the story about west philadelphia, born and raised...

wrong story...anyway, so what's up with girls thinking that you're hitting on them just because you're nice and kinda chatty...as you all know, that's clearly not me...chatty, never...oh well...

anyway, maybe the girls didn't think I was hitting on them..maybe its just me...or them...whatever...anyway...so I'd like to make the statement...JUST BECAUSE I'M NICE TO YOU DOESN'T MEAN I AM HITTING ON YOU!

okay...so there's probably some people out there who are like whoa...really...yes, I know I think alot of myself...anyway, there might be someone out there who's allowed to think I'm hitting on them...maybe, maybe not...point being, if I was interested...you'd know...it wouldn't just be me being me, which is nice, really...I'm nice to just about everyone...just not the girls and guys who really are just jerks...everyone else...yeah, I'll be nice, cuz being mean sucks!

yeah!