Jolly Old London Town

so as long as i can remember i have wanted to go see stonehenge, so the first trip i sprung for was london, which is another place i have been longing to see.

so we woke up at around 4, hopped on a taxi to the airport, took off from dublin to the london stansted airport. for those of you that do not know the lovely folks at ryan air, they have super cheap flights all over europe. the seats don't recline, advertisements are running throughout the flight, there is little that is pleasant about flying with them outside of the price. when we landed we realized that we were about 40 miles outside of london, but feat not, there was the easy bus, so we hopped on that after eating a traditional, delicious, and nutritious english breakfast consisting of burger king. we jumped on a bus, who our driver andrew said that he had many problems, one of which was that england didn't rule the world anymore, and that he couldn't get tickets to ozzfest this year. we all got a quick nap and woke up in london.

upon arrival we were trying to figure out what to do, we walked through piccadilly circus and headed for buckingham palace. we walked through a park and were taking in the whole london experience, we walked through a guard museum and took the cliche awkward photo next to a guard, except these ones didnt have the fuzzy hats, and looked like they would stab us if we touched them.

once we got that out of our system we arrived at buckingham palace, which was more than any of us were expecting

after that we headed for the city center, we were walking and all of a sudden looked up and there was big ben, towering over us, we also took the cliche photo of making it seem like we were pushing him.

we also learned that pope benedict XVI himself would be arriving at westminster abbey later that day. we all were surprised and decided to try and get a glimpse of a religious world leader. but since that was not for another few hours we decided to do other activities. my girlfriend and i went to do the london eye and the aquarium, which were both amazing.

after the group reunited we found a good perch to try and get a glimpse of his holiness. after about 45 minutes we caught a very, very fleeting glimpse of il papa. all in all it was worth it though he may not be the da lai lama, but hes relatively close.

after everyone was able to relax get a bite to eat and recharge a little we got on a boat and did a quick cruise of the river thames, we got to see several bridges one of which the waterloo bridge (which we got to see an original monet in a museum in dublin a few weeks prior) we also viewed cleopatras needle and the end of the cruise was the london bridge and london tower.

unfortunately it was too late to do a tour of the tower, and the next day we were going on a relatively large tour of windor castle, bath, and stonehenge.

so after our long day of adventuring ventured on the tube to our luxurious €30 a night bed and breakfast (which breakfeast was some insta-coffee and a small package of frosted flakes). where we had booked a room that didn'y necesarily fit our party, so we had to do a little bit of snekaing to get everyone in, but in the room it smelled and it was boiling hot and the window was nailed shut, so we went, talked to the front desk about getting a room change, so we once again had to hide people while the staff was helping us into a new room.

the next day we got onto our tour, which is what i had been waiting for what seemed to be my entire life, but i found that stonhenge was the last place we would be stopping, no problem, save best for last.

the first stop we made was at windor castle, we got to the see the outrageous collections the royal family had, every room we saw was filled to the brim with priceless works of art and artifacts. we had an hour and fort five minutes to see as much as we could, we tried but could not, there was too much stuff, and our stern tour guide told us that if we were a minute late we would be left behind. we barely made the cut and after seeing one of the most ridiculous buildings in existence we moved onto bath.

bath was an interesting town, it was not quite what i had been expecting, but it was still pretty cool, apparently nick cage and johnny depp own property in the town. the only thing i was concerned with was seeing the roman baths, which was a little bittersweet because in my mind i was expecting something roman still standing, but on the outside there was not, and the water of the bath had turned a welcoming pukey green color and there were signs not to touch it because over the years it had become heavily polluted. but below ground a few bits and pieces of the ancient roman empire still stood, which being a history lover i was more than jubilated to see. we had over an hour to see as much as possible and since this was a smaller area it was easy to do so, after seeing the baths we ventured throughout the town a little bit, but after awhile it was time to go, which filled me with jubilation because for me the main event was up next, the magical stones of stonehenge. (the spinal tap song was played several times)

after listening to the spinal tap song over and over, every cell in my being was stirring for this, i sat on the edge of my seat eagerly awaiting my first glimpses of my own promised land. when we finally approached the site i was taken by surprise, i did a massive double take and my eyes grew wide as dinner plates. as soon as the bus was parked i sprinted out of the bus trying to get as close as possible. it pained me to learn we only had 45 measly minutes. i thought "oh well might as well make the most of it" (which after writing this i realized my inner monologue has awesome alliteration) running out on the green i started snapping dozens of photos, i wanted to remember as much as possible. i listened to the audio tour to learn all about it. i cannot even begin to express how excited i was to be there, to finally see it with my own eyes. unfortunately i was enjoying myself so much that the 45 minutes had passed as if they were seconds. so i dreadfully trudged back onto the bus and said goodbye to those magical stones, but knowing me, ill be back.

once we arrived back in london we bummed around the city center to waste time (we only booked one night at the hotel because our flight back to dublin was so early we decided to stay up all night, we arranged for the easybus to take us back at 230 am) we did a little bit of shopping and my roommate took some awesome long exposure shots of parliament and big ben.

(photo credit eric pollock)

we bummed around and headed towards our bus stop, waited there for a bit and then all of a sudden my girlfriend claims she doesn't feel good, moments later she walks away and vomits, she repeated this process for about an hour, apparently the salad she had eaten had disagreed with here severely and was doing everything in its leafy green power to leave her system. after awhile she was able to stop being old faithful. she still felt woozy though, we got on the easybus back to the standsted airport, and said our goodbyes to london.

the standsted airport was extremely crowded, how the hell were there this many people this early in the morning (by this time it was about 330) and we decided to curl up on the nice soft marble flooring and nap until we had to check in for our flight.

we got back onto our cozy ryan air discount seats and said goodbye to england. we arrived back in dublin feeling like we had been gone for a week but it was just a weekend. overall this had been one of my favorite trips i took while in ireland, i have always wanted to see england and stonehenge, and i was able to do so, who knows when i will be back, but i know at some point i will.

galway and the cliffs of moher (pronounced mower)

on september 10, we embarked on a trip to western ireland, the highlight of this trip was to see the cliffs of moher, the tallest cliffs in all of europe, with the highest point reaching 600 feet. we also got to see an ancient rock tomb in the burren. the first night we stayed in a little town by the name of doolin, it had three pubs and about 30 houses, it was a charming little down with the cliffs visible in the distance, the rest of the group stayed and drank while i left early because i wasn't feeling well.

the next day we took a fairy out of doolin to the nearby aran islands, we landed on the closest one on a rough fairy ride that claimed more stomachs than i care to discuss, once we got to the island we were told that the preferred method of travelling was renting a bicycle, so my roommates and i saddled up on some mountain bikes and took off on the 3 mile long island, there was a shipwreck in the distance that apparently was iconic because it was part of a opening montage of a popular irish television series.

(printed on the dock that we used to board the ferry)

after the shipwreck we headed back into the town and found some ruined castles, along the way we met a very friendly irish sheepdog which i decided to name charlie, it would rip off twigs and drop them at our feet to play fetch, which we indulged in for a few minutes and then decided to get on our way, but this dog was so energetic it ran with us as we rode our bikes, and for the vast majority of the time held the lead, but we passed another group of tourists and he decided to play fetch with them, so we went on our marry way, went up to the ruined castles and got a great view of the surrounding part of the island, my roommates and i began to climb the ruins which stood about two stories tall, both of them made it up no problem, i, having a fear of heights which i am always combating against, tried to make it to the high reaches of the ruins, although about 3/4 of the way up i froze, i cannot completely say why, but my feet were stricken with fear and suddenly the only direction my body wanted to go was down, so down i went, my fear of heights may have won the battle, but the war is still being waged.

near the ruins there was a stone fence that held a huge male horse, he was lethargically grazing on the grass, i decided to name him buck, i climbed up the wall of his enclosure pulled some grass and fed him by hand, he liked that.

after which we found an old church that through time and the windy nature of the island had become surrounded by sand, it was as if i was playing the game diablo but in real life. after exploring the graveyard and church we decided to head towards the lighthouse that was maybe a mile or so from the shipwreck, so we peddled forth, little did we know we were going way off of the beaten path. we ended up taking the shoreline that was covered in rocks about the size of a grapefruit, so they were not very conducive to bike riding, so all three of us, dragging our bikes towards the lighthouse, after about a 20 minute drag we met up with a path that headed towards the lighthouse, once we finally got there there was a sign that said it was private property, so we snapped a few pictures and went back to get some food.

the ferry ride back was a nightmare to say the least, my girlfriend has a fear of rough seas so she decided to go below deck for both of the rides, which i instinctively knew was a bad idea, but she asked me to stay with her, and i did, and then i started to feel sick, granted i kept everything down but i was damn close to pulling an old faithful, the rough ferry ride was worth it because we got to see the cliffs from a lower angle and we were all able to take some amazing photographs.

after we made it back to sweet, sweet land we all reluctantly hopped on the bus because the bus driver was among the worst of the vomiters, but he got on and we all followed suit, and headed back in the general direction of dublin, but before we stopped at clonmacnoise to see more churches and graves, but the real prize of this stop was a ruined tower that truly was amazing

so i guess this could be considered my first real trip in ireland, i got to see a lot and do a lot, most of which i don't think i will ever forget, especially the feeling of how sick i almost got on the ferry ride, and seeing that poor woman who was not given a bag in time, gross.

first trip outside of dublin and then ireland

the first time we got to got out of the city was a few days into the trip, we went up to the town of bray, it was about a half hour trip on the dart (ireland's amtrack) and we got to run around the town and climb a small hill, i decided to take a nap in the sun, but i was awoken to dark clouds that looked like they were about to open up with rain and a breeze, i learned very quickly how at the drop of a hat the weather in ireland can change, it began to rain and we all went to eat, took the dart back to dublin, and that was the first time leaving the city, exciting, i know.

my first trip outside ireland was not as exciting as i was imagining it, neither was my first trip to the uk, but we went to a cave system in northern ireland, (in which the country side is beautiful) and since i was taking a class entitled "the history of northern ireland" i was a smidgen nervous while crossing the boarder, because beforehand i knew little to nothing about northern ireland, and what i can come to know was there were a lot of car bombs and 20 years ago they never would be taking us there.

but the caves however were very interesting, and if you don't necessarily appreciate geology, it makes it a lot harder to spelunker through the caves.

the trip however was pretty basic, we drive two hours north, look at caves and rocks, take some cool pictures, head back to dublin, pretty straightforward, and i got to say i had been to the united kingdom, which is a notch i have wanted in my belt for a very long time.

one of my favorite photos that i have ever taken was in these caves, there was a set of stalactites over a small body of water, and since the water was not moving it reflected up in the most beautiful of manners, it looked like a medieval walled city with a castle, and i found another rock that resembled a human skull the way the light hit it. even though the trip was for educational purposes, it was a photo-graphical success.

the emerald isle

flying into dublin was a stressful experience, granted nothing went terribly wrong although ialmost missed my first flight out of syracuse, although leaving home is never fun, especially when you know you wont be coming back for four months.

rest assured i arrived to dublin utterly exhausted (being 6'1 doesn't necessarily make for the best sleep on planes, cares or buses.) I got to my new apartment via bus with a few other students, took one step outside and i smelled burning turf (peat) and i remember thinking "holy christ if this is what ireland smells like i want to go home", but i went inside and thankfully the smell had not wofted into the lobby of the apartment.

so i went to my room, dropped off my disgustingly heavy bag and rushed up the stairs to say hello to my girlfriend who i hadn't seen in a few weeks. getting acclimated i tried to get some sleep, the rest of this story is not very exciting, it more or less only has to do with orientation and buying groceries, i know it is what you really want to hear about, but i will spare you.

the next most exciting thing we did was go to the guinness factory (see photo), which was actually a lot of fun, you get a free pint of guinness with the self guided tour, and since my girlfriend does not like dark beer i got two free pints, which is always fun. getting to know dublin was a pretty fun experience, it mostly involved lots of walking and a few incidents of blacking out in temple bar but i guess it is what you could say is part of the irish experience.

The midway-through beginning, again

I guess i should start off with an introduction. Hi my name is Justin and I am currently a junior in college, studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland.

This is not my first blog, nor is it the beginning of my story, but even though I am two months into my four month stay in Dublin, Ireland, you need a jumping off point, so, here it is, awhile ago my girlfriend told me that she was going to be doing a semester in Dublin, I said I was interested in going anyway. Long story short, BAM! I was on a plane to Dublin (after a summer like cake filled with the layers of the two months of asbestos removal I had to do, but then with the cherry of snowboarding camp on top)

So for my own memory purposes, this is the beginning of my mid-finished-with-studying-abroad-life crisis recap of my travels while still going through them, just to show you how far I actually am along. It is 7 am, I am leaving for a 5 day trip to Oslo, Norway in three and a half hours and I am sitting in the hallway in front of my girlfriends apartment stealing her internet because my new apartment has none, still finishing things I need to do before leaving, and this is definitely not one of them.

So there were 50 of us strong, although soon to be 49, American Students, mostly from Champlain College, 3 from Emerson, and 2 from Eastern, about to take Dublin by storm, what is the worst that could happen?