I'm not entirely sure why, but Blogger/Blogspot has been a real pain in the ass these past few days. (Sorry for the language, mom.) We picked B&B locations so that we'd always have the internet, but Blogger has been refusing to function. I'm fairly certain I posted two days ago (the last time it worked), and now I log in today (when it's finally working again) and my last post has mysteriously disappeared. In case you missed it or need a refresher, here it is in all its majesty.
This took a little longer than I'd hoped, but don't worry, I didn't fall off the top of Blarney Castle. (It was a close thing, though. Seriously, Moms are going to freak out a little when they see the pictures.) Anywho, as you might have guessed, we've made our way to Blarney, Co. Cork by now. We spent the first day and a little bit in Dublin with its insane driving, and made it to Blarney late afternoon yesterday. We'll stay here again today til lunch before we head on to Killarney to start the Ring of Kerry tomorrow.
Dublin really was kind of crazy. You get off the plane. Take a shuttle bus to the rental car place. They say, "Drive on the left. Go clockwise through the roundabouts. Here's a map/gps" (Which may or may not be altogether reliable.) And off you go! It's wild! I can't even imagine how much more difficult it would have been had a) it been a manual and/or b) I had to drive! Ha! Because not only are you on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road, but the lane markings are different (if they're there at all), the street signs are hidden and tiny (if they're there at all), and whatever road rules exist (if they're there at all) are seemingly ignored by the majority of the driving population. Bus lane, you say? Eff that bus lane, I'm driving my Fiat here! Motorcycles need to drive in vehicle lanes? Why would I do that when I can drive on the line between two vehicle lanes?? I tried to take photos of some of this insanity while poor Ben drove so you guys can get the full idea once we get home. I doubt I did it justice though. One thing's for certain, driving at home will now seem like a cake walk for both driver and (reluctant) navigator.
Aside from the adventure that is Irish city driving, Dublin is a cool old city. We didn't get to see much of it in our first day, for two key reasons. 1) We (ie, Ben) tried to drive as little as humanly possible. 2) The Guinness Storehouse tour takes Way longer than you'd ever expect. This could be because there was 'complimentary' Guinness involved, but I can't be sure. That place was huge and amazing and full of interesting facts and tidbits. I may not enjoy the taste of the stuff, but I certainly enjoyed the tour. (I can only assume Ben agrees with the latter.) Encompassing seven floors of the old Storehouse (modern day brewing takes place across the street), a discussion of all the neat stuff we came across could take up at least a whole paragraph of its own. Since we still want to get out and be productive today before we get back on the road, I'll just have to leave my description at that. We also explored Trinity College and St. Stephens Green before we hit the Guinness compound. We saw the Book of Kells and a few other religious artifacts as well as an exhibit on the College's medical school there. St. Stephens Green is this big beautiful park just smack in the middle of the city. It's one of those parks that's so rambling and natural that you really do feel like you've escaped the man-made city for something peaceful. There isn't this forced feeling you can get in other city parks I've seen, where you stay on the path and off the grass and you're only there if you've got something productive and healthy to do. Here, there were a good number of people doing that sort of thing, but more than that there were also plenty of people simply lounging on the grass, hanging out with friends after school, enjoying a picnic of take-away food from a nearby cafe, that sort of thing. When we stopped by, we still hadn't quite gotten our bearings yet and didn't really know what to do with our day, so we just plopped down on the grass with our gps and guidebook and people-watched a little while we figured it out. In the sort of chaos of the rest of the city, this park really seems like an asset to the locals.
As beautiful and interesting as parts of the city were, I think we were both glad to head out of it for a more rural setting yesterday afternoon. After hunting around for the elusive Cake Cafe for a late breakfast, we successfully got our butts out of the city and onto the M8 towards County Cork. By the way, the search for Cake Cafe was fruitful and completely worth the effort. We both had the most delicious (gigantic!) cream cheese pancake with some kind of strawberry topping and cinnamon and honest to goodness fresh lemonade. I took pictures. It was worth it. I already have plans to eat there before we catch our flight out again!
The journey to Blarney was certainly an interesting one. Ireland is apparently in the process of updating its major roadways so, although the gps got us successfully out of the city and onto the highway, there was a major swatch of roadway the gps didn't recognize. It assumed we were on some back country road, since we really were driving straight through the countryside, and even told us to turn onto "unnamed road" and "gravel drive" more than once as it tried to figure out where we were. It was a bit frustrating, but also kind of entertaining. We just stayed on the highway until it found us again, with Becky and GoogleMaps helping us over the phone from home. (Thank you!) Even once we got into the little town of Blarney, it was a struggle to find the Blarney Vale B&B. They don't seem to like formal addresses here, so we kept guessing at the street name. We thought we'd found it more than once, but with no luck. We finally broke down and strolled around town to the tourist office, where we got directions from the two friendly people inside. "You go out this way, and you're gonna make a right. But, you know, this road, it makes you go left, but you go right. And then you follow the road for a ways, just follow the road, and you'll pass two big garages, can't miss em, pass two garages and it's da tird house, on the left." Imagine all of this with the adorable local, a bit country, accent and lots of hand gestures from a slightly old gentleman. Add to that repeated emphasis on the two "garages" by the young woman who also worked there, and those were the directions we had. Now let me ask you, what do you picture when you see the word "garages"? Ben and I were both picturing essentially an autobody place, like a big garage where cars get worked on, that sort of thing. No. It took us passing the two gas stations we had passed at least half a dozen times in our earlier searches to realize these were garages! We kept following that road, as the old man instructed, and ran right into a big yellow sign for our B&B. Go figure!
After checking in and seeing our adorable little room (got a picture of that too) we walked (yay, no more driving!) back into town to track down the famous Blarney Stone. We got there with the place only open for about another hour and a half, so we made a beeline for the castle. The map showed a ton of other things to do and see on the grounds, but we didn't have time for that - we had a stone to kiss! The castle, being a castle and all, was cool and old and interesting and everything, but we can talk about that later. Right now I just want to tell you about the mental fortitude it took me to actually kiss the damn thing! So you walk to the top of this old castle, right? And you get to the top (finally) after lots of tiny, twisting, slippery stairs and you're strolling around the old battlements. It's high up. Like, really high up. And then you see the two guys manning the Kiss the Blarney Stone picture station - against the battlements, and, what's this? The big, fancy, professional camera is pointing down? Like, at the floor? Like at a big hole in the floor that's out over the Edge?? Yeah, that's where the Blarney Stone is, people. You lay down on your back, on a rubber cushy mat, the one guy supports your back, reminding you to grab on to the iron bars above your head, to just look at the wall behind you, and, oh yeah, don't look down. Trust me, old man, I am Not looking down. You scoot back (if you're me, you scoot back the tiniest bit until he nags you to scoot back more). You tilt your head and neck Way back until you see this stone on the Bottom(!) of this particular wall that you're holding onto for dear life that looks a little different than the rest - like, magically different. Ok, just kidding, calling it magically different would be "baloney" - calling it something more eloquent and subtle would be "blarney". I have yet to come up with that description yet, maybe a didn't kiss the stone long enough. Also, does anyone else find it weird that I'm fascinated by the apparent death-defying-ness of it all, rather than the fact that literally millions of people of indiscernible medical histories kissed this thing before me? Ben does. I'm just still impressed that I did it. Ben did it too, of course, like it was no big deal, like it wasn't just a couple metal bars, a rubber mat, and an old man keeping him from falling to certain death. No big deal. Tough guy..
That mission completed, we used the last few minutes the place was open to explore the garden beside the castle - the poison garden! Seriously, poison. There's a with a skull & cross bones before you walk in warning you not to touch anything or leave children unattended. Everything from nightshade to poppies to wolfsbane to poison ivy was in this place. There was even canibis! It was in its own cage with a friendly sign informing visitors that the plant had been temporarily removed from the exhibit - by the police! I literally laughed out loud. And took a picture of the sign. An ancient historical site got into trouble with the garda for growing weed? What isn't funny about that? What, not laughing? Well, too bad, it was funny at the time. And I have the picture to prove it! Ha. (Yeah, Ben just called me out for laughing about that again as I type this. Jerk.)
It was getting kind of late and we were getting kind of hungry, so we headed out of the park to grab dinner at the Muskerry Arms, a nice big, little pub in town. Dinner was yummy, they had lots of Guinness for Ben and lots of Irish cider for me, so we were both happy. I was being a jet-lagged baby and was complaining about wanting to walk back to go to bed, when the bartender asked - get this - if we were staying for bingo. "It's really good craic," he says. "You'll enjoy it." Bingo? In an Irish pub? What? I was somehow not tired anymore! It was like magic. We quickly learned that Irish bingo is different from American bingo and apparently taken quite seriously. There were a few other pairings of Americans nearby and I feel like we all won a little favor with the local bingo regulars for trying our hand - even if we never won a penny. The bartender apparently liked us because, when we finally said goodnight, he insisted we come back to say goodbye the next day. It seems like something little, but that was actually quite an awesome feeling. I'm excited to head back into town because of that.
Like, head into town right now. Ok, not right now, because I need to bathe and look a little bit presentable, but soon. Back to Blarney Castle to explore more of the grounds, grab one last meal and drink from the Muskerry Arms, say goodbye to our wonderful hostess, and get back on the road towards Kerry. We love you all, we miss you, we can't wait to bring you fun things and show you lots of pictures. Bye for now!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Hello again
This took a little longer than I'd hoped, but don't worry, I didn't fall off the top of Blarney Castle. (It was a close thing, though. Seriously, Moms are going to freak out a little when they see the pictures.) Anywho, as you might have guessed, we've made our way to Blarney, Co. Cork by now. We spent the first day and a little bit in Dublin with its insane driving, and made it to Blarney late afternoon yesterday. We'll stay here again today til lunch before we head on to Killarney to start the Ring of Kerry tomorrow.
Dublin really was kind of crazy. You get off the plane. Take a shuttle bus to the rental car place. They say, "Drive on the left. Go clockwise through the roundabouts. Here's a map/gps" (Which may or may not be altogether reliable.) And off you go! It's wild! I can't even imagine how much more difficult it would have been had a) it been a manual and/or b) I had to drive! Ha! Because not only are you on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road, but the lane markings are different (if they're there at all), the street signs are hidden and tiny (if they're there at all), and whatever road rules exist (if they're there at all) are seemingly ignored by the majority of the driving population. Bus lane, you say? Eff that bus lane, I'm driving my Fiat here! Motorcycles need to drive in vehicle lanes? Why would I do that when I can drive on the line between two vehicle lanes?? I tried to take photos of some of this insanity while poor Ben drove so you guys can get the full idea once we get home. I doubt I did it justice though. One thing's for certain, driving at home will now seem like a cake walk for both driver and (reluctant) navigator.
Aside from the adventure that is Irish city driving, Dublin is a cool old city. We didn't get to see much of it in our first day, for two key reasons. 1) We (ie, Ben) tried to drive as little as humanly possible. 2) The Guinness Storehouse tour takes Way longer than you'd ever expect. This could be because there was 'complimentary' Guinness involved, but I can't be sure. That place was huge and amazing and full of interesting facts and tidbits. I may not enjoy the taste of the stuff, but I certainly enjoyed the tour. (I can only assume Ben agrees with the latter.) Encompassing seven floors of the old Storehouse (modern day brewing takes place across the street), a discussion of all the neat stuff we came across could take up at least a whole paragraph of its own. Since we still want to get out and be productive today before we get back on the road, I'll just have to leave my description at that. We also explored Trinity College and St. Stephens Green before we hit the Guinness compound. We saw the Book of Kells and a few other religious artifacts as well as an exhibit on the College's medical school there. St. Stephens Green is this big beautiful park just smack in the middle of the city. It's one of those parks that's so rambling and natural that you really do feel like you've escaped the man-made city for something peaceful. There isn't this forced feeling you can get in other city parks I've seen, where you stay on the path and off the grass and you're only there if you've got something productive and healthy to do. Here, there were a good number of people doing that sort of thing, but more than that there were also plenty of people simply lounging on the grass, hanging out with friends after school, enjoying a picnic of take-away food from a nearby cafe, that sort of thing. When we stopped by, we still hadn't quite gotten our bearings yet and didn't really know what to do with our day, so we just plopped down on the grass with our gps and guidebook and people-watched a little while we figured it out. In the sort of chaos of the rest of the city, this park really seems like an asset to the locals.
As beautiful and interesting as parts of the city were, I think we were both glad to head out of it for a more rural setting yesterday afternoon. After hunting around for the elusive Cake Cafe for a late breakfast, we successfully got our butts out of the city and onto the M8 towards County Cork. By the way, the search for Cake Cafe was fruitful and completely worth the effort. We both had the most delicious (gigantic!) cream cheese pancake with some kind of strawberry topping and cinnamon and honest to goodness fresh lemonade. I took pictures. It was worth it. I already have plans to eat there before we catch our flight out again!
The journey to Blarney was certainly an interesting one. Ireland is apparently in the process of updating its major roadways so, although the gps got us successfully out of the city and onto the highway, there was a major swatch of roadway the gps didn't recognize. It assumed we were on some back country road, since we really were driving straight through the countryside, and even told us to turn onto "unnamed road" and "gravel drive" more than once as it tried to figure out where we were. It was a bit frustrating, but also kind of entertaining. We just stayed on the highway until it found us again, with Becky and GoogleMaps helping us over the phone from home. (Thank you!) Even once we got into the little town of Blarney, it was a struggle to find the Blarney Vale B&B. They don't seem to like formal addresses here, so we kept guessing at the street name. We thought we'd found it more than once, but with no luck. We finally broke down and strolled around town to the tourist office, where we got directions from the two friendly people inside. "You go out this way, and you're gonna make a right. But, you know, this road, it makes you go left, but you go right. And then you follow the road for a ways, just follow the road, and you'll pass two big garages, can't miss em, pass two garages and it's da tird house, on the left." Imagine all of this with the adorable local, a bit country, accent and lots of hand gestures from a slightly old gentleman. Add to that repeated emphasis on the two "garages" by the young woman who also worked there, and those were the directions we had. Now let me ask you, what do you picture when you see the word "garages"? Ben and I were both picturing essentially an autobody place, like a big garage where cars get worked on, that sort of thing. No. It took us passing the two gas stations we had passed at least half a dozen times in our earlier searches to realize these were garages! We kept following that road, as the old man instructed, and ran right into a big yellow sign for our B&B. Go figure!
After checking in and seeing our adorable little room (got a picture of that too) we walked (yay, no more driving!) back into town to track down the famous Blarney Stone. We got there with the place only open for about another hour and a half, so we made a beeline for the castle. The map showed a ton of other things to do and see on the grounds, but we didn't have time for that - we had a stone to kiss! The castle, being a castle and all, was cool and old and interesting and everything, but we can talk about that later. Right now I just want to tell you about the mental fortitude it took me to actually kiss the damn thing! So you walk to the top of this old castle, right? And you get to the top (finally) after lots of tiny, twisting, slippery stairs and you're strolling around the old battlements. It's high up. Like, really high up. And then you see the two guys manning the Kiss the Blarney Stone picture station - against the battlements, and, what's this? The big, fancy, professional camera is pointing down? Like, at the floor? Like at a big hole in the floor that's out over the Edge?? Yeah, that's where the Blarney Stone is, people. You lay down on your back, on a rubber cushy mat, the one guy supports your back, reminding you to grab on to the iron bars above your head, to just look at the wall behind you, and, oh yeah, don't look down. Trust me, old man, I am Not looking down. You scoot back (if you're me, you scoot back the tiniest bit until he nags you to scoot back more). You tilt your head and neck Way back until you see this stone on the Bottom(!) of this particular wall that you're holding onto for dear life that looks a little different than the rest - like, magically different. Ok, just kidding, calling it magically different would be "baloney" - calling it something more eloquent and subtle would be "blarney". I have yet to come up with that description yet, maybe a didn't kiss the stone long enough. Also, does anyone else find it weird that I'm fascinated by the apparent death-defying-ness of it all, rather than the fact that literally millions of people of indiscernible medical histories kissed this thing before me? Ben does. I'm just still impressed that I did it. Ben did it too, of course, like it was no big deal, like it wasn't just a couple metal bars, a rubber mat, and an old man keeping him from falling to certain death. No big deal. Tough guy..
That mission completed, we used the last few minutes the place was open to explore the garden beside the castle - the poison garden! Seriously, poison. There's a with a skull & cross bones before you walk in warning you not to touch anything or leave children unattended. Everything from nightshade to poppies to wolfsbane to poison ivy was in this place. There was even canibis! It was in its own cage with a friendly sign informing visitors that the plant had been temporarily removed from the exhibit - by the police! I literally laughed out loud. And took a picture of the sign. An ancient historical site got into trouble with the garda for growing weed? What isn't funny about that? What, not laughing? Well, too bad, it was funny at the time. And I have the picture to prove it! Ha. (Yeah, Ben just called me out for laughing about that again as I type this. Jerk.)
It was getting kind of late and we were getting kind of hungry, so we headed out of the park to grab dinner at the Muskerry Arms, a nice big, little pub in town. Dinner was yummy, they had lots of Guinness for Ben and lots of Irish cider for me, so we were both happy. I was being a jet-lagged baby and was complaining about wanting to walk back to go to bed, when the bartender asked - get this - if we were staying for bingo. "It's really good craic," he says. "You'll enjoy it." Bingo? In an Irish pub? What? I was somehow not tired anymore! It was like magic. We quickly learned that Irish bingo is different from American bingo and apparently taken quite seriously. There were a few other pairings of Americans nearby and I feel like we all won a little favor with the local bingo regulars for trying our hand - even if we never won a penny. The bartender apparently liked us because, when we finally said goodnight, he insisted we come back to say goodbye the next day. It seems like something little, but that was actually quite an awesome feeling. I'm excited to head back into town because of that.
Like, head into town right now. Ok, not right now, because I need to bathe and look a little bit presentable, but soon. Back to Blarney Castle to explore more of the grounds, grab one last meal and drink from the Muskerry Arms, say goodbye to our wonderful hostess, and get back on the road towards Kerry. We love you all, we miss you, we can't wait to bring you fun things and show you lots of pictures. Bye for now!
Dublin really was kind of crazy. You get off the plane. Take a shuttle bus to the rental car place. They say, "Drive on the left. Go clockwise through the roundabouts. Here's a map/gps" (Which may or may not be altogether reliable.) And off you go! It's wild! I can't even imagine how much more difficult it would have been had a) it been a manual and/or b) I had to drive! Ha! Because not only are you on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road, but the lane markings are different (if they're there at all), the street signs are hidden and tiny (if they're there at all), and whatever road rules exist (if they're there at all) are seemingly ignored by the majority of the driving population. Bus lane, you say? Eff that bus lane, I'm driving my Fiat here! Motorcycles need to drive in vehicle lanes? Why would I do that when I can drive on the line between two vehicle lanes?? I tried to take photos of some of this insanity while poor Ben drove so you guys can get the full idea once we get home. I doubt I did it justice though. One thing's for certain, driving at home will now seem like a cake walk for both driver and (reluctant) navigator.
Aside from the adventure that is Irish city driving, Dublin is a cool old city. We didn't get to see much of it in our first day, for two key reasons. 1) We (ie, Ben) tried to drive as little as humanly possible. 2) The Guinness Storehouse tour takes Way longer than you'd ever expect. This could be because there was 'complimentary' Guinness involved, but I can't be sure. That place was huge and amazing and full of interesting facts and tidbits. I may not enjoy the taste of the stuff, but I certainly enjoyed the tour. (I can only assume Ben agrees with the latter.) Encompassing seven floors of the old Storehouse (modern day brewing takes place across the street), a discussion of all the neat stuff we came across could take up at least a whole paragraph of its own. Since we still want to get out and be productive today before we get back on the road, I'll just have to leave my description at that. We also explored Trinity College and St. Stephens Green before we hit the Guinness compound. We saw the Book of Kells and a few other religious artifacts as well as an exhibit on the College's medical school there. St. Stephens Green is this big beautiful park just smack in the middle of the city. It's one of those parks that's so rambling and natural that you really do feel like you've escaped the man-made city for something peaceful. There isn't this forced feeling you can get in other city parks I've seen, where you stay on the path and off the grass and you're only there if you've got something productive and healthy to do. Here, there were a good number of people doing that sort of thing, but more than that there were also plenty of people simply lounging on the grass, hanging out with friends after school, enjoying a picnic of take-away food from a nearby cafe, that sort of thing. When we stopped by, we still hadn't quite gotten our bearings yet and didn't really know what to do with our day, so we just plopped down on the grass with our gps and guidebook and people-watched a little while we figured it out. In the sort of chaos of the rest of the city, this park really seems like an asset to the locals.
As beautiful and interesting as parts of the city were, I think we were both glad to head out of it for a more rural setting yesterday afternoon. After hunting around for the elusive Cake Cafe for a late breakfast, we successfully got our butts out of the city and onto the M8 towards County Cork. By the way, the search for Cake Cafe was fruitful and completely worth the effort. We both had the most delicious (gigantic!) cream cheese pancake with some kind of strawberry topping and cinnamon and honest to goodness fresh lemonade. I took pictures. It was worth it. I already have plans to eat there before we catch our flight out again!
The journey to Blarney was certainly an interesting one. Ireland is apparently in the process of updating its major roadways so, although the gps got us successfully out of the city and onto the highway, there was a major swatch of roadway the gps didn't recognize. It assumed we were on some back country road, since we really were driving straight through the countryside, and even told us to turn onto "unnamed road" and "gravel drive" more than once as it tried to figure out where we were. It was a bit frustrating, but also kind of entertaining. We just stayed on the highway until it found us again, with Becky and GoogleMaps helping us over the phone from home. (Thank you!) Even once we got into the little town of Blarney, it was a struggle to find the Blarney Vale B&B. They don't seem to like formal addresses here, so we kept guessing at the street name. We thought we'd found it more than once, but with no luck. We finally broke down and strolled around town to the tourist office, where we got directions from the two friendly people inside. "You go out this way, and you're gonna make a right. But, you know, this road, it makes you go left, but you go right. And then you follow the road for a ways, just follow the road, and you'll pass two big garages, can't miss em, pass two garages and it's da tird house, on the left." Imagine all of this with the adorable local, a bit country, accent and lots of hand gestures from a slightly old gentleman. Add to that repeated emphasis on the two "garages" by the young woman who also worked there, and those were the directions we had. Now let me ask you, what do you picture when you see the word "garages"? Ben and I were both picturing essentially an autobody place, like a big garage where cars get worked on, that sort of thing. No. It took us passing the two gas stations we had passed at least half a dozen times in our earlier searches to realize these were garages! We kept following that road, as the old man instructed, and ran right into a big yellow sign for our B&B. Go figure!
After checking in and seeing our adorable little room (got a picture of that too) we walked (yay, no more driving!) back into town to track down the famous Blarney Stone. We got there with the place only open for about another hour and a half, so we made a beeline for the castle. The map showed a ton of other things to do and see on the grounds, but we didn't have time for that - we had a stone to kiss! The castle, being a castle and all, was cool and old and interesting and everything, but we can talk about that later. Right now I just want to tell you about the mental fortitude it took me to actually kiss the damn thing! So you walk to the top of this old castle, right? And you get to the top (finally) after lots of tiny, twisting, slippery stairs and you're strolling around the old battlements. It's high up. Like, really high up. And then you see the two guys manning the Kiss the Blarney Stone picture station - against the battlements, and, what's this? The big, fancy, professional camera is pointing down? Like, at the floor? Like at a big hole in the floor that's out over the Edge?? Yeah, that's where the Blarney Stone is, people. You lay down on your back, on a rubber cushy mat, the one guy supports your back, reminding you to grab on to the iron bars above your head, to just look at the wall behind you, and, oh yeah, don't look down. Trust me, old man, I am Not looking down. You scoot back (if you're me, you scoot back the tiniest bit until he nags you to scoot back more). You tilt your head and neck Way back until you see this stone on the Bottom(!) of this particular wall that you're holding onto for dear life that looks a little different than the rest - like, magically different. Ok, just kidding, calling it magically different would be "baloney" - calling it something more eloquent and subtle would be "blarney". I have yet to come up with that description yet, maybe a didn't kiss the stone long enough. Also, does anyone else find it weird that I'm fascinated by the apparent death-defying-ness of it all, rather than the fact that literally millions of people of indiscernible medical histories kissed this thing before me? Ben does. I'm just still impressed that I did it. Ben did it too, of course, like it was no big deal, like it wasn't just a couple metal bars, a rubber mat, and an old man keeping him from falling to certain death. No big deal. Tough guy..
That mission completed, we used the last few minutes the place was open to explore the garden beside the castle - the poison garden! Seriously, poison. There's a with a skull & cross bones before you walk in warning you not to touch anything or leave children unattended. Everything from nightshade to poppies to wolfsbane to poison ivy was in this place. There was even canibis! It was in its own cage with a friendly sign informing visitors that the plant had been temporarily removed from the exhibit - by the police! I literally laughed out loud. And took a picture of the sign. An ancient historical site got into trouble with the garda for growing weed? What isn't funny about that? What, not laughing? Well, too bad, it was funny at the time. And I have the picture to prove it! Ha. (Yeah, Ben just called me out for laughing about that again as I type this. Jerk.)
It was getting kind of late and we were getting kind of hungry, so we headed out of the park to grab dinner at the Muskerry Arms, a nice big, little pub in town. Dinner was yummy, they had lots of Guinness for Ben and lots of Irish cider for me, so we were both happy. I was being a jet-lagged baby and was complaining about wanting to walk back to go to bed, when the bartender asked - get this - if we were staying for bingo. "It's really good craic," he says. "You'll enjoy it." Bingo? In an Irish pub? What? I was somehow not tired anymore! It was like magic. We quickly learned that Irish bingo is different from American bingo and apparently taken quite seriously. There were a few other pairings of Americans nearby and I feel like we all won a little favor with the local bingo regulars for trying our hand - even if we never won a penny. The bartender apparently liked us because, when we finally said goodnight, he insisted we come back to say goodbye the next day. It seems like something little, but that was actually quite an awesome feeling. I'm excited to head back into town because of that.
Like, head into town right now. Ok, not right now, because I need to bathe and look a little bit presentable, but soon. Back to Blarney Castle to explore more of the grounds, grab one last meal and drink from the Muskerry Arms, say goodbye to our wonderful hostess, and get back on the road towards Kerry. We love you all, we miss you, we can't wait to bring you fun things and show you lots of pictures. Bye for now!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Leavin' on a jet plane
I'm sitting here on a window ledge, near the only wall outlets at our gate, watching a sweet Kelly green airplane taxi towards me. Awesome, I know. I tried to get a photo of the giant clover on the tail, but Spencer's camera was set to video, so, instead of a photo, I have a three second video of the plane taxiing forward and me muttering in confusion at the tiny camera while I try to switch it to still mode.
We don't board until a little after 9, so we'll probably be grabbing a bite to eat at the restaurant near our gate to kill the time. Ironically enough, the restaurant nearest our gate is Tigin Irish Pub & Restaurant. Fitting, right? It'll probably feel like blasphemy on the way home, after being spoiled with legitimate Irish pubs for a week. (I can't wait.) Not surprisingly, I've already picked out the place I want to visit for breakfast tomorrow morning: Cake Cafe. I trust Bobby Flay's recommendations. He wouldn't lead me astray.
Ok, time to pack this thing up so we can snag a table. Fingers crossed, the next post will be from Dublin!
We don't board until a little after 9, so we'll probably be grabbing a bite to eat at the restaurant near our gate to kill the time. Ironically enough, the restaurant nearest our gate is Tigin Irish Pub & Restaurant. Fitting, right? It'll probably feel like blasphemy on the way home, after being spoiled with legitimate Irish pubs for a week. (I can't wait.) Not surprisingly, I've already picked out the place I want to visit for breakfast tomorrow morning: Cake Cafe. I trust Bobby Flay's recommendations. He wouldn't lead me astray.
Ok, time to pack this thing up so we can snag a table. Fingers crossed, the next post will be from Dublin!
At it again
Hello all! (All seven of you)
It's that time again. Time to get this little blog up and running as Ben and I prepare to depart this lovely country of ours for one distinctly more... green. :) The bags are packed. Goodbyes are said (for the most part). My nails have yet to be bitten completely back in sheer anxiousness. (A victory in and of itself.) I don't know what else to do before we depart for the airport but this, really.
Ben would like me to inform you that the title of the blog has been edited to fit this trip. We have added the subtitle "Travels with Trodden" to the existing heading. He thinks it's only fair. I suppose I agree. Now I just need to figure out how to add that to the main page so it actually shows up in more places than just this post. We've got a decently long layover in JFK, so I can fiddle with it then. Maybe I'll even fiddle with it on my swanky new iPad! (Thanks, Mom & Dad!)
Well, seeing as we haven't left New Castle yet, there isn't too much excitement to report - aside from the obvious: We're going to Ireland!! Ahh! It's difficult for me not to do this little childish hop in place/dance thing any time I think about just how awesome that statement is. You can ask Ben. He laughs at me every time! Ok, but really. That's all for now. We love you all. We miss you already. I'm sure we'll be updating again soon. Ta ta!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Home, sweet home (almost)
It is so So exciting to be back in the States! As I type, I'm still in Clarion, but that's close enough to home for me right now.
This update took longer than I thought, but not because anything went wrong on the way home - never fear! Since we had long layovers (5 hours in Frankfurt, 4 hours in Philly), the fact that the flights ran a little late wasn't an issue. We didn't even have any problems getting through immigration or customs, which had been my biggest concern. I just couldn't get the damn wifi to connect at our gate in Philadelphia! Nothing more exciting than that. We were in Pittsburgh International long enough to realize that it was the most accommodating and easy to use airport we had traveled in over the course of the entire trip, but not long enough for me to actually bother longing on. When I got back to Givan Hall in Clarion last night, all I was ready to do was sleep, so no update then either. Now I'm awake and dressed and fed and hanging out in the Honors Office until Domster can come pick me up, so I figured this was as good a time as any to let you all know that I made it back safe and sound. Just one more relatively short drive and then I can officially say "I'm home!" I really can't wait to be able to say that.
This update took longer than I thought, but not because anything went wrong on the way home - never fear! Since we had long layovers (5 hours in Frankfurt, 4 hours in Philly), the fact that the flights ran a little late wasn't an issue. We didn't even have any problems getting through immigration or customs, which had been my biggest concern. I just couldn't get the damn wifi to connect at our gate in Philadelphia! Nothing more exciting than that. We were in Pittsburgh International long enough to realize that it was the most accommodating and easy to use airport we had traveled in over the course of the entire trip, but not long enough for me to actually bother longing on. When I got back to Givan Hall in Clarion last night, all I was ready to do was sleep, so no update then either. Now I'm awake and dressed and fed and hanging out in the Honors Office until Domster can come pick me up, so I figured this was as good a time as any to let you all know that I made it back safe and sound. Just one more relatively short drive and then I can officially say "I'm home!" I really can't wait to be able to say that.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
I dont know the German word for "hello"
Nor can I find a freaking apostrophe on this ridiculous airport internet kiosk. It"s frustrating to say the least. Just wanted to check in and let you all know we made it to Frankfurt safely. We"re just waiting around now for about another hour til we catch our flight to Philadelphia. That"s going to be a long one and I"m not looking forward to it. At Philly we"ll go through customs which will be an adventure in itself. There"s free wifi there too, so I should be updating again then. Also, the euro really stinks after spending in Egyptian pounds for two weeks. Not fun.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
One more time, ya?
If things go as planned, this will probably be my last post from Egypt. Right now that's got me feeling pretty ambivalent. I've loved my time here, even with the heat and the traffic and the language barrier and all that. But I also know I am more than ready to come home to all of you (and to American food!) again.
Today was a fun one for me and probably the best way to end our time in Cairo. We dropped a small group of kids off at the zoo and then made our way to Khan el Khalili bazaar for (lots and lots of) shopping. Like last time, I'd love to detail all the stuff I picked up, but that would just defeat the whole purpose of my shopping, now wouldn't it? I did get a little selfish and spend money on myself again. I got a little metal lamp and a fantastic antique Bedouin coffee pot. It's gorgeous now and I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all polished up. I've been eyeing both of those items up almost the whole time we've been here and I knew I didn't want to leave the country without at least one of them. And now I have both. What can I say? I had a few hundred pounds burning a hole in my pocket. What else was there to do??
We hit up another mall food court for lunch. Somehow this one wasn't crowded beyond all reason so we were able to order, get our food and eat at an actual table, all in under 30 minutes. There's a first time for everything, I suppose. Adel directed us to a little artisan shop thing on the way back to the hotel where we watched a brief glass blowing demonstration and perfume sampling. Well, "essences" not "perfume" - the proprietor made an effort to stress that distinction. They've got a nice setup there. Glass making for perfume bottles downstairs, showroom for their scents upstairs. I think only one or two people actually bought anything there as it was a little pricey, and most of us had blown the last of our money at the bazaar earlier in the day. But Adel got us the hookup - he has mad connections - and made sure there would be henna artists there too. My foot is sufficiently henna'ed now. I would have gotten the full hand, but I didn't want to be scrubbing that off in a week or two when I start work at the Science Center. The foot is less of an issue for work, although it did mean I had to walk barefoot for about 20 feet from the door to the bus. It was a perilous 20 feet, but my tootsies made it just fine. Don't worry.
We've been back at the hotel since then. I know I should be packing, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm taking an extra carry on on the way back, so I should have room for all the crap I've bought along the way, but I'm just not sure. I may have to toss out some clothing items here or there. When I bought them, I made sure everything was super cheap because I didn't think I'd want to wear them again after Egypt. Now I've grown a little attached and don't want to part with them. I think I'll be emptying my bags once this post goes up and repacking from scratch. Yasser informed us that we're going to be allowed two checked bags on the way home, which was a surprise to most of us. I didn't want to have to take advantage of that, but it might be happening. We'll see what happens.
Since I missed my update yesterday, I'll give you guys the rundown on that too. We were still in Alexandria at the time, so we had a few more historic sites to see there. We had another late start since the profs were taking pity on our exhausted selves and we had to pack again to head back to Cairo, and then headed out to see the catacombs. No cameras allowed there, so no good pictures to show off once I'm home. We walked around the tombs a bit, and it was only a little creepy, as it was mostly emptied out. There was one room though that was used as the tomb for winning race horses, so there was a glass case of a pile of horse bones. Not gonna lie, kinda creepy. Also kind of funny because some kids weren't paying attention and assumed they were looking at human bones. Yeah, one gigantic human. (It was more amusing at the time, I swear. Also would be funnier if I weren't half asleep now. Yeah, that's it.) Fun fact about the tombs there: they were discovered by a donkey. A donkey and cart fell into a sink hole in the early 20th century and the sink hole grew as they tried to get it back out. In their digging, they discovered several tombs and just kept excavating. So thanks, donkey. The next stop was Pompei's column, or maybe Bombay's column. Something like that. I couldn't actually tell with Adel's accent. Either way, it's an enormous Greco-Roman column in the middle of the ruins of a Roman Empire-era city. Pretty nifty, but not the most interesting thing I've seen on this trip. It was hot and we were tired, so we snapped a few pictures, listened to Adel's schpiel, and got back on the bus. Last stop was the Quaitbay Citadel which is on the end of a spit of land in the harbor, so we were able to get great views of the city and the Mediterranean Sea. As promised, Adel made sure to stop by a public beach as we left so we could all file out, stand in the water for 3 minutes, and file back onto the bus. I can now say I've been on three continents, three countries, and two seas thanks to this trip, so that three minutes was enough for me.
Another mall food court became our lunch stop and I'm ashamed to admit that I broke down and bought American food. It wasn't the best Big Mac I've ever tasted, but it was close. I also made the mistake of getting ice cream again. A mistake in that it didn't live up to the hype of the day before and because the cashier was an a-hole. I should have known he was going to be a pain when he kept pulling the sample he offered me out of my reach for about a solid minute when I first walked up to the counter. Then when I went to pay, he refused to give me my change. Ten pounds worth of change! He thought he was hilarious, pretending to not understand what I was asking and then saying I was telling lies. Lauren, one of my roommates, and I argued with him for a good two or three minutes. That's an awfully long time when someone's trying to rip you off, let me just tell you. He finally gave in when I stopped being the polite American and started being the pissed off American looking for a security guard. I feel like the ice cream (white chocolate raspberry) would have tasted better had I not been fuming. Just a thought.
From there the bus took us to one of the shadiest train stations I think I've ever seen, in life or in cinema. I snapped a few pictures, but we were running late (shocker!) and had to make our train. Somehow the tour guide gods were smiling on us and we got one entire first class car all to ourselves. Apparently this was again thanks to Adel and our security detail pulling some strings. They do that a lot here in Egypt, I've noticed. That was probably the most roomy form of travel we've encountered thus far or will for the rest of the trip, all thanks to Adel. I love that little man. The train took us through the delta region on the way back to Cairo, so we got to see some different cities, towns, and farming areas before the sun went down. When I woke up, we were in an even shadier train station than before. The place must have been under construction. Literally every wall, all the way up this multistory building, inside and out, was covered in scaffolding and these dingy, dark green curtains. Super sketch. And of course we had to stand around in our giant group waiting for our luggage, then waiting to get on the next bus, making the security guys nervous all over again. We got back to King Hotel, home sweet Egyptian home, around 11pm. Sure enough, they had "dinner" for us, bringing premade plates of chicken and french fries and a few other things too all of us scattered about the lobby. I know this isn't the best hotel I've ever stayed in, but the staff sure is accommodating. Kudos to them for that.
That about wraps it up for the last day or so. I've got three hours now to shower, pack and try not to panic about checked luggage weight limits. It'll be a struggle at times, but I'll manage. We leave the hotel at 1:30am - so basically 2am, given our track record. We're flying Lufthansa again to Frankfurt and then to Philly. We've got a five hour layover in Frankfurt and four hours in Philly. Not sure about Germany, but I know I'll be able to update once I'm back in the States, which should be around 5pm tomorrow. I've got a long day of travel ahead of me, but it's going to be worth it. See you all again soon!
Today was a fun one for me and probably the best way to end our time in Cairo. We dropped a small group of kids off at the zoo and then made our way to Khan el Khalili bazaar for (lots and lots of) shopping. Like last time, I'd love to detail all the stuff I picked up, but that would just defeat the whole purpose of my shopping, now wouldn't it? I did get a little selfish and spend money on myself again. I got a little metal lamp and a fantastic antique Bedouin coffee pot. It's gorgeous now and I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all polished up. I've been eyeing both of those items up almost the whole time we've been here and I knew I didn't want to leave the country without at least one of them. And now I have both. What can I say? I had a few hundred pounds burning a hole in my pocket. What else was there to do??
We hit up another mall food court for lunch. Somehow this one wasn't crowded beyond all reason so we were able to order, get our food and eat at an actual table, all in under 30 minutes. There's a first time for everything, I suppose. Adel directed us to a little artisan shop thing on the way back to the hotel where we watched a brief glass blowing demonstration and perfume sampling. Well, "essences" not "perfume" - the proprietor made an effort to stress that distinction. They've got a nice setup there. Glass making for perfume bottles downstairs, showroom for their scents upstairs. I think only one or two people actually bought anything there as it was a little pricey, and most of us had blown the last of our money at the bazaar earlier in the day. But Adel got us the hookup - he has mad connections - and made sure there would be henna artists there too. My foot is sufficiently henna'ed now. I would have gotten the full hand, but I didn't want to be scrubbing that off in a week or two when I start work at the Science Center. The foot is less of an issue for work, although it did mean I had to walk barefoot for about 20 feet from the door to the bus. It was a perilous 20 feet, but my tootsies made it just fine. Don't worry.
We've been back at the hotel since then. I know I should be packing, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm taking an extra carry on on the way back, so I should have room for all the crap I've bought along the way, but I'm just not sure. I may have to toss out some clothing items here or there. When I bought them, I made sure everything was super cheap because I didn't think I'd want to wear them again after Egypt. Now I've grown a little attached and don't want to part with them. I think I'll be emptying my bags once this post goes up and repacking from scratch. Yasser informed us that we're going to be allowed two checked bags on the way home, which was a surprise to most of us. I didn't want to have to take advantage of that, but it might be happening. We'll see what happens.
Since I missed my update yesterday, I'll give you guys the rundown on that too. We were still in Alexandria at the time, so we had a few more historic sites to see there. We had another late start since the profs were taking pity on our exhausted selves and we had to pack again to head back to Cairo, and then headed out to see the catacombs. No cameras allowed there, so no good pictures to show off once I'm home. We walked around the tombs a bit, and it was only a little creepy, as it was mostly emptied out. There was one room though that was used as the tomb for winning race horses, so there was a glass case of a pile of horse bones. Not gonna lie, kinda creepy. Also kind of funny because some kids weren't paying attention and assumed they were looking at human bones. Yeah, one gigantic human. (It was more amusing at the time, I swear. Also would be funnier if I weren't half asleep now. Yeah, that's it.) Fun fact about the tombs there: they were discovered by a donkey. A donkey and cart fell into a sink hole in the early 20th century and the sink hole grew as they tried to get it back out. In their digging, they discovered several tombs and just kept excavating. So thanks, donkey. The next stop was Pompei's column, or maybe Bombay's column. Something like that. I couldn't actually tell with Adel's accent. Either way, it's an enormous Greco-Roman column in the middle of the ruins of a Roman Empire-era city. Pretty nifty, but not the most interesting thing I've seen on this trip. It was hot and we were tired, so we snapped a few pictures, listened to Adel's schpiel, and got back on the bus. Last stop was the Quaitbay Citadel which is on the end of a spit of land in the harbor, so we were able to get great views of the city and the Mediterranean Sea. As promised, Adel made sure to stop by a public beach as we left so we could all file out, stand in the water for 3 minutes, and file back onto the bus. I can now say I've been on three continents, three countries, and two seas thanks to this trip, so that three minutes was enough for me.
Another mall food court became our lunch stop and I'm ashamed to admit that I broke down and bought American food. It wasn't the best Big Mac I've ever tasted, but it was close. I also made the mistake of getting ice cream again. A mistake in that it didn't live up to the hype of the day before and because the cashier was an a-hole. I should have known he was going to be a pain when he kept pulling the sample he offered me out of my reach for about a solid minute when I first walked up to the counter. Then when I went to pay, he refused to give me my change. Ten pounds worth of change! He thought he was hilarious, pretending to not understand what I was asking and then saying I was telling lies. Lauren, one of my roommates, and I argued with him for a good two or three minutes. That's an awfully long time when someone's trying to rip you off, let me just tell you. He finally gave in when I stopped being the polite American and started being the pissed off American looking for a security guard. I feel like the ice cream (white chocolate raspberry) would have tasted better had I not been fuming. Just a thought.
From there the bus took us to one of the shadiest train stations I think I've ever seen, in life or in cinema. I snapped a few pictures, but we were running late (shocker!) and had to make our train. Somehow the tour guide gods were smiling on us and we got one entire first class car all to ourselves. Apparently this was again thanks to Adel and our security detail pulling some strings. They do that a lot here in Egypt, I've noticed. That was probably the most roomy form of travel we've encountered thus far or will for the rest of the trip, all thanks to Adel. I love that little man. The train took us through the delta region on the way back to Cairo, so we got to see some different cities, towns, and farming areas before the sun went down. When I woke up, we were in an even shadier train station than before. The place must have been under construction. Literally every wall, all the way up this multistory building, inside and out, was covered in scaffolding and these dingy, dark green curtains. Super sketch. And of course we had to stand around in our giant group waiting for our luggage, then waiting to get on the next bus, making the security guys nervous all over again. We got back to King Hotel, home sweet Egyptian home, around 11pm. Sure enough, they had "dinner" for us, bringing premade plates of chicken and french fries and a few other things too all of us scattered about the lobby. I know this isn't the best hotel I've ever stayed in, but the staff sure is accommodating. Kudos to them for that.
That about wraps it up for the last day or so. I've got three hours now to shower, pack and try not to panic about checked luggage weight limits. It'll be a struggle at times, but I'll manage. We leave the hotel at 1:30am - so basically 2am, given our track record. We're flying Lufthansa again to Frankfurt and then to Philly. We've got a five hour layover in Frankfurt and four hours in Philly. Not sure about Germany, but I know I'll be able to update once I'm back in the States, which should be around 5pm tomorrow. I've got a long day of travel ahead of me, but it's going to be worth it. See you all again soon!
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