To tell you the truth im really upset right now. Not because there was something bad that happened to me or someone I know, but the fact that we’re leaving Ireland tomorrow. I just don’t want to leave, and I know it’ll be hard to. If I could I would just set up shop here and never go back to the states. I will like I truly belong here, like Ireland was waiting for me to come home. Well im just rambling on about this I should get to what I did today.
Woke up early to get yet another amazing full Irish breakfast for the last time and it was the best so far. Packed up all my things, loaded everything on the bus and left Killarney. The first stop was Adere, which was about an hour and a half away, so naturally I got some much needed sleep on the ride there. it was a quick stop there but we had about a half and hour to look at all the shops, get something to eat and go to the bathroom. Not knowing it at the time, Caiti got locked on the bus because she had fallen back asleep right when we got there and she couldn’t get out. Finally when I went back outside a man from another bus had a key to let her out and everything was ok again. We had a few good laughs about how she looked like a trapped puppy in a car and it was all in good fun.
Our quick stop was over and now it was time for us to go to the Cliffs of Moher, and I was extremely excited because I had heard so much about it. On the way there all I could see was rolling green hills and a beautiful sky, and when we got to the cliffs it was so much more. We walked up to the edge where we could see everything, it was beyond beautiful. We walked up the one side of the cliff where at the end was a little look at castle where you could go to the top and see more. There was a fee so we didn’t go up, but we walked around and got some great pictures. We then decided to walk around the other side of the cliffs, and it was even better then the side we just went up. The path wasn’t that long, but there was kind of a forbidden path that everyone else was going on so we didn’t want to be not cool so we followed the path. This is where we got the best shots because you could see so much more of the cliffs and you could even look over and take a picture of the rocks below.
The cliffs where all well and good but we had to leave, check into the hotel and go to our last dinner in Ireland. This was a special dinner because it was at a medieval castle which was so cool. There was pretty much three sections to this event. The first was upstairs where right when you walked in you got a cup of mead which his like wine and watched a violinist and a harp player play some music for everything. Then after that we went to the second floor where we had an amazing dinner which consisted up potato soup, spare ribs, chicken with veggies and the dessert for lovers. Everything was just so good I ate it all up. After that was the last part downstairs where we got coffee and watched a man play bagpipes and it was kind of peaceful.
That was pretty much it for the night, we’re going to wake up mad early tomorrow to get to Dublin airport so we can leave. Still kind of upset but ill get over it.
Be home tomorrow…so until we all meet again….Cheers to all
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Free Day in Killarney...Kinda
So all and all it was a good day today. Not much happened but the things that did were quiet fun. The first thing today was I woke up at about 9:15 so I could get some breakfast, naturally since im in Ireland I got a full Irish breakfast. Granted ive been getting the full Irish breakfast everywhere I go but today’s breakfast was so much better then the others. There was so much breakfast meat and goodness I could hardly contain myself.
After the wonderful breakfast I went with the girls to the pub we were at last night so they could film some more stuff for their project. It was a little upsetting since they couldn’t interview the person they wanted to but they still got some good footage. We left the pub to drop off all of the equipment so we could work around for a bit. The girls wanted to go shopping for a little bit but what’s new. Being the understanding guy I am, I came with and acted like I was having a good time. Shopping was all fun and good but Caiti and Alvi had some things that they needed to get blessed so we went on a mission to find a catholic church and a priest. I asked a man on the street where the nearest catholic church was and he does us just down the street….bam! I thought it was going to happened and I was happy for the girls because they really wanted to do this. So we finally got to the church and wouldn’t you know it we couldn’t find a priest anywhere. So with a little disappointment we left the church and saw some buildings next door that looked like there would be a priest in it. So being the adventurous one I walked in first and went up some steps only to be confronted by a very surprised priest. We asked him if he could do the blessing but he couldn’t, but he pointed us in the right direction. Went into the next building and we talked to a church lady but she was no help, and she was kind of mean. So with that much more disappointment we left and went back to the hotel.
Tonight will be a fun night, we got some booze to help us pack and we’re just going to stay in and just enjoy each others company. These are the last days of Ireland and it’s starting to upset me a bit because I don’t want to leave. It is what it is though.
Until tomorrow…….Cheers
After the wonderful breakfast I went with the girls to the pub we were at last night so they could film some more stuff for their project. It was a little upsetting since they couldn’t interview the person they wanted to but they still got some good footage. We left the pub to drop off all of the equipment so we could work around for a bit. The girls wanted to go shopping for a little bit but what’s new. Being the understanding guy I am, I came with and acted like I was having a good time. Shopping was all fun and good but Caiti and Alvi had some things that they needed to get blessed so we went on a mission to find a catholic church and a priest. I asked a man on the street where the nearest catholic church was and he does us just down the street….bam! I thought it was going to happened and I was happy for the girls because they really wanted to do this. So we finally got to the church and wouldn’t you know it we couldn’t find a priest anywhere. So with a little disappointment we left the church and saw some buildings next door that looked like there would be a priest in it. So being the adventurous one I walked in first and went up some steps only to be confronted by a very surprised priest. We asked him if he could do the blessing but he couldn’t, but he pointed us in the right direction. Went into the next building and we talked to a church lady but she was no help, and she was kind of mean. So with that much more disappointment we left and went back to the hotel.
Tonight will be a fun night, we got some booze to help us pack and we’re just going to stay in and just enjoy each others company. These are the last days of Ireland and it’s starting to upset me a bit because I don’t want to leave. It is what it is though.
Until tomorrow…….Cheers
The Ring of Kerry
Today was a very long day to say the least. It was an early start to the morning but we didn’t have to do much, besides sit on a bus for about 8 hours. Though we had to do that, we got to see something that was quiet interesting, the Ring of Kerry. For the most part it’s a long motorway around the bottom part of Ireland with a lot of great land marks and lots of opportunities to get some great pictures. The sad thing was that it was raining the whole day and me being in the relaxed and tired state that I was in didn’t really get out of the bus that much to take any pictures. The pictures I did get were few, such as the statue of King Puck, and Billy goat that a town had worshipped for the most part. One of the other few pictures that I got was from a bog that was a small town and the people there recreated what life was like living in the bog itself. The last picture I got was from a café that we stopped to eat at and it was of the mountains that had heavy fog going over them, it’s actually a really cool picture.
So after sitting on the bus for such a long time we finally made it to our hotel in Killarney where we got to unpack most of our stuff and relax for about an hour or so. Being bored me and Zach walked around because we had heard that there was a pool in our hotel so we went looking for it. Turns out there isn’t one in our but the other hotel down the street. So being the adventurous guys we are, we went to the other hotel to look for it. We found it but it was just so upsetting that we couldn’t actually swim in it because it wasn’t our hotel. Oh well maybe next time we’ll get a pool in our hotel.
After exploring for a bit it was time to go off to dinner, and tonight I was the one filming it for everyone. We went to the famous Danny Man Pub and it looked like a regular pub but somewhat nicer in some ways. We were there to get some dinner and see a Irish band play. Dinner was so good, for starters I got the bacon salad which I ate up fast, then for my entrée I got the lamb stew which was pretty good as well. For dessert though, I got this bailey’s cheesecake that was out of this world, it was pretty magical to tell you the truth.
Dinner was over and it was time for the band to come on and play their Irish tunes. This was the part of dinner that I was really excited to film because I could have fun with filming. I got a lot of good angles and a lot of good songs. They even came with a little girl that was Irish step dancing which of course I got on film. The band really knew there stuff and got the crowd involved in most of the songs which I got film as well. The band went on for about an hour and half and the crowd was interested the whole time and just having a real good time.
All in all it was a good day and tomorrow will be our free day, so im going to relax and explore Killarney.
Until tomorrow……Cheers
So after sitting on the bus for such a long time we finally made it to our hotel in Killarney where we got to unpack most of our stuff and relax for about an hour or so. Being bored me and Zach walked around because we had heard that there was a pool in our hotel so we went looking for it. Turns out there isn’t one in our but the other hotel down the street. So being the adventurous guys we are, we went to the other hotel to look for it. We found it but it was just so upsetting that we couldn’t actually swim in it because it wasn’t our hotel. Oh well maybe next time we’ll get a pool in our hotel.
After exploring for a bit it was time to go off to dinner, and tonight I was the one filming it for everyone. We went to the famous Danny Man Pub and it looked like a regular pub but somewhat nicer in some ways. We were there to get some dinner and see a Irish band play. Dinner was so good, for starters I got the bacon salad which I ate up fast, then for my entrée I got the lamb stew which was pretty good as well. For dessert though, I got this bailey’s cheesecake that was out of this world, it was pretty magical to tell you the truth.
Dinner was over and it was time for the band to come on and play their Irish tunes. This was the part of dinner that I was really excited to film because I could have fun with filming. I got a lot of good angles and a lot of good songs. They even came with a little girl that was Irish step dancing which of course I got on film. The band really knew there stuff and got the crowd involved in most of the songs which I got film as well. The band went on for about an hour and half and the crowd was interested the whole time and just having a real good time.
All in all it was a good day and tomorrow will be our free day, so im going to relax and explore Killarney.
Until tomorrow……Cheers
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Best Part of Champagne Is The Cork
Today was our day in Cork and I most say it was a good time. For starters I woke up at 7:30 and went down to the restaurant and had the most amazing Irish breakfast, it was so good, it came with sausage, eggs, bacon, toast and so much more. I had a great talk with my teacher about the days before and what we all did and it was a great start to the day.
After breakfast we all got together to go on the bus and got to the radio station call RED FM. It was so cool, the place so was laid back and the people were so nice. We meet a lot of the people that worked there and it turns out that most of them didn’t even go to school for communications, which I thought was kind of funny. We meet people from all section of the radio station so we saw what every aspect was like which was very insightful if I do say so myself. We got a really short but nice tour of the station and it was small but it had everything that a regular radio station needed.
The radio station was fun but it was time to leave and head off to Blarney Castle, and I was excited that we were going. I’ve heard so many things about the Castle but when I got there it was completely different from what I thought. There were restaurants and gift shops all around the Castle grounds which I never thought was there. The Castle itself was huge which again I didn’t think that was. We first explored the torture chambers which were so small that we had to kneel down to the point where we were almost on our hands and knees walking through these tunnels. It was so small and cramp and I was just trying to think about what they did to the people that were held captive there. Now it was off to kiss the Blarney stone. The way up to the castle was probably the most exciting part because as you went up higher the stairs got smaller. So we had to go real slow up the stairs to make sure none of us would fall, because come on that wouldn’t be fun at all falling down a bunch of stone stairs. When we got to the top, I don’t know about everyone else but I had butterflies because I was just so excited that I actually was going to kiss the stone. In the blink of an eye it was over and I had kissed the stone and I felt a feeling of enlightenment run through me, it was quite nice.
The rest of the day we have off to get some food and hang out. Tomorrow we leave Cork and we’re going to the south west side of Ireland.
Going out on the town in Cork for dinner and some drinks…should be fun
Until tomorrow…Cheers
After breakfast we all got together to go on the bus and got to the radio station call RED FM. It was so cool, the place so was laid back and the people were so nice. We meet a lot of the people that worked there and it turns out that most of them didn’t even go to school for communications, which I thought was kind of funny. We meet people from all section of the radio station so we saw what every aspect was like which was very insightful if I do say so myself. We got a really short but nice tour of the station and it was small but it had everything that a regular radio station needed.
The radio station was fun but it was time to leave and head off to Blarney Castle, and I was excited that we were going. I’ve heard so many things about the Castle but when I got there it was completely different from what I thought. There were restaurants and gift shops all around the Castle grounds which I never thought was there. The Castle itself was huge which again I didn’t think that was. We first explored the torture chambers which were so small that we had to kneel down to the point where we were almost on our hands and knees walking through these tunnels. It was so small and cramp and I was just trying to think about what they did to the people that were held captive there. Now it was off to kiss the Blarney stone. The way up to the castle was probably the most exciting part because as you went up higher the stairs got smaller. So we had to go real slow up the stairs to make sure none of us would fall, because come on that wouldn’t be fun at all falling down a bunch of stone stairs. When we got to the top, I don’t know about everyone else but I had butterflies because I was just so excited that I actually was going to kiss the stone. In the blink of an eye it was over and I had kissed the stone and I felt a feeling of enlightenment run through me, it was quite nice.
The rest of the day we have off to get some food and hang out. Tomorrow we leave Cork and we’re going to the south west side of Ireland.
Going out on the town in Cork for dinner and some drinks…should be fun
Until tomorrow…Cheers
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Out of Dublin...Into Cobh
So today was the day that I never saw coming, and I was very upset. Today was the day that we had to leaver Dublin behind and move on to other places. The other place in mind was going to Cobh. We left really early in the morning because we had a lot of touring that needed to be done so we had to get a move on. Everyone looked kind of upset that we were leaving Dublin so soon, but it had already been a week since we’ve been there and time had just flown by so fast.
The mode of transportation that we were taking was bus, and boy was it a fun bus ride. About an hour into the trip we made a stop some old ruins that were centuries old and were so cool. The only real things that were left at the site were a lot of graves and I mean a lot, some churches that were falling apart and a house that the head priest used to live it. The one thing that was really cool was the tower that was in the middle of everything. It was about 150 feet tall (so says the tour guide) and was made of huge stone blocks. The tour guide said there wasn’t many left in Ireland so it was cool to actually see one of them up close. After the ruins we went to this really nice hotel were we got to eat some really great food.
The food was good but we got back on the bus and there was really only one thing on everyone’s mind, getting some much needed sleep. I mean come on, we had a three hour drive ahead of us so what else are we going to do.
We finally arrived at the beautiful Bella Vista suites and I must say it’s a pretty sweet place. Nice rooms, comfy beds, hot water all the time, overall its better then the last place we stay at. It wasn’t long until we had to go back out again to walk around the city and explore. Turns out Cobh is a beautiful and quiet little place. We took a tour of downtown and learned a lot about the Titanic because this was the place that it set sail before it sunk on its way to American. Got a lot of good pictures so im happy about that. After the tour we came back and had some really good Chinese at the hotel, and to tell you the truth I didn’t expect to be that good. Now its time to relax and get some sleep, tomorrows going to be a busy day
Going to the Blarney Stone, not going to kiss it thought, I know what the locals do to it. Instead im just going to watch everyone else do it. I may have a laugh or two.
Until tomorrow….Cheers
P.S. in a sad note Ronnie James Dio past away today..may his soul rest in peace
The mode of transportation that we were taking was bus, and boy was it a fun bus ride. About an hour into the trip we made a stop some old ruins that were centuries old and were so cool. The only real things that were left at the site were a lot of graves and I mean a lot, some churches that were falling apart and a house that the head priest used to live it. The one thing that was really cool was the tower that was in the middle of everything. It was about 150 feet tall (so says the tour guide) and was made of huge stone blocks. The tour guide said there wasn’t many left in Ireland so it was cool to actually see one of them up close. After the ruins we went to this really nice hotel were we got to eat some really great food.
The food was good but we got back on the bus and there was really only one thing on everyone’s mind, getting some much needed sleep. I mean come on, we had a three hour drive ahead of us so what else are we going to do.
We finally arrived at the beautiful Bella Vista suites and I must say it’s a pretty sweet place. Nice rooms, comfy beds, hot water all the time, overall its better then the last place we stay at. It wasn’t long until we had to go back out again to walk around the city and explore. Turns out Cobh is a beautiful and quiet little place. We took a tour of downtown and learned a lot about the Titanic because this was the place that it set sail before it sunk on its way to American. Got a lot of good pictures so im happy about that. After the tour we came back and had some really good Chinese at the hotel, and to tell you the truth I didn’t expect to be that good. Now its time to relax and get some sleep, tomorrows going to be a busy day
Going to the Blarney Stone, not going to kiss it thought, I know what the locals do to it. Instead im just going to watch everyone else do it. I may have a laugh or two.
Until tomorrow….Cheers
P.S. in a sad note Ronnie James Dio past away today..may his soul rest in peace
Friday, May 14, 2010
Belfast For the Day
Ok first off I really don’t know where to start; so much happened today I don’t think I can even write it all without writing a small research paper. Well I guess for starters I woke up at 5:30 which I never like doing to the sounds of Daft Punk, which I didn’t mind. Anyway it was our day to go to Belfast and I was just so excited to see Northern Ireland for the first time and quite possibly the last time. We had to get to the train station for a 7:30 train ride that would take about 2 hours to get to Belfast and you could tell that everyone was so tired, pretty much everyone fell asleep on the train which was kind of funny. The ride was long but we finally got there and it was such a relief because it was time to explore the city.
At first we were told that we were going to take black cab tours through the city and that was the way we were going to see it but it ended up everyone just getting on a tour bus which was nice. We started just driving around the city and the tour guide was just telling us about the areas that we were in pretty much just learning about the fighting behind the Protestants and the Catholics. It was cool to because the tour guide was a local so he took us to all these great places that only a local would know. He took us to the place called freedom corner where there was just a bunch of memorials on the sides of buildings about the fighting and they were just so interesting and cool, and I got lots of pictures of them so don’t worry mom.
The next place we stopped off was the Northern Assembly Parliament which I had no idea that we were going to in the first place but it was a nice surprised. The building itself is absolutely huge for state building standards in my opinion. We got to go inside for a couple of minutes which was cool but we could only go in the main room which was a bummer but it was whatever.
The next stop we ended up at was Belfast Castle which was so nice and pink for some reason, at least the gutters were which was even weirder. We only had a limited time to go out of the bus and look around but I think there was just enough time to take some nice pictures. There was a garden that was cat themed so I just went around looking for all the cats that were spread through out it. I found 6 but I think there was 7 or so. Well either way it was a nice little stop.
The next stop to tell you the truth was kind of a disappointment, which was the last thing I expected from this place. We went to where the Titanic was made and I was really pumped to see all the buildings and stuff. The thing that happened next I did not see coming. We went to get food for everyone and it took about an hour for everyone to get there food and by this time it was time to get back on the bus and leave the site. Everyone was pretty bummed about it but its whatever. Hopefully we’ll have more time at the site where it actually set sail down south, so here’s hoping.
After this we just went around the city looking at more and more land marks that were all around the city, all of them really cool, some cooler then others, like the leaning clock tower of Belfast. The same guy that helped out with the leaning tower of Pisa helped stop this clock tower from falling over, fun fact. We drove around some more and saw some more paintings on buildings which were good for pictures.
After driving around for about and hour or so we finally went to the Belfast Telegraph which was our only lecture for the day which was nice because I just wanted to have fun in Belfast. It was pretty much for the print major’s but it was really cool to hear about what kind of things they write about and what they used to write about (mostly the fighting that went on).
After the news place we went out for dinner, and I most say it was about time because I don’t know about anyone else but I was so hungry. We went to the place called the morning star, and boy was it a good place. I thought we were just going to get some small meal, but oh no I was wrong. We got a decent sized 3 course meal, I got the liver pate for starters, the fish and chips for my entrée and pavlova for dessert. It was so good and I was so full by the time we got out of there, and this was the time when we had to head back to the train station.
We made it back to the train station and made our journey back to Dublin. It was a very good day and im glad im hear with the people im with.
Until tomorrow….Cheers
At first we were told that we were going to take black cab tours through the city and that was the way we were going to see it but it ended up everyone just getting on a tour bus which was nice. We started just driving around the city and the tour guide was just telling us about the areas that we were in pretty much just learning about the fighting behind the Protestants and the Catholics. It was cool to because the tour guide was a local so he took us to all these great places that only a local would know. He took us to the place called freedom corner where there was just a bunch of memorials on the sides of buildings about the fighting and they were just so interesting and cool, and I got lots of pictures of them so don’t worry mom.
The next place we stopped off was the Northern Assembly Parliament which I had no idea that we were going to in the first place but it was a nice surprised. The building itself is absolutely huge for state building standards in my opinion. We got to go inside for a couple of minutes which was cool but we could only go in the main room which was a bummer but it was whatever.
The next stop we ended up at was Belfast Castle which was so nice and pink for some reason, at least the gutters were which was even weirder. We only had a limited time to go out of the bus and look around but I think there was just enough time to take some nice pictures. There was a garden that was cat themed so I just went around looking for all the cats that were spread through out it. I found 6 but I think there was 7 or so. Well either way it was a nice little stop.
The next stop to tell you the truth was kind of a disappointment, which was the last thing I expected from this place. We went to where the Titanic was made and I was really pumped to see all the buildings and stuff. The thing that happened next I did not see coming. We went to get food for everyone and it took about an hour for everyone to get there food and by this time it was time to get back on the bus and leave the site. Everyone was pretty bummed about it but its whatever. Hopefully we’ll have more time at the site where it actually set sail down south, so here’s hoping.
After this we just went around the city looking at more and more land marks that were all around the city, all of them really cool, some cooler then others, like the leaning clock tower of Belfast. The same guy that helped out with the leaning tower of Pisa helped stop this clock tower from falling over, fun fact. We drove around some more and saw some more paintings on buildings which were good for pictures.
After driving around for about and hour or so we finally went to the Belfast Telegraph which was our only lecture for the day which was nice because I just wanted to have fun in Belfast. It was pretty much for the print major’s but it was really cool to hear about what kind of things they write about and what they used to write about (mostly the fighting that went on).
After the news place we went out for dinner, and I most say it was about time because I don’t know about anyone else but I was so hungry. We went to the place called the morning star, and boy was it a good place. I thought we were just going to get some small meal, but oh no I was wrong. We got a decent sized 3 course meal, I got the liver pate for starters, the fish and chips for my entrée and pavlova for dessert. It was so good and I was so full by the time we got out of there, and this was the time when we had to head back to the train station.
We made it back to the train station and made our journey back to Dublin. It was a very good day and im glad im hear with the people im with.
Until tomorrow….Cheers
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Late Nights Lead To Good Days
You know what the best thing about today was, the fact that we got to sleep in until about 11. Seriously thought, it was so nice to finally get to get some actually sleep and not have to wake up so early and go running around. On another note, we did do a lot today in a very short period of time which was kind of a nice feeling.
The first thing that we got to do was go back to DCU to talk to one of there teachers again, this time we learned about the internet. More in depth then that the impact the media has (or more so hasn’t) had on Ireland. It was very interesting because it seems that Ireland is kind of behind the rest of the world in using internet based sites like Twitter and Facebook. It just weird to see kids not using facebook and things like this as much as in American’s do. Another thing about this meeting was that Micky and I were the ones that had to film this. It was fun staring through a view finder for about an hour an a half, it was good times.
After going to DCU, we hopped back on the bus and went over to Photo Call, which is a photography place. At first I was really confused about it because all they had for their sign was a little tiny piece of paper. Then we had to wake up this kind of narrow stair way to get to the place. When we got up there it was a plain room that had been turned into a studio (or the starts of one). It was really cool thought because they had a bunch of slide shows set up for us to show us there work, which was really quiet good if I do say so myself. Granted I don’t really know much about taking photos and such, but they’ve been around since the 1970’s, so I guess their doing something right. This meeting we did not have to film, which was nice because my arm had gotten tired after holding up the camera from the other meeting.
Well I know it’s not much but there it is….until tomorrow….off to Belfast and its going to be a late day.
The first thing that we got to do was go back to DCU to talk to one of there teachers again, this time we learned about the internet. More in depth then that the impact the media has (or more so hasn’t) had on Ireland. It was very interesting because it seems that Ireland is kind of behind the rest of the world in using internet based sites like Twitter and Facebook. It just weird to see kids not using facebook and things like this as much as in American’s do. Another thing about this meeting was that Micky and I were the ones that had to film this. It was fun staring through a view finder for about an hour an a half, it was good times.
After going to DCU, we hopped back on the bus and went over to Photo Call, which is a photography place. At first I was really confused about it because all they had for their sign was a little tiny piece of paper. Then we had to wake up this kind of narrow stair way to get to the place. When we got up there it was a plain room that had been turned into a studio (or the starts of one). It was really cool thought because they had a bunch of slide shows set up for us to show us there work, which was really quiet good if I do say so myself. Granted I don’t really know much about taking photos and such, but they’ve been around since the 1970’s, so I guess their doing something right. This meeting we did not have to film, which was nice because my arm had gotten tired after holding up the camera from the other meeting.
Well I know it’s not much but there it is….until tomorrow….off to Belfast and its going to be a late day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
