For the first time I'm updating in a timely fashion!
This afternoon after I got off the phone with my parents (love you guys!!) Kristyn and I visited Bray, a decent-sized town south of Dalkey. Bray is known for its beaches and quite a large hill that is popular to hike, Bray Head. Our first stop because it was such a gorgeous day was the beach. It was extremely rocky and cold, but beautiful. Strangely enough there were two people swimming hardcore against the waves. We cheered them on from the beach because wetsuits or not, that water is just a few degrees above freezing and it takes a precise balance of courage and stupidity to swim in. After about a half hour Andrew met up with us and we started towards Bray Head. At first it seemed really easy because there was a large paved path, but it quickly changed into a steep, narrow muddy path. It took about 30 minutes to hike up, and it was more than worth it. It was sunny and warm, the grass was soft, and the view was just spectacular. I'll have pictures up probably tomorrow. I was really happy that I was able to go on that walk, especially on a fantastic day like this.
After dinner I went to see Superbad at the Irish Multiplex Cinema in Dun Laoghaire. It was €6 for students, which isn't too horrible. Not as bad as it could be, I guess. The movie was really funny, but strange. I don't think it's the kind of comedy for everyone, but I had a few good chuckles throughout it. Just like in the States, before the movie they played all of these ads, but they were either crazy off the wall ads or really intense. For instance, the first ad started out with this girl kissing her boyfriend on the sidewalk and then a car comes flying out of nowhere and kills him, paralyzes her, there's blood everywhere. It skipped between a trial and an operating room, which was fairly graphic for a pre-film ad. It ended up being an anti-speeding ad. Crazy! Then there were all these ads that just didn't fit with the product that they were selling, like a bunch of people dancing around in teddy bear heads for an energy drink. Where the correlation came from, I do not know. It was definately an experience.
After the film got out we were afraid of missing the last Dart home so we decided to run for it and lo and behold we had 20 minutes to wait, not to mention there was another train in 35 minutes. Oh well. I guess had we not run, Murphy's Law would have ensured that we missed it. So now I'm pretty exhausted and will probably sleep most of Sunday away. Like I mentioned earlier, I'll try to post some of my pictures from my hike tomorrow for those of you that read it regularly. Miss you all!!!
Cheers,
Katelyn
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Tipperary
So this past weekend Kristyn and I were invited to visit our friend Erica in Tipperary at the Gurteen de Peor castle that she’s worked at as an au pair for the past 4 months. Our first mistake for this little excursion was letting this kid Andrew plan it because he was the one we met Erica through and figured he could manage this small trip. Wrong!
First, he said he had found a B&B for €10 a night per person. I asked him where the hell he found such a cheap place and he said that we’d just get one room and put 6 people (our original party size) in there. Why he thought we could sneak 4 people past the B&B owner, let alone fit 6 people in a room for 2 is beyond me. Then he said he knew of a bus to Tipperary that would only be €16 roundtrip, so we figured we’d skip the B&B part and make it a day trip. Saturday morning Kristyn and I meet at the Dart station in Dalkey and get to Connolly Station at the exact time Andrew told us to meet, and don’t you know we sat and waited for him for 30 minutes. We called and texted him tons of times and nothing, so we had to leave and look for the bus station. As soon as we leave he calls us and says that he just got. When we asked where the bus picked up exactly he said, “I dunno. Some hotel that starts with a ‘G’ on O’Connell St.”
-“Um…ok? What town are we stopping in to meet Erica?”
-“I dunno…Kilshee-something.”
Great. We have 20 minutes to find a hotel that starts with a G’ on O’Connell to a town we don’t actually know the name of. Amazingly we found the Grishem Hotel and discovered that the bus to Tipperary picks up in front of it. We called Erica who told us we were looking for a bus to Clonmel and to ask the driver to drop us off in Kilsheelan, which we promptly misinterpret as Kilsheeny (we honestly have no idea how this started). We ask to be dropped off at ‘Kilsheeny’ and he responds, “I’m sorry girls, but I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to say to me…Oh! Wait. Do you mean Kilsheelan?” He gave us our tickets and we sit down for the 3-hour bus ride through Irish countryside. Halfway through Kristyn gets up and asks him to tell us when we’re in Kilsheeny. Yeah, the name still hasn’t sunk in for us.
The driver drops us off; we get off the bus and have our first look around. It is the ridiculously hick farming village. Let me set the scene for you ::banjo plays in the background:: One sad and dirty looking convenient store with a skuzzy bar and even skuzzier bathroom in it, one country road that leads into the actual village and mooing cows surrounding us. This was the first time that Kristyn heard a cow moo at her (she’s from Los Angeles).
We started walking into the village and met Erica, got a cab to Clonmel, get lunch, and discover in an Internet café that the last bus out on Saturdays is at 6:30pm. Since it was already 3pm, there’d be no point in going back so soon. We booked a B&B room and returned to Kilsheelan to walk around the castle grounds and take pictures. Then, as we were planning our fun ‘Girl’s Night Out’, Andrew calls and says that he’s in Kilkenny (about 45 minutes from Kilsheelan) and will meet up with us soon. We can’t believe that he came so late without a place to stay or any sort of plan (okay, so by this point we can believe, I guess). We book him a room in our B&B and when he gets there we go to the castle once more for him and then catch a bus to Clonmel for dinner (Doner or lamb kebabs) and a pint. We all went to a pub across the street from our B&B called Gleeson’s and listen to a band there, have a Guinness and some laughs. Afterwards we go back to the B&B, Erica goes back to the castle, and Kristyn and I go to sleep and dream of our delicious breakfast to come.
We wake to the alluring aroma of sausage and coffee and scurry to get ready to eat. It was glorious. We sat down to a small glass of fresh orange juice and hot French-pressed coffee for me, tea for Kristyn. Then the B&B owner brings us toast with butter and jam. And then! Our full Irish breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding (alright-tasting) and beans. It was utterly delicious and satisfying.
Afterwards we walked around Clonmel until our bus picked us up to take us back to Dublin.
That was our weekend trip. Sorry it took almost a full week to blog this. I’ve had it written down since Tuesday, but didn’t have a chance to type it and post it on here until just now. The pictures in the previous post are some from our trip to the castle. Hope you enjoyed reading about our strange little trip to County Tipperary. My next trip will be October 4-7 to Galway and the Aran Islands. I hope that I’ll have a post or two between now and then, though.
Cheers!-Katelyn
First, he said he had found a B&B for €10 a night per person. I asked him where the hell he found such a cheap place and he said that we’d just get one room and put 6 people (our original party size) in there. Why he thought we could sneak 4 people past the B&B owner, let alone fit 6 people in a room for 2 is beyond me. Then he said he knew of a bus to Tipperary that would only be €16 roundtrip, so we figured we’d skip the B&B part and make it a day trip. Saturday morning Kristyn and I meet at the Dart station in Dalkey and get to Connolly Station at the exact time Andrew told us to meet, and don’t you know we sat and waited for him for 30 minutes. We called and texted him tons of times and nothing, so we had to leave and look for the bus station. As soon as we leave he calls us and says that he just got. When we asked where the bus picked up exactly he said, “I dunno. Some hotel that starts with a ‘G’ on O’Connell St.”
-“Um…ok? What town are we stopping in to meet Erica?”
-“I dunno…Kilshee-something.”
Great. We have 20 minutes to find a hotel that starts with a G’ on O’Connell to a town we don’t actually know the name of. Amazingly we found the Grishem Hotel and discovered that the bus to Tipperary picks up in front of it. We called Erica who told us we were looking for a bus to Clonmel and to ask the driver to drop us off in Kilsheelan, which we promptly misinterpret as Kilsheeny (we honestly have no idea how this started). We ask to be dropped off at ‘Kilsheeny’ and he responds, “I’m sorry girls, but I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to say to me…Oh! Wait. Do you mean Kilsheelan?” He gave us our tickets and we sit down for the 3-hour bus ride through Irish countryside. Halfway through Kristyn gets up and asks him to tell us when we’re in Kilsheeny. Yeah, the name still hasn’t sunk in for us.
The driver drops us off; we get off the bus and have our first look around. It is the ridiculously hick farming village. Let me set the scene for you ::banjo plays in the background:: One sad and dirty looking convenient store with a skuzzy bar and even skuzzier bathroom in it, one country road that leads into the actual village and mooing cows surrounding us. This was the first time that Kristyn heard a cow moo at her (she’s from Los Angeles).
We started walking into the village and met Erica, got a cab to Clonmel, get lunch, and discover in an Internet café that the last bus out on Saturdays is at 6:30pm. Since it was already 3pm, there’d be no point in going back so soon. We booked a B&B room and returned to Kilsheelan to walk around the castle grounds and take pictures. Then, as we were planning our fun ‘Girl’s Night Out’, Andrew calls and says that he’s in Kilkenny (about 45 minutes from Kilsheelan) and will meet up with us soon. We can’t believe that he came so late without a place to stay or any sort of plan (okay, so by this point we can believe, I guess). We book him a room in our B&B and when he gets there we go to the castle once more for him and then catch a bus to Clonmel for dinner (Doner or lamb kebabs) and a pint. We all went to a pub across the street from our B&B called Gleeson’s and listen to a band there, have a Guinness and some laughs. Afterwards we go back to the B&B, Erica goes back to the castle, and Kristyn and I go to sleep and dream of our delicious breakfast to come.
We wake to the alluring aroma of sausage and coffee and scurry to get ready to eat. It was glorious. We sat down to a small glass of fresh orange juice and hot French-pressed coffee for me, tea for Kristyn. Then the B&B owner brings us toast with butter and jam. And then! Our full Irish breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding (alright-tasting) and beans. It was utterly delicious and satisfying.
Afterwards we walked around Clonmel until our bus picked us up to take us back to Dublin.
That was our weekend trip. Sorry it took almost a full week to blog this. I’ve had it written down since Tuesday, but didn’t have a chance to type it and post it on here until just now. The pictures in the previous post are some from our trip to the castle. Hope you enjoyed reading about our strange little trip to County Tipperary. My next trip will be October 4-7 to Galway and the Aran Islands. I hope that I’ll have a post or two between now and then, though.
Cheers!-Katelyn
Monday, September 17, 2007
Kilsheelan and Clonmel in County Tipperary
Gurteen de la Poer Castle (back view)
Front of the castle
Beyond the pasture in the woods...
Bridge over a little creek
Me, Kristyn, and Erica (Nanny at the castle
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Katelyn of the Opera
Man, today was one classy day. Kristyn and I went to Dun Laoghire to find some last minute things to wear to the opera. After that I went home and talked to Mom and Dad, got a shower and got ready to meet Kristyn at the DART station. We met up with Phillip at Pearse St. station and went to dinner at this unexpectedly semi-fancy Chinese restaurant next to the Gaiety Theatre. Phil ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for the table, which was quite delicious, and I ordered some delectable curry chicken. Afterwards we walked over to the theatre to see Lucia di Lammermoor. It's an Italian opera about two families who are feuding and the man from the Ravenswood family is in love with Lucia, but Enrico from the Ashton family wants in with Lucia's family and hates her lover, Edgardo. Enrico forges a letter that while Edgardo was away in France saying that he has forgotten about Lucia in order to get her to marry him (Enrico). She reluctantly signs the marriage license after hearing the news when Edgardo walks in. He enraged that she signed it and she ends up going mad from the whole situation. Eventually she dies and upon hearing of it, Edgardo kills himself by Enrico's sword.
It's a very tragic opera, but it was very good and beautifully sung. The power of their voices is awe worthy.
So that was my fun little night. Now I'm going to finish watching Shaun of the Dead and go to bed. Goodnight!
It's a very tragic opera, but it was very good and beautifully sung. The power of their voices is awe worthy.
So that was my fun little night. Now I'm going to finish watching Shaun of the Dead and go to bed. Goodnight!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Long Weekend
The great thing about classes right now is that although my days from Monday-Thursday are mostly taken up, I have Friday off! Last night a bunch of us DBS students went out for some pints. We stayed mostly in the Temple Bar area, and a grand time was had by all. We met some funny characters and there was lots of craic at every bar. Don't get worried, Mom, not drugs but fun and lots of laughs. I took the Nite Link bus home, which picks up right outside of Trinity College and drops me off right next to the house and got back around 1am. This morning I slept in until 11am and bummed about until around 2:30 or so. Kristyn and I took a walk up Dalkey hill, which looks over Killiney and the harbour on one side, and you can see Dalkey all the way over to almost Dun Laoghire on the other. It was really beautiful today, perfect for a walk. I came home and had dinner, and now I think I'm just going to take it easy for the rest of the night. I may catch some of the rugby game that's on tonight. It's the start of the rugby world cup. Then I'll go into town and get a coffee or something at the Spar (like a 7/11 or Sheetz) and watch a movie before going to bed. Tomorrow I'm going to the opera in Dublin with Kristyn, this kid Phillip who lives at a homestay in Sandymount (quite a few towns away from Dalkey), and possibly some other DBSers. I'm really looking forward to this experience since I've never been to an opera before. Also, this week I have to write an article for the LHU Honors paper, the OW, so posting will be sparse. I'll be sure to put that up once I've written it, though.
Rugby has started already, so I must go now!
Rugby has started already, so I must go now!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
First Day of Classes
Today was my first day of classes at DBS. I thought I was going to be late because I missed the DART by a few minutes, but luckily the commuter train came through and got me into Dublin within 20 minutes. So I was about 10 minutes early for my first class, Irish literature. We just looked over all of the different Irish authors we’ll be learning about and read a few excerpts from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest, Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and a new book about how ridiculously expensive South Dublin can be and how silly the people from there are because they’re extremely wealthy. The professor seems very nice, easy going and really knows his stuff. At noon we had a 2-hour break (just for today, every other will be an hour) for lunch. I went shopping in Dunnes (I got a cute shirt for €8!!!), got a quick bagel, ate my lunch, and read in St. Stephen’s Greene. It really is a gorgeous place to have lunch on a nice day so I think I’ll have to go more frequently. My second and last class of the day was Irish history. I thought this might be quite dull, especially since I haven’t had any sort of history class in a while, but the professor was quite an interesting lecturer. I found what he was saying very interesting, especially since I have already been reading about some of it in Ireland by Frank Delaney. I’m excited to know more about Ireland in general. It’s not one of those countries that we learn bits about in high school, but a nation who’s past is almost completely foreign to me. We only acknowledge the part of their history that coincides with ours. It’ll be refreshing to learn about a part of history that wasn’t taught every single year. All in all, I think it’ll be a good and fascinating semester academically.
That’s it for today. Sorry about the late posts, but my posts will be a bit erratic until I establish a bit of a routine here. Now I’m off to hang out with some friends from a homestay in Sandymount.
That’s it for today. Sorry about the late posts, but my posts will be a bit erratic until I establish a bit of a routine here. Now I’m off to hang out with some friends from a homestay in Sandymount.
Howth
On Sunday morning I woke up and went down to the harbour to read, which was relaxing but windy. Then Kristyn called and we went over to Howth to walk around. It’s a small fishing town, so there was a nice pier to walk down and we took pictures of the lighthouse (see below). Afterwards we walked up through the town to an old abbey that was built back some time in the 12th century, I think. We got turned around a few times looking for the entrance to the abbey and at one point ended up at some hidden mini paved track thing and then an elementary school. All of the houses were on very strange twisty-turny streets instead of planned out in grids like in the States. After our little adventure sans map, we headed back towards the DART station and stopped to look around the farmer’s market going on. I bought some fudge in Irish coffee and caramel & vanilla twist flavors. It is delicious and so creamy!
Howth Village
Howth Harbour
Pretty Hills
Kristyn & Me
More pictures to come later. They wouldn't load for some reason...
Howth Village
Howth Harbour
Pretty Hills
Kristyn & Me
More pictures to come later. They wouldn't load for some reason...
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Dun Laoghire
This morning my parents called and it was comforting to hear their voices. I miss them a lot. I told them everything I've been up to and about my host family, other DBS students, and about Dalkey. Then, earlier this afternoon I went into Dun Laoghire (pronounced like Done Leery) with Kristyn. We both were starving so we bought our first fish and chips with salt and vinegar. It is definately a once in a very great while food because it is so greasy and heavy (they say we Americans eat poorly!), but it certainly is delicious. Afterwards, we went to a €2 store and got some shampoo and soap, then to the Dun Laoghire Shopping Center to find hair straightners. We were ultimately unsuccessful, but we came out with some paper for school, postcards, and an umbrella for me. Krista called so we met up with her at the pier where we saw a folk dance group of some kind. All in all it was a gorgeous day. Now I'm going down to sit by the harbour and read until dinner. I'm going to try and take it easy tonight after being out in the pubs at Temple Bar all last night. I just went to make sure Kristyn got home alright since none of us had taken the Nite Link bus home yet.
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