Holy Film Fest, Batman!

After a little incident (that anyone could have made at 6:30am) where I accidentally put gravy powder instead of hot chocolate powder in my coffee, I headed off to Bus Arás to meet my friend Phil so we could catch the 8:00am bus to Cork City, County Cork to kiss the Blarney Stone and to partake in my first film festival, the Corona Cork Film Fest! We get there early, which is a first in my experience with buses and check into our hostel. The lady who ran it, Tracey was very sweet and the hostel was extremely clean and cute (our room was purple! It reminded me of my room at home). After that we decide to walk down the main drag, St. Patrick’s St. to get our tickets for the film festival. Afterwards we agree that a large coffee with an extra shot of espresso is in order. We started walking and looking for places, and what do we see? A Gloria Jean’s! This is a San Franciscan-based coffee shop that used to fill the Millcreek Mall in Erie with the wonderful aromas of delicious coffee. Needless to say, we decided to drop in…about 4 times that weekend. I think they were probably sick of us by Sunday. Anywho! I digress.
So now we are all fully caffeinated and walking towards the bus station when Phil’s jaw drops and he points out towards the River Lee. “What is it?” I say. “Batman!” he exclaimed. And sure enough, there was a full-grown man clad in a cape, black bat mask, and gray bodysuit with the Bat Symbol on his chest running full speed down the sidewalk. Unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough to snap a picture, but later we also saw Captain America and Spiderman. There must have been a convention somewhere.
Still laughing hysterically after our superhero encounter, we board the bus to Blarney Castle. The village is small and there’s not much to it but a pub, a park, and the castle. Phil and I walked the grounds a little bit, then started the deathly climb up the narrow, slippery stone steps, stopping intermittently in the various stone rooms (that pretty much all looked the same) until we got to the very top where you kiss the Blarney Stone. I laid down on my back, grabbed onto two metal handles on either side of me and was slid back by a staff member and puckered up! I don’t feel any gabbier, but it was a fun experience (if not a little gross). After that we climbed down and wandered around the grounds a little more, as it was a beautiful fall day. We had a cup of coffee and awaited the bus back to Cork City.
Back in Cork, Phil and I started off for the city after a nap at the hostel to see the first film of the evening, Boy A in the Opera House theatre. It was extremely good but very sad. It’s based off of a book of the same name I believe; I plan to read it while I’m here. Next, we walked to the Kino Theatre for the star film of the evening, The Picture of Dorian Gray based off the Oscar Wilde novel. It starred David Gallagher (Simon from 7th Heaven) and was the most disappointing and awful film I think I’ve ever seen. It was just rubbish, and I do not recommend it to anyone. The next day after having a delicious dark French roast coffee from Gloria Jean’s, we went to see Bomb It, a documentary about graffiti from its roots and how its evolved all over the world. It was extremely well done and entertaining, and the saving grace of the film festival after Dorian Gray.
I had a wonderful time last weekend. Sorry about updating so late. I had it written on Tuesday, but forgot that I didn't post it yet. Hehe.
I'll update tomorrow or Monday (Bank Holiday, so I don't have class) about what I did this weekend.

Cheers!

The Great Galway Journey

This past weekend I joined the other 49 students in the U.S. Study Abroad Program at DBS for the trip to the West of Ireland, Galway and an Aran island, Inis Mor. Galway city is much smaller than Dublin, but there is still plenty to do. There is a large park in the center called Eyre Square, which then leads to all of the shops, chippers (fast food places that sell chips, or French fries), pubs, and night clubs. After walking around and looking at souvenir shops we all headed back to the hotel for our gourmet three-course meal. We were fed like kings and queens the entire weekend. That night we decided to relax before our big day of touring by taking part in the hotel’s pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, and steam room. How we got such a great hotel, we are not quite sure.
On Friday morning we headed off on a 3-hour ride to Kylemore Abbey, the oldest Irish Benedictine Abbey, located in Connemara. Originally it was Kylemore Castle, which was built in the mid-1800s, but was founded in the 1920s by the same nuns that are there today. Also at Kylemore Abbey are a walled garden, a neo-Gothic church, and a mausoleum where the original owners of the castle rest.
Saturday was the main reason I came, to go to Inis Mor. Only an average of 850 people reside in Inis Mor. It is the birthplace of the Aran wool, where some people still live in houses with thatched roofs, and where there is only a few inches of soil because the entire island is rock. The people used to collect batches of seaweed from the coast and layer the ground with it so they could grow potatoes. It was not an easy place to live, but it is very beautiful. There are 300ft cliffs, beautiful seacoast, and vibrant green fields for miles. I had a fantastic time in the wild West of Ireland and may try to go back to see the cliffs of Moher.
I hope next weekend to go to Cork to see Blarney Castle, kiss the Blarney stone and to partake in the Cork Film Festival (eee!). This weekend I'm just taking it easy and plan to finish writing the essay for the first class I took, when I learned all about Irish history and culture and all that. The essay is on the The Great Irish Potato Famine. Should be loaddds of fun :).


P.S. Sorry about the lack of pictures. I've tried to upload them 3 times and it's just not working. I'll try again tomorrow.

There should be mile markers around the Guinness factory

This weekend was a quiet one that I spent in Dublin/Dalkey. Thursday evening Kristyn and I trekked to the apartments and watched Peter Pan (the most recent one). Then on Friday I went looking for a new laptop skin (sleeve to protect it) and a bookbag, quite unsuccessfully I might add. I finally found them both today (woot!). On Saturday Kristyn and I went to the Guinness Storehouse for the €9.5o self-guided tour. We couldn't find the entrance and walked the mile around the factory until we finally discovered the small sign pointing towards the storehouse. It was disappointing, actually. There were few things to look at, not much to read on brewing, and the films they played about brewing were too quiet to hear. The Guinness was delicious and the shop was fun to look around in, but there wasn't much there worth the money I paid to get in. It was an experience, though and I would have regretted not going.
On Saturday evening Kristyn and Phil (from Florida and lives in a nearby town called Sandymount) came over and we watched a film called Eulogy. It is a dark comedy about a very dysfunctional family coming together after their father/grandfather dies and all of the drama that occurs. It was hysterical and I absolutely loved it (Mom, I think you'd enjoy this one a lot. You should rent it some time).
Yesterday Meredith (see previous post for visual reference) visited us in Dalkey. We first went to Mugs Café for cappuccinos, lattes, and tea. Then we took her down to the harbour where we climbed on some rocks and saw a very friendly seal. Afterwards we had a small lunch at the health food shop. I think she liked it, especially for its quietness. That's something that does not happen anywhere in Dublin. Then after a delicious meal of lamb and potatoes Kristyn and I caught the Dart to the city for the Motion City Soundtrack show at the Button Factory (formerly Temple Bar Music Centre). It was really fun. The openers were Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer and Straylight Run. Both were good, but I enjoyed Straylight Run better. Motion City Soundtrack played a good mixture of older songs and one from their new album. Sound the same, but it's good fun music to bop around to :).

So that was my weekend. On Thursday I'll be leaving for the West of Ireland (Galway and the Aran Islands), so next week there will be lots to say and more pictures. Hopefully I'll be better at posting them than I have been. Who knows though. Until next week...

Cheers!

Pictures of Friends

My parents were asking for some pictures of my friends, so here they are!

Krista (from Indiana) on her 21st at our favorite Dalkey pub, The Queens

Andrew (left) and Phil (right, obviously) waiting for the Dart after a sad rugby match against France. Ireland lost all hope for the World Cup that night.

Meredith (from East Stroudsburg U. in PA) and I

Kaitlyn (Montana), Meaghan (LHUP), me, and Kristyn at the recent Motion City Soundtrack concert in Temple Bar

Laura (from Bloomsburg U. in PA) and I

Bray pictures!

Ok, so I'm really bad at this updating thing. I'm going to make an effort to update more often. Though delayed, here are the pictures of our hike up Bray Head.

A big hill with a cross on top

Brayhead: What I was about to climb...

All of the village of Bray from the tippy top of Bray Head

Andrew enjoying a peanut butter & banana sandwich after a nice hike

If I am not mistaken, this is heather. There was loads on the top of the hill.