Kilts of Tartan, Wee Lads and Lassies

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged, but not much was going on up until this past weekend. I was just writing papers and hanging out until my trip to Edinburgh...Scotland, not the small college town in PA :).
On Saturday morning Phil, Kristyn, Krista and I met outside the GAA pitch (where kids play hurling and Gaelic football) to pick up the Patton Flyer to the airport. When we arrived in Scotland around 2ish, we got Sterling (that's Pounds or Quid) from the ATM in the airport and hopped the bus into the city centre or "Old Town" Edinburgh. The ride there was absolutely gorgeous. I thought Ireland was green! Man. All of the buildings were made of this old yellowish sandstone that's tarnished a grey-black color because of the soot from old chimneys over years and years. The whole place makes you feel as if you're inside a book. I wouldn't mind living there at all (especially because of the cute accents!). When we got into town we immediately were drawn to the carnival/festival they're holding in Prince's St. Garden (a valley-type lawn). There was a ferris wheel, a carousel, open-air ice skating, and a German Christmas fair. Krista, Kristyn, and I all got these fantastic venison burgers (the best of any type of burger I've ever had) with the most incredible Scottish cheddar cheese. Then to top it off we found these homemade donutholes covered in sugar and then melted Nutella. We couldn't not have them, they were divine! A few minutes later we met up with Phil who was enjoying a mulled beer, which is warmed and tasted like cherries. Quite delicious. By then it was time to head out to the enactment of "T'was the Night Before Christmas".
First off, it was chilllll-y. Once everyone started gathering around and we were all in a big huddle of puffy coats, hats, and scarves it warmed up a bit. Before the play began properly a jazz band played a few non-Christmas songs to warmup, and then once the play started they played some old Christmas classics to go along. The play was way better than expected! There were flying sugarplum fairies, Santa's sled flew over the audience, and toys were suspended from his sled and dropped down into Christmas boxes beneath a large tree. Quite a spectacle. All the while the actor playing "Papa" was narrating in an adorable Scottish accent. As the grand finale, fireworks lit up the sky not-so high (especially not as high as they would legally have to be in the U.S.) above us while everyone joined in singing "Silent Night". The whole evening really put me in the Christmas spirit. It was quite extraordinary that this was a free event, as well. Afterwards we were all freezing and quite tired from our journey and Nutella covered donuts so we decided to head to our hostel, which turned out to be very nice (we lucked out with our own room and fort-like beds with curtains), especiall since it was only 10 pounds and included breakfast and free tea!
The next morning Kristyn and Phil took a bus tour up to the Highlands to see Loch Ness and Krista and I slept in until 8:30, had breakfast at the hostel, and then began our day of wandering all around on our own talking about everything. We walked the "Royal Mile" which is actually a mile and 100-some yards and bought some souvenirs for family in the cute shops (I got myself a 100% lambswool tartan scarf for 3 pound), then explored some of the side-streets when we happened upon a very pretty graveyard called Grey Friars Graveyard, which we later found out is a famous graveyard during our walking tour the next day. Afterwards we found a chipper and had some delicious fish and chips, though definately not as good as in Dublin. We continued to wander around and take pictures, talking about everything until we met up with Kristyn and Phil around 8 to go to our next hostel. It was kind of a walk out of town, but was a nice hostel. An old church converted into a hostel. The next day we took a free walking tour of the town guided by a very well-informed Aussie who had just moved to Edinburgh. In the middle of the 3 hour tour (:sings: a 3 hour tour) we all stopped for lunch at a pub where Phil ordered haggis (a traditional Scottish dish of intestines) that he let us all try. It was surprisingly scrumptious. After getting all warmed up inside and absorbing some good travel tips about our next trip to London from some Londoners, we continued on with the tour until mid-afternoon. Our tour guide left us with a very intriguing story about the Stone of Destiny (ask me and I'll tell you to the best of my ability). From there we went into the castle to wander the different museums scattered among the grounds. Very informative and interesting. The best part was getting to see the crown jewels of Scotland and the breathtaking view! We spent the rest of our time wandering the German fair (ending where we began) until it was time to take the bus to the airport and wait for our flight home to Dublin.
It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend that I'll never forget. Scotland is an amazing country that everyone should visit. Just gorgeous. That's all now until next week when I'll be blogging about London! Eeeeee!
Cheers!
Katelyn
OH! P.S. Almost forgot...I saw the cafe where J.K. Rowling started writing Harry Potter in, The Elephant House, and the school that inspired Hogwarts!!! So exciting!

Krista and I enjoying our Fish and Chips


The fanciest hotel in Edinburgh behind Waverly train station

Birthplace of HARRY POTTER!!!

How I Fell in Love with Roma

So it's Tuesday and I'm already blogging about my weekend! A vast improvement, I think. I spent this past weekend in Rome, Italy (hence the title), so for simplicity's sake I'll just give a day-by-day synopsis.

Me in front of the Colosseum

Thursday:

Phil, Kristyn, and I met in Dalkey around 12 to catch The Patton Flyer, a convenient way to get to the airport from the suburbs. We meet Amy and Meaghan at the airport and get on our flight to Bergamo, a small city near Milan in northern Italy at 4:45. Around 7:30 (local time) we arrive in Bergamo and immediately go out in search of food. In town we find a restaurant called Piemontese Risorante e Pizzeria. We thought it looked really fancing--white linen on the tables, an assortment of fancy pastries displayed, linen napkins folded up into some oragami-type shape, but it turns out that's just what restaurants in Italy look like. For 5 people the bill only came to €44.50, including wine and two bottles of Pellegrino, and we were all stuffed. I was in a pasta coma afterwards from eating a big plate of the most delicious gnocchi sorrentina that I have ever tasted. Afterwards we all went for a short walk farther into the town and lo and behold! What did we find? A gelato place! It was so tastey that ice cream will never be the same for me. Afterwards we headed back to the airport to spend the night. Our flight to Rome in the morning was too early to even bother with a hostel, but it was a very uncomfortable night. It wouldn't have been that bad if this night guard didn't keep moving us. He didn't move anyone else around, so I think he just felt like giving us a hard time. Every time we started falling asleep he'd say we had to go to another part of the airport or sit in chairs or not be so close to the door. It was a little ridculous. I think I was the least bothered by it, though. With all the traveling time to Rome the next day, I got plenty of sleep.

Friday:

We started our day off with some espresso, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a delicious croissant (all very cheap, may I add) at the airport, got on our flight, and then took a bus into Rome. We checked into our hostel (which was really nice for only being €13.50 a night) and started off toward Vatican City. When we got there we were all starving, so we sat down at a pizzeria and had some pasta while we waited for Kristyn's friend Lizzie who is studying in Rome. It was too late by the time we were done to get in line to go to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, so Lizzie took us everywhere else. We saw St. Peter's Square, got some more gelato, Roman Forum (original center of ancient Rome), Piazza Navona (we saw the Fontana del Moro, but unfortunately the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was being worked on), the Pantheon, had espresso at the best coffee shop in Rome (according to Lizzie), ate gelato on the Spanish Steps in Piazza di Spagna (where Keats, Goethe, and Mark Twain used to go frequently), we threw coins into the Trevi Fountain for safe return to Rome, the Colosseum, and then we had to go back to the hostel for a nap. We all slept for a couple of hours and then found a pizzeria down the road for dinner. Then we went in search of a souvenir shop (which we found) and then...you guessed it, another gelato shop.

Trevi Fountain

Me in front of the Spanish Steps

Saturday:

We woke up early, got dressed and headed down to breakfast at our hostel. They had this fabulous machine that dispensed quality lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, cafe Americanas, and espresso. I was nice and wired that morning because after making a latte I just kept pressing the "espresso" button. We all began to plot stealing the machine, it was that good. Anyways...I digress. We got to the Vatican in time that morning and stood in line for about 2 hours. We saw priceless religious tapestries, paintings, and statues. I wish I had more of an interest in art so I could have better appreciated what I was looking at. Then started the walk towards the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina), the place I had been most anticipating the entire trip. The rooms leading to it were very stunning. Art on every crevice of the walls, ceilings, and even mosaic art on the floor. Then after all of these ancient paintings there are a few rooms of modern religious art. I've never taken a liking to modern art anyways, and appreciated it even less after what we had just seen and what was to come. After much pushing and shoving up stairs and through many rooms there it was. The most fascinating work of art I have ever seen. Michelangelo's Cappella Sistina. I arched my neck backwards, my jaw dropped, and I stood in awe for minutes. I was extremely impressed. All of the bodies he painted. Everything was so intricate and all of the different paintings seemed to flow together flawlessly (I snuch a fuzzy picture of God Creates Adam). It was an emotional experience to see this. A scene I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.

God Creates Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel

Afterwards we met up with Lizzie and got lunch (gnocchi with gargonzola cheese sauce and wine) and then gelato. Once we were nice and full we got in line to go into the Basilica of St. Peter. It was gorgeous. Unfortunately it was too big and too dark for my dinky camera to take any good pictures. I'll put some up from my friend Meaghan's camera when we have our picture-swapping day. Then we went to the grottoes under the basilica, the Tomb of the Popes. I saw where Pope John Paul II is buried. There were beautiful roses laying aroud his white marble grave and devout Catholics kneeled in front of it, clinging to their rosaries, and praying. Yet another emotional experience for me despite my not being Catholic and my lack of knowledge about him. He did a lot for humanity and worked hard to bring peace between people of different religions. It was very apparent how beloved he was.

Later that evening we went to see the Colosseum lit up at night and then to the Trevi Fountain again. On the way to the Trevi Fountain I found a Gucci purse knockoff that I loved, so I haggled a bit and bought that :-D. We went to Piazza di Spagna again to meet up with Lizzie and her friends for dinner a little early so I could drool over silver Dolce and Gabbana pumps. After dinner we got gelato at a famous gelateria in Rome, Giolitti. There I discovered that cinnamon is my favorite gelato flavor. Yum! We tried to stay out to experience Rome nightlife, but since it doesn't really start until around 11pm-midnight, we had to call it a night and catch some much-deserved zz's.

Sunday:

Again we debated the possibility of stealing the coffee machine in our hostel before departing Rome. As a departing gift, Lizzie brought us all Nutella-filled donuts (best ever!) before we boarded the DaVinci Express train to the Fiumicino Airport. I arrived back in Dublin around 3pm.

It was an incredible weekend that I'll remember forever! A perfect way to kickoff my series of trips that I'll be going on in this last month of the semester. Next stop: Edinburgh, Scotland!

Ciao! Cheers!

St. Stephen's Green

Here are the rest of my pictures from St. Stephen's Green. When I was taking this first one I had to restrain myself from jumping in :)

Dublin, Double Toil and Trouble Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble!

Ok...so I couldn't really think of great title for this week's Hallowe'en (that's how the Irish spell it) blog. For Halloween I went trick-or-treating with Jack (the youngest) and 5 of his friends. He was dressed as an American boxer with USA boxing gloves, a boxing hoodie and a black eye that was painted with Halloween makeup. They sang the "Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!" song ran around wildly trying to get as many sweets as possible just like in the States. Trick-or-treating didn't last long because around here there aren't that many houses that don't have big stone gates, so the boys proceeded to eat probably too much of their candy and played video games while I got dressed up to go out on the town with some DBS people. I picked Kristyn up who was dressed as a bunny (I just wore a dress and a masquerade mask) and we took the DART into town. We first went to the apartments and played some card games, I met some people that I hadn't spent time with who turned out to be fun people, then we headed for Temple Bar. We should have just stayed at the apartments because some people really weren't in the right state to be out and about, but luckily there were enough sober people (me included) to make sure everyone got home ok. Unfortunately Kristyn lost her wallet, though. Nothing tragic or irreplaceable was lost, but it was still kind of pain and we fruitlessly spent an hour that night and a couple of the next day looking for it. I had a really good time and managed to meet Scooby Doo, Superman, and Batman all in Temple Bar that night :-p.
On Thursday all I did was read some of On the Road by Jack Kerouac, which I'm not quite sure if I like that much, walked to the park in Dun Laoghaire and then after dinner I went to movie night at Kristyn and Krista's house. Phil, Andrew, Amy, Krista, Kristyn and I watched The Holiday and generally had a good time and a quiet night.
Friday was probably the highlight of my week. Krista and I set out early for a day of exploring secondhand shops and vintage shops and just meandering. We found some really good green tea mixed with strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla at a very small stand in this arcade between Aungier and S. William St. It was kind of a bonding day for us and I realized that she's the person I feel most comfortable around here. It's kind of sad it took this long for us to just spend a day doing whatever together, but I think we'll be hanging out a lot more now. The rest of the weekend will be spent writing a paper for my Cinema History class and then on Thursday I'll set out for ROME!!!!! I'm very excited (hence the multiple exclamation points and capital letters). About a week ago I was walking around thinking about how easy I have it here and that most of my time is spent doing whatever it is I want, on a whim. And that particular fall day happened to be sunny and beautiful so I went for a walk with my camera in St. Stephen's Green in the middle of Dublin City Centre. It's very close to the buildings I have classes in so I go there to watch the ducks sometimes. Here are some pretty photos I took that day. Enjoy!

Pictures!

So here are the long-awaited Blarney photos. I forgot that I changed the quality of my pictures to the highest and therefore they were too big to load onto Blogger. So I just changed the size and viola! Enjoy!

I kissed the Blarney Stone and don't feel much "gabbier"

Me in front of Blarney Castle next to a very snotty little kid

Phil giving a look that could kill

These steps were very smooth and slippery. All that kept me from falling was that rope on the side.

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!

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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...

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.

Pictures!

Today I went on a bus tour (me? on a bus tour...who'd have thunk?) around Dublin with other American DBS students. I met a lot of nice people including Kristen and Krista who are living up the street from me in Dalkey. They seem like great people. We went to a pub in town this evening and chatted for a few hours about our life stories. It was really enjoyable and everyone seems laid back so far. Without further delay, though here are some pictures I took today!

No Dignity Left in Flying

I just got through security at the Newark Liberty International Airport. It was fairly simple, I guess. No major complications and no one stopped me to search through every one of my personal items (thank goodness!). I hate going through security, though. You’re barefoot and are expected to shove everything you’re carrying into tiny boxes as fast as you possibly can. Luckily I only made one mistake. I didn’t take my laptop out of my backpack and put it in it’s own box because I’ve never flown with one before. There weren’t too many people in line and I still have 2 ½ hours left before my flight departs. So now I think I’ll wander around for a few minutes. No use sitting around at my gate for all this time…

I boarded as easily as possilbe, got my baggage, entered Ireland smoothly, and was dropped off at the doorstep of my host family. They are very nice people and seem very laid back about what I do and where I go just as long as I check in once in a while. I'll write more when I am not falling asleep in between words.

On My Way! Well, Sort of...

Written Friday, August 24th - 7:45am

About 15 minutes ago I boarded the eastbound train for Philadelphia. This is the first part of my long journey to Ireland. I’m stopping in Philly for a few days to visit Christopher and celebrate our one-year a little early. I’ll be in Philadelphia until Tuesday evening, when I will take the Regional Rail to Newark, NJ International Airport. My flight takes off (supposedly) at 7:00pm and I should be in Dublin by 7:00am. Thank goodness I don’t have any connecting flights. Flying is complicated enough anymore without having to get on and off planes at the right time (and of course your first flight lands late and your connecting flight is always the only one that takes off on-time). I managed to pack just about everything, got halfway to Pittsburgh and realized that I had forgotten my passport, which is safely in our filing cabinet. My mom is being very sweet and priority over-nighting it to Christopher’s apartment.
I’ve been reading the Lonely Planet travel books that my mom bought me and I think by the time my plane hits the runway, I will as confident and ready as I’ll every be. Of course, things are simpler due to the fact that I’m going to an English-speaking country. All I have to get used to is the accent and then never-ending use of slang. You think people in the States speak a different language outside of a class or conference room, but we are nothing compared to the Irish, and English for that matter. Not only is there Gaelic mixed in everyday conversation, but on top of that is the rhyming slang (it would even baffle the clever writers of The Gilmore Girls). I’ve only really picked up a few phrases myself. I remember apples and pears – up the stairs and Johnny Rocket – pocket. It’s a really amusing way to say things, but it is damn confusing for an outsider.

Long Distance Call

Yesterday I took the afternoon off of work and after doing a bit of relaxing and movie watching I called Dierdre, my host mom in Ireland. She seemed very nice and excited to have me stay with her and her family. They have 4 kids, 2 that are 18 and 16ish and 2 that are a little younger than 10. I guess they've hosted 10-12 students before me, which is good because they'll be well-versed in answering all of the crazy questions I'll probably come up with. It also means that they'll probably be very prepared for me, and that I won't be sleeping on a little cot in their laundry room or anything. She also said that they are pretty laid back and have few rules. I'm not a wild child, but I don't think I'd do well with strict rules.
She told me that the University will provide transport from the airport directly to their house in Dalkey, so that's good to know. Other than this brief call, I haven't heard anything else about my trip. Today at lunch I'm going to call my travel agent to verify that I have everything I need for my flight and tomorrow I'm going to go to Best Buy with my dad to get a plug adapter with my dad so I can use my laptop, charge my DS, and straighten my hair over there.

I'm sure more updates on their way...if there is anyone who even reads this! :)

Weekend

Well, this weekend wasn't very productive as far as my trip to Ireland is concerned. My mom did buy me a couple of travel books, though! She got me a Lonely Planet one on Dublin and another book on Ireland.
Most of the weekend was spent at Hollywood Video, which I'm not really complaining about, but I would have liked to spend more time with my cousins. Luckily they ended up staying an extra day on Sunday. I watched a lot of movies over the past few days. I saw Wild Hogs, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Film for Theaters for DVD, and The Transformers along with a few I've already seen a bajillion times. In my next post I'll have my thoughts on all of them. It was nice getting to catch up on some films that I wanted to see, and some that I didn't know I wanted to see. Tonight I'm going to see Rush Hour 3 with Mr. and Mrs. Nies. I haven't gotten to hang out with them in a while, so this should be fun!
Tomorrow after working at St. Vincent's I'm going to call my Irish family since Elizabeth still hasn't not gotten back to me about the email address I requested. I'm very excited to speak to them, but I'm also kind of nervous. I'm not sure what about. I guess probably a little nervous that they won't like me, but my excitement overshadows any apprehensions.
I will most definately have a post on that conversation. And that's it for this one...