Paris

This weekend was my last planned trip outside of Ireland. My friend, Dayna and I went to Paris for the weekend. We flew out thursday night, took the train into the City Center and walked about 20 minutes to our hostel. The hostel was pretty nice and served breakfast which made the mornings easy. The only problem was there were no television stations in english so right before bed nothing to watch. The first day we got up, had breakfast and got on a bus that took us to Disneyland. There is one park set up like Magic Kingdom and a second like MGM and they are directly next to each other. We first went to the Magic Kingdom like park, heading first over to Space Mountain. Space Mountain in Paris is ten times better than anyone anywhere else. It has a launch to start along with loops and corkscrews, it was sick. The park was not packed at all and it was only a five minute wait all day for most rides. The only two rides that were 50 minute waits were Thunder mountain and Crush's Coaster. The only french we needed was deux(two) to get on all the rides. We went on everything in the first park by 3 o'clock and then headed over to the other park. It was very simple layout and had Rock N' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. Both had 5 minutes waits, cannot get better then that. We must have gone on Tower of Terror at least 5 times. It rained a few times but everytime we were inside something so it was okay. We had to leave for the bus at 730, wish we could've stayed longer but it was a blast and I definitely want to go back.
The next day was the big tour around the city day. We got up and walked down to the Louvre where we got on a bus that toured around the cities big monuments and attractions. We saw the eiffel tower, national music assembly, Eiffel Tower and much more. We then got off the bus and went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Dayna had been to Paris but didn't get to go up the Tower so that was the big thing we had to do that day. It was really cool and thank god we had the booked tour or we'd have been waiting in a huge line. After that we got on a little boat cruise that took us past the Louvre and Notre Dame. Once the tour ended we went and got lunch and then walked over to The Louvre. We didn't go in but went through the gardens and saw the glass pyramid. Then we went to Notre Dame and grabbed some pictures there and then had to head back to the airport. It was a great weekend and I definitely want to go back

Blarney Castle and this weekend

Two weeks ago I went to Blarney Castle with one of my friends. We left Dublin around 6:30am and headed on our way down, stopping first at Cobh. We were able to walk around and see some of the shops and the big market. Then we headed on our way to Kinsale which was a nice little harbour town, got a nice lunch of fish and chips, my friend Sarah's first ever.

We then made our way to Blarney Castle. The grounds were huge and very pretty. Loads of flowers, trees and much more, something to see. We first went right to the Blarney Stone through the Castle. You had to walk up this very tight spiralling tower with a rope to help keep your balance. Then you get to the top of the castle which is a square walkway and at one side is the Blarney Stone. You then have to lay on your back, grab onto two black bars and lean down and back with a guy helping to hold you while you kiss it. It was pretty interesting but certainly glad I did it (hopefully no one peed on it that night) After that we explored the grounds, especially interesting was the poison garden. Once the fun there was done we got back on the bus and headed to Cork City. We saw the huge church and hung out by the water, got some milkshakes was a dope time. Then we headed home, getting back around 9:30pm. I'm pretty sure Sarah and I know every part of each others lives with how long we had to be on the bus, but it was worth it.

This weekend some of us went to a concert by Vladimir Jablokov. He is a violinist player who, with a small orchestra, takes classical opera songs, some classic rock songs and many more and puts a really cool twist on them. It was one of the coolest concerts I've been to and had an amazing time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcyyuj67oxk

The next day, my roommate Donald, my friend Dayna and I went surfing down in Sligo, three hour train ride from Dublin. We got there and assumed that we would freeze to death in the Irish water. We got our wetsuits, which were the tightest thing ever and headed down to the water. We spent the first part of the lesson learning to paddle and catch waves, getting in the right position, laying down waiting for the water to push you forward and then pushing yourself up with your arms but not standing.
The second part of the lesson was standing. That was what I thought I would never get but after a few tries I was able to hop right up and kept on doing it. The waves were by no means big but big enough for us to learn on. It was one of my favorite things I've done and I've clearly caught the surfing bug and want to keep on doing it, my new favorite hobby. After that we got an awesome dinner at the local pub and then headed back, was a great day.

Western Ireland

This weekend went to Western Ireland.  Our Science professor was on the trip so much of the trip focused on the scientific aspects of the landscape that we had learned about in classes; the rock types and how they formed, rivers and much more. The first place we stopped on our journey was an old cemetery in the Buren, which was made completely of Limestone. We then moved on to the Poulnabrone portal tomb. Our professor asked us how we thought they could get that top stone on there so long ago. No one knows how so all up to speculation. We then went to what locals would call Fairy Forts. It is a moat around an earthen embankment. Locals will not go into the center of the embankment as they think that the fairies will curse them. One of the professors and our driver who are from Ireland will not go into the center. It was pretty cool.

Next we went onto the Cliffs of Moher. Our Science professor asked that we not go passed the marked area as it is not very stable. 60 people die a year so that's one every 6 days. We saw some people go sit right out on the edge, pretty sure they were gonna die. It was really cool.

After that we went to Doolin where we stayed the night. We all went out to dinner that evening and listened to some music and had a few pints, was good time.
The next day we took a ferry out to the Aran Islands. Some of us rented bikes and took them around the island.

We saw a sunken ship and I stayed down by the ocean water looking at the little pools, reminding myself how I once wanted to be a marine biologist. We then biked around to a fort on the island and to a well on the other side. It was really pretty and not very populated so was a nice relaxing day, plus I hadn't biked in a long time so that was fun. On the way back from the island a dolphin appeared right next to where I was standing on the boat and followed us in to shore so that was really cool to see.

After we got back to the mainland we bused over to Galloway where we were staying the night. We went out to dinner and then hit up a few pubs with one of my friends cousin who was a local leading the way. It wasn't great but an enjoyable time nonetheless. The next day we went to a sheep herding place to watch a guy who gives demonstrations. He had one of the dogs in Marley and Me which starred Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson and he had pictures on the wall from it, that was pretty cool. Then he handed out the little border collie puppies before he started. One was passed around to me and it immediately started licking my arm and face and then fell asleep, obviously love at first sight as everyone said. I'm still going back to steal it.

 Then the guy showed us the dogs herding in action, which was really cool. I believe I saw this at Billings Farm back in elementary school but this was really cool seeing in Ireland. One of the dogs led by going around the sheep while another dog's style was to glare like he was stalking them and move his head to get them to go. The picture above doesn't do the landscape justice as it was beautiful there, the best I have seen in Ireland so far. The guy lives on the side of the river where the picture is with the dogs and his sheep are over on the hills over on the other side. When its time to herd them he takes some of the dogs over and herds them, giving commands from the boat. Overall it was a really cool experience and a great weekend.

Spring Break to today

Sorry I have not blogged for awhile. Let's begin reminiscing about Spring Break. We boarded a flight with a few other Champlainers who were meeting another Champlainer who studies in Rome. We got to the airport and boarded a bus to Termini Station. Chris and I separated from the others and tried to find our hostel. We wandered around and couldn't find a sign for it and a man asked if we needed a hostel for the night. We said no we have one and he said oh which one. I showed him the name and he said follow me. He took us to a gate and hit a button and a guy came out and said, O'Neill yes? I said yes and he led us down the road to a big brown door (with no name on it) and then took us up to our room in this big complex. However we were supposed to find that as tourists I'll never know. We then saw the room which was two beds pushed together with a big sheet over them to form one large one. Great... So we went and had dinner out and then slept. The next day we took a bus to Vatican City for our museum tour.

 It was really cool going inside and seeing all of the statues and art and having a guide was a huge benefit. Later that night we met up with the people from Champlain and went to a bar. Prior to departing Chris had a great evening and had the mark to show on his neck. One of the bartenders saw it and told Chris to take his shirt off to show whole thing. They said if he would they would give he and I shots and some of his money back. So he did, and that was the start of Spring Break. The next day was the Colosseum.

It was a 20 minute walk from our hostel so very close. It was huge, bigger than I could've imagined. We went in and just incredible to see and think of all the history in there. We then went to the Palatino which is next door and is filled with ruins and greenery where all of the former rulers used to be. We then went to the Roman Forum which was more ruins. Being a lover of historical stuff this was great for me. On the way back a guy running a pub crawl saw Chris' neck and went DAMN she musta been a vampire! We talked to him for a bit and he said should check this out. We went back that night and had a great time. Made friends with the people that ran it real quick. We went back the next night and had just as great a time.
The next night we went but not enough people showed for the pub crawl so they said we could just chill with them and go drink at the bar they were heading to. Awesome night there was very relaxed and good people and tried many new beers. The rest of the time we wandered around to everything the city had to offer, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and everything else you can imagine.
One day we took a train to a beach at Santa Marinella. It was pretty but no one was in the water and the city was scummy so that was not as much fun as we wished. On Friday our last day there we just walked down to the Colosseum and the pub crawl people were there and we chilled with them and had a beer sat out in the sun, it was one of the best more relaxed days. We tore that city up, had a blast and made a ton of new friends.
Then we came back for St. Paddy's day. Wow what a shit show this town was. This placed was packed with people, all drinking by at least 3. We got home went out and got some beer at the store to pre-game with everyone before heading out. It was crazy, broken bottles, yelling, drunk people everywhere. A good time, lot of tourists but a crazy evening in Ireland.

London and the current weekend

Last weekend I went to London with my parents and my brother. London was absolutely beautiful. The city was clean, obviously very crowded, but a fun atmosphere and very appealing based off of all the amazing buildings around you. We started off with St. Paul's cathedral which was beautiful.

The best part may have been in the bathroom when as I was washing my hands a girl was washing hers and me and another guy looked at each other confused. She was embarrassed when she realised it but it was very funny.

We then went to The Tower of London, It was huge fortified castle with the Crown jewels, a trebuchet, and much more. We had a very funny guide and it was just fun to go and explore.

After that we continued around the city on the tour bus seeing the London Eye, Big Ben and stopping off at Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace.



The next day we had a bus trip planned for Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Windsor Castle was probably my favourite part of the trip. The castle was where the Queen lives outside of Buckingham palace and she was there while we visited (didn't see her though) You couldn't take pictures inside but it was incredible, everything you expected from living the life of Royalty. Amazing pieces of art, spacious rooms and an incredible garden in the back. It was something I would definitely go back and see again.

We then went on to Stonehenge which was really cool. You never really can grasp what it is mentally until you get there. I had always pictured what it was but you are blown away when you get there. You try to determine how they could possibly stack them like that, especially with such ancient technology. You walk the whole area which is a large roped off circle and every different angle just brings about more questions.



Finally was Bath which was an area where they discovered the Roman hot water baths. It was cool to see but by that time it was late and we were all pretty tired. There was a guy playing Stairway to Heaven on a guitar and I was more impressed with that than the baths.
It was nice spending time with the family and having gone to a pub just me and my ma the last night they were here. It was fun and can't wait to see them all in a few months.

This weekend was a fun weekend of going off to some clubs and dancing. Yesterday one of the kids parents rented out the bottom of a pub and we had free finger food and drinks, which was awesome and saved us all a lot of money in terms of preparation for heading out that evening. Also the last two evenings I haven't spent in my own bed as my roommate has become a cuddle buddy with one of the girls friends here, but no need to intrude when I can crash down in one of the girls rooms, as they all think I'm the sexiest one here. ;)

Next weekend we start our Spring Break and head off to Rome. The weekend is booked with tours of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and then the Colosseum. I can't wait as it's been something I've been waiting for since I got here.

Northern Ireland

This weekend was our scheduled trip to Northern Ireland. We left the apartments at 830 on Friday morning and headed North, stopping first in Belfast and then to the Hostel in Ballintoy. The bus was nice but having long legs makes life difficult. Our bus driver was hilarious, telling many jokes, some dirty. He had driven some bands around for the MTV awards that were held in Belfast but he hadn't heard of them- Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kings of Leon. He also said that when Obama visited he was supposed to drive some white house staff in his bus. He said prior to Obama leaving that they should be careful because cars get stuck on the ramps easily due to weight but they said they were fine. Obama's car got stuck on the ramp and so they made him pull his bus up in front to stop pictures. So he said that is his moment of fame all over youtube- right at 1:09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BvABn7L_So

But nonetheless we got to Belfast and took guided tours. We split up into a few groups and the taxi drivers took us around to a few places, starting in what they said we would consider the Projects back home, all protestant neighbourhood. These are run by specific groups, this one was called the UFF and they choose what murals go up depending on what they want and that no one defaces and vandalises them on account of repercussions.

 This was a memorial to one of the leaders of the UFF group. When people asked kids from there who they wanted to be they said him. Was interesting hearing the stories, sounded like the mafia as the people in the neighbourhood rely on them for protection

 They said they considered this like the Mona Lisa, meaning that no matter where you move the gun is always pointing at you. Try it, it works.

This one was special for me as our crest has the cut off hand from Ulsters, so obviously was cool to see, all of them were awesome. 

We went around city and all saw peace wall that separated protestant and catholic neighbourhoods.. We got to sign our name on it

After that we hung at the mall there for a bit before heading off to Ballintoy for the night at the Hostel. Was so weird having to get pounds out of ATM for money and seeing British flags in places, thinking that these are almost two separate counties.

We then got to our hostel which looked down upon the ocean which we immediately went down to see. It was cold but it was a lot of fun. We then were divided into groups for sleeping, 6 of us were in a room with three bunk beds that formed a lowercase n in the room, tight quarters. We then woke up and headed back down to the ocean as a group. Right as we got down you could tell a storm was heading our way...little rain won't hurt. It turned into hail out of nowhere while we were on some of the rocks and cliffs right out on the water with lots of wind. People blowing over and getting pelted. It was bad and then as we were all soaked had to get on the bus and head to Giants Causeway.

That was cool, thought I thought it was larger in size than it was.

It was awesome standing on the rocks and we went out pretty far on them, a wave hit my legs at one point. The wind was harsh at all times, no one was ever warm. The wind was so bad we couldn't do the ROPE BRIDGE! Big disappointment but we went back to Belfast to where the Titanic was built. We were there for the 100 year anniversary of it's launch,that exact date 100 years ago the Titanic was seen right there where we were standing as it headed out to see, no one else can say they were there for that. They told us about how it was made, showed us the tools used and that the Irish built it and it was fine when it left, English sunk it.

Was a fun trip but long bus ride home

Saturday 2-11-12

Saturday was the day we were heading to Sugarloaf for what we thought would be a nice hike up a mountain like the one we had visited in Bray. Were our initial perceptions wrong. We took a 40 minute bus ride to the bottom of a hill, which we as the group (not the RA's who knew) thought would be close to the mountain. We then spent 40 minutes walking on pavement on a road that had barely a foot of space on the side of the road to walk as cars flew by. We got to the path and it began as all mud slipping and sliding as then emerged into a cloud bank where you couldn't see anything ahead or behind you. My roommate Chris and I were way ahead and got to near the top where it turned into scaling nothing but rock and the wind was howling, it was so cold and fierce.

Then once group got there waited around and remembered had a long hike back to the bus which really sucked....


Then we got back and it was Saturday night. We decided after a hellacious day to make something we heard over here would get your ass kicked...an Irish car bomb. This consists on having a glass of Guinness and dropping a shot glass that is half filled with Baileys and half with Jameson. We did a few and so the night begun. We started walking and ran into these two girls who went here who immediately pointed us out as being from the States, they said the flat brim hat gives it away. They said the place to go was Coppers so decided to head there. Within 5 minutes some chick took my hat and headed off to dance with it. I let it play for a bit then Jason Bourned over and snagged it on a pass by, blocked by any view...It was dope. We then returned to apartments and had long conversation with two people working at desk and learned all sorts of things around here, perceptions of U.S. and Ireland. And Irish Car Bombs they said no one would care if you ordered...do we dare get that out...