To Shannon

This morning, we're heading to Shannon. The fam is catching their plane out of the airport there on Sunday morning, and they want to stay in a hotel there on Saturday night. I'm going with them because I haven't spent any great length of time in Shannon and I'd like to see it.

If all goes well we'll be exploring Bunratty Castle which is very close to the airport. It sounds pretty cool. I hope to take many good pictures there to share.

Is it really November already? Where has the time gone?! I cannot believe October is over, it felt so short! Time flies when you're trying to see and do as much as possible in such a short time.

Happy Halloween!

Today we had a relaxed day of shopping in Galway. I had two classes so I took the family on a very short tour of the interesting parts of campus. After class, Mom, Rick, Kate, and I had lunch at Supermac's (my first yet!). It was delicious. Their "dressed fries" are awesome; we sampled taco and garlic with cheese varieties. It's a wonder this phenomenon has not made its way to the states yet. McDonalds could make a fortune on dressed fries.

We spent some time in the evening wandering the streets of Galway, watching the Halloween festivities. People here go all out, there were costumes a plenty. We ate in the swanky Skeffington Arms Hotel where the bartenders were dressed in gruesome costumes. One of the tour bus companies was advertising Ghost Bus Tours of Galway. We could hear their music all the way up the street. "Who ya gonna call? Ghost Bus Tours!" They had employees in their ghost-busting costumes in the streets handing out pamphlets.

Halloween in Ireland (or at least Galway) is a big deal. It's pretty neat that I got to be here to experience it because I thought they would not care about the holiday too much. It could be due to the fact that it falls on a Friday this year. Either way, it was a cool way to spend the night. I didn't dress up, but I enjoyed watching everyone else.

Eat lots of candy tonight!

Dublin Take Two

We arrived in Dublin early Wednesday afternoon in the pouring rain. We were confused about where to find our hotel and the Tourist Information Center, but we asked around and eventually boarded a local bus. We got to our hotel and found it to be beautiful and quite suitable for us. Rick, Katie, and I shared a room (upgraded from a 3-bed to a 4-bed, we lived in luxury) and Mom and Dad had their own room two floors up.

We made our way to the Guinness Factory, across the city. The walk was long but there was a lot to look at along the way (though Katie and Rick's eyes were glued to the ground looking for money). When we arrived at the factory, we took the whole tour, enjoying our taste test of Guinness halfway through.



In the Sky Bar at the top, we looked at the view of Dublin and read some of the Irish quotes on the glass. Dad and Rick used their tickets for a free pint of Guinness while Katie, Mom, and I had Coke.

I think Rick enjoyed his Guinness, though not quite as much as Dad, who has been looking forward to drinking this particular beverage.


Here is the whole family minus me at our table in the Sky Bar. It was crowded, as I imagine it always is, so we didn't get the prime seats by the window, but we were able to snag a table to stand around.


After all the drinks were finished, we hired a taxi to take us to St. Patrick's Cathedral, not feeling much like walking all the way there. We did not go in the cathedral, but we went to the courtyard and took some pictures.


Here is Katie in front of St. Patrick's. She insisted upon taking one like this and then on taking one of me in the same pose. I don't quite get it, but here it is.


Rick attempted to throw Katie in the fountain in the courtyard. It may have been a plot by both of them to get the coins from the bottom of the fountain, but we had other things to see and they never went through with it.


We headed back to the hotel for a rest before going out to dinner. Katie, Rick, and I had the hotel coffee while watching The Simpson's reruns on TV. We also reviewed our purchases of the day and planned out our next plan of action.

We ate dinner in the Temple Bar area at a lovely Italian restaurant called Botticelli. We all ended the meal with dessert which was spot on.

This morning, we took a tour of Dublin Castle which was awesome. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining and I think we all learned some new things about Ireland. Above you can see Rick, Katie, and Mom in the lobby of Dublin Castle, waiting for our tour to begin.

We also saw The Book of Kells, Trinity College campus, Christ Church Cathedral (I hadn't been inside before--it's amazing) and a few sites North of the Liffey. We had a long haul with all our luggage to the bus station but we made it and took a 5:00 bus out of the city. It took a bit longer than expected to get back to Galway, but we all made it safe and sound. Tomorrow we'll be hanging around Galway. I have classes to go to and I think the others are doing some shopping in town. We'll see how Galway celebrates Halloween!

Off to Dublin!

Not much to report for today. While my family went on a tour to Connemara, I spent the entire day in class: Biogeography lab (in the rain), Biogeography, Renaissance Lit, and Romanticism Lit. A thrilling lineup. Actually, it wasn't too bad. We learned about biodiversity in biogeography today. ANYWAY...

Tomorrow the five of us are going to Dublin for Wednesday and Thursday. Provided we can get up early enough for a decent bus, we should have a good deal of time to spend in Dublin. I'm excited to go back and see the things I'm remembering from my first trip there in my second weekend here.

No pictures today because I did not do anything of great consequence (unless you consider sampling plant communities in a campus forest stand to be of great consequence). Depend on a few of the family from Dublin on Thursday!

Enjoy your Wednesday!

More Inis Mor

Today, I returned to the island of Inis Mor, this time accompanied by Mom, Dad, Katie, and Rick. We got to the island around 1:45 and had until 5:00 (when the last ferry left) to spend there. Almost as soon as we set foot on the coast, we found a mini tour bus. Our guide was a wonderful local man who's first language is Gaelic and who therefore has a very thick brogue. Most people on the Aran Islands communicate in Gaelic, one of the last territories in the country to do so.

We rode up to the same fortress that I explored two weeks ago. After the hike up a steepish hill, we enjoyed the scenery while remaining far enough from the edge to prevent Mom from having a heart attack. We had four cameras for the five of us and I think we took about 150 pictures in one hour.
The way back down the hill is less strenuous, but still dangerous because of the slippery rocks and mud puddles. We shopped for a little while in some of the local sweater shops and had lunch at a picnic table while it rained.

One of the shop owners caught a ride on our bus on our way back. We dropped her off at her house, which was a perfect traditional Irish cottage. My Dad took this picture from the bus window.

Lastly, the bus took us to the Seven Churches which were the ruins of seven ancient churches. I did not go to this part of the island on my bike, so it was cool to see. The cemetery is gorgeous with all the Celtic crosses.

We came back to Galway on the last ferry of the day and ate dinner in Busker Browns. A good time was had by all.

I just enjoyed a Hershey bar from home and I think it was the best chocolate bar I've ever had. Hersheys are near impossible to find here so I've missed them. Galaxy, Cadbury, and Yorkie bars are good, but nothing beats a good ol' plain Hershey bar straight out of PA. What a Halloween treat!

Some visitors

Today Mom, Dad, Rick, and Katie came to Galway to visit me! It is our family vacation this year...although I still have to go to school, how does that make sense? Rick has a lot of work to do too, so I suppose it's all right.

Their plane landed this morning at 5:30. Ireland moved their clocks back last night to Winter time, so there was some confusion (mostly on my end) about when the plane should actually land because of the time difference and the Daylight Savings Time. It all worked out though.


We ate breakfast and explored Galway for a little while because they couldn't get into their hotel until 2:00. After we finally did get into the room, we pretty much all took a nap. They're still jet-lagged and I can always find time for a good nap, so this was a pretty great plan.

Tonight we're taking it easy, probably just going to dinner and a pub, or perhaps dinner in a pub. We're taking a bus tour tomorrow because I don't have any classes so I think everyone is excited about that. That's all for now.

The City of Lights

We went back across Paris via more Metro to the Eiffel Tower. We walked up from the Metro station and saw the tower immediately.


We wondered around for a bit, not really knowing where to go for the entrance. We waited in line for a public restroom but then ended up not using it anyway. We were concerned that the tower might close earlier than we had planned on (it was getting fairly late at this point) but we need not have worried. It was open until 11:00.


Unlike Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower was bigger than I imagined. It's massive. Each of the four legs have means of getting up to the top, either stairs or an elevator. We had planned on walking halfway up and then catching the elevator because that way is cheaper, but we were too late and the stairs had closed. It was probably just as well because it would have been a looooong walk.


This is a view from under the tower. We had to wait in a very very long line to get to the ticket counter. The people around us were openly laughing at us because we were acting like tourists and taking pictures of everything.

We finally made it to buy our tickets. Even after that we had to wait around for the next elevator and when it finally came, four of us had to stay behind. More waiting. It was like waiting in line to ride the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens only it wasn't hot. After hours and hours (ok, maybe fifteen minutes) of waiting for the next elevator, it came and we boarded. It took us to the first level of the Eiffel Tower (there are three).


The view from the tower was amazing. The whole city of Paris is lit, there is not one dark spot. We milled about on the first level for a while before joining another crowd in yet another line for the elevator up to the next level.

The Seine River is particularly beautiful from the tower. The bridges are lit and so are the boats going by. It was really cool.


The second level of the tower is enclosed in glass. There are maps and descriptions of the sights you can see from the tower in the sunlight. The picture above was taken on the top level. Thankfully it was just one flight up from the second part, so we did not have to wait for the elevator. The top of the tower offers more great views of the city. There is also a champagne bar and a restroom. A flute of champagne cost 10 euros!


We decided to take the stairs down because, surprise surprise, there was an enormous line for the elevator. When we were about halfway down, the sparkling white lights came on. They come on every hour and sparkle for about 5 minutes before they turn off again. Molly and I were determined to get to the ground so we could take pictures before the sparkling lights turned off. We sprinted down the stairs and through the crowds and we made it in time to take a few good photos.

We walked away from the Eiffel Tower to try to get pictures of it lit up. The lights on it are blue now, but I don't think they are always that color. The structure itself gets its color changed too. Our tour guide said that people can vote for what color the tower should be painted next. They say hot pink is an option. Intriguing.

Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris

After our tour, we took the Metro back across town to see Notre Dame. There was a mix-up of times so we did not get to do everything we wanted to do here. We saw enough to get a good feel for the place, though.


Notre Dame is not as big as I imagined. That's not to say it's unimpressive. It's definitely eye-catching from across the river and it's visible from St. Michel fountain.


This picture is of the famous gargoyles that guard Notre Dame. I was surprised when I realized I was recognizing smaller details as well as the bigger picture from the Disney movie. The animators did their homework. Many of the details on the outside of the cathedral look exactly like my memory of the animation. I was humming The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack all day after this.


I know this is getting old, but I have to do it. I'm the definition of "tourist." I need to get a picture of myself in front of every famous thing I see, it's just a compulsion. I've lived in Galway for almost two months and I still want to get pictures of myself hugging statues and standing next to signs Vanna White style.


This is an example of something Disney executed perfectly in animation. I looked up at these guys and immediately the lyrics "But you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes...the very eyes of Notre Dame" popped into my head. If I am remembering correctly, there is a fairly creepy sequence of these statues with blank eyes staring out in the beginning of the movie. Looks exactly like that in real life.


We went inside (It was free! The rest of Europe is crying at this loss of entrance-fee-to-famous-monument. Most places even charge for use of complete unfamous restrooms. Reason #25,163 why I'm going to be broke in December: small bladder.) and there were signs all around warning us not to take pictures. People were flashing away anyway and obviously I joined them. I was quite tentative at first, turning off the flash and holding up the camera no more than necessary, lest a Parisian police officer be lurking in the third pew ready to arrest a tourist. The precautions were unnecessary, and soon I was snapping pictures with flash with the rest of them.


The famous Rose stained glass window. It used to let more light in and the cathedral was a lot brighter back in the day. However, the Rose is now victim to a thick layer of grime which the authorities do not remove. If more sunlight was streaming through the windows, the ancient tapestries and works of art in Notre Dame would deteriorate. This is the same rationale I use when I don't wash my windows.


One of the alcoves in the cathedral was a Chapel of St. Joseph! St. Joseph (Fullerton and/or University) in (Institute of) Notre Dame. Pretty much the best place ever.

Notre Dame was something I was not expecting to see in Paris, so it was a pleasant addition to my weekend. The Gothic architecture complete with gargoyles and the dark interior made it the perfect mid-October hotspot. I love connecting things with the time of year or season and Notre Dame was my most perfect match yet!

A three hour tour

On Saturday, we took a free tour of Paris. There is a company that offers free tours of several cities all over Europe. The tour was awesome, even if it was a bit long. There is so much to see and so many interesting stories to hear that you need at least three and a half hours for it all.

The tours met at this central Paris point, the fountain at St. Michel. (Sounds a bit like "semi-shell" if you say it quickly.) The statue depicts the warrior, St. Michel, banishing Satan to Hell. This place is in the Latin Quarter, named so because the university students who lived there in centuries past communicated in their common language, Latin.

Our superb guide, James, took us to all the major sights in Paris and told us the little stories behind them. One of the bridges over the Seine was erected by King Henry IV (Good King Henry). He had his artist acquaintances add faces to the bridge. The faces are modeled after Henry's friends' masks at a party he had in his palace.

Some of the faces are very funny. The party guests were apparently not happy about lending their visages to the bridge.

Across the Seine, I saw this painter. I thought the scene so very French that I had to get a picture. This is what Paris is all about. The budding artists are as prevalent as the pastries.


The tour took us back to the Louvre, though this time only to the outside. I took more pictures in the sunlight of course. Above is the Sully Pavilion, the center wing of the Louvre. It contains French paintings and Napoleon's crown jewels, among many other things.


These are three statues on the outside of the Louvre. If you look closely, you'll see that the figure in the middle, Voltaire, is covered in a net. That is because his statue is crumbling! The French move so slowly, however, the only motion they've made toward fixing it is throwing a net over it to catch the pieces before they fall and hit tourists. (They are le tired.)

We paused for a while on one of the many bridges over the Seine and I took a few pictures of the Fall French leaves. Most of the leaves aren't turning in Galway, so it was nice to experience Fall. The weather in Ireland reflects it, but the colors do not.

This is one of the only photos I took of the Eiffel Tower in the day time. We didn't get there until sunset on Saturday, so I had to view it from a distance in the middle of the day. Our tour guide told us that it was originally built as an attraction for the World's Fair in 1889. It was only meant to be temporary but it was turned into a radio tower, so it provided a useful service.

It is very peaceful in Place de la Concorde. It's ironic that it should be called Place of Harmony because it is the place where many people were beheaded. It's quite a nice place to be now, though, complete with fountain and trees. In the distance, you can see the obelisk, which Napoleon stole from Egypt. It has a bunch of Egyptian writing on it.

At the end of the tour, we walked down part of the Champs Eylsees. We had a good view of the Arc de Triomphe. The picture doesn't do it justice. I had to be fast because I was standing in the middle of the street. There were a lot of other tourists too and we were all just chilling out between the two lanes of traffic.

And thus ended our three (or maybe four) hour tour. We were dead tired, but the day had only begun. More to come!

Loving the Louvre

Last Friday found me at Le Musee du Louvre. On Fridays after 6:00, the Louvre offers free admission to people under age 26, so it was the logical place to be for me. I did not really know what to expect at the Louvre but I was psyched about going all the same.

Like all major buildings and attractions in Paris, the exterior of the museum is beautiful. We spent a while just wandering around the outside of the magnificent building looking at all the ornate sculptures and beautiful details that make up the building. Before it became a display for some of the world's most famous works of art, the Louvre building was home to most of France's kings. Many of the royal families put their own additions on the palace, so there are so many things to look at and each represents a different family or ruler.

The famous pyramid is also very cool to look at. If you're wondering, I did have a reflective moment as Tom Hanks did in The DaVinci Code. I've found famous museums are where I do all my best thinking, crime solving, and treasure saving. This picture shows me before I made my major world-changing revelation.

One of the first things I noticed about the interior of the Louvre was the spectacular ceiling art. The ceilings are high and elegant and many are works of art in themselves.

If the ceilings are not covered in art, chances are they have been designed to create the illusion of daylight. This photo makes it appear as though I visited the Louvre at high noon, when in reality I was there after dark. This picture was taken around 8:00 at night and it still looks as though the sun is shining brightly.

How could I be in the Louvre and not pay a visit to the most famous painting in the world? The Mona Lisa in person is incredible. If it were not for the throng of people crowding around her, it would be possible to miss this painting, however. Compared to many other canvases, Mona Lisa is quite small. The painting has a wall all to itself, though it takes up a very small percentage of it. It is, of course, protected by layers of security I can not even imagine, both visible and invisible. Surprisingly, though, we were able to take pictures.

This is an example of one of the very large paintings in the Louvre. Many take up entire walls, as you can see. It's certainly a contrast to the Mona Lisa (which was directly across the room from this painting if memory serves me) which is less than a meter high.

This is a dark photo but I like it because it gives an idea of the ornate detail that covers the Louvre from floor to ceiling. This room, which housed little goblets and beautiful things that had belonged to royalty, in particular was blanketed in wonderful paintings of Greek gods and goddesses.

Of course I had my picture taken in the Louvre. In theory, I should have found a painting with some particular meaning to me and used that as the backdrop, but really I just wanted the photo to show that I was really there. I believe the painting behind me is a Delacroix, who I have studied, so I suppose it has a meaning on a very small level.

This is another Delacroix painting which I remember studying in class last semester. It was neat to see paintings from my textbook in real life. Also, this is apparently the cover of the latest Coldplay album and I was asked to take a picture of it.

We walked around the Louvre for hours and saw many, many paintings. I loved seeing Picasso's work, though taking pictures was prohibited there. We were disappointed to learn that Monet's pieces had been moved to an Impressionist exhibit in another museum but we found other works and artists to admire. We finished off the night with a visit through the Greek Antiquities. They were awesome.

I enjoyed visiting the Louvre immensely. I saw so many things in person that I'd only ever seen in books before. It was definitely something I'll never forget.

A Dinner Here is Never Second Best

France is famed for its food with good reason.  We walked through a very large market street and I could not believe my eyes when I saw all the food.  There was all kinds of food, from healthy things to quite a few things decidedly less healthy. 

Everywhere I went in France, I could smell delicious aromas.  There were pastries being baked at all hours of the day, it seemed.  Every time we turned a corner, we got a whiff of another wonderful smell.  We were walking down the street and everything looked so fresh and delicious.

My first meal in France was a "rosbif" sandwich.  Sounds pretty standard, but it was exceptional.  There were large chunks of tomato on the sandwich and the beef was thick cut and very tender.  I enjoyed this with a Coca-Cola.  Interestingly, Diet Coke in France is called Coke Light.  This is not what I had, but I thought I'd mention it all the same.


Then, we walked through the marketplace.  First, there were fruits and vegetables.  There were so many different varieties! 

I was tempted by some delicious looking bright red berries but I did not cave just yet.  There was more to see and I knew the lovely smells were not coming from the fruits and veggies.


Next we encountered several bakeries.  Everything looked better than the one next to it. 

Croissants, scones, cakes, and infinite other possibilities were calling my name.  I did not know so many kinds of baked goods existed. 

The place we stopped at for a while had every variation on the pastry ever invented.  There were even some plain chocolate brownies, though these were hidden in the back, not to be rubbing shoulders with the fancy pastry elite.  I just had to try one of the more exotic looking ones.  Delicious!


We also saw other food items, including a large selection of wine and an even larger selection of chocolate. 

I decided against buying either of those, having had my appetite taken care of at the bakery.  They all looked delicious, though.  Ratatouille and company certainly knew what they were doing when they took up residence in France. 


You can probably tell Blogger is still giving me problems. I'm still working on it, but I'll continue posting. I have too much to say about France!