"Mash 'em, boil 'em, put 'em in a stew." - Samwise Gamgee
So I had a week break in between my Italian practicum ( 1 quarter's worth of Italian credits smashed into 3 weeks) and actual classes... And where do I go? IRELAND. Oh yes. It was so beautiful! Honestly, everyone who has been there says 'It's soooo green!' And I am just one more of them. It was like watching t.v. in HD imax after a life of fuzzy 70's technicolor. I didn't know that colors that rich could exist. If it's possible to fall in love with a landscape, I did...
The Cliffs of Moher
I arrived in Dublin with 3 of my friends: Lindsey and Carmen, whom I live with, and Amy, a brand new friend. I love these girls. They are way too much fun and are exactly the kind of people I need to be around. Everyone is just so outgoing and high energy. They don't give me time to get too deep in my head, which is good, because that's when the problems start.
We stayed at Ashfield House in Dublin which was wonderful because it was a short walk to everywhere. Our first destination was the Temple Bar area. Seriously, where else would 4 college students who just finished exams go? We had some great grub and met a cheeky waiter who convinced us to head over to another bar and play a joke on a bartender for free drinks. So we go and ask after Dom at Padraic O'Grady's and tell him our cover story: we were regulars at his old pub in NYC. Carmen tells him that her brother finally married the girl and all of a sudden Dom's coming around the bar to ask us how we are doing and what drinks we want. I told him I'd have my usual and he just was looking around like 'Cor, blimey...' until we told him that since we were in his city we would drink what he recommended. The relief was palpable. We stayed for a while and listened to some great pub music and learned songs like 'I'll Tell Me Ma' and 'No, Nay, Never.' We had so much fun.
We stayed at Ashfield House in Dublin which was wonderful because it was a short walk to everywhere. Our first destination was the Temple Bar area. Seriously, where else would 4 college students who just finished exams go? We had some great grub and met a cheeky waiter who convinced us to head over to another bar and play a joke on a bartender for free drinks. So we go and ask after Dom at Padraic O'Grady's and tell him our cover story: we were regulars at his old pub in NYC. Carmen tells him that her brother finally married the girl and all of a sudden Dom's coming around the bar to ask us how we are doing and what drinks we want. I told him I'd have my usual and he just was looking around like 'Cor, blimey...' until we told him that since we were in his city we would drink what he recommended. The relief was palpable. We stayed for a while and listened to some great pub music and learned songs like 'I'll Tell Me Ma' and 'No, Nay, Never.' We had so much fun.
The next night we went to almost every bar in the Temple Bar area and we made friends with the bouncer at Temple Bar. I was getting talked up by some Armenian guy... so I pretended to only speak French as he spoke at me in English and offered me money for some 'alone time.' Needless to say my new bouncer buddy came in handy! After that disaster we headed off to another bar with a couple of nice Irish boys who kept the Guinness flowing and then took us out to get burgers at 2:30 in the morning. That was wonderful, plus I totally have a soft spot for gingers...
Our second day in Dublin we went to tour the Guinness Storehouse, which was fascinating. After the tour you head up to the Gravity Bar on the top floor and get a free pint of Guinness and a panoramic view of all of Dublin. Afterwards we went shopping and strolled around St. Stephen's Green. The fashion in Dublin is surprisingly amazing. I found the perfect l.b.d. and fell in love with Topshop, which is way too expensive for me.
I dragged the girls to the National Museum of Ireland of Archeology to see the bog people. I absolutely love them! They are like naturally made mummies. The Celtic peoples would execute hostages from other tribes (princes, dignitaries, etc...) or criminals who didn't deserve an honorable burial and just toss the bodies into the peat bogs. The peat has low oxygen levels and other biological factors that preserved not only the bodies, but their hair, clothes, jewelry, and skin. (So if you're squeamish scroll down a bit quickly)
We made our way to Galway by train after a long trek to the train station in 18°C rain... with no umbrella, but we made it! Cold and sniffly.... but we got there. We went out that night to see what the scene was and we ended up at the Quay's (pronounced keys) and found some traditional Irish music. We just chilled there and listened to the music and drank some guinness. It was a good night. Lindsey and I retired a bit early, meaning at 10:45. But Carmen and Amy stayed out for a bit longer and had quite the tale to tell. As Carmen leads me to believe, Galway is like a backwards Cinderella town. As the clock strikes 11:00 the masses of pissed drunk lads come out and swam the town. There was even an instance of a group of 12 guys lifting Amy up and hauling her off. They eventually put her down after saying some rather crude things, but we did not go out the next night.
The best part of Galway was going on a bus trip to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. Our driver/guide was a little old Irish man who had been doing this tour for 19 years. Desmond (Des) was adorably funny and we spent the entire day laughing and visiting some beautiful places.
Our second day in Dublin we went to tour the Guinness Storehouse, which was fascinating. After the tour you head up to the Gravity Bar on the top floor and get a free pint of Guinness and a panoramic view of all of Dublin. Afterwards we went shopping and strolled around St. Stephen's Green. The fashion in Dublin is surprisingly amazing. I found the perfect l.b.d. and fell in love with Topshop, which is way too expensive for me.
I dragged the girls to the National Museum of Ireland of Archeology to see the bog people. I absolutely love them! They are like naturally made mummies. The Celtic peoples would execute hostages from other tribes (princes, dignitaries, etc...) or criminals who didn't deserve an honorable burial and just toss the bodies into the peat bogs. The peat has low oxygen levels and other biological factors that preserved not only the bodies, but their hair, clothes, jewelry, and skin. (So if you're squeamish scroll down a bit quickly)
This guy is an ancient ginger!
Check out his hand!
We made our way to Galway by train after a long trek to the train station in 18°C rain... with no umbrella, but we made it! Cold and sniffly.... but we got there. We went out that night to see what the scene was and we ended up at the Quay's (pronounced keys) and found some traditional Irish music. We just chilled there and listened to the music and drank some guinness. It was a good night. Lindsey and I retired a bit early, meaning at 10:45. But Carmen and Amy stayed out for a bit longer and had quite the tale to tell. As Carmen leads me to believe, Galway is like a backwards Cinderella town. As the clock strikes 11:00 the masses of pissed drunk lads come out and swam the town. There was even an instance of a group of 12 guys lifting Amy up and hauling her off. They eventually put her down after saying some rather crude things, but we did not go out the next night.
The best part of Galway was going on a bus trip to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. Our driver/guide was a little old Irish man who had been doing this tour for 19 years. Desmond (Des) was adorably funny and we spent the entire day laughing and visiting some beautiful places.
Des
The Cliffs of Moher were breathtaking. The wind was intense though, and we felt as if we could easily be blown off. Apparently 60 people fell to their deaths from the cliffs last year alone. That only makes me respect nature all the more. The cave that is at the bottom of the left side of the cliffs was actually used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Harry and Dumbledore go into the cave to find the locket. I was a bit stoked. The land is just so beautiful and it makes you think about what it would be like to live a simpler life and live off the land... and then I remember how much I love running water and central heating.
The cave is that dark spot on the second outcropping.
After Galway we headed on to Cork to kiss the Blarney stone! Cork itself was not too exciting, but Blarney Castle was gorgeous. The gardens were lush and fragrant, but the best part of it all was climbing to the top of the castle, on a super steep, ridiculously winding, perilously small staircase. I highly advise those who tend toward claustrophobia to skip this adventure. When we reached the top we were delayed by a film crew hovering around the stone. They were filming a travel show for itv that was hosted by James Nesbitt. We had no clue who he was or what was going on until they asked if they could film all four of us kissing the stone while James Nesbitt held us. If you've never kissed the stone let me explain the process. You lay on your back on the floor of a battlement on the top of the castle. A trained guide helps pull your torso off of the ledge so you can grab two vertical bars and lower your head upside-down off of a building to kiss a rock. There are some safety bars below you so you don't fall to your death, but it's still a rather frightening experience. After we signed release forms for the camera crew we headed down to the bottom of the keep. A huge group of French students began shouting and swarmed James asking for photographs. We casually asked his film crew if he was 'sort of a big deal in Ireland.' They told us that he was to be a dwarf in the Hobbit trilogy that is going to come out this December. And at that moment my life was a bit too cool for me.
Amy getting all up close and personal with the Nes.
Yeah, I know a dwarf...
Can I just stay here forever?
After all of the excitement we had one last day in Dublin before we had to catch our flight back to Roma. I love Dublin so much. And the guys are all so cheeky... witty banter is a major plus for me. We went out and Carmen and Amy met some drop dead gorgeous guys who are coming to San Diego to open up their own pub and one of them is a professional golfer. I spent the evening getting chatted up by a couple of Italian guys with minimal English... at least I could practice my Italian. Why is it that I meet a perfectly nice guy in Rome and he runs off to Sydney without even leaving a phone number. Yes, I know, I told him not to.... but seriously. Grrr.
Ireland was wonderful. I really want to go back and take my family. I want to marry into a cute little Irish family. I just want to go back. I almost cried when getting onto the plane to go, but then I remembered that I was going back to my flat in Roma... Life is rough guys. I seriously think that I'm going to sob like a child when I have to return to the states.
All in all, a successful adventure
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