Christ on a Bike!

Sore from all our endeavors on the mountain, we weren’t too crazy about our class schedule this week because we were going to be visiting the Muckross House in the Killarney National Park (a 1 hour walk just to get there), Wednesday was a visit to the Ross Castle (30min walk), Thursday’s yew wood hike (4hrs long), and Friday’s boat tour/hike (3 hours). My body was not very happy to hear about all this walking, and when it came around to the visits, I walked as if my legs were noodles. I can’t complain too much, though, for the trips were well worth it all.

Muckross House, situated in the middle of the National Park, was a wedding gift to an American and Irish couple that eventually was donated to the country of Ireland after their deaths. The house is also famous because Queen Victoria spent three days there, which the family spent years in preparation for. We were able to see the trends of the time period that are preserved in the house, such as the heads of deer hanging from the walls (including the antlers of a 10,000 yr old giant Irish deer!) and the women’s parlor that had strange devices used to block the women’s faces from the fireplace so their wax makeup wouldn’t melt. The people who retain the house today also make sure to keep up their craftsmanship shops (pottery, knitting, etc.) as a way to preserve the original culture.

Ross Castle was a fascinating fortification to behold, and especially to experience. The Castle is located in the National Park as well, right beside a lake. It was specifically built in a manner to protect against cattle raids, with small slit windows to use longbows out of, and the stone spiral staircases that are built as such in order to disrupt the coordination of any soldier trying to run up it. The steps are purposefully built out of synch with one another and in a spiral to upset the human body’s balance. We got to see the main hall for dining and sleeping which of course only had enough furniture for the head of the house; everyone else was to find a spot on the floor. An interesting fact about the castle was that the owner of it lived in another house during a different time of the year, and when a tax was placed on roofing, the owner had the roof removed. The roof was reconstructed based on the architecture of a different Irish castle in order to restore it.

Thursday’s hike through the National Park was what most of us were looking forward to: Irish nature! We returned to the Muckross House to start (argghhh more walking), and suffered through the most boring presentation of protecting the Irish parks imaginable. Even one of our professors fell asleep in the back of the class (we have photo evidence). Thankfully, the lecture on stump treatments ended, and we met up with our tour guide Chris and his collie/shepherd mix Lizzie. The tour started on a path from Muckross House, but within a few minutes we were veering offroad into the woods. The first challenge of the hike was to walk through a tiny cave that would lead us to the yewwood. Not being a fan of dark, enclosed places, I grasped the jacket of my friend in front of me as we felt our way through sheer blackness. It was only a few minutes through (with Lizzie running in and out of fearlessly), yet it certainly gives you the appreciation of the people who first go through places like this. I caught my breath as everyone else filed through, and Chris led us across moss-covered rocks on a path that led us to the fenced off grove of yew trees. This Irish yewwood is only one of three in the world, and is protected by European law. The trees themselves have poisonous leaves, hence the fencing, but scientists are trying to protect these trees from extinction. Fun Fact: Due to the yewberry’s slimey consistency, they are known as “snottygogs”! We also came upon the ruins of a ring fort that was now known as a fairy circle. We had to walk backwards out of it so as not to upset the fair folk, though I was the only one who did so. Good luck to those who didn’t! We spent more time pushing through the bramble as the day grew colder, and finally made it to a craggy outcropping at the edge of the wood that overlooked the Upper Lake and the regal mountains. Eventually, we made it out of the magical yewwood, and the sun even greeted us as we escaped the dense forest into the clear grassy plains.

 
Finally, we ended our week with a boat tour and hike in the National Park. By this time, my legs had fully recovered from Monday’s mountain climbing, but we were faced with an even crueler adversary: the cold. The wind chilled us to the bone as we piled into three motor boats that took us to several islands on the lake. We first visited the ruins of an abbey which was cool for about 15 minutes, and then we all found alcoves to hide from the wind. The next two stops involved going against the wind while on our boats, so the water sprayed our already frozen bodies. When we landed and explored some of the ruins of an old building, our literature professor waited until the tour guide was out of sight before exclaiming: “Christ on a bike, it’s so cold!!” Our trip ended early as most of us were too cold to even eat food because it meant taking our hands out of our pockets. But of course, a 30 minute walk still awaited us to get back to the hotel, and our professors hung back to catch a ride with our tour guide as we students cursed their names while they drove past us. We reminded them that revenge is a dish best served cold, or in their case, very very cold. Let the plotting begin.

Climbing Carrauntoohil

Here is the wonderful story of how we climbed the highest mountain in Ireland:

Four of us decided last Sunday that we were going to climb Carrauntoohil, a mountain that is part of the Macgillycuddy Reeks mountain range as well as tallest mountain in Ireland. Well, three of us were interested and strangely this other girl who irritates all of us wanted to go as well. We questioned this because she hates walking anywhere, and we didn't think she understood that we were climbing a MOUNTAIN, not a small hill. She insisted that she wanted to go so we dragged her along anyways. We started at the tourist office in town to get any trail maps that we might need, and when we asked the lady in the office, she gave us a strange look and asked us if we were experienced climbers. We said no, and she continued to give us questioning looks, but got out a map of the Carrountoohil trail and another trail that was simply a loop around the base of the mountain that required no climbing skills. She also informed us that the summit of the mountain was -12 degrees. I started to doubt our adventure, but the other 2 girls with me insisted that we go anyway. We took a taxi with a super nice old British man who pointed out major landmarks during the 20 minute ride, and he dropped us off at a small yard surrounded by bleating sheep and wished us luck. We set off from Cronin's Yard and marched along the beginning of the simple loop for beginners and found lovely scenery surrounded still by sheep in lambing season so we got to see lots of babies! We took lots of pictures as the trail led us to creeks and streams bubbling happily along, and saw that many bridges were named after climbers who died in the national park. Comforting, right? We reached the halfway point of the loop which is situated between 2 lakes and had lunch there, deciding if we were to continue straight toward the mountain or turn to follow the path back. My friends still wanted to continue so we did and it was easy going for a while. As we got closer, we saw a long, steep path leading near the mountain and knew that was where we had to go, we just didn't know how we were going to get there.
Fortunately, we ran into 2 experienced hikers who told us all about how to climb the mountain, and they would be going the same way so they told us to follow them. We started climbing at the base of the gulley we were to ascend, and it was simple at first, making sure to mind our steps and not to slip on rocks, but as we got further we needed to use our hands to secure our footholds. Halfway up the gulley, the annoying girl simply could not go on so she stayed on a large cliff as the three of us followed the hikers (Rob and Owen) up the gulley. The funniest part was that when we took breaks, the hikers got out cigarettes and smoked and we found out Rob had a hangover and was still climbing the mountain. Only in Ireland.
The 2nd half of the climb was rough: we had to be careful not to slip, and it was getting steeper and icier as we closed in on the top so we had to take more time. But we made it to the top of the gulley, and were rewarded with a beautiful view! The mountain range went on for miles and miles and a valley lay on the other side of the gulley. The top of the gulley itself was covered in frosty grass that we ran around singing The Sound of Music to. The hikers took us a ways up the actually mountain itself, but we didn't go all the way because it would take us another hour to get there and 45 min to get down, and we couldn't leave the other girl in the cold. We almost made it to the top, but had to turn back, though I did capture a picture of the black cross at the top of the mountain.
Going down was the scariest thing in my life. We had to go EXTRA slow otherwise fall to our deaths. I literally butt-slided down at the speed of smell since my legs were already exhausted from climbing up. We took our time and eventually made it back down where we had to trek through marshy areas to make it to the path where we separated from the hikers and headed back to Cronin's Yard. We called a cab back and ate dinner like homeless people and slept like rocks. After that experience, it feels like there is nothing I can't do.
Plus, we wanted to go back to the tourist office and shove it all in that lady's face!

Killarney!

After two weeks in Dublin accompanied by a strong desire to get out of the city, our class was ready to set off to our second destination: Killarney. Unfortunately, the bus service that was supposed to pick us up at 9am forgot to schedule a bus for us. We waited around until they could send another one for us which arrived at 11:30am instead, delaying us from our plans to visit the Rock of Cashel, but we kept a fairly happy mood as we left the city. Driving from the urban metropolis to the countryside was a beautiful thing despite the typical rainy Irish weather. Watching the houses fade away to rolling green hills hyped up our company as we were finally reaching that idealistic vision of Ireland. As we oohed and aahed at the scenery before us, we were met with a metaphorical bump in the road: the Rock of Cashel was closed due to inclement weather. Inclement weather? Ireland is the epitome of inclement weather! There was nothing to be done about it without completely going out of our way, so we journeyed on to instead take a short detour trip to the small town of Adare, a place known for its thatched-roof homes. We ran around the park after a good 2 hours of driving, eager to stretch our legs, but within twenty minutes it was time to move on. Most of us decided to nap at that point, because we had one hour to go to get to Killarney. We were awoken, though, by the uproar about a rainbow appearing as the sun came out while the rain still fell, and it was beautiful to see the colors shining over small farms and hills. Then, a second rainbow shone through, inciting cheers of “OH MY GOD IT’S A DOUBLE RAINBOW!” from the YouTube video. Even though our day had started rough and we missed a prominent Irish landmark, the glory of nature saved the trip. Before we knew it, we were curving through the streets of Killarney where we reached the Holiday Inn.

We piled out of the bus and got the opportunity to quickly run around the town itself which is incredibly small yet homey. After an hour, we ran back to have dinner where it was announced that the following morning would include a scavenger hunt to get acquainted to Killarney. At 7am, my group got up very early to complete the hunt and get a chance to win the prizes at the end of the game. Most other groups decided sleep was way more important than the scavenger hunt, but two other girls and I ran around town remembering places we had seen the previous day that fit the clues we were given and ended up being the first group to finish! Our reward was a 15 euro gift certificate to the local ice cream shop Murphy’s that is famous for having its ice cream made in Dingle. It was a great way to get to know the area, but I am always in awe just from walking from town to our hotel because of the Kerry mountains that are visible in the distance. It’s surreal to allow the realization to settle in, that you’re in this gorgeous country. I make sure to gaze at them every trip back to the hotel.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up on homework since the weather was consistently damp, and we took full advantage of the Holiday Inn’s Jacuzzi on these cold days. However, before class resumed on Tuesday morning, we decided that we needed to get some hiking done. It was on Monday that we began our epic adventure of climbing Carrauntoohil, the tallest mountain in Ireland…

St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland

Many people think that St. Patrick's Day is an American-made holiday that means little to nothing back in the land it's based off of-yet St. Paddy's in Dublin turned out to be the best celebration of the holiday that I've ever had, and not just because it was in Ireland.

The festivities started on Thursday, March 14th wherein a concert was held to enjoy some beautiful Irish "trad" (traditional) music. Dinner at our hotel went late, so we were only able to catch the final half hour of the show, but the musicians were incredibly gifted. There were two keyboards, a mandolin, two guitars, an accordion, a violin, and a flute. The songs switched between foot-tapping jigs and heartwrenching Gaelic ballads that drove the crowd crazy in the intimate setting of the Meeting House Square. My friend Catrina and I even got to stand at the very front to watch these performers and dance around to their songs! Afterwards, a bunch of us stopped into the famous Temple Bar and enjoyed the touristy cover band duo in the SRO pub.  It gave us a nice fix of relieving homesickness to hear Shipping Up To Boston and Let It Be while also fangirling over hearing Galway Girl from the Irish-based movie "P.S. I Love You". We stopped by a close bar called FitzSimons right after to hear an older duo playing some Johnny Cash and Elvis covers and two girls danced traditional jigs.

 

 

 On Friday, we took the trek to St. George's Dock to check out the Craft Brewing Beer Festival, wherein  I tried two kinds of cider: Tempted Summer Still Cider and Stonewall Drought Cider. Both were very delicious and helped me overcome my disinterest in Guinness by being viable options. Also, they were both 5-6% alcohol, so I got to travel back to the hotel in a very tipsy state of mind. When in Ireland, I guess... Later that afternoon, we tried our hand-or feet, rather-at dancing at the Festival Ceili on the street next to St. Stephen's Green. A woman onstage with two couples taught the mass crowd several fun steps while a band played in the back. It was madness to dance such a large group of people, but it was totally worth it! We had such a great time dancing and looking like complete fools. It got even better when contemporary Irish dancers came out and taught us their steps, which involved a lot of fluid, octopus-like movements. We felt so silly, but enjoyed every minute of it!

 

Following on Saturday was a street carnival in and around Merrion Square! Street performers galore displayed their talents for small children while older kids and adults headed for the carnival rides. Within the square was a band and activities for kids such as giant chess and connect four. We took the opportunity to ride a tilt-a-whirl ride called the Waltzer, and made sure to get tour tickets for the huge Jubilee Wheel that overlooked all of Dublin. We even saw the mountains on the horizon when we rose to the top! We stopped at a kid's science center for funsies and purchased some homemade crepes (mine had Nutella and almonds!) before returning to the hotel.

Finally, the big day came. March 17, 2013 = St. Patrick's Day! My roommate Janelle and I painted our faces to celebrate and headed with a hefty group to watch the People's Parade and the St. Paddy's Day Parade! The former was rich with diversity, celebrating every kind of person who was in Ireland and whether or not they were Irish, an awesome touch to precede the big event. I definitely went crazy and even gotten my picture taken with some random guy running around during the parade! The St. Patrick's Parade was on a scale that I could never imagine: so much color and creativity! It wasn't just floats of green and shamrocks, but cool steampunk inventions, crazy monsters, and plenty of amazing people. We had an incredible time, and then made sure to go out and celebrate with a few pints afterwards. We got lost trying to return to the hotel and drunkenly stumbled upon St. Patrick's Cathedral! The whole experience was too grand for words.

It's Guinness or Nothing

Alrighty folks, it is Day 3 here in the Emerald Isle, and I'd like to note here my perspective of Dublin so far and some interesting tales that have come with it. Prepare yourself for a lengthy read...

Hotel:
We are staying at the Mespil Hotel which is quite high quality considering everything here feels so fancy. I haven't had much exposure to hotels besides one time at high school for a band competition, but I feel compelled to dress nicely all the time, especially during meals. For dinner, we have a larger seating area for the 40 of us, and we are given menus with 2 options for appetizers, entrees, and desserts (every entree comes with a side of vegetables and POTATOES!). So far, I've had wild boar, salmon, chicken, beef, lamb, crazy mixed salads, and other things that have been either hit or miss (salmon= YUM, wild boar = ughhh), though I have at least tried them all. Desserts here are unbelievable like a strawberry cheesecake that was heaven with each bite. I've also had the pleasure of experiencing Irish breakfasts: eggs, white pudding, and rashers which are absolutely wonderful! Still building up the courage to try blood sausage and maybe the sweet beans, but I have tried to avoid Americanized food as much as possible. Also, the variety of people at the hotel has been so fascinating. Just recently, the Irish rugby team faced the French, so we had numerous old French guys roaming the hallways and saying "Bonjour" every step of the way. It's cool to be in such a diverse area.

Attractions:
We've come across many noteworthy places within only a few days, that it is amazing to realize how many things you can find in one day. For example, we've explored St. Stephen's Green on multiple occasions simply because it is so beautiful and relaxing to experience this gorgeous park among a bustling city. We've also seen numerous famine-related monuments and memorials which prove incredibly emotional as you take in the expressions of the figures, we've passed down Grafton Street plenty of times, walked by the James Joyce Center, Dublin's Writer's Museum, the Hugh lane Gallery, the Ha'Penny Bridge and lots of churches (on of which was converted into a bar and restaurant!). The other night we paid a visit to the small pub and O'Donoghue's for a traditional Irish music experience where we got our first taste of Guinness!  Finally, we've all seen the posters back in the States of the Doors of Dublin, but it is even more incredible to behold. Doors of every color and shape stand out against the brick walls as a symbol of unique individualism, as if every door defines the family that lives within it.

The city:
Dublin is so fast-paced that even our professors warned us about Dublin walking speed (a.k.a. walk as fast as possible), and our legs have been trying to keep up while pushing through muscle soreness. Even the older folks walk faster than us! To really get an idea of the city is to walk through Grafton Street because the diversity of people is bizarre in a good way. Every way you turn your head you hear a different language or see a different dress. We've seen Irish, British, American, Russian, Middle-Eastern, Polish, French, German, Asian, and tons of other nationalities. Being from the US, you have never encountered so many different people in one area. 'Tis truly an experience in itself.

Culture Shock:
The biggest setback I've come up against has turned out to be the one thing I've wanted to experience.Culture shock is defined as a state of confusion/overawareness of how everything around you is different, but I also read that it can also be a feeling of disappointment because your travel destination is not meeting the expectations you developed for it. For example, I was hoping to meet a ton of different people, but due to Dublin's bustling populous, there isn't really time to sit and chat, which made me sort of depressed. Even when we first got here, it seemed as though we were back in the US with the exception that people had different accents. It all seemed so diminished from the high standard of expecting ideal Irish conditions. Luckily, this feeling has passed as logic comes in: you have to try to sit back and simply absorb the diversity around you instead of comparing it all to life as you know it, and as we move through the country, we will be among smaller towns that will be perfect meeting places for new friends. Therefore, my moodiness is gradually disappearing as our journey continues!

Embarrassing American Story:
I had a wonderful moment during our trip to O'Donoghue's because I was looking for something other than beer to drink. When I asked the bartender to make me something that didn't have beer, he seemed really confused and a guy at the counter told me to have "Guinness!" hahaha so I thought he was going to mix me something until he grabbed a glass and poured some ginger ale into it -.- Lame. I was too embarrassed to ask for anything else, so I had a friend order Guinness afterwards xD I felt super embarrassed, but I figured I might as well get over it and enjoy the Guinness!  Plus, we got to hear the traditional music which was worth it all!

Arrival in Dublin, Ireland

After months of waiting, I finally reached Dublin, Ireland!

However, the trip over here wasn't exactly cake...

Our first flight of the journey (and my first flight EVER) began from O'Hare International Airport at 8:45am, so of course we had to be there at least 2 hours early. At 6:15, I left my house with my dad and picked up my tickets from the terminal. I had to say goodbye there because he couldn't enter security with me, but with a final wave I was off past security and into the unknown. Luckily, I met up with another girl as we went through security and met up with the rest of my team of 7 down at the gate. Surprisingly, I was very calm as we waited for the next hour and a half for the plane to begin boarding. We talked, laughed, stressed about whether or not we brought everything or too much, but in no time we were called to get on the plane.

I assigned my ticket so that I sat next to one of the girls I am going on this trip with, and as I anticipate the flying ahead of me, she holds out her hand revealing her new engagement ring! Talk about a holy crap moment! I gushed and congratulated her on this surprise, and am so incredibly happy for her and her new fiance! After that moment of happiness, anxiety followed, for we were told to fasten our seat belts by Captain Cliff of our American Airlines flight. I stuck a wad of gum in my mouth and began chewing the heck out of it as our plane meandered around ORD until reaching the runway. I felt the turbines burst with power as we suddenly pushed back into our seats and took to the air.

Although I experienced a lot of head wooziness, I had never imagined such speed and grace that an airplane contains. Within minutes we were soaring above the clouds, past the airport, and overlooking downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan! Un-freaking-believable, We listed lazily to the left and took off over the great lake, making our way up over Canada and the North Atlantic Ocean to arrive at Heathrow. After the take-off, I was still jumpy with excitement, but tried to take occasional naps since we knew we weren't going to get any sleep. However, the seats on AA were the most uncomfortable chairs invented, and the only way I could attempt to power nap for 10 minutes at a time was to lean forward and rest my forehead on the seat in front of me. Awesome. The food was good, though, (cheese omelet for breakfast and pizza for dinner) and we got to see the sunset as we switched time zones, but after the first four hours, I was ready to get off the damn plane. Eight hours is incredibly difficult to get through. We struggled, but soon Ireland came into sight as we flew over it and toward Heathrow Airport in England to make our connecting flight in the morning. Cliff got me through my first flight without a hitch-not even one hint of turbulence! I became even more excited when our new flight attendant spoke with a British accent!

The 7 of us girls were giggly and excited that we were in ENGLAND, but our fun didn't last long. We were expecting to sleep in the terminal since we had an overnight layover and didn't want to pay extra money for a hotel at 11pm at night, but apparently Heathrow International Airport closes at 11(as told to us by some Indian woman mopping the floors) -.- Instead, we had to pass through customs even though we weren't going to be leaving the airport, and then pass through security again in the morning. Yuck.

It became even more of a hassle when the customs officer called us out on the purpose of our visit. Our profs told us that we needed to inform customs that we were NOT on study abroad because we aren't affiliated with any local Irish colleges, so we had to say we were on holiday. Well, the customs officer refused to believe that 7 girls were going to Ireland for 10 weeks on "holiday", and we were sweating up a storm thinking that we were going to be detained and sent home. Fortunately, the officer let us in after we thoroughly explained our situation, but warned us that Irish immigration would refuse us if we didn't tell the truth. Superb.

Our ordeal wasn't finished just yet; we needed somewhere to sleep during the layover! We walked out of customs into the arrivals section despairing over the officer and decided to stay in the arrivals section until 4am when we would head to the next terminal. None of us slept nearly enough than we had hoped, so we spent the agonizing couple of hours playing with each other's hair, doing crosswords, and devising a statement to make to Irish immigration concerning our situation. Time dragged and we were loopy on lack of sleep, but we were eager when 4am came around to get the heck outta Heathrow. We split up, 5 and 2 because we were taking the connecting flight on two separate airlines. I, being in the group of 2, set off to British Airways where we easily passed into the terminal lounge, attempted to help a Russian woman get on her flight, and mozied around a cool clothing store called "Fat Face". Finally, our gate was getting ready to board for our 6:55am flight, and we passed through security like a breeze-the British airport was super laid back! We were in different seats on our plane, and I got to sit next to a Dublin native who travels the world all the time as his job, and gave me plenty of advice as to what I should do while in Ireland as well as traveling to other countries! He recommended Rome and Paris as a "of course" thing, but highly suggested Budapest as a travel destination. I doubt I'll make it over there, but it was so cool to listen to him talk and give advice.

The British Airways flight took only 1 hour and 15 min, and as I stared out the window at the plane's wing, I watched us break through the clouds to see the sunrise, and fall under the clouds over the literally Emerald Isle. Everything was green as can be! We landed easily, and took off to claim our baggage. Too bad our stuff was somehow misplaced and coming on the following flight. Lame. But we found our professor, told him the bags would be in the airport within another hour (which worked out great because he was waiting for kids from that flight anyway), and took full advantage of Dublin's free wi-fi. DUB = best airport ever! So many cool people, and tons of older guys who wear the typical Irish cab-driver hats! Before we knew it, our suitcases were returned to us, we met up with everyone else, and was shuttled to the Mespil Hotel.

The hotel was great, but we were not allowed to sleep or our professor would whack us awake. He took us around the hotel, then told us to wander out on our own for a bit. We trekked through a residential area and found the Bulgarian Embassy, but headed back to travel to St. Stephen's Green (yep, no sleep yet after 24 hours). This park is absolutely beautiful despite the Ireland rain, and we even got to wander the Shopping Center where we had our first real meal at Chief Chang's Asian buffet. Mmmm good!

Before we left, we caught a glimpse of a street performer juggling torches and riding a unicycle!

By 2:30 Irish time, we left for the hotel and finally checked into our rooms where we proceeded to shower like no tomorrow. Clean never felt so good. Now, we await dinner at 6:15 and who knows what else on Day 1 of Ireland (yep, still no sleeping!)

Slainte

'Twas The Night Before Ireland..

'Twas the night before Ireland, and all through the house
Every creature was stirring as I pack my jeans and blouse
The suitcase was full with extra clothing and care
In the hopes that my first plane ride soon would be there

My sister is nestled all snug in her bed
While my dad has worst case scenarios running through his head
And mama in her nightgown and I in my pj's
Had just settled our brains from his anxious ways

When out in my mind their arose such a clatter
I searched through my thoughts to see what was the matter
Away to the depths I flew like a flash
Tore open my conscious to find what causes this clash

I think of my friends all studying at school
As I've sat around playing XBox, eating, and acting the fool
I'll miss them so much as I explore the world
Who would've known this fate awaited a shy, quiet girl?

Worry not, though, for I keep you all close
Because you all have helped me conquer my fears the most
Enjoy you time at Augie while I am gone
And I will think of you all as I wake up at dawn

Wish me good luck on this great big adventure
As out onto Irish soil I venture
Send me a prayer as I fly out of sight
Slainte to all, and have a good night!