Reflections on Ireland (so far)

Celebrating my 21st birthday in Galway! If you're wondering, that cake had a chocolate/Baileys sauce on top.

So as most of you know I turned the big 21 on Wednesday. The great friends I have made here threw me a great party with an awesome cake and even very corny party hats (as you can see above). It was a great time but it the day did make me sit down and think. 21 years old already? Now I know many of you adults would laugh at someone thinking that age is old, but to me it is. Time seems to have flown by since high school and college started and it continues to fly by here in Galway. Amazingly, I have already been here for about a month and a half, though it has felt like a week and half. Galway, and the people of Ireland, have made me feel very comfortable here and a day hasn't gone by where I haven't thought of how fortunate I am that I have this experience in my life. Each morning I wake up and I walk outside and I'm in Ireland. I walk up the road and I step onto campus at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Then I walk down into town and spend the evening or night in real Irish pubs having some "craic" with my friends and the Irish folks around us. It's all incredibly surreal each and every day. I almost forgot to mention the fact that I've already taken trips to Cork City, Connemara, and spent a weekend in London.

Now I'm not writing all this to get all you readers envious or jealous (by the way, I'm spending the next two weekends in Belfast and Scotland, sorry) but it just truly amazes me every day that this is really happening. For years I dreamt of embarking on this exact journey and now I'm living it. Throughout my life I have been blessed with many good things, and the blessings continue here in Galway. Like I've said before, I've met a really great group of friends who I see every day, multiple times per day actually. We all live so close to each other and haven't gotten sick of each other yet (and I don't think we ever will).

As for reflections on Ireland itself, well I could probably write a short novel on that. In this limited space though, I'll say a few things. First of all, it's just beautiful here. In the morning when I walk to campus, I look to my left and watch the sun shine over Galway City. The steeple of Galway Cathedral stands tall above the very short skyline and glistens in the light. To my right on my walk I can see the River Corrib running up into a sprawling Irish field with an abandoned stone house crumbling alongside the road. Typical Ireland, you might say. Like my newfound friends, the landscape never gets old either. The day in Connemara driving through stunning valleys and adjacent to towering mountains was really awe-inspiring. Likewise, the drive to Cork City where the farms and hills stretched on for miles and countless sheep and cattle munched on the lush grasses was another breath-taker. All those cliches about Ireland and its green hills and innumerable sheep are all very true, and I'm thankful for that.

One thing that really impresses me each night is the sky. In the evening, just before the sun sets over Galway, the sky transforms into a splash of some fantastic shades of pink, purple, orange, and gold. The clouds hover and the dwindling sunlight seems to hit them in just the right way. They look big and ominous, but in the best way possible. It just looks different here.

Lastly, some reflections on the Irish people. While some of the brogues are difficult to comprehend sometimes, you don't really need to hear every word they say to see the kindness and friendliness that they show. Almost everyone always greets you with a smile and wants to make you feel comfortable in this new environment. They're very interested to see if you're enjoying Ireland and what you've done during your time here. It's also always fun to talk to our Irish roommates or other Irish students and laugh with each other over each other's native "lingo."

So I still have about 3 and a half months left here, and I hope Father Time can slow it down a bit. So far I have had the time of my life. I'm extremely lucky to have found a group of friends that I can relate to and have fun with any day of the week. I have good roommates, a really nice house, and I've learned a great deal already in school. I also live 15 minutes from what most people believe is the best city in Ireland. I can't disagree with that! I'm really living the dream here.

Once again thank you all for reading. I know I haven't posted in a while before this but the posts will be coming more frequently in the coming weeks as I do some more traveling. Plans are also in the works for a big trip in April which might include some nice little cities called Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Prague. Again, not intended to make you jealous at all...

Hope all is well back home for everyone!

Conor

Weekend in (not so) foggy London town!

Well this post might be a little long since the weekend was so incredible. Bear with me here.

So where should I even begin? First, our trip took place from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night and we were constantly moving and having a great time. There was a group of 7 of us who braved Ryanair and took the very short plane ride across Ireland and England to the amazing city of London. After arriving at Gatwick airport and traveling into the city center, I got to my friend's apartment at Queen Mary College where he is studying for the semester. After getting settled we headed down to the Covent Garden section of London which is the theatre district. It is right next to Picadilly Circus which is like London's Times Square (though it does not compare at all). So for Thursday night we explored that section of the city with all its shops, street performers, markets, and all kinds of other interesting places.

Friday morning was the ultimate tourist day where I took pictures of anything and everything. First on the agenda was Buckingham Palace and the changing of the royal guard. There were hundreds of people crowded outside the palace to see the changing of the guard and it turned out to be quite the spectacle. Royal marching bands came up the street leading to the palace and entered the gates with trumpets and tubas blaring. Along with the bands were men on horseback and soldiers in pristine uniforms walking in perfect time. For about an hour they marched to different commands and then played a mini-concert for the crowd which included two very regal hits, "Thriller" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." That was really funny and unexpected. Other than those two less sophisticated moments (still awesome) it was a very royal ceremony and just what you would expect from an event at Buckingham Palace. After the ceremony we walked through the streets and made our way past Downing Street, the Cabinet War Rooms that Churchill used during WWII, and up to the intersection where our jaws dropped as we looked up at Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. I proceeded to take a ridiculous amount of pictures.

We got on line for Westminster Abbey and it did not disappoint. It was an absolutely fascinating and incredible place. The physical structure is enormous and so intricate with all its stone work, stained glass windows, and magnificent ceilings with all kinds of gold designs. The tombs and monuments and statues were totally mind-blowing with some dates going back a thousand years ago. After leaving the abbey we walked along the Thames River, past the London Eye, through a very cool street fair, and back across the river to the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane where we saw "Oliver! The Musical." We sat in the very last row of the balcony but we could see everything and the show was really great. The talent of all the children in the play was something else.

Saturday morning was yet another day of sightseeing and wandering around the city. London really is an amazing place with all it's history and charm, but it's also physically very spread out. Thankfully, they have the Underground, or "tube," to get you all over the city. It's a really efficient system and much cleaner than NYC (but I wouldn't trade those mutant NYC subway rats for anything)! So our first stop on Saturday was Harrod's Department store which is just totally insane. It's like Macy's in NYC but a billion times bigger. They sell everything there. There are huge food halls, clothing stores, electronics and appliance stores, antique shops, and so much more. I probably could've spent the whole weekend in there. From there we walked through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace. We saw the gardens there and then had some authentic English high tea at "The Orangery," a very nice fancy tea hall right next to Kensington. We ate cucumber sandwiches, mango tarts, scones, and drank some great tea. Our last stop for the afternoon was a very unique and special monument for all of us kids who are frighteningly growing up way too fast. On the edge of Hyde Park is the Peter Pan statue. We admired it, took some pictures, and then hopped on the tube back to the apartment of my friend's cousin. She married an Englishman and they live in a beautiful flat in Highbury, a very upscale neighborhood in London. You can see Emirates Stadium outside their back window. That is the stadium of Arsenal FC, one of the most famous soccer teams in England, and really the world. We walked around the outside of the stadium and now I can finally say I've seen an English soccer stadium in person. Saturday night we went on a pub crawl with my friend's cousin and her husband which was a great time. We heard some great music and were dancing and laughing all night.

Sunday morning we took it easy after staying up until 5 AM singing along to Tom Petty in my friend's cousin's apartment. However, Sunday afternoon was my favorite part of the whole weekend as we made the holy pilgrimage to Abbey Road. Yes, I took a picture walking across the crosswalk, and yes, one of my friends was third in the line and he was barefoot. I don't have that picture on my camera but I'll get it soon and post it up here. We walked up to Abbey Road Studios and wrote on the wall just like so many other people did before us. There were messages of thanks, Beatles lyrics scribbled in different colored markers, and even a big marriage proposal message in spray paint. How romantic. After that surreal experience we did our last sightseeing of the weekend. We saw Tower of London and Tower Bridge, both of which were very cool, just as I expected.

I'm sorry this was so long but the weekend was really awesome. I can't believe I just hopped on a plane and spent the weekend in London. The semester just continues to get better and better every day. I'm also glad the weather was kind to us again with blue skies all weekend in London until Sunday afternoon when the typical London fog rolled in. I guess you have to experience that too when you're there.

Thanks for reading. Hope all is well!