Spring Break 2010 Pt. 1 in Pictures

I Survived the Iceland Volcanic Ash Cloud! Spring Break 2010 Pt. 1 (France, Spain, Portugal)

Well it has been what seems like an eternity since I've posted on here and looking at the date of the last post, it actually has been. As you can imagine, being in Europe over the past couple of weeks, a lot of things have happened so I suggest you sit in a comfy chair while reading because this may be a long post.

On April 9th, my spring break travels around Europe began in the City of Lights, Paris. With my two friends Kiley and Brian, we spent four days in Paris seeing everything there is to see and then some. We stayed in a hostel room with an older guy from Quebec who we referred to as just that, "Quebec." He was nice but the only thing he ever said to us was, "What time is it, please?" Literally that was all he kept asking us every time we saw him. Anyway, that's not that interesting. Now I'll try and rattle off all the places I saw in Paris. On the first full day we were there we took a free walking tour and walked all over the city. We saw everything from Notre Dame to the 1,000,000 euro houses along the Seine to the Place de la Concorde and of course, the Eiffel Tower. We walked through the courtyard of the Louvre and saw the glass pyramid and strolled through Tullery Gardens on a bright sunny day. We walked past the Orangery museum and up the Champs Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe. At night we usually stayed in the Montmarte section around Sacre Coeur and ate a crazy amount of baguettes and crepes. As I'm thinking about it now, it really was basically an eating trip the whole time. As we ate our crepes sitting on the steps of Sacre Coeur overlooking the whole of Paris, it was a bit too surreal. I just spent a weekend in Paris! Paris was really everything I imagined it to be. Stunningly beautiful all over and luckily we had perfect weather. Even the French people were pretty nice which was surprising.

For our one day trip outside of Paris, we traveled to the Palace of Versailles. Let me tell you, you will never see anything as extravagant and amazing as Versailles. We took the tour of the palace and I was awestruck at the decoration and beauty of each and every room. The paintings and sculptures and pottery and adornment was just unbelievable. Out behind the palace the jaw-dropping scenes continued in the gardens that stretched on literally for miles with massive fountains and classical music playing. It was quite an experience.

After four days in Paris, we left for Barcelona to meet up with another group of friends. As a blackberry owner, I had the distinct honor of informing all my friends that a volcano erupted in Iceland. At first we all just shook it off and thought nothing of it. Then the news stories kept rolling in. European airspace was shut down and we were right in the middle of our travels. Madrid and Portugal were still on our list of future destinations but we had no clue what was going on. We received messages from other friends who were stranded in places like Greece and Italy and had no idea when they would be getting out. So began a lot of stress for a group of American college students who were just looking to have fun traveling around Europe for a couple weeks.

As for the sights that I saw in Barcelona, there were many. We walked up a very steep hill/mountain to Gaudi Park where we overlooked the city and got to see Gaudi's impressive and abstract park that looked like something out of Candy Land. We walked in and around La Sagrada Familia Church which has been under continuous construction for over 100 years I believe and won't be done for another decade. We ate palella and drank sangria and hung out on Barceloneta beach looking out on the Mediterranean Sea. The highlight of Barcelona for me was the trip to the Camp Nou, home of soccer team FC Barcelona. This stadium is one of the meccas of European and world soccer and I got to tour it. Such a cool experience. Unsure of the volcanic ash clouds future path, we crossed our fingers and thankfully got our flight from Barcelona to Madrid.

This is where the real stress began. Unfortunately, because we were constantly checking the Ryanair website and CNN.com, we probably didn't get to enjoy Madrid as much as we would have liked but it was a great city nonetheless. Our hostel was really nice despite the fact that we were in a room with some woman from San Diego who looked like a witch and would literally spend the day sitting on her bed saying strange prayers and mediatations. I think she might have been working on some spells or incantations but I can't be sure. In Madrid we went to the Prado museum, saw the big bullfighting arena, walked through the Plaza Mayor, and hung out one afternoon in an incredible park, the Central Park of Madrid if you will. We also ate some great tapas and drank more sangria.

Our final stop on the trip is a rather unique and perhaps obscure one: Porto, Portugal. After an 8 hour bus ride from Madrid to Porto which included a random roadside drug checkpoint in which the bus was searched by Spanish police and two of my friends were taken off the bus for random checks from huge K9 drug dogs, we arrived in Porto confused and exhausted. For the last three days we strolled around Porto and spend the evenings along the Duoro River eating some good food. The stress of the volcano continued to mount and came to its peak when we were informed that our flight home to Dublin was cancelled. After this deflating news, we created a plan that would continue our journey right into our spring break part 2 which actually begins tomorrow in Germany and Prague. However, just to make us all a little crazier, our flight was miraculously reinstated and by some strange miracle, we arrived back in Dublin on Thursday, just as we intended when we originally booked this trip. Don't ask me how it all worked out, I don't think I'll ever have an answer for that.

All in all it was an experience I'll never forget. The semester that I went abroad, and the two weeks that I took a spring break trip, a volcano erupted in Iceland and wreaked havoc across Europe, and I was there for it. It's certainly a story that I'm sure I'll tell a few more times in the future.

Hope you've all gotten to this point and have not fallen asleep yet. I'll make another post right after this with some pictures from the trip.

You may be shocked to know that I actually am still doing schoolwork and I'm just finishing up an essay now. It needs to get done today because tomorrow morning, bright and early at 5 AM, I take a bus across Ireland to Dublin Airport and depart for another week to Munich, Prague, and Berlin.

Hope all is well with everyone at home and I must take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday to Grandma! Hope you have a great day at Uncle John's with everyone. Wish I could be there.

Conor

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you.

Hello all!

Sorry for the big gaps in between posts but nothing too exciting has happened since the Aran Islands trip. Have no fear though, April is going to be non-stop adventures so stay tuned for tons of posts.

I'll give you a preview of the upcoming days and weeks in April:

As most of you probably know, the Goldens arrive in Galway this Wednesday. I can't wait to see them after over 3 months away from home. We're probably going to take day trips to the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands and of course I'll be the tour guide around the lovely Galway City. From Galway they're going to Dublin and I might join them for a day or two before I need to get home and get ready for my own European adventures. There are two trips currently booked and planned:

From April 9th to April 22nd:

Paris > Barcelona > Madrid > Porto (Portugal)

From April 26th to May 3rd:

Munich > Prague > Stockholm

An Italy trip is also in the works and will probably happen mid to late May. I can't believe this is all happening and I will be going to all these amazing cities and countries. Can't wait to get started and experience it all.

Not much else going on here. My classes end on Wednesday and then I'll be hanging with the family for the next week after that.

Hope all is well back home with everyone!

Conor

Hanging Over Some Cliffs - Day Trip to the Aran Islands

Yesterday I made yet another little trip to another one of Ireland's most beautiful places: the Aran Islands. For some more info on the islands, visit my good friend, Mr. Wikipedia right here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_Islands. For our day trip, we visited the largest of the islands called Inishmore.

We were up early and got a bus from our housing complex at 9 AM. After about an hour bus ride we hopped on an Aran Island ferry and made another 40 minute trip across Galway Bay to Inishmore. It was yet another beautiful day of sunny skies. This past week the weather literally never changed from blue skies and sun; it was awesome. When we got to the island and off the ferry, we all rented bikes and began our journey along the coast of the 9 mile island. On our trip up the coast, we stopped to make friends with some horses, chickens, and cows, took plenty of pictures of the winding stone walls and farms scattered around the landscape, and eventually came upon a small beach. As a group of us laid down in the tall grass along some cliffs near the beach, we looked down and to our amazement, watched as two random men stripped down and ran into the water. Confused and a little disturbed, we decided it was as good a time as any to continue our bike ride.

Our final stop on our bike ride before turning around and heading back to the ferry was possibly my favorite thing I've seen so far in Ireland. I know that I've said that for about a dozen different things but if you see the pictures, you'll see why I am positive this time that it's my favorite. Dun Aengus (or Dún Aonghasa in Irish) is an ancient Iron Age fort that sits atop cliffs that are over 300 feet tall. After making a long hike up some steep hills, we got to the fort and once again were awe-struck by its size and beauty. We walked to the edge of the cliffs and realized that it was totally open, giving us the chance to just sit with our feet hanging over, looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean. We all sat together and didn't really say much as we were all a little shocked at what we were seeing. Below us was only ocean and some rocks jutting out from the water. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend too much time there, but that half hour or so may have been my favorite half hour of all my sightseeing times here in Ireland.

Once again it was a great day. We had a great bike ride, saw some incredible scenery, and got to spend some amazing time at Dun Aengus. I don't know how I'm going to be able to contain all these memories in my mind once I get home in May. I think I'll find a way though.

Thanks for reading!

Conor

Traveling the UK: Part 2 (Scotland)!

So here is the second and final part of my two part series: Traveling the UK. This past weekend may have been my favorite weekend so far in Ireland. From Thursday to Sunday, my friends and I meandered through the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. We stayed in the "Redrum" at one hostel, saw where Sean Connery was knighted, ate haggis and fried Mars bars, and may have seen a few ghosts in the Edinburgh graveyards. Let's get into a little more detail though, shall we?

First up on the agenda was Glasgow. Upon arrival, we made the long trek from the bus station to the Blue Sky Hostel. It was a really cool and funky place with spray paint on the walls and wacky themes for each room. Yes, we were in the room themed after "The Shining," complete with a huge picture of a crazed Jack Nicholson on the door and the words "REDRUM" painted across the bottom. When we walked inside, there was no surprise, the whole room was painted red. Don't worry though, we were all okay. Thankfully, our work to fun ratio tipped entirely to the "fun" side so we didn't go insane. (Lame joke, I know). So for one day and night, we explored Glasgow. It's your basic city. We headed into the center where all the shops are along with the City Hall which was really nice. We saw some typical red stone Scottish architecture and spent the night at Ashton Lane, a very cool little cobblestone street with plenty of cool pubs and restaurants. It was a brief stay but a good one nonetheless.

Friday morning we got on yet another bus and made our way to Edinburgh. I have to say it here and I'll probably say it again: Edinburgh is an awesome city. I mean really awesome. When we first arrived I could see all of the medieval architecture and knew that this would be a great weekend. Just thinking about the history of it made me giddy being the nerdy history major that I am. Edinburgh is kind of divided into the old town and new town. Thankfully, we stayed in the old town. But we didn't stay in some run of the mill youth hostel. We stayed in the Castle Rock Hostel, named for the fact that it sits at the bottom of Castle Rock. Outside our window, the magnificent Edinburgh Castle hovered over us. Off in the distance outside our hostel, we could see the snow-capped mountain ranges of Scotland. For the next two days and nights, we explored almost every inch of Edinburgh. Friday we were on our own as we walked down the Royal Mile, the main road in the old town, past all sorts of old pubs and tons of Scotland souvenir shops.

Saturday was the big though. We first had a big Scottish breakfast, complete with haggis (all kinds of pig innards cooked in a pig's stomach and seasoned with some spices). Honestly, it was pretty good. It tasted like sausage which is never a bad thing. From there we made our way to the starting point of a free guided walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was a totally cool young guy named Ronnie. He had a great Scottish accent and gave us a great tour. We walked up and down the Royal Mile, down the Grassmarket area where most executions took place many years ago, and saw some very cool Harry Potter historic spots. We stood outside the window where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Just around the corner from there is the castle off of which she based Hogwarts, and finally, we saw the grave of a man named "Tom Riddell." Now, although the name is spelt differently in real life, this was the inspiration for "He Who Must Not Be Named." (Again, lame). At the end of the tour we were told the story of the Scottish "Stone of Destiny." It is a totally wacky story and too long for me to write in here. I suggest everyone google it though! Saturday night brought yet another tour: the Edinburgh Ghost Tour. With our Jesus look-alike tour guide Alan, we walked through the Edinburgh night to various graveyards and monuments that are said to be haunted. We saw the grave of philosopher David Hume and stood atop a hill overlooking the city at night while Alan told us all kinds of ghost stories.

After a fun-filled day of touring Edinburgh, we were all exhausted and hit the hay pretty quickly. We slept in a very happily themed room this time: The Happy Days Room." Each bed had its own Happy Days character. My bed was Big Al. Wish I watched Happy Days more b/c I don't know who that is. Oh well.

Here it comes again: Edinburgh is an awesome city. Best city I've visited so far by a "royal mile." The lame jokes just keep on coming today.

Hope you're not bored out of your mind yet. If you got through all of this, I appreciate it. I really enjoy writing these and I hope you enjoy reading them.

I'll be heading to the Aran Islands on Saturday so another post should be coming soon.

Conor

Traveling the UK: Part 1 (Northern Ireland)

Well it has been a very long time since I've posted so first of all, sorry! I still haven't stopped moving and it's been almost two and half months! For the past two weekends I have crossed borders and the Irish Sea to see a few great cities and one incredible natural wonder of the world, Giants Causeway. Two weekends ago was Belfast and Northern Ireland, and I just returned from Scotland on Sunday afternoon. There was a lot of activity and sightseeing so get your seat belts on, this could be a long one! First up: Northern Ireland.

Our trip to Belfast and Giants Causeway was a trip sponsored by our program from Arcadia University. We paid 40 euro for the whole weekend which included almost all meals, transportation, and a hostel for the weekend; it was a great deal. Upon our arrival at the Belfast Youth Hostel, we were given one piece of rather frightening advice. Eileen, one of the chaperones from Arcadia stated, "One piece of advice that must be followed: Do not go into The Royal Pub. It is potentially unsafe and dangerous." So after those comforting first words in Belfast, we exited the bus and of course, our hostel was across the street from The Royal. Good thing they let us know before some of us naive Americans wandered in there unknowingly. So once we were settled in our hostel rooms we explored the city a little bit. Queens University Belfast was really nice and the area surrounding the university was very cool. When we got down to the city center, it was pretty underwhelming. In all honesty, Belfast was kind of a boring city. It was nice, and City Hall is a really cool building, but other than that, there's not much to see. We did stumble on a cupcake cafe that made amazing cupcakes though, so that was a good find.

Saturday morning, we boarded the buses early and headed even further north to Giants Causeway. In fact, it's as north as you can get in Ireland. As we climbed up some hills and winding roads, I caught my first glimpse of the coastline with the sun shining down and not a cloud in sight. It was the perfect day for this trip. We got a tour guide and headed down along the coast. She told us all the stories of Finn McCool and his family and adventures as a giant. She pointed out his house, his giants pet camel, and even his massive boot which he must've left behind. Finally, she showed us his most prized creation: Giants Causeway. We ventured up onto the hexagonal stones, perfectly shaped and stuck to one another. It was really a fascinating sight. After several pictures and some time staring out at the Atlantic pondering life's big questions, we continued the tour underneath the cliffs. Then came the fun part, climbing the winding staircase up those cliffs back to the buses. Once we reached the top, the panorama was breathtaking.

After a night out on Saturday at a few pubs, we went to bed and woke up Sunday for the last part of our weekend. First, we went to a presentation on the political murals around Belfast, given by a sociology professor at Queens University Belfast. The talk was really interesting and opened my eyes to further details of the longtime struggles in N. Ireland. After the talk we hopped on our buses once again and took a tour of the city. We traveled into "loyalist" territory and took pictures of some murals, and also spent some time in "nationalist" territory for some more photo-ops. One very special stop on the tour was the Belfast shipyards where we saw the Titanic's final resting place before she departed for her fateful journey. The dock in which she was built and designed is absolutely massive. It was incredible to think that 100 years ago, Titanic was sitting only feet from where I stood.

Overall it was another great experience. It seems I've been having only good experiences since I've been here so I can't complain at all. While Belfast wasn't my favorite city, the sights we saw were pretty fascinating and I don't think I will ever forget overlooking the ocean atop the cliffs at Giants Causeway. Just another memorable time in my semester here. I can't believe how lucky I am to be on this incredible journey.

Thanks to everyone for reading. Hope all is well across the pond!

Conor

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