Such Loveliness Beyond Compare

I was pretty harsh on Vienna looking back on it, but Prague has made up for it.

I definitely feel the weariness of travelling setting in and this morning I wanted nothing more than to sleep for another six hours, but checkout was in fifteen minutes. I took things a bit easier today, I didn't necessarily see all the big sights but I still have more time.

My first mission of the day was to find tickets for a show this evening. I had originally planned on getting tickets for a performance of Swan Lake but my guidebook pointed me to some of the other theaters, most notable The Estates Theater. This was the theater where Mozart premiered his Don Giovanni and they were putting on a performance of The Magic Flute. I had never seen an opera and I thought it would be great to say my first one had been in Prague. I found the theater and luckily they had one seat although I would have settled for standing.

From there I went to find an english language bookstore. I only brought a few books not wanting to carry around the extra weight, but I've also been reading a lot on the trains, and in cafes when I take a break. My father helped me out and found a couple, and it turned out one of them was mentioned in my guidebook, more so for the cafe attached. It's called Globe and it was a wonderful find. The bookstore itself wasn't very big and it didn't stock up to date bestsellers, but there were plenty of good finds. I was able to pick up a short story collection by one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, and also Middlesex by Jeffery Eugindes, I've been meaning to read it forever but can never find the time. The cafe attached to the globe is somewhat famous for being a hangout for expats, and so naturally I wanted to count myself in the ranks of those who have eaten there. I settled in began reading and had a nice sandwich. I almost didn't want to leave.

My next stop was actually right by my hostel. I had to check back in because I had made separate bookings this time in a single room. The Old Town Square is only a few blocks from my hostel. Right now it is hosting the Christmas Market, which is where I spent my first evening here, eating and listening to a Czech cover band. I also ran into another Christmas Market on my way to the theater and picked up a really delicious donut type thing. I can't remember exactly what they call it but it seems to be a traditional Czech treat. Around the square though are some of the main sights of Prague, Tyn Church and the Astronomical Clock. These were all crowded when I got there so instead I went to a gallery showing in an old theater. It was a photography exhibit on the history of communism in the Republic. I don't know much about the history of the Czech Republic and I was a bit confused by the leanings of the captions of the photos. A lot of them featured people coming together in celebration by working, building roads and buildings. It was somewhat odd. I wasn't sure what to do with myself after, it was chilly outside, I was running out of money and my show for the evening wasn't until seven. I was going to head back to the hostel and just read but I noticed a large sign across the square. It was advertising for an exhibit of Mucha paintings. Mucha was a bohemian born artist who helped define the Art Nouveau style of the early 20th century. I really like Art Nouveau and so with the little money I had I bought admission. It was pretty extensive and the paintings were beautiful. I wanted a few things from the gift shop and was disappointed they wouldn't take cards, so I settled on two items and used up the last of my money.

I went back to my room and read for a bit. My second mission of the day was to make my reservation on the train to Amsterdam. I was concerned it wouldn't work out like it hadn't in Barcelona so I made a few back up plans, but when I got up to the ticket booth and made my reservation all went smoothly. From the train station (where don't worry mom I picked up more money) I headed straight to the theater. The theater was gorgeous, it was like being inside of a birthday cake, sky blue layers with a bit of creamy white and gold gilding to top it off. It was in beautiful condition and I could easily picture Mozart there premiering his operas. I was lucky enough to get the last seat due to the fact that it was located behind a pole. I was told this when I bought the ticket but I was okay with it, prefering to sit than stand. The pole was somewhat annoying but not impossible, I wasn't able to see the bottom left hand corner of the stage but I didn't miss much. The opera was gorgeous, I was picturing ornate stage designs like you see in period films, but what I got was almost completely different. It was very minimalistic, the entire set was dictated by a large dyed sheet that faded from marigold yellow to azure. It hung over the stage and a series of weights and counterweights would lift and shape it to create the scene or engulf the characters. Sometimes they would project images onto it, stars for when the Queen of the Night appeared, or when Tamino first sees Pamina and sings Such Loveliness Beyond Compare they actually filmed the diva sitting in the audience and then emerging up to the stage. All in all it was a wonderful experience and it only cost me 50 Korunas or about 2.71 US dollars, I kid you not. To top it all off as I emerged from the theater, it had begun to snow. A nice snow with heavy flakes. The christmas market had closed when I got back but I walked around the square anyways, enjoying all the lovely buildings and the giant sparkling Christmas tree. It was like the Christmas night I didn't have.

I have most of tomorrow here, I catch my train to Amsterdam at around 6:30 and I'll be ringing in the new year there. I probably won't be writing til after then so I'll wish you all a happy new year now.

Happy New Year!

A Bit of Catching Up

Gruss Gott from Vienna!

Let me pick up where I left off.
You may be wondering how the tapas tour went...so am I, I missed it, but thats alright. I was exhausted that night and went for a walk grabbed a bit of dinner and then took a shower and went to bed.

The next day was Christmas Eve. I woke up after a good night's sleep to rain. I wasn't excited to go out, the weariness and anxiety of the day before not yet worn off but I went anyway. I headed to Parc Gruell, another one of Antoni Gaudi's creations. Maybe I should give a background on Gaudi. He was a great architect and defines a lot of the style and feel of Barcelona. His style is considered Art Nouveau and it can fall under those headings at times, especially his use of nature and natural physics within his creations, but its all a bit more surreal. Dali was a fan of his. Its hard to describe his works to you, but they were one of the reasons I really wanted to come to Barcelona and I concentrated most of my time on his works. There will eventually be pictures.

I get to Parc Gruell and enter one of the side gates. It has been raining for the past couple days and the ground is already somewhat flooded, its sand pathways with large puddles. The Parc seems deserted from where I am, and the view of Barcelona is misty and dreary. I was worried about travelling around Christmas that it would prove to be lonely and boring, with everything closed. I thought my beliefs had been confirmed with the quiet metro ride over and the abandoned park, but then I turned a corner, literally. Suddenly there were more people, as I made my way through the park and spent more time more people showed up, a lot of them tourists like myself. The cafe was open and so I stopped and had a cafe con leche.

My next stop was the Picasso Museum. It doesn't feature any of his major works, but a lot of his early stuff. It was interesting to see his impressionistic things, and although he may have been somewhat of an asshole (from what I gather) he was a genius as an artist. The paintings they have on display start from his early teens and they were quite impressive. The museum was displaying a special exhibit called Secret Images. It was an exhibit of Picasso's erotic Japanese prints and also some of his own drawings that had obviously been influenced by the Japanese artists. It was quite graphic, I found I'm more conservative than I would have imagined, or maybe after the first two dozen prints of...actually I won't go into detail, but honestly it was odd to read these enthusiastic apprasials of very very pornographic pictures, is it really art?

When I emerged from the museum I found dry blue skies. I stopped at a local cafe and ordered chocolate and churros and then wandered around the neighborhood a bit. When trying to find the museum I had accidentally stumbled upon this large indoor food market, mostly meat but some produce. It was really busy and it was fun to see everyone working and talking, carrying on with their normal lives. These women behind one counter would use long grabbers to point and grab at things in their long display cases, and people would brightly greet regular customers. I tried going back after the museum but it was shutting down, I stopped at a grocery store anyways and picked up some food to make at the hostel.

The next day was Christmas, my flight didn't leave for Zurich until five in the evening. I was pleased to find that Casa Batllo, one of Gaudi's works was open on Christmas so I planned on going there. I awoke to fifty degree weather and a beautiful cloudless blue sky. I had heard a lot about Las Ramblas a long street of markets and was told not to miss it. So before going to the Casa I decided to try the markets. I was somewhat early and it was pretty quiet, the stands just being set up and the street performers still applying their make-up. The stands were limited to flowers and pets, yes pets, turtles, birds, rats, fish, iguanas, rabbits, they were all there. So there was no temptation for me to buy anything. It didn't take me too long to walk the whole thing and as I walked back to the top things had picked up. A gambling game had started up, the one where you have to guess where the ball is under three containers, I started to take pictures of it and a woman came up to me telling me, "no photos, no photos" so I moved on. I got some more shots of the animals, but all in all I was not impressed with Las Ramblas, but I won't fault Barcelona for it.

Casa Batllo was amazing. My dream house. Most people will think Tim Burton when they see it and definitely from the outside thats the effect it gives. But I like to phrase it that its where Glinda the good witch would live in a Roald Dahl novel. A lot of the rooms are curved and all of them feature some way for natural light. The courtyard is enclosed by a large skylight and features blue tiles that fade in depth of color as you go from the top to the bottom. The woodwork and windows are ingenious, screens and vents built in they can create separate rooms and open up others. The roof is wonderful, a terrace that features mosaic chimneys and a garlic clove cross. Like I said its hard to explain, and if you think I'm being effusive in my praise you should have heard the commentary on the audioguide. I'm mean I like Gaudi and I think he was really original, but is the comment "the most ingineous and beautiful room you will ever see" really necessary for a storage closet that features an arched roof? Regardless I loved it and it was a great way to spend Christmas.

My flights left without a hitch. I had a connection in Palma Mallorca and I'll admit I didn't know where that was. I figured it was in Spain but I couldn't find in the map. Turns out its an island next to Ibiza off the coast. The Zurich airport was beautiful, I don't know if it was just because it was Christmas but I hope they keep those lights up all year round. I stopped a grocery store and picked up a big bag of cookies and some milk for my Christmas treat. I took the train in to the main station and from there was planning on finding a taxi, but it was so difficult that I decided I would try the instructions provided by the Hostel. It required getting on the tram, but I didn't know which direction, and I initially took it the wrong way, but only one stop. I eventually got off at the right stop and easily found my hostel, actually hotel, well more like boutique hotel. I got there but no one was there to ring me in, it was close to eleven and I was supposed to skype with my family at twelve. There was a crowded bar that seemed to be attached and so I reluctantly went in, backpack and bags and all. At first I was ignored and somewhat stared at, so I left and tried buzzing again, and then calling but no luck. I went back in and the bartender helped me out. The room was nice, it was lovely to have my own room and chat with my family.

The next day was beautiful and blue. It was a bit crisp but nothing I couldn't handle. Everything was closed, at least most of the shops which was fine. I spent the morning wandering around the area taking pictures. Zurich is a lovely city, and I would have loved to spend more time there but I didn't schedule it. So I moved on to the train station. I got a train to Vienna and it seemed like all was going well, but then we got to Innsbruk. It was around seven and we weren't scheduled to get into Vienna until a little after ten so I knew we had a while to go. A man kept coming over the loudspeaker and speaking gruffly in German. At first a couple people left and then suddenly there was a mad exodus. I asked someone what was going on and they assured me our train was going to get to Vienna just twenty minutes late. Then a conductor came through stopping at every occupied seat and yelling at them in German to get to platform four. I in my shy apologetic tone that I adopt everytime I have to use english asked, "Even if we are going to Vienna?" "Platform 4!" was his reply. The train there was already crowded and it took a while for me to find a seat. I eventually did and got to Vienna around 11:30.

I only had today in Vienna, which is okay because we really haven't clicked. Maybe I'm in my traveller's fatigue and lull or maybe it just wasn't meant to be. I went out this morning to Stephenplatz which has a large church there. Being a Sunday it held mass pretty regularly. I didn't think about this and felt a bit ashamed as I watched earnest Church goers have to wade through the throng of holiday tourists. I felt even more ashamed as I was only looking for the catacombs, but it wasn't meant to be so I left. I was sitting in a cafe having coffee and had just written in my journal "I feel I haven't given myself enough time in Vienna" when an older gentleman and his toddler grandson sit down next to me. He starts up a conversation and when he finds out I only have the day he says "stop drinking coffee and get out there!" He then jots down the things I have to do and feeling invigorated I go out and do them.

First up was the Hapsburg palace and the imperial apartments. The first part was a rather dull and extensive trip through the many china sets of the Hapsburgs, I kid you not, about twelve rooms of eloquent tableware, it got old after the first two rooms. Then next up was a museum on Empress Elizabeth. A moody empress who became a legend after her death. It seemed a bit ironic that a woman who so hated the fame and restrictions that came along with being royalty has her own museum that ends in a gift shop filled in dozens of items featuring her face, including a child's t-shirt that has rendered her in a Disney princess fashion cartoon. The royal apartments were next and compared to Versailles were elegant but spartan, no frescoes and only very tasteful gilding. That being said looking around Austria I can see how and where Marie Antoinette got her tastes. In no other European city have I seen so many monuments to Royalty, although looking back they would have been destroyed in the revolution in Paris and similarly during communist rule in Budapest. Anyways every building is regal and baroque and worthy of royalty.

I stumbled upon a poster for an Annie Leibovitz exhibit and being a fan of photography I headed out there. It was a bit of a disppointment, but still neat to see. It was a similar feeling as the concert I went to tonight. It featured a small orchestra, two opera singers and two ballet dancers, all on a stage much too small for them. My only comment is it featured audience participation which is nice for crusie ships and state fairs but wasn't exactly what I was looking for when I wanted to enjoy some classical music in Vienna.

Well I leave tomorrow for Prague, a city I'm very excited for. I'm going to retry my theater going experience and try and get tickets for Swan Lake. Til next time, Auf Wiedershen.

Its a Man's World

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000175 EndHTML:0000010154 StartFragment:0000002559 EndFragment:0000010118 SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/mauracrowley/Desktop/internship.doc

There are so many things I want to write about my trip to Morocco and I worry about forgetting things or more likely going off on tangents and losing you along the way, but I'm going to start at the beginning because thats where it all started.

Norah and I spent our last night in Galway, Ireland out at the Spanish Arch. Not our usual bar hangout but we choose it because it featured local cover band Milhouse. This was a fitting choice as Milhouse was the band we saw on our first night out in Galway and so we drank a few last pints, danced with a spirited German woman and then boarded the 3:30am bus to the Dublin airport.

Our plane took off a bit late at 10am and landed mid-afternoon in Malaga, Spain. From there we had to take a bus to Algeciras, our final destination. The bus ride was about three hours long and although the view was gorgeous a man repeatedly throwing up in the aisle across from us ruined it. I add all these details to help set the stage. We got off the bus very tired and very tense only to find that the directions to our hostel were not only vague (head east on...) but not correct. Like all of Europe there are little or no road signs and it seems people don't even know the name of the roads anyways. So we wandered a bit around the grimy port city of Algeciras and found our hostel only to discover that no one is there to check us in. Once we did get checked in we stayed in our room for the rest of the night, uneasy about the next day’s journey.

The next morning after some ten hour odd hours of sleep neither of us are excited about getting out of bed, but we do. We head down to the port where my guidebook told us we could buy tickets to Tangier. Unfortunately a moment of hesitation finds us prey to an old man hanging around the gates of the port. Its hard to refuse somebody when you don't understand what they are saying, so we end up following him across the street to a travel agency and book our tickets there. I knew the man would want money and though all he did was literally walk us across the street I grabbed a few euros and practiced saying in my head thanks for your help in Spanish. I was not expecting that he would be so blunt about wanting money, just coming right out and saying it to us as he took us back to the gates. We smiled politely, gave up our money and headed to the port. We were still a bit confused about when and where our boat was leaving and no one seemed particularly happy to help. We ended up on the 11:00 ferry to Tangier among a couple hundred others, everyone else toting large suitcases and preparing for a longer stay.

The boat was a disaster, it took us almost an hour to leave the harbor and then another two and a half to get to Tangier. Meanwhile on the boat you had to check in with customs which involved standing in a long line while the boat rocked swiftly back and forth. Seating was odd too, limited to a few tables scattered around a lounge area and a bar, it was first come first serve and very uncomfortable.

But we made it. Not being able to turn back I adopted a bit of a cheerier mood than I had been in before. A girl we had met in Budapest, who had visited Tangier before, had told us to get out of the port area, where it was the seediest, and we tried hard to do so. Of course we were stopped by a few "official tour guides" and asked if we needed help, one playing on our tension and fears by saying 'its not safe, really its not safe" but we kept moving.

We headed to a main plaza right outside the port entrance to a restaurant mentioned in our book. The plaza was filled with cafes and open air seating and strikingly was occupied with almost entirely men, occasionally a woman was scattered among them, but no groups of women were sitting alone together. It had been apparent on the boat that this was a more patriarchal society. The men had been the ones to stand patiently in the customs line, their wives and children joining once they reached the front. At the time this didn’t seem like a bad deal for the women, at least to me. Without knowing more about the culture I don’t know that I would call their culture oppressive to women. While there were no groups of women sitting, we would see them passing together, moving from one location to another.

As two white, unaccompanied females, we certainly stuck out and we got a lot of attention for it. I had heard about the comments and cat-calling before we went but I wasn't really prepared for it. Everyone stared at us, men, women, kids, and the men would occasionally comment, it was annoying at first but we got used to it. And honestly it never felt like we were in any danger, the comments were predatory but harmless, the most we had to worry about was pick pocketing but no one really got close enough to us to try. Norah and I hypothesized that if we had come with at least one male we wouldn't have gotten as much attention, as we saw other tourist couples go by unnoticed. I don't think the society is oppressive as I said before, it is conservative and I think us walking around, two young women alone, was like going out to eat and using your feet; its just not done and its going to get a reaction.

Otherwise our trip was great, the biggest culture shock we had. It started with Norah's fish meal which consisted of an entire fish deep-fried, eyes and all, and continued with the sudden appearance of a lamb running down a crowded city street to little reaction. I'm sorry to say I didn't take many pictures, not wanting to draw more attention to myself than there already was. We made it safely to our final destination, a cafe carved into the cliffs overlooking the ocean where we triumphantly sat high up among the rows of men drinking te a la menthe and eating warm peanuts.

In the end we only spent four hours in Morocco and I would love to go back and explore it some more. I would probably fly directly into Marrakesh or one of the other large cities and maybe go with a man.

If you ever find yourself wanting to go here are a few tips:
Take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, its shorter, the boats are nicer and so is Tarifa.

For women: travel in a larger group, or with at least one male or try wearing a head scarf to blend in a bit more.

From there Norah and I headed to Granada. I'm very excited and a bit jealous that my cousin Annie will soon be studying abroad there. We didn't get much time there, as the bus took longer than expected, but we got Alhambra in, at least part of it. The city is beautiful though, full of arabic and moorish designs. The Alhambra itself is spectacular filled with ornate carvings in Arabic and beautiful mosaic floors. I wish I would have had more time there.

I may as well add in my trip so far in Barcelona as that is where I am writing you from today. Norah left me in Granada (as planned) mid-afternoon yesterday. I spent a little time exploring the city and then went to the train station. My train was an overnight one and I had been considering springing for an individual sleeper if the price wasn't too much, well it turned out to be my only option. It was a bit more expensive than I would have liked but it included dinner and breakfast, a valet, and a free bag of toiletries. I was very out of place on the train, I went to enjoy my complimentary dinner and sat across the aisle from a well-dressed couple and their completely indifferent teenage daughter. I was confused as to what was free and what I had to pay for as the menu listed prices but I took advantage of it and ordered wine which was a half-bottle and got a crepe and had some tea, it turned out to be all free. I giggled upon my return to my room as I was completely out of my element but loving it. It was nice to have my first night alone especially on a train when conditions are already less than ideal for a good night's sleep. But I got one and woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the coast. I had my complimentary breakfast and deboarded in Barcelona.

I haven't got much done today as I was distracted by a fear that I wouldn't be able to get out of Barcelona and continue with my trip as planned. It seems the entire city of Barcelona is going to Switzerland for the holidays as all the trains are booked up. It was not good news to hear on my first day alone and after already spending an arm and a leg for train fare to Barcelona. But I have a flight out to Zurich on Christmas day and my traveling should resume from there as planned. It gives me a bit more time here in Barcelona which is nice because all I have seen so far is Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece. It was actually very neat to see, very different from all the churches I have seen in Europe but what was more striking was seeing it still under construction, its fun to know that in twenty years it will be completed and in hundreds of years (hopefully) it will still be standing and people will visit it and wonder about its creation (just as I do at every church I visit) and know that I was there in the process.

I'm about to take a nap, as I'm going to go out on the Tapas tour tonight to watch some Flamenco dancing and more. It might be Zurich or Vienna for the next time I post, either way Merry Christmas and lots of love from Spain!

Its My Life

It is a nice life when one day you are hiking the snowy Bavarian Mountains in Austria and the next day you are strolling the sunny side streets of Florence. That was my last ten days, I got home about twelve hours ago from traveling through Budapest, Salzburg, Florence and Rome with Norah and a new friend Anne.

We arrived in Budapest around eight o'clock at night and checked into our hostel. The hostel was nice and small but empty. The owner, Ian, a young handsome British boy, told us that everyone else staying there was at a local bar for karaoke night and that he we could join him as he was heading there soon. The beer was cheap and the bar was full. It was mostly international students and travelers, everyone spoke English. I made a new friend and ended up singing "Twist and Shout" and Bon Jovi's "Its My Life."

Our night out meant a long lie in the next day. When we awoke it was already raining, a rarity we were told in Budapest, but just our luck. We believed we could handle it and headed out. Taking things slowly we had breakfast at a local cafe. Not wishing to have the "What do you mean no meat?" conversation with the stern Hungarian woman behind the counter I picked a crepe filled with coleslaw and chicken. I picked out the chicken, and it was still delicious. From there we went to St. Stephen's Basilica which preserves, displays and on his saint day parades around the mummified hand of St. Stephen. The church was massive, as I'm finding all major churches in Europe to be, but the difference with this church was the use of rose and green marble on the inside. Still dark the colorful marble made it feel less imposing and grim as the other grey stone churches.
Budapest is actually two different cities: the hilly palatial Buda and the buzzing metropolis Pest. We were staying in Pest and after the Basilica headed across the river to Buda. Unfortunately it was still raining and while we made it to the top of the hill where Buda Castle overlooked Pest, I had had enough. Soaking and cold we headed back to the hostel. We ate at a Thai-Hungarian Restaurant across the street from our hostel. I was sure they would have vegetarian food and was pleasantly surprised to find they had a section of vegetarian hungarian food. I had mushrooms stuffed with camembare and then fried served with rice and a yogurt sauce, it was delicious. Later we went out again with the people in our hostel this time to a local bar with gipsy musicians, but we made it an earlier night.
The next day was much better. We awoke early to gray but dry skies and headed out to get as much done as we could before we had to leave. We started out at the Christmas market, all over Europe each major city features a Christmas market, selling ornaments, gifts and delicious food. We all did some shopping I picked up an enamel ring and some gipsy fortune telling cards.

We decided to attempt to explore Buda again, by this time the sky above was a creamy blue and I actually pulled out my sunglasses. The views were great from the Buda side. We went back to the palace and to a church atop the hill. Walking back we passed the impressive Parliment building and then went to catch our train.

Looking back now Budapest seems like a distant speck. I hadn't really thought about going there before Anne and Norah had suggested it, but I'm glad I did. Norah kept reminding us the city we saw was not very old, only built in the late 1800s but yet it still showed the history and grandeur of older European cities. The people seemed to keep to themselves, the trams were silent as we moved along the roads. What I can say is that its very cheap. Not on the Euro but on the Forint, it was a little intimidating to be taking thousands out of my bank account, but it got me pretty far. It seems to be a great town for young people, again cheap and everyone knew a little english. I joked that I had found a blackhole in Budapest and its center seemed to be in our hostel as everyone we met there had extended their stay in Budapest, some a few days others a few months. I would like to go back one day and spend more time discovering the city, but after our trip I have to say it wasn't my favorite city we visited.

Next up was Salzburg. The city of Mozart and Sound of Music. We arrived around midnight and went straight to bed, only to wake the next morning to cold damp skies. I was tired but Norah and Anne were energized by the sight of snowy mountains bordering the city. I was amazed with them as well, but I couldn't quite keep up as Norah and Anne rushed to find a better view of them. We slowed things down a bit and walked towards the center of town. Going through the city's Christmas Market. This market seemed more focused on Christmas decorations, most of the stands boasting ornaments and make-your-own-creche supplies rather than gifts. As the rain picked up we headed into one of the large churches. It was different from any other one I've been to. Baroque and filled with carvings, I could imagine Mozart sitting in its pews. We than headed up the hill to the convent that gave us a problem like Maria, or at least the woman she was based off of. Unfortunately the rain had picked up and the mountains were shrouded in heavy gray mist, as was the rest of the town and myself.

We went back to the hostel to dry off and make a game plan. Norah and I decided to try and see the two house museums about Mozart. We headed towards his childhood home and attempted to purchase admission to his family home as well, but it was closing in five minutes. His childhood home was nothing special, not preserved or recreated, it was mostly whitewashed walls with plaques and portraits. It featured a few items of his, jewels given from dignitaries and his childhood violin but was otherwise sparse and uninformative. The oddest part was a section of the museum that went completely unexplained. We walked out a door and followed a balcony outside to another section once inside there were three rooms that were something out of a Lewis Carroll novel. The first one featured an old piano and wooden cut outs of two 18th century figures and a dog. A mozart song played but otherwise there was no explanation. The next room was even odder, painted entirely a light sky blue its walls bore different drawings of Salzburg in Mozart's time yet all were hung upside down and on the ceiling was a topographical map of Salzburg as well. The last room was the most bizarre, painted black with white script of Mozart's lyric it was lit by two florescent doorways each containing a headless manniquin dressed in operatic costumes. The manniquins backs were to us in the rooms as if they were entering some alien theater and an aria was played loudly overhead. Again no explanation. I was in a fit of giggles as we walked through these rooms unsure of where and what had just happened, but I pulled myself together enough so to purchase some of the Mozart Chocolates that are advertised all over the city.

Salzburg is not a very large city and we had exhausted most of it the first day. We set our sights out a bit to fill our next day. Anne really wanted to hike but it was going to rain or snow and our original hiking plans fell through. My book mentioned a small town outside of Salzburg, Hallstatt, and it wasn't a long journey to get there. So we took a bus and the train there. It did begin to snow on our way there, and it made me miss home and Christmas just a bit and our arrival at Hallstatt only made those feelings deepen. You arrive in Hallstatt at a station actually across the lake from the town, a ferry waits at the bottom of the steps and takes you across in about five minutes. Hallstatt is set right on the lake and right into the Bavarian mountains. Surrounded on all sides by massive snowy peaks and ashore a large smooth lake, the town is magical. All the houses are built into the mountains with steep steps needed to reach them.

We had begun to wander around these steps when we stumbled on a hiking path. We followed the path all the way to the top of one of the mountains, as we hiked what had been large wet rain drops crystallized into light white flakes of snow. It meant that we couldn't see out at the top but we were so happy to see snow and not rain they we didn't complain. We came back down to find lunch which proved to be more difficult a task than we had believed. A popular and busy spot in the summer, it has little to offer in the cold wet winter months. We did find one restaurant open and I was able to get some good Austrian vegetable strudel and boiled potatoes. It was hard to leave the picturesque city, as Anne said "This must be where they make Christmas cheer." But we left anyway and boarded a train for Florence.

Salzburg was very pretty. A perfect Christmas town, snowy and small it seemed preserved in the baroque era. Hallstatt was also a very nice surprise, absolutely gorgeous, we all agreed there couldn't be a day where you woke up there with a bad view. But again Salzburg wasn't my favorite place we visited, maybe it was the cold, maybe it was because I was tired.

The train ride to Florence was horrendous. We were booked into a compartment with three other people, and the heater was broken. It was stifiling and uncomfortable, the train stopped a lot and we slept uneasily. We arrived in Florence at six in the morning, Norah wasn't sure we could check in at our hostel, but I was hopeful they would have some couches for us to sleep on. I led us through the dark sleepy city as the sun rose. I awoke the woman in charge of the hostel and she led us in to a sitting room with three chairs which we proceeded to slump into and fall asleep for two hours. This provided us with enough energy to explore the city until we could check into our own room. Luckily it was sunny and blue skies outside, we walked lazily around the streets stopping in squares and parks to enjoy the sunlight. At one, we walked back to our hostel and slept the afternoon away. The Christmas market was right down the block from us, and so after dinner we sat under the heaters and chatted and watched the locals. We ended up at the only American bar in Florence, an establishment called the Red Garter around the corner from our hostel. We split a bottle of wine, but didn't do any dancing or karaoking just watched the crowd and then went to bed for some much needed sleep.

Like Budapest, Florence is divided by a river, and the next day we crossed the river to climb to the church atop the hill overlooking the city. It was another gorgeous day, blue skies and the city contrasted nicely with its yellow houses and red clay roofs. The church was gorgeous, well preserved from the 1200s it was white and decorated on the outside, and gave prime viewing for the city. We ate calzones at a restaurant on top of the hill and then headed down for gelato. We took our time wandering the streets just enjoying the sun and atmosphere. We went out that night for a nicer dinner, splitting a bottle of wine and eating pasta. Later we bought another bottle of wine at a market and split it, along with a jar of Nutella and cookies, as we sat on the steps of the church that overlooked the Christmas Market.

The next day was supposed to be our inevitable rainy day but it ended up being gorgeous again. We wandered the markets along the Duomo for souvenirs and ducked inside the massive cathedral to escape the wind. The Duomo was less impressive than I had expected, more like a gathering hall than a church its most interesting aspect was the fresco on its massive dome. Depicting the different areas of the cosmos, heaven, earth and a fiery hell complete with skeletons and devils. We found a great cafe for lunch, the highlight of which was the old man who worked there. He babbled to us in Italian even after he knew we didn't speak it, he repeated our odd english sayings and as we ate he stood at the door calling to those passing by trying to tempt them to come in. He even allowed for us to take a picture of him. After lunch we decided to explore the church behind the Christmas Market, Santa Croce. It ended up containing the tombs of Galileo, Marconi, Machiavelli, and Michaelangelo. As we left we could see the pink sky above the rooftops and rushed to the river to watch the sunset.

One of the bridges is known as Ponte Vecchio and boasts buildings along the side of it perched precariously on wooden stilts over the water. The buildings house jewelry stores and lead onto a larger shopping area. On the street off the bridge a shop of costume jewelry caught my eye and Anne led us in. I was sure there would be nothing I could afford there but it was fun to look around. The woman behind the counter was persistant though, she saw me eyeing a beautiful art deco diamond ring and she went in the back and brought out some more modest options. They were all so fun and I loved trying them on, with each compliment I gave of a ring she would go back and bring out another box filled with similar designs. I ended up finding a great ring, a sort of Art Nouveau design, its a backward S with three jade stones. The woman told us that she remembered the family who brought it in and it was made at the latest before the 1940s. As it was our last night in Florence, we went out for another large meal and then each bought our own bottle of cheap wine and sat up chatting for most of the night.

Florence was wonderful, my favorite place I've been to so far. We lucked out and had three gorgeous days there, but regardless I loved the city. It had the vitality of a larger city with the intimacy of a smaller one. It seemed there would be lots to do there but it wouldn't be intimidating or as demanding as a larger city. I would really consider living there for any amount of time. The language is beautiful as well as the scenery and the people are so friendly and lively.

Next we took a ten-forty train to Rome and arrived a little after noon. Our hostel was right around the corner so we dropped off our bags and started exploring. We walked first to the Colosseum. Outside an American boy called to us and let us in on his deal of a tour. It was eight euros more than admission alone to the Colosseum and so we signed up and joined the larger group. The Colosseum was impressive but it felt so weird to be there as it seemed like something only existing in movies and history books. Its also so unassuming, surrounded on all sides by bustling city streets and a metro stop. The tour was pretty interesting, mostly the gory details of the gladiator events but I was surprised to hear that it was once used as condominiums after the games were outlawed. The tour group was also offering a free tour of Palantine hill across the street and so we joined along. Our guide was an enthusiastic Australian woman who enraptured us as she told the story of Romulus and Remus. Palantine hill was beautiful as well, a huge park of ruins that you can just wander freely around. It was odd to look down and know you were standing on the ruins of what was once the greatest city in the world, land that Caesar and Marc Anthony had wandered. We were on the sight at a great time, right at sunset and the hill gives great views of the city. So we wandered around and took photos of the scenery. I wanted to go to the Trevi fountain and eat gelato and the girls were all for it, so we headed there next. The fountain was gorgeous at night and massive, larger than I had believed. It was crowded with tourists and we all threw a coin in, and then went to a gelateria and ate our ice cream despite the chilly weather.

The next morning we woke up with the intention of catching the metro out to Vatican City. We wanted to meet up with a 9:30 tour that was going to the Papal Audience. When we got down to the Metro it was crowded and people were pushing onto the trains. We had to wait three trains before we could get on, at which point we were running very late. I was amazed at how unorganized it all was especially for a city as big and great as Rome, but we found out that the Metro workers were soon to strike and so service was poor and slow. Unfortunatley we missed the tour we had hoped to take, but there were a lot being offered and we were still able to catch up with a group going to the Papal Audience. We were shuffled into a large convention hall which was packed with school groups. I felt suddenly like I was back at a confirmation retreat, it was very odd. The groups literally started doing cheers for the pope, it felt a bit disrespectful and I felt sort of out of place. It really did just feel like we were making a stop on a tour, we were given a fifteen minute time limit and then we had to be out of there. It was odd to me that all those people were going to be sitting there for hours listening to the Pope and that many had come to Rome just for that moment. Unusually the Pope was actually a bit late coming out but he did so to loud cheers. It quickly quieted down and he said a blessing. I took a few pictures and we sat through as they read the gospel of the day in six different languages and then we took off. It was a bit incredible to be in the same room as the Pope, regardless of whether you agree with him or not, he is a very powerful man. Next up we went through the Vatican museum. If we hadn't gone with a tour I would have been completely lost and uninterested but I was fascinated the entire time. It is the most impressive collection of art in the world and we barely saw a third of it. Of course the most impressive is the Sistine Chapel. I can't really describe it to you, I wasn't sure what to expect but it was definitely a lot more. The room is covered in colorful powerful figures and after learning the history of it it was all the more impressive. Lastly we ended up in St. Peter's Basilica which is the most incredible, magnificent church I've ever been in. Enormous in size it boasts large thick pillars of rose marble and a giant sunburst of stained glass. A beautiful bronze high altar stands in the front over where St. Peter is assumed to be buried, and each Pope up to the building of the church is immortalized in gigantic sculpture. I feel like a little kid telling you about this but I don't know how to properly convey the size and dignity of the church, it was beautiful. We walked back from the Vatican to our hostel, stumbling across the Spanish Steps as we did. The steps were filled with photo-snapping tourists and leering teenage Italian boys. It served as our last stop and we made it back to Galway at around 2 this morning.

I had a final this morning and it went well. I really was supposed to be studying for my next final tomorrow but instead I'm writing this. Tomorrow is my last day in Galway. Luckily today was beautiful but I'm sad I don't have more time. Its too bad that my last day will be spent taking an exam and cleaning, but thats the way things are. Leaving here I of course go back to thinking of how I felt coming here. I know I felt bittersweet leaving Madison after a wonderful summer, but leaving here I just feel sad. I always knew I would be coming back to Madison, but I'm not so sure when I'll get back to Galway, it won't be so easy. There isn't a whole lot tying me to Galway, most of the people I've met here I can see back in the states, and school was never a big priority, but I'm going to miss the lifestyle here. I was able to relax and explore, see so many great things, I can only hope that going home will only deepen my affection for Galway and strengthen my drive to keep traveling.

I'm not quite done traveling yet so keep coming back for posts. I'll try to post photos when I have more time.

To play along at home here is my schedule from this point on:
Galway, Tangier, Granada, Barcelona, Zurich, Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam and Brussels

I'll be back in the states on the 5th

Let Her Dance

I'm not sure when I will be posting next as my next month is entirely filled. I will try and keep up once I get going on my own Eurail adventure but I can't make any promises. So you can play along at home is the schedule for December:

My parents are here now until the 6th

I leave the 7th for Budapest from there I go to Salzburg, Florence and Rome

I return to Galway on the 16th

17th and 18th I have final exams

19th Eurail adventure begins, I fly to Spain

Spend a day in Morocco

Head the next day to Granada and part with Norah

From there I go on and my route is as follows with stays in each town of about one night/two full days:

Barcelona

Zurich

Vienna

Prague

Amsterdam

Brussels

Home!

I will be spending Christmas on the train taking the scenic route through the Alps and ending up at a nice hotel in Zurich for the night.

New Years will be spent in Amsterdam! I'm giving myself two nights and three days there to recover and explore.

It will be around 36 days of travel, I believe it will be worth it and the best thing is I will be back early in January around the 5 or 6th so I will have sometime to relax and recover.

Next post will probably be from Barcelona! Stay tuned.

A Bit Of Boasting

A while back I was on Flickr uploading some photos for this blog and I saw I had a new message. It was from Schmap Guides a free online travel guide. They were letting me know one of my pictures from the Aran Islands might be used in the next edition of the Galway map, all I needed to do was give them permission. Although there was no compensation there was also no harm in it, so I gave them permission and waited to find out if I would be picked. Turns out I was! I've included the link at the bottom, it will take you right to the point when my picture is displayed, notice the Mauratheeexplorer byline. Again there was no money in it, but if someone clicks on my photo it will take them back to my flickr account and my other photos. It was neat to be picked, take a look and check out some of the other photos of the Galway area.

www.schmap.com/galway/sights_panorama/p=108255/i=108255_95.jpg

Finale

Things are coming to an end here, at least in terms of school. I'm finishing up a paper at the moment at which point I will be done with my first class. I have two more papers and two exams as well. The structure is a bit odd, this is the last week of class, then we have a study week and then two weeks in which our exams can be scheduled. I have two final papers due this week, a third due during study week and my two exams scheduled for the last two days of the exam period, so after this week I will have a lot of free time. Although I'm pretty busy up to the end, my parents come this Friday, I'm hoping to do a bit of traveling before my exams and then its time to set off on my Eurail adventure.

I'm really going to miss Galway, its definitely home now. But at the same time I'm very tired of wind and rain, I'll take snow any day. If only I could come home for a week and then come back here. The hardest part about coming home is not knowing when I'll get to return to Ireland, so I'm going to make these last few weeks count...starting after this week.

Dave in Dublin at Dawn

I'm getting up tomorrow at 4:45 am to take the bus to Dublin to meet Dave. We will be hanging out in Dublin, with a quick trip to Cardiff, Wales and then hanging out in Galway. So no posts for a bit, but I'm excited to see a familiar face.

Another Travelin' Song

A sort of weird lethargy had fallen over me after we got back from Paris. I still went to class, but I didn’t go out, we stayed in Galway for a weekend. After having seen what the continent had to offer, I was done with Ireland, its quaint small towns were no longer enough for me. But I knew I had to try and go somewhere to break out of this lull. At first we thought about Belfast, but Norah was tired of cities and I’ll go there when my parents come. So then we settled on a small town beyond Belfast, Ballycastle, situated close to Giant’s Causeway, a neat little island, and featuring its own castle. But the bus situation was impossible to figure out and it would take forever to get there nonetheless. So we focused our attention in the opposite direction and decided on Dingle Peninsula, with a base in the town of Dingle.

It took us a little over six hours to get Dingle. It had rained on and off our entire trip on the bus, but we hoped it would clear. Unfortunately as soon as November came, so did the winter weather that everyone had warned us about, spots of intense rain broken by crisp sunshine. I’ve seen more rainbows in the last two weeks than my entire life, and they are no longer a welcome sight. This weather proved to be the standard everywhere and so we got off the bus in sunshine, walking a few yards into heavy cold rain. I had emailed a hostel the night before with no response, it ended up being out of town a bit, we made it most of the way there before the sidewalk ended. No strangers to walking the side of the road we considered going on, but we weren’t sure how much farther the hostel was and the wet conditions concerned us with such fast moving cars. Plus it seemed once we got to the hostel we would be stuck there until the next day. So we headed back into town. Just wanting to get out of the rain we went into a B&B and enquired about a room for the night. They had one available and we took it, spending as much for one night in the B&B as we would have for two nights at the hostel.

But it was worth it. For once we had our own private room, no worries about when our anonymous roommates would wander in, or want to go to bed. It was warm and comfy. We were delighted to find it had an electric kettle along with tea and coffee and biscuits. The breakfast alone made it worth it, for once we had a big proper filling breakfast. At hostels its usually corn flakes and toast, which usually means just toast for me. We also ate in the pub down below our first night, and had a pint, before going to a local supermarket and picking up hot chocolate mix and cookies to have in our room.

We had originally intended to rent bicycles and explore the peninsula area, but the weather simply wouldn’t allow it. So we went the next morning to the tourist office to see what our options were. While there was a small aquarium in town that I was somewhat curious about we both wanted to see more of the Peninsula area, which is around the famed Ring of Kerry region. Boat tours are usually available but again the weather was not permitting. Our only option was a minibus tour, but they won’t take parties less than four. A German couple was also enquiring about taking a tour and for a few moments it seemed they might come along but fortunately the man was too picky to decide. On a lark the woman at the office called a local tour guide who was going out later that day with a group of three American boys, she was going to ask if we could join. Luckily for us he had the morning free and was more than happy to take just Norah and I around.

His name was Dennis, and he drove us around in his own small green hatchback. I had sort of a flashback of when my mother put Megan and I into a taxi with a smiling toothless driver in Jamaica, but I figured the tourism lady knew we were with him. Dennis was very nice and knew a lot about the local sights. He took us out on Slea Head Drive a road perched along the cliffs. We started out at the British landlord’s house, now a school run by nuns and then proceeded out of the town into the mountains. The weather actually aided in creating some beautiful scenery. The sea was violent and foaming, but still maintained an aquamarine color. We stopped at a few points to take pictures only to be swayed by the wind and lashed with rain. In one spot we stopped the storm had broken for a while and there was beautiful blue skies to match the sea, but even despite that taking the pictures proved difficult in such violent wind. Other than outlooks, Dennis took us over the upside down bridge so named because the water runs over the bridge not under it, a gorgeous old church made completely with dry stone like the fences that dissect the countryside and Ryan’s beach, so named for Ryan’s Daughter a film starring Robert Mitchum, which according to Dennis was a huge boon for the local economy at the time and the cast much more welcoming than the Ron Howard film Far and Away which was also locally shot. The tour was a little over an hour, but it got us to see what we had wanted to and still keep us warm and dry, well relatively so.

After our tour we grabbed lunch and discussed what we were going to do next. We decided we would head back to Galway on the four o’clock bus. To waste the four hours we did a little shopping, I picked up a wonderful warm blue wool sweater and a ring. We also tried to visit Dingle’s most famous resident, Fungie the dolphin, I kid you not he lives in the bay and has done so for over 20 years. Dennis had given us directions to an outlook where we could possibly see him. It was beyond a nice hotel and covered in seaweed and refuse. When I was younger I would watch movies like Andre, Free Willy, Black Beauty and wish or secretly believe that I too could have a special connection with an animal one that would cause it to jump spectacularly in the air or calm down from wild outbursts, but this gift has alluded me and unfortunately it didn’t show itself as we looked for Fungie, and neither did Fungie. Norah kept insisting that we had to get closer to the water for him to know we were here, but I kept insisting I didn’t want to smell like fish for the bus ride back, so we went a little farther but with no success.

It was a quick trip and probably our most extravagant but it was worth it. The views were spectacular, combining the mountains we had seen in Connemara with the coasts of the islands. But more than anything it shook me from my lull and got me excited and ready to travel again. Now its just a matter of where to next?

Dingle Photos

Piquenique in Paris

Our plane touched down in Paris from Dublin a little after 11 Paris time. We boarded the bus from the small Beauvais airport and rode for a little over an hour to a metro stop on the edge of Paris. Tired and unsure when the Metro stopped running we decided to splurge and split the cost of a taxi to our hostel. The taxi drivers (at least the two we encountered) did not seem to like to deal in English, they also seemed very put out by the fact that our fare was all the way across the city. They set out a blanket price of 35 euros to our destination, confused and weary we simply shuffled into the back seat of the taxi.

Our hostel was in the Cite des Sciences region of Paris, over by the large Parc de Villette and Cite des Sciences museum. It was the cheapest one I could find, and while its location was not ideal it was close enough to the metro that we found it suited our monetary and simple survival needs.

After a quick breakfast we ventured down into the Metro. Luckily both Norah and I have had experience with riding subways in large cities and we mastered the metro quickly. All you need to know is what stop you need to get off at and what direction to take it. We invested in a three day unlimited metro pass, that saved us a ton of money and energy, we wore them out. Riding the Metro reminded me of how much I loved riding the El, its great for people watching, the trick is to watch people in the reflections of the windows. Everyday we got on, at least once we were joined by an accordion player or a preaching beggar, they would play a song or give their story and walk the aisle for money, I was surprised that at least one person would give them money. For the most part people on the metro would keep to themselves or keep their conversations close to the chest, a little different from American subways.

Our first day was spent hitting up all the tourist attractions, first up was Sainte Chapelle. In the Ile de la Cite area, the Chapelle was hidden behind administrative buildings, in fact its right next to the Justice building. The church was beautiful, unique in so many ways. Every single inch of the church was decorated, painted with gold and fleur de lis. The upper chapel was the most striking, surrounded on three sides with massive stained glass windows. Floor to ceiling they took up the entire wall space, letting in lots of color and light. On the ends were large circular rose windows, all very intricate and unique.

From there we headed towards Notre Dame. We weren’t sure if we were going to go in, but when we found out it was free we decided it was worth it. Notre Dame was beautiful in a completely different way from Sainte Chapelle. While still tall and impressive, Sainte Chapelle didn’t take up as much area and the stained glass and decoration made it seem delicate. What was striking about Notre Dame was its magnitude and stability, it was massive and it displayed its strength with thick columns and wide, long aisles. A bit darker and more sparsely decorated, it had many more little altars. I stopped in one area and donated some money and lit a candle for Grandpa Crowley. Despite it being crowded with tourists, a priest began mass, in his soft slow French it didn’t sound like a scolding or a lesson, and was quite peaceful to listen to.

We walked a bit through the flower markets as well in the Ile de la Cite area, on Sundays they also have a bird market but we didn’t make it back over there. The flower markets were neat, still filled with bright spring flowers despite the cool crisp autumn air. The markets also sold small trinkets and souvenirs, but we weren’t tempted.

We went from there to look for some cheap lunch. We simply wandered along the streets of Paris taking in the magnificent architecture and laying out futures where we would live in the penthouse apartments a top the great stone structures. We found ourselves down hill from the Pantheon and bought ourselves lunch at a food stand. We climbed the hill up to the great dome and sat on the steps watching the students at the Sorbonne, rush to class. We opted not to go in to the Pantheon as it had an admission fee and Voltaire’s tomb didn’t prove to be much of a draw. We walked instead towards Luxembourg Gardens, stopping for chocolat chaud on the way. The park was busy despite the gray skies and the trees a flame with autumn’s colors. Around the fountain Parisians lounged in chairs before the Luxembourg palais. We however kept moving.

We had sort of danced around the idea of going to the Eiffel Tower, we figured it would be crowded and too touristy and did we really want to pay to go up? But I finally broke down and said, “I’m in Paris, I’d like to go.” So we walked from Luxembourg Gardens to the tower no easy feat as the structure kept disappearing behind buildings. The Hotel Invalides proved to be a constant on the horizon and we stopped in a green area for a rest and marveled at its golden dome. We thought about stopping, read about it in our guidebook, I pointed at the picture of Napoleon’s tomb and said “that’s as much as I need to see of it.” So we kept moving on towards the tower. Up until this point it didn’t seem real that we were in Paris, it all seemed too easy and nonchalant. Our flight had been cheap and short, and we were on our own, no parents, no tour guides. I was hoping seeing the Eiffel Tower would help make it all feel more real, it didn’t it made it seem even more absurd. At first it seemed too small, and then too big and just thrown in among the buildings. It wasn’t terribly crowded at the tower, the lines weren’t too long and I was pleased to find the vendors not too aggressive and the pickpockets easy enough to ignore. We decided we would buy admission to the stairs, as that was cheapest, it was probably the healthiest. A couple hundred steps later, my calves and thighs burning we made it to the first level. The tower provided spectacular views of the city. I hadn’t realized just how big Paris was either. We walked up to the second level, as far as our ticket would let us, and then headed back down.

Hitting all the major tourist spots we decided to keep going and head over to the Arc de Triomphe. We took the metro and arrived right across the street on the Champs-Elysees. I’ll admit we weren’t sure at first how you got over to the Arc as it is surrounded by a heavily trafficked roundabout, not wanting to risk getting hit, we decided not to go over to the arc and instead strolled the Champ-Elysees. I expected it to be lined with high end fashion retailers and snooty women with little dogs, but it turned out to be a lot like Michigan Ave. in Chicago. I spotted a Swatch shop, excited and suddenly reminiscent of when Megan and I would visit the Chicago store I made us go in. It was quite fortuitous as I had been thinking of buying a watch anyways, I ended up finding a cheap one that I liked, and as Norah pointed out I could always brag and say I bought it on the Champ-Elysees in Paris. We ended up coming back to the Champ-Elysees a lot for cheap eats and desserts.

Day 2

The next day we headed to Montmatre. Both of us big fans of Amelie we were very excited to go to this neighborhood of Paris. We began as most tourists do at Sacre Coeur. The basilica looms over Paris and is very impressive in person. Again its size struck me, as almost every building in Paris did. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but it was beautiful. Sparsely decorated except for a massive, extravagant mosaic on the domed ceiling. The church also had some of the most unique and beautiful altars I had seen.

We ended up wandering the streets of Montmatre a lot. Getting lost in its more narrow cobbled streets. It was quieter and more residential and we both agreed a place we could see ourselves settling into if we ever got the opportunity to move to Paris. I did a little more shopping in the area, buying a small music box that you wind to play the theme from Amelie, and a beautiful big handmade wooden ring from a bright shop named Diwali. It had been drizzling for most of the time we were walking around Montmatre, but being used to Irish weather it didn’t deter us, but after a couple of hours we found ourselves sick of being cold and wet. We ate lunch at a little café and then decided to head back to the Champ-Elysees to see a screening of La Haut, or as we know it the Pixar film UP. It was neat to watch it in French a lot of it is devoid of dialogue anyways, and I would forget I didn’t understand the words (although I had seen it before in English) it was also neat to see what did translate just through the body language of the characters.

We had time to spare before the movie and discovered the underground walkway that took people to the Arc de Triomphe. We headed over and bought admission to the top. It gave great views of Paris, this time with the Eiffel Tower on the horizon.

After the movie we decided to head to the Musee d’Orsay, but upon arrival found a long line and that the museum would only be open for another hour or so. We instead walked across the seine and took pictures of the Louvre and then settled into a set of deep lawn chairs in the Tullieres, the gardens at the foot of the Louvre.

Day 3

We woke up and headed to Musee d’Orsay in hopes of beating the crowds. We had settled on Orsay rather on the Louvre because it seemed like the Louvre would be more crowded and was so massive, we didn’t want to waste a whole day inside. I’m happy we went to Orsay. An old railroad station converted into an art museum, it was the prettiest museum I have ever been too. The galleries are set off to the side, with a sculpture garden running down the middle. Above the arched ceilings rise up, and a huge clock ticks at one end. Open and light it didn’t feel like most museums. We saw Monet, Renoir, Lautrec, and Degas. I have always had a soft spot for Degas as growing up every dance studio I ever went to had a print from his blue dancer series. What was also neat was the Art Nouveau exhibit that had just opened up. It went through surrealism to psychedelia. I was excited to get to see some Man Ray photos up close.

After we decided we wanted a real Parisian experience for lunch and set about finding the goods for a nice cheap picnic. It was easy enough to find a Boulangerie and get a big baguette, but cheese and wine proved more elusive but once assembled we walked to the nearest park which happened to be the Jardin des Plantes. We were saddened to find what we thought was a twist off cap was in fact a cork and were unable to drink our wine. But the cheese and bread were delicious, and it was still one of our cheapest meals despite the wasted wine.

We then headed out to Pere Lachaise cemetery. While it sounds depressing, the cemetery proved fascinating. It helped that we had a bright blue day, but regardless the cemetery felt anything but morbid. Walled and out a way from the city the monuments created there own little city filled with shy stony residences. Green spots were hard to find, instead the gray graves were practically on top of each other. We split the cost for a map and wound around the lanes to find the famed dead. We visited Proust, Morrison, Wilde, Piaf, Bernhardt, Balzac, Moliere, and Chopin. For dinner we found a café right outside the gates and ate a French vegetarian dish a sort of oily soup of vegetables topped with cheese and served with bread, it was very tasty.

To fill our evening we went to the Centre Pomidou. It proved to be a welcome break from the great history of Paris. The building is modern, built to be inside out the pipes are on the outside of the building. All glass and filled with bright colors, entry is free and we wandered around the shops buying neat modern art postcards. We paid to take the escalator to the top and have the chance to see Paris all lit up. This proved a great disappointment. The view was pretty good although not panoramic. The viewing platform was enclosed in plexiglass and over lit, taking pictures proved impossible. We still enjoyed the view for a bit, but I’m sorry I wasn’t able to better share it with you.

Day 4

After three long full days we decided to take it easy. We had originally planned to go to Versailles on this day, but found out they were closed on Mondays. We first ventured out to Parc de Villette, which was very near our hostel. Our books showed pictures of fun slides and play structures and talked of its proximity to the Cite des Sciences museum. What we stumbled upon was a massive park that made us believe we were thousands of miles away and years in the future. It was sort of like a Disneyworld attraction, futureland meets eco-world. It was open and green and filled with crazy brightly colored structures including a giant buried bicycle sculpture by Claus Oldenburg. There was the geode, a large metallic ball it looked the love child of the bean in Chicago and the Epcot center in Disneyworld (there is a picture), a giant submarine, and a park filled with mirrors. It was surprising and neat.

We decided to spend our afternoon in the Bois dus Bolognes. The largest park on the edge of the city where the Parisians go to get a way from it all. We first picked up some cheese and a baguette, and a bottle of sparkling peach wine, which we could clearly see had a pop-top. Once at the park we settled onto a sunny bench away from most of the foot traffic and dug in, the wine proved too sweet but we finished it nonetheless as well as the rest of our food. Towards the end of our meal a calvary of dogs, their barking trainer, and his trainee joined us. We enjoyed watching the scene and as we were leaving the trainer called out to us in French, giving polite confused smiles he quickly switched to English. Excited to hear we were from America he handed us his card. If you ever need a dog trainer in Paris I got your man.

We walked to the Bagatelle area of the park, a walled in area that held several different types of gardens. This proved to be my favorite place we went to. It was a beautiful blue-sky day to wander around the park. The bagatelle was full of hidden passageways and little treasures: a Japanese pagoda, a waterfall, a rose garden, a belvedere, it was neverending. Norah and I took our time exploring its secrets and taking pictures.

We headed back into the city and stopped at La Madeline, a church Norah had found in our guidebook. Again it was massive although this time in the greek style. The church seemed to me to be the sort of distant cousin of the other great churches, it wasn’t as well maintained and one could feel the metro train move beneath it. I’ll admit I was a bit tired and not too excited to go there, but it ended up being a nice surprise. Inside we discovered a free choral concert was going and so we sat and listened for a while. And while I may have fallen asleep during the organ instrumental, I really did enjoy the choral pieces.

Day 5

As we weren’t leaving until 10 p.m. we decided to try and make it to Versailles for the day. This proved challenging as we had to go back to our hostel to get our bags than head across town to catch a bus to the airport three hours before our departure time. It ended up meaning we had only a few hours at Versailles. Of course we couldn’t have estimated the crowds there, literally hundreds of people waiting outside the gates. Unfortunately the time limit proved stressful for me and I was anxious about fitting it all in and I stayed tense and irritable throughout our time there (I apologized to Norah who made up for it by being tense at the airport at midnight in Dublin). Versailles was really extraordinary though, I wish I had been in a better mood to enjoy it. Extravagant doesn’t even begin to describe it, and though all the rooms were heavily laden with fabrics and decoration, large windows still filled it with natural light and made it feel open. The gardens were gorgeous and very well maintained, but the crowds were detracting. I wasn’t able to see all I wanted to see while we were there, but I was still happy we made it out for a bit.

Some last thoughts on Paris:

The food was delicious but expensive, lunch proved cheapest and my favorite, I ate big sandwiches filled with delicious cheese on chewy baguettes everyday, it was wonderful.

I was nervous about the language, I know only a little French but except for one instance all the people seem to know English. As long as I started out in French they were more than willing to help. It also made me relax about traveling to other countries in Europe later on.

I really liked Paris, it oddly felt like a home. Different from most trips I have taken I felt more involved with city life, taking the metro, getting lost and exploring the city, it wasn’t so much traveling from point a to point b but rather finding our way to each place. It also made me realize how much I do want to go back to living in a big city again and it made me open to the possibility of it being somewhere where I don’t necessarily know the language or culture.

Paris Photos

P.S. Through a third party sort of deal I found out the link to my photos has been hard to see. I thought I had fixed it before, I believe I have it fixed now. Please let me know if there are any problems with the blog, or anything that would make it easier for you to navigate or read, I can try and fix it.

P.P.S. Because I just got back from Paris there is no weekend trip planned. Galway is having a halloween festival I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.

Bon Voyage

I'm headed to Paris tomorrow, I'll be there for five days. So no update until next Wednesday. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures.

Hope everything is well with ye (thats irish for you all and no I'm not cracking wise that is part of the irish grammar).

Slainte!

Lovely Day For a Guinness

Friday afternoon Norah and I took off for Dublin. We had planned on a three hour and forty minute bus ride, but it was more like four hours and ten minutes. So we arrived in Dublin after dark, a bit road weary and starving. Luckily our hostel was very near the bus station and after walking the block for a bit we found it, put our bags away and hit the pavement for some food. We tried to look to eat cheap, but it was all about the same so we settled on a restaurant right across from the Spire on O’Connell. The food we ordered was delicious but not nearly enough (both for our appetite and the price). We watched as the other more affluent patrons ordered the four course special and agreed we would head to McDonald’s across the street for dessert. But fortune had a little something else in mind for us. Two women to the left of us had ordered the four course meal and had enjoyed three of them, they impatiently snapped at their waiter for their dessert but decided to leave before it came. The waitress looked flummoxed as she stared at the empty table, Norah and I looked pathetic as we stared at the sundae and pastry balls she held on her tray. We both groaned as she walked back to the kitchen with the desserts, and prayed we would get the bill fast so we could get our own. But instead our waiter brought out the abandoned Neapolitan sundae with two spoons announcing, “On the house, I saw the way you looked when we took it back.” Giggling and gleeful we dug in; it was the best sundae I have ever had. It was still pretty early when we left the restaurant so we walked the area around O’Connell street, down the Quays, by Temple bar and commented on the lights and people. I had had the feeling as we were pulling into the Dublin bus station that was reminiscent of my return trips to Chicago and walking around I was reminded a lot of Chicago, maybe because it’s the biggest city I know well. Dublin was very different from any of the other parts of Ireland we had been to, it was active and crowded and modern.

The next morning we woke up early so we could fit as much in as possible. I don’t know how but Norah and I have been very lucky on the weather we get for our trips. We awoke to a beautiful blue sky and busy city. At breakfast we decided to head towards Trinity College first and then to some of the squares around that area. Our hostel’s location couldn’t have been better; we were very close to all the sights we wanted to see. We made it to Trinity, a beautiful campus, it reminded me of Notre Dame a bit, snapped a few photos of the buildings and then decided to pay to see the Book of Kells, the real treat though was walking through the Long Room, a two-story library with all the old archived books, and it was beautifully maintained. We left Trinity and planned to head towards Merrion Square, but before we got there we ran into the National buildings (my name for them not the official one). The National Library was having an exhibit on Yeats and since it was free, we ducked in, it was a beautiful exhibit, as you walked in there was a sort of enclosed seating area with two openings and a bunch of screens. Some of the screens had striking photos of nature projected on them while others were somewhat sheer and had Yeats’ poetry projected on them, a woman’s voice overhead read aloud the verses. Next door to the National Library was the National Museum, again it was free so we went in. The most interesting thing about the museum for me was how they displayed three different mummified bodies. All bodies found in bogs, each was given their own little viewing area that was a circular enclosure in the room. I thought it was somewhat respectful, as these were actually living people at one point, ones who never thought they would be put on display in death. We didn’t stay long in the museum both of us too fidgety to read displays and the day too nice to be indoors.

Hungry, we decided to pick up some sandwiches and have a picnic in Merrion Square. The walk to the square was beautiful; we strolled along tree-lined rows of Georgian houses. At one point I stopped to take a photo of a doorway and an off duty tour guide stopped to tell us, that the real Georgian doorways were a few blocks south of us, so naturally we stopped there later. When we got to Merrion Square I was expecting something a bit more like Central Park, large and open, but fences and high bushes enclosed the square. Still lovely we strolled around looking at statues and for a nice sunny bench to eat lunch on. The square was too quiet though, so we decided to walk back along the way the tour guide had told us and see if we couldn’t find some more action. We decided to try St. Stephens Green and this proved to be exactly what we were looking for. A lot like Central Park, the Green was busy with people, and bursting with fall colors, which were a joy to see. We walked through it and came out on the other side to Grafton Street. The entrance from Grafton Street to the Green is a large archway one recognizable from the movie Once, which is exactly what I shouted, to Norah’s surprise, upon spying it. Grafton Street was very crowded. Filled with lots of shops and cafes it would be a fun place to people watch, but as we had no desire or money to shop we just walked straight through and found ourselves back in front of Trinity.

We were a bit leg weary so we ducked into a Starbucks (one of the only ones in Ireland) so I could have some chai. Looking out we commented on the beautiful facades of the buildings. It was one of our favorite things about the city, how all the modernity had settled in to the old buildings. We were treated with a visit from a pigeon who wandered in off the street, a poor barista had to chase it under people’s legs and take it outside. After our rest we headed to Dublin Castle, an English administrative building, but as the exhibits cost to go in, we kept moving on to Christ’s Cathedral. We were convinced that the Cathedral had to be free, but we were wrong, deciding to skip the Viking museum attached to the cathedral (no joke) we paid the three euro to see the interior, which while attractive was no Notre Dame Basilica. After the cathedral we walked down to the Quays and out a bit from the city center.

We had discussed going to Guinness brewery, but weren’t sure we wanted to pay the 14-euro charge to get in, even if you do get a complimentary pint. Norah had heard the best part was the Gravity Bar, a bar on the top of the storehouse with 360 degree views of the city, we were hoping we could just get in there and buy a pint, we weren’t so lucky.

First of all the Guinness factory takes up 60 acres of land in Dublin and Norah and I walked pretty much the entire perimeter of it. We had approached it from the wrong way, but we finally made it to the entrance. It was pretty busy when we went in and we quickly saw there was no way to get up to the bar for a pint, so we decided to shill out the 11 euro charge for students and complete our Dublin experience. What you see as a visitor is not in fact the brewery but instead the storehouse, which is just a museum displaying info on the ingredients and history on the beer. Although to be fair it’s not like any museum you’ve ever been to, as Norah put it, “Its sensory overload.” Very sleek, it was comprised of lots of televisions, glass panels, humongous displays, including a huge coopering barrel and an indoor waterfall. Although the fact is there isn’t a whole lot that goes into Guinness, just hops, water, and barley and Norah and I didn’t really care about the info provided. We stopped in each of the rooms (including the tasting lab where you get a quarter of a half pint of Guinness) but quickly made our way to the bar. Unfortunately the Gravity Bar was packed, we were able to see out the windows and see a lot of Dublin, but there was nowhere to sit and it was very hot. So we took our pints down a floor to the Source Bar, and looked out one of the windows. In the end we paid 11 euro for a pint of Guinness but after our long walk, it was well worth it, and made the trip to Dublin feel complete. We took our time sipping our pints and then headed back towards our hostel. We had dinner around the Temple Bar area, and decided we needed another drink. In a move that will pleasantly surprise our parents we opted for milkshakes instead of ale. Back on O’Connell Street we found an Eddie Rockets, the Irish version of Johnny Rockets, and sipped our shakes. Pleased with our day but tired we called it an early night.

This morning we checked out of our hostel and headed to a few last minute sights, the famine memorial (depressing) and Abbey Theatre (destroyed and poorly rebuilt). We caught a direct express bus back to Galway and made it home in two and a half hours.

Dublin Photos

The Road is Life

I bought my Eurail pass today. My plan is to travel the continent for around a month after the program is done. I've already picked out a few cities I want to go to for sure, Prague, Vienna, Barcelona, etc. But I also want to stay flexible in case someone I meet on the road has any hidden gems. I am excited and nervous to hit the road on my own, I know some of you back home are probably uneasy about me going off alone, but I assure you I will be cautious, and know that I will have a computer with me as I go so I will make sure to always post where I am. Technology is wonderful for keeping us connected.

In other news I had a very good week here in Galway. Tuesday the photography society had a meet and greet in the college bar. I went expecting to have a pint and make a little small talk and head home. I ended up meeting some very nice people and going out with a few of them. I found that having no expectations makes everything a positive experience. I was pleased to find out this week that my friend Dave is coming all the way from Wisconsin to visit, and we are going to go to a concert in Wales. I am very excited to see a familiar face. Until then I will keep traveling. This weekend I'm headed to Dublin and next Thursday I leave for five days in Paris.

I have to say I feel so grateful to have this experience, and to be able to feel like I'm having the experience I want while I'm here. I really do hope to come back to Europe someday, and while thats not impossible, I know there are no guarantees. So I'm happy I'm here now, especially now when I can be young and selfish and not worry too much about responsibility. I know these experiences will be something I keep with me always, and I'm so happy I can share them with all of you. Stay warm and well, and keep reading.

In response to a question: Craic (pronounced crack) is slang for a good time, it can also be used to mean news. Common phrases include "It'll be good craic" or "What's the craic?"

Don't Complicate My Peace of Mind

Have you ever discovered something so great you don’t want to share it and risk losing it or having it tarnished in some way? That is how I felt about my trip to Inisheer. As fortune would have it I don’t have much to share in the way of pictures as my camera battery died, but I will share my story and what photos I have.

The whole trip started out as a way to save a weekend that was fumbled by a cancelled trip to Cork. Ever since our first trip to Inis Mor and my completion of Synge’s Aran Islands I have wanted to return, as did Norah. We had been thinking of going to the second largest island Inishmaan but our guidebooks pointed us towards the smallest sibling and the least touristy island, Inisheer or Inis Oirr. This morning as we left to go to the bus stop gray overcast clouds lay over us, but sitting on the bus they began to dissipate to the beautiful blue skies Galway occasionally sees. Luckily the weather stuck with us all day, and made our trip that much more spectacular. After about a forty-five minute ferry ride we arrived on the island and rented bikes. At first I was a little unsettled, on Inishmore we had departed the ferry with dozens of other tourists and were greeted by vendors and tour guides and a collection of restaurants and gift shops on the shore, but on Inisheer we departed with three other tourists and had to search for a restaurant. I felt a bit like I was trespassing and that I stuck out, I realize now this feeling came from being one of only a few who visit the island and I wasn’t trespassing but stumbling upon a well kept secret. It was such a blessing to be one of the few let in on the secret, we were able to bike the roads with little interference from cars or walkers or other bikers and on parts of the island it felt like we were completely alone surrounded by the best of nature. I don’t know that I can properly describe and portray the beauty of the island, but I can tell you there are no bad views in Inisheer. The coast of Ireland is never too far in the distance on one side of the island, a constant gray blue shadow across the water, the best view of Ireland from Inisheer is those it gives of the Cliffs of Moher, not spectacular in height or magnitude in the distance but one can still see the waves crashing against the great walls, and best of all the hoards of tourists are no where to be seen. On the other side of the island are the views of the middle sibling Inishmaan, close in proximity one can view the houses and hills of the island. The coasts of the island itself are sights to be seen, as an outcrop of the Burren some of the coast has the similar flaked stone look of the Burren, while others featured large brown rocky cliffs and best of all white sandy beaches.

The island isn’t very large and it doesn’t have some of the more magnificent sights of the larger islands but it isn’t cheap in offerings. The best thing about the sights on the island were their accessibility and openness, most of them didn’t have markings or historical information (somewhat frustrating I’ll admit). There are two ruined churches on the island; the most impressive is Teampall Chaomhain. Built below the level of the sand it is a 10^th century church that has to be annually dug out of the sand. Though small, it is well maintained and it’s an interesting perspective to step down into the church and see the grassy hills rise above you. Another big attraction is a natural well which is said to have healing powers. Out in the middle of a maze of stone fences the well sits unassuming, so much so that Norah and I missed it at first. I don’t know much about the history of the well or any stories of its miraculous cures, I did take three sips from it (a magical number in Irish folklore) but have yet to feel a significant change. And now we get to the sight that made me want to keep this all a secret, a sight I had not been informed of in any guidebook. On the coast opposite the Cliffs of Moher sits a shipwrecked boat. The woman at the bike hire had informed us that there was a shipwreck but she gave us the information almost as an afterthought and while we looked for it we hardly expected what we came across. Emerging from a maze of high stonewalls there it was burning orange against the bright blue sky, the rusted but largely intact remains of the Plassey cargo ship. It was hard to comprehend, and my perspective of it constantly changed. As we first came across it, it was striking but against the long open coastline it didn’t seem so big, as I came closer I realized its size and heft and was suddenly struck by how odd it all seemed. It felt like something from an absurdist novel or a surrealistic movie, an entire ship abandoned on the shores of an island and just left there to rust away, I was expecting some eccentric old man to pop out from its deckhouse to spout a complicated epigram of wisdom or shout at me from a porthole. Of course it was at this point in our trip that my camera died. While I have lately been enjoying using the camera more sparingly (landscape is a little monotonous when you’re not Ansel Adams) I was actually quite disappointed in my camera. It was such an interesting subject, its placement, its secrets, and the conditions of the day would have created some fantastic shots. I was able to get a photo, but I wish I could have done more with it.

It took us three hours to bike the entire island, and this time with out incident. We had enough time to sit for an hour on the beach and watch the waves roll in. Though I say this every time I go somewhere, I really do believe that Inisheer is my favorite place I've been so far. With its natural beauty, accessible size and historic tradition its a place I could see myself settling in for a bit and maybe someday I will.

Inisheer Photos

"I cry everyday. Maura is doing fine."

Last night I received a question from my dad via email, "Are you having fun yet?" I'm not sure if he was joking or just not paying attention because clearly

I'm not.

Look at my typical day...

I wake up every morning and look over quaint row house rooftops to the distant silhouettes of mountains. I then walk to class along serene canals trailed by elegant white swans. I arrive in classes where my attendance isn't expected and any work handed in is considered good work. After class I can take long walks through the city or sit by the bay and read, or just return home to my beautiful apartment with two lovely roommates and friendly neighbors.

Then some nights we head out to the pubs, where there is always music and people and good craic. I'm constantly meeting new people and trying new things, its awful.

The weekends though are the roughest, I have to get up and take the bus and travel out to the country where I can hike through gorgeous mountains, or bike along scenic coastlines, I stay in cozy hostels (again meeting new people) and have unexpected adventures.

I'm miserable please come get me.