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.

Back to the Burren

Today I returned to the Burren with NUI’s Mountaineering Club. It was a great opportunity; I was somewhat interested in joining the club but was turned off by their strict restrictions on gear. Today though they took it a bit easier to allow the new students to try out hiking in Ireland. We got on the bus at 10 and had an hour-long ride to the Burren area, the skies were gray and occasionally producing rain. Once off the bus we were divided into two groups, I was put into Group B with Norah (which was good because she was carrying my water and food in her bag) and all of the other Wisconsin girls that had come out to hike. It was windy and cold as we waited to take off and I wasn’t too excited about the hike, but as we began we found ourselves walking towards blue skies. The hike was nice and easy, we constantly stopped and our guide Padraig (pronounced Porick) would tell us more about the area and we were able to snap lots of photos. I was also able to carry on conversations and got to know Anna a fellow Wisconsinite and her friend Andrea from Austria a bit better. After an hour and half of hiking we made it to the ring fort midway up the hill and used its shelter for lunch. It was very windy in the exposed areas on the top of the rocks and I found I hadn’t quite dressed warm enough, but I was fine when we were moving. During lunch we caught up with Emil (our Swedish friend from the week before) and found out about his dive, he tried to convince Norah and I to do it, but I’m a bit intimidated. The group who showed up for the hike was a lot of the European students, which was nice, as it has felt like Americans were all I was meeting in classes and around my apartment complex. After lunch we headed the last kilometer to the top of hill. At the top the view was spectacular and I realized how far the Burren region goes. On the way back down we were on our own creating the path over the stony fields, which was difficult. The stone seemed to be flaking off and you never knew if it was stationary beneath you or ready to topple over. The rocks also had deep cleavages in it and had eroded away in other spots. One had to sort of jump from each rock and hope for the best, as Anna said it was like when we were younger and played hot lava with the pillows in the living room. There was no relief even off the rocks, when walking in the knee-deep grasses one had to be careful for hidden holes and rocks. It somewhat kept me distracted from the landscape but I still took lots of photos when I could. I don’t think they truly captured the scale of the hills and the beauty of it either. I went into the beauty of the Burren in a previous post but it was completely different getting out of the bus and actually being in the middle of it. I am finding that I prefer being active outside as a way to experience a place rather than tours of buildings or all day bus tours. The work it takes to see the views makes them that much more special and makes each experience unique. I was surprised to discover that I had been through Connemara before even stopping in Clifden (last post) on my first Ireland trip in 2001, but the truth is our time in the car just blurred together and it was hard to separate everything and appreciate all that I was seeing, but I know I will remember these trips forever. All in all it was a great day for a hike and a nice break from Galway. I’m taking the night off but tomorrow its back to writing an essay and city livin’.

Burren Photos