Today I went to a small town about 30 mintues away from Cork called Kinsale. Kinsale has a large harbor and served as a large base for trading for hundreds of years. Kinsale is famous for its art (there are many art galleries and studios) and also it's gourmet food (which sadly, I couldn't afford). For one of my classes I had to research Charles Fort which is located in Kinsale. I was excited to see something that I had to do a presentation on! On my walk down from the fort, Is saw a sign for a wood studio that said "come on in!" so I decided to take a look. A very nice woman makes beautiful wood bowls, plates, wine corks, serving utensils and lamp bases out of wood from all over Ireland in her home studio. It was really neat to see but very expensive (the cheapest bowl I saw was 100 Euros).
After touring the fort, I went to Desmond Castle, a very small castle in the middle of town. Desmond Castle also houses the International Museum of Wine, which of course I was dying to see. It wasn't much more than a room of information and displays but it was still fun. Ireland played a large role in the wine trading/exporting business and many french wines are named after Irish familes.
I had some ice cream and read more of my book "Eat, Pray, Love," which is turning out to be a wonderful book. I was sitting on a bench in Kinsale when a group of teenage boys showed up. They all started rolling their own cigarettes and smoking. It was such an odd sigh to me to see these kids smoking...but then again EVERYONE smokes here in Ireland. I was shocked when I first arrived at just how many people smoke and how often they do. Smoking has been banned in pubs, but people smoke outside of them and outside at cafes/coffee shops. Anyways, these teenagers were acting pretty tough and were making me nervous (yes a group of 14 year olds scared me away) so I went and read somewhere else...
I will put up pictures a later time, because I am just too exhausted. Tonight is my last night at the hostel (thank goodness) and tomorrow I will take a bus up to Shannon to meet my Dad. I could not be more excited to see him and show him Galway. He and I will do things around Galway until Saturday, when we will go back to Shannon Airport to pick up our rental car and ANNE! I don't know if I will have any internet over the next 11 days...I don't know if I will be able to update my blog. I am going to try to keep some notes so I can update it when I get home. For those of you who don't know, after we pick Anne up we are doing a loop of the southern part of Ireland. We will spend two night in Dublin, go see the Rock of Cashel, Kiss the Blarney Stone, spend a few days seeing the Ring of Kerry, and then finish our tour on the Dingle Peninsula. Whew, we have big plans for the next week and a half!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Relaxing...
This weekend has been the first weekend I haven't had any serious plans. I wanted to relax before my dad and sister come, as we are going to be covering much of Ireland. Yesterday morning I went to Blackrock Castle Observatory and enjoyed the sunshine on a patio. I also went to a farmers market and to the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery. Aiyana and I went to a pub to watch the USA play Ghana in the World Cup. When we walked into the pub, everyone looked at us. It's interesting how much we stand out. Many people go to the same pub every night so newcomers are easily picked out. We met a young woman from Germany and watched the game with her. It was interesting to get her opinions and views on Ireland. Ghana scored early on in the game and half way through the US caught up. I don't fully understand how football works, but we went into over time which continued for 30 minutes. Ghana eventually scored and won. I am not much a drinker, but the drinks I have bought are taking a toll on my wallet. A pint of even the cheapest beer is 5 euros, which is about 7 US dollars. I will never again complain about paying 4 bucks for a drink in downtown La Crosse. I don't know how the Irish people can afford to go to the pubs on a nightly basis.
Today I went to mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. The church was very pretty in the inside. Mass was very different from what I am used to. There was no music and no singing. When it was time for Communion, everyone just rushed to the front of the church in no particular order. Everyone said the prayers at different rates and I found it difficult to keep up. I also noticed that some of the words in the prayer are different from back home. The full service was done in 38 minutes. It was no the most uplifting services I have ever been too....
I worked on some photography today and read at a cafe for the afternoon. I need a nap...I'll add some pictures tonight.
Today I went to mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. The church was very pretty in the inside. Mass was very different from what I am used to. There was no music and no singing. When it was time for Communion, everyone just rushed to the front of the church in no particular order. Everyone said the prayers at different rates and I found it difficult to keep up. I also noticed that some of the words in the prayer are different from back home. The full service was done in 38 minutes. It was no the most uplifting services I have ever been too....
I worked on some photography today and read at a cafe for the afternoon. I need a nap...I'll add some pictures tonight.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Cobh
Today Aiyana and I took the train to a small town called Cobh (pronounced COVE). We split up and did our own things all day. Cobh was the departure point for over 2.5 million Irish immigrants, and Annie Moore left from Cobh and was the first immigrant to be addmitted to the United States at Ellis Island. Cobh is the last port that the Titanic stopped at before it sank and as a result, there are many memorials and buildings related to the ship. The Lusitania also sank off the coast of Cobh and the survivors were brought to Cobh, as well as many of the people who died on the ship. I walked around the harbor and found a small farmers market. I noticed that many of the bakeries were selling gluten free bars, cookies and scones. I stopped to talk to a woman about this because I have been seeing many menus that have gluten free options. I asked the woman if there was a higher rate of celiac (spelled coeliac here) or just more awareness, hence more catering to them. She said it was a combination of both and also many people who do not have a wheat intolerance try to avoid gluten for general health reasons. I found this very interesting and told her about the black bean brownie recipe that my mom makes for my sister. She was such a lovely woman and I wish Anne could have been there to enjoy some of her treats!
Nest I went on a guided tour of the Titanic Trail. Our tour guide, Bill has been featured on many shows on CBS and ABC. (I put a picture up of Bill, he is the man in the hat). He was a great tour guide and explained the town in much detail. Cobh was originally named Cove, then changed to Queenstown when Queen Victoria visited and then changed back to the Gaelic name of Cobh. The Cobh harbor is the second largest harbor in the World and many ships and sea liners dock here every year. There was a huge cruise ship in the port today. St. Colman Cathedral overlooks the small town and is in the background of many of my pictures.
On the Titanic trail tour, I was able to see where passengers bought their tickets for the ship, the dock that the left from to take small boats to the ship, and many other interesting landmarks. The tour concluded at O'Doyles Pub where we were given a complimentary half pint of Beamish, a stout made in Cork. At the pub, I met a few people who were on the tour and talked with them for a while. They were in their late 60's and were so nice to me! One of the women wanted to take a picture with me, I also put this one up.
After the tour, I went to a coffee shop and had a delicious Carmel, chocolate, shortbread type bar :) I spent the afternoon reading a book down by the water. It was a nice day out and there were many school children (in their matching uniforms) eating lunch and playing in the park. Before I hoped on the train back to Cork, I went to an art exhibit done by a man in Minnesota....his work was insanely beautiful.
Just got back from dinner, Aiyana and I split a Greek pizza and veggie lasagna. One of the best meals I have had thus far. I also went to Dunnes (a Target/walmart type store) determined to find a cheap pillow. The pillow in my bed is not much better than sleeping on a rock, it took me forever to fall asleep and I woke up with a stiff neck......SOOOOOO I found a bright purple pillow on clearance for 4 euro. I think I will leave it at the hostel as a gift :)
Titanic Memorial
The Titanic ticket building. The first class passangers were allowed to use the blue doors way on the right while the steerage passangers were not allow inside and were crammed into the area with the two round windows.
Lutsitania Memorial
Annie Moore Memorial
The dock where the Titanic passengers departed from. The Titanic was too large to come to this dock, so they took small boats to the ship.
A row of houses called the deck of cards, if one house falls, they all go down
The tour guide for the Titanic Trail
Where the steerage passangers had to wait
Kelly's Pub, taken just for you Kelly Warren!
The Cobh Harbor, where I spent my afternoon reading!
Nest I went on a guided tour of the Titanic Trail. Our tour guide, Bill has been featured on many shows on CBS and ABC. (I put a picture up of Bill, he is the man in the hat). He was a great tour guide and explained the town in much detail. Cobh was originally named Cove, then changed to Queenstown when Queen Victoria visited and then changed back to the Gaelic name of Cobh. The Cobh harbor is the second largest harbor in the World and many ships and sea liners dock here every year. There was a huge cruise ship in the port today. St. Colman Cathedral overlooks the small town and is in the background of many of my pictures.
On the Titanic trail tour, I was able to see where passengers bought their tickets for the ship, the dock that the left from to take small boats to the ship, and many other interesting landmarks. The tour concluded at O'Doyles Pub where we were given a complimentary half pint of Beamish, a stout made in Cork. At the pub, I met a few people who were on the tour and talked with them for a while. They were in their late 60's and were so nice to me! One of the women wanted to take a picture with me, I also put this one up.
After the tour, I went to a coffee shop and had a delicious Carmel, chocolate, shortbread type bar :) I spent the afternoon reading a book down by the water. It was a nice day out and there were many school children (in their matching uniforms) eating lunch and playing in the park. Before I hoped on the train back to Cork, I went to an art exhibit done by a man in Minnesota....his work was insanely beautiful.
Just got back from dinner, Aiyana and I split a Greek pizza and veggie lasagna. One of the best meals I have had thus far. I also went to Dunnes (a Target/walmart type store) determined to find a cheap pillow. The pillow in my bed is not much better than sleeping on a rock, it took me forever to fall asleep and I woke up with a stiff neck......SOOOOOO I found a bright purple pillow on clearance for 4 euro. I think I will leave it at the hostel as a gift :)
Titanic Memorial
The Titanic ticket building. The first class passangers were allowed to use the blue doors way on the right while the steerage passangers were not allow inside and were crammed into the area with the two round windows.
Lutsitania Memorial
Annie Moore Memorial
The dock where the Titanic passengers departed from. The Titanic was too large to come to this dock, so they took small boats to the ship.
A row of houses called the deck of cards, if one house falls, they all go down
The tour guide for the Titanic Trail
Where the steerage passangers had to wait
Kelly's Pub, taken just for you Kelly Warren!
The Cobh Harbor, where I spent my afternoon reading!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Cork
I woke up early this morning to finish packing and say goodbye to all of the friends I have made in the last month. It's crazy to think I have been living in Ireland for that amount of time already. After 5 hours of bus rides, I arrived in Cork. Aiyana and I had to drag our suitcases and backpacks a good mile through Cork to find our hostel. We also had to stop and ask for directions and we were laughed at for the amount of luggage we had. We are staying at the Aaron House, its farther away from the city center than we had hoped, but it will do for the week! We have a double room with bunks beds and our suitcases take up the entire floor...
We (Aiyana and I) explored Cork and just wandered around trying to get our bearings. We walked down St. Patrick Street, the main shopping street. The Old English Market is located off of St. Patrick's Street and we happened to stumble across this famous market. It is an indoor market with produce, meats, baked goods...any type of food you could imagine!
There was a street artist doing a tribute to Michael Jackson, I'll put a picture of this up.
The city center of Cork is actually on an island, surrounded by two rivers. We walked up to the University College Cork and explored the BEAUTIFUL university. I will put up some pictures of the campus. (I believe the first three or four pictures are of UCC) We found a few pretty churches and then went to get some groceries. We stopped at the Gourmet Burger Bistro and had a yummmmmmy dinner. Now we are back at the hostel and getting ready for an early night. We are taking the train to Cobh tomorrow morning and need our rest!
We (Aiyana and I) explored Cork and just wandered around trying to get our bearings. We walked down St. Patrick Street, the main shopping street. The Old English Market is located off of St. Patrick's Street and we happened to stumble across this famous market. It is an indoor market with produce, meats, baked goods...any type of food you could imagine!
There was a street artist doing a tribute to Michael Jackson, I'll put a picture of this up.
The city center of Cork is actually on an island, surrounded by two rivers. We walked up to the University College Cork and explored the BEAUTIFUL university. I will put up some pictures of the campus. (I believe the first three or four pictures are of UCC) We found a few pretty churches and then went to get some groceries. We stopped at the Gourmet Burger Bistro and had a yummmmmmy dinner. Now we are back at the hostel and getting ready for an early night. We are taking the train to Cobh tomorrow morning and need our rest!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tomorrow morning I leave for Cork. Here is a map of Ireland so you can see where I am going to be. I am taking on bus from Galway to Shannon and a second bus from Shannon to Cork. Shannon is not on the map because it is such a small town. It is between Ennis and Limerick.
I will be on the bus for about 5 hours even though driving around Ireland is like driving around Wisconsin. The roundabouts and bus stops take more time that I would have expected. I'll update when I get there...
I will be on the bus for about 5 hours even though driving around Ireland is like driving around Wisconsin. The roundabouts and bus stops take more time that I would have expected. I'll update when I get there...
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Food for Thought...
I haven't done anything too exciting this week, yesterday was our last day of class and we have all been trying to finish up the last of our homework and final exams. Most of the students in my program are flying out on Thursday. I will be taking a bus down to southern Ireland, to Cork. I am going to be staying in a hostel for 6 days with Aiyana. Since homework isn't much fun to write about, I figured I would discuss one of my favorite things: FOOD! Here are some of the things I have noticed/tasted/observed about food in Ireland:
~Eggs are not refrigerated. It took me a long time to find the eggs in the grocery store because they are on the shelf next to the cereal.
~Ketchup is not used very much here and most wait staff identifies us as American based on how much ketchup we use at dinner. I had to pay for my ketchup at a fish and chips restaurant, something that wouldn't happen in the states
~Cheesecake is a different consistency here, it is light and fluffy and doesn't have a ton of flavor. I prefer my mother's cheesecake...
~French fries are called chips and are much thicker/larger than fries in the states
~Coleslaw is served with a variety of meals and has a different taste. The dressing is thicker and somewhat spicy.
~Turkey is hard to find. I went to the deli yesterday and when I asked for turkey lunch meat the woman looked at me like I was from a different planet.
~Irish brown Soda Bread is a bread that is served with soup. It is a very dense bread and is delicious!
~Beef is not consumed as much here and in the grocery store hamburgers, ground beef, and steaks are not easy to find.
The food in Ireland has been great and I have enjoyed trying new things. There are some foods from back home that I am craving....Mom and Dad- this part if for you :) I would really love a hamburger or brat, some corn on the cob and a nice slice of watermelon when I come home! Not that I am making any suggestions or anything...
~Eggs are not refrigerated. It took me a long time to find the eggs in the grocery store because they are on the shelf next to the cereal.
~Ketchup is not used very much here and most wait staff identifies us as American based on how much ketchup we use at dinner. I had to pay for my ketchup at a fish and chips restaurant, something that wouldn't happen in the states
~Cheesecake is a different consistency here, it is light and fluffy and doesn't have a ton of flavor. I prefer my mother's cheesecake...
~French fries are called chips and are much thicker/larger than fries in the states
~Coleslaw is served with a variety of meals and has a different taste. The dressing is thicker and somewhat spicy.
~Turkey is hard to find. I went to the deli yesterday and when I asked for turkey lunch meat the woman looked at me like I was from a different planet.
~Irish brown Soda Bread is a bread that is served with soup. It is a very dense bread and is delicious!
~Beef is not consumed as much here and in the grocery store hamburgers, ground beef, and steaks are not easy to find.
The food in Ireland has been great and I have enjoyed trying new things. There are some foods from back home that I am craving....Mom and Dad- this part if for you :) I would really love a hamburger or brat, some corn on the cob and a nice slice of watermelon when I come home! Not that I am making any suggestions or anything...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Dublin
We left for Dublin (the capital of Ireland) on Friday morning. It is a 2.5 hour drive from Galway City. We stayed at the Abraham House Hostel, which wasn't the nicest place in the world. I stayed in a room with 6 other girls from my program and there were 2 random women in our room as well (which we didn't know about until they arrived at 7 PM and took two beds). On Friday we walked around the city and just stopped when we came across something of interest. We saw Trinity College which is Ireland's oldest University. It was tarted by Queen Elizabeth because she wanted a non-Catholic college in Ireland. Trinity College Library holds the Book of Kells, but we didn't feel like waiting for hours or paying to see this. We proceeded to go to Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral and the Guinness Storehouse. We took a tour of the Guinness Storehouse and it was very interesting. Aurthur Guinness started brewing beer 250 years ago. We saw the lease that he signed for the building. Aurthur knew his company would be successful, so he signed the leave for 9000 years. We learned how to pour the "perfect Guinness" on the fourth floor of the Storehouse, which is an exact science. You have to pour the Guinness at a 45 degree angle to a certain point and then let it settle before you top it off again. I got a certificate saying that I know how to our the perfect pint :) On tour of the storehouse is the Gravity Bar which offers a 360 degree view of Dublin. It was crowded up there, but fun to see. I had wonderful salmon for dinner on Friday at a pub which I cannot remember the name of. Our entire group went to a club after dinner. I am not going to write about this insane experience. If you want to know more, ask me. Lets just say, going to one club in Europe is enough for the rest of my life!
On Saturday, we took the hop on-hop off bus around the city. We went to St. Stephen's Green, drove past the President's house (she is in the sixth year of her second term, each term lasts 7 years here), went to the Temple Bar Area, drove by St. Patrick's Cathedral, and some other things I cannot remember right now. We went out for a nice dinner at Gruel where I had a Risotto Cake with a great sauce, Parmesan cheese, and rocket leaves (similar to spinach). It was delicious. ON the way to dinner I saw all these cyclist walking around and discovered that there was a huge road bike race earlier that day. I was SO bummed that I missed it! We went to a pub after dinner and headed home for an early night.
Our bus to take us home was an hour late :(
On the way home we stopped at Newgrange. I still am not sure exactly what Newgrange is and I don't know if anyone really is. I will include pictures that might help me explain this place. People think that it was an ancient burial sight used by a tribe in Ireland. It is built out of rocks and has grass growing on top of it. There are carvings in some of the stones, which are thousands of years old. We were able to go inside this odd place, which is in total darkness. There is a "window box" which is a gap in the stones. Light comes into this tomb/cave one day a year for 17 minutes during the winter solstice. Although not much is known about Newgrange, they know that the people who built it were extremely precise with the construction and there is some type of special meaning to this place.
Overall, Dublin was not my favorite city. It was a bit dirty, crowded and over priced. I'm glad I was able to see it, but I wouldn't want to spend an extended period of time there. I am glad that I will be back there in two weeks with my Dad and Sister because I did not get to see the things that were at the top of my to do list for Dublin. Maybe I will have a different oppinion of the capital city next time...
P.S.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! WISH I COULD BE THERE TODAY, WE WILL HAVE A BELATED FATHER'S DAY CELEBRATION IN 9 DAYS WHEN YOU COME TO IRELAND! LOVE YOU!
On Saturday, we took the hop on-hop off bus around the city. We went to St. Stephen's Green, drove past the President's house (she is in the sixth year of her second term, each term lasts 7 years here), went to the Temple Bar Area, drove by St. Patrick's Cathedral, and some other things I cannot remember right now. We went out for a nice dinner at Gruel where I had a Risotto Cake with a great sauce, Parmesan cheese, and rocket leaves (similar to spinach). It was delicious. ON the way to dinner I saw all these cyclist walking around and discovered that there was a huge road bike race earlier that day. I was SO bummed that I missed it! We went to a pub after dinner and headed home for an early night.
Our bus to take us home was an hour late :(
On the way home we stopped at Newgrange. I still am not sure exactly what Newgrange is and I don't know if anyone really is. I will include pictures that might help me explain this place. People think that it was an ancient burial sight used by a tribe in Ireland. It is built out of rocks and has grass growing on top of it. There are carvings in some of the stones, which are thousands of years old. We were able to go inside this odd place, which is in total darkness. There is a "window box" which is a gap in the stones. Light comes into this tomb/cave one day a year for 17 minutes during the winter solstice. Although not much is known about Newgrange, they know that the people who built it were extremely precise with the construction and there is some type of special meaning to this place.
Overall, Dublin was not my favorite city. It was a bit dirty, crowded and over priced. I'm glad I was able to see it, but I wouldn't want to spend an extended period of time there. I am glad that I will be back there in two weeks with my Dad and Sister because I did not get to see the things that were at the top of my to do list for Dublin. Maybe I will have a different oppinion of the capital city next time...
P.S.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! WISH I COULD BE THERE TODAY, WE WILL HAVE A BELATED FATHER'S DAY CELEBRATION IN 9 DAYS WHEN YOU COME TO IRELAND! LOVE YOU!
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