Florence is pretty sweet, I must say. Much better than Rome on any scale for sure. Florence just feels like it has a lot more character and more to offer as a whole city and not just for the historic monuments that you need to see. When I think of Rome now, I think of a quote from Picasso that we saw in Barcelona: " If you already know exactly what you are going to do, what's the point in doing it?". Granted, I don't feel quite that strongly against Rome, but I do feel like you go to Rome knowing what you want to do and see, and so that's what we did. Rome felt a bit rigid, where as Florence feels open to exploration. The city evens seems to welcomes you to wander up and down the river, through the streets or on a grassy piazza. Not having set plans here is a valid agenda, in fact I think our traveling style is better suited to that kind of city anyways.
That is not to say that Florence is lacking when it comes to history though! We toured the Santa Maria del Fiore and the famous duomo yesterday and it's probably my second favorite church that we've been to so far. The inside isnt glamorous or overdone, it's just meant to be a place to be faithful. On their pamphlet, it said " the Duomo is the house of God and of his people. But the duomo, above all, like every other church, is above all 'the house of prayer for all nations'. So it is your house, even if you are not Florentine, even if you are not a believer. Welcome!" I thought that was a perfect way to say what church really could be, not what organized religion sometimes feels like. We climbed all the way to the top of the dome (463 steps, mind you) and it was amazing. The claustrophobia I felt while going up and Katlin's dislike of heights? Not so amazing. The climb begins in a regular sized stone stair case, continues up a one person wide spiral stir case, climbs the curve of the interior dome and finally you ascend to the viewing area after going straight up 10 steps. But we made it and it was completely worth it.
Yesterday we decided to go on a free walking tour that was quite good and took you around to all the less well known but actually more interesting places around the city. Then we fell victim to the shopping that is here and bought jewelry (necklaces for both of us) and other neat Florentine goods at the leather market. Then we had dinner with Ben, one of our roommates from the hostel in Barcelona. How cool is that? He is studying here and so we said we would try to meet up again and we actually did! Today we explored museums and more of the city with 3 people that we met at the hostel here and tomorrow were taking a bike tour of the Chianti wine country with them. I honestly can't believe this is real life sometimes, it just sounds so incredible. I go back and forth between having a hard time believing that we are actually abroad and thinking that being where we are and doing what we are doing is no big deal. Like yesterday when we were planning to meet Ben, he suggested that we find each other at the steps in front of the Duomo. I said yes, because that made a lot of sense directional wise, but later at dinner, it hit me. We just used an incredible dome as a casual meeting point. Oh you know, just reconvening at the largest dome ever built without scaffolding. Just the most prominent building on the Florence skyline. A place of incredible religious significance. No biggie. And then, as if that wasn't enough, from there we climbed a hill to see that very city skyline at sunset and had an authentic Italian dinner all with a new friend that we would probably never met otherwise. No big deal, right? Totally a big deal! Crazy! It does feel natural though, like this is right where we are meant to be right now. It's positively wonderful to feel this way and I can't believe that we are only halfway through our trip.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Lost in translation
I apologize for there not being any paragraphs in the long posts that I've had recently. They are there when I write and post it, but not when it makes it was through to actually being up there. And since my settings are now in Italian, a language I understand about 4 words in, I havent the faintest idea how to edit the posts and try to correct it. Sorry!
When in Rome...
Ciao! I'm wiring again from the train out of the city and onto Florence. ( This train is slightly better since its only about 2 hours long and we seem to have a great view of the countryside for a good part of it). Rome was impressive, just as I thought it would be. Coming in and not knowing any Italian was a little bit difficult, but since it's such a tourist destination most people know enough English to understand what we are trying to say. After we checked into our hostel (we're staying in another 4 bed dorm, so there are two bunk beds in our room and two other people with us) we went out for dinner and quick look around. Dinner was noche and beef meatballs, delicious! The noche, which is a potatoe pasta, was so light and unlike anything I had had before. It basically melted in your mouth. Even the best in the states tasted nothing like that did.
The next day we left with the intention of going about the main city to see all the monuments before touring the Vatican city later. Even though we were trying really hard to get to the Trevi fountain, it seemed like we accidentally found all the other places before finally finding it right before lunch. Street signs are really more of a luxury than a staple here. If they have them, they are etched into a building on that sits on the corner and not posted on a sign like we are used to. This is problematic for so many reasons! For one, they just aren't even there a lot of the time. If they are there, they can be worn away and hard to read or covered up by scaffolding or something else. The buildings are also not always on the actual corner, so you may have to walk a good twenty feet around the intersection before finding the right face of the building. And to top it all off, there are so many side streets that about a third aren't on the maps anyways. Ah! Luckily we hardly ever have a time commitment so getting turned around isn't a terribly thing. It actually worked in our favor that day because we ended up passing a Swatch store where I bought a pretty sweet purple watch (my battery in mine died and apparently they just don't really have watch normal watch batteries for sale here. Oh what I'd give to have a Target every now and then!) I just chalked it up as my Italian souvenir. Once we hit the Trevi fountain, the spanish steps, the pantheon, the vittoriale monument and many unknown plazas, we grabbed a pizza ( prosciutto and mozzarella...yum!) we made our way to the Vatican city. From there, we paid a pretty penny to join a tour group but with them we had someone explaining everything in the museum and the Sistine chapel to us and more importantly, we got to skip long lines to get in. Totally worth it. The Vatican museum, which is a mix of art collections from all of the different Popes, was overwhelming but impressive to say the least. I was more taken with the sistine chapel though, both for the famous and incredible ceiling art and for what takes place in there. I couldn't believe that we were standing in the place where the Pope is elected. I can only imagine the significance that would have for Catholics since I only know a very small part of the catholic doctrine and I felt overcome with spirituality and sacredness. We devoted the whole next day to the coliseum, the forum and the palestine gardens. They are technically three separate areas but are all part of the famous ruins that you think of when you picture Rome. All three are very much worth seeing!
After getting a great tip on skipping the lines (you buy the ticket at the entrance for the gardens instead! Same ticket, a hour less wait) we cruised right in and explored the forum where the basis of the roman empire can be found. There are just piles of rubble and blocks of marble, half statues and destroyed steps, all waiting to be stumbled upon. In hindsight, I wish we had gotten a tour guide to show us around because all impressive as the campus was, we still have basically no idea what the majority of it was. We really only wish we got a tour there because we got one in the coliseum and it was totally worth the 6 euros. Not only did we get information that wasn't posted anywhere, we also got to go into areas that are closed to the public. One of those places was a reconstructed floor out where the gladiators would have battles lions and tigers for their lives. The floor was awesome because it covered about an eighth of the whole arena and gave us an up close view of the labyrinth of corridors below the stage where the men and animals would wait to fight. We also got to go up further onto the third level to get a better vantage point to understand just how colossal the arena truly was. Besides the obvious gladiator history, the coliseum is also incredible because 1: it was built where there used to be a man made lake and 2: it is one most impressive feat of architecture and engineering of the roman empire (it seats 50,000 people, 10,000 more than the size of the Dean Dome and the RBC Center combined) a culture of superiority, and incredible feats, this place is what they were most proud of. After it was built, the government continued to use it as a show of Roman power, forcing Christians that refused to deify the emperor that were forced to fight to their deaths. In fact, the money that was used to construct it came from the spoils of their victory
The next day we left with the intention of going about the main city to see all the monuments before touring the Vatican city later. Even though we were trying really hard to get to the Trevi fountain, it seemed like we accidentally found all the other places before finally finding it right before lunch. Street signs are really more of a luxury than a staple here. If they have them, they are etched into a building on that sits on the corner and not posted on a sign like we are used to. This is problematic for so many reasons! For one, they just aren't even there a lot of the time. If they are there, they can be worn away and hard to read or covered up by scaffolding or something else. The buildings are also not always on the actual corner, so you may have to walk a good twenty feet around the intersection before finding the right face of the building. And to top it all off, there are so many side streets that about a third aren't on the maps anyways. Ah! Luckily we hardly ever have a time commitment so getting turned around isn't a terribly thing. It actually worked in our favor that day because we ended up passing a Swatch store where I bought a pretty sweet purple watch (my battery in mine died and apparently they just don't really have watch normal watch batteries for sale here. Oh what I'd give to have a Target every now and then!) I just chalked it up as my Italian souvenir. Once we hit the Trevi fountain, the spanish steps, the pantheon, the vittoriale monument and many unknown plazas, we grabbed a pizza ( prosciutto and mozzarella...yum!) we made our way to the Vatican city. From there, we paid a pretty penny to join a tour group but with them we had someone explaining everything in the museum and the Sistine chapel to us and more importantly, we got to skip long lines to get in. Totally worth it. The Vatican museum, which is a mix of art collections from all of the different Popes, was overwhelming but impressive to say the least. I was more taken with the sistine chapel though, both for the famous and incredible ceiling art and for what takes place in there. I couldn't believe that we were standing in the place where the Pope is elected. I can only imagine the significance that would have for Catholics since I only know a very small part of the catholic doctrine and I felt overcome with spirituality and sacredness. We devoted the whole next day to the coliseum, the forum and the palestine gardens. They are technically three separate areas but are all part of the famous ruins that you think of when you picture Rome. All three are very much worth seeing!
After getting a great tip on skipping the lines (you buy the ticket at the entrance for the gardens instead! Same ticket, a hour less wait) we cruised right in and explored the forum where the basis of the roman empire can be found. There are just piles of rubble and blocks of marble, half statues and destroyed steps, all waiting to be stumbled upon. In hindsight, I wish we had gotten a tour guide to show us around because all impressive as the campus was, we still have basically no idea what the majority of it was. We really only wish we got a tour there because we got one in the coliseum and it was totally worth the 6 euros. Not only did we get information that wasn't posted anywhere, we also got to go into areas that are closed to the public. One of those places was a reconstructed floor out where the gladiators would have battles lions and tigers for their lives. The floor was awesome because it covered about an eighth of the whole arena and gave us an up close view of the labyrinth of corridors below the stage where the men and animals would wait to fight. We also got to go up further onto the third level to get a better vantage point to understand just how colossal the arena truly was. Besides the obvious gladiator history, the coliseum is also incredible because 1: it was built where there used to be a man made lake and 2: it is one most impressive feat of architecture and engineering of the roman empire (it seats 50,000 people, 10,000 more than the size of the Dean Dome and the RBC Center combined) a culture of superiority, and incredible feats, this place is what they were most proud of. After it was built, the government continued to use it as a show of Roman power, forcing Christians that refused to deify the emperor that were forced to fight to their deaths. In fact, the money that was used to construct it came from the spoils of their victory
Monday, March 26, 2012
All aboard!
Oh the trains. As much as we appreciate getting form one city to another overnight, being on a train for 12 hours (going from Barcelona to Milan) was a bit exhausting. Our seats did recline, so sleeping was not impossible but certainly not comfortable either. It seemed that every time I would get comfortable we would stop in another station or be woken up by police officers to check our passports or bags. When we got into Milan around ten, we navigated the train station that felt as big as RDU to find the "left luggage" station to drop our bags off while we were in the city (there was no way that we could have walked around with them for 4 hours. If you need explanation, please reference the post about our backpack/children).
When we were finally free of the kids, we found the metro, decided that the stop with the Duomo sounded good and went off. Lucky for us, our pick was a solid one and we ended up smack dab in front of their duomo, which is situated next to a large and very expensive shopping mall hidden in an old looking kind of market district thing. Who knew that we were actually going to find exactly what we wanted for lunch on our first day in Italy: pizza and gelato! Snce we still had some time to kill, we wandered around a bit and stumbled in a nice park where people bring their dogs to run and play. All the dogs in Europe so far have been really well behaved and their owners seem to care about them even more than Americans do. On top of all that, people actually pick up after their dogs and so they seem to be allowed basically everywhere...trains, public squares, unleashed on streets, shops, and even historic places. Seeing a "no dogs allowed" sign is the exception, not the norm for sure.
Eventually we tore ourselves away from the sunny bench we had settled on and made our way back to the train station and our bags without a hitch. Successfully stopping off there gave us a boost of confidence it think. We didn't really have any sort of plan of what to do with our time and honestly I don't think either of us even looked at a map before the one in the metro station. Never the less, we made a quick decision and went with it and had a wonderful stop before boarding another train for 4 hours (ick). Trains are wonderful in theory but being in seat in a small train car for about 18 out of the past 24 hours is not ideal. Stopping off at a track every few hours was an unexpected and not pleasant surprise too...I think since our only experience with long travel is on a plane, which really can't stop at all, that's what we were anticipating. The most unsettling part of riding is when we pass another train on the tracks. Both trains are going about 90 miles an hour and there is what feels like about 6 inches between the two trains. It makes me jump every time! For harry potter fans reading, it feels and sounds about what i think aparating would be like: a big pop, like a suction being released, then a rush of wind and everything is a blur. Oh well. Next train ride, we will be downloading movies to pass the time better... also maybe taking some Benadryl to help me sleep!
Friday, March 23, 2012
"There are a hundred languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all"
I can't believe that we are already on a train headed out of Barcelona and on to Italy! The days went by really quickly and I feel like we got to see a lot without ever really pushing ourselves too hard. Here is a rundown of what we did:
- Monday: after finally getting to the hostel, we ventured out walking to get our bearings and see a bit of the city. We ended up out at the beach and back in a gothic neighborhood with winding alleys, terrific balconies and hidden architecture gems. We had dinner at the hostel (veggie pasta with cinnamon...yum!) "family style" aka with everyone there sitting around tables that we pushed together. Even though it felt a little awkward at first, everyone warmed up really quickly and soon we met and made friends with two boys from Texas and a girl from Australia.
-Tuesday: since the weather called for rain on Wednesday, we decided to do out door things asap and ventured out with our new friends to an area outside of town. There we visited Montjuic, an old castle fortress with amazing views of the city and the site of the 1992 Olympics. Even though we couldn't go inside, the courtyard in front of the arena was grassy, green and a great place to lay down after hours of walking. There we met a group of Spanish kids on a field trip who we played with for over a hour. We started out doing gymnastics (Verdict: I can still do a cartwheel but I usually fall on my head if I try to do a back bend) but went on to have very broken conversations about dancing, where we were from, our families, singing, and much more. It was probably my favorite sightseeing part of Barcelona. I woke up very sore the next day, but it was even more of a mental exercise to try and remember enough Spanish to get my point across. It was also a great reminder that just because you don't speak the same language doesn't mean you cant share experiences. After getting back to the hostel, Katlin and I went back out to Park Guell or Goudi's park. Dinner in the hostel was tortilla, or omelets with red sauce that you eat on bread with your fingers and then out for some traditional sangria with friends.
-Wednesday: unfortunately the forecast was right and we woke up to rain. We donned rain jackets and headed for la boqueria, the biggest, liveliest indoor market I've ever seen. The fresh seafood put Wilmington to shame! There were rows and rows of ready to eat fruit, candies, tapas , mushrooms, wine, bread, meat, sausage, cheese...honestly, anything you could want. I got a delicious pineapple that was already sliced and Kate enjoyed a fresh fruit shake. After that, we wanted to see the Picasso museum, but the line was outrageous so we went to a chocolate museum instead (did you know chocolate was introduced to Barcelona straight from Mexico and before the rest of the world? Me neither). Then we stumbled upon a photo exhibit with pictures of old Barcelona and current Barcelona super imposed upon on another. It was a random find that we both really enjoyed. After a short break, we went off the see the Sagrada Familia, which exceeded even my very high expectations. There really isn't a way to accurately describe this grand church that is 130 years in the making but it is the most impressive building that I have ever laid eyes on. There was a exhibit on Goudi and how he strived to incorporate nature into the church as much as possible, which made it an even richer experience. As he wished, the columns really do feel like a grove of trees and the shapes of the decorations are organic but precisely planned. If you are anywhere near Barcelona, you must see it. Buy your tickets online and skip the que when you get there. We opted to get dinner out because we wanted seafood paella and even though the restaurant we went to was far away and we got a littler lost, it was well worth it. The whole meal came out in one pot for the both of us...a big pan of yellow rice in seafood sauce with peas and carrots mixed in, topped with mussels, shrimp, crab legs, some crawdad/prawn looking thing and clams. We washed it down with a severely discounted bottle of wine thanks to our hostel managers connection with the restaurant and walked away as happy and satisfied as we could be.
-Thursday: today we got up, packed, stored our luggage with the hostel and went out to see the Picasso museum, which did not disappoint. Throught contributions from rhe artist himself and his family/friends, they have a very comprehensive collection of his work, starting when he was about 14. Seeing the progression of his work was pretty incredible, especially because usually Picasso just calls up abstract, colorful paintings to mind.Lunch was tapas from a small bar/restaurant: ham and potatoes, bread and croquettes ( we don't know what it is but it tasted like fried mashed potatoes with ham in them). So tasty. Even though there was a 100% chance of thunderstorms all day, it hardly rained at all and the sun even came out! Now I'm currently on the overnight train to Milan where we will stop for lunch before heading out to Rome for 3 days. I'm sad to leave Barcelona. We arrived apprehensive about the language barrier and looking for what our lives will is really going to be like for the next four weeks. We left with a newfound confidence about navigating a city and making friends and an assurance that this trip really will be all we wanted it to be and much more. Barcelona will always be the place that Katlin and I really began our Euro trip together and I think we will definitely be back.
- Monday: after finally getting to the hostel, we ventured out walking to get our bearings and see a bit of the city. We ended up out at the beach and back in a gothic neighborhood with winding alleys, terrific balconies and hidden architecture gems. We had dinner at the hostel (veggie pasta with cinnamon...yum!) "family style" aka with everyone there sitting around tables that we pushed together. Even though it felt a little awkward at first, everyone warmed up really quickly and soon we met and made friends with two boys from Texas and a girl from Australia.
-Tuesday: since the weather called for rain on Wednesday, we decided to do out door things asap and ventured out with our new friends to an area outside of town. There we visited Montjuic, an old castle fortress with amazing views of the city and the site of the 1992 Olympics. Even though we couldn't go inside, the courtyard in front of the arena was grassy, green and a great place to lay down after hours of walking. There we met a group of Spanish kids on a field trip who we played with for over a hour. We started out doing gymnastics (Verdict: I can still do a cartwheel but I usually fall on my head if I try to do a back bend) but went on to have very broken conversations about dancing, where we were from, our families, singing, and much more. It was probably my favorite sightseeing part of Barcelona. I woke up very sore the next day, but it was even more of a mental exercise to try and remember enough Spanish to get my point across. It was also a great reminder that just because you don't speak the same language doesn't mean you cant share experiences. After getting back to the hostel, Katlin and I went back out to Park Guell or Goudi's park. Dinner in the hostel was tortilla, or omelets with red sauce that you eat on bread with your fingers and then out for some traditional sangria with friends.
-Wednesday: unfortunately the forecast was right and we woke up to rain. We donned rain jackets and headed for la boqueria, the biggest, liveliest indoor market I've ever seen. The fresh seafood put Wilmington to shame! There were rows and rows of ready to eat fruit, candies, tapas , mushrooms, wine, bread, meat, sausage, cheese...honestly, anything you could want. I got a delicious pineapple that was already sliced and Kate enjoyed a fresh fruit shake. After that, we wanted to see the Picasso museum, but the line was outrageous so we went to a chocolate museum instead (did you know chocolate was introduced to Barcelona straight from Mexico and before the rest of the world? Me neither). Then we stumbled upon a photo exhibit with pictures of old Barcelona and current Barcelona super imposed upon on another. It was a random find that we both really enjoyed. After a short break, we went off the see the Sagrada Familia, which exceeded even my very high expectations. There really isn't a way to accurately describe this grand church that is 130 years in the making but it is the most impressive building that I have ever laid eyes on. There was a exhibit on Goudi and how he strived to incorporate nature into the church as much as possible, which made it an even richer experience. As he wished, the columns really do feel like a grove of trees and the shapes of the decorations are organic but precisely planned. If you are anywhere near Barcelona, you must see it. Buy your tickets online and skip the que when you get there. We opted to get dinner out because we wanted seafood paella and even though the restaurant we went to was far away and we got a littler lost, it was well worth it. The whole meal came out in one pot for the both of us...a big pan of yellow rice in seafood sauce with peas and carrots mixed in, topped with mussels, shrimp, crab legs, some crawdad/prawn looking thing and clams. We washed it down with a severely discounted bottle of wine thanks to our hostel managers connection with the restaurant and walked away as happy and satisfied as we could be.
-Thursday: today we got up, packed, stored our luggage with the hostel and went out to see the Picasso museum, which did not disappoint. Throught contributions from rhe artist himself and his family/friends, they have a very comprehensive collection of his work, starting when he was about 14. Seeing the progression of his work was pretty incredible, especially because usually Picasso just calls up abstract, colorful paintings to mind.Lunch was tapas from a small bar/restaurant: ham and potatoes, bread and croquettes ( we don't know what it is but it tasted like fried mashed potatoes with ham in them). So tasty. Even though there was a 100% chance of thunderstorms all day, it hardly rained at all and the sun even came out! Now I'm currently on the overnight train to Milan where we will stop for lunch before heading out to Rome for 3 days. I'm sad to leave Barcelona. We arrived apprehensive about the language barrier and looking for what our lives will is really going to be like for the next four weeks. We left with a newfound confidence about navigating a city and making friends and an assurance that this trip really will be all we wanted it to be and much more. Barcelona will always be the place that Katlin and I really began our Euro trip together and I think we will definitely be back.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Barcelona Day One
Today, I logged on to update some posts today from my hostel in Barcelona, I discovered that all my settings are now in Spanish and it freezes every time I try to change the language. When I saw this, Katlin and I had a great laugh because it was prett fitting of how our morning went, as in we didnt understand anything that was going on. We had to take a train and get on the metro to get to our hostel, where we walked around lost for a good half an hour only to find our hostel was probably only about 4 blocks away from where we started, but the maps at the metro was terrible and when we asked for directions in broken Spanish, we couldn't understand wheat people were telling us to do.
Luckily, we finally got here and went on to have a wonderful day in the city. Now we are off to dinner in our hostel and then out to (safely) explore the nightlife in all it's Spanish glory. Until later!
Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow
I wish that I could figure out how to upload pictures straight to this blog so I could try to show you how pristine the Irish countryside of the Wicklow Mountains is. We took a day trip out yesterday as a refresher after being surrounded by people yesterday and its probably the greatest thing we could have done. Words do not do the land justice. The greens are greener than any field the US, the blues of the glacier lochs so deep and dark that the ocean looks like a weak puddle. When you look out off the road, all you see is a puzzle board of green scattered with cows and sheep, surrounded by stone walls and hedges and bordered by cottages that looked to be a hundred years old and still going strong. You can see that the land sustains the people and the people in return sustain the land. They are mutual dependents upon on another, just as they have been for generations and will be for generations to come. As our guide Dave said, true Irish don't live in Dublin, they live out where they can own land. As much as Dublin has been wonderful to us, I wish we could have spent more time in true Ireland instead. Oh well, we'll save it for next time!
The Luck of the Irish
We survived St. Paddy's day! It goes without saying that it was certainly the best St. Patricks day that we have ever had and probably one of the craziest things that I've witnessed. There were about 500,000 people in the city that watched the parade alone. Half a million people! When we woke up that morning, we went out in search of some tacky but totally necessary fun grew stuff and then really wanted to find an Irish coffee to drink before the parade started at noon. We found the garb ( sparkly green shamrock headband bobbers, an Ireland scarf, face tattoos) to go along with our outfits ( I wore green jeans! I got it in my head I wanted to wear green jeans about 2 months ago and finally found a great pair the day before we left) but unfortunately they cannot serve alcohol before 12:30 on a bank holiday or Sunday's, so we had to go without until after the parade ended.
The parade itself was better than I thought it would be; there was some Irish dancing and important figures but the majority was based around these science questions that artist groups around Ireland answer by creating floats and dance groups. Its hard to explain but I think surrealist or interpretive art is the best way to try. Give it a google and see what you think. After the parade, we went to get out Irish coffee to warm up (it, of course, rained during the 3 hours we were standing outside in the 45 degree weather) and then back to the hostel for a quick nap before heading to St. Patrick's Cathedral for a service taken from his experiences and life. Honestly, the service was one of my favorite parts of the day. Hearing a service in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in. St. Patrick's cathedral is awesome in the truest sense, as in full of awe. It's so large and overwhelming but intimate at the same time. Hearing a sermon with an incredibly talented harpist and readings in Irish felt like the most honest way to celebrate the holiday and I'm thankful that we stumbled upon the service flyer the day before. We also got to pin fresh bundles of shamrocks onto our shirts for the service too, which is what the rebels used to do to stand up for their Irish heritage. The shamrock is also a symbol of the trinity: it was said that St. Patrick used a shamrock to help illustrate that you can have three in one, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, just as a shamrock has three leaves but is still one sprig.
After service we had dinner at the Hairy Lemon and the drinks at the Vat House later. It was quite a show walking down the Temple Bar area and we were turned away from two or three bars because they were full before we got into the Vat House. Drinking and dancing and fun was had for all! When we were walking back, Katlin, Dan and I all found Guinness pint glasses on the street that had been abandoned, so we snagged them and kept them a souvenirs! A friend told us it was good luck to find a pint glass like that and I think it's true, although we were very fortunate all of St. Patrick's Day so it was really just fitting that they glasses would find their way into our path home. We will be cheering with them for very many celebrations to come!
"Look Left"
Things we don't understand about Europe:
-Sinks in the bathrooms. Why on earth the hot and cold waters come out of two different spouts on a sink. There is no way to get them both on your hands at once. It's just impossible.
-The traffic patterns. The intersections are so crazy that the City of Dublin has painted either " look right" or " look left" on the street immediately after the curb so you can know which way the traffic is going to come flying at you. The pedestrian walk signs also beep all the time, so they aren't much help either. Honestly, some intersections have at least 4 different streets merging. And not just merging but going in circles around you sometimes it seems. It also doesn't help that the native population just runs across said crazy intersections when they deem appropriate, which makes you think you can also go but it's just not true.
-Boiled eggs. The outside is well cooked but the inside is runny. Why you would ever do that on purpose is far beyond me. When I bit into my egg that I as so looking forward to this morning and it exploded icky-ness on my hand and in my mouth, I wanted to cry a little.
-Staircases. All the stairs are very tiny but steep. If you were curious, when you combine these small stairs and a thirty pound pack coming down a two story bus that slams on breaks, you lurch forward and almost get smushed.
It does go to be said that for everything we don't understand over here, there are many more that we understand and love. Like drinking tea multiple times a day. Or walking everywhere instead of using cars all the time. And any variation of beef stew with mashed potatoes. We totally understand that deliciousness.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
In Dublin's fair city...
It's no wonder that Dublin totally made such an impression on Katlin and I the first time we visited. Its old and wonderful with all the history that goes along with it while still maintaining an air of youthfulness about it. After arriving yesterday, we checked into our hostel and went out for a walk and to get something to snack on before dinner (we settled on a loaf of garlic bread and bottled water and hot tea). The hostel, Ashfield House, was very clean and comfortable and all the people were so friendly! When we walked into the room we were staying in (it was an 18 bed mixed dorm, meaning 9 bunk beds with girls and boys) some people we napping but they soon woke up and we made fast friends from Australia, Canada, Wisconsin, Chicago, and Spain. We went to dinner and had a drink at a pub where live Irish music was playing..it was really the best first night in a hostel that we could have imagined.
Today we switched hostels (because of St. Paddys day, everything was booked and it was hard to find rooms for all the nights we needed) and explored the city on foot. We visited Kilmangin Goal jail, had delicious cottage pie, took a walking tour of the city centered around St. Patrick (did you know that he wasn't born Patrick but changed his name when he went through catholic conformation? Also, the national color of Ireland is blue, not green. Is your mind blown yet?), watched the boys choir rehearse in St. Patrick's cathedral, had fish and chips for dinner, went to a pub, then had tea and dessert back in the hostel. Full day! Jetlag may finally be catching up to us a bit but we're making it all happen. Walking all the time is exhausting too, so we blame that when we are tired at nine at night. By our estimate, we probably walked about 6 or 7 miles today at least. Did I mention that is was in the high forties? and raining? and dreary?
Even so, today was really very grand. We learned that the Irish are exceptionally proud of their country and of the admittedly rough history they have had over the past few hundred years. It's encouraging to see them embrace their past and want to educate the people about the trials that it took to be independent in the hopes that it will valued and protected. The Irish do love to celebrate the good in life, that's for sure, so we are anticipating tomorrow's Paddy's day celebrations to be intense! I can't believe that we are spending it in Dublin, the mother city for the holiday. Ah!!
Today we switched hostels (because of St. Paddys day, everything was booked and it was hard to find rooms for all the nights we needed) and explored the city on foot. We visited Kilmangin Goal jail, had delicious cottage pie, took a walking tour of the city centered around St. Patrick (did you know that he wasn't born Patrick but changed his name when he went through catholic conformation? Also, the national color of Ireland is blue, not green. Is your mind blown yet?), watched the boys choir rehearse in St. Patrick's cathedral, had fish and chips for dinner, went to a pub, then had tea and dessert back in the hostel. Full day! Jetlag may finally be catching up to us a bit but we're making it all happen. Walking all the time is exhausting too, so we blame that when we are tired at nine at night. By our estimate, we probably walked about 6 or 7 miles today at least. Did I mention that is was in the high forties? and raining? and dreary?
Even so, today was really very grand. We learned that the Irish are exceptionally proud of their country and of the admittedly rough history they have had over the past few hundred years. It's encouraging to see them embrace their past and want to educate the people about the trials that it took to be independent in the hopes that it will valued and protected. The Irish do love to celebrate the good in life, that's for sure, so we are anticipating tomorrow's Paddy's day celebrations to be intense! I can't believe that we are spending it in Dublin, the mother city for the holiday. Ah!!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
It's a love hate relationship
This is a little late, but all my posts will probably be slightly out of order so sorry in advanced!
3/14/12 5:00pm Holy guacamole. We just arrived in Dublin and I'm so glad that we get to put these packs in a storage locker and leave them there for a few days instead of carting them around. At the last weigh in, my pack weighed just over thirty pounds. It's like carrying a small child piggyback all the time: every time you put it down, you have to keep your eyes on it to make sure it doesn't wander off. Its hard to go to the bathroom with it because its a hassle. People stare at you, some smile with appreciation and understanding and others stare because of the stream of unpleasantries coming out of your mouth while you try to get it up the stairs. I love it, but this this pack/child does not love me back and I can't wait to lock it up somewhere.
3/14/12 5:00pm Holy guacamole. We just arrived in Dublin and I'm so glad that we get to put these packs in a storage locker and leave them there for a few days instead of carting them around. At the last weigh in, my pack weighed just over thirty pounds. It's like carrying a small child piggyback all the time: every time you put it down, you have to keep your eyes on it to make sure it doesn't wander off. Its hard to go to the bathroom with it because its a hassle. People stare at you, some smile with appreciation and understanding and others stare because of the stream of unpleasantries coming out of your mouth while you try to get it up the stairs. I love it, but this this pack/child does not love me back and I can't wait to lock it up somewhere.
Where we've been so far
Just for a little clarification on where we are...
We arrived into London are 7am their time yesterday and arrive in Oxford around 9. From there we walked around all day with a friend Dan , had dinner in the dining hall at Keble College and spent the night in Dans dorm on air bed. We got up this morning, had breakfast in Oxford, took a bus into London and flew out to Dublin where we are now. We are checked into our hostel for tonight and just went to grab some bread from a grocery for a quick snack. Our eating schedule is unfortunately more jet lagged than our sleep schedule so we've been eating on and off all day.
We arrived into London are 7am their time yesterday and arrive in Oxford around 9. From there we walked around all day with a friend Dan , had dinner in the dining hall at Keble College and spent the night in Dans dorm on air bed. We got up this morning, had breakfast in Oxford, took a bus into London and flew out to Dublin where we are now. We are checked into our hostel for tonight and just went to grab some bread from a grocery for a quick snack. Our eating schedule is unfortunately more jet lagged than our sleep schedule so we've been eating on and off all day.
Inside Oxford
We really lucked out with having Dan there to show us around the city and schools of Oxford. He is currently studying engineering but was at NC State for undergrad where Katlin knows him from. We were able to do all the things that our travel book said was "must see" but all for free and with a insider guide . Because Dan is a current student, he got us in to all of different colleges for free (it's normally about 3 pounds to walk around the grounds). Some of them are actually even closed to the public, but not for us! All of the buildings are old and majestic and grand. Most are about 150 or 200 years old but the city seems to have a great attitude about restoring and reconstructing them if anything fails instead of knocking them down, which makes sense since they are really works of art. It also gives the campus an added fold of personality: the buildings are there as living entities, not just places to be lived in. They change but always maintain a high level of regal-ness. They change only out of ness city though...they aren't just painted to keep vogue. It was almost humorous to see modern essentials like locks on the intricately carved wooden doors that have cast iron turn handles or electric lamps where a candle holder once was.
The usability of the campus astounding though. Things that i felt like should be roped off as monuments were used everyday. I wonder if the students appreciate where they are or if they have become so used to the beauty that it doesn't register anymore. Like how Dan walked right into Keble's chapel, which was built in 1878, and walked up to the light switch to turn it on as if he was walking into his own living room. The inside of the chapel was just awe inspiring. The three story open ceilings, the marble support columns, stained glass windows on all sides. It's the every day kind of majesty that we don't have in America. I hardly ever feel that living history, the connection to the past. It's the norm here. Oh, the Bodleian library was my favorite building though, especially the Camera building. Google it and be amazed. Try to imagine studying in that library. It gives me goosebumps to just think about it.
Underneath all the layers of dirt on the buildings, I believe, is the spirit of perseverance. The ability of the people to adapt and appreciation for what they have. No one complains that there is no elevator. People may stumble on the cobblestone but they do not repave over them. Parking lots are oddly configured and streets and too narrows, but students just walk everywhere. I'm sure the floorboards creak and aren't energy star rated for insulation but they just light a fire instead, since there is a working fireplace in almost every common room. I hope everyone there appreciates what they are surrounded by. But I suppose it's also better to have do much beauty that you don't register it all the time than to not have it at all.
The usability of the campus astounding though. Things that i felt like should be roped off as monuments were used everyday. I wonder if the students appreciate where they are or if they have become so used to the beauty that it doesn't register anymore. Like how Dan walked right into Keble's chapel, which was built in 1878, and walked up to the light switch to turn it on as if he was walking into his own living room. The inside of the chapel was just awe inspiring. The three story open ceilings, the marble support columns, stained glass windows on all sides. It's the every day kind of majesty that we don't have in America. I hardly ever feel that living history, the connection to the past. It's the norm here. Oh, the Bodleian library was my favorite building though, especially the Camera building. Google it and be amazed. Try to imagine studying in that library. It gives me goosebumps to just think about it.
Underneath all the layers of dirt on the buildings, I believe, is the spirit of perseverance. The ability of the people to adapt and appreciation for what they have. No one complains that there is no elevator. People may stumble on the cobblestone but they do not repave over them. Parking lots are oddly configured and streets and too narrows, but students just walk everywhere. I'm sure the floorboards creak and aren't energy star rated for insulation but they just light a fire instead, since there is a working fireplace in almost every common room. I hope everyone there appreciates what they are surrounded by. But I suppose it's also better to have do much beauty that you don't register it all the time than to not have it at all.
Dumb blind faith.
3/13/12 2:00am London time:
We are really off! As I write this we're three hours, two little bottles of white wine and one actually not so bad plane dinner into this trip of a lifetime! (Who knew that beer and wine really are free on a transatlantic flight?) I cannot believe that in five hours, we will land in London and our dream trip will really start. We've been talking and planning for so long that I've almost become immune to how exciting the next five weeks are really going to be. I can't comprehend how many new, exciting adventures we will have and how many memories we will make. I honestly just can't.
Before we touchdown, I just want to thank you! Thank you to every person that has listened to our dream for years and been excited with us. Thank you for believing that we could do it and supporting our dream. Thank you to everyone who has given words of wisdom, shared stories (both good and cautionary) about their own experiences, and provided me with the tools and supplies to get this trip off the ground. It has been amazing to know that all of you are rooting for us and are in our corner, waiting to hear and share in our success and maybe even our small failures. Thank you thank you thank you.
A short note on the title of this blog...ever since the middle of college, Katlin and I have wanted to go abroad, just for fun and just for us, with no agenda or timeline. When graduation loomed upon us, we realized that it was really now or never and that we should do everything in our power to make this trip a reality before real life settled in. Since we began planning, our sort of motto has been "dumb blind faith". We knew that if it was meant to be, it would really happen (and we really really thought it was meant to be!), no matter how intimidating and daunting it seemed at times. When the dollar signs added up to more than we thought....dumb blind faith. When the dates didn't quite work out...dumb blind faith. When things began to fall right into place and that one overnight train out is exactly what we needed...dumb blind faith. Don't get me wrong, there has been a lot of hard work, planning, researching and worrying in this trip, but at the core, there is always dumb blind faith that it will work out. It may seem overly optimistic and naive, but to us, it was just they way things were going to happen. Dumb blind faith will continue to be with us until April 17th, getting us through booking hostels on the fly, getting up in a new city with little or no plan, and getting by on a fresh out of college kids budget. Dumb blind faith!
Thanks again for reading this. I hope you enjoy our trip! I can't make any promise about when this will be posted but I will try to keep it as current as possible. Feel free to pass the link on to anyone that I have missed that might want to see it. Talk to you soon!
We are really off! As I write this we're three hours, two little bottles of white wine and one actually not so bad plane dinner into this trip of a lifetime! (Who knew that beer and wine really are free on a transatlantic flight?) I cannot believe that in five hours, we will land in London and our dream trip will really start. We've been talking and planning for so long that I've almost become immune to how exciting the next five weeks are really going to be. I can't comprehend how many new, exciting adventures we will have and how many memories we will make. I honestly just can't.
Before we touchdown, I just want to thank you! Thank you to every person that has listened to our dream for years and been excited with us. Thank you for believing that we could do it and supporting our dream. Thank you to everyone who has given words of wisdom, shared stories (both good and cautionary) about their own experiences, and provided me with the tools and supplies to get this trip off the ground. It has been amazing to know that all of you are rooting for us and are in our corner, waiting to hear and share in our success and maybe even our small failures. Thank you thank you thank you.
A short note on the title of this blog...ever since the middle of college, Katlin and I have wanted to go abroad, just for fun and just for us, with no agenda or timeline. When graduation loomed upon us, we realized that it was really now or never and that we should do everything in our power to make this trip a reality before real life settled in. Since we began planning, our sort of motto has been "dumb blind faith". We knew that if it was meant to be, it would really happen (and we really really thought it was meant to be!), no matter how intimidating and daunting it seemed at times. When the dollar signs added up to more than we thought....dumb blind faith. When the dates didn't quite work out...dumb blind faith. When things began to fall right into place and that one overnight train out is exactly what we needed...dumb blind faith. Don't get me wrong, there has been a lot of hard work, planning, researching and worrying in this trip, but at the core, there is always dumb blind faith that it will work out. It may seem overly optimistic and naive, but to us, it was just they way things were going to happen. Dumb blind faith will continue to be with us until April 17th, getting us through booking hostels on the fly, getting up in a new city with little or no plan, and getting by on a fresh out of college kids budget. Dumb blind faith!
Thanks again for reading this. I hope you enjoy our trip! I can't make any promise about when this will be posted but I will try to keep it as current as possible. Feel free to pass the link on to anyone that I have missed that might want to see it. Talk to you soon!
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