Kilkenny

The day after our trip to Howth, Brooke, Jackie, Michaela and I left for Kilkenny. Kilkenny is about an hour to two hours away from Dublin by bus. It's a medieval town, with a lot of stone wall and bridge remnants from that period. There's also a very impressive medieval castle, which I will get to discussing shortly. It's well known as one of Ireland's nicest inland cities, and it even surpassed all my expectations!

When we arrived we checked in to our hostel, which was the one part of Kilkenny that left something to be desired. Everyone had told me that Kilkenny Tourist Hostel is the hostel to stay at in Kilkenny, but it wasn't very clean, the bathrooms were mixed gender to our surprise, and all the event/train time posters were from 2003. The wood braces on Jackie's bunk bed were riddled with penned X-rated stories involving her bunk, and mine was absolutely covered in drawings of hands. Weird. Needless to say it wasn't the most comfortable stay. The one good part about our stay at the hostel was that we met these really nice German girls, Henrietta and Theresa, who were staying in our room and went out with us that night. They work as nannies in Dublin, so we plan on getting together soon (oddly enough I ran into Theresa the other night!).

Kilkenny Castle from the bridge

By the time we had gotten settled in it was too late in the evening to go on the castle tour, so we went to the artisan craft complex across from Kilkenny Castle called the Kilkenny Design Centre. They sell a lot of products from local artisans - silver and gold working, pottery...all sorts of things. It was nice to look, but it was all a little fancy-schmancy and extremely pricey.

Kilkenny Design Centre

For dinner we decided to eat at a pub. I was craving pub food, mainly a big pile of hot potatoes, roasted or mashed. When we saw the sign outside of The Field advertising food on the second floor, I wanted to look no further; by this point I was starving. Jackie opened the door, but ran out a second later with a terrified look on her face. Inside was one of the scariest sights imaginable - a huge pack of Welsh fans!! The Six Nation Rugby championships were taking place that night. But I wanted my potatoes, so we fought through the unruly mob of red jerseys to get upstairs, where all the Irish fans happened to be located.

Dinner was absolutely perfect, and one of my favorite experiences to date. I had this odd roast potato concoction called "hobo hash" which turned out to be amazing. It was listed under "light meal." Apparently in Ireland potatoes+fried egg+sausages = light meal. The best part, though, was that the pub had TV screens all around, so we got to watch the rugby match with all the crazed Irish fans. One man was so enthralled he couldn't eat his steak almost the entire match. The game was incredible, and by the end we were all pounding on the tables and screaming with everyone there. It was a historic game for Ireland - they won Six Nation Rugby!!! Absolutely amazing.

Later that night we went to go find some traditional Irish music, since Kilkenny is supposed to have a couple of great places. We couldn't seem to find any! Even the places people had recommended were playing top 40 and such. So no trad that night. Instead we went to Lannigan's and Langton's. I'm not sure which one was which because their names are way too similar. I had a good time, although truth be told it wasn't one of my favorite nights. I was dressed for trad and not to go dancing, and the club that we went to must have been the height of sophistication...back in the 80s. The place was the biggest club I've ever been to, but it was kind of lame. I mean, who wants to dance to "Walking on Sunshine" or "Summer Loving?" It was like middle school. Still, Kilkenny does have decent nightlife. I think it was just the places and the mood I was in.

The next day made me like Kilkenny even more. We started our day off with some Irish breakfast at a little place, called Nostalgia Cafe or something like that. The man serving us was really nice, and quite the chatter. The rashers and sausage were exceptionally good! It was a pleasant way to start the day. We then went on a tour of Kilkenny Castle, which I highly recommend. The grounds are understated but impressive, and the inside is not overdone and gaudy like Palacio Real or anything. The first foundations were built in the 1200s, and throughout most of its history it was owned by the noble English family the Butlers. While most of the furniture was sold off a few decades ago, they still have a marble table original to the castle. My favorite room was probably the gallery room. It was built as a way for the family to show off their portraits. The ceiling is bizarre yet remarkable; it mixes byzantine, Celtic, and Asian influences, and apparently it is so remarkably different that it truly can't be compared in style with any other palace or castle ceilings in the world. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures inside the castle.

Awesome castle!

After that we wandered to Black Abbey and St. Canice's Cathedral. Black Abbey was also built in the 1200s. We went in to have a look around. What's remarkable about it is the array of stained-glass windows. They are beautiful, but they are in such different styles that none of them seem to match. St. Canice's Cathedral is also quite old; worship has taken place there for over 800 years. We couldn't go in because it was in the middle of mass, and we couldn't go up the adjoining round tower because it was closed at those hours during March. Apparently the views are wonderful from the top.

Black Abbey

St. Canice's Cathedral. I couldn't get a clear shot - the streets were too narrow.

Still, even though a lot wasn't open on Sunday (which is common in most Irish towns), I just thoroughly enjoyed walking around Kilkenny. If I had the time I would go back in a heartbeat - I'd go back to Kilkenny and Kilarney.

Howth

Me and Brooke at Howth

My sister flew into Dublin last Friday, and we had a lot of fun. Brooke stayed through the week (leaving early this Thursday). Our first adventure on the Friday she arrived was taking the DART out to Howth.

Brooke on the DART

The group at Howth - Jackie, Michaela, Casey, and Me

Howth is a small seaside village just outside of Dublin. Jackie, her friend Michaela, and Casey decided to join us for the outing. The day we went was chilly but sunny, and it was definitely worth any discomfort. After getting off the train we got some Beshoff's chips at a takeaway counter so Brooke could have her first Irish french fries. We took pictures along the water of the lighthouse and walked up a hill into the suburbs and stumbled upon an old abbey. After heading back down and walking a little around the bay area we began our search for Howth Castle in earnest.

Boats and a cute lighthouse

I should explain that the map we were using was slightly inaccurate. By that I mean it looks like the same artist that made the Malahide Train Station sign (visible in one of my previous entries) was also commissioned to scribble a few drawings in crayon and call it a map of Howth. We tried to follow the signs and information we were given by a man at the convenience store, but we ended up hopelessly lost. Somehow we made our way into suburbs where all the houses looked the same, and then on some random paths in the woods surrounded by tons of strange garbage (carpeting on the path, an old door to make a bridge across a large puddle, some discarded wheelbarrows, etc.).

The adventure begins...

After taking a short venture on to one of these paths, I emerged from the woods and onto a golf course, where I practically ran into three guys, who looked a little confused as to why I had popped out of the woods. I can't really blame them. It was pretty hilarious. I asked them where the castle was, to which they replied, "which castle are you looking for?" Apparently we were close to the border of another town! They started laughing hysterically as I showed them the map, but were nice enough to explain that we would have to go across the golf course, turn right at a flag, and walk through the woods again.

An old crabby man then came up to us and told us we better hurry; he was hitting in that direction. Jackie of course flipped out, put the fear of God into us by telling us some story about the eye doctor in her town who got hit in the eye by a golf ball and went blind (she was quite serious, but I couldn't help but laugh at the irony), and started screaming at us to run. So we ran!!! We must have looked like absolute crazies, but it was one of the funniest moments I've had yet on this trip. The whole thing was just so over-the-top. As I was running I also had the chance to notice that Howth's golf course has quite a nice view of the coast.

I can't believe someone actually caught this moment on camera. Those poor unsuspecting golfers!

The infamous Howth golf course

After our sprint we made it to nearby Howth castle. Our tour guide books all say that you can take tours. Apparently that has changed; it's now a privately owned culinary school. After taking some pictures around the area and being followed by a man on a lawn mower (Brooke thought it was a zamboni at first), we went to go look for the beach.

Howth Castle - pretty nice location for a culinary school!

Howth has two beaches, but with that map, we couldn't find a damn one. We wandered around the town, and eventually Michaela and I accidentally walked into a tennis court that we thought was a park or pathway connecting to the beach. There was a group of guys there "playing tennis." By that I mean they were playing in true Irish style - two of them were lazily swinging rackets back and forth and the rest were smoking and drinking. Michaela was then introduced to Irish flirting. When we asked for directions to the beach one of them said, "You go stand on those train tracks over there. That's how you find it." The poor girl was horrified, but her shocked reaction was priceless. Some of the less socially awkward ones actually provided us with good directions, and even though we had to go back a ways to find it, we did make it to the beach.

The tennis courts. Yes, there really are palm trees in Ireland!

It was obviously too cold to enjoy the beach in the usual manner, but we walked along the sand and rocks, collecting shells and taking photos of the islands off the coast. It was really pleasant and relaxing, especially after running around trying to find everything all day. I loved Howth - it's a small town (though you wouldn't have guessed by the amount of running around we did), but quaint and charming. I think we covered every inch of the place, but I would still go back if I had the time or a reason.

St. Paddy's and Croke Park

St. Patrick's Day was a blast in Dublin. We walked towards city center, but didn't get too far as the parade goers were all blocking the streets. Still, we found a place near the start of the route with a decent view. The parade was really cool, although apparently it hadn't changed at all from last year due to recession budget cuts and the locals were annoyed. Seeing as I wasn't here last year, I thought it was great! It was very creative and had little to do with St. Patrick from what I could tell, but I loved it, as did the hundreds of little kids running everywhere. Little Irish kids are so adorable!! The parade in Dublin is definitely family-oriented, and the exceptionally rowdy drunk tourists didn't seem to fit (during the daytime celebrations anyways).

As soon as the parade ended a group of us went to the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) Ticket Office and got a great student deal on tickets to Croke Park. We made it there just in time to grab a hot dog and get our seats for the games - hurling followed by a gaelic football match. Our seats were pretty good, especially given how cheap the tickets were! (10 euro for 2 games!)

Hurling and gaelic football are traditional Irish games. They do not have what we would know as "professional" leagues - they are club sports under the GAA. Although the games are not professionalized, some top players are still regarded with very high esteem. Hurling is played with a unique looking stick and ball. Here's a picture I googled to give you all a better idea. It looks incredibly difficult to play. Players have to rotate the paddle back and forth as they run to keep the ball in motion, and occasionally even kick it with their feet and back up on to the paddle, before swinging it to pass or score a goal. Youtube a video of it to get a better idea - it's really hard to describe.

Hurling stick

Here's a decent clip giving some background on the game and video of hurling in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM-kB1e96CA

Gaelic football seemed even more confusing. Taking a quick glance you would think it was like soccer (or football as it's called here). However, there are certain rules whereby players can also use their hands to pick up and dribble the ball. Exactly what these rules are I could not figure out by simply watching. I think that might require a bit of research.

Video clip of Gaelic football: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIlsRsMMJUc



The oddest moment of the day came between the two games. Some of the floats from the parade made their way into Croke Park and circled the field. They included giant hurling sticks, a cow on a guy's back, a cement mixer, and a giant bookcase, among other things. Apparently they all had symbolic meaning, but as they marched around the field, everyone in the audience seemed a little perplexed. I'm not sure if the people carrying the floats even had a good explanation for what was going on.

Stack of potatoes with a dog on top
Apparently the Irish are famous for canoes??

Absolute Chaos

We left half way through the Gaelic football match. It was getting cold and I've been really sick with an upper respiratory and sinus infection for a while now, so I wanted to go back to DCU. I'm finally feeling better after two different rounds of antibiotics, and hopefully it stays away this time. All in all, though, it was such a fantastic way to celebrate!!

International Women's Day

That's my extra-powerful feminist face and fist shake! Pretty intense, huh?

I realize that I've gotten a bit behind on blogging, so even though they happened a few weeks ago I'm going to update briefly on some of the cool things I've been doing.

March 8th was International Women's Day, and to get involved/celebrate, a few of us helped out at Amnesty International's Dublin walk to honor the female Zimbabwe human rights defenders. It wasn't a huge turnout for the walk (maybe 60 people?), which I'm guessing had to do with the extremely specific nature of the walk, but I enjoyed it. I supported a great cause and got to sport this really snazzy bright yellow vest and sign. My friend Jackie is doing her internship at Amnesty's office, and I guess my picture got in the newsletter they distribute throughout Ireland! It's a lot of women from Zimbabwe and then me, decked out in wool scarf and cap. Apparently I made friends that day, because no one can figure out who the other people in the picture are. I'll post a link or photos if I can find them!

Well I can't seem to find the newsletter or pictures with my Zimbabwe friends...but here are a few of us helping out (me, Rachel, Jackie, and Casey).

Can you tell it was freezing and incredibly windy?

An Ellington Reunion

Ellington girls at Malahide Castle

This past weekend I saw my friends Katie, Jamie, Caitlin, and Bryan from Ellington. Katie is currently studying in Granada. Jamie and Caitlin are my two friends studying in Ireland (Jamie in Galway and Caitlin in Cork). Bryan just dropped by while he is on his spring break.

After I got off of work Thursday evening I met up with Katie and Jamie at the Spire in city center. We grabbed some Butlers hot chocolate before heading back to DCU to drop their stuff off and make a plan for the day. My friends Jackie, Colleen, and Marie, joined us for the trip back into the city to Gallaghers in the Temple Bar area. Caitlin and her friend Becky also met up with us for dinner. Gallaghers is extremely touristy, but the best option if you are looking to get traditional Irish food. I ordered lamb boxty, which was good, but I still prefer the chicken boxty I had up north at Ryan's.

With our stomachs full we walked a little ways back to Messrs. It's a nice but low-key pub, which I thought would be a good choice to start off the night since we could all talk and catch up. Then we went to Porterhouse, which has a louder and younger crowd. That place is always fun! We decided to go back to DCU early, though, because I had class in the morning and Jamie and Katie were tired from traveling.

The next morning I had class so Jamie and Katie met up with Caitlin in the city to do some touristy stuff. Eventually we met back up in the afternoon and grabbed lunch at one of my favorite places - Queen of Tarts. I plan on taking Brooke there too. I hope the waitstaff doesn't start to recognize me.

We then made our way to a DART station. I had never taken the DART before, but apparently the station is really close to where I work! Good to know for when I make a journey out to Howth. This weekend we decided to go to Malahide, a tiny little seaside village that boasts its own castle and a fry car railway museum (whatever that is). It was a quiet town, but cute. My only complaint is that the castle looks like when it was remodeled they ran out of money and stuck a patio window and some plywood on the front and center windowpane. When we went to take a tour, we found out we were 8 minutes too late. I found it kind of odd that they actually started the tour on time.

The most absurd looking train station sign imaginable. Did they commission a 6-year-old to paint that thing? I couldn't find my ticket to get through the turnstile for a minute, and when I looked up all my friends were already on the train, motioning and screaming for me to run! So I ran onto the train and was crushed by the doors until they pulled me out.

When we got back from Malahide some of us went back to DCU before going out later at night. We met up with Caitlin and Becky at The Quays, which has great live music. I've never been there, so it was a nice change of pace. The city was crazy this weekend, though, because of St. Patrick's Day, and everything was even more crowded than usual in Temple Bar. We then worked our way over to Fitzsimons, which was good again. Things got really incredible, though, when Katie, Jamie, Jackie, Casey, and I left to go to Coppers.

Coppers is slightly outside the main chunk of the city, but is definitely worth the extra time, effort, and money. It has the best dance music, and especially on a weekend like this it is one of the few places where locals our age can be found in abundance. I was getting a little frustrated with the huge influx of tourists this weekend, which sounds a little pretentious, but it really was difficult! On the cab ride over we chatted up the driver, who had the best laugh in the world. He just sounded so funny. All of a sudden the van door swung open while the van was going full speed. He pulled over as soon as he could, shouting "I thought I lost one of you girls out there on Dame Street!" Jackie jumped up to close the door and when she returned to her seat she hadn't realized that it had folded up, so she fell on to the van floor. The cab driver kept asking me if my drunk friend was going to be ok. Jackie hadn't even had a half-pint! While she lost all her dignity, she pretty much made that man's night. I guess you had to be there, but at this point none of us, the cabbie included, could stop laughing.

That night was an amazing party at Coppers - probably one of the best nights I've had out in Dublin yet. The music was great, we met some nice people, and all around the atmosphere couldn't have been better. When we went back to DCU we had yet another great Irish cab driver - this one gave us a lot of advice on Irish men, particularly about the love life of one of my friends. He was actually quite insightful, and really should consider making a career change to therapist.

On Saturday I woke up late and Katie and Jamie went to the Guinness Factory in the morning. Later in the afternoon Jackie, Colleen, and I met up with them, and eventually we met up with my friend Bryan. The group of us decided to get fish and chips at Beshoffs (but I had chicken fingers). It's a cheaper chain, but the chips are great! We did a lot of wandering the city that day, and went to Merrion Square to see the carnival that had been set up for the St. Patrick's festivities. Essentially it was a really crappy fair without fair food. We considered riding the ferris wheel to get the views of Dublin from above at night, but it was 4 euro! Instead we briefly showed them the outside of Oscar Wilde's house and what you can see of his statue through the gates (it's locked at night). It was yet another reminder of how upset I am that I cannot see Oscar Wilde's house. I really don't have good luck at Merrion Square.

We planned to go out that night, but once we got back to DCU we were all exhausted. Instead, we started watching clips of Father Ted. I'm not sure if I've mentioned Father Ted before, but essentially it is the funniest Irish TV show that was ever in existence, and probably one of the best shows all-around (not just out of Irish shows). Sadly, the actor playing Father Ted died after the third season so it was discontinued. Still, people here avidly watch the episodes on DVD. It's a fantastic slice of Irish culture. After Father Ted we decided to stay in and watch TV/chat, and Bryan took the bus out to DCU to join us before going back into the city to his hotel.

On Sunday, Katie, Jamie, and Bryan wanted to go out for an Irish breakfast before journeying back to Grenada and Galway. We ended up at Bewley's on Grafton Street, which has great food and coffee at decent prices. It's very cute and charming, too. Jamie opted for the full Irish breakfast, black pudding (a type of blood sausage) and all, while I stuck to a fruit scone since they were out of pancakes. Pancakes aren't very common in Ireland, and the mixes come out thin and difficult to cook, so I'll be going back at some point if I can. I need to stop finding good restaurants!

After dropping Katie off at the aircoach to the airport we wandered some more around Dublin. We went to a variety of stores on Grafton Street. The street performers were out in full force this weekend. We walked a little around St. Stephen's Green, which is getting prettier by the day as the weather improves. Then we dropped Jamie off at her bus stop.

I had a fantastic time seeing my friends this weekend. Having the opportunity to show them around made me recognize a lot of the things I'm going to miss when I leave Ireland - from little things like the biscuits and chocolate and double-decker buses, to things like the accents, the ugly Spire, the various streets I'm used to walking now, the pub style of nightlife...and the list goes on! At times I found myself feeling very proud, even defensive of Dublin. Sure, it has plenty of its own problems and inefficiencies that drive me mad, like every place in the world surely does, but I've developed a deep level of affection and attachment to this place rather quickly. I'm looking forward to being back in the states, but there are a whole lot of things here that I'll miss when I'm gone.

Back to Dubliln - Friday, Feb. 27

At my mother's request, I am making a note on this entry that my previous entry on Granada has been updated to include a lot more of my adventures from that day. It may be updated again later with more pictures, as I do with a lot of my entries.

Friday of my spring break was spent traveling from Granada back to Madrid to catch a plane back to Dublin. Essentially it was a full day of travel with only a few notable adventures.

During the taxi ride from the Madrid bus station to the airport, I once again had the opportunity to converse with the cab driver, as everyone stuck me up front. He was a really interesting old man, and in my broken Spanish I managed to converse with him not only about the weather, but compared my travels in Spain to other places in the world and explained my love for Spain but dislike for the staring at my hair. We chatted about his love of art museums, which are of exceptionally high quality in Madrid, and his other favorites in Florence and one apparently in Russia. It's amazing how much of a language can come back in five days. While I'm not good at it, I just had so much fun having the chance to try again, and for the first time in an environment where Spanish is the first language!

The problem I've found with traveling is that I fall in love with nearly everywhere I go, and for a variety of different reasons. There are some places I would love to visit over and over again, and some places I could even see myself spending extensive amounts of time. Now I have a huge list of places that I have yet to visit and really want to see, and an ever-growing list of places I want to return to at some point in my life.

Heading to our terminal, we heard another shout of "hola chicas!" But something was a little off with this shout, it just didn't sound right. We glanced back to find that it was none other than a bunch of drunk Irish men in rugby jerseys who had most likely been in Madrid to see the big match over the weekend. I hope those shouts are not a trend they plan on taking to Ireland. We knew we were at the right gate when suddenly everyone around us was paler than any human should ever be.

The plane ride was in true Irish style and the rowdiest flight I have ever been on - it took off a half hour late (but somehow arrived on time??) because no one would sit down in their seats, and people sang Irish songs and football chants the entire time. Truth be told, it was oddly comforting to go back to Dublin, especially on that flight. While I had such an amazing time, I felt a sense of relief at going back, almost like I was returning to another home.