Certified Irish Whiskey Taster

Today when I woke up, I packed my clothes in my bag before heading off to class.

This was out last day with Justice McGregor as our professor. Her lecture today was actually pretty interesting. She talked about various approaches to combating the issue of domestic violence.

While on break, I actually started chatting with the woman who is going to be our prof for the remainder of the session while I was in line grabbing a latte. She wrote a few of the articles we are reading for class next week so I asked if her specality was international women’s issues. Turns out, her focus is on women asylum seekers specifically. (Friggen perfect!) I told her that I was interesting in working with international women’s issues, specifically asylum seekers fleeing gender based violence. Apparently she overheard some of the questions that I asked the guest speaker the other day, so we talked about that a bit. (I guess they were good questions) She told me that she would be willing to meet with me next week to discuss different orgs. I might be able to work for, ect. Im super excited. :D

After class I walked to town, grabbed a sandwich and then headed towards the bus station. I popped into the tourist center to get a map of dublin and ask about Galway city tours, because I want to take one before I leave. Then I hit the station and got on my 3 1/4 hour bus ride to Dublin. On the way I had a bit of a nap, finished reading one of my articles for class next week and watched some of the scenery out the window.

When I arrived in Dublin, I headed towards the LAUS Red line and took the train west to hit the Harley Davidson shop. For those of you who dont know- every foreign city I visit that has a harley shop that I can reasonably get to, I hit to get a shirt and various other things for my Dad. After a 20 or so minute ride in the packed train car, I finally arrived at my stop. Luckily, I had been looking out the window and spotted one of the landmarks listed on the directions to the shop, or I would have walked in the other direction. About a ten minute walk in the rain and epic wind, I finally found the shop. I popped in and grabbed the things on my list.

I started walking back to the train, and realized half way that I had forgotten to ask for a VAT reciept. For a few steps I debated if I wanted to go back or not (I was trying to hurry back into town so I could catch a Jameson tour before they closed) I decided that I should head back and get the receipt. A short while later, I was on my way.

I jumped on a train, which was thankfully empty and I was able to have a seat. I made my way back to the city and had a short walk from the train stop to the Old Jameson Distillery just in time to catch the last tour at 530. I had a few minutes in the gift shop and I had a serious debate with myself about buying a bottle of one of their special whiskies. I was good, and didn't, but I did pick up a gift pack to split for my brothers.

The tour was pretty cool. We learned the story of John Jameson and how the whiskey is made as well as some other bits of history. When the tour started, the guide asked for volunteers for a tasting. I volunteered because nobody was really jumping at the chance. I got a cardboard tube and was told to hang onto it. At the end of the tour everyone got a free glass of Jameson and all the volunteers were sat don at a table with a bunch of place settings. The tasting was- we tried Jameson, Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels to see the difference between the different types of whiskey. It was actually kind of cool. When we finished we got a certificate making us certified tasters. (This is what the cardboard tube was for- to roll up the certificate and put it in it)

When I finished at the Jameson Distillery I headed for my hostel so I could check in and ditch my epically packed backpack along with the other two bags I had accumulated. Checking in was a bit of an interesting situation. After I had gotten my key, I went to the room I had been assigned and all of the beds were taken, looked like the had been slept in or had stuff on them. I went back to reception and explained the dilemma and the desk guy was a little annoyed (not with me, but the other people in the room) and assigned me a new room. It ended up working out for me, because the new room actually looks nicer and has more space. Plus its not completely booked, so fewer people will be in and out throughout the night.

After I dropped off my bags, I headed out in search of lotion for my tattoo, a towel because one wasn't included with my room (and I wasn't going to pay to rent one, if Im going to need one all weekend, its cheaper to buy one and ditch it sunday) and dinner. As I walked towards center city I found a 2 euro store and bought a towel there. Then I just started wandering a bit. As I was looking for a boots, I saw a clarks store with a huge sale sign in the window- up to 70% off. I’ve been really good to this point about not purchasing shoes, but I gave in a bought a pair of sporty flats. (I LOVE european shoes, they are super cute and super comfy) I partially justified it with the fact that my TOMS have nearly met their end, and with my new tattoo I cant wear my strappy sandals. (I only brought 3 pairs of shoes here and I’m not a fan of wearing my tennis shoes) I was really good in that I saw some really cute business shoes super cheap as well, but I resisted buying them. - It wouldn't have been a good idea anyway seeing as I have a three day tour ahead of me and I don't need the extra baggage.

I left Clarks and went in search of Boots. I happened to remember where one was from my last trip to Dublin, so I located it and got the lotion that I needed. Because I bought shoes, I decided I would have a cheap dinner. I was going to hit a pub and have a decent meal and a drink, but I hit Supermacs in the interest of eating cheaply. (Supermacs is a fast food chain) I ended up getting a really good chicken sub from a separate counter inside the same building, it was fairly large and came with a drink for only €4. Score. It was pretty tasty too. I ate on the second floor on one of the windo stools and watched the people outside walking by as I ate. When I finished I headed back to my hostel to call it a night. There wasnt much I wanted to do in Dublin, plus I wanted to rest up because I have a big weekend ahead of me.

When I got back, I locked myself out of my room when I was headed to take a shower. The guy at reception was really cool about it and gave me a new key and once I got in I returned the old one.

Im not just chilling out in my room. I rearranged all of my bags to downsize for the trip, so now Im set and everything is compact. I got the pass code for the internet but I cant seem to get it to work, so I cant upload or post anything this evening. I do have my assignment page already open so I may do some reading before conking out.

Getting some Irish Ink

I ended up in bed pretty late last night (erm....rather... this morning). I stayed up to join in on the Amnesty Meeting (which unfortunately, die to tech errors, I ultimate was unable to take part in). While I was waiting, Carlo called and we had a good talk about law school and our plans for this weekend. (Im going to Northern Ireland and he’s going to Scotland- so I gave him some suggestions of things to see while he’s there) After my failed google chat meeting, I hung out with my roommates and we talked a bit about a conflict thats currently taking place with some other students in the program.... I wont go into detail, but its friggen creepy.After a while, I decided I really needed to get to bed because I really didn't sleep Monday night.

I really didn't want to get out of bed when my alarm went off.... but I forced myself to.

We had presentations in class, so it wasn't all that exciting.

After class, I headed home and had lunch and just hung out for a while. My roommates and I went out to eat after Kimberly finished her class because Colleen had to take her laptop in to be worked on. We ended up eating at McSwiggens, which we’ve heard from various townspeople that its a really good place to get food. (Because I had already eaten lunch, I was a fat kid and had a coffee and desert.) Let me just say, Banoffi Pie is AMAZING.

After we finished eating, we headed towards Dunnes because the others needed to do some shopping. I ended up cutting out to head to my tattoo appointment. I was there a bit early because I was dodging the rain outside. Unfortunately, I didn't take my umbrella out of my school bag when I left the apartment this afternoon, and in proper irish fashion, it started raining. (And there was thunder- for the first time since Ive been here)

I hung out in reception for a bit and chatted with some of the tattooers and flipped through some of the magazines on the table while I waited for Joe. A little after 230, her set his room up and we went to it. Surprisingly, I thought it was going to hurt a lot worse that it actually did. It wasn't bad at all, so I was pretty chill while Joe did his thing. We chatted a bit about school, some of my other tattoos, my adventures around Ireland. After almost two hours, we were finally done. Im super stoked with it- it looks really cool. Rather than me describing it- see the pic above.

I then headed back to the apartment via the shuttle- perfect timing- I hit it just in time. This was really good because the sandals I decided to wear to my appointment were kind of rubbing on my tattoo, so I really didn't want to walk a few miles with my shoes rubbing my fresh tat.

As soon as I got back, I headed to do my laundry. I cant really put it off because Im leaving for Dublin straight after class and I need clothes to wear this weekend. While at the laundry, much to my dismay, I had to sit with a group of really annoying youngsters. -Youngster being fairly relative.(They may have been in college, but they were pretty high school) I sat amused as they got directions on how to wash clothes.... I never cease to be amazed by the people who have reached this point in their life and don't know how to do laundry... WTF?

After I finished my laundry and headed back to the apartment, I put my clothes away and made dinner.

Ill be spending the evening just vegging out and packing for my trip.

Im headed to Dublin tomorrow after class and Ill be touring Northern Ireland this weekend.

Finishing my paper and making plans for ink

Yesterday I woke up bright and early to finish preparing my presentation and writing my memo for class. I was kind of a shit show and I didn't feel well, but I got it done.

After class I passed out for a few hours- still wasn't feeling all that great.

Then I began the epic-ness that is involved in my writing papers. I had my term paper for ethics due at 6pm today so at some point, I had to actually start writing the thing. I had a lot of research and notes from the past few weeks of my preparation for it, I just had to get down to business.

As anyone who knows me already can guess... most of my evening involved a significant amount of procrastination and ADD. I didn't finish the paper as I had hoped last night, but I made a dent in it.

I spent part of the evening hanging out with Colleen in the common room. I worked on my paper a bit while I watched tv. For the most part it was background noise, but I did watch an episode of Jessica Simpson’s show, The Price of Beauty. I’m going to start watching it when I get back to the states because it was really good. The concept for the show is fantastic.

In class this morning we had a guest speaker talking about domestic violence and other women's issues in Ireland. It was by far my favorite class yet. It was really interesting and I stayed after class to talk to her about various issues I am interested in.

After class I had some lunch and went back to the grind of working on my paper. Its what I spent most of my day on.

I finally finished and submitted it shortly after 5. I then decided, having been locked in my room the past two days working on this paper, I was going to head into town and talk to the tattoo guy because I never heard back from him.

I hit the six pm shuttle to town and hit the Inkfingers shop off of Shop Street. When I got there I talked to Joe. It turns out he forgot about me, which is why he never called, but we made plans to do up the design and Im going to get my new tattoo tomorrow. Im really excited. :D (And while your sitting there thinking to yourself “this girl needs to lay off the ink” let me just say that my collection of body art is a much better investment than my peers who spend their money on copious amounts of booze, drugs and cigarettes. Call me in 30 years with pictures of their lungs and livers and Ill wager that my tats are a much better sight to look at- so step off Im a piece of art!)

After I finished making plans with Joe, I walked back to Corrib Village in the drizzle. It was good to get a bit of fresh air.

My roommates are out pub-hopping to celebrate officially being done with their papers, so Im chilling in the flat with my music cranked, my pjs on and surfing the net.

I have a conference call for Amnesty at 1am my time, so I might have myself a nap before then.

Link to my photos

So.... I guess I never posted a link to my pictures. I've been uploading everything much to the dismay of my net connection, my patience, my computer and my photobucket account which is nearing its limit.

anyhow- here it is.....http://s58.photobucket.com/

albums/g246/ayeip/Ireland%20Summer%202010/

there's well over a thousand pics there if you have the time/ interest to paruse them.

Cheers

Then I spent an hour or so walking around a field, taking pictures of rocks....

This morning I woke up, packed my things and headed out of my hostel to catch an early bus to Sligo so I could spend part of the day exploring there. I took the same route back into town that I took last night, the path along the water, rather then walking along side the road. At 730 am, Im sure the few cars that passed me thought I was a bit mad.

I popped into a convenience store and bought a muffin and a coffee to eat while I waited for my bus in the square by the Obelisk in the center of town. Officially, the worst muffin I’ve eaten to date.

After a bit of a wait, the bus arrived. The driver let me on and had me “watch the bus” while he ran inside a sore and grabbed a coffee for himself. I was the only person on the entire bus. On the ride we chatted a bit about the country and his family. He told me about his trip to the states last year and pointed out different things as we drive. The ride was quite enjoyable and it was a lot of fun talking with the driver on the ride.

When I arrived in Sligo I headed for the tourist office to make sure that Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery was open because I didn't want to pay to take a taxi out only to find it closed on Sunday, plus it wasn't quite ten yet, so I wanted to kill some time.

When I arrived at the tourist office, I had a few minutes before they were open, but I unfortunately was kept waiting a bit longer because the worker with the keys to the shop didn't arrive until quarter after. After I got inside, I took a look at a few things, grabbed a brochure for a self guided tour of the city and inquired about Carrowmore. Because there is no bus that runs on Sunday, I had the girl at the counter call a taxi for me because I wanted to save time and spare myself the hike out. Mind you, it cost me quite a bit to take the taxi round trip, but Carrowmore was something I wanted to see. (Im making up for it by forgoing all the nights out at the pub)

At Carrowmore, I paid the euro student entrance fee and left my bag at the desk. I took a look around at the information in the small center and then began wandering the field. Yes, I spent over an hour, wandering around a field, taking pictures of rocks. One portion is used for “agricultural purposes” so I had to mind the cow pies as I made my way around.

The rocks around Carrowmore are actually ancient burial sites that date back 6000 years. Its pretty interesting. I suggest googling it. (because Im too lazy to give ya the run down)

While at Carrowmore a couple noticed my WSU t-shirt and asked if I was from the states. We stopped and chatted for a bit. They are from Arizona and have a son who is a lawyer in Phoenix. I told them that I was in Ireland studying for the summer and just traveling for the weekend.

When I finished at Carromore, I collected my bag and rang a taxi to take me back to town. Apparently the service I was using is super small because it took over half an hour for my car to arrive. (She said all the cars had been out on runs) I had the taxi drop my at the Franciscan Friary. Being Sunday, there was a service going, so I couldn't actually go inside. I then walked to the Court house (which actually is pretty cool looking) and then to the ruins of the Abbey. I didn't pay to go inside because I could see the Abbey through the fence and I really couldn't justify spending two euro on what I’ve done for free at various other ruins.

I then continued to wander around a bit. I saw a few buildings that were detailed in the self guided tour that I grabbed a booklet for. I also saw the W.B. Yeats statute. It was actually a kind of cool statute. It had words all around it from Im assuming one of his pieces of work. (He’s actually buried about a 10 minute ride outside the city according to some info I picked up at the tourist center in Donegal yesterday, but I didn't have the time nor was there a bus running for me to go today)

I then decided to start making my way to the bus station. I was a bit tired of carrying around my bag and there wasn't much left of the city to see, Id pretty much covered everything that I was going to cover today. As I made my way back, I looked for an open take away restaurant. For blocks I couldn't find anything that was open on a subway. At one point I had passed a subway, but I didn't go in on the principle that Id rather eat something local. However, to no avail, I couldn't find anything, so I gave up and grabbed a sandwich and a coffee from a local convenience store. It would suffice until I could get back to Galway for dinner.

I then headed to the bus station to wait for the number 64 to bring me back to Galway. The bus was late. Then we waited in the rain for it to switch drivers. I was a bit perturbed, but whatever. Once on the bus, I turned on my Ipod and attempted to nap. This really didn't work well. After an hour I decided to start writing my blog post, but then I started to feel a little sick, so I put my computer away. I really began to regret that convenience store sandwich. Ick. I turned on the air conditioning and just hoped Id make it home.

When the bus finally arrived in Galway I did some quick grocery shopping and then grabbed the shuttle back to Corrib Village. I felt a lot better after I made myself some dinner and got settled. It was a very tiring weekend.

I plan to spend the rest of the evening working on my presentation for class tomorrow and time permitting, make a dent in my paper for Tuesday.

Adventure to Donegal Town with a side of soggy trousers and sneakers

This morning I got up and took a bus to Donegal Town in County Donegal.

I spent the 4 plus hour bus ride sleeping and looking out the window.

When I arrived in Donegal I stopped to see Donegal Castle because it was right by the bus stop. It is a fairly small castle, but it was really cool to see. I had arrived just in time to take one of their short guided tours.

When I finished at the castle, I decided to go in search of my hostel so I wouldn't have to be carrying around my backpack all afternoon. Also, I wanted to ask for suggestions of things to see in case I missed anything in my research.

My hostel ended up being a bit of a trek. What was supposed to be only 1km was more like 2 (at least thats what the sign said).

When I arrived, a very friendly woman showed me to my room and answered a few questions that I had. She also directed me to take a more scenic route back into town along the bay. (And also past Dr. McCarty’s house- I mentioned to her that my family is from the McCarthy clan....)

With a lighter load, I set out to see the town. Unfortunately, the mountains are too far of a hike for me to do in a few short hours.

I took the path that Linda (the keeper of my hostel) had recommended. At first I thought she was just going to get me very lost. I was going in the wrong direction and it wasn't the greatest path in terms of scenery. Then I hit a more wooded area and understood why she had sent me that way. The path ended up swinging back around and took me on a wooded path along the shore. I still thought I was a bit lost, but I kept walking. And walking..... Eventually the path brought me back out along the river that runs next to the castle. I knew exactly where I was. Hooray. And the path ended up being way better than the route along the highway that I took to get to the hostel.

As I was walking along the bay, I noticed ruins of what looked like a church and a graveyard across the water. I decided I wanted to check it out. Later I found out it was the ruins of the Franciscan Abbey that I had wanted to see while Im here.

On the way to check out the abbey, I stopped in the square because there was a Saturday market going on. I was kind of hungry, but I didn't find anything that looked appealing. I did stop and buy a necklace from a local artist. He does bone carvings similar to the Maori fish hook that I have, but he did other stuff as well. I ended up buying a carving of what is apparently a traditional weapon. I though it was a little more original than the celtic stuff he had and I already have a hook, so I didn't want to buy another.

I then headed in the direction of the Abbey and the craft village. I stopped into the tourist info shop and asked about a bus to Carrowmore from Slingo for my adventure tomorrow. Unfortunately the bus doesn't run on Sunday and the walk is along a major road, so the guide strongly recommended I take a cab to the tombs rather than walking the 4 plus kilometers out to them.

I then headed to the Abbey and walked around it for a bit. Theres only a few walls left and its surrounded by grave stones. I saw one that was from the 1700’s. It is still used today as a cemetery as well. There was a fresh grave from last month. I though it was kind of interesting that the land is still in use for burials.

After the abbey I decided to take a walk out to the Donegal Craft Village. Linda had told me it was worth a visit. On the journey there and back I was cursing the place. The walk was along a highway which at some points didn't have a walking area, so I was literally walking on the road- which was a busy highway. (highway in the irish sense, aka, two lanes but cars still driving relatively fast) I thought it kind of ironic, because I had just been told by the travel woman that it want wise to walk to carrowmore and here I was on the highway walking to a craft shop. As I was walking, it began to rain. FML.

After 1/2 hour to 45 min. walk (a few km), I finally arrived at Donegal Craft Village. I had read that there was a coffee shop, so I made that my first priority. It ended up being more of a bistro sort of thing. I had only really wanted a pastry as I had planned to get dinner in town later, but lacking pastries I ended up having a late lunch/early dinner. It was 4pm so I decided that was going to be my meal for the day.

I was really glad to be finally sitting after the epic walk that I had to get there. After I finished eating and paid, I walked back out into the rain to check out a few of the shops. It ended up being more art than crafts per se. It defiantly wasn't what I thought of when one says crafts- it was art. I checked out the glass shop and the shop with woven stuff (ie scarves, ect). There was some stuff that I liked but it was quite similar to stuff I could but at an art and craft show in the states so I passed.

I then started the rainy trek back into town. Once I made it back to town I spotted McGees. They make tweed clothing. While I was aware that their stuff was expensive, I didn't realize just how expensive it was. When I got inside I headed upstairs to the sale section. Even the stuff on sale was well over €100. I did end up finding one jacket for €75 that I really liked with patches on the elbows, but it was a bit small and I wasn't going to pay that much of a slightly small jacket. A bit bummed, I headed out. A few shops down, I went into a craft/gift shop. From the window it seems like I might find something cool. But I was again disappointed by a) prices and b) it was the same stuff I could get almost anywhere in Ireland.

After I finished checking out the shops, I decided to head in the other direction to see the famine cemetery. After a ten minute walk, I came across a field with a sign for the cemetery. It ended up being a walled in area with a cross and a plaque. At the time of the famine, the poor were unable to bury all the dead in individual plots, so Im assuming they were all buried in this area.

After I took a few pictures, I headed back towards town.

By this time it was after 6 (and everything but the pubs close at or before 6 in Ireland) I decided to head back to the hostel and call it a night. I took the scenic route back. On my way, I met a furry friend who walked with me shortly.

When I finally reached the hostel, my pants were wet all the way up to my knees from walking in the rain, and the rest of my clothes were slightly damp.

Scatterbrained, I tried the wrong door, so I hung out downstairs waiting to see Linda and ask about the room situation, thinking I had been locked out.

I sat around for about an hour and I finally spotted her. I had in fact tried the wrong room, but oh well. I got my laptop from her and got settled. I met two of the other girls who are staying in my room before they headed out for the evening. One is from the Czech Republic an the other is from Spain.

I grabbed a hot shower (which was amazing after walking in the wind and the rain today) and then came back to my room to try to upload my pictures. Unfortunately the internet on my computer is not working correctly, so I may try to get them up another time and just head to bed.

No Nun spotting in Connemara

Today we took a tour of the Connemara region. Our bus driver was hilarious. He intermittently gave us info about various parts of the region as he was driving.

We stopped a few times to take pictures and “stretch our legs.” The entire region is quite beautiful. Luckily, the weather was really nice today, so the trip was quite enjoyable.

Also- there are sheep everywhere. Its actually kind of funny. I never really believed those scenes in movies where a car gets stuck because of the cattle crossing a road- well now I can, because there were sheep along the road side and at some points we had to stop because they were in the middle of the road. There were also some kamikaze sheep. It was quite amusing.

At one point we had a 1/2 hour drink stop in a small town. While most of the group headed to the bar, I hit the Sheep and Wool shop and got some Irish Wool for mom to make something out of later. Then I just sort of hung around and took pictures of the Killary Fjord.

Midday we went to the Kylemore Estate which is home to the Kylemore Abbey. The entire estate is set amidst a bunch of mountains and is located right on a lake. It was all very picturesque. I took the shuttle to check out the walled victorian garden which was really interesting. They had the old farmers houses set up for people to check out. After that I headed towards the Abbey. Because it still houses Benedictine nuns, only a small portion of the first floor of the abbey was open to look through. Sadly, I didnt see any nuns. (It hasn't always been home to nuns, it used to be a private estate- for info on the history of Kylemore- wiki it, its actually kind of interesting)

After that I took a walk along Pollacappul Lake to the neo-gothic style church that is part of the compound. The church was really small, but pretty amazing. Close by is the mausoleum of the original owner and his wife.

After I saw the church and the mausoleum I walked back toward the entrance where there was a restaurant, craft shop and pottery studio. The walk is very refreshing/ relaxing along the water. I was a creeper and stopped to take a picture of three girls who were tossing stones into the lake. It was a super cute shot.

Once back to the entrance I hit the craft shop. Through the window I watched some of the pottery being made. On the grounds they make pottery, soap, and jam. The pottery was a bit expensive (Im not paying €13 for a coffeecup) but I did buy some jam to take home with me. I got Gooseberry and Lemon Rhubarb. I though Id try something a little different that the typical flavors that they also sold.

I then grabbed a quick lunch of soup and coffee before rushing back to the bus.

Once we were all on the bus and sorted, we made our way back to Galway through a different part of Connemara than we came through.

After a few more picture breaks, we made it back to Corrib Village for the evening.

Im spending the evening hanging out. Contemplating working on stuff for class (or not). Ill probably head to bed early because Im heading to Donegal in the morning.

Only two more weeks left in Ireland :( Time is flying.