As of my last post, I was looking forward to seeing Frank Skinner, who I thought was a writer, read excerpts from his latest book. I don't think I could have been more off. Apparently he is also a defunct British tv personality, and the program I had paid for was a variety show. I think I was also probably the only American in the giant house that night, and about 80% of the jokes went over my head, but somehow the man still managed to make me laugh quite a few times. The uncomfortable highlight of the evening was sitting in the house full of drunk and edgy scots and brits (who weren't really getting along with one another), while we all watched the weirdest 40-something-year-old A Capella boy band perform a medley of Scottish hits consisting of Franz Ferdinand's 'Take Me Out' and that song 'I Can Walk 100 Miles'. The entire performance was just pure twinging, praying that the crowd didn't turn, especially since they were quite terrible.
But beyond my paid shows, I have actually gotten to see a whole ton of great free performances, ranging from American stand-up, to a talky theater piece about 20-somethings, to a musical called, 'I love you, You're Perfect, Now Change'. Free meaning you donate a pound or so at the end, but these shows were actually more worth a paid ticket than the ones I saw for money. Funny how that works.
The rest of my weekend, when I haven't been in search of the next free show, has been spent catching up on Scottish history and art, at the free museums around town as well as finding some of the best food deals in the country. Today, on my guide books recommendation, I got a GIANT container of rice and chicken tikka curry for £3 from the local supermarket and it was better than any food I've had here so far. Plus I won't have to eat for the rest of the day! I also met my next wwoof host today, Adam M., who has not one but three jewelry stands here at the fringe. He's quite an entrepreneur. As for my assessment of his sanity, as I promised my folks I'd make sure of when I told them he lives in a tree house, he is definitely sane and one of the nicest people I've met so far in the city. It sounds like this next week will be a lot of fun, starting with tonight when we'll be going out with some of his friends who are in from Canada for dinner and dancing. Looking forward to it!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Oh the poor locals!
Is about the only thing I can think as I try and make my way through this giant chaotic mess of a city for what is known as the Fringe Fest in Edinburgh. I arrived Friday afternoon and was greeted by throngs of tourists from all over the world, crowding up the breathtakingly beautiful streets to the point where I could barely move. After a solid 2 days of carrying around my giant backpack, this was not a happy sight. I was also the least prepared, directions-wise when I got into the city, and with all the tourists, people were walking on every side of the street, rather than just the on the left as is proper in the UK. At one point I just barrelled up the middle of the sidewalk as that was the only place I could find any space!
Luckily, I made it to my hostel without too much trouble, and managed to get to the box office just in time to get the last seat for a show I wanted to see that evening. On my way to Edinburgh, instead of reading my guidebook and figuring out the city, I decided to read the reviews for the shows at the Fringe. I bought tickets to three shows, two I saw yesterday. The fringe traditionally has a variety of theater, comedy, music, and dance, but the most popular shows are generally all comedy. The first show I saw, Randy: Postcards from Purgatory, was a one-man puppet stand up routine. It had gotten great reviews and tickets cost about 10 pounds ($20), and although it was funny at times, the little black box theater, and semi-stale jokes reminded me a great deal of amature university comedy shows. The puppetry though was pure mastery, because you never actually saw the person, unlike Avenue Q, you just saw the puppet. By the end I really thought that thing was alive, so I guess for that fact, it was worth the money.
The second show I saw was Ashley Hames: Confessions of a Sex Reporter. Ashley Hames apparently had his own tv show in the UK where he explored the devious underground world of sex (dominatrixes seemed to be a common theme), until that is a year or so ago, the show got shut down, so here he was, trying to revive his career the grassroots way. I had bought the ticket knowing he had written a book that got a lot of press, and thinking I was gonna get something like Chelsea Handler standup, I showed up and realized I was in for something quite a bit different. The presentation was more about human sexuality than comedy, but luckily I had met a nice Australian girl from Melbourne at the show, so I didn't feel too much like a pervert being there by myself.
Tonight, I'm hoping my luck improves with tickets for what is technically the book festival, rather than the fringe. For tonight I'm seeing a comedy writer, Frank Skinner, do a program about his book and his exploits. I've heard he's hilarious so here's hoping. There's also quite a few free options, so I might try and pick some of those up if I can figure it out, or pay for a haunted tour of the city which is cheaper than a show and supposed to be fairly scary.
As for today, I went to the farmers market for breakfast and saw the giant Edinburgh Castle before lunch. It's essentially a less interesting version of the Tower of London, where they hold the crown jewels of Scotland and go on a bit about the history. It's at the top of the city though so the views were fantastic and now I know a bit more about Scottish history. This afternoon I'm going to attempt a foray into the national museum unless I get too bored and then will probably just end up watching the street performers all afternoon. And right now, I'm sitting in the cafe where J.K. Rowlings wrote Harry Potter, pretending to be thinking about my future bank-breaking novel series. I can feel it coming, this city definitely has the right mojo for creative thinking, perhaps I'll have something by the end of my time here.
Luckily, I made it to my hostel without too much trouble, and managed to get to the box office just in time to get the last seat for a show I wanted to see that evening. On my way to Edinburgh, instead of reading my guidebook and figuring out the city, I decided to read the reviews for the shows at the Fringe. I bought tickets to three shows, two I saw yesterday. The fringe traditionally has a variety of theater, comedy, music, and dance, but the most popular shows are generally all comedy. The first show I saw, Randy: Postcards from Purgatory, was a one-man puppet stand up routine. It had gotten great reviews and tickets cost about 10 pounds ($20), and although it was funny at times, the little black box theater, and semi-stale jokes reminded me a great deal of amature university comedy shows. The puppetry though was pure mastery, because you never actually saw the person, unlike Avenue Q, you just saw the puppet. By the end I really thought that thing was alive, so I guess for that fact, it was worth the money.
The second show I saw was Ashley Hames: Confessions of a Sex Reporter. Ashley Hames apparently had his own tv show in the UK where he explored the devious underground world of sex (dominatrixes seemed to be a common theme), until that is a year or so ago, the show got shut down, so here he was, trying to revive his career the grassroots way. I had bought the ticket knowing he had written a book that got a lot of press, and thinking I was gonna get something like Chelsea Handler standup, I showed up and realized I was in for something quite a bit different. The presentation was more about human sexuality than comedy, but luckily I had met a nice Australian girl from Melbourne at the show, so I didn't feel too much like a pervert being there by myself.
Tonight, I'm hoping my luck improves with tickets for what is technically the book festival, rather than the fringe. For tonight I'm seeing a comedy writer, Frank Skinner, do a program about his book and his exploits. I've heard he's hilarious so here's hoping. There's also quite a few free options, so I might try and pick some of those up if I can figure it out, or pay for a haunted tour of the city which is cheaper than a show and supposed to be fairly scary.
As for today, I went to the farmers market for breakfast and saw the giant Edinburgh Castle before lunch. It's essentially a less interesting version of the Tower of London, where they hold the crown jewels of Scotland and go on a bit about the history. It's at the top of the city though so the views were fantastic and now I know a bit more about Scottish history. This afternoon I'm going to attempt a foray into the national museum unless I get too bored and then will probably just end up watching the street performers all afternoon. And right now, I'm sitting in the cafe where J.K. Rowlings wrote Harry Potter, pretending to be thinking about my future bank-breaking novel series. I can feel it coming, this city definitely has the right mojo for creative thinking, perhaps I'll have something by the end of my time here.
A Country Refuge
While in Glasgow, as mentioned in my last entry, I met up with my grandparents friends, Colin and his wife Audrey Espie, and their 9 year old son Robbie. I didn't realize til I was sound asleep in a giant bed, but boy did I need a rest from being a tourist! Colin, the head of the psychology department at the University of Glasgow and a clinical sleep psychologist, picked me up in the west end, which was the University area. It's a beautiful old University, with vibrant streets in every direction. Then we drove out to his newly refurnished country cottage. It's his hobbie to update houses, sorta like flipping but with more love, and this one was repleate with multimedia systems, an amazing kitchen, and heated floors in the bathroom! Audrey had prepared a home cooked meal of steak, asparagus, roasted potatoes, and a classic Scottish desert of vanilla oatmeal pudding with Scottish raspberries. The meal was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!! I wish I had taken a picture of it.
After dinner I had a nice chat with Colin about a ton of different topics, did my washing in their free laundrey machines, and then went up to my own room with internet and a giant fluffy bed! It was a much needed night of sleep, especially in preparation for where I am now, the endlessly entertaining city of Edinburgh. I also learned a great deal about the clinical psychology programs in the UK and it was great to get another perspective about grad school for the future. So needless to say, thanks a ton to the Espie family for being such amazing and sweet hosts for the evening, and thanks to my grandparents for putting me in touch with them!
After dinner I had a nice chat with Colin about a ton of different topics, did my washing in their free laundrey machines, and then went up to my own room with internet and a giant fluffy bed! It was a much needed night of sleep, especially in preparation for where I am now, the endlessly entertaining city of Edinburgh. I also learned a great deal about the clinical psychology programs in the UK and it was great to get another perspective about grad school for the future. So needless to say, thanks a ton to the Espie family for being such amazing and sweet hosts for the evening, and thanks to my grandparents for putting me in touch with them!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Belfast is the Hellmouth and Glasgow is full of hookers
This is what I've learned during the past two days. First off, Belfast. My hypothesis that Belfast is the hellmouth comes from 3 different observations. The first, is when I went for a walk to go check out the old, which I use loosely, Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods in the west of the city. Up until maybe 10 years ago, there was constant struggle between these two very closely located parts of town, constant street fighting, bombings, and a whole bunch of horrible goings-on in general. Supposedly it's all over with now, but still as I walked between the two neighborhoods, the Catholic side was completely run down, and the Protestant side was boasting at the seams with British flags lacing the roads in every direction. And I didn't even make it into a quarter of the way into these towns. The entire place was just covered with this spirit of struggle and hardship and hatred, or rather nationalism in some cases, and I didn't like it one bit. I high-tailed it out of there pretty quickly needless to say.
Second piece of evidence, the Titanic was built in Belfast, and the shipping yards are pretty much exactly the same as when it sailed less than 100 years ago. The saying in Belfast, that is actually on postcards and things is, 'The Titanic was fine when she left here!' On the surface it seems to make sense, but when dissected, not only is it evading any sort of blame (perhaps boasting about building an unsinkable ship is not the best idea), but it's just a rotten response in general! Sure, the ship may have been fine, but all the class discrepancies that were the cause of so many people dying, came from your city! And there were simply not enough lifeboats, and that came from you as well. Even though it's 100 years ago, the whole thing just didn't sit well with me.
Then finally, the icing on the cake, I went to the oldest cemetery in Belfast, which is supposed to have St. Patrick buried there (we're talking 400 A.D.). When I showed up the gates were closed so I peaked inside. I couldn't see much but a few headstones. I looked away and then looked back, and magically, there was a little bisou dog sitting right in front of the second gate, staring at me. Now, there was absolutely no one around. No people walking around, the place was bolted up tight. No groundskeepers around. This dog, all alone, just sat there and stared at me for at least 10 minutes. It did not move! It kept it's eyes on me the entire time! I must have looked insane staring into a gated cemetery for 10 minuets, in an eye-lock with a possible imaginary dog. But I swear it was not imagined. I even took two pictures of it, and last time I checked they were still on my camera! I would post them now but I've left my cord in the hostel, so you'll just have to trust me on this.
Either way, I've come to the conclusion that Belfast is the hellmouth, and should be avoided at all costs, even if it does have beautiful architecture and cheap movies.
As for the second part of this entry, I've made my way to Scotland today, and have found myself in Glasgow for the evening. I was planning on staying at the Euro Hostel, which happens to be right by the Clyde River in the city center. Of course, what do I notice in my guide book under Safety after I've already paid for the hostel? 'Avoid going anywhere near Clyde River as it is full of hookers and thugs.' Oh geez, this is no good. But luck was on my side today, as my grandparent's professor friends from the University of Glasgow had just called to invite me to stay with them for the evening, so here I am, in my own beautiful guest room, far away from the hookers and thugs. Unfortunately I could not get my money back for the hostel, but at least I didn't get the chance to christen my brand new pepper spray. At least not yet.
Other than that side of town though, Glasgow is wonderful. Architecture even more beautiful than Belfast, and a student cafeteria named after a monkey that serves subsidized food to the public. Wonderful! Tomorrow it's onto Edinburgh for the end of the fringe fest and some high class street performances. I've been warned by many to beware of all the crazy people, but hopefully there won't be anymore possessed dogs or hookers. Although you never know!
Second piece of evidence, the Titanic was built in Belfast, and the shipping yards are pretty much exactly the same as when it sailed less than 100 years ago. The saying in Belfast, that is actually on postcards and things is, 'The Titanic was fine when she left here!' On the surface it seems to make sense, but when dissected, not only is it evading any sort of blame (perhaps boasting about building an unsinkable ship is not the best idea), but it's just a rotten response in general! Sure, the ship may have been fine, but all the class discrepancies that were the cause of so many people dying, came from your city! And there were simply not enough lifeboats, and that came from you as well. Even though it's 100 years ago, the whole thing just didn't sit well with me.
Then finally, the icing on the cake, I went to the oldest cemetery in Belfast, which is supposed to have St. Patrick buried there (we're talking 400 A.D.). When I showed up the gates were closed so I peaked inside. I couldn't see much but a few headstones. I looked away and then looked back, and magically, there was a little bisou dog sitting right in front of the second gate, staring at me. Now, there was absolutely no one around. No people walking around, the place was bolted up tight. No groundskeepers around. This dog, all alone, just sat there and stared at me for at least 10 minutes. It did not move! It kept it's eyes on me the entire time! I must have looked insane staring into a gated cemetery for 10 minuets, in an eye-lock with a possible imaginary dog. But I swear it was not imagined. I even took two pictures of it, and last time I checked they were still on my camera! I would post them now but I've left my cord in the hostel, so you'll just have to trust me on this.
Either way, I've come to the conclusion that Belfast is the hellmouth, and should be avoided at all costs, even if it does have beautiful architecture and cheap movies.
As for the second part of this entry, I've made my way to Scotland today, and have found myself in Glasgow for the evening. I was planning on staying at the Euro Hostel, which happens to be right by the Clyde River in the city center. Of course, what do I notice in my guide book under Safety after I've already paid for the hostel? 'Avoid going anywhere near Clyde River as it is full of hookers and thugs.' Oh geez, this is no good. But luck was on my side today, as my grandparent's professor friends from the University of Glasgow had just called to invite me to stay with them for the evening, so here I am, in my own beautiful guest room, far away from the hookers and thugs. Unfortunately I could not get my money back for the hostel, but at least I didn't get the chance to christen my brand new pepper spray. At least not yet.
Other than that side of town though, Glasgow is wonderful. Architecture even more beautiful than Belfast, and a student cafeteria named after a monkey that serves subsidized food to the public. Wonderful! Tomorrow it's onto Edinburgh for the end of the fringe fest and some high class street performances. I've been warned by many to beware of all the crazy people, but hopefully there won't be anymore possessed dogs or hookers. Although you never know!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Belfast
Unfortunately I can't upload any photos on this computer, but I'll add some more at the next place I pay for internet.
I made it to Belfast yesterday around 4pm after a long journey from Sligo. Belfast is quite a place. Immediately you can tell it's completely different than the Republic of Ireland. It's actually much more American, or I guess British. Instead of only Bulmers cider, there's signs for Magners! This would be spit on in Ireland. There's an Urban Outfitters, there's Mexican food! There are cinemas that give you assigned seats and an outdoor mall that looks like it was built by the same people who built hollywood on highland in LA. I almost feel like I'm at home.
Besides the similarities to the US, the city is actually quite huge! It's a regular city with lots of different sections. Some sections have buildings that are 300 years old, and then next door there is a giant modern ferris wheel. It's very disorienting, but quite beautiful. It's also very dead during the week. There aren't many tourists about, even though they have amazing tourist signs all over the city to encourage the tourism industry. It's also a university town in the south end of Belfast, and besides the big gothic main building, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between here and Evanston really.
Today I woke up late, got some of the city's famous fish and chips (which were definitely one of the best I've had so far), and went to the botanic gardens. This afternoon I'm going to go explore the shipyard where the Titanic was built and have my last dinner in an Irish pub, where there will hopefully be some music! Then it's to bed early so I can catch my 7:30am ferry to Scotland in the morning. Sounds like a plan!
I made it to Belfast yesterday around 4pm after a long journey from Sligo. Belfast is quite a place. Immediately you can tell it's completely different than the Republic of Ireland. It's actually much more American, or I guess British. Instead of only Bulmers cider, there's signs for Magners! This would be spit on in Ireland. There's an Urban Outfitters, there's Mexican food! There are cinemas that give you assigned seats and an outdoor mall that looks like it was built by the same people who built hollywood on highland in LA. I almost feel like I'm at home.
Besides the similarities to the US, the city is actually quite huge! It's a regular city with lots of different sections. Some sections have buildings that are 300 years old, and then next door there is a giant modern ferris wheel. It's very disorienting, but quite beautiful. It's also very dead during the week. There aren't many tourists about, even though they have amazing tourist signs all over the city to encourage the tourism industry. It's also a university town in the south end of Belfast, and besides the big gothic main building, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between here and Evanston really.
Today I woke up late, got some of the city's famous fish and chips (which were definitely one of the best I've had so far), and went to the botanic gardens. This afternoon I'm going to go explore the shipyard where the Titanic was built and have my last dinner in an Irish pub, where there will hopefully be some music! Then it's to bed early so I can catch my 7:30am ferry to Scotland in the morning. Sounds like a plan!
Movie Reviews
Somehow in the past week, I've managed to make it to the cinema twice! The first time put me over budget a bit, but last night I found a cinema in Belfast that was playing Inglorious Bastards for only £3! Tuesday night special! Couldn't turn that down! It was cheaper than dinner!
The Time Traveler's Wife:
What an amazingly interesting book, and what a shitty shitty movie. Granted I couldn't watch it with an unbiased eye, because I had just finished the book, but based on the fact that it was done at New Line (the defunct company at WB after Golden Compass sunk it last year) and had one of the worst one-sheets next to sisterhood of the traveling pants 2, I should have known not to expect too much. They stuck to the basic plot in the book, changed the very ending, and including absolutely none of the character detail that made the book worth reading. When I read the book I actually thought the characters were too universal, not developed enough, but then I watched this, and I don't think there was a single 'real' person in there. It was all generalities, stereotypes, and it was horrible. Not to mention way too sentimental. The only saving grace was the lovely Rachel McAdams who is too beautiful to be bad. She seemed to be the only one with any thoughtful choices in the entire film, and the usual great Eric Bana I don't think even read the book.
Inglorious Bastards:
I am constantly in awe of Tarantino. I had read half this script when it came out in Hollywood and was honestly not impressed. It seemed filled with hatred and crazy ideas, and not good at all. Then I went to the show, and every single line was executed with such attention to detail, you'd have to be out of your mind to be that great. The film worked perfectly, and was even a lot less bloody, and a lot funnier than I expected. I dare say it was almost a comedy. I had no idea what to expect from the end, and I must say, it was marvelous. Brad Pitt and the guy who played the Jew hunter gave two absolutely amazing performances. I will not forget them for a long time. This will definitely go down as a classic, perhaps, even...a masterpiece.
The Time Traveler's Wife:
What an amazingly interesting book, and what a shitty shitty movie. Granted I couldn't watch it with an unbiased eye, because I had just finished the book, but based on the fact that it was done at New Line (the defunct company at WB after Golden Compass sunk it last year) and had one of the worst one-sheets next to sisterhood of the traveling pants 2, I should have known not to expect too much. They stuck to the basic plot in the book, changed the very ending, and including absolutely none of the character detail that made the book worth reading. When I read the book I actually thought the characters were too universal, not developed enough, but then I watched this, and I don't think there was a single 'real' person in there. It was all generalities, stereotypes, and it was horrible. Not to mention way too sentimental. The only saving grace was the lovely Rachel McAdams who is too beautiful to be bad. She seemed to be the only one with any thoughtful choices in the entire film, and the usual great Eric Bana I don't think even read the book.
Inglorious Bastards:
I am constantly in awe of Tarantino. I had read half this script when it came out in Hollywood and was honestly not impressed. It seemed filled with hatred and crazy ideas, and not good at all. Then I went to the show, and every single line was executed with such attention to detail, you'd have to be out of your mind to be that great. The film worked perfectly, and was even a lot less bloody, and a lot funnier than I expected. I dare say it was almost a comedy. I had no idea what to expect from the end, and I must say, it was marvelous. Brad Pitt and the guy who played the Jew hunter gave two absolutely amazing performances. I will not forget them for a long time. This will definitely go down as a classic, perhaps, even...a masterpiece.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Irish Day Camp
Camp T---boy
For the past week, I've been working as a camp counselor at a summer camp program held by the farm that I'm staying at this week. I arrived Monday night at the T----boy farm, and spent Tuesday through Friday from 10am-2pm working at the camp. For the most part that's been all the work I've done here so it's been a pretty good deal.
The camp was a very interesting experience. It consisted of 13 children, aged 5 to 10, and we did activities around the farm with them, including a good deal of chores. It consistently made me laugh trying to think of a camp in America where the parents paid money to go have their children work somewhere, although these kids for the most part seemed to love it. Anything that allowed them to get as filthy or as wet as possible was all they wanted in life it seemed.
Aren't they adorableOn Monday, the kids learned about baking and how to make butter, but I wasn't there for that day. On Tuesday, Farmer Matt took them on a tour of the farm, gave them a history of what it was like to live in Ireland 100 years ago in the historic house on the farm, and then let them play with all the animals. The kids absolutely loved picking up the kittens and the puppies and trying to feed them to the other animals or one another, which was quite fun to try and prevent.
A bunch of animalsWe also went on a trailer ride, which consisted of throwing the kids in a giant open-air trailer that was pulled by Matt's tractor, taking them on a wild safari like ride through the wild horse farm and praying that the kids didn't fall over the edge and break there necks, as there were no seat belts and Matt has a habit of attempting to scare the living daylights out of everyone he comes in contact with.
On Wednesday, we made the children clean the leatherware for the horses, which they absolutely adored every second of, but then as a reward they were allowed to wash the puppies so they went absolutely wild with that task. On Thursday, we went down to a BEAUTIFUL lake and the kids were allowed to go fishing for little guppies with nets, which pretty much turned into a swimming free for all. Then we went to the bog and that turned into a mud free for all. Finally on Friday, after I was starting to wonder how much longer Matt's sanity was going to last as he was contently screaming that the kids were absolutely mad, we finished off the camp with forcing the kids to watch as Matt and his sheepdog rounded up all the sheep and then decided which sheep were too old and would be sold off in a few weeks.
Matt wrestling a sheepThey were rewarded after that task with a long hike through the wild horse farm land where one child started crying, and I quote, 'After this I'm never setting foot on a farm again, I'm not used to this!' which prompted me to carry her on my back the rest of the way. Of course though, there was another lake involved, and the really mad kids decided to go all out and jump in head first.
A wild trekSurprisingly, every single kid seemed to love the camp overall, even though it didn't have any of the games or the dress-up days or seemingly any of the things that camps in America have besides lunch. And although the kids were absolutely mad, they grew on me as always, and I was sad to see them leave by the end. I got a ton of pictures of the crazy rascals though, so I'll remember them forever... ;)
Galway Girl
Galway City
Now that I have a computer at my beck and call (Tom, the 14 year old here has an awesome tiny laptop that he lets me use whenever I want), I can back up and tell you all about Galway a bit more. On my second day in Galway, as I mentioned before, I went on a full-day bus trip to the Cliff of Moher. That evening, I went on a walk over to Salthill, about a 30 minute walk up the coast from Galway, to check out the resort town scene. They had a leisure center with a ferris wheel and a ton of carnival games, but the highlight was this awesome pub, O'Connells where they had the most ornately decorated pub I've ever seen.
Salthill Leisure Park
O'Connells PubLater that night after I walked back into the city center, I went on a one-person pub crawl in search of some good music. I ended up stopping in at 4 or 5 pubs, and found quite an array of music. Galway is supposed to be known for it's great trad music, which I didn't really know what that was until I got to Galway. Apparently it's the type of traditional Irish music, except usually without the singing. So the type of music that I like, which is the traditionally sounding music, except with singing, that type is considered drinking songs. Either way, I still had a ton of fun listening to all the musicians and I even met another nice couple from America at one of the pubs.
My favorite pub, The Kings Head, had a cover band and a ton of crazy people dancing their feet off. It reminded me of a scene out of a high school prom the way they do it in the movies from the 80's where they're all having way too much fun. It was quite a scene.
The King's Head Pub (also happens to be the name of my favorite pub in LA)The other cool thing about Galway is that it is the home of the Claddagh clan, who are famous for making Claddagh rings, which is also the ring that Angel gives Buffy on the show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (although I don't remember Angel being Irish!!). I went to the 'original' makers of the ring and almost dropped €40 on a ring just to have one, but I didn't give in. Instead I went to McDonagh's and got some of the best fish and chips in the city. Yum!
Makers of the Claddagh Ring
Best Fish and Chips!Overall, Galway is a nice city, but it's nothing like Dublin. Even the music wasn't all that special comparatively, but if Dublin is too big or too fast for ya, then Galway is probably just the right speed.
Official Return Date
On Tuesday I'll be traveling to Belfast, officially leaving the Republic of Ireland. This also means I'll be going to a new country, Northern Ireland, and techincally I'll need to get a new stamp in my passport from customs. I probably won't bother because I'll only be there 2 days, but from there I'm going to the UK and I'll definitely need a new stamp there. So in order to avoid all the hassle I got from the Irish customs officials, I finally decided it was time to book my ticket back, even though I'm still not quite sure how the rest of the trip will go.
But now I'll have to be in Lisboa, Portugla by November 24th to catch a flight to Dublin and then on to Chicago, getting me back home just in time for Thanksgiving, just like my parents wanted. I've been checking all week for flights and for a while thought I'd be out of luck because all the one-way flights out of Spain were at least $1,000, but then today I thought to look out of Portugal, and found one for just $440. Thank goodness!!!
So although the trip will be a little shorter than I wanted originally, I'll be back for Thanksgiving in the windy city which will be nice.
But now I'll have to be in Lisboa, Portugla by November 24th to catch a flight to Dublin and then on to Chicago, getting me back home just in time for Thanksgiving, just like my parents wanted. I've been checking all week for flights and for a while thought I'd be out of luck because all the one-way flights out of Spain were at least $1,000, but then today I thought to look out of Portugal, and found one for just $440. Thank goodness!!!
So although the trip will be a little shorter than I wanted originally, I'll be back for Thanksgiving in the windy city which will be nice.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
T----boy Farm
I have officially had a full day at my second wwoof farm, T----boy Farm in County Roscommon. It's quite beautiful farmland, not unlike Wicklow, although slightly less hilly. It seems I've ended up in the only really hilly parts of Ireland for both farms. Fun fact, T----boy farm is also closest to a town named Boyle, which is where Farmer Matt picked me up when I arrived, and is also the headquarters for the Ireland UFO association. Apparently there are a ton of crazies in this part, possibly including my hosts!
Farmer Matt sends his love to my family by the way. He runs the entire farm, without any staff, which is quite incredible. He reminds me a lot of Dick Van Dyke except a lot crazier. Along with Matt, is his wife Eileen, and their three older (14 and twin 18 year olds) sons. Also at the house is Matt's niece, Grania who is now my closest friend on the farm and is also 18. Finally, there is also another wwoofer here, Lizzy, 25, from Hungary. She's much quieter though, and she's working with the animals so I don't see her all that much during the day. As for the accommodations, Lizzy and I are staying in an adjacent house and we both have our own rooms. There are a tons of bunk beds because they have language camps during the year, but no one else is here right now so we have the run of the place. I did manage to get startled last night when at 2am the bed I had chosen decided to break and sling me onto the floor. Luckily I just had to choose a different one and all was fine.
As for the work, I'm helping out at the summer camp their having with 13, 5-10 year old kids. They are the most rambunctious kids I've ever seen, and Matt pretty much gives them run of the place. There is a ton of screaming, but I've learned almost all of their names now, and hopefully they might actually listen to me tomorrow. Today they got a tour around the farm, which is pretty much a GIANT petting zoo, and we also went for a terrifying ride across acres of farmland in a giant wagon with no seatbelts. Once the kiddies left, I then got to accompany Matt to go pick up a baby goat and bring it back to the farm, and boy was that an adventure. I had to sit in the back of the car with the goat while it screamed it's head off and prayed that it didn't bite me, but after a few moments, it just went silent and stayed still. It was pretty sad, but it will at least have a good home here.
The other excitement of the day was getting to see Matt try and breed two horses. I won't go into detail but it was the craziest thing I've ever seen. I can't even imagine what I'll be up to tomorrow, but I think it might involve teaching the 13 children how to fish, if that isn't the most hilarious thing anyone's ever heard.
Farmer Matt sends his love to my family by the way. He runs the entire farm, without any staff, which is quite incredible. He reminds me a lot of Dick Van Dyke except a lot crazier. Along with Matt, is his wife Eileen, and their three older (14 and twin 18 year olds) sons. Also at the house is Matt's niece, Grania who is now my closest friend on the farm and is also 18. Finally, there is also another wwoofer here, Lizzy, 25, from Hungary. She's much quieter though, and she's working with the animals so I don't see her all that much during the day. As for the accommodations, Lizzy and I are staying in an adjacent house and we both have our own rooms. There are a tons of bunk beds because they have language camps during the year, but no one else is here right now so we have the run of the place. I did manage to get startled last night when at 2am the bed I had chosen decided to break and sling me onto the floor. Luckily I just had to choose a different one and all was fine.
As for the work, I'm helping out at the summer camp their having with 13, 5-10 year old kids. They are the most rambunctious kids I've ever seen, and Matt pretty much gives them run of the place. There is a ton of screaming, but I've learned almost all of their names now, and hopefully they might actually listen to me tomorrow. Today they got a tour around the farm, which is pretty much a GIANT petting zoo, and we also went for a terrifying ride across acres of farmland in a giant wagon with no seatbelts. Once the kiddies left, I then got to accompany Matt to go pick up a baby goat and bring it back to the farm, and boy was that an adventure. I had to sit in the back of the car with the goat while it screamed it's head off and prayed that it didn't bite me, but after a few moments, it just went silent and stayed still. It was pretty sad, but it will at least have a good home here.
The other excitement of the day was getting to see Matt try and breed two horses. I won't go into detail but it was the craziest thing I've ever seen. I can't even imagine what I'll be up to tomorrow, but I think it might involve teaching the 13 children how to fish, if that isn't the most hilarious thing anyone's ever heard.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Wheeler Family
The Wheeler House
As promised here is a bit more about my time at the Greenan Maze and Museum Farm. Above is the amazing hand-built house by Will Wheeler himself that I've been staying at for the past 2 weeks. The house is made of completely recovered and recycled materials and cost the family under €10,000 to build I believe. It also took around a5 years and they just moved into the new wing jutting out to the right a few months ago.
These are my hosts for the past two weeks, Anita Davis and Will Wheeler. Will manages the Greenan Maze and Museum with his Dad, Jonathan, who just built his own house nearby as well. They've came up with the idea for the maze and museum and have been at it for about 15 years. Anita helps manage the farm as well, and is studying and teaching about environmental practices. Specifically she teaches about transition towns, which is a process that a town can go through in order to prepare for peak oil (when oil will become more scarce than it already is). She taught me a bit about it, and it's quite a concept. You can learn more here if you're interested: http://www.transitiontowns.org/ Anita is also a brilliant chef and at night she taught me a few Irish soda bread recipes and I spent some time perusing her large collection of cook books, so hopefully I picked up a bit.
These are my hosts for the past two weeks, Anita Davis and Will Wheeler. Will manages the Greenan Maze and Museum with his Dad, Jonathan, who just built his own house nearby as well. They've came up with the idea for the maze and museum and have been at it for about 15 years. Anita helps manage the farm as well, and is studying and teaching about environmental practices. Specifically she teaches about transition towns, which is a process that a town can go through in order to prepare for peak oil (when oil will become more scarce than it already is). She taught me a bit about it, and it's quite a concept. You can learn more here if you're interested: http://www.transitiontowns.org/ Anita is also a brilliant chef and at night she taught me a few Irish soda bread recipes and I spent some time perusing her large collection of cook books, so hopefully I picked up a bit.
Anita and WillThey have three kids, the boy Neiche (2.5) below with super blond curly hair. The other boy is his cousin Tai. A few days a week I would forgo my usual gardening duties to look after him. We mainly listened to the Jungle Book soundtrack, The Elephant (he pronounced as ambulance) Song was his favorite.
Nieche and TaiWill and Anita also had two daughter, Abaihin (pronounced Awin, 7) and Alanna (Lanabell, 5). They're the two girls to the left, and the third girl was Abaihin's friend Laura. As you can tell from the picture, they were all super sweet girls.
Abaihin, Lanabell, and LauraAs for the house, it was a marvelous place to stay. I had a great bedroom all to myself with a giant double bed. I've been completely spoiled for the other farms already.
My roomThe kitchen was my favorite part of the house. Anita has every type of spice and cooking pan necessary all packed into a fairly small kitchen. She was quite brilliant at packing it all in there.
KitchenAnother place I spent a lot of time was in the sitting room. Off in the corner of the house they kept a sitting room with tons of blankets and pillows from all over the world. There was even a small TV and we watched a few movies on the weekend. My favorite was 'Withnail and I' a cult British comedy, and surprisingly not all that far off from my wwoofing experiences. Definitely worth checking out. 'Withnail and I' Trailer
Sitting RoomHere is another general picture of the kitchen/dining area. The house also had a loft with a gorgeous spiral staircase (in the middle of the photo) that led to an office area. The whole house was absolutely amazing, and Anita and Will were so sweet to let me stay. They even invited me back whenever I can make it, even if it's this week. So now I have a fail safe plan for the rest of my time in Ireland in case this farm is no good.
Kitchen/Dining Room
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Cliffs of Moreh (aka tourist time!)
Cliffs of Moreh
On my first full day in Galway I totally got suckered into taking a bus tour for €20. It was actually a pretty good deal although there were still a couple of hidden fees, but seeing as it would be pretty much impossible to get to these sights from my next farm, I figured I better do it now since I won't be back. I woke up early this morning for the free breakfast at my AWESOME hostel and I decided to go the tourist information office first thing just to see what attractions they would recommend. They didn't have all that much to say, so the guy convinced me to hop on a bus tour that was leaving in 5 minutes. I hurried on over and made it just in time.The tour consisted of a whole bunch of junky little stops to take pictures of the ocean, go into a cave in the burren (a rocky limestone area of county clare), walk around an old castle, and a few others that were even less memorable. But the highlight of the tour was going to the Cliffs of Moreh. They are the third tallest sea cliffs in Ireland and they are renowned for crazy people jumping to their doom. The reason they're so popular is because you can pretty much walk straight up to the edge at your own peril. The actual tourist attraction doesn't allow you to do that, but most of the tourists snuck around a big warning sign and hiked up the side of the cliff anyway, including myself. It's quite a dangerous feat as it's a bit windy at the top.
Luckily there were no accidents, while I was there anyway and it was one of the most invigorating things I've done in Ireland so far. Definitely worth the €20, which I would have paid to get their by bus even if I didn't want the tour. The cincher on the deal was when the tourist info guy told me it was on the verge of becoming one of the eight wonders of the world, and boy was he right. Never seen anything like it that up close and personal.
The trail up - there were other tourists up there, I swear!
Me at the top clinging for dear life
Quite a drop
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Galway City!
I've officially moved on from Greenan Farm and made my way over to Galway (pronounced like gall stone, not like gal which my chicago accent can't figure out everytime I try and say it). It was a bit of a crazy journey to get here but I made it! I decided to stay with some friends in Dublin friday night (Will's cousin Roisin invited me out with some of her college friends) and we had one pretty grand rager of an evening. I only got about 3 hours of sleep before I was off to the bus stop to wait for a bus into the city center and then transfer to another bus to Galway. Of course, the bus I was told to go to didn't come on Saturdays as I figured out after waiting an hour. Finally, I caught the correct bus into the city with the help of quite a few friendly pedestrians and found out that they were gonna try and charge me €20 for a bus ticket and it wasn't even direct. Luckily I had noticed a private bus carrier that went direct to Galway for €10 when I was traveling to rathrdum earlier for my first farm. So I booked it over the river Liffey, found the correct bus station, got cash and a sandwich and made it back just in time to catch the bus. It was a nice 3 hour ride and then I was in Galway!
After a quick nap, I've spent the evening wandering around. Unlike Dublin, there really aren't that many touristy sites here other than pub hopping on the main drag. Galway is a college town and therefore much sleepier than bustling dublin. There's so many coffee shops I thought for a moment I had died and gone to heaven. And it's not as horribly expensive as Dublin either. Tomorrow I'll probably just walk around the city some more and work out how to get to my next farm on Monday! Soon to come are much more details about Greenan Farm and pictures as well!
After a quick nap, I've spent the evening wandering around. Unlike Dublin, there really aren't that many touristy sites here other than pub hopping on the main drag. Galway is a college town and therefore much sleepier than bustling dublin. There's so many coffee shops I thought for a moment I had died and gone to heaven. And it's not as horribly expensive as Dublin either. Tomorrow I'll probably just walk around the city some more and work out how to get to my next farm on Monday! Soon to come are much more details about Greenan Farm and pictures as well!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
My first Wwoof Farm!
It's now been a full week since I made it to my first wwoof farm in Ireland. I would have posted earlier but we're all the way out in the country and they have limited internet usage cause of it! The farm is absolutely wonderful. I'm staying with a small family, Anita Davis and Will Wheeler, and their three kids, Abhaine (7), Illana (5), and Niesche (2). I'm staying in the house Will built by hand which is absolutely unbelievable. It's gorgeous and I have my own amazing guest bedroom with a huge warm double bed.
During the week I tend to wake up around 9am, leisurely make my way downstairs before 10 for some breakey (muesli has been my choice as of late), and then I'm usually doing some type of housework until lunch. Sometimes it's hoovering, sometimes dusting or just watching the kids. Then around 1pm it's off to lunch at the tea room on 'the farm'. 'The farm' is an awesome giant tourist attraction that Will and his father Jonathan own and run, right next to the house. It has a giant hedge maze, farm animals, old heritage museums, walking trails, and a tea room! So I get my lunch in the tea room, usually some soup and a sandwich, and then I spend the rest of the afternoon, around 2-4:30 weeding in the garden, watering the polytunnel, and completely whatever odd upkeep tasks they have around the farm. After that, I usually go and have a cup of tea or coffee at the tea house and read outside for a while before returning to the house to help with (ie watch Anita make) supper. We've had the most marvelous food thus far: lamb burgers, venison stew, chili, laksa (a Thai noodle soup), classic Irish stew. It's been great! Then my job is to clean up the dishes, and it's off to watch a movie with the family or finish a book in the sitting room til bedtime! What a wonderful day.
Thus far in the 6 days I've been here I've finished, The Time Travelers Wife (4 stars for plot, 2 stars for writing - wonderfully fun book overall), and I'm a few hundred pages into Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Both books are Anita's that she's let me borrow while I'm here. This weekend has been wonderful as well. I spend yesterday cycling around the countryside, and then in the evening Anita and Will took me along to a party in the mountains hosted a Jewish family that lives in a Mongolian yurt. It was quite a scene, like something out of a movie. They had a belly dancer and everything! Then we went to this amazing pub in the middle of nowhere that was PACKED with people, and I drank way too much beer, as seems to be the custom here. We drove back over a mountain on the way home and were up so high, we got covered in clouds!
Today I went out on a fishing expedition in the family's newly bought caravan, with 4 kids in tow (we added a nephew to the pack). Although it was a grand time, I don't think I'll be going on anymore caravan trips with kids in the near future. I did manage to escape the kiddies for a while to go hiking in the woods and I came upon some old castle ruins which I was able to climb to the top and take some pictures of. I'll post those next weekend when I have more access to internet. Other than that, this next week should be just like the previous and I'm looking forward to finishing off a few more books and eating some great meals before heading off to my next farm!
During the week I tend to wake up around 9am, leisurely make my way downstairs before 10 for some breakey (muesli has been my choice as of late), and then I'm usually doing some type of housework until lunch. Sometimes it's hoovering, sometimes dusting or just watching the kids. Then around 1pm it's off to lunch at the tea room on 'the farm'. 'The farm' is an awesome giant tourist attraction that Will and his father Jonathan own and run, right next to the house. It has a giant hedge maze, farm animals, old heritage museums, walking trails, and a tea room! So I get my lunch in the tea room, usually some soup and a sandwich, and then I spend the rest of the afternoon, around 2-4:30 weeding in the garden, watering the polytunnel, and completely whatever odd upkeep tasks they have around the farm. After that, I usually go and have a cup of tea or coffee at the tea house and read outside for a while before returning to the house to help with (ie watch Anita make) supper. We've had the most marvelous food thus far: lamb burgers, venison stew, chili, laksa (a Thai noodle soup), classic Irish stew. It's been great! Then my job is to clean up the dishes, and it's off to watch a movie with the family or finish a book in the sitting room til bedtime! What a wonderful day.
Thus far in the 6 days I've been here I've finished, The Time Travelers Wife (4 stars for plot, 2 stars for writing - wonderfully fun book overall), and I'm a few hundred pages into Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Both books are Anita's that she's let me borrow while I'm here. This weekend has been wonderful as well. I spend yesterday cycling around the countryside, and then in the evening Anita and Will took me along to a party in the mountains hosted a Jewish family that lives in a Mongolian yurt. It was quite a scene, like something out of a movie. They had a belly dancer and everything! Then we went to this amazing pub in the middle of nowhere that was PACKED with people, and I drank way too much beer, as seems to be the custom here. We drove back over a mountain on the way home and were up so high, we got covered in clouds!
Today I went out on a fishing expedition in the family's newly bought caravan, with 4 kids in tow (we added a nephew to the pack). Although it was a grand time, I don't think I'll be going on anymore caravan trips with kids in the near future. I did manage to escape the kiddies for a while to go hiking in the woods and I came upon some old castle ruins which I was able to climb to the top and take some pictures of. I'll post those next weekend when I have more access to internet. Other than that, this next week should be just like the previous and I'm looking forward to finishing off a few more books and eating some great meals before heading off to my next farm!
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