The Lowdown on Ireland and the UK
Well it's about time I posted about my little trip. But this if the first chance I've had, it's been a busy three weeks of school.
I've traveled alone and I've traveled with friends and family. They both definitely are different experiences but overall I like to travel with friends and family. The best part about traveling is the experience and the memories. One little trip...will live on the rest of your life when you remember all the great things that happened. The difference is, when you travel with friends and family, I think the memory is more vivid. There is nothing like sitting with your travel mates, years later saying 'remember that time.' And then one of them pops up and says 'oh yeah, well remember this?' and it's something you completely forgot about. And suddenly your there again, reliving the moments. That is why I love to travel and why I spend my money on travel. 30 yrs from now, I'll still be reliving them 'remember when...'
DUBLIN, IRELAND
However...the above is besides the point in this blog, because I traveled to Ireland alone. The thing about traveling alone is, unless I wanted to spend the whole trip by myself, it forces me out of my comfort zone to speak with total strangers. And this trip went pretty well in that regard. Overall I met:
- 1 Andorran Girl
- something like 12 American Girls
- 1 French Girl
- and 3 French guys
Gaelic Football - http://youtube.com/watch?v=StcMJkQ80ns
Hurling - http://youtube.com/watch?v=VSdjLyGA8Oc
Saturday I just toured around the city. Met up with a group of 5 American girls and we toured around. Took in a service at Christ-Church Catherdral and then headed to the Guinness Brewery. Good 1-2 combination on a Sunday :) Sunday night was Halloween for adults since Monday was a Bank Holiday. So i hit the bar district and met more people as we lounged the Temple Bar area.
Monday, I hopped a bus out of town to Kikenney. On the bus I met up with another group of 3 of American girls, Sarah, Annie and Christine. And we spent the day touring the cool little Medieval city, although being with girls, we made the occasional stopping shop.
Tuesday I tried to take a tour out to the country side, but without making reservations. Turns our the tour was full, but Marie (from France) tried the same thing. The tour guide though was nice enough to tell us of another tour we could take, so we went together. We had a great time! Marie is living in Belfast, Northern Ireland teaching French. So we had quite a lot of conversation on (not in) the French language...and how bad I am at it hahaha.
Spent some time in a couple authentic Irish pubs, with Irish music and they were great. The CELT, was right around the corner from my hostel and it was just cool. I think the best thing about going into an Irish pub is the diversity. You've got 18yr olds drinking side by side, listening to the music with 40,50, 60yrs olds. Just great. It was there I met up with the same Andorran girl who I sat beside on the plane ride over from Barcelona...imagine that.
Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of Ireland...my camera was on dead battery from the moment I got there...and I didn't have the converter for the UK plugs. So as long as I conserved and only took one picture every once in awhile, the batter held a mini charge... :( Luckily Marie was a picture fanatic and so she is going to send me the beautiful pictures of the Irish countryside.
And that was it for the great land of Ireland
It's Never Dull in HULL
Next I jetted off to Hull, UK where my Norwegian friends Ase and Anders are studying. I stayed with Ase, Anne and family last year when I went to Norway, and further back then that Ase and her mom Anne came and visited Canada..about 10yrs ago...and further back then that, Anne was an exchange student to my Mom's family in the USA when they were in high school. Pretty cool eh?
So anyways, Hull isn't a big town, but I was just looking forward to hanging out and visiting with friends. So I arrived late Wed night. The cheap airfare here in Europe is great, i mean my flight from Ireland to UK cost me $20. However, you do have to watch as they often fly to out of the way airports that have low landing fee costs. So I actually flew to Doncaster/Sheffield (Robin Hood Airport!!!). Then took a bus for an hour to Doncaster, then took a train for another hour to Hull....so tack on another $30 for trains and buses....still cheap though..i'm not complaining.
Thurs I went to school with them and hung out in the library while they had classes. Sounds lame, I know, but it was actually good because I had a test the day after I got back from vacation, so I took the time to study and read up. Friday Anders and I took in THE DEEP. The massive aquarium they've got in Hull. Then took in an International Party at the College. Saturday we lounged around, had a nice breakfast, did some shopping and saw some Museums downtown. Then we went Ice Skating which was just perfect for a Canadian like me.
And that was it....time flew by and before I knew it I was training, busing, then flying to Barcelona where Vladi picked me up and we drove back to Toulouse.
voila! It was simply a great vacation and a much needed mental break from school and from France. The frustration with the French language and my difficulty with it was starting to wear. So it was nice to be able to take a little break from it. Go to a country where I could actually go to a store and ask for something, or ask the bus driver where I'm going. Or ask for a beer without pointing and making the 'cup to mouth' motion haha.
However, I definitely need to go back...Northern Ireland needs to be seen (Marie said it's beautiful), Scotland needs to be seen, more of Northern UK (like the Harry Potter castle) needs to be seen. Of course right?
Sláinte (to your health - in Gaelic)
Logan
posted by Logan @ 2:00 PM
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