Oh Darling, Let's Be Irish Adventurers

Friday, 5 June 2015

Navigation Page

Hi!
Now at the end of my semester in Ireland, I have had the chance to catch up on my blog. Since I have posted so much recently, navigating the site can be tricky so I created this page that groups blog posts together by location. They are all in chronological order by places I visited, including Ireland, Dublin, London, Prague, Paris, and Austria. Look around, and click on a post about a certain trip that looks interesting to you, or click them all! You can always go back to this page by clicking Navigation Page on the side bar. There's tons of stories, photos and videos that I have shared on here about the past 5 months I have been in Europe. Thanks to everyone who supported me during my study abroad experience!
Love,
Jocelyn

Goodbye Dublin

June 4
With our days in Ireland dwindling, today was our last trip to Dublin. That afternoon we took the Dublin bus into the city and went straight for the Cake Cafe for a final Dublin tea party. Sitting outside, with the occasional breeze and patch of sunlight we sipped down our Barry's tea and ate our chocolate Guinness cake. We reminisced about our favorite memories in Ireland and all of our adventures in Europe, trying to bring smiles to our faces, even though we knew our lives were about to revert back to normal. Filled with tea and cake, we strolled back through St. Stephan's Green, the first Dublin landmark we ever explored. It looked quite different in full summer bloom in comparison to the cold early February when everything was dead. After laughing at the seagulls in the park we walked down Grafton street, gawking at the vast array of street performers: a unicyclist, a sand artist, a leprechaun, the statue guys, and singers. We popped into a few gift shops before heading towards Dublin castle.

Tea for two!

"Come, let us have some tea and talk about happy things"

Stormed the castle for the last time

Dublin Castle looked the same as it always did, and from there we walked through the cobblestone streets of Temple Bar. Along the way to Trinity College we remembered all the times we walked these same streets, never thinking that there would come a last time for us to go through these Dublin streets we loved so much. Trinity College was pretty empty without the students on campus, but we still enjoyed our time there. From there we crossed the River Liffey to the north side to go to Penney's. Taking advantage of the cheap clothing deals we made our last purchases there after perusing all three floors of merchandise. Needing some more souvenirs, Kathleen especially, we went to Carroll's by crossing over Hapenney Bridge. I'm pretty sure we spent over an hour there, but I can't remember exactly because I was looking at too many Irish themed gifts and got a headache. It was a combination of the emotions stirring in my head about leaving and looking at too much Irish gifts and gags. With our Carroll's purchases out of the way, we then ate in Temple Bar. We had our last traditional beef and Guinness Irish stew with brown bread, and got so full so quickly. With night falling and our bellies full, we took one last stroll to the bus stop, clambered on the bus with teeth chattering from the brisk Irish wind, and rode it back to Maynooth for the final time.

Penney's has got her ready for summer

Ha'penny Bridge

Stew, you're so good to me

Our last Dublin bus selfie

My Irish adventures have now concluded as all that's left is packing and a long plane ride home. My head and heart are a confusing, fluttering mess as they try to work out the past 5 months in Ireland and a future not in Ireland, even though a part of my heart will always remain in Ireland.

"Your feet will always take you where your heart is" ~ Irish proverb

Don't Kiss and Tell

June 3
Tuesday deserved some much needed rest after all of the hectic travel. When I talked to Kathleen the next morning I found out that she had a rough flight as well, but luckily hers landed. We spent the day, resting and beginning to pack for home, a tedious task. That night we got our favorite Irish pizza, while watching some Bachelorette before falling asleep. Early the next morning we were up and getting ready to catch the train into Dublin for our tour to Blarney Castle and Cork. Once situated on the tour bus we prepared oursleves for a nice, quiet morning drive to Cork, which is about 2 1/2 hours away. However, quiet was not what we got. Our tour guide loved to hear the sound of his own voice as he told us the history of Dublin, and once we were on the highway he proceeded to play the radio on full blast. So much for a little nap on the bus, I couldn't even hear my own music from my ipod. After a pit stop, our tour guide thought it was a good time to tell us the entire detailed plot of Back to the Future, for no apparent reason becuase he never related back to Irish history. 45 minutes of Back to the Future, with his booming voice ringing in my ears caused me to almost lose my mind. Thankfully, we were soon off the bus in the historic island of Cobh. The Queenstown was the setting for a port of departure for the Titanic and the sinking of the Lusitania. Kathleen and I walked around the little town and a gift shop before having to return to the bus.

I love the Titanic

Kathleen is connecting with the Irish emmigrants. E.T. phone home

Cobh

Kennedy park

Of course our tour guide had to talk again, giving us a random yet detailed account of the course of Irish history on the way to Blarney Castle. When we arrived at the castle grounds, Kathleen and I split quickly from the group and went up the castle to kiss the Blarney stone. Kissing the Blarney stone gives you the gift of gab, or the ability to talk about anything for 7 years. In order to get to the stone, we had to climb an ancient, narrow staircase that wound upwards, and then had to lean backwards and upsidedown to kiss it. Slightly scary to hang upside down with an old Irishman holding you, but we did it. From there we explored the castle grounds and gardens before getting a lunch of tomato soup and brown bread. With the time running out before had to board the bus again, we went into the largest gift shop in Ireland. There was so much stuff, especially woolen clothes. Boarding the bus again, we were off to Cork.

Kathleen is ready to kiss the Blarney stone

At the top of the castle

Kissing the Blarney stone

The castle grounds

We conquered Blarney

A fairy hut?

Just hanging around

Kathleen the spelunker

She found a sheep

Cork is known as a miniature Dublin, which I agree with. There's a river that runs through it out to the bay, and there are lots of shops and churches. We walked down to the English market and perused the selection of meats, fruits and vegetables and breads. I would love to utilize the market on a weekly basis if I lived down in Cork. From there we wandered down streets and alleyways, popping into cute boutiques before deciding to go to Penney's with our remaining time. It was only a quick glance, but we found some cute 2 euro scarves. Grabbing some postcards from a shop before hopping back on the bus. we then made the long trek back to Dublin. This time the tour guide didn't talk as much, instead he let us listen to traditional Irish music, but as soon as we hit Dublin his voice came booming on the speakers. I got off that bus as quick as possible, especially when he started playing the Back to the Future theme song. Hungry, we went back to Maynooth for some leftover pizza and relaxing.

Cork city

Vienna waits for me

May 31 & June 1
The next morning Kathleen took me on a highlights of Vienna tour, since she had already spent a day exploring the city. We begin our tour with Danube Island, which we walked across on our way to Prater, the fair park in the city. It contains the oldest Ferris wheel, called Riesenrad, and a bunch of other rides and game booths. Under the shining sun we walked around the park gawking and laughing at all the interesting sights. After our trip to the fair we took the metro to Stephansdom in the first district. I walked out of the metro to see the huge cathedral shooting up into the sky. The crowds were thick, as it was one of the main tourist areas, but through it all there were booths set up selling various nick knacks. Hungry, we both got a traditional hot dogs before going into the cathedral. Although it was a pretty sight you could only walk around a section of the church without having to pay.

Looking out over the river Danube

The really old ferris wheel

Kathleen found this statue that rotated so she took a ride

Inside Stephansdom

The outside of Stephansdom

The more impressive church in Vienna in my opinion was St. Peter's. Not nearly as big as Stephansdom, but it was 3 times more ornate. We sat admiring the architectural beauty and paintings before walking around Vienna some more. We walked by an unimpressive Mozart's house and then into another church. As we walked in, the floor was open leading to the catacombs. Of course curiosity got the best of me and I went below to explore. Instantly chillier and creepier I walked through the chambers seeing coffins in the walls, but while I was walking I heard voices and quickly ascended the stairs into the real world. Putting the crypt out of my mind I gazed at the magnificence of another Viennese church. Having seen so many church interiors we decided to go into some souvenir shops. But first a trdlnik. Kathleen found our favorite Prague delicacy in the heart of Vienna, so of course we had to eat it. The familiar taste of sweet dough and cinnamon sugar was heavenly as we walked through Vienna. Feet tuckered out, we hopped on a city tram that took us around the ring of the old city, where we saw a lot more of the city's buildings. After having to do a few tram switches we ended up in a park for the evening. Sitting there, we admired the city we explored today on our last foreign adventure, before we got up and returned to the hotel.

A video showing the interior of St. Peter's Church

Austria's crest I think

St. Peter's Church

The catacombs

Some other pretty church

From Vienna with love

In the park we sat in

I found a fountain

The next day involved waking up early to go to the airport. We had train tickets, but we found no place to validate them, so when the workers on the train asked us for our tickets panic set in. Fortunately for us there was no need to validate and we were allowed to stay on the train. At the airport Kathleen and I were separated because we were on different flights home. Somehow I got turned around in the terminal and ended up going through security twice. My first flight was fine, and after a short layover in Munich I was Dublin bound, or so I thought. We began our descent into Dublin, but would not break through the second cloud layer for a long time due to strong winds. When the pilot got clearance to descend we broke through the cloud layer shaking. We tried to land but as we dived towards the runway we pulled back up into the sky. After circling once more we tried to land again. This time the wind seemed stronger and we made it feet from the ground before pulling up again. The winds were so bad we were rerouted to Shannon airport. Anxious and nervous I had to stay calm, but once we landed in Shannon we had to stay on the plane for an hour until they decided on what to do. They ended up calling coach buses to shuttle us back to Dublin because the winds were just too dangerous. However, with the bus ride 2 1/2 hours long, I was in jeopardy of not getting a bus back to Maynooth that night. I bargained with the bus driver to drop me off along the bus route and at 11:36 pm I managed to grab the last bus to Maynooth. Instead of getting back to my apartment at 6 pm like originally planned, I got back after midnight, but glad to be safe in my bed.

First try to land in Dublin

Hey Shannon

Thursday, 4 June 2015

The Hills are alive with the Sound of Music

May 30
The next morning I awoke at 6 am to walk to the ATM and then got ready, ate a good breakfast, checked out and set off across the city to begin our Sound of Music tour. Halfway through our walk I realized I left the tickets in my bag at the hostel. Speed walking back to the hostel I grabbed the tickets and then set off again at top speed to make up for lost time. It didn't help that we only had a vague idea of where the tour bus picked us up. Running through the streets of Salzburg is not how I want to start a long day. Thankfully we reached the bus, but I was having a full blown asthma attack that eventually subsided, leaving me exhausted. The tour took us through the various locations that the Sound of Music was filmed in. Our first stop was the lake that Maria and the Von Trapp children fell into. The scenery was even more beautiful in person with the mountain in the background. Next we saw the gazebo that "16 Going on 17" was played out in. From there we rode the bus through the lakes and mountains region all while singing to the show tunes. Even our tour guide, a cute old Austrian man named Peter, sang along when he wasn't telling us information about the sites or cracking jokes.

The lake they fell into

The Von Trapp house

20 going on 21?

Singing on the bus

Lakes and mountains

The next stop after driving through the beautiful scenery, much of it used in various scenes, was the church that Maria and the Captain was married in. When we walked into the church as mass was being celebrated so we snapped a few pictures before going outside again. As we stepped out into the church courtyard a loud siren blared through the square in the little town. Once it silenced we went to one of the cafes and I ordered a traditional Apple streusel with vanilla ice cream. It was heavenly and is now one of my favorite things. Before boarding the bus again we took a quick look at the moon lake, which was serene. From there we drove back into Salzburg to see the Mirabell gardens, aka the gardens at the end of "Do Re Mi". It was the tour's last stop, so we dilly dallied while taking pictures, mainly because there was two wedding parties taking pictures. With our tour over we finished exploring that side of the river, including going to a flea market and Mozart's house. Having seen most of Salzburg we decided it was time to get our stuff and get back on a train to Vienna. Once again it was a long walk, but we did and were in Vienna by nightfall. Hungry, we had our last McDonald's meal, and then bought 24 hour metro tickets so we could go to our hotel for the night. We got there safely and went to bed.