more on Dublin. . .

Decisions sometimes get made with the craziest twitch, I've noticed.

I had just sat down on my Aerlingus flight from Glasgow to Dublin; row 19, isle. It's only a 50 minute flight so I think to myself, ah, I'll just read one of those silly travel magazines they sometimes have in front of you instead of my Ipod. Sure enough, one "Cara" magazine with the front page picture of Marseilles - Mediterranean melting pot, it read. Other stories included, Barcelona, Naples, & the Golden Triangle. As I sat there salivating over the beautiful romantic ocean ports, the setting Sun light upon the terraced French buildings, the significant color of beige, tan and a bit of red on some of the roofes and a boat or two, I began to daydream about what it would be like to be there right now. I read over and over the stories within describing high realestate, wonderful fresh seafood, incredible history, stone architecture, culture, small sailboats & vessels, local white wines - the pictures alone were all I needed to plummet straight into what I would deem as, "cloud land". Suddenly, I realized to myself, "What am I doing flying to Ireland when I haven't even touched these places? Oh yea, Tiernan. Well, and the green land and beauty that Ireland holds." Of course, Ireland is beautiful and the people are so wonderfully friendly - there's no where else on Earth like it! But seriously - let's re-evaluate here. I love my friend T but my heart is set on warmth, ocean, and culture shock, albeit scary.

So there I sat full-well knowing that they put these manipulative pieces of literature in front of you hoping, some poor sap will fall for them - I did. And I'm darn proud of it (with a smile).

Dublin only got 7 days of my time. No where near the amount it deserved. Absolutely must go back some time and spend a month or more. Galway & the Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moore, Giant's Causeway, etc. are must-sees on my list among many others.

I'll save the details of the trip for the next post - TBC
lora

Inspired?

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tons of information and links for traveling.

Dublin in a snap

I flew from Glasgow to Dublin on 5/21, I believe. Travel here is so different to America in that a complete culture change can and will occur within one hour's flight.

Again, my first night's hostel experience was blecky - didn't help the bus driver dropped me off at the wrong stop and I got lost within my first hour of arrival. Typical. I ended up staying at a place called Four Courts hostel down on the south bank of the Liffey. Looked really close to everything on the map - not the case as I later figured out. Female dorm they told me on the phone -not so (among other items reported like free internet). You'd expect this kind of crap from a 3rd world country but not Ireland! Some of you will appreciate - I went down to "appropriately" report to the front desk person that there must be some misunderstanding - my room seems to have men in it! She told me yes, this is true - on the weekends we need the space so we give up some of the beds in all the rooms to men. I informed her that this is not what she told me on the phone and that she should have been honest with me. I think a year ago I would have been fuming about this and "went off" on her but what good would that have done? I really felt good about how I handled it. I'll try not to care whether she changes her behavior ;) However, I learned something from it as well - be flexible when you can. (1 pt for Lora; 0 LFT)
lora

We can all relate to one another, no matter where we live now

So I meant to get back to the prisoner dungeons of Edinburgh castle in my last post - I hope you'll find this as moving as I did.

In one part of the castle at the very top is an entrance to the prisoner dungeons that I found most moving to me as an American! I really thought this part of the experience was done well on the part of whomever upkeeps the castle. As I entered and walked down a dark passageway there were recorded voices of what it would have sounded like back then, perhaps around 1700's and especially around 1781. The first room I entered was filled with masked hammocks posing as sleeping prisoners with a few awake and talking back and forth to one another. The smell mimicked what apparently it smelled like back then - very stenchy and mossy - like a basement gone bad! A table top displaying cut bread and some cutlery lay on the right and loads of rope, materials, etc. were strewn along in places allowing them to hang up their sleeping quarters, yet giving them space below to hang out, I guess. Around the end to the next room you find another area - can't remember what was in there but what I do remember very vividly was a recorded conversation between two prisoners talking about freedom and coming to America - "that's where we can find our freedom, man! America! I've heard they have written down their rights! We need to get to America!" The conversation between the two chaps was moving to me - that's how I used to feel about America - a place where we have rights and freedoms - no where else has those rights. For a moment I felt myself slip back in time to my perception of what it meant to be an American. Just for a moment. Then suddenly I lost it and felt a different feeling; a more recent feeling. One in which I felt a sense of betrayal in that belief. wow.

Next corridor in the dungeon was an incredible display of 4 large, thick, wooden doors with graffiti. The doors still had the inscriptions of either names, initials or even pictures denoting the prisoners thoughts or feelings at that time - amazing! Beside each door was a sign educating you important things so you could make out what they meant or their names and where they were from. At one door I stood beside 2 french men - never met them before. We both gazed at a door that had inscriptions from both new Americans and Frenchmen captured during the American independence war from England. Wow. I was completely moved by the fact that as we both stand there in the presence of this history, we both faught together for the belief in one thing; our ancestors/countrymen right here in front of us! I said something to one of the French guys - "wow, that's our people right here fighting together" - I think he was as moved as I was and I felt a certain bond with him, if even for a moment. It was an amazing feeling - hard to describe.

Glasgow/Edinburgh

Alot of things have come up that I'd like to talk about. Hope I can keep them concise.

I arrived in Glasgow by bus on Tuesday, 17-5 as they say. 8 hour ride - not bad for £10. Again, I had some lady talk to me that went on and on about her personal life - didn't care to comment on anything about me. I just knodded and at one point finally put on my headphones - too much and I couldn't be bothered. Anyway, Glasgow is quite a city. Not as busy as London by far and very friendly people. Easier to cross the streets. Beautiful buildings, architecture is exquisite. Everything is kind of dark - loads of moss growing on them and the stone has turned almost black. It feels midevil. Certainly not as loud of London. Again, lots of shopping to be had and cute little shops.

The shops are interesting here in Britian in that you look inside and you think, hmmmm, not much of a shop - they hardly have anything displayed. But then you go inside and find out that everything is either upstairs OR you go downstairs, through a hall, down more stairs, another hall, doorway, turn right, turn left, another door, 2 more steps, creeky floor, watch your step, another hall and then many more rooms of stuff for sale. All the shops are small and narrow but deep, if that makes sense. Tis the way of Europe. It gives these shops so much character and definitely enhances the experience, I find. Wears on the feet too.

The Glasgow is powerful and difficult to understand. I swear it sounds like another language. Hearing two gents speak back and forth is no match for me. It's interesting to listen to and the comraderie that the people have is admiring. I feel sorry for people that are trying to learn English and come here to visit. I'm sure they've been warned though.

I don't feel I got much accomplished in Glasgow. My big interest was some scenery, Edinburgh, the people, and the music scene.

I didn't get to see much scenery except for my bus ride to Edinburgh - aw, what a most beautiful place. I've seen nothing like it - (I'm sure I'll be saying that alot this year). I mean, I knew Edinburgh Castle was in the middle of the city and expected it to be cool but WOW, this was amazing. When I rode in on the bus and had my first glimpse of it, my jaw dropped to the ground. Rubbed my eyes a few times and looked again. Could not believe my eyes at this astounding place that was built so long ago on the top of a Volcano crage. Woah! Pictures will not even come close to explaining what it is like to view. It is so Shakespearian. The only thing to complete the look would be to change what everyone is wearing and you would literally be back in time - well, except for the smell; I hear it smelled pretty bad back then. Anyway, let me give you a minds eye if I can. In the middle of this city is the ruins of an old volcano which sits up above the city. On top, they built this castle that was never penetrated by enemies! Never! The castle is pretty large and has several buildings on it as well as canons, the Queen's chamber, military buildings and even a dungeon for prisoners, which I'll come back to. As you look out some of the windows in the castle, it is a shear drop-off - I would say roughly 1.5 pitches or more. The road leading up to the castle is called the Royal mile and at the end of it is the Parliament house which was closed by the time I got to it. What is amazing are the buildings along the royal mile - they are very tall and narrowly built. They tell us that back then because of the way they built the walls and the castle/town, to expand for the population, the only way to increase in size was up. So the poor, weak and famined lived either on the streets, in the lower floor or up in the attics and the more wealthy lived in the middle - just high enough to not smell the stench of the street but not too high to walk up the stairs. The buildings are just amazingly beautiful to me and the cobble stone streets and little sidewalks. Now, lots of tacky souvenier shops and pubs, etc occupy the lower premises and I guess people still inhabit the upper portions. Really makes it easy to imagine back the far in time since it IS so old. The rest of the city is also amazingly beautiful - all the buildings are very imperial looking with what I would assume is architecture influenced by the Romans because of the columns and corynthian shapes, etc. Edinburgh was amazing for a day. I wanted to venture outside the city and high up to get a nice pic of the castle but my feet said, no more silly girl!

I was able to get to the Burrell Collection in Glasgow - I feel this is a must see even though it's a bit of a bus ride (not bad though). The 10 minute walk through a lovely and large park was refreshing to the city life I have had thus far. William Burrell was some art collector who collected over 8,000 pieces of art - that in itself is amazing to me. I don't have my info with me but this man was a very frugal art collector and difficult to deal with, as the tour guide told us. He would taunt and play with dealers until he got the price he wanted. And at auctions he never personally bid on an item. He would hire 2-4 people to instead bid and give them signals as to what to do therefore, never revealing that he was personally doing the bidding and thus, maintaining and honest bargain. I would like to know more about this guy since I found him very intriguing. Even more interesting is his collection. He has a very wide variety of culture and antiques. For example in the courtyard is the famous Warwich Vase, dating from the 2nd century AD and found in the ruins of the Emperor Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli. He has a section devoted to Ancient Egypt which date from the Archaic Period (about 3,000 BC) to the Ptolemaic Period (332 - 30 BC). Ancient Greece and Rome including vases, sculptures and jewellery to Paintings including works by the French 19th century artists Degas, Cezanne and Boudin. Also Chinese Art including amazing ceramics - Neolithic burial urns, T'ang Dynasty eartheware figures as well as the Ming dynasty. Gothic art, Islamic art, 16 & 17th century rooms, arms and armour, on and on! Absolutely amazing and the building all of this is in is actually very lovely with glass floor to ceiling windows all around and carpet to quiet the experience.

The underground scene is definitely prevalent in Glasgow but I only experienced it one night. After wandering through town a bit we finally found it and it was definitely cool - no tourists that I could see. The DJ was good and it was a nice place - not poush but relaxing with good indirect lighting. (sorry my choice of adjectives are plain but I'm rushing this a bit). Anyway, it was nice to get out in a place that felt more like my style.The place and the crowd were cool though and I enjoyed it - felt right at home. I even brought along 2 girls I met in the hostel on the fly. They had just got in from Germany and were easy to persuade to join me. It was Friday night after all. Anyway, they were very lovely to hang out with but I can say, this type of place was new to them. I hope they had a good time.

The hostel I finally ended up staying in was an about-face to what I started with in Glasgow. The first place was tiny and smoky - definitely not my cup of tea so I moved over to Euro Hostel and found it to be great. Large rooms and our own private "ensuite" bathrooms - excellent. Just the finer things we take for grants like being able to sit up in your own bed w/o hitting your head - or having just some floor space of your own for your shoes or whatever - these are the luxuries I must weigh now - and only a few of many more that are hard to find.

I have now moved over to Dublin (Saturday flight). Again, found myself moving hostels which I expected since there wasn't much to choose from on a Sat night. The city is bussling and people have been friendly. I got lost once upon arrival with my aching backpack (something to perhaps improve when back in London) but all in all, I think now I know where I'm at most of the time. At first thought, I felt it deserved some time since I'm certain it is not without beauty and friendliness. But after viewing a "mediteranean-leashed" magazine onboard the plane, I've decided to keep my visit brief and get to the real meat and potatoes of my journey. I really want to see the acquaintance I met in NZ, Tiernan - a local here. Although we missed each other for the weekend, we are planning our get-together some time today - once I'm done here I suppose. A very charming and delightful person to say the least. He has the most generous, positive personality of anyone. Can't ever have enough of that. Looking forward to our reunion and a pint of Guiness. To everyone working, I'll have one for you :)

lora

Way Out

London is here with me now and I will say, it's crazy. I'm talking about central London. People are in a hurry, stressed, running for the next train, bus or whatever, not a smile to be found - unless I smile first. I'm certainly not going to find peace of mind here so I feel I must move on. But first, let me reflect on what little I feel I have accomplished.

I have been staying with my friend Sunshine here in Islington which is fairly close to central London, or may be considered, I'm not sure. Wonderful stay as she as accommodated me about the same as I had it in the states. Extra cell phone, my own set of keys, laundry, food - geesh, what more could I want!? She has hooked me up and I am grateful! A rather nice prelude to what awaits me. Islington is very quaint and cute and bussling with loads of young folk both day and night. Every single shop is as cute as the last one and is so difficult to not want to pop your head inside even though you may not need anything. Charming and upscale. Although it is loud here, it certainly drives a person to want to get out and do something!

As I ventured out and discovered the Tube system (underground train similar to Chicago's) I found chaos. My Thanksgiving trip to Chicago proved as a warm-up for what I found here. All sorts of people from all walks of life can be classified in this place. In fact, you can wear just about any attire you like and you won't look a bit out of sorts. As for my pink hair - it's everywhere! In fact, it's a little disappointing I think. I much like the fact that I have my own hair style and although I haven't found anyone with exactly the same hair style and color as me, there are a few runner-ups. Now I think it's great to see that its not a big deal here and I rather fit right in. I have been able to find my way around London with the Tube. It just takes a few deep breathes to remind myself I don't need to be in the same hurry as everyone else here as they bump and pass by me.

We took Saturday and checked out changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace - quite a big deal as we must have stood there about an hour just waiting for something, anything to happen. Bird. Horse. Child. Whatever. Anything that might give some signal as to what might happen next. It was interesting and a major production but all in all, I can't believe the mass of people that turned up - perhaps round 1,500 or so. The horses were beautiful and very majestic and proud. The guards were difficult to see but in came the Irish troops to take their place. I continued to wait for a wave from the Queen herself - nothing - not even a show at the window to adjust a curtain. I was disappointed and am thinking the new Pope might welcome my visit with much more exhuberance. The nerve.

Next we went to see the Salvidor Dali collection down by Westminster (I believe). Amazing without a doubt. What a creator he was. My dear friends Pete and Gak would have loved it. Works I didn't even know he had created; sculptures, various types of drawings and paintings I was unfamiliar with, movie clips, etc. My friend and I came out of the museum in our own dream-like state including a gentle smile upon our faces.

Shopping has proven to be a sore spot for me - at least to my feet. I have had to sort out a few things I left behind in Denver but I have enjoyed the overwhelming amount of stores and English variety that we're not accustomed to in the states. Lovely neighborhoods I have visited including Covent Garden, Clapham Junction & Oxford Circus that afford almost any kind of shopping aspiration. Pubs everywhere so no need for water.

The weather has been brisk although today was fabulous. Apparently this is cold to them so am hoping it gets a bit warmer according to my backpack full of goodies.

Tuesday I set off for Glasgow by bus and arrive late afternoon. No friends in Scotland so I'm on my own. Not sure how long I'll spend since I'm interested in venturing off the beaten path to perhaps a country cottage or something crazy. I've heard nothing but beauteous things and must see for myself. After this I go to Ireland to visit a friend, Mr. Tiernan! And then back to London to catch up with the rest of my mates.

London is quite interesting and in some ways, just like America. The 80's is in full swing here with some and for every person that speaks English, there is an equal person speaking another language. Someone for everyone.
lora