Hillary's Visit

April 7th-10th, 2011

Dublin, Ireland, and Howth, Ireland

Hillary, spending this year studying in Santander, Spain, opted to take a weekend and jet out to visit, along with Zach, a fellow Cornellian from her Santander program. She's been doing a lot of traveling this year, and just waiting for the moment when the Ryanair seasonal flights direct between Dublin and Santander would start back up. She arrived fairly late in the day on Thursday, so we walked around town a bit, found some food, and wander through Temple Bar for ice cream.

Sunset by the Ha'penny bridge, so named because it used to cost half a penny to cross.

The next day, we started off by meeting up with Zach and a friend of his from Madrid to take the free walking tour. With a different guide, I really got very different stories, and even saw different things.

The inside of City Hall-- it's a really pretty building, and we got to hear the stories behind a lot of the symbols for the different counties and crests.

A beautiful little hidden garden area behind Dublin Castle.

Just as the tour finished, I got word that I had to run and pick up my Trinity Ball tickets. Thankfully, I barely made it, and Hillary and I headed off for the next step: Guinness. Ever since I first started talking about coming to Dublin back in freshman year, Hillary made me promise that if I did, she could come visit and we would go to the Guinness Factory together and see the 9,000 year lease. Well, consider that promise fulfilled.

Hillary and I outside of the Guinness gate.

The 9,000 year lease that the Guinness family has on the land in Dublin. That's right, they don't actually own it.

Hillary and Zach in the Guinness bar, enjoying the 360 degree view of Dublin.

After introducing Hillary to the Abrakababra for dinner, it was time to part ways for the evening-- I had Trinity Ball to attend, unfortunately breaking up the trip.

The next morning, we started things off with a free visit to the Book of Kells, then some shopping on O'Connell Street (Hillary even got some shoes at the Schuh store). We grabbed lunch at the Bagel Factory and settled down in the park to eat.

We just happened to enjoy our lunch with James Joyce, under some lovely pink flowering trees.

Then we made a quick afternoon jaunt to Howth. We did the short hike rather than the long one, which actually turned out lovely. We even made a new doggy friend.

A little grey, but fairly nice weather.

It took until the 3rd time being here to realize that this is W.B. Yeat's house. Way to go me.

Enjoying a little Irish countryside.

Our dog friend-- we named him Bailey, after the Bailey's we had on our Fro-yo at the stand just outside the Dart station. The friendly frozen yogurt man gave it to us for free.

Sadly, Hillary had to be off bright and early the next morning, so it was quite a short trip, but considering the time crunch, we managed to get a lot in.

Melissa's Visit

Friday, April 1st- Monday, April 4th, 2011

Dublin, Ireland, and Howth, Ireland

This semester, Melissa is studying at St. Andrews in Scotland, so for her spring break, she made the rounds and stopped by to see me in little old Dublin. I had just finished a final paper for Irish Writing and turned it in, hot off the presses, before going to pick her up from the train station. Perfect timing!

After dropping her stuff in my room, our first stop was St. Stephen's Green park, since it was a lovely afternoon for just walking around and relaxing.

The pavilion at the park, and all the people there feeding the birds.

We made an easy night of it, with dinner at Mona Lisa's and a movie night. The next morning brought us up bright and early for a little Dublin tourism. Believe it or not, although I have class next to it every day, this was my first peek at the Book of Kells.

The library where the Book of Kells is kept. It is very old, very ornately decorated copy of the bible. I didn't realize that the entrance price also includes an extensive museum exhibit about the book, its making, and other gospels of its kind, as well as my favorite part: a peek into the Long Room, the oldest, coolest library I have ever seen. And the bonus? Being a Trinity student, I got Melissa and I in for free.

We walked around Trinity for a bit, and I enjoyed the fact that not only was the sun shining, but all the construction equipment was gone from front square. Finally.

Next stop: Sandeman's free tour. After doing one in Amsterdam, I thought it was definitely worth a gander in Dublin. And in spite of living here for the time being, there's still a lot I don't know and haven't seen, so it was really interesting.

The inside of Dublin Castle courtyard, on a beautiful day for a tour.

After the tour, our afternoon took us to Croke Park, the Gaelic Athletic Association stadium, for a Hurling and Gaelic football double-header with Anna, Erin, Emma, and Alex. Here's where weather started turning... It started sprinkling on our way over, taking the bus to the north side, then walking between the endless street vendors selling flags, hats, and scarves for all the counties represented. But, of all the good luck, our seats were under an overhang.

Thank goodness for the overhang-- kept us smiley all night long.

We were REALLY glad for that overhang when the weather got nasty-- bucketing rain and hail for most of the first match. But the players kept on. The hurling was up first, and it was definitely my favorite-- like lawn hockey on crack.

The half-time entertainment, part 1: just like Bucky's Mighty Mites! Really young hurling players-- super cute.

Half-time entertainment part 2: a surprise live performance by Jedward, Ireland's Eurovision contestant. Never heard of them? I hadn't either. They basically do covers of a bunch of old 90's songs while running around like over caffeinated children, to the screams of 12-year-olds who think they are singing original songs. They do have some original stuff, including Lipstick, their song for the Eurovision competition (a Europe-wide version of American Idol that's been going on since 1956).

On Sunday, we made our way to Howth. Although I'd been once, it had been much earlier in the season, and not on a Sunday, so we hadn't seen the farmer's market. Melissa and I spent a good deal of time browsing, and ended up with candy, fudge, souvenirs, and some proper lunch food.

Part of the market-- they didn't have just produce, but also baked goods, hot food, cupcakes, crafts, jewelry, just about everything you could think of.

Saying hi to the seals at the pier. There were a lot of them that day, just milling around, hoping to get fed.

Melissa and I set off on a hike. Although it was the same route I did before, the weather made a world of difference-- no mud, and lots of sunshine makes for happy hikers.

Gorgeous landscape along the coast, especially with all the little yellow flowers along the cliffs.

Enjoying the view. It was so quiet out here you could hear the sea move, even though the waves weren't breaking.

On Monday, I had to ditch Melissa for a bit to go to class (sigh, the trials and tribulations of one not actually on spring break). I caught up with her again after she'd done some exploring of O'Connell Street and Grafton, and we hit up the National Gallery and the National Library.

In front of the National Library, where we saw the Yeats exhibit. Very well done, although probably more interesting if you're into Yeats. Having studied some this semester, it was pretty cool to see some of his hand written poems, where he'd crossed things out and made changes.

The National Library is also just a regular library-- we may or may not have played in the kids corner. Apparently penguins can be found in trees.

That night, I shepherded Melissa on to her next stop-- Rome. Her plane left uncomfortably early, forcing her to catch the bus at 4am, but I'm pretty sure Rome is worth it.

Robbie's Visit

March 21st-25th, 2011

Dublin, Ireland

Since Robbie had already booked tickets home to London over spring break, he was able to take a few days out of the middle of his break to hop over to Dublin and visit me. Although I still had class, I made a point of getting all my work done in advance so that by the time Robbie came, I was able to enjoy a mini-vacation of my own.

I'm not great at taking pictures of myself, so our next best bet was to go to touristy places (in this case, the Trinity College campanile), and ask tourists to take our picture for us. It worked pretty well.

At the globe outside the library. Notice my library shop bag, completing my image as a proper tourist-- Robbie had just got me my Trinity College sweatshirt. Guess that makes me official now.

It was lovely to spend a few days just relaxing, having picnics in the park, going out to dinner, watching movies, and walking around Dublin. The only thing that put a real damper on the trip was the fact that I got sick-- just my luck.

Follow the Train Tracks: Bruges

March 2nd, 2011

Bruges, Belgium

We started our day trip to Bruges like we started most days-- quick breakfast of croissants at Carrefour, followed by mass confusion about public transportation. We figured out the train eventually, and scored a good deal by getting one 10-trip pass to share, rather than each buying our own round-trip ticket.

The wandering was lovely. Twisty, tiny streets, so well cobblestoned that even the pedestrian crosswalks are made with white cobbles, not painted on.

Our first plan in town was to climb the clock tower, which literally found by wandering and looking for the tallest buildings we could (not just stupidity, but actually the directions of the lady at the tourism center). It was lovely wandering, and we even found Anna a copy of Harry Potter in Dutch on the way.

Found it! The clock tower dominates Markt square, one of the central squares of Bruges.

366 steps later, on the most ridiculously steep, tightly wound spiral staircase I have ever seen, we reached this amazing view of the city. Well worth the climb.

The massive bells. We stayed long enough to hear them play, and not just chime the hour, but actually play music. Loud, but very cool.

Back on the ground, it was time for lunch. "Markt" square means "market," and there was indeed a functional market set up, so we set about finding something tasty and cheap to eat. I settled on sharing strawberries with Emma and getting some hot food at the very multilingual burger stand. This was my first experience not knowing what language to order in, as Bruges is actually in Flanders, the Flemish portion of Belgium, where the speak Dutch or Flemish, although many still speak French, as well as English, or even German. So confusing! After getting our food, we sat in the sun on the steps of the post office to enjoy our fair with a lovely view of the square.

The market sold everything from produce, to raw meet, to hot foods, to flowers.

Along with the grand buildings like the clock tower, Markt square was also lined with these smaller, brightly colored shops in the architectural style characteristic of the area.

Our next goal was Chocostory, the chocolate museum. But, given the twisty european streets, our inadequate maps, and the strange habit of not having street signs or, when they did, labeling the street in a different language from the one on the map, it took us a while. No worries, though. We were content to wander through such a beautiful city, and stumbled on some lovely surprises on the way.

Wandering in Bruges, just enjoying the sunshine (in spite of the cold) and the architecture.

We stumbled upon the grand City Hall building, in Burg square.

We also made the welcome discovery of the smallest, cutest chocolate shop I have ever seen. Just look at how small Emma and Kathryn look in front of it. We sampled their specialty-- praline, a sort of hazelnut truffle common in the area, and we each ended up with a box of chocolates.

In the end, we asked for directions in a toy store and found our way to the museum, where we learned all about the history of chocolate and the process of the chocolatier, complete with demo and samples (the best way to win over an audience). Best part hands down-- they actually had a pressed euro machine.

A play-mobile diorama visual aid-- this museum would be what you call "kid-friendly."

For those of you unfamiliar, I have a LOT of pressed pennies at home, so the chance to press a 5 euro piece as a souvenir is nothing short of thrilling. Thank you, Chocostory.

After the museum, we returned to the streets of Bruges for a little souvenir shopping as our day wound down. The last thing to check of the list? Belgian fries. So we picked out a stand back near Markt square, selected from a long list of condiments (I ended up with garlic mayonnaise), and settled down on the steps to eat and enjoy the view in the golden afternoon.

Souvenir shopping. The little store fronts were really adorable-- that may seem like a strange thing to say about architecture, but it seems to be universally what people say about Bruges, and it just sort of fits.

Back in Markt square for days end. The elaborate architecture really looks amazing lit up by the setting sun.

I watched the line of horse carts, waiting where the market had been earlier, ready to take passengers on an afternoon tour of the city. It was lovely to take it slow for the day, and just sit and enjoy. A nice break from the super-tourist speed, and it seemed a shame to leave.

Follow the Train Tracks: Brussels

February 28th-March 2nd, 2011

Brussels, Belgium

Anna and I successfully met up with Emma just as we were boarding the train from Paris to Brussels, and the three of us enjoyed a relaxing train journey munching leftover pringles and listening to the announcements made in Dutch, German, French, and English. In Brussels, we struggled with long lines and a new metro system, but finally purchased 3-day passes and hopped on what we hoped was the metro to our hotel. Easier said than done. Between Anna's out-dated map, the multi-lingual maps posted in the metro, and the friendly passengers who tried to help us but couldn't quite hear us clearly, it took a while. Thanks to the confusing street system and inadequately close-range maps, our hotel itself was equally difficult, but when we found it, it was well worth it.

The group of us had split the cost of a 4-person hotel, which ended up being cheaper than a hostel, and MUCH nicer. Real beds, a real private shower, and actual space to move around, not to mention peace and quiet.

That's when the bad news came in from Dublin-- Maggie, who was supposed to meet us in Brussels, was down and out with food poisoning. Poor thing! Kathryn, our other travel companion, was still on her way though, and we met up with her and headed in to the city center to explore while we still had some light left.

The main building on Grand Place, a large cobblestoned square of very unique old architecture.

More of Grand Place-- the architectural style is very ornate, including lots of gold leaf and sculpture. This area of town was very different from the area our hotel was in, which was more of a business district.

Some of the streets were very narrow. This one was mostly restaurants, all with the strange habit of soliciting you to come eat there by having someone stand out front and get very in your face with the nightly specials.

An arcaded street, meaning the street is covered with glass arching over between the shops. It made it just a little bit warmer inside.

Manneken pis, the statue of the little boy peeing. It is a major symbol of Brussels, supposedly because of the youth and playfulness it embodies. The statue itself is much smaller than I expected, perhaps only a foot high. While in Brussels, we saw versions of Manneken Pis that involved it made of chocolate, peeing chocolate, peeing beer, and peeing champaign. It was a little odd...

You can't quite see it, but this picture captures the Belgium trifecta, all in a row: waffles, chocolate, and beer. Don't worry, we experienced all three. So healthy.

After our explorations, which included dinner and our first Belgian waffle along the way (delicious!), we rallied at the motel room and met up with some of Kathryn's friends studying in Brussels to go to the Delirium Cafe. A classic for visitors, the Delirium brews its own beers and has more than 2,500 beers in house. Yeah. I didn't know that many even existed. I started with the Delirium Dark, then had Trapist Chimay, a beer made by monks and very rare and expensive most places. Both were delicious, and in the Belgian style, unusually alcoholic. There is a reason they serve glasses instead of pints in Belgium-- most of there beers are 10-12% alcohol instead of the say 6% that would be strong in Ireland. A little goes a long way.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to hop the metro out the the Atomium. But first, quick breakfast at the Carrefour, including fresh squeezed orange juice.

These machines were really common here-- just pull the tap, and the oranges move their way through, split, and juice into your jug. My little jug was actually cheaper than a tropicana of the same size, and it was so much more fun!

The Atomium was made for the World's Fair that was held in Brussels, and now houses various exhibits (yes, you can go inside it). But mostly, it just looks gigantic and absurd, and like it shouldn't be able to stand. We didn't go inside, since we'd heard it was cooler to look at from outside and we were on a budget. But it made for some good pictures.

The Atomium. Because... why not?

Once you get up underneath it, it's really huge. Kind of ridiculous.

With the Atomium checked off, we headed back to the city center for a little more exploration.

St. Michaels Cathedral. It was really gorgeous inside, very bright and airy.

Parc de Bruxelles. Notice the trees that have been trimmed to basically form nets into each other. They had lights strung on them, but we're still not sure what their purpose was. The park was also full of joggers-- apparently you have to work off all that beer, chocolate, and waffles.

Palace Royale, including the giant cobblestoned area out front which is possibly a roundabout, possibly for pedestrians... it's impossible to tell where anyone is supposed to go because no one wants to paint lines on old cobbles.

Statue in front of Palace Royale, after playing a little human frogger.

The Musical Instruments Museum, or the MIM. It was a really cool old building, but we're not sure why it said "Old England" on the top.

The MIM involved wireless headphones that meant as you walked up to each old instrument, you could hear what it sounded like. Here's Anna rocking out to a lute-- she's a big fan of interactive, kid-friendly museums.

Last stop in the MIM-- the view from the top. The spike you can see in the distance is the main building of Grand Place that we saw the night before.

We met up with Kathryn again, who had opted out of the MIM in favor of a different museum, and headed for waffles round 2, to be eaten in Grand Place. Then we made our way back to the hotel, stopping at the grocery store to grab provisions for dinner-- baguette, brie, and paprika ribbles (apparently the Belgian version of ruffles). Kathryn and Emma met up with Kathryn's friends again, but Anna and I stayed behind to recoup, eat, and watch 7th Heaven in Dutch.