Hooray for Internet! I thoroughly enjoy being able to get all of this posted, not only so that I can remember it, but so that my family knows I'm still alive. Internet has been dodgy, to say the least. For most of this past week I've only been able to use it on our coach (which very conveniently had wifi!). Then we came to Wales and everything changed. Turns out Ireland-based wifi doesn't work in Wales, not to mention the fact that we got a new bus with no wifi (and no legroom and no luggage room and...well, more about that later). Long story short (too late for that), Internet is scarce. Which makes me all the more grateful for the times that I do have it!
Ireland spoiled us. That's the long and the short of it. We stayed in beautiful hotels and had a giant coach with two seats for each of us, and internet most of the time. Wales has proven much more adventurous.
Now, on to our adventures.
Today the plan was to hike Mount Snowdon. Snowdon is the tallest mountain in Great Britain, which is not to say that it's remarkably tall. I was very excited for this excursion into wild Wales, but unfortunately it was pouring rain when we woke up, so we didn't get to hike. So, being flexible, we did what we do best and changed our plans.
It actually ended up being a good thing, because we got to go see another of Edward I's castles: Caernarfon. And guess what? It's not actually a castle. It is, instead, a palace. King Edward built it to be his own special place in Wales, but I guess the weather didn't agree with him because he only came twice for a period of two weeks. It was a marvelous castle--excuse me, palace--though. Like Beaumaris, it shows signs of never being fully completed, but only from the inside. From the outside it is imposing and grand, meant to scare the Welsh into submission. From the inside, there are walls that abruptly end and random stones jutting out of walls in strategic places so that someone with more money and more time could eventually build more stone buildings inside. This never actually happened.
Caernarfon was unique in a lot of ways. Here were the highlights:
-the arrow slits. I know, I know. Seen one, seen 'em all, right? Actually, no. These arrow slits were deceptive little things. From the outside it looks like there are only a few, but each arrow slit had three different openings in the wall from the inside, one going straight through the slit(the one you could see from the outside), and two coming diagonally from either side that were invisible from outside. Three archers were arrow slit getting three times the results. Tricksy people, those English!
-the corridors. This castle was built in the hopes that any invading persons who made it inside the castle itself would get hopelessly lost. There are trick chambers and winding stairways that go in three different directions. Basically, if you were an enemy, you weren't coming out alive without help. We had a lot of fun roaming these corridors. This is one place you want to schedule penty of time for--we had two hours and only made it through half of the castle! (Though that also included the tour. Another hour would have been sufficient.)
-indoor plumbing. Saw it myself--the holes in the walls where the lead pipes used to be. In medieval times, people didn't know much about lead poisoning.
-the towers had wooden bridges a couple of stories up so that you could walk around the entire castle on the upper stories. These were all incredibly picturesque (and also, as so many other things have been, strangely reminiscent of Zelda games.)
That's another thing I learned today: much of their society was run by teenage boys, since you weren't expected to live much longer than thirty. All I have to say to that is this: no wonder things were so messed up. Also, according to this tour guide, the idea that spiral stairs always go up clockwise to aid right-handed swordsmen is just a myth--and indeed, most of the stairways in Caernarfon go up counter-clockwise. I don't know if this is just a traditional discrepancy between the Irish and the Welsh (because several Irish tour guides insisted that this was fact) or if someone somewhere is trying to deceive me.
After Caernarfon, we did a bit of town-hopping. Alexis and I found this little Welsh library where we spent some time trying to decipher Welsh. (I also may or may not have spent some time with a Wales guidebook trying to identify the building the Doctor always appears in front of when he's in Cardiff. I was successful and will be taking a picture with it at the first available opportunity (tomorrow night? We get to Cardiff tomorrow!)
Stop number two was a quaint little town in the mountains with some gorgeous scenery. We stopped for fish and chips (Cod this time, which I'm less fond of than Halibut) and took some pictures. There was also a lot of gorgeous scenery in between: rock-strewn mountains with waterfalls every thirty feet, the occasional escaped sheep inn the middle of the road, an armada of seagulls that had taken over several small boats in hopes of mischief-making,and parks. Did I mention that I found out what was missing from my childhood? I never got to play in a park that was built in front of an ancient castle ruin.
We are now in a hostel in Bala. We walked down to Bala Lake (the only major landform in the area) and were treated to beautiful views and eventually some rain. Perhaps the best part about today? My feet were still dry when I got back to the hostel.
I guess that's everything. I'm still working on the picture problem. Right now I'm mostly hoping for a computer lab of some sort in London, though I know that's stretching things a bit. You'll have to take my word for it, I guess: the pictures are lovely.
Happy Second-to-Last Day of June! Unless something amazing happens before I go to bed, I'll check in with you all again from Cardiff tomorrow night!
Friday, June 29, 2012
It's Always Windy In Wales!
I think my brain is going to explode from trying to remember everything that happened today. We'll see how this goes. For starters, we have no internet, on the bus or otherwise, so I can't say for sure whether or not I'll get to post this in a timely manner, but at least I'll get it all down before I forget! It is currently the 28th of June, and I am sitting in a "lodge" in town that starts with a "t" at the foot of Mount Snowdon in Wales. (More on Mount Snowdon tomorrow!)
We got up at 5:00 this morning and had adventures in the pouring Dublin rain waiting for our coach to show because we had to be on the ferry at 7:20. Little did I know that our coach was coming with us! We drove onto the ferry and then climbed up to the top where we found ourselves on a miniature cruise ship. Everything was indoors and the chairs were all plush. We were some of the first people on the ferry, so we all found seats (and they were comfy seats) at the front where we could see the Irish Sea in front of us. That's about it from the ferry, honestly. It was a little longer than three hours and I fell asleep shortly after setting out. By the time I woke up, it was goodbye Ireland and hello to the Welsh!
Preliminary thoughts on Wales:
-it's still green, but decidedly less green than Ireland. Somehow Wales manages to accomplish this while having more trees.
-the sheep aren't nearly as cute.
-I already love it here. The scenery is mostly mountains that are covered in trees.
-Irish, when it's written down, is very beautiful (though that could be because it's always written in that Irish font that looks so very Celtic). Welsh gives me a headache. They have an affinity for consonants and will bunch them together in long strings that I could never pronounce. An example: "Failtu" (Irish) vs. "defnyddiwch" (Welsh).
-The roads here are much more narrow and twisty. On our giant coach, we came across an intersection that said "Not for wide vehicles" one way and "not for long vehicles" the other. Also, our bus driver squeezed us through two tunnels that were no more than a couple inches wider than our bus on either side. It was quite exhilerating.
-It is, indeed, always windy in Wales.
(Warning: The Following Paragraph is Extremely Logistical and Boring and Written for the Benefit of My Parents. Read at Own Risk.) I would like to take this moment to say that bringing a handful of pounds with me from home turned out to be a brilliant idea. We have only had one opportunity to change money and it was at an ATM outside of a grocery store. Because I already had my pounds handy, I didn't have to bother with taking money out or not having any pounds at all. Also, the amount of euros that I came with ended up being perfect for the eight days we spent in Ireland. That is all. (See? Boring. You were warned.)
Our very first stop in Wales was Beaumaris Castle. That's French for "beautiful marsh" because most of the land used to be underwater. Ready for a history lesson, everyone? Anyone? Okay, we'll go with the abbreviated version. King Edward I (nicknamed "Longshanks" and "Hammer of the Scots") invaded and conquered Wales all the way up to the Isle of Anglesey, where he then proceeded to build castles every twenty kilometers along the coast. Due to various complications (running out of money and having to borrow from Italy, and having to go fight a war in Scotland against "Braveheart," to name a few), Beaumaris was never completed. In fact, people started taking rocks off of the top whenever they wanted to build stone things because it was easier than finding their own. So it's only about half as tall as it was supposed to be. That does not mean that it's not impressive. This is the first castle that we've seen that actually has a moat! It was a grimy, disgusting moat and I kept on expecting alligators to pop out of the brown water, but it was impressive nonetheless. The Castle itself is concentric, meaning that it is a castle within a castle. (Big outer wall that was castle-like itself, slightly smaller but still big actual castle inside.) How beautiful it was! I have decided that I have to stop trying to rank these castles because they're all so beautiful, but this one has joined my list of favorites with Blarney and Cahir.
The highlight of Beaumaris was easily the chapel. Most castles had a chapel of some sort where people could go to pray and worship. When we were in the chapel, we sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" for our bus driver, Declan, who is leaving us tomorrow. (Side Note, we also gave him a Book of Mormon that we all signed!) The acoustics of that room were amazing; we sounded almost angelic! I recorded our singing on my phone, so hopefully I'll be able to put that up. And thus the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Jr. was born. We only sing in stone buildings in Europe.
Stop number two was a Slate Mine in the mountains. We were each given a hard hat and taken seven stories down into the mine in little yellow carts. There was then a timed light/story tour that told the story of a twelve-year-old boy who worked most of his life in the mines with his family. We were walking around in an actual slate mine wearing hard hats and dodging low ceilings. It was so cool. (That is also a literal use of the word: I could see my breath down there the whole time!) It was also pitch black, save for the lights they put up for you to follow. I don't know what happens when you don't keep up with the lights. Maybe you're stuck waiting for the next group to come around. In any case, it was absolutely fascinating. When we came back up, we were surrounded by clouds, but it was warm in contrast with the cool air in the mines.
Now, you ask? I'm sitting in a house that reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House. You know, that house in California with doors that open onto brick walls or the front lawn, five stories up, or stairways that disappear into the ceiling. This place is a labyrinth, and it smells like Grandmom and Granddad's house in West Virginia (and that's a good thing!). There are five of us in one room--it reminds me of girls camp a little bit. :)
So that's Wales so far! Hey, if you guys wouldn't mind, I would love to hear from any and all of you who are reading this. Leave a comment, send me an email, message me on Facebook, whatever! It would be greatly appreciated. :) Those of you who are already doing this (and you know who you are!) you are awesome with a capital A.
One thing from the jail yesterday: The tour guide took us into the exercise yard and made us walk in circles looking at our feet. Inmates had to do this for one hour every day, not looking at each other and not talking. (Les Misrables! "Look down, look down, don't look 'em in the eye...") It was tedious for the minute that we did it, even with the tour guide talking to us. But I suppose that hour was better than the twenty-three others they spent locked in their overcrowded cells. There were also four rooms that were kept in total darkness twenty-four hours a day. People who got locked up down there didn't see daylight for years. They took us down there and it was absolutely pitch black. I can't even imagine. So a depressing note to end this post, but interesting nonetheless. And Wales! That's that, I guess. More later, if I remember!
We got up at 5:00 this morning and had adventures in the pouring Dublin rain waiting for our coach to show because we had to be on the ferry at 7:20. Little did I know that our coach was coming with us! We drove onto the ferry and then climbed up to the top where we found ourselves on a miniature cruise ship. Everything was indoors and the chairs were all plush. We were some of the first people on the ferry, so we all found seats (and they were comfy seats) at the front where we could see the Irish Sea in front of us. That's about it from the ferry, honestly. It was a little longer than three hours and I fell asleep shortly after setting out. By the time I woke up, it was goodbye Ireland and hello to the Welsh!
Preliminary thoughts on Wales:
-it's still green, but decidedly less green than Ireland. Somehow Wales manages to accomplish this while having more trees.
-the sheep aren't nearly as cute.
-I already love it here. The scenery is mostly mountains that are covered in trees.
-Irish, when it's written down, is very beautiful (though that could be because it's always written in that Irish font that looks so very Celtic). Welsh gives me a headache. They have an affinity for consonants and will bunch them together in long strings that I could never pronounce. An example: "Failtu" (Irish) vs. "defnyddiwch" (Welsh).
-The roads here are much more narrow and twisty. On our giant coach, we came across an intersection that said "Not for wide vehicles" one way and "not for long vehicles" the other. Also, our bus driver squeezed us through two tunnels that were no more than a couple inches wider than our bus on either side. It was quite exhilerating.
-It is, indeed, always windy in Wales.
(Warning: The Following Paragraph is Extremely Logistical and Boring and Written for the Benefit of My Parents. Read at Own Risk.) I would like to take this moment to say that bringing a handful of pounds with me from home turned out to be a brilliant idea. We have only had one opportunity to change money and it was at an ATM outside of a grocery store. Because I already had my pounds handy, I didn't have to bother with taking money out or not having any pounds at all. Also, the amount of euros that I came with ended up being perfect for the eight days we spent in Ireland. That is all. (See? Boring. You were warned.)
Our very first stop in Wales was Beaumaris Castle. That's French for "beautiful marsh" because most of the land used to be underwater. Ready for a history lesson, everyone? Anyone? Okay, we'll go with the abbreviated version. King Edward I (nicknamed "Longshanks" and "Hammer of the Scots") invaded and conquered Wales all the way up to the Isle of Anglesey, where he then proceeded to build castles every twenty kilometers along the coast. Due to various complications (running out of money and having to borrow from Italy, and having to go fight a war in Scotland against "Braveheart," to name a few), Beaumaris was never completed. In fact, people started taking rocks off of the top whenever they wanted to build stone things because it was easier than finding their own. So it's only about half as tall as it was supposed to be. That does not mean that it's not impressive. This is the first castle that we've seen that actually has a moat! It was a grimy, disgusting moat and I kept on expecting alligators to pop out of the brown water, but it was impressive nonetheless. The Castle itself is concentric, meaning that it is a castle within a castle. (Big outer wall that was castle-like itself, slightly smaller but still big actual castle inside.) How beautiful it was! I have decided that I have to stop trying to rank these castles because they're all so beautiful, but this one has joined my list of favorites with Blarney and Cahir.
The highlight of Beaumaris was easily the chapel. Most castles had a chapel of some sort where people could go to pray and worship. When we were in the chapel, we sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" for our bus driver, Declan, who is leaving us tomorrow. (Side Note, we also gave him a Book of Mormon that we all signed!) The acoustics of that room were amazing; we sounded almost angelic! I recorded our singing on my phone, so hopefully I'll be able to put that up. And thus the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Jr. was born. We only sing in stone buildings in Europe.
Stop number two was a Slate Mine in the mountains. We were each given a hard hat and taken seven stories down into the mine in little yellow carts. There was then a timed light/story tour that told the story of a twelve-year-old boy who worked most of his life in the mines with his family. We were walking around in an actual slate mine wearing hard hats and dodging low ceilings. It was so cool. (That is also a literal use of the word: I could see my breath down there the whole time!) It was also pitch black, save for the lights they put up for you to follow. I don't know what happens when you don't keep up with the lights. Maybe you're stuck waiting for the next group to come around. In any case, it was absolutely fascinating. When we came back up, we were surrounded by clouds, but it was warm in contrast with the cool air in the mines.
Now, you ask? I'm sitting in a house that reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House. You know, that house in California with doors that open onto brick walls or the front lawn, five stories up, or stairways that disappear into the ceiling. This place is a labyrinth, and it smells like Grandmom and Granddad's house in West Virginia (and that's a good thing!). There are five of us in one room--it reminds me of girls camp a little bit. :)
So that's Wales so far! Hey, if you guys wouldn't mind, I would love to hear from any and all of you who are reading this. Leave a comment, send me an email, message me on Facebook, whatever! It would be greatly appreciated. :) Those of you who are already doing this (and you know who you are!) you are awesome with a capital A.
One thing from the jail yesterday: The tour guide took us into the exercise yard and made us walk in circles looking at our feet. Inmates had to do this for one hour every day, not looking at each other and not talking. (Les Misrables! "Look down, look down, don't look 'em in the eye...") It was tedious for the minute that we did it, even with the tour guide talking to us. But I suppose that hour was better than the twenty-three others they spent locked in their overcrowded cells. There were also four rooms that were kept in total darkness twenty-four hours a day. People who got locked up down there didn't see daylight for years. They took us down there and it was absolutely pitch black. I can't even imagine. So a depressing note to end this post, but interesting nonetheless. And Wales! That's that, I guess. More later, if I remember!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Also
We are in our second very long, twisting tunnel, so....
Secret Tunnel! Secret Tunnel!
Through the mountain!
Secret secret secret secret tunnel!
...and die.
Last Day in Ireland
It's not leaving Ireland, it's going to Wales, right? Right?
What a bittersweet moment this is! We've had a wonderful eight days in the Emerald Isle (and for most of them, the weather was "mighty!" (meaning good) My shoes haven't been soaked through since our first night in Dingle (Day #2) and supposedly that's really unusual. It probably helps that we spent most of those eight days moving around. We chased the sunlight!
We made two historical stops this morning. The first was to Trinity College in Dublin, where we got to see two of the four volumes of the Book of Kells. What's that, I hear you ask? Each book is one of the four Gospels, translated into English. They're ancient, and supposedly significant to the history of the English language, but I don't know all of the specifics. I'll have to do some research!
Along with the Book of Kells, Trinity College has a huge collection of ancient books and manuscripts, and we got to walk through and look at some of them and try to decipher what was being said. Many had beautiful illustrations with gold leaf inlays and calligraphy!
Our second stop was much less lighthearted than the College: Kilmainham Jail. Ireland has had a long and tragic history, most of it involving fighting for freedom from the English. Kilmainham held and executed many political prisoners who fought for Ireland's freedom. Our tour guide was LDS and asked if she could do our group when she saw we were from BYU! She told us lots of stories, most of them sad, about the people who had been held there. One young woman was engaged to a leader of the rebellion. They were supposed to get married Easter weekend, but they decided to put it off until after the rebellion. The rebels lost and the leaders were all taken to jail and sentenced to death. The woman petitioned for the right to marry her fiance, and it was granted, but they were only allowed to speak their vows. Then they were given ten minutes together right before he was executed, with a guard standing at the door counting down the minutes.
SAD.
The jail was overcrowded and people died from diseases more often than not. This was probably because they threw children in jail for something as small as playing marbles on a train. Lots of sad stuff.
The next stop was downtown Dublin, where we were left to wander around for five hours. I did a little shopping (and will now be set for St. Patricks Day!) and watched some street performers and went to the free museum. The park in the middle of Dublin is the largest public park in all of Europe, and it is beautiful. We spent our last few minutes of free time there. At seven we showed up at Gaiety Theater to collect our tickets for Riverdance, which was, in a word, amazing! Now, on my last night in Dublin, I'm doing laundry for the first time. Hooray... So yeah, a lot of walking, and my feet are killing me, and we have to get up bright and early to be ready to leave by 6:15 tomorrow morning.
One last thing, entitled "Things Heather Would Do If She Ever Went To Dublin Again"
1. spend more time in the park.
2. go to the natural history museum
3. go to St. Patrick's Cathedral (not getting to do this was the biggest disappointment of my time in Dublin, but there will be other cathedrals. Sayonara, everyone!
We made two historical stops this morning. The first was to Trinity College in Dublin, where we got to see two of the four volumes of the Book of Kells. What's that, I hear you ask? Each book is one of the four Gospels, translated into English. They're ancient, and supposedly significant to the history of the English language, but I don't know all of the specifics. I'll have to do some research!
Along with the Book of Kells, Trinity College has a huge collection of ancient books and manuscripts, and we got to walk through and look at some of them and try to decipher what was being said. Many had beautiful illustrations with gold leaf inlays and calligraphy!
Our second stop was much less lighthearted than the College: Kilmainham Jail. Ireland has had a long and tragic history, most of it involving fighting for freedom from the English. Kilmainham held and executed many political prisoners who fought for Ireland's freedom. Our tour guide was LDS and asked if she could do our group when she saw we were from BYU! She told us lots of stories, most of them sad, about the people who had been held there. One young woman was engaged to a leader of the rebellion. They were supposed to get married Easter weekend, but they decided to put it off until after the rebellion. The rebels lost and the leaders were all taken to jail and sentenced to death. The woman petitioned for the right to marry her fiance, and it was granted, but they were only allowed to speak their vows. Then they were given ten minutes together right before he was executed, with a guard standing at the door counting down the minutes.
SAD.
The jail was overcrowded and people died from diseases more often than not. This was probably because they threw children in jail for something as small as playing marbles on a train. Lots of sad stuff.
The next stop was downtown Dublin, where we were left to wander around for five hours. I did a little shopping (and will now be set for St. Patricks Day!) and watched some street performers and went to the free museum. The park in the middle of Dublin is the largest public park in all of Europe, and it is beautiful. We spent our last few minutes of free time there. At seven we showed up at Gaiety Theater to collect our tickets for Riverdance, which was, in a word, amazing! Now, on my last night in Dublin, I'm doing laundry for the first time. Hooray... So yeah, a lot of walking, and my feet are killing me, and we have to get up bright and early to be ready to leave by 6:15 tomorrow morning.
One last thing, entitled "Things Heather Would Do If She Ever Went To Dublin Again"
1. spend more time in the park.
2. go to the natural history museum
3. go to St. Patrick's Cathedral (not getting to do this was the biggest disappointment of my time in Dublin, but there will be other cathedrals. Sayonara, everyone!
Day of Not-So-Obscure (And Also Not Irish) References...
We had a wonderfully rural day today! We left Kilkenny around 9:30 and headed for Dublin, but we took the scenic route, so it took a little longer and we stopped for pictures at a little spot our bus driver, Declan, knew of. (Reference #1: Declan from Leap Day--technically this movie is mostly set in Ireland, but I don't think it counts as an Irish reference. For the record, Leap Day might be my favorite chick flick EVER. And I love the name Declan. Anyway...)
We step off of the bus and are hit immediately with the clean scent of pure evergreens. No pollution to speak of, just clean air and growing trees. Most of Ireland was deforested centuries ago by various invading parties so that said invaders could build ships with the wood, but a lot of it has been REforested now, and that's where the wonderful scent was coming from. I wish I could have bottled it up and taken it home.
We spent a lovely fifteen minutes climbing all over this obscure ruin that no one is preserving and taking a bunch of pictures of the valley, the ruined building, the clouds literally touching the ground a couple dozen feet away from us, and each other. Then it was back on the bus for the ride to our real destination between Kilkenny and Dublin: Glendalough.
It's this old rural monastery settlement in the middle of the mountains. Most of the buildings are in ruins now, but there is one still standing tall and (for the most part) undamaged: the tall, circular bell tower. (Reference #2: Insert Tangled Here. This was Rapunzel's Tower if it had existed in...monastic Ireland. We were looking at a picture of it before seeing the real thing and one of the girls pointed to the middle of the tower and said "and if you look closely here, you see Flynn Rider climbing." Unfortunately, no Flynn showed up while we were there.)
When we finally got out to the ruins, we got to walk through the cemetery where the monks were buried. Some of the headstones were so old that they had weathered away to stubs, while others around them still stood tall. I just happened to walk past a gravestone that was set up in honor of a family of Cahills (Reference #3! Maybe one of the 39 Clues was hidden in Ireland somewhere!) We walked around the bell tower (which was inside the cemetery) and took pictures, and then set off exploring other areas of the monastery grounds. We found this awesome old gate as we exited the cemetery, on which there was a pretty Celtic design. I took a picture of the gate, but then I had to do a double take. What I saw was this: (Insert Awesome Picture Here) And thus it was discovered that the monks of Glendalough were actually Airbenders. (Reference #4). They probably abandoned the place when the Fire Nation attacked. This is all tongue-in-cheek of course, but it was startling how similar this Celtic Design was to the symbol for the Air Nomads.
Towards the end of our visit, we set out on some of the hiking trails that surround the monastery, taking in the beautiful scenery. Imagine our surprise when we realized that the path we were walking was separating two magical lands: on our right was Narnia--the hill where the Pevensies first meet Prince Caspian on their return (Reference #5), and on our left was the Shire--the large mossy trees that sheltered Frodo and his hobbit friends from their first encounter with the ringwraiths in Fellowship (Reference #6!). Fun Fact: J.R.R. Tolkien spent a lot of time in Ireland and modeled the Shire after it. Not too surprising, when you think about it: the Irish love drinking, the Hobbits love drinking, both sometimes live in houses that are cut into hillsides, etc. To say the least, this is not the first time we've felt like we'd walked into Lord of the Rings. We would have gone forward more if we'd had more time, but we had to turn around to meet up with the group at the bus.
...Well that's frustrating! I had this whole post typed out, and then the phone blacked out unexpectedly and half of it got erased! Aw, man, I was so close to being done! Oh well. This is fun. :)
Somewhere between Kilkenny and Dublin we drove through a roundabout named the "Dr. Cullen Drive Roundabout." Reference #7 anyone? I think this one is pretty clear without me hitting it on the nose. Yep. Moving on.
Next stop? Dublin! Or, as Palmer put it when we arrived, Dublindore! (You guessed it: Reference #8. There is actually a large, pointing spire right in the center of Dublin that Declan called the Knitting Needle. I, however, will forever see it as the Elder Wand, in honor of Palmer's wittiness.) We are spending the night in the dorms at Dublin City University. We checked in and unloaded all of our luggage and were then shuttled to the center of Dublin where we were left to our own devices for four hours. A group of friends and I wandered around, found some really fabulous stores with great prices, at dinner at a small cafeteria, and wandered around some more. It's hard to find stuff to do after 6:00 because a lot of the stores close early so the owners can go to the pubs with everyone else. We were left there until 9:00, but we managed to fill up the time until the last hour, when we all sat down at the base of a statue and talked until the bus came.
So...that's basically it. For anyone who cares, Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Disney were also referenced at various points throughout the day. Well, tomorrow's my last day in Ireland! It's only been a week, but we've done and seen so much that it feels like it's been much longer. On Thursday we're off to Wales! July 2nd will be spent in Bath. I think we're visiting some old Roman baths. Or some fabulously cool castles. I'm happy either way. July 4th is when we move into our flats in London. Yes, we will celebrate Independence Day by "invading" London. That's that, I guess! Michelle, send me some good vibes so I will remember to pick up a postcard for you from Dublin, okay?
A tree dripped sap on me today. My hair is still sticky. That is all.
It's this old rural monastery settlement in the middle of the mountains. Most of the buildings are in ruins now, but there is one still standing tall and (for the most part) undamaged: the tall, circular bell tower. (Reference #2: Insert Tangled Here. This was Rapunzel's Tower if it had existed in...monastic Ireland. We were looking at a picture of it before seeing the real thing and one of the girls pointed to the middle of the tower and said "and if you look closely here, you see Flynn Rider climbing." Unfortunately, no Flynn showed up while we were there.)
When we finally got out to the ruins, we got to walk through the cemetery where the monks were buried. Some of the headstones were so old that they had weathered away to stubs, while others around them still stood tall. I just happened to walk past a gravestone that was set up in honor of a family of Cahills (Reference #3! Maybe one of the 39 Clues was hidden in Ireland somewhere!) We walked around the bell tower (which was inside the cemetery) and took pictures, and then set off exploring other areas of the monastery grounds. We found this awesome old gate as we exited the cemetery, on which there was a pretty Celtic design. I took a picture of the gate, but then I had to do a double take. What I saw was this: (Insert Awesome Picture Here) And thus it was discovered that the monks of Glendalough were actually Airbenders. (Reference #4). They probably abandoned the place when the Fire Nation attacked. This is all tongue-in-cheek of course, but it was startling how similar this Celtic Design was to the symbol for the Air Nomads.
Towards the end of our visit, we set out on some of the hiking trails that surround the monastery, taking in the beautiful scenery. Imagine our surprise when we realized that the path we were walking was separating two magical lands: on our right was Narnia--the hill where the Pevensies first meet Prince Caspian on their return (Reference #5), and on our left was the Shire--the large mossy trees that sheltered Frodo and his hobbit friends from their first encounter with the ringwraiths in Fellowship (Reference #6!). Fun Fact: J.R.R. Tolkien spent a lot of time in Ireland and modeled the Shire after it. Not too surprising, when you think about it: the Irish love drinking, the Hobbits love drinking, both sometimes live in houses that are cut into hillsides, etc. To say the least, this is not the first time we've felt like we'd walked into Lord of the Rings. We would have gone forward more if we'd had more time, but we had to turn around to meet up with the group at the bus.
...Well that's frustrating! I had this whole post typed out, and then the phone blacked out unexpectedly and half of it got erased! Aw, man, I was so close to being done! Oh well. This is fun. :)
Somewhere between Kilkenny and Dublin we drove through a roundabout named the "Dr. Cullen Drive Roundabout." Reference #7 anyone? I think this one is pretty clear without me hitting it on the nose. Yep. Moving on.
Next stop? Dublin! Or, as Palmer put it when we arrived, Dublindore! (You guessed it: Reference #8. There is actually a large, pointing spire right in the center of Dublin that Declan called the Knitting Needle. I, however, will forever see it as the Elder Wand, in honor of Palmer's wittiness.) We are spending the night in the dorms at Dublin City University. We checked in and unloaded all of our luggage and were then shuttled to the center of Dublin where we were left to our own devices for four hours. A group of friends and I wandered around, found some really fabulous stores with great prices, at dinner at a small cafeteria, and wandered around some more. It's hard to find stuff to do after 6:00 because a lot of the stores close early so the owners can go to the pubs with everyone else. We were left there until 9:00, but we managed to fill up the time until the last hour, when we all sat down at the base of a statue and talked until the bus came.
So...that's basically it. For anyone who cares, Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Disney were also referenced at various points throughout the day. Well, tomorrow's my last day in Ireland! It's only been a week, but we've done and seen so much that it feels like it's been much longer. On Thursday we're off to Wales! July 2nd will be spent in Bath. I think we're visiting some old Roman baths. Or some fabulously cool castles. I'm happy either way. July 4th is when we move into our flats in London. Yes, we will celebrate Independence Day by "invading" London. That's that, I guess! Michelle, send me some good vibes so I will remember to pick up a postcard for you from Dublin, okay?
A tree dripped sap on me today. My hair is still sticky. That is all.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Picture Option?
Hey, I just thought I'd mention that people are tagging me in pictures on Facebook, so you can see some of this stuff on my profile page. If you're interested. :)
Castles and Cashel
When asked how I'm feeling right about now, "wiped out" comes to mind. I've been living the dream here, going from landmark to castle to cathedral and back again, and I think I am good and ready for an evening in--which is fortunately what I get tonight! We are spending the night in The Hotel Kilkenny in (you guessed it) Kilkenny. It seems like a pretty ritzy place everywhere except for the hallway outside my room, which unfortunately reminds me of a rather creepy episode of Doctor Who. If you've ever seen the episode where they get trapped in the labyrinth hotel of worst nightmares, then you've got an idea what the hallway looks like. I think I'll stay in my room, thanks. :)
BUT! On to the good stuff.
We fit three stops into the schedule between Cork and Kilkenny. The First was Cahir Castle. Of the castles that we've visited, this is definitely up there on the list of places I'd highly recommend you see while in Ireland. It's built on an island in the middle of a river, so there's lots of pretty scenery. I got a picture on the banks that had tiny baby ducks, a brown goose, and two beautiful white swans swimming in the moat.
The tour guide was wonderful and gave us lots of great information. Cahir was considered impregnable because of it's location and its great defenses. It was remodeled centuries ago, and you can still see the filled in archway where the entrance used to be. We saw lots of arrow slits, holes for pouring boiling oil on enemies, and even something called a "ouiblette" (if I recall correctly), french for "forget about it." It was a trapdoor that you threw people into and then forgot about them. Fortunately they've bolted that shut. They had these things called stumble stairs, which are stairs that are cut roughly in a deliberate attempt to trip up any enemies who were invading. Fun fact that I learned today: all the spiral staircases in these castles go up clockwise (from the right to the left) so that right-handed soldiers would have the advantage when defending and the disadvantage when attacking. (Think about it-the right hand with your sword would be constantly hitting the center of the stairway if you were trying to fight your way up, while those defending have much more room to move and swing their swords.) This was one reason while people started considering it unlucky to be left-handed: the handful or so of left-handed soldiers were shoved to the front of the invading army to try their luck on these stairways.
Coolest parts of Cahir:
-the cannonball that's STILL lodged in the building from some attack centuries ago
-the stumble stairs :)
-this awesome stairway that goes down from the courtyard and then randomly up past a lot of barred cells to the top of a tower. We got some great photos!
-walking on the battlements with a sheer drop back into the castle--no railings here!
After Cahir we went to the Rock of Cashel: a big, limestone rock in the middle of this city that someone built a fortress on top of. The man who owned that fortress was considered the king of Munster (the south county of Ireland). The last one donated it to the church, so it became a cathedral more recently. St. Patrick figured heavily into the history of this building, though I can't remember it off hand--I have it all in the brochure.
Some fun (and also horrifying) stories about The Rock of Cashel:
-Right around the time of the great famine, there was this single night when there were giant wind bursts. The winds decimated the crops and also knocked down two upper stories of the bishop's living quarters. There are two pieces of the knocked over building still in existence. The first is right at the foot of the building.Those walls were easily three feet thick, so you can imagine how strong the wind had to be. (I keep thinking of the windbursts that tore the shingles off our roof at home!) The second piece of rubble, for some reason, is in Waterton, Wisconsin. The guide asked if anyone was from Wisconsin, and when no one was, I mentioned that I lived right next door. :)
-There is a chapel made out of sandstone that is undergoing an extremely expensive, extensive renovation project because centuries of exposure to Ireland weather has damaged it considerably. We got to go inside and see the "before" and "after" of the sandstone that they are treating, as well as some preserved paintings of the nativity. Here's the horrifying part: My friend Jessica Palmer (hereafter referred to as "Palmer") was standing next to me in the chapel, taking pictures. Out of nowhere she gasped and turned to me, asking frantically what was on her. Her shirt was dark, so it took some squinting, but I finally saw a black spider the size of a golfball crawling on her shirt. When I told her what I was seeing, she shook it off and it ran for the corner of the room. It had fallen from the ceiling onto her neck and when she touched it to find out what it was, it scuttled away, at which point she had asked for my help. Needless to say, the chapel was a bit ruined for me after that. I felt all prickly for a while afterwards!
-From the cemetery to the north of the cathedral, you can see this mountain with a huge chunk missing from the top. The local legend is that the devil was flying over the mountain and swept down and took a huge bite out of it. Then, when he was fflying over the valley, he saw St. Patrick standing and promptly spit the chunk of earth down at him. That chunk of earth is what became the Rock of Cashel, on which the fortress/cathedral is built.
-St. Patrick's Cross stands in the middle of everything (or at least a replica of it does--the original is inside to protect it from the elements since it, too, is made of sandstone). There are two legends associated with this cross. The first is that if you can get your arms all the way around it then you'll never have a toothache for the rest of your life (though you'd also have gorilla arms to accomplish this). The second is that if you can hop around it nine times counter-clockwise on your left foot, then you'll be married within the year. No, Mom and Dad, I did not try that one out. You'd probably fall and break your neck in the attempt because the ground is so uneven.
Our last stop today was at Kilkenny Castle, which was actually renovated in the Victorian style so someone could live in it. We got there 35 minutes before it closed, so they gave us the "whistle stop" tour, as they called it, which just meant that they gave us some brief background and then set us loose to walk through as quickly as possible. It was beautiful, but we didn't have much time to appreciate it. This place also had a beautiful rose garden on one side and a sweeping front lawn that I couldn't see the end of. That wraps it all up, I guess. I do apologize for the lack of pictures, I honestly don't have a way to get them on. Kudos to you for reading all of this without some kind of visual stimulation. Don't worry, they'll all go up as soon as I'm able to do so without inconveniencing those around me. For now, good night!
We fit three stops into the schedule between Cork and Kilkenny. The First was Cahir Castle. Of the castles that we've visited, this is definitely up there on the list of places I'd highly recommend you see while in Ireland. It's built on an island in the middle of a river, so there's lots of pretty scenery. I got a picture on the banks that had tiny baby ducks, a brown goose, and two beautiful white swans swimming in the moat.
The tour guide was wonderful and gave us lots of great information. Cahir was considered impregnable because of it's location and its great defenses. It was remodeled centuries ago, and you can still see the filled in archway where the entrance used to be. We saw lots of arrow slits, holes for pouring boiling oil on enemies, and even something called a "ouiblette" (if I recall correctly), french for "forget about it." It was a trapdoor that you threw people into and then forgot about them. Fortunately they've bolted that shut. They had these things called stumble stairs, which are stairs that are cut roughly in a deliberate attempt to trip up any enemies who were invading. Fun fact that I learned today: all the spiral staircases in these castles go up clockwise (from the right to the left) so that right-handed soldiers would have the advantage when defending and the disadvantage when attacking. (Think about it-the right hand with your sword would be constantly hitting the center of the stairway if you were trying to fight your way up, while those defending have much more room to move and swing their swords.) This was one reason while people started considering it unlucky to be left-handed: the handful or so of left-handed soldiers were shoved to the front of the invading army to try their luck on these stairways.
Coolest parts of Cahir:
-the cannonball that's STILL lodged in the building from some attack centuries ago
-the stumble stairs :)
-this awesome stairway that goes down from the courtyard and then randomly up past a lot of barred cells to the top of a tower. We got some great photos!
-walking on the battlements with a sheer drop back into the castle--no railings here!
After Cahir we went to the Rock of Cashel: a big, limestone rock in the middle of this city that someone built a fortress on top of. The man who owned that fortress was considered the king of Munster (the south county of Ireland). The last one donated it to the church, so it became a cathedral more recently. St. Patrick figured heavily into the history of this building, though I can't remember it off hand--I have it all in the brochure.
Some fun (and also horrifying) stories about The Rock of Cashel:
-Right around the time of the great famine, there was this single night when there were giant wind bursts. The winds decimated the crops and also knocked down two upper stories of the bishop's living quarters. There are two pieces of the knocked over building still in existence. The first is right at the foot of the building.Those walls were easily three feet thick, so you can imagine how strong the wind had to be. (I keep thinking of the windbursts that tore the shingles off our roof at home!) The second piece of rubble, for some reason, is in Waterton, Wisconsin. The guide asked if anyone was from Wisconsin, and when no one was, I mentioned that I lived right next door. :)
-There is a chapel made out of sandstone that is undergoing an extremely expensive, extensive renovation project because centuries of exposure to Ireland weather has damaged it considerably. We got to go inside and see the "before" and "after" of the sandstone that they are treating, as well as some preserved paintings of the nativity. Here's the horrifying part: My friend Jessica Palmer (hereafter referred to as "Palmer") was standing next to me in the chapel, taking pictures. Out of nowhere she gasped and turned to me, asking frantically what was on her. Her shirt was dark, so it took some squinting, but I finally saw a black spider the size of a golfball crawling on her shirt. When I told her what I was seeing, she shook it off and it ran for the corner of the room. It had fallen from the ceiling onto her neck and when she touched it to find out what it was, it scuttled away, at which point she had asked for my help. Needless to say, the chapel was a bit ruined for me after that. I felt all prickly for a while afterwards!
-From the cemetery to the north of the cathedral, you can see this mountain with a huge chunk missing from the top. The local legend is that the devil was flying over the mountain and swept down and took a huge bite out of it. Then, when he was fflying over the valley, he saw St. Patrick standing and promptly spit the chunk of earth down at him. That chunk of earth is what became the Rock of Cashel, on which the fortress/cathedral is built.
-St. Patrick's Cross stands in the middle of everything (or at least a replica of it does--the original is inside to protect it from the elements since it, too, is made of sandstone). There are two legends associated with this cross. The first is that if you can get your arms all the way around it then you'll never have a toothache for the rest of your life (though you'd also have gorilla arms to accomplish this). The second is that if you can hop around it nine times counter-clockwise on your left foot, then you'll be married within the year. No, Mom and Dad, I did not try that one out. You'd probably fall and break your neck in the attempt because the ground is so uneven.
Our last stop today was at Kilkenny Castle, which was actually renovated in the Victorian style so someone could live in it. We got there 35 minutes before it closed, so they gave us the "whistle stop" tour, as they called it, which just meant that they gave us some brief background and then set us loose to walk through as quickly as possible. It was beautiful, but we didn't have much time to appreciate it. This place also had a beautiful rose garden on one side and a sweeping front lawn that I couldn't see the end of. That wraps it all up, I guess. I do apologize for the lack of pictures, I honestly don't have a way to get them on. Kudos to you for reading all of this without some kind of visual stimulation. Don't worry, they'll all go up as soon as I'm able to do so without inconveniencing those around me. For now, good night!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Cohb, Not Cove
My bad.
I return to my blog with a new favorite, though this location touched me on a much deeper level than any of the others have. I say this as reverently as possible, even at risk of sounding like Flynn Rider:
I want a cathedral.
Not to own, just to be able to look at and sit in. I've studied the architecture of cathedrals and the theory of the Latin Mass for years, but there is nothing like actually being there to witness it all for yourself. I walked into St. Colman's Cathedral and was spellbound from the very first. An organ was playing the most beautiful music I have ever heard and I easily lost twenty minutes soaking it all in. There were stained glass windows everywhere and the ceiling was so high above me! About halfway down the center aisle I turned and looked back and saw the entire organ pipes nestled under the traditional rose window and it took my breath away. Standing in the middle of that giant rebuilding, listening to songs of worship and praise, was by far the best part of this trip. I felt so close to Heavenly Father in that moment. Words really can't do it justice, so I'm going to leave it at that. A parting thought for my brothers (particularly for Jordan): the inside of the Blarney Castle is straight out of Zelda. I literally felt like I had walked into the forest temple. I'll post pictures. I love you all!
I return to my blog with a new favorite, though this location touched me on a much deeper level than any of the others have. I say this as reverently as possible, even at risk of sounding like Flynn Rider:
I want a cathedral.
Not to own, just to be able to look at and sit in. I've studied the architecture of cathedrals and the theory of the Latin Mass for years, but there is nothing like actually being there to witness it all for yourself. I walked into St. Colman's Cathedral and was spellbound from the very first. An organ was playing the most beautiful music I have ever heard and I easily lost twenty minutes soaking it all in. There were stained glass windows everywhere and the ceiling was so high above me! About halfway down the center aisle I turned and looked back and saw the entire organ pipes nestled under the traditional rose window and it took my breath away. Standing in the middle of that giant rebuilding, listening to songs of worship and praise, was by far the best part of this trip. I felt so close to Heavenly Father in that moment. Words really can't do it justice, so I'm going to leave it at that. A parting thought for my brothers (particularly for Jordan): the inside of the Blarney Castle is straight out of Zelda. I literally felt like I had walked into the forest temple. I'll post pictures. I love you all!
Today's Grand Adventure:
I kissed the Blarney Stone!
...Please excuse me while I sanitize my lips.
It was seriously frightening because you lie on your back and lean out over the edge of this giant castle. Fortunately there are bars over the drop and someone to help pull you up. Supposedly kissing the Blarney Stone gives you eloquence, but I haven't noticed anything yet!
Going to Cove now. That's where the Titanic made its last stop before sinking. By the way, church was great! We went to this tiny branch in Cork and met some extremely friendly and awesome people, plus some really cute kids. Normally they only have three to five sisters in Relief Society, so our group with 22 sisters really swelled the ranks!
Also, Blarney Castle is my new favorite place in Ireland. It's beautiful, and it has a garden full of poisonous plants like nightshade and wolfsbane. And caves. Well, more later! I'm seriously parched here. This is the last time I leave my water bottle at home! Oh, and I straightened my hair today. Ok, I'm done.
...Please excuse me while I sanitize my lips.
It was seriously frightening because you lie on your back and lean out over the edge of this giant castle. Fortunately there are bars over the drop and someone to help pull you up. Supposedly kissing the Blarney Stone gives you eloquence, but I haven't noticed anything yet!
Going to Cove now. That's where the Titanic made its last stop before sinking. By the way, church was great! We went to this tiny branch in Cork and met some extremely friendly and awesome people, plus some really cute kids. Normally they only have three to five sisters in Relief Society, so our group with 22 sisters really swelled the ranks!
Also, Blarney Castle is my new favorite place in Ireland. It's beautiful, and it has a garden full of poisonous plants like nightshade and wolfsbane. And caves. Well, more later! I'm seriously parched here. This is the last time I leave my water bottle at home! Oh, and I straightened my hair today. Ok, I'm done.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
If Darcy Were Irish...
...then his name would have been Muckross. (Or Mucros, in Gaelic.)
But more on that later! It's slowly dawning on me that every day I spend over here is going to be my new favorite day, though today's adventure might just top anything else. We left Dingle for good, just when we were starting to get familiar with the place. But as always over here, it's on to bigger and better things. Literally, in this case, since the city we've spent the day in (Killarney) is more than double the size of Dingle, and the city where we're spending the night is larger still--Cork!
Our first stop was Killarney National Park, which is about ten thousand acres of land crisscrossed with what I can only describe as bike paths that the locals use for jogs or walks or leisurely rides on horse-drawn carriages. It reminded me of the Douglas Trail back home, if it were surrounded by thicker, greener woodlands and the occasional ruined castle.
We were divided between four carriages and give the abbreviated tour of the park. Our horse was named Tom, and he was driven by a kind old man named Mick. (Imagine Maurice from Ever After with a tan and you've got Mick.) He took a liking to the three girls in our group whose names started with 'M' (Megan, Marie, and Molly) and teased and flirted with them the whole time. It was a riot and we all enjoyed ourselves, though I think if it had been me he had taken a shine to I'd probably have been a little uncomfortable. But it was all in good fun, and soon enough we were deposited at Ross Castle, in the middle of the park.
We didn't get to go inside this one, but we walk3ed around the grounds quite a bit and took some lovely pictures. Let's face it: I'm from America. We don't have castles. I'd be perfectly happy sitting myself down on the (very wet) grass and staring at one for hours. But there was still more to see, so we piled back onto the bus and headed a little further into Killarney where we found yet another national park.
Okay, it wasn't a national park, but it easily could have been. We went to Muckross House. Which should also be called Muckross Manor. Or maybe Muckross Castle. Whatever you call it, when it was built there were 11,000 acres of land. Now there are 25,000 hectares (I think. I'm not positive I'm remembering it correctly). Whatever it was, it was huge. The front doors open up onto this gravel path that disappears into the trees at the horizon. And to the right of the house, there's this huge sweeping lawn that goes right down to Muckross Lake, which is surrounded by giant, beautiful trees on either side, with a backdrop of misty mountains behind. This was the view these people had from their dining room. I kid you not, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I can't imagine what it would have been like to live there. Wake up every morning and look out over your acres of land. Of course, the children were all confined to the upstairs unless they had express permission to come down, so they probably weren't spending a lot of time out on the lawns, but I just kept thinking of giant croquet games or being able to play an actual soccer game on your lawn.
The house was just as impressive. When you visit historical sites in America, they cordon off all the areas where you aren't supposed to go in order to protect the valuables from damage or theft. You stand in the doorway and peer in at the artifacts. Here, they give you a friendly reminder not to touch anything and let you straight into the room, no ropes or cords involved. We saw beautiful chandeliers and a giant crystal window that made the room seem sunny, even though it was raining outside. We saw a secret gentleman's game room into which no women were ever allowed to set foot. There was a writing desk with a secret drawer, bell cords in every room and beside every bed for calling servants to your side, and never ending corridors and staircases. Queen Victoria came to visit and it took them six years to prepare for her arrival.
Anyway, it was just fabulous. No wonder we were all thinking about Pride and Prejudice the whole time, though. On a somewhat related note, I have decided that Ireland is the place to go when you want to take engagement or senior pictures. It might be the most picturesque place in the world. It's certainly the prettiest of all the places that I've been.
On a completely unrelated note, I thought I'd give a shout out to anyone out there who has seen the Avengers, or more specifically, Thor. We had a moment in the pub last night when we all realized we were drinking water from one pint beer glasses. (I know, I know. I'm dying to quote Lord of the Rings too.) One of the girls mentioned how good the water tasted, so I pantomimed taking my glass and smashing it against the floor, yelling "another!" We dissolved into laughter. It's nice to know that we can enjoy the pub experience just as much as the locals, but without the alcohol.
And related to that, another shout out to any friends and family that are currently watching the season finale of Korra (which is actually starting to air RIGHT NOW as I type this!) and who have seen or will be seeing Brave: I...am in Ireland. But I still do wish I could be watching with you! :)
The directors bought us all heritage cards, meaning we have access to most of the sites we come across from now on, regardless of price. That should make for an interesting next couple of days! We go to church tomorrow here in Cork, then head out to Blarney Castle. No verdict yet on whether or not I will actually kiss the Blarney Stone...
Internet at this hotel is only for computers (ethernet, no wifi) so a huge thanks to Marie for letting me use her computer! I uploaded all of four pictures to my first post, but it took so long that I decided to wait until later to do the rest, as this isn't actually my computer.
Well, Happy Saturday everyone! If I don't post anything tomorrow, look forward to more stuff on Monday!
But more on that later! It's slowly dawning on me that every day I spend over here is going to be my new favorite day, though today's adventure might just top anything else. We left Dingle for good, just when we were starting to get familiar with the place. But as always over here, it's on to bigger and better things. Literally, in this case, since the city we've spent the day in (Killarney) is more than double the size of Dingle, and the city where we're spending the night is larger still--Cork!
Our first stop was Killarney National Park, which is about ten thousand acres of land crisscrossed with what I can only describe as bike paths that the locals use for jogs or walks or leisurely rides on horse-drawn carriages. It reminded me of the Douglas Trail back home, if it were surrounded by thicker, greener woodlands and the occasional ruined castle.
We were divided between four carriages and give the abbreviated tour of the park. Our horse was named Tom, and he was driven by a kind old man named Mick. (Imagine Maurice from Ever After with a tan and you've got Mick.) He took a liking to the three girls in our group whose names started with 'M' (Megan, Marie, and Molly) and teased and flirted with them the whole time. It was a riot and we all enjoyed ourselves, though I think if it had been me he had taken a shine to I'd probably have been a little uncomfortable. But it was all in good fun, and soon enough we were deposited at Ross Castle, in the middle of the park.
We didn't get to go inside this one, but we walk3ed around the grounds quite a bit and took some lovely pictures. Let's face it: I'm from America. We don't have castles. I'd be perfectly happy sitting myself down on the (very wet) grass and staring at one for hours. But there was still more to see, so we piled back onto the bus and headed a little further into Killarney where we found yet another national park.
Okay, it wasn't a national park, but it easily could have been. We went to Muckross House. Which should also be called Muckross Manor. Or maybe Muckross Castle. Whatever you call it, when it was built there were 11,000 acres of land. Now there are 25,000 hectares (I think. I'm not positive I'm remembering it correctly). Whatever it was, it was huge. The front doors open up onto this gravel path that disappears into the trees at the horizon. And to the right of the house, there's this huge sweeping lawn that goes right down to Muckross Lake, which is surrounded by giant, beautiful trees on either side, with a backdrop of misty mountains behind. This was the view these people had from their dining room. I kid you not, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I can't imagine what it would have been like to live there. Wake up every morning and look out over your acres of land. Of course, the children were all confined to the upstairs unless they had express permission to come down, so they probably weren't spending a lot of time out on the lawns, but I just kept thinking of giant croquet games or being able to play an actual soccer game on your lawn.
The house was just as impressive. When you visit historical sites in America, they cordon off all the areas where you aren't supposed to go in order to protect the valuables from damage or theft. You stand in the doorway and peer in at the artifacts. Here, they give you a friendly reminder not to touch anything and let you straight into the room, no ropes or cords involved. We saw beautiful chandeliers and a giant crystal window that made the room seem sunny, even though it was raining outside. We saw a secret gentleman's game room into which no women were ever allowed to set foot. There was a writing desk with a secret drawer, bell cords in every room and beside every bed for calling servants to your side, and never ending corridors and staircases. Queen Victoria came to visit and it took them six years to prepare for her arrival.
Anyway, it was just fabulous. No wonder we were all thinking about Pride and Prejudice the whole time, though. On a somewhat related note, I have decided that Ireland is the place to go when you want to take engagement or senior pictures. It might be the most picturesque place in the world. It's certainly the prettiest of all the places that I've been.
On a completely unrelated note, I thought I'd give a shout out to anyone out there who has seen the Avengers, or more specifically, Thor. We had a moment in the pub last night when we all realized we were drinking water from one pint beer glasses. (I know, I know. I'm dying to quote Lord of the Rings too.) One of the girls mentioned how good the water tasted, so I pantomimed taking my glass and smashing it against the floor, yelling "another!" We dissolved into laughter. It's nice to know that we can enjoy the pub experience just as much as the locals, but without the alcohol.
And related to that, another shout out to any friends and family that are currently watching the season finale of Korra (which is actually starting to air RIGHT NOW as I type this!) and who have seen or will be seeing Brave: I...am in Ireland. But I still do wish I could be watching with you! :)
The directors bought us all heritage cards, meaning we have access to most of the sites we come across from now on, regardless of price. That should make for an interesting next couple of days! We go to church tomorrow here in Cork, then head out to Blarney Castle. No verdict yet on whether or not I will actually kiss the Blarney Stone...
Internet at this hotel is only for computers (ethernet, no wifi) so a huge thanks to Marie for letting me use her computer! I uploaded all of four pictures to my first post, but it took so long that I decided to wait until later to do the rest, as this isn't actually my computer.
Well, Happy Saturday everyone! If I don't post anything tomorrow, look forward to more stuff on Monday!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Irish Pubs and Irish Watsons
Ever wonder what it's like in an Irish Pub? My suggestion is to go watch Lord of the Rings and pay attention to every Shire pub. That'll give you a clue.
Here's what I was told: pubs are family-friendly places where they don't allow smoking and they play traditional Irish music around 9:30 every night. And that's about accurate, though I don't know that I consider places that serve alcohol as "family friendly." Then again, I had to serve some alcohol when I worked for Disney, so there you go. Anyway, we met this lovely old man named Phillip. He was the epitome of an Irish gentleman. He sang songs and introduced himself to everyone personally, trying to remember their names however he could. He told me the Irish word for "Heather" (it started with an "F" but I don't remember it, sadly!) and told me that I was cheeky. I'm not sure what I did to prompt this besides smile at him, but maybe it was my cheeks that inspired him. :) He started putting us on the spot one by one, asking us to sing. My friend Marie sang Coldplay, but I blanked at the last second and ended up singing Mary Had a Little Lamb (sheesh! of all the songs I could have picked!) and dedicating it to Ireland with all of its sheep. Then another American lady who had joined our little group started singing the Brady Bunch song, which Phillip had never heard, and we all joined in with her. Phillip thought it needed more verses than just the one, but he was still grateful for the song. For any of you who've watched BBC's Sherlock (or for any of you who are familiar with Martin Freeman) picture an aged Martin Freeman with an Irish accent wearing a white Watson sweater and you have our friend Phillip. He was a sweetheart, and definitely a regular at the Courthouse Pub since everyone there seemed to know him.
Around 9:30 a couple of musicians started playing a violin and a guitar. The music was absolutely beautiful, just like the rest of this country. It feels like I've been here forever, but this is only the third night! Fortunately I seem to be over jet lag, though the bus still tries to lull me to sleep. There's still so much more to do and to see! We're off to Killarney tomorrow, and will end the day in Cork. Until then, good night, everyone!
Here's what I was told: pubs are family-friendly places where they don't allow smoking and they play traditional Irish music around 9:30 every night. And that's about accurate, though I don't know that I consider places that serve alcohol as "family friendly." Then again, I had to serve some alcohol when I worked for Disney, so there you go. Anyway, we met this lovely old man named Phillip. He was the epitome of an Irish gentleman. He sang songs and introduced himself to everyone personally, trying to remember their names however he could. He told me the Irish word for "Heather" (it started with an "F" but I don't remember it, sadly!) and told me that I was cheeky. I'm not sure what I did to prompt this besides smile at him, but maybe it was my cheeks that inspired him. :) He started putting us on the spot one by one, asking us to sing. My friend Marie sang Coldplay, but I blanked at the last second and ended up singing Mary Had a Little Lamb (sheesh! of all the songs I could have picked!) and dedicating it to Ireland with all of its sheep. Then another American lady who had joined our little group started singing the Brady Bunch song, which Phillip had never heard, and we all joined in with her. Phillip thought it needed more verses than just the one, but he was still grateful for the song. For any of you who've watched BBC's Sherlock (or for any of you who are familiar with Martin Freeman) picture an aged Martin Freeman with an Irish accent wearing a white Watson sweater and you have our friend Phillip. He was a sweetheart, and definitely a regular at the Courthouse Pub since everyone there seemed to know him.
Around 9:30 a couple of musicians started playing a violin and a guitar. The music was absolutely beautiful, just like the rest of this country. It feels like I've been here forever, but this is only the third night! Fortunately I seem to be over jet lag, though the bus still tries to lull me to sleep. There's still so much more to do and to see! We're off to Killarney tomorrow, and will end the day in Cork. Until then, good night, everyone!
On Fish, Chips, and Murphy
I am officially a fan of fish and chips with tartar sauce and malt vinegar. it was amazing. Also, if you ever find yourself in Dingle, make sure you got to Murphy's Ice Cream and try the Dingle Sea Salt flavor with the Honeycomb flavor. You will be glad you did! You won't find the Seal Salt ice cream anywhere else, either, so you have to take advantage of it while you're here! Plus the men at the counter were extremely nice. We talked to a boy (hereafter named "Murphy" because we never got his name) who had been in Dingle for five weeks and lived in Tralee (where my new Irish friends are from--see previous post) and Spain for most of his life. He's the reason we tried the Sea Salt flavor at all! The people here in Ireland have been absurdly friendly. What a great experience!
In Which There Is Sun, Prehistoric Rock, and Extremely Narrow, Windy Roads
We spent the night in Dingle! Population: almost 2,000. It's a fishing/tourist town located on a peninsula on the west coast of Ireland. I'm staying in my very first Bed and Breakfast, and it's absolutely adorable. The keys are actual, old-fashioned, metal keys. There are keyholes in the doors! They were a little tricky to handle, but fortunately the mechanics of the locks are similar to those of the locks on the doors at home, so I caught on pretty quick. Breakfast is at 8:30 am, and the landlady takes your order the day before so she knows exactly how much she needs to prepare of everything.
Speaking of food, everything here tastes better than it does at home, and I am of the opinion that that is because it is fresh. Everything comes from nearby. You don't think of Ireland when you think of great cuisine, but I've definitely become a believer. We're going out for fish and chips tonight--my first time!
We left around 10:00 am for the peninsula coast. There are a lot of cool things to see that date from around 500bc to 500ad. We stopped first at Dunbeag Fort (or Dunbeg Fort or Dunberg Fort or Dunbag Fort...take your pick). Basically it's several large ridges in the earth followed by a small stone circle inside of a larger stone circle, with some doorways and tunnels for getting inside and out. They don't know much about these prehistoric rock formations and can only speculate on what they were used for.
A little ways down the road we came to the Beehive Huts--stone "houses" shaped like beehives that people used to stay in when they were on their pilgrimages across Ireland. Basically, they were the hotels of the stone age. You found one that was empty and spent the night. What was funny was that they told us these were prehistoric too, but while we were there there was a guy building one next to us. He said it had fallen down and they'd had to start building it up again, but I still found it a little ironic. We climbed all over these ancient stone formations, and I can say that I'm shocked they've survived for this long. They're basically stacks of rocks--not cemented together or anything. You have to be careful where you step, and I learned that the hard way! No, I did not knock over a prehistoric building. Yes, I did step on a rock that tipped over with me on it. Don't worry, no scrapes. Not even a bruise. But it was a little frightening at the time!
We rode on our giant coach bus to all of these locations, and we had to switch our schedule around because the coaches are only allowed to go one way on those roads. And no wonder! Some of the roads are only a little wider than the coach itself, and they're meant to be two-way traffic! I must admit, I never knew what a hairpin turn was until I took one that turned 180 degrees on a coach. We've done that at least ten times today. When other buses or trucks come by, one of us has to pull halfway off the road and wait for the other pass before continuing on. I have pictures--you'll see what I mean. It was crazy! Our bus driver told us about one bus that had a driver that wasn't from the area and who didn't know that his coach was only allowed to go one way. Long story short, he got stuck on one of the hairpin turns and they had to cut the bus in half to get it off the road. Crazy, huh?
But what beautiful scenery! We drove past several almost Caribbean-looking beaches with white sand and blue-green water, and we even spent two hours at Inch Beach, playing in the sand and getting blasted by the coastal winds. A couple of the girls were brave enough to try wakeboarding and told us that the water was actually quite warm, thanks to the Gulf Stream. Funny, considering how far north we are.
This has gotten insanely long, but there's just been so much going on! I can't wait until I can post pictures--I've taken nearly 700 already, but don't worry! I won't post them all! Just the ones relevant to these posts. One of the girls has been kind enough to offer me the use of her computer for a little bit whenever we get somewhere where the internet actually works. It's spotty here, especially in the afternoons and early evenings.
Let me say one more thing: It was sunny today! Still is, even! There has been more sunlight today than on the rest of the trip combined. Guess that made today a good day to go to the beach. :) And on a related note, as it's the Summer Solstice (or it was, yesterday) we had sunlight straight until 10:00 pm last night. And this morning the sun was well into the air when I got up at 7:30. Okay, done. More on Irish Pubs and Fish'n'Chips later!
Speaking of food, everything here tastes better than it does at home, and I am of the opinion that that is because it is fresh. Everything comes from nearby. You don't think of Ireland when you think of great cuisine, but I've definitely become a believer. We're going out for fish and chips tonight--my first time!
We left around 10:00 am for the peninsula coast. There are a lot of cool things to see that date from around 500bc to 500ad. We stopped first at Dunbeag Fort (or Dunbeg Fort or Dunberg Fort or Dunbag Fort...take your pick). Basically it's several large ridges in the earth followed by a small stone circle inside of a larger stone circle, with some doorways and tunnels for getting inside and out. They don't know much about these prehistoric rock formations and can only speculate on what they were used for.
A little ways down the road we came to the Beehive Huts--stone "houses" shaped like beehives that people used to stay in when they were on their pilgrimages across Ireland. Basically, they were the hotels of the stone age. You found one that was empty and spent the night. What was funny was that they told us these were prehistoric too, but while we were there there was a guy building one next to us. He said it had fallen down and they'd had to start building it up again, but I still found it a little ironic. We climbed all over these ancient stone formations, and I can say that I'm shocked they've survived for this long. They're basically stacks of rocks--not cemented together or anything. You have to be careful where you step, and I learned that the hard way! No, I did not knock over a prehistoric building. Yes, I did step on a rock that tipped over with me on it. Don't worry, no scrapes. Not even a bruise. But it was a little frightening at the time!
We rode on our giant coach bus to all of these locations, and we had to switch our schedule around because the coaches are only allowed to go one way on those roads. And no wonder! Some of the roads are only a little wider than the coach itself, and they're meant to be two-way traffic! I must admit, I never knew what a hairpin turn was until I took one that turned 180 degrees on a coach. We've done that at least ten times today. When other buses or trucks come by, one of us has to pull halfway off the road and wait for the other pass before continuing on. I have pictures--you'll see what I mean. It was crazy! Our bus driver told us about one bus that had a driver that wasn't from the area and who didn't know that his coach was only allowed to go one way. Long story short, he got stuck on one of the hairpin turns and they had to cut the bus in half to get it off the road. Crazy, huh?
But what beautiful scenery! We drove past several almost Caribbean-looking beaches with white sand and blue-green water, and we even spent two hours at Inch Beach, playing in the sand and getting blasted by the coastal winds. A couple of the girls were brave enough to try wakeboarding and told us that the water was actually quite warm, thanks to the Gulf Stream. Funny, considering how far north we are.
This has gotten insanely long, but there's just been so much going on! I can't wait until I can post pictures--I've taken nearly 700 already, but don't worry! I won't post them all! Just the ones relevant to these posts. One of the girls has been kind enough to offer me the use of her computer for a little bit whenever we get somewhere where the internet actually works. It's spotty here, especially in the afternoons and early evenings.
Let me say one more thing: It was sunny today! Still is, even! There has been more sunlight today than on the rest of the trip combined. Guess that made today a good day to go to the beach. :) And on a related note, as it's the Summer Solstice (or it was, yesterday) we had sunlight straight until 10:00 pm last night. And this morning the sun was well into the air when I got up at 7:30. Okay, done. More on Irish Pubs and Fish'n'Chips later!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Making Friends!
We're between Shannon and our next destination, Dingle. We just stopped for a five-minute bathroom and stretching break, but there was only one toilet at the gas station so five minutes turned into ten, then twenty. While we were walking up, I noticed a handful of teens sitting at the only table out front. One of the boys jokingly said to his friends that we were like a bunch of sheep, following each other. We waited in this line and soon enough the kids came up to us and struck up a conversation. They were delighted to learn we were from America and proceeded to ask us if we knew different Irish celebrities and bands. I had to admit that most of them had me stumped, but at least I could say that I knew Evanna Lynch, Pierce Brosnan, and One Direction. To my delight, the girls asked if Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games were big in America, and we had a great conversation about books while the guys talked about movies. One girl, Mary Kate, asked where I was from and when she didn't know where Minnesota was, my friend Marie told her it was by Canada. For the rest of our visit, if someone asked where I was from Mary Kate told them it was by Canada. One of the boys then asked if I knew about the Timberwolves (and then if I had ever seen one). They asked if they were hard to understand, and we said that we loved listening to them talk, but that they were sometimes hard to understand when they talked fast. They told us in turn that we sounded "weird." I got a picture of them with us, and then one of the boys asked for my name so he could find me on Facebook. When we told them we were on a sort of bus tour across Ireland, they joked that they would come with us. We said our goodbyes and then they chased after our bus as it passed, waving. And that is the story of how a handful of American college students made friends with a group of Irish teenagers.
I have to say...
I have never seen so many sheep in my life.
...Which is kinda cool, considering I was just saying last week that I wanted to see some sheep.
Bunratty Castle
Well, if I've learned anything these past two days, it's that jet lag is very real. I forced myself to stay awake yesterday until 7:00 pm, at which point I literally lost consciousness. I woke three times during the night, but I didn't get out of bed until 7:00 am the next morning. And guess what? I still nodded off on the three-hour bus ride to Dingle. Jet lag. Either that or buses, like cars, lull me to sleep.
Anyway, we got to a delayed start this morning because the hotel rooms didn't have clocks and one of the directors thought it was four in the morning when it was actually ten. Once we were all present, we headed off to Bunratty Castle, the first of many castles on our itinerary. And can I just say: Wow. I think people had to be quite a bit smaller a few centuries ago because I barely fit through some of those doorways.
Bunratty has three stories of central great rooms and four towers with six stories each. You climb up narrow spiral staircases to get to the upper floors and towers, but you have to watch your footing! There is also a North Solar and a South Solar, both of which are kind of like apartments, one for the resident earl and one for his guests.
Okay, highlights:
-the stairs. I'm in love with spiral staircases and mazes, so these were awesome because every new passage went off in a different direction and the stairways never seemed to end.
-the dungeon! It was a square pit with a barred opening at the top of one of the walls. If you got thrown in there, I'm guessing it was for life. The corridor leading to it was narrow enough to make me slightly claustrophobic.
-the parapets. What a great view!
Oh yeah, and I found the legendary Hound of the Baskervilles. Either that, or it was the dog they got to play Maximus in Tangled. This dog was the size of a horse. Pictures will be forthcoming. So my first castle was a wonderful experience! We're going to Dingle now, and I thought I should mention that we just drove over a mountain that was covered in sheep and now we're waiting in one-way construction traffic. If your interested in things like mountains of sheep. ...and on that note, I'm off! More tomorrow!
Anyway, we got to a delayed start this morning because the hotel rooms didn't have clocks and one of the directors thought it was four in the morning when it was actually ten. Once we were all present, we headed off to Bunratty Castle, the first of many castles on our itinerary. And can I just say: Wow. I think people had to be quite a bit smaller a few centuries ago because I barely fit through some of those doorways.
Bunratty has three stories of central great rooms and four towers with six stories each. You climb up narrow spiral staircases to get to the upper floors and towers, but you have to watch your footing! There is also a North Solar and a South Solar, both of which are kind of like apartments, one for the resident earl and one for his guests.
Okay, highlights:
-the stairs. I'm in love with spiral staircases and mazes, so these were awesome because every new passage went off in a different direction and the stairways never seemed to end.
-the dungeon! It was a square pit with a barred opening at the top of one of the walls. If you got thrown in there, I'm guessing it was for life. The corridor leading to it was narrow enough to make me slightly claustrophobic.
-the parapets. What a great view!
Oh yeah, and I found the legendary Hound of the Baskervilles. Either that, or it was the dog they got to play Maximus in Tangled. This dog was the size of a horse. Pictures will be forthcoming. So my first castle was a wonderful experience! We're going to Dingle now, and I thought I should mention that we just drove over a mountain that was covered in sheep and now we're waiting in one-way construction traffic. If your interested in things like mountains of sheep. ...and on that note, I'm off! More tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Cliffs of Moher
Wow. The gorgeous west coast of Ireland is partly made up of sheer cliff faces that reach 200 meters (approximately 600 feet) high. I just walked across the top of them, sometimes with nothing between me and the edge. Apparently lots of people died here. There were a couple of ancient watch towers that warned the locals when enemy ships were approaching. The view was just breathtaking! In the middle of our visit, I experienced my first real Irish rainstorm. Rain in Ireland is cold and wet and frequent! Now I'm back to trying to stay awake on a large bus that's driving on tiny roads. I will do my absolute best to post pictures soon!
Airport Adventurings
It's funny how my watch keeps telling me it's 1:30 in the afternoon. Cause, you know, it is. No one's told my internal clock that yet. It's only 7:30 am in Utah. I left SLC around 1:00 pm yesterday and have scarcely gotten one spotty hour of sleep since then. I am now embarking on an hour-long bus ride to the cliffs of Moher and trying desperately to stay awake. How? By blogging, of course.
I know everyone is wondering where the "adventure" comes into any of this. Well, don't get too excited. We almost missed our connection from London to Shannon Ireland. We arrived in London with about an hour and a half before our connection took off. Plenty of time right? And we didn't dally around or anything either. What we didn't count on was having to go through security again for a connecting flight. By the time they were done confiscating and discarding the mousse that SLC's security let me take (sorry, Mom),we had a half hour before the flight was scheduled to take off. This was about the time that they started paging us. We had at least three "last call"s before we made it to the gate. Heathrow could easily be compared to Daedelus' labyrinth, with long, twisting corridors that never end. We sprinted across two terminals and made it with twenty minutes to spare. Of course, the plane then proceeded to sit at the gate until twenty minutes after the scheduled departure time. Good thing we hurried. At least we got some cardio in, right? Of course, arriving in Shannon on time with all our luggage was more than the rest of our group could hope for. Six of us are here now, but eleven others were supposed to arrive before us and were delayed leaving Chicago. Which is weird, because our plane left from Chicago at about the same time and we had no problems. The rest of the group will be arriving around 10 tonight. I am. Very glad I was part of the small group that had to sprint through Heathrow Airport. Some preliminary thoughts on Ireland:
-it is wet, and it is green
-the roads are super narrow
-they have a lot of roundabouts
-it is completely normal to have a modern house twenty feet away from a dilapidated ruin that is thousands of years old
-it is beautiful!
Preliminary Pictures: Shannon Airport and Ireland!
Mckenna, Amber, Megan, and (Jessica) Palmer
One other thought. The customs officer at Heathrow said "cheers" to me when I thanked him. I don't know why this made me so happy, as the same thing hAppened at WDW every other day, but it did. I also saw the Thames from above, which was a little mind-blowing. Now I am looking at a wall of rain that is sheeting across the Irish countryside. That's really all for now. More on the cliffs of Moher later!
I know everyone is wondering where the "adventure" comes into any of this. Well, don't get too excited. We almost missed our connection from London to Shannon Ireland. We arrived in London with about an hour and a half before our connection took off. Plenty of time right? And we didn't dally around or anything either. What we didn't count on was having to go through security again for a connecting flight. By the time they were done confiscating and discarding the mousse that SLC's security let me take (sorry, Mom),we had a half hour before the flight was scheduled to take off. This was about the time that they started paging us. We had at least three "last call"s before we made it to the gate. Heathrow could easily be compared to Daedelus' labyrinth, with long, twisting corridors that never end. We sprinted across two terminals and made it with twenty minutes to spare. Of course, the plane then proceeded to sit at the gate until twenty minutes after the scheduled departure time. Good thing we hurried. At least we got some cardio in, right? Of course, arriving in Shannon on time with all our luggage was more than the rest of our group could hope for. Six of us are here now, but eleven others were supposed to arrive before us and were delayed leaving Chicago. Which is weird, because our plane left from Chicago at about the same time and we had no problems. The rest of the group will be arriving around 10 tonight. I am. Very glad I was part of the small group that had to sprint through Heathrow Airport. Some preliminary thoughts on Ireland:
-it is wet, and it is green
-the roads are super narrow
-they have a lot of roundabouts
-it is completely normal to have a modern house twenty feet away from a dilapidated ruin that is thousands of years old
-it is beautiful!
Preliminary Pictures: Shannon Airport and Ireland!
One other thought. The customs officer at Heathrow said "cheers" to me when I thanked him. I don't know why this made me so happy, as the same thing hAppened at WDW every other day, but it did. I also saw the Thames from above, which was a little mind-blowing. Now I am looking at a wall of rain that is sheeting across the Irish countryside. That's really all for now. More on the cliffs of Moher later!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
30 Day Disney Challenge
Day # 15: The First Movie You Saw
Goodness gracious, how am I supposed to remember that? There has been no end of Disney movies in my life, so I can't even begin to guess which I saw first. So...best guesses. Here we go.
The Little Mermaid was the first Disney movie to come out while I was alive, so my mom and I agree that this was probably one of the first that I saw.
I know for a fact that by the time I was five I had seen Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But then, I'd probably seen most of the early Disney movies at that point. Fun fact! When I turned five, one of my friends gave me a giant, framed movie poster for Beauty and the Beast. It hung on my wall for many years.
Ah, the memories...
Friday, June 15, 2012
30 Day Disney Challenge
Day # 14: Best Kiss
Win, win, win, every single time. Can't explain it, just love it SO much.
2nd Place:
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Um...Yeah, so I guess the moral here is that I have a REALLY hard time picking favorite kisses. All of these were fabulous. And...on that note, I'll just be going now. GOSH I love Disney. That is all.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
30 Day Disney Challenge
Ha ha...ha ha ha. Yes it's been a year. I won't point it out if you won't.
Day #13: Your Least Favorite Song
"Topsy Turvy" from Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's hard to find a song that I don't like, but this is definitely one I tend to skip. Nothing against the rest of the Hunchback score, of course. Much of it is breathtaking!
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