Carcassonne, France

It's been over two months ago since I went to France, but here is the blog post better late than never:

December 4, 2009 I got on the earliest bus out of Harold's Cross that was headed to the airport so I could meet Casey and Abby so we could head to Carcassonne, France. The airport we flew into was quite small and none of us had bothered to look up how we would get transportation from the airport into the town. When we stepped outside it was raining and luckily there was a bus right outside waiting. For €5 each we were able to take the 10 minute bus ride in. The bus driver informed us that he would be stopping at the train station and he would then take those of us staying to respective hotels. Abby, Casey and I were in the back of the bus so when we got to the station they nominated me, as I had the guesthouse information, to go up and tell him the address. Coincidentally there was a woman from Ireland who was taking a weekend holiday as well and she was staying in the Millet Guesthouse too. The bus driver pointed us in the right direction and we got off and wandered down some pretty deserted streets. A bit of wandering and trying to figure out the numbering on the doors led us to the right place.

Mei and Richard greeted us when we rang the doorbell and then ushered us up to the second floor. We entered the dining area and they seated us around a table to finalize our payments. It was then that we learned our friend's name, Angie. John and Mae also gave us maps of the area along with suggestions for things to do. After dropping off our bags and freshening up a bit we decided to start our short trek toward the castle. Being a small out of the way town, not a whole lot was going on even though it was a Friday night. We would find a lot more people in the area Sunday who made day trips to visit. We checked out some shops and settled for a small French pub within the castle walls for dinner that night. Casey and Abby both had French Onion Soup, which Abby let me try and it was delicious. I had a ham and cheese baguette which was really good too. We celebrated our girls night with sangria and stories for about 5 hours. We finished the night off with cake and a hefty tip for our waiter for having one of his tables occupied the entire night. We did make sure periodically that we weren't holding anyone up but there were always free tables. The walk back was a bit rainy but we had fun with it, dancing and whatnot which made it go a lot faster than the walk up to the castle.

Saturday we got on a train to Montpellier. It was really nice to see some of the French countryside and a train was the best way to do it. We obviously stuck out because a couple of French girls about our age asked us where we were from and what in the world were we doing in that part of France. We just laughed and told them we were traveling and exploring, I'm sure they thought we were crazy. It's really no different from when I ask people why they have come to Franklin or Clarion, but we tend to take the places we live in and know for granted whereas those visiting are able to see it through brand new eyes. There was a Christmas market going on in town so we perused the stands before going to the Musée Fabre. They had a fantastic exhibit of work done by Jean Raoux, a Montpellier artist who influenced the history of French art in the XVIIIth century. I was able to gather most of what I needed from the explanations in French that were posted on the wall. The language barrier in and of itself made me really wish that our language programs in elementary and secondary school were better or even existent for that matter. If I can manage it, I'm definitely picking up a language, probably Spanish, while I'm still in school. After the museum we grabbed sandwiches on baguettes and I even got a delicious raspberry tart. We explored the city a bit more before catching our train back to Carcassonne.

Sunday we decided to head back up to the castle. We spent the day perusing shops and dodging other tourists. There was a band that walked around to different areas of the castle and they seriously played all day. They must have been exhausted, but they had quite a following audience. Alongside them were a couple of men on stilts and a couple of other men puppeteering giant sized puppets. That evening we ate at a restaurant which wasn’t very busy and the owner spoke very little English. What he did say to us dealt a lot with American movie stars which was quite an entertaining way to have someone relate to us. After dinner we were exhausted so we turned in for an early night. At that point I was itching to just get back to Dublin. I was quite excited on Monday when we headed for the airport with Angie. The flight was just over two hours but it felt like forever. When we touched down at Dublin Airport I got this overwhelming feeling that I was home. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I waited for the 16A bus back into Harold’s Cross and I revelled in the fact that I could call this country, that had been foreign a mere three months before, home.

Thanksgiving In Dublin

Thanksgiving morning I got up at a decent hour and made it into the apartments at approximately 10:30 am. I hadn't really slept well the night before but I found out that Nicky hadn't slept at all. He did however have a turkey soaking in a mop bucket in a brine solution with a ton of lemons. There were a couple of chickens too in case we ran out of turkey as we had fifteen people to feed. After he finished putting the appropriate spices and vegetables with the poultry, Nicky laid down for a nap while Patrick and I went to scour Dublin in search of some pie tins. The task was not as easy at one might think. It took us about an hour and about eight different stores until we found some in a Euro 2 store at which point I jumped up and down and "Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar was flowing through the speakers in the store making the moment all the more monumental.

Once back at the apartments Patrick and I feasted on Subway (I know it's not cool to get American fast food while abroad, it's only the fifth time I have) and waited for Nicky to wake up. When he did we set to work making sure we could make use of multiple ovens in the apartments as they aren't very big. Nicky put a chicken in his and a chicken in Casey and Teri's while I put my pumpkin pies in Caitlin's. The pies consisted of me mixing the filling and Nicky making the crusts without a rolling pin, and they turned out quite well. Later on others arrived to make their food. Toby set about making an apple pie, Anthony made a bucket o' salad, Laura made soup, Casey baked a green bean casserole, Teri mixed sangria to go with appetizers, Chris and Caitlin mashed potatoes, and the list goes on but those are the ones I witnessed.

The problem with having 15 people eat Thanksgiving dinner in one apartment is that there is not nearly enough table space, so we had to move tables and chairs from Casey and Teri's apartment along with Caitlin's dining room set down to Nicky and Patrick's via the elevator. We were able to get it all set up and a few of us ran around to different apartments, of people we were eating with, to make sure we had enough place settings. Once we were finished setting up at Nicky and Patrick's, Teri and Casey hosted appetizers in their apartment which is fully outfitted for Christmas I might add. Casey even put on some Christmas music to add to the spirit of it all and we enjoyed finger foods with sangria.

The big event of course was when we moved down to dinner and had a huge spread of food across three tables. Despite our concern for not having enough food, we had way more than enough. It was rather enjoyable and all of the food was delicious. We even adopted one of Kyle's family traditions of going around the table and saying what it is we were thankful for, which I know a lot of people do but most of us haven't. Most of us were thankful for the opportunity to study abroad, travel, and meet new people including everyone there. All of us are truly blessed to have this experience as so few people our age get to do what we have done. After dessert we played a game, I can't remember the name, but it's like telephone only with sentences and pictures. It ended up being hilarious, but once we finished it was time to clean up so those of us getting home by public transportation could make it in time.

I must say I think everyone was quite pleased at how far above and beyond everyone went. We had more than enough food and great company. It was by far one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had and it was abroad with friends who have become family.

A Visit From Abroad

My dear mother came to visit last week and we had quite a grand time. She arrived Wednesday, November 18 and just tried to rest and relax. I took her for a walk around my neighborhood before dinner, at which point I went to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by DBS and she had dinner with Mary and her friend Trina. Thursday we went to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room of the Trinity College Library. I most most impressed with the Long Room and had no desire to leave. Mama joked about having a slumber party there, I would be totally game for it. I had to go to class that afternoon so she took a bus tour of Dublin. Afterward we did a little bit of shopping but the weather was rather crappy so we went home for dinner.

Friday we got up and went to Howth so she could get out of the city for a bit. We saw seals, ate fish and chips, and wandered around for a bit before heading back into the city for a light dinner of soup. That night we met up with Casey and her family at the Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Ireland est 1198. Patrick joined us too. I got to introduce her to pub life in Dublin, outdoor facilities with heaters as the inside of the pub was crowded, and traditional live Irish music.

Saturday we slept in as the weather was quite ugly. The afternoon turned out to be beautiful so we went for a walk through St. Stephen's Green and strolled down Grafton St where quite a few buskers were performing. I was so glad she got to see them as they are definitely a part of the culture here in Dublin. After a few last minute Christmas gift pick ups we went home to settle in for the night with dinner and a movie. We watched Once which is a movie based in Dublin, if you ever get the chance watch it, it's definitely a great film with amazing music.

Sunday was her last full day here, we went to church and then hung out all afternoon at the house. Mary had been at a conference all weekend and wasn't due in until dinner time so we went to the store and bought food to make dinner for when she got home. Monday morning we had breakfast and we got on the bus headed for the airport. I had to get off in city centre so I could go to class and I had to leave my Mama to get to the airport by herself. I must say I can't wait to see her again when I get home, less than a month now.

Belfast

Friday, November 6, we got into Belfast with about two hours to spare before dinner so a few of us went out to explore the city. Abby, Andy, Casey, Toby, and I walked by Belfast City Hall and The Belfast Wheel. We ended up going into a mall that had a giant globe on top. We were able to go up and take pictures which was a ton of fun because they light the globe up at night. After wandering for a little bit longer we went back to the hotel for dinner which was pretty interesting as there was a mirror at one end of the room that had most of us looking at ourselves throughout dinner. Toby thought it would be fun to take a picture of us in it and he ended up using my camera because his wasn't turning out. After dinner Charity, Patrick, Andy and I wandered around trying to find a pub for about an hour, they aren't as easy to come by as they are in Dublin. We ended up at a place called The Beaten Docket where we met up with Jon and Kyle. It was karaoke night and the place was filled with a bunch of middle aged adults. We kept to ourselves and had quite a bit of fun.

Saturday after a full Irish Breakfast at the hotel we went on a double decker bus tour of Belfast. I was toward the back of the line with some of my friends so we ended up on the lower saloon of the bus, but it worked out in our favor as it was freezing outside. We only got pictures at the places where the bus stopped but we weren't popsicles by the end of the tour so it was ok. We had the entire afternoon free to just explore the city so we all went our separate ways. Abby, Casey, Teri, Kyle, Jon, Brady, Chris, Charity, and I all set out together to find St. George's Market. The market is indoors and there were a ton of food vendors, a few craft vendors, and even a mini petting zoo in the back. Casey and I got nutella and strawberry crepes for lunch and they were absolutely delicious. Teri discovered the petting zoo and then the guys had fun checking it out. We ended up going back to the mall so that everyone who hadn't been with us the night before could check out the globe. Casey took my camera and had fun taking candids of everyone for a bit. Once we finished there we went to Belfast City Hall for a tour. The building was absolutely gorgeous inside and it had only been open to the public for four weeks as it had been undergoing refurbishments for two years. I found the Johnston name again on an Honor Roll list in the building for those who had served in the Great War. After the tour we headed back to the hotel for a nap before dinner. Once dinner was complete a big group of us headed for The Beaten Docket for an night of friends, drinks, and great conversation. At one point Jeff, Abby, Katie, Erin, and I all ended up on the dance floor which was ton of fun.

Sunday we were due to head back to Dublin but not without a stop by the Northern Ireland Parliament Building first. All in all the weekend was extremely informative and educational in what has been going on in Northern Ireland in recent years. I was completely exhausted by the end of it, but I gleaned more from it than I ever dreamed I would.

Derry

Thursday, November 5 a group of Americans studying in Dublin boarded a couple of buses headed for Northern Ireland. I had been about forty minutes early, not wanting to get stuck in rush hour I headed out earlier than needed. I ended up taking a free Metro paper from a bag on the sidewalk and I put my suitcase against a wall along the sidewalk facing the buses to use as a seat. My friends started arriving about fifteen minutes later and we enjoyed a long bus ride with a break for lunch before heading to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge in Atrim. It was great fun walking to and across the bridge itself and the landscape was absolutely beautiful. Afterwards we headed for Giants Causeway where we watched a fifteen minute video on the origin of it. We pretty much made a mad dash to make it to the Causeway before sunset. It was absolutely beautiful and we had fun climbing around on it. Quite a few people got too close to the ocean though and the waves completely hit them. Once back on the bus we made our way to Derry where we had dinner and then were to stay for the night. I went out with a few friends to find a pub and we ended up in a nice little place for a drink.

Friday we woke up for breakfast followed by a walking tour of Derry which had us all completely soaked by the rain. One of the war memorials had a few Johnston's listed on it, which I was really excited about as my Irish roots lay in that name. My great grandma on my mum's side was a Johnston. We learned quite a bit of history on the tour and we got to see a lot of the murals that have been painted in memorial for those who died during The Troubles and on Bloody Sunday. We also walked past the wall that divides the Protestant part of town from the Catholic part. Just a note here for those of you who think the issues in Northern Ireland are about religion they aren't so much as they are politics and civil rights. It has nothing to do with what the Protestants believe versus the Catholics it's about social class and earning the same rights to land and life. The whole experience was rather heart wrenching and I was in a right state all day extremely close to tears. Our tour ended with a trip to the Bloody Sunday Museum. One of the men who works there has dedicated his life to the museum and educating people on the events of that day because his brother was one of the victims. The museum itself has many relics from that day including items from survivors and the victims. They even had a couple of computers set up with video footage taken that day which I sat and watched a bit of and tried not to fall apart. The whole group of us then went to watch a video on the events and victims. My interest heightened and I went completely cold when one of the victims was named as John Johnston who had not been a part of the civil rights march on that day but had been trying to avoid it while walking to a friend's house. I don't know if I would perhaps be related to the man but it's something I would really like to look into.

I was able to recoup a bit over lunch with some of the girls before our bus trip to Belfast which also gave me some time to just think and eventually take a small nap. The trip in and of itself up to that point had definitely been more of an emotional one than the trip to Galway which had been more about the beauty of the landscape whereas Derry was more about the people living there and what they had been through.

A note on the pictures: The first one was taken by the rope bridge, left to right, Casey, Me, Abby, and Teri. The second one is Giants Causeway. The banner is actually the same one depicted in the mural under the soldier's boot, and the stains on it are one of the victim's blood.

Documenting Athens

Sunday, October 25th, we got up at the crack of dawn to catch four different buses that would end in us making it to the airport in order to fly to Athens. The airport was packed and we were all tired and hungry. It didn't really make for a good start to the day but we managed once we got off the metro in Athens. Now I must note that we were hoping for amazing weather in Greece but it rained for most of our stay. It has barely rained in Dublin, at least not nearly as much as we had expected and London turned out to be beautiful, but Greece well it rained a lot.
The map and directions that we were given to get to the penthouse were horrible and we walked around Athens for about three hours before finally hailing a taxi to take us to our destination. Along the way we asked a pizza restaurant owner for directions along with a five star hotel doorman and finally a guy who was on holiday by himself from the Netherlands. We passed Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus but it was pouring rain so I didn't get pictures of them. Our friend from the Netherlands was originally supposed to go to California because his friends live there but he ended up deciding on Greece. He told us he likes to travel alone because you get more of an experience that way, having to put yourself out there instead of just hanging out with the people you came with. If it weren't for the fact that I have no sense of direction and also as a safety precaution I wouldn't mind traveling by myself, I did come to this country alone and it's been the greatest experience of my life. I love meeting people who are extremely independent like that, we have a few in our program and it's fun to hear about their trips.
After our friend couldn't read our map either he helped us hail a taxi on one of the busiest roads I've ever seen in my life and we bade him farewell. We made it to the penthouse at about 6:30 pm and we were starved. Laverne, Chris and Charity's International Studies Director, greeted us and gave us food to tie us over until it was time to go to dinner. She had been concerned with our whereabouts since she of course had been expecting us at least an hour or so after our flight had arrived. We ended up at a T.G.I. Friday's across the street for dinner, it wouldn't have been my choice for eats out in Greece but we were tired and hungry so that's what we did. When we got back I used the free international calling on the phone to call home and talk to my dad and sister which was really nice. I rather enjoyed calling them from Greece and even saying so.
Monday I was bound and determined to document as much of Athens as possible with my camera. Chris, Charity, and I set off through town toward the Acropolis. Modern Athens itself is exactly as I imagined it to be with crazy traffic and buildings crammed in everywhere. It's such a cool thing to see a place be the way you expected it to be when you're seeing it for the first time. I enjoyed seeing all of the signs in Greek as well along with stumbling upon ancient ruins. There is just something seriously cool about seeing ruins of the past in amongst modern day living. When we got near the Acropolis the Acropolis Museum appeared first but it was closed like most museums are on Mondays which was a bit of a bummer. Next we decided to make the trek up to the Acropolis and I must note that there were a ton of dogs roaming about, but mostly just lying around napping. The Theatre of Dionysus was the first thing we came upon and from the top of it you could see out over the city. The Parthenon itself was quite breathtaking, but it's under restoration as well so there was tons of scaffolding on it. I really enjoyed just trying to picture how the area was in it's prime in contrast to how it is now.
After our stroll through the ruins we decided to find the marketplace to find lunch. We ended up in a souvenir shop first which had a ton of different things in it from pottery and statues to chess boards and jewelry. All three of us ended up doing our only shopping in Athens there and we chatted with the store owners for quite a bit. It had started pouring down rain once we got down from the Acropolis and one of the store owners told us we had brought it from Dublin with us. Once we left the shop we stumbled upon a gelato shop which of course we had to go into. So we had our dessert before we found a cafe to actually eat lunch at. We had gyros at a restaurant called Ioakh barbeque. The owner waited on us and he was extremely nice and funny. First of all he made us all sit side by side in a booth with Chris in the middle that way he could see all of us because we were “good looking”. Then he teased Chris by saying that he was a lucky man to be out with two girls. He asked us which states we were from and when Charity and I told him Pennsylvania he said, “I used to live 2 hours and 46 minutes from your home”. Turns out he lived in NYC for a while before returning to Greece to live. I'm not sure how long or what the circumstances were surrounding his time in the States but that was pretty cool. We weren't entirely sure what to order but we knew we wanted gyros so he just brought us two big plates, one with vegetables and the other with meat, to share and save us money. The restaurant was such a great find, I loved it.
Once we were fed and the rain had let up we decided to try to get to the Mediterranean Sea, which we did but we just ended up at ports and not necessarily near a beach. We decided to head back to the penthouse after a couple of failed attempts. That night we went to a restaurant and were served authentic Greek food which was really cool. The waiter brought us a ton of samples mainly in the form of appetizers and then we chose three different main dishes for dinner. He was going to bring us 6 plates to share between the 11 of us but through a miscommunication on our end we ended up only ordering 3 plates. Dessert was a delicious chocolate pudding type of dish though so it made up for our mistake.
Tuesday we made our venture back to Dublin which was tiring but it was nice to be home. I didn't realize how much I had missed Dublin until I was on the bus and then in the taxi home from the airport. Just seeing familiar places gave me a real sense of home and I was just super excited to be back. Once I got to the house I just walked around the kitchen and dining room for a while revelling in the feel of my second home (although it's probably more of my third home as Clarion is my second). Next on the agenda is Northern Ireland, Belfast and Derry, November 5th-8th. It's another group trip like Galway was so I'm really excited just to be with everyone in the same place again.

London Calling

October 22, 2009 I officially landed in London at Gatwick Airport at approximately 9:20 am. I have been dreaming about going to London since I was 15 and I finally made it. Chris, Charity, and I took a bus and then the tube to our hotel so that we could squeeze in an afternoon nap before heading to Piccadilly Circus for the evening. Once there we walked through the theatre district and China Town before deciding that we were extremely hungry. We settled on a Turkish restaurant and the food was absolutely delicious, it definitely hit the spot after a long day of travel. Chris and I are Potter fans so we ended up a King's Cross Station that night so we could go to Platform 9 ¾. We first went to the one that was built to have half of a trolley cart coming out of it and then we went to platform 4 which was actually used in the films.
Friday, October 23 Chris and Charity went to the British Museum but I had other plans in mind so I split off for a couple of hours so I could go check out Charing Cross Road. The road itself has a ton of book stores on it, mainly second hand and antiquarian. There was also a side road off of it that was nothing but book stores. I took a few pictures and then headed into Quinto Bookshop which carried antiquarian books on the first floor and second hand books in the basement. I perused the shelves upstairs and picked up an absolutely gorgeous book which had hand painted inside covers and came in at a pricey £60. After reluctantly putting it back on the shelf I walked past the locked glass case that held the most valuable books and I dropped my bag at the front counter so I could go explore the basement. The reason for this is because upstairs they had CCTV cameras but the basement was not equipped with them. They had clothes pins to identify bags with and they were labeled with a famous author's name, I got Keats. The basement was divided into tiny rooms that were packed with books and I could even hear the tube running overhead as I looked through the wide selection. It was a perfect experience but I was in desparate need of a book so I left and went to a new release bookstore that was more within my price range.
I soon got a text from Charity and I hopped back on the tube to meet her and Chris at Tottenham Court Road. We ended up down the street at a little cafe for lunch where I officially had my first cup of tea in London and I ordered an English Breakfast which was delicious. It was time to go see the major landmarks so we took the tube to Westminster where we exited to see the London Eye and Big Ben. I was completely ecstatic and I could hardly contain myself, the whole experience was better than Christmas morning. I took a ton of pictures of Big Ben and Parliament so that I would be sure to have a least one that I liked. We walked past Westminster Abbey and stood by the Thames for a bit before heading to Buckingham Palace. Once at the palace we met up with a friend of Chris and Charity's from school who is studying in London this semester. We went back to her place and made pizza for dinner before heading back to the tube.
Saturday Chris wanted to take a solo trip to Abbey Road Studios, he actually ended up going with a girl we had met the night before, so Charity and I decided to meet up with him later. Charity entertained me and went with me to the Oxford Circus station where we got off and went to Carnaby Street to the Gola store. Gola is a British shoe brand and I of course had to buy a pair while I was in London. It was then time to meet up with Chris and after a bit of confusion and frustration due to a lack of communication we got to him. The Tower of London was the major stop on our list that day so we took a tour and saw the crown jewels along with climbing up through the cramped towers. Afterwards we saw Tower Bridge and then walked along the Thames trail for a quite a while before getting exhausted when we realized we would never make it to the Millennium Bridge before dinner. Finally we found a train station and got off near Monument Station where we crossed the unexciting London Bridge. Chris and I got way ahead of Charity and when we turned around we couldn't see her. Soon enough she came into sight with a couple of guys from Argentina who had asked her directions to St. Paul's Cathedral. We talked to them for a bit and as it turns out they are studying law in Spain this semester. When we reached the cathedral we took pictures of it and then headed to Millennium Bridge which is right across the road from it. The bridge itself is a pedestrian bridge and Chris informed us that when it was first built it had to be closed down for a year to further construction on it because it swayed way too much. It's another destination for Potter fans who have seen the 6th installment as it's the bridge that is destroyed in the opening scene of the movie. We ended up at a little pub near the cathedral for dinner where I got fish and chips and it was absolutely delicious.
I love London and I can see myself living and working there some day even if it's just for a couple of years so I can fully experience the culture of the city. There is so much to do in London that you could live there your whole life and probably not experience it all. I really enjoyed the tube and it was extremely convenient in getting us to where we needed to be. I loved being surrounded by the British accent and there is just an amazing sense of pride about the British people. I really hope I can go back.