Sorry for such a delay for those of you who are still reading my blog, I've been quite busy since my return to the States and now I finally have a chance to sit down and write a blog post for the final trip I took during my Semester Abroad.
First of all, I would like to thank iAudioguide.com for their great podcast of Barcelona. The content covered the major sights to see in the city and it gave great history and background of each place. From all of Gaudi's work throughout Barcelona to the Camp Nou Estadio, where the famed Football Club Barcelona plays, the iAudioguide podcast gave me much more insight and understanding of each place, allowing me to appreciate the sights of Barcelona even more. One thing I would suggest to improve the audioguide is to provide greater detail about the interior of some buildings, but other than that it was a great audioguide. There are many cities (European and American) to choose from at iAudioguide. To learn more information visit www.iAudioguide.com
Thursday: my flight left at 18:10 from Madrid so right after school I had to eat a quick lunch and then make sure I had everything ready. I got to the airport just before the plane boarded - perfect timing. We got into Barcelona and arrived at our hostel around 10ish. We got into our room and put our baggage away and decided to plan out what we wanted to do for the next few days.
Friday: We woke up at 0800 in order to take advantage of the free breakfast and get ready to go explore Barcelona. We were going to take a free tour of the city but we got lost on the way so we ended up not making it there and we decided to get back to the hostel and then go to the beach. However, on the way to the beach it started raining and instead of trying to wait it out the group decided to go back to the hostel - essentially wasting half of the day doing nothing. After adjusting our plan of action and eating lunch we headed to the Montjuic park (where most of the 1992 Olympic games took place) and got a great panoramic view of the city! After that I met up with a friend I met in Ireland who has lived in Barcelona his whole life for a drink. He suggested some places for me to see and explained some things about Barcelona that the guide books don't explain. Once I was done meeting up with my friend, I headed to the magic fountains of Montjuic to meet up with the group of people I traveled here with. The magic fountains are one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It is a huge fountain with mechanized water spouts that shoot water off synchronized with music and as the sun went down, lights began to illuminate the water - it was spectacular. We were all tired after the show so we went back to the hostel to get some sleep.
Saturday: Once again, we enjoyed our free breakfast at the hostel in the morning and then had to change rooms for our last night. After that was out of the way, we went and visited a few of the more famous places in Barcelona, most notably the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. The Sagarada Familia (meaning Holy Family in Catalan) is the most visited construction site in the world. It started in 1882 by the famous Catalan artist Antonio Gaudi but he died before it was finished and it is still being continued today with an expected completion date of 2026 (read the Wikipedia article for more information). Parc Guell was also designed by Gaudi and has a very Dr. Suess feel to it with bright colors and strange architecture. Originally it was planned to be a neighborhood for the wealthy but that fell through because it was too far away from the city center of Barcelona. It eventually was opened as a public park and now it is a very popular tourist attraction and it even houses an elementary school. After those two famous sights, we looked at some other minor Gaudi designed buildings and then headed down to the beach (even though it was a very overcast day). We spent some time laying on the grass next to the beach (we didn't want to get all sandy, of course) and after a while we headed home so we could beat the approaching rain clouds. Dinner included sandwiches we made after buying supplies at the local grocery store (much cheaper than eating out) and we just took it easy until later. We had heard about a supposed "Stock Market" bar in Barcelona, so we ventured out to see if it existed -- and to our surprise it did! This very unique bar ("Dow Jones Bar") has a different way of selling its drinks. The prices are displayed on monitors above the bar just like stocks are and when a drink is purchased, the price will rise a few cents and when no one has bought a particular drink in a while, the price will fall. Quite an interesting concept and they even had ESPN America which was a great relief for my friends and I.
Sunday: I woke up, ate breakfast and split off from the group because I wanted to tour my church (AKA Camp Nou Estadio). It was amazing to be inside the biggest stadium in Europe, making my way from the locker rooms to field level, up through the stands, in the press box and through an amazing museum and trophy display. The stadium was absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to go back someday to watch my believed Blaugrana play a game. After spending about 3 hours at the stadium, I headed back into the city center and wandered around the main street, Las Ramblas and got a good view of some more of Gaudi's famous architecture. I met back up with the group and we eventually headed to the bus station to catch our night bus that left at 11PM and we arrived in Madrid at about 6AM. It was quite a long trip back but we all made it to class and didn't fall asleep (at least not too many times).
Barcelona is a magnificent Mediterranean coastal city, with wonderful art, architecture, beaches, and football. What more could you ask for. I would rate this in the top 5 places I've ever visited (my list isn't that long yet, so take it with a grain of salt) and I would recommend a trip for everyone if you get a chance.
--Jamie
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Semana Santa -- Rome
Photo Albums:
We landed in Rome in the mid afternoon and paid 11 € (ouch) for the train into Ro
me. When we
got to the main station, Termini, we had no idea where we were but we had directions to the hostel and we walked around the station for about 30 minutes until we found the street we needed. Finally we arrived at the hostel, checked in to our room and then got a little rest before heading out to walk around the city.
The weather was fairly good so we just decided to walk around the city for a while looking at some of the more "touristy" things in the city. We saw a bunch of really cool monuments but didn't have any idea what they were or what they symbolized but we finally saw something we knew about -- the Spanish Steps. As we were walking down the steps, we ran into my friends from Alcala just by chance! We all decided to grab some dinner together and then go to the Colosseum for the Stations of the Cross -- to see the Pope! The program was quite long, about an hour and a half, but it was quite worth it to see "Il Papa" even though I am not Catholic.
The next day, my friend Liz and I, got up very early to get out to Vatican City to avoid the long lines at St. Peter's Basilica. Our plan worked and we only were in line for about 30 minutes. We got into the Basilica and WOW it was absolutely amazing. The structure on the inside was beautiful with intricate sculptures and memorials for past Popes. After walking around the interior of the Basilica, we took an elevator then what seemed like a million steps to the top of the dome for an epic (yes, epic) view of Vatican City and Rome.
Next up--the Vatican Museum. The World's Richest Art museum does not fail to impress guests, with art from all over and it's centerpiece -- The Sistine Chapel. There was mainly religious art -- obviously, but I even saw a mummy! With so many different things, it's better if you just check out the link to pictures at the top of this page.
After we were done with visiting the Vatican City, we decided to walk around Rome and visit some of the random "cool things" to see around the city. We saw the Trevi Fountains and the Pantheon -- with it's perfectly spherical dome that architects still marvel at today. At this point, we were pretty tired so we decided to head back to the hostel to get some food and rest up for the next day at the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
The Colosseum, the model for stadium architecture around the World and one of the most visited cites on the g
lobe. It was very interesting to see the place where gladiators battled for their lives and the Roman Empire put on spectacles to keep the Plebeians entertained. If only walls could talk as history was just seeping from the grounds of the great building. The Roman Forum used to be the center of all things during the Roman Empire. With the old senate building, temples to all sorts of gods, and the burial mound of Julius Caesar. It was quite the experience to see the epicenter of the ancient world first hand. That was pretty much it for the day of sightseeing and after eating dinner, I lucked out and was able to watch the final round of the Masters on the TV in the hostel.
I didn't have any problems getting to the airport in Rome and made it back to Madrid. Once I returned, it was time to finish all the homework I didn't do during the week. Next update will come very soon about my trip to Barcelona.
--Jamie
- Saint Peter's Square and Basilica
- Roman Forum & Palatine Hill: 1 and 2
- Colosseum
- Vatican Museum: 1 and 2
- Rome from above and the Pope
- Random Rome: 1 and 2
We landed in Rome in the mid afternoon and paid 11 € (ouch) for the train into Ro
me. When we got to the main station, Termini, we had no idea where we were but we had directions to the hostel and we walked around the station for about 30 minutes until we found the street we needed. Finally we arrived at the hostel, checked in to our room and then got a little rest before heading out to walk around the city.The weather was fairly good so we just decided to walk around the city for a while looking at some of the more "touristy" things in the city. We saw a bunch of really cool monuments but didn't have any idea what they were or what they symbolized but we finally saw something we knew about -- the Spanish Steps. As we were walking down the steps, we ran into my friends from Alcala just by chance! We all decided to grab some dinner together and then go to the Colosseum for the Stations of the Cross -- to see the Pope! The program was quite long, about an hour and a half, but it was quite worth it to see "Il Papa" even though I am not Catholic.
The next day, my friend Liz and I, got up very early to get out to Vatican City to avoid the long lines at St. Peter's Basilica. Our plan worked and we only were in line for about 30 minutes. We got into the Basilica and WOW it was absolutely amazing. The structure on the inside was beautiful with intricate sculptures and memorials for past Popes. After walking around the interior of the Basilica, we took an elevator then what seemed like a million steps to the top of the dome for an epic (yes, epic) view of Vatican City and Rome.
Next up--the Vatican Museum. The World's Richest Art museum does not fail to impress guests, with art from all over and it's centerpiece -- The Sistine Chapel. There was mainly religious art -- obviously, but I even saw a mummy! With so many different things, it's better if you just check out the link to pictures at the top of this page.
After we were done with visiting the Vatican City, we decided to walk around Rome and visit some of the random "cool things" to see around the city. We saw the Trevi Fountains and the Pantheon -- with it's perfectly spherical dome that architects still marvel at today. At this point, we were pretty tired so we decided to head back to the hostel to get some food and rest up for the next day at the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
The Colosseum, the model for stadium architecture around the World and one of the most visited cites on the g
lobe. It was very interesting to see the place where gladiators battled for their lives and the Roman Empire put on spectacles to keep the Plebeians entertained. If only walls could talk as history was just seeping from the grounds of the great building. The Roman Forum used to be the center of all things during the Roman Empire. With the old senate building, temples to all sorts of gods, and the burial mound of Julius Caesar. It was quite the experience to see the epicenter of the ancient world first hand. That was pretty much it for the day of sightseeing and after eating dinner, I lucked out and was able to watch the final round of the Masters on the TV in the hostel.I didn't have any problems getting to the airport in Rome and made it back to Madrid. Once I returned, it was time to finish all the homework I didn't do during the week. Next update will come very soon about my trip to Barcelona.
--Jamie
Friday, April 24, 2009
Semana Santa -- Paris
Since I have returned from my Spring Break travels I have had no time to sit down and write a blog but finally with a weekend of no travels I can tell the tale of my travels around Europe.
The first stop on my trip was to Paris to see the city of lights. I met up with my friend Liz from OU who is studying in the south of France. She had already been there for a few days with one of her friends from the States so when I arrived, it was time time for the the "touristy" places. The first day I was there, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees then we walked up the Eiffel Tower (668 steps!!) to the second level but didn't go to the top because there was a very long line for the elevator.
The next day, we visited the Catacombs (an underground ossuary filled with millions and millons of bones of deceased Parisiens) in the morning and then the Notre Dame cathedral and some other monuments around the city. At night, we went to the Lourve because we thought there was student discounts on Wednesday nights but we found out it was only for EU students...urgh.
On Thursday, we went to the grand palace of Versailles but we had a little trouble getting there. The train system of Paris is extremely complex if you don't know what you are doing so instead of getting on the train to Versailles, we got on a train that branched to a north suburb of the city. We eventually got there but then had to wait in like for about an hour and a half just to get tickets -- the wait was well worth it though. The interior of the palace was breathtaking and the "backyard" was even better. The royalty of France had acres and acres of land at their disposal in which they could take a stroll around the man made lake or hunt for animals. It was quite impressive. When we got back to Paris, we went to the Montmarte (artsy part of town) area and saw the infamous Moulin Rouge, then walked up the giant hill to see the famous church of Sacre Coeur.
The next morning was our flight to Rome but we had a few problems getting to the airport and even getting on to the plane. First of all, the train system that runs to the Charles De Gualle airport was shut down for some reason or another so we had to go catch a cab, unfortunately so was everyone else who wanted to get to the airport. Luckily, there was a couple who had "illegaly" hailed a cab (meaning the cab driver had stopped for them even though he wasn't at the front of the line) and asked us if we wanted to go because the cabbie would only go if he had a full cab. So we reluctantly follow him to the cab but once we get in we realize everything is okay, because the guy's girlfriend is an American and she was even from Texas! We finally get to the airport, check in and get our boarding passes, and head to the gate but if you've ever been through security at CDG you know how much of a pain it is. The security gates are squeezed right in next to the gates and only one machine is operating -- by the time Liz and I got to security we had about 45 minutes until the gate closed, so we thought we would have plenty of time. Only 10 minutes before our plane left did the security people open up another gate for the about 30 people waiting in line to get on the same plane as us. Luckily we made it just in time but it was closer than I would've liked.
The plane ride was uneventful and we landed in Rome in the afternoon...that will be my next blog.
Time to study for my last final and write my last Spain paper!!
--Jamie
The first stop on my trip was to Paris to see the city of lights. I met up with my friend Liz from OU who is studying in the south of France. She had already been there for a few days with one of her friends from the States so when I arrived, it was time time for the the "touristy" places. The first day I was there, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees then we walked up the Eiffel Tower (668 steps!!) to the second level but didn't go to the top because there was a very long line for the elevator.
The next day, we visited the Catacombs (an underground ossuary filled with millions and millons of bones of deceased Parisiens) in the morning and then the Notre Dame cathedral and some other monuments around the city. At night, we went to the Lourve because we thought there was student discounts on Wednesday nights but we found out it was only for EU students...urgh.
On Thursday, we went to the grand palace of Versailles but we had a little trouble getting there. The train system of Paris is extremely complex if you don't know what you are doing so instead of getting on the train to Versailles, we got on a train that branched to a north suburb of the city. We eventually got there but then had to wait in like for about an hour and a half just to get tickets -- the wait was well worth it though. The interior of the palace was breathtaking and the "backyard" was even better. The royalty of France had acres and acres of land at their disposal in which they could take a stroll around the man made lake or hunt for animals. It was quite impressive. When we got back to Paris, we went to the Montmarte (artsy part of town) area and saw the infamous Moulin Rouge, then walked up the giant hill to see the famous church of Sacre Coeur.
The next morning was our flight to Rome but we had a few problems getting to the airport and even getting on to the plane. First of all, the train system that runs to the Charles De Gualle airport was shut down for some reason or another so we had to go catch a cab, unfortunately so was everyone else who wanted to get to the airport. Luckily, there was a couple who had "illegaly" hailed a cab (meaning the cab driver had stopped for them even though he wasn't at the front of the line) and asked us if we wanted to go because the cabbie would only go if he had a full cab. So we reluctantly follow him to the cab but once we get in we realize everything is okay, because the guy's girlfriend is an American and she was even from Texas! We finally get to the airport, check in and get our boarding passes, and head to the gate but if you've ever been through security at CDG you know how much of a pain it is. The security gates are squeezed right in next to the gates and only one machine is operating -- by the time Liz and I got to security we had about 45 minutes until the gate closed, so we thought we would have plenty of time. Only 10 minutes before our plane left did the security people open up another gate for the about 30 people waiting in line to get on the same plane as us. Luckily we made it just in time but it was closer than I would've liked.
The plane ride was uneventful and we landed in Rome in the afternoon...that will be my next blog.
Time to study for my last final and write my last Spain paper!!
--Jamie
Friday, April 17, 2009
Paris and Rome
I'm in Barcelona right now, but I will try to have a blog post up from my trips to Paris and Rome this week after I get back. Sorry for the long delay, I got right back from my trip and had to start working on my school work!
Bye from Barça!
Bye from Barça!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Spain vs. Turkey - World Cup Qualifying Match; Mahou (Spanish Beer) Factory
Spain vs. Turkey - 1
Spain vs. Turkey - 2
One thing I have always wanted to experience is an International Football match and last weekend I received my chance when Spain played Turkey in a 2010 World Cup Qualifying match. Since this game wasn't just a friendly game the atmosphere before, during, and after the game was electric. Spaniards have a passion for football and when "la seleccion" is playing, they get very excited for the game. Here's a video of the crowd singing the Spanish national anthem:
My friend Conner and I got to the stadium a few hours before in order to meet his friend (Russ) who came in from Granada to enjoy the match. We walked around soaking in the atmosphere and hung out in a few bars before the game. It was quite windy and cold so we decided to sit down inside Tony Roma's which was right next to the stadium. After a while, a group of Turkish fans sat down next to us and struck up a conversation with us. They were from Turkey but have been living in Boston for 15 years and they only picked up English from living there. It was really fun to talk about the match with opposing fans (in English too!) and they were extremely nice as well.
We got to our seats about 40 minutes before kick-off too get a glimpse of both teams warming up and watch the stadium fill up with crazed Spaniards (and a good portion of Turkish fans). The game was actually quite boring and defensive but there were certainly plenty of scoring chances. I got to see some of the best players in the world and my two of my favorite Spanish players (Fernando Torres and David Villa). The result ended up in the favor of Spain although I could tell the crowd wanted more goals and more action.
This is quite an experience that I will never forget and I hope I can see more International matches in the future (especially the World Cup!).
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Also, on Monday I went with my business classes to visit the Mahou factory! Mahou is a Spanish beer and is very popular throughout the country. I got to see some inner workings of the factory and the production line where the cans, bottles, and kegs are all made. At the end of the tour we also got all the drinks we wanted and some very tasty tapas. We also received gifts; two cans of Mahou and two drinking glasses. All in all, I'd have to say this visit was the best field trip of the ones I have been on!
I leave for Paris on Tuesday and then fly to Rome on Friday for Easter weekend, it should be lots of fun!
-Jamie
Spain vs. Turkey - 2
One thing I have always wanted to experience is an International Football match and last weekend I received my chance when Spain played Turkey in a 2010 World Cup Qualifying match. Since this game wasn't just a friendly game the atmosphere before, during, and after the game was electric. Spaniards have a passion for football and when "la seleccion" is playing, they get very excited for the game. Here's a video of the crowd singing the Spanish national anthem:
My friend Conner and I got to the stadium a few hours before in order to meet his friend (Russ) who came in from Granada to enjoy the match. We walked around soaking in the atmosphere and hung out in a few bars before the game. It was quite windy and cold so we decided to sit down inside Tony Roma's which was right next to the stadium. After a while, a group of Turkish fans sat down next to us and struck up a conversation with us. They were from Turkey but have been living in Boston for 15 years and they only picked up English from living there. It was really fun to talk about the match with opposing fans (in English too!) and they were extremely nice as well.
We got to our seats about 40 minutes before kick-off too get a glimpse of both teams warming up and watch the stadium fill up with crazed Spaniards (and a good portion of Turkish fans). The game was actually quite boring and defensive but there were certainly plenty of scoring chances. I got to see some of the best players in the world and my two of my favorite Spanish players (Fernando Torres and David Villa). The result ended up in the favor of Spain although I could tell the crowd wanted more goals and more action.
This is quite an experience that I will never forget and I hope I can see more International matches in the future (especially the World Cup!).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, on Monday I went with my business classes to visit the Mahou factory! Mahou is a Spanish beer and is very popular throughout the country. I got to see some inner workings of the factory and the production line where the cans, bottles, and kegs are all made. At the end of the tour we also got all the drinks we wanted and some very tasty tapas. We also received gifts; two cans of Mahou and two drinking glasses. All in all, I'd have to say this visit was the best field trip of the ones I have been on!
I leave for Paris on Tuesday and then fly to Rome on Friday for Easter weekend, it should be lots of fun!
-Jamie
Friday, March 27, 2009
Family's Visit to Spain!!!
Palacio Real Album
Sorry about the lack of posts, I really haven't done much so there was not much to write about, however, my family did visit last weekend and now I have a lot more material to write about!
My family flew into Madrid on Friday morning, which meant I had to wake up before the sun was up to go pick them up at the airport which is about an hours worth of train and metro rides away. Oh well, I got peanut butter and jelly out of it (which is very difficult to find here) so I guess I should not complain too much. Once I met them at the airport we hopped back on to the metro and took it to the hotel that we were staying in for the weekend.
We stayed at a hotel just a short walk from the "Plaza del Sol" which is the very heart of Madrid and is comparable to NYC's Time's Square without all of the advertisements and skyscrapers. Also, from above, the streets branching off from the plaza create the effect of the rising sun, quite cool city planning even centuries ago. After we got to the hotel, everyone decided it would be best to take showers and relax a bit before embarking on our tour of Madrid. We took a free tour (the same company as the one in Dublin) around Madrid and the tour guide was very informative and provided a lot of history of the city and country that I didn't know yet. After the tour, we were all pooped and we decided to get something for dinner and go back to the hotel and sleep...
...no one set an alarm so we all ended up sleeping for 11 hours! I'm pretty sure everyone needed it though, so it wasn't so much of a bad thing. It did take a while for everyone to get ready to leave (about 2.5 hours) therefore we got a late start to the day. We found a pretty decent pizza place for some grub then we headed over to the Palacio Real to take a tour. When we got there we found out there was free entrance for families larger than 5! Needless to say, my dad was pretty happy with that. We spent quite a long time in the Palace and all of us took a bunch of pictures and toured the exhibits and the rooms of the palace, it was quite impressive and apparently it's the biggest in all of Europe because it has 4 levels underground. Check out my pictures on the link at the top of the post!
After the palace, we took the subway over to the Parque de Retiro, Madrid's Central Park but bigger (I think). It was quite a lovely day, so the park was filled with families and sunbathers taking in the glorious day. We spent some time there looking at a few of the wonderful views the park provided before we headed over to the Prado art museum for their free entrance hours. When we go to the museum the line was incredibly long so we decided not to get in it and just wait to see how fast it moved. To our luck, the line moved very quickly and after we saw this we decided to get in line and within 15 minutes we were in one of Europe's best art museums. We meandered around until the allotted time of the free visit was up and saw some stunning masterpieces from French, Spanish, Italian artists and ancient Roman sculptures, among other things. Once we were done visiting the Prado, it was back to the hotel after a long day of sightseeing plus we had an early wake up call to go to the largest flea market in Europe...
...El Rastro awaited us as we woke up early (it still took us quite a bit of time to get ready but nearly as bad as the day before). If you can imagine a place where basically everything you want is in one place (for pretty
good prices too) the Rastro is what you are thinking of. We meandered all the booths that lined the street blocked off for foot traffic only on Sundays looking for anything that caught our eyes. I ended up getting a knock off Liverpool soccer jersey and a Holland soccer shirt for 15 euros combined (let's see how long they hold up though). After we finished shopping, the boys decided to go up to the Bernabeu Stadium to see if there were any tickets available for that afternoon's game. We took the metro packed full of fans and started walking towards the stadium after climbing four flights of stairs to ground level. Once we found the ticket window, we were informed that the only tickets remaining for the game were 60 euros and they were not together. So we grabbed a few cokes and just sat outside the stadium watching the mass of people swarm to the stadium and then once the game started there was no one to be seen except for the police. We found a place to watch the first half of the game then decided to take the Metro back early in order to avoid all the crowds and we got back to the hotel and watched Barcelona score 6 goals on an ineffective Malaga team. Dinner was next on the agenda and then we all headed to bed early for our trip to Alcala in the morning.We took the train to Alcala and met my host mom in the plaza and she took us to a place to have chocolate with churros. Mmmm, I think everyone needs to try chocolate with churros at some point in their life, it's well worth it. After churros, we went over the main university campus and took a tour of the campus. The tour guide spoke only Spanish, so I got to translate what I could understand (most of what she said) to English for my family. Although, we did use an audio guide in English so we could get a better understanding of each place. At noon, my mom, David, and I met my host mom to go over to my host sister's school to talk with the director of English studies about setting up a pen pal program. We went to two different classes where the kids asked my mom and I questions and English. I was very impressed by there level of English and I hope my mom can set up the pen pal program because I think it could be a great experience for her kids and the kids here. Next, we visited a palace/museum building here in Alcala which was quite impressive for its small stature. Once we finished visiting the palace we returned to the hotel in Madrid, ate some dinner, picked up some souvenirs and then I returned to Alcala to finish up my homework and get some sleep before class the next day.
All in all, it was a very fun weekend and I was very glad to see my family. Tomorrow I am going to another football game but this one should be way more exciting than the other two I have been to. It is a World Cup Qualifying match between Spain (FIFA #1) and Turkey (FIFA #11). If you are having problems viewing the photo albums, let me know and I will try to correct the problems.
That's it for now.
-Jamie
Friday, March 13, 2009
Ireland!!!!
Pictures:
Dublin.1, Dublin.2, Dublin.3, Dublin.4
Ireland! What a beautiful place to be!
We got into Dublin at around 10PM, got our passports stamped (woo!!), and found a bus to get us to the city center. Our hostel, Jacob's Inn, was not bad for the money and location. Once we got settled in we walked around for a little bit and found an internet cafe where we all ordered and printed off our tickets for the Guinness Storehouse tour. Everything had already closed down for the night so we decided to just call it a night and get some rest for the next morning.
I woke up at about 830AM the next morning and took advantage of the free breakfast that the hostel offered (only toast and juice, oh well). Then we waited for the free tour to start! There is a company called New Europe Tours (link) that provides free tours in 9 of Europe's biggest cities. The tour guides work on tips only and inform you of that only once at the beginning and once at the end, besides that no more money talk. Our tour guides name was Ali from Northern Ireland (if I remember correctly) who did a wonderful job at describing the cool history of the city. He even played an Irish tune on the tin whistle for us! We saw the Dublin Castle, the Temple Bar district, Trinity College, Christ Church, and many other Dublin sites. After the tour was over we headed to find some good food to eat (for cheap, of course) and while we were walking, I SAW A GUY WEARING A STARS JERSEY!!!!!! I never thought I'd see a Dallas Stars jersey and Dublin, Ireland! Okay, sorry for that little sidebar -- after we had some (decent) pizza, we walked over to the Guinness Storehouse. It was a self guided tour through the museum which included the process of making Guinness, the history of the beer, history of Guinness advertising, and finally the Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse (the tallest building in Dublin) with 360 degree views of the entire city. I had never tried Guinness before, but I had a free pint in front of my so I decided not to let it waste. What a very bitter beer it is, I think I'll only be able to drink it if I am eating something or maybe I just have to get used to it. After the tour, we all did some souvenir shopping then met up with a friend of one of the people in our group who was living in Dublin. She showed us around some of the cool nightspots in Dublin but we didn't stay out late because we had a long day ahead of us.
The next morning we woke up early and headed off to the countryside of Ireland! We took a bus out to Enniskerry, which was about an hour outside of Dublin. Man was it green -- everywhere. I even got to see a Irish golf course! Then we trekked 7 Km to see this magnificent waterfall, quite worth the walk and the 4.50 to see it. I can't really say much else about the countryside because my words can not describe it's beauty, so check out the 3rd and 4th albums to see my pictures. Once we got back to Dublin, we picked up our bags and headed to the airport. Our flight didn't leave until 6:20 AM the next morning but the only way we could make the flight was to spend the night in the airport. So, we spent 7 hours in the very cold Dublin airport. The flight home was very uneventful and once I got back to Alcala, I slept for the rest of the day.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip and theres still some things I want to see, so I definitely have to visit Ireland again! That's all for now!
-Jamie
Dublin.1, Dublin.2, Dublin.3, Dublin.4
Ireland! What a beautiful place to be!
We got into Dublin at around 10PM, got our passports stamped (woo!!), and found a bus to get us to the city center. Our hostel, Jacob's Inn, was not bad for the money and location. Once we got settled in we walked around for a little bit and found an internet cafe where we all ordered and printed off our tickets for the Guinness Storehouse tour. Everything had already closed down for the night so we decided to just call it a night and get some rest for the next morning.
I woke up at about 830AM the next morning and took advantage of the free breakfast that the hostel offered (only toast and juice, oh well). Then we waited for the free tour to start! There is a company called New Europe Tours (link) that provides free tours in 9 of Europe's biggest cities. The tour guides work on tips only and inform you of that only once at the beginning and once at the end, besides that no more money talk. Our tour guides name was Ali from Northern Ireland (if I remember correctly) who did a wonderful job at describing the cool history of the city. He even played an Irish tune on the tin whistle for us! We saw the Dublin Castle, the Temple Bar district, Trinity College, Christ Church, and many other Dublin sites. After the tour was over we headed to find some good food to eat (for cheap, of course) and while we were walking, I SAW A GUY WEARING A STARS JERSEY!!!!!! I never thought I'd see a Dallas Stars jersey and Dublin, Ireland! Okay, sorry for that little sidebar -- after we had some (decent) pizza, we walked over to the Guinness Storehouse. It was a self guided tour through the museum which included the process of making Guinness, the history of the beer, history of Guinness advertising, and finally the Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse (the tallest building in Dublin) with 360 degree views of the entire city. I had never tried Guinness before, but I had a free pint in front of my so I decided not to let it waste. What a very bitter beer it is, I think I'll only be able to drink it if I am eating something or maybe I just have to get used to it. After the tour, we all did some souvenir shopping then met up with a friend of one of the people in our group who was living in Dublin. She showed us around some of the cool nightspots in Dublin but we didn't stay out late because we had a long day ahead of us.
The next morning we woke up early and headed off to the countryside of Ireland! We took a bus out to Enniskerry, which was about an hour outside of Dublin. Man was it green -- everywhere. I even got to see a Irish golf course! Then we trekked 7 Km to see this magnificent waterfall, quite worth the walk and the 4.50 to see it. I can't really say much else about the countryside because my words can not describe it's beauty, so check out the 3rd and 4th albums to see my pictures. Once we got back to Dublin, we picked up our bags and headed to the airport. Our flight didn't leave until 6:20 AM the next morning but the only way we could make the flight was to spend the night in the airport. So, we spent 7 hours in the very cold Dublin airport. The flight home was very uneventful and once I got back to Alcala, I slept for the rest of the day.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip and theres still some things I want to see, so I definitely have to visit Ireland again! That's all for now!
-Jamie
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