Day 34: Dublin let's not play the lazy game

I'm working like so hard, all the balls are getting thrown to me, I'm trying to catch like everyone. All of the people in the out field are all looking around, and, c'mon, lets play some baseball, ok? not the lazy game...
-Goob from Meet the Robinsons

So the last few days have been a recovery from Norah and I's Amsterdam/Brussels adventure! I've actually been doing something that's not really popular in Ireland, homework! It's hard to gauge the classes, not sure of the teacher's expectations over here. I definitely don't want to spend tons of time studying, but I would be pretty embarrassed to not get through a pass fail course on Irish Culture. I'll have to schedule some few and far-between work days.

I've been feeling a bit lazy after all that travel, and this blog post is helping me fake productivity. So, here are two irrelevant pictures.



Norah, Sarah and I attempted to feed the ducks in St. Stephen's Green. Definitely not my idea, I hate when birds swarm around me. I also don't like swans. Actually, I'm terrified of swans and I'm using hate to cover up my fear. So, I tried to play ring toss with bagels and the swans. Surprisingly, they were cool with it and stayed a safe distance.



I went to Lidl yesterday and got some mad cheap food! It's just the ugly cousin of Aldi's. Actually, both stores are equally ugly and equally cheap. This is a pita sandwich which chicken breast, sauteed mushrooms and red peppers, goat cheese and Dijon mustard. The salad has fresh pepper and tomato garlic dressing! Good dinners also make me feel productive!

Day 31 (Part 2): Brussels

“Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.”
-Renee Magritte

“How strangely do we diminish a thing as soon as we try to express it in words.”
-Maurice Maeterlinck

Traveling to Brussels was kind of a nightmare, but actually worth it in the end. I felt like Norah and I were in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. First our train from Amsterdam was canceled, then our hotel wouldn't answer their film, we don't speak French so communicating with the public transportation people was difficult, and then we realized that the "Brussels South" airport is like an hour outside of city center.

Thankfully our hotel was super nice, it was like 10 steps up from our Amsterdam hostel. It took a lot of motivation from both Norah and I to actually go back into Brussels after finding the hotel, but we really had no choice! We weren't going to miss out on seeing the city. We probably spent like three and a half hours on trains yesterday. Thankfully the hotel helped us get a free shuttle to the airport this morning and hooked us up with a Taxi last night.

Here's a shot after dropping things off at our hotel.


We tried so hard to be good tourists.


However, when we walked into the the beautiful Grand Place it was suddenly all worth it. This is basically what I thought Paris would look like, it's by far the most beautiful city I've ever visited.


This little guy gets a lot of attention, it's the Mannekin Pis statue. I was surprised that it was only like a foot tall.








Pictures say a lot more than words here.


We ate at a restaurant in the square, it's actually in one of the pictures above. I was pleasantly surprised by the Kriek beer! It was absolutely delicious. It's a cherry flavored beer that basically tastes like a juice box. I'm already researching where I'd be able to buy it in both Dublin and Ohio!


Fantastic.


For the actual meal I got a traditional Belgian chicken casserole, again a hearty meal! Rich flavors, fantastic butter on the bread, definitely cooking I could get used to. I was a little nervous to order the "American" I was warned that it was basically a plate of raw hamburger meat. I figured chicken was safe, you can't serve uncooked chicken!


Looks kind of like how I imagine a bar in Germany would look. Terrifying mannequin included.


That's right a Belgian Waffle! Thank God I'm not studying abroad there, I would be picking one of these up on the way back from class everyday.


Apparently if you rub this statue it gives you good luck? We looked it up afterward, we just rubbed it because everyone else was doing it. Peer pressure.






Again, no words! Unlike Amsterdam, I'm already planning my trip back to Belgium, hopefully with someone who knows French. Probably unlikely, but here's to dreaming!

Day 31: The Dam

"Amsterdam did not answer our expectations; it is a kind of paltry, rubbishy Venice." -William Hazlitt




Well, I made it back to Dublin alive although it was touch and go at times. My jaunt with Norah to Amsterdam/Brussels was at the same time one of the most awesome and most infuriating trips of my life. I'm going to do a separate Brussels post, this first one focuses on the God forsaken city of Amsterdam.

The quote above surprisingly describes my reaction to Amsterdam, I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I would. However, I am really happy I went because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I think I'm just past the part in my life when I would find Amsterdam cool, now it just seems a little immature. Between the drug use and other legalized entertainment, it was hard for me to respect it.

I will say that I liked the people for the most part (except when they told me that the street signs face in OPPOSITE directions!). Our tour guide was very amusing and informative, she even took us out for traditional food afterward! Everyone is extremely welcoming and very accommodating to tourists, probably because they make billions of dollars off of them each year. Everyone is also extremely tall, I was either level in a crowd of Dutch women or shorter! That was definitely a disorienting feeling.

I LOVE the food (as you'll see from the photos) and I really enjoyed the concert!

Let's get into the pictures. The one that opens the post is of a shopping center across from the Palace believe it or not. The palace is under construction right now and apparently has been for well over 7 years.


Here's me being positive on our first night in the city! I love Stroopwaffles, they are basically two waffle baked wafers filled with some kind of caramel concoction. I ate an embarrassing amount while I was in Amsterdam!


Here are the terrifying steps to our hostel! Basically you open the door and its a straight-up climb, I can't imagine trekking up with anything more than a backpack. I was pretty pathetic coming down these steps, holding on with both hands for dear life.


Here's our elaborate room. The bed was extremely uncomfortable, but I got two of the best sleeps of my life in it. Norah and I were so beat they probably could have gave us a sheet to lay on and we would have passed out. What do you want for 20 euro a night in the heart of Amsterdam? Not too bad.


This was the best part of our first day, dinner at Oud Holland! We got steak which was basically like a Salisbury steak with carrots, potatoes, salad and beets. Our waiter was hilarious, he thought we were very American for ordering steak.


Cookie bar on the morning of our second day! Great lattes and delicious banana and cinnamon muffins straight out of the oven!



For some reason Amsterdam looks more European to me than Dublin. Lots of leftover Medieval architecture, bridges and canals, extremely narrow alleys, it's definitely a very unique looking city.


Probably my favorite picture of the city.


Here is a shot of the narrowest house in Amsterdam! They used to tax citizens based on the front of their home, the Dutch are pretty tricky.


Here is a building where squatters live, basically more than half of this city is stuck in the 1960s.


I kind of forget what this is called, stroompot, stropot, something like that but it's a traditional Dutch meal. We snagged a deal, all you can eat for less than 7 euro! I only had the one plate, but Dan could have definitely done some damage.


Most depressing building or THE most depressing building? Appropriately it houses the Van Gogh Museum. I was super excited to see one of my favorite paintings "Wheat Field with Crows" one of the last paintings he did.





Word on the street is that this sign is famous, so being the exceptional tourists that we are, Norah and I took a picture. It says I amsterdam.


Waffles and Cappacino, much needed after a three hour walking tour and a visit to the Van Gogh museum.


We finally found the venue where Kevin Devine was playing, The Neuwe Anita, basically an underground concert venue because it doesn't even have a sign pointing it out. Before we ventured inside, we stopped at a Spanish restaurant next door for appetizers and Sangria!


Hilarious. No words needed. I didn't take any pictures at the show but Norah did, I'll try to swipe them off of her at a later date. Kevin was actually excited that I was strangely in Amsterdam at his show rather than in NJ or OH, I just thought he was going to be freaked out. I don't want to be "that fan."


The next morning we woke up super early to catch a train to Brussels, and all of that is another story for another post. Graffiti covers Amsterdam, so this is an appropriate ending picture from the train station. I found this one pretty amusing.

All in all, I'm glad I went, but it's not exactly on my list of dream vacations. Definitely a city that needs to be seen to be believed. Las Vegas calls itself Sin City? It ain't got nothin' on the Dam.

Day 25: The Dub in Love

Hey! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, I just haven't done a lot of things this past week that involve picture taking! For example, they wouldn't have been too thrilled if I would have pulled out my Cyber Shot at immigration services and started snapping away. Thankfully though, I am now a legal visitor to the Republic of Ireland and will not be kicked out this week. It's the little things...

Norah and I did go to a museum earlier this week called House Number 29. It's actually on the same road as my apartment in the old Georgian part of town. The historical society has basically just kept one of the Georgian mansions intact, almost exactly how it would have looked in the late 1700s. The layout and architecture reminded me a lot of downtown Warren, especially city hall. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the tour, but I took a couple off of the web site.



This was my favorite room, it was on the second floor of the home and served as the main entertaining space. There were extra large windows and excessive lighting so everyone on the street could see what a great time party goers were having!



This was the dining room, it's amazing how much work the servants had to do just to keep the food warm!

Yesterday me, Norah, and Katy went on a "hill walk" which quickly turned into an all-out hike. We took the 16 bus outside of Dublin to a really cute area, but we didn't stay for the two hour jaunt. After climbing uphill for half an hour, the guide said we were at the beginning of the trail. So, we hung back and pretended to be taking pictures and then just turned around and headed back to the city!



Here's the view of Dublin from the top of one of the hills. Kind of a gloomy, overcast day.



Looking a little winded.



Norah and Katy on the much more relaxing downhill walk.



Waiting for the 16 bus, not amused.

Last night I went to see the movie Valentine's Day with the girls. It was a cute romantic comedy, lots of celebrities to keep it interesting. One thing I found really strange about the movies here is that you're given an assigned seat! If you don't buy your tickets together, you can't sit together, very strange!

Tonight Norah, Katy and Mae are joining me and Abby for a Valentine's day dinner of (I think) mac and cheese! Definitely looking forward to some good American comfort food.



Thanks to the grandparents for Valentine wishes!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :)

Day 18: Cooking with St. Kevin

History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days.
-Winston Churchill

Yesterday I went on the Wild Wicklow Tour with Norah, Katie, Mae and Abby. It was fantastic, definitely the best way to see the beautiful mountain town on a budget! We boarded the tour bus at quarter to nine, did a brief tour of the city and then headed to the hills until around six o'clock. I'll provide some visuals to accompany the tour's itinerary...

At the Irish Sea, the salty breeze made it a bit chilly!

Norah (and Mae) at the James Joyce tour at Sandymount. The tower is in the first episode of Ulysses. Norah is actually taking a class on James Joyce at Trinity so this was basically a pilgrimmage for her.

View of the beach. Believe it or not we saw quite a few locals taking a dip! It's February!

Palm trees in Ireland? You were right Papa! Because of its unique (schizophrenic) weather tropical and temperate plants grow side by side. Thanks to Steven, our tour guide, for that handy bit of info.

Nice scarves.

View of the Wicklow Mountains and Guiness lake! Scenes from P.S. I Love You, Leap Year, and Brave Heart were all filmed in these mountains.

Mountain girl.

A post wouldn't be complete without a food picture! Fantastic stew at a pub in the mountains, served over mashed potatoes. Real stick to yer bones food.

The graveyard at the Glendalough monastic ruins.

The monastic cathedral on an actually sunny day! Even though it's a 1,000 years old, the majority of the structure is still standing.

Hanging with St. Kevin. Nextdoor to the cathedral is a small building called St. Kevin's Kitchen.

View from the bottom of a Viking look out tower. There are around 60 of them left around Ireland.

The second lake at Glendalough. That sunny nook in the distance is St. Kevin's bed, he often retired there to be on his own. Supposively it was the last place he was ever seen in Ireland.

It was quite an adventure! After getting that taste of the country I'm already looking through tour books to see where I can go next! I can't explain how awesome it is to see ancient ruins, walk through the house of saint, Glendalough is an amazing place.