Spelunking, Trespassing, and Jail: The Dublin Post

This weekend, I went to Dublin, Ireland. My journey began at 3:00 am on Thursday morning, when I had to get up so that I could catch a taxi to the bus station where I caught a bus to the Prestwick airport where I caught a plane to Dublin. After a minor hiccup involving RyanAir’s strict baggage policy and my friends’ (very) slightly oversized luggage, we arrived in Dublin’s city center around 10 am, checked into our hostel, and set off to explore the city.

First, we went to check out Trinity College, which happened to be very close to our hostel. It is a pretty neat campus. It is also home to the Book of Kells, which I learned about in my Typography class last spring. Unfortunately, it cost 9 Euro to get into the exhibition and, being the budget-conscious students we are, we decided to pass.

Next, we wandered around the Temple Bar district which is basically a huge version of Omaha’s Old Market or Glasgow’s Ashton Lane. It’s a really pleasant area to walk around–full of quaint shops and pubs. We found our way to a converted church/tourist office/gift shop where I found a rack of family crest postcards. Sadly, they were out of the Carrolls. I was really disappointed because I wanted something with the Carroll name on it, and I just redesigned the Carroll crest last spring in an effort to bolster my graphic design portfolio. I asked at the desk, but alas they were out. I didn’t really want a keychain or a pin, so I was out of luck. I guess I’ll just have to settle for this picture.

Yes, that’s right, there was a chain of souvenir shops called “Carroll’s.” They were everywhere! In fact, it was one of the first things I saw when I got off the bus from the airport. It looked like they had pretty much any Irish souvenir you could possibly want. I meant to go in and look around, but I never got around to it. Oh well, the picture will do.

Anyway, after wandering around Temple Bar, we went to check out St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was beautiful… from the outside. We didn’t go in because it cost something like 4 Euro. Who charges admission to a church? Isn’t that sacrilegious? I’m not particularly religious, but I seem to remember a little story about Jesus and some money-lenders in the Temple…

After wandering around a bit more, checking out a couple other churches, we stopped for lunch at a little cafe on the River Liffey. Then we headed back across the river to Dublin Castle. It was definitely different from the castles I’ve seen in Scotland, as you can see from the pictures. It was a very strange amalgamation of architectural styles and colors. We didn’t go into the castle, partly because we couldn’t find the entrance and partly because (again) we didn’t feel like paying to get in. We found a free little museum right next to the castle. Oddly enough, it was a museum dedicated taxes. Yes, you read that right. They even had an interactive computer game where you had to find all the hidden contraband items before the time ran out.

Next, we went to the Chester Beatty Library where we explored an exhibition about the Shahnameh, an epic Persian poem from 1000 AD. The illustrations were incredible and the story seemed really interesting. I don’t know if there is an English translation, but think I might try to find one when I get back to the States.

After the library, exhausted, we headed back to the hostel and took a three-hour nap. The rest of the night was pretty low-key. We got dinner (pizza) and ended up back at the hostel, watching a football game between England and France. Funnily enough, there was a man named Peter Carroll on the English team. I wasn’t really sure who to root for: I love France but my pretend-long-lost cousin was playing for England. We went to bed before the game ended, but I’m pretty sure France won.

On Friday, we got up and moved to our next hostel where we stayed for the remaining two nights. Then, we went to the Guinness Storehouse. It was a little pricey (11 Euro), but definitely worth it, even though I’m not a big drinker. The storehouse way bigger and more interesting than I expected. Seven floors of displays about Guinness: the brewing process, the history of the company, advertising through the years, and, at bar at the top, the obligatory pint. Some of the highlights: watching the video about how they used to make the keg barrels, tasting barley, seeing the Carroll name on the registry of Guinness workers, the view from the bar at the top, and sampling Guinness (which I actually kind of like).

After the storehouse, we headed over to Kilmainham Gaol–the jail where the leaders of the Easter Rising were executed. It was a really fascinating place. They had a museum with displays about the fight for independence and the restoration process of the jail (which had fallen into disrepair before it was turned into a museum and historical landmark). I didn’t know anything about Irish history before I went to the jail, but the museum and the hour-long tour were very informative. I got chills when we visited the place where the leaders were executed. The Easter Rising seems like a really interesting piece of history, I’d love to read more about it. The jail was oddly aesthetically pleasing, as you can see from the pictures. Apparently, it’s been used in several movies (including The Italian Job) and U2 music videos. Overall, the jail was a great place to visit. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Dublin.

After the jail, we walked back to our hostel in the pouring rain. Made some spaghetti in the hostel kitchen for dinner. Met some other Glasgow students at a pub for chips and some live Irish music. Watched Mean Girls in the hostel common room and called it a night.

On Saturday we woke up and walked over to Merrion Park in search of the Oscar Wilde statue. After walking across the whole park, we finally located the statue only to discover that he was covered by a giant blue tarp. My friend Jess, who really wanted to see the statue, decided to pull the tarp off so she could get a picture with Oscar. She managed to get the tarp off and we saw why he was covered in the first place–poor Oscar was missing a hand. Anyway, we snapped the picture, I helped Jess replace the tarp as best we could, and we left before anyone could yell at us.

Next, we hopped on the train up to the little coast village of Howth. It was pretty cold and windy when we got there, but we walked along the harbor anyway. We got to see several sea lions lounging in the water right next to the walkway. After stopping at a little cafe for lunch (and some delicious cheesecake), we walked along the sea wall to the lighthouse. Even though it was windy and cloudy, the scenery was still gorgeous.

Jess wanted to walk down to the beach so we hopped over the wall and climbed down some rough boulders to the shore. We searched for sea glass and collected pretty rocks. The diversity of colors and shapes of the rocks was incredible, and the sound of the waves washing over the rocks was unlike anything I’d ever heard. Feeling adventurous, we decided to hike along the shore to a set of concrete stairs we saw in the distance. Climbing over boulders along the cliff-line and hopping over the numerous tide pools, we made our way to the stairs. We found a few caves in the cliffs and participated in some impromptu spelunking. We also found a small waterfall hidden behind a curve in the cliffs. The hike was sublime. I felt like I could hike along the shore forever and never get bored.

Finally, we got to the stairs and climbed up–only to discover a concrete-block wall with the words “No Exit, Beware of Dog” spray painted on it. Crap. We couldn’t exactly go back the way we had come since the tide was coming in. But we couldn’t go forward. We were about to turn back when I decided to see if there was a way around the wall. I found a little hole in the bush behind the wall. We climbed through, getting very muddy in the process, and found ourselves in someone’s backyard. We were nervous about the possibility of meeting a ferocious guard dog, but we couldn’t exactly turn back. We crept up the sidewalk to the gate (which was thankfully unlocked) and hopped over another concrete wall onto the road. We had made it out alive! The hike was a true adventure and is now one of my favorite memories of Ireland.

At that point we were pretty muddy and tired, so we hopped back on the train to Dublin. We had some leftover spaghetti for dinner and hung out in the hostel common room, watching the Ireland vs. New Zealand All Blacks rugby game. Wow, does Rugby make American football look sissy. Seriously, it’s intense. Unfortunately, Ireland lost but it was fun to watch anyway. We passed the rest of the night in the common room, hanging out with some other Glasgow students, an Irishman, and an Australian girl. The Australian was waiting until 9:30 when she could go back to the Abbey Theater where she’d seen the play John Gabriel Borkman. Alan Rickman (Professor Snape) and Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia) were starring in the play, and she desperately wanted to meet Alan. At 9:30 she headed out with a horde of other gawkers to go stalk Snape. Unfortunately, I never heard if they got to meet him, but I found the situation entertaining nonetheless.

The next morning, Sunday, we caught our early flight back to Glasgow and arrived back at our flats before 11 am. Overall, it was a great trip. I’m really grateful to Jess and Lauren for inviting me. If they hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have seen Ireland, and that would have been a shame. It’s a great country and I can’t wait to go back someday. Until next time…

Megan

Loch Lomond n’ More

What I should be doing right now: reading for my three classes tomorrow.

What I am doing right now: listening to a compilation of 50’s rock n’ roll that I recently found on my iTunes and writing this post.

I spent most of the past two days trying to write an essay for my Scottish Literature class, so I figure it’s alright if I take a break from studying for a bit. Okay, fine, you got me. I might have started this break about three hours ago. But whatever, I’ll get the reading done eventually. I don’t know what it is about Glasgow, but I’ve been having trouble writing essays here. I can’t tell if it’s the way the classes are structured, the fact that I have too much free time, or if I’m just getting dumber. I’m usually pretty good at writing essays, but man the last two I’ve had to write did not come easy. I had to struggle for every sentence. I really hope I can get my brain to kick back into gear soon, though, since there are only three weeks of class left and I’ve got two 4000 word essays to write. Yikes. If only writing essays was as simple as writing blog posts…

I tried to write this essay earlier this week, but it really just wasn’t working out. So when I found out my one Friday class was canceled, I decided to forget about the essay for a bit and take a short trip up to Loch Lomond. Colleen and I caught a morning train up to Balloch, a small town on the banks of the loch. It was intermittently rainy and sunny on the ride up to the loch, and we were hoping that the sun would win out by the time we arrived in Balloch. Boy were we ever wrong.

When we got to Balloch the sun disappeared, and it started pouring. Generally, the Scottish skies are content to annoy the earth with a relentless drizzle, but they also have an irrational tendency to team up with the wind to drench unsuspecting tourists. Such was my experience on Friday. We tried to wander around Balloch a bit, but the horizontal rain forced us inside. We had lunch at a little inn and tried to wait out the rain. Just as we were finishing, the rain miraculously stopped. Eager to make the most of the pause in the storm, we headed out to walk to the loch.

The first path we found was blocked by a huge puddle. I thought I would be clever and walk around it but soon discovered that, sometimes, what looks like a shallow puddle is actually three inches of squelchy mud. I’d long ago given up on trying to keep my Sperry’s clean, but that didn’t make the fact that a third of my shoe was covered in freezing mud any more pleasant. There was no getting around the puddle. Our path was blocked. We decided to cross the bridge and look for another path the loch.

We soon found a suitably-un-puddle-blocked path and proceeded towards the loch. It started to drizzle again at this point, but we pressed on. We came to see Loch Lomond and damned if we weren’t going to see it. We got almost all the way to the loch before our path was blocked by an even bigger puddle. Actually, I’m not sure you could even call it a puddle since it appeared to be connected to the river. I’m not sure if they’ve had an unusual amount of rain or what but it did look like the river/loch was overflowing.

At any rate, we had reached the end of our path. And just to top things off, it started to rain again. We quickly snapped some pictures and headed back into town. After trying in vain to find something else to do in Balloch (the main tourist shopping strip was located down the first path with the puddle), we hopped back on the train to Glasgow, soaked to the bone and happy to be out of the rain.

The trip wasn’t totally unsuccessful. It got me out of Glasgow and my mind off my essay. And Loch Lomond was beautiful, in a very wet sort of way. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in Scotland, it’s that you can’t let rain prevent you from doing things. Because you’ll never go anywhere if you do.

Anyway, I should probably go get that reading done. I’m going to Dublin with some new friends this weekend, so I should probably try to get as much work done as I can before I leave. I’m skipping three classes on Thursday and one class on Friday in order to go. I hate skipping class, it makes me feel behind, but I figure that seeing Ireland is more important than going to class. Right? I mean, that’s why I’m here, to explore parts of the world I’ve never seen. And it’s Ireland! Land of my people! Can’t let a silly little thing like class get in my way…

Until next time…

Megan

Overheard on the Eurostar from Paris to London…

“Facebook is like heroin.” –British teenager talking loudly to his father

Percussion Float Near Monmartre

Masked Street Musicians Near Monmartre

Wee Oddity #5

Live music and busking are both hugely popular in Glasgow. In the City Centre, you will often see people playing everything from guitars (acoustic and electric) to full drum kits to saxophones, accordions, Native American flutes, and, of course, bagpipes. Yesterday, as I was walking home from City Centre, I passed by the tiny vegan restaurant at the end of my street and heard nothing less than a full brass band playing a concert. And you thought Omaha was known for its music scene.

Paris, Part Three

So. Where did I leave off? Ah yes, Friday morning. I think I will condense the last three days into one post because (a) I don’t want to have to write two more posts on Paris after this one and (b) I feel like I write too much anyway. Less is more.

Since Friday morning was Ariel and Colleen’s first morning in Paris, we decided to start the day off with a bang and go see the Eiffel Tower. This time, though, we approached it from the Trocadero across the Seine. It was a lovely view and perfect for pictures. After snapping a few photographs, Lily had to leave us to go catch her train back to Strasbourg. That made me the most experienced French speaker in the group. As in, neither Ariel nor Colleen speak any French, so they had to rely on me to translate. I took four years of high school French and one semester in college, but I had never had the occasion to actually practice speaking French outside of class. Needless to say, my French isn’t that great. Luckily, most Parisians speak English so we didn’t have much trouble. I would attempt to speak French, but most people replied in English. It got a little annoying, actually, because I wasn’t able to practice my French that much since no one would speak French back to me. Of course, I could have made a stronger effort. I’m sure it didn’t help that I asked “vous-parlez Anglais?” half of the time.

On the subject of the language difference, I was genuinely surprised at how much French I understood. I was able to understand a lot more than I thought I would be able to, and I even noticed a little bit of an improvement in my listening skills by the end of the trip. But even if I understood what was being said, I was not very good at formulating responses in French (which is why I so often asked “vous-parlez Anglais?”). I actually really enjoyed trying to understand French, and it was fun having to translate for Ariel and Colleen. I would love to go back to France someday and spend an extended period of time there in order to develop my French skills.

Anyway, back to what we did on Friday. After exploring the Eiffel Tower and taking numerous photographs, we headed over to the Ile-de-Cite to see Notre Dame. I had my first crepe of the trip (butter and sugar, delicious) as we explored the outside of the cathedral. When Ariel’s mother visited Paris twenty or so years ago, she had a photograph taken of herself with a gargoyle at the top of Notre Dame. Ariel wanted to recreate the image with herself, so after we finished our crepes, we got in line to go up to the top. It was a long line, but it moved fairly quickly. After about half an hour, if was our turn to go up to the top. Round and round the spiral staircase we climbed until we finally reached the walkway about two thirds of the way up. Our effort and dizziness was rewarded with a gorgeous view of Paris, Sacre Coeur to the right, the Eiffel Tower ahead and to the left, and everywhere an expanse of gray stone buildings.

The walkway was lined with gargoyles, each one unique and all very fun to look at. We found the gargoyle from Ariel’s mother’s picture and I did my best to recreate the photograph. It was difficult, however, because they had erected a metal cage over the walkway sometime in the twenty years since Ariel’s mother had been there. So it wasn’t an exact recreation of the original photograph, but we did our best.

After the photo shoot, we explored the bell tower–wood beams everywhere with a giant bell in the middle. Pretty much what you would expect. Then we ascended another long stone spiral staircase to the top of the towers. The view was much the same as at the three-fourths point only higher. It was beautiful and clear, another great view. Then we made our way down the stairs, a dizzy stone spiral, back to the earth. The whole experience was very much worth the wait and entrance fee, I really enjoyed it.

Next, we took a little break at a cafe to re-energize. Then we went to Shakespeare and Company, a really awesome bookstore just next to Notre Dame. Tiny, cramped, and jam-packed full of books from floor to ceiling, it reminded me of something out of Harry Potter. Upstairs, there was a typewriter for communal use, a reading room, and a room with a piano (which I really wanted to play, but refrained from on account of the man taking a nap just a few feet away). It was a neat little place, a must-see on any visit to Paris.

Next, we headed over to the Louvre. We grabbed some dinner from the museum cafe and headed up to explore the art. First up: the Mona Lisa. Embedded in the wall behind six-inches of glass, it was surrounded by photo-snapping tourists who were further held back from the famous portrait by barriers that kept them ten feet away. The contrast between the Mona Lisa and the massive painting on the opposite wall (The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese, which measures about 22 feet by 32 feet) was striking, almost laughable. What is it about that tiny little portrait that has so captured the world’s imagination? I really don’t know. Still, it was nice to see the painting in a ‘been there, done that’ kind of way.

My experience at the Louvre was another one of those I-am-so-tired-it-is-hard-to-appreciate-all-of-this-really-old-similar-looking-art kinds of experiences. The building was stunning, though, and I was happy to get to see the Nike of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo, and the Discobolus–all of which I learned about in my art history course at Santa Clara freshman year. The Louvre deserves several days to explore, so I will definitely have to go back at some point in my life.

After the Louvre, we went in search of some famous Berthillon ice cream on the Ile-de-Saint-Louis. We didn’t actually find the Berthillon shop (because I forgot my guidebook), but it turned out alright because most of the restaurants in the area sell the ice cream, too. We stopped in a little cafe, and I ordered a cone with a scoop of dark chocolate and a scoop of cappuccino. It was scrumptious! I’d been going through some serious ice cream withdrawal, so this cone was a welcome treat. Really made me miss Ted and Wally’s though… After the ice cream, we went back to the hostel and crashed. Which brings me to…

Saturday morning we woke up early and caught a train to Versailles where we visited the Palace of Versailles. At first I was hesitant about going to Versailles. I wanted to stay in Paris and explore the city, but Ariel convinced me to go to Versailles and I am glad she did. The palace was amazing. Gold, marble, tapestries, paintings, sculptures, lovely lawns, and fountains… I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy the palace as much as I did. It was gorgeous. Maybe it’s cliche, but the Hall of Mirrors was definitely my favorite part. The only downside to the trip was the number of other tourists at the palace. The place was packed–to the point where I got a bit claustrophobic. All in all, it was a good experience though.

On the train back into Paris, I enjoyed my first Orangina of the trip. Orangina is a delicious carbonated orange drink that we learned about in my French classes at Duchesne. Even though it’s available outside of France, it felt special to drink an Orangina in France. It was another one of those little “whoa, I’m actually in France” moments.

When we got back to Paris, we headed over to Pere LaChaise–an enormous cemetery where many famous people are buried. It sounds strange to say, but it was a beautiful place. And it couldn’t have been a more perfect day to wander around there–on the eve of Halloween, a gorgeous fall day with the trees various shades of yellow, brown, and orange. We saw the graves of Chopin, Jim Morrison (of the Doors), and Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde’s tomb was definitely the most interesting as it was covered in red and pink lipstick kisses and graffiti tributes to the famous author. I’ve never read any of Wilde’s work, but judging from the outpouring of love on his tomb, I must admit I am intrigued.

Highlights from the rest of Saturday included: eating the most delicious crepe with homemade dark chocolate, the gorgeous weather, and eating boeuf bourguignon at tiny restaurant on the Ile-de-Saint-Louis.

On Sunday morning, Ariel and Colleen went back to see the inside of Notre Dame and I ventured alone to the St. Ouen markets north of Monmartre. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was quite unimpressed with the markets. They were crammed full of cheap trinkets, broken electronics, old furniture, and cheap clothes. It reminded me of a giant garage sale. Nonetheless, it was fun to explore on my own.

After that I met Ariel and Colleen at Sacre Coeur. We explored Monmartre, finished up our present-purchasing, and dined on a baguette and brie for lunch. Monmartre was even more packed with tourists than when I was there earlier in the week, so it got to be a bit claustrophobic at times, but I still enjoyed it.

After that, we still had a bit of time to kill, so we wandered down to the Moulin Rouge. As we were finishing up taking photos of the famous nightclub, we heard some mysterious music. We followed our ears (and the crowd) until we found a group of brass musicians wearing reflective vests and white masks and playing an eerie tune as they marched down the street. I don’t know if it had something to do with the strikes going on, or the fact that it was Halloween, but I’ve never seen any street music quite like that. After these strange marchers passed, we heard drum beats and saw smoke in the distance. Naturally, we headed toward the source of the commotion only to discover a moving percussion float manned by three drummers and pulled by a fourth. A firebreather circled the float as it moved down the street. Again, I’m not really sure what the whole thing was about but it sounded awesome. I have videos of both the brass marchers and the percussion float that I will try to post later this week.

Anyway, after all of that, it was time to go home. Our journey back to Glasgow is a story in and of itself but a story for another day. I really enjoyed my time in Paris and was sad to leave. Everyone I talk to about Paris says that it is their favorite city in Europe, and I am no different. I think the name “City of Love” is misinterpreted: people don’t fall in love with each other in Paris, they fall in love with Paris. I’ve been to a grand total of three European cities, so I’m not sure if my opinion counts, but I really did love Paris. It’s still surreal to think that I was able to go there, since it has been a dream of mine to visit Paris since I started taking French classes in eighth grade. All of the hassles of applying to study abroad, all of the trouble of getting classes approved, all of the long hours working two jobs last year, it was all worth it. I got to see Paris. Life is good.

Until next time…

Megan

P.S.- Sorry there aren’t any pictures to break up the text in this post. It took me a long time to write, and I am too tired to go through my photographs now. I will try to post some photos and those two videos of the street musicians soon. If you can spare a moment, please leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts on my blog. I’d love to know what you guys think. Am I writing too much? Too little? Is it too chronological? Too boring? Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

Paris, Part Two

On Thursday, Lily and I took the Metro up to Monmartre, a district in Paris famous for its artists. Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Toulouse-Latrec, and Dali, among others, all lived and painted in Monmartre at some point in their lives. Monmartre is situated on a fairly steep hill at the top of which lies Sacre Coeur, a giant white church. To get up to the top of the hill, you must find your way through the souvenir-shop lined base of the hill and climb several long staircases. Not only that, you must dodge the men trying to tie bracelets on your wrist and the eerily silent women holding out petitions for you to sign. Once you get to the top, though, you are rewarded with a wonderful view of Paris below and a closer look at Sacre Coeur just behind.

Like at Notre Dame, I was surprised at how many tourists were at Monmartre and Sacre Coeur on a Thursday morning. At the top of the hill, past Sacre Coeur a little bit, there is a square full of artists stalls and little cafes. Dozens of street artists roam the square and surrounding lanes drawing portraits of tourists for a modest fee. Surprisingly, most of the portraits I saw were really quite good. And the art being sold at the stalls was decent as well, if overpriced.

It was a really pleasant area to walk around. Even though it’s pretty touristy today, I could definitely see why so many artists were drawn to the place. There’s something magical about being at the highest point in the city and being able to look out over Paris.

After wandering around for a bit, we decided to embrace the French spirit and eat some bread and cheese for lunch. We bought a baguette from a boulangerie and some brie from a small grocery store and sat on the steps of Sacre Coeur to enjoy our le dejeuner. It was so nice to just sit and look out on the city. And people watch. Nearby, a man played the harp, and farther up the steps, another man played nineties American rock songs on his guitar. Pretty lovely way to have lunch if you ask me…

After lunch, we decided to go the Musee d’Orsay, the second most famous art museum in Paris (aside from the Louvre). Unfortunately, pictures aren’t allowed in the Orsay so I don’t have anything to show you, but you can check out their website here. It’s housed in a giant old train station and the building almost outshines the artwork. Unfortunately, half of the upper level was closed for renovations so we didn’t get to see everything, but what we did get to see was pretty cool. The Orsay has a pretty big collection of Impressionist paintings, by painters like Monet and Seurat, which was by far my favorite part.

One thing I’ve learned from my travels so far is that museums take a lot of energy. You can’t go to a museum tired and expect to be able to appreciate it fully. Walking around and reading signs and looking at paintings doesn’t sound hard, but after having walked up and down Monmartre that morning, both Lily and I were pretty tired. And the low lighting in the Impressionist exhibit didn’t help much. So after the Orsay, we got a couple of very overpriced Cokes and sat on the ledge of the Seine for a bit, trying to regain some energy.

Sufficiently energized, we decided we would go try to find Shakespeare and Company, a famous bookstore near Notre Dame. We didn’t have any directions so we just sort of wandered around a bit in the hopes that we would stumble upon it. After a while, we still hadn’t found the bookstore so we decided to just sit in the little park behind Notre Dame and enjoy the afternoon. I didn’t really mind as it was another beautiful fall day.

It was Lily’s last night in Paris and she wanted to have some real French food, so after our failed attempt to find Shakespeare and Company, we went back up to Monmartre to find a bistro. We found a nice little place and sat outside on the patio (beneath a heat lamp) to enjoy our roast chicken and frites. It might not have been the best, most authentic French food ever, but it was pretty delicious, especially after a full day of walking.

After dinner, we headed back to the hostel to await the arrival of Ariel and Colleen, who were flying in from Glasgow. Unfortunately, due to the strike, their flight got rerouted to Brussels. Fortunately, the airline arranged a bus to Paris for them. They finally arrived, a couple of hours later than expected, but no worse for the wear. We got Ariel checked in to the hostel and took a cab to Colleen’s hotel. After that, at about 1:30 am, I crashed.

I think I will stop there for now. Next up: I revisit the Eiffel Tower, go to the top of Notre Dame, see the Mona Lisa, eat some delicious ice cream, return to Monmartre, see the Moulin Rouge, and see some intriguing street musicians (complete with firebreather). Well, until next time…

Megan

Paris, Part One

I have so much to write about Paris, I don’t even know where to begin! I’m going to spread it out over a couple of posts, because to cram it all into one would just be too much (for both you and me).

I left for Paris last Tuesday afternoon. I flew down on Ryanair, the same company I flew with to London. Things went a little smoother this time, since I knew which train station to go to to catch the train to the airport. The flight landed at an airport about an hour outside of central Paris, so I caught a bus into the city. Since it was dark as the bus was driving into the city, there wasn’t much to see, so I closed my eyes. Something woke me up and I caught my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It quickly disappeared from view, though. Can’t believe I almost missed it! After I got off the bus, I took the Metro to the hostel. That was a bit of an adventure. I went the wrong way for one stop, but I managed to figure it out and made it to the hostel without any big problems. Flying alone to Paris was a little scary but exciting too. I felt very accomplished/confident when I finally made it to the hostel.

At the hostel, I checked in and met up with my second cousin Lily. Even though we are about the same age, we had never met before. At Grandma Katie’s 90th Birthday Party/Amberg Family Reunion this summer, her dad Jay told me that she would be teaching in Strasbourg, France and suggested that we meet up. It just so happened that our breaks coincided, so we decided to meet up in Paris. Anyway, it was pretty late by the time I checked in, so Lily and I just went out for a quick drink and then headed to bed.

The next day, Wednesday, was my 22nd birthday! We started off the day with a visit to the Opera House. We didn’t go in or anything, just walked around the outside, but it was still pretty neat. Next, we walked past the Louvre, through the Tuileries, down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. That was pretty surreal, since I had heard so much about all of those things in my French classes. The Champs-Elysees was much more commercial than I’d pictured it. It was lined with big brand name stores and packed with tourists. On the Arc de Triomphe, Lily showed me the Amberg family name inscribed about halfway up one of the ‘legs’ of the Arc. That was pretty neat. I have no idea if I am actually related to those Ambergs, but I can pretend right?

After the Arc, we made our way over to the Eiffel Tower. It was much bigger than I expected. I mean, obviously I knew it was big, but I guess it’s just one of those things that you have to see in person. There were lots of tourists there, which made me glad I came in October and not the middle of July. I can’t even imagine how crazy that place must get in the summer. We got some sandwiches du jambon (baguettes with ham and butter) and sat on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower to eat our lunch. It was a perfect fall day, the sun was shining and it was just the right temperature for wandering around outside.

After the Eiffel Tower we hopped on the Metro back past the Tuileries to a cafe called Angelina. Lily said her grandfather claimed this cafe had the best chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). I was a bit skeptical, I mean hot chocolate is hot chocolate right? How great can it be? But of course, any excursion involving chocolate is good in my book, so I was willing to try it. The line at the cafe was a bit long, but it moved quickly. We found a seat and Lily ordered two hot chocolates for us (she was nice enough to do most of the ordering for me, since my French is pretty terrible).

The hot chocolate arrived in a little pitcher with two teacups, two glasses of water, and a container of fresh whipped cream. I was a little confused about the water at first, but after seeing how thick the hot chocolate was, it made sense. The Angelina’s hot chocolate was much more like melted chocolate than the thin hot chocolate I am used to. It was so thick, in fact, that the drip on the lip of the pitcher only made it about two inches down before solidifying. And let me tell you, it was the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted. Really. If you ever get the chance to go to Paris, you must go try the Angelina’s hot chocolate.

We were almost through with our hot chocolate when a waitress came over and asked us to move to another table so that they could seat a larger group. Of course, we didn’t mind moving, but as a thank you they gave us some free macarons. I was sugared-out from the hot chocolate, but who can resist free macarons? I had to try them. I think I managed to eat one and a half (which really isn’t that much since they are small) and they, too, were delicious! I didn’t end up having any cake on my birthday, but the sweets at Angelina’s definitely made up for it. So thanks for suggesting that Lily!

After Angelina’s we went to see Notre Dame on the Ile de Cite, one of the islands in the middle of the Seine (where Paris originated). Tourists swarmed around the outside, taking pictures, watching street performers, and feeding the pigeons. Again, I was surprised by how many people there were. I mean, it was a Wednesday at the end of October! Notre Dame was quite pretty, both on the outside and the inside. It was fun to see the flying buttresses and the gargoyles.

After that we wandered over through the Latin Quarter to the Jardin de Luxembourg and rested a bit, watching the sun go down. Next, on Claire’s recommendation, we decided to take a boat tour. Only we didn’t know exactly where to go, so we stopped at an information kiosk to ask for directions. In response to Lily’s question, the man gave what might be the least helpful advice I have ever heard, “It’s that way, on the river.” Wait a second, you’re telling me that the boat tour is on the river? Wow! Thanks! I never would have thought of that!

Anyway, after wandering around for awhile, we saw a boat pass by on the river that had the name of the place we were supposed to go printed on the side. So we found our way to the dock and managed to catch the boat. The tour was nice. It lasted about an hour and we got to see many famous landmarks and such. It was a bit chilly though, and it started raining about halfway through. So that wasn’t ideal. But all in all, it was a good time.

After that, we found some dinner. I had a croque madame, which was good but still not as good as the one I had at that restaurant John used to work at in St. Louis (I’m forgetting the name now, but it went out of business anyway). After dinner, we headed back to the hostel and went to bed.

And that was just the first day.

I think I will stop there for now. No worries, though, I’ll write more later. I still have four more days to write about. Thanks for reading! Until next time…

Megan

Weekend Trip: Isle of Skye

I’ve got some time to waste before my flight to Paris this afternoon, so I thought I’d write a post about my trip to the Isle of Skye. I should probably be (a) doing homework or (b) researching what I want to do in Paris, but I don’t particularly feel like doing either. So I will write instead.

So this weekend, I went to the Isle of Skye in northern Scotland with the University of Glasgow’s International Society. Ariel and Aldonza came along, too. We left bright and early Saturday morning at 8 am and came back Sunday night around 7 pm. There were two big buses full of students. If I had to guess, I would say there were over one hundred students. That sounds like a lot, but it really didn’t seem like it.

Anyway, on Saturday as we drove up toward Skye, I got my first real look at the Scottish Highlands. And, let me tell you, they did not disappoint! I’d heard the Highlands were gorgeous, but I didn’t really realize how wonderful they were until I saw them in person. We passed numerous lochs and glens (valleys) and bens (mountains), making several photo stops along the way. The hills were much larger than I expected, more like mountains really. They were tall enough to have snow on their peaks and, at some points, sheer rock walls near the road. Pine forests covered some of the hills, but most of the land was this beautiful golden honey moor with spots of water and rocks dotted throughout. We were also incredibly lucky–the sun was shining for the entire trip excepting a touch of fog the first morning and a bit of rain the next. We really couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather.

We stopped in a little town called Fort William for lunch (I had mac and cheese) and then continued north. After a few more photo stops and a half an hour at Eilean Donan Castle, we arrived to Portree on the Isle of Skye around 5:30 pm. We dropped our things at the hostel and went out to explore the town. Unfortunately, all of the shops closed at 6:00 and remained closed on Sunday, so I wasn’t able to do any of the shopping I’d planned on. I was a little disappointed, but hopefully there will be other opportunities.

Portree was a picturesque little town. For anyone interested in visiting Scotland, it is a must-see. Pretty, little white-stucco shops lined the quiet streets, and down on the wharf a row of colorful houses looked like something out of a film. The water was still, the mountains rugged, and the sky clear. We wandered down to the water and were lucky enough to see a gorgeous sunset over the water (which you can see in the video in my last post). It was surreal!

After that, we went back to the hostel for dinner–homecooked by the student leader and a team of volunteers. Since there isn’t much to do in Portree at night, the rest of the night was spent meeting new people, just talking and having fun.

On Sunday morning, I managed to convince Ariel, Aldonza, and some new friends (Angela from Romania and Alan from New Zealand) to wake up early to see the sunrise. We left the hostel around 7:30 am to head down to the wharf. It was raining pretty hard at first, so I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to see the sunrise. But luckily the rain stopped just as the sun was coming up, and my doubts were erased. I didn’t know it was possible, but the sunrise was more beautiful than the sunset. I kept taking pictures because it just kept getting better! I’m running out of adjectives to describe how pretty it was so I will just let you look at the photographs above.

On the way back to the hostel, Alan showed us a scenic trail he had discovered the day before. We walked alongside the cliff next to the water and stumbled upon the circle where they play the Highland games in the summer. The view was unparalleled. When we couldn’t feel our fingers and toes anymore, we went back to the hostel. We ate a quick breakfast, packed up our things, and got back on the bus.

At 10 am, we left Portree and drove around the Isle of Skye for a couple of hours. We stopped at the harbor town of Uig for a little while. Then we went back to Portree so that the other bus, which had stayed in a different town, could explore a little. I had my first real Scottish scone with cream and jam, it was quite delicious! Although I had to eat it really fast, since we had to get back to the bus.

The rest of Sunday was spent driving back to Glasgow. I got to see more of the gorgeous Highlands as we passed them by, including Loch Ness, but we didn’t make very many stops. We did stop at Fort Augustus for lunch, though. They gave us 45 minutes, which should have been enough time, except for the fact that the chip shop we stopped at took over half an hour to give us our food. All we ordered was chips! I don’t know why it took them that long. We got them to go and walked back to the bus, only to be told that we couldn’t take our chips on the bus. So I had to eat as much as I could really quickly and throw away the rest. That, combined with the long bus ride and the winding roads, did not help the slight carsickness I had been experiencing on the trip. Don’t worry, I was fine, just uncomfortable. I felt better when I closed my eyes, but the trade-off with that was that I didn’t get to see the lovely scenery. Oh well, what could I do?

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. The Highlands are officially one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I got to make some new friends. And I’ve got a stack of 332 great pictures to sort through. Couldn’t really ask for a better weekend.

Well, I’d better go read through my French phrase book and make sure I have everything I need for Paris. Thanks for reading. Check back next week for my post about France. Until next time…

Megan