Scotland, Spain, and Morocco, Oh My!

No fun stories this time, sorry. But I have a fun fact: classes ended today. As in, I'm done for the semester. Well, okay, that's not true. I still have to finish two essays that are due next week and have two finals in May. But tomorrow is the start of a two week Easter Break (we didn't have a spring break), then we have a week to study before exams start, and instead of them all being crammed into one week, they'll be spread out over a month. Briefly, here are my plans for April:

4th-7th: Edinburgh, Scotland with Meg, Allen, and Brad
9th-17th: Mom and Dad are coming to visit; we'll be driving around Ireland
17th-22nd: Stay with Alex in Madrid, Spain (fingers crossed we'll get up to Segovia Castle!)
22nd-...sometime before the 30th: Stay with Kristen in Rabat, Morocco. Maybe go hiking?

Then I'll come back and have roughly a week before each final to study. Then home. I'm not staying here during the summer. At all. I'm amused that that rumor is still going but perhaps I can put it to rest (again); unless you hear directly from me that I am staying until June (or whenever), don't believe it. And you won't hear that from me. So there you have it: Brooke is officially going home in May. And, for those of you trying to rendezvous with me this summer, I'll be in Texas for about a week, back at Wake for summer school in June, taking a bio course in Vienna through July, then back in Texas (and Colorado for a tad) in August. Sound good? Yeah, I think so, too.

Oh, it also snowed again today.

Adventures Abounding!

I realize that I might have left you wondering, "What is this 'adventure weekend' you speak of?" Well, Butler rounded up all of their students from every program in Ireland and brought us to Connemara in west Co. Galway for an 'activity weekend', if you will... We signed up for what we wanted to do each day, choosing between things like zip lining, ropes courses, bungee jumping, archery, clay pigeon shooting, water skiing, ringo (tubing), hiking, etc.

So... here's some of what I did:

(actually... okay, I didn't windsurf. I really wanted to but the wind picked up way too much Saturday afternoon)

Yup. Good weekend.

Adventure Weekend

Butler brought all of us together at the Killary Adventure Center for a weekend of thrills. This is the view from where we're staying:

I think it's going to be a good weekend...

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit!

Saint Patrick's Day is of course well underway in Ireland, and is there any better way to celebrate it than with a parade? Well... actually, yeah, I suppose there is, but a parade is a pretty good way to kick off the celebration of a British man taken to Ireland as a slave, told by God to flee, then, after successfully returning home, encouraged by God to return so that he might save the Irish. And why drink on this 17th day of March? Because it used to (and still does) serve as a one day break from Lent. And what did many of the Irish give up for this forty day stretch of fasting? You got it. So the drinking actually has a purpose, folks! So that's what I did this afternoon... the parade, not the drinking... My impressions of the parade? Worth attending, but a little sporadically thrown together. And for whatever reason this year's theme (there are themes to St. Patty's Day parades other than Irishness and St. Patrick?) was Over the Moon. A little beyond me, I have to admit. And although Galway was densely packed it wasn't as... wild, maybe?... as I was expecting. I actually don't know what I was expecting, maybe just that it would have been more elaborate. Also there were plenty of people not wearing green. But all that aside I'd still much rather go to a parade than class on occasion, and I can proudly say I've been in Ireland on Saint Partick's Day.

A few fun tidbits:
-The Irish do NOT pinch or punch anyone who doesn't wear green today. Nor have they ever heard of that tradition.
-The shortest parade in celebration of this day takes place in a village in County Cork where they travel 100 yards between the two pubs there.

I was almost certain that this was the horse taken by the travelers until I remembered that horse had two other stockings. Maybe they just painted them black so they could use him in the parade...

Kilkenny Castle and Arvo Part

I apologize for being remiss in my blog-keeping, but it's not for lack of entertainment from across the pond! Two weekends ago was Kilkenny, last weekend a return to Dublin. The interim held lots of reading, lab reports, and a presentation for my English seminar on dueling. Possibly the most ridiculous one that I read about was between two French men who duelled in hot air balloons and the aim was to shoot the other man's balloon out of the sky. I'll be sticking around Galway for the next two weekends to get a start on the three essays I have due at the end of the month, so I may not be posting anything about them, because, let's face it, do you really want to read about that? No. No you don't. OH! But the Castles course that I'm auditing (did I mention that I'm auditing a course about castles? I am...) is taking a field trip (!) next Saturday and the lecturer said he doesn't mind at all if I come along. In fact he seemed a bit baffled that someone actually seemed excited about going. But Kilkenny. Right.

A few details which may prove beneficial:
The Group- Noel, Beth, and Brad (an eclectic group to say the least... oh, and they didn't actually know each other, they all just knew me)
The Purpose- Twofold. See Kilkenny Castle. Attend Hibernian Orchesta's performance of Arvo Part, Mozart, and Brahms.
The Transportation- About as horrendously slow as you can get. 167km/104mi away. 6 hours to get there, 7 to get back.

Saturday (February 27th) morning we caught the 7:00 bus out of Galway to Athlone, then changed buses down to Kilkenny. I attempted to sleep, only woken once by what I can best describe as bickering which escalated to what sounded like high pitched old women. But actually it was our bus driver and a fellow who was accusing him of hitting the side mirror on his car. The latter kept repeating sentiments about our driver not having honor or being respectable which was really agitating our driver, who disappeared for about fifteen minutes with the fellow. They looked very close to getting into a fist fight as they left but I suppose they never actually came to blows. Luckily that tiff didn't hinder his driving and we got in around 1:00, wandering around for a bit in the general direction of where we were staying. Turns out it's on the main street, and only about a four minute walk from St. Canice's Cathedral (where the orchestra was playing). We could see it up the road when we walked out the front door! Which isn't saying too much; Kilkenny is relatively small so the furthest point of interest, Kilkenny Castle, was maybe a twelve minute walk south. After lunch (at the Paris, Texas pub... which reminded me nothing of Texas) we sauntered down there. Absolutely picturesque! Right along a river, overlooking a beautiful garden to the north and a huge lawn that extends to the horizon to the south. And the castle itself was fantastic!! Unfortunately we weren't supposed to take pictures inside. Apparently the castle used to have four walls, shaped like a trapezoid, but Cromwell damaged one of them so much when he invaded that they had to tear it down, which really turned out quite well in my opinion because it allows the main wing to overlook the amazing southern grounds without being blocked. Though I suppose that demolished wing would then have had that view...

We left there around 5:00 and dropped in to watch the Irish vs. England rugby match. Brad and I left Beth and Noel for twenty minutes to go explore the town a little more. Everything was closed by that time but I at least found out for Sunday where some neat church ruins and Black Abbey were. We made dinner that night in the hostel kitchen (fajitas!) then just sat by the fire and hung out; we were all a bit exhausted.

Sunday we awoke around 9:00 and unfortunately Beth was feeling worse - she had been feeling under the weather the day before - and was worried about getting home at midnight (actually turned out to be closer to 1:00am) so she opted to catch the 1:15 bus back. Noel went with her because she had a group project due Tuesday that she needed to finish, so we wandered for a bit then had tea and scones (almost) on a little porch out over the river below Kilkenny Castle (I say "almost" because we ate inside since Beth was feeling ill and didn't want to be in the cold, but we went outside to admire the view after breakfast). We then went in search of Black Abbey and discovered how diminutive it was compared to St. Mary's Cathedral (which we didn't know existed; I had assumed the vast tower overlooking town was in fact Black Abbey) which was further enhanced by being on a slight rise above the abbey. We also went up to St. Canice's to have a peak inside since the two would miss the performance but Mass was still going on. AND there was a nifty tower beside it that you could climb up and have a view of the country... Closed! Until March. Ha. So we strolled back to the bus station on the far side of town, which took perhaps twenty minutes - strenuous walk, I know. Then Brad and I retraced our steps so I could get pictures of everything. We hadn't gone inside anywhere before since Mass was still on, but by 2:00 everything was empty so we could admire at leisure.

So we went to St. Mary's, Black Abbey, and... passed by two ruins that were gated so we couldn't get in and I'm not quite sure what they were, and two other churches but didn't go in, just walked past... and St. Canice's. But back to that in a wee bit. I think the facade of St. Mary's was my favorite, it was just so massive and prominent! But in my humble opinion the interior of St. Canice's is superior.

But what you really want to know about is how the Hibernian Orchestra performed! Okay, I shan't hold you in suspense any longer!! IT WAS SPECTACULAR, ABSOLUTE GLORY AND MAGNIFICENCE, all enhanced by the cathedral's breathtaking atmosphere!!!! I was a bit surprised, though: they did not start Arvo Part's Fratres with the tension-building intro, just came in on the first note after. Either way it was very good, very poignant. Now for Mozart, it was good too, but I don't think it worked well in that space. There were perhaps sixty in the orchestra (my very rough estimate) but for Mozart the size reduced to... maybe forty? It was a little difficult to tell; I was ten rows back and there were taller people sitting in front of me, not that that's uncommon. It was a bassoon concerto and the remainder of the orchestra was very... quiet. I'm not sure if it was the downsize of members, that they were playing softer for Peter Whelen to be spotlighted, or a combination, but the sound seemed to be lost to the vast expanse of the cathedral. I'm not sure if it was the sound or the composition itself but I was not as impacted by it. Still good though, don't get me wrong. And everyone was performing Brahms after a short intermission; I was rather fond of that. Overall it was exceptionally well done (to my untrained ear), a masterpiece that was very neat in that setting!!!

We then ate a quick dinner in an old traditional Irish pub/restaurant, Kyteler's (if you ever find yourself in Kilkenny I actually highly recommend it. Good, reasonably priced food, neat atmosphere, etc... because yes, I know the odds are high that you will both soon be in Kilkenny and remember the name of this place). We - dare I admit?- barely caught the 6:30 bus to Dublin, got in at 8:40, and left on the 9:00 bus to Galway. Definitely a worthwhile weekend!!


And, as always, pictures:

Kilkenny Castle

St. Mary's Cathedral

Black Abbey

St. Canice's Cathedral

A Few Others...

Weekend in Dublin

I am back safe and sound and still up late at night in Galway, so rest assured that the weekend with Brigid went swimmingly.

Thursday: I took the bus out that afternoon, getting dropped off along the Liffey River, and made my way to the Kinlay House via the mental map I had of that area of town. Brigid had gotten in about fifteen minutes before me, so after we cleaned up we headed out to Bull and Castle around the corner for a bite to eat and a free pint of Galway Hooker upstairs. It was early and a Thursday night so pretty quiet; we had the bar mostly to ourselves and quickly made friends with the bartenders although they were out of the Galway Hooker (or so they said... perhaps it was just a ploy to get us to come back the next night). We chatted for a while then headed off to the Brazen Head, a pub rumored to have good traditional music. It turned out to be a nifty, laid-back little place where the band was just sitting at one of the tables like everyone else in the small room, except that they were playing old Irish songs and singing along. We didn't stay out too late since we wanted to be rearin' to go the next morning.

Friday: Quick breakfast then walked out to the Guinness Storehouse which only took maybe twenty minutes. Toured that for a few hours, etc. Oh, and quick note to anyone that ever ends up there - you get a free pint by going on the tour and you can either use it pouring your own pint (I think around the 5th floor), and you get a certificate, or you can redeem your ticket stub at the top in the Gravity Bar. I highly recommend the latter option as this Bar has an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. We then grabbed lunch at a pub and headed for the Jameson Factory. [aside: yes, I know, this sounds ambitious and overly-alcoholic, but they were both a bit out of the way of most of the other things we wanted to see, and relatively close in proximity to each other.] Unfortunately we got there and it appeared to be exactly the same as the Guinness Storehouse, except it was whiskey which neither of us have a particular taste for, so we opted to pass on that. We made a detour on the way back, however, at the Four Courts, the courthouse in Dublin that overlooks the Liffey and wandered through there for a bit (sorry, not allowed to take pictures). We returned to Kinlay House in a rather roundabout way, passing through the Temple Bar area to see what all the fuss was about. Really it's just a huge tourist area with a lot of pubs. We had a little more time than anticipated when we got back so we took a very short nap then went back out near the Temple Bar to eat dinner and start a pub tour. We're near 7:30 at this point, FYI. We went to four pubs, nothing noteworthy, then decided to end the night back at Bull and Castle with our bartender friends. However we missed closing time by fifteen minutes, so we went back and were in bed a little after 2:00.

Saturday: Woke up nice and refreshed, again with a quick breakfast, then meandered out towards Kilmainham Gaol, the prison-turned-museum. It was out past the Guinness Storehouse and as we were walking we passed someone who looked like Claire Ferguson. It didn't dawn on us until it was too late to turn around and see if it was her, but we shrugged it off. Well, no, actually... we looked it up later and she was in Dublin that very day for a concert. And to think six years ago I was her tour guide for her overnight visit at Thacher. And I digress... We got slightly lost/didn't walk far enough because the jail wasn't clearly marked on our map so a friendly old man with a really thick accent helped us. We nodded and grinned and went about our way... still as confused as before. While we were puzzling over which direction to head another man, this time with two kids, stopped to ask if we knew where Kilmainham was. Perfect. We joined forces and carried on our way. We arrived soon after (we were closer than we had thought) and went on a very sobering hour-long tour. I highly recommend going there. We had a lovely lunch of fish'n'chips and continued out to stroll around Trinity College (perhaps a seven minute walk in the other direction of Kinlay House). The afternoon was spent hitting the typical tourist spots - Merrion Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grafton Street, Dublin Castle - and stopping in a few little shops. One boutique I was particularly fond of was Cleo, a fabulous little wool store on Kildare Street. We ate dinner then went out to Duke Street Pub for a literary pub crawl. Relatively entertaining, there were two fellows leading who would do scenes from plays and tell us interesting stories about Joyce, Wilde, etc. Hands down the best part was winning a shirt for getting the most trivia questions right at the end of the night. Too bad it's an XL. It was snowing by the time we came out of the last pub (gargantuan flakes, mind you! think an inch in diameter - no hyperbole!)... We made our way back to Bull and Castle for the last time and met up with our bartender friends who were thrilled to see us and gave us free drinks the rest of the night. It was packed, too. We stayed there until closing then went back to... not sleep. Brigid had a flight out at 6:45am so she left at 4:30 so we stayed up until then. I slept from 4:31am until 8:45, got breakfast, and booked it out expecting to be able to sleep the three hours on the bus. Heads up: you cannot sleep on an Irish bus. They accelerate and decelerate much too frequently, take roundabouts and dizzying speeds, and stop in every small village along the way.

That was my weekend, though. This weekend I'll be going down to Kilkenny with Bethany and hopefully Noel (group project just assigned; we'll see if she makes it) to see Kilkenny Castle but most importantly to attend The Hibernian Orchestra's performance of Arvo Part, Mozart, and Brahms. I've been counting down the days to this ever since I found out!! It's sure to be phenomenal!!

And before I depart for bed, a few shots from Dublin:

Four Courts

This is what you should ponder next time you have a Guinness...

Here's to you, Michael

Inside Kilmainham

I almost went crazy when I was locked up in a cell in those dank halls, the silence pressing in all around! But I made it out without too much lasting damage... or that's what I tell myself.

Not escaping over these walls too easily.

Trinity College

A walk down this path in Merrion Square...

...led us here!

Doors of Dublin

Inside Dublin Castle

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Christ Church

ditto

Pancake Tuesday!

Have you wondered why you hunt for eggs at Easter? Actually... I haven't either. But I now have the answer! And it's all thanks to the wonderful little country of Ireland (or so I'm told). Back in the day it was very common for the Irish to give up eggs for Lent, so they would spend all day before Ash Wednesday making things that had eggs in the recipe to use them all up. Pancakes eventually became the food of choice to whip up, so for those of you who have heard of Pancake Tuesday but didn't know where it originated from (Nick), now you do. Then, on Easter, the Irish would go "hunting" for eggs to feast on. So there you have it! Now you'll never again wonder why you look for eggs of all things on Easter. So... does anyone know why the animal representing Easter is a bunny? (Seriously, I'm curious. I don't actually know the answer to that one yet...)

So I acknowledge that I haven not written in a few weeks. Hopefully no one has been kept awake at night wondering if I got brainwashed by the Irish folksongs and went native. Don't fret; I still have every intention of returning home in May. (quick aside: I've heard from a couple of sources that rumor has it I plan on sticking around here for an extra month, or the rest of summer - depending on the version you might have heard. I'll go ahead and dispel that; I still have every intention of coming home at the end of May, cross my heart!)

As to what shenanigans I have been up to in the past few weeks? If you are up to date with my adventures (really you have no reason not to be - everyone likes to procrastinate, not to mention you had plenty of time to catch up) then you will know that the next destination on the agenda was Bunratty Castle and Folk Park outside of Shannon. Noel and I met up to catch the 8:00am bus down which took about an hour. Once in the park we started out the morning with a cup of tea and delicious homemade scone at the Tea Room in the Folk Park. Since it was technically during the off-season we had the place mostly to ourselves; this made roaming around a bit easier as there were no crowds to fight. We spent the better part of two hours in the castle alone.

We toured a bit more of the Folk Park which was comprised of small cottages built in the fashion of homes from different areas of Ireland, then headed out of the park to get lunch. There was a restaurant called the Creamery Bar a little ways off with delicious clam chowder. Actually some of the best vegetable soup I've ever tried, too. Why are all the best restaurants out in the middle of nowhere? Well, Vernon excluded...

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the grounds of the Folk Park, a pretty extensive place with about twenty-three shops and homes we could go into. Actually it was mostly houses, then one area representing the main street of a village.

We got dinner and a pint at Durty Nelly's, a good little pub next to the castle, then headed home. Rating of this adventure: A- (since it was off-season the folks who usually work at the park representing various Irish livelihoods weren't there)


Other event worth mentioning: attended the Law Ball last Tuesday with Brad, a fellow from the states who was here last semester as well. Each department hosts a ball every year. I cannot speak to the rest of the balls but I have to imagine that they're all pretty similar. It was a nice affair starting with cocktails at the Galway Bay Hotel, dinner, then a band. I admit I was a bit disappointed that the band actually played mostly American music, but on the bright side I knew the majority of the songs. The shindig went well into the night/morning and there was an after party, well, after, but we ended up just heading back at that point.

(before I rendezvoused with Brad; this is one of the few pictures I have from the night. also, Beth is on my right, Meg on my left)

That's really all the craic (pronounced "crack" - can be used for anything from "good time" to "What's the craic?" which is essentially, "How are you?") here. Finally got out on a horse yesterday with the Equestrian Club. Just tryouts to place us for lessons (I think... they were very vague) but it was great to be back in the saddle (I know, curveball coming from me)! Headed out to Dublin Thursday after class to meet up with Brigid (buddy from Thacher). She's in Florence for the quarter and wanted to come to Ireland for a bit; she is a McCarthy after all! Needless to say I'm excited to see her after almost three years! Actually, I'm going to be out of town the next three weekends. Heading to Kilkenny the following weekend, then meeting up with Alex and Dub (also Thacher comrades spending the semester in Madrid and Florence, respectively) the first weekend in March. Anyway, that's all I have on the horizon at the moment.

Oh, and the horse? Still MIA...