Blogs from Ireland, Europe - page 331

Where In The World Did We Get To?? Contrary to popular belief the Buckley family haven't been whisked away by a band of renegade leprechauns. We arrived safely in Ireland but poor/expensive internet access made blogging difficult...better late than never so they say. We had a very smooth and quiet crossing on the Stena Line ferry between Stranraer and Belfast, just under 2 hours sailing time. Only just made the check-in time as the road we took down the West Coast of Southern Scotland between Kilmarnock and Stranraer was narrow and winding with no opportunity to overtake. The ferry was full of young guys (looked like a football team) heading home after a big game over the long weekend or perhaps just a footy trip for the end of season. Anyway, they obviously weren't too hungover ... read more

That's right, a good craic. It's NOT a typo. The Irish use it to say "good time", and it's pronounced CRACK. Haha. This weekend was bank holiday weekend, which means no work for the people of Ireland on Monday! I can consider myself now a "resident of Ireland", at least temporarily. Even though I'm clearly a yank with my whiny midwest accent...I stick out badly. "Yeaaahh, can I get you some cawfee?" Oh well. Saturday I took a James Joyce tour around the city. It was the "Dubliners" tour, which means a guide walked us around to sites in Dublin that are significant in Joyce's book as well as sites that were significant in his lifetime. I thought it was interesting, I love Dubliners, it's basically the only book by Joyce that I can comprehend decently. ... read more

I was dreaming of it for years and then planning it for another two years...Originally i had hoped to travel europe the summer after my leaving cert was complete but those plans fell through and then it was delayed until the following summer... With one year of college down it was time to finally get out there and start seeing the world...for years I have drove friends and family insane with all my talk of travelling and getting away from Ireland to see what else was out there and now finally I have the chance to do exactly that... So myself and my ever so good friend James are heading to Brussels on May 29th from Dublin airport and making our way through europe towards Turkey! Here I plan on staying for the remainder of the ... read more

"Above all--we were wet" is a line in the book Angela's Ashes that I am reading. It's about a boy's irish catholic childhood in Limerick, Ireland in the 1940's and in it he writes about the sheets of rain that would come up from the River Shannon and keep the city wet all the time. I recommend it. It reminded me of today in Dublin...it is cold and rainy and windy as hell. Right now I'm sitting at my internship at UCD's campus. I can hear the wind blowing around the building and it makes a hollowing noise that is so loud you can't help but notice it. It is almost comforting. It's pouring out and it has been steadily since I woke up. It's so interesting the kind of mood the rain puts you in. ... read more

Ok, this is a tad overdue (two months to be exact!), but never let it be said that I don't finish things once I start them...so here goes - the last ever entry! Well, it's all over now. The final journey has been completed, and the year has ended, although it did seem like someone, somewhere, was trying their very best to ensure that we would never get back to Dublin. Airports; how they melt your soul. The last stop on this round the world loop was Lima, Peru's capital. Ugh. What a 100% certifiable shithole. I think it is the ugliest city I have ever been to, and it is definitely in the running (along with Phuket) to be crowned the worst destination of the year to date! The only good things about Lima are ... read more