Blogs from United Kingdom, Europe - page 3000

Dan, Sean, Tyler and I took a bus downtown… and we just happened to walk upon a parade for the youth soccer clubs. We had dinner at Eddie Rocket’s American-style diner. Cheeseburger and fries… much better than my previous BLT. Afterward, we headed to Smyth’s Bar… the apparent hot-spot. Very nice place. Observations made: (1) the Irish really like American music, (2) the Irish really like American beer… I was drinking Schmiticks, but I noticed everyone around me drinking Budweiser, Coors, and MGD… go figure. After a cab ride back to Brookfield, we ran upon a drunken irish softball team down from Dublin for a weekend tournament. Dan and Sean were quick to bond with them. I opted for the disappearing act. ... read more

Unpacking is easy with no luggage. Dan brought three sets of clothes in his carry-on, I brought two sets of clothes in mine… Sean didn’t bring anything (just his cowboy hat). Off to the Limerick shopping mall. Observations made: (1) Ireland has Burger King, (2) Irish people can’t stop staring at Sean’s cowboy hat… some guy even made a quick draw gesture… some woman asked him if it was his birthday (???) (3) A BLT sandwich in the United States is NOT the same thing as a BLT in Ireland (irish “bacon” = thick, greasy ham). After a couple of hours, I’d say we left with the bare necessities. ... read more

We’re here. Nick, Sean, and I have been up for over 24 hours with no more than a few hours of sleep. The trip was an absolute nightmare. We were delayed out of Kansas City, then delayed out of Reagan in D.C., and when we got to Boston our checked bags were nowhere to be found. After we waited four hours in the baggage claim, checking the belts for all the U.S. Airways flights that had come into Logan from D.C. - no luck. The splendidly helpful guy at the luggage counter told us we probably wouldn’t see them before we left and that he wouldn’t be able to get them to us by the time we arrived in Shannon because it was out of the country and, hence, out of his realm of control. Needless ... read more

It sucks leaving the airport with no luggage in hand. First stop… the ATM to withdraw some euros. Our traveling professor, Stacy Leeds, was nice enough to set up cab rides for the dozen students in our program. There is something comforting about seeing your name on cardboard. Our cab driver was good coversation. Two things we learned: (1) his favorite beer is budweiser, (2) Limerick has the best-looking women in Ireland (or so he says). Also worth noting: (1) sure enough… the Irish drive on the left side of the road (no surprise there), (2) there doesn’t appear to be a single stoplight in this place… it’s all round-abouts. The cab ride was 40 euros, or roughly $47. Yes… that’s expensive. We saw Tyler as our cab pulled into our apartment complex. Our accomodations Brookfield ... read more

Well, we've made it back home after an absolutely crazy weekend! We arrived on Thursday afternoon after a full day of travelling on trains and buses, and were greeted with a spectacular sunny afternoon. Some of our friends had arrived the previous day and had set up a great campsite just inside the main gate - we wouldn't know exactly how good the site was until the next afternoon... Audrey and I took a wander around the site to get our bearings, Glastonbury is absolutely massive. We made it about halfway across the site (over to the Jazz stage), where we found the pear cider bus (delicious) and had to turn back to make sure we'd get home before dark. Friday morning was a completely different story. Here's Audrey's thoughts... We had a fabulous time with ... read more