Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
July 30
7/30 - Galway
We got an early bus tour that took us to this farm first, and later to the Cliffs of Moher.
The farm tour was alright, but we were upset because we couldn't go to the top of the burren (hills) and we thought we were getting free apple pie at the end. It was still cool, though. We hiked up the burren, which looks like a hill solely covered in rock but is actually quite fertile. We walked side by side with cattle and even saw a fairy tree where people tie their problems.
From the burren you could see a beautiful landscape.
Our irritatedness faded when we got back on the big coach bus and once again started moving past the stunning western Ireland landscape. Soon we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, and words really can't give justice to how great these cliffs are. You really just have to see them!
After spending an hour at the cliffs we got back on the bus and stopped for a great lunch. The tour was closed to ending but we still had time to see a castle. And actually not only see it, but walk around the entire castle!
At this point the tour was over, but Karen and Maryanne were excited because they had shopping to do. What kind of shopping you ask? The best kind, souvenir shopping! Gotta love Maryanne's enthusiasm. Karen needed to get her mom a sweater and Kevin, John, and her dad socks. While we were worried that we wouldn't find quality things because the stores close so early, we did find REALLY great stuff! Although I almost forgot to mention earlier that it must be told that we spent a solid 42 minutes picking out these souvenirs, so they really are great!! I think Maryanne may have been annoyed with the amount of time we spent shopping... And now we were hungry so it was off to a real Irish pub, The Merry Fiddler! The food was okay, but what made this experience really great was the live music. There were two guys, two guitars, and two banjos. They played traditional Irish music, plus one Johnny Cash song.
They were so good that we had to go to an ATM to take out 20 euro and have Guinnesses! After the drinks we were both sleepy, but before we left I must write about Maryanne's friends. This Irish bloke came right up to Maryanne and rubbed her arm, when he realized he actually did not know her he awkwardly tried to make up for it the rest of the night. Even going so far as to ask the band to play a song for us. Anywho, we left, went to McDonald's for free WiFi, and there is where July 31st began...
We got an early bus tour that took us to this farm first, and later to the Cliffs of Moher.
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| Maryanne thought this guy looked like Bill Nye! |
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| An old tomb! |
The farm tour was alright, but we were upset because we couldn't go to the top of the burren (hills) and we thought we were getting free apple pie at the end. It was still cool, though. We hiked up the burren, which looks like a hill solely covered in rock but is actually quite fertile. We walked side by side with cattle and even saw a fairy tree where people tie their problems.
From the burren you could see a beautiful landscape.
Our irritatedness faded when we got back on the big coach bus and once again started moving past the stunning western Ireland landscape. Soon we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, and words really can't give justice to how great these cliffs are. You really just have to see them!
After spending an hour at the cliffs we got back on the bus and stopped for a great lunch. The tour was closed to ending but we still had time to see a castle. And actually not only see it, but walk around the entire castle!
At this point the tour was over, but Karen and Maryanne were excited because they had shopping to do. What kind of shopping you ask? The best kind, souvenir shopping! Gotta love Maryanne's enthusiasm. Karen needed to get her mom a sweater and Kevin, John, and her dad socks. While we were worried that we wouldn't find quality things because the stores close so early, we did find REALLY great stuff! Although I almost forgot to mention earlier that it must be told that we spent a solid 42 minutes picking out these souvenirs, so they really are great!! I think Maryanne may have been annoyed with the amount of time we spent shopping... And now we were hungry so it was off to a real Irish pub, The Merry Fiddler! The food was okay, but what made this experience really great was the live music. There were two guys, two guitars, and two banjos. They played traditional Irish music, plus one Johnny Cash song.
They were so good that we had to go to an ATM to take out 20 euro and have Guinnesses! After the drinks we were both sleepy, but before we left I must write about Maryanne's friends. This Irish bloke came right up to Maryanne and rubbed her arm, when he realized he actually did not know her he awkwardly tried to make up for it the rest of the night. Even going so far as to ask the band to play a song for us. Anywho, we left, went to McDonald's for free WiFi, and there is where July 31st began...
Monday, July 29, 2013
July 29
7/29 - Galway
The next day we explored the city of Galway. We did some shopping and walked around a lot, seeing sights like the "Spanish Arch," the bay, and even a boat that said "Karen Maria!" We were going to go to the Cliffs of Moher, as recommended by one of the bus drivers, but we decided to do a tour tomorrow instead, after talking to some people. Galway was a lovely city and we finally felt like we were in the Ireland we wanted to see!
The next day we explored the city of Galway. We did some shopping and walked around a lot, seeing sights like the "Spanish Arch," the bay, and even a boat that said "Karen Maria!" We were going to go to the Cliffs of Moher, as recommended by one of the bus drivers, but we decided to do a tour tomorrow instead, after talking to some people. Galway was a lovely city and we finally felt like we were in the Ireland we wanted to see!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
July 28
7/28 - Rosslare/Galway
After finishing up our ferry ride, we left the boat (last and after walking a lot - foot passengers are pretty much shunned) and asked about buses to Galway. It took all day and a stop to Dublin, but we made it there... only to find out that there was no way to get to our hostel in Connemara. After some tears and regrets, and with a nice offer from one of the Bus Eirann workers to leave our bags at the station, we started walking around in search of a new place to stay. We stopped at a few places unsuccessfully, but one full hostel had a worker who was determined to find us a place to stay. She made us some tea and made a few phone calls. The next thing we knew we were in a car with an older woman named Betty who had to make a quick stop to buy lottery tickets before taking us to a house that would be where we were staying. The house was owned by two men named Ken and Kevin who apparently rent out rooms as bed and breakfasts frequently. The house was beautifully decorated... but the room was shocking! It had a very black decor with sequenced bedding and a bejeweled "Rock Star" pillow! It was exactly what we needed though, for our two-night stay in Galway. That first night we just retrieved our bags, made dinner, and relaxed.
After finishing up our ferry ride, we left the boat (last and after walking a lot - foot passengers are pretty much shunned) and asked about buses to Galway. It took all day and a stop to Dublin, but we made it there... only to find out that there was no way to get to our hostel in Connemara. After some tears and regrets, and with a nice offer from one of the Bus Eirann workers to leave our bags at the station, we started walking around in search of a new place to stay. We stopped at a few places unsuccessfully, but one full hostel had a worker who was determined to find us a place to stay. She made us some tea and made a few phone calls. The next thing we knew we were in a car with an older woman named Betty who had to make a quick stop to buy lottery tickets before taking us to a house that would be where we were staying. The house was owned by two men named Ken and Kevin who apparently rent out rooms as bed and breakfasts frequently. The house was beautifully decorated... but the room was shocking! It had a very black decor with sequenced bedding and a bejeweled "Rock Star" pillow! It was exactly what we needed though, for our two-night stay in Galway. That first night we just retrieved our bags, made dinner, and relaxed.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
July 27
7/27 - Roscoff
We began exploring Roscoff by walking around the "city centre" and doing some shopping.
After buying some gifts for some people and walking a bit, we walked to the end of a pier that went very far into the water. It was beautiful -- the sky, the town, the water.
We ate lunch at a crepe place and ordered egg, ham, and cheese crepes and a chocolate and a sugar crepe for dessert.
We drank an apple cider alcoholic beverage that Maryanne liked a lot. Maryanne also enjoyed the carafe of water and would have stayed to play with it longer had it not been for a treacherous white cat that came too close.
After lunch we walked around some more, sat for a while, retrieved our bags, and made our way to the ferry terminal. It was about a 20-minute walk and we had time to kill so we took turns walking up to this church on a hill.
Our ferry left at 6:30 p.m. We had 2 seats in a room of about 30 chairs. Getting onto the ferry was interesting because we got onto a bus that drove us into what looked like the basement of the boat. We had planned to watch some of the Olympics, see a musician or two, watch a magic show, and possibly attend an onboard cabaret, but as it turns out, it took us until the following morning to realize we were running on Ireland time, which was an hour earlier... So we missed everything. Whoops! We ended up utilizing the Wifi and then getting dinner at an onboard restaurant. We then slept on the floor.
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| An almond croissant we had for breakfast! |
We began exploring Roscoff by walking around the "city centre" and doing some shopping.
After buying some gifts for some people and walking a bit, we walked to the end of a pier that went very far into the water. It was beautiful -- the sky, the town, the water.
Roscoff even had a sand castle-looking church!
We ate lunch at a crepe place and ordered egg, ham, and cheese crepes and a chocolate and a sugar crepe for dessert.
We drank an apple cider alcoholic beverage that Maryanne liked a lot. Maryanne also enjoyed the carafe of water and would have stayed to play with it longer had it not been for a treacherous white cat that came too close.
After lunch we walked around some more, sat for a while, retrieved our bags, and made our way to the ferry terminal. It was about a 20-minute walk and we had time to kill so we took turns walking up to this church on a hill.
Our ferry left at 6:30 p.m. We had 2 seats in a room of about 30 chairs. Getting onto the ferry was interesting because we got onto a bus that drove us into what looked like the basement of the boat. We had planned to watch some of the Olympics, see a musician or two, watch a magic show, and possibly attend an onboard cabaret, but as it turns out, it took us until the following morning to realize we were running on Ireland time, which was an hour earlier... So we missed everything. Whoops! We ended up utilizing the Wifi and then getting dinner at an onboard restaurant. We then slept on the floor.
Friday, July 26, 2013
July 26
7/26 - Paris/Roscoff
Today began with another hostel breakfast, but today we did not steal anything for lunch. After breakfast we packed up all of our things, noticing that our bags feel a whole lot heavier, and checked out. We left our bags in storage so we could see Sacre Coeur and the Montmartre area. When we arrived we walked through a whole bunch of stores where Maryanne finally
found the pants she'd been looking for, and where Karen got presents for Jackie and Jenna. At the end of this street there was trouble... groups of men trying, very persistently, to braid bracelets on your arm and to also pick your pocket. These guys were very persistent and Karen even had to save Maryanne form one of them. After surviving that we rode the funicular up to the top of Sacre Coeur.
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| View from the steps of Sacre Coeur |
After a metro ride back to the hostel we stopped at our favorite European lunch spot, then went grocery shopping before picking up our stuff from the hostel and getting on the metro again so we could get our train, so we can catch our Ferry on Friday.
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| An umbrella machine at the train station! |
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| The view from our hotel in Roscoff. |
Thursday, July 25, 2013
July 25
7/25 - Paris
This morning started off with the hostel breakfast too! (P.S. we have also been packing our lunches at breakfast.) However, before leaving to head into the center of the city we stopped at an internet cafe where we booked places to stay for the rest of our trip, checked e-mails, and went on Facebook. After this we were ready to see the catacombs... Sadly when we arrived the line was far too long, and who really wants to pay to see a bunch of dead bodies anyway? So we walked until we found nice gardens. However, Karen had to use the bathroom so we went across the street into a cafe/bar. Not only did we use the bathrooms for free, Karen also found a French comic book for Brian! Then it was back to the garden to sit with our feet in a fountain and eat lunch. Once we finished lunch we walked through Luxemburg Gardens, which were beautiful and really cool to see. Then we set off on foot (again!) to Notre Dame where we walked around the whole cathedral.
And after another long walk we found ourselves at the Paris Opera House!
The building is astounding, and while we did not pay to go inside, Karen did buy honey that was made on the roof for Brian! After taking in the opera we made our way into the Louvre which is open later on Wednesdays.
We went to buy tickets and even after lying and saying we had studied in the EU we still would have had to pay 10 euro. Because we really only wanted to see the Mona Lisa, and possibly the Venus de Milo, we did not think this was a worthwhile spending of money. So we sat in the lobby of the Louvre and enjoyed the gift shop. When that was over we walked to the Eiffel Tower.
The line to ride up on the elevator was still absurdly long so we took the stairs. The steps were not that bad, they saved us money, and it was cool to see everything get tinier as we climbed up.
We spent a little time on the 1st and 2nd level before taking an elevator to the top. While the top was very crowded, we loved getting to see the Paris monuments from way up high!
We actually waited at the top level and watched the sun set. It was stunning, and everyone cheered when it went all the way down.
We then worked our way back down. On the 1st platform we sat down and drank a glass of wine each, which we had smuggled in!
This was lovely! We even got to see the lights sparkle again.
Then it was back to the hostel for sleep.
This morning started off with the hostel breakfast too! (P.S. we have also been packing our lunches at breakfast.) However, before leaving to head into the center of the city we stopped at an internet cafe where we booked places to stay for the rest of our trip, checked e-mails, and went on Facebook. After this we were ready to see the catacombs... Sadly when we arrived the line was far too long, and who really wants to pay to see a bunch of dead bodies anyway? So we walked until we found nice gardens. However, Karen had to use the bathroom so we went across the street into a cafe/bar. Not only did we use the bathrooms for free, Karen also found a French comic book for Brian! Then it was back to the garden to sit with our feet in a fountain and eat lunch. Once we finished lunch we walked through Luxemburg Gardens, which were beautiful and really cool to see. Then we set off on foot (again!) to Notre Dame where we walked around the whole cathedral.
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| Maryanne enjoying the walk around Notre Dame... |
And after another long walk we found ourselves at the Paris Opera House!
The building is astounding, and while we did not pay to go inside, Karen did buy honey that was made on the roof for Brian! After taking in the opera we made our way into the Louvre which is open later on Wednesdays.
We went to buy tickets and even after lying and saying we had studied in the EU we still would have had to pay 10 euro. Because we really only wanted to see the Mona Lisa, and possibly the Venus de Milo, we did not think this was a worthwhile spending of money. So we sat in the lobby of the Louvre and enjoyed the gift shop. When that was over we walked to the Eiffel Tower.
The line to ride up on the elevator was still absurdly long so we took the stairs. The steps were not that bad, they saved us money, and it was cool to see everything get tinier as we climbed up.
We spent a little time on the 1st and 2nd level before taking an elevator to the top. While the top was very crowded, we loved getting to see the Paris monuments from way up high!
We actually waited at the top level and watched the sun set. It was stunning, and everyone cheered when it went all the way down.
We then worked our way back down. On the 1st platform we sat down and drank a glass of wine each, which we had smuggled in!
This was lovely! We even got to see the lights sparkle again.
Then it was back to the hostel for sleep.
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