just another day
Le Tour Eiffel
Arc De Triomphe
Mom's thanksgiving
Cliffs of Moher
sorry it's been so long since my last post. I would say I have been busy but the truth is...I'm lazy.
dang, it's been longer than I thought actually...3 weeks ago now, Mom came to visit. She got here in the morning and later that afternoon we hopped on a train to Galway (in western Ireland). I had been over to that area before but hadn't actually spent time in the town of Galway so it was really nice to see and experience. The town has a completely different feel to it than Dublin. It almost feels like a college town (there's a university there so that description is not too far off) which I really enjoyed. People there seemed more laid back and there weren't a bunch of crazy Dublin kids running around (I can't remember if I've gone in to detail about these obnoxious kids but if not, I'm sure I'll tell more when i get home). Another friend of mine, Katie, from my program was there with her parents so Mom and I met them after dinner at this cute pub for some live music and pints.
The next day we just hung around town and did some exploring and the following day we headed out for a tour of county Galway and out to the Cliffs of Moher. The weather was crap (well, actually, it could have been worse--it wasn't really rainy it was just windy, cloudy, and 'misty') which kind of sucked. Considering what I had been expecting of Ireland, the weather has actually been pretty amazing. I was telling Mom that there has only been really one day (other than that weekend) where it hadn't been blue skies on a day of sight seeing since I've been here. The tour was really nice and it was good to see more of the country. It is truly beautiful--even in bad weather. The cliffs of Moher were cool to see but personally--god, I'm becoming so pretentious--I found them to be a little over rated. Before people start protesting--blah blah blah ya they are pretty and huge and cool and whatever--I would just like to point you to the pictures of the other cliffs that I saw in County Mayo (my first CIEE excursion). Go ahead and blame it on the weather but If you ask me, even in pictures where the weather is nice they still aren't as pretty as the ones in Mayo. Another reason I may have been a little unimpressed was the fact that the whole 'park' it had been turned in to seemed so commercialized and over done. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was thankful for the paths--even though at times it was so windy Mom and I could literally not walk--but there was something cooler about getting to peek over amazing cliffs without a caution sign posted right in front of you. While all of this bitching about one of the world's wonders may have put you off a little, I would still recommend you going and seeing them if you ever find yourself in the west of Ireland. I mean, it's kind of like the Mona Lisa when you're in Paris right (but that's getting ahead of myself)? It's not Ireland unless you see the cliffs of Moher.
We took the train back on Sunday and the rest of the week we hung around Dublin. Showed Mom all the hot spots, drank lots of Guinness and tried to get as much in in the few days we had (while still going to SOME of my classes). One of the nights Mom treated a few of my friends and I to a lovely thanksgiving dinner. She went all out (as any of you who know her could already guess) and brought some of the stuff from home and the rest we scrounged up at a couple different grocery stores around town. It was a lot of fun and the food tasted really great (don't get too excited mom, I only get to say 'really great' cos I helped make it). The next morning she left at the crack of dawn and it was back to real Dublin life where I had to pay for things on my own, (and was no longer graced with my mother's lovely presence and 'puh-puhing' every day).
Later that same afternoon, my friend Natasha and I headed for Pair-ee. The airport that Ryanair flies to takes an hour--by shuttle--to get in to the city so we didn't get to our hotel until about midnight. When booking reservations for the hotel I had misread the flight itinerary and had thought we wouldn't get in until Friday night but actually it was Thursday night. After some in depth--or so I thought--back and fourth confirmation emails with the hotel I had thought that I had added Thursday night on to the reservation. The look on the manager's face when we arrived and said our names proved this to be wrong though. He said that he had been waiting for a final confirmation from me or something like that (although all this time I had thought that's what I had been doing in the 4 emails I sent telling him to add Thursday night on). Never fear though, he said he had a place for us to sleep for the night. There would be no bathroom in the room (but there was one in the lobby we could use--5 flights down) and in the morning he would give us a room to shower in, but hey, it was a place to sleep. I seriously had to cough when I saw the room just to keep from laughing. Have you ever seen 'The Little Princess?' I kept joking to Natasha that we were put in the slave den like the little black girl in that movie. I could just about reach my arms from one side to the other (ME, with midget arms!) and there was a single bed in there and a sink. The man who showed me the room (Natasha was still downstairs using the computer) was like 'there is only one bed' to which I had to try my hardest not to reply 'no shit.' 'Is your friend not going to sleep in here?' I paused, still trying not to laugh, 'umm....maybe one of us will sleep on the ground? can we get some blankets and a pillow or something?' with that he said he would ask the manager and a couple minutes later he brought up a blanket, sheets and pillow. I still thought we were going to have to sleep on the floor until a knock later and the guy had a single mattress to try and squeeze next to the bed. That was seriously all there was room for, 2 single mattresses. No window, but above my bed there was a nice Parisian piece of art. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it and think that it was a perfect way to start our trip (no joke). When we came back the next evening (after exploring all day) we were given our new normal sized room with a fully equipped bathroom and windows and a tv. But you know, there was something fun about the slaves den...it made us feel like we had actually moved to Paris and this was all we could afford. And besides, I always did like the little black girl the best in 'The little Princess,' she was way more tough and you could tell she could hang...a night in the slaves den made me think maybe I too could hang.
Paris. What to say about Paris. Love. Magic. Obsessed. Beautiful. Freezing. Our first night out we saw the most beautiful sun set. The Eiffel Tower set against a pink and purple sun set...sickening, I know. I was almost a little disgusted with myself. It was all so perfect. It was cold. Very cold. But oh so perfect. The Louvre does free admission for anyone under the age of 26 Friday nights from 6-10 so we hit that up and walked around for a few hours looking at art and being cultured and artsy (fake) Parisians for the night. Even though I had been to these places before It was a much different experience. Probably because I am older now and also because we saw most of it at night (which was not the case when I came in high school), but everything seemed so different.
Our hotel was located on the edge of the Montmartre district and so one of the days we explored that area and walked up to the Sacre Coeur. The area is all very artsy, full of adorable little shops and cafes. I think it's actually my favorite part of Paris. When we were near the Sacre Coeur (this huge church that is on the highest hill over looking the city) there was a block filled with artists. Natasha got her portrait drawn and then we headed up the hill. Towards the top--it's almost sickening how close we were!--a man came up to me and started drawing my picture, insisting it was a sample, even when i said 'no, no.' For some reason I didn't just walk away (for some reason I didn't grab that clip board, hit him over the head and tell him to screw off). And as he scribbled away at my picture making small talk I kept thinking, I hope he doesn't expect me to pay him for this. Natasha, while waiting for me, was then approached by another clipboard 'artist' who proceeded to do the same. After they were finished he hands me the picture--Jesus, I can't wait for you to see it--which looks, well....absolutely nothing like me, and tells me that usually the student price is 50 euro. I'll spare you from the list of curse words that went through my mind, but I flashed him a look that basically said, 'you have got to be kidding me.' The amazing picture Natasha had just gotten drawn for her (before we were portrait raped) had only cost her 40 euro and that was a nice piece of art that someone spent time on. I argued with the guy, telling him he had just come up to me and started drawing and that I wasn't going to pay for that and I got it down to 25 euro. Still WAY too much and I was pissed when I walked away. I think I just settled for 25 because I was sick of looking at his face and was to angry to deal with him. Natasha and I tried to justify it as our gift to charity for the day. You know it's like volunteering at the soup kitchen for the day or 'adopting' a child in Africa....but instead we gave our money to scam artists. Did I say scam? I meant starving. ((Travel tip: next time you go to Paris bring a clip board and pen and start drawing people's pictures and charge them 50 euro. Drawing ability not required.))
We went to the top of the Eiffel tower one evening. I thought I was going to die of hypothermia and we ended up running around the top taking pictures of every angle and then standing inside looking out at the view, teeth a-chattering and dreaming of being in a cafe with a warm cup of coffee. The view is absolutely amazing though and it is the Eiffel tower, so warmth is a small sacrifice.
That evening we decided to go on a pub crawl. Some others from our CIEE group had gone on one when they were in Rome and had the time of their lives so we decided to check it out. It was a lot of fun and a great way to meet people. Of course, none of the people were French but we met people from Australia, Finland, Canada and I forget where else (hey now...not because of the booze but because of my memory). We went to like 4 different pubs, 2 French bars, a Scottish bar and an Irish pub (it's impossible to get away from them...which isn't a bad thing) where there were drink specials at each. I tried absynthe for the first time making me feel like a true Paris bohemian, although I didn't see the green ferries or get driven in to madness like all the great absynthe users of the past. oh well. It was super intense and if there was a candle near me I'm sure I could have lit the place on fire with one breath. At the end of the night we went to some club. We stayed there until about 2:30 and then decided to head back to the hotel. The metro was all shut for the night so we had to walk. luckily I had my map with me and enough French speaking ability to ask a police officer if we were headed in the right direction (although my understanding in French was limited to the word 'church' and the hand motion for 'go around').
The last day we were there the weather was awful. I'm talking hard core rain--worse than Ireland for sure. It was the first time I have had to use my umbrella actually. I really wanted to go to Père Lachaise cemetery--which is where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde (and tons of other people) are buried--since I didn't get to go there the last time I was in Paris so we popped the tags off our umbrellas and headed out. The Cemetery was HUGE. The biggest I have ever seen. Someone could definitely get lost and not find there way out for days. All of the plots were stacked in there so tight and most of them were more of a tomb style. Many were there representing families and there were little alters inside out house type structures (although that sounds way less pretty and cool than they were. and is also probably demeaning to the dead or something). We couldn't find Oscar Wilde or Jim Morrison's grave right away and ended up having to take pictures of the map (cos there were only maps at the entrances) to try and help us find our way around. Oscar Wilde's is covered with lip stick kisses. As tradition calls, Natasha and I both slathered our lips in gloss and planted a big one on the grave. Jim Morrison's grave was a lot smaller and less conspicuous than I had imagined--the cement head that used to be on it was stolen years back. It was blocked off so you couldn't get right up to it but it was cool because people had put a whole bunch of flowers there around it as well as beer cans and bottles of whiskey. We left the cemetery sufficiently soaked and glad to be out by dark (it really was kind of creepy to be there around sun set and not a place we wanted to be stuck in after closing).
So, Paris. What to say about Paris. A weekend really wasn't long enough but I was sooooo glad to have been able to go again. The strangest part for me I think was that when I left 4 years ago I knew I wanted and was going to come back someday but I didn't know when that day would be. It was strange for it to be 'that day' and it came a lot sooner than I had realistically thought. I already want to go back. I love it there. The people are great (aside from mr. portrait raper). The food is great. The sights are great. The life is great.
I hope you guys all had a good thanksgiving. My first time away from home and I think I beat you all by getting 3 dinners! Mom made one when she was here and then on Wednesday my program directors took us to this nice restaurant for a 3 course meal + wine. Thursday (actual thanksgiving) my friend Kevin and his girlfriend who was visiting, made dinner for his roommates and Natasha and I went over there to partake. The food was all great and the company was the best I could imagine away from home.
I'm home in less than three weeks now. Ah! No matter how many times I say it, it doesn't get less strange. The time has absolutely flown by. I have been living the past 2+ months like I'm on vacation and now the time has come for me to actually do some work. I have like 5 essays to try and get the motivation to write in the next 2 weeks. I guess the good news is you guys will probably be seeing more new blogs (procrastination, baby). I'm excited to see all of you but it's going to be so strange to try and get back in to the real world. After all, there are no weekend trips to Paris when you're in the real world.
Sláinte!
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