Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Dublin :)
Hi everyone! Just got back from Dublin, Ireland and loved it! The first day we saw The book of Kells at Trinity College, which for all of you that were like me and didn't know what that was, it is illustrated book of the 4 gospels...well that's the general jist but it was really cool! From there we went to see St. Patrick's Cathedral it was cool, but nothing like what I expected. One unique thing about the Cathedral's in Ireland was that both had crypts...this was the first place I had seen that done...it was interesting. There was a cute little park around the Cathedral that was very green. The thing that bothered me about the Cathedrals in Ireland was that there were huge shops in the Cathedral, it's like really? You're there to pray and see the cathedral not shop. Anywho, from there we went on to see the Guiness Brewery, it was so cool! There were like 10 different floors with information about what goes into making it, tasting it, and advertising it. At the end of the tour we got a free pint of Guiness. Needless to say, I couldnt finish it, but it was my first dark beer, the taste was okay but I was suprised about how smooth it was. The town of Dublin was extremely small and pretty modern, not what I expected at all. But, all the people we met there were extremely nice and helpful! Sadly, no hot irishmen and their accents aren't as cute as gerard butler's in P.s. I love you. Which, I bought my favorite book in Ireland, because that's where the writer is from :). I tried my first fish and chips...and found out that I like cod! I also tried fried ice cream which was good as well.
The next day we went out of the city on a tour of the countryside to Wicklow and Glendalough. Our tour guide was a cute,old irish man who was more than a little mad about the french beating the irish in rugby, I do believe. He was very informative and informed us that the tall pointy thing in the middle of the intersection has a variety of names...one of which is called "The Stiletto in the Ghetto." Which first let me say that we had pretty good weather for Ireland, it only rained the second day. The tour was a bit rough because of the winedy roads, the jerking of the bus driver on the gears and the rocks, so it was a little unpleasant in that aspect, but it was deft worth it. It was pouring and windy for most of it, but the countryside was beautiful. I can say that I have stood on the bridge from the movie P.s. I love you. And the views were awesome even with the wind and rain. We ate at a little restraunt in the town of Laura, I tried the stew and had mushroom soup. From there we went to Glendalough and this was really cool it was originally ran by the Jesuits, but it is like a huge park, with two lakes, waterfalls and a cemetery. it has the biggest celtic cross in ireland which the legend says if you put your arms around it and your finger touches, you make a wish. Yes, I can proudly say that I was able to do it easily and with room to spare bc I didnt want to get my coat dirty. I was the only one on the tour that could. What can I say I have long arms! The views were amazing and truly what I thought of Ireland. When we got back to Dublin, we were exhausted so we did some shopping and went and saw New Moon...it was awesome! lol and called it a night.
On Sunday, we were able to have some time before our flight, so ally, lynn and i went to go find the house that Catherine McAuley founded and started the Sisters of Mercy. This was one of my favorite parts, bc it was away from the touristy part and really what I expected dublin to be like. I got to see it, and a sweet nun let me see the chapel and crypt even though I was supposed to have an appt and they werent open on weekends, but she was really nice and showed me around and even gave me some postcards for free. The Christmas lights were cool to see as they lit up the city. We walked by Temple Bar, but never actually got to go in, that is the one thing I regret, I wish I could have seen a real irish pub. But, overall the trip was amazing and I'm glad I went. Things are getting crazy here now with traveling...I go to Rome this weekend and Paris next weekend and wrapping things up with school. I have my final dance performance ,which apparently the whole school is attending, tomorrow and yes, my dress for tango and salsa is red and black with sparkle and floral print and tinsle yes, christmas tree tinsle around the bottom. No worries, there will be pictures and hopefully a video if everything works out. But, fair warning i'm not a great dancer. lol gotta do some hw and prepare for the dance performance and rome!
The next day we went out of the city on a tour of the countryside to Wicklow and Glendalough. Our tour guide was a cute,old irish man who was more than a little mad about the french beating the irish in rugby, I do believe. He was very informative and informed us that the tall pointy thing in the middle of the intersection has a variety of names...one of which is called "The Stiletto in the Ghetto." Which first let me say that we had pretty good weather for Ireland, it only rained the second day. The tour was a bit rough because of the winedy roads, the jerking of the bus driver on the gears and the rocks, so it was a little unpleasant in that aspect, but it was deft worth it. It was pouring and windy for most of it, but the countryside was beautiful. I can say that I have stood on the bridge from the movie P.s. I love you. And the views were awesome even with the wind and rain. We ate at a little restraunt in the town of Laura, I tried the stew and had mushroom soup. From there we went to Glendalough and this was really cool it was originally ran by the Jesuits, but it is like a huge park, with two lakes, waterfalls and a cemetery. it has the biggest celtic cross in ireland which the legend says if you put your arms around it and your finger touches, you make a wish. Yes, I can proudly say that I was able to do it easily and with room to spare bc I didnt want to get my coat dirty. I was the only one on the tour that could. What can I say I have long arms! The views were amazing and truly what I thought of Ireland. When we got back to Dublin, we were exhausted so we did some shopping and went and saw New Moon...it was awesome! lol and called it a night.
On Sunday, we were able to have some time before our flight, so ally, lynn and i went to go find the house that Catherine McAuley founded and started the Sisters of Mercy. This was one of my favorite parts, bc it was away from the touristy part and really what I expected dublin to be like. I got to see it, and a sweet nun let me see the chapel and crypt even though I was supposed to have an appt and they werent open on weekends, but she was really nice and showed me around and even gave me some postcards for free. The Christmas lights were cool to see as they lit up the city. We walked by Temple Bar, but never actually got to go in, that is the one thing I regret, I wish I could have seen a real irish pub. But, overall the trip was amazing and I'm glad I went. Things are getting crazy here now with traveling...I go to Rome this weekend and Paris next weekend and wrapping things up with school. I have my final dance performance ,which apparently the whole school is attending, tomorrow and yes, my dress for tango and salsa is red and black with sparkle and floral print and tinsle yes, christmas tree tinsle around the bottom. No worries, there will be pictures and hopefully a video if everything works out. But, fair warning i'm not a great dancer. lol gotta do some hw and prepare for the dance performance and rome!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Koenig's in Madrid!
hey all! So, sorry I havent written the past few weeks, but I have been sick and then got better and then got sick again. I got really sick on retreat, so I don't have fond memories from that, so I put up some pictures from it, in a nutshell of retreat we visited where St. Ignatius lived and had his conversion experience and went to see St. Francis Xavier's home/castle. It was a full out Jesuit experience.
Okay onto happier topics...my parents came this last week! It was just what the doctor ordered! I went and picked them up at the airport and then they had their first Madrid experience by riding the metro. We finally got to their apartment where they were staying which was really nice and then did some sightseeing in Madrid, they saw the Royal Palace which was just 2 streets away from where they were staying! Puerta del Sol (the city centre), Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Espana, Gran Via and Parque de Retiro. We walked everywhere so they got a pretty good workout while they were here :) Then on Monday we went to Segovia, which is 30 minutes on high speed train from Madrid. Dad was super excited about this trip. We went to the train station and this is where dad fell in love with cola-cocao (spanish hot chocolate) and mom fell in love with cafe con leche (spanish coffee with milk). From there we were off to Segovia, we saw the acqueduct, castle and cathedral and of course did some shopping. From there we went on a search for the special pork that is native to segovia. Dad insisted that he had to try that--only problem is that we didnt know what exactly it was called. After searching and searching we found a restraunt with an english menu so dad ordered what we thought it was "boar" and mom and i went with the safe choice of fried sausage. Waiting for the boar to arrive was interesting, especially since there was pictures of baby pigs with apples on the wall. But everything turned out all right. We all had the native beer of Estrella Damm. Overall it was really good. From there we set off back to Madrid.
I introduced Mom and Dad to the spanish McFlurry which is soooo much better! Here there are 4 flurries: Magnum (dark chocolate with dark choc fudge mixed in), Kit Kat (kit kat with carmel syrup mixed in), M&M's (hot fudge mixed in with m&ms) and oreo (oreo with hot fudge mixed in). Needless to say it was love dad with magnum and mom and I with kit kat. Dad also experienced his first viewing of las chicas malas(spanish prostitute) while dining in a McD. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I had school so I made an intinerary for them that took them to the major sights of the city. On Wed they met me at school for the 3 builiding tour and got pictures with the st. louis sign. On Thursday, my senora had them over for appetizers with sangria and they got to see where I lived and meet my senora/roommates. They did very well with the spanish greeting of a kiss on both cheeks.
On Friday, the last day, we went on a tour of the Stadium of Real Madrid, shopping and dad bought is Christmas Lotto Ticket ("The Golden Ticket"). It was sad to see them go, but I'll be home in 5 weeks! Now I just need to get better and get everything done! I leave for Dublin on Thursday Night!
The slideshow below should have some of my pictures from their trip, mom has the most tho!
p.s. Some funny moments:
Mom: "I dont want to go home guapo"
Me: "What are you trying to say?"
Mom: "I dont want to go home fat."
Me: "You just said I dont want to go home beautiful, gordo is fat."
^She was able to get those two straightened out by the end of the trip :)
Dad: "Why is every street called salida?"
Mom: "Dan, that means exit."
Okay onto happier topics...my parents came this last week! It was just what the doctor ordered! I went and picked them up at the airport and then they had their first Madrid experience by riding the metro. We finally got to their apartment where they were staying which was really nice and then did some sightseeing in Madrid, they saw the Royal Palace which was just 2 streets away from where they were staying! Puerta del Sol (the city centre), Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Espana, Gran Via and Parque de Retiro. We walked everywhere so they got a pretty good workout while they were here :) Then on Monday we went to Segovia, which is 30 minutes on high speed train from Madrid. Dad was super excited about this trip. We went to the train station and this is where dad fell in love with cola-cocao (spanish hot chocolate) and mom fell in love with cafe con leche (spanish coffee with milk). From there we were off to Segovia, we saw the acqueduct, castle and cathedral and of course did some shopping. From there we went on a search for the special pork that is native to segovia. Dad insisted that he had to try that--only problem is that we didnt know what exactly it was called. After searching and searching we found a restraunt with an english menu so dad ordered what we thought it was "boar" and mom and i went with the safe choice of fried sausage. Waiting for the boar to arrive was interesting, especially since there was pictures of baby pigs with apples on the wall. But everything turned out all right. We all had the native beer of Estrella Damm. Overall it was really good. From there we set off back to Madrid.
I introduced Mom and Dad to the spanish McFlurry which is soooo much better! Here there are 4 flurries: Magnum (dark chocolate with dark choc fudge mixed in), Kit Kat (kit kat with carmel syrup mixed in), M&M's (hot fudge mixed in with m&ms) and oreo (oreo with hot fudge mixed in). Needless to say it was love dad with magnum and mom and I with kit kat. Dad also experienced his first viewing of las chicas malas(spanish prostitute) while dining in a McD. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I had school so I made an intinerary for them that took them to the major sights of the city. On Wed they met me at school for the 3 builiding tour and got pictures with the st. louis sign. On Thursday, my senora had them over for appetizers with sangria and they got to see where I lived and meet my senora/roommates. They did very well with the spanish greeting of a kiss on both cheeks.
On Friday, the last day, we went on a tour of the Stadium of Real Madrid, shopping and dad bought is Christmas Lotto Ticket ("The Golden Ticket"). It was sad to see them go, but I'll be home in 5 weeks! Now I just need to get better and get everything done! I leave for Dublin on Thursday Night!
The slideshow below should have some of my pictures from their trip, mom has the most tho!
p.s. Some funny moments:
Mom: "I dont want to go home guapo"
Me: "What are you trying to say?"
Mom: "I dont want to go home fat."
Me: "You just said I dont want to go home beautiful, gordo is fat."
^She was able to get those two straightened out by the end of the trip :)
Dad: "Why is every street called salida?"
Mom: "Dan, that means exit."
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