Italia!

Our RyanAir flight to Bologna

It has just been one of those days. Uneventful for the first twelve hours, but packed and crazy for the last three. Everything went smoothly up until we got off the plane in Italy. Funny how much a change in language can screw up the finest (or in our case, misprepared) plans.

This first hit me square in the face when I realized that the buses would not be speaking our language and the signs and what not might as well have been in Italian... o right, they were. Confusing! Not to mention that we finally got back on the RIGHT side of the road for driving. After we figured out which crazy Italian bus to get on, we hopped on it as quickly as possible and got the rest of our insane night started. Getting to the train station was the easiest part of our night. We got in fifteen minutes before the first train to Florence left and were ordering our tickets. This would've been easier had the machines actually worked. By the time we actually figured everything out and had run up to the platform, our train was just leaving the station. It has just been one of those weeks for us. As Nathan started to panic, we made our back to the train hub to have them change our tickets. After a few words (and a few hand gestures from our attendant) we got our tickets changed to the later train.

Getting off the train we were greeted by the absolute beauty of Florence. Thank God! We are almost at the end of our Frogger of a trip through Ireland. It really has been a comedy of errors. Part of me is flustered by the problems we've been having, but the majority of my mind is embracing this for what it is: a college trip back packing through Europe. I shouldn't be comfortable travelling in another country at this point -- especially when they aren't speaking my language. I love it though, I wouldn't trade any of my experiences. I will get comfortable here, and until then I will enjoy it. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I will make the best of it. Did I mention we got lost in Florence? Yes, a theme, I know. But I've always thought the best way to get to know a town is to get lost in it.

I'm probably leaving things out, but it happens. I'm off to the Settignano and the Villa tomorrow. I love you guys! Keep praying! From Italy, may God bless you!

Dublin and Collecting My Thoughts

The obligatory picture of myself taken by me. The cliffs aren't a bad background, are they?

I've come to a few conclusions. Conclusion number one: European drivers are better than American drivers, but crazier. Conclusion number two: Irish cities have no idea how to label their streets and/or make them easy to navigate. Conclusion number three: After four nights in Ireland, I can honestly say that I will make it back here some day. There's just too much here to see in one week. It seems like yesterday I was in Glenstal Abbey with Father Christoper (tear) and just getting used to not being in America any longer. Speaking of which, I haven't really been hit with culture shock (yet) but I'm sure that it is mostly because I'm in an English speaking country. Of course, to say the Irish speak English is a misnomer of epic proportions.

Last night was an adventure in dialect and accent with Colm and Daniel. Add on to that fact that I was partially intoxicated for the end of it, and it made the entire event both incredibly entertaining, but also increasingly confusing. Some images and ideas you just can't extract from your head no matter how hard you try. According to Daniel, there is a fish dish in Norway (he's a travelling jazz artist so he has lived all over) that requires someone to pee on the fish and bury it underground for six months. Confused? So was I. Thus the phrase "I need to find a fish to pee on" entered my vocabulary.

So after getting back at four in the morning, I quickly fell asleep only to wake up four hours later completely alert. That's been a trend thus far. Maybe it's a manifestation of my excitement or maybe I just don't need that much sleep when I travel -- who knows. Hopefully that changes once I finally settle down in Settignano. Italy is finally here for me. I've been waiting for the opportunity to visit Italy since I was really young and I can hardly believe that I will be able to experience the culture I love so much. I may only be half Italian, but this opportunity means the world to me. O right, but back to my original point. Got up at eight and came down to eat breakfast. We then trekked out into the COLD COLD COLD Dublin air (I mean WTF?! It's warmer here than in KC but yet it's FREEZING here...) to attempt to go to mass at St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral. I say attempt because we got lost on the way there and had to go to the eleven o'clock mass instead of the ten o'clock we had intended. Once again, the roads in this town suck. I think the guys who mapped it out were probably drunk... o wait... that explains a lot. Anyway... This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The eleven o'clock was a Latin mass. Not a traditional Latin mass, but for all intents and purposes it was. We were welcomed to this amazing experience with a boys' choir. Now I know why these choirs were so coveted in past centuries. They were incredible. Mass was beautiful and it was a great way to start our day.

This was originally a British barracks, but now it houses one of the Dublin Museums.

Our next journey was to the Guinness Storage facility. In a word: Lost. Yep. We got lost. Again. So we walked another nine or ten kilometers west in Dublin and then abandoned our quest and instead stopped in at the Museum pictured above that was luckily out there. This was one of the nicest and spread out museums I have visited. It was nice to have just one town's history instead of random history from Europe.

I'm currently online talking with four people and have lost my train of thought. Not that it's absolutely necessary for you all to know this, but I find that I might wonder when I read this again in years to come why my train of thought crashes for no apparent reason.

So for all you keeping track at home, I'll be in Bologna, Italy, tomorrow. I leave Dublin at 3 or so (I don't want to find my itinerary at the moment), which is 9 o'clock back home. Keep us in your prayers as we fly. Father Meinrad and drinks await my safe arrival to Florence. So if for no other reason than my alcohol with my favorite monk, please pray :).

Here's to my last night in Ireland. I will have a Guinness just for you. Don't question my motives. It makes it easier to rationalize.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

God bless!

The West Cross in Kilfenora, Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher and Arriving in Dublin

The Cliffs of Moher with rays of sun breaking through the cloudy day.

It has been an extremely long day. I've finally made it to Dublin after a 3 and half hour bus ride from Galway. So I've been on a bus for over 10 hours today. The first eight were very, very, good. The Galway Tour Company knows how to get the most out of the days spent on the road. Once again they thrilled us with great sites and great history. Today we journeyed to the Cliffs of Moher, which is pictured above. It was a cloudy day, but the sun did happen to make an appearance eventually. I've got to say that these past few days have felt like two weeks with all of the things we've crammed in as of yet.

I'll update later, because I just got invited down to a bar and I can't refuse! Later!

Well I'm sure you're all wondering what happened last night... maybe not, but I like to tell myself that. So get this: I was chilling in the lounge in Jacob's Inn getting ready to go to sleep when I got to talking with a group of people. Eventually it became me, an Irishman, and an Australian. Apparently, the Australian is a professional saxophonist, I've got CDs he gave me last night, which was completely awesome. When I told him that I too was a player, he invited me out for a drink. So that hopefully explains my sudden departure last night. We left the hostel around 12:30. You'd think in Dublin anywhere you'd walk on a Saturday night would be selling alcohol. This myth was quickly disproven as we came to find. We easily walked five or six kilometers before we reached a bar that would actually let us in the front door. It was an experience I'll never forget: wandering through Dublin with Colm and Daniel looking for any place that would serve us. Three Guinnesses later and we were heading back to our hostel for the night.

Honestly, yesterday is a blur to me at the moment. The tour bus was absolutely amazing again, as I was saying earlier, but it almost seems like too much to wrap my head around at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to collect my thoughts and reflect upon the Cliffs at a later date. God bless everyone! Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

Connemara & Kong

Beautiful Kylemore Abbey

What a day! From 10-5, we were on a bus travelling the northern hills of Galway and Ireland. It was one of the coolest (and longest) days in Ireland. Get this, I took over 200 pictures today. My camera apparently wasn't prepared for this many, and died toward the end of our tour. The scenery and landscape was absolutely amazing. I've never seen anything like it. The trip was more than just a tour, it was an experience: one that I wouldn't have enjoyed without the help of our tour guid, Michael O'Malley. Yes. His name is Mike O'Malley. Incredibly knowledgeable with a keen sense of corny humor, he made the trip incredibly entertaining while also being a truly educational experience.

The picture you see first is Kylemore Abbey. This was the highlight of the trip, and as such, we spent two hours exploring it. This castle was originally built in the late 1800s by Mitchell Henry, a very wealthy doctor, at the request of his wife. They had spent their honeymoon in these hills and she asked if they could settle down in the hills. 150 million pounds sterling later, and you have this massive estate. There was a massive garden to the West as well as a mausoleum originally for his wife (who died at the age of 45) and a Neo-Gothic Church (miniature) to the East. Gambling eventually bankrupt the family and they were forced to put the castle up for auction. After no one was willing to put a bid on this beautiful estate, they bequest it to Benedictine nuns. Yes, everywhere we've gone we have been surrounded by Benedictines in some form. It has been weird and awesome at the same time. For a fraction of the cost, the nuns moved into the castle and converted it into a convent and a girls' boarding school. The school closed last year, but the nuns are still very much active within the walls.

Meet Michael.

Continuing on, we passed killer sheep, more stunning landscape, embarrassing group singing, and more ruins than you could ever imagine. This was a once in a lifetime experience and I finally feel like I'm actually in Europe. I can't imagine how to top this excellent tour, but we're going to try. We'll be visiting the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow with the same tour company. I'm sure it'll be just as awesome with just as many pictures. Nathan and I am currently sitting in hostel number 2, Kinlay House, recuperating and planning not only for tomorrow, but for our weekend in Dublin. The further East we go, the more my fascination increases. I can honestly say that I will keep a piece of Ireland with me for the rest of my life. A simply amazing country with some of the kindest and most intriguing people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

Since I took so many pictures today, I will put up a few more. I hope you guys enjoy them. Until next time, God bless!

Inside the Ross Errily Friary

I saw landscaping like this all day. Legendary.

A Connemara Pony. We were able to touch this one.

There is a perfect reflection of the mountains in the water if you look closely.

This was a river by the Cong Abbey.

Galway

Our last meal with Father Christopher.
Hopefully I will see him again sometime soon.

We finally said goodbye to Glenstal Abbey. It was a great experience, but I will miss Father Christopher and the great memories I had there. We boarded a bus from Limerick City and spent an hour travelling to Galway.

It was mind-blowing how much things change from one side of the country to the other. The sun decided to show itself -- at least for about a half hour -- and then quickly hid behind a veil of grey. Currently I'm laying in my bed at Galway City Hostel, the first hostel experience for me, and it really is not as bad as I thought it would be. Well... that's only partly true. We got in around noon and were told that our room wasn't ready yet. By itself that was mind-blowing since they knew when we were going to be arriving. So we waited for an hour in the lounge area and still it was not ready. Tired of wasting time in the hostel, Nathan and I embarked upon the city. Finally a town that we could easily get lost in; rest assured, we did.

It took us a while to get used to the bigger city since we'd mostly spent our time in small towns sprinkled across Western Ireland. We ended up going to the local museum as our first stop. There's one thing I know for sure -- Galway has an unhealthy obsession with former President John F. Kennedy. I'm pretty sure I saw at least four memorials for him, not counting the display in the museum itself. I don't think that any city in America has that many commemorative displays for any president. Here's the kicker, JFK was only in Galway for an hour. We wandered about the city spotting a €2 Store. Let me give you a look into my brilliance: I left the country for studying abroad and forget to pack notebooks. So guess what I just bought at the €2 Store? Two brand new notebooks. Yay me!

If you don't know what this is, you should probably start reading my blog instead of just looking at all the pretty pictures.

But that's enough of my genius for one day, methinks. On our way back from the museum we decided to book our bus tour tomorrow (all 8 hours of it) to Connemara & Cong. It looks awesome. I know you are all wondering why I'm not going to the Cliffs. You can keep wondering, because I'm not going to tell you until tomorrow. On our way back from the tour agent, we stopped at a massive Cathedral in town which is pictured above. It is simply one of the biggest churches I have ever stepped foot. After more walking and Thai Rings (think Funyuns with an Asian kick) we decided to head back home to get all of our stuff moved to our actual room.


Here's the best part of the coming night. You know that hostel I'm staying in? Guess what is directly below it. Go ahead. Guess. Give up? O well, I guess I'll tell you. Beneath my bed is an Irish Pub. It really doesn't get much better than this. So I'm sure Nathan and I will head down there for drinks and some grub before hitting the hay and getting up again for some more travels. 


On a completely different note, I'm considering uploading all the pictures I've taken onto the internet in the form of a Picasa album or something similar. If you'd like to see this leave your suggestion/vote in my comments. Ok. I think that's it.

A candle.

God bless! Speaking of which... I lit a candle in the Cathedral for all of you. It's the one in the bottom left corner, for those of you wondering. But I digress. Dia linn!

Bunratty Castle and Limerick City

Bunratty Castle

Hello again, from Limerick, Ireland! It has been a very relaxed day for both Nathan and myself. We started our day around 7 this morning with breakfast and whatnot. Father Christoper offered to take us down to the Castle after his 9 o'clock class, so we gladly accepted. The history of this place was incredible. It started off as a small fort but was then expanded to the castle as you see it now. One of the guides within the castle itself gave us a great history of how the castle became what it is and where it once was. Apparently, during the late 1600s the last owner of the castle had to flee in order to save their lives. They had to leave everything behind. Consequently, none of the furniture or artwork within the castle (except for a small chest on the third floor) are actually from the original castle. After it was renovated, the family that eventually owned the castle filled it with works of art and furniture from their other collections. That was a major disappointment learning that all of this history didn't even belong. After exploring the small village surrounding the castle, Nathan and I hopped on the bus and headed into Limerick City for some lunch.

Our amazing lunch at Costello's.

Getting off the bus station (and after nearly getting hit by crazy European drivers) Nathan and I found Costello's Tavern and decided it looked like a good place to eat. Beef sirloin, peas, carrots, and three different entrées potato-based. This was also my first opportunity to have Guinness in Ireland off tap. It was all absolutely delicious, especially for the price that we paid. We spent the next half hour roaming around the seemingly dead town before hailing a taxi and returning back home to Glenstal Abbey. This will be my last night in Limerick. This both saddens and excites me as we approach the final two legs of our journey before Italy.

Dominic St.
 Legen - wait for it - dary!

Tomorrow morning, Nathan and I will head back to the bus station to go north into Galway for two nights. We will then be in Dublin on the 28th. Before I close, I'd like to say that I miss all of you guys and wish you could experience this amazing journey with me (that is, if anyone is actually reading this). I can't wait to tell you all about my trip to Ireland. Hope you guys are enjoying my blog. If you have any ideas for what I should write about, how I should write it, or just fun things for me to do, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment! God bless!

Glenstal Abbey

My room in the Abby Guest House. Nathan was in Room 03.

After a half hour taxi ride into Limerick, Nathan and I finally arrived at the beautiful campus of Glenstal Abbey. Father Christoper welcomed us in from the cold rain and showed us to our room.

We spent the next hours relaxing. As you can imagine, 20+ hours in airports and airplanes tends to wear you out. After exploring the building and getting over the fact that I was actually in Europe, I fell asleep for a few hours (dumb jet lag). Nathan woke me a few hours later for dinner (sausage rolls and beans) and I've got to say that dining with these monks was increasingly interesting.

Father Christoper had informed us that the monks ate in silence. When I heard this, I was under the impression that no one would be talking at all. Turns out, there is one monk who reads during the dining periods. After travelling across the Atlantic, I was given a history lesson on General Custer and Little Bighorn. It's interesting hearing a story you've heard a hundred times before in the US from an Irishmen who couldn't pronounce St. Louis correctly.

The inside of my awesome room.

So here Nathan and I sit in their amazing library, trying to plan our next few days in this beautiful country. After tonight, we will explore Limerick and spend one more night in beautiful Muroe. After that? We're thinking Galway, Cliffs, and then finally onto Dublin! If you guys have any ideas or suggestions please feel free to leave me a comment. Hopefully I'll be able to update this daily, but Europe may have other ideas for me.

The view outside my window.
It was raining at the time and I haven't had a chance to take more pictures outside yet!

Until next time, God bless. from Muroe, Ireland!

A Rainy Welcome to Shannon

After more than 16 hours flying today (and yesterday) Nathan and I have finally reached Shannon, Ireland. There really isn't much to say yet, but it's awesome to finally be on the ground. I will try and update this later tonight when I have more to say and possibly a picture or two! God bless!