Videos

Here are some extra videos I haven't posted of Paris, Amsterdam, and Ireland. Enjoy!

DUBLIN!

I can't believe I haven't blogged about Dublin yet! Well, I have plenty of free time right now to do just that.

Day 1 (Sunday)
Jill and I spent most of the day traveling by train to Dublin from Galway. We got to the hostel which was absolutely perfect. The Abbey hostel is a mix between our five star corporate hostel in Amsterdam and the intimate Claddagh Hostel in Galway. We were very happy. After freshening up from our travels we took a stroll around the temple bar area. Our two main goals were to find dinner and live music. This was our night to splurge on a fancier dinner since we hadn't done that yet and we didn't want to go grocery shopping. We had dinner at the Quay Restaurant, a two course meal for 19 euros, and then we walked around in the search for live music. In Dublin, live music is very easy to find. What is hard to find is space in the bar. We moved around from bar to bar taking it all in. There was also street music and dancing. We didn't stay out too late because we were tired from traveling and wanted to be well rested for the next full day.

Day 2 (Monday)
Our big plan monday was the Guinness Brewery. It was not nearly as exciting as the Heineken Experience, but we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless. Our free pint at the gravity bar on the top floor of the factory was well worth it. They really know how to pull a pint...obviously.

After the factory, I took Jill on a walking tour of the area. We found some older churches to go into and visted Trinity College. The campus is absolutely breathtaking. The buildings are so old and detailed. We wanted to see the Book of Kells, but it cost 8 euros, and we just weren't willing to pay the fee considering 8 euros equals two beers. The evening took us back to our favorite bar The Quay where we helped ourselves to some pints and made friends with the bartender. We also met two Scottish men, Stephen and Andrew. They caught our eyes by their kilts they wore. Let's just say they definitely wore their kilts the authentic way. Stephen and Andrew were great fun, and we showed them Gogarty another great bar with traditional irish music all night.

Day 3 (Tuesday)
Ouch! It was tough getting up Tuesday morning due to Monday night. We had a few too many pints, so our solution was to sleep in a little. After we showered and ate, Jill and I walked along the Liffey. We saw the Custom House and stopped for coffee. It was a relaxing day with great conversation between us. We discussed our plans for the coming year and repeatedly exclaimed how happy we were at that very moment in Ireland. At 5pm we went to the DanceHouse. It is a building with many studios and open classes. We took an hour long contempory dance class. Dancing always feels so good when it has been awhile since your last class. After class we went to the grocery store to get food for dinner. I cooked up some stir fry for us; it was bangin! Then we went back to the Quay to enjoy jills last irish pint of Guinness.

Day 4 (Wednesday)
Jill left early this morning to catch her plane home. I am still in the hostel, but I'll probably head out for a walk soon. I have to leave for the airport around 9 pm, but my flight isn't until 6 am. I have to store my luggage at the airport and the storage facility isn't 24 hrs, so I have to get there before they close. It's not going to be very funy sitting in an airport all night, but I have to do what I have to do. I head to Berlin for the weekend with the Anders again. I'm excited to be back in that city.

If it's not free it's not for me

Spending time in Europe has made me realize there are a lot of free things in America I take for granted because here in Europe you have to pay for them. Some of these things include:

Toilets (50 cents)
Water fountains (non existent)
Theatre programs (3 euros)
Water at restaurants (not free because it's always bottled)

When I think of more I'll add on, but all you people in America everytime you use a public toilet or drink from a water fountain please think of me and the money I had to spend to get those everyday amenities.

Galway

Galway is a magnificent city! If you ever find yourself headed to Ireland, please take atleast a day to explore this quaint city. On Friday, we started with a trip to the laundrette. The owner was absolutely fabulous, and we met a man name Gerry who was a famous Vietnam Reporter in the U.S. He's interviewed people like Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe. It was pretty cool.

Then, I played tour guide and brough Jill around on a walking tour of the city. We visited St. Nicholas Cathedral, Lynch's Window, Eyre Square, Lynch's Castle, the original Claddagh jewelry store (where i bought a clauddagh ring), the Spanish Arch's, and the Cathedral of St. Mary assumed into heaven and st. nicholas. You can imagine this took quite some time, but I appreciate jill putting up with all my touristy sight seeing!

We thought it was appropriate at this time to take a break for our feet and have a beer. I tried a new beer called Kilkenny. It's not quite as dark as a Guiness but served similiarly. It's very good! Dad I really think you'll like it!

Friday ended really well because JIll and I went to see the play The Playboy of the Western World by Druid Theatre Company. The show's a very dark comedy/drama, and the company did a great job.

Saturday
Our last day in Galway, but Jill and I spent most of the day outside in County Clare. We took an organized bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. We stopped and many places along the way including Dunguaire Castle, Burren hills, town of Doolin for lunch, Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, and a cave on the way back. The cliffs are breathtaking! They stretch for miles and give you a great view of the Aran Islands. We were so lucky with the weather too, it began to rain for time on the cliffs but quickly turned back to a cool sunny day. Like I said, Galway is really a great place, and I have definately fallen in love with Ireland here. I am really looking forward to spending two months on the landscapes I observed today!

Long time no see

I feel like it's been a long time since I last updated this blog. I suppose it's really only been a little over two days, but since I am not in a different country, I've lost my bearings a bit. First, I am safe in Galway, Ireland with Jill. Our hostel here is not nearly as nice as our 5 star hotel (aka stayok hostel) in Amsterdam. Amsterdam ended with quite a bang. Our big event on Wednesday was th Heineken Experience.We went with Mark who we met at the hostel. He's from New Jersey. The company turned the old brewery into a walking tour, and it was awesome! The staff was very entertaining, and the tour had activities like karaoke and rides that took you through the brewing experience from the perspective of a beer bottle. Through out the tour you go three free beers, but we become so friendly with the staff they let us hang out a bit and just kept pouring us free drafts. They loved us in Amsterdam.

We also visited the I AM AMSTERDAM sign in Museum park. It's a great picture opportunity.

Thursday was really a travel day. Jill and I woke up early to catch a bus to the train station. We took a train to the airport. We flew to Dublin and then trained it to Galway. It was a long day, but luckily we met no glitches in our plan. As our said, our hostel here is not nearly as nice as Amsterdam. It's hippied out and has a slight scent of mildew everywhere you walk, but we are lucky enough to have found it for such a cheap price. There are many long termers here that volunteer as staff for the hostel. Jill and I feel a big like outsiders, but no worries because we have each other!

It's kind of exciting that we are here in Galway right now because there is a big boat race that just docked here. There is a huge stage setup outside by our hostel and there are free concerts every night. Jill and I went there last night and then walked around town.

This morning we are going to do laundrey and tour Galway.

I AMsterdam

Hey everyone,

day 2 is coming to a close for amsterdam. Jill and I got a lot done. We walked around to view what we considered some pretty cool sights in town. We started out at Anne Frank's Annex. I've been to the hideaway ten years ago, but it was much different visiting it as an adult. In 5th grade, I thought the Annex was "so cool." Of course, I understood the severity of why Anne's family was in hiding, but it didn't hit me emotionally. Today, I was really affected by the writings of Anne's father. He spoke about how surprised he was by Anne's maturity and insight within her journal. His love for Anne was so apparent, and I teared up a few times through out the museum, but as most of you know, it doesn't usually take much to make me get emotional..haha.



The other major activity Jill and I did was paddle boating down the Amsterdam canals. this was a lot of fun and a little nerve wrecking. (video will come soon)!

Then in the evening, Jill and I went to Karaoke in the hostel. We got the party started, no joke. The bar was mostly filled with 16 yr old Germans, and they were not doing Karaoke the "right" way, so Jill and I set the bar higher. We sang "The Lion Sleeps tonight" "I've got you babe" and "Big Spender" throughout the course of the evening. The owner of the hostel loved us so much he gave us each a free beer. We also met Mark who's from New Jersey, so that was pretty great.

Well my internet time is ticking down... I hope America's weather is treating you as well as Europe weather is treating me (knock on wood).

2 days w/ no pictures

Allow me update you with my past two days of travel. First of all, I have made it safely to Amsteram, and I am enjoying Jill's company very very much! Unfortunately, I am using the hostel's computers for internet so there won't be many pictures until I get to a hostel with free wifi which I think will be in 3 days.



I finished my glorious 5 days in Paris by visiting the Musee D'orsay. It was all worthwhile just to see the Degas paintings. It was amazing to see his dance paintings up close; photographs just do not do them justice! I also got to see his dance sculptures. It was really a treat. Another amazing sculptures I saw while at the museum was Rodin's "The Old Courtesan" sculpture. I used this sculpture as inspiration for my Liz Staruch's sight specific work during the fall 2008 concert. Again, this looked much better when it was 6 inches from my face. I concluded Paris with a boat ride down the Siene River with Justin. We got lost trying to find it but that only made the trip more of an adventure. Luckily, we made the last boat ride, and I finally understood why Paris is called the "city of lights."



Yesterday, I arrived in Amsterdam with Jill. The hostel where we are staying is very nice. It's a little out of town which can be a problem late in the night getting back, but the breakfast is very good and the sheets clean. What more can you really ask for? During our first day, we took in the local color for most of the afternoon. It was definately a day of splurging, but I haven't done that yet, so I didn't feel too bad. We ate a sit down dinner and then visited an Irish Pub called Mulligan's. We talked to the owner Shawn about Ireland and Amsterdam. He was very friendly and helpful. The evening took us to the Red Light District where we enjoyed the various entertainment it had to offer. If you really want details, you can email me at Karancer701@msn.com. I'll just say it was a lifetime experience haha.

Today, Jill and I plan to visit Anne Frank's hideaway. I am about to go glance at a map for awhile so we know where to go. Tootles for now.

with love,
anna