So, someone brought up this week that tomorrow marks the halfway mark of our study abroad experience...and I'm definitely feeling a big mix of emotions.
Terror: I am so in love with this area and the freedom of this experience. I have changed already so much in basically two months; it's absolutely insane! I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!!!
Confusion: Where the heck did this time go?? Everyone warned me how fast it would proceed...and they were right.
Relief: As much as I love this experience, the comforts of Christmas in New Jersey with my family and friends will be amazing. I think part of the relief came because a lot of people's family/friends have visited and will be visiting during this semester and it reminds me of home. Going back to SJU and seeing Philly will be such an amazing sight.
Acceptance: Time is fleeting here...so I just have to realize that, and make the most of the time I have left.
Next week, a few friends and I are going to Paris, which will be a CRAZY Halloween weekend. Despite the travel warnings, we agreed that we need to see places. We refuse to psyche ourselves out. (Don't worry...Paris will have it's own epic blog post).
And remind me to blog about Dublin soon...it was a great day!
With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Boys of the Old Brigade
Dia daoibh!
Is mise Jimmy. Is as Meiriceá ó dhúchas mé ach tá mé i mo chónaí in árasán i nGaillimh.
Sorry; I'm trying to use the Irish I know in more everyday situations, so why not start with this blog? (enquire further for translations)
So...it's been a little over two weeks since I last posted, and I figure I should probably fill you in on some Irish life. Galway is as gorgeous as ever, but you don't want to hear me rant about the beauty of Ireland for another twenty posts; you wanna' hear some crazy stories.
Well...in order for the crazy to begin...I have to take you to a little place I like to call "Rome". Now, let me fill you in on what I thought Rome was: a bunch of loud, hand-gesturing individuals handing you pizzas, pastas, and gelati as wine flooded the cobblestone streets. Lots of individuals riding mopeds as you waved happily at them as they drove by. Basically, what I'm trying to say is I had the quintessential ignorant foreigner view of Rome. This weekend made me realize how off my impression was. Now, before I begin, I want to say overall that Rome is an amazing city and the experiences we had were wonderful, but there were some interesting...slightly negative experiences (but who doesn't have those?). First thing I noticed about Rome: a LOT of graffiti. And not like the cool artistic kind, but a lot of random tags with people's names, Italian phrases, cuss words, and phone numbers. I was slightly surprised.
In terms of food and drink, Rome houses! I ate my body weight in pizza and pasta and drank my share of wines galore. Every restaurant we went to provided us with really hospitable service, wonderful food, and great atmosphere over all; if you ask any of us on the trip, food and drink probably are our fondest memories of the city. Also, who can deny all of the wonderful historical sites we saw. In 2 days, our group managed to see the Colosseum, The Arch of Constantine, The Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, AND The Spanish Steps!! The Colosseum is pretty stellar, I'm not gonna' lie. You walk out of the metro station and facing you is the overpowering, towering masterpiece of the arena; it's a pretty breathtaking site. The Arch sits right next to the Colosseum, so you get a great 2-for-1 deal of Italian historical madness. Funny enough, the Arch was one of the sites I was most looking forward to and was one of my favorite stops on the trip. I always looked at it as the smaller, not-as-appreciated-or-well-known brother to the Colosseum. The Arch is absolutely HUGE; all of my pictures in front of it look like I'm an ant about to be crushed. Anyway, the Colosseum is amazing to get a view of that part of town and to immerse yourself in a pretty fundamental part of Western Civilization (man, I hated that class).
The Trevi Fountain, at both day and night, became our sanctuary on the trip. Our goal was to eat gelato at the fountain at night time as the crowds began to die, and that's exactly what we did (but more on that in a moment). The Trevi Fountain rocks because (1) you get to make a wish, (2) gelato shops ALL around it, (3) Lizzie Mcguire movie was filmed there (okay, so that one I don't actually care about but that was a shout out for a friend). So many people come to see the fountain; it feels like braking through a maze of people just to see the water! But, I completely recommend anybody going to Rome to go check it out. Oh! And we went again later at night to have some gelato and I must say the fountain only gets more beautiful as the day goes on. The Spanish Steps are beautiful also; we arrived at the top of the steps and didn't even realize at first we were standing on them! You can look out and see so much of Rome's city from the very top, and we happened to catch the steps as the sun began to set so it pretty much felt like your typical romantic comedy film. The steps are definitely a hike, but it's so worth it to see both the top and bottom view. Looking up from the bottom, all you see is the beautiful construction of the steps as they lead up to what looks like Heaven (but it's really just a metro stop).
And, of course, how can I forget the freakin' Vatican?? Let me just say this, criticize as many do about the wastefulness and elaborate nature of the Vatican...it's pretty damn beautiful! Now, I am not the biggest fan of over-excess in the world, but I definitely recommend going to see the Vatican at some point. We sneaked some photographs in the Sistine Chapel, gallivanted in St. Peter's square, and one of my friends almost managed to take out a nun while she was looking at the basilica. And, as we were leaving, we saw a rainbow arch over the square.
Okay, sorry, long and unnecessary rants (and I promised I wouldn't rave about beauty anymore...sorry...). So, here are some crazy stories. One thing about Rome that gets annoying is the amount of people on the street who will literally just approach you and get in your face about buying things, selling things, stealing things, etc. At the metro station on our first day, some dude walks up and begins trying to help us buy our train tickets and take our money and work the machine for us. We were all in such shock of what happened that at the end when he asked us to pay him for his services, we didn't have time to process what had just occurred. On the Spanish Steps, I had a guy approach me by grabbing my arm and beginning to tie strings around my finger as he rants about each string meaning love, luck, and something else. I had been warned about people trying to pickpocket with these distractions, so luckily everything I needed was in my inner jacket pockets and not in my back pockets. As the guy wraps, he begins to do the demonstration to another friend of mine. As I am about to walk back up the steps and away from this one guy, another creep comes along, taps me on the shoulder, and tries to do the same thing! I showed the guy my string and tried to walk away, but he proceeded to follow me asking me for ten euro for their help. I said no, but the man continued to pace right behind me as I tried to walk away. In a frustrated confusion, I offered the guy a euro and then proceeded to (I will admit in a slightly rude way) cut him off and tell him he didn't deserve anything more than that, and that euro was pushing it. Luckily, the guys backed off and we managed to leave unharmed.
Later that night...
I was walking back to my hostel with the group. We walk up behind these two guys who looked like they were going to a club for the night; very unassuming people. At one point, the guys slowed down and I ended up accidentally bumping into the one. I apologized as I turned to leave, and I felt a hand pull on the back of my shirt and try to feel for a pocket. Quickly reacting, I knocked the guy's hand away and gave him the biggest death stare this side of the hemisphere. He proceeded to walk ahead and then he and his bigger friend cut off the sidewalk into the middle of the road, staring at me as they walked away. I was in mid conversation with my friend as all this happened, and the moment was so fast that nobody realized what was just happening. After asking me why I got so quiet, I explained the situation and told the group to keep possession of all their stuff. Luckily, that was the last of our creeper problems while in Rome.
Overall, Rome is a great city with a lot of European character and charm, but I do advise that anybody going just always be aware, and always know where your things are. This should be the case everywhere, but Rome gave me a nice reminder of the beauty of safe traveling.
Phew! If you read all that..God bless you. Tomorrow marks the official half-way point of our trip, and I have a lot of mixed emotions. But that will come up in my next post which I'm probably going to write in ten minutes.
With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam
Is mise Jimmy. Is as Meiriceá ó dhúchas mé ach tá mé i mo chónaí in árasán i nGaillimh.
Sorry; I'm trying to use the Irish I know in more everyday situations, so why not start with this blog? (enquire further for translations)
So...it's been a little over two weeks since I last posted, and I figure I should probably fill you in on some Irish life. Galway is as gorgeous as ever, but you don't want to hear me rant about the beauty of Ireland for another twenty posts; you wanna' hear some crazy stories.
Well...in order for the crazy to begin...I have to take you to a little place I like to call "Rome". Now, let me fill you in on what I thought Rome was: a bunch of loud, hand-gesturing individuals handing you pizzas, pastas, and gelati as wine flooded the cobblestone streets. Lots of individuals riding mopeds as you waved happily at them as they drove by. Basically, what I'm trying to say is I had the quintessential ignorant foreigner view of Rome. This weekend made me realize how off my impression was. Now, before I begin, I want to say overall that Rome is an amazing city and the experiences we had were wonderful, but there were some interesting...slightly negative experiences (but who doesn't have those?). First thing I noticed about Rome: a LOT of graffiti. And not like the cool artistic kind, but a lot of random tags with people's names, Italian phrases, cuss words, and phone numbers. I was slightly surprised.
In terms of food and drink, Rome houses! I ate my body weight in pizza and pasta and drank my share of wines galore. Every restaurant we went to provided us with really hospitable service, wonderful food, and great atmosphere over all; if you ask any of us on the trip, food and drink probably are our fondest memories of the city. Also, who can deny all of the wonderful historical sites we saw. In 2 days, our group managed to see the Colosseum, The Arch of Constantine, The Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, AND The Spanish Steps!! The Colosseum is pretty stellar, I'm not gonna' lie. You walk out of the metro station and facing you is the overpowering, towering masterpiece of the arena; it's a pretty breathtaking site. The Arch sits right next to the Colosseum, so you get a great 2-for-1 deal of Italian historical madness. Funny enough, the Arch was one of the sites I was most looking forward to and was one of my favorite stops on the trip. I always looked at it as the smaller, not-as-appreciated-or-well-known brother to the Colosseum. The Arch is absolutely HUGE; all of my pictures in front of it look like I'm an ant about to be crushed. Anyway, the Colosseum is amazing to get a view of that part of town and to immerse yourself in a pretty fundamental part of Western Civilization (man, I hated that class).
The Trevi Fountain, at both day and night, became our sanctuary on the trip. Our goal was to eat gelato at the fountain at night time as the crowds began to die, and that's exactly what we did (but more on that in a moment). The Trevi Fountain rocks because (1) you get to make a wish, (2) gelato shops ALL around it, (3) Lizzie Mcguire movie was filmed there (okay, so that one I don't actually care about but that was a shout out for a friend). So many people come to see the fountain; it feels like braking through a maze of people just to see the water! But, I completely recommend anybody going to Rome to go check it out. Oh! And we went again later at night to have some gelato and I must say the fountain only gets more beautiful as the day goes on. The Spanish Steps are beautiful also; we arrived at the top of the steps and didn't even realize at first we were standing on them! You can look out and see so much of Rome's city from the very top, and we happened to catch the steps as the sun began to set so it pretty much felt like your typical romantic comedy film. The steps are definitely a hike, but it's so worth it to see both the top and bottom view. Looking up from the bottom, all you see is the beautiful construction of the steps as they lead up to what looks like Heaven (but it's really just a metro stop).
And, of course, how can I forget the freakin' Vatican?? Let me just say this, criticize as many do about the wastefulness and elaborate nature of the Vatican...it's pretty damn beautiful! Now, I am not the biggest fan of over-excess in the world, but I definitely recommend going to see the Vatican at some point. We sneaked some photographs in the Sistine Chapel, gallivanted in St. Peter's square, and one of my friends almost managed to take out a nun while she was looking at the basilica. And, as we were leaving, we saw a rainbow arch over the square.
Okay, sorry, long and unnecessary rants (and I promised I wouldn't rave about beauty anymore...sorry...). So, here are some crazy stories. One thing about Rome that gets annoying is the amount of people on the street who will literally just approach you and get in your face about buying things, selling things, stealing things, etc. At the metro station on our first day, some dude walks up and begins trying to help us buy our train tickets and take our money and work the machine for us. We were all in such shock of what happened that at the end when he asked us to pay him for his services, we didn't have time to process what had just occurred. On the Spanish Steps, I had a guy approach me by grabbing my arm and beginning to tie strings around my finger as he rants about each string meaning love, luck, and something else. I had been warned about people trying to pickpocket with these distractions, so luckily everything I needed was in my inner jacket pockets and not in my back pockets. As the guy wraps, he begins to do the demonstration to another friend of mine. As I am about to walk back up the steps and away from this one guy, another creep comes along, taps me on the shoulder, and tries to do the same thing! I showed the guy my string and tried to walk away, but he proceeded to follow me asking me for ten euro for their help. I said no, but the man continued to pace right behind me as I tried to walk away. In a frustrated confusion, I offered the guy a euro and then proceeded to (I will admit in a slightly rude way) cut him off and tell him he didn't deserve anything more than that, and that euro was pushing it. Luckily, the guys backed off and we managed to leave unharmed.
Later that night...
I was walking back to my hostel with the group. We walk up behind these two guys who looked like they were going to a club for the night; very unassuming people. At one point, the guys slowed down and I ended up accidentally bumping into the one. I apologized as I turned to leave, and I felt a hand pull on the back of my shirt and try to feel for a pocket. Quickly reacting, I knocked the guy's hand away and gave him the biggest death stare this side of the hemisphere. He proceeded to walk ahead and then he and his bigger friend cut off the sidewalk into the middle of the road, staring at me as they walked away. I was in mid conversation with my friend as all this happened, and the moment was so fast that nobody realized what was just happening. After asking me why I got so quiet, I explained the situation and told the group to keep possession of all their stuff. Luckily, that was the last of our creeper problems while in Rome.
Overall, Rome is a great city with a lot of European character and charm, but I do advise that anybody going just always be aware, and always know where your things are. This should be the case everywhere, but Rome gave me a nice reminder of the beauty of safe traveling.
Phew! If you read all that..God bless you. Tomorrow marks the official half-way point of our trip, and I have a lot of mixed emotions. But that will come up in my next post which I'm probably going to write in ten minutes.
With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Erin-Go-Bragh
So, I realized that a bunch of my older blogs haven't really talked about IRELAND yet! So, here we go!!!
Where can I begin?
People at home keep asking me what my favorite part of Ireland is so far, and I always respond without a thought: the national pride. Wherever I walk around Galway, I am reminded of the fact that I am in Ireland, whether it be rugby jerseys displayed proudly in store windows, groups of authentic Irish bands blasting their music down Shop Street, or the joyfulness of a hearty laugh from a thick Irish brogue. As I gaze around at the city that is Galway, I realize that Ireland has literally permeated itself into every cobblestone, alleyway, and pub. Not a day goes by where I forget where I am, but, more importantly, not a day goes by where I'm not proud to be a part of this beautiful country. Now, by no means am I claiming to be a legitimate Irishman; I will always be a slight tourist to this place, but it certainly doesn't feel like that with the people I've encountered. Whether I'm discussing plays with a Donegal native or befriending people from Cork, it seems that my mere presence is enough for others to say, "Hey, come join us!"
I have encountered some truly unique individuals while being here, whether it be an elderly bus company tour driver who impersonates leprechauns, an elderly woman who sits outside of SuperMac's charging 5 euro to tell your fortune, or the hordes of young college students trying to stamp your hands for a discount at the club next door. If I had to describe the daily mood of people in Galway, I would have to say "pleasant." Actually, that word does absolutely no justice to the feeling here, but let me explain. I walk around the streets every day realizing that people are happy, but not the in-your-face-oh-my-God-I-wanna-punch-you-in-the-face-cuz-you're-so-obnoxious-happy...it's a calm happiness. People's walks suggest that they know they live in one of the country's coolest cities, but they don't have to brag; all they have to do is bask in the awesomeness.
I went to the Aran Islands this past weekend, and I think it was my favorite trip thus far. Now, don't get me wrong, the Cliffs of Moher are an absolute breath-taker and Connemara is such a quaint, beautiful region, but nothing beats the authentic feel of Ireland quite like the Aran Islands. Before I left, my friends who had previously studied here told me this was a must-go destination, and I wasn't going to pass up a ferry ride! Over the weekend, I went with three friends for a day of exploration, biking, and epic adventures. We took an hour bus and a half hour ferry ride to get over to the main island. Right away, I was blown away by the simplicty of everything; we walked past the bay area which seems to be the center of town and saw multiple vans waiting to whisk us away on island tours as horse and buggy drivers watched from the other side. These horses were unbelievably beautiful; they looked more like ponies than full-grown horses, but we were informed otherwise. Right away, we had to grab lunch and once again, I am blown away by the quality of vegetable soup in Ireland. Seriously, you can vegetable soup ANYWHERE!!! It's not like in the states where the soup is kind of watery; all soups here are cream-based, which makes them even better!
Anyway, after eating, we rented bikes and set out to find the Black Fort, which was a destination one of the Irish students told us to check out especially if we were writers (win!). Now, let me explain how the road system on the islands was. Basically, the road was wide enough for one car. There were no sidewalks or biking areas; we merely had to watch out backs as we biked. It was funny to see all of us slowly moving to the right side of the road before realizing that everyone drives on the left here. We had more than one close call that day (I think I almost got run over by a truck carrying piles of hay..but I'm not positive). We were told to look for an orange house after some turns, and that would lead us to the Black Fort. Thank GOD for that orange house; being the typical tourists we were, we completely started getting lost in the scenery of the bay rushing past us as we biked. If we hadn't noticed the only orange house on the entire island sitting atop the hill, we probably never would have made it to our destination.
After vigorous biking, we had to walk our bikes the rest of the way of a rising trail of pure rocks. The hill started to resemble the Burren with all of the rock formations surrounding us; eventually, we made it to the top and were greeted with the most stunning view of the ocean I have ever seen. Seriously, check out my facebook to see pictures of the view. My words and pictures cannot do justic to the beauty of that area. We stood atop a cliff side that was over 300 feet high; the sea was so powerful that foam collected on top of itself, making the water look like snow. The sun perfectly sparkled across the water, giving us the most beautiful view of nature in the world. For me, this was a moment where God existed, no "ifs", "ands", or "buts" about it.
We all decided to take stupid pictures of ourselves hanging off the ledge side and peering over the cliffs. Eventually, we found a bed of grass so thick that it actually felt like a bed (more comfortable than most college beds!). We proceeded to bask in the air on this hillside as we slept/talked in the grass, simply just enjoying life. However, little did we know the epic adventure about to occur. As a friend of ours explored one of the other cliff sides, she noticed a crack in the ground that led deep into a crevice in the cliff. Well, we weren't going to pass up an opportunity to go spelunking free hand, so a few of us descended the crevice deep into the cliffs. It was so cool to see all the raw iron deposits that had formed, painting the bottom of the crevice red. We passed animal bones that had collected over the years (we think lambs had come to the cliffs and fell into the crevice) which was really cool but pretty creepy at the same time. Small ropes had been attached to certain rocks so we could descend further and, eventually, we found ourselves right above the water level, basically at the bottom of the cliff!! We could feel the waves splashing against us as we peered out towards the water. It was a magical moment.
Soon, we realized we needed to find this fort, so we climbed back up and hussled over to a figure we saw in the distance, which we assumed was the fort. And the fort it was! I don't know any of the history of this place, but basically the Black Fort is this collection of rocks tat forms a small wall that looked like a blockade from the sea. I climbed atop and watched the rocks run away from me; I dubbed the Black Fort "The Great Wall of Ireland." Behind it were cool rock formations that created maze-like shapes. We walked atop and past the fort to a cliff edge where we all sat, only to discover that the waves were so strong where we were that the splashes could hit us! Think of the log flume rides you used to go on at theme parks, and multiply it by ten. That's basically what happened to us. As we watched the waves crash against the rocks, we realized that one of the sets of foam was rushing towards us! For a moment, I couldn't see anyone or anything as I was covered in a layer of liquid white. Still one of the coolest things I have EVER experienced!! We took this as a sign to start heading back to the ferry, which is exactly what we did.
So...there you have it folks! This description is really lame and not well-written and totally dry: I know. But I had to get these experiences somehow out of my head. All you need to know is that I love Ireland. Ireland is exactly what I needed this semester. I definitely miss all you guys back in the states and abroad in other countries, but by no means do I wanna' leave this Emerald Isle, this land of beauty. Erin-Go-Bragh!
With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam
Where can I begin?
People at home keep asking me what my favorite part of Ireland is so far, and I always respond without a thought: the national pride. Wherever I walk around Galway, I am reminded of the fact that I am in Ireland, whether it be rugby jerseys displayed proudly in store windows, groups of authentic Irish bands blasting their music down Shop Street, or the joyfulness of a hearty laugh from a thick Irish brogue. As I gaze around at the city that is Galway, I realize that Ireland has literally permeated itself into every cobblestone, alleyway, and pub. Not a day goes by where I forget where I am, but, more importantly, not a day goes by where I'm not proud to be a part of this beautiful country. Now, by no means am I claiming to be a legitimate Irishman; I will always be a slight tourist to this place, but it certainly doesn't feel like that with the people I've encountered. Whether I'm discussing plays with a Donegal native or befriending people from Cork, it seems that my mere presence is enough for others to say, "Hey, come join us!"
I have encountered some truly unique individuals while being here, whether it be an elderly bus company tour driver who impersonates leprechauns, an elderly woman who sits outside of SuperMac's charging 5 euro to tell your fortune, or the hordes of young college students trying to stamp your hands for a discount at the club next door. If I had to describe the daily mood of people in Galway, I would have to say "pleasant." Actually, that word does absolutely no justice to the feeling here, but let me explain. I walk around the streets every day realizing that people are happy, but not the in-your-face-oh-my-God-I-wanna-punch-you-in-the-face-cuz-you're-so-obnoxious-happy...it's a calm happiness. People's walks suggest that they know they live in one of the country's coolest cities, but they don't have to brag; all they have to do is bask in the awesomeness.
I went to the Aran Islands this past weekend, and I think it was my favorite trip thus far. Now, don't get me wrong, the Cliffs of Moher are an absolute breath-taker and Connemara is such a quaint, beautiful region, but nothing beats the authentic feel of Ireland quite like the Aran Islands. Before I left, my friends who had previously studied here told me this was a must-go destination, and I wasn't going to pass up a ferry ride! Over the weekend, I went with three friends for a day of exploration, biking, and epic adventures. We took an hour bus and a half hour ferry ride to get over to the main island. Right away, I was blown away by the simplicty of everything; we walked past the bay area which seems to be the center of town and saw multiple vans waiting to whisk us away on island tours as horse and buggy drivers watched from the other side. These horses were unbelievably beautiful; they looked more like ponies than full-grown horses, but we were informed otherwise. Right away, we had to grab lunch and once again, I am blown away by the quality of vegetable soup in Ireland. Seriously, you can vegetable soup ANYWHERE!!! It's not like in the states where the soup is kind of watery; all soups here are cream-based, which makes them even better!
Anyway, after eating, we rented bikes and set out to find the Black Fort, which was a destination one of the Irish students told us to check out especially if we were writers (win!). Now, let me explain how the road system on the islands was. Basically, the road was wide enough for one car. There were no sidewalks or biking areas; we merely had to watch out backs as we biked. It was funny to see all of us slowly moving to the right side of the road before realizing that everyone drives on the left here. We had more than one close call that day (I think I almost got run over by a truck carrying piles of hay..but I'm not positive). We were told to look for an orange house after some turns, and that would lead us to the Black Fort. Thank GOD for that orange house; being the typical tourists we were, we completely started getting lost in the scenery of the bay rushing past us as we biked. If we hadn't noticed the only orange house on the entire island sitting atop the hill, we probably never would have made it to our destination.
After vigorous biking, we had to walk our bikes the rest of the way of a rising trail of pure rocks. The hill started to resemble the Burren with all of the rock formations surrounding us; eventually, we made it to the top and were greeted with the most stunning view of the ocean I have ever seen. Seriously, check out my facebook to see pictures of the view. My words and pictures cannot do justic to the beauty of that area. We stood atop a cliff side that was over 300 feet high; the sea was so powerful that foam collected on top of itself, making the water look like snow. The sun perfectly sparkled across the water, giving us the most beautiful view of nature in the world. For me, this was a moment where God existed, no "ifs", "ands", or "buts" about it.
We all decided to take stupid pictures of ourselves hanging off the ledge side and peering over the cliffs. Eventually, we found a bed of grass so thick that it actually felt like a bed (more comfortable than most college beds!). We proceeded to bask in the air on this hillside as we slept/talked in the grass, simply just enjoying life. However, little did we know the epic adventure about to occur. As a friend of ours explored one of the other cliff sides, she noticed a crack in the ground that led deep into a crevice in the cliff. Well, we weren't going to pass up an opportunity to go spelunking free hand, so a few of us descended the crevice deep into the cliffs. It was so cool to see all the raw iron deposits that had formed, painting the bottom of the crevice red. We passed animal bones that had collected over the years (we think lambs had come to the cliffs and fell into the crevice) which was really cool but pretty creepy at the same time. Small ropes had been attached to certain rocks so we could descend further and, eventually, we found ourselves right above the water level, basically at the bottom of the cliff!! We could feel the waves splashing against us as we peered out towards the water. It was a magical moment.
Soon, we realized we needed to find this fort, so we climbed back up and hussled over to a figure we saw in the distance, which we assumed was the fort. And the fort it was! I don't know any of the history of this place, but basically the Black Fort is this collection of rocks tat forms a small wall that looked like a blockade from the sea. I climbed atop and watched the rocks run away from me; I dubbed the Black Fort "The Great Wall of Ireland." Behind it were cool rock formations that created maze-like shapes. We walked atop and past the fort to a cliff edge where we all sat, only to discover that the waves were so strong where we were that the splashes could hit us! Think of the log flume rides you used to go on at theme parks, and multiply it by ten. That's basically what happened to us. As we watched the waves crash against the rocks, we realized that one of the sets of foam was rushing towards us! For a moment, I couldn't see anyone or anything as I was covered in a layer of liquid white. Still one of the coolest things I have EVER experienced!! We took this as a sign to start heading back to the ferry, which is exactly what we did.
So...there you have it folks! This description is really lame and not well-written and totally dry: I know. But I had to get these experiences somehow out of my head. All you need to know is that I love Ireland. Ireland is exactly what I needed this semester. I definitely miss all you guys back in the states and abroad in other countries, but by no means do I wanna' leave this Emerald Isle, this land of beauty. Erin-Go-Bragh!
With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)