Fish and Flat Tires: Dublin and Bantry Bay

First of all, an apology: I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post. I don't want to be one of those people who says "Look at me being all modern and tech-savvy and in-the-loop!" and then doesn't follow through. Having said that, this won't be a long post. No pics, no links, just words. This is a no-frills blog post. Sorry; I'll try to fill in the details later. I'm throwing my pictures onto Picasa as we speak. If you want an invitation to view all 844 of them (how crazy!), just shoot me an email. This is especially useful for those who don't have a Facebook (ahem, Mom and Dad).

Moving on...

Last weekend my lovely API group went to Dublin for a day trip. Let me summarize the trip for you: woke up really early, took a long bus ride, saw the Book of Kells, ate, saw some churches, went to the Guinness storehouse, drank (about 5 sips - not a Guinness fan!), ate, got back on the bus, got two flat tires in the middle of Co. Laois ("Leesh"), went into a pub (the only thing open except for the fish n' chips place) and got some drinks, got back on the bus, arrived back here -- exhausted -- around 1:30 a.m. At that point I had been up for about 20 hours. Luckily, keeping me company through it all were some fun friends and a pint and a half of Bulmer's. The Book of Kells was not as impressive as I imagined it would be. And I couldn't take pictures (which makes sense, but I hadn't thought about that so I was bummed). To be honest, Dublin was a bit of a disappointment. But now that my SMC roommate Becca is in that area, I have a reason to go back and explore some more. We ran out of time and didn't get to visit a bunch of the sites I wanted to see. There are a few art galleries and museums I want to visit, and I'd love to go to the Writer's Museum. I did get to see Jonathan Swift's tomb, housed in a beautiful cathedral (one of two that we went to). I also learned that some places in Dublin make you pay to use the bathroom (20 cents!).

OK, I can't stand it. We need a picture in this post. Check out that stained glass. Not only was it beautiful in real life, but this picture is actually pretty accurate! And I've learned, recently, just how hard it is to capture churches on film. I just thought this window was especially lovely.

Now that I've added one I might as well add another. I love all of the light in the picture below. The curves of the cathedral's arches are great, too.

Oh, you're looking at St. Patrick's Cathedral, by the way. We also went to Christ Church Cathedral. Both were very impressive!

This past weekend, I did an overnight with three of my new friends to Bantry Bay in West Cork. Here's a quick run-down...

Lowlights (is that even technically a term?): the hotel in general, though it wasn't awful for the price we paid; the yummy fish n' chips I had on Saturday night (Sunday's fish n' chips didn't make the cut); the pit in my stomach when we heard music coming from the Bantry House, which was technically closed and therefore, we may have inadvertently been trespassing; the entire teenage population of Bantry & their arrival at the Cinemax; Karl, the donkey, not wanting to let me pet him.

Highlights (let's end on a good note!): seeing my ancestors' town on the way there (I can't wait to go explore!); swimming at the hotel; learning how to say Drinagh correctly ("Dree-nuh"); touching the Atlantic from this side of the pond; seeing "The Dilemma" (it's a good movie - go see it); the adorable Irish librarians we met when we stopped to ask for directions; and the absolutely INCREDIBLE view from the top of Seskin. I'll leave you with this picture...