World Wanderings

Today was filled with the louvre. I came to the louvre not expecting to actually get to much of it since it is so large. But after wondering it's halls for a little while my confidence was inspired and I thought I might actually be able to see the whole thing (well most of it). Wrong.

I was told by my tour guide for Paris, Spike, that one does not conquer the Louvre but that it conquers you. She was right.

I did see a lot of the big pieces of artwork. Of course no visit of the Louvre is complete wittout the obligitory visit to the Mona Lisa. I wasn't dissappinted by its size, which for such a famouse painting isn't that large. And reveled in the fact that I saw it there physically in front of me, despite the thick glass, 4' solid table in front of it, and the railing set up another 10' away. This combined with it's size made it really hard to appreciate the art or the painting. I would have loved to have gotten within inches and actually study the piece. Instead I watche a mob scene of visitors looking to get thier picture with the mona lisa in the background.

Yes it appeared that most people had come to see the mona lisa only to have thier photo taken with it. It was a bit of a sad scene to watch, and wonder how many actually cared about it as a piece of art.

It was sad to see that the Louvre staff did not se to car about flash photography at all anymore, as I watched poor mona lisa and many other works of art get flahes hundreds of time a minute. The combined effect of speeding up the Bleaching and degretiom of the artwork. I guess there are too few staff to such a large hoard.

Anyways, I also poped on by the Panteon today. Pretty impressize as a bulding, but unfortunately it was pretty barren inside, and considering it's grand size, it would have been nice to see more inside of it (at least talkIng about the building). I at least got to climb up to the outside of the dome. And this got another birds eye view of the city. There are lots of them available in Paris, which is a good thing in my opionion. I like the thought of being up high and seeing your city (or the one you're staying in) spread out before you.

I met some fun folk las night. One was from Canada, and had already traveled and worked in austrailia at a gold mine for 9 months. Quite the way to live, work and travel. He appeared to be unsure of what he wanted to end up doing in life, but that traveling and working where doing it for him at the moment. Then there was a girl from austrailia, who had already traveled to several oriental countires, as well as across Europe. I had stumbled upon a true group of travelers.

Then there was a girl from New Zeland whom didn't really appear to want to ever go back to there. Instead she wanted to travel to every country and work in them for a few months. Really a wondering and. Nomadic spirit. She had actually just gotten to Paris to work for a year, and was in the process of finding a job and an apartment. It was cool to meet someone with such a desire to see the whole world.

Well, I'm currently typing this on a train Madrid, and it's time to see if I can get amy sleep.

PS: take note that writing most of these entries from my iPod. I'm not really proofreading and words then to get messed up, left off, combined, or just turned into a jumble. So, if you see mistakes, kindly ignore them.

I've been in Paris two days now, and have been thouroughly impressed by it all. Paris is what I expected from a large european city. Absolutely packed to the brim with history, beatiful architecture, and culture (that is significantly different from my own. Part of this is due to the different language, which hasn't been a problem at all so far, despite my very very meager supply of French phrases. If I'm not trying to comminicate, then I just tune it out. If I am, then either I can use a bit of English which most understand pieces of, or it becomes a game of charades.

Fun story. I forgot my contact case (again), so I needed to buy a new one yet again. I walks into a pharmacy, which you would expect to have one and I ran into this problem before, but they didn't have one. The clerk spoke a little English, so could ask outright. So, luckily, there was a lenscrafters type shop right across the street. I walk in, no one speaks english. So it turns into a game of charades. Needless to say, she got it the first try and within seconds I had a new contact case.

Victory.

But yes, I'll to back to Dublin. After being dropped off at the airport at 1:30 I'm the morning, somehow I managed to stay awake the entire time, checking in at 4:30 and boarding at 6. It was quite the night. I also managed to get almost no sleep on the plane. Part of that was the fact that I love to look out the window at scenery. It was pretty neat to fly over England, because from where the plane was, you could pretty much see from one side to the other. We flew over all of it in 20 minutes, turning at London for Paris. The best part was when we landed, in one of the 'paris' airports, there was nothing around. No city, just lots of grass and fields. I find out I needed to take a hour and a half bus rise into paris from where I landed. It's funny that the unexpected bus ride took more time than the flight.

While frazzled upon arrival, I soon settled into this new city, and with a place secured I could explore. Explore I did, as there seems to be something new around every corner here. It's exciting and all so new. Paris is packed with more history than I could ever take in, in the short time I'm here. There are picturesq small cobblestone streets, lined on both sides witharkets and small shops. The riverside is filled with monuments, people relaxing, and wondering musicians. It all is a bit surreal.

My first stop was Notre-Dame. I'm a big fan of cathedrals, and this did not disapoint. The cool, dim interior was pierced by brillant rays of color, emminating from the many stained glass windows. The most impressive and breathtaking of them all was the two rose windows. On top of that there was chiral music emminating from carefully concealed speakers. I think I could have sat there all day.

I've done a lot of climbing over the past few days. I've conquered the stairs of Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffle Tower (I had to take an elevator up to the top from the second floor. Each offered an amazing view over all of Paris. I spent my evening on the Eiffle tower, watching the sun set and the city lights slowly come on. It was a fitting end to a long day of tours, museum and site seeing.

I will take a day to head to Versaille, before spending one last day in Paris (I still have to see the Louvre). Then I'm off to Mardrid.

Things I've noticed:
I had a difficult tieme getting used to the cars being on the oft side of the road. All of a sudden in Paris, it all seemed to be working just fine, until I noticed that was because they have it right and drive on the right side of the road. Oh well, I still have lots of time to get used to traffic coming from the wrong direction elsewhere.

I think I've come to a realizarion why everyone in England was at the bars after 6pm. It didn't take long to notice that nothing else is open after that time. I was really surprised by this, thinking that a city that was this big would have stores open all the time. The closing time of stores seemed to get later the further I get away from England. Now in Paris it's very similar to NYC, there are tons of places open late into the night. I was tempted to stop into a restaurant at midnight even.

I think there are always tons of Asians traveling (and they all have digital slrs and tripods). But I've come to the realization that this is only because they are easy to pick out of a crowd of caucasions. It can be really hard to tell if someone is from France or not untill I can hear them speak.

I think the French youth can be just as loud and roudy as us loud Americans. There are definately quite nations from what I've experinced (as well as those loud ones).

Europe is getting larger (belly size). I noticed this in England and it was even pointed out by a buddy from Ireland. There seems to be a downward spiralling trend with the move from quality produced food to fast and cheap food (filled with all sorts of bad things for you).

They sell champaign on the top of the Eiffle tower. It's €10, about $14, for a small flute of it. I guess there is a ton of demand, and limited supply then justifies the cost. And yes, amazingly there is a bathroom on the top of the tower (I at least was wondering about that).

And that's all for my current musings.

Today, was not as it was initially planned to be. Ask had originally planned it ot be, I would have been sitting on a bus and a train all day long, with an odd layover in Galway. But things change, and instead those plans where thrown out the window and I went surfing on the west coast of Ireland instead.

I would have never thought of Ireland as being a country to surf in. But a beach, not 5 miles down the road from Doolin, isnonw of the best up and coming spots to catch a few waves.

So I jumped into the Cormac's car (who was up surfing for the weekend/bank holiday) with another travel bud (Scott) and we went off in search of waves. Unfortunately since the weathe has been amazing the past few days the waves where few and sometimes far between. Needless it proved a good training ground for newbies, like myself.

The amy was blue, with hardly a cloud in it, and the water was cold and refreshing. As I lay in it, as my wet suit proved to be very bouyant, I was glad that I had opted not to take the bus and train, but spend part of the day by the ocean with new friends.

I did manage to get up, just once, but that along with several other close attempts proved to be a great experience. I will have to go again. It just won't be on the coast of Ireland next time.

The afternoon and early evening was filled with a leisurely conversation and driving. Coversationed ran the gamut from subatomic particals to stemcells to the demise of the US car industry. I find it amazing how well versed people from another country are in what's going on in America. I feel inadequate when I can't reciprocate the same level of information that everyone seems to hold of a country that thedont live in. My world news needs to be worked on.

I am getting some new perspectves on my country from these conversations and it will be interesting what I come away with at the end of this journey of mine.

The evening was filled with food and beer, a fine way to cap an eventful day, one that as to be much different overall from the onset. I look forward to more days of this kind, filled with new experiences and unplanned events. This is how I would like to continue to travel.


UPDATE:
I forgot to write about the other half of the title. So on top of auering for the first time in Ireland, I also had my first snail. Which I have to say, despite being a bit gross looking was quite tasty (and quite a bit salty). They were good though, being sold onthe waterside along with seaweed (Irish sea grass as it was being labled). It made for an interesting lite snack while driving back to Dublin.

So, today was fills with a visit to the cliffs of insanity (what is a post if it doesn't include a reference to the pirncess bride), otherwise known a the Cliffs of Moher.

Amazing.

I started my day off with a meager breakfast of two fresh baked scones and some instant coffee. The scones where good, as the owner of the hostel was very excited about them. He has actually been a lot of fun, and one of the most personable hosts so far. He even remembers my name. That's much better than I could ever do.

I decided not to follow the road to the cliffs, but rather a path than seemed to follow them much closer (well they weren't in view yet). The path started off as old road. Then turned into a grassy, overgrown road, before just dissapearing altogether into a path. And quite the path it was. As I reached the cliffs I was overwhelmed by it all. This had to be some of the most breathtaking landscape that I've seen, and I was all over the US last year. Of course part of the breath taking happened when the path meandered right next to the cliffs edge.

Up the this point I found it odd that I really hadn't seen anyone else yet. I thought this was a popular attraction for this area.

Figures that I was off the beaten path, and I started along the cliffs far before they turned into the touristy area. Which was about two hours of walking after I set off. It was fun to watch everyone from afar, as I wondered what they thought of the lone figure out on the part of the cliffs that was beyound thier fence. And as I approached finally, I hopped over the fence and blended into the crowd in no time.

This area was no fun. As they kept everyone behind a wall, ten feet from the edge of the cliff. Not so great for really up close sightseeing. Luckily just passed the 'imminent danger ahead' sign, which everyone ignored, the crowd was able to walk alongside the cliffs to the other end of them.

So all in all I walked nearly the entire lenght of the cliffs of moher, and back. It filled my day.

My sunblock didn't pass the true test of it's worth unfortunatley. As, even with 5 applications throughout the day, I still had a sunburnt face by the end of it. Oh well.

Now I'm off to O'Conners, a pub in the area that is well known for it's traditional music scene. I enjoyed a bit of that last night upon my arrival to Doolin (where I am now). It was a fun night filled with music, travel buds, dancing (not me) and good Guiness. I'm excited for another night of it. This is what I came here looking for (as well as to see the cliffs).

Side note. I had a 4 hour block of free time between my trians arrival in Galway and the bus the I needed to pick up to Doolin. Unfortunately the stations luggage room was closed so I had to carry all my stuff around. On the upside, there is a huge event going on this week, so there were festivities everywhere. And who should I meet there l but my tour guide from Dublin. So I got to hang out with her and two of her friends for a little while. It was totally unexpected and I was glad that we stumbled upon each other randomly, in a totally different city.

Well that's all for now. Tomorrow I make the journey from here to Galway to Dublin to Paris. Should be interesting. I could use a day of rest on the busses and trains after today long long hike.

So I've been in Dublin these past few days. It's a nice city, was a bit much at first. Butni guess that's my fault for not really having any literature on it before coming to the city.

I started off by getting a nice taxi ride into the center of the town with two lovely gentlemen who wanted to help me out. They and the taxi driver pointed me in the direction of a few hostels and I was all set with a place to sleep for 10 euros in no time. Of course it makes sense why it cost so little when I had a chance to look around. Not exactly the best kept of places. The say they are under renovations, but my guess is that this a status that they have been under for quite some time now. My room has a huge window that overlooks . . . The train tracks. So i get to hear the sound of the trains run by every so often. I guess it's a good idea that I brought ear plugs. They really have come in handy.

My first full day in the city started off with another free tou, putbon by a company that has tours in a bunch of cities. It's all tips based, and the guides have been great so far. These tours are always great at getting me oriented to the city. And this guide was pretty cool, looking to move to NYC sometime in the upcoming months. She recommended a good fish and chips joint (which was good), and even joined me after the tour for a bit at the park that we ended up at. It was nice to have someone to chat to, since this hostel seems to be lacking in the typical hoateller fare (from what I've gathered so far).

Anyways I finished off the day of touring around with a visit to the Guinness factory. Which I have to say that I was even more impressed with it than I though I was going to be. Whoever put the whole thing together came with a very modern approach, making it both interesting and visually stimulating, modern and overall a great experience. I even got frsh brewed guinness, which was amazing. Along with a full pint when I was done with the tour, accompanied by a 360 view of Dublin. It was a good experience. And highly recommended by me for anyone in Dublin.

Anyways I'm off to sleep, got to get up to catch a train in the morning.

I didn't expect the trip from Scotland to Ireland to go completely smooth, but there were a few hiccups along the way. Needless to say, I arrived at each destination in time to take my next mode of transportation. I'll get to that story in a few. First Edinburgh.

My second day in Edinburgh started with a visit to the castle. When I arrived around 10am, I just happened to catch a ceremonial guard posting, which they only do for certain events. Thus there was a very small crowd compared to the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace. Up on the hill the wind managed to just whip right through you, despite it being anther sunny day. I'm not quite sure what the weather is usually like in the areas I've visited, but it's been sunny and nice most of the time.

The rest of the day was filled the national museum of Scotland. As what usually happens in these museums, I read almost everything at the beginning and after an hour or so I'm down to reading on occasion, finally moving onto just quickly looking and reading any big, bold print. It was interesting though, and I like to think that I learned a fair bit about Scotland.

Being in Edinburgh was a bit bittersweet. Everywhere I looked reminded me of my dad, and every lone bagpiper on the occasional street corner would bring memories flooding back. I'm glad that I went, and want to return some day to see more and take a tour of the highlands.

Anyways, onto my adventure to Ireland.

It started with a bus breakdown before it even arrived at 9:30pm. After a half hour we were shuttles onto another bus to Glasgow where we would pick up a different us going to the same destination as the bus we were originally supposed to take. After picking that bus up, I believe I got a little sleep while in route to Manchester. We arrived suprisingly close to the original arrival time had there not been bus problems. Mind you it was 4:15am at the point and now I needed to wait around till 6:15 for my next bus to Liverpool, where I would take a ferry out of to Ireland. Upon arriving in Liverpool, not knowing exactly where the ferry port was, I asked around for directions and finally found someone who knew (roughly).

Ok. I'm tired, so I'll finish this up tomorrow. Needless to say, there was action, adventure, and intrigue, along with panic, running, and a nice ride from a good chap. All while arriving with just minutes left to check in. So stay tuned.

UPDATE!!

All right, I have a few minutes left on this computer to burn (I'm at an internet cafe). Here is the rest of the story.

So I got a set of directions, and a bus to get on. The problem was, the directions where a bit vague. It was, go back in the opposite direction the bus is heading when it drops you off, take a left, and then when that road ends, take a right. Sounds simple. So I do that.

After a while, I begin to wonder. So I stop into a small diner to check and make sure I was heading toward the ferries. I get confirmation from the chef that I am. Good! So I decide I would sit down and have some food to eat. I hadn't eaten since the night before (and was running on 3 hours of sleep). Afterward, I continue my trek down this long road.

I begin to worry after another mile. And so I go over a street towards the waterfront, where I probably walk another mile or so. At this point I only have 15 minutes to check in. I begin to really worry.

Finally I see signs for a ferry. Except it's across a bridge, and back the way I came. Crossing over, I stop a car and ask where the ferry was. "10 minute walk back that way". Of course, the direction I came from originally, just on the opposite side of the street.

I'm out of time at this point, with only 10 minutes, I book it. I alternate running and walking (it's hard with 30lbs of luggage on you). I don't think I'm going to make it, when out of no where, a kind gentleman stops a bit ahead of me and offers me a ride.

It was a good thing he did, because it was still a good 5 minute car ride to finally get to the ferry. But I arrived in time to check in, and made my ferry. Exhausted, but happy I made it.

Here's a bunch of photos. Enjoy. (sorry about the odd formatting, I'll fix that when I get a chance).


Edinburgh from the top of Arthurs Seat


Edinburgh from the top of Arthurs Seat

The other side of Arthurs Seat

Bath


Church in Bath


Inside of Bath Abbey

Inside of Bath Abbey

Stonehenge


Fireworks for the kickoff of a two week music fesitval


Roman Baths


Roman baths with Bath Abbey in the background