July 29-Britannia and Stramash

We started today's adventure on a bus to Leith, which is just outside Edinburgh on the coast. Here, the former Royal Yacht Britannia is docked as an exhibition. It was used by the royal family on trips of state business and holiday. Whereas most of the royal sites we've been to have a high degree of extravagance, the Britannia feels more like a country house rather than a palace. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II designed the yacht in the hopes that it would feel more like a home than an elaborate palace. This is not to say it was sparsely decorated or furnished. The rooms used for functions and housing were beautiful and certainly worth of the royal seal. It was a great way to spend the morning.
We had lunch at Clarinda's Tea Room, so named for Robbie Burns' friend and mentor. They had a great selection of lunch foods and a tempting tray of sweets. I indulged in a bowl of carrot and coriander soup and a scone with the works (butter, jam, and cream--so good). The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering the Royal Mile shops and exploring Victoria Street, a street of unique boutiques and restaurants. It was a great day for browsing; I'll admit that by this point, I was fairly museumed out.
We attended a fabulous musical showcase in the evening, in which we heard bagpipes, fiddles, guitars, and a few singers performing traditional Scottish music. The session, called a "stramash," was a great hour of music and a little bit of history of the music as well. One song I'm sure you all know would be Robbie Burns' "Auld Lang Syne," which was actually originally sung to a tune different from the one popularized today. It was a great finale to our time in Edinburgh. Since it was right across the street, we headed to the Elephant House for dinner. We endured a terribly long wait for our food--almost 45 minutes, and it wasn't that crowded. I can see how JK Rowling could've written the lengthy Harry Potters here. But the dessert almost made up for the long wait. I don't know what it was called, but it was a cake of chocolate graham cracker crust, caramel, cream, and chocolate sauce on top. So good!

July 28-Royal Mile and Arthur's Seat

Today was a pretty full schedule, so we started bright and early with the Tartan Weaving Mill. The guidebook made it seem like it would be more of a museum of tartan weaving, but it turned out to be just a tartan shop with a view of a couple looms below. We did get to see a tartan in progress, but other than that, it was pretty much a bust. Nevertheless, we pressed onward to the Writers' Museum, which focused on Scottish greats Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Robbie Burns. The museum had a great collection of artifacts from all three authors, including personal items and early manuscripts. A great site for any literary enthusiast, especially since it's free. From there, we headed to Gladstone's Land, which is a restored tenant building from the 17th century. It was pretty cool to see what a house at that time would have looked like. We saw what looked like early prototypes of the Exersaucer and Renaissance style cooking utensils. Then it was off the Royal Mile and onto George IV Bridge to hit the National Museum of Scotland. The museum houses the other half of the Lewis chess set that is housed at the British Museum. There's also a cool section on early Scotland, which combines a geological history as well as the early peoples of Scotland. While I was watching a video on how Scotland formed (fun fact: Scotland and England were on separate continents before they collided), I noticed that the man sitting next to me looked very familiar. Turns out, it was Sean Ryder, the Lit and Film professor from the NUI Galway summer program. Small world. Anyway, after browsing through the museum, we headed across the street to Greyfriar's Kirk. There's a lot of history behind this church, including the signing of the National Covenant that resisted pressure to convert to Anglicanism, but it is most famous for being the grave of John Gray. John Gray spent his final years with a little Skye terrier named Bobby. When he died, Bobby would sit by his master's grave, leaving only to get food at a local butcher shop. Bobby stayed at the grave until he himself passed away and was secretly buried in the churchyard (animals weren't allowed to be buried in consecrated ground at that time.) Today, Bobby's grave is the recipient of many gifts and notes. A guide there told us that recently, someone left an envelope of unused German bus tickets and a note-- "Bobby, please come to Oktoberfest."
For lunch, we stopped at the Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote much of the early Harry Potter books. Although there was a bit of wait, our lunch was delicious--a beef and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes and gravy. Yum!
Our next stop took us to the other end of the Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace, one of the royal residences. We got to tour through, since the Queen was not in residence. It's very strange to walk through, because though it looks like a museum, all that really happens when it's opened for residence is that the ropes are removed and the carpets are rolled back. It really is a fully functioning palace. The rooms were very exquisite and beautiful. It was interesting to see all the portraits of Scottish monarchs along with the English from the Tudor period on. Macbeth was even there. They also had the royal apartments opened, where Mary, Queen of Scots lived. It was also where Mary's second husband killed her secretary, an event that led to Mary being forced to abdicate the throne and lose custody of her son and heir, James IV of Scotland (to be James I of England). She appealed to Elizabeth I for help, but since Mary was a potential competitor for the English throne, Elizabeth had her locked up and eventually tried and executed for treason. Not the best of luck for Mary Queen of Scots. We also explored the gardens and the ruins of the Holyrood Abbey, which was beautiful though no longer functional.
After we left Holyrood, the real adventure of the day began. Rising up above the town of Edinburgh, there is an extinct volcano known as Arthur's Seat. There isn't really any connection to the King Arthur myth, though it's said that one side looks like a sleeping lion. But regardless, Arthur's Seat is the highest point in Edinburgh. So, naturally, we had to climb it. Props to my mom, who indulged me on this one. The trek up is fairly uneventful, since the vegetation is low lying and the path just meanders to the top. But the real draw of the climb is the views. From the top, one can see all of Edinburgh, from the entirety of the Royal Mile to the farmland outside the city, to the firth of Forth and the other side of the river to the North Sea. It's absolutely incredible--a must-do for anyone spending any time in Edinburgh. The wind up on top is incredibly strong; you almost feel as if you're going to blow away. It really feels like you're standing on the top of the world.
Anyway, we eventually decided to head down, since we were getting hungry. For dinner, we decided to try the World's End pub, so named because it stands on the wall that used to mark the city boundaries, thus "the world's end." Unfortunately, you must be 18 to enter, and I had to walk back up the Mile to the hotel to get my passport, since I lost my license in London. It was a bit of a pain, but so worth the hassle. Mom and I had our first drink together, a very momentous occasion, and the food was incredible--a steak and ale pie for dinner and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. We had a chance to make friends as well, including one guy from Cork who I spoke a little Irish with and our table neighbor from Russia. It was a lovely evening, but I was glad to get back to the hotel--I probably couldn't have walked another step!

July 27- Hello, Edinburgh!

There's a roadside sign on the border of Scotland and England that orders "Haste ye back" as you leave Scotland behind; I saw it on my last visit to the UK. I don't know if two years is really "haste," but nevertheless, here I am in Edinburgh once again! The minute I could see the town from the plane I remembered how much I love this small city on the Scottish coast. As opposed to the hustle and bustle of London, Edinburgh (pronounced Ed-in-bur-ah) has a much more leisurely pace, and more space to find your own place in the city. Plus, the scenery of Edinburgh is absolutely gorgeous--hills and mountains everywhere! As Mom took over most of the planning of our London adventure, I handled the Edinburgh. Let it be a warning to anyone thinking of letting me plan a trip for them: Prepare to climb things. Our first stop after the hotel was Edinburgh Castle, which sits at one end of the main drag known as the Royal Mile. Storming this castle is quite a feat, as it sits up on an extinct volcano after a long uphill climb just to the entrance. Once inside, we took a quick tour and checked out the fabulous views from the ramparts. Attractions include the Scottish crown jewels, which aren't as elaborate as the English ones but still pretty hardcore, and the Stone of Scone, which is the stone that all Scottish kings were crowned upon. It was stolen by the English for the coronation chair, which is displayed in Westminster Abbey, but then returned as a sign of good will. It will be used for all future coronations, but its permanent home is now in Scotland. There's also a very nice monument to Scottish war veterans at the highest point of the castle. We took a good amount of time to explore the castle and then headed out and down the hill to the Princes Street Gardens, which in addition to lots of flowers and nice views of the castle, have a fully functional floral clock. I can affirm that it is indeed working and on time. Making our way down the Royal Mile, we popped into the High Kirk of St. Giles. The Edinburgh skyline is full of church steeples, St. Giles being just one of them. The church was simpler than ones we visited in London, but still quite spectacular. I couldn't find anyone really exciting that was memorialized there, but there was a plaque that said "Thank God for James Young Simpson's discovery of chloroform anaesthesia in 1847." Thank God, indeed. Our further exploration took us to the North Bridge, "just to see what the view was like." From the bridge, we spotted a series of monuments up on a hill. Following in my need to climb every mountain, up we went! We thus found the Old Calton Graveyard, where David Hume is buried and there is a large Washington Monument-type obelisk erected. But we weren't done yet--we then climbed up what we later identified as Calton Hill. The views up here were incredible, especially since we were up there just as the sun was beginning to set, casting great shadows across all the buildings below. Definitely worth the trek up. There are some interesting monuments up there, including a structure that looks like the Parthenon.
By the time we got off the hill, we were ready to eat, but first we had to find the food. Mom's iPhone located a potato place called the Tempting Tattie, but it proved a challenge to find it. In my defense, it was on a street that was no accessible from the bridge. After much wandering, we finally found it. It was no Spudhouse, but the food was filling and cheap--so essentially perfect. We made our way back to the hotel and crashed, hoping for a good night's sleep before more conquering tomorrow.

July 26-St. Paul's, the Globe, and Covent Garden

First priority of today was definitely St. Paul's Cathedral. The last time I was in London, there was some sort of important ceremony taking place and we were unable to see the inside. Therefore, I was determined to fill that gap in my London experience. It was totally worth the price of admission. The Cathedral is absolutely stunning, with beautiful gold work and decorations and an impressive dome in the center. Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed inside the cathedral, but I'm not sure that a camera could really capture the amazing detail of each part of the building. Along with a beautiful area that functions as a church, we were also able to see the cathedral's crypt, where many important figures are buried. The Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson have the most impressive tombs--you certainly can't forget that they were significant individuals. Less visually spectacular but certainly more personally exciting were the plaques commemorating JMW Turner and William Blake. The architect, Christopher Wren, is also buried here with a plaque that says something along the lines of "If you seek his legacy, look at the walls around you." After we'd finishing creeping around in the crypts, it was time to climb. The staircase leading up to the dome is essentially divided into three levels. The first level would be the Whispering Gallery, named because of the unique architectural feature that allows a whisper to be heard clearly from all the way across the dome. The guard stationed there took much pleasure in exploiting this fact, whispering things like, "Remember, no cameras" and "Ooooo, the Whispering Gallery!" The gallery offered much acoustic entertainment as well as a great view of the ground floor below. We pressed on then to the Stone Gallery, which is really just a place for those who are out of shape or afraid of heights, because the real goal is the Golden Gallery, the highest point of St. Paul's Cathedral. I should amend my statement about those not in shape--the Golden Gallery is an agonizing 528 steps to climb 85 meters above the ground floor, not a feat for the faint of heart. I don't think there was anyone who wasn't gasping by the end of it. But whether or not, you were short of breath from the climb, the views from the top would certainly leave you speechless. It's certainly debatable that St. Paul's has even better views than the London Eye, though of course the London Eye doesn't demand quite so much for the great photos.
After it started to rain a bit, we descended the same stairs and exited St. Paul's, heading across the Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theater. I mention the bridge because fans of the Harry Potter movies will recognize it as the one from the beginning of the sixth movie when the Death Eaters are terrorizing the city. No Death Eaters today, but there were some ominous rainclouds. Anyway, no true English major can visit London without visiting the Globe, so to the Globe we went. Naturally, this isn't the same Globe of Shakespeare's time--that was burnt down. But it is a pretty accurate reconstruction and still hosts both Shakespeare plays and newer plays during its season. We were unable to get groundling tickets (aka the cheap "seats", quotation marks because its a standing only section right in front of the stage), but we got to watch the tech crew setting up for the evening's production during our tour.
We were a bit hungry at that point, so we kidnapped Beall and went to Covent Garden for lunch. Covent Garden is almost like Reading Terminal Market, with crafts and food for sale. It's also home to the London Transit Museum. We didn't actually go in the museum, but the gift shop is one of the coolest places to get souvenirs. We had some time to kill before we needed to return to our hotel and pack for Edinburgh, so we stopped by Buckingham Palace. We weren't able to make it over for the Changing of the Guard, but it was nice to see it later in the day with less crowds. Unfortunately, the tours of the Palace were beginning the very day we were leaving, but the outside was still quite a sight.

July 25-"We can see the Eiffel Tower from here!"

First on our list today was a must-see in all the guide books--the Tower of London. There's really only one way to experience it, and that's on a Beefeater tour. The Beefeaters are the guards of the Tower, and from what I can tell, are harboring secret ambitions to be stand-up comedians. Our guide was Peter the Beefeater, and he took us through the history and architecture of the Tower. On our wanderings, we got to see the Bloody Tower, where the two princes where allegedly murdered by Richard III, and a delightful exhibit on torture (muhahahaha). Of course, no visit to the Tower of London would be complete without seeing the Crown jewels, so we did that as well and wished we were monarchs... or at least had a few more 532 carat diamonds sitting on our heads. We also said hello to the ravens, who have a legend that states that if the ravens should ever leave the Tower, the White Tower will crumble and the empire will fall. Modern birdkeepers help them out by clipping their wings.
After seeing all of those pretty jewels, we decided to combine retail therapy and sightseeing with a trip to Harrod's, London's iconic super-department store. Harrod's contains five floors of clothing, toys, food, sports equipment, and accessories. We were engaged in more window-shopping, since it's pretty expensive, but it was cool to see the elaborate Egyptian theme to the escalators.
We then exited and took a stroll through Hyde Park. Normally, it's supposed to be very beautiful, but it seems there's a drought (no green grass) and there was also a triathalon today (lots of people... EVERYWHERE). But we got to walk through and even saw the Peter Pan statue. We caught the Tube from the other side of the park and headed back to the Theater District to see STOMP, which was absolutely incredible. It got out fairly early though, so we made another trip on the Tube and rode the London Eye, tallest Ferris wheel in the world. We went right at sunset and got some beautiful views of the city.

July 24-The Perfect Day for an English major

We had a little trouble getting started this morning, but once we got up and got going, there was no stopping us! First stop of the day was the ticket office to schedule our tour of Parliament. Tours are only offered on Saturdays, so it was pretty busy. We managed to get tickets to the last tour of the day. With some time to kill, we went just around the corner to Westminster Abbey, which is the site of numerous coronations and weddings. The abbey itself is absolutely gorgeous, with tons of gold decoration and elaborate ornamentation. But the main draw is the numerous famous people who are buried or honored there. Almost every notable monarch was buried in Westminster, and my favorite monument was definitely the room that housed Elizabeth I and Mary Tudor. Though they didn't agreed in life, the tomb's inscription hopes for a unified resurrection. There are a great many political figures honored in Westminster, including Cromwell, though there's an interesting story there. There's a stone slab inscribed with his name and then 1658-1661, as he was buried in Westminster originally. However, when Charles II restored the monarchy, Cromwell was dug up, hanged, and then beheaded. Clearly public opinion had changed, or perhaps it was a measure taken to prevent zombie uprisings. Jokes aside, my favorite part of the abbey is the Poet's Corner, where literary and cultural figures are honored. As an English major, the main pilgrimage point would be the grave of Geoffrey Chaucer of The Canterbury Tales fame. There are many other notable names listed, including Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Shakespeare, Lewis Carrol, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edmund Spenser, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Milton, and Charles Dickens. It was great to tour the Abbey--I've been here once before to hear Evening Song, which was incredibly beautiful, but it was hard to really get a good look at the place. Another plus: the audio guide was voiced by Jeremy Irons. You really can't beat that.
After Westminster, we took a stroll along the Thames to the Tate Britain, an art gallery where a large collection of JMW Turner's works are housed. I last saw Turner's work when a collection came to the National Gallery in DC, so it was great to revisit his style. He has two distinct styles, one being very clear-cut and realistic, the other being very loose and blurry (clearly, I know my art terms). I prefer the former, but it's always nice to get a good mix.
Finally, it was time for Parliament. All I can say is, if you have the chance to tour it, do it. The building is incredible; I can't imagine what it must be like to work there. We did get a little taste though, as our tour took us through the Houses of Commons and Lords. We also got to see the Robing Chamber, where the monarch prepares before opening Parliament every year. The major highlight of this room was that it had an Arthurian theme. The tapestries depicted Arthurian legends exemplifying the virtues of chivalry and there were also woodcuts telling the story of Arthur's life. I was in heaven. It was a pretty lengthy tour, and I feel like we hardly even scratched the surface--not an easy thing to do, since there are over 1100 rooms in Parliament. But it was such a good tour and an unbelievable experience.
The day was not done yet! We met up with Beall after our tour and headed down to the Apollo Victoria Theater to see Wicked. It was incredible to see, especially in London. The show itself is absolutely phenomenal, and to see it in a city like London... it was the perfect night.
But wait! There's more! We got back on the Tube to return to our hotel, but we made a split decision to go a few more stops to Kings Cross station. Why? To find Platform 9 3/4, of course! We had to wander a bit to find it, but we ended up finding a few other people that looked like they were on a similar quest, and together, we found it! Now that I know how to get on the train, looks like I'll be dropping out of Villanova and transferring to Hogwarts.

July 23-British Museum

The first full day in London started off with sleeping in and then grabbing breakfast down at Costa. I was feeling very British and ordered tea and a blueberry muffin--definitely a good start to the day. Then it was back to the hotel to meet Mom as she arrived from Heathrow. With the reunion complete, we then got straight to work on our London to-do list--The British Museum. With almost 2.5 miles of exhibits, there's absolutely no way to see everything, but we sure tried. Highlights included the Rosetta Stone, Elysian marbles, sarcophagi, the Sutton Hoo burial, the Easter Island statue, and tons of artifacts from around the world (my archaeology class actually came in handy here). There was also a special exhibit on the drawings of famous Renaissance painters. For this exhibit, we joined forces with the lovely Ms. Beall, my 10th grade English teacher who is on a fellowship studying Chaucer in London. The dream team assembled and went through the exhibit, which was essentially the sketches of artists like Michelangelo and Raphael. Some were plans for larger paintings or sculptures, and others were just figure studies and quick sketches. It was pretty incredible to see how these sketches have survived through the years, since they were from before the artists really had the scale of renown they do today.
We needed a little caffeine boost after the museum, so we stopped at Starbucks to regroup. From there, we jumped on the Tube to check out the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery was pretty cool in terms of all the people I recognized, from historical figures to literary icons (Joyce, the Bronte sisters, and Jane Austen were all present.) After we got kicked out of the galleries by the guards in charge of closing up, we spent a little time in Trafalgar Square to take a few photos. I definitely got my picture taken with the lion. Then it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep before tomorrow's assignment--conquering Parliament!

June 22--Bye bye, Galway... Hello, London

So I know that this blog is entitled "Adventures in Ireland" and the URL contains "Nicole in Galway," but please postpone all false advertising lawsuits because I'm in London now! I left Galway around noon after saying goodbye to our wonderful host parents. Reflecting back on the experience and hearing from people who stayed in the student housing, I've realized how invaluable the homestay experience was. It gave me a chance to experience Galway from an insider's point of view and made it easier to branch out from the "American mob." So I'm very grateful for the McCallihans for opening their home to us and making us feel so welcome. It was definitely sad to get on the bus and leave town; it kind of reminded me of the first semester of college. I haven't turned Irish overnight, but I definitely felt at home in Galway.
Anyway, I took a bus from Galway to the Shannon Airport, where I hopped on a plane to London. We were delayed a bit because of heavy thunderstorms in the London area--ironic, since the entire trip out of Ireland was sunny and beautiful. But sure enough, we eventually took off. I had a row to myself, so I snagged the window seat. Flying over Ireland is really beautiful; I missed most of it when I came over almost six weeks ago because of cloud cover and being asleep. But flying over it this time, it really is seven shades of green. I waved goodbye when we left the coastline behind, but a few short minutes later, I was saying hello to what I think was probably Wales. Either way, hello UK! Irish countryside and English countryside looks very similar, but the real excitement came when we started getting into London. I picked out the London Eye, Parliament, Big Ben, and a couple other sites as we flew over the city center. I managed to get off the plane, collect my baggage, and navigate through Heathrow without too much incident. I was happy to find a cab though--my baggage has gotten a lot heavier than when I left. My suitcase came out to about 22kg and got a nice red HEAVY tag on it--I'm glad they don't weigh people; I might begin to regret all those donuts. It was about an hour cab ride from Heathrow to my hotel, and I got a great cab driver who pointed out sites of interest as we drove. An interesting difference between Ireland and England--the English really seem to love Oliver Cromwell. I must have passed at least five hotels/restaurants with Cromwell somewhere in the name. Whereas in Ireland, Cromwell is almost seen as Ireland's Hitler. In fact, when peace talks regarding Northern Ireland were being held in London, Irish representatives refused to meet with the English because the room had a portrait of Oliver Cromwell on the wall. History is alive, people.
I ended up getting to my hotel pretty late, so I didn't do much exploring beyond finding food at a cafe near my hotel. The real UK adventure begins tomorrow, when my dear mother gets in. I hope they're ready for us.

July 21-Last Day

Today was sadly my last real day in Galway. Tomorrow I jump on a bus to Shannon Airport and fly out to London. Which of course is very exciting, but I'm so in love with Galway that it's hard to think about leaving. There was no time for lying around and pondering on my upcoming departure, though, as I had a ton of things to do today. Most of my to-do list involved shopping, which is always fun. I finally found my lime green "Galway: Probably the best city in Ireland" shirt, so look for that in the coming weeks. I also attempted to sell my books at a couple of local secondhand shops but was not very successful. So if anyone wants a book on the archaeology of the Burren and the Aran Islands or Irish history, let me know!
I had lunch at the ever-popular Griffin's bakery, which was fabulous both in terms of food and getting out of the rain. There were a ton of people on Shop Street today, because apparently teen sensation Jedward was in town. I felt bad for all the parents stuck waiting out in the rain. Anyway, after shopping, I headed back and attempted to pack. As I suspected, my things have multiplied like crazy, and it'll be a miracle if my bags make the 20kg limit tomorrow.
We braved the rain again and headed to Bridge Mills for dinner and then a bar called Bunch of Grapes for a pint with Murph and his wife Kathy. It was nice to be able to spend some time with him outside of the university. It was good craic. The night ended with a trip to Tig Coili for Bailey's coffee and some Irish music. All in all, a very wonderful last day in Ireland. I'll be sad to say goodbye tomorrow.

July 20th-DONE

I am officially done with summer school! My exams went fairly well, though the only way I can really describe them is by saying that they're over. NUI really understands its students, because right after exams, there was an end-of-program reception in the college bar, complete with free drink vouchers. Unfortunately, the wonderful plates of sandwiches did not materialize for this reception, so we made a trip to Ward's for dinner and then headed back to the bar to take advantage of the free drinks. It was a nice way to end the term, especially since a bunch of the professors were there. Murph and his grandson made an appearance. Anyway, we weren't quite done celebrating, so Kelly and I headed into town for some more craic. We ended up at the Salthouse, where we met Ronan, Colm, and Astrid and made them play Timberrr with us. Ronan and Colm are both Irish, working in "a crappy desk job" (Colm) and civil engineering (Ronan). Astrid is actually an Italian electrical engineer who is taking classes in Galway. They were great fun and we played many harrowing games of "how can I make this block tower more structurally unsound?" I'm happy to say that the tower never toppled on my watch. It was pretty late by the time we left, but we had one more stop to make: Java's Bistro for after-midnight crepes. Good life choice.

July 19th--It all comes full circle

Not much to report here. We had our last history class today, which was sad. I really liked the class and the professor. Good life choice there. Exams are tomorrow, so I've been studying up a storm in the land of Eire. Most exciting part of classes today: We got to the 14th century in archaeology, when the decline of the Anglo-Normans leads to the Gaelic resurgence and thus Irish and Anglo-Norman culture merges, which is where we started on the first day of history. So I'm happy to say that my notebook contains the history of Ireland from the Neolithic period to the Irish Civil War, which I think is pretty impressive.

July 18- The Wild Hunt

Last market day :( It was a pretty good one, though. We visited our beloved donut man for the last time and got our last donut-shaped pieces of heaven. We then found a good spot on the street for the Macnas Parade, which is held in conjunction with the Galway Arts Festival. I wasn't really sure what to expect, other than that I've heard this is one of the best parades in Europe. I'm so glad I went, because it was absolutely incredible. The theme was the Wild Hunt, and there were several floats, though not like ones at American parades. They were huge metal structures, some of animals, some used as platforms for drummers, and all pushed by people in the parade. There were tons of performers walking with the floats as well in crazy costumes and there were even some on stilts. They were very interactive with the audience. It was a pretty short parade, but it was great because it held your attention and never had a down moment. Totally worth the crowds, so I'd recommend it if anyone's in Galway for the next festival.

July 17-- Free Hugs

By now, everyone should expect that if it's the weekend, I will be going to the market. This weekend is particularly sad, since it's our last market weekend of the trip. First priority: donuts. The donut man gave us piping hot donuts sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, so heavenly. I met up with Kelly and Claire, since we had plans to have a tea party that afternoon. But before we could get there, we ran into Heather and Stelios, whom Kelly and Claire had met the night before. They both work at a camp for terminally ill children and adults and were spending the weekend in Galway. Today, they were on a mission to give out free hugs on Shop Street. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Free Hugs campaign, but this guy started the campaign by standing in a city with a "Free Hugs" sign and giving people free hugs (here's a link). So, this was essentially what Heather and Stelios were doing. After watching them give a couple of hugs, we just had to join them. It's interesting because the Irish aren't really very expressive with their emotions, so they aren't too big on hugging. But we still hugged so many people. It was a really amazing experience--some people just thought it was silly, a couple people thought we were on drugs, but some people that I hugged just said "Thank you, I really needed that." A lot of people asked why we were doing this, and Stelios just said something like, "You know, you wake up, you feel good, and you think, what am I going to do today? And you go out and make people feel good, add love to the world." Definitely one of the best experiences of this trip, and my life as well. I suggest you all go hug someone right now.


It only gets better from here. After leaving with a hugger's high, we headed down to Sweetie's Tea Room for our afternoon tea party. We all got our own teacups and pots and then a selection of yummy treats from the bakery. It was so delicious... definitely the perfect girlie afternoon.

July 16-Pub Crawl...Sort of

As expected, there were a lot of plans to go out tonight since we'd finished with our papers, but with a large group of people trying to organize, things got pulled together at the last minute, and unfortunately, the final plan was released after Liz and I had left to get dinner in town. To make a long story short, Liz and I ended up doing our own pub crawl. Here's the breakdown:

1) The Salthouse--The last plan we'd heard was to meet at the Salthouse around 7:30 or 8, so Liz and I walked in at around 8 to a practically empty bar. But no worries, our love of the Salthouse stems from a very wide and interesting selection of drinks and board games, so our first stop included games of Timberrr (aka Jenga) and Scrabble, accompanied by banana bread beer for Liz (it actually tastes like banana) and Savana Dry cider for moi (from South Africa, cue the vuvuzelas). After we finished our drinks and determined that our group had probably changed the plan, we headed out for our next stop of the night.

2) Supermac's--The Irish fast food craze. Liz had the munchies, so we stopped briefly for some chips. They were good.

3) The King's Head-- We really just stopped here to see if anyone else was there. It was pretty crowded, since it's a pretty popular pub and it was a Friday night. After a quick look around, we left for a less crowded venue.

4) Hole in the Wall-- Hole in the Wall is always good for a drink or two. We ran into a couple people in our program, but not really anyone we knew very well. We stopped here for a while so Liz could get a drink, but then we pressed onward again.

5) McSwiggan's-- We heard music from McSwiggan's so we stopped in to listen. The band was pretty good; they were playing a bunch of blues songs. We hung out for the music, but then Liz suddenly got the idea to find a karaoke place, so we were on our way again!

6) Some pub in Eyre Square-- No luck finding the karaoke, but we did find a pub in Eyre Square with Irish music. It was a really great pub: not too crowded and plenty of tables. We made friends with a small group of Canadians and even joined in for a few choruses of Irish folk songs. It was all good fun. We even made friends with an older Irishman who was quite a few sheets to the wind. He asked us "Are you enjoying the craic?" We assured him that we were, to which he asked, "You know what the craic is, right?" We assured him again, yes, we know the craic, we love the craic. It was quite an interesting conversation, and by the time he left, we decided that it was time to make the final journey home.

July 15th-Papers are done!

I invite you to join me in the "paper's done" dance. It is a dance craze sweeping the nation, popularized by college students who are fighting the paper-writing blues with an exuberant happy dance when said papers are finished. Not to be confused with "paper's turned in" dance, which is also quite the phenomenon, the "paper's done" dance provides the perfect balance of released energy and bewildered stares from strangers to break free from the stifling confines of the library.
As you've probably guessed, I have just finished editing my papers for archaeology and history, meaning I can print them out and then put them away until handing them in during class tomorrow. I had quite an adventure trying to figure out how to print here, but I managed to figure out how to buy print credit and how not to use the WiFi printing service, so I'm just feeling rather accomplished today.
On a side note, paper in Ireland is not the same size as in America. Anyone who has gone through English with the lovely Ms. Beall will understand my shock as my carefully checked 1-inch margins printed off as... well, I haven't measured, but that's definitely not 1-inch all around.
On another side note, I've unfortunately realized that by this time next week, I will no longer be in Galway. Granted, I'll be landing in London, just hours away from meeting up with my wonderful mother and beginning our conquest of the UK, but still, it's a bit sad to be leaving this place.

July 14th--Cheese

In Ireland, if you want American cheese, you have to ask for plain cheese.
And if you're looking for cream cheese, they call it Philadelphia cheese here.

Both are very good on a sandwich.

July 13th-Missing the FML

I love so much about Galway. I love the city, I love Shop Street, I love all the cafes and pubs, I love my homestay and my classes (I would say I love the donuts, but the word "love" cannot capture the intensity of my adoration. Will find a thesaurus and get back to you on that one). Basically, I love everything about this place... well, everything except An Leabharlann James Hardiman.
An Leabharlann James Hardiman is NUIG's library ("leabharlann" is Irish for library). Since I had no classes scheduled for today, I decided to camp out in the library to get my papers done. Seven hours later, I am seriously missing the FML (Falvey Memorial Library, my second dorm room at Villanova). Unlike Falvey, this leabharlann does not have a convenient coffee shop on the ground floor for those critical points when you just can't survive without a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate in the building next door is wonderful, but if you happen to enter at an inopportune time, the man at the desk will tell you that you can only bring water into the library. So all in all, an leabharlann is not very conducive to paper-writing marathons. Also, after a very frantic search, I have concluded that there is no women's bathroom on the first floor (though I did find one on the second floor).
All in all, I'm looking forward to reuniting with Falvey in a couple months. Though, I have to admit, LJH's website has a tab entitled "Are you bored?" which, if clicked upon, takes you to a page with newslinks and sudoku puzzles for all your procrastination needs.
Such a long day in the library could only end one way: a trip to the Spudhouse for garlic bread and a hearty potato dish before heading home to relax.

July 12th--Famine

I've just realized that I have a week and a half of class left--that's insane! This program has gone by so fast. But there's still time to have plenty of adventures, so we shall not fear. I had a fairly full day of class today, with archaeology in the morning and history and Irish in the afternoon. In archaeology, we've finally gotten to all the early Christian period, so all the sites we've seen over the last five weeks are now showing up in lecture. In history, we've gotten to the Great Famine, which I'm pretty interested in, especially since it's the topic for my paper. There are a lot of qualms about the history of the Famine today, especially in addition to the Unionist/Nationalist tensions. The basic gist is that while the potato blight was a biological disaster, the way the government handled relief was completely inadequate and thus there was mass devastation throughout Ireland. There are a lot of fingers to point in terms of blame for the disaster, from the Irish landlords who weren't able to honor their responsibility for ensuring the well-being of their tenants to the English government operating under a policy of laissez-faire economics that kept them from intervening appropriately. There was also the belief that the Famine was a result of Ireland's weakness as a society and many saw the Famine as a punishment and opportunity to reconstruct the country. We discussed the history of the Famine in the context of current debates over whether it should be included in the school curriculum under the topic of genocides, to be covered alongside the Holocaust and the genocide in Rwanda, to just name a few. The history of the Famine is still very alive in this country, especially with the potential to blame Britain for abandoning Ireland during its hour of need. Speaking of history living on in current tensions, today was Orangemen's Day in Northern Ireland, a day which celebrates the Glorious Revolution (William of Orange, a Protestant, defeated James II, a Catholic). The sectarian tensions between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland are especially volatile on this anniversary when Protestants walk the streets in orange vests. There was actually a bit of violence this year, just proving that everything I'm learning in class is still quite relevant in the modern identity of Ireland.

July 11th- Donuts

We went back to the market today, since the weather was so nice. This time I decided to give the market donuts a try. I gave my .60 euro to the guy we've creatively named "The Donut Man" and then experienced something I can only describe on the level of religious epiphany. The donut literally melts in your mouth. I retract my previous statement: If you're only going to do one thing in Galway, eat a donut. Your life will never be the same.
The afternoon passed with some work done, but then it was time for the World Cup! We settled down in the Dail Bar for a delicious dinner and dessert as we watched Spain take on the Netherlands. I was rooting for Espana, so it was a good night. There were tons of Spain supporters running through the streets, singing songs, waving octopi in the air (has everyone heard of this psychic octopus? Weird). We didn't stay out to celebrate too long, but the experience of watching the World Cup in such an enthusiastic country was definitely worth walking through the rain.

PS-If anyone wants anything particular from Ireland, I'm currently taking requests. Let me know.

July 10th-Market Day

If you're only going to do one thing in Galway, go to the open air market. I am a big fan of taking my own advice, so that's where I found myself this Saturday morning, wandering through carts of handmade crafts and delicious food displays. I stopped at the crepe place for breakfast--I don't remember what exactly I got, but there were pears and apricots and just general wonderfulness. I also got to have a little chat with the man by the stand with the gluten-free cakes about the gluten-free trend here. He says it's because the Irish diet has been so consistent through the years that more allergies are popping up. I took this as a reasonable answer. Unfortunately, it began to rain on our market day parade, so we headed back and I used the time to work on my papers a bit. It was still pouring by the time dinner rolled around, so in an effort to conserve dry socks, we brought a pizza back to our homestay and had a relaxing night in.

July 9th-The Spud and the Hooker

Friday! There were only two sections of class this morning because the other half of the program was heading to Dingle for the weekend. So I basically went to my nine o'clock archaeology class and then had the rest of the day free. Unfortunately, the crazy Friday night would have to wait, because I ended up working on my two papers due next week. I spent a good portion of the morning working on my archaeology paper, gathering information about the various ritual and burial practices from the neolithic to the early bronze age. Then I decided to take a break from megalithic tombs and metal hoards for lunch at the Spudhouse, a potato-centric restaurant down the road from the university. I got a massive baked potato stuffed with chicken and ham drizzled in cheesy wonder. It was epic enough that I headed straight back to school and started writing my history paper on the Irish potato famine--yes, the irony is brilliant. Anyway, after a rather product day of research, we were ready for a real Friday night. Our first stop was the River Inn, right down the road from our homestay so we didn't have to walk too far in the rain. I had a rather delicious goat cheese tart. We then walked down to the Salthouse, getting rather soaked. But the craic was worth braving the rain (craic is Irish for "good times"). The Salthouse is a great bar for anyone looking for places to go in Galway and has a wide selection of beers and other drinks. I'm not much of a beer person, but I decided to be adventurous and try a Galway Hooker (it's a beer as well as an opportunity for lots of clever jokes). It was... interesting. The best activity of the night was playing a Jenga knock-off game called Timberrrr. It got pretty competitive. The night finished off with a trip to the Irish fast food chain Supermac's for hot muffin sundaes, which are possibly the best desserts you will ever find for under $3.

July 8th- Back to the Burren

Today was another day of rain. The rain usually isn't too big of a problem here, since it tends to rain on and off during the day rather than pour for hours on end. I have gotten in the habit of taking a rainjacket wherever I go now. Anyway, classes were pretty normal today. The university had a workshop in Sean Nos singing today during the lunch break, so I went with a few friends to check it out. Sean Nos singing is a traditional Irish style, characterized by its lack of accompaniment and a high degree of improvisation. The instructor for the workshop demonstrated a few songs, as well as had us sing along with him. The songs are sung in well-known airs, but the singer then adds embellishment and variation by drawing out certain syllables or departing from the note of the air. It reminded me a lot of Indian singing. It's quite interesting to listen to, especially in Irish. We tried a few songs ourselves, mostly sticking to the tune of the air. It's also hard to embellish when singing as a group, so Sean Nos singers sing solo. It was a pretty cool workshop.
In the afternoon, we had our second archaeology field trip to the Burren. Dr. Jones came with a heavy rain jacket, rainboots, waterproof pants, and a fedora (kidding about the last one). The rest of us were significantly less prepared. Our first stop was a 9th century hillfort called Cahercammaun, which required a twenty-minute walk up said hill in the rain. We were pretty soaked and grumpy by the time we got up there, but things greatly improved once we got to the site. Cahercammaun is a three-ringed hillfort from a time when there were laws about how many rings your hillfort could have based on your status. These laws indicate that Cahercammaun was the residence of a very powerful figure or family, probably a chief. The fort is set on a cliff, which gave a great view of the surrounding area. We got to poke around the fort for awhile, and then we headed back down the hill and onto the bus for our next site, Corcomroe. Corcomroe is a late twelfth century Cisterian abbey, and is possibly the most interesting Christian site we've seen on this trip (and we've seen a lot.) The inside carvings are uniquely intricate, and for all the beauty of the place, there are several architectural mistakes. Dr. Jones said that the men commissioned to build the abbey were locals without any experience with such big buildings, though they were very skilled in carving. The site is being used as a graveyard now, and in the landscaping of the grounds, the ground level around the abbey has risen, resulting in doors that would be quite comfortable for a hobbit (many pictures were taken). It was awesome to see a more complete site, since we've mostly seen megalithic tombs and half-preserved forts. Corcomroe completed the field trip, and we all headed back home where dry clothes awaited.
Other interesting highlight of the day: Pineapple and grapefruit soda. Sounds weird, tastes surprisingly good.

July 7th-Class

Back to normal class today, though it seems that many of our number were out partying last night and thus classes were significantly less crowded today. Classes were pretty standard today, though there was a film showing of "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," which is set in the midst of the treaty that partitioned Ireland into the Republic and Northern Ireland, setting up the tensions of the Unionists and the Nationalists. The movie is widely acclaimed, though pretty intense and violent--not one to watch if you're in the mood for something light-hearted.
And in case anyone is wondering what the current top singles in Ireland are, I'll attach a link. Why this one? It's currently stuck in my head. The accordion is very catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2nBvtkgyE

July 5-6th--Mad Study Skills

So, not much to report for the past two days, due to our midterm exams. It was a bit stressful to prepare for, as we had spent the previous weekend in Dingle and had full days of classes leading up to the exams. The general atmosphere was very tense, especially since the courses are so compressed and the midterms, though only encompassing two weeks of classes, actually covered a lot of material. I may have had some mild insomnia induced by the Nine Year's War and the implications of the Battle of Kinsale, but I'm happy to say that both exams went fairly well. The format of the exams was pretty intense--we all had to sit in this intimidating hall and leave our bags at the front of the room, had to be escorted to the bathroom, no breaks between tests, etc. The whole thing would have been pretty unpleasant but then I realized that the format was how I'd always imagined the OWL exams in Harry Potter and it was bearable. It was pouring by the time we finished the tests, but we donned our raingear and headed into town to a little cafe for soup and sandwiches. We then went on a successful hunt for ice cream and headed back to our homestays, where I promptly threw on sweatpants and spent the rest of the night watching TV. So... pretty much what I do after exams at home.

July 4th--Driving

Most of today was spent driving back from Dingle. We stopped briefly in Adare for lunch and found a little market set up with lots of crafts and goods for sale. I got a very delicious cupcake for one euro--excellent life choice. Not much else to report, since I've just been at school looking over my notes and study materials for our exams on Tuesday. I am missing all the fireworks and general commotion-making of the fourth of July, so everyone reading this better light a sparkler or two for me!

July 3- Early Christian sites

Today was our tour of the Dingle Peninsula, which involved visits to a lot of early Christian sites. Now, I'm always up for learning about history and visiting old ruins, but at this point, if you've seen one monastic settlement, you can guess pretty well what the other ones are like. But regardless, our tour took us to examples of early Christian round huts, the Gallarus Oratory (early Christian church made famous in a poem by Seamus Heaney), and an early Christian 12th century church. The last church, Kilmalkedar, was kind of cool in that it had a sundial, an ogham stone (ogham is an old Irish form of writing) and a stone with the alphabet written on it. It was also an early example of Romanesque churches in Ireland. But again, we've seen a lot of early Christian sites since getting to Ireland.
One of two highlights of the tour was the Blasket Island Cultural Center. The Blasket Islands sit right off the coast of the peninsula and once were home to about 200 people, though they have all been evacuated because of the islands' isolation from medical supplies and emergency resources. The islands are important because they were an area were Irish was the primary language, which lured scholars and writers to the community to study the language and the culture. The islanders also produced a library of about 40 books, which have been translated from Irish into many languages. I've added several of them to my reading list, which is growing longer by the day, but I hope to get to them soon.
The other highlight of the tour was actually the time spent on the bus. Driving along the coast was incredible--on one side, you're staring down steep cliffs at waves crashing around below you, and on the other side, you're gazing up at huge mountain ridges that line the peninsula. Pretty spectacular.
We got back to Dingle and were free until we had to leave the following morning, so we went off to do more exploring. We found another pub for dinner where I got Cottage Pie, which is basically Shepherd's Pie (beef, veggies, and mashed potatoes). Our after dinner wanderings took us past the ice cream shop we'd visited the day before. I skipped the ice cream for an Aztec chocolate, which I've wanted to try since I saw the movie Chocolat. It was basically hot chocolate but with nutmeg, cinnamon, and chili, so it had an intense kick to it. Montezuma apparently had 30 cups per day, but I just stuck to one as we watched Spain take on Paraguay in the lobby of our hostel.

July 2-Dingle for the Weekend

Today was a shortened day of classes as about half of the summer program headed off to Dingle for the weekend. For those following at home, Dingle is a town located on the Dingle Peninsula, which is the southwestern tip of Ireland. It was a fairly long bus ride, but we got a break at Bunratty Castle for lunch and a little exploration ("Bye, bye, kids! Have fun storming the castle!"). Bunratty is a very well restored castle with furnishings and such inside so you can kind of see how people may have lived back then. The restored town surrounding the castle looks like the Disney corporation got hold of it, but the castle was pretty cool. I actually had been to Bunratty once before, but I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it much more when it wasn't pouring. There were certainly a lot of staircases, and it was especially cool to climb all the way to the top for the view. After we'd all gotten our fill of farm animals and thatched roofs, we headed back on the bus for the final leg of the journey. We actually broke that up as well with a stop at a gas station for the loos and snacks. I met a nice older gentleman in line when I accidentally threw a blueberry muffin at him (not exactly, but it sounds funnier without an explanation). He told me all about Dingle and the peninsula area and asked me about studying in Galway and such. It was a great way to pass the time while waiting in the huge line.
We got to Dingle around dinnertime and had the evening free to explore. First impressions of Dingle were that it was a rather quiet seaside town with an emphasis on the fishing industry--so many boats. It was a little touristy, but in small scale terms, so that was nice. We had a great time exploring the docks and taking pictures with the statue of Fungie, a dolphin who has made his home in Dingle Bay since the 80's. We found a small pub in town for dinner, and I had an incredible meal of gnocchi (shout out to my favorite gnocchi enthusiast). We also found a great ice cream place for dessert, where I got a combo of Bailey's and cheesecake ice cream--incredible.

July 1-The Irish 4th of July

In a strange turn of scheduling events, I did not have any classes today. I did wind up at the university anyway, since we have our assessments this coming Tuesday. I did a little studying, which was mostly a gathering of notes in anticipation of studying at a later date. I also went to another interdisciplinary seminar. This one was on Northern Ireland and featured my history professor and an expert in Irish folk music. My history professor was fun to listen to--he grew up in Belfast during the 80's, so he told stories about going into the city center and seeing armored trucks and armed soldiers patrolling the streets. I really like his lectures, since they have the perspective of the part of Ireland still connected to England as well as objective facts about the conflict in general. Plus, he has a great Irish accent, which explains why my notes contain a few scattered reference to the "valence" during Cromwell's campaign in Ireland. Anyway, the second professor was supposed to talk about how the Northern Ireland conflict was portrayed through folk music, but he ended up telling us his life story. Not only were the nuances of folk music lost somewhere between his days as an amateur mountaineer and the conception of his first child, but he read the entire thing off of a Powerpoint. So the seminar started well and then went down a very steep hill.
After the lecture, the summer program had set up a little Independence Day barbeque for the American students missing all the fireworks and cookouts back home. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but it was a free meal, so no real complaints. It was a nice gathering for the entire program, and even Dr. Murphy made a guest appearance. The 2011 Villanova Heimbold Chair was also there, as well as the children of Louie, the director of our program known for his rather wild red hair (he resembles one of those cartoon renditions of Viking marauders, I kid thee not). A good time was had by all, so of course the fun couldn't stop there. A group of us headed out to the Salthouse, a bar in town famous for its inventory of beers from around the world. Apparently it is worth a trip if you happen to be a beer enthusiast visiting Galway--I, however, am not a fan of beer, but can affirm that the Salthouse has a fabulous Scrabble set. There was also a trip to the Hole in the Wall for some late night dancing (and like most of Galway, "late night" is over at 12:30)