man... i still forget to upload pictures backwords if i want them to scroll down in a timeline. oh well.

up top is me on the bus! it has been an everyday occurence during my time in dublin.

second. it's my countess dracula pose in a graveyard on the ghost tour.
third. me at work! i used the self timer---i wasn't actually on the phone.

fourth. furniture shopping last week.

fifth. BLUE DOG! that's for jeanna.

So my roommates left Monday and I thought Tuesday would be the beginning of a peaceful and lonely existence in the apartment. Well, just as I was cracking into a youtube movie I heard the strange suction/creek of the door and voices tentatively saying "hello. hello." there were two boys in the hallway--- I assumed they were spanish--- I smiled and said hello.

I went back into my room to make myself presentable for males and then ventured back into the kitchen. one was better at english than the other, but the other one was my roommate. he took stephanie's room. the next day at some converging point of the day we met in the kitchen and tried to communicate. i tried speaking in spanish only to learn that he is saudi arabian. yeah. no way i can communicate except english. thank goodness i am leaving tomorrow.

i got my suitcase shipped off today--- hopefully it will arrive in longview--- oh geez parents. what if it takes forever and is delivered while we are in atlanta? oh my. quite an issue. well--- surely it can get to longview before we leave. it has a week's head start on me.

sooooo work is over now. it's very sad. Wednesday was my last day and it was lovely. actually a lot happened that day. they lost my couch. the wonderful free couch that i stumbled upon--- yeah there was some miscommunication during a hopeful period of getting a different couch. now they are going to have to buy a couch (one that i also found), but then they will have to sell it back after the show--- hopefully that will work out.

during my lunch break on wednesday i went over to a cool cemetary that i had spotted from the luas. it was all overgrown and on a sloping hill and quite lovely. i took some pictures, but it would have worked out much better if jennifer had been there. i was tromping through the underbrush without a care in the world--- there are no snakes in ireland--but i didn't take credit of violent weeds hoping to grow up into painful thistles. yes....i stepped on one--- or into one--- i'm not sure. it wasn't that bad, but the arch of my left foot had a very unpleasent sting for an hour or so afterwords.

that evening directly after work i went to eat with my wonderful staff members--- i say we went to eat because that's what we would say back home--- in actuality we went to a pub, but we had starters and I drank a delicious apple cider. they were so wonderful and it was a great ending to the internship. they even gave me a gift--- three books by irish authors, a very sweet card, and a few pounds to spend in expensive london. it seems like i was here for such a short time, but i really have loved working at the mill--- even the stressful parts :)

the next day i went into town and looked at some things again and said a few goodbyes to the city--- i even took pictures on my busride in. for my last dublin hurrah i went on the ghotsbus tour with the galway girls. it was kind of cheesy, but it was a fun way to say goodbye to the city. you know the author of Dracula was Irish and lived in Dublin... I was kind of surprised it didn't really touch any irish folklores like the banshees or even the morrigan (yeah--- it's kind of similar to a banshee but was seen on the battlefield and is connected with death. it came up in my last paper in Dr. Pullen's class. I was researching a play by Marina Carr, a female Irish playwright).

today i've just been packing, running errands, handwashing clothes and working on my paper for the end of this program. it's a cold dreary day today--- very irish.

this time tomorrow i will be in london and this time a week from now i be on my way to longview to get a haircut and this time two weeks from now i will be in atlanta researching alice walker and this time three weeks from now i will be with the opas exec team getting ready for the semester and this time four weeks from now i will be preparing to start class on the following monday----bleh. i'm tired just thinking about it.

short thoughts

So I've not even left Dublin, but I am enjoying looking at back at my first blogs. I believe I have become quite long-winded along the way. So, here in the name of brevity is an entry for the day.

Last night I watched some more videos on youtube and began thinking about packing. Tonight I will eat spaghetti, watch movies on youtube, read a little, and continue thinking about packing. My Spanish roommates are leaving tonight so I will be completely alone in the apartment. I think I may buy some celebratory dish sponges and enjoy really clean dishes my last few days.

I am looking forward to seeing Jacqueline ever so much. Thanks to Facebook stalking I am aware that she and I have the same skirt--hers is gray and mine is blue. I am sure they will make an appearance in London.

On my way home from work today I need to buy a little suitcase/bag to travel with. My parents (hi mom and dad!) have requested that I ship my large suitcase home. Anything you think wise. I hope that all works out in the end............ makes me a little nervous.

Okay. Brief. Right.

Well, the end then.

Texas is calling

So, I will miss Ireland, but I'm getting ready to go back home. It's taxing taking cabs, riding the bus, and not having more than one towel waiting you get out of the shower. Not to mention using different outlets, coke made with real sugar, and having to walk to and from the grocery store.

Fortunately, today is a slow day at the office.

(hahaha, I'm enjoying this last statement because it seems absurd for me to be spending a day at 'the office' --- daddy goes to the office--- not me. ahhh, well...i do technically work in an office and spend most of my days in a student programing office)

Yesterday I went to see the Book of Kells, such a shame you can't take pictures in the library. The book itself was not much more than an old book--- of course it's very interesting to learn and see about old books-- I do love books, but the page it was on was a pretty boring page filled just by text. There are some beautiful pages with drawings as part of the text, but the page yesterday was sort of bland. Mama may appreciate it more being a calligrapher. I really loved the library though. A classic library-- -floor to ceiling books, lined with busts at each shelf and ladders reaching high to the top of the shelves. I did not get the overwhelming feeling of modern libraries. I get clausterphobic in Evans and have to take a lot of deep breaths to avoid passing out. Kind of a danger for an English major. Daddy says it looks like Harry Potter and I have to agree. Much nicer than the metallic shelves in libraries these days and the two-toned striped carpet that is found in Evans. Honestly, the 6th floor of Evans looks like a football field--- the carpet is striped with two bright shades of green--- it's kind of nausiating. I prefer the 5th floor anyway---they have the best chairs.

So I went to see the Book of Kells and then I went home and watched movies on Youtube. Mermaids with Cher is my favorite from yesterday.

This weekend I also had the opportunity to meet some Londoners. Anna, whom I traveled with to Galway, is working at a music something or other--- through which she has gotten to meet some different musicians in bands and things. They were very nice and here for some gigs over the weekend. I hope they become famous so I can say that I have met them. It was kind of difficult to have a conversation with them because everytime I asked them a perfectly normal question they would stop and say, 'You said y'all again.' I was quite aware of that fact, but they are the first ones I've met to be so excited about it. Then I told them how the official greeting at my university is Howdy and they asked if we ever say Howdy and y'all together. As soon as I said yes they started calling over their friends to listen to me say 'Howdy Y'all.' I know this sounds a little cliche (not to mention ridiculous), but it happened. I'm sure we subject plenty of folks with English accents to this sort of over-excitement when they visit us in Texas, too.

Oh, but it gets better. So you know now that they were English. You also know that they were musicians. So what do English musicians do in their spare time, you ask?

They sing Beatles songs, of course.

It was awesome and so much fun to sit and listen and sing along with them. It was only slightly demeaning when I was able to impress them by knowing most of the songs and even the name of the album of some of them. (Thanks, Annie for your Beatles' obsession and telling me to buy Revolver...) The fact that I enjoyed hearing them sing Beatles' songs just because they were British made our obsessions with each other's accents come full circle. I tried not to make a big deal over how exciting it was to hear them sing those songs....
They also asked if I was disappointed in their accents because they didn't have posh english accents. I was not surprised at all--- for one thing I've been in Ireland and it was nice just to have an accent a bit easier to understand (the English are a bit more understandable). I think they may have been annoying if they had had hoity-toity English accents... I don't know.

It was very nice to meet them and ranks up there with my Dublin experiences. It's nice to visit all of the tourist attractions and see all those things, but those are events that everyone who visits has the same story--- you see it, take some pictures, and walk away. Not everyone that comes to Dublin gets to sing Beatles' songs with London musicians (so it actually sounded good and somewhat realistic).

I am currently hungry, but very thankful there is not a show on at The Mill next week. That means the box office is very slow and I have very little to do (yay!!).

Can't wait to come home!

Can I Have Your Sofa, Please?

So yesterday was another lovely day at work. Well, I didn't technically go to work-work, but Stephen sent me on a mission to find pieces of furniture for The Mill's next play, Faithful (it's a mob comedy...). I slept in a little bit because it doesn't take me to just get to the center of town and then I began my quest I went to several different shops and walked from point to point. Stephen gave me a list of places to check but also wanted me to explore any shop I might find along the way. It was fun getting to see all of the furniture. Some of it was really nice and I definitely browsed through a few very expensive antique shops, but they were beautiful. It gets even better because Stephen had given me money for lunch and transportation. Yay! I stopped in a cafe on St. Thomas St.---parts of the street were dodgy but the cafe was very nice-- and I had lasagna and three salads. Mmmm.... Since I primarily survive on sandwiches, pasta and coke it was so good to get some fresh vegetables and legumes in me-- and of course potatoes were involved, too. I really didn't just have outstanding success or stumble upon anything amazing, but I took some pictures, made some measurements and turned toward st. stephen's green to catch the Luas to Dundrum.

I had spent part of the day before looking at online sights that had people selling furniture so I checked the only promising sight again and saw a couch that looked very promising. I called the number and spoke to Richard. He was wanting to sell his large couch and a love seat together and was surprised to get a call so quickly--- he had just put the ad up thirty minutes ago. He wanted to know how much we would give him for the large couch though. I gave the phone to Stephen who started to explain the situation and then after a moment spent listening to the other end his expression changed. It wasn't a bad change, more one of those life defining moments when something clicks into place that you never believed possible. He stood there jaw dropped and said "Richard! I didn't know YOU were selling your sofas...." and so forth and so on. Apparently the Richard I had called is our brochure designer and had done some printing for us, too. He wanted some time to think about it, but in the end Richard agreed to let us use the sofa.
It isn't perfect--- buts it's pretty good and the best we can come up with for a reasonable price (or so I believe). This and the fact that a group who uses the theatre for classes gave the mill staff a box of chocolates for us all to enjoy made the day even better.

Earlier that week Stephen had called to get me tickets to see a play at the Smock Alley Theatre. The play was called After Miss Julie and was absolutely fantastic. I think it may be the best thing I've seen this summer. I want to go back and read it, but it was truly a great and thought evoking performance. The Smock Alley Theatre was cool too. It's entrance literally is an alley-- it's in the location of a historic theatre that had fallen or been burned down sometime in the past. At one time, Richard Sheridan (author of The Rivals--it's been on at the Texas Shakespeare Festival) was the theatre manager there.

When I got home I found Dominique talking outside with some friends. One friend, Keith, is a Dubliner that Dominique met in town a couple of weeks ago. We managed to have an hour long conversation and debate centering around simply pronunciation and accents. The primary focus of the debate was the letter "H." Yes, it's true--- Well, just for more justification the Irish say "h" like hAch. Where we just say Ach. You know? Okay, so maybe it's not the most rivetting discussion or debate I've been a part of.

Today I've been doing laundry and I went grocery shopping (finally). There were some cherries on sale, so like my Granddaddy's granddaughter I had to buy them--- in fact I'm going to go grab a few now....

Okay, cherries in hand....

To continue on. I went shopping and watched some television shows on Youtube. Tomorrow I hope to revisit the Ireland Museum of Modern Art, finally see the Book of Kells, and just revisit a few favorite places. I also want to go the botanical gardens.

That's all I've got for now--- I guess I can begin a countdown to my return--- one more week in Ireland and then a brief tour in London and then back to home sweet home. (Then off to Atlanta, but that's another story...)

Galway Pix

okay. so there's a picture of cows walking in a line. i had to snap it quickly from the bus, but the image was just so wonderful. there was actually a picturesque old irish farmer with hat and cane walking home in the middle of the cows. i guess he was maybe driving them somewhere. wish i could have gotten a better picture.

second is the view from our hostel room window.

third is anna and the cliffs.

fourth is josi along the beach. she gave us all a heart attack when she went down there. haha, she's living life on the edge (I personally think thrill seekers should take a few steps back...)

fifth is a rock house table thing. it was a holy sight for druids and pagans and that sort of thing. i don't know the name, but i get the gist of it....

GALWAY

First of all, I would like to say hello to Grandmother and Nancy. Now that I know you read my blog occassionally I feel like I can kind of respond to your letters. It is very nice to hear from you and I hope the Texas heat isn't too awful.

Second of all, I would like to make a list of food I am looking forward to when I get home:
Bodacious BBQ, Papacitas, Carlitos, free refills, olive garden breadsticks, red lobster, chicken and dressing (which is kind of funny I'm looking forward to it because people eat quite a bit of it here), bisquits and gravy.... that is all for now.

I'm not quite sure why I felt that was necessary to include in my blog, but that's the wonderful thing about this--- I get to say whatever I want.

So Galway.

Galway is on the west side of Ireland and about 3 hours by train--- it would probably be shorter if we didn't have to make stops along the way. I was traveling with three girls that have not yet been introduced to the blog. Bailey & Josi from Colorado and Anna from Kansas. Anna interestingly enough shares a few characteristics with Ann--- both look very nice with pixie haircuts, for example.

We left Friday evening after work and all met up at the train station. I was very happy to have the opportunity to travel with them-- I had known they were going but didn't want to mess with the hassle of getting tickets with them when Anna told me that someone in their group wasn't going anymore and she had an extra train ticket andhostel bed. So that was perfect. I just showed up and gave her the appropriate amount of payment.

I don't think I have ever traveled this much in my life. Plus there's a new level to my travel because even when I get back home to Dublin I'm still actually travelling.

Nothing very eventful happened on the train ride over, but it was nice to talk to the girls. Upon arrival we took a cab to our hostel, which was easily found. The hostel's name was Barnacles and it was located in the middle of a busy street of restraunts and shops. Galway is a college town and therefore fun and filled with interesting people plus an arts festival is taking place right now--- Jeanna, the ads for the arts festival are images of a blue dog. i'll try to take a picture of one sometime. they remind me of you --- so Galway was very busy and exciting.

There was someone sleeping in one of our beds when we got up there. She wasn't in my bed but at the end of the day I ended up being displaced, but no worries I just slept on an open top bunk in the same room.

On Saturday we woke up early and took a tour bus out to the Cliffs of Moher. We passed some old castles and faery rings too. The Cliffs were amazing (and I believe that is where the most recent Harry Potter was filmed). It was foggy and rainy when we got there, but it had cleared up a lot when we left. I had a delicious shepherd's pie and semi-cold coke for lunch. Good and simple meat and potatoes. I did wish I had some ketchup to go with it.....
Bailey and I were sitting next to one another on the bus and we were right behind the driver (who was bald and had a scab on his head) and had our legs crammed up against a plastic divider. The tour guide talker didn't have a seat so he sat on a pillow in the aisle right next to me. Absolutely no way to stretch my legs.

Once we got back to the hostel we took naps--- but I had to wait for new sheets for my bed, still my nap was good. Then we got dressed to go for dinner. It was probably around this time that I noticed an odd package under the bed of our newest mysterious roommate. There was a package of raw lamb meat under his bed. Our two other roommates, female law students from Kansas taking a three week course in Limerick, told us he was a guy that had a tatoo on his face. I don't know why someone would think it wise to store raw meat under their bed-- and we knew it had been sitting out for a long time because we'd been there about an hour. There's really no excuse because the hostel offered a kitchen with a fridge. Oh, but the story doesn't end there. After we returned from dinner two meat patties were left in the package. Quite a bit later I went to bed. That night I woke up when he came in to go to bed and after he had settled into bed I heard him drag something out from under his bed. Did I mention his bed was directly opposite mine? Then he sat Indian style in the middle of his bottom bunk and ate something. In the morning the package was empty. Make of it what you will; however, I am glad I stayed in a hotel in Paris and will be safely tucked into bed in London as well.

Still I would say my hostel experience was a good one.

On our final morning we woke in time to check out-- it was cold all weekend and I didn't pack the smartest, but it was okay. We grabbed some breakfast crepes from a creperie (delicious) and then wandered around the few open shops. Then it was time to head home to Dublin.

Good weekend--- but not too too many stories. Maybe that's just because I'm sleepy. Maybe I'll elaborate more later.

Today I gave my report to the board--- I think it went very well. They seemed excited about my membership scheme. Well, maybe not excited but interested and encouraging. I also got to see a play called Waiting for Ikea. It's very Irish and I'm not sure I got the jokes. Well I know I didn't get all of them because I couldn't even actually understand all of the words. It's equivalent in the states would maybe be a play about to best friend girls that are rednecks. It was very specific to Dublin and certain street where the girls where pajamas all day. It was funny and a very interesting piece of theatre.

Okay, I'm done for tonight. I'll add some Galway pictures for your perusal.

Paris Tales: Part VI

Parisian Tales: Part V

Okay, so I'm finally going to be able to finish my Paris tales. Our last day in Paris found us sadly eating our last free breakfast and meeting up once again with Andre. Since our plane wasn't until late we made our way over to Emily's residence and left our bags there until we left for the airport. Once we met up with Andre we wandered around a bit and went to Notre Dame so I could get a close up view of the gargoyles. We did not wait in the long line (and sun!) to go inside, but we sat in the park for a bit and taunted a few pigeons. I was getting hungry and needed a snack. The sun does that to me sometimes. We found a nice little creperie and ordered from the sidewalk through a little window two crepes to go. Mine was very tasty--- cheese and chicken. Mmmmm... We had been through the street looking for an ATM and had stopped off in a little cinema so I knew that I could find a nice can of coke there. I bopped across the street, but was having some issued with the machine. It would not take my 2euro coin so the nice man gave me appropriate change and then the machine told me it was out of coke. I must have looked rather sad because the man reached over the counter of his ticket box and spoke to me through the window. In his passable english (thank goodness!) he asked me if I really wanted a coke.
I did, so I said yes. Then he disappeared from the box.

I thought he was maybe going to the back to find a magical coke, but instead he came out to the machine with a key and told me that even though it said it was empty there were really a few cokes in there. So he put my money in and an orange soda came out. He said not to worry and opened the machine and pulled out a coke for me. It was a wonderful part of the day and just what I needed. I believe all French people are just like him and absolutely delightful.

Just an FYI, I've been working the box office all day and I'm staying a little bit late just to help out and it's been a very busy day and I would like very much to go home now. Still, it's always a wonderful day at the theatre :) I'd much rather be here answering phones than somewhere else doing something dreadful. Tomorrow will be another late day as I will give my report to the board and then stick around to see Waiting for Ikea.

Then we left that area of Paris and went to the giant White cathedral that I don't know how to spell it's name. Of course, if I really cared I could google it, but perhaps you enjoy the mystery. So we went there, but there are loads of steps so Dom and I opted out of going up for getting icecream. Mine was delicious-- raspberry and strawberry-- and we rushed out of the sun onto a bench in the shade to wait for Andre. At this time we were about done with Paris so we went to grab our belongings and head for the airport. We were in the airport plenty early and then our flight was delayed--- yippee... but we got home and all was well in the end.

Paris was very enjoyable, but i'm very glad to be done blogging about it. I'll add some pictures to this last segment when I get home.

Maybe I'll feel up to telling you about this last weekend which will be titled Garrulous Galway, primarily for the sake of alliteration...

Parisian Tales: Part IV

Parisian Tales: Part III

So, when I last left off Corrie was returning to Dublin. Dom, Andre and I were all at the Louvre and had plenty of time left in Paris. Andre was very proactive and had several plans and ideas, so we were very willing to go along with his plans. There is a modern very of L'arc de triomphe which he wanted to see, so we jumped on the metro and popped up at this sky-scraper and sculpture littered area of Paris. Andre's reaction to the building was awesome-- he gasped and his entire face lit up. I was mostly happy because it was directly in front of our faces when we got off of the metro and we didn't have to wonder around searching for it, which undoubtedly would have ended with us having to ask for directions. At any such time I had a system.... sulk in the background and try not to make eye contact. It's the best way to avoid communicating with someone I've found. Anyway, we bopped around that area and snapped some photos.

Oh, the sun shines in Paris. And it's reasonably hot. So, Dom and Andre got to witness shadow hopping first hand. Also, I have airplane friendlychildren's sunscreen that fits cozily in a small pocket in my purse; however it's only SPF 30... yeah. Not impressive.

What's really cool about this new modern arc is that the original is directly parallel to it--- and you can see it! It was pretty cool. We walked around the area-- made a pit stop at a McDonald's and rode a nearby carousel. Just your average Paris adventures. My horse finished in front on the carousel, so naturally that makes me a winner.

At this point we parted ways. Andre was meeting up with his friends and Dominique was going to meet up with an old friend that is French, but went to school in the states for a while. I didn't know if I should bum around with Andre or just go back to the hotel with Dom, but I ended up going with Dom. It was very nice to relax in the hotel room and I got to watch an episode of Conan O'brian. It was quite enjoyable and was the only humorous option on the television in English. I watched the news a little bit, but it really was just depressing. I read for a little bit and then went to sleep--- I had to get rested for the following day's adventures.

Back in Ireland Dom and I decided we wanted to go to Euro Disney while we in Paris SO we set Monday aside for Disney adventures. Of course, we started the day with our delicious hotel breakfast and eventually made our way out to Disney. It was quite a long trek out there, but also worth it. The park was very busy and the day was hot, but we were so happy to be in Europe's happiest place on earth. Several elements are exactly the same as in the states--- like hot dogs and baseball and of course the characters! It made me feel powerful to know that Disney is so very American, but everyone there loved it. Of coures, Dom and I were a little bummed when some of the rides were in French. Ridiculous. Or even worse when they said everything in several different languages. It took a long time to get through everything. There was a wild west section and although it seemed to be a compilation of the western deserts and the ozarks it did make me miss home a little bit. Another one of those moments when I realized how different I was from everyone there--- I doubt hardly any of those people have ever been to Texas and they certainly don't have an old red house facing a pond and pioneering ancestors.

We wandered around the different sites and took pictures, until my camera died. Yeah... it was okay though. I just tried to use my memory.

Here's to French Disney movies:
Beauty and the Beast, Aristocats... um I can't remember them all. Oh, Ratatoille!

We got to watch the parade--- I don't think I've ever watched a Disney parade before. Of course in this one half of the characters spoke in English and half in French. Honestly, Peter Pan spoke to Wendy in English and she responded in French. I just don't get it.

There were too many kids around, but there was a cute Spanish boy in front of us in the Haunted Mansion line and we very much enjoyed making faces at him. There was another cute little boy on the train home who spoke French and English--- very impressive. We spoke to him a little bit. He was with a guy that is his Mom's best friend-- he had bought the little boy a picture of them on a roller coaster, but when he opened it the picture had scooted over so the little boy wasn't in the frame at all. The confusion and laughter was very entertaining to watch. The guy was laughing so hard that he cried.

When Dom and I got off of the metro at the stop near our hotel we were casually walking along when we heard POW!

We both froze and then quickly turned around and ran in the direction we had come. Both of us were fairly confident that we had just heard someone get shot. We were hugging a wall as other people were coming up an escalator and looking at us confusedly--- a few more pows went off and Dom and I remembered that it was a few hours until Bastille Day. We knew there were going to be fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, we just didn't bank on any at our metro stop. We continued to walk to our hotel and met a woman from the states currently living in Canada and she shared our view of hearing loud explosive noises and running. We had left Disney before their fireworks but it was totally fine because I could see 8 different sets off fireworks going off around the city from our hotel window. That was cool. And safe.

to be continued...

Parisian Tales: Part II

Parisian Tales: Part I

Soooooooo Paris.

There is a ton that happened. I was there for four days after all. So it all began on Friday-- I spent the day running errands and doing laundry and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. PLENTY of time--- the flight was delayed, but not too bad. It was kind of a surprise how short the flight was--- we got there in no time. Upon arrival we swiftly went through customs and stopped off at the bathroom before searching for a cab. While Dom was in the bathroom two men who spoke English really well came up to us and asked if we needed a cab. We said yes, but I was already wary of them. They asked where we were staying and said it was a flat rate of 60€ to get there. They knew exactly where it was. Corrie was all ready to believe them, but I knew that Dom said that the hotel said it shouldn't be much more than €30. The guys really weren't very nice--- it was weird that there were two of them honestly and they kept at it once Dom got out there, but she and I were really hesitant and walked away as we mumbled something about the hotel having a shuttle (even though we knew it didn't). We walked out and got into a cab from the line of cabs. We were a little frantic for a while because we didn't have the hotel address and the cab driver spoke very little english-- great right? Dom used my phone to call her mom and get the address and the driver drove in the general direction of St. Denis. Once we got the address it was a smooth ride and guess how much it cost? 30€. Thank goodness. We were worried for a while that we were going blindly in a cab and should have taken the exorbitant fee in the other one, but it all worked out.

We got to the hotel-- which was really nice and got checked in. Again it was kind of complicated with the language barrier and the pricing was a funny-- Dom's mom was called once again. We got an awesome deal on the room because some of Dom's family works at a Marriott back home-- this also worked out and was sorted in the end. Yay! I paid only 140€ for all four nights & the BEST complimentary breakfast on the planet, but I'll get to that later.

We got in kind of late, but it was our first day/night in Paris and we didn't just want to sit in our room. We looked at the book I brought with me and found a cafe not too far away. We were going to walk to the metro, but it was really shady and scary so we got a cab. We went into town near the Moulin Rouge and just walked around and took pictures. I was really self conscious about being an American and tourist, but it got better. It's so much more overwhelming to travel in a foreign country that you stick out in. In Ireland most people don't have any idea that I'm not Irish just by looking at me. In Paris my skin is definitely in the minority--- and Paris is very diverse, too. Then add on top of that the fact that we are unable to communicate easily with everyone and it's just more stressful.

We just walked around a bit and then went back home because we wanted to be up early the next day.

We woke up early and went down to breakfast-- there was another miscommunication with the hotel--- they did not have the correct name with our room number and were telling us breakfast wasn't complimentary, but if you went to Dom's name it was (all very complicated). We just kept eating and it all worked out eventually. They are a new hotel so they must not have had everything figured out yet. Breakfast consisted of the best cereal I may have ever had, eggs, potatoes (little round hashbrowns kind of like McDonalds), pastries (croissants, raisin rolls) and other breads, cheese, meat (sausage, sandwich meat, bacon), copious amounts of fruit, juices, water, tea, coffee, milk, and a few other things. It was AMAZING. We ate a lot every morning and ran most of the day off of breakfast (I also always had almonds with me in case I started fading). I may dream of that cereal for the rest of my life. Delicious.

After breakfast we were ready to brave the metro in the daylight. There was a stop right near us, so transportation into the city was very easy. The public transport in Paris is similar to New York and I was soon reminded that we are pretty spoiled here in Dublin. Well kind of. Paris was more efficient and we always knew when a train was coming, but when we got on the smell of several bodies pressed together in a tube under the earth was highly unfortunate. The first 7 rides or so on trains we never had the opportunity to sit down and more than once we were crammed in the standing space struggling to have a pole to hold on to. Of course in those situations there are so many people standing that if you fall the others around you act as buffers and supports. I can't even imagine riding on the subway and being short--- thank goodness my head could rise above most people.

We road the metro into town and got off somewhat close to the Eiffel Tower. When we surfaced we went up to a man at a news stand to ask the direction of the Tower. He made some kind of annoyed gesture to his face and to the right--- yeah I probably would be annoyed, too, if some people came and asked me where something was that was clearly in their line of vision. Heh... the tower was sticking up above some buildings so we struck off in the general direction. Once we got there Corrie served as the motivator to get in line to go to the top. She'd been dreaming about it since she was a little girl and her family didn't have enough time to get to the top. The line to walk up the first few levels was shorter so we got in it and purchased our tickets quickly enough.

Okay.

There are a lot of steps to get to the first level.




There may be even more to get to the second.




In the end it was totally worth it. Corrie was so gung-ho about it all and we had a good time once we got over the burning sensation in our legs (feel the burn, love the burn!) and the view was incredible. I don't know why it was so much fun, but it was definitely more rewarding to physically climb the steps than waiting 90 minutes in line to take an elevator. I truly felt like I had accomplished something.

Oh. And the tower was brown. I expected it to be black. Dominique thought it would be silver.

After climbing the tower we walked toward Champs elysee and planned to meet up with Andre (friend from Dublin) who was staying with a friend (Emily) who was studying in Paris. We were getting hungry and Corrie wanted a crepe--- all we could find was desert crepes. Eventually we ended up in some tourist restaurant, but I was too hungry to complain. I had cheese pizza and coke. At least the coke was cold and I got twice as much as I would have in Dublin. Corrie got a banana and nutella crepe. Andre caught up with us and we wandered around the shops. Corrie was very interested in looking at what fashion Paris had to offer--- she walked into a ridiculously expensive store, but they wouldn't let her upstairs. Have I mentioned that she was wearing a tshirt, shorts and tennis shoes? Hmm yeah..... Dom and I didn't care much so we left.

I followed them across the street to the Louis Vitton Store--- it was beautiful and we had to wait in a short line to go in (ridiculous). Apparently Louis created luggage as we know it, isn't that nice? I have more respect for it now and there really were some beautiful bags and things--- they didn't all look exactly the same with same boring brown print...

After browsing around we walked toward Notre Dame, but we didn't make it down there.


Woah. I completely skipped an event. After the Eiffel Tower Dom, Corrie, and I went on a boat tour. The Tower is right by the Seine so we jumped on a boat and listened to a recording tell us about different buildings along the river--- we saw a lot, but it was hard to take pictures and the recording said everything three times. Once in English, French and Spanish. It was very windy and the sky was overcast and blaringly white, but I enjoyed it very much.


Back to where I was.

We walked toward Notre Dame but abondoned ship right after the Louvre. We wanted to go home and rest and clean up before meeting up with Andre and his friends that evening.

That evening we met up with Andre and Emily and several other students studying with her. They were all studying either poetry or fiction and most of them attended NYU. Emily goes to Boston College (I think). I really enjoyed getting to meet even more American students. We went to the river where a lot of boat restaurants were and ate. I had a banana and nutella crepe--- very tasty. We went back to Emily's little apartment a little more than a shoebox--- but not by much and then we went back into town where it started raining. exhausted, we three girls got a cab and went back to the hotel.

The next day we woke up for breakfast and then slept some more (we had done so much walking the day before!). When we woke up we went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. The Louvre is absolutely ginormous and I probably saw 10% of what is in there. I think it would take four months to see everything in there if you just walked from piece to piece. FOUR MONTHS! I certainly don't have that kind of time and art history only goes with me so far... it's kind of like ballet--- not really my thing.

We ran into a cafe in the louvre and grabbed sandwiches (and a coke) that was cool to eat in the louvre amongst the history and art and emotion.... there really are too many naked statues, though. sorry just a random comment, not really pertaining to lunch in the louvre. i also received a very nice phone call from emily during lunch--- that was very nice (I will always remember I talked to her in the Louvre during that conversation).

There are a lot of nice shops near in the Louvre near the metro and I enjoyed browsing there--- it was more like what I imagined Paris to be.

At this point we said goodbye to Corrie, she wasn't staying as long as Dom and I. Corrie was a very nice travel companion. She is very friendly and speaks to anyone that addresses her. Like the random guy that is kind of yelling at you from the sidewalk--- I usually get a stony look on my face and determinedly keep walking---Corrie, however, turns and stops and yells hello and upon further inquiry shouts she is from Virginia. Corrie's French speaking talents are rather similar to Daddy's eloquent use of the Spanish language. Gracias=Grahcious. Excusez-moi= excuse mer or excuse moy. There are more examples, but they really aren't very important.

Not only do the French speak a different language but they also have different rules when it comes to public interactions. In Paris staring is completely normal. We are all kind of programmed to look away when someone notices we are staring. Not so in Paris--- if any change occurs the glance grow in intensity. True story... it's a little unnerving.

Please tune in later for part two of Parisian Tales.

Roarin' Dr. Pepper

Do you know what is fantastic about the summer? Summer sales. Yes. THAT is what makes the summer special.

As you all know, I work adjacent to a mall. So everyday I walked past these colorful windows and see the frozen displays and continue walking. Well....there also happen to be gleeful red signs and stickers in the displays proclaiming "reductions!" or "50% off!" I know you can understand how these signs and displays call to me. Well, today I ventured into the shopping world and had a grand time. I purchased a dark grey flapper dress (fully covered in fringe!) for only 15 euro--- in American we call that 20 dollars. I know what I am going to be for Halloween. This is by far the best clothes meets costume I've bought since by red/gold jacket with lace shirt and collar before Senior year. (I just realized this is once again before senior year. AH! I'm a senior. WHEN did THAT happen?). I also bought bright red lipstick---a necessity with the current hair do. In line to purchase my lipstick I spied Dr. Peppers in the check out mineral selection (notice it's mineral-- not coke, not soda, but mineral. I shall also beginning noting that it is half past (11:30). actually when they tell time in thirty minute increments it is much more confusing and I sometimes have issues when trying to book someone's tickets). I grabbed one from the back of the machine hoping it would be cooler, but it gets better. When I went to check out the lady asked me if I wanted another one because it was buy one get one free. Yes. Yes I did want another one.

It is currently chilling in the fridge.

When I got back to the shoebox I dined on peanut butter and crackers and rushed over to chat with Dominique. She was sorting some things out with her mom about the hotel. Then we went over to Eliza's room where she and her roommates were making crepes. One of them is from France. The other one attends USC. Crepes and nutella are delicious (of course, anything with nutella is delicious).

I left them to try on all of my clothes and decide what to ball up and stuff into my backpack. I think it should all fit snugly. We'll see once tomorrow rolls around. Okay, I'm off. I may give another update tomorrow before I leave, but you will probably only hear from me after Paris. I will try to take notes so I can share wonderful and exciting details of my first plunge out of Ireland.

Hasta luego! (I know that's not French).

This whole travel thing can be rather tiring. Now I am getting to the point that work is less exciting (still good--- but it's not a thrill to sit and try to remember each hole in the wall) and my surroundings feel familiar. The building The Mill is made of is really quite nice. It's very classy and modern hip-ish. Yeah. That's a description for you. A new artist's work was put up a few weeks ago and they are really colorful and add an extra element of cheerfulness to the space. If you get close to the art though I am thourougly convinced it's something I could do. Of course I haven't, so someone else can get the credit and money.

I'm trying not to get in a rut here in Dublin, but I just walk the exact same path everyday to work so that can be difficult. I've been buying my lunch this week--- still haven't managed to buy a few groceries-- and I eat at the same place everyday because I have a 20% off coupon and can get a tasty sandwich and chips for a little over €4. Good thing water is good for us and free.
I've been reading a lot on the bus and LUAS so I don't even look out the window much. Still, there is this one church and graveyard that are really pretty that I can see from the LUAS and I need to explore someday.

Yesterday after work I walked to Temple Bar and met Kathi and Doug Williams briefly. They are on a bus tour through Ireland and have been kept very busy. They had dinner at the Brazen Head so we just chatted for a few minutes in their hotel lobby. It was nice to see a friendly face and hear a familiar accent. There was a couple traveling with them that had not had their luggage for 12 days! That would be awful.

I am really looking forward to PARIS!

Mas Picture Galore

These are some more pictures of Blarney and then some of the hurling match!

Pictures galore

Here is a picture of

the Garden of Remembrance, Me on a train, Me in a tree, Me in a castle, and the view from the glorious hotel in Cork. The tree is a curious harp shaped tree (very Irish symbol) at Blarney Castle--- I love trees and could not be happier to find so many charming trees here.

Hurling For Fun

So I never talked about the magnificent hurling adventure on Sunday. The EUSA staff are supposed to provide an outing, lovingly called an 'excursion', for the students. So, they got us tickets to the Hurling final. I was happy to go and experience a new sport and I like to collect sports stadiums. My random sport claim to fame is that I have been to nine major league baseball parks (thanks, daddy). Now I can attach Croke Park onto that list in its very own little section. It's a stadium for football (that game we call soccer), too. It was nice, but honestly it wasn't even as big as Kyle Field. So the day was gloomy and wet and we had to get there early--- so I didn't stay, but I did watch and enjoy the experience!

Hurling is similar to soccer, football, lacrosse, and baseball. Kind of. The field is very similar to a soccer field. The goal posts are crummy football posts. The bottom half fits a soccer goal, but you make point by getting the ball under the post (like in soccer) but you also get points for getting it over the post (like in Am. football). The guys are running and use short sticks to stop the ball and throw the ball. The ball is a leather ball so I am led to believe it is similar to baseball. They are seriously HURLING this ball all over the field and it looks so violent. The only protection they have is a helmet. It is hardcore. For real.

I left the game technically at the beginning, but we had been there over an hour. I watched the end of the minors game (Kilkenny won) and then the pregame events. The majors game was Dublin v. Kilkenny. Once again, Kilkenny won.

Remember the kids across the way I was complaining about a few posts back? Well, they are still around and have maintained their introductory noise levels. They appear to travel in mob form only--- at least for right now they seem to have flown the coup.

My new roommates still prove to be nice even if we don't always understand one another. They are hear to learn English, but only for three weeks. I guess Stephanie and I will outlast them. One was doing her homework when I came home and she pointed to a sentence something like this " Joe ____ (play) soccer every day so far this summer." She wanted to know what 'so far' meant. That is hard to explain. At first I totally failed. I told it had to do with time passing and some other variations of that--- the closest we could get was during/durante. I kept thinking about it and later I came back and asked how long they were here. After they responded tres semanas I followed it up with you have been in dublin for two days so far. I was speaking in spanish until I said 'so far' and I think it helped. I could tell they appreciated my efforts and we smiled and laughed afterward. I find it rather ironic that I came to Dublin because I knew I wouldn't have to worry about speaking another language. Still, it's lucky they're Spanish because I would be totally lost if they were french or german or some other random language.

Last night I got to see The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Project Arts Centre--- It was wonderful. The actors were very strong and Linn and I spent a great deal of time laughing and cringing at the appropriate times. Once again the accents used were very interesting and the cultural translation missed a few beats here and there, but overall it was great. I wish I could remember everything about it. There is an Irish nun in it and it was weird because all of the other accents were so over the top that when the actress used her own voice it seemed like the absence of an accent even though the irish lilt was present. Most of the characters played several roles---- i really like that in plays because it displays the actors better.

Well, I need a cookie break.

the plot thickens

So. I have not had time to finish my last entry and more things have already happened. I just got home from a wonderful play at the Project Arts Center--- and since I have super awesome connections in the theatre world it was free. Very enjoyable. But that's not even what this is about. I just got home and there has been news of new roommates joining different apartments. Pues, tengo dos muchachas nuevas en mi apartamento. That's right you guessed it. Two new roommates who speak spanish. We just garbled out a conversation about the boost button you have to push to get warm water after morning. Even worse I've never had to use it because Stephanie and I never use all of our warm water. I don't know their names even though they told me what they are, but they know I am Elizabeth. I guess they met Stephanie. I just washed up the rest of the dishes, wiped off the counter tops, and swept the kitchen floor---- I don't really plan on avoiding them and they seem really sweet, but it would be a bit more convenient if we shared a language.
I know at one time I probably could have translated "You need to push the button for warm water at night," at one point, but honestly those skills escape me now.

I'm not meant for this kind of surprise. I couldn't remember the word for water people. AGUA.

Everyone knows agua.

Hahaha.... oh well, this should be interesting.

No kisses

I went on my first real train ride last Friday on my way to Cork. It was nice to get outside of Dublin even if just to go to another city. Cork is more laid back than Dublin and smaller. I honestly did not see a ton of the city, but it was a great opportunity to rest and relax. One of my new friends, Linn, works for a hotel for her internship so she got a night at a hotel in Cork for free. Linn goes to the same school as Connor, Dominique's roommate, so that's kind of how I've gotten to know her. Connor, Linn and I all went to Cork. We were all really happy to get to sleep on the big fluffy hotel beds and take advantage of the swimming pool. It's been weird not swimming in the summer, but it is also cold outside for summer. We slept a lot, watched tv, ate some food, and enjoyed our view of the city from our hotel window. I bought a little boy football jersey from a sports store--- I don't really know anything about the team, but I like the colors.

We woke up on Saturday to go to Blarney Castle. None of us ended up kissing the Blarney Stone because we didn't have that much time and the line was crazy long. Can't say that I'm that disappointed. You have to lie on your back and lean off of the edge while some man holds onto you so you don't fall off of the castle wall--- great, right? Yeah... It was a really nice day (not to mention the Fourth of July) and there are a lot of grounds to explore so we walked around a bit and enjoyed the trees. I climbed two trees-- one was very easy and just required a simple step up and the second required a little boost, but was definitely worth it once I was up there. We were kind of sad to get to spend so little time there--- it was really pretty AND they were having a barbecue for the 4th! The Irish don't all remember the 4th of July when it rolls around, but they're as eager to celebrate a defeat over the British as much as we are. As we were walking toward the exit past the 4th of July tent and baloons I recognized the music they were playing. At first I thought it was just some random country, but then I could tell it was old Dixie Chicks. The song playing was from the only CD of the Dixie Chicks that I still listen to: Little Ole Cowgirl. I thought it was really funny because they Dixie Chicks have kind of a celtic flair on that CD and one of the song starts "I wish I were in Dublin or some other sea port town..." and I played it for myself when I learned I would be going to Dublin this summer. After Blarney we had to catch our train back---

to be continued.

Wanted: One Vending Machine

If there was a vending machine around the corner I would have just left to buy a coke. There's not, so I'm having a glass of milk.

It's a wonderful life. I've been reading a lot-- I bought some more books today. Now that I'm not reading Dickens I am devouring my light summer reading. I was reading Ulysses, but it really deserves more brain power than can be devoted in a noisy bus. I may also need to hunt down a professor to talk to me about it. There's a Joyce class offered at A&M but I won't ever get to take it--- I don't think. If so I would be a very impressive addition to the class, if I do say so myself. Even the true literates (intended to be pronounced similar to pilates) don't always get to enjoy a Bloomsday in Dublin.

Work consists of often sitting at the front desk working the box office and answering phones. I'm not engulfed by a frantic fluster fest when I answer the phone any more so that's good. There is a medium coming-- -you know a spirit reader--- and it's totally going to sell out. Her name is Margaret Hurdman. Her one night at The Mill is her only performance in Ireland. So if you're going to be in the area come on out... The lunch time show is still going on and Extremities is on through Saturday. I sent out my surveys and have received three back--- haha. Hopefully there will be about 20ish when I get back on Monday.

Just so you know the noisy neighbor situation appears to be a permanent installment to Shanowen life. Awesome. It's okay though--- I have earplugs. It's just so lame that I need to keep my window open or suffocate.

So, there's this crane that I've seen twice now in this fountain/pond outside of the shopping center where I work. Well, really it's in an apartment/condo complex next to the shopping center. It's kind of like random ponds in neighborhoods that have the one fountain in the middle shooting water in a very pleasent fashion. Well, this crane looks like he is *George and Gracie's great grandfather. He is larger than them, but because he is larger he looks more bent as he stands in the water. His feathers kind of seemed to be thinning, too. Probably because it's summer. I'll try and get a picture of him sometime.
speaking of birds.
a bird flew into the theatre today. It made a few swoops back and forth between the windows and then the phone rang and i had to take my eyes off of it. i think it flew out, but i'm honestly not sure. the theatre has two parallel walls that are just large glass panels--- i'm sure they made life very difficult for my black bird friend. actually we weren't friends. it all happened in two seconds, but i had all of these flash backs to birds in the house, in the chimney, in other theatres, in random stores--- like walmart or something--- or maybe horaney's---and then the phone rang. it was all over so quickly it was almost like it didn't happen.

today walking away from DCU on my way home a tall blonde guy stopped me on the sidewalk-- i thought he was going to ask for directions but then he asked me something else. he was irish (surprise.) so i couldn't completely understand him--- and I gave some noncommital response so he asked me again--- this time i thought i understood him but it didn't make any sense. i think he asked me if i wanted to say a rosary. he had a button on his shirt about abortion so it kind of makes sense?? it makes me nervous when people are actually a lot bigger than me and i didn't understand him so i just kind of shook my head and got out some more "uhh i don't know. no. sorry. uhhh" and walked away. now i kind of wished i'd stayed there and tried to understand him. i saw his face as we parted and i'm pretty sure he thought i was dumb. i have no idea.

i have a nice weekend planned so maybe i'll have some actuall stories when i return ---

goodnight!