Catch-up!!

Alright, hello!  This post will be a catch up of the last month.  For the sake of time, I think I will just post a bunch of pictures (as promised) from my London trip, Croagh Patrick trip, and Dingle Trip followed by a brief rundown?  Sound like a plan?  Good…

London:

               
I went on this trip with my two friends, Mary and Marie. They are both wonderful people who were fun to take a trip with.  We arrived on a Friday afternoon and you guessed it, it was raining.  We wanted to save money, so we decided to walk from where the bus from the airport dropped us off…hmmm…questionable choice.  BUT, I thought it was a great adventure.  It took us about 40 minutes to walk to where our hostel was – and then about another hour to actually FIND the hostel, which ended up being right where google maps said it was.  We did get a chance to meet some of the locals in this search though, and got some interesting directions from them…basically all of them pointed us a different way.  Haha.  Needless to say we found it.

WICKED

               
Wicked was, as I mentioned before, quite amazing.  Connie was meeting her mom in London so she was able to come as well.  The British, Scottish, and Irish accents created a unique performance that simply cannot be achieved in the states. ;)  The various other sights around the city were just as amazing as well.  I must say, I did not expect much from London, but it had a lot to offer!  The fireworks for Guy Fawkes day were some of the best fireworks I had seen in ages!  And, Big Ben was simply beautiful…even though it is only a big clock.  We met several people in the hostel, including our friend Kyle from South Africa who might appear in some of the pictures.  He met us Saturday morning at breakfast and asked if he could come around looking at sights with us.  Sure why not right?  He was a great guy who was an up and coming R&B artist just trying to get his name out there!  Ahh, the life of a musician...  All in all, a very successful trip that culminated with a great dinner of pizza and red wine and delicious chocolate cake at some Italian restaurant in London.  We enjoyed it thoroughly! 

Ohhh..Big Ben!

Tower Bridge!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Croagh Patrick:

                Although this trip was really only two days/one night long, I feel like I could go on forever about it.  When we look back at what we did in 48 hours, Jordan and I just laugh.  The bus ride to Westport (which is about 8 km from the base of the mountain) was around 7 hours with a 1 hour layover in Galway.  And, the thing is: Westport is probably only about 150-200 miles.  Oh, backroads in Ireland…  The bus ride was quite long. Then, when we got there, the hurricane began…haha.  Literally, around 50-60 mph wind gusts that Jordan and I had to attempt to ride our bikes to our B&B in.  Again, an experience to last a lifetime.  The couple at the B&B treated us like kings the entire night.  We were to comfy to leave the house at any point in the night and we knew we needed energy for the next day.   We were just praying for the weather to clear up….AND it DID!

St. PATRICK!!

The last 200 meters...AHH

              
We woke up bright and early, got our gear on – not particularly the best gear for climbing a mountain in frigid temperatures – and biked the 8 km to the base.  It was a beautiful ride but man was it cold.  Then, the hike.  I must say we truly underestimated the mountain.  I believe it is around 800 meters from the base…but it is straight up the mountain side, especially the last 200 meters or so.  Needless to say, it was well worth it!  The pictures do the talking.  We even got a few flurries of snow on the top of the mountain for about 20 seconds.  Simply amazing.

Success

Victory!

Dingle:

          Connie arrived the day after Croagh Patrick.  So…I was tired…haha.  But ready for her!  I picked her up from the airport on Saturday morning, we stopped back at my apt, and then jumped on the bus to the Dingle Peninsula.  And, I don’t think anything could have prepared us for the astonishingly gorgeous weekend we were about have!  Let’s just say if you’re ever in Ireland…GO TO DINGLE!  The B&B was absolutely heart-warming again and we were treated amazingly.  The night we got there turned out to be a beautiful night with a gorgeous sunset.  We walked around town looking for a place to eat and then found Murphy’s Pub (Can’t get more Irish that that right?).  The atmosphere in there was amazing…open fire, pictures everywhere, good food…ahh! 

Quite the sunset?

         The next day we went to a mass in town which was quite unique: parts were said in Irish, English, and even Latin I believe at some parts.  Only in Ireland!  Then, we hit up some shops…I got a pretty amazing hat (or so Connie thinks…I like it too I suppose)  And then we went on nice long walk!  Gorgeous is the only way to put it.  That night when we asked Angela (our B&B host) if we could cook up some noodles we had brought along…she very innocently asked, “and..how do we actually do that?”  haha.  So, we taught her how to boil noodles! Haha!  It was fun! 

Dingle - Berries...hahaha

Our reaction to the scenery!

Ventry bay

Mt. Brandon

        
We left the next day, but once again enjoyed the scenic drive to its fullest.  Then, Connie and I went to campus and she met some of the folks in the Christian Union who really treated her like family.  I truly have met some great people here!  And, the next morning I took her back to the airport.  It really is quite amazing the way we have been able to see each other over these last few months.  I need to remember this!

My Irish farm...

That should catch you up on the last month…I think I’ll wait to the next post to talk about the last week with Ben!  Peace!

p.s. Remember that I have plenty more stories to tell – just not enough time to write them all down!  Don’t forget to ask me when I get back!

Dingle was amazing - so busy - Off to get Ben!

Helloooo!

Soooo, I know I have been really bad at posting these past couple weeks.  But, just think, once I get the time to write a little bit I will just load you all up with plenty of information about my various travels.  This past weekend was simply amazing.  Jordan and I had quite the adventure getting to Westport, Co. Mayo and then climbing Croagh Patrick on Friday.  And then Connie got here on Saturday and we spent the weekend in the Dingle Peninsula.  SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL! I cannot even explain.  And, I have come to the conclusion that people that run Bed and Breakfasts are the nicest, most sincere people in Ireland.  Stories to come.  Anyways, the last week here went super fast and now I am off to Dublin with my roommates tomorrow where we will spend two nights.  Benjamin will be arriving in Dublin on Saturday afternoon so I will pick him up then.  His presence here will certainly provide some comic relief in times of stress I'm sure.  It will be great!!  I cannot wait!  Perhaps I will get more time to post some pictures and all next week when he is here?  I will keep ya updated!  But, I do have plenty of pictures from all of my trips posted on facebook so please find someone's facebook to go on if you dont have one, and look at them all!  I can write pages upon pages on here, but it will certainly be much easier to tell of these experiences in person!  Thanks for reading and keeping up with me!  peace!!

London introduction/Croagh Patrick tomorrow!

Hello!  Sorry this is going to be so short but I have to get to bed...

Was in London all last weekend - saw it all! (well just about!)  Wicked was quite amazing especially with accents!  Added a whole new element to the show!  The rest of London was just as great: Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Pauls Cathedral, Tower of London, Big Ben, Towerbridge, Millenium Bridge, Shakespear's Globe, Natural History Museum, Camden Market, National Gallery, Hamelys toy store....I told you we saw it all...!  Pictures to come soon, but I really do have to get to bed!

Off to Westport, Co. Mayo tomorrow with my roommate Jordan to spend the night in a B&B before climbing Croagh Patrick on Friday morning! Woooohooo!  Then, on Saturday, Connie comes over for our weekend to the Dingle peninsula!  More pictures from all these adventures soon as well.

It's getting pretty hectic with classes, traveling, and trying to figure out my life for back home the next few semesters as well.  But, it is all great!  Or as we say here: "It's simply grand! Im 'getting on' quite well! and having a great bit of craic everyday!"  All for now folks! peace!

Weekend retreat with CU in County WIcklow

Hello!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go on a retreat to County Wicklow with the Christian Union Society on campus.  Needless to say, it was an experience that I will never forget!  It was awesome!

On Friday afternoon, we all piled into three cars and headed up to County Wicklow.  The car ride was quite the experience in itself for as you know (or now will know) they do drive on the left side of the road.  I was in the passenger seat, and it took me a solid 15 minutes to get used to the fact that there was no wheel in front of me even though I was on the left!  haha...it was crazy!  Anyways, from UCC, there was a group of about 14 of us that went: 5 Americans, 8 Irish, and Kate who is from Zimbabwe but she has lived here for 6 years!  I got to know Kate really well because she was the driver of the car I was in!! 

UCC CU!

Anyways, the ride on Friday ended up taking 4 and a half hours, and let me tell you, it was a crazy road down windy, dark roads.  hahaha. It was fun though!  By the time we got to our location, it was around 9 and we were ready to eat!  The place we stayed at was called Avoca Manor, and was a type of retreat house that was really cool!  There ended up being around 100 students from Christian Union Societies all over Ireland! 

Good Morning!!!

The Orange Block!!

Some of the crew!

Beam of light!!

The weekend consisted of various sessions in which we learned about the Book of Titus in the Bible. Very interesting!  And, these sessions were led by Pastor Ed who is originally from Australia but has lived in Ireland the past 5 years.  He was a very good speaker and very pleasant to listen to because of his lovely accent!  Alright mate!!  We also had the opportunity to just have some reflection time and free time to get to know each other and all!  I met so many awesome people from all over the world:  One thing I will never forget is when we put up a little sticky note where we were from on the world map and basically the entire continents of North America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia were covered!! It was certainly a surreal feeling!  Saturday night there was a talent show as well, and man o man...there were soo many good singers/guitar players in this group of people from all over Ireland!  It was soo much fun.  Later on Saturday night, I just sat down at the keyboard by the drums and guitar stuff...and jammed with this guy named Sam. We were just making up songs having fun and all.  Then, later on that night everybody was just playing ridiculous games and loving life.!!  Oh and I almost forgot, where we were was absolutely stunning! just check out the pictures! Fall has certainly arrived here finally...meaning the colors were so vibrant and still are around Cork!  The stars on Friday night were exceptional as well which made me think of home!

hahahaha!

Night times!!

I could really go on forever about it but I'll stop there.  The last two days have been super busy going to class and CU events and Chaplaincy events and movie nights, and getting classes set up for the next spring back home...oh and of course getting ready for WICKED and London this weekend!  Wooohoo!  I truly am very excited about it...but I am so busy it's hard to get excited sometimes! hahaha...it's just going to come and go so fast!  ahhh!  Anyways, I'm off to Bible study and then the pub for a few minutes of music before I hit the hay....only in Ireland right? 

Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2010!

Hello there friends and family!  This past weekend was quite the "Jazzing" weekend.  The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival brought tons of people to the city and definitely made the weekend something to remember!  This festival is known as one of the biggest/best, if not the biggest/best jazz festival in the world.  There were jazz musicians from all over the world including several BIG names in jazz.  For example, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden, Charles McPherson, Ernie Watts, Maceo Parker, Steve Winniwood, etc....(I know that these names may not mean much to many of you reading but WOW - just agree!)  At the same time, there were also tons of nationally acclaimed jazz musicians, local musicians, etc.  Pretty much every pub/venue around town had a gig going on all afternoon/night from Friday to Monday.  It was ridiculously awesome!  I will just give a little rundown of what I was able to get to over the weekend and then if you're interested in seeing how much was going on check out the website:    http://www.guinnessjazzfestival.com/

University of North Texas!

On Friday, I caught the University of North Texas jazz band in the afternoon! Absolutely Amazing!!! They have been nominated for 6 grammys and let me tell you they were honestly the best big band i have ever heard in my life!  At night, a few friends and I started off by going to the Imperial hotel and the Clarion Hotel to see some free gigs.  The Sax Sisters (a saxophone quartet from Poland, Germany, and Britain) were playing at the Imperial Hotel and were fun to listen to, but the place was soo packed we went to the Clarion.  At the Clarion, the Pat Eglart Band entertained us thoroughly.  The group consisted of a group of relatively older lads who were awesome!  haha...they were loving what they were doing that's for sure!  The drummer gave a pretty sweet solo even though he was probably around 75 years old! (Not saying you can't be a musician when you're older! I thought it was awesome and it shows how musicality sticks with you through your entire life if you want it to!)  After that, Jordan and I left to go to our ticketed event for the even better stuff!!! And, it was super cool what they did at this hotel.  At the hotel, there were four different stages (ballroom, side room, bar, and another ballroom of sorts) that each had a group playing throughout the night!  You paid a little bit of money to get in and then you could just walk around to whatever show you wanted to see.  There was a variety of shows from quartets to big bands to singers, etc.  We ended up watching the Blues Brothers Banned, a group from Britain that literally could have been the Blues Brothers I think for a big part of the night.  But also caught a few other gigs too.  It was just an awesome atmosphere!

Pat Eglart Band!

Blues Brothers!

The Jivin Aces

Onto Saturday:  This may have been the highlight of the weekend -The main venue, where the major world jazz musicians played, was the Everyman Palace Theater, and on Saturday at 2 I went to a Double Bill concert consisting of the Charles McPherson (top saxophonist in world) quartet and then the Charlie Haden (top bassist in world) quartet who also had Ernie Watts (Another amazing saxophonist) in his quartet. This concert was simply amazing.....I have nothing else to say about it.  It was just so unreal to hear Charlie Haden talking about how he recorded this or that song with Ornette Coleman or John Coltrane or some other ridiculously well known names in the jazz world.  I couldn't get over the fact that I was witnessing what I was witnessing!  haha.  The only down part to the day was the fact that I didn't get to share it with anybody and that got me down for a bit afterwards but oh well!!! It was awesome!

Charles McPherson!!

Then, Saturday night, a few of us caught some more gigs at the Imperial Hotel and then at a pub, but there were so many people in the pub we had to leave because we couldn't breathe! haha.  So we got milkshakes and watched Phantom of the Opera! Good choice!

Even on the streets!!

On Sunday, I had to catch up on a little bit of work, but then in the evening, Amy and elena and I went to a spectacular event that involved some great swing dancing!!!  It was called Cotton Club night.  It was supposed to be set in the 1920s/1930s in New York at the Cotton Club so people came all dressed up in suspenders, funky hats, and other stuff! The night began with a little bit of a swing dance lesson of sorts, and then they brought out a band and the swing dancing began!  haha...I felt a little bad at first because the girls had to teach me some moves, but by the end of the night I was starting to get it!!! After a little while, they also put on a few little acts for a break that included a comedy skit, a few dancers, the Cork swing dancing club put on a little show, and a singer.  Then, the dancing continued! All in all it was super fun!! Sometimes, I really wish I lived in that age where swing dancing was the thing...it's soo much better/more fun than the "dancing" people do these days!!  Afterwards, I wished my friend Chelsea a happy birthday and saw one other gig, and then headed back to the apartment to watch the Packers beat the Vikings via skype!

The streets at night! haha

The jazz continued on into Monday, and since it was a Bank Holiday, there was no classes, so I went to see Mitch Winehouse (Amy Winehouse's dad....no joke) and his band at a very cool pub!  He sounded like Frank Sinatra! Super good!  And then, the rest of the day worked on paper and watched movies and booked tickets to STOCKHOLM SWEDEN!!! Woohooo!

Now I am in the midst of getting my first big paper done which is due Friday, and then off to County Wicklow  with the Christian Union for a retreat!  It should be a grand weekend for sure!  The last week has been greatt but also tough at times because I think I am at the stage where everything doesn't seem as cool and new anymore...ive been getting homesick quite a bit...but I'm trying my best to stay positive and remember that I will be home before I know it!  It's just hard because Jordan and I both agree that these experiences are simply awesome, but it's hard wanting friends and family to enjoy them with you!  But, oh well, we must enjoy it while we can!

All for now!  Thanks for reading!

Trip to Lancaster/Edinburgh

Hello!  So, this past weekend was my visit to see Connie at her school in Lancaster, England.  It was a superb trip that went by way too fast!!  Here is a little rundown of the weekend:

Airport!

I left Thursday evening from Cork airport on a 9:45 pm flight! (Gotta love Ryanair: cheap but not exactly the easiest times!) I got into Liverpool airport at about 11, and Connie was waiting for me there!  We spent the next 4-5 hours chatting it up, attempting to sleep until we had to take a taxi to the train station.  Our train left at around 5:00 am and we got into Lancaster city about 2 hours later, walked to the bus station, and hopped on a bus to get to her campus.  As you can see, I had the lovely opportunity to literally take every mode of public transportation: plane, bus, train, walking...haha! It was fun though!  The reason we had to leave so early was that she had class at 9 in the morning, so she went to class and I slept!

The rest of the day consisted of checking out the campus, walking around when she had a class in the afternoon, and then getting the formal tour from her after class! haha!  She is in quite a different experience over there in England.  The campus is actually like a College campus where everyone lives on campus.  Very different, but in a good way!  I tried my best to not get attached to that feeling of actually having a campus life because it just isn't like that here in Cork. However, I must admit Cork campus is much prettier, and the campus life is there, just in a different way!  That night, we just hung out at her townhouse playing games with her townhouse and such.  Just lovely!

Connie: in her element! haha

Hahahahahaha: just for a few laughs!

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and hopped on a bus to Edinburgh, Scotland!  The school provides day trips on the weekends to various places! Anyways, it was absolutely beautiful!!  The city was very cool, and we enjoyed climbing the Crags (as they were called) which gave us awesome views of the city and surrounding area: check it out!  I couldn't help but love the various people walking around in kilts or the random bagpipe playing throughout the city.  It was something else!

Edinburgh castle! Soo cool!

The streets!

Mel Gibson?

Up we go!!

On top of the crags!

Whiskey fudge...mmmmm!

Sunday was a lovely relaxing day that involved watching movies and just being alive!  In the evening, she took me into Lancaster city to show me around a bit and see the castle (which is apparently a prison) and other various memorials!  Then, we went to mass at a beautiful church!  We concluded the evening with a great dinner and skyping with family!!! Great times!!

Lancaster Castle!

Hahahah!

Monday was hard leaving again, but I got to take every mode of public transportation imaginable again! haha!  I arrived back in Cork in the afternoon and walked straight to class...haha!  The last couple days here in Cork have been good, just trying to take it all in and live in the moment still!  This weekend is the Cork Guinness Jazz Festival which is going to be simply amazing!  It is a world renowned festival that brings in jazz musicians from everywhere!  I am only just beginning to realize (after doing some research on the website today) how huge it is and how awesome it is going to be!

Thanks for reading! Ill keep you updated on the various jazz musicians I see!  It should be fun! Peace!