Hurling, not the Irish sport

Disclaimer: Beware, in the expected-from-Emily style I tell this story of motion sickness in a very forward manner. All events explained are true and were as bad as they sound.

I write this as I depart for Dingle on yet another Paddywagon Tour. As many people are traveling this weekend, I decided to book a tour for just me to this scenic area and town. As things worked out, my German roommate, Stefanie, and her boyfriend who is visiting also booked this trip - which we found out when verbally exchanging weekend plans!! So, I walked to the bus with them and off the three of us go...

I should also note, it is the same bus driver as I had for Cliffs of Moher. The slightly inappropriate, singing bus driver I had for Cliffs of Moher. Oh boy. 

The driver explained that we would first be dropped off in Killarney where we would be transferred to a smaller bus (with a different driver) for the Dingle portion of the trip. On our way to Killarney we drove through the picturesque town of Macroom. The buildings along the Main Street were all well-kept and painted different colors. The driver then gave us an hour stop to wander around the town of Killarney. On an earlier trip to the Ring of Kerry, we drove through Killarney. I thought, "man that looks like a cool place to stop" and, one weekend later, there I was. In need of coffee and excited to look around the downtown, I got caffeine and wandered through shops. Killarney, according to the bus driver, has developed primarily with tourism and is now very reliant on the industry. The only other way Killarney makes money is by manufacturing Liebherr cranes for construction. We then departed for the Dingle Peninsula.

Then, as the roads became more windy and the pavement more bumpy, I became that girl. The girl who gets sick. In a violent eruption of coffee. Who didn't bring a bag. And I got to be that girl for the rest of the day. Everyone knew I was fine. Because everyone asked. And I nodded. And tried not to cry.

We went to a pretty beach. Inch beach. I didn't see much of it because I was in the bathroom recovering my dignity and composure. 

(an aside) And this is where the whole "be proactive, write the blog as you go" effort ceased. Instead of getting back on the bus and having a wonderful rest of the day the winding roads got more tumultuous and narrow. After a short ride we stopped at a resting point to overlook the ocean and saw some very very old beehive stone structures... but then the bus journey continued.The driver kept saying that we were getting close to Dingle where we could get some lunch and stretch our legs. "Getting close" was too ambiguous and I kept praying that we would arrive soon as my stomach was not holding on very well. At last he said "five more minutes" as the passengers' stomachs were rumbling - unfortunately, reader, my stomach had another idea. Yes. Round two. Luckily the nice French girls across the aisle had given me a bag an hour earlier and I was excited to be armed and ready. Unfortunately for me and the sweet lady seated in front of me and my jeans, the bag had a hole in it, a large hole, and the fun continued.

A few minutes later we did reach the quaint town of Dingle. Excited to get off the bus and find a trash can and bathroom, we settled on a restaurant that served fish and chips (the Irish delicacy Stefanie's boyfriend was hoping to try). After ordering lunch and cleaning myself up, I excitedly got my fish and chips and eased my raging hunger with an excellent and rather large meal. "I'll be fine" I said, I'll be fine.

We walked down the main strip of Dingle and went into many souvenir shops. It was rainy and cold so getting and staying indoors was a welcomed concept. One of Dingle's main attractions is a dolphin named "Fungie" who is often seen by fisherman and on tours led by the tourist offices there. This also has led to a pretty extensive dolphin store and sculpture of the famous character.

After our lunch and walking break we boarded the bus once again to head back to Killarney and then home to Cork. The driver told me that there was an hour and a half of driving ahead and that if I needed him to pull over I could hit the service light above me. The bus was small, only about twenty people. I started googling motion sickness on my phone as we drove trying to distract myself from the actual motion sickness brewing inside. I stayed quiet, to myself, and stared blankly at the headrest in front of me for the first hour of the journey. Luckily Stefanie had given me a more sturdy, hole-free bag to use if I needed it and I thought I was going to be just fine with my stomach happy and full of fried cod and french fries. But man, I was wrong again. 

I tried to reach for the service light in hopes of hopping off the bus and sparing the group from the pending doom - but reader, I was too late. Quietly and to myself the third episode of this television drama played out. The driver then announced that we would be making a surprise stop to take pictures and I was like "woohoo, prolong the agony." When we got off the bus for the picture point the driver looked at me, happy that we didn't need to pull over, assuming I had made it successfully. My look said it all.

After this anticlimactic stop wrapped up we filed back into the bus. We then drove to Killarney and I got to reboard the larger bus back to Cork. For this hour and a half stretch I decided sleeping would help avoid episode number four. Twenty minutes away from Cork, about to make it home free, the bus driver STARTED SINGING. And not just one song, three awful karaoke renditions.

When we finally made it to the bus stop, I took a cab home and spent the rest of the evening eating - as I was a little hungry - and watching computer television.

Dingle is great people. Seriously beautiful.

But visit at your own risk.

The Opinionated Lassie

Ring of Kerry - Day 3

The third and final day of Kerry began with another continental breakfast and walk to the grocery store. We then boarded the bus and after a few more picture stops along the way, we headed to Derrynane National Park.

This National Park is situated on an absolutely magnificent beach! I have seen a lot of extraordinary coastlines here, but this one was particularly stunning. After walking down this beach we explored a very old abbey overlooking the shore. We then continued into the woods to look at some "fairy houses" - a sign on the significance of fairies in Irish folklore and belief. To finish this stop, we toured the home of Daniel O'Connell, one of Ireland's more famous historical figures.

The view from the Abbey.

A fairy house.

 

 Made by "fairies" not fourth graders... seriously!!

Apparently for his important political duties, Daniel O'Connell needed a sleigh. I had to take a panorama picture to capture the whole thing. Look at the girl on the left for scale.

The bus then continued to Killarney National Park, the first national park established and arguably the most famous national park, in Ireland. The hotel had sent lunches (yay!) and I ordered the chicken tikka wrap (which was exceptional). The group then traveled to the Torc waterfall and got to walk around the lakes in the park. We also got to see the Muckross House (only from the outside, unfortunately) and went on a journey looking for ice cream but didn't find any.

Our view during lunch!

 

Torc waterfall. I like this picture because I look like I am sliding down the waterfall.

The exterior of Muckross House.

This trip was packed full but I had a wonderful time, even though I felt crumby all weekend. I am still in awe of Ireland's ongoing natural beauty and every time I think that I have seen it all, I just turn the other direction and am amazed once again. This weekend was also a great opportunity to meet evern more fun people studying in Ireland for the semester. We all came here from different places and backgrounds but get to share in the glory and goodness of Ireland together. All of it, truly remarkable.

Until next time,

The Opinionated Lassie

Ring of Kerry - Day 2

Disclaimer: I normally load pictures as the large size, but for these pictures, x-large seemed apropos.

Our second day in the Ring of Kerry began with a nice breakfast and a trip to the grocery store across the street from our hotel. I, again, had come down with an AWFUL cold and ran out of medicine the night before. Unfortunately, after little sleep in the hotel due to incessant coughing (Emily slept fine, don't worry about that, she is a heavy sleeper), my eyes were red and I was very exhausted. Still, not wanting to miss another adventurous opportunity, I boarded the bus and on we went!

Our first stop was a museum called the Skellig Experience. This exhibition explains the history of the Skellig Islands just off the shore of the Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry. Skellig Michael (the larger of the two) was first inhabited by monks that created a Christian monastery there sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries. The smaller island is home to puffins and other native birds that were part of the monks' diet. Skellig Experience shows a great movie to explain the history and has a nice exhibit with even more information. This stop also had a view: 

A short drive down the road we stopped at a picture point. Here are the products of that point, really unexplainable beauty was in every direction:

We then continued on our merry way to Geokaun Mountain. The bus dropped us off at the bottom of a not-so-high seeming mountain and we climbed, and climbed, until we got to the top. Though my calves were killing me, these photos were worth it!

 

We then made our way to a slate quarry. This was a sort of funny little stop but the Grotto with Mary was an unexpected surprise. Again, pictures:

 

At some point we had lunch. I can't remember when now that I look at the pictures, but the hotel continued to impress food-wise with a yummy Chicken Ceasar salad.

And then we went to two stone forts for some more exciting pictures, can you sense a theme?  The first fort is Cahergall Fort and was built around 500 A.D.. The second is Lenacalabuile Fort built in either the 9th or 10th centuries.These were really fun because you could climb on the exterior walls and look around. There were also some tunnels in the second one that one adventurous American climbed in and met a clan of Irish spiders -  I watched from a safe distance.

Another short drive away was Ballycarbery castle - which I must say, was one of my favorite castles thus far in Ireland. This castle, apparently featured in the Amy Adam's film Leap Year, was great because you could climb some crumbling stairs to get to the second floor (which of course all 60 of us on the trip did). At this point we were a bit wind-blown and very tired.

The castle was the last landmark we saw on day two and the bus dropped us off for a bit of shopping before we walked back to the hotel. Again the hotel delivered with a delicious dinner of tortellini and apple pie! Then the group had a sing-a-long and a trivia night in which my team competed valiantly!

The conclusion, tomorrow!

The Opinionated Lassie

Ring of Kerry - Day 1

After step dancing class, Emily and I came back to our apartment to gather our things for a class trip to the Ring of Kerry! This area is known for its scenic views and I am so excited that I got to experience this glorious part of the country.

After meeting the bus and our weekend guide, Maura, we began driving to our first stop, Crag Caves. This attraction is located just outside of Castleisland, Ireland, and is the 7th longest cave system in the Republic of Ireland extending to 2.4 miles long. These caves were very interesting and there was a pleasant gift shop and coffee shop to hang out in after we had finished. Though we had a great time walking in the caves, I was a bit hard to impress after the epic Krakow tour of the Salt Mines just two weeks before.

We then departed for our hotel in Cahersiveen which would serve as our base for the rest of the weekend. We had previously placed our dinner order - I ordered the beef lasagne - and was very pleased with this wonderful and delicious meal upon our arrival. To finish we were given dessert - Bailey's Cheesecake - also amazing. 

After dinner we were given a lecture about Gaelic football and even had some audience participation for which I was chosen. I had to "dribble" which consisted walking a few feet and dropping the ball just to re-kick it into my hands. It was hard, funny, and embarrassing. We then had a ceili dance lesson where we did some individual and set dances with the group. After all of this activity I was excited to go to bed!!

To My Surprise (And Yours)!

Ireland, for most intents and purposes, is very similar to America. However, random and interesting things here occasionally show up that are very, very, different. I keep a running list of these on my phone and will be sprinkling in a "To My Surprise" segment here and there from now on.

Here goes...

1) Paper size. We all came over just assuming the whole world uses the same size of paper. Aren't copy machines universal? What about mail? But, readers, this assumption it blatantly wrong. Over here paper is bigger. I thought I could bring over a binder and dividers to save a buck or two only to realize that the paper hangs out of the top and the bottom, and the sides cover the divider tabs - useless I tell you! And the funny thing is, people here assumed that our paper would be the same size as well! I asked my music teacher about our assigned essay and if he would be a stickler on margins (because my computer is set up with the U.S. formatting). He laughed acting like it was such a silly question until I enlightened him on the paper paradox. He was stunned! And I thought my acceptance letter was on big paper just to be fancy... hah!

American paper size vs. Irish paper size. This also shows the hole punching as explained in #2.

Which brings me to my next mind-blowing discovery:

2) 3-Hole-Punch? NOT! Over here they punch their papers either twice or four times. The hole puncher I bought it tiny and portable because the larger pieces of paper only have two holes in the middle of them. And the binder I bought - it only has two rings! This creates a whole floppy-page-wonky-math-notes situation that I am learning to cope with. And luckily they do have those little donut shaped stickers for when the holes tear.

My handy dandy hole punch.

Which brings me to my last paper-related realization:

3) No two-pocket folders. I cannot find them anywhere and have been looking everywhere. I have found folders that have a single pocket and then the other side is a sort of cover but I have yet to encounter the normal two-pocket folders that abundantly grace the American school supply aisles in August every year. Instead, the Irish seem to prefer these portfolio-type things that button on the front. Button - like a pair of pants! I invested in one of these folders and I actually like it... however, someone could make a fortune bringing the two-pocket concept across the pond.

My buttoned folder.

Now to bedding:

4) No top sheet. Like, they exist here, but it appears to be highly irregular to use them. Even when I was at a fancy hotel on my class trip there was just a white fitted sheet and a white duvet cover. Nothing else. 

5) And a comforter is not in existence here either. Only duvets. I explained the concept of a comforter to an Irish person and they thought it was ridiculous. One important difference though is that the actual duvet (like the interior white part) can be purchased for relatively cheap compared to prices back home. When I redecorated my Kansas bedroom, duvets ran over $100 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Here you can get a poor-quality but still warm and comfortable one at Penney's from around 10 euro. And a duvet cover can be purchased for the same price. You can also purchase very inexpensive pillows at Penney's for about 5 euro, but they are rather flat.

6) Power outlets. Yes, they are a different size and voltage but more interestingly is that most of them have switches on them. You plug in your cord but that doesn't mean it is receiving electricity. The electricity only comes when you flip the switch and this then transmits the current. I actually like this a lot because it seems to be another barrier for safety and fire prevention. I still unplug my appliances, but it is nice to deactivate the outlet in addition.

Left side, off. Right side, on.

 7) Vegetables are not a thing. I mean, they have vegetables, but don't call them that if you want to be a local. Call them "veg." "Fruit and veg." I don't fully get it but it is growing on me.

8) Wimpy dish soap. Now this could be largely attributed to our room's frugality thus cheap dish soap is making the rounds. But we have tried many-a-brand and they just do not cut through grease! This is even more frustrating because all of our dishes are washed by hand and we all cook with great regularity. Anyway, if a superior dish soap is discovered, an update will come later.

9) Raw chicken. You know when you buy a microwaveable dish at home or something you quickly cook in the oven and the chicken has been precooked to avoid salmonella issues? All of the chicken in those situations is raw here. I buy these delicious chicken nugget things from this nice grocery store but I am constantly paranoid that they will not be fully cooked and I will get infected. My solution, burn them a bit. This also makes the cook times for pre-made meals longer so I am getting used to not-so-instant gratification in the food sector.

10) No Target, or Walmart. Here in Cork, there are not any go-one-place-and-buy-everything stores. And I am really a Target kind of girl! This situation takes a bit more planning and time because if you need clothing - you go to this store, food - that store, shoes - the other one, and so on. At first a bit jostling, it is also nice. The market is divided and there is a chance for smaller chains and mom and pop shops to compete. If I don't find what I want at one grocery store, there are three others close that I can check. That being said, I will love running to Target when I get back home. But this way is working out.

So there they are - the first ten with many more to come. Slainte!

Krakow - Day 3 ( & Departure)

Day 3:
After a surprisingly restful night of hostel-sleeping, we woke up and got breakfast in the restaurant next door. The little place was really cute and after some confusion in ordering, we got our breakfast. It was not exactly what I was expecting, as it wasn't cooked or anything, being a variety of foods that the restaurant people had taken out of store-packaging and put on a plate (ie bread, cheese, tomato, cucumber, jelly, meat, butter, and coffee). However this was nice in a way as I didn't have to wonder what I was eating and I was able to make a funny little sandwich. Not to mention it only cost like $2.33...

After breakfast, we packed all of our things and left them in our hostel's storage room for retrieval after our day's tour. This adventure would take us to the Wieliczka Salt Mines, another famous tourist attraction in the Krakow area.

The tour bus picked us up from our hostel and (along with a bus of other people) we were on our way. The mines were about a 45 minute drive and upon arrival we headed into the entrance after a 5 minute break. You begin the tour by walking down 390ish steps to get to the mines that reside at ranging depths of 100-300 meters. Now when I learned about this tour, I expected to go and learn about how they mine salt. But instead this tour shows you the underground world created by the miners including salt sculptures, salt cathedrals, salt pools, and more. It was surprising, insane, and very salty.

The stairs down.

A statue honoring Nicholas Copernicus.

After the salt tour, we returned to our hostel to gather our things. We then proceeded to the bus station as instructed by the receptionist at our hostel.

Now I am a math major, as many of you know. And the receptionist told us that a trip to the airport on the city bus would cost 2 zloty per person (student rate). Emily had a 5 zloty coin so we thought, that will be perfect, we just get on the bus and only have 1 zloty left over. The problem was, when we got on the bus, the machine where we bought the ticket had no way of indicating that we were students. Thus it spit out on ticket - at the regular price, 4 zloty - and I was left ticketless because we were officially broke. This friendly Polish person asked us if we needed help and we explained our predicament. She just kind of stared at us and didn't know what we should do. Then Emily made the move - asking if the lady happened to have 3 zloty. Turns out she did and we gave here 2 euro which (once she got them converted) would have her making about 7 zloty on the deal.

Worst part, nobody ever checked if we had tickets or not.

Check-in and security went very smoothly at the airport that we had plenty of time to kill before our departure. I used this time to grab a snack and watch Mamma Mia (again). I should also highlight the very pretty bathroom at the Krakow airport, it was so nice I took a picture (below). When we boarded our flight I was next to a middle-aged couple from Dublin and they were cordially nice without talking to me the whole flight (my preferred kind of travel companions).  

Our flight arrived early to Dublin and our bus back to Cork wasn't until 9:30 so we had a little over 2 hours to spend in the airport. After finding a restroom, we went to a pub(ish) place and ordered nachos. 

The bus ride was unbearably long and boring as I watched Mamma Mia another time (it really never gets old, Meryl is just so dang brilliant), and the rest of the time I spent watching a black and white screen at the front of the bus showing the road ahead of us (as apparently there is a camera attached to the front of the bus - I would have preferred a real movie). We then got a taxi home from the bus stop, another night lasting until at least 12:30am and after cleaning my room I went to sleep.

Well there it is folks, a thorough snapshot of my trip to Krakow, Poland. I hope you enjoyed this short travel series! Please look for more to come as I have other exciting trips lined up! 

Writing again soon,

The Opinionated Lassie

Krakow - Day 2

Day 2:
We began our second morning with coffee at Coffee Heaven, right off the Main Square of Old Town. Coffee Heaven had free wifi and a clean bathroom so this was our base for the rest of the day. After we got breakfast and caffeine, we attended a Catholic mass at St. Mary's Basilica. Since we were at mass, Emily and I didn't take pictures. However, this church was gorgeous and I am attaching a googled image below (www.commons.wikipedia.org). 

In front of Cloth Hall.

After church, we shopped a bit, Emily ordered a chili coffee, and we headed to Trap Krakow. In an effort to avoid doing purely touristy things, I scoured Trip Advisor for some out-of-the-ordinary activities. Then I found Trap Krakow. The Trip Advisor explanation is as follows:

Trap is an enigmatic basement where you can test your skills in an unusual setting as a team.You are going to be locked up and have 60 minutes to escape from our tricky rooms...In order to find your way out, you need to solve various puzzles,using creativity and common sense.The game is designed for groups of 2-5 in all ages. We guarantee one hour of pure fun with lots of challenges...

This place was CRAZY COOL! As explained, we were locked in a room for an hour and had to disarm a bomb and find a code to get out of the room. We solved about 30 different connected puzzles (keys, locks, trap doors, jumper cables, the works) and (with the help of the receptionist guy via walkie-talkie) we got out safely!

This challenge worked up an appetite and we went to a restaurant recommended by a Polish friend of Emily's called Babci Maliny. I ordered Kotlet Staropolski Ziemniaki, which was a dish of pork and potatoes. It was delicious. And very Polish, from what I could tell.

After our victorious escape!

We shopped some more and went to the famous Wawel Castle. We toured some state rooms, the crown treasury, and armory. Unfortunately we were not supposed to take pictures but Emily sure tried...  to take a picture of every awkward child portrait painted before 1800. She also tried to touch the walls, which is apparently another no-no and the curator people kept their eyes on us for the rest of the tour. 

 

After this excursion, we were ready for dinner - after a quick wifi stop at Coffee Heaven. We wandered our way to a highly-reviewed restaurant in Old Town. After realizing the selection and pricing wasn't to our tastes (although expensive in Poland is not very expensive with the currency conversion... we were being picky) we decided to go to the place next to our planned restaurant. I was craving pizza so followed this craving with a margherita pizza and water. Emily however, was feeling particular adventurous ordering the seafood salad. I loved my dinner, Emily however, was a bit surprised and grossed out by the plate of barely-cooked-looking seafood sitting in front of her: calamari (not breaded and fried), mussels, clams, and other aquarium dwellers. Needless to say - since we couldn't stare at it for very long without getting sick - she ended up ordering a red pepper stuffed with chili con carne instead.
 For dessert I ordered one of my favorites, tiramisu.

After this feast, we met up with another free walking tour. Our guide was Alicja and she was amazing! She spoke excellent English (as did a surprisingly large proportion of the Krakow population), and was excited that we were from Kansas just like Superman (because unlike the Irish population, the Polish are not into The Wizard of Oz - according to Alicja).  This tour was extremely in-depth and we got a summary of Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, and saw Pope John Paul II related sites. 

If I was going back to Krakow, I would definitely spend more time in the Jewish Quarter. Unfortunately, because of our limited amount of time, we spent the smallest amount of time in this eclectic and interesting area. This is the best area for nightlife in Krakow and is known for its themed bars. The first popular bar is in the theme of a chemistry lab and you have to pass through a wardrobe to get to the smoking area. Every bar had to stick to a distinctive and interesting concept to compete and this blossomed into the fun area that it is today.

To conclude our evening we went, once again, to Coffee Heaven. This is where we reminisced about our day, caught up on social media, and planned our final day discussing our coming departure.

The conclusion of Krakow, coming soon!

Yours,

The Opinionated Lassie