The Magical Martin and Mags

The very first week I arrived in Cork I got this semi-sketchy Facebook message from a woman named Mags. She said that she was a dance teacher at UCC and that I should come to a traditional music session at Blarney. Now in my head, Blarney had one thing, a famous castle with one famous stone. I knew that I had kissed the Blarney stone when I was younger but was amazed that I could casually go to this town for more than that single reason. Not wanting to walk into an unpredictable situation alone I invited everyone that I knew at that point. Mags said that her friend, Martin, would pick us up in his taxi and take us to Blarney where we could see the castle, kiss the stone, and have dinner and music after.

The first time was a bit dodgy. Everybody seemed nice but we were all nervously skeptical and confused. And I had been the one to suggest it in the first place. But, over the following 12 weeks Blarney became my home away from home. I think that I missed a total of two Tuesdays during the whole semester but was there every other time. I enrolled in Mags’ dance class and discovered my love for Irish dance, which I would then practice at the music nights. I brought friends to these sessions and my friends brought their families as a way to explore some local culture.

Mags and Martin will forever be my lifelong friends and I will miss them very much. I always sat in the front of Martin’s taxi and from talking to him gained invaluable wisdom. He is so kind to everyone that goes to Blarney and was happy to see us every time. I never saw Martin in a bad mood and even if I was having a rough day, Martin’s “I am wonderful” attitude would always brighten my day.  Mags, on the other hand, became like the sister that I never had. She is the most talented dancing-fiddler and I am constantly in awe of her talent and grace. They also have a wonderful relationship with each other and even if it’s a student’s first visit to Blarney they feel as if they have been attending for years.

I will truly miss these Tuesday adventures and cherish the wonderful memories with Martin and Mags. What they do for stray international students is amazing and greatly appreciated by every student that comes. 

The Opinionated Lassie

Scotland - Land of Plaid and Starbucks

Two weekends ago I went on a trip to Scotland! Since I have had a lot of school-related work to do since then, I have yet to document this trip here. Let's do it!

We left for Glasgow airport around 10am the morning of Friday, November 28. Glasgow is only about 1.5 hours from Cork so after a short flight we gathered our things and headed to the city. My friend, Alaina, and I hopped off a city bus right in the middle of downtown and were amazed by the beauty and opulence of this area! I love cities so much! I love the hype and the bustle and how there is so much to do in such a close distance. Glasgow immediately made me giddy with excitement and after a short wifi check-in at the local Starbucks, we were on our way.

We had reserved a hop-on hop-off bus tour so ran some errands on the way to our bus' stop. Right next to the stop was Charles Square where Glasgow's Christmas festivities were set up with a ferris wheel and other colorful activities. We began the tour and, although it was freezing, we saw the bulk of Glasgow's downtown in under three hours. During this tour we realized that it was taking longer than we anticipated so decided to stay a few hours later in Glasgow  and skip our planned evening tour in Edinburgh that night. We got off the bus, sat down to a delicious Italian meal, and happily enjoyed our evening.

Then we realized that we had our time off by an entire hour! We had been following the time on Alaina's watch but didn't realize that phones were an hour behind. And since the sun had gone down at 3:45pm we were utterly confused. After a Twilight Zone sort of realization with our waitress we knew that we had plenty of time to make our Edinburgh bus and could still do our other tour! Thus, after our delicious meal, we walked over to the bus station and boarded a bus to Edinburgh which is about an hour away. 

We had planned it all perfectly and should have made it to Edinburgh with about 30 minutes to walk to the meeting point for our tour. However, we had the sassiest bus driver ever and she took her time getting to the city. Also, it was not an express bus so every two minutes you would hear the little beep and we would stop on the side of the road for another patron to get off. Needless to say we barely made it to Edinburgh in time. We arrived in the city about 10 minutes before our tour left and we had no idea where we were or where we needed to be going. After trying to follow Alaina's phone's directions to the meeting point, we asked a nice looking stranger who pointed us in the correct direction. Luckily we found our meeting point, an Edinburgh Starbucks, just in time to meet our group for the "Dark Side of Edinburgh tour."

The whole walk was a bit chilly but we learned a lot about murders, vampires, and cemeteries over about three hours that evening. Amazingly in just one day we got two comprehensive looks at Scotland's most famous cities. After the tour we were hungry again so went to the one place open at 11pm on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, a pizza joint. It was actually quite good and after we checked-in at our hostel, we dozed off to sleep.

The next morning, we got up early to head on our day tour to the Scottish Highlands (after Starbucks of course). We just love tours apparently! Alaina and I took motion sickness pills because the bus was not very large but these made us tired and we passed out for the first hour of the tour. In my sleepy daze I got off at the first stop which was a lookout point over some bridges. I have no idea the significance because I slept through the description but after the freezing air touched my skin I happily got back on the bus. Our next stop was the National Wallace Monument which was built to commemorate the life and work of Sir William Wallace who fought and led Scotland in unity against the tyrannical King of England, Edward I. It was a very nice monument and exhibit with many many stairs to the top. We were only given 40 minutes to stop there so when we realized that we were out of time and still at the top of the monument's hill, Alaina and I ran down the hill in hopes of not being left behind. In case you are wondering, we were not left behind.

Our next stop was a viewing point for Loch Monteith. I slept through this description as well but basically the area that we were driving through had a lot of lakes and lochs so our driver wanted us to see some of them. And then finally we stopped for lunch! We made an hour-long respite in the Highlands town of Aberfoyle and we wandered into a cute little place called Liz MacGregor's. I ordered some chips and a chicken and cheese panini for lunch. It was a ton of food but I was starving after a long day already. We then made our way to Trossach's National Park to view the Scottish Highlands in all of their glory. However, it was a bit foggy so, according to our driver, we couldn't see all of the mountains as some were clouded over. Then our driver, Jamie, started playing the bagpipes! It was crazy and I was so confused!

And then was my favorite part, the hairy coos! These are the most adorable short little blonde cows and we got to pet, feed, and take selfies with them! They were so cute and I just wanted to take one home, but, yah know, weight restrictions...

We then wrapped up our day with another loch, Loch Katrine, and a quick stop at Monty Python's Duone's Castle. I was a bit disappointed because after doing the song "Loch Lomond" in high school choir, I hoped that we would make it over there. According to the map that I looked at it was right next to Loch Katrine but I will have to save that dream for another day! 

After we arrived back in Edinburgh, Alaina and I went to a Mexican restaurant that we saw during our Dark Side tour. I have been craving Mexican food so much since being over here and it was great to have some enchiladas! We then did some shopping and headed over to the Christmas Market. It was so adorable and there were so many vendors with different gifts from all over the world! 

After shopping we went to the bus station to head back to Glasgow. We eventually found our hostel, which was really nice, and called it a night.

The next morning we got up,  got some Starbucks coffee and breakfast before shopping a little, and catched a bus to the airport. This trip was a whirlwind but we got so much sightseeing done in 2 days!

Yours,
The Opinionated Lassie

And for a video breakdown of this trip, watch my vlog! You can also see other videos of mine at my Youtube channel, The Opinionated Lassie.

Ode to my Umbrella

Ireland can receive anywhere from 150-225 days of rain each year. This means you have to have proper rain gear (aka rain boats, a rain jacket, and of course, an umbrella). Except for rain boots, I came prepared! And my favorite thing was a beautiful umbrella that I received as a graduation present featuring the painting Garden by Monet. It was a super nice umbrella too, strong fabric that could stand Kansas-level winds, the fancy supports that bounced back when it flipped inside out, and a reinforced pole with a nice handle. It was just so cute and set me apart from the average black umbrellas common over here.

But then I got caught in a really awful rain storm. I had just returned to Cork from Dublin on the train and had to make it back to my apartment. I had planned on just taking a taxi but they weren't lined up and I didn't have a number to call for one. A nice girl told me to take a bus and once I told her where I lived, it seemed like the one she was taking would work for me too. However, it was strongly drizzling at this point to foreshadow the pending doom. I got on the bus all fine and well but kept wondering why the bus was not going where I had expected. In fact, the bus dropped me about 10 minutes from my apartment and it was then pouring down rain. I had no choice, begin walking! And, although I was getting very soaked, my umbrella displayed valiant effort. But then about halfway there the wind picked up. I could barely walk it was pushing me so hard not to mention my poor umbrella! It was mutilated! 

When I got home, I looked like this:

And in addition, this evening was the beginning of the worst cold (2 weeks in duration) I have had in a long time. 

Now I thought this was the end of my umbrella, but, after seeing the broken and mangled remains of umbrellas that the Irish proudly carry around, I decided to let it dry and reassess the situation in the morning. By the time it dried I realized that it wasn't completely a lost cause but that one of the "legs" had snapped and two others had been ripped off the fabric so were nearly useless. But why invest in another umbrella then? The new one would be ruined just the same and, even though it looked a bit silly, Monet still kept me pretty dry.

These injuries, however, did a lot to mess with the stability and reliability of the umbrella. With one of the legs broken, Monet flips inside out even more and each time it does, the whole thing contorts even farther from its original shape. Additionally, the broken leg now hangs down under the umbrella and I have to dodge it as I walk. Not to mention this is a pointy piece of thick metal wire so a possible eye injury is in store if I don't watch closely. This poor trouper does its job to the best of its ability but it is becoming increasingly more useless. 

And now it has reached the end of its life as it no longer locks shut. I was trying to close it before I walked into the library. The front of the library is a wall of windows and as I was walking by probably 50 people my umbrella, which I thought was locked shut, sprung open in my hands and quite literally punched me in the stomach. Like actually really painfully. At least I know the spring has suffered no damage.

At this point, Monet is a hazard to me and those in close proximity. At any point it may punch me again, stab me in the eye or somewhere else on my head, or violently fold inside out and hit another poor pedestrian. I have two weeks left, and if it rains I may try a victory lap with Monet, but after that, I will sadly have to leave him at my apartment in the dumpster. 

RIP Monet - Trustworthy. Valiant. Pretty. Umbrella.