Ireland with mimi and papa

I am sorry for not keeping this thing more up to date. We have been busy traveling around the country visiting some family and seeing new sites. Plus I havent really been around the internet so much. The pace hase slowed quite a bit for me but has been a nice change. we are traveling quite a bit and have already put more then 600 miles on the car. We are in and out of B and Bs every night or every other night. Today we are going to the site where my great grandfather was born. we are going to visit some of his old neighbors.

we visited some of papa's cousins in county cork last week. we saw the family gravestone and had a pint at the Cotter pub. all things that i had done before but this time I shared it with Papa. He was thrilled to get to see it all again.

I must get going now but I just wanted to let you all know that all is well. I will be home finally in less than a week. until then...

My Last Day :(

We ended up not really having a very eventful weekend. Bryn and I both have wicked head colds and didnt feel like walking around the chilly beach on Saturday so we skipped Brighton. We slept in a bit then went to a jumble (in American a rummage sale) and then we went to Richmond which is the area both Bryn and Elis went to University. It was a very nice area where you could look out on the Thames and see more countryside then buildings.

Yesterday, still not feeling well, we decided to go out to a movie and then to a pub quiz. We didnt get first place but won a bottle of wine. Next time I will have to brush up on my British knowledge. We headed to a nice, well priced 3 course dinner in this cute little restaurant.

I dont know what we will do today. I am still so congested...I have to get to a pharmacy to get some drugs. I am sure we will go out a little bit tonight. and tomorrow I think we will be on the radio show again before I fly back to Ireland. So if you are up at 5am you can listen live at http://www.skfm.org.uk/

photos

My rental car in front of the really creepy abbey in Ireland. Isnt the car so cute?

Bryn and I at Greenwich Park over looking London.

At the Prime Meridian


Changing of the Guard...look at the funny hats. these guys used to be sent in first because they were the scariest.

Fun at the pub with Bryn and Elis!

Busy days

Tuesday, we went to Greenwich to see the prime meridian. It was a pretty cool observatory with some displays of old tools they used to use to figure out time and longitude. There was a great view of London from the south. After walking around a bit we headed to the football match. The tube was packed with people going to the stadium. Arsenal is a big deal...and the stadium is a big deal. it is pretty new and huge. Bryn has a photo on her blog. We had really good seats 20 rows up behind one goal. We had a great view of the 2 goals Arsenal got to win the game! Everyone was so into the match...there was cheering and singing. Almost no one got out of their seats while the were playing. not like in the states when people run down to concession during the game. anyways it was super fun! And we owe it all to Paul (Elis's boyfriend) who gave Byrn and I his tickets...so sweet!

The next day we got up pretty early and made our way into town to get tickets to Cabaret. After managing to find the cheapest tickets we could for later in the day, we went to the national gallery. That was ok. there is a lot of old art which i am not too into but they did have some impressionists work which i really like. We werent in there for too long because we had to get to Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards. It was packed but we did see them enter the gates and play some tunes. There was a lot of pushing and shoving to get to the gates to just get a glimpse of what was going on. I peeked in but it didnt seem too exciting. They need a better system so everyone can see...but i guess they have been doing it this way for years so why would they change now.

After navigating our way out we went for a nice lunch and Nando's, this chicken place that is Bryn's favorite. It was pretty good and not too expensive. Then it was off to the show! It was at the Lyric Theatre...which was really nice inside. not too big and the matinee wasnt sold out. We ended up moving down a few rows for a better view. The show was fun...good singing and dancing. there were some very scandalous parts...of course it was Cabaret.

Yesterday we were on Elis's radio show. Here is the link...I havent listened to it all the way through so i dont know what i sound like. http://www.myspace.com/thecornershowskfm
It is show 17...i dont think it is posted yet but check back later. It was great to be on a radio show...never done that before. After the show I went down to the Tate Modern. It was a really cool museum and they had lots of art that I really like. It was really crowded and there were lots of students laying around working on their own masterpieces.

After that i went to the British museum which was very overwhelming. there were so many people and the place is huge. I walked around a little bit but then I met up with Bryn for some food. We didn't have a big night just met up with some of Bryn and elis' friends for a couple of pints and Chinese food.

Today we are going to hang around....I am tired. I have had such a busy schedule...it is great...I am having such a good time but my feet need a rest. Tonight we have some plans and tomorrow we are heading down to the beach at Brighton! I only have a couple days left here but I am sure we will live it up!

walking around London

The day before yesterday, I had a very busy day. i took the tube into the city center and walked along the river Thames. I saw the Tower bridge, the London Eye (which is this huge Farris wheel that I guess gives you a great view of the city- the line was too long so i didn't go on it), the parliment building, Buckingham palace and Westminster abbey. I also walked through a couple of parks. It was a very busy day in town because they closed off all the streets in central London for bike use. there were bikers everywhere--it was nice. Then I met up with Elis and we watched an organ player in westminster abbey. It was really cool and the organist was I guess one of the best they have had. We had a great Chinese dinner and then went to a posh bar and watched some live music.

Yesterday we took the canal boat into Camden. That was really nice because we passed all these crazy big houses. Camden was really cool with all these little boutiques selling everything from food to clothing. It is apparently a very hip part of London. we went into this crazy raver store that was covered in black lights and florescent clothes...never seen anything like it. We walked from Camden up to Primrose Hill...where all the famous people live. It also gives you a great view of all of London.

Last night we at a lovely dinner of bread and cheese and then we (just Bryn and I) went dancing. We went to this swing club that Bryn used to frequent. There was a class and then dancing. I have a few steps down and found a couple of guys who were willing to help me. I learned that the girl doesnt really have to know what she is doing as long as she has a good partner. I tried to hold my frame and follow the lead...it was really fun. There were also some really good dancers who were so fun to watch.

Today we have a lunch date then we are going to the Arsenal football match!!! I am so excited.

Welcome to the first world

I arrived safely in London on Thursday and met up with one of Bryn's friends, Elis. I was pretty tired so we didn't do a whole lot but we did walk around her neighborhood a bit. She lives right off one of the canals so it is pretty nice. On Friday we headed back to the airport to meet Bryn. We got there just in time to see her come out of customs. Unfortunately she didnt have her luggage...surprise, surprise since she was coming from Dakar. (It has since arrived so thats good) we walked around a little bit and treated bryn to a chocolate milkshake and some good breakfast food. It was good to be there while she was in awe about being back in the real world.

After catching up and resting up a bit, we went out to a pub and met up with a few of Bryn's friends. The whole group of us went to this bowling alley bar that also had a band playing and dancing. It was pretty neat. We were out so late but had a good time. Yesterday we didnt do much but today we will get out and about a little bit. I don't know exactly but I will let you know.

walking dublin

Today I have pretty much been walking around town. I got tired so i decided to take a break and write a note. My first stop was the Dublin Castle. It wasn't too exciting. Then I went to the Christ church and actually paid the 5 euros to get in. I heard that it was the one Dublin attraction that you had to go to. I don't know if that was true but it wasn't bad. The architecture and detailed sculptures were pretty neat. It also had a collection of treasures from the churches past. That exhibit was kinda creepy because it was in the crypt and there were a bunch of tombs.

After that I had an adventure trying to move my car from one garage to another. The garage I was in opens at 8am and tomorrow I have to leave before then so I needed to find a 24 hour place....anyway that's not important but I didn't have too much trouble driving.

I grabbed an OK lunch at the Bad Ass Cafe and headed towards the shopping district. I went into a bunch of stores but am not ready to lug around much at this point in my trip. I did get a deck of cards that I haven't seen anywhere else. When I leave here I am going to O'Connell street where the shopping is apparently much better. Still not planning on buying anything but it is fun to look. The street is also home to the Spire. which is this tall needle like monument. It is supposed to be Dublin's symbol...kinda like Paris has the Eiffel tower and NYC has the statue of liberty. I drove past it on the bus tour and it seems silly but oh well.

I am off to London tomorrow first thing in the morning. I am super excited!! I will have people to hang out with and will get to explore a whole new city.