Staying on the left, free Nutella and hauling seaweed

A lot to catch up on again.

Saturday night I went to Corine's. I'm never sure if my CS hosts want to to arrive hungry and eat together or full because they don't have the time, money or desire to feed me. Corine wanted me to arrive hungry and then gave me the choice between liver or lamb. I chose liver but she made bacon also (not like our bacon, less cooked and much wider but still thinly cut) just in case I didn't like the liver. It was not too bad. Kind of gamey texture like venison but not a really overwhelming taste. We went out for drinks and I got a Beamish which is made in Cork.

The next day, Eleanor and Jen took me to Kinsale, about a 30 minute drive from Cork on the coast. It's a pleasant little harbour town with a star fort in it and lots of little shops. We explored the fort a bit, drove through an antique car show and then had lunch and wandered. In Europe, it's often more expensive to eat in than to take away because they want you to pay for the table so our sandwiches and pasteries were 1 euro more each but it was nice anyway.

On the way back, Eleanor let me drive! She got us out of Kinsale and on the main road and then let me take over. It wasn't too bad and beside one bike I had to pass (with no shoulder and a road barely wide enough for two American cars- their cars are much smaller in general) they said I did pretty well. I even got to do a few roundabouts which is exciting since the steering is on the right side of the car and you drive on the left side of the road. We switched back before getting back to Cork because there were some really strange roundabouts and I shouldn't do them on my first day driving in Ireland. Even Eleanor got confused as to which lane she should be in.

I went to their apartment for tea and biscuits (our cookies) and pretty soon about 7 of us were there and I had to figure out what they were all saying with their accents and the volume. It was pretty entertaining and good craic (a good time in Irish terminology! not the drug!). One of them guided me back to Corine's and she made lamb for me! Yummy! Great to have French hosts who cook amazingly! :)

The next morning, Monday, I caught a bus to Killarney where there is a lot of hiking. I got to the hostel and found out Killarney National Park is an hour's walk! I figured I would just rent a bike but when I got to my room to drop off my stuff, there was a German girl, Sabine, who had a car and was going there too so I got a lift (not ride- ride implies something different- sexual) with her to the shop (grocery store) and to the park where we had a picnic on a really nice sunny day, explored Muckross House and went to Torc Waterfall. She then drove me to some points on that end of the Ring of Kerry, Molls Gap and a few others with great views and the sun was setting so it was nice (just a bit chilly). We came back to the hostel and made dinner- just pasta- and went to bed after internet. She was leaving the next day to go back to Germany so gave me some of her leftover juice and nutella. Yeah!

The next morning, Tuesday, I got the bus to Dingle and on my connecting bus I noticed the American couple in front of me were passing back and forth a bag of Trader Joe's Rainbow Trail Mix. I commented on it and started talking with them and it turns out they're from Bellingham! Small world! They were nice and chatty and had family they were meeting up with so it didn't work out to make plans together.

I met up with my CS host for that night, Kristin but while she was finishing up some errands I went for a walk out along the harbour to the lighthouse and just beyond. There is a dolphin, Fungi, who has made the harbour his home and they do boat tour out to the harbour to see him. I noticed one of the boats and soon I saw a whole pod of dolphins doing flips and swimming alongside the boat. It was great.

I came back and met Kristin. She's American and really cool. We went foraging for plants for a salad and she taught me some plants I can eat that I found on the peninsula. Then we went to collect seaweed from the beach and put it in her car to use as fertilizer. The next day we took it to the garden and she let me pick some more plants for salads at the hostel, including some mint for tea.

Wednesday I took a minibus archaeological tour of the Dingle Peninsula recommended by Rick Steves. The bus only held 12 people so it was small enough to visit many smaller sites on the peninsula and were able to go into a beehive hut. On the tour I met a nice couple from Seattle. They took me out to lunch after which was great and then we wandered town together for a few hours. We went to an antique shop and I found some great mostly white shell earrings for 2 euro! That's nothing! Only about $2.60 or something. They're really pretty but quite large. For a 2 euro souvenir though, I won't complain. :)

Back at the hostel I made dinner (pasta) but realised I didn't have lettuce to add to my weeds so I shared with someone who did have some. We just made one big salad with his lettuce, my weeds, pepper and mushrooms. It was pretty good with some balsamic vinegar on it. There are usually free food shelves so it was good to have some different food besides my pasta.

There were some nice people at the hostel but one really loud obnoxious Canadian (nothing against Canadians- she just was one). She was really loud (most Europeans are quite and respectful) and was making fun of the German girl she met and was traveling with because she didn't know certain English words (she was mixing up mermaid and nightmare for some reason- maybe they're similar in German). The girl put up with it but I would have not. When I got up to the dorm, her bags were all over my bed and she said I 'hadn't claimed it properly' because I hadn't undone the sheets but she still moved them since I had my stuff out at the foot of the bed and I was getting ready to go to sleep then. Crazy Canadian! Strange girl. I'm glad she left really early this morning so I didn't have to listen to her again.

Well, today I'm just taking it easy. Just interneting, going to the ATM and making lunch. I met a girl from Australia who is working in Wales and has her car here so she is letting me go with her to Doolin this afternoon. She is out cycling now and should be back around 3 so I will finish this, do my errands and make some lunch and come back to the internet until she gets back and then we leave!

Doolin is really near the Cliffs of Moher and I think I'll stay there for the weekend. Lot of hiking and stuff to do. Hopefully I'll get at least one good day of weather. From there, I go to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands, overnight (probably Monday night) and then on to Galway for a few days. I like to stay in one place for the weekend to relax and buses usually run less or not at all on Sundays so it's good to stay in one place for a few days. Plus shops may not be open on Sundays so it's good to get food on Saturday and then cook it on Sunday.

Ok- I'm off in the rain to the ATM and maybe the shop but I think I have some pasta and sauce left from last night so I'll just make that again for lunch.

How many ways are there to have whiskey in Ireland?

I feel like this is Tour de Whiskey the past few days! Where I left off in my blog, I was in Cashel at a hostel where there were half dozen workers from Northern Ireland staying and they were in the kitchen drinking and listening to music and chatting... what you might expect is the stereotypical Irish evening but it was true. I went in and they invited me to sit down and one guy made me a drink but wouldn't tell me what it was. All I knew was whiskey. I later found out it was a Hot Toddy (medicine) with about two parts hot water, some sugar stirred in, then one part whiskey (it was Scotch whiskey though- shame). It was really good. They were chatty, but I was a sentence behind in deciphering their accent so it was hard to keep up.

The next day I went to explore Hore Abbey (yes, pronounced "whore") which is the abbey ruins and no entry gate or anything... you just have to walk through a cow pasture and avoid manure on the path to get to it. It has a great view of the Rock of Cashel, which was my next stop.

The Rock of Cashel is very cool- up on a hill in the town of Cashel and it's also an abbey ruin but they have tours and it's easier to see and understand than the abbey was. I met a gal from Saskatchewan and then found two people from Wisconsin from the hostel. There was a tour starting just after I got there and went I went to the meeting point, I saw three Rick Steves' Ireland books open and I just laughed because I hadn't seen any yet and now I saw three at once! I took the tour then went into town with the girls from Wisconsin. We found a €6 lunch and then a €40 sweater for one of the gals who was quite cold. A good souvenir I think. I went back to the hostel to check email and sort out couches and hostels for the next week or so and then went to top up my phone (add minutes to it) and catch the bus to Cork.

The bus was late by twenty minutes but I got to Cork and was greeted by my host, Bryan. I'm his first couchsurfer and it's a lot of fun here. He's in a house with three other people and we went to a house party at his friends last night... it was great. There, the girls were drinking Jameson and coke and Jameson and 7-up. After a beer, I joined in the Jameson and 7-up. It was good. I'm on to tea and juice now as I think most people are today after last night (I left before they went into town so I can only imagine how they're feeling).

Today is a relax day. Nice to be online again and do some researching for my next few weeks. As of yesterday I hadn't had anything planned for couches or hostels beyond Cork so now at least I know of youth hostels and have sent out couch requests for the next week in Killarney, Dingle and Doolin.

Today I go to Corine's house for the next two nights and on Sunday Eleanore, one of Bryan's friends, said she could take me to Kinsale which is a small harbour town that I was going to do by bus, but by car would be far better. Hmmm.... maybe she'd even let me drive part way... that would be exciting!

Here I am!

Greetings from Dublin! I arrived early this morning after more than 24 hours travel. Everything went well- I was allowed to carry on both my bags and I was able to sleep about three hours on each flight and two hours in the Boston airpot in my 11 hour layover.

I met a nice gal, Alice, who is from New York and traveling to Ireland for a week and renting a car with her son. I spoke with her on and off for a few hours while we were waiting for Aer Lingus check in to open. Before our flight left, she let me use her phone to call Mom and Dad and let them know I was alive and well. On the flight from Boston to Dublin, I sat next to a gentleman from Germany, Frank, who travels a lot to the US and elsewhere, and he had great advise for me.

At Dublin, I took the bus from the airport to city center but the bus driver pointed me in the wrong direction for Aungier Street, which I soon figured out and turned around. It was a bit early to go to my Couchsurfing host's house (around 6.30a by this time) so I went to the hostel just by his house and had a latte macchiato (with a beautiful heart of foam! yes, I took a photo. I'm a dork). Jetlag, hunger and exhaustion hit me hard while I was there, so I was grateful when Ibrahim let me nap while he was at work until he came back for lunch (he works a 5 minute walk away). When he went back for lunch, I went to wander the town and wound up at Dublin Castle. I bought the Heritage Card which gets you free entry to many sites in Ireland. It's good for a year and usually 21 EUR but they took my student ID (with out a year on it! The best thing I got from Luther besides an education) so I paid only 8 EUR. I came back to meet Ibrahim before he went to class and took another nap and then watched the football (soccer) match with him and his roommate. Now we're about to eat and watch the Obama 100 Day speech.

All's well. Plenty of sleep and rest and then tomorrow I plan to hike in Howth. Hopefully it won't be too rainy (it rained most of the day today). Friday I'm going to Bru Na Boinne (Newgrange) with a gal from Virginia and her sister who I met on Couchsurfing.

Slightly productive day

So today I got some done but not what I should have gotten done.

I went to Michael's craft store and bought some Velcro adhesives for the ties on one of my dresses. When I tie it in a bow, it makes a big lump and is quite uncomfortable to sit in. I'll have to apply them later tonight to try it out tomorrow.

I was at Best Buy and bought an extra battery for my camera and a flash drive to transfer files, music, whatever from my computer to someone else's or visa versa.

Lastly, I went to my Starbucks home and so hi/bye to some people working. I'll actually see a few of them when I come in on Monday to pick up my tips before I head South for the airport.

Actually, that wasn't last... I went to Trader Joe's but didn't actually go in... I just parked there and walked to Youngstock's- a outdoor fruit stand- and bought a mango I had been craving earlier in the day and a really crisp gala apple that I ate on my drive home.

When I got home, I planned my Dublin days more- but I'm sure most of the planning will come once I'm there and get advice from my hosts- and I transferred my music from my old laptop to my new one. Next task (besides packing) is to charge and sync my ipod and once Dad is home he can help me to transfer my photos from my old laptop to my new one. It told me I couldn't access my photos in the same way as I could my music. I don't remember what Dad did to fix the problem when it said that for the music, so I'll just wait for him to get back from him rehearsal since there are other things I should do.

T-6 days: Uncaffeinated,overwhelmed and slightly motivated

So today is my first day sans Starbucks. Yesterday was my last day and it was actually a good time. Some customers were very generous and I appreciated everything everyone did for me. My last moments were spent with Kathy and Chris and they were grand. It's had to believe that I was at Starbucks for three years (and three days, and three stores!). It's by far the longest job I held, longer than I've stayed in one place and longer than any other committment I've had. Even school, in a way. I went to private kindergarten, then Carl Cozier Elementary for 1st, 2nd and part of 3rd, then moved to Harmony Elemetary for the rest of 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th (ok, so that's more than three years), then Mt. Baker Junior High for two years, Mt. Baker High School for two years, Holden for one year and then back to Baker for my senior year. So besides Harmony, no major committements for more than three years! Ok, maybe that only excites me.

Anyway, it was a great last day.

I've begun my search for a couch to surf for my first week in Dublin. So far, I've had a few no responses (people traveling or taking a break from hosting- Dubliners get a lot of requests I'm noticing) but I've had one possible/yes but only fot the 30th and maybe the 29th. He'll get back to me tomorrow. It's tough to find someone who can let me put my bags at their flat early in the day (my flight gets in at 5:15a!) but it sounds like there are places I can stash my bag for the day in city centre and then just meet up with my host in the evening. Something will work out, I'm sure.

I'm in the process of cleaning out my car. There is a gentleman doing work on my parents' house and in lieu of getting paid, he's getting things off an 'exchange list' and my car is on it. If he takes it (and it sounds like he will) Dad will give me $600 for it. That'd be fantastic. One less thing to have to worry about. It's a nice sunny day here, so I have it sitting out in the driveway airing out.

Still my room to go through. Harder to do when it's sunny because I want to be outside but I really should go through it while I'm motivated to toss things I don't need and save things I do so I can give them to my cousin KJ before I go.

Toss it, Chuck it, Bin it!

So, the sorting has begun. I've gone through all my guidebook pages and ripped out ones that I don't need. I ended up throwing away nearly 200 pages! It's great! I went through my Ireland book the past week and determined that a rough plan would give me 27 days in Ireland, plus another week for Northern Ireland. A little longer than I initially thought, but there's a lot more to Ireland than I thought there was. I'm very excited.

I just got back from a load of returns to REI. I love REI! Great return policy. I order a lot of stuff online and have it shipped to the store (free!) and then return the sizes of clothes that don't fit. They're quite nice about it (most of the time).

I'm house-sitting this week and next and have packed me bag with everything I thought I would want/need on my trip. I've eliminated my sweater-vest, a pair of walking shorts and a pair of pants. It's nice to have a little more room there, but I know I'll be filling some of it with things I forgot to pack or will be buying there (shampoo, small souvenirs, heavy coat in the summer, etc) so hopefully I can eliminate more space and weight before I go.

I've ordered free business cards with my email, blog address and couchsurfing page address on it to give to people here who want to follow my adventure and for people who I meet there who want to stay in touch and/or have connections for me in Europe.

A lot has happened the past week and a lot more still needs to be done in the next few weeks!

Brunch, drinks and perspectives

Today I had brunch and drinks with Shana, Laura, Caryn and Lauren at Mount Bakery in Downtown Bellingham. It was great- both to food and the company. All five of us have travelled abroad to different parts of the world and it was wonderful to get different perspectives and ideas on travel.

Shana gave me some great information on Ireland, where she lived for a bit and had the opportunity to travel while she was there. Caryn is a free spirit who travels a lot and is very involved in the arts wherever she goes. Laura is leaving for Liberia on Saturday for a volunteer job for eight months. Lauren is moving to Maine for work and will be leaving soon for a three week road trip to get her to there. It was really good to be able to get and share travel advice and inspire each other to pursue our respective travel dreams.

It's so exciting to hear about other peoples' travel plans and it motivates me to learn more about where I'm going.