(Tuesday, May 12)
Today I finished my last piece of coursework of my college career.
(Wednesday, May 13)
This evening we had a party at Jess' place with a baseball theme. I taught the girls how to play a drinking game called baseball, which is a variant on beer pong that adds in elements of flip cup. I'm too lazy to describe it to you here, but if you want to know about it then I will tell you about it sometime. This game involves a lot more drinking than beer pong, so we all got pretty well drunk. After the party some of the people went on to the Carleton, but I wasn't feeling it so I just went back to my place and chilled for a bit before going to sleep.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Roses
(Friday, May 8)
Today I got up really early to catch a coach to York with the Fish for the Roses. The Roses is a sporting competition between Lancaster and York every year. If anyone has ever heard of the "War of the Roses", that is where this competition takes its name from. Anyways, the competition covers a huge range of sports and it lasts for several days, however all of the frisbee games are on the same day. We hopped on our coach around 6:30am and headed off to York. We got there around 10am and but our first indoor game wasn't for a while, so we just threw around to get warmed up and waste time.
The first indoor game, which was a mixed exhibition game, started around 11. It was a really close and hard fought game, and in the end Lancaster emerged the victors. The next game was the men's indoor. This game was so close all the way through and everyone watching was incredibly tense, and in similar fashion to the previous game Lancaster prevailed in the final seconds. With both indoor games finished there were about 2 hours of rest time until the outdoor game. Our team decided to walk to a nearby sandwich shop which was famous for its premade sandwiches. They were every bit as good as their reputation had built them up to be. Now that we had been fed we headed out to the fields to get ready for our last game of the day.
As we were warming up for the game it started to rain, but thankfully it only lasted for about 10 minutes. The game was pretty disappointing with Lancaster getting beaten fairly soundly. The final total for the day was Lancaster 2 - York 1, but the annoying thing about it was that the mixed indoor game wasn't worth any points, the men's indoor was worth 2 points, and the outdoor game was worth 4 points, so York beat us in overall points 4-2. I was also a bit annoyed cause I only played the outdoor game.
Also, Lancaster got destroyed in the overall Roses competition when all of the sports were completed. I hope to go back to Lancaster next May to see the next Roses competition, cause they will be the hosts next year.
Roses Photos
Today I got up really early to catch a coach to York with the Fish for the Roses. The Roses is a sporting competition between Lancaster and York every year. If anyone has ever heard of the "War of the Roses", that is where this competition takes its name from. Anyways, the competition covers a huge range of sports and it lasts for several days, however all of the frisbee games are on the same day. We hopped on our coach around 6:30am and headed off to York. We got there around 10am and but our first indoor game wasn't for a while, so we just threw around to get warmed up and waste time.
The first indoor game, which was a mixed exhibition game, started around 11. It was a really close and hard fought game, and in the end Lancaster emerged the victors. The next game was the men's indoor. This game was so close all the way through and everyone watching was incredibly tense, and in similar fashion to the previous game Lancaster prevailed in the final seconds. With both indoor games finished there were about 2 hours of rest time until the outdoor game. Our team decided to walk to a nearby sandwich shop which was famous for its premade sandwiches. They were every bit as good as their reputation had built them up to be. Now that we had been fed we headed out to the fields to get ready for our last game of the day.
As we were warming up for the game it started to rain, but thankfully it only lasted for about 10 minutes. The game was pretty disappointing with Lancaster getting beaten fairly soundly. The final total for the day was Lancaster 2 - York 1, but the annoying thing about it was that the mixed indoor game wasn't worth any points, the men's indoor was worth 2 points, and the outdoor game was worth 4 points, so York beat us in overall points 4-2. I was also a bit annoyed cause I only played the outdoor game.
Also, Lancaster got destroyed in the overall Roses competition when all of the sports were completed. I hope to go back to Lancaster next May to see the next Roses competition, cause they will be the hosts next year.
Roses Photos
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Ireland & Scotland Trip Part 3: Edinburgh
(Sunday, May 3)
I got up and headed straight for the airport to catch my flight to Edinburgh. When I arrived in Edinburgh I hopped right onto a bus for about an hour ride to my hostel in the city center. I got to my hostel, got checked in, and settled into my room. The hostel I was staying at did free dinner on Sunday night at 7pm and it was currently about 5pm so I went out to walk around and see a bit of the city. Along my walk I came across a tour group who asked me to take pictures of them with their cameras. I ended up shooting pictures with about 10 different cameras and we all had a laugh about it. When the time drew near to 7 I headed back to the hostel cause I was most certainly not gonna miss a free dinner.
Back at the hostel I grabbed my Wired magazine and sat down in a large comfy chair in the dining room area. There was another large chair next to mine and in that chair sat a beautiful redheaded girl. For about 20 minutes she sat reading her book silently while I read my magazine, both of us waiting for the announcement to eat. When the time came we got up and got in the line for food. I asked her about the book she was reading and from there our conversation continued. The dining room was full so we took our plates down to the TV room. After we had finished eating we decided to watch a movie. She chose "Shaun of the Dead", which I had only seen parts of. When the movie ended we decided to watch another, this time I chose "Supertroopers". After the movie we picked right back up with our conversation. We talked for probably an hour then we decided it was time to get some sleep. Before saying goodnight we finally introduced ourselves. Her name was Jenny.
(Monday, May 4)
I got up kinda early cause I wanted to make sure I got the most of the day. I ate a quick breakfast, got cleaned up, made dinner plans with Jenny, and set off to explore the city. My first destination was the Scott Monument which was just a few blocks from my hostel. I can't really remember who this Scott guy was, but his monument was pretty neat. I walked up the hundreds of windy stairs to the top so I could get a better view of the surroundings. Being at the top of the monument I experienced probably the most powerful winds I've ever felt, good thing my camera had a wrist strap. After the monument I worked my way over to Old Town and up to the castle. Edinburgh Castle is the coolest castle I've ever seen from the outside. Inside the walls it is a bit bland, but still worth visiting. I spent over 3 hours walking around the castle and touring the various exhibits. When I left the castle I headed to the Scotch Whisky Experience which was only about a block away. Those of you who know me know that I hate whiskey, but I figured I would give it one more chance.
While I was waiting to buy my ticket I heard a group behind me talking in what sounded like an American accent so I asked where they were from. They turned out to be Canadian, so I was pretty close. Their names were Jame, Shelby, Jessica and Alex (who was Swiss). The first part of the tour involves sitting in a little car on a rail, very much like a DisneyWorld ride. Jame, Shelby, and I shared a car for this part. At the end of that ride you go into a room where the different regions for Scotch whisky production are explained to you (notice that I'm spelling whisky without the 'e'. Whisky = Scotch, Whiskey = everything else). After this the tour takes you into a huge display room with the biggest collection of Scotch in the world. Here you get a chance to taste 1 whisky from a region of your choosing. After this you head into a bar area where if you bought the gold tour ticket, which we all did, you can taste 4 more whiskys. We all sat down around a table with our tasting sheets and our 4 little glasses of whisky. We spent probably an hour and a half there getting to know each other and sipping on whisky. I can safely say that I still hate whisky just as much. After we had finished our glasses we decided to go grab a quick dinner.
We ended up at a nice little restaurant a few blocks away. Jessica ordered haggis so I got a chance to try it and to my surprise it wasn't bad. My only complaint was a bit of an odd texture, but the flavor was pretty good. We ate and talked for about an hour then it was time for us to go our separate ways. It was a lot of fun getting to know them, especially because of how random it was meeting them.
Back at the hostel I met up with Jenny and we went in search of dinner. We ended up at a place called Bad Ass, which was a bar about 15 minutes walk from our place. The food was some of the best I'd had in the UK. After dinner we went back to the hostel and went back to the TV room where we found people watching Stardust so we sat down and watched with them. After the movie we headed back to our rooms cause we were planning on an early start the next morning.
(Tuesday, May 5)
We got up early and walked to Jenny's friend's hostel. When we got there I met her friend, Miranda, who is a Canadian and has been living in Edinburgh for 3 months. We all walked to Old Town where we booked our coach tour of the Highlands. The tour was scheduled to last 10 hours and take us to a variety of places in the Scottish Highlands. Even though the weather was pretty crappy, we had a great time on the tour. I wish I could remember all the places that the tour took us, but sadly I cannot. When we got back we headed back to our hostel and Miranda went back to hers. I took a little nap cause I was wiped out from the tour. A few hours later Jenny and I went over to Miranda's hostel for the evening. Miranda and Jenny made dinner which was awesome and then we played drinking games till we decided to leave.
(Wednesday, May 6)
I got up early so I could check out of my room. After checking out, Jenny and I went to meet up with Miranda for lunch. We went to a place called Dirty Dick's, which was right next to Bad Ass, perhaps there is some sort of anatomy theme around there. The food at this place was equally as good as Bad Ass, which makes Edinburgh easily the best food city in the UK from my experience. After dinner we said goodbye to Miranda and went for one last walk around the city. We walked through Prince Street gardens, then up through Old Town, past the Elephant Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter and past the Greyfriar's Bobby, which is a statue of a little dog who sat on its master's grave every day for years after its master died. We eventually worked our way back to our hostel to pick up our luggage. Luggage in hand we headed out to Waverley Bridge where we said our goodbyes. I headed down to the train station to start my journey back to Lancaster and she boarded a bus to the airport.
Edinburgh Photos
Edingburgh Photos 2
I got up and headed straight for the airport to catch my flight to Edinburgh. When I arrived in Edinburgh I hopped right onto a bus for about an hour ride to my hostel in the city center. I got to my hostel, got checked in, and settled into my room. The hostel I was staying at did free dinner on Sunday night at 7pm and it was currently about 5pm so I went out to walk around and see a bit of the city. Along my walk I came across a tour group who asked me to take pictures of them with their cameras. I ended up shooting pictures with about 10 different cameras and we all had a laugh about it. When the time drew near to 7 I headed back to the hostel cause I was most certainly not gonna miss a free dinner.
Back at the hostel I grabbed my Wired magazine and sat down in a large comfy chair in the dining room area. There was another large chair next to mine and in that chair sat a beautiful redheaded girl. For about 20 minutes she sat reading her book silently while I read my magazine, both of us waiting for the announcement to eat. When the time came we got up and got in the line for food. I asked her about the book she was reading and from there our conversation continued. The dining room was full so we took our plates down to the TV room. After we had finished eating we decided to watch a movie. She chose "Shaun of the Dead", which I had only seen parts of. When the movie ended we decided to watch another, this time I chose "Supertroopers". After the movie we picked right back up with our conversation. We talked for probably an hour then we decided it was time to get some sleep. Before saying goodnight we finally introduced ourselves. Her name was Jenny.
(Monday, May 4)
I got up kinda early cause I wanted to make sure I got the most of the day. I ate a quick breakfast, got cleaned up, made dinner plans with Jenny, and set off to explore the city. My first destination was the Scott Monument which was just a few blocks from my hostel. I can't really remember who this Scott guy was, but his monument was pretty neat. I walked up the hundreds of windy stairs to the top so I could get a better view of the surroundings. Being at the top of the monument I experienced probably the most powerful winds I've ever felt, good thing my camera had a wrist strap. After the monument I worked my way over to Old Town and up to the castle. Edinburgh Castle is the coolest castle I've ever seen from the outside. Inside the walls it is a bit bland, but still worth visiting. I spent over 3 hours walking around the castle and touring the various exhibits. When I left the castle I headed to the Scotch Whisky Experience which was only about a block away. Those of you who know me know that I hate whiskey, but I figured I would give it one more chance.
While I was waiting to buy my ticket I heard a group behind me talking in what sounded like an American accent so I asked where they were from. They turned out to be Canadian, so I was pretty close. Their names were Jame, Shelby, Jessica and Alex (who was Swiss). The first part of the tour involves sitting in a little car on a rail, very much like a DisneyWorld ride. Jame, Shelby, and I shared a car for this part. At the end of that ride you go into a room where the different regions for Scotch whisky production are explained to you (notice that I'm spelling whisky without the 'e'. Whisky = Scotch, Whiskey = everything else). After this the tour takes you into a huge display room with the biggest collection of Scotch in the world. Here you get a chance to taste 1 whisky from a region of your choosing. After this you head into a bar area where if you bought the gold tour ticket, which we all did, you can taste 4 more whiskys. We all sat down around a table with our tasting sheets and our 4 little glasses of whisky. We spent probably an hour and a half there getting to know each other and sipping on whisky. I can safely say that I still hate whisky just as much. After we had finished our glasses we decided to go grab a quick dinner.
We ended up at a nice little restaurant a few blocks away. Jessica ordered haggis so I got a chance to try it and to my surprise it wasn't bad. My only complaint was a bit of an odd texture, but the flavor was pretty good. We ate and talked for about an hour then it was time for us to go our separate ways. It was a lot of fun getting to know them, especially because of how random it was meeting them.
Back at the hostel I met up with Jenny and we went in search of dinner. We ended up at a place called Bad Ass, which was a bar about 15 minutes walk from our place. The food was some of the best I'd had in the UK. After dinner we went back to the hostel and went back to the TV room where we found people watching Stardust so we sat down and watched with them. After the movie we headed back to our rooms cause we were planning on an early start the next morning.
(Tuesday, May 5)
We got up early and walked to Jenny's friend's hostel. When we got there I met her friend, Miranda, who is a Canadian and has been living in Edinburgh for 3 months. We all walked to Old Town where we booked our coach tour of the Highlands. The tour was scheduled to last 10 hours and take us to a variety of places in the Scottish Highlands. Even though the weather was pretty crappy, we had a great time on the tour. I wish I could remember all the places that the tour took us, but sadly I cannot. When we got back we headed back to our hostel and Miranda went back to hers. I took a little nap cause I was wiped out from the tour. A few hours later Jenny and I went over to Miranda's hostel for the evening. Miranda and Jenny made dinner which was awesome and then we played drinking games till we decided to leave.
(Wednesday, May 6)
I got up early so I could check out of my room. After checking out, Jenny and I went to meet up with Miranda for lunch. We went to a place called Dirty Dick's, which was right next to Bad Ass, perhaps there is some sort of anatomy theme around there. The food at this place was equally as good as Bad Ass, which makes Edinburgh easily the best food city in the UK from my experience. After dinner we said goodbye to Miranda and went for one last walk around the city. We walked through Prince Street gardens, then up through Old Town, past the Elephant Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter and past the Greyfriar's Bobby, which is a statue of a little dog who sat on its master's grave every day for years after its master died. We eventually worked our way back to our hostel to pick up our luggage. Luggage in hand we headed out to Waverley Bridge where we said our goodbyes. I headed down to the train station to start my journey back to Lancaster and she boarded a bus to the airport.
Edinburgh Photos
Edingburgh Photos 2
Ireland & Scotland Trip Part 2: Dublin
(Friday, May 1)
My bus from Limerick arrived in Dublin around 5pm. I had forgotten to check where my hostel was before getting on the bus, but much to my surprise the bus actually had free Internet access and I had my laptop on me so that was easily sorted out. When I got to my hostel I checked in and worked on some homework for my online English class. About 2 hours later I got a message from Dennis that he and the group (Katie, Stacey, Oleg, and Marianna) had arrived at their hostel on the other side of the city. We made plans to meet up near my hostel an hour later, so I went back to my room and got cleaned up.
We met up at the O'Connell Monument near my hostel, which is pretty close to what you would say is the center of the city. From there we walked to the Temple Bar district which was only a few blocks away. We walked up and down the streets looking for a reasonably priced dinner, but this wasn't easy cause Temple Bar is probably one of the most expensive areas in the city. We ended up splitting up, with Katie, Stacey, and I going to a small cafe in the district and Oleg, Dennis, and Marianna going to Burger King which was back where we had started the walk.
After dinner we all regrouped at a pub in the district which was really nice. They had some live music playing and I had the best pint of Guiness I've ever had. We hung out here for a few expensive rounds then went in search of a club. We found one just down the block. It was 5 stories tall with a different theme on each floor. The cover was pretty steep so Oleg and Marianna decided to go back to the hostel for the night while the rest of us went in to dance. We stayed there for probably 3 hours or so and then headed out. Thankfully my hostel is right on the border of the Temple Bar district so it only took me about 10 minutes to walk back while Dennis, Katie, and Stacey had about a 40 minute walk ahead of them. I was feeling pretty hungry so I grabbed some Subway on my way. Back at the hostel I wolfed down the sub and did some finishing touches on my English paper before submitting it and going to bed.
(Saturday, May 2)
I got up fairly early so I could snatch some free continental breakfast in the kitchen at my hostel. The breakfast was pretty lame, but it was at least something. After breakfast I met up with the rest of the group and we walked along the Liffey River, which runs through the center of Dublin, to the Guiness Storehouse. We paid our entry fee and set off on the self-guided tour of all 7 floors. It was like an adult version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Along the way their was a tasting area so we downed a few half pints while we were there and kept on going. At the top there was a restaurant and with your entry you get a free pint of Guiness so we stopped into the restaurant to redeem our coupons and get something to eat. They were serving some hot sandwiches and I had probably the best roast beef sandwich I've ever eaten in my life. After lunch we descended back to the lobby, bought some souvenirs, and headed out.
Katie and Stacey decided to go back to their hostel for a nap while the rest of us pressed on to see more of the city. The first stop on our walk was Dublin Castle. The name is quite deceptive as only a tiny part of it still looks like a normal castle. Most of it looks like some kind of Victorian palace or something like that. Next stop was Christ's Church. We didn't bother going in, we simply walked past it but it looked kinda neat. After that we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The cathedral is fairly plain from the outside and we didn't want to pay to go inside, but the park outside of the cathedral was nice so we laid down in the grass for a quick siesta. Next up was St. Stephen's Green. This was certainly the best part of the afternoon. St. Stephen's Green is a beautiful park in the southern part of the city. Its filled with criss-crossing footpaths that take you along little ponds and past flower gardens. We walked around the park for a bit before coming to rest on a patch of grass near one of the ponds. We all laid down for a bit and I fell asleep for probably about 30 minutes. Our last stop on our tour of the city was Trinity College. Sadly by the time we got there it was starting to rain so we didn't walk around it as much as I would have liked. I'm sure its a nice campus to walk around and I will go there if I make it back to Dublin again. When we left Trinity College we headed back to my hostel which was fairly close by.
Back at my hostel we all relaxed on the couches in the lobby and checked our email on my laptop. We made plans to meet up with Katie and Stacey in an hour so while we waited I went back to my room and shower up. When I came back to the lobby Dennis, Oleg, and Marianna were all asleep on the couches. I shook them around a bit and reluctantly they got up. We left the hostel and met back up with Katie and Stacey. The first order of business for the evening was dinner. Since it was Dennis' birthday we let him decide and we ended up grabbing some lackluster Chinese food. After dinner we walked once more into the Temple Bar district in search of some drinks. The first place we came to was a bar on the bottom floor of a hotel. The place was pretty fancy and it was really busy so we decided to join in. We managed to find an open table and I headed to the bar for a round. It took me about 30 minutes to get a drink, which led to our decision to leave after that round. When we left there were some people in the street handing out flyers for a nearby strip club so we decided to go there so we could embarass the birthday boy. When we got to the door of the club they said that no ladies were allowed to come in so we nixed that idea and instead went looking for a pub. We ended up going to The Temple Bar, which was one of the coolest pubs I've ever been in. It was completely packed so there wasn't a whole lot of space to move around, but the atmosphere was great. We had a few drinks there before we called it a night. We walked out to the main street then said our goodbyes cause I was going to Edinburgh in the morning by myself.
Dublin Photos
My bus from Limerick arrived in Dublin around 5pm. I had forgotten to check where my hostel was before getting on the bus, but much to my surprise the bus actually had free Internet access and I had my laptop on me so that was easily sorted out. When I got to my hostel I checked in and worked on some homework for my online English class. About 2 hours later I got a message from Dennis that he and the group (Katie, Stacey, Oleg, and Marianna) had arrived at their hostel on the other side of the city. We made plans to meet up near my hostel an hour later, so I went back to my room and got cleaned up.
We met up at the O'Connell Monument near my hostel, which is pretty close to what you would say is the center of the city. From there we walked to the Temple Bar district which was only a few blocks away. We walked up and down the streets looking for a reasonably priced dinner, but this wasn't easy cause Temple Bar is probably one of the most expensive areas in the city. We ended up splitting up, with Katie, Stacey, and I going to a small cafe in the district and Oleg, Dennis, and Marianna going to Burger King which was back where we had started the walk.
After dinner we all regrouped at a pub in the district which was really nice. They had some live music playing and I had the best pint of Guiness I've ever had. We hung out here for a few expensive rounds then went in search of a club. We found one just down the block. It was 5 stories tall with a different theme on each floor. The cover was pretty steep so Oleg and Marianna decided to go back to the hostel for the night while the rest of us went in to dance. We stayed there for probably 3 hours or so and then headed out. Thankfully my hostel is right on the border of the Temple Bar district so it only took me about 10 minutes to walk back while Dennis, Katie, and Stacey had about a 40 minute walk ahead of them. I was feeling pretty hungry so I grabbed some Subway on my way. Back at the hostel I wolfed down the sub and did some finishing touches on my English paper before submitting it and going to bed.
(Saturday, May 2)
I got up fairly early so I could snatch some free continental breakfast in the kitchen at my hostel. The breakfast was pretty lame, but it was at least something. After breakfast I met up with the rest of the group and we walked along the Liffey River, which runs through the center of Dublin, to the Guiness Storehouse. We paid our entry fee and set off on the self-guided tour of all 7 floors. It was like an adult version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Along the way their was a tasting area so we downed a few half pints while we were there and kept on going. At the top there was a restaurant and with your entry you get a free pint of Guiness so we stopped into the restaurant to redeem our coupons and get something to eat. They were serving some hot sandwiches and I had probably the best roast beef sandwich I've ever eaten in my life. After lunch we descended back to the lobby, bought some souvenirs, and headed out.
Katie and Stacey decided to go back to their hostel for a nap while the rest of us pressed on to see more of the city. The first stop on our walk was Dublin Castle. The name is quite deceptive as only a tiny part of it still looks like a normal castle. Most of it looks like some kind of Victorian palace or something like that. Next stop was Christ's Church. We didn't bother going in, we simply walked past it but it looked kinda neat. After that we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The cathedral is fairly plain from the outside and we didn't want to pay to go inside, but the park outside of the cathedral was nice so we laid down in the grass for a quick siesta. Next up was St. Stephen's Green. This was certainly the best part of the afternoon. St. Stephen's Green is a beautiful park in the southern part of the city. Its filled with criss-crossing footpaths that take you along little ponds and past flower gardens. We walked around the park for a bit before coming to rest on a patch of grass near one of the ponds. We all laid down for a bit and I fell asleep for probably about 30 minutes. Our last stop on our tour of the city was Trinity College. Sadly by the time we got there it was starting to rain so we didn't walk around it as much as I would have liked. I'm sure its a nice campus to walk around and I will go there if I make it back to Dublin again. When we left Trinity College we headed back to my hostel which was fairly close by.
Back at my hostel we all relaxed on the couches in the lobby and checked our email on my laptop. We made plans to meet up with Katie and Stacey in an hour so while we waited I went back to my room and shower up. When I came back to the lobby Dennis, Oleg, and Marianna were all asleep on the couches. I shook them around a bit and reluctantly they got up. We left the hostel and met back up with Katie and Stacey. The first order of business for the evening was dinner. Since it was Dennis' birthday we let him decide and we ended up grabbing some lackluster Chinese food. After dinner we walked once more into the Temple Bar district in search of some drinks. The first place we came to was a bar on the bottom floor of a hotel. The place was pretty fancy and it was really busy so we decided to join in. We managed to find an open table and I headed to the bar for a round. It took me about 30 minutes to get a drink, which led to our decision to leave after that round. When we left there were some people in the street handing out flyers for a nearby strip club so we decided to go there so we could embarass the birthday boy. When we got to the door of the club they said that no ladies were allowed to come in so we nixed that idea and instead went looking for a pub. We ended up going to The Temple Bar, which was one of the coolest pubs I've ever been in. It was completely packed so there wasn't a whole lot of space to move around, but the atmosphere was great. We had a few drinks there before we called it a night. We walked out to the main street then said our goodbyes cause I was going to Edinburgh in the morning by myself.
Dublin Photos
Friday, May 29, 2009
Ireland & Scotland Trip Part 1: Limerick
(Wednesday, April 29th)
Today begins my trip to Ireland and Scotland. The trip begins with me catching a train to Manchester, then a flight to Dublin, and finally a 3 hour bus ride to Limerick. I am traveling alone for this leg of the journey, but my iPod keeps me company. The bus drops me off in Limerick outside the gates to University of Limerick (UL). A few minutes later a car drives up and out jumps Jenna, who is the one I'm here to visit. Jenna is an American studying abroad for the Spring here at UL. I met her during my visit to Naples over Easter break cause she was staying in the same hostel as me. After a quick hug we throw my stuff in the car and drive back to her flat.
Back at her flat I drop my stuff off in her room then make my way to the kitchen to meet the rest of her flatmates who are all local Irish students. It was really funny when I walked into the room cause of a few of them had their mouths and noses covered with their shirts because the swine flu was in England which is where I was coming from. We made the introductions then sat down to watch some football (soccer) with the group. One of her flatmates made dinner for all of us which was great.
After dinner we all just hung out in the kitchen and Jenna and I tried to work out some plans for the next day. We decided we would go with some of her friends to the Cliffs of Moher which was about 2 hours away by bus. After an hour or so we all decided to call it a night and retired to our rooms.
(Thursday, April 30)
Jenna and I got up early today to meet up with her friends and catch our bus to the Cliffs of Moher. As I mentioned before, the ride was about 2 hours long to get there. Along the way I got to know her friends better, which was fun. Two of them are Canadian so they attempted to name all 50 states and I attempted to name all the provinces and territories of Canada. I'd say it was fairly even between our knowledge of each other's countries. When we got to the cliffs we walked the paths along the cliff edge in both directions. The cliffs are absolutely beautiful and so is the Irish countryside. We brought some lunch so we had a little picnic in the sun. After lunch we toured the gift shop then caught our bus back to Limerick.
When we got back to Limerick we were hungry for a snack so we went to a little place and grabs some garlic cheese chips, basically steak fries with shredded cheese and garlic mayo. After the snack we caught a bus back to the flat. Almost as soon as we got back to the flat another one of her flatmates was finishing dinner so we had to eat again to avoid being rude. We both felt like blimps after that so we took a nap. When we got up we took turns grabbing a shower, then got dressed for the evening. Her flat was hosting a big flat party that night.
The party started around 8pm with only a few people there, but after about an hour the place was packed with their friends. I worked my way around getting to know as many people as I could. The party went on for about 2 hours then we decided to move en masse to a nearby bar/club called The Lodge. Only 1 person had a car to take people to The Lodge which was about a 20 minute walk away, so we hung back while he took a car load of people. After waiting about 15 minutes we decided the 5 of us would just walk there so we headed off through campus towards the main road. Along the way we came across a guy in a Avis van who was lost driving around campus. He asked us for directions and then offered us a ride. We all crammed into the van which meant Jenna and I were sitting on people's laps. I finished my beer as we drove and we talked with the guy. He dropped us off right in front of the club, making him one of the coolest random strangers I've ever met.
Similar to the party, when we got to the club it was pretty dead with our group being pretty much the only ones there. However, within an hour or so the place was packed. We all danced and drank the night away. When we left the club we caught a ride with Jenna's flatmate. Back at the flat we all reflected on a good night then went to bed.
(Friday, May 1)
The time had come for me to say goodbye to Jenna and leave Limerick. After a quick breakfast she walked me to the gates of the university and waited for the bus with me. We said our goodbyes and I got on my bus headed for Dublin. My time in Limerick was an absolute blast and I'm really happy I met her in Naples, otherwise I would have never had this opportunity.
Limerick Photos
Today begins my trip to Ireland and Scotland. The trip begins with me catching a train to Manchester, then a flight to Dublin, and finally a 3 hour bus ride to Limerick. I am traveling alone for this leg of the journey, but my iPod keeps me company. The bus drops me off in Limerick outside the gates to University of Limerick (UL). A few minutes later a car drives up and out jumps Jenna, who is the one I'm here to visit. Jenna is an American studying abroad for the Spring here at UL. I met her during my visit to Naples over Easter break cause she was staying in the same hostel as me. After a quick hug we throw my stuff in the car and drive back to her flat.
Back at her flat I drop my stuff off in her room then make my way to the kitchen to meet the rest of her flatmates who are all local Irish students. It was really funny when I walked into the room cause of a few of them had their mouths and noses covered with their shirts because the swine flu was in England which is where I was coming from. We made the introductions then sat down to watch some football (soccer) with the group. One of her flatmates made dinner for all of us which was great.
After dinner we all just hung out in the kitchen and Jenna and I tried to work out some plans for the next day. We decided we would go with some of her friends to the Cliffs of Moher which was about 2 hours away by bus. After an hour or so we all decided to call it a night and retired to our rooms.
(Thursday, April 30)
Jenna and I got up early today to meet up with her friends and catch our bus to the Cliffs of Moher. As I mentioned before, the ride was about 2 hours long to get there. Along the way I got to know her friends better, which was fun. Two of them are Canadian so they attempted to name all 50 states and I attempted to name all the provinces and territories of Canada. I'd say it was fairly even between our knowledge of each other's countries. When we got to the cliffs we walked the paths along the cliff edge in both directions. The cliffs are absolutely beautiful and so is the Irish countryside. We brought some lunch so we had a little picnic in the sun. After lunch we toured the gift shop then caught our bus back to Limerick.
When we got back to Limerick we were hungry for a snack so we went to a little place and grabs some garlic cheese chips, basically steak fries with shredded cheese and garlic mayo. After the snack we caught a bus back to the flat. Almost as soon as we got back to the flat another one of her flatmates was finishing dinner so we had to eat again to avoid being rude. We both felt like blimps after that so we took a nap. When we got up we took turns grabbing a shower, then got dressed for the evening. Her flat was hosting a big flat party that night.
The party started around 8pm with only a few people there, but after about an hour the place was packed with their friends. I worked my way around getting to know as many people as I could. The party went on for about 2 hours then we decided to move en masse to a nearby bar/club called The Lodge. Only 1 person had a car to take people to The Lodge which was about a 20 minute walk away, so we hung back while he took a car load of people. After waiting about 15 minutes we decided the 5 of us would just walk there so we headed off through campus towards the main road. Along the way we came across a guy in a Avis van who was lost driving around campus. He asked us for directions and then offered us a ride. We all crammed into the van which meant Jenna and I were sitting on people's laps. I finished my beer as we drove and we talked with the guy. He dropped us off right in front of the club, making him one of the coolest random strangers I've ever met.
Similar to the party, when we got to the club it was pretty dead with our group being pretty much the only ones there. However, within an hour or so the place was packed. We all danced and drank the night away. When we left the club we caught a ride with Jenna's flatmate. Back at the flat we all reflected on a good night then went to bed.
(Friday, May 1)
The time had come for me to say goodbye to Jenna and leave Limerick. After a quick breakfast she walked me to the gates of the university and waited for the bus with me. We said our goodbyes and I got on my bus headed for Dublin. My time in Limerick was an absolute blast and I'm really happy I met her in Naples, otherwise I would have never had this opportunity.
Limerick Photos
Friday, May 22, 2009
Summer Term Starts
Much to everyone's dismay it was time to start up school again. Everyone had returned from their travels loaded with stories and photos, so conversations where much more lively than they had been just before our break started.
(4/22) The day started off with me turning in my essay for my Human Resources Management course, which was the last essay of my college career. It felt so good to not have to think about that thing anymore. The rest of the day was spent wasting time in Trev playing pool and having a few pints. In the evening we all gathered at Neil's flat to celebrate his 21st birthday. We downed punch, vodka jello, and finger food while playing some karaoke game for a few hours. Around 10:30 we packed it up and headed to the underpass to catch our bus to the Carleton. The Carleton was the usual blur of dancing, drinking, and mingling with various groups of friends scattered amongst the crowd. All in all a really fun night.
Photos From Neil's Party
(4/24) I didn't have any plans to go out this evening, but while I was hanging out in Trev in the afternoon with Neil, Andy, and Rachel just having a pint and chatting, Neil talked me into joining up with the Lancaster Ski and Snowboard Club (LUSASC) for their social that night. After I finished my pint at Trev I went back to my flat, made some dinner, and got changed. I met up with the LUSASC people down in Pendle bar. We kicked things off with a boat race, which I am now a veteran at so I represented well. The theme of the social was something called a "Valley Rally" where the group is divided up into teams of 4 or so and there are several checkpoints around campus. Your team has to go to each checkpoint and complete challenges there for points and whichever team has the most points after everyone is done wins.
The challenge at our first checkpoint involved one member of our team drinking 2 shots of vodka from a plastic cup with no hands then eating a jam donut also with no hands. Our guy drank the vodka and immediately threw up then tore up the donut, it was hilarious. At the next checkpoint they had a ski rigged up with 2 beer bongs running down the length. Two people from our team had to bong a pint as fast as we could. I stepped up to the plate for this challenge and showed them how Americans do a beer bong. I ended up with the fastest time from all the teams, booya! For the third and final challenge we had to have a pint and a Reef. We had to run about 30 feet to a post and spin around in a circle 5 times then run back drink 1/4 of the pint, then go back and do it again. We did that 4 times until the pint was done, then we had to do the spinning one more time then do a Strawpedoe with our Reef to finish it off. We all felt pretty nauseous after that and one of our team members threw up into the pond outside the STATS building. With all the challenges complete we wandered back to Trev to await the rest of the teams. After the judges completed the scoring they announced the winners, which sadly wasn't us. We came in 2nd out of the 5 teams, but we were all pretty tipsy so I think that counts as a victory anyways.
With the Valley Ralley complete we headed off to Sugarhouse for the rest of the night. When we got there I ran into a few other groups of friends who had come out that night as well so I spent most of the night bouncing around from group to group. It was a really fun night with this random group of LUSASC people whom I'd never met.
(4/26) Tonight we celebrated Dennis' birthday, which isn't actually for another few weeks, but he was going to be leaving soon to go back to the Netherlands. The party kicked off around 9pm in Jess' flat. Steadily the crowd grew with more and more of the international group arriving. There ended up being a huge turnout, probably somewhere around 30-40 people. We all hung out and drank and played beer pong for hours. It was especially fun cause I hadn't seen a lot of those people in months. Some time around midnight the stupid college porters came and broke up the party cause we were being too loud. Several of us left the party, walked around a few buildings and waited for the porters to leave, then went back to Jess' flat. We decided to move the party to Dennis flat so that we would be less likely to get busted again. The group had thinned out to about 10-15 people, but we still had a great time. We enjoyed some birthday cake and chilled in Dennis' kitchen until about 2 or 3 in the morning then we wrapped it up.
(4/22) The day started off with me turning in my essay for my Human Resources Management course, which was the last essay of my college career. It felt so good to not have to think about that thing anymore. The rest of the day was spent wasting time in Trev playing pool and having a few pints. In the evening we all gathered at Neil's flat to celebrate his 21st birthday. We downed punch, vodka jello, and finger food while playing some karaoke game for a few hours. Around 10:30 we packed it up and headed to the underpass to catch our bus to the Carleton. The Carleton was the usual blur of dancing, drinking, and mingling with various groups of friends scattered amongst the crowd. All in all a really fun night.
Photos From Neil's Party
(4/24) I didn't have any plans to go out this evening, but while I was hanging out in Trev in the afternoon with Neil, Andy, and Rachel just having a pint and chatting, Neil talked me into joining up with the Lancaster Ski and Snowboard Club (LUSASC) for their social that night. After I finished my pint at Trev I went back to my flat, made some dinner, and got changed. I met up with the LUSASC people down in Pendle bar. We kicked things off with a boat race, which I am now a veteran at so I represented well. The theme of the social was something called a "Valley Rally" where the group is divided up into teams of 4 or so and there are several checkpoints around campus. Your team has to go to each checkpoint and complete challenges there for points and whichever team has the most points after everyone is done wins.
The challenge at our first checkpoint involved one member of our team drinking 2 shots of vodka from a plastic cup with no hands then eating a jam donut also with no hands. Our guy drank the vodka and immediately threw up then tore up the donut, it was hilarious. At the next checkpoint they had a ski rigged up with 2 beer bongs running down the length. Two people from our team had to bong a pint as fast as we could. I stepped up to the plate for this challenge and showed them how Americans do a beer bong. I ended up with the fastest time from all the teams, booya! For the third and final challenge we had to have a pint and a Reef. We had to run about 30 feet to a post and spin around in a circle 5 times then run back drink 1/4 of the pint, then go back and do it again. We did that 4 times until the pint was done, then we had to do the spinning one more time then do a Strawpedoe with our Reef to finish it off. We all felt pretty nauseous after that and one of our team members threw up into the pond outside the STATS building. With all the challenges complete we wandered back to Trev to await the rest of the teams. After the judges completed the scoring they announced the winners, which sadly wasn't us. We came in 2nd out of the 5 teams, but we were all pretty tipsy so I think that counts as a victory anyways.
With the Valley Ralley complete we headed off to Sugarhouse for the rest of the night. When we got there I ran into a few other groups of friends who had come out that night as well so I spent most of the night bouncing around from group to group. It was a really fun night with this random group of LUSASC people whom I'd never met.
(4/26) Tonight we celebrated Dennis' birthday, which isn't actually for another few weeks, but he was going to be leaving soon to go back to the Netherlands. The party kicked off around 9pm in Jess' flat. Steadily the crowd grew with more and more of the international group arriving. There ended up being a huge turnout, probably somewhere around 30-40 people. We all hung out and drank and played beer pong for hours. It was especially fun cause I hadn't seen a lot of those people in months. Some time around midnight the stupid college porters came and broke up the party cause we were being too loud. Several of us left the party, walked around a few buildings and waited for the porters to leave, then went back to Jess' flat. We decided to move the party to Dennis flat so that we would be less likely to get busted again. The group had thinned out to about 10-15 people, but we still had a great time. We enjoyed some birthday cake and chilled in Dennis' kitchen until about 2 or 3 in the morning then we wrapped it up.
Easter Break Part 7: Back in Lancaster
(4/9) I arrived in Lancaster around 11am and went straight to my flat. I unpacked all my stuff and then did a TON of laundry. While the laundry was going I hopped online and did some work for my online classes. That afternoon I met up with Amanda, Urmie, and Rosie and watched the Life Aquatic and ate Ben & Jerry's. In the evening I headed down to Grad Bar and met up with the usual suspects for a few pints of quality ale.
(4/10) My first full day back was spent basking in laziness. I did a little work in the morning, then spent most of the day watching movies such as Donnie Darko, Choke, and The Departed. That evening I went out with some friends to WalkAbout, then came back to my flat and Skyped with Amanda (Bennett) for the first time.
(4/11) The weather was particularly beautiful so Amanda, Rosie, and I went into town to walk around. When we arrived in town we decided to go do a tour of the castle. It was pretty interesting. After the castle tour we went to the one Mexican restaurant in town for lunch and then got some amazing hot chocolate at a tucked away coffee shop. That night I watched Choke again, but this time with Amanda and Rosie. Amanda was so hooked on the movie that she watched it 2 more times after I left.
(4/12) EASTER!!! Since all of us were thousands of miles from our families we decided to get together and enjoy the holiday together. Amanda, Rosie, Urmie, and I met up at Amanda's flat around 10am and whipped up a delicious brunch of omlettes, potatoes, and mimosas. The rest of the day I just napped and bummed around. In the evening all of us met up again plus Rosemary, and met up at Rosie's flat for dinner. We had sun-dried tomato pesto, salad, bruschetta, and finished it off with my signature bananas foster, yummmmmmmm! It was really nice to enjoy Easter with my new friends.
(4/10) My first full day back was spent basking in laziness. I did a little work in the morning, then spent most of the day watching movies such as Donnie Darko, Choke, and The Departed. That evening I went out with some friends to WalkAbout, then came back to my flat and Skyped with Amanda (Bennett) for the first time.
(4/11) The weather was particularly beautiful so Amanda, Rosie, and I went into town to walk around. When we arrived in town we decided to go do a tour of the castle. It was pretty interesting. After the castle tour we went to the one Mexican restaurant in town for lunch and then got some amazing hot chocolate at a tucked away coffee shop. That night I watched Choke again, but this time with Amanda and Rosie. Amanda was so hooked on the movie that she watched it 2 more times after I left.
(4/12) EASTER!!! Since all of us were thousands of miles from our families we decided to get together and enjoy the holiday together. Amanda, Rosie, Urmie, and I met up at Amanda's flat around 10am and whipped up a delicious brunch of omlettes, potatoes, and mimosas. The rest of the day I just napped and bummed around. In the evening all of us met up again plus Rosemary, and met up at Rosie's flat for dinner. We had sun-dried tomato pesto, salad, bruschetta, and finished it off with my signature bananas foster, yummmmmmmm! It was really nice to enjoy Easter with my new friends.
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