So I left off at the end of our first day in Rome.
The next day we went back to Rome and traveled to quite a few places via the Metro including the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon. All of the architecture in Rome was just astounding and just standing before these structures that are centuries-old, older than any in America was very humbling. We also visited La bocca della verita, or the "mouth of truth." Legend says that if you stick your hand inside this rock-face's mouth and it bites your hand off, you are a liar. Well I didn't get my hand bit off nor did anyone else so I'm thinking it's either a lie in and of itself or that whoever came up with the legend has a love for irony.
At the end of the day we went back to our camp site as usual where we find them to be having a Dire Straights tribute band playing at the pool. So we went down there for the night and enjoyed a very awesome band. These four Italian guys (that made up the band) were great and they sounded just like Dire Straights.
The following day we spent the entirety of the day at the Vatican where I got to see the popes' tombs, St. Peter's basillica, St. Peter's tomb, the Vatican museums, and the Sistine Chapel. I never thought I'd ever get a chance to go to Europe and this thought was really hit home when I went inside the Vatican. Its such an amazing city. It is, essentially, the seat of Catholicism. That means it is the beating heart of a religion practiced by about a billion people on this planet. Even as a writer, I am at a loss of words as to describe the place and the feeling you get when you are there. I was with a group of 6 other people and only me and another are Catholic but even the 5 others were in awe at the place.
So at the end of the day we went back to our camp site and this particular time they were playing Madagascar 2 down at the people so we gathered up some snacks and enjoyed that.
The next day we went to the Spanish steps, experience our first and last Italian pasta (I had ravioli) and then headed to the airport where we flew to Paris. I also got screened by security there once we were passed main security and waiting for our plane to board. It wasn't anything dire, they just gathered me and one of my friends over, checked out passports on their computers, asked us where we were going, etc. It was a random screening because the G8 summit was being held in Italy and so they stepped up security. Speaking of, the Polizia (Italian police force) were everywhere.
And so we flew to Paris. When we got there, we realized our airport was way outside of Paris and so we had to take an hour bus ride to get to the city where the bus dropped us off near some random Metro stop. We walked with a couple other American students we met at the airport and eventually found the metro (where we then parted ways). So we hoped on the Metro and attempted to get to our host's house (because we were couch-surfing in Paris). All in all, that was in adventure. In short, we took one metro and on tram to get to a very ghetto-feeling stop. We could not find the address and our friend's cell phone died (she had service in Europe) and so we were very much stranded. We hailed a taxi and showed them the address but they didn't know where it was and their GPS couldn't find it either. So we attempted to stay at a Best Western down the road but they were full up (even though it was outside Paris and it was during the week). So we started walking, trying to find another hotel, when we decided to hail another taxi. This one found the place on the GPS and it turned out the address was right nearby.
So we started looking for it and can't find it still. Well, its around midnight or a little past. Then this older lady dressed in purple comes out of a taxi nearby and asks if we need help. So we explain our situation and she knows where the street is. She takes us to it and we find our host's apartment. She takes out her cell phone and lets us call him. So we get ahold of him and stay the night at his place, thanks to the kindness of strangers. By the way, anyone who has anything bad to say about the French can go...well, I don't need to finish the sentence but you know what I mean. Out of all the different nationalities I encountered, the French were by far the kindest.
So we stay the night and spend all the next day, from about 8 in the morning until 12:30 at night exploring all of Paris. We saw everything, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre. After a long day we barely make it back in time to catch two trains and one tram back to our host's place. We stay the night, get up early, say goodbye, and make it to our flight on time. Then we headed back to Liverpool for a couple days for some R&R and then I made it back to the States Monday of this week.
Phew! What a long trip its been. A life-changing experience, not just traveling but being in the classroom as well. Something I will not soon forget.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A Final Blog - Part 1
So here it is: the final, penultimate post.
Last week was my last week in the schools. On Thursday we had an American culture day where we taught the students about the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Native Americans. We also introduced them to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. (What we call 'jelly' is their 'jam.' And what they call 'jelly' is our 'jello'). Most of them wouldn't even try it but of those that did, most were repulsed by it but a few came back for seconds. Then in the afternoon we played American games: four square, kickball, and baseball. It was a lot of fun. The kids were sad to see us go and they gave us big, huge cards.
Then after school we pretty much came back here to Hope University to gather our things and left for the airport. We flew to Venice, or what was technically not Venice. We had to take a coach bus to some metro station and then a city bus from the metro station to our camp site. I have pictures of the tent/bungalow we stayed in there. So we got settled pretty late and decided to just sleep.
The following day (not last Friday but the one before) we spent all day traveling to different places in Venice. We didn't really go inside anywhere, we just walked around admiring the architecture. We eventually took a gondola ride as well, which was fun. We had to talk the guy down because they were expecting 100 euros (about 140 bucks) and we were like "No thanks!" Eventually we got them down to 60 for a bit shorter ride. It was fun but the guy was less than kind. No worries, though.
We ate margherita pizza which is basically cheese and sauce on a flat crust. A staple for Italian pizza and quite delicious. We also tried our hand at gelatti which tastes just like ice cream but still good. Then the following day we got to the airport by taking a shuttle and flew to Rome.
Once we arrived in Rome we took a bus to the metro station and attempted to figure out where to go next. The people at the information desk were not helpful and acted as though they didn't speak English. But eventually we figured out where to go. We thought we couldn't check into our hostel until 2 (and it was around 11 at this time) so we took the metro to the Colosseum. You see it pretty much as you're stepping out of the metro station. We walked over to get a closer look and got hassled by fifty different people offering all kinds of 4th of July pub crawls and whatnot. We eventually got hassled by a tour guide and we talked them down to giving us a tour for 18 euros a person which was a good deal. So we took a tour of the Colosseum which was okay. Our guide wasn't the best, just kind of matter-of-fact. Then we got 45 minutes to ourselves before the second part of the tour so we walked around the upper level and got some great photographs. Then when we were suppose to meet our second tour for the walk of the Palatine Hill, they never showed up. Luckily there was another tour going on from the same company or a similar company anyway and lady let us join.
So we toured Palatine Hill which is basically the hill that Rome started upon. There used to be a grand palace up there but now it is ruins. It overlooks all of Rome, including the Roman Forum where all the government buildings and temples were. That was essentially day 1 because we went back to our hostel and bought some food for our 4th of July party.
We attempted to buy a whole watermelon, even though we couldn't cut it because we didn't have anything to cut it with, but the label machine wasn't working. We tried to tell the cashier how much it costs after weighing but she was like "Impossible!" and just held the watermelon for a second, staring at it, then she set it on the ground and continued checking people out.
At this time as well, one of my traveling companions decided to purchase some sushi. The price said like 6.20 euros for a small thing of it which seemed like a little bit more than she wanted to spend but she was hungry and that was the only thing that looked appetizing. When she checked out it rang up as 11.70. She tried to explain to the cashier that she didn't want it then but the cashier just kind of ignored us. So we went to customer service. We tried speaking to the lady there but she claimed to not understand English and then tried to call someone over who could. So we waited and waited as her and the guy working there helped about a thousand Italian-speaking customers.
She ended up leaving and so we tried speaking to the guy who understood English quite well. He tried arguing with my friend for a long time and she was getting really frustrated. The sushi had no price tag on it and it was set out in the section where it said 6 euros 20 cents. There was no sign for 11 euros 70 cents anywhere. Eventually he finally gave in. But he made her take it back and then threw her money at the rest of us. We took it, left, and never went back to that place. Good riddance. All in the all, I was not impressed at all by the Italians. I was impressed with the French, however, and I will come back to that.
So that was essentially our first day in Rome. I will continue with our other days in Rome as well as the one in Paris in Part 2!
Last week was my last week in the schools. On Thursday we had an American culture day where we taught the students about the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Native Americans. We also introduced them to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. (What we call 'jelly' is their 'jam.' And what they call 'jelly' is our 'jello'). Most of them wouldn't even try it but of those that did, most were repulsed by it but a few came back for seconds. Then in the afternoon we played American games: four square, kickball, and baseball. It was a lot of fun. The kids were sad to see us go and they gave us big, huge cards.
Then after school we pretty much came back here to Hope University to gather our things and left for the airport. We flew to Venice, or what was technically not Venice. We had to take a coach bus to some metro station and then a city bus from the metro station to our camp site. I have pictures of the tent/bungalow we stayed in there. So we got settled pretty late and decided to just sleep.
The following day (not last Friday but the one before) we spent all day traveling to different places in Venice. We didn't really go inside anywhere, we just walked around admiring the architecture. We eventually took a gondola ride as well, which was fun. We had to talk the guy down because they were expecting 100 euros (about 140 bucks) and we were like "No thanks!" Eventually we got them down to 60 for a bit shorter ride. It was fun but the guy was less than kind. No worries, though.
We ate margherita pizza which is basically cheese and sauce on a flat crust. A staple for Italian pizza and quite delicious. We also tried our hand at gelatti which tastes just like ice cream but still good. Then the following day we got to the airport by taking a shuttle and flew to Rome.
Once we arrived in Rome we took a bus to the metro station and attempted to figure out where to go next. The people at the information desk were not helpful and acted as though they didn't speak English. But eventually we figured out where to go. We thought we couldn't check into our hostel until 2 (and it was around 11 at this time) so we took the metro to the Colosseum. You see it pretty much as you're stepping out of the metro station. We walked over to get a closer look and got hassled by fifty different people offering all kinds of 4th of July pub crawls and whatnot. We eventually got hassled by a tour guide and we talked them down to giving us a tour for 18 euros a person which was a good deal. So we took a tour of the Colosseum which was okay. Our guide wasn't the best, just kind of matter-of-fact. Then we got 45 minutes to ourselves before the second part of the tour so we walked around the upper level and got some great photographs. Then when we were suppose to meet our second tour for the walk of the Palatine Hill, they never showed up. Luckily there was another tour going on from the same company or a similar company anyway and lady let us join.
So we toured Palatine Hill which is basically the hill that Rome started upon. There used to be a grand palace up there but now it is ruins. It overlooks all of Rome, including the Roman Forum where all the government buildings and temples were. That was essentially day 1 because we went back to our hostel and bought some food for our 4th of July party.
We attempted to buy a whole watermelon, even though we couldn't cut it because we didn't have anything to cut it with, but the label machine wasn't working. We tried to tell the cashier how much it costs after weighing but she was like "Impossible!" and just held the watermelon for a second, staring at it, then she set it on the ground and continued checking people out.
At this time as well, one of my traveling companions decided to purchase some sushi. The price said like 6.20 euros for a small thing of it which seemed like a little bit more than she wanted to spend but she was hungry and that was the only thing that looked appetizing. When she checked out it rang up as 11.70. She tried to explain to the cashier that she didn't want it then but the cashier just kind of ignored us. So we went to customer service. We tried speaking to the lady there but she claimed to not understand English and then tried to call someone over who could. So we waited and waited as her and the guy working there helped about a thousand Italian-speaking customers.
She ended up leaving and so we tried speaking to the guy who understood English quite well. He tried arguing with my friend for a long time and she was getting really frustrated. The sushi had no price tag on it and it was set out in the section where it said 6 euros 20 cents. There was no sign for 11 euros 70 cents anywhere. Eventually he finally gave in. But he made her take it back and then threw her money at the rest of us. We took it, left, and never went back to that place. Good riddance. All in the all, I was not impressed at all by the Italians. I was impressed with the French, however, and I will come back to that.
So that was essentially our first day in Rome. I will continue with our other days in Rome as well as the one in Paris in Part 2!
Monday, June 29, 2009
School Update
In thinking about all my travels in my last post, I forgot to mention school. I have taught a total of 6 whole-class lessons in the school and have done a few sessions of tutoring for literacy (reading and writing).
On Wednesday we had Greek day where all of us Year 6 teachers and year 6 students dressed up in Greek outfits, togas for most of us but some of the outfits were really well done. The kids got to make pottery, masks, see some real Greek artifacts, have our own olympics, and all the while were divided up into different city-states in which they could earn points for their city-state. In the end, Sparta got first with Athens in a close second.
On Thursday, in the afternoon, all of us Year 6 student teachers taught our students baseball. It was an interesting experience and the kids really enjoyed it. I'm going to post all the pictures of these days as well as those from the previous post on my flickr page as soon as I can so keep checking back.
On Wednesday we had Greek day where all of us Year 6 teachers and year 6 students dressed up in Greek outfits, togas for most of us but some of the outfits were really well done. The kids got to make pottery, masks, see some real Greek artifacts, have our own olympics, and all the while were divided up into different city-states in which they could earn points for their city-state. In the end, Sparta got first with Athens in a close second.
On Thursday, in the afternoon, all of us Year 6 student teachers taught our students baseball. It was an interesting experience and the kids really enjoyed it. I'm going to post all the pictures of these days as well as those from the previous post on my flickr page as soon as I can so keep checking back.
Chester then back to Edinburgh
Last weekend, that of the 20th/21st, I went to Chester, England. It's a rather small town about an hour train-ride south of Liverpool. Chester is well known because it used to be a Roman fort way back when Romans settled in Britannia. I really enjoyed all of the architecture and the history of this place. We walked along the wall, went to the amphitheatre, saw a midsummer festival (a pagan tradition celebrating the summer equinox), and so on. There is a castle there but unfortunately it was closed down due to health reasons. Perhaps because of swine flu but honestly I don't know. Either way, it was a fun day trip. The rest of the weekend we just hung out. It was a nice break
This past weekend I went back to Edinburgh for what was suppose to be just one night. I will explain in a bit. We left Friday morning and had an awful train trip. We missed our first train, the earlier train, and so had to take a later one. Then all the way there, people keep reserving seats so we had to get up and move around constantly and a lot of the time we had to stand. Then we all had to switch to another train because the air conditioning unit in the driver's car was broken and so he couldn't stand the 70 degree heat. Hah! So we switched to another train and thankfully got to sit down the rest of the way. We got to Edinburgh, checked into our hostel (which was a nice place, conveniently located), and went to the museum. It's huge and has lots of history in it, including the stuffed remains of Dolly the first cloned sheep. From there we did a little shopping and then went on a graveyard tour. This particular tour takes you to a locked part of Greyfriar's Cemetery called the Covenanter's Prison.
Let me give you a quick history lesson. Way back when in, I believe, the 1700's, Reformation swept across Britain. The king wanted to establish a united church and so wanted to convert all of the churches to this one religion. However, there were many who resisted and gathered within Greyfriar's Church to sign a covenant, some say they signed in blood, to God that they would keep with their current religion until death. Well the king didn't like this very much so he rounded up all these guys and threw them in the prison there in graveyard. They were forced to live in this outside prison through the Scottish winter with little food and practically no shelter. Many, many died terrible deaths from starvation or just frostbite and hypothermia. That is why it is called the Covenanter's Prison.
The reason this place is locked it because there have been hundreds of reports of supernatural activity in the prison. People have claimed to feel nausea, feel ice cold on their bodies, bruises and scratched the appear as if out of nowhere, and over two hundred people have just been knocked out by something unseen. Most believe it is something supernatural. All of this started in 1998, although there have been reports of ghostly encounters in the area for a long time.
The man wholly responsible for the imprisonments and deaths of the Covenanters was a man by the name of "Bloody" George Mackenzie. He has a mausoleum about twenty yards away from the prison. In 1998, a homeless man broke into the mausoleum and disturbed the burial site. He broke into the coffins of Makenzie, his wife, and his daughter, looking for jewels or anything that he could sell. In doing so, he unleashed something. This something is believed not to be Makenzie himself but some poltergeist that was unleashed from the mausoleum and so it was named after the mausoleum and not the man, thus named the Makenzie Poltergeist. Said poltergeist is said to inhabit the Covenanter's Prison, along with hundreds of ghosts of tortured souls.
So we took a tour through their. Unfortunately, I did not experience anything. But I did have a sense of uneasiness throughout the whole tour, perhaps it was just psychological. I am definitely a skeptic but I have heard and seen enough to believe that there are many unexplainable, supernatural things out there.
After the tour we went back to our hostel and watched Michael Jackson videos all night. We had a TV in our room and the channel was playing them as a tribute to the king of pop.
The following day we went to the art museum, which was wonderful (lots of Monet, Degas, and some Van Gogh and Raphael, among others). I climbed the Scott Monument which is a very tall monument in tribute to Sir Walter Scott, one of the most famous literary persons to come out of Edinburgh. There are a total of 287 steps. I climbed 287 steps to the top and then 287 back down to the bottom. The stairs were narrow, as was the staircase itself. I have many pictures to post from this as well as all the other things I've done.
Then after some shopping, seeing St. Giles Cathedral, and lunch with our professor who was there this weekend as well, we went to the Rosslyn Chapel. If you have seen the movie or read the book the Da Vinci Code, this is the chapel that is featured at the end. It is a little different in real life but still wonderful to see. The family that owns it is part of the free masons, so that part is true. They also have ties to Knights Templar. Supposedly the holy grail or King Solomon's gold or the arc of the covenant or many other holy relics are buried beneath the church. It is possible in a way. Underneath is a tomb the same size as the church above. In this tomb is buried the past family members of those who owned the church as well as their families. In fact, they are not buried, they are set out on stone tables, decorated in their armor. This tomb has been sealed for 300 years and no one knows for sure what else is down there. The chapel is currently undergoing renovations to preserve it because it was not built well enough to last, however the architecture inside and out is wonderful. A five minute walk away is the ruins of the Rosslyn Castle. So we hiked down and took some pictures of it. Very nice.
Then we get back to Edinburgh, have dinner, and get to the train station to find out that we missed the last train back to Liverpool for the night by about twenty minutes. So we panicked for awhile, then we went all over town trying to get into hostels and even hotels but everything was booked, typical for a Saturday night in Edinburgh. Finally, we remembered we still had the number to the guy we couch surfed with the last time we were in Edinburgh so we called him up and begged him to let us stay. He did already have two couchsurfers staying but fortunately we got a room and had a safe, quite night in which to rest.
We made it back safe and sound in Liverpool and that is where I am writing this. All's well that ends well. So no worries.
This past weekend I went back to Edinburgh for what was suppose to be just one night. I will explain in a bit. We left Friday morning and had an awful train trip. We missed our first train, the earlier train, and so had to take a later one. Then all the way there, people keep reserving seats so we had to get up and move around constantly and a lot of the time we had to stand. Then we all had to switch to another train because the air conditioning unit in the driver's car was broken and so he couldn't stand the 70 degree heat. Hah! So we switched to another train and thankfully got to sit down the rest of the way. We got to Edinburgh, checked into our hostel (which was a nice place, conveniently located), and went to the museum. It's huge and has lots of history in it, including the stuffed remains of Dolly the first cloned sheep. From there we did a little shopping and then went on a graveyard tour. This particular tour takes you to a locked part of Greyfriar's Cemetery called the Covenanter's Prison.
Let me give you a quick history lesson. Way back when in, I believe, the 1700's, Reformation swept across Britain. The king wanted to establish a united church and so wanted to convert all of the churches to this one religion. However, there were many who resisted and gathered within Greyfriar's Church to sign a covenant, some say they signed in blood, to God that they would keep with their current religion until death. Well the king didn't like this very much so he rounded up all these guys and threw them in the prison there in graveyard. They were forced to live in this outside prison through the Scottish winter with little food and practically no shelter. Many, many died terrible deaths from starvation or just frostbite and hypothermia. That is why it is called the Covenanter's Prison.
The reason this place is locked it because there have been hundreds of reports of supernatural activity in the prison. People have claimed to feel nausea, feel ice cold on their bodies, bruises and scratched the appear as if out of nowhere, and over two hundred people have just been knocked out by something unseen. Most believe it is something supernatural. All of this started in 1998, although there have been reports of ghostly encounters in the area for a long time.
The man wholly responsible for the imprisonments and deaths of the Covenanters was a man by the name of "Bloody" George Mackenzie. He has a mausoleum about twenty yards away from the prison. In 1998, a homeless man broke into the mausoleum and disturbed the burial site. He broke into the coffins of Makenzie, his wife, and his daughter, looking for jewels or anything that he could sell. In doing so, he unleashed something. This something is believed not to be Makenzie himself but some poltergeist that was unleashed from the mausoleum and so it was named after the mausoleum and not the man, thus named the Makenzie Poltergeist. Said poltergeist is said to inhabit the Covenanter's Prison, along with hundreds of ghosts of tortured souls.
So we took a tour through their. Unfortunately, I did not experience anything. But I did have a sense of uneasiness throughout the whole tour, perhaps it was just psychological. I am definitely a skeptic but I have heard and seen enough to believe that there are many unexplainable, supernatural things out there.
After the tour we went back to our hostel and watched Michael Jackson videos all night. We had a TV in our room and the channel was playing them as a tribute to the king of pop.
The following day we went to the art museum, which was wonderful (lots of Monet, Degas, and some Van Gogh and Raphael, among others). I climbed the Scott Monument which is a very tall monument in tribute to Sir Walter Scott, one of the most famous literary persons to come out of Edinburgh. There are a total of 287 steps. I climbed 287 steps to the top and then 287 back down to the bottom. The stairs were narrow, as was the staircase itself. I have many pictures to post from this as well as all the other things I've done.
Then after some shopping, seeing St. Giles Cathedral, and lunch with our professor who was there this weekend as well, we went to the Rosslyn Chapel. If you have seen the movie or read the book the Da Vinci Code, this is the chapel that is featured at the end. It is a little different in real life but still wonderful to see. The family that owns it is part of the free masons, so that part is true. They also have ties to Knights Templar. Supposedly the holy grail or King Solomon's gold or the arc of the covenant or many other holy relics are buried beneath the church. It is possible in a way. Underneath is a tomb the same size as the church above. In this tomb is buried the past family members of those who owned the church as well as their families. In fact, they are not buried, they are set out on stone tables, decorated in their armor. This tomb has been sealed for 300 years and no one knows for sure what else is down there. The chapel is currently undergoing renovations to preserve it because it was not built well enough to last, however the architecture inside and out is wonderful. A five minute walk away is the ruins of the Rosslyn Castle. So we hiked down and took some pictures of it. Very nice.
Then we get back to Edinburgh, have dinner, and get to the train station to find out that we missed the last train back to Liverpool for the night by about twenty minutes. So we panicked for awhile, then we went all over town trying to get into hostels and even hotels but everything was booked, typical for a Saturday night in Edinburgh. Finally, we remembered we still had the number to the guy we couch surfed with the last time we were in Edinburgh so we called him up and begged him to let us stay. He did already have two couchsurfers staying but fortunately we got a room and had a safe, quite night in which to rest.
We made it back safe and sound in Liverpool and that is where I am writing this. All's well that ends well. So no worries.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Brand New Day...
So this post will catch you up to today, June 10th.
A couple weekends ago I went on a fantastic tour called the "Fab Four Taxi Tour," which drove us around Liverpool showing us where the Beatles grew up. I have seen all of their childhood houses and even went inside Ringo's where a lady named Margaret bought, preserved, and keeps it.
I saw the schools they went to. The next day I went back to Liverpool's City Centre and saw The Cavern. It is now my dream to perform there, even though it's not the original Cavern (the old one was torn down and the pub was moved). I'm also a pretty big Beatles fan now. I'm learning several of their songs on guitar and my friends here have me play them quite often. I've had several sing-alongs and a couple very interesting musical experiences.
I've walked quite a bit around the city centre and been to several museums.
After that weekend, I went to London (this was last week). There I saw all the sights there are to see in the city. I went to the British Museum, Harrod's department store, and several other places. London Tower, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, you name it I saw it. I also went on a Jack the Ripper tour where our very animated guide, Toby, showed us the streets where Jack used to haunt and the locations where the bodies of his victims were found. A very interesting tour, I liked it quite a bit.
I ate in a nice Italian and and a nice French restaurant. Good food, good times. I also saw the musical The Lion King. It was phenomenal. The music and the stage performances were so well done. I am now a fan of theatre as well.
After three intense days in London (I walked and rode the tub (the subway, if you will) all over that damn town), I flew to Cork, Ireland with two companions. We couch-surfed here as well. I should mention that the last night in London we had an emergency couch-surfing experience because we could not get our hotel for a third night. It worked out well but we had to traverse a very ghetto part of London late at night and were given bad directions. But we made. The next day was just as bad trying to get to the airport from the train station but we finally made it.
So we went to Cork, Ireland and couch surfed there. Our host was a very nice guy, he picked us up from the airport and everything. That first day we hung out with Paul, that's his name, and met some of his friends. I played three straight hours of football (soccer to us Americans) with him and his friends, all of us being musicians. It was quite the experience.
The following day I went to Blarney Castle, kissed the Blarney stone, but most importantly traversed the gardens around the castle which were huge and magnificent. Then we went back to Cork and did a little bit of shopping.
The day after that I went to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery and took the tour. I got a free sample at the end and now love Irish Whiskey. Then I went back and just hung out. It was a very wonderful experience. The Irish countryside is beautiful.
This is my last week of classes. The next three weeks, Monday through Thursday, I will be in a British school teaching year 6 (which is like our 5th grade, so 10 and 11 year old kids). Then after that is a full week of travel. I'm excited and anxious about all of this.
I decided not to post pictures in this particular post because there are soooo many to choose from. Instead, all of my photos are posted on my flickr page, organized into sets (which you can browse on the right-hand side there).
http://www.flickr.com/wjclements
A couple weekends ago I went on a fantastic tour called the "Fab Four Taxi Tour," which drove us around Liverpool showing us where the Beatles grew up. I have seen all of their childhood houses and even went inside Ringo's where a lady named Margaret bought, preserved, and keeps it.
I saw the schools they went to. The next day I went back to Liverpool's City Centre and saw The Cavern. It is now my dream to perform there, even though it's not the original Cavern (the old one was torn down and the pub was moved). I'm also a pretty big Beatles fan now. I'm learning several of their songs on guitar and my friends here have me play them quite often. I've had several sing-alongs and a couple very interesting musical experiences.
I've walked quite a bit around the city centre and been to several museums.
After that weekend, I went to London (this was last week). There I saw all the sights there are to see in the city. I went to the British Museum, Harrod's department store, and several other places. London Tower, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, you name it I saw it. I also went on a Jack the Ripper tour where our very animated guide, Toby, showed us the streets where Jack used to haunt and the locations where the bodies of his victims were found. A very interesting tour, I liked it quite a bit.
I ate in a nice Italian and and a nice French restaurant. Good food, good times. I also saw the musical The Lion King. It was phenomenal. The music and the stage performances were so well done. I am now a fan of theatre as well.
After three intense days in London (I walked and rode the tub (the subway, if you will) all over that damn town), I flew to Cork, Ireland with two companions. We couch-surfed here as well. I should mention that the last night in London we had an emergency couch-surfing experience because we could not get our hotel for a third night. It worked out well but we had to traverse a very ghetto part of London late at night and were given bad directions. But we made. The next day was just as bad trying to get to the airport from the train station but we finally made it.
So we went to Cork, Ireland and couch surfed there. Our host was a very nice guy, he picked us up from the airport and everything. That first day we hung out with Paul, that's his name, and met some of his friends. I played three straight hours of football (soccer to us Americans) with him and his friends, all of us being musicians. It was quite the experience.
The following day I went to Blarney Castle, kissed the Blarney stone, but most importantly traversed the gardens around the castle which were huge and magnificent. Then we went back to Cork and did a little bit of shopping.
The day after that I went to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery and took the tour. I got a free sample at the end and now love Irish Whiskey. Then I went back and just hung out. It was a very wonderful experience. The Irish countryside is beautiful.
This is my last week of classes. The next three weeks, Monday through Thursday, I will be in a British school teaching year 6 (which is like our 5th grade, so 10 and 11 year old kids). Then after that is a full week of travel. I'm excited and anxious about all of this.
I decided not to post pictures in this particular post because there are soooo many to choose from. Instead, all of my photos are posted on my flickr page, organized into sets (which you can browse on the right-hand side there).
http://www.flickr.com/wjclements
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Cardiff Days 2 and 3
This particular day we had all planned out. We took a waterbus from the bay area to the city centre where we took a tour of Cardiff Castle. From there we had lunch at McDonald's then walked to the Cardiff Museum. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping--or rather the girls went shopping and I kind of sat around--then we headed back to the bay area for dinner at Eddie's American Diner.
Then we parted ways for the night again.
The following morning we went bowling, one of our group members was adamant about that, and we walked to the train station and left.
Waterbus after arriving at the city centre.
Cardiff Castle Clock Tower
Cardiff Castle Living Quarters
At McDonald's for lunch
This is actually a guy and not a statue. Street performers like this are really interesting. You toss a coin into their bowl and they react. This particular guy interacted with whomever put a coin in his bowl. Sometimes he shook your hand, for girls he spun them around like they were dancing, etc.
This is an actual Monet painting, found in the Cardiff museum.
Eddie's American Diner in the Cardiff bay area.
Next post I will talk about my weekend here in Liverpool. I went on the Fab Four Taxi Tour (Beatles) and spent two days in the Liverpool City Centre.
Also, please please please stop asking me to post pictures. I only post a select few here on my blog but I post ALL my photos, with very apt descriptions on my Flickr page. There is a link to the right of the page but also here:
Then we parted ways for the night again.
The following morning we went bowling, one of our group members was adamant about that, and we walked to the train station and left.
Waterbus after arriving at the city centre.
Cardiff Castle Clock Tower
Cardiff Castle Living Quarters
At McDonald's for lunch
This is actually a guy and not a statue. Street performers like this are really interesting. You toss a coin into their bowl and they react. This particular guy interacted with whomever put a coin in his bowl. Sometimes he shook your hand, for girls he spun them around like they were dancing, etc.
This is an actual Monet painting, found in the Cardiff museum.
Eddie's American Diner in the Cardiff bay area.
Next post I will talk about my weekend here in Liverpool. I went on the Fab Four Taxi Tour (Beatles) and spent two days in the Liverpool City Centre.
Also, please please please stop asking me to post pictures. I only post a select few here on my blog but I post ALL my photos, with very apt descriptions on my Flickr page. There is a link to the right of the page but also here:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Cardiff, Wales
So we took our trip to Wales. I got up at 6:30 in the morning last Friday and met my group at 7. We had a little trouble finding the right bus and the right bus stop so we asked the security guys. They didn't know the bus but did give us the right stop. So we waited a bit in the cold morning air until bus 79c arrived, a classic English double-decker bus.
From there we took a bus ride to the city centre. We weren't sure where to get off but figured out it was at the Lime Street station, our train station. We then went inside, got our train passes verified and headed over to the customer service desk to figure out which trains to take and what platform they were at. Our journey was in two trips. We took a train from Liverpool to Birmingham where we got onto another train and headed to Cardiff. It was about a 4 and a half hour journey.
At the train station.
On this trip we couch surfed. Couch surfing is an online community where people looking for places to stay get in contact with people who offer their couches, guest rooms, floors, whatever to travelers. We had a group of five so me and two others went to stay with one guy named Robert (he picked us up at the train station and walked back to his place) and the other two stayed with a younger guy named Bub.
So our group traveled to Robert's house where we saw our living arrangement. The two girls shared the fold-out couch and I slept (comfortably I might add) on the floor. Our host was very generous and let us crash in his living room, use his television, and even his computer. He also had breakfast out for us each morning including coffee, tea, pastries, and orange juice.
Then we traveled to the bay area where Robert showed us around the sights a bit. We then traveled to the other host's apartment. His was fancy and overlooked the bay.
View from Bub's balcony.
Afterwards, Robert took our group around the bay some more and showed us all the sights there were to see. He gave us quite a history lesson. The Norwegians occupied the bay, mining coal. Wikipedia it if you're interested in a more detailed expression.
After walking around the bay, we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Each of us got a different dish. Some chicken, some lamb. Everyone sampled everyone else's and most were good. I particularly liked the lamb dishes. The only downside was that it was a bit more pricey than most of us wanted to spend and there was food leftover. Oh well. Next time we'll share better. We did share rice.
At the restaurant.
We then went our separate ways. The girls and I stayed up planning our trip for the following day and then we went to bed.
That was the end of day 1 in Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff, as I said, is the capital city of Wales.
Also, please go to to see all the pictures I post from my trips. All have descriptions.
Day 2 to come later.
From there we took a bus ride to the city centre. We weren't sure where to get off but figured out it was at the Lime Street station, our train station. We then went inside, got our train passes verified and headed over to the customer service desk to figure out which trains to take and what platform they were at. Our journey was in two trips. We took a train from Liverpool to Birmingham where we got onto another train and headed to Cardiff. It was about a 4 and a half hour journey.
At the train station.
On this trip we couch surfed. Couch surfing is an online community where people looking for places to stay get in contact with people who offer their couches, guest rooms, floors, whatever to travelers. We had a group of five so me and two others went to stay with one guy named Robert (he picked us up at the train station and walked back to his place) and the other two stayed with a younger guy named Bub.
So our group traveled to Robert's house where we saw our living arrangement. The two girls shared the fold-out couch and I slept (comfortably I might add) on the floor. Our host was very generous and let us crash in his living room, use his television, and even his computer. He also had breakfast out for us each morning including coffee, tea, pastries, and orange juice.
Then we traveled to the bay area where Robert showed us around the sights a bit. We then traveled to the other host's apartment. His was fancy and overlooked the bay.
View from Bub's balcony.
Afterwards, Robert took our group around the bay some more and showed us all the sights there were to see. He gave us quite a history lesson. The Norwegians occupied the bay, mining coal. Wikipedia it if you're interested in a more detailed expression.
After walking around the bay, we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Each of us got a different dish. Some chicken, some lamb. Everyone sampled everyone else's and most were good. I particularly liked the lamb dishes. The only downside was that it was a bit more pricey than most of us wanted to spend and there was food leftover. Oh well. Next time we'll share better. We did share rice.
At the restaurant.
We then went our separate ways. The girls and I stayed up planning our trip for the following day and then we went to bed.
That was the end of day 1 in Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff, as I said, is the capital city of Wales.
Also, please go to to see all the pictures I post from my trips. All have descriptions.
Day 2 to come later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)