alicesonmarie

09:50 pm: pictures as promised
loch scavaig: one of the many places we went swimming



rich and anna


loch coruisk: the heart of skye

12:34 am: in a town with only 300 people what do you do but drink and hike?
for the past week and a half i was have been staying in kyleakin on the isle of skye working in a hostel. i spend 4 hours a days cleaning bathrooms, folding laundry, organizing books, making scones, etc. the rest of the say i : hike, go swimming, lay in sun, curse the midges, smoke ciggerettes, learn odd sayings in new languages, study calculus, quote arrested development with my roomates and fellow cleaners and of course get fucking smashed on many occasion.
 
2 nights ago i hitched to elgol and hiked for 5 hours to a bothy with two people i met in the hostel. the hike was on along the coast and so breath taking and we had to stop many a time for whiskey and exploring. and twice to strip and jump into the ocean.
the next day we went swimming again, climbed a waterfall and hiked another 7 miles to sligchan and hitched our way back home just in time to see a fucking amazing band and dance until our feet and knees could no longer support us.

now i am back in endinburgh for a few days to do some shopping (the converse are just not cutting it any longer and my one pair of jeans are all but destroyed) also i will be able to catch the amazing fireworks display to mark the end of the festival. then back to the highlands!

(i seem to have temporarily misplaced the cord that connects my camera to the computer so pictures will just have to wait)

08:43 pm: being sick in a hostel totally rules...
totally.

08:34 pm: all relationships must come to an end
dear ireland,

im very sorry to end it this way. i know its a bit uncouth and disrespectful. but i just cant lead you on any longer when my heart is no longer in it. i have fallen in love with another.
know that i will always remember all the good we shared. and you will forever live in a very deep and special place in my heart.

fondly,

allison


my new love: the highlands

06:49 pm: i have been much too slack with posting photos
this is the view from the front door of my hostel in edinburgh:


can i just say, i love this city...


but the stairs... everywhere the stairs. my calves are going to be so fit.


also.. i dyed my hair again.. maybe this time it will stick                                                                                                               
 

11:29 pm: sunday, its my fun day
allison = master of driving in ireland.

i spent 12 hours driving today. i successfully navigated roads that were narrower than the car i was driving, avoided hitting sheep and goats that had taken to napping and grazing in the road, managed to get the car stuck in the mud in the middle of some field while trying to explore a celtic burial site, drove in reverse for 1/4 a mile after running into a dead end, and got lost for hours in the middle the most beautiful country side i have ever seen.

yes, i have seen ireland. i have really seen it and i wonder what the hell have i been doing with my life up until now that i havent spent every second exploring this fucking incredible place. i am in love...

08:18 pm: the radio in ireland kinda sucks
so today i rented a car and drove to cliffs of moher.

oh my fucking god i have never witnessed something so amazing.
there is a point where you are not supposed to continue for your own safety or so they wont get sued... i skipped past the no trespassing sign and continued on for about an hour alongside the cliffs. the path was at points only a foot or two away from the sheer drop into the ocean and as i walked it became some disconcerting how i was no longer afraid.

after i certain point i had to cut through a field to continue on and discovered upon a ruined tower where i stopped and laid in the sun.
(pictures to come)

on the drive back i became very aware of the darkening sunburn on my cheeks and neck (who wouldve thought that you could sunburn in ireland), the absolute thrill and terror of driving not only from the right hand side of the car on the left hand side of the road (i felt like this was my first time driving) but also the fact that even the major roads here are so god damn tiny. and everyone seems to speed. go figure.

i stopped for a dinner of fish and chips and then went to explore some more castle ruins on the side of the road.

now im home and all i want to do is get back in the car and drive while i have the freedom that it allows... perhaps a shower first....

07:03 pm: my new favorite comic

11:22 pm: was this even real?
it was a long bus ride down to the dingle peninsula, but it was worth it. even the 2 nights i stayed with 6 screaming, drunk, boy-obsessed 19 year old girls in the hostel room that reeked of urine was worth it. because i have seen one of the most beautiful places in the world.








also meet my irish language teacher

01:51 am: 7th day?
so its been one week but certainly hasnt felt like it. today i had my first fish and chips in ireland at place called mcdounagh's. mmmmm... greasy and good.

also i went to the theatre tonight to see a solo performance about tom crean.

here is a shot for you from the grocery store:

06:37 pm: on my way to school...

05:09 pm: so sad
the divine comedy is NOT playing at the art festival in galway. so so so sad.

06:25 pm: 3rd and 4th day
friday after class (around 5:30pm) the CEA group of people met up to go to dublin for the night. there are about 14 of us and then there was the director's brother ray and his girlfriend. the train ride there was about 3 hours so we arrived close to 9pm.
Right away head straight for temple bar for dinner at the elephant and castle restaurant (which is very pricey and apparently has amazing chicken wings... not that i would know) dinner took forever and we dont get out to the pubs till midnight. temple bar has some amazing pubs but everything is as crowded as could possibly be..  i dont even remember the pub we ended up at cause we turned away from so many due to occupancy. but where we did end up was unbelievably huge... you wouldnt think it from looking at these pubs from the outside but they are grand. the nice sit down area and bar was atleast 10 times that of leon pub and then you realize there is dancing going on in the back and  there is not only 1 but 3 floors of dancing going on with a bar on each level! and it is all completely packed! like pressed up against everyone else packed... no room to move packed.
after an hour or so of complete surreality and weird french and english dudes chatting me up i realize that it is indeed 2:30am and that i do have to get up at 7:30 to meet everyone for breakfast. so back to the hotel to watch star trek on sky one till i fall asleep.

bright and early in the morning i have breakfast and then head out to trinity college to see the book of kells. which i will most certainly be going back to when i visit dublin next. i was much too tired and much too in awe to soak everything in.
after trinity we get on a bus tour! oh man... nothing like bus tours to make you feel uncomfortable... but i did see alot of the city very quickly and it was free so i cant complain. i wrote down alot of places that i would like to go back to when i have the time.
the bus drops us off at the guiness factory where we go on a self guided tour.. not really worth it but once again i didnt pay so...

also they give you a guiness when you get to the top and you can see all of dublin from their bar.
after that there was more bus touring through a fucking ton of traffic (god dublin is crowded) until we are dropped off to figure out dinner and then head back to the train station and go home.

the trip was a complete blur but also seems like it lasted forever. i was rushed from place to place and now that im home in bed i feel like you do when you just get off the gravitron and your not sure if you want to get back on or if you want to throw up.
ray was an amazing tour guide who had a keen wit and always knew how to not wait in line or steal a taxi by offering the driver more money than the next guy. everything was almost completely free which was more then i knew i was getting when i signed up. and the train ride through the country side was of course astounding.

sunday: rest and buy tickets for the divine comedy :)

07:58 am: second day
so after waking up at midnight last night... i eventually fell back asleep around 6am. i set my alarm for 8 since i had a meeting at 9. however my alarm decided not to work.... i woke up at 9:30. i rushed to get ready and did not take proper notice of the weather outside. as i get on the street i discover that it is indeed raining and very windy and cold. i am pointed in the direction of campus and run/fast walk all the way there.
i stumble into the room as the meeting is ending then promptly given a tour of the campus (it is very nice.. a cool cafe and bar. also all my classes are right next to each other)
after the tour the was an intro lecture for the summer program and intro lecture for my irish society class. right now im having a break back at the apartment in order to put more clothes on and eat some food.


next up: intro lecture for irish music and dance class. then informal reception at the campus bar. then dinner and a tour of the town.

10:44 am: Day number one
 the flight was as good as it could be expected to be. the plane was very empty and i had the whole middle row (3 seats across) to myself. i stretched out but was unable to catch more than an hour of sleep even with the aid of ambein.
so i arrived in the shannon airport somewhat delirious from sleep deprivation.  i walk out the gates and meet... i cant remember his name. but a sunburned long haired irish fellow that wore several chains and dressed in all black. he wasnt as sleezy as that sounds but as we were eating breakfast in the airport the irish police came up and asked him about who he was and what he was doing cause he "was acting suspicious" hahah... oh my.
after everyone arrives at the airport we all get on a bus and drive from shannon to galway. the drive was  so beautiful. the country side is filled lush greenery and the cutest damn cows and sheep. there are also stone walls everywhere which gives the whole scene such a charming and romantic feel...  unfortunately i had some trouble enjoying it as the lack of sleep really started to kick in and a migraine developed in full force along with nausea.. ugh.
i felt much better after we arrived at the apartments and i was able to lay down again. the apartments (gort na coirbe) are amazing.. they are quite spacious and well laid out. (as soon as i get the energy i will post pictures). but apparently they do not have wireless internet which was disappointing cause it meant i had to go out and buy a cat5 cable, which of course i needed to do immediately. i head out to nearest stores to begin my search for the elusive and internet providing cable. first stop: dunnes. dunnes is across the street from me and is akin to target or walmart but smaller.. and different... so i decide to buy some groceries and am immediately overwhelmed by the amount of bread to choose from.. i would finally decide on the loaf to buy only to discover that there was a whole other aisle full. damn.. i love it.
after wondering around the store with my mouth wide like a child in a candy store, i decide that the essential (bread, cheese, nutella, pasta, sauce) with have to do and i promise the awaiting beer aisle that i will return when well rested (theyre 24 hours!)
next i head to currys (an all purpose electronics store.. like best buy... only smaller and different) i buy what i think is the correct cable and after more wondering about head home.
as soon as i return i realize that this cable is defiantly not the one i need and head back out to buy a new one. return home once more and once more discover that i have the wrong cable. by now i am so very very tired and consider just lying down and giving up... oh but online is so nice and comforting so i head down to the apartment office to see if i can bribe one of them to sell me their cable. success! i buy one for 10 euros and now i am finally online!
with this accomplished i lie down and almost instantly fall asleep. at 4pm.  and wake up at midnight... horray for jetlag

tomorrow: meeting at 8:30 and register for classes. 10:45 introduction to classes.

oh also, the water here is poison. there is some parasite living in it and you can't ingest it at all. unless its been boiled. so yeah....

06:46 pm: packing list
ok. so here is my packing list for ireland. it is still a work in progress and i have yet to check to see if it will all fit. hopefully it will.

entertainment and such

• ds +games +charger
• laptop + charger + jump drive
• books (house of leaves, cryptonomicon, not sure what else)
• knitting (not sure what though)
• ipod +headphones + charger
• reading light

and the rest

• sleep sack
• first-aid kit
• spoonfork
• toothbrush + toothpaste
• comb
• hair straightner
• hair product + hair accesories
  
• microfiber towel
• clothsline
• deodorant
• earplugs
• credit cars +passport + money
• umbrella