So here we are at nearly the end of May, and I'm not sure how that happened! This whole year has been a whirlwind of craziness...some good, some bad. In the end though, I think I've come out on top. The school year is winding down, but I'm already looking forward to starting the new year. New faces. Familiar faces. The wicked witch will be gone, of course. Should be great. I've gotten a bit of traveling in since I've been here, and a little more is on the way. I owe my new-found fearlessness of traveling alone thanks to Ireland. This will surely make next year even more spectacular. I also owe Ireland my new sense of self. I'm finally at peace with the fact that I don't know too many people here. And yet, slowly but surely, I've made a few new friends. Good friends. Spanish friends. Which, frankly, was a big reason for me coming here. Connections.

I'm not sure why, but I've begun to relax a bit. I now really enjoy my free time. I've found productive ways of filling it. I've even been making plans for the past few weekends. Life has started coming together here. I haven't felt that in a long time. The second I had returned home from studying in Madrid I knew I wanted to come back. And I never felt quite right in St. Louis. Like another part of my life was going on without me.Then I finally got here and it was not the Madrid I remembered. Again, I started feeling like I was missing out on an important part of my life...the part in St. Louis! Sheesh!

You just can't win, right?

 I was at a loss. To top it off, the one person I confided in about my loneliness decided at this moment to slam the door in my face and cut me off. So, um...wow.

But you know what? That was the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave me the chance to start over. And here I am. I'm back. I have 2 more great months to look forward to before I head home for a bit. But wait!

There's more!?!?

Yes, that's right. I'll be back for round two. I had one year to settle in and another year to go nuts! Maybe even add a third or fourth year. Anything's possible now. I've been here long enough to get comfortable...and I'll be coming back for more.

That, my friends, was the whole point.

~Caralyn
(you can't see it right now, but I'm giving myself a huge pat on the back)

Ireland

The beginning of May was a big weekend holiday in Madrid. I don't know what we were celebrating and I didn't question it. All I know is that it gave me the perfect opportunity to do some more traveling. And I had my sights set on Ireland.

Ireland as a whole has never been on my radar but the city of Belfast has always intrigued me. I knew a bit about the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics, really just that there was conflict. My guess was that these "troubles" from the past meant Belfast wasn't too touristy...and I would be correct. I also read a book a couple years ago called The Ghosts of Belfast about a man living with the ghosts of the people he killed during The Troubles in the '70s and I thought it was awesome! A great thriller. So now I'm re-reading it and it's so cool to recognize the names of places and streets that he talks about because I've been there! It also makes a lot more sense with my new-found knowledge of just how bad things were...and maybe still are.

So, to begin, I flew into Dublin on Wednesday (May 1) and immediately hopped on a bus to Belfast. For some reason there are almost no flights between Madrid and Belfast, so I decided to just get myself up to Northern Ireland first thing. And it was nice because it was light out and I had a chance to see a little greenery. However, the motorway was not all that scenic...the scenic drives would come later. It took a little less than 2 hours and before I knew it I was wandering down Great Victory Street and Botanic Avenue towards my hostel, Global Village.

This was actually my first hostel experience since I've been in Europe so I didn't know what to expect. The hostel was located on a quiet street close to Queen's University so the whole area had a college-town feel to it. It made me understand why we were on University Street. Ha. The university was in our backyard and I didn't know!

Global Village Hostel

Anyway, I opened the door to find a cute little dog greeting me. His name was Buju, and he belonged to the hostel, and he was super cool. I also met Fox, live-in worker (owner?) of the joint who gave me the grand tour of everything. The hostel is actually an old house and that's exactly how it felt. A home. It was so cozy and inviting and I'd say half the people there were traveling by themselves so we all became instant friends. Hands down, the best possible experience I could have had traveling alone. Most people were Canadian or Australian but I also met some people from France, Germany, Spain and Slovenia...of all places. I think the highlight of our time together was watching Barcelona get slaughtered by Bayern Munich. In Barcelona. Holy Cow.

Fox and I

Alright, back to arriving. My first stop was Queen's University and the Botanic Gardens, which are almost one in the same...and were right down the street. It was the perfect day for a stroll through gardens. Sun was shining, 60 degrees, didn't need a jacket and I was bursting with energy after being stuck on a plane and a bus. I went into the university's library to see what there was to see and unfortunately they didn't allow visitors to take a peak. BUT, the woman at the front desk let me sneak in anyway because there is a replica door from The Chronicles of Narnia that leads to a small reading room. She said it was worth a look. The whole place was packed with students cramming for exams so I kinda stood out with a camera and no books. I didn't doddle. Was cool though. Glad I went in.

Palm House

Back outside I was at the entrance of the Botanic Gardens which were full of students relaxing and playing games. How cool would it be if instead of a Quad you had botanical gardens to play in as a student??? I was jealous. I took lots of pictures. 
 
Ok, the best part of the Gardens were not the gardens themselves but these signs I saw everywhere. They read "No Ball Games". Of course, it's referring to football or whatever other kinds of ball games exist in Ireland, but my dirty mind could not stop laughing!! "No ball games here, stop playing with your balls!" hahahaha I'm pretty sure I sat there and laughed out loud for a solid minute. People stared. I didn't care. I took another picture. Belfast rocks.

The rest of the day was spent walking through the city and then hopping a bus to the Belfast Castle. To my surprise the castle isn't really a castle but a large mansion. It sits on a hill in the middle of a gorgeous park and offers some great views of the shipyards and coast. It was worth the long trek uphill. Again, I was grateful for the beautiful weather.

Belfast Castle

That evening after watching a poor-excuse-for-a-football-game game, a few of us went out to a pub for some live music and some well-deserved drinking. I can now say I've had a Guinness in Ireland. I can also now say that Guinness tastes like shit no matter which country you drink it in. I had two pints, just to make absolutely sure. I rest my case. I'll stick to Blue Moon and Schlafly.

Day 2: Thursday, May 2. This was THE day for Belfast to strut its stuff, and it blew me away how much I didn't know about so many things. I started the day walking over to Titanic Belfast, the museum dedicated to all things Titanic since the ship was built in the shipyards. I'm not really sure if I knew Titanic was built in Belfast until I started doing some research...Doesn't matter. All that's really left today are the boat slips. There are also 2 yellow cranes built around the '70s specifically for the construction of giant ships that dot the skyline. They are affectionately called Samson and Goliath and are still in use today. There's also a bizarre looking building that houses the Titanic museum. Inside it was broken down into different galleries that showcased first how the Titanic came to be made in Belfast, the actual construction, life aboard the ship, the sinking, the aftermath and finally the exploration of the shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Belfast. There were all kinds of interactive maps, blueprints, re-creations of cabins and even a telegram button to practice your CQD. I was impressed.

Titanic Belfast

 What really stayed with me, though, was the display of some or most of the telegrams Titanic sent to other ships after it had struck the iceberg. They started out very matter-of-fact like "Hit a berg" "CQD" "Request for assistance"...something like that. But they became increasingly more panicked: "We're taking on water fast, we're going down" and one which was just "CQDCQDCQDCQDCQD". It gave me goosebumps. All of them were dated and time-stamped so you could see just how quickly things got out of control. The whole thing was very intense, until finally:


After the museum I walked back to the hostel and hopped on a black taxi tour of West Belfast, the famed neighborhoods along the the Falls Road and Shankill Road. Again, another intense experience. I knew nothing of these conflicts so I got quite the education. The Shankill represents the Protestant side, which are the Loyalists and prefer being under the British crown so you see British flags everywhere. The Falls is heavily Catholic and would like to see a united Ireland. Hence, they are the Republicans and Irish flags are everywhere...or as they say, the tricolor (pronounced like "trickler"). Anyway, there are walls that run through these neighborhoods called Peace Walls, which to me seems a little ironic. On one side people have left their signatures of peace and hope for Ireland. Very similar to the Berlin Wall I imagine.

Paz = Peace

There are also propaganda murals on the sides of houses dedicated to each sides "war heroes". They are incredibly disturbing. And they don't look like something that belongs in a residential neighborhood. But it was certainly something to see. At the end our guide told us the tension is as bad now as it ever was. Houses still have gates around their windows to protect from flying bricks or bottles if they are close to the wall. And there are still over 3,000 unsolved murders in Northern Ireland (or was it just in Belfast?). 

Protestant Mural

Day 3: Giant's Causeway. Friday was spent on a day-long tour up the coast of Northern Ireland to the Giant's Causeway with a few stops along the way. These stops mainly included castles or castle ruins, lunch at the Bushmill's Distillery and crossing a fancy rope bridge. Oh, and the coastal road we took there is considered one of the top 5 scenic routes in the world. I believe it. Absolutely gorgeous.

So this rope bridge, which I didn't know I signed up for, was used by salmon fisherman almost 1000 years ago to hop between two islands that jut out into the sea. It's now become a tourist attraction. It's about 60 feet long and god-only-knows how high. I refused look down when I crossed it and I couldn't see the bottom when I made it to the other side. It's no secret that I have a debilitating fear of heights so this was not easy for me. But I did do it. I have pictures to prove it. And, to blow your minds even more, I had to walk back across it a second time! Phew! Needless to say I felt pretty proud of myself. Still do in fact. And for an extra pound you could buy a certificate stating you crossed the bridge. I bought the certificate. Just in case people don't believe the photos. Can't wait to frame that badboy.

Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge

And then on to what we'd all been waiting for. The Giant's Causeway is unlike any place I've ever been to. It's basically made up of these strange rock formations, most of which are hexagonal shaped, on the coast that led to the legend of 2 giants building a causeway to fight each other. Fionn mac Cumhail (Finn MacCool), the Irish giant attempted to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. Basically, they were both too chicken to fight each other in the end and so most of the causeway was destroyed, leaving the few rocks we see today. It was kind of like a giant playground with all these stones to crawl over. Adding in the rain and ferocious wind, we had the quite the
adventure.

Giants Causeway

I don't even know how to put into words what it was like. Despite the treacherous weather I could have stayed there all day. Being surrounded by cliffs and the raging sea was very humbling. It's good for soul to be reminded every once in awhile how small you are. And relatively insignificant. It gives you perspective.

The journey home was much quieter. Our tour guide, Alan, who was hysterical and informative, didn't say much since most people fell asleep. We were lucky that we had a small bus...only about 15 or 16 of us altogether, so we all became fast friends. We had a guy from New Zealand, a girl from Taiwan, a guy from China, two ladies from England, a girl from Canada, two girls from Madrid :), and then a few peeps from my hostel, myself, and a few others. It was a great group. This definitely ranks as one of the best days of my life. Period.


The next day was split between Belfast and Dublin. I had a really hard time saying goodbye to Belfast. We got along so well together. I felt very comfortable there. Luckily I had a nice scenic bus ride back to the Dublin where we stopped in a few small towns along the way. But driving into Dublin was the biggest shock I've had in awhile. I was expecting something small like Belfast, but instead found a heaping metropolis. It might even be bigger than Madrid. It sure felt like it. I was completely overwhelmed.

My hostel was a major let-down as well. It was packed with people and it was not homey at all. And I was in a room with smelly guys. Gross. And some of them were creepy. I was homesick...for Belfast! Get me out of here! Take me back!

The city of Dublin is nice. It's got beautiful old buildings and the River Liffey runs through the middle. But it's also dirty and smelly and touristy... not to mention extremely expensive. I did not expect that. I was already tired when I got there so I mainly wandered around aimlessly and took some pictures. There's a lot to do in Dublin but I just didn't have the energy. 

River Liffey in Dublin

The two main things I did was tour Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the Jameson Distillery. Trinity is cool and the Old Library you walk through to see the Book of Kells is cool, but the actual book itself is a bit underwhelming. (or can I say I was just "whelmed" since I was in Europe...anyone? anyone? tehehehehehe). Jameson was another disappointment since nothing about it is original and no actual distilling was going on. For a place that calls itself the Old Jameson Distillery, I expected more. The whiskey at the end was good. But again, I was not impressed. 

Trinity College

By the time Monday rolled around I was ready to go. Dublin and I were not jiving. And then when I got called and an "ignorant bitch" by some homeless man for not giving him any booze money, shit hit the fan. That was it. I was done. I marched back to the hostel, grabbed my things, and peaced the hell out of there. I ended up at the airport about 3 hours early but it didn't matter. Relief was in sight.

The only saving grace about Dublin was the nice Northern Irishman (figures!) I met in my hostel. He lived and worked up North but went to school on the weekends in Dublin. So we talked a lot about Belfast. Actually he did most of the talking. It was nice. When we parted ways he shook my hand and told me to let him know if I ever was in Belfast again. And that was that. A gentleman. How refreshing :) 


So long Ireland, you were the trip of a lifetime. I'm so grateful to have met you.

~Caralyn

Some more fun photos from my trip:

Cliffs of Northern Ireland

Irish Countryside

Most bombed hotel in Europe: Europa Hotel, Belfast

                                     

                                                                          Bye!!