Dublin

This past weekend I ventured to the Capital city of Ireland.  It is the only legitimate city in Ireland, with over 1 million people living in it.  This was certainly my favorite experience to date, as I fell in love with the history and happenings of, that's right, Dublin.

We left Galway on Friday morning and used a CityLink (10 eruos) Bus which dropped us in the center of city at around 1 o'clock. The first thing we did was check into our hostel, The Ashfield House.  For future reference, when I refer to "we," I mean the 9 of us who joined the trip, 8 Villanova students from my program and Megan.  The Ashfield was literally right in the center of the city, on D'Olier street.  A prime location.  The staff was utterly clueless, but the joint had hot water and free breakfast (cereal, hard boiled eggs, warm OJ, weird eastern Eurpoean girls buttering their bread BEFORE toasting, what?!) and reliable wifi. No complains really. I fear I've set the bar atypically high for what a real hostel is, but I figure it's not a terrible idea to ease myself into discount travel lodgings.

Ashfield House, Budget Accommadation

After checking in, Katie, Erin and I made moves directly to the Gunniess Storehouse.  It was about a 30 minute walk across town to the storehouse, but absolutely worth it.  For 13 euro we learned how a Gunniess is made and about how awesome Arthur Guinness was.  There seemed to be a cult like obsession surrounding Arthur throughout the museum, a tad strange but also hilarious.  The tour was honestly a waiting game until the main event, the Gravity Bar on the seventh floor.  This room is entirely made out of glass which offers some of the best views of Dublin, allowing you to really get an idea of just how large and beautiful the city is.  At the Skybar you receive a complimentary pint of the best Guinness you will find anywhere else in the world. I sat above the city, drinking the sweet nectar of Arthur's mad genuis, as the sun set over the city and the surrounding Wicklow Mountains. 184 XP Points.

 

After the Storehouse we met up with the group for dinner.  That night we went to Temple Bar, which is the district of Dublin where most of the pubs and nightlife is.  We popped in and out of various bars and enjoyed the live music and 7 euro pints. Yes, that's over 9 dollars. Grossly expensive, so here I'm not afraid to admit that I resorted to drinking half finished drinks that I came upon throughout the evening. Creature. Back to the Ashfield House for a sporadic sleep on a bunk-bed beside Brazilian and Belgian strangers. 

The next day, Saturday for those of you keeping score, was probably the most tourist day of my entire life.  Nose in a map the entire day, taking pictures of everything I saw.  Here are a few of the highlights, giving you a flare of the day.

James Joyce Statue.  His presence is felt everywhere throughout the city

Dragged everyone to the James Joyce Center. So amazing.

 Visiting the James Joyce Exhibit was the highlight of the day.  For those of you that don't know, Joyce is my favorite author of all time. He is quite honestly the most fascinating person I have ever studied.  Visiting the museum really inspired me to finish his body of work and do my senior English teacher Peter Honig proud. I saw this quote in the museum and it really seemed to resonate with me.

 “I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.”

The Custom House

Trinity College

Doosher band called Keywest that was playing on the street. Admittedly quite good though.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

There were other stops along the day, but I wanted to share those. That night we went back into town.  I purposely lost myself from the group and enjoyed some time to myself, roaming the streets and looking for some good live music. I went into the pub called Farrington's and say by myself listening to a incredible two piece band.  The female singer sounded like Janice Joplin I kid you not and the guitarist was the word record holder for most consecutive hours playing guitar.  They played covers of all the classic rock and roll songs, insanely good.  It was so nice to just have some time to myself to enjoy the music and a drink by myself. 

Sunday was our final day in Dublin, and by far the best day of the trip and my study abroad experience to date.  Erin found this bus tour called the Wild Wicklow Tour, which was an 8 hour, day's long trek through the Wicklow Mountains that are to the West of the city.  The Mercedes bus was spacious and clean, and although the tour guide George was a tad boring he definitely pointed out the key landmarks and was very friendly. The first stop on the tour was the Martello Tower in SandyCove, Dublin.  Interestingly enough, this is also the official James Joyce museum and serves as the setting for episode 1 of Ulysses.  Definitely got my Joyce fix during this trip.  

The bus proceeded to climb the mountain and the views and scenery got increasingly more breathtaking as the tour progressed.  These mountains were carved by glaciers during the Ice age and were the setting for Braveheart and P.S. I Love You, which I have not seen. Umm. Anyway.  As the tour reached the top of the mountain it began to snow, making the scenery that more surreal.  Our guide said that, "No matter which direction you point your lens you wouldn't be able to tell quite what century you were in."  This is the best way I could describe the day in Wicklow.  Here are a few pictures, which I know will do no justice.  Photo credit to Rachel Young and Jacqueline Selter.

Most photogenic part of the tour. You're welcome for the new computer background

Glendalough, pronounced 'Glen da lock.' An old monestary build by St.Kevin around the year 600

Sally Gap, favorite picture of the Day

  

Sally Gap Again, almost standing in the clouds we were so high

 So Dublin was certainly a successful weekend.  I got some culture, had a lot of fun, and the trip definitely brought our group a lot closer.  Here's the best part of the story, and a small metaphor for my life in general. We ate dinner with our adviser on Monday night and she surprised us with, get this, a trip to Dublin.  This weekend. Yup, just my luck.  Never thought I'd be sad to hear the news of a trip to Dublin.  Textbook First World Problem. It's just a shame that we went last week and spent all of that money when we could have waited for VU to fund the excursion.  In any event, the city is big enough that we will still get to see some new things so I really shouldn't complain.

Thanks for reading.  Ravens vs Falcons in the SuperBowl, heard it here first. Ravens will win the ship. Gambling is legal in Ireland so if anyone is interested in placing some bets, I've developed a solid network of trustworthy book keepers in the last week or so.  Solid guys. Real family men. FB Message me your picks.

Also, I've been exposed to loads of new music while abroad.  I've also rekindled my love of of some of the classics that I obsessed over in HS like the Arctic Monkeys, Kooks, Stokes, etc; all the bands in Galway cover that type of music.  From here on out I'll end each blog post with a song that I've found or rediscovered.  Without further adieu:

I've heard this song in so many stores, apartments, around school, at 'pre drinks', etc.  A 'Proper' tune, my roommate's friends like to say. Enjoy.

Nova to outlast Pitt in the Pavilion tonight by a final score of 56-51. Bet has been placed.

-JD

First Week of Class

Classes began on Monday morning.

It was a sad realization, but I was pretty excited to see campus on an actual school day and jump into the semester. My first class was a 20th Century Irish History class.  Class? History?! You're putting me to sleep, Jeff! is what you may be thinking. Voyage on, I will get to the good stuff.

As I was warned the lecturer showed up about fifteen minutes late.  Apparently nobody in Ireland is exactly on time, especially not at the University. Unbelievably chill atmosphere. It was a bit stressful wandering around such a large and foreign campus, but it felt 'sound' to feel lost again.  It was nice to stray from the comfort zone that I have back at school. With that being said, I feel like I know my way around campus already, it's not that intimidating.  Study Abroad VERTERAN.

NUI Galway

Since Monday I've had History, International Economics, and my two MIS classes (E-Business and Enterprise Systems). A few of my classes are in the J.E. Cairnes School of Business.  Easily my favorite building on campus; it is relatively new and so many cool places to hang out or meet with groups or be that token foreign kid writing in his blog in the corner of a computer lab.  So school has been solid - can't say much more on this front since it's basically the syllabus week. The class sizes are certainly much larger.  Girls dress up for class. The guys wear track suits or sweatpants to class. Everything else is basically the same, minus the frat bros tossing the football and blaring shitty music in the Quad or the sorority girls trying to sell me lemonade. How I miss home. No class Friday if this schedule works out.

Moving on.  Yesterday was the first time that I saw the sun since I've been in Ireland. In a week. It's been quite depressing and MOIST here in Galway. But the sun finally broke through and it was absolutely gorgeous.  The temperature was around 10 degrees, I'll make you open the extra tab to do the Fahrenheit conversion.  I was finished class by noon so I rode my bike into town and just wandered around the Bay.  I met up with Erin in town and we grabbed lunch at Riordans, which was as awesome as advertised so thanks Emily and Anne. We rode along the bay walk and essentially wasted the day away, frimming around town until the sun went down.  Probably my favorite day in Ireland thus far.

Galway Bay

I joined the Kingfisher Club, which is the gym here at school. It was ridiculously expensive to join for just one semester but it's a pretty impressive place.  They have basketball courts, which was the deal breaker.  Promised myself to come back to the States with the filthiest euro step at Villanova.  I've gotten some good use out of it thus far and plan to get my money's worth.

Galway has continued to be a good time, especially with the influx of 15,000 or so college students over the weekend.  On Monday night I finally came to understand the phenomena that is SuperMacs - a fastfood chain in Galway that more or less turns into a dance club in the waning hours of the night. Bouncers at the door. A McDonalds with bouncers? Socializing in a burger joint ugh Galway sounds terrible.  If only you knew....

I feel like I'm finally settling into my apartment and the city, as I certainly have my bearings after just a few days here.  All of those little things like remembering wifi passwords or using the shower or charging electronics which at first felt a bit intimidating are now second nature to me. I obviously miss home and not being able to watch this weekend football was a tough pill to swallow.  But the people here are insanely welcoming and friendly, I don't feel alienated from Galway whatsoever. So easy to approach somebody and strike up a conversation, they genuinely like Americans.

All is well on my end. Still finalizing my plans for this weekend but hopefully I'll have something exciting to share.  Thanks for reading.

-JD

Arriving in Galway

After 100 or so straight hours of non-stop activity, I finally have some time to process my first four days in Ireland. Time to ease on the gas and attempt writing a blog.

Based off countless first hand testimonials and a year of daydreaming, Galway had some massive shoes to fill.  Now without being too dramatic and professing my unwavering love for a city after a mere four days, I will say that Galway has certainly lived up to the hype.

The past four days have been a serene blur of new faces, new places, jet lag, and malnourishment.  I have felt challenged yet oddly comfortable all at the same time.  The nine of us Villanova students are clicking and I am understanding Galway and Ireland more with each day. 

As opposed to giving you the detailed itinerary of my every waking hour, I will step through the past four, or is it five, three?, days here and provide some highlights.

Day 1: Leave for Galway

I peaked for my entire study abroad experience (possible life) during the flight over here.  A truly rookie move on my end.  The bar was set impossibly high before I even touched down in Ireland.  Thanks to the God-like mileage status of a certain Motorola employee, I was bumped to first class for my flight to this foreign land.  The next six hours were a movie, 6 course meal, and champagne filled holiday capped off by arguably the most comfortable sleep of my life.  My seat on the plane had more leg room than my bed here.  If life has ever graced you with the luxury of an international first class flight, you can die knowing you have lived.

After landing in Shannon Airport at around 7am Irish time I met up with some other Villanova students and we took a two hour bus to the city.  Immediately started drinking!  Kidding.  The ride was full of farms and sheep in every direction and, as advertised, Ireland is extremely green. 

We took cabs to Gort Na Coribe, a “student village” where my apartment is located.  This place is massive, ballpark of 150 apartments.  It is in a great location, with the school and the city about ten minutes in either direction.  I am in a three person apartment with a Villanova student named Brendan and an unknown Irish lad to be determined. The  apartment is very nice and plenty big and the staff has been extremely helpful with any issues or ‘queries’ we’ve had thus far.

That evening we ventured into town (using a cab like absolute scrubs) and prowled the streets for a place to eat.  Swing & miss.  Since we were already downtown we checked out a few pubs.  As Wednesday turned into Thursday I realized that the last time I went to bed was Monday night back at home.  This, coupled with a turkey sandwich offering my lone caloric intake for the day, forced me to close the books on day 1. 

Days 2-3

Thursday morning was Orientation at the University where they had a variety of people speak about what to expect as an International student.  Topics ranged from registration to how to get involved and a campus tour.  I could not believe how informal this entire circus was.  All of the professors or administrators that spoke were extremely laid back and naturally hilarious.  I really like the vibe that the campus has, however.  Just a marvel that anything actually gets done here.

After orientation ended on Friday, all nine of us Villanova students headed into town and finally got to see Galway during the day time.  Unreal.  Street performers on every corner, there are no actual corners because Galway is all little side streets but you get the idea. Favorite stop was the Galway Cathedral.  Boom:

 Day 4

Today we rented bikes.  80 euro for the semester. We definitely got ripped off but having a bike will make getting to campus such a breeze and allow us to explore the city more.  A solid investment.  I also met my Irish roommate, Mel, this evening.  He lived with two Villanova students last year and they seemed to get along very well.  Mel follies to come.

I did not make it out tonight. Soft, I know.  Emily Zippilli is shaking her head right now.  I’ve just been going and going and I think I hit my wall.

However, Galway has certainly been a blast thus far.  This may come as a shocker, but the pubs and bars are way cooler than those offered by the mainline. And Manayunk. And yes,  even Miami of Ohio. Combined.  Almost comparable to the magic that is the Quartz. Almost. There has consistently been live music and it’s just such a different scene. Truly hilarious. My friend Anne Murray absolutely NAILED it on the head when she said that Irish people: all about the banter. 

So 2013 has certainly come out of the gates with guns, flamethrowers, lazers, etc. absolutely blazing.  I am excited about our group of Villanova students and having Megan Dunleavy live literally one floor below me could not be any better. Side note: Her study abroad group is one of the most hilarious collections of human beings I have ever witnessed.  Horrible people. R.M. would have a field day.  Also, having Erin in Galway has made these first few days so much easier, and more fun that I could have even imagined.  There have certainly been challenges and roadblocks but the positives far outweigh any negatives. 

Tried to keep it short, a lot to say.

--JD