Day of Redemption: A Second Chance at Northern Ireland

 

Day of Redemption: A Second Chance at Northern Ireland

Luke's Paddywagon tour was booked and his alarm was set for the ripe hour of 5:30. He even went to bed early in anticipation of the event. Yet somehow, due to extenuating circumstances, he overslept. Luckily, the 60 euro ticket did not go to waste. The kind man at the Paddywagon Tour Company took pity on Luke and allowed him to use his ticket for the following Sunday. So, a week later, Luke and Sarah successfully awoke at the formidable hour and arrived in Dublin city center before the city itself was even awake. At 7:30, they boarded the tour bus and set off for their journey to Northern Ireland. 

Stop 1: Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

After an almost 4 hour drive through the Irish countryside, we arrived at the famous Carrick-a-Rede bridge. This rope bridge is 20m long and sits 30m over the water below. It was once used by salmon fisherman, who trekked across to reach the tiny island of Carrickarede, an ideal location for launching their boats. In its original form, there was only one handrail, but it has since been reconstructed with some added safety features. This was lucky for Sarah, who nearly fell off in an unfortunate demonstration of clumsiness.

Stop 2: Giant's Causeway

Legend has it that Irish giant Finn MacCool was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. Fionn realized his foe was much bigger than himself, and ran home to hide from Benandonner. Fionn's wife, Úna, disguised Fionn as a baby and tucked him in a cradle. When Benandonner saw the size of the 'baby', he reckoned that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He fled back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow.

While perhaps not scientifically accurate, this is one of the many explanations for the incredible, hexagonal stones that make up the Giant's Causeway. A matching set exist across the waters on Scotland's coast. Some less interesting explanations credit volcanic activity for the phenomena, but I think we can all agree that sounds a bit ridiculous.

During our visit, we were lucky enough to run into a fellow UCD student, Silken. We also got to enjoy the authentic Irish weather: gusty with torrential rain. It was an.... authentic experience. 

     

                                

An aerial view of the Causeway

Find Luke

Loungin' on the Causeway

Stop 3: Belfast

Though not yet dry from our previous encounter with the Irish climate, we made our third and final stop in the city of Belfast. Since Northern Ireland is part of the UK, we discovered our euros were not welcome in the coffee shop. The city of Belfast has some interesting claims to fame:

1. It was the site of the infamous Titanic's design and construction
2. It's the filming location for the beloved t.v. show, Game of Thrones.  
3. It is home to the Europa Hotel, which has been given the title of "most bombed hotel in Europe" due to the 28 attacks it endured during the Troubles.

It seemed to us that the city was a shell of its once thriving self. The shipyards that drove Belfast's economy were gone, and a tentative peace with the Republic of Ireland had only recently been established. What remains is a strange, slightly eerie city, with landmarks that serve as a reminder of what had once been.

City Hall was built to be extravagant at a time when Belfast was thriving.

We came across some stores that "specialized" in American Candy. Hello, pretzel M&M's!

 After a very packed day, we embarked on the 3 hour ride home. We arrived back at Dublin city center just before 8:00, clocking in our tour at about 12 hours long. A long day, but a successful one. Luke even managed to finish his film scene analysis along the way.

Weekend in Portugal

Weekend in Portugal

With all the rain we get in Ireland, as well as the cruel 6 hours of daylight, it is almost necessary to take a little beach vacation. So, I booked a ticket to Portugal with a handful of other Boston College kids in order to experience the lovely southern coast, called Praia da Rocha.

We stayed in a lovely hostel/house called Villa Joaninha, owned by a lady named Sofia. We basically had the house to ourselves for the weekend, and Sofia became our adoptive mom.

Our hostel was located just steps from the beach, and we had a gorgeous ocean view out of our bedroom window.

On our first night in Portugal, it poured with vengeance. It turns out they hadn't had rain in six months, go figure. However, after a much-needed good night's sleep, the rain let up and gave us the opportunity to go into town.

The museum of Portimão taught us that fish canneries had once been the driving force of this town's economy. None of these canneries remain; most have moved to northern Portugal or international locations.

Next we stopped in at Casa da Isabel, which is famous for their cakes. Our table was not quite large enough to accommodate our sizable order.

Before:

After:

We then stopped in at a store that was recommended to us by a worker at the museum. It contained a huge selection of Portugal's finest sardines, mackerels, and Pate's. For 2.75 euro, we enjoyed a glass of wine and homemade bruschetta, topped with sardines, of course.

The next day, the sun was out and the weather was perfect. We ventured down to the beach, where we walked along the boardwalk and passed under a stone archway. When we emerged, we were in "Narnia." Simply put, it was perfect. 

After a grueling day in the warm sun, we sat in a cafe atop the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and sipped on a liter (or 2) of sangria. When we thought it couldn't get any better, we got to see the sunset on the horizon. 

That evening, we returned to our hostel for a cooking lesson from Sofia. We made a simple but fresh tuna paté as an appetizer, a duck, rice, and chorizo dish for dinner, and mango mousse for dessert. Sofia even brought along her husband, and two of her kids, to join. It was truly an authentic, Portuguese family dinner.

The next day, it was not easy but we had to say goodbye to Portugal. We squeezed our last few hours in the sun, hugged Sofia goodbye, and were driven back to the airport by a very suave-looking Portuguese man. The sunburn on my back was proof of the weekend's success.

Hej from Stockholm, Sweden!

Hello loyal readers! This past weekend, seven members of the Boston College crew headed off to Stockholm for the weekend! Cheap flights on Ryanair were the catalyst for our four day Scandinavian adventure. Thursday morning started at 2:30 AM; many of us decided to forgo the short slumber for a movie or a Skype call back home. We successfully found our gate at the airport in time for our 6 AM departure. Ryanair is a unique and highly cost conscious airline in that they don't use jetways. Incredibly fascinated with planes, I absolutely loved the experience of walking on the tarmac to our jet. Driving rain and invisible puddles gave reason for fellow group members to be less keen on Ryanair's no-frills boarding experience. At any rate, we were off!

Upon our arrival into Stockholm Skavsta Airport, we had one final bus journey that took us from the countryside into the city. Once there, street names such as Klockgjutargränd, Trädgårdstvärgränd, and Österlånggatan provided equal challenge and entertainment as we made our way through the city to our hostel. The weather was as brisk and clear as we explored some of the 14 islands that make up the city. Mike and I had a memorable experience at an Uzbek kebab shop. Our 'babs were delicious, however, our conversation with the owner fell victim to the "lost in translation" complex. When asked about the shop's Swedish Meatballs, he responded with a smile, "I have a wife and three kids." Classic. Our group also got serious mileage out of jokes stemming from bizarre road signs such as "Utfart Forbjuden".  Who knew culture shock came in such a humorous form?

Casual chainsaw.

I scream, you scream.

Sarah's structural integrity test.

As John Zimmerman would say, "That's Hilarious!"

Myself, Zander, Tej, Ryan, Mike, Sarah, and Grace.

It is an understatement to say that we took advantage of our free hostel breakfasts. After eating horse sized portions of muesli, cornflakes, and toast, we were ready to roll. We ventured down to City Hall and found it's riverfront location absolutely stunning. We spent a great portion of the day observing people and the architecture. To put it simply, Stockholm is a living, breathing J Crew advertisement. Every man wore a scarf, peacoat, button-down shirt, cuffed jeans, and brown leather shoes. The women were sharp as well. Our group looked like schmucks in comparison. Sweden's a far cry from Dublin's casual sweatpants culture. The Swedes give off an impression of perfection. Dads happily push along Pram strollers, in which their children never cry. Seriously, we didn't hear one peep out of the rosy cheeked passengers. 

The palace square.

Never gets old.

Little piece of home.

City Hall.

Founder of Stockholm.

Changing of the guard at the palace.

On Saturday we checked out the changing of the guard at the royal palace in the morning and proceeded to a cafe for a Fika (Swedish lingo for coffee and baked goods). Later on, some of us went to an amusement called Skansen in Djurgården. It is a famous open air museum/zoo that seemed more like a weird abandoned amusement park frozen in the 19th century. Although unusual, it was quite fascinating. Sweden was such an incredible trip for the seven of us! Stockholm was amazingly beautiful and a great location for our first international trip from Dublin. 

Up-close and unintended animal interactions.

Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

What is this place???

That's a wrap!