A Truly Wonderful Day...

...that will have to wait for a full blog run-down till tomorrow. But it was awesome, and there are cool pictures, so watch this space.

Happy Halloween.

Change of Plans Calls for Relaxation

Well, I'm again reminded of how foolish I can be. I know that's not news for most of you, but...

I couldn't get to Edinburgh because when I got to the train station I found I didn't have all the necessary cards to get my youth discount, so the trip would have cost $150 instead of $100. That sounded like a bad call to me, and by the time I went to get them I would have gotten up to Scotland much too late.

I decided to save the trip for tomorrow, and so bumbled around Leeds for a while; it's a really nice city, actually, with a lot of people and growth and excitement but with less pressure than London.



In the afternoon I went back to the house and toured Baildon with Angela's mom, then took a walk out on the moors, which were small but beautiful.

The timer function on my camera makes it look like I have friends!

This evening we watched some old British TV comedies, "Father Ted" and "The Vicar of Dibley", which were funny and quirky and looked very much like they were shot in 1980. What is it about British TV? It all looks slightly fake, like Masterpiece Theater.

Tomorrow is Edinburgh. I will not be denied.

Leeds, Baildon, Saltaire, Home Cooked Meal

Today it was on to Leeds and then to Baildon, a small town in West Yorkshire to stay with Angela and Derek and her parents and brother.

Despite a longer-than-expected train ride, we arrived in Baildon at about 2:00 PM, and after putting down our baggage, Angela soon had us moving on to the nearby town of Saltaire for sight-seeing and pudding. Built as a model town in support of a wool mill, Saltaire features European buildings on American-style straight streets, which is a bizarre thing to see. However, the leaves are currently a perfect mixture of yellow and fiery orange, and it makes for some beautiful views when the light is right.


Angela's father was born in Saltaire and she lives in the neighboring town, so she knows the right place to go--Salt's Diner, mainly for the Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Dessert of the gods (and the English)

After packing that god-like piece of food away, we walked back through Saltaire, crossing the canal, where we saw several swans.

I am a brilliant photographer. It took so many rolls to get this shot--swans are such divas...

Also of interest was, well...you can read the sign:


After our journey out, we walked back to Angela's house where her Italian mother made wonderful lasagna and we relaxed from the day of traveling.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow I take a day trip to Scotland. Stay tuned.

"Third Eye Blind", Third Eye Blind, Track 10

Oh, man, I am tired.

About to enter the circus that is London

London is amazing. There are so many people everywhere, and despite the impressive diversity of color and culture, one thing unites us all--spending money.

There are cash machines everywhere, and there are lines outside of most of them at all times. People are shopping, eating, and being entertained as far as the eye can see. It's exciting, and gives a visitor a definite buzz; however, I don't think I could take living here.

Can you see me amongst the throng?

Started out the day in Leicester Square, where I met Angela and Derek and went for a walk. We wandered around for a while, then headed towards the London Eye.

The London Eye is the newest London landmark--it's the largest ferris wheel in the world, and has a fascinating system that lets each car, shaped like a bubble, rotate to stay upright as it turns around continuously, going slow enough to load passengers on the fly.

The Eye

However, Angela decided that I should see the Bourough Market instead, and so we walked along the Thames for about half an hour, passing the Tate Modern museum and the Globe Theatre, among other things.

Angela holding onto the spider at the Tate Modern

In front of The Globe

At the Market, I was overwhelmed by smells. It's a sprawling semi-outdoor market with vendors from all over the place. I eventually decided on a Grecian lamb wrap for lunch, along with a few Turkish Delight candies. After that, we decided to meet up with Angela and Derek's friends and do the London Eye after that.

Borough Market

A metaphor for the whole trip--look at me bite into that delicious life experience...

To get to the pub, we had to walk through the Camden Lock, which is a fascinating place. It was packed with people, and the stores overflowed with people buying everything from t-shirts to tattoos to bongs. It was a cool, if somewhat overwhelming thing to see.

After the pub it was time to go back to the Eye, and by the time I got my £15 ticket and got onboard, it was rapidly becoming nighttime. This made for a great experience, actually, as I got to see London illuminated for the night below me. The Eye was absolutely incredible up close, and I highly recommend it for anyone going to London.

Almost at the top

Parliament at night

Then it was time to meet Angela and Derek for dinner with their friends, and I navigated a maze of public transportation to get well into the suburbs to have dinner at a Jamaican place. It was great to meet their friends--everyone was engaging and interested in my trip, and I had a good time talking to them. After dinner we got a drink at a pub, but after a while I started drooping, so it was time to get a bus back to the hostel.

Dinner at "Jerkmaica"

On that bus, however, a guy with a drum decided to start playing for some drunk Londoners, and he really didn't have rhythm, but they all thought he did, so they were dancing in the bus and yelling and it would have been crazy and cool if the guy wasn't playing so horrendously...

It was a great day in London, and I'm off to Leeds tomorrow. I'm going straight to bed.

In the London neighborhood of Angel, assuming my rightful position.

Oh My God London Is Expensive

12:22 AM--Arrived in London safely after a hilarious RyanAir flight--they raffle off a free flight at the end!

Lost about 15-20 dollars exchanging Euro to pounds, then paid 10 pounds for a train trip, 8 pounds for two underground trips, 3 pounds for internet, 6 pounds for beers. Now double all those numbers and you get how many dollars I paid.

Met my friend Angela and her husband Derek, who helped me find my hostel before going out for a drink in a cool and crazy bar.

Some crazy guys on drugs dressed like they were going to a Clash concert came and sat down, and that's when I realized that I'M IN LONDON!

Adventures and pictures to follow tomorrow.

Big Day Around Cork

Yesterday was a very full day that ended up with me crashing into bed around midnight and falling asleep instantly.

After some issues with the guys at the information desk, I caught the bus north to Blarney, home of the famous Blarney Castle and Stone.

First approach to the castle

It's a pretty incredible place, worn down inside but still very much intact, and you climb incredibly narrow staircases (I almost got stuck at one point) to get to the top to kiss the Blarney Stone.

The ramparts--Stone is by the people

To kiss the Stone, you have to be lowered down upside down with a helper, because the Stone is on the underside of the battlements. According to legend and marketing, you give yourself the "blarney" by kissing it, which means you will suddenly be able to talk more eloquently/be a great used-car salesman.

View from the top

To be honest, though, I enjoyed the rest of the grounds much more than the "mystique" of the Stone. There are some admittedly cheesy but interesting legends and supersitions, like the Wishing Steps and the Witch's Nose.

Enormous plants that I would not have expected to see in Ireland

The Witch's Nose

Always strapped for cash, I consider taking the 5-10 Euro in coins on the Nose

After Blarney, I made my way back down to Cork, where I met up with Cait, and we headed down to Kinsale, on the coast, for dinner. It was a quiet little town, very nice, with about a hundred B&B's on every block.

There was also a sad little slots and roulette place inhabited only by a few old gambling addicts, and I couldn't resist trying my hand.

Slot machines suck.

After dinner, we headed back up to Cork, where we met up with Cait's friends at a small gig in town. It was an indie rock artist named Cathy Davey, and she was INCREDIBLE. I can't stress enough how great her show was. For some reason I neglected to bring my camera, but you can see her/hear some of her music here.

Today I'll be getting ready to go to London later this evening and starting to work out a grave oversight in my travel plans--you need a tourist visa to go to Russia.

To be continued...

Moment of Zen: Small trout swimming over coins in a stream underneath the castle.

Quick Note

3:12 PM--Went to Blarney and saw the castle today, and will be heading to Kinsale and then seeing a concert tonight. In the interests of comprehension, I'll blog about everything today tomorrow morning, so those of you in the US can either wait till the morning or check the blog at 3 or 4 in the morning to see if I've updated...

Jameson and Sunsets

7:04 PM--Back in Cork after a nice day at the Jameson Distillery. We decided to head to Kinsale (got it wrong before) for dinner tomorrow instead of squish it in today.

Cait at the front entrance

To get to the Distillery, it's a half hour bus ride to the north east of Cork, to Midleton. This tour was much more personal and historically based than the Guinness blitz in Dublin. We learned a lot about how they make whiskey, and what sets Irish whiskey apart from that of other countries. (It's triple-distilled.)

Person# 13,587,653 to take a picture in front of the shiny thing outside the front door.

While there was a lot less mythologizing of Jameson than of Guinness, it was still there. There was a "documentary" (read: 15 minute commercial) screened at the beginning that was at points kind of hilarious. Narrated in an Irish voice, it described how Irish monks were the ones to tell the Scots how to make whiskey originally, "...a fact often overlooked by the descendants of those early Scots". Soon after, it said that John Jameson had a "burning determination to establish a great whiskey distillery"--the Irish sure do take this stuff seriously...





My favorite part of the tour was seeing casks illustrating the aging process:

New, 3 years, 7 years, 12 years, 15 years

They finally let us have our drinks

On the return to Cork, we walked up a hill to see a great view of the city below.

On the way, we passed a keg floating in the river in the middle of town. On the way, we passed a keg floating in the river in the middle of town. Just wanted to make sure you got that part.

Cork--More Drinking!

11:34 AM--Today Cait is taking the day off work to show me around a bit. Our first stop will be the Jameson Distillery with a tour and of course some free alcohol. After that, we'll try to head down to the southern coast to a little town called Kinsdale.

I had a great Irish pub experience last night--if you can find them in America, look for Rebel Red and Murphy's Stout beer.

Cork is much smaller than Dublin, with almost a more cultured and leisurely feel to it than Dublin; it's a college town, so I see young people all over the place on the streets. And, as always, the ever-present-absurdly-beautiful European cathedral in the middle of the street:

St. Finn Bar's

Places of Worship--Now With Pictures!

And now I'm in Cork--I would have written from Dublin this morning, but the hostel's computer wouldn't let me update the blog. That's really too bad, because I woke up at 6:00 AM, something that should knock anyone who knows my sleeping habits on their butts in astonishment. Don't expect it to happen again; it was the result of sleeping from 5:00-11:00 in the hostel and then going to bed again at 12:00 after a burger and a pint at the pub.

The Spire or "Spike" in Dublin City

After getting into Dublin City, I set off with a tourist (read: cheap as possible) map to see the sights. I walked almost exclusively to save on bus or taxi fare, which also helped me see a lot of the normal city streets.

First stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift was the dean for a while. It's a little difficult for me to grasp how amazingly detailed and fine the European cathedrals are--I don't think anything like them is built anymore. Every inch is covered with amazingly fine workmanship in tiles, tapestries, windows, etc., and you only realize it when you get up close. I know a lot is made of the opulence of the Catholic church, and I agree with some of that, but I'm still grateful that something made so many people work so hard to produce this stuff.

Next I went straight for the booze, to the Guinness Storehouse. Appropriate, right? It's a huge place, full of the most ridiculous marketing blitz I have ever seen. Everything is about how amazing, precious, and sacred Guinness is. There are secret recepies, prized ingredients, and mythical sources of yeast locked in safes, to the point of being a little laughable. I mean, the stuff is good, but....

Anyway, you have to walk up seven floors of exhibits and factoids and posters and models to get to the Gravity Bar, perched atop the buildings which lets you look out across Dublin in every direction. I will say that the way Guinness has managed to brand itself over the years is pretty genius--they've really made the beer into a cultural icon.

They finally let me have my beer

After the Storehouse I caught a bus to Kilmainhaim Gaol, which was excellent and should not be missed if you're ever in Dublin. The jail, restored in the 1960s after being abandoned in the 20s, is a great monument and illustration of prison reform and practice in the 19th century; however, what became increasingly apparent is that it is most famous for hosting the executions of the leaders of the Sinn Fein rebellion, or the Easter Rising, in 1916. All their cells are marked, and there is a reverance towards their stories, all of which are pretty cool. I realized that many of the major streets and trains stations in Dublin are named after the leaders as well. The tour guide made it clear that the rebellion didn't garner much sympathy until the men were executed, making them martyrs as they remain to this day. Interesting stuff.

Look up Bentham's "Panopticon", read for a few days, and then look at this picture again

After my sightseeing, it was back to the hostel to crash and rest my feet. This morning I pulled myself together and got on the train to Cork to meet my friend Cait. On the train, I started talking to a young guy named Rob. It was good, but holy hell can these people talk. We were talking (he was talking) for 2 and a half hours.

Met up with Cait at the train station and got set up at her place--a night at the pub is the plan tonight, and I couldn't be happier. Look for pictures soon, and don't be afraid to leave a few comments. It's always good to hear from people while on the road.

GO ROCKIES.

Irish Hand Dryers Will Crush You

10:30 AM, Dublin City. Checked into a hostel and ready to go exploring--the plan is St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, then the Guiness factory and then who knows. The flight was just fine, except that I couldn't sleep much and am extremely tired.

The flight got in an HOUR early, which seems crazy, because we left a little late. I was subjected to two horrendous movies (License to Wed and Nancy Drew) and some surprisingly good food. This was on Aer Lingus, an Irish carrier, and all the seats and stewardess uniforms were green like the outside of the plane. I thought that was a bit much. After finding my hostel online in the airport, I hopped on a bus from the airport to Dublin City, but not before hitting the bathroom. The hand dryer was absurdly powerful--it made it hard to keep my hands in place, and moved the skin around like a slow-motion shot of someone getting hit in the face. It's one of those weird things that I just know is going to stick in my memory long after other more pertinent details have faded.

Off to see the city!

BONUS OBSERVATIONS
1. Apparently the threat level on my departure was orange. That's one away from being really bad, right? It was just normal security in the airport. Whatever...

2. I saw a fantastic guy in the International Terminal in Chicago. He was blond, dumpy, scowling, talking in Russian, and dressed in a crazy red jumpsuit. It was totally Ivan Drago from Rocky IV after the steroids wore off...

3. During the flight, there was some turbulence, and the seat belt light came on. Then there was an announcement that "the restrooms [would] not be available in this time of turbulence". I guess that's what a history of conflict will do to you...?

Departure Flight

After thinking and planning and anticipating this trip for something like 2 years, I'm finally about to go to Chicago O'Hare airport and get on an Irish plane to fly to Dublin. I'm taking one 20 lb backpack/suitcase that I can carry on, so no issues with checked luggage. I'll be wearing virtually the same clothes for two months and I couldn't be more excited.

The flight to Dublin departs Chicago at 4:20 PM and arrives at 5:50 AM tomorrow. I'm kind of interested to see what Dublin is like at 6:00 AM on a Monday morning--I can't imagine it's very touristy. My first order of business will be to find a hostel, although I doubt they'll let me check in until the early afternoon, so I'll be hoofing it around the city for a while with my backpack.

(On a side note, my backpack is incredible. It's an Osprey travel pack, and it starts as a small rolling suitcase with big, sturdy wheels, and then converts quickly into a full backpack with waist and chest straps. Also, there's a detachable day-pack--I haven't been this excited about a piece of luggage since I saw a Ninja Turtles backpack when I was 6.)

I've been spending the last three weeks in Evanston and Chicago trying to set my life up for my return. I'll be living near Wrigley field and working in theater, and I thought I'd be able to get everything set and done and out of the way so I could rest easy during my trip. That, in retrospect, was laughable. I've gotten a lot done, but in many ways I have more on my mind now than I did before, and plenty of things I could do if I stayed around. Just last night, another financial issue reared its head, and I'll have to haphazardly manage it while I'm on the road. But I guess that's pretty normal, and there's no way I'm not getting on that plane in 5 hours.

See you in Dublin.