Because I'm me...

...I clearly couldn't have two boring, easy travel days in a row. (Spoiler alert: I did make it to France)

So yesterday morning, I went to the train station.  I was actually quite proud of myself for being an hour early for an early train.  Since I had some spare time, I used a lot of it to figure out which platform I needed, and a bit to look around.  This left me with about a half an hour to spare, which, judging by the short lines, would be plenty of time.  This, of course, was an assumption based on another assumption: that my train wouldn't leave half an hour early.  This left me, and several other people, looking forlorn in the train station in Barcelona, where the language is not quite Spanish.  So after walking around a bit with someone who worked there, we were rushed quickly onto another train that was headed in the same general direction.  And it conveniently left at about the same time our train was supposed to leave.

No a terribly hard fix, right?  That, dear friends, is exactly what I thought as I sat down on the train and took a quick nap.  I set an alarm for about 20 minutes before my stop, just to be safe.  We get to the Figueres stop and I hop of the train, with some time to spare to jump on the next one.  It takes me a few minutes to realize that they have dropped me off at Figueres and my ticket was for Figueres Vilafont, and I was fairly willing to bet that they were not the same station.  On that matter, I was correct.  I tried to ask someone where it was, but she just kept telling me I was at the wrong station.  So I had to go look for the other train station.  Fortunately, I walked outside and found a couple of cops.  Even more fortunately, I was still in Spain, so I could talk to them.  I told them what had happened and they sent me to the bus station, but told me to run because the bus was probably leaving in 5 minutes.  So I took off running across the square in the general direction they had pointed for the station.  I ran in the door, found someone as quick as I could, and told him I needed the bus for Vilafont.  Seeing the train time on my ticket, he took off running, so I followed him.  We ran outside, and he flagged down the bus that was already leaving.  I hopped on board and prayed I would make it in time.  Luckily, the security line was basically non-existent, so I made it through quickly and took off running under the tracks to the other platform.  I managed to hop on about 30 seconds before they closed the doors.  The nice thing was, everything happened so quickly that I didn't have a chance to freak out and think about what I would do if I missed the connection.

The next transition, at Montpellier St. Roch, went much better.  I found the machine to print my ticket, struggled to understand what it wanted me to do, figured it out, and was on my way.  I had a lot more time to relax on this train since it was a 4 hour ride.  And I ended up sitting across from the perfect person.  It was a little old French lady.  She seemed very nice and tried to talk to me in French several times.  Then she would remember that I don't speak any French and shake her head, laughing, and say "English...".  Soon enough, a rather attractive man came around checking tickets.  He stopped and chatted, laughing with the woman, then looked up and smiled at me and said something in French.  And, of course, the lady shook her head, laughed, and said "English..." all over again, making him laugh again.  It was at about this point that I really wish I knew at least a few words in French, although there was another point later.  About halfway through the trip, my friend offered me some candy.  She also told me to take two and laughed because I don't even know the word for "two" in French.  I ate the candies, but quickly realized they were black licorice flavored, which happens to be my least favorite.  However, the lady kept offering them.  Since I didn't want to be rude and I didn't know how to politely decline so that she would understand, I kept eating them.

I'm pretty sure by the time I got off that train, everybody near by had laughed at me at least once, but I didn't really mind.  I kind of enjoyed my little conversation through miming with an older French woman.

Luckily, I found my hostel fairly quickly.  So I got settled in and then went for a walk.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but it was a beautiful night, so I took a few shots.

More to follow soon.

Until then,
KT

España

Somehow, it is already my last day in Spain.  I know I've said it before, but it's amazing how fast the time is flying by while I'm here.  I've been very fortunate in the people I've found to spend time with.  Yesterday, I spent the day exploring the city with Fred (English), Blake (Canadian), and Heather (Canadian).  We started off at the big market here in Barcelona.  It is the most impressive market I've ever seen.  And you can get fresh juice of about any flavor that is to die for.  As well as any product you could possibly want:

However, the market also had a few weird things, including this guy...

…and some sheep heads.  (Disgusting)

From there, we went to visit the Picasso museum.  The sheer number of works by him is astounding.  I would have to assume the man never did anything but eat, sleep, and create.  I must say though, that I am a much bigger fan of Picasso’s earlier works, before he got into some of the crazier stuff.  I do have a deep respect for him as an artist overall, though.  It’s amazing the things he could paint as a child.  Astounding really.

From there, we decided to go find Sagrada Familia.  The cathedral was started in the 1800s and is still under construction, with plans to be completed around 2030.  And it is hands down one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen.  It was designed by Antoni Gaudi, who did a brilliant job with the planning.  Walking in the door was definitely a jaw-dropping moment.  Although pictures surely can't do the cathedral justice, here are a few shots I took.

Definitely still under construction (note the cranes)

 Here's the entrance on one side:

 This might very well be the best door I've ever seen.

 This kind of gives an idea of the size of the cathedral

 Some of the many beautiful stained-glass windows

 I really liked how the light from the windows turned the organ pipes colors

 More windows here

 This whole things is just so impressive

Since pictures aren't enough, I did take a video and I will eventually upload it and post a link, but the internet connection is quite slow at the moment, so I will have to do that later.

Today was a pretty good, relaxing day.  I spent the day wandering around some of the more well known parts of Barcelona with Harry and Tom (both Australian).  We walked down La Rambla and to the beach.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated today and it was an absolutely stunning day.  Sunny, but breezy, it was the perfect kind of weather for exploring a city.  And, of course, we had to stop for some paella.  That is one dish I need to learn how to make when I get home.  Although the seafood part of it won’t be anywhere near as good as it is here.

Looking back over the last 3 days, I have to say, Spain was a definite success as far as I’m concerned.  I don’t have as many pictures here as I thought I would though.  Since I’ve been exploring with some really interesting people, I haven’t taken the time to stop and take photos like I have in other places.  On the other hand, I have excellent memories from this city, so I’m not torn up about it.

And now it’s time to move on once again.  It’s weird now when I leave.  Since I’ve met such great people on my travels, I’m always a bit sad to leave them behind and continue.  On the other hand, I keep finding more great people.  Hopefully I will have the same luck in France.

Until then,

KT

Temperature Shock

Wow.  After waking up practically shivering in my bed for two months straight, a humid high 80s day was just about enough to do me in.  I got off the plane this afternoon and thought I was going to melt.  Fortunately, I once again spent the entire plane ride sleeping, as well as the bus ride into the city.  So my journey here really didn't seem terribly long.  Finally, we turned a corner to come into the city and I couldn't really believe how big it seemed to be.  But conveniently, I got dropped off by the metro, and my hostel isn't far from a metro station, so the rest of the journey was pretty easy.

On a more frustrating note, I can definitely tell a difference between what they speak here and the Spanish spoken in the rest of Spain.  I can usually get a general grasp on what people are saying, but it's nowhere near as clear as I would like it to be.  However, I keep thinking that it's nowhere near as difficult as France has the potential to be, so I'm making the best of it.

I did a bit of wandering around the city today before I made it to the hostel, but I was really looking forward to getting into some AC, so I didn't do much.  So I sat in the common area of the hostel for a while and chatted with some people.  I ended up going out to dinner with some girls from Texas.  It was, of course, delicious.  And I have to say, compared to Ireland, it was decently priced.

On a final note, I have to say that I'm really enjoying the experience of staying in hostels.  There's a pretty interesting group in here, including some from Spain, France, Italy, England, Australia, Latvia, and the US.  And probably a few I don't know.  I like that about hostels.  Last night I played pool with three guys from Chile, Germany, and California.  It's great getting to hang out with people from so many different places.  I love how nobody is afraid to ask questions about the US and explain their perceptions of the US (which are mostly based on movies and completely false).

Tomorrow, I think I am meeting up with an MBA friend and heading to the beach, so I'm sure I'll have an update on how wonderful it is (assuming it doesn't rain).

Until then,
KT

London in a Day

Now that I've been out exploring this fine city, I do wish I had another day here (or that I hadn't used most of yesterday figuring out where to stay).  I have to say, assuming I make it to the airport alright tomorrow, London has been a success of a first city.  And I really couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to be out seeing it.

Not a cloud in the sky for most of the day.  So I started out my day by going to Buckingham Palace.  I was hoping to catch the changing of the guard, but unfortunately...

It was kind of cool to see the Palace again though.  I haven't been here since I was 12, so it had been long enough that it was interesting again.

So, since that idea wasn't going to work, I went with my backup plan.  I found a cafe, got some fruit salad and juice, and went to Hyde Park.

Turned out to be a great place to eat breakfast and do some reading before I took off around the city for the day.  After I was done, I did some wandering around the park (it's a gorgeous park) before hopping on the tube.  Destination: Chinatown.  My cousin Courtney has a friend named Linh who happens to live here in London.  Since she is fairly busy and I'm here for such a short stay, we didn't get to do much, but we did grab lunch.  We went to a pretty good Asian restaurant.  I think the best thing about going to Asian restaurants with Asians is letting them choose what to order.  Linh and her friend chose the dishes, which were things I would not have picked on my own, and the meal was delicious.  Plus, in a day full of walking around the city by myself, it was nice to have a couple people to chat with.

After lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.  I hopped back on the tube, this time headed for Tower Hill.  I didn't tour the Tower of London this time, but I did want to stop by to see it.  I was glad I did.  One of my favorite things about European cities is seeing such old buildings next to new, modern ones.  For example, the Tower and City Hall:

I think this is one of the biggest things lacking in American cities.  You just don't get to see things like this in the US.  Of course, since I was so nearby, I had to see the Tower Bridge as well.  And this picture is for everyone who always tells me I don't take enough pictures of myself when I'm traveling.  I asked a random guy to take my picture for me.  He took 4 of them, all from different angles, just to make sure I got what I wanted.  He was actually fairly funny about it.  Anyway, here's one of them:

From there, I spent some time wandering down the Thames and, on recommendation from one Mike Levy, visited the Tate Modern.  I'm actually really glad he suggested this one.  I enjoy art, and the Tate has a lot of interesting, good art.  I spent more time than I intended to there, but I'm completely okay with that.  Here are a couple I found interesting.

First, an idea for what to do with old school books:

Make art!  Also, what appears to be a pile of millions of sunflower seeds (but is actually a pile of porcelain, handmade sunflower seeds)  by Ai WeiWei.  (Hey!  Something I remember from the Economist!)

Like I said, a beautiful day to be out enjoying the city:

And there ends my exploration of London.  Tomorrow morning, I head off to Barcelona.  I have to say, I'm really excited about this city.  I'm sure you'll get an update from there pretty quickly.

Until then,
KT

Good News

I found a place to stay.  Now I'm at the Travel Joy Hostel in London.  It's actually a pretty cool place to have found so last minute.  There's a bar downstairs with great prices and an interesting crowd of people hanging around.  This might actually work out better than staying in the hotel would have.  As much as I truly appreciate that my family was willing to book that hotel for me, it might be easier to just stay here.  Plus, at least I have someone to talk to here.  (=  That's the great thing about hostels.  Although, I did try to talk to one guy who turned out to speak mostly German and not a lot of English.

However, I did get to see a bit of London today that I wasn't expecting to see:

I just stumbled across good ole Big Ben on my quest to find a hostel.  Haven't seen that since I was 12.  I kind of forgot how big that building actually is.

Now, let's rewind a bit to my last week or so in Ireland.  I actually think wrapping things up at work was one of my favorite parts of the last week.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't because I was happy to leave.  I just really enjoyed our last day of work.  Eoin took us to lunch, which was a really good time, and there were a lot of compliments and "we'll miss you"s going around the office.  Also, I think our final presentation went very well.

I think the best part about working at Lily O'Brien's this summer, aside from the work experience, was that everyone there made us part of the team so quickly.  There aren't a lot of places where you could show up for 6 weeks of work and end up with such good connections to the team.  They were very willing to work with us, make some jokes at our expense (in good fun of course), and even play a practical joke.

Plus, even if the team hadn't been great, there was always this:

Not too shabby.  (=  Plus we had the sheep to look forward to every day.  We actually drove into the field to play with them on the last day.

I don't understand why they let you get so close in the car and run away when you just walk towards them...

My last few days in Ireland were fairly relaxed.  We went to a few of our favorite spots and spent a bit of time in the city before heading out.  Then we thought it was a good idea to end the trip on the same note a lot of us started in on: we went to O'Rourkes.  This was our favorite local pub.  By the time we left last night, we knew the bartenders fairly well.  So we all stopped in for a final pint before saying goodbye.  And my last drink in Ireland was the same as the first.

Oddly enough, my first drink in London was also a cider.  Apparently, I'm hooked.  I'm very much looking forward to getting out and seeing the city tomorrow.  I haven't been here since I was 12, so I don't remember much, but on the walk down to the hostel, I definitely noticed some things that looked familiar.  Luckily, I know some Londoners who have given me some advice on things to do tomorrow.  It's kind of nice that I have my laptop actually.  I can check in easier, and it definitely came in handy today.  (=

Until next time,
KT

An Interesting Start...

I tell you, I have never been so happy to see a Starbucks.  I am, in fact, having a rather interesting day.  It started off quite well.  I got up in time, was early for the shuttle, and found a place to print my plane tickets at the airport so I wouldn't get charged.  I got a window seat on the plane and managed to fall asleep before it was completely boarded.  I made it to the train station just in time to board the train.  And then, with only one minor slip in directions, I got to my hotel.  This is where things went bad.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the family I intended to stay with is not in London now.  However, they were kind enough to book me a room at the Hilton at Trafalgar Square.  Unfortunately, the Hilton won't let me check in because it's my mom's side of the family and they therefore have a different last name than I do.  I tried to argue my way in, show them the confirmation email, and just about everything I could think of to get into my room.  And here I am in a Starbucks down the road, using the WiFi (because the hotel wouldn't even let me do that) to try to find a hostel to stay in while I'm here.  An interesting turn in events to be sure.

Nothing like some exceptionally last minute changes in plans to kick of my trip with an adventure.  I'll make sure to check back in later with the last of my Dublin stay and how I'm doing here in London.

Until then,
KT

The Countdown Begins

Somehow it seems as if I just got here and I've been here for a long time all at once.  It's weird.  I only have a week and a half left.  It doesn't seem like it's been 6 weeks already, but at the same time, I've settled in to a pattern that makes it feel like I've been here much longer.  Anyway, stories.

Last weekend I made a new friend in Dublin.  His name was Liam and he's probably not at all what you're imagining, so I will share the story.  Almost every weekend, I go to Dublin and check out the local artists at Merrion Square.

On the weekends, paintings line the bars around three sides of the little park here.  There are some really fantastic artists here.  I always stop to admire the work of some.  Last weekend when I stopped to see the work of a favorite, a little old man came up and started chattering away.  I would guess he's in his late 70s, rather short, and very white-haired.  He was telling me all about his life.  Because of his job, he got to do a lot of travelling, and has been to something over 50 different countries.  His wife (the painter) would go along with him and paint in local parks.  Apparently, she looks like a woman to ask advice from, because she spent a lot of her time giving love advice to the young men in towns.  Liam had a lot of wonderful stories and we chatted for about half an hour before I decided to take off.  So I asked him for directions to Iveagh Gardens. His eyes instantly lit up and he asked how I had heard about it.  It turns out, he proposed to his wife in those gardens, having met her in the building next to them years before.  So, of course, before I got directions, I got that story as well.  But I must say, he picked a beautiful place to propose.

This park was definitely a good place to spend some time reading and just enjoying a beautiful day.  And conveniently, there was a dog park at one end, so I got to watch some dogs play for a while too.  Of course I would find the dog park.

Yesterday, for a change of pace, I went to the Dublin Zoo.  It was an interesting group to go with (Dan, Lu, Jin, and Chi Hsien).  With the exception of going to the zoo lights in Columbus, I haven't been to the zoo in quite a while.  It was a really fun day.  I actually learned some interesting facts.  For example, male Orangutans have a pouch of fat surrounding their face that lets the females know they are sexually mature and ready to mate.  This guy must get all the women...

I personally liked the other monkeys better.  They had a cute family...

I would have to say though, that my favorite animals there were the giraffes and the red pandas.

Unfortunately, my camera died before we got to the red panda, so I didn't get a great picture, but he was a fun little critter.

It was definitely an interesting group to spend a day with.  Very different personalities.  Made for a fun day.

Today, I went with Megan to Powerscourt Estate.  I had heard of Powerscourt before I came here and it seemed very "Pride and Prejudice"-esque.  Today we went out to see the gardens.  Thankfully, we had another beautiful day in store.  We also saw some dolphins jumping around in the water on the way there.  I was unaware there were dolphins around here.  Anyway, we took a train and a bus down to the estate, which was beautiful.

That's a view of the house from fairly far away and across the lake.  I've always thought I would have enjoyed living in this time period.  It's interesting to think about how different things were in those times.  Although I'm pretty sure the gardens didn't look quite like this back then.  I did really like the Japanese Garden, though I found the palm trees weird.

There were a ton of little paths, tiny bridges, and stone arches in this area, so we spent quite a while exploring it.

It was pretty peaceful and somehow, there weren't many people in this area when we got there, so we actually got to enjoy that side of it.

After the Japanese Garden, we went around to the pet cemetery.  This was kind of an interesting thing.  The headstones all said fairly unusual things.  For example, there was one for Eugenie the Jersey Cow, who had 17 calves and gave over 100,000 gallons of milk over her life.  And this one for Tommy the Shetland Pony and his wife Magic.

I kind of wondered how people felt about their pets back in these times.  I think the engraving on one headstone said a lot.  It read, "Doodles the Chow - Loved and faithful friend for 14 years.  You've gone old friend, a grief too deep for tears fills all the emptiness you've left behind.  Gone is the dear companionship of years, the love that passed all love of humankind."  I would say they cared about their pets a lot.

We went through the walled garden after that.  Some of the flowers were really pretty, so I'll share just a few.

After touring the gardens, we sat down for one of the best lunches I've had in Ireland.  The whole dish was cold, fresh, and absolutely delicious.

All in all, a beautiful day, and a terrific way to spend a Sunday.

Now I have just nine days left in Ireland.  I will do my best to fill it with interesting things so I have plenty to report back.

Until then,
KT