10/01/08-10/06/08

A lot has happened since my last post. I had Celtic Myth and Legend at a museum on Wednesday, our teacher gave us a walking tour, which was more informative than going there by myself. After class, I did a project for my Irish Communal Identity (Thursday) class. We had to do a photo essay depicting a topic without using any words. Being the smart cookie that I am, I decided to do my photo essay on the LUAS Green Line (what we take to class everyday). There are 13 stops on the green line, so I decided originally to get off at each one, snap a quick picture and then get right back on the LUAS. I figured it would be quick and easy, what I didn't realize is the LUAS doors are timed so that this is dam near impossible. So after narrowly getting back onto the LUAS after one stop I decided to put some effort in and walk around each stop I got off at in order to explore Dublin. This turned out to be a great idea, I ended up staying out doing my photo essay for several hours, taking in all the sites and sounds. It was really interesting because it was mostly all off the beaten track. The only problem I ran into was unknowingly walking from one stop back to another, it was a fun problem. By the time I got back I was a little tired from my excursion, but I quickly perked up because the girls were coming over for dinner and we still hadn't gone to the store. Adam, Brian and I decided on doing a Mexican themed night which included tacos (made by yours truly), guacamole (made by Adam), nachos (made by Jake and quickly eaten) and then cookies for desert (you guessed it, made by Brian). The meal went great and everything was delicious. I was feeling in a particularly cooking mood, so after I made the taco meat I even sauteed peppers and onions to go with it! Dinner was a success and the rest of the night was spent playing games while I watched the Phillies triumphant game 1 victory on my computer.
Thursday was a whirlwind of a day, it started off with Writing on the Wall at 10, followed by lunch at the Portobello and then a 1:30 Irish Communal Identity class. After which I went back to my apartment to take a nap. The reason being Jake and I had a train to Belfast at 8:45 pm and I wanted to get some sleep beforehand. You may be asking yourself why Jake and I were taking a train to Belfast? The answer is simple, we were flying out of Belfast International the next morning at 6:55 am to go to Amsterdam. After taking the train up to Belfast we took a cab to the airport (it was a cool, old school automobile). We got to the airport around 11:30 pm, which meant we were pretty much alone. We walked into the area with the ticket counters and it was empty. I couldn't control my laughing, it was hilarious to see. After sitting for about 10 minutes we decided to explore and walked towards the departure areas. We went up a moving sidewalk (making sure to stay on the right in case anyone wanted to pass us, ha there was no one there!). We were greeted by a dark hall, which was creepy and awesome, we also were greeted by a pretty big arcade along with electronic casino machines! Needless to say, I played some video poker and then played a cool game where I was a WWII era fighter pilot, it was awesome. After I got the video games out of my system, Jake and I headed down some steps and found some groups of padded seats. We each took a set of four and ended up reading/laying/sleeping off and on for a couple hours. It was rough because the lights were on and there were announcements being made by a computerized voice. We got up around 5 and headed to the ticket desk at around 5:30. We got our tickets and headed to the gate, where we sat and waited to board. Boarding was an experience because we actually walked onto the runway and climbed steps to get on the plane. It added to the feel of the pitiful Belfast International Airport.
We got into Amsterdam around 10 am, on very little sleep. We actually met Amy and Maha at the baggage claim, it was wild to see familiar faces in Europe! We took the train and then metro to our Hostel which was pretty nice (I wouldn't really know, it was my first time). After which we went out and walked around Amsterdam (their are a lot of canals). After I took a nap, I found Leslie had joined our group and we headed toward the Van Gogh museum. As we headed down toward the museum we decided to instead go on a canal cruise of Amsterdam. It was cool to see parts of Amsterdam that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. After the cruise we headed back towards our hostel and had dinner at this Italian Restaurant (it was ok). I called it a night and woke up refreshed the next morning ready to tackle the Van Gogh museum.
We all got up and got ready and headed towards the Van Gogh museum. It took a little bit to walk there but it was worth it. The Van Gogh museum was great, there were beautiful paintings on every floor. We all got the audio tour which was awesome because it shed light on things I would never have picked up. After the Van Gogh museum we headed to this outdoor market area where there was a restaurant that Maha wanted to go to. It was called Bazaar and it was delicious. After which we unsuccessfully tried to go to the Heineken Brewery (it was closed for renovations...grrr). After which we walked back towards the hostel and hit the shopping district, Jake and I separated from the girls and looked in some stores. After we went back to the hostel and take a nap. We woke up and headed out to this Cafe Cuba place which was a pretty cool interior. We walked around the Red Light district after, which was a surreal experience. I cannot believe some people live their life that way. The girls just stand behind doors and try and lure guys in. After which we hit some bars, got some food, went the wrong way, found the right way and then called it a night.
We woke up on Sunday at around 7 and packed and headed towards the airport, it took a little longer then I would have liked, but Jake and I made our flight on time and headed back to Belfast. The airport was a lot more lively this time around, and we quickly got on a bus headed for the center of Belfast to make it to the train station. We made great time and actually were able to get the 1 pm train to Dublin as opposed to the 3 pm train to Dublin (I did not want to stay any longer in Belfast). The train ride back was awesome. It was two hours of looking out at green fields and hills and blue skies. It was breathtaking, the Van Gogh museum was awesome, but it paled in comparison to the beauty I saw in nature. It really is amazing how much beauty is around us if we just take the time to look. I made it back to my apartment where I was lovingly embraced by the roommates I missed so much. It was great to get back and shower and change. I skyped my parents at my Uncle Tom and Aunt Christie's. It was nice to see everybody and chat. The Phillies beat the Brewers and are going to the NLCS!!!! I am pretty pumped about that. The rest of the night was spent hanging out around the apartment talking to someone special.