Today was a rather quiet day, which was nice for a change. Last night we had gone to an Irish pub called The Spanish Arch where we drank and got to hear some traditional Irish music - they played Will Ye Go, Lassie, one of my favorite Irish tunes! There was a guitarist, fiddler, and drummer. They were very good! I had a Baileys on the rocks and a Captain Morgan Rum and Coke, to which one of the natives at the bar responded that it was an excellent choice. Did I mention yet that the people here are very nice? Whenever we are looking at a map or aren't sure of something they are always asking if we need any help! The next morning we slept in until 9 am and had breakfast, then went out into the city to explore Galway. The city turned out not to be terribly big, which was nice for me because it wasn't overwhelming. We saw the Spanish Arch and the Latin Quarter, where we found a music store that sold CDs by the Irish group Taida, which has come to my hometown a few times over the years. I was very pleasantly surprised to find their CDs! Then we went to Galway Bay and meandered around the peer. We went to the beach for a little while, where I did some beach combing - I got some shells and washed glass! It felt a lot like Lake Erie, only they have sea water plants, like kelp. We saw several swans and a heron. There were also several people walking their dogs along the beach. One of them was a very rambunctious little black dog that kept popping up around us when we were trying to take a group photo! He was very cute though, and I miss dogs.
After the beach we ate lunch, then we did some more exploring. We ended up going back to our hotel to make sure about our hostel tomorrow, as we will be departing Galway for Dublin tomorrow morning. Then we went to the park in the square near our hostel to do some reading, where we ran into Brian, Hannah, and Sarah Cartes. Brian was quite pleased with himself as they had visited an O'Donohue castle, which he said was a school where Brian Boru had studied. I am a descendant of the line of Brian Boru, so I guess you could say that my ancestor went to his ancestor's school. Meh. Not too much has changed, the O'Briens still have to listen to the O'Donohue's gab and lecture! ;-) It sounded like they were having a splendid ten day as well. It was nice to see more Franciscan students, though there have been several in and out of our hostel over the past couple of days, and we saw a few at the pub last night. I am up to Book V in The Ballad of the White Horse, and I am loving it! We went and got some fish and chips at a small restaurant on the corner for pretty cheap, then we returned to our hostel to plan Dublin tomorrow. We leave around 8 am in the morning for Dublin, and we will spend the day exploring the area, spend the night at a hotel, then leave super early in the morning to fly out of Dublin to Vienna. I hope all goes well! Pray for us!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Day #80 : The Cliffs of Moher
Today we went on another bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. We were originally going to take a boat out onto the ocean to see the Cliffs from the water, but we learned that the train we needed to take to get there on time for our boat ran only during the summer. In addition, the train back would leave at 1:45, giving us only an hour and a half at the Cliffs. So we had to change our plans, and fortunately our lovely hostel was able to help us get a tour to the Cliffs. The tour took us past a couple castles and an abandoned church or two on the way, so we figured it was worth it.
Whereas Connemara was lots of mountains and sheep, this tour took us to see the Burren, a limestone landscape covering 320 square km. The first stop was a fairy circle, the Ballyalban Fairy Fort, a prehistoric ring-fort or ancient farmers homestead, home to fairies and/or little people. It's a lot of bare rock, really, with short grass growing up in between. Our next stop we saw a portal tomb called the Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb - a tomb that looks like a stone table of some sort. We got to see an abandoned church called the Kilfenora Cathedral and Crosses, also known as "The City of Crosses" because of the abundance of Celtic Crosses that adorn the 6th century monastery. In the cemetery I found several familiar names: O'Briens, O'Donohues, Mcmahon, and Walshe. :-)
We stopped at Doolin for lunch, then we drove for about fifteen minutes to the Cliffs themselves. I must say that the Cliffs of Moher are probably one of the most beautiful thing I have seen - I think I would almost put it on par with the mountain and the hermitage in Assisi. The weather was gorgeous the entire day, and the sun was gleaming on the waters. The Cliffs were stark, darkly contrasting with the blue of the water. You could hear the distant, constant roar of the waves crashing against the rocky walls. The foam from the waves gleamed white. The sunlight danced on the water, dazzling the eye. The seagulls floated through the mist rising off the water like fairies in an enchanted glen, making the cliffs seem all the more magical. There was a harpist set up on the walkway, playing in the background, adding to the mood. I drew a sketch of her, and a sketch of the Cliffs - this one wasn't very good, I fear, but I hope to do a better one when I have a photograph to look off of when I return home. There was a tower called the O'Brien's Tower one could climb for two euro to get a better view of the Cliffs - if that were even humanly possible. I wonder if the O'Brien's who built the tower or inhabited it are a distant relation? I prayed a Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the top of the tower, and the fourth movement of Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri Cantata came to mind : "Surge, amica mea, speciosa mea, et veni: columba mea in foraminibus petrae, in caverna maceriae." -Song of Songs 2:13-14. This translates, "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff." Perfect, no? I bought an Irish crucifix made out of turf at the gift store. It's very simple, but it had a person at the base of the cross embracing the wood, which I really liked, and I thought it would be a nice memory along with the Cliffs.
We stopped along the way back to Galway to see the shoreline, then we returned to our hostel. Tonight I think we are going to browse the streets in search of a traditional Irish pub with traditional Irish music. Tomorrow we are exploring Galway!
Whereas Connemara was lots of mountains and sheep, this tour took us to see the Burren, a limestone landscape covering 320 square km. The first stop was a fairy circle, the Ballyalban Fairy Fort, a prehistoric ring-fort or ancient farmers homestead, home to fairies and/or little people. It's a lot of bare rock, really, with short grass growing up in between. Our next stop we saw a portal tomb called the Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb - a tomb that looks like a stone table of some sort. We got to see an abandoned church called the Kilfenora Cathedral and Crosses, also known as "The City of Crosses" because of the abundance of Celtic Crosses that adorn the 6th century monastery. In the cemetery I found several familiar names: O'Briens, O'Donohues, Mcmahon, and Walshe. :-)
We stopped at Doolin for lunch, then we drove for about fifteen minutes to the Cliffs themselves. I must say that the Cliffs of Moher are probably one of the most beautiful thing I have seen - I think I would almost put it on par with the mountain and the hermitage in Assisi. The weather was gorgeous the entire day, and the sun was gleaming on the waters. The Cliffs were stark, darkly contrasting with the blue of the water. You could hear the distant, constant roar of the waves crashing against the rocky walls. The foam from the waves gleamed white. The sunlight danced on the water, dazzling the eye. The seagulls floated through the mist rising off the water like fairies in an enchanted glen, making the cliffs seem all the more magical. There was a harpist set up on the walkway, playing in the background, adding to the mood. I drew a sketch of her, and a sketch of the Cliffs - this one wasn't very good, I fear, but I hope to do a better one when I have a photograph to look off of when I return home. There was a tower called the O'Brien's Tower one could climb for two euro to get a better view of the Cliffs - if that were even humanly possible. I wonder if the O'Brien's who built the tower or inhabited it are a distant relation? I prayed a Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the top of the tower, and the fourth movement of Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri Cantata came to mind : "Surge, amica mea, speciosa mea, et veni: columba mea in foraminibus petrae, in caverna maceriae." -Song of Songs 2:13-14. This translates, "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff." Perfect, no? I bought an Irish crucifix made out of turf at the gift store. It's very simple, but it had a person at the base of the cross embracing the wood, which I really liked, and I thought it would be a nice memory along with the Cliffs.
We stopped along the way back to Galway to see the shoreline, then we returned to our hostel. Tonight I think we are going to browse the streets in search of a traditional Irish pub with traditional Irish music. Tomorrow we are exploring Galway!
Day #79 : Connemara, Ireland
Today we had a bus tour around Connemara, Ireland! Oh my gosh, Ireland is the most beautiful natural place I have ever been to in my life! (This does not count the mountain in Assisi where Francis' hermitage was. I would count that one as a blend of natural and supernatural).
We were picked up right at our hostel. Our bus driver was a man by the name of Michael O'Mally. He was very funny and very amusing. He was our tour guide and told jokes, stories, and facts as we drove. Where did we go? We went to the Ross Errilly Friary, an abandoned friary in Ireland. It was surrounded by fields of sheep - there were sheep almost everywhere! We saw a mountain called Camel Mountain, which had two humps like a camel. And guess what, Mary Sullivan... we saw the village where they filmed part of The Quiet Man: a tiny town called Cong! The Quiet Man is probably the most unusual John Wayne movie you will ever see, but it's a good movie and I saw it in Kentucky on St. Patrick's Day surrounded by Irish people! We saw some amazing lakes, such as Lough Corrib, Lough Na Fooey, and Lough Mask. We also saw Kilmoore Abbey, which was originally a great house built by an English gentleman as a vacation home, but he moved away and it was eventually bought by Benedictine sisters who turned it into a school, and now it is a tourist area, though it is still run by Benedictines. We saw the house, which reminded me somewhat of Kingwood only more castle-looking on the outside. There was also a chapel to see and a mausoleum where the Englishman and his wife were buried. We had a race with a Connemara pony on our bus -the Connemara pony is a mix between the Connemara horse and the Spanish pony. The bus raced with the horse then we stopped to pet and feed him. We also saw a Kairn, which is an ancient stone monument erected in honor of the dead, older than Stone Henge and the pyramids. We learned about the Great Famine, and about the Irish homes. In the old days when the IRish people had to rent their land from the landlords, the landlords were going to charge them for windows in their homes. So to get around it, the IRish people stuffed up their windows with stones and cut their doors in half, so there was a lower door and an upper door. So they could keep the top door open to let the light in and the lower door was kept shut. The landlords didn't like that and said, "They are stealing the living daylights out of us!" So that's where that phrase came from! We saw the city of Recess, too, in Joyce County! I am falling in love with Ireland more and more every day... the people here are so kind and friendly. The sheep are so cute!!! They have little lambs! There are panda sheep, too, with black markings. The bus driver was joking that the ladies on the bus tour could try to sneak one of the lambs into their hand bags. If I could, that would be my souvenir from Ireland. So we have been through County Galway, County Mayo, and County Joyce. It was a great tour, and I got lots of pictures!
We finished the day by meeting with an Irish priest friend of mine named Fr. Sean, who took us out to dinner. He was very generous to us! I finished my first pint of Guinness there, too! Best beer I have ever tasted. It was a wonderful dinner! Tomorrow we are going on a tour of the Cliffs of Moher!
We were picked up right at our hostel. Our bus driver was a man by the name of Michael O'Mally. He was very funny and very amusing. He was our tour guide and told jokes, stories, and facts as we drove. Where did we go? We went to the Ross Errilly Friary, an abandoned friary in Ireland. It was surrounded by fields of sheep - there were sheep almost everywhere! We saw a mountain called Camel Mountain, which had two humps like a camel. And guess what, Mary Sullivan... we saw the village where they filmed part of The Quiet Man: a tiny town called Cong! The Quiet Man is probably the most unusual John Wayne movie you will ever see, but it's a good movie and I saw it in Kentucky on St. Patrick's Day surrounded by Irish people! We saw some amazing lakes, such as Lough Corrib, Lough Na Fooey, and Lough Mask. We also saw Kilmoore Abbey, which was originally a great house built by an English gentleman as a vacation home, but he moved away and it was eventually bought by Benedictine sisters who turned it into a school, and now it is a tourist area, though it is still run by Benedictines. We saw the house, which reminded me somewhat of Kingwood only more castle-looking on the outside. There was also a chapel to see and a mausoleum where the Englishman and his wife were buried. We had a race with a Connemara pony on our bus -the Connemara pony is a mix between the Connemara horse and the Spanish pony. The bus raced with the horse then we stopped to pet and feed him. We also saw a Kairn, which is an ancient stone monument erected in honor of the dead, older than Stone Henge and the pyramids. We learned about the Great Famine, and about the Irish homes. In the old days when the IRish people had to rent their land from the landlords, the landlords were going to charge them for windows in their homes. So to get around it, the IRish people stuffed up their windows with stones and cut their doors in half, so there was a lower door and an upper door. So they could keep the top door open to let the light in and the lower door was kept shut. The landlords didn't like that and said, "They are stealing the living daylights out of us!" So that's where that phrase came from! We saw the city of Recess, too, in Joyce County! I am falling in love with Ireland more and more every day... the people here are so kind and friendly. The sheep are so cute!!! They have little lambs! There are panda sheep, too, with black markings. The bus driver was joking that the ladies on the bus tour could try to sneak one of the lambs into their hand bags. If I could, that would be my souvenir from Ireland. So we have been through County Galway, County Mayo, and County Joyce. It was a great tour, and I got lots of pictures!
We finished the day by meeting with an Irish priest friend of mine named Fr. Sean, who took us out to dinner. He was very generous to us! I finished my first pint of Guinness there, too! Best beer I have ever tasted. It was a wonderful dinner! Tomorrow we are going on a tour of the Cliffs of Moher!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Day #78: Oxford to London to Holyhead to Ireland
Today was a fantastic day! Just so you know, I am currently on a really fancy boat called The Adventure, from Stena Line. When I mean fancy, I mean fancy! This is like the Titanic, only we're not going to sink by crashing into ice berg. *fingers crossed* Christopher went up to the counter when we first boarded because we weren't sure if we had actually boarded the ship, and asked one of the bartenders if we were on a boat. We had breakfast at our hotel, then headed out to Oxford. It was about an hour train ride, so we enjoyed the English countryside as our train traveled onwards.
We had a nice day in Oxford. When we first arrived, we went to St. Aloysius Church, a.k.a. The Oxford Oratory, one of the churches where J.R.R. Tolkien used to go to Mass. It was an oratory of St. Philip Neri - similar to the Brompton Oratory in London. Bl. John Henry Newman had been there at one point. We went into the book store and I got a small booklet on St. Philip, and then I got a free book of essays about John Henry Newman from inside the church, along with a free Stations of the Cross with meditations written by Newman as well. The church was very small, but beautiful - I would mark it as one of my favorites. It had a nice "feel" to it. We then went to the Eagle and Child Pub and got some food, and I wrote down a couple story ideas for sentimental reasons. ;-) This was the pub where the great British authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and their writers club called The Inklings used to meet to exchange and critique story ideas over a pint. Then we went to tour Christ Church, which is a college/university, I believe. It's Anglican, not Catholic, but they had a lovely church, and Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, used to work there. They also filmed the scenes of the great dining hall in Harry Potter in the hall here at the college. It was a gorgeous place! I got a cheap CD of their music, and a couple Alice in Wonderland postcards. I want to get a copy of the Alice in Wonderland and Into The Looking Glass books when I get back. I used to have a copy of Alice in Wonderland, a very nice one, in fact, but I don't know if it was given away at one point or not.
We are currently on a really fancy boat right now! We are only allowed on two floors, but it's like a cruise ship! It is super cool! But I was sick right up until we got on the bus, which was not fun. We had gotten Chinese food at a restaurant in Oxford and I had gotten an eggroll with meat in it without thinking, and there was shrimp in it, but I didn't realize until about halfway through it. I was nearly sick on the train to Holyhead, Wales, where our ship was going to depart from, then when we were waiting for the ship, I was sick twice. But after that I was okay. We got our bags checked in and we got on a bus which took us directly onto the ship. Christopher actually went up to the lady at the bar and asked her if we were on a boat, because it seems to nice for a boat - we were expecting a "ferry" not a cruise ship! The bartender was shocked and said, "Oh my gosh... yes, you are!" It was hilarious! We arrive in Ireland at about 6:15 in the morning. Until then, bon voyage! Hopefully our hostel in Ireland will have internet!
We had a nice day in Oxford. When we first arrived, we went to St. Aloysius Church, a.k.a. The Oxford Oratory, one of the churches where J.R.R. Tolkien used to go to Mass. It was an oratory of St. Philip Neri - similar to the Brompton Oratory in London. Bl. John Henry Newman had been there at one point. We went into the book store and I got a small booklet on St. Philip, and then I got a free book of essays about John Henry Newman from inside the church, along with a free Stations of the Cross with meditations written by Newman as well. The church was very small, but beautiful - I would mark it as one of my favorites. It had a nice "feel" to it. We then went to the Eagle and Child Pub and got some food, and I wrote down a couple story ideas for sentimental reasons. ;-) This was the pub where the great British authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and their writers club called The Inklings used to meet to exchange and critique story ideas over a pint. Then we went to tour Christ Church, which is a college/university, I believe. It's Anglican, not Catholic, but they had a lovely church, and Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, used to work there. They also filmed the scenes of the great dining hall in Harry Potter in the hall here at the college. It was a gorgeous place! I got a cheap CD of their music, and a couple Alice in Wonderland postcards. I want to get a copy of the Alice in Wonderland and Into The Looking Glass books when I get back. I used to have a copy of Alice in Wonderland, a very nice one, in fact, but I don't know if it was given away at one point or not.
We are currently on a really fancy boat right now! We are only allowed on two floors, but it's like a cruise ship! It is super cool! But I was sick right up until we got on the bus, which was not fun. We had gotten Chinese food at a restaurant in Oxford and I had gotten an eggroll with meat in it without thinking, and there was shrimp in it, but I didn't realize until about halfway through it. I was nearly sick on the train to Holyhead, Wales, where our ship was going to depart from, then when we were waiting for the ship, I was sick twice. But after that I was okay. We got our bags checked in and we got on a bus which took us directly onto the ship. Christopher actually went up to the lady at the bar and asked her if we were on a boat, because it seems to nice for a boat - we were expecting a "ferry" not a cruise ship! The bartender was shocked and said, "Oh my gosh... yes, you are!" It was hilarious! We arrive in Ireland at about 6:15 in the morning. Until then, bon voyage! Hopefully our hostel in Ireland will have internet!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 77: London
Today we went to Solemn Mass at Westminster Cathedral here in London. The Mass was said in English with Latin propers and ordinaries. The Cathedral was very beautiful, you can look up some of the music from their choir on youtube - I highly recommend it! Their choir sounds gorgeous! They played a Bach Prelude in Eb major at the end of Mass. I ran into Hannah briefly at the cathedral, but we had to run to get to the British Museum, where we saw the Rosetta Stone! I got a postcard of Raphael's Virgin and Child (which was originally there, I guess, but now its at the National Gallery), and I also got a mug with some Persian poetry on it. It was much bigger than I thought it was going to be! After the museum we went to Vespers at the Brompton Oratory. They sang Vespers according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and had Benediction afterwards. The Brompton Oratory was one of my favorite churches, I think. It was a modest Baroque church. When we first entered the church, the air was misty from the incense from Sunday Mass. The music was, again, very beautiful. The organist played Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E Minor "The Cathedral" afterwards, one of my favorite Bach pieces. My organ professor went to both the Cathedral and the Oratory when he lived here in London, and had recommended both of them to me. He used to practice on the organ at the oratory, so it was cool to hear it. After Vespers we went back to the cathedral for a half-hour organ concert. The organist played Buxtehude, Bach, and a more modern composer. They have one of the best organs in the country, so I enjoyed hearing it. We went to a bar and grill for dinner, where two of us got fish and chips. I got a sandwich and a cider, which was pretty good.
I also got a pipe today for really cheap. It's very plain, small, but hand-carved - and since I probably won't use it, it serves its purpose. ;-) We're off to Oxford tomorrow, than we have to travel back to London to take our ferry to Dublin, Ireland. We will be traveling on the ferry overnight. It's going to be a long, crazy day tomorrow, so pray for us!
I also got a pipe today for really cheap. It's very plain, small, but hand-carved - and since I probably won't use it, it serves its purpose. ;-) We're off to Oxford tomorrow, than we have to travel back to London to take our ferry to Dublin, Ireland. We will be traveling on the ferry overnight. It's going to be a long, crazy day tomorrow, so pray for us!
Day 75-76: Salzburg to London
Today we began our journey to London. We took the train to Salzburg, where we spent the afternoon wandering about while waiting for our flight, which didn't leave until around 9:30. We got into London at about 10:30 last night, but we had to take a bus into the city to find our hotel, which took almost two hours long. The metro line was closed by the time we got into the city, so we ended up having to take a taxi to our hotel, only to find out that there was a mixup with our reservations. But they still gave us a nice room, and today we got everything straightened out so we are all set. Hopefully we won't have any more hotel mishaps from this point onward. *fingers crossed*
Today we went on an hour-long duck tour of London, which means that it was a vehicle that can go on the water and drive around the city as well. Very cool! We learned that they were invented during the war for carrying supplies, only those ones weren't yellow like ours was. The tour included seeing Big Ben, the Parliament building (which is next to Big Ben), going on the Thames River, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, James Bond stuff, etc. Our tour guide was very "punny." So it was a great way to start the day. We happened upon the beginning of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, before the guards set out. We spent the afternoon at a beautiful park that reminded me of Kingwood, only we could sit and walk about on the grass here. I started reading Chesterton's Ballad of the White Horse here: an amazing poem, btw, so far! We then went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey (the Anglican church). They had beautiful music, and a beautiful sounding organ! They sang some stuff by Tallis and Palestrina, who were both Catholic composers. The organist played a praeludium by Bruhns, which I believe was a student of Buxtehude - their compositional styles seem very similar, and I vaguely recall reading that for my music history term paper last semester. Thus, all in all, it was a good day!
Today we went on an hour-long duck tour of London, which means that it was a vehicle that can go on the water and drive around the city as well. Very cool! We learned that they were invented during the war for carrying supplies, only those ones weren't yellow like ours was. The tour included seeing Big Ben, the Parliament building (which is next to Big Ben), going on the Thames River, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, James Bond stuff, etc. Our tour guide was very "punny." So it was a great way to start the day. We happened upon the beginning of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, before the guards set out. We spent the afternoon at a beautiful park that reminded me of Kingwood, only we could sit and walk about on the grass here. I started reading Chesterton's Ballad of the White Horse here: an amazing poem, btw, so far! We then went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey (the Anglican church). They had beautiful music, and a beautiful sounding organ! They sang some stuff by Tallis and Palestrina, who were both Catholic composers. The organist played a praeludium by Bruhns, which I believe was a student of Buxtehude - their compositional styles seem very similar, and I vaguely recall reading that for my music history term paper last semester. Thus, all in all, it was a good day!
Days 53-55: Assisi
I'm not going to be able to blog about this quite yet, but I will when I get back from my free ten day in England and Ireland, so I will come back to this blog post later. I also have to blog about a hiking trip in Switzerland I did the weekend after ten day in Rome and Assisi, so I will also get to that after my free ten-day. So, until then, TO BE CONTINUED. ;-) Thank you for your patience.
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