¿Dónde está Parker?

Welcome to my study abroad blog/journal/web thing. It's pretty plain now, and I guess I probably won't jazz it up. Sorry.


June 3, 2007 - 6:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

I met up with my friend Jeff at the Dublin airport on Monday, May 21st, after a long night of travel. I caught a bus around 10 P.M. from London to the airport in Luton, about an hour away. I found a bench and made myself comfortable until my 4:20 A.M. check-in for my 6:20 A.M. flight.

Our hostel was very well-located, in the middle of the Temple Bar area. We first visited the Guinness brewery. The tour/museum was pretty sweet, and you get a pint at the end. They have a really cool bar at the top, with an almost 360-degree view of the city. After the brewery, we went to Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). The tour was really good--it was kind of a museum to British oppression of the Irish. Many Irish revolutionaries over the years spent time in or were executed in the jail. That night, we went to a pub and caught some good Irish traditional-style music and some 5-euro pints of Guinness.

The next day, we took a bus trip to a town called Kilkenny. Our bus broke down on the way, so the 2-hour trip turned into a 4-hour one. It was OK, as we met some kind of cool people. By the time we finished our lunch, we were too late to tour the castle, but we did get to walk around it. We spent a good amount of time just walking around the town and checking it out. We took a bus back to Dublin in the evening and found another pub with more music and expensive Guinness.

Wednesday, we toured Dublin Castle and walked around St. Stephen's Green, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Trinity College. It was a nice, low-key, walking-tour-type day. On the other hand, that night was definitely not low-key. We saw Dave Matthews Band at The Pointe Theatre. It was a small venue, about the size of the Marion High School gym (if that means anything to you). The main floor was standing-room only, and we stood less than 50 feet away from Dave himself.

The next morning, Thursday, the 24th of May, I headed for the airport, and after only about 13 hours more of travel, I was happy to be back in the United States of America. What a trip.

Dublin
Layout of Guinness Brewery   Dublin from the Gravity Bar at G.B.
  Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol  
  Yesss Ireland Always amuses me

Kilkenny Trip
European broken-down bus #2  
  Kilkenny Castle  
 

More Dublin
  Jeff goes for a swing
  For Mom  
 

May 29, 2007 - 1:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time

I'm now excited to be back in the US, after 138 days away. No beaches or castles or anything, but I have travelled quite a bit and been able to hang out with some truly amazing friends. Still a few updates left to make to this site, though.

On May 19 and 20, I stopped by London on my way to Dublin. I met up with my friend Anne there, and we saw a tiny little bit of the city. I left the city about 36 hours after I arrived, so I didn't see much in depth. I did, however, take a 3-and-a-half-hour walking tour, so I saw many of the main sights (from the outside). The tour was free (supported by tips) given by a company called New Europe Tours (I think). We found the flyer in our hostel. I'd definitely recommend it. Our guide was pretty funny and full of information about all the sights.

London
Kensington Gardens by Hyde Park  
  London Bridge
  St. Paul's Church (Cathedral?)  
  Covent Garden At Trafalgar Square
More Trafalgar Square (Royal?) Pelicans and (I think)
Buckingham Palace in the background		  
Westminster Abbey  
Tower of London Tower Bridge  
In the Underground  
 

May 28, 2007 - 4:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time

The last week of the semester, Jerry, Scott, and I woke up early and headed down to the beach to check out the sunrise. I got some pretty cool photos.

The same day, I walked around campus at the University of Alicante and took some photos, so you guys can see (and I can remember) where I spent a good deal of my time. There isn't much to explain. It's just a campus.

Sunrise on Postiguet Beach

Universidad de Alicante

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