Hola!
This is Eric, actually making a blog post for once. I'm sitting here in sunny but chilly Germany, in the middle of my month of travel. Since i havent updated yall on anything in ein langes zeit, i think i will do so.
Dingle- first weekend of march. mattie and the z-claw and andy and i set out to bike and explore this beautiful and scenic peninsula. We biked a 22 mile loop on a foggy day, and were very tired. We ended the ride with a pint at Foxy John's hardware store and pub, which is exactly what it sounds like, half of each. We stayed at a nice hostel and had a good time despite the uncooperative nasty irish weather.
Nick Hayes visit- 2nd weekend of march. We got in a car with him, the best professor at saint johns, and drove to his hometown in waterford. it was one bar and one church, and the awesome ruins of an old church. We then drove to Mahon Falls, which was right next door, and that was cool because i never expected to go there again, at least so soon. We ended the night with dinner at a freind of nick hayes' house, and it was great gettting a homecooked meal.
Kilkenney-3rd weekend of march. I had lots of homework and papers due the next week, which was the final week of class. So much so, that i didnt go to Galway as planned. I joined up with the iona folks for a fine tour of kilkenney, which involved many churches, ruins, and a cool castle.
Belfast and northern ireland- last week of march. This is the best weekend ever. It was Zimmer and i and a whole nother country. A whole better country, dare i say. The northen irish are still irish. They are definitley influcend by the uk, but in a good way. As in, the economy is not in the shitter. There was actually construction, people had jobs, and the city was nice and clean and orderly, and not dingy like cork. Sorry, corksters and irish friends. We took Paddywagon brand bus tour that brought us to Giants causeway, and Carrrick a rede, and Derry. Look them up if you want to know more. Derry was the most awesome city ever. You can see recent history, and the troubles have left their mark. The catholics and protestants still dislike eachother. It was so cool to be in a town with such history. The next day we got a city tour of belfast. it was great. Special thanks to Brandon downs for illegally letting us inhabit his room!
The last week of march was spent hadning in papers, and getting my stuff ready for a month of travel. Honestly, being gone for a month seemed extremely imposing and nerve wracking at first. But its halfway done, and i am doing just fine.
From April 2nd to 11th I went with the Iona society on a trip to Spain for the camino walk, a religious pilgrimage. It was a blast. I got to hang with Tim and Richard and Peter and Brendan from iona and get to know them better, and hang out with some cool Americans from my trip as well. We walked for 5 days a total of 70 miles, and walked about 6 hours a day starting at 7 am most days. We got to really see the Galacian countryside, which is just like ireland except for hotter and more trees. We also got to joke and laugh and sing and converse. The food was great in the evenings, after a hard day of walking you can treat yourself to the menu del dia, which is menu of the day. You get wine and bread and a three course meal, for only 7-12 euro. As in, great food for a better price. The spanish go on siesta in the afternoons and eat dinner at 8 or 9 pm, so this was an adjustment. But when in rome holds true here, so after a long morning of walking, your chill out and wash your clothes in the afternoon sun. I picked up some new favourite foods here- Octopus is a beautful combination of seafood and meat, and Spanish wine is excellent and cheap.
Then on the 10th we made it to Santiago, and everyone celebrated. On the 11th, many of us flew to Madrid. In this huge city, we saw the art museums, historcial buildings, and took trips to other towns under the guidance of sir Richard Davis. A fun time was had. After a delayed flight, i got to Frankfurt am Main at 2 am today, and was picked up by my host family from last time i was in germany....5 years ago! Little has changed in their lives and the small town of Weißkirchen, and i was surprised at how much german had come back from 3 years ago. Expect another update after the end of my trip at the latest- Off to berlin and then nurenburg and then Rome!
