Pictures from Paris and Dublin

Smeagol from the Wax Museum in Dublin
This crazy wax Viking was hacking to a Monk to death...makes me kind of glad I didn't live back then.
The Fishmonger (half fisherwoman, half prostitute) Molly Malone. There's a famous Irish song about her.
Front of Versailles
Kurt from Glee? We thought so...
Melissa and I in the Gardens of Versailles
Side view of Versailles
Hall of Mirrors in Versailles
In front of Sacre Coeur
Napoleon's Tomb
Rodin's 'Gates of Hell'
Melissa and this old man statue that she took a liking to
Rodin's 'Thinker'

Dubh Linn

So we started off our day with a walking tour around Dublin. It left from City Hall and covered Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, and St. Stephen's Green, among other things. It was a lot of walking, but it provided a lot of good information about the city.

Afterwards, Maria and I headed to the National Wax Museum. It was okay; I was expecting more. Memorable sights include Smeegal (from Lord of the Rings), Dracula, St. Patrick, and Harry Potter. I finished really fast and thought about getting a drink from Starbucks, but the prices were pretty crazy - 4.55 euros for a small frappuchino? I'll pass....

Melissa was supposed to meet us for a late lunch/early dinner and to watch the football match, but her leg pain flared up again (our bad Irish luck is back again..) so it was just Maria and I. We went to a pub and I got bangers and mash (sausage and potatoes) which was really good - it was a lot of food but I was hungry so it worked out.

Tonight will probably consist of watching the Brazil - Ivory Coast game and relaxing after all the walking we did today. Tomorrow's our last day in Dublin so we'll be finishing up some last minute sites we want to see and souvenirs to pick up!

Back to the Black Pool!

Yesterday we left Paris and flew back to Dublin. The trip was very uneventful... due to our late flight out, everyone made the flight on time, and since the weather was so phenomenal, there were no plane delays. Fantastic!

We arrived in Dublin around 4:30, and after an extremely long bus ride (we went the cheaper route and took the city bus, which takes much longer than the Express bus), we finally checked into our hostel around 6 PM.

Our hostel is pretty nice. It seems as if our room is part of an addition to the house, almost like a guest house with several other rooms. We're in a dorm setting, but it's only 4 people total and we have our own bathroom. Last night there was another girl in the 4th bed, but we're thinking the 3 of us may have the room to ourselves tonight. The hot water seems to work (bonus!) and the internet is working perfectly (knock on wood!), so we're all fairly content.

Last night we went out to the pub to watch the soccer match between Cameroon and Denmark. Samantha and I arrived first and needed to borrow chairs, as the place was pretty crowded. I found some harmless looking old men (as in, Grandma and Grandpa's age old), asked to borrow a few chairs, and then began looking around for the bartender.

Unfortunately for Sam and I, these old men were intrigued by such 'young ladies from America,' and took it upon themselves to teach us Gaelic. They taught us how to answer the question 'How are you?' in Gaelic, which sounds something like "Tanawa gah hana" (translation: I'm doing pretty well.) They also taught us that people who live in Dublin are called "jackies" and everyone else NOT from Dublin are called "coolies"... I'm sure I'm butchering the pronunciation now, but that's how it sounded.

Maria eventually arrived, and after that we got down to the real business of drinking Guinness and watching the game. After a while, the old men started singing old songs, which seemed to annoy Maria, but made me crack up. It definitely reminded me of how our family likes to burst out into completely random songs, no matter what the occasion. I missed Grandma a lot at that moment! She would have LOVED these 2 old guys!

Well, this post is too long already, so I'll save what happened today for Sam to update. Hasta la vista!

PS. To explain the 'black pool' reference in the title of this post, Dubh Linn in Gaelic literally means 'Black Pool.' As I can remember, the tour guide explained the pool as a murky marsh, hence the 'black' part. And 'linn,' in Gaelic, means pool!

Hobos, Bikes, and Flat Tires

Today was the day of our Versailles bike tour, and what a day it was! We all got up super early (7 AM!) and made it to the bike shop before 9. After tying up our purses with bungee cords (you were right, Aunt Lucy... we SHOULD have brought backpacks!) and going on a quick spin on our bikes to make sure they worked, we were off!

I suppose I should have been nervous when our tour guide apprehensively told us that boarding the train to Versailles might be difficult and crowded. I didn't realize how much he had underestimated until the doors to our train opened, and we saw that the train was COMPLETELY full of people.

"We are 16 childrens. You cannot get on here." One French boy told us. Sam and I were together with two other old ladies, and both of those ladies were resigned to give up and wait for the next train. I was not pleased by the thought of having to wait for a potentially equally-as-full train, and after our other tour guide yelled "You HAVE to get on!", Sam and I rushed the train.

It was definitely take no prisoners, and would you believe that all 16 "childrens" parted and made way for our 4 bikes?

It was only after we had been on the train for a few minutes that I realized to the left of me smelled like a college boy's dorm room after a night of heavy, heavy drinking. Not really wanting to look, but having no choice but to look, I glanced to my side to see two passed out young men, laying on the floor next to my bike.

Oh, how I would have liked to move! Unfortunately, I was jammed between my bike, Samantha's bike, Samantha, and two French "childrens." Oh, and the hobos, one of whom decided my leg looked like an excellent pillow.

All I could do was stand there and take it. And pray that the hobos did not awaken to puke all over me.

Long story short, the hobos DID stir, but only after we had arrived at OUR stop and were on our way out. The hobo who had mistaken my leg for a pillow waved and said "bye" to me, which was a pleasant surprise and much preferable to him puking all over me.

The rest of the Versailles trip was relatively uneventful, although Sam got a flat tire twice, and I fell off my bike 3 times. Shades of Grandma... it wasn't all my fault though. :)

As I had already been to Versailles, I didn't take any photos, but Maria and Sam took a TON, and I'm sure will post them later.

Tonight the girls are off on a ghost tour, which I (VERY REGRETFULLY!) had to beg off of, because after a full day of biking/walking/climbing stairs, my knee began to bother me terribly again. Tomorrow we fly back to Dublin to visit the sites there, buy last minute souvenirs, and get our fill of sketchy hostels before returning to the States.

Hasta luego!

Les photos

Here's a smattering of photos from yesterday...


The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower when it sparkled (which was every hour)
View of the sunset from our boat cruise
The Eiffel Tower sparkling again (this was at the start of the boat cruise)
View of Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe
Front of Notre-Dame from our bus tour
Arc de Triomphe

Today's adventures!

Well today, Sam and I went to the Mac store first thing in the morning. After receiving absolutely NO help from the Apple staff, Sam and I thought we would try to solve the problem ourselves. We walked over to a table of laptops to grab one of the chargers to see if my charger itself was broken. After removing a charger from one of the laptops, the security alarm started to ring loudly from our table. Once security ran over and figured out that we weren't actually trying to steal a laptop, THEN we started to receive a modicum of service.

Basically, word to the wise: if you want customer service, attempt to steal something. Then you'll get a LOT of attention. ;)

Anyway, we first bought a brand new laptop battery, thinking that this was the problem. We then tried to charge the computer again, only to discover it wasn't actually the battery, but my charger. Apparently, Mac chargers won't last for four years. Mac batteries, on the other hand, totally fine.

Problem solved, Sam and I visited the post office and the bank for some regular errands, then returned to the apartment to wait for Maria and eat lunch.

When Maria returned, she and I went to a fantastic wine tasting near the Louvre. We learned a TON about French wines, including the growing regions and the best foods to pair with certain wines. Very valuable, and I would definitely do that tasting or ones from that company again. It was really fun, and the sommelier didn't make you feel silly for asking 'dumb' questions.

Tonight we made dinner (pasta!) and later tonight Sam and I (and maybe Maria!) are going to head out to get crepes for dessert.

Tomorrow is a VERY busy day: Musee d'Orsay (art museum), Rodin Museum (the Thinker statue), Napoleon's crypt, Sacre Ceour (a giant church on the outskirts of Paris), and the Salvador Dali museum.

Semi-bad news: I somehow managed to wrench my knee on some stairs, so walking up and down stairs really hurts. Good times! Thank goodness for copious amounts of Advil... ;) I'm fine mostly, I just limp going down stairs. I try to make friends with other old people on the metro, because they and I now have something in common!

Nooo!!!

Just as we thought our bad luck had left us alone in Ireland, back it creeps, like an evil lair fox!

Last night, when I removed the connector that connects my computer to the charger, the charger made an interesting sound. When I went to go charge my computer later that night, it wouldn't charge anymore!!! After trying several different adaptors and several different plugs, the three of us deduced that the charger itself is messed up.

So tomorrow the plan is to go to the Opera House, and then hit up the Mac store here in Paris (one of only TWO STORES in ALL OF FRANCE!) to see what they can do about this awful situation.

In other news, we took a wonderful bus tour today of the city, did some shopping, hiked up the Arc de Triomphe and got some splendid pictures (which you will all see later if my computer cooperates), and then visited a cute little park.

Now we are off to a boat cruise and the Eiffel Tower at night! From personal experience, I can say night time at the Eiffel Tower is absolutely wonderful! I hope the girls enjoy it! :)

Paris Pictures Day 3

Notre Dame
Up on the Notre Dame Tower
Maria getting her hand eaten by a gargoyle
Gargoyle at Notre Dame
Climbing up those stairs was hard work...
We finally got ice cream while we stood in line for the Notre Dame Towers
St. Chapelle
Jardin des Tuilieres next to the Louvre
Sphinx at the Louvre
Mona Lisa
Venus de Milo
Glass Pyramids at Louvre
Front of the Louvre

Paris Day 2

View from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.
Sacred Heart Church is in the background.

We started off with Mass this morning at Notre Dame Cathedral. We spent the afternoon picking up our Paris Passes and visiting the Eiffel Tower. We got dinner and then had crepes for dessert!

London pics part 2

Fountain at Hampton Court Palace
Swan in the fountain at Hampton Court Palace
Ceiling from Hampton Court

Front of Hampton Court Palace
Westminster Abbey
Houses of Parliament
Big Ben
View from the London Eye
The London Eye
Melissa in front of the Tower Bridge
Entrance to the Tower of London
Front of St. Paul's Cathedral

Mind the Gap!

We did so much in London these past two days! Yesterday was a very busy day. We woke up early and took the tube to our first stop, St. Paul's Cathedral. It was pretty busy - lots of school groups, including some who looked like preschoolers. The Cathedral was beautiful but we don't have any pictures from inside because photography isn't allowed. In the Cathedral, we saw the Dome which is one of the largest domes in the world. We also visited the Crypt where we saw the tombs of the Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson.

Our next stop was to the Tower of London. We saw the Crown Jewels (most of the jewels were copies, not the original ones; also, only one of the crowns actually had any jewels in it, the rest just had the crowns without the jewels and pictures of what they would have looked like with the jewels set in). We visited several towers, including the Bloody Tower and the Beauchamp tower. We tried taking a Yeoman Warder Tour but there were about 60 people in it and we really couldn't hear anything, so we just wandered on our own. We also saw the ravens which are one of the things that the Tower is known for. The legend is that Charles II was told that if the ravens left the Tower, the kingdom would fall.

We then went to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. We only visited the exhibit inside as there was a performance going on and no more tours were being offered for that day. After the Globe Theatre, we walked to the London Eye. There were only a few people in line so we decided to buy tickets. We had a really good time, except for the 2 annoying kids in our cabin. We got some good pictures and were able to get a really good look at all of London. After the Eye, we walked past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and on to Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, it had just closed so we couldn't go inside. We went back to our room to rest for a little before our 'Blood and Tears Walk'. The walk started at 9:45 and included the tour guide - an Irish actor, two ladies from Florida who were in England for a wedding, and ourselves. The tour was a lot of fun - we learned about several London serial killers and saw some historical places like where Sweeney Todd killed a man and where Jack the Ripper killed his victims. Taking the tube back to our room at midnight was a little different - we saw some interesting people...

Today we visited Hampton Court Palace which is where Henry VIII lived. We got a free audio guide and visited Henry's apartments, Mary II's apartments, and the Georgian Private Apartments. We then went on to visit Wimbledon and the nearby park. After that, we finished up some souvenir shopping and are now at our hotel. It's going to be an early night because we have to leave the hotel at 5am for our 7am flight to Paris!

London pics

Our extremely small hostel room. This was taken from the doorway and it's about the size of a closet.

Guards at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Victoria Memorial right next to Buckingham Palace.
Front view of Buckingham Palace.