Edinburgh

The last weekend of November Jake, Joe, and I took a weekend trip out to Edinburgh, Scotland. During our 4 day stay we took a walking tour of the city, chased ghosts in some of their cemeteries, visited the town castle, and ran around on the golf courses of all golf courses-St. Andrew's.

This was one of our first views of the city, taken from the highest point on the ferris wheel we rode (pictured below).  It was part of a German market that is set up every year, in the heart of the city,  at the beginning of December in celebration of Christmas.  It came complete with rows of booths devoted to arts & crafts, clothing, and most importantly, bratwurst.  You best believe I took advantage of that!

Just a quick photo before our noses caught the delicious smell.

The 2nd day in, we trekked up the Royal Mile - a stretch of road in the middle of the older part of the city that gradually slopes up to Edinburgh Castle - to see what all the fuss was with this giant monstrosity of brick and cannons.  

Treating historical artifacts like toys.  Mom - can I have one for Christmas?

Jake snapped this as we waited to see the "Family Jewels" inside the castle.  There was a mural painted along the wall of the waiting area.  I think the new look suits me quite well.

Apparently this spot is pretty famous in the world of golf.  Not being a big fan of the sport, I wasn't aware of this until I asked about it right before this picture was taken.  Joe explained this was where the champion of the British Open gets their picture taken every year at which point I exclaimed, " anything Tiger can do I can do better!"

Sitting inside the prestigious St. Andrew's clubhouse.  It was only open to the public one day a year, and we happened to be visiting on that very day.  At this point I had been wearing the same pair of pants for a good 4 days in a row, and hadn't showered in at least 2 (hostel wasn't especially clean) You can imagine the looks this earned me from the clubhouse crew as they were dressed in suit and ties, and obligated to talk to me about the building and course. HaHa!

Went to St. Andrew's Castle afterwards mostly because it was close and free as well because of the special day.  Underneath the ruins were these man-dug tunnels left-over from a failed invasion attempt from centuries past.  Very cool, very cramped. 

Then, seeing as though it was the day in honor of Scotland's patron saint, we thought it best to pay our respects at his supposed place of burial .  The giant church they erected on this spot is now in ruins, but the foundation and entrance are still there.  Its built on a small peninsula of land that juts out into the Atlantic ocean.  Being that it was the end of November, you can imagine how cold it was, or I can just tell you.  It was 0 degrees Celsius.  

Our final stop was a hidden fairy mound.  As our guide put it, this was a "special bonus" part of the bus tour due to the small number of people in the group (9 in all, including himself).  Even though we were instructed not to put our hands in our pockets, swear, or whistle while on the sacred land (it's believed to  anger the fairies) I found myself whistling within 3 minutes out of habit.  I then preceded to cuss when I realized what I was doing.  This cost me close to $1 in coins as the only way to undo the wrong is to place change in the rock pictured above.  Whoever gets it, I hope they don't spend it all in one place!

And that was the end of our enlightening trip to Edinburgh.  We also managed to try some Scotch during our time there, but I'm still not convinced...wait...wait a minute.  I'm confused. Why do I feel like I was supposed to be talking about some other trip I took before Edinburgh? Hmm, that's weird.  Oh well. Until next time!

  

What I Did in the Last Month pt. 2

The second trip. sponsored by IES, was up to Northern Ireland.  Starting Friday, we met in the afternoon in Belfast for a quick lunch and tour of the conflict murals, then verntured further North to a small sea-side town known as Portrush.  Here we spent two nights in a well kept, but very retro hotel complete with an adjoining  pub and full Irish breakfast served each morning!

Whiskey tasting at the Bushmill's Distillery

Saturday day we stopped off at a Bushmill's Distillery, the oldest, legal distillery, for a late morning kick-start.  Next, we visited a special part of the Northern Irish coast known as The Giant's Causeway.  It was wet, windy, and incredible. 

Rainbow's are commonplace in Ireland

Group shot, a la Jake Kimble

In the "Giant's Boot"

After being taken out for a huge dinner at a restaurant with the most literal menu in the world (a cheeseburger pizza was actually a pizza with a cheeseburger on top), we had a night out on the town and encountered our first DRINK SPECIAL in Ireland - 2 for 1 until 11pm.  Boy, did Derrick and I take advantage of that!

The next morning, before heading back to Dublin, we stopped off at another part of the coast to walk the Carrick Rope Bridge.  I could try and describe how unstable you felt crossing it, but I think the pictures do it more justice...

Also in included in this month was the dreaded midterm week.  A storm that I can safely say we navigated ourselves through with relative ease.  What's worrisome now is the only thing that separates us from the end of our study abroad experience are 2 final exams, 7,000 words -spread over 4 papers, and a trip to Scotland.  All of which take place within the time frame of less than 4 weeks of time.  Giddy-Up!

Poland experience coming shortly.

What I Did in the Last Month pt. 1

Park lunch in the Galway town-square. (Great idea, Adam!)

The first trip we took was to Galway to see the west coast (also known as the REAL Ireland by all those who live there).  We spent the Firday night in the city, known as a culture-rich college town, and the second night on a nearly deserted Island - known as Inis Mor - that you could only reach by riding a fairy.  Galway was much less expensive and far smaller than Dublin, but equally as fun.  I taught some stiff Irish youths how to dance, but sadly, no photos were taken.  

 

To jump, or not to jump...

Inis Mor was incredibly eerie upon our arrival (8pm on Saturday night, pitch-black with almost no signs of life), but incredibly gorgeous once the sun rose.   In our hostel, we met a couple of old ladies - one from Texas, the other Alaska - who told us where to go if we wanted to see cliffs.  It was as if they read our minds!  So Sunday morning, we set off on a 45 minute hike to witness one of the most beautiful landscapes one could imagine.

The hike

The reward

What started out as a haphazard venture, turned out to be one of the most fulfilling trips I've ever taken in less than 3 days.  So much adventure, but so little time!  In between all of this, there were delicious meals, loud laughs, and special moments.  Many of which I can't include because I simply don't remember, but rest assured, they happened.  

To My Avid Readers

I sincerely apologize for my absence.  I know it's been hard for you, and my phantom-like existence is frustrating and largely unforgivable,  but in a vein attempt to justify myself, let me offer you an explanation.  

It's due to a combination of factors.  Mainly: a flood of academic assignments, successive trips, and a failing economic market.  Also, I felt compelled to finish my latest Chuck Palahniuk book, Rant.  It all happened in the blink of an eye, and in order to keep my head above water I couldn't afford to stop and contemplate, so I sincerely apologize.

For now, it is off to KraKow, Poland, to get a first person perspective of the Home-Country!  Until Monday, when I promise to return in full force with constant updates,  Na Zdrowie!

Malahide

This past Saturday Brian and I joined the girls for another train-trip to a town in northern County Dublin - an area I still haven't left from since arriving in the beginning of September.  The destination was Malahide, the purpose was to see our first castle.  

This is Malahide castle

And this is the group reacting to the sight of it.

The tour itself took about as long as it will take you to finish reading this post, and was a bit unorthodox.  It consisted of you and a random group of tourists walking yourself about the 8 room "house" as a voice recording continuously told you random facts.  The biggest letdown was the forbiddance of any flash photography, sorry guys.  You'll just have to take my word for it when I say they had some pretty intricately carved mantles back in the 1600's. 

Compensation for the lackluster castle was provided by the beautifully green, wide open area surrounding it.  There were hundreds of yards of untouched field capable of inspiring even the manliest of men to frolic.  Unfortunately though, Bryan has a bad knee that is aggravated by damp weather, so we were forced to settle for a jubilant stole in order to not make him feel left out.

Although our wanderings started out aimless, we ended up at a really amazing playground complete with a 40 foot slide, a really tall jungle gym that Jeanine and I conquered (seen below), and a huge tandem zip-line that made the entire trip seem worthwhile.

We also met an American couple from the East coast who just moved to Dublin no more than a week ago.  It seems the girls may be baby-sitting for them in the future - cha-ching! - but I'll let them tell you all about it.  Until next time, I'm Adam Kepa and you've just been updated.

  

Last weekend before this weekend

It's a slow Friday morning here.  Derrick and Brian are still asleep, compensating for the hours spent at a birthday for someone in our program,  and Joe left  for a  complicated trek to Amsterdam late last night.  Complicated because he had to catch a train from central Dublin to Belfast - where he was flying out of - only to kill 6 hours in the airport waiting for his plane to take off...I wonder how he's doing.  Anyway, before the activities of this weekend put me further behind in my updates, I thought I'd catch you up on the happenings of last weekend.

Saturday was a big day, and if it were a sit-com episode I think an appropriate title would be "Adam and the estrogen" because it consisted of me and 4 women parading around Dublin for the better part of the afternoon.  Starting from Kayleen's front-door, we walked to Dublin Zoo, where we were greeted by a sleeping lion, shy tigers, and phantom zebras.  

I can't say it was the best trip the zoo I've ever had, but it was worth it to see the Californian sea lions swimming around and yelping for no apparent reason.  I think we just came at the wrong time because it seemed like every animal was either being fed, or corralled inside for the night, but we still got some good views...

If you want more animal pictures, check National Geographic.

On our way back from the zoo, we stopped into The Brazen Head - Dublin's oldest pub - for much needed refueling before making the long walk home.  It was a nice, quaint place with a history so rich, you could smell it when you walked in and taste it in your Guiness.  Though it wasn't live (as the sign out front suggested it would be), it was the first time I had heard traditional Irish music being played in a pub since the first week we got here when my roommates and I sang with an Irishman.

  

In total, we clocked 9+ miles on the day, so you can imagine how excited we were to get home, heat up some food, and huddle around a laptop to watch the season premier of The Office!  The perfect way to end the day.

This just in...

A startling development has taken place in the course of Adam Kepa's study abroad semester. Approximately 4 hours ago he submitted a request to be selected for a completely random, one off, one-time job here in Dublin's fair city.  Considering it nothing more than a pipe-dream, he forgot about the entire thing almost immediately after hitting "send" at the end of the e-mail. 

Nearly one hour ago, that very same dream became a reality as his e-mail was quickly replied to with positive results claiming,  "You sound like just the type 

of person we're looking for - crazy!"  Out of complete joy, and a bit of shock, Adam then proceeded to exclaim to the entire living room he had been hired!  

So, what's the job?  Continue to scroll...

Shown directly in the center of this photo is the first participant of the 2006 Dublin marathon to cross the finish line.  Notice the graceful stride,  his hands jubilantly waving in the air, and the enormous smile on his face. Now shift your gaze to the right corner of the picture to the gentleman with the bright-neon vest eagerly awaiting the runner to cross the finish line so he can get his picture taken.  He's called a Finish Line Marshall, and that's what I'm going to be for the 2008 Dublin Marathon this October 27th.  

A big thanks goes out to my folks, without whom I wouldn't have had the experience to consider going after such a position.