Hey everyone.
So, this blog has been a pain with commenting.
Therefore, I've switched the location of my blog from here to:
{ lukeguinan.wordpress.com }
So head over there and bookmark that site instead of this 'blogspot' one.
The commenting is 10x easier there. Just hit 'Comment' on whichever post you'd like to write one and now you just have to hit 'Guest', write your email and the name you'd like to appear in the post and it goes through after one, easy click.
One thing to note, the comments go through, I just have to 'OK' them before they show up to everyone, so if you don't see it up immediately that's why.
I've moved all the past posts, pictures and even comments from here to the other one...so after a couple hours of moving...hope this all works.
Luke
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturdays in Galway...
are great.
No alarms set, you just roll out of bed whenever your body actually feels ready to. Grab the laptop and surf the net a little bit. I would have gone to bed around 7-8pm in the states, so I get to catch up on all the sports highlights and new that happened the past night.
Once I'm done messing around with that, head out to the living room and by then the roommates are all either up or just about there.
Throw on a pair of jeans or sweats...throw on a sweatshirt and you're good for the weather. Haven't had much rain on Saturday mornings which is great. Bit chilly but like I mentioned a sweatshirt does the trick.
Shop Street is the destination. Everybody's out stopping by the cafe or whatnot. We head to the Farmer's Market first which is open only on Saturdays. They have everything here...a butcher, a fishery, fudge, breads, cheeses, apple tart stands, homemade sushi, grilled sausages, cookies, biscuits, crepes, homemade doughnuts...smells great. There's also a bunch of painters, woodworkers, jewelers, handmade clothing and knitted hats...really neat place. I have 3 staple stands that I go to each and every Saturday. First I head to the bagel guy. At this point its about 11-12 in the morning so I'm starving. Normally just get an 'everything' bagel, but he has this special one called a pizza bagel. Not too sure what it is but it has an orange tint to it and is like infused with tomato basil and garlic or something...nonetheless it's amazing. Throw on creme cheese and for 2euro its the best breakfast around.
Take that with me and head to the hummus guy. The hummus, along with different pesto sauces, olives..stuff like that...are all in the wooden buckets on the table. Everything looks so fresh. I pick out whatever kind of hummus I'm feeling for that week...tomato basil...garlic...roasted red pepper and get a tub of that for a few euro. Lastly head to one of the 5 or so fresh fruit and vegetable stands to grab myself a handful of apples for the week.
One of the pieces today said "Everything has a crack...that's how the light gets in"...thought that was pretty good...
After that we all just kind of walk around...run into a few friends from Marquette, Fairfield, BC, Georgetown...see if there are any new stands for today...
But then we head over to Elle's Cafe, which has amazing hot chocolate, coffee and smoothies depending on however we feel. By the time we get there and wait in line, one of us keeps an eye on the tables outside to see if any free up. If they do, we snag it and wait for a few minutes. Just next door there is a gap in all the shops. This is where different street performers will set up throughout the week. They're always out...but Saturdays you see the best acts. In this particular spot next to Elle's, the band Keywest always plays Saturday mornings. They're awesome, and we know to grab a seat before it gets really crowded. Here was the crowd from today...
They play a lot of cover music...Check them out at this youtube link playing Little Lion Man...
After we finish our coffee or hot chocolate or whatever we head to Dunnes, the grocery store right by our apartment and grab whatever we need to get through the weekend. There's a butcher right outside of it that has amazing food. I was still a bit hungry today so I grabbed a sausage roll for 1euro...sooo good.
Now I'm just kind of relaxing...going to do some reading for school and take a look at some powerpoints. We're doing a big dinner tonight for one of the girls birthdays...some pasta with garlic bread and stuffed mushrooms. Looking forward to it.
I think I've solidified all of my trips yesterday. I'm shocked my bank hasn't called home for all these charges for buses and flights around different countries haha. I'm heading to Scotland next weekend and Donegal, Ireland the weekend after that. November 11-15 my roommate here and I are going to Rome. I come back Tuesday night, have all day Wednesday here to rejuvenate, then Thursday morning fly out to Marseille in southern France. I'll be jumping city to city down there for 4 days. Nice, Cannes, Avignon, Aix En Provence, Marseille...check them out on google...I can't wait. The rest of that week is classes, and they end on the 25th. The next week after that we have off, so my Dad's flying in. Real excited for that...probably going to see Cork in Ireland and also a few days in London.
Guess that's all for now, hope alls well.
Cheers.
Luke
PS: For people having trouble commenting, I messed around with some settings. Try again and maybe it'll work. If not, try making a livejournal account with the directions I put on the post named 'Commenting' which you can find on the right side on the blog if you click the 'September' archives. Hope that'll work.
No alarms set, you just roll out of bed whenever your body actually feels ready to. Grab the laptop and surf the net a little bit. I would have gone to bed around 7-8pm in the states, so I get to catch up on all the sports highlights and new that happened the past night.
Once I'm done messing around with that, head out to the living room and by then the roommates are all either up or just about there.
Throw on a pair of jeans or sweats...throw on a sweatshirt and you're good for the weather. Haven't had much rain on Saturday mornings which is great. Bit chilly but like I mentioned a sweatshirt does the trick.
Shop Street is the destination. Everybody's out stopping by the cafe or whatnot. We head to the Farmer's Market first which is open only on Saturdays. They have everything here...a butcher, a fishery, fudge, breads, cheeses, apple tart stands, homemade sushi, grilled sausages, cookies, biscuits, crepes, homemade doughnuts...smells great. There's also a bunch of painters, woodworkers, jewelers, handmade clothing and knitted hats...really neat place. I have 3 staple stands that I go to each and every Saturday. First I head to the bagel guy. At this point its about 11-12 in the morning so I'm starving. Normally just get an 'everything' bagel, but he has this special one called a pizza bagel. Not too sure what it is but it has an orange tint to it and is like infused with tomato basil and garlic or something...nonetheless it's amazing. Throw on creme cheese and for 2euro its the best breakfast around.
Take that with me and head to the hummus guy. The hummus, along with different pesto sauces, olives..stuff like that...are all in the wooden buckets on the table. Everything looks so fresh. I pick out whatever kind of hummus I'm feeling for that week...tomato basil...garlic...roasted red pepper and get a tub of that for a few euro. Lastly head to one of the 5 or so fresh fruit and vegetable stands to grab myself a handful of apples for the week.
One of the pieces today said "Everything has a crack...that's how the light gets in"...thought that was pretty good...
After that we all just kind of walk around...run into a few friends from Marquette, Fairfield, BC, Georgetown...see if there are any new stands for today...
But then we head over to Elle's Cafe, which has amazing hot chocolate, coffee and smoothies depending on however we feel. By the time we get there and wait in line, one of us keeps an eye on the tables outside to see if any free up. If they do, we snag it and wait for a few minutes. Just next door there is a gap in all the shops. This is where different street performers will set up throughout the week. They're always out...but Saturdays you see the best acts. In this particular spot next to Elle's, the band Keywest always plays Saturday mornings. They're awesome, and we know to grab a seat before it gets really crowded. Here was the crowd from today...
They play a lot of cover music...Check them out at this youtube link playing Little Lion Man...
After we finish our coffee or hot chocolate or whatever we head to Dunnes, the grocery store right by our apartment and grab whatever we need to get through the weekend. There's a butcher right outside of it that has amazing food. I was still a bit hungry today so I grabbed a sausage roll for 1euro...sooo good.
Now I'm just kind of relaxing...going to do some reading for school and take a look at some powerpoints. We're doing a big dinner tonight for one of the girls birthdays...some pasta with garlic bread and stuffed mushrooms. Looking forward to it.
I think I've solidified all of my trips yesterday. I'm shocked my bank hasn't called home for all these charges for buses and flights around different countries haha. I'm heading to Scotland next weekend and Donegal, Ireland the weekend after that. November 11-15 my roommate here and I are going to Rome. I come back Tuesday night, have all day Wednesday here to rejuvenate, then Thursday morning fly out to Marseille in southern France. I'll be jumping city to city down there for 4 days. Nice, Cannes, Avignon, Aix En Provence, Marseille...check them out on google...I can't wait. The rest of that week is classes, and they end on the 25th. The next week after that we have off, so my Dad's flying in. Real excited for that...probably going to see Cork in Ireland and also a few days in London.
Guess that's all for now, hope alls well.
Cheers.
Luke
PS: For people having trouble commenting, I messed around with some settings. Try again and maybe it'll work. If not, try making a livejournal account with the directions I put on the post named 'Commenting' which you can find on the right side on the blog if you click the 'September' archives. Hope that'll work.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
It's just one of those days..
Sorry, been awhile. Not much news going on here in Galway. Just been in and out of classes, doing some reading to keep up..again, not too much.
There was a volunteer fair kind of thing on campus this past Tuesday. Signed up for an after-school activities program with young kids. Times are flexible, so once they send out emails I should be able to pick and choose which dates/times work for me. Also wrote my names down for the Special Olympics. There aren't many events until January, I actually think there's only one while I'll still be here but I guess one is better than none yeh?
Still no news or emails from basketball, kayak, softball.............I don't care if all we do is play Knockout I just want to shoot a bit haha.
Nothing planned for this weekend...probably just wing it. Maybe go to the Greyhound Races?? One of the girls from SJU has her 21st birthday on Saturday, hence no traveling.
Cheers.
Until Later,
Luke
There was a volunteer fair kind of thing on campus this past Tuesday. Signed up for an after-school activities program with young kids. Times are flexible, so once they send out emails I should be able to pick and choose which dates/times work for me. Also wrote my names down for the Special Olympics. There aren't many events until January, I actually think there's only one while I'll still be here but I guess one is better than none yeh?
Still no news or emails from basketball, kayak, softball.............I don't care if all we do is play Knockout I just want to shoot a bit haha.
Nothing planned for this weekend...probably just wing it. Maybe go to the Greyhound Races?? One of the girls from SJU has her 21st birthday on Saturday, hence no traveling.
Cheers.
Until Later,
Luke
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Croagh Patrick
Today we traveled out to Croagh Patrick in Mayo County, Ireland. Asked everyone in my last post to cross your fingers for good weather...and it happened. Taxi driver said it's been nothing but rain past few days so we really lucked out. Just uploaded the pictures...I took 120 of them. I swear it wasn't just me though. Twelve of us went, and I did most of the climb with 2 guys - one from SJU another from Marquette. The whole way we kept pulling out our cameras saying "I know I've taken this picture before but I can't help it". It was just...amazing.
So a little about Croagh Patrick I suppose. It's the mountain where St. Patrick supposedly fasted for 40 days during Advent and cast the snakes out of Ireland. Oh, and it's 2,500 ft. in the air (Dad, I was 3rd one to the top...how surprised are you? haha) They say it takes about 3 hours to scale and 2 hours to descend. The 3 of us did the entire thing in 3. Wooo..my legs hurt so bad right now I deserve to brag a little bit haha.
Like I mentioned, I took soooo many pictures, so, sorry if I kind of go overboard posting them here.
Here's the mountain from the parking lot.
Statue of St. Patrick with mountain in background...
This was the "first leg", and it was like this the whole way through the first part. Slightly inclined, tons of rocks and a lot of slipping...
Here's the view at the top of the "first tier"...That's the town of Westport in the distance...
This is coming to the end of the "Second Tier"...that part was mostly a bunch of up and downs but without as much loose gravel and rock...Here's looking up Croagh Patrick and the "Third Tier"...
This is a little ways up the "Third Tier"...there were points we were on all four grabbing a hold of rocks above us for support, as you can kind of see here...very steep...was a pain coming down because all the rocks would kick out from underneath you...quads, knees and feet are killing me after the decline haha...
Here's a view of where we had just come across...most of what you can see is that "Second Tier", so again, mostly flat...was a nice break...
And finally we're at the top...here's most of our group sitting on the edge and grabbing our lunches...the view was awesome...photos really can't do it justice...
So, there was just a small portion of the photos...I tried to limit them! Back to school on Monday...hopefully something comes up to blog about in the meantime, but until then...
Hope all's well.
Cheers.
Luke
So a little about Croagh Patrick I suppose. It's the mountain where St. Patrick supposedly fasted for 40 days during Advent and cast the snakes out of Ireland. Oh, and it's 2,500 ft. in the air (Dad, I was 3rd one to the top...how surprised are you? haha) They say it takes about 3 hours to scale and 2 hours to descend. The 3 of us did the entire thing in 3. Wooo..my legs hurt so bad right now I deserve to brag a little bit haha.
Like I mentioned, I took soooo many pictures, so, sorry if I kind of go overboard posting them here.
Here's the mountain from the parking lot.
Statue of St. Patrick with mountain in background...
This was the "first leg", and it was like this the whole way through the first part. Slightly inclined, tons of rocks and a lot of slipping...
Here's the view at the top of the "first tier"...That's the town of Westport in the distance...
This is coming to the end of the "Second Tier"...that part was mostly a bunch of up and downs but without as much loose gravel and rock...Here's looking up Croagh Patrick and the "Third Tier"...
This is a little ways up the "Third Tier"...there were points we were on all four grabbing a hold of rocks above us for support, as you can kind of see here...very steep...was a pain coming down because all the rocks would kick out from underneath you...quads, knees and feet are killing me after the decline haha...
Here's a view of where we had just come across...most of what you can see is that "Second Tier", so again, mostly flat...was a nice break...
And finally we're at the top...here's most of our group sitting on the edge and grabbing our lunches...the view was awesome...photos really can't do it justice...
So, there was just a small portion of the photos...I tried to limit them! Back to school on Monday...hopefully something comes up to blog about in the meantime, but until then...
Hope all's well.
Cheers.
Luke
Thursday, September 22, 2011
To Arthur Pt. 2
This will be a short post..just promised that I'd throw up pictures after Arthur Day festivities.
Here's Shop Street on a typical day...semi crowded and all...
And here are some photos from Arthur's Day...including Arthur himself (and no...I do not like Guinness anymore than I did when I first arrived...haha)
Before the toast....
Posing for the camera's haha...
And, to Arthur...
And, a video...not sure if this works or not but...this was one of the many chants and stuff from the toast. Sorry the quality probably stinks people were bumping into me left and right haha.
Mountain climbing Saturday...remember to wish for sunny weather.
Cheers.
Luke
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
To Arthur
Change of plans..I'll be going to Croagh Patrick on Saturday to hike up the mountain. Most definitely worth a google image search. Please please please cross your fingers we get good weather for it. The view is killer. Can't wait to share pictures with everyone. I think I'm going to save going to Cork when my Dad arrives in late November. Apparently that's where our family traces back to, so, I figured I'd like to share that time with him.
Real reason of this post, however, is to wish everyone a Happy Arthur's Day tomorrow! Ireland is going to be one big party tomorrow, from what I hear. At 17:59 (5:59PM) everyone goes out into the streets with their pint of Guinness and raises their glasses. Someone leads the toast and yells 'To Arthur!' to which the entire crowed responds with the same. (By the way, the Guinness Brewery opened in 1759, hence the timing of the toast).
If you can recall from one of my earlier posts, that's The King's Head in the background..where I had my first Guinness in Ireland. All the pubs are going to have live music and there may be a stage set up down by the harbor which is right out our back door of the apartment.
So, I invite you all back home to raise your glass to Arthur at 12:59PM with me and my roommates...even if yours is just coffee or water haha. (Murph, you better raise a Guinness...but only one okay bud?)
Cheers.
Luke
Real reason of this post, however, is to wish everyone a Happy Arthur's Day tomorrow! Ireland is going to be one big party tomorrow, from what I hear. At 17:59 (5:59PM) everyone goes out into the streets with their pint of Guinness and raises their glasses. Someone leads the toast and yells 'To Arthur!' to which the entire crowed responds with the same. (By the way, the Guinness Brewery opened in 1759, hence the timing of the toast).
If you can recall from one of my earlier posts, that's The King's Head in the background..where I had my first Guinness in Ireland. All the pubs are going to have live music and there may be a stage set up down by the harbor which is right out our back door of the apartment.
So, I invite you all back home to raise your glass to Arthur at 12:59PM with me and my roommates...even if yours is just coffee or water haha. (Murph, you better raise a Guinness...but only one okay bud?)
Cheers.
Luke
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Getting the Ball Rolling
First and foremost, wanted to thank everyone for the comments, especially on my last post. Means a lot to see you guys are reading and taking time to comment. Makes me feel like I never left home.
Just got back not too long ago from my appointment with Immigration. It's about a half hour long walk to the office...and my two friends and I walked about another half hour past it because we didn't see it originally. I'm ready for a nap haha. But, after a busy first few weeks for my Mom to scramble around getting me insurance coverage, bank statements, etc. it was a breeze and I'm legal through December. With my newly acquired GARDA ID, I can finally travel in and out the country. Booked a trip Scotland the other day. That's for October 7-9. Also have a trip to Berlin planned for November 4-7. We're going to Cork, Ireland this weekend, and this Thursday is Arthur Guinness Day. Everyone will go out to the pubs early, and at 5:59pm everyone around Ireland raises their pint of Guinness for a toast to Arthur. I have class on Thursday though...hmm...
For some reason, my roommates and I have been itching to go hiking. So within the next month or so we have a few day trips out to either National Parks or different mountains in the area. If you've got a second, do a google search for 'Croagh Patrick' or 'Slieve League Cliffs One Man Pass'...hopefully it's not too windy!
Other little day trips we have penciled in include the Hurling Finals in Galway for October 23 (hurling is like a hybrid of hockey/lacrosse/rugby/field hockey/baseball/football....its worth searching on youtube or something..so intense haha) and another trip for the Greyhound Races over at the track in Galway.
Classes are going well, and I'm settling in just fine. I'll be sure to post pictures from Cork this weekend.
Hope all's well. Cheers.
Luke
Just got back not too long ago from my appointment with Immigration. It's about a half hour long walk to the office...and my two friends and I walked about another half hour past it because we didn't see it originally. I'm ready for a nap haha. But, after a busy first few weeks for my Mom to scramble around getting me insurance coverage, bank statements, etc. it was a breeze and I'm legal through December. With my newly acquired GARDA ID, I can finally travel in and out the country. Booked a trip Scotland the other day. That's for October 7-9. Also have a trip to Berlin planned for November 4-7. We're going to Cork, Ireland this weekend, and this Thursday is Arthur Guinness Day. Everyone will go out to the pubs early, and at 5:59pm everyone around Ireland raises their pint of Guinness for a toast to Arthur. I have class on Thursday though...hmm...
For some reason, my roommates and I have been itching to go hiking. So within the next month or so we have a few day trips out to either National Parks or different mountains in the area. If you've got a second, do a google search for 'Croagh Patrick' or 'Slieve League Cliffs One Man Pass'...hopefully it's not too windy!
Other little day trips we have penciled in include the Hurling Finals in Galway for October 23 (hurling is like a hybrid of hockey/lacrosse/rugby/field hockey/baseball/football....its worth searching on youtube or something..so intense haha) and another trip for the Greyhound Races over at the track in Galway.
Classes are going well, and I'm settling in just fine. I'll be sure to post pictures from Cork this weekend.
Hope all's well. Cheers.
Luke
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