Whew...midway the 10-day semester break (well, self-extended til Oct. 29). It's been a whirlwind of travelling since last Wednesday. After my birthday, it was packing and off to the train station the next day. We went to Graz to catch a plane to London, then to Manchester, then Dublin, then Cork, and now, we're leaving again for London, then it'll be back to Budapest for another round of intense paper writing, quizes, readings and mid-terms. I did get an extension for my papers, thanks goodness!
Let's see, I have been journaling on paper on the long bus/train/plane rides. We took at least 12 different buses/trains/flights just to get to Manchester for a Damien Rice concert...but it was good. And it was a lot of fun. The group kept spliting up and coming back together cause ourtravel itineries differed. We saw the last of Jeff til Nov at the concert, and me, Beth, Natalie saw the last of Kelly, Paul, Janelle, Andrew and Daniel til Nov as well. Oh, but we get to see Andrew tonight! back from Belfast.

I saw the biggest prick in Ireland

Dublin was great! I did not expect the atmosphere of a little town in the big city. If the river and bridges of Budapest could be placed in Dublin, I'll get the perfect city to live in. We went walking around the city and I restrained myself from buying too many postcards. There was a huge flagpole near the O'Conelley (sp?) monument, supposedly where a tower had once been but had toppled over. There was no flag at the top, and it was those steel poles that was large at the bottom and thin at the top, so it looked like a giant needle. Beth met Alyce's boyfriend, Tony and he said, "So you saw the biggest prick in Ireland, eh. That's what we call it," after discovering that she had been in Dublin the day before. I love the way the Irish play with words. Beth left a day earlier to Cork to see her friend, Alyce, whose place we were going to stay at. So it was just me and Natalie in Dublin for a day. I missed the group so much then! In Cork, wait, it was freezing in Cork, we arrived at night and I felt like Pecs all over again--cold cold cold. Cork is lovely as well. I really wanted to see the countryside, so we did. We went to Blarney and kissed the Irish Crowned Jewel-- the Blarney Stone. I'm suppose to have the gift of gab now, but I don't see it working yet :P Anyhow, that was the highlight, I loved Blarney, just a 1/2 hours' bus ride from Cork city. The Castle there was really well-kept for the age it was and the roofs of many of the rooms were somewhat still there. I found it rather funny that the kitchen and family room were smaller than the young ladies' room and the other bedrooms. It was the Ireland I imagined, and I know there's even more to come. Someone once said not to go to Ireland, or you'll fall in love with it and never want to leave. I think there's some sentimental truth to this. Ireland did not dissapoint me. Now I cross it out of my top three and focus on P.E.I. and Israel. I cannot wait to see Andrew again in London, find the hostel, unpack, do laundry and have a blast with Beth and Andrew, oh, and eat.