Killarney to Killorglin - Cycling in Ireland

We had our first Irish breakfast this morning at our B&B: oj, toast, brown break, fried egg, sausage, bacon (of the canadian variety I think), and lots of coffeeeee. Mmmmmm. So we dressed out in our bike gear, loaded down with the stuff we thought we might need throughout the day, and took off. Irish Cycle Hire has people that will come and pick up our luggage and transport it to our next B&B, pretty convenient that.

Photo: Dad and I had to adapt to riding on the wrong side of the road PDQ so, you know, we wouldn't get run over or anything

Our first destination was the Gap of Dunloe, basically a very skinny road cutting between two mountains, which we could have explored on foot, on our bikes, or by pony cart, but Dad thought the weather might close in and so we pushed on. Not really a hard ride at all, skipped through a couple little villages, and found our way to our B&B (outside of town, again) in Killorglin. Cute little place, famous for the Puck Fair it holds every August 10-12, where they capture a wild goat, bring it to town, crown it king of the festivities, and party down for 48 straight. My kind of people.

Photo, right: the town of Killorglin

Photo, below: road sign in Ballykissane. My interpretation is "don't drive your car off a giant square into the wavy lines below - its a big drop!"

Dad and I arrived kind of early in the day, and saw on the map a road labeled "to Ballykissane", which if you have ever heard of the show Ballykissangel, that's the place that it gets its name and is slightly based off of (maybe). Up a hill, down a hill, down some country lanes, all the way to the river, and back again. Found the "Ballykissane Monument", but don't know what it was for since it was in Gaelic, so we went down a road that thought led back to town, and by some chance happened to be right. That never happens.

Then we went down to a restaurant near the water where they served some awesome fish, and had some beer. Not much going on in these little places, especially today, which was a semi-final all-gaelic football game between Kerry and Cork, so everyone and their goat was inside watching the game while we were out riding around and enjoying the sunshine.

Photo, right: every day should end with a pint of beer. And yes, I tried Guiness, but I'm an ale and lager girl myself, so after my obligatory stout, I stuck to the Harp. Mmmmm.

Counting the Fourty Shades of Green in Ireland, by Bike!

Dad and I are off on a trip to ride our bikes around the Dingle Penninsula in Ireland, kind of a dream for us.

So, guess what greets Dad and I as we exit the airport in Shannon - a good old Irish rain. Not a rain really, just a heavy drizzle. Thus we are baptized into Ireland. A two hour busride, a little confused wandering to find Irish Cycle Hire, and a cab ride later, we arrive at our B&B.

Photo: Ross Castle

Per my travel philosophy of not succumbing to the exhaustion that threatens to overwhelm after an overnight transatlantic flight, Dad and I collect our bikes and set off for our first adventure. Not too far out of town is Killarney National Park, an 11,000 acre swath of forests and lakes and aminals (no, I did not misspell that) and paths and some historical stuff too. We went to check out Ross Castle, a ruin of a tower standing on the edge of one of the lakes.

Photo: magical forest in Killarney National Park

We saw signs pointing off in different directions with intriguing names like "Governor's Rock" and "Library Point", so we took off on our bikes into the forest proper. And a magical forest it was, all mossy with ferns and crazy trees, it was a very wild-feeling place, could very easily understand why the Druids and Celts felt there was a spiritual presence in Ireland, and especially here.

One particular path, towards Library Point, took us through pedal-deep water puddles (apparently it rains here a bit), and of course I couldn't keep my balance while trying to pedal slow so I didn't splash myself (the photo says it all). Yup, soaked my shoes clear though. Wouldn't really matter in the end though, because on our way back to the B&B it started misting, then drizzling, then outright raining, and we could not escape a thorough soaking even though we were riding under trees. Well shit. It was a very pretty ride, even when it was raining! Got lost on the way back, of course, and so arrived back at the B&B absolutely drenched, really you could say we swam our bikes back. Nothing a shower couldn't fix though!

Who doesn't love New York?

Our day started late as we subwayed it down to the Staten Island Ferry to fulfill our Americanly duty and gawk at the Stat(ue) of Lib(erty) and Ellis Island, which I am wondering if that's where my babushka (gradmother) and co. went when they came to America in 1950. Sad that I can't ask Babushka herself.

The Staten Island Ferry was free! Yeah, rockin the free stuff!! Stat of Lib was cool, but I have to say that since I've seen it so many times in movies and the media, it didn't have that awe effect on me. Plus, there's one just like it in Paris that you can actually walk right up to, which I have, so I've seen it much closer.

Photo: lower east side of Manhattan as seen from the ferry.

Post-ferry, we subwayed it back up town to 72nd street and went over to Strawberry Fields (popular hang out of this band, don't know if anyone's heard of them, the Beatles) and saw the IMAGINE mosaic in the concrete covered in flowers. Very cool. 

That's it for my New York City adventure.  Clearly I need to come back!

A Sox Fan in Yankeeland

We subwayed up to the Bronx to check and see if we could scalp some tickets to the Yankees game against the Royals. No one wanted to sell us some cheap tickets, it being the last year for the Yanks in their current stadium, and maybe the fact that I was wearing my Schilling Red Sox tshirt also deterred the scalpers from selling us anything under $100.

So we walked around the stadium, took some pictures, and only got heckled 6 times, and even got a couple Sox cheers. Glad we didn't actually go to the game though, not sure I would have made it out alive!

Hopped on the subway, intending to get off near the Brooklyn Bridge, and ended up going way far into Brooklyn itself. Slightly sketchy! The five minutes we spent above ground was really enough for me.

Backtracked, trekked down through Chinatown, and finally found our way down near the Brooklyn Bridge, absolutely beautiful in a structual way. There is currently an art installation of six waterfalls all along the East River, with one right under one of the piers of the bridge. Kind of a random thing to do, but they were all up and down where we were, and really added something else to the whole skyline of Brooklyn.

Wandered along the waterfront down to the pier, got some beers, sat by the water and just enjoyed the sunset. After the sun went down, they lit up the waterfalls!
 

Photo: graffitti down by the Brooklyn Bridge. Originial, right?

Central Park, Balloon Animals, and Mickey Mantle

Stopped by Dunkin on our way to Central Park for some nourishment, and I ended up getting the magical iced coffee that refused to mix with the 6 or so packets of sugar that I dumped in. Absolutely diabolical in the way that the two substances refused to combine to form a lovely refreshing drink. Enough to make a girl go nuts.

It was a lovely day for a stroll through Central Park, high clouds overhead making the light and shadows dance through the trees. Except for the damn runners that think they have complete jurisdiction over the paths and trails, I swear its like if you're anywhere near their orbit, watch out because you are about to get run over by their grunty sweaty mess. Whole packs of them, like schools of fish, would take over the paths, heaven help you if you get in their way. Had to walk in the opposite direction from the runners just so you could see them coming and avoid them. And, oh lord, if you decide to stop and admire the scenery, you are the cause of a 10-runner pile-up, no question.

So after being nearly pancaked by runners and successfully making it to the other side of Central Park, we turned right down 5th Avenue, where it was a damn good thing I didn't have any cash on me, because if I had, well it would be gone now. There were sooo many artists and photographers with tables set up, nicely cheap too. I still have two days to find my way back down there to rectify my lack of NYC art though, that's what I keep telling myself. :)

Worked our way down to the Met(ropolitan Museum of Art), where we got in free thanks to R's cousin's pass, and saved ourselves $40 in admissions. Yay free! We were there to see the new Superhero exhibit, which showcased the costumes worn by the actors in the recent superhero movies, along with some high fashion pieces inspired by the sh's, and some very interesting commentary about the different aspects of sh's and what they stand for, etc etc.

Saw the Dark Knight Batman cozzie, Chris Reeves' Superman, Wonder Woman, the IronMan suit from the 2008 movie, Spiderman both good and bad, and the appliques they put on Rebecca Romijn-Stamos when she played Mystique in XMen. Very cool stuff and slightly nerdy with the commentary that was basically analyzing differnt aspects of superheroes, like super powers vs. super suits and gadgets. Right up my alley. :)

 

Got a nip of wine at the bar to wind down from the nerdiness, thanks Mom and Dad Epstein! Went up to the rooftop garden to check out the huge acid-green metallic balloon-animal dog sculpture (photo) and some awesome views of the city and Central Park. After the Met, walked down to the end of Central Park to the Plaza hotel, where we thought we could use the bathroom in superior luxury, but the place ended up being such a rabbit warren of hallways and stairs (and no huge lobby that they always show in the movies!), that we left disappointed and found our way around the block to the Mickey Mantle sports bar for some lunch and more beer! Mmmm beer. 

p.s. how bout that Phelps guy? :) Pretty effing amazing.

New York City (uh huh!), Center of the Universe

My Floyd girls Lara and Jackie will recognize that title from their first winter guard show with me, and as well as any hardcore fans of RENT from the song "Santa Fe". Girls, thought of you on my flight here, miss you crazy!

After last night's late night, Rebekah and I didn't make it out of the apartment until 1:30 in the afternoon. We had wanted to take a tour of the UN headquarters, but once we got there, we found out that all the tours for the day were already sold out. Moral of the story for anyone trying to take a tour of the UN: get there early, like before 9am, so you know you get tickets!

Consolation prize: the bookstore and coffee shop were open!! So of course, being the nerds about international stuff that we are, R and I got stuck in the bookstore for like an hour, looking at all the stuff about poverty, sustainable development, the Millenium Development Goals, the environment, economic policy, etc etc. I ended up getting three books that I couldn't live without, and she got four. 

Anyway, we explored what we could, saw a video on the history of UN Peacekeeping missions around the world. There was an exhibit of children's art from around the world, and I found the Azerbaijan artwork and took an appropriate picture. (Having a slight crisis of the future over the whole peace corps thing) On our way across town (on foot!), we saw the Build-A-Bear store, and stopped to check out all the extremely cute stuff. Bought Aussie t-shirts for me and KK's bears. :)

After that, being quite thirsty, we hoofed it up to Fifth Avenue and stopped in for happy hour at TGIFridays then proceeded to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), because on Friday nights its free and we wanted to check out the Dali exhibit. (Regularly, tickets are $16 for students, that's like 2.5 beers! Crazy!) Dali was, in my mind, brilliant and definitely on acid or some other equally hallucinogenic.  Saw the photography floor on the way out, basically a quick run through because there was about 10 minutes to go through it before the thing closed, but saw enough to be satisfied with my free museum trip.

Photo: Rebekah and R2 waiting out the rain outside of TGIFridays.

Now, just to make sure that NYC is one of the most ecletic cities in the world, they install art pieces like the one on the left. I mean, who wouldn't call a white plaster fountain of a crying Hello Kitty art? It's not random at all! It really does scream "capitalism capital of the world", though.

 

New York Crazy Puppets Irish River

Soooo did I do something to anger the travel gods? I know I've complained about the inordinate amount screaming children that seem to follow me around as I wander this great earth, but really, this is just taking it too far. On my flight to New York this morning, which they almost didn't want to let me on because I had bought my ticket so far in advance that it had to be "revalidated", there was a little girl in front and to the right of me that, and I am not even exagerating here, screamed in that super annoying way of small children for the entire effing flight.

Her mother kept talking to her, note I said talking and not scolding or yelling back or smacking her like she should have been, but said little girl would not be quiet. So, plane and/or travel gods: please please please stop tormenting me! I would like to get to Ireland next week without wanting to kill someone!

In other news - New york is.... interesting.... flashy.... narcissitic..... touristy..... ethnic..... slightly sketchy..... and all around crazy. I am definitely a Boston girl, but New York has its own thing goin on, and I can appreciate the good parts of it all. Today Rebekah and Rebecca took me down to a restaurant on the river for lunch (photo: the Hudson river), very nice, and we walked along the river on the way back, so I didn't really get a dose of the nuttiness until we got off the subway right smack in the middle of Times Square later in the evening.

Oh my god I about had an epileptic seizure with all the flashy lights and tv screens and general in-your-face-ness. Pushed through it all to get down to where our theatre was, and found, of all things, an Irish Bar! And since we had time and needed some liquid refreshment before our show, of course we stopped in for a pint. They had Sam Adams Summer Ale, all time fave beer!! So of course after a summer completely without it, I have to take advantage of when the stuff is actually on tap!

We went to see Avenue Q, which is basically Sesame Street (puppets and all) for adults. There was a song about the internet, in which a big furry monster kept jumping in and finishing the others' lines with "for porn". So a line would go something like "you can search with google...for porn!" only way funnier than that. And then there the puppets got it on, which was hilarious considering these puppets only had top halfs, no legs or anything below the waist, so just imagine that one for a sec.  Now that you have that picture in your head, go buy yourself some tickets to this show, because it is that funny!