Still Under Construction!
Greetings one and all, and Welcome to my
Travel Logs
Warning this person's spelling is atrocious ;-)
This will be my first entry into my HTML Travel Log.
I am writing this for my trip to Ireland and the UK.
The day is August 29, 1999. I am still in my home
town of Seward, but will be leaving for the UK on
August 31st. What I will find there I don't know,
but I do know that whatever it is will be FUN!!! My
basic plans are to arrive in London on the 1st, spend
the day sleeping and adjusting to the time difference.
On either the 2nd or 3rd, find a bus traveling to
Salisbury, from there I hope to travel to Cardiff.
Catching a ferry from Swansea or Pembroke, I will
arrive at Rosslare or Cork. Hitch-hiking or grabbing
a bus, I will travel the southern coast. Stopping
where I choose, and leaving when I choose shall be the
most fun of the trip.
HELLO ONE AND ALL!!!! i HAVE MADE IT!
Yes folks, I am in the UK at the moment, and what a trip it has been. Starting with September 1st.
September 1, 1999: I arrived in Boston with only about a half hour sleep on the plane. Of course I had to see what al the talk was about with "Walking Boston", so with a lively cup or four of Moca-Expresso in my system, and nothing else, I grabbed the T, or as some would call it the subway, and made my way towards the center of town. Starting at that point, I picked a direction and started walking. Following people at random I began to find myself in the more residential section. The person I was following at that time, looked like she was about to head into a house, so I turned at the next intersection. This, of course, led me deeper into the section. The North District was a sight to be seen. With it's old red brick buildings, and tiny front street shops, it was as if I had walked directly into another world. There were very few tourists, and no venders upon the street. The shops along the street were a variety, there were small bakeries, and delis, and a few were small vegetable stores. Even in one place there was a man selling vegetables from the inside of his minivan. When I passed, he was in a heated bargaining debate with one of the locals, so I just glanced in and kept on walking. The streets were one lane, and just wide enough for one car to fit down them, and the whole of the atmosphere was of what I would call either a Greek or Italian feel. From the look of the people, to the way that man bargained with the lady, one couldn't actually say they were in the U.S.A. at all. After exiting the Northern District, I continued my walk, though everything wasn't as exciting as that half hour in a completely different world. I did take photos of my walk, and they should be arriving in the mail within a few weeks, or so the One Hour Photo lab kids told me. I took them with one of the disposable cameras, so I am not sure how they will turn out.
The next day with only another hour of sleep on the plane, I decided to cancel my excursion to Reykjavik *pronounced Re-kya-vik* For the next eight or so hours, I slept. Those airport couches are surprisingly comfortable there. As I was waiting to board the plane for London, I met someone who had spent her week break in Iceland, and learned of a hot spring that is supposed to be close to the airport. The Blue Lagoon, or some-such like that. But I only had half-an-hour until the plane left, so I am hoping to see it upon my next sojourn that direction.
LONDON SEPTEMBER 2ND-4TH
Ahhh London, a cheep bastards, namely myself, nightmare!!! Gads everything, including the food, and movies, is more expensive then having Roseann Bar liposuctioned! And the exchange rate for the U.S. Dollar??? With it at 1.78 Dollars per Pound, that's the British currency, I found myself paying around 35-40 Dollars to stay each of two nights at a C class, at best, hostel. They did give me a clean bed and pillow cover, which was very nice of them, but the main comforter, which was the only thing on the bed, which you could use to cover yourself at night, was almost pure yellow with ware and use. Of course it was nice to have a shower, though you had to wait about three to five minutes for the warm water just to show itself, and by that time other's would be wanting to shower. It was truly just a place to rest your head at night, nothing more.
London in the morning. The very first thing, which was told to me, and is very true, that anyone planning to stay for a day in London, should know is to buy a pass to just Zones 1 and 2. That covers most of main London. The all day pass lets the holder, so you had better not loose it, travel throughout the area of main London with both the Underground and the Busses. It is one of the few things I found there that was well worth spending three pounds eighty pence on.
My day and a half there, for I arrived with just enough time in the day on the second to book a room and fall asleep, was spent on foot. With my Zone 1 and 2 pass in my pocket, I hitched the first underground to Picadeli Circus. there I walked London until I was sore in the foot, and the buses looked very inviting. With a bit if rest for sore feet upon the bus' I picked up where I left off. Starting back at Picadeli Circus, I chose a different direction and began another walk. At the end of the day, with around five hours to deal away with, I saw the sign for Virgin Cinemas. After a good half-hour search, i still couldn't find the entrance. Entering the mall next to the Theater, I found a security guard doing nothing, and asked him about the entrance. At the same time another man came up as asked the very same question. Relieved that I wasn't as moronic as I thought, I listened to the very simple directions of how to go there, and now I can truthfully say that I have seen the 13th Warrior, and the Matrix for a second time. B-)
The next day was a somewhat laid back day. I found the train station, and bought a ticket for Salisbury. After a half-hour, I seem to always be that early for some strange reason, jet lag maybe, the train departed with myself aboard.
SALISBURY SEPTEMBER 4TH-6TH
While on the train, within the first 30 minutes, do you think it's coincidence I'm not sure, there were three cemeteries. Now I know that I shouldn't be surprised by the amount of then, but seeing three vast cemeteries within thirty minutes is a shocker for anyone. Besides that, the Train was comfortable, and quite a smooth ride. The country was a nice change, but not a bit of it was wild land anymore. Yes a few places were overgrown with a few trees and bushes, but it had been tamed for quite some time before that.
I arrived in Salisbury at 1:00 in the afternoon, and after securing a place to bed down, I headed for the train station. Stonehenge was the direction I wanted to go. At the train station, I met up with a group of students on break. They were all learning English and all wanted to see the stones as well. As I was standing around they all of a sudden started including me in there conversation, which was made up of English, German, and a lot of switzerlandish. Within the group, there was an Italian, who was the first to talk to me, four Switzerland people, and a Russian. After arriving at Stonehenge, one of the Switzerland girls took charge, and we all had 30 minutes, yep it must be fate, for that's another mention of half-an-hour, to see them. With the girl hurrying us all along, and the Italian lagging behind just to spite her, we barely made it back to the bus on time. About half way home, we all decided, on a spur of the moment decision to see Old Sarum. Stopping the bus, we exited and left the bus behind. After paying what we all decided was highway robbery to enter the remains of Old Serum, we caught another bus back. There we all, minus one of the Switzerland girls who was tired, sat around and had dinner. After parting from the group, I headed back to the hostel and watched British TV, until Bed.
And Today, I have spent enough time just typing this. I am now heading to a medieval Jousting tournament to meet some friends, which I met last night. Happy Trails to All, and until next time I am able to Wright upon this board, Good Night. B-)
And the day continues...Without the Jousting. Well, for a few reasons, namely the bus stopped running before I wanted to leave, and I was writing the previous bits when I missed the first bus. The rest of the day was spent in quiet walking. I must have walked a few miles in the next six or eight hours in Salisbury. Then the day drew to a close, and I fell asleep.
CARDIF The capital city of Wales, sad to say, it isn't much to see, except for the castle across the street from where I am writing this. The day was spent walking the malls a few blocks away, and besides that, I have found a cheep ferry ride over to Ireland, I hope to leave tomorrow. COWS, HORSES, and SHEEP were about all that could be seen, as I was leaving Salisbury for Cardif. The one time I wish I wasn't on a bus was the trip up here. Outside, it was around 80 degrees and inside it felt almost double that. Well, I brought clothes for cold weather, and as of yet, I am still wearing one of my two t-shirts. Switching back and forth, washing one, and wearing the other each day.
Since I left off the last time on a sour note, this time I'll try not to do the same thing.
CARDIF: After I left the internet access point, I made a V-line straight towards the castle. Since it was across the street it was quite easy to do. Inside the castle was a completely different world from the city outside. Outside there was noise, traffic, people everywhere. Inside, was quiet, a few people walking around and all around peaceful. Within the wall surrounding the castle itself, was the museum of the Queen's First Dragoons. The museum showed the changes that the Dragoon's had been through, from when it was two separate company's, the Kings, and the Queen's. At the moment I can not think of there actual name, so I will leave it at that. The other parts of the castle were the old keep, which had a small area that one could walk up and have a breath taking seen of quite a large part of Cardif. A corner of the residential house, was a small tea shop. There I bought something to drink, though one could buy lunch or something more substantial to eat, walking back up and outside of the tea shop, I found three small tables. Two of the tables were already taken up by others, so I grabbed the third. Within a few minutes of my sitting down, two Peacocks, who had free range of the whole of the inside of the castle walls, sauntered up to the three tables. One of the people sitting at another table, quickly stood up, and moved to the other side of the table, taking her food with her. After the peacocks left, a Peahen came to the tables. I was surprised to say the least, though I shouldn't have been. In such a quiet space, such as inside the Castle, I ended up spending the rest of the day there. Reading a book, and just relaxing was the best part of it all. As I was waiting for my bus to arrive at the bus station in Cardif, I met a woman from the USA. Since I know she will be reading this, I will leave it at, I enjoyed immensely our talk and ride on the bus together. B-) Once I arrived at Pembroke Castle, the first thing I did was find a place to stay. I am still not sure if where I stayed was a small hotel, or just a hostel, either way, it was one of the best places I have seen in a LONG time. The name was, well I truly can't think of it at the moment, but as soon as I have my travel book with me I will be able to fill in the blank. For 15 pounds(£), I was able to have my own room, a bathroom just down the hall, and TV room at the entrance. The whole place was of a person's own home. It was more a B&B then a hostel or a hotel, minus the breakfast.
The next morning, I headed out to find the Ferry to Ireland. I left the hotel/hostel/B&B at around 10:30am in the morning, and taking a bus and then walking another mile or so, I arrived at Irish Ferry's terminal around noon. The ferry left at 2:30pm and arrived in Roslare around 7:30. While on the ferry I met a group of people my age, who were all on a tour group. Kentiki Tours, the name of the tour, was spending one week in Ireland. For 700 US Dollars one could go, not including the plane ticket over to London, or any of the Options, which one paid on the ferry while crossing to Ireland. Each from what I could see, was around 30 to 40 dollars more, one even was 120 dollars in and of itself. I just walked up to one of the groups and started talking. Thinking I was on the tour as well, they all started to converse with me. Once they learned I wasn't part of the group, it started a whole other round of questions about where I was going to go, and how long I was going to stay in any one place. Five hours later, when the ferry docked in Roslare, I said good by to all my new friends, and caught the 8:30pm train to Waterford. In Waterford, I stayed in a place called the Viking House Hostel part of (IHH) unfortunately they didn't give YHA discounts. After and uneventful evening, I headed off to bed.
Ahhh yet another morning waking up, not knowing where I was ... after a few seconds of orienting my self, I remembered that I had made it to Ireland. One of the key points that helped me remember was the sound of pouring down rain. Yes it rained that whole day in Waterford, luckily I was able to make it out of that town by 1:00pm, up until then I was running back and forth from store to store completely drenched in rain.
The bus rocked from side to side on the way from Waterford to Cork. It was warm, and I was very comfortable. As I passed through the countryside of Ireland, I would glance up now and again. Every time I looked I was in aww on the majestic seens that played out before me. From an ash-white sway-backed single horse alone quietly eating in a small deep green field, to a small white house with light purple trim, that one could tell the owner was proud of from the light decorations that were around, a few beautifully trimmed bushes, and flowers out front, just to set the house off from the landscape. A house, covered in camouflaging Creeping Ivy, to open majestic fields with the stone walls surrounding them from earlier in the century, these are the true Ireland that I came to see.
In Cork, I am staying at a hostel which all I can say about it is, it truly has a life all of it's own. From Jeromy, the man who runs it, to the quiet roof view of a part of the city one never see's. The Common room, where Tea and Coffee are free, and music is always playing on the tape player, and hand drawn pictures litter the walls. The friendliness of the place is almost contagious. My first night there, I was asked out to Pub Hop with a group from the hostel. That night, I had my first Guinness in Ireland, and my second, and third, after that who knows. *grin* Dancing came next, and the amount of people in the night club was more then I thought could live in the town. Most people on the dance floor just moves up and down, since it was truly shoulder to shoulder, and back to who-knows what. No mosh pit, actually surprised me, everyone was there to have fun, not to get hurt or fight, that could be taken care of down-stairs in the bar area, which was also packed shoulder to shoulder. Well there were quite a few people together, and actually, the two people who I went dancing with, ended up as an item. He left this morning and she will be here for another two months. Dancing didn't end till around 2:30am. B-)
The next morning, I awoke to a car alarm at 7:00am, which did not shut off until after, noon thirty. I managed to sleep for a while longer, finally sliding out of bed around 10am. In the common Room, I met Grace. All I can say for my first impression was WOW!!!!!!! After talking for two and a half hours, we decided to travel to Blarney Castle together. I must say kissing the Blarney Stone was interesting, but why the heck couldn't it have been on the wall instead of on the underside of the top tower? The day was perfect, the sun was shining, the temp, was around 65 to 70+, and with a woman who likes Monty Python, as well as Mell Brooks, I had a great day. After walking all around the Blarney Grounds, we decided to grab something that was easy to cook back at the hostel. Dinner turned out to be Spaghetti, with ... Damn what is that hot sauce, which Telo and his mom always put on spaghetti??? ahhh well, that's everything I have done so far, and now I have spent two hours, and 12£ on this, so you had all better appreciate it. ;-). Now I will return to the Hostel and see if Grace is around. Have fun where ever you all are. OH and Jerome, have you given this address to Telo and the gang yet? Use my Characters e-mail if you need to Wright me.
Well I'm back and I have a lot to tell. Tabasco, That was the sauce;-) Starting where I left off, Grace wasn't around, Truthfully, I didn't see her till that evening, when she showed up to have dinner. After that, The pubs were the next place we, and another hosteller went to. Unfortunately I can't remember his name, but he is truly a character. At the moment he is biking around Ireland, checking on the hostels that he covers in his pamphlet "all the hostels in Ireland." The great thing about talking to him, was that he knew where to stay all over the Island. The next day, was the Hurling Finals in Ireland. All that morning, we had people in the TV room watching the matches. That afternoon, across the Radio, which I ended up listening to because of too many people in the TV room, and all over the TV they played the final Hurling Match. Cork Won!!! Oh what a party there was in the streets. B-) The evening came, and Grace and I went out to a pub, only to be stopped at the train station, by mobs and mobs of people. They lined the street in front of the Station waiting for there team to arrive. TV crews and newspaper reporters roomed throughout the crowd as they sang bar song after bar song. the moment finally arrived, the Team had arrived. As soon as they exited the station on there way to the Victory Bus, the crowd started chanting for the team. The chanting went on and on, as the Bus tried to exit the Station, only to find that it had to stop every few inches to move the people away from the entrance. After a second try, it started its slow amble down the street. The crows flocked around the open topped bus cheering the team; who's captain held the Trophy. We followed the crowd down the street, across the bridge, and into the street of the pubs. There we picked one of the pubs which I had been to previously. After my first pint, three people showed up and sat at the Tiny Table next to us. The one with his back to us pulled from a case, a Bazooki, no not a Bazooka, a Bazooki. It is a type of instrument, played like a guitar, but there the similarities end. It has eight strings, a longer neck, and a completely different shaped bottom end. The second player, pulled out an accordion, and the third a Violin. Of course it could have been any of that family, for I never knew how to tell the difference between a Violin and its compatriots. After a half-hour,;-), a second and third Violinist arrived. When the first three arrived, and were warmed up, they started in on some old Irish folk songs, this continued when the second and third violinists arrived. They continued to play until midnight, when the Pub closed; eleven-thirty is when they stop serving. The next morning, Grace and I waved good-by, and parted ways. I continued up towards Dingle, while she stayed around the south west coast.
Dingle
What can I say, but Man I love the Rainbow Hostel! As I exited the bus at Dingle, there in front of me, were two mini-vans, one Red, the other was a mish-mash of colors. From the look of it, the owner of the van had asked people to paint what ever they wanted onto it. There were people painted on the bottom, the hostel on the back, I even think I saw the van, itself, painted on one of the doors. As I walked with my pack up to it, the person in the passenger seat, was telling everyone that they had plenty of room. I ended up sitting backwards to the passenger seat, since every other seat was taken up. My first thought was to take a bed, and crash. I ended up in the dorm room, asleep. The next day, found itself raining. Since most people were staying in, I introduced myself to one table. I still get a kick out of everyone's expressions when they ask where I am from, and I answer Alaska. B-). The most interesting character in the Hostel, was Andy. He plays the Harp, and at first glance, I wanted nothing to do with him. After talking with many people, I finally was introduced to him. Now I wished I had met him sooner. A laugh-riot is all I can say. He Busks in the afternoon, and in the evening, he plays at which ever local pub has another instrumentalist. He will just walk in, set down his harp, which he carries in a very large case under his arm, and joins in with the player. Within a few minutes he has people buying him drinks to keep him playing. The day before I left, he already had pubs asking for him to come back. Last I heard, he will be at Dingle till at least the 1st, for he has signed up for a harping contest then. The next day, brought sun like I hadn't seen in a long time. Everyone left renting bikes, including myself. I found a bike that was alright, though after riding it for the first half-hour, by rear hurt like no one can believe. On my first trip out on the bike, I rode out around the bay, and up most of the way to the watch tower on the top of the hill. I decided to turn around, for what turned out to be a five-minute-shower arrived. I say this because as soon as I felt that the shower was increasing, I pulled out my rain coat. Then it truly started to fall. And as abruptly as it had started, within five minutes, it was over. Unfortunately, I was unable to ride straight back to the Hostel, because that was the way it was heading. Slowly, I followed the rain cloud until it had passed the Hostel. Arriving, I realized that I was in no shape to bike. I crashed in bed for the next few hours. Again I took the bike out later that evening, but this time it was only to travel to the Town; five minutes by bike, or fifteen minutes by walking. That evening, I tried to teach a group of six, including Patty, in just a bit you will see why I am talking about him separately, a game called "Shitty". It was a fun game, until Patty came along, he is the local Irish resident at the Hostel. I say this because he was born and raised in Ireland, I think, and he truly drinks as an Irishman. Patty was Drunk as he is every night, and he insisted on learning the game. With Patty as a translator for the two German women, we, the three English speaking people, explained the game to all, or at least tried to. About half way into the game, Patty started to drink even more. The more he drank, the stranger he became. It started with him joking in German to the Austrian women, then repeating the joke in English for us. After another can, he began to slur the two vocabularies together; saying half a sentence in English, then switching to German to finish it. It came to a point where no one knew exactly what he was saying. Then he pulled out a language only he knew, Gaelic. With a mixture of all three, he had everyone roaring with laughter, for he did manage to crack some jokes that were comprehendible. That and he repeated the jokes so many times that he told the whole joke in English, German, and Gaelic, at least once. As the night wore on, we were all reprimanding Patty to keep his voice down. Finally we all had to call it quits on the count that it was past midnight, when Quiet hours kicked in. On the Fourth day, I left Dingle, saying good-by's to one and all.
Traveling on the bus, I made it to Kilkee. There I met the man who had went drinking with grace and me the second to last night in cork. Listening to his Good advice, I left the next day. There was nothing truly to see, or do there. On the bus ride up to Galway, we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher, please excuse the spelling I know it is not right. With a couple of companions that I met on the bus up, we explored the left side. Walking both inside of the rock protection, and right next to the cliffs, the three of us made our way to the top of the side we were on. If I had more time, I would see it again, of course it helped that my traveling partners were both female, but still...B-). After an hour exploring the cliffs, we returned to the bus and made our way on towards Galway.
GALWAY AND THE SALMON WEIR HOSTEL
My Gawd WHAT A BLAST I HAVE HAD HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I spent the next three nights here, Traveled to Dublin for a night, and then Spent another three nights here, I have been having the most fun yet!
The first day, I arrived around one o'clock, booked a room, dropped off my stuff, and started to explore the town. Everything is within walking distance to everything else within the city. That evening, I stayed in the hostel, and introduced myself to those who were staying there as well. The first three that I met were Nicolos, Sandre, and Salin. All French, all great to be around. That evening they took me to "The Hole in the Wall," a pub that everyone from the hostel frequents. The next day, they invited me to do a day-trip with them. Salin backed out, for she had to get a job, by the end of the day she had one. That left Nicolos and Sandre, The three of us went to the bus station, only to find out that the place they had wanted to go to, the bus had left half-an-hour,;-), ago. After talking it over, we decided to ask someone where would a good place to go for a day-trip. Spiddle was the place we learned. When the bus dropped us off, we walked to the beach, and out onto the rocks. There, we all just stood and let the breeze blow over us. after a while, I started to jumping to rocks closer and closer to the actual front of the rocks where the water wash crashing over. It became a game for Sandre and I, who could get the closest without becoming soaked in sea-water. After that, we all started to look around in the small pools. Nicolos found one with tiny shrimp in it. after watching them for a while, we all decided to walk down the beach. We finally had to break off our trek, because of a river, which was pure brown. We couldn't find a way to cross it, so we had to back track until we made it to the road. There we crossed the bridge, and continued on our beach journey. At one point we came across a Donkey, Sandre started to feed it. after she said good-by, we all headed down to a small dock. There we watched three older men, and there two sons and a daughter, fish for large sardines. An hour passed, and after another five minute shower, we all climbed up, and walked back across the wall to exit the dock, and catch the bus back. The third day was a lazy day for me. I did nothing, except read my book, and relax in the main room. The fourth day, I caught a bus to Dublin. there I rented a bed from a hostel, which I can't recommend to anyone. That evening I played LARP with the UK faction of the Cam. I have been invited back, but I won't be here the next time they play. The next day, was the trip back to Galway, and another relaxing day. The Sixth day after arriving in Galway, I saw GO with Nicolos and Sandre, a damn good movie. Another lazy day followed that, and then yesterday, Friday, came the Haunting to movie theaters. Thank you for recommending seeing it Jerome, I love it!!! Today, I have spent almost two and a half hours typing all of this and now I am heading in the direction of Sligo. Damn I'm having fun. Oh, Rosie, did you ever give this addy to Juanita? I know she wanted it. B-)
GREETINGS TO ONE AND ALL, yes I AM ALIVE. Continuing from where I left off... After arriving at Sligo, I wasn't in a very good mood. The reason for this was that I had to tear myself away from Galway. I could have stayed there for the rest of my trip and not thought a bit about it. But I finally left. and hated myself for it for the next few days. Unfortunately that attitude was with me when I arrived in Sligo. So the next night and day were not great. *sorry dad, I didn't even think about being a tourist there* After another movie or two, I went straight to bed, and the next morning I left.
DONEGAL - What, or I should actually say who, changed my mood, was on the bus to Donegal. I had thought I recognized the couple across from me, but I wasn't positive. About half-way through the ride, I finally started to ask them questions. The two answered them, and it turned out that they were two of the people who I had met back in Galway. They had stayed in the Salmon-Weir for a couple of nights, then headed for the interior of Ireland. The meeting up with them brought my spirits back up, and I started to enjoy the traveling again. They told me of a great hostel which they had stayed at last time in Donegal, and when the bus stopped, they lead me there. The hostel was run by an Australian, who had become tired with hiking around, the previous month. She was then hired and now, a month later she was on her last two weeks, before she left for the states. That evening (Sunday), I walked around Donegal, and the next day I met Laura. She, of good nature, and a boy-friend back in her home country, so it was just as friends that we met, was great to hang around with. I had met her for the first time in the Salmon-Weir, yup I met quite a few people there, there I had learned that she was from South Africa, and was traveling around Ireland by herself. When we met up again in Donegal, we decided to hike around together. But I am jumping about, let me begin again. In the morning (Monday) I over heard her asking the Australian hostess where a good place to hike around would be. While leaning against the door frame, I listened while the hostess explained about a rundown castle/hotel. Intrigued, Laura asked directions, and then looked at me and asked if I would like to walk with her to see it. Agreeing, I listened to the directions on how to travel to the castle/hotel. Gathering what we wanted, my coat, her coat, we started out. Conversation started, and we talked for most of the hour and a half, it took us to walk there. Once we had arrived at the castle/hotel I was utterly amazed by what I saw. The first part which I saw was actually the back stables, or that's what I surmised the building would have been used for. After
Sorry folks. The computer which I was typing on last time froze and wouldn't let me finish my thought. So here is the ending to my trip. I will try to embellish the ending, but there are no guarantees.
After walking through the stables, we crawled out one of it's windows. From the back side, it seemed to be a broken down building not much to look at, and with a few other buildings next to it. We proceeded to follow a trail, which on further inspection would have taken us around the stables, if we had just looked for it at the beginning. At seeing the front, I was awe stricken. The field in front was all two-foot grass, and if one had approached the castle from the end of the field, one would have believed that he had found a lost castle. It had one tower around five stories tall, with the entrance to the dukes home to it's left. Climbing Ivy, covered the left side of the Manner house, and climbed about three fourths the way up the tower. Out one of the windows in the tower, a bush could be seen sprouting, and through the main door, one could see a tree. Using one's imagination, you could picture the kitchens off to the left of the Entrance and the main dining room on the second floor above the main hall. The guest bedrooms, as well as the main bedrooms, would be situated on each floor of the tower, or behind and to either side of the dining room.
After the awe wore off, we entered the main door, or portal, since there was no door left. Still chatting, for even as we were agape with awe, we kept up a stream of talk, we looked at where the seal of the duke, or the owner of the Castle/Hotel/Manner house, should have been. Unfortunately someone had taken it off of the stone. Climbing the five steps, the reverse side of the Castle was a disaster to see. No backside at all, it seemed that only the front, the Tower, and the kitchens off to the left were all that remained. Trash was strewn in the pits where the basements should have been, and using the tree as a holding, I dropped down to the semi-stable dirt/Trash. As I explored, I entered the tower, which for how long it had been standing, was in very good shape. After giving a gasp, I heard Laura climb down and head towards where I stood. She entered the base of the tower, and found me staring up directly up. The perfectly circular tower had no floors on it, but all of the windows were still there, as well as the holes where the floor beams were once held. finishing our exploration of what was left of the castle, we walked back to the meadow out front, and proceeded to explore the area. Finding a very old tree, and some odd semblance of other trees and bushes, I decided to return to the front field. For the next half-an-hour Laura and I sat in the meadow and talked.
We left the Castle, and started to head back, when, during a lull in the conversation, we both heard a car. She stood behind me and we both put out our thumbs. Of course the car seeing only me, sped up, then as the car passed me, the driver spotted Laura, and quiet literally slammed on the breaks. With myself in the Passengers seat, and Laura in the back, we managed to arrive at the main road in approximately ten minutes, give or take a few. That evening, was spent playing Shitty with Laura and talking until around 1 am. Her boyfriend seemed to be the main point of her conversation now and again, but such is life I guess. The next day(Tuesday), found me in the Donegal Fort, accompanied by Laura. Taking the tour, we traveled around the Fort, and into the rebuilt section. After the Tour, we spent the rest of the day walking around Donegal. Looking into shops here and there, she found quite a bit of trinkets, oh sorry souvenirs, for her relatives, and friends back home. Laura left for somewhere in the Ease the next day, and I traveled West, the previous evening(Tuesday). All the way to Glen-Con-Keel, that's how one pronounces it, the spelling I'm still not sure about. Glen-Con-Keel was a Very Quiet place. The first day I spent reading in my room(Wednesday). Hey, sometimes I needed a day off from traveling. The next I walked the beach. A small strip of beach with hopping rocks, boulders large enough to hop from one to the next and still present a fun challenge, seemed to be carved into the area. All around it are large hills, fields, and Sheep EVERYWHERE. I even found one half buried in the sand, dead, and half rotting. Another was farther back on that same side of the beach, and it was fully exposed except it's head was buried in the sand, as if it was an ostrich, also dead. At the beach, there were only two other groups. One with two people, and another person sitting by himself. The beach was large enough so that we could all sit on it, and have quite a bit of space between us. As I walked the beach, before I discovered the two dead sheep, a dog decided to be my walking companion. He was the one to point out the dead sheep, by trying to nibble on both of them. After I had sat down, on the other side of the beach from the dead sheep, the dog came over again and just laid down beside me for a bit, before returning to his owners. Oh the day was sunny, I mention this, because it was the only sunny day I had at GlenConKeel. The day after(Friday) was overcast and Windy!!!! Not much happened until the evening, when I went for a walk. I started at the Hostel, and followed the road down, back to the main road. At reaching the main one, I headed for the center of town. Walking through the main street, which wasn't much, I seemed to pick up a friend. In this I mean that a dog started to follow me around. At first it was nice to have some companionship, as I walked, and searched for Standing Stones. The dog would range ahead for around twenty to thirty feet, then look back to see if I was following. When I had turned a different direction, he would back track and try another road until he found me again, then with tound lolling, he would range ahead again. We walked together, with him heading in front, then turning to see if I followed, or if I had turned, for around two to three hours. When it had finally become dark, for it had been threatening to do so for the last hour or so, I stopped and took a bearing of where I was in relation to the Hostel. Looking around, I found a few landmarks which I recognized from the map I was shown before I had left the main square of the town. Using them, I started for the hostel, the dog still having a fun time of ranging ahead and then looking back to make sure I was still there. When I approached the town, I began to think that the dog's owners might be wondering where he was. I then tried to persuade him to go home, but he never seemed to understand. Finally, I knew that I couldn't take him with me, so at one point, I tried my last time, then turned and walked away from him. As I traveled up the gravel road, I could hear him wining in the background. With a pain in my heart I kept my head facing foreword and continued on until I couldn't hear him anymore. Adequately it began to rain, and by this I mean a true Irish rain, DOWNPOUR!!! Around half way up the road to my Hostel, it then began to Hail. At this I just had to laugh. For it truly mimicked my feelings at that moment. Also I began to laugh as I realized, in a half crazy way, that if hail was the only thing it was going to do to me, then I could survive most anything. Since it couldn't beat me down any more then I already had done to myself, my spirits strangely rose. Making it back to the Hostel once again, I was in a great mood. There I relaxed, and then on Saturday I caught the 7am bus out of there, never seeing the dog again, hopefully he found his home.
Well, I thought I was going to finish this, but I guess it will take a while longer, I am enjoying the memories, but I truly have to go, see ya next installment. B-)
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