Year End with Promises and a Surprise

So as I sit in yet another airport this time stateside I realize I have been neglectful of this blog. So with some other wide eyed coffee drinking people for company at 6am I figure its time to get back to this!

I will be working on updating posts from each of the places I went in Ireland while I was officially on vacation. So expect posts on Cork, Dingle, and Waterford... With that we will wrap up Ireland and be off to greener pastures.


So hopefully I have now peaked you interest once... You notice I never did say where or why I was in an Air Port......


However this trip Honey Badger has made it past security by hiding in my carry on. He refused to be left behind for any reason.

Here he is escaped from his backpack prison possibly inappropriately assaulting the arm rest... So if you are really clever you can guess the airport from the seats and carpet.. If you not really good a remembering airport carpet and seats don't fret.... I'll be sure to send update you where I am going in a later post. SHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh its a surprise!


Also you really want to keep an eye out for his drunken New Years photos... That he has no clue I will be taking!


Well 2014 has been an amazing year of travel hopefully 2015 will be just as awesome! 2014 has Ireland and a Cruise that will also be updated here in a bit and has me graduating Uni!

See you in the New Year!
~Rachel~

1st day of vacation time in Ireland

So today I woke up early and said goodbye to Ellen. I am so gonna miss her! Who is gonna meow at me when walking by our window and make funny faces with me and strange voices!! 

So here we are a roomie pic!

I'm gonna miss this lady!!

After some light packing and cleaning of the room I tossed the laundry in the washer and folded the others peoples sheets. I watched movies till 1:45pm when I had a cab come and take me to my B&B.

After some exploring and a very healthy dinner of chips and chicken nuggets and a walk in the rain I went back to my room and just rested. I can't wait for Les and Leslie to get here!!! So some skytv for a bit then a shower and when I wake up they will be here!!!

Last Last day of work for Internship

So today ends 8 weeks of internship time in Ireland.

 

It is very strange to think that it is all over and that I am no expected to go back home. Lucky for me my home is coming to meet me here in Dublin. Les, my husband is coming so we can visit western Ireland!

 

Still I am very sad to say goodbye to all my new friends here at the Icon Factory. It has been an amazing summer!

 

Aga my boss got me a going away gift of tea and some polish candies. I can't wait to munch on them while we travel around Ireland.

 

I have loved some of the things here in Dublin like:

 

The people and the vernacular

The weather and how changeable it is

easy going attitude

how big and small the city is

the chocolate

the tea

the flavoured Blumers cider

my fancy ass gym

getting to be a part of furthering Irish culture at The Icon Factory

meeting all my other interns

the beauty of the countryside

 

I have not liked something's

 

My shitty apartment

CIS's lack of caring about issues

the EVIL seagulls

drunken yelling at 3+ am

the young girls slutty fashion

 

 

However the experience has been something that I will never forget and that I think everyone should experience at some point. All college students should go abroad!

 

I look forward to my few extra days in Dublin and my drive around the west.

 

We are not done yet so same bat channel same bat time kids!!

 

 



Artist Studio Visit

One of the great things about working with Aga is that she has so many connections to local artists. She took me early this week to see the studio of an Polish artists who had moved to Ireland quite a few years ago. He does a lot of caravaggio type oil paintings then some very neat print work and watercolors. 

 

me and Adam talking about his metal etching process

 

The artist's studio and some of the work is he working on... not sure why it wont rotate...

 

this is on of his found metal works... he find pieces of metal on the ground then makes the into prints and ads context for the image, very cool.

 

His work space..

 

talking about this latest work and how he still has to add to the top....

 

many more studio pictures...

 

he was very interested in mirrors and took a few pictures of me.

 

notice that I don't smile!

 

well it was a fun time. the stuff he had in his studio was just so much fun to look at. He like me also collects vintage cameras. He has much older ones than I do but he was impressed with my dad's collection.

How to eat in Ireland like a Boss (IE Student)

So the number one rule of eating here in Ireland is to eat as much as you can for as little as you can. However, you might find out that you just are not as hungry as you normally are. I have no idea why this is. It may be the excessive amounts of water I drink cause I walk everywhere or just part of the Magic of Ireland. 

As I start my last week living here I realized I had not talked about how much I spent on food. So when I got here I traded easy location for price. That first week I spent 30euro on food at the shop. Now granted that did last me about a week and a half it was not terrible but I knew I could do better. So I started going to Aldi.

Now I know what you are thinking! They have those in the States and yes you would be right we do. BUT here in Ireland its sooooooooo cheap. I have never been to on in Texas but I know we have like one near campus so I might have to try it out after my experience here. I pack my lunch for the most part when I go to work. I'm not a big breakfast eater so I normally have a juice box and yogurt. 

What this means is by shopping at Aldi I spent about 12 to 13 euro a week and had plenty of food. I normally got things like pita bread and sandwich meat, hummus, carrots, celery, grapes, cheese, milk, butter, yogurt and orange juice, and pasta. Pasta is wonderful cause its filling and cheap!

My sample receipt here from my shopping trip today is a little different as splurged on some comfort foods. But I still stayed under 12 euro.

The biggest splurge is green grapes. I love these and this time I spent more to get premade stuff like the two pizza's and the chicken. Still thats 3 meals and then sandwhiches for the rest. With yogurt for breakfast and then grapes and cumber for snacks.  I also have some left over rice and some soup in a cup from last week so I can have some variety.  Normally I would have more fresh veggies from Aldi's super 6 sale. Where 6 veg or fruits get prices at 39cents. 

Basicly Aldi is the shit for saving money and is always worth the walk! Just don't forget your own shopping bags as here in Ireland you have to pay for them if you don't bring them.

Viking Pub Crawl

Trying to keep from being depressed I was dragged along on a pub crawl. It was 4 pubs and a Club... Sadly to day I don't remember the names of any but the first pub. But this pub crawl was worth the money. It was 12 euro and we got a free shot in every pub and then a slice of pizza. Went with some awesome people.

The whole group!

Us girls

And then I took a Selfie!

As you can see this pub crawl was fun I would recomend to anyone that they do this one! It was great and the shots we had actually had alcohol in them.  

The saddest of days

Friday Aug. 1st

          This day my baby dog Guinness passed away in the arms of my husband, the last thing he heard was Les telling him that his mummy loved him very much. I'll always remember him. I can't believe I was not there for him or that he will not be waiting for me when I get home from this experience in Ireland. I loved him so much and he was such a cornerstone in my life, a constant that I was never willing to accept would ever disappear. He had such a big heart and loved all people and animals. It's ironic that his heart is what failed in the end. I know that he is happy and no longer in pain wherever he is probably annoying his uncle Broc and Rocky and Aunt Jenga and Abby. I hurt in a way I can't explain and its physical like my heart is breaking from his loss. I am now awaiting my husbands arrival to Dublin even more as I crave the comfort that he will give me and that I can give him. I think we both really need a hug.

You will always be my baby Guinness. I loved you from first sight. 

Hell Fire Club Outing

Who knew Dublin had such a dirty history of misdeeds! Well we found out tonight about the Hell Fire Club a group of gents and lords who went against the church and supposedly courted the devil and killed people in sacrifice including many women.  set at the top of a hill outside of Dublin is a burned out hunting lodge possibly made from the stones of a megalithic mound tomb. It was there that many disturbing things were said to have happened and it now has ghost activity. 

So we did this in the evening, there was still light but the sun was setting. We had to climb up a hell of a hill to get to the top. So if you do this bring hiking stuff and watch out the flies bite. 

A quick stop to look at the trees.. not natural to Ireland tho.

The easy part of the hike what I would have given for a atv or a horse.

So this wall dates to the creation of the hunting lodge and would have been used to chase animal to so it was easier to get them. Not very sporting if you ask me.

My friends Shawn and Laura staying classy as we walked.

We learned that even today bodies are found in the woods its also very quite no bug sounds. Shawn was pondering all of this.

Amazing views.

so its hard to see but there is a famine era home and wall in this field. So people did try to live up here.  

So here it is the meeting place of the Dublin Hell Fire Club...

There were some amazing views of Dublin at the top of the hill.

Shawn getting in all my pictures!!

Our guide telling us about what goes on up on this hill even today.

Still very pretty views of Dublin



The Building up close. The should have been stairs up to the door that is center but that is gone now.

The sun was starting to go down...

Still pretty...

Till you go inside... then mega creepy. I also learned birds don't like flash sounds... nearly gave me a heart attack.

This is the safe room because the first fire is said to have purified the room so there is no spirit activity.

This room no so much. It was really two rooms an upper and the lower floor we stood in. You can see the beam locations for what would have been the second floor. In this room was were many parties and drinking took place including one story of a poker game with a cloven footed stranger who was dressed in black and did a lot of winning.

this stairway was added since people came up all the time but the back room on the top floor was what might have been a ritual room. The room below it would have been a holding chamber. You can see the door to this room below. More on this room later. Very oddly the back of the lodge is designed so that as little light can get in.

This would have been the front door and entryway.

Leaning out windows is fun to get pictures!

A sepia toned view of Dublin. 

Looking out of the windows in the top room.

So scary!!

This is the fireplace in the dinning hall that has in the past made people feel like a fire was actually going on in it.

Very creepy windows.

Me imagining the blood that this house has seen weather animal or human...

Still a pretty view.

Creepy! What is really weird is in one of the rooms my camera died and had no battery.. but when we walked out of the room the battery came back to green!!

This is in the most haunted room. I tried to take pictures with flash but they came out all dark with nothing in them even the window. This picture was taken with out flash...... I lightened it to see if I could get any details to show up. What I found was to the right of the window a weird shape that kinda looks like a face and this was were Shawn got freaked out in the room. He felt breath on his neck and tingles and when he entered the room before the group heard mumbles that stopped when he turned on his light! There is a halo of light in a weird place so many it was a spirit!

The back of the building, come to find out is a monolithic hill tomb that was desecrated by the builder of this building who took all the stone to build it from the tomb.

So all in all a very cool adventure! If somewhat creepy as we walked down in the dark. To know more about this place google Dublin Hell Fire Club, they were some really messed up people!