The Emerald Isle

Ross Castle

Watching the rain come in

Dingle

I cannot believe that I managed 8 days in Ireland with only one day of rain. I loved it in Killarney and wish I had found a nice Irishman to marry so I didn't have to leave. Meeting up with Anna Fielding was awesome and we had a fantastic 4 days exploring Killarney National Park. The first day we ventured out was the rainy day but coming round the corner to see the ruins of Ross Castle outlined against the grey sky was certainly dramatic. We took a small motor boat out to the island of Inishfallen to see the ruins of the monastery out there and that was when it really rained. You could see it coming in from the mountains and boy did we get wet. The boatman told us "when you can see the mountains, it's going to rain. And when you can't see the mountains, well, it's raining all ready". This weather forecast was spot on that day! We also did a boat tour around the lake and I swear I only understood about 40% of what the guide said. Some of the accents were a bit tricky but we learnt some great new words like "eijit" (idiot) and "plonker" which I plan to introduce into my everyday language. The second day also had a terrible forecast so we decided to sit on a bus for a couple of hours and head out to the Dingle Peninsula. Turns out we stayed ahead of the rain and a beautiful day while it bucketed down in Killarney. Dingle was breathtaking and the town itself super cute.

Dingle Cliffs

Funghi

Ring of Kerry

 They also have a resident dolphin "Funghi". Apparently the American woman who first swam with him insisted that he was a "fun guy" and the locals assumed she was calling him "Fungi" so that's what stuck. We went out on a boat in the harbour to say hi to him and then went further out into the huge Dingle Bay and checked out the cliffs. There was a bit of a swell but thankfully neither of us got sick. Anna tried a Guinness in one of the pubs in Dingle and I had a sip. Probably the worst beer I have ever tried (but don't let any Irishmen hear me say that!). On Saturday we did a bus tour around the Ring of Kerry which was just stunning, The coast is really beautiful, though not as wild as NZ, and they have mountains that come straight down to the beaches. I liked the bus driver's comment that " you have breathtaking views, beautiful sunsets and tropical-looking water". Sums it up pretty well I think! On Sunday we went to the Methodist church, probably the best church I've been to in 9 months. Service was in English, songs I knew and no funny bell ringing or incense waving. We then took a shuttle up to Torc Waterfall in the national park and wandered around the hills up there before walking along the lake shore to Muckross House and Muckross Abbey. The Abbey is incredible because it was abandoned in the 1600s after the monks were forced out by Oliver Cromwell. However most of it still standing and you can walk all over it, including upstairs. According to the bus driver, it is one of the most haunted places in Ireland but we didn't see (or feel) any evidence of ghosts. We spent a couple of our evenings in the local pubs soaking up the live Irish music and atmosphere. I loved it and wished for more time or that NZ was closer so I could visit more often.

Ring of Kerry

Ring of Kerry

Torc Waterfall

Muckross House

Muckross Abbey

I'm back in Germany for 3 days and then head home on Friday. I'll be back in NZ on Sunday and launching into Uni on Monday. I can't believe it's all over and it's time to come home. Thank you all for reading and following what I've been up to. I hope it's been an interesting read and I'm so glad to have shared the last 10 months with you all. I'm looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible when I get back!

London and Galway

I arrived in London and was met by my cousin Raywin who took me to the Victoria and Albert Museum. They had a fantastic exhibition on wedding dresses through the ages plus ones wore by celebrities. We had so much fun seeing how the fashion had changed and some of the crazy things celebrities thought would be acceptable! There was also a fashion overview and I'm always happy to see the old-fashioned dresses! In the evening we went to see Julius Caesar at The Globe. Seeing a Shakespeare play there has been a dream since I disovered A Midsummer Night's Dream at age 13. The atmosphere was incredible and I was smiling ear to ear when we walked in. I sat right up the top so couldn't quite see everything but it didn't matter at all. I loved the play and wish I lived in London so I could go every time they put on a play! The next day we visited 221B Baker street (yes, I'm a Sherlock fan) and I went on the London Eye. Stunning views and fun to be up so high. In the evening we went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey which was beautiful. The choir were lovely although we sat in shock as some people got up and left halfway through! Tut tut...

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"

The Globe

I flew on an early flight to Dublin and had an upset stomach when I arrived. By the time I got to Galway in the afternoon had developed aches and shivers so I took myself off to bed. The next day I still wasn't feeling great so took it slowly just walking around the town. Very quiet and peaceful place though plenty of buskers on the streets. Everyone was super friendly and happy to help if I got lost. The weather stayed amazing and I happily sat down at the beach in the sunshine! In the evening I went to an Irish music concert where one of the top Irish bands was recording a live album. Heaps of fun, really relaxed, they took questions and requests from the audience and plenty of super good music. On Tuesday I decided to go out to the Aran Islands despite still feeling average and had a wonderful day. Couldn't believe it was still sunny and really enjoyed the bike along the coast of Inishmore (the largest of the islands). The dry-stone walls, ruined churches and prehistoric fort all screamed Ireland at me and I was perfectly happy. The fort is at the highest point and you can walk right up to the cliff edge and look straight down hundreds of metres down to the sea below. Handy for disposing of your enemies and would never be allowed in NZ. Where was the safety barrier???

Galway Beach

Galway Bay

On Inishmore

Inishmore

Looking down from the fort

When I got back to the hostel I was shivering again and threw up my dinner so I took myself down to the hospital about 8pm. Saw the triage nurse at 10pm and then waited through the night to see the doctor at 6am the next day. Not the best night of my life. Thankfully just a viral infection and an upset stomach so good to know it isn't anything worse. I'm down in Killarney now with Anna Fielding and feeling much better!

Barcelona and Edinburgh

Gaudi building

Plaza Catalunya

My time away continues to fly by and I was glad to get to Barcelona and have a relaxed 3 days. The weather was still incredibly hot and the first afternoon I simply sat under a tree at the waterfront and watched the world go by. It's fascinating to see what people are wearing in the heat and I saw some outfits that were definitely borderline decent! Plus, all these girls kept on coming back to the hostel with full body sunburn and marvelling that I had managed to stay so white. Gotta love my SPF 50 sunscreen, wearing a hat and trying to stay in the shade. Though, I do seem to have more freckles than usual... We had a bit of a scare with a Hungarian girl who came in with sunstroke so I was dealing with fainting, headache and throwing up until late at night. Her friends seemed to have no idea what to do! Thankfully she recovered before I made the decision she needed to go to hospital. I am loving the hop-on, hop-off buses and the one in Barcelona was great. They have two big loops that take around both west and east sides of the city and I got to see so much this way. And it was in the shade, with a breeze and didn't involve walking (all fantastic points). One

La Sagrada Familia

of the days was a little cloudy with some showers so I went up Tibidabo, the mountain, and enjoyed incredible views right out over Barcelona. It is a beautiful city with lots of interesting buildings (Gaudi) and plazas and a very relaxed atmosphere. I went into the Gaudi park which was incredible to see his designs and how he incorporated nature and the abstract into practical usable spaces. My last afternoon I sat on the beach and watched the people getting burnt, squealing about the cold water (this was the guys, not the girls) and the tourists learning to sail. Plenty of capsizes to keep me amused!

View from Tibidabo

St Giles

Holyrood Palace

In Edinburgh I stayed with a family friend of my German host family, Barbara. She is a lovely and welcoming older lady who enjoyed showing me around her city. It was a very strange experience wandering through streets that all have the same names as Dunedin. George Street, Princes Street, Hanover Street, Chambers Street, Roslyn, Corstorphine. Almost like being at home! I loved Edinburgh and it's the first place I feel like I need to go back for more time. Barbara took me to her folk club who insisted that I sing a Maori song. Mind blank. Thankfully I managed to get out the national anthem which kept them happy. I found it awesome to hear them played their traditional songs as well as ones they've written or learnt from friends. My turn in the circle came again "another NZ song!", so they got the song of the Lonely Mountain, from The Hobbit. After that I had to sing musicals. Very welcoming and friendly people and I would go back in heartbeat.

Edinburgh Castle

Firth of Fourth railway bridge

So the journey continues, down to London and then over to Ireland. In two weeks time I'll be back in NZ, crazy thought!

Viva Italia!

Italy is hot! Venice was humid and Rome was simply too hot. Also, Italians have no customer service, drive like maniacs and speak very poor English. And, their policement think it is funny to send tourists off in completely the wrong direction! It´s definitely been an interesting week.

Venice was incredibly expensive which is why I only stayed a day and a half there. The first afternoon I simply walked in and wandered all over the place. Such an adventure seeing where each bridge and little
alleyway will take you. Of course there were miles of people but that also made it fun, watching people try and figure out where they were! As I went through a square I saw a concert being advertisement and spontaneously decided to go. I think it was probably the best performance of Vivaldi´s Four Seasons I have ever heard. It made my heart want to sing and I couldn´t help but feel so blessed to be there. The thing about Venice was I didn´t feel unsafe walking back through it around 11:30pm. Sadly my hostel had no air
conditioning and I was way too hot overnight and got bitten by mosquitos.

The next day I bought a water taxi pass and headed out to the islands. First though, I had to use my map to actually get me through the maze of Venice. What a nightmare! I joined the throngs of people searching

Burano

fruitlessly for street names or trying to find street names on my map. Eventually made it to the ferry though very hot and flustered. Was definitely pleased that no one was with me otherwise there would have been some shouting I think!. Murano is the first island and, while it was interesting to see them making their famous glass, I still found it full of tourists. Burano, on the other hand, was a joy. First of all, a sea breeze! And secondly, fewer people. The houses are all brightly coloured and the place actually has a lived in feel. I was very happy to stretch out under a tree and eat ice cream and simply relax in a very awesome place.

On the plane to Rome, the man sitting next to me proposed marriage and that I move back with him to Nigeria. I think he was a little put out when I refused!

Rome, all roads lead to Rome. Hot and full of people and definitely not as nice as Venice. I felt constantly watched and assessed as a target. While nothing happened, it felt like it could have. Having no real ideas about what I wanted to see, I had a nice day on the hop-on, hop-off bus. The Colosseum was cool but not mind-blowing. The next day I went into the Vatican and was glad I was inside as the temperature climbed above 35. SO many people. I was also pleased I went with a guide and skipped the line for the Vatican and St Peters.

Inside the Vatican Map Room

That extra 20 euro saved me four hours standing in a line. The Vatican was incredible and I spent most of the time taking pictures of the ceiling! So ornate and different in every room. The rooms painted by Raphael and his students were amazing but of course the highlight was The Sistine Chapel. Now, I´m not normally affected by art but walking in there made me want to cry. Shame that people couldn´t respect the silence rule though. And having "SILENCIO" come booming over the speakers wasn´t helping! Note:

One wall of the Raphael room

you cannot go into a church with your shoulders and knees bare but they don´t care how low your top is.

My final day I took the train out to Ostia Antica. Now this was cool. The place has been around since 1400 BC and they have excavated this huge city. You can see their temples, baths, houses, markets, bakery, grainery and ampitheater. I had a very relaxed day working my way from shady spot, to shady spot exploring the place. Again, very hot and I think I went through about 4 litres of water in 2 hours.

Ostia Antica

Ampitheater

  

   

Got up at 4am this morning and flew to Barcelona where the temperatures haven´t improved. I´m looking forward to the UK!

The hills are alive...

Salzburg cathedral

Finally made it to a hostel with a computer so I can let you all know how things are going. When I arrived in Salzburg it was late afternoon so not time to see the main attractions. I decided instead to climb the little hill near the hostel in the hope of a good view. 600m high and 2 hours later I didn’t have much of a view but I had enjoyed the walk through the forest and then coming back down I followed the old city wall and had  a great time exploring. There was basically nobody around and I was perfectly happy until the early evening thunderstorm hit. The next day I explored the old city including Mozart’s house, the home of the former Prince-Archbishops (the opulence was a little crazy) and St Peter’s cemetery and catacombs. Salzburg wasn’t quite as pretty as I was expecting but the people were super friendly and heaps of people wearing dirndls! I did have one incident while in the bus and the bus driver insisted on talking to me. I think I understood about 20% of his German accent and guessed about 60%...

I am 16 going on 17...

In the afternoon I went on a Sound of Music tour (of course). Soundtrack blaring, whole bus singing, out into the mountains - doesn’t get much better than that! The next day I was up early and went up the Untersberg, the tallest mountain near Salzburg. While taking a gondola to the top of the 1776m high peak feels like cheating, I have to admit it was very practical.Once up there, there are plenty of trails you can take and I spent a very happy couple of hours up there. Surrounded by snowy Alps and silence is where I feel close to God. Where  my soul feels a peace and I can re-charge my batteries. I could easily have spent more time up there.

Watch where you sit!

I also visited Hellbrunn Palace built as a pleasure palace by a Prince-Archbishop with a crazy sense of humour. All through the gardens are hidden jets that he could turn on unsuspecting guests. The best being at the dinner table where water would come up through a hole in your seat. I don’t think you’d accept an invitation from this guy twice! In the evening I wandered through the 11th  century fortress and had my first ever dinner out alone. I was going to a chamber music concert and dinner was included but it was certainly a little odd sitting in a restaurant by myself.  The Mozart concert was amazing and I left Salzburg very happy with the start of my trip.

The Untersberg

Salzburg fortress