Going Home: 11 - 12 June

Sadly, my time overseas has come to an end. But not without one last adventure. And a return to Cork for a single night. When our tour ended, we divided into three groups, those staying in Paris, those returning to London by coach, and those flying out of Paris. I was part of the last group. We got to Charles de Gaulle airport around nine and had to wait until 11 to checkin. Then another couple hours, plus a bit more due to delay, until the flight left for Dublin. I then had a short bus ride to city center where I once again hopped on another bus back to Cork. I took the sentimental walk back o Victoria Lodge to pick up my bags. From there I called a taxi and headed for yet another airport. I sent the night there since checkin for my next flight was at 5 am.

So, from Cork I flew to London, passed through security for the second time that day. The Brits are really sticklers for security. The liquids that had made it through Cork, twice, and through Paris as well were an issue for them. Oy, what a hassle. So made it through London surprisingly well. Then off to Chicago, where I had to reclaim my bag, check it again, go through security once again, and get directions to my gate. What a crazy place. Coming into the States is much harder than leaving, even harder than getting into the UK. Finally I could text home and let my family know I was safely back in America and getting ready to board my final flight to Omaha. This was just a little puddle jumper, cramped after the Boeing 777 (which has 8 seats across versus 3). Everything went smoothly on that flight, and I even got a complimentary drink. We landed safely. On the outside of the secure area I was met by a few familiar faces: ie, Mom, Dad, my little sister, and my nephew.

For those of you who are going to ask, yes, Ireland was amazing, and yes, I would definitely do the whole thing again in a heartbeat. It was sure great to be home again, though. It took a few days to adjust to the family routine again, and a few more to get into working regularly. Things are going smoothly now, and I'm looking forward to my return to school. I'm starting a whole new chapter, with a new outlook, but this time with people I know already, and love.

Contiki: 1 - 10 June

Because I bought my plane ticket early i wasn't sure when I had to leave my apartment. Turned out my ticket was for the day after the apartments closed. So I needed to fill my time somehow. What better than a rapid tour of Europe. Jemma introduced us to an Australian company called Contiki which does coach tours around the world. The tour I joined was the European Horizon, seven countries in ten days.

Big Ben

I naturally started my journey by waking up late. The night before had been long so I'm using that as my excuse. My early taxi got me to the airport on time, but unfortunately it was the start of summer holidays so everything was crazy!!! I stood in line for checkin for close to an hour, then an hour in the security line. I couldn't believe it. Little tiny Cork had every position open but they were still backed up. They flight to London was fairly short, only a couple hours. Then a bus to the city, about an hour. My directions to the hotel weren't very clear so I wandered for a while, always headed in the right direction but constantly worried about not finding the right street. But everything turned out alright. Google just had too many steps. Turn here, turn there, etc etc. Really it could have said follow the street farther down and make it a straight journey. Whatever, I made it safely. Before checkin I stopped to have lunch. Then the boring checkin, finding my room, getting settled. Afterwards, my plan was to hop on a bus tour of the city, just to see what I could. Unfortunately it was wicked expensive. So instead I marked out a walking route. I headed out on my own, map in hand. Only a short time later I almost ran over another Contiki tourist. He recognized me from checkin and we decided to walk together. After four hours of walking London, we saw only about half of what we had planned and were completely exhausted. But I couldn't stop. I needed to attend a meeting about the next mornings take off. After a quick intro to the road team. Then we were all invited to drinks so we can meet the other people on our tour. Since I had traveled all morning then walked all afternoon, I was quite dehydrated by the time I got to dinner at the pub. Which means I got drunk much faster than I normally would. A good way to kick off the tour, especially since we hadn't officially started yet.

The next morning we took off really early. Like 6:00 am early after drinking all night for many people. After some confusion, since there were three tours leaving at the same time, we finally hit the road. As we left the city we got the talk about basic rules and some guidelines for enjoying the tour. The we ferried across the English Channel, seeing the White Cliffs of Dover along the way. Then we sat on the bus for the long drive up to Amsterdam. After checkin at the hotel we did a canal cruise. It was fun, but really meant to get everyone drunk before the Red Light District. It was an interesting place, but more than one visit isn't really necessary.

Tulip Market

We made our way back to the hotel by ourselves that night. In the morning, the coach took us back into city centre so we could explore the city in daylight. JUst a couple hours in the city was enough to see a lot, but not really experience it. A good enticement for coming back. Then onto the coach gain for the drive to the German Rhine Valley. There we stayed in a small village, precisely because of the wine that is made there. A special German Eiswein. The place was beautiful and quaint. We also took the time to sign up and pay for the extra activities throughout the tour, such as the canal cruise and wine tasting. There were a lot that I couldn't do because of expense. Plus they didn't sound particularly interesting, some of them.

Dachau Concentration Camp

During the previous few days, much of the valley had flooded, so when we set out the next morning toward Munich, a lot of service stops were not open. It may have gotten us closer to our goal faster, but it sure made the drive seem longer. We gained some extra time while driving so we had time to stop and see Dachau Concentration Camp on the outskirts of the city. That was quite the experience. Unfortunately we only had an hour to explore. Definitely not enough time at all. But it wasn't in the plan originally. Then straight into the city. We had a couple hours to explore before the coach headed back to the hotel. There was a bar downstairs, but because the drinking age is 16 in Germany, it was full of young teens all night, and not particularly interesting.

Glacial River in the Austrian Alps

Once again, off early in the morning, this time to Austria. The first optional activity for the day was white water rafting. Unfortunately, for the people who didn't pay for it had to waste the day waiting for the rafters. Then when we got to the stopover site, a large portion of the group took off for paragliding. This time those who didn't pay got to do what they wanted around the village. A friend and I went for a bike ride. It had been a few years since I had seriously ridden a bike, so naturally I met the sidewalk once or twice. Actually, it was a wooden fence that I met, but close enough. Our first party was that night, themed Tight, White and Bright. Not as exciting a party as I expected, but still fun. I was hoping for a more interesting theme, really. And to stay out late and party is silly since every morning we start early.

The next morning was the same. Each day the drive seems to become longer. This time we were headed to Venice, Italy. The first thing we did on arrival was gear up for a walking tour of the city. There are no cars allowed, so we had to take a boat to get from the campsite to the city. Some of us didn't take the walking tour, so we got to actually explore the city by ourselves. We saw St. Mark's Basilica. Then we meandered down some random streets...and went off the edge of the map. Oops. Luckily we found our way back just fine. And in time to make it to our gondola ride. Again, not as spectacular as I expected, but still fantastic. The sudden warmth took a bit of adjusting. Same with the mosquitoes.

Looking through the Waterfall

Come morning, we headed off to Switzerland. We took a break to explore Lucerne, a beautiful little city. Quite scenic. The single hour was more than enough to see the sights and try some chocolate. We stayed two nights in Switzerland. The second day many people ascended to the highest railway station in Europe. That was the most expensive excursion and way out o m budget range. Instead I decided to climb a waterfall. A friend and I discovered it while we were going for a mid-morning walk. Since we couldn't climb a mountain, why not a waterfall? That night was another party. This time the theme was Swiss-co Disco. I think the themes are designed to force us to buy souvenirs from the campsite and drinks at exorbitant prices from Contiki campsites.

Our last drive day was Sunday. This must have been a record-breaking length. A full twelve hours. With only two short breaks. Because we were sort of late coming into the city and it is fairly large, we did a bus tour first so people had an idea of what they wanted to see. We started Monday morning by taking a group photo in front of the Eiffel Tower. Then we hopped on the coach to get to the other side of the city to visit a perfumery. We got four hours to explore the city after that. Then back to the hotel to get ready for our final dinner. Once we returned to the city that evening we headed up to the Sacre Couer, then to a five-course dinner. Following dinner was an optional cabaret show. Again, too expensive for little ole me. After the show we all headed to an Irish pub right next to the Moulin Rouge for a last night out with everyone before we all went our own ways in the morning.

Last Week: 25 - 31 May

While Scotland was amazing and gorgeous, I had to return to Cork. There was still an exam left to take, and an entire five months of life to pack and ship home. My plan for Saturday was to finish reading the material for Democracy so I could break from studying on Sunday, and simply review on Monday. That would also eliminate the need to cram before the exam on Tuesday. During breakfast I learned I needed a costume for the National Stereotype Party we were hosting that night. Therefore, instead of studying, I spent my day designing an American cowboy costume, including a brown paper bag hat, a belt, a holster, and a ribbon lasso. It was going fairly well, until I put it on and decided it looked ugly and ridiculous. So I thought maybe an American cheerleader, but that didn't work either. In the end I settled for Scottish Highlander. Unfortunately, the impression was incredibly poor and only the other Americans had any idea what was my ultimate goal. However, for doing this in one afternoon, I think I did quite well. 

Sunday was my last Mass at the Honan Chapel. That was a bit depressing because it signaled the beginning of my goodbyes. I didn't really get much of anything done that day...

Since I had been lazy the previous two days, Monday was the only day I had for studying. What a boring day. But on the bright side, the ankle I injured felt much better than any day up to this point.

Tuesday was the big day: final exam. And the hardest of the semester. I had no idea what I was going to face when I headed out for the test site. Fortunately I left early because it took me longer to get there than I thought it would. It would have been better if the building had been marked on the side I was on. All-in-all the exam went fairly well. I made up a few answers, but it sort of made sense by the end of the essay. To celebrate the end of the exam month, and the end of the semester, a group of us went to Blarney for our last trad music session. It was a lot of fun, but bittersweet as well. Several of the girls danced but my ankle kept me from it. One last dance would have been fantastic, but it was not meant to be. Of course, I'll have to go back some day to have that dance. 

For some reason I woke up quite early on Wednesday. It was nice, despite being 5 in the morning, because I watched the sunrise. And after sleeping a bit longer, I was quite awake when I needed to get out of bed. I decided to spend most of the day at college. I met with a friend for coffee for the last time, then printed my tickets and directions for the rest of my time here. I also posted the pictures that had been piling up. I returned my textbooks for cash, bought pounds sterling, and closed my bank account. When that was all done, I went home and did some cleaning and packing. I didn't get everything cleaned up because one of my friends, whom I hadn't seen in six years, happened to be in the city for two weeks doing a class. So we made a date to meet up. Unfortunately she was sick and we couldn't go out. However, we did still catch up at her place. Maybe a better decision than the pub anyways. And to make the day even longer, it was also the decided date to call my family back in the States. Essentially I was awake for close to 24 hours by the time the conversation ended. But that's ok because so much was accomplished and I felt good about it.

I woke up early Thursday morning to do my laundry before anyone else got up. I had actually planned to do it the night before but was too tired. After my laundry finished, I did some packing. We also went into city at one point to do some "last time"s. These included O'Connaill's hot chocolate and Auntie Em's Sweet Shoppe. I also bought boxes to ship some of my things home. Then home to do more packing.

Friday was the day everything had to be done. I sent my boxes home, my suitcases were filled, my room was clean. Jocelyn's bus was leaving really early in the morning, so we hosted an all-night movie-night. I couldn't stay for the whole night because I, too, was leaving in the morning, but I was going to a strange city, not home and wanted to be alert. Turns out my cousin was also in the city this week. So we made arrangements to meet up at a pub. I planned on staying for just under an hour, but it was closer to two when I actually left. Then I stood around chatting with everyone in the apartment for longer too. Which means I didn't go to bed nearly as early as I was hoping. Despite that, I was satisfied with how well the day went. Especially since the fire alarm went off for most of the day because of a malfunction. Yeah, I forgot to mention, we had to evacuate twice, once on Thursday night, really late, and once really early on Friday morning. Then we had to listen to it the rest of the day. Obnoxious. But there was nothing to be done about it.