!!!Bruxelles!!!

My Friend Jamie and I left for Brussels on Saturday morning really really early! We got their around 9 am and headed to the flat where we were staying. Immediately I loved the city! Brussels, for most American travelers is a bit off the beat and path and maybe thats why I loved it so much, but without a doubt it was amazing. It might even go down in the books as one of my favorite spots in Europe. I don't know exactly what I liked about it so much, but it was a very friendly city and it felt very comfortable despite the language barrier. Saturday morning we arrived at our flat, my friend in Dublin offered us a place to stay there so that we could see the city and it was really nice being in a home rather than a hostel! We tried to walk into the city, not realizing that we were to far too walk, but we hopped on the metro and in minutes we were in the heart of Brussels. Jamie and I went out for lunch and I, of course, had mussels and pomme frites which was absolutely delicious! Jamie also had a belgium dish, basically a hamburger with an egg on top which was also very tasty. We toured around the city center and ended up in the Museum of Music. It was a pretty amazing full of old instruments; however, we didn't learn much because there wasn't anything written in English. After, we did a lot of taste testing, beer being on the top of the list and it was valentines day, so lucky for us, there was free belgium chocolate everywhere, and of course we couldn't come back to Dublin without having a Belgium Waffle... AMAZING!!! The city of Brussels is very small and we nearly covered everything in a day. The streets are narrow with lots of cobbles and it definitely has its own unique vibe. On Sunday we took the train to Bruges. It took us about an hour to get there and I am really glad we went and checked it out. It is a very cool city, although it is a bit more touristy than I would have expected. We had a great lunch there and walked along the streets and to the main plaza, which was pretty spectacular. We got back to Brussels just before dark, did a bit more tasting of Belgium beers and headed back to our flat to make dinner and get some rest before our early flight the next morning. It was a great trip, so nice to have a real place to stay and be in a city that was so friendly. It seemed to me, more of a town than a city and I feel its always worthwhile to experience something a bit off the beat and path!

Fees Protest

Last Wednesday, everything in Dublin came to a halt when 15,000 students marched through City Center to protest the reintroduction of college level fees. Students from all over the country gathered in Front Square at Trinity and marched to the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell St. and then to the Leinster House where opposing politicians, trade union members, and student leaders spoke to the gathering of protesters. 

I met up with my Irish friends (pictured) who were also protesting, although I mostly ran around the crowd trying to get some cool pictures. The protesters were really rowdy and three guys (pictured below) had painted themselves, were half naked were my best photography subjects. Tons of the students kept asking if I was from the media, so after about the hundredth time I just started saying "Yeah I am from MTV." The group of boys who I got the best set of pictures from wants me to e-mail them since they show such great intensity and of course since I'm from MTV!

The protested lasted from around two pm till nearly five and the whole time the students where chanting "No cutbacks, no fees, no Fianna Fail TDs." It was big and it was loud, an awesome opportunity for me to play with my new camera and get some great shots!

"No to Fees"

"Laughing Guarda"

"Take Our Picture for MTV"

"Dubliner Cowboy"

TradFest and Mates From Manchester

Last weekend was a lot of fun! I have been traveling a lot and sometimes it is really 

nice to take a weekend to explore Dublin. TradFest was the event last weekend which comes every year to Dublin's Temple Bar. Jamie and I went to a bunch of Pubs to hear amazing Irish Traditional Music. We met up with my French friends, Pierre-Simon (Pictured), Baptiste, 

and Cyril at the Quays Pub in Temple bar and enjoyed Guinness and good tunes together! 

Going to a pub on a Friday early in the evening is an awesome experience, probably Pierre and my favorite thing to do because no matter what pub you are in, it is always packed with people that just got off of work! The pub culture is very cool and the people you meet are always so friendly.

Later that evening we ended up meeting a crowd that was visiting for the weekend from Manchester. They were tons of fun,

definitely Yupies and without a doubt, they only came to Dublin to have a good time! They complained about the price of a pint, nearly 6 euros! In England you can get a pint for less than 2 quid, but they did tell me that the extra cost was worth it for the friendly Dubliner crowd, with which I completely agreed! I had so much fun with my mates from Manchester on Friday that I ended up hanging out with them on Saturday also!  

Although Temple bar is really touristy, you never fail in finding good music there. I asked an Irish lad why he comes to Temple Bar with price of pints and all the foreigners, and he replied, "you can always count on the people in Temple Bar for a good time because most likely they are on Holiday and in a good mood." Its definitely true that the vibe in this part of town is happy and wild, not a care in the world. With the Tradfest in town, nearly every pub 

had group of 4 or 5 band-mates sitting around a table, also enjoying a Guinness while they casually played their tunes. The music is fabulous with a sort of blue grassy tone to it, incorporating tradi

tional instruments to bring out a true Irish feel.

On sunday Jamie and I decide to go into town to see a Irish Photography exhibit for the festivities. We arrived to the Gallery at the most perfect time, there we 4 long rows of bagpipe players, irish step dancers, and people in costume... 

all of them were under the age of 14. 

Hearing bagpipes is probably one of the most powerful musical experiences, I don't know what it is about the sound, but it is truly amazing! After the parade of Irishness left, we went into the Gallery to check out the photos. 

Having become really interested in photography in the last month or so, this exhibit was very inspiring. Many of the pictures were from the rural irish country side, the locals that live there, and the portraits of them all captured their character to the truest essence. The Artist, Nutan has traveled all over the world as a photojournalist, and is Irish photographs are some of his most prized. 

I was lucky to be in Dublin this weekend because I absolutely LOVE Trad especially in a pub setting, where everyone is enjoy each-others company and the harmonics of the band. All the festivities this weekend from the music and art, to meeting new friends and hanging out with old ones couldn't be beat!

A Trip of Good Omens. AMSTERDAM

Our trip began according to plan. We walked to the bus stop leaving plenty of time to get to the airport when our first good omen arrived. A taxi pulled up having just got off the night shift and offered to give us a ride to the airport for only 7 euros each. A cab ride beats a bus any day! When we arrived in Amsterdam, we had no problems getting into the city, despite being surrounded by a language we had never heard and tolls we didn't know how to read. We had no problem finding our hostel when the second good omen appeared... We were actually staying in more of a budget hotel. We had twin beds and our own bathroom, and it was only 25 euro a night. From my European travel experience... this hotel was Luxury with a DEAL! On Saturday we wondered about the city, to see what it was all about. The canals were beautiful and omens brought sunshine (still freezing temperatures) instead of the predicted snow and sleet.  It was chilly wondering around, but we were prepared and discovered the whole city on foot. It is a beautiful place, the buildings have kind of a Georgian feel to them like Dublin, but they look more as if they are leaning over the streets. The buildings don't seem to be very tall, but when you walk inside, the steps are incredibly steep and the ceilings are very high. There is definitely an aesthetic appeal to Amsterdam with its canals, architecture, and culture. Nearly everyone rides bikes. I would imagine that there are far more bikes in this city then cars. Bicycles lined street corners, filled alleys, and were locked in a long rows all along the canals, over the bridges; everywhere I turned I saw more bikes. It was more difficult to cross the street with all the bikers than with the cars.

On Sunday we went to the Anne Frank Museum and to the Van Gogh Museum. The Anne Frank Huis was so much cooler

 than I thought it would be.  It is hard to believe that the Frank family was hiding there for so long before they were found and taken away. It is a very sad story to hear, but standing in the rooms of attic hideout put into perspective the realness of the Holocaust. 
The Van Gogh Museum was also spectacular. There were so many paintings I had forgotten about that when I saw them again. the real deal. right in front of me, it not only inspired me, but made my stomach fly. I think my favorite is "Almond Blossoms" and although I like Van Gogh, I think I like the Portraits Gougin did better as he worked along side Van Gogh. There was also an exhibit on Dutch artist, most of which were pencil and ink drawings from the 18th and 19th Century. I wrote down many of the artist that caught my eye because I think that ink drawings can bring out such unique character in a picture. 

Amsterdam was a great city to see on foot, a great city just to watch, the omens brought us sunshine, luxury, and a safe trip back to Dublin... and I still made it to my class this morning! What a trip!

Belfast and The Giants Causeway

I just got back from Belfast with some of my friends that go to University College Dublin. It was a great trip. Belfast is very different from Dublin, it is a victorian city so the architecture and lay out of the city is very different from the Georgian style of Dublin. It is a small compact city and was really easy to get around. We did a walking tour which was very interesting, its hard to believe that not long ago there was a lot of fighting going on there. It is also where the Titanic was built and there is an interesting memorial for the people from Belfast who never made it home. It was good weather all weekend, a bit colder than dublin, but no rain!!! The Giants cause way (pictured) was an amazing site to see. The old celtic myth goes that there was a Giant, Finn MacCool living here but his love lived in Scotland to the north east, so Finn used these rocks to build a way to reach her.  Geologically the rocks formed after the ice age. As the continents were splitting in Pangea volcanos were erupting causing a lava over flow. When the Lava was slowly cooled by the climate change of the ice age the rocks were able to form in perfect hexagonal shapes. It is pretty wild looking! We did a cliff walk that took us above the coast and we saw some amazing views. I could even see Donegal, were I was a month ago, which put into perspective how small this island really is. It is a beautiful countryside, like most of Ireland, and Nor Iron, as they call it, was definitely a cool place to visit. We took a train there and back along the coast which was spectacular, and when we got off, it felt like we were in a totally new place, different from anywhere else in Ireland. 

London

This past weekend I went to London to visit some friends that are studying there. I went to the Tate, I saw the Globe Theatre, and I went to the natural history museum. I also did the London Eye Which is the largest ferris wheel in the world and I was able to see the whole city!  I also went to Nottinghill to the Portebello market which was my favorite part of the trip. It is these antique market that they have every saturday and it is nearly 4 blocks of venders! I really like London, it is a huge city and there is so much to do there!

County Donegal

One of my friends from Santa Clara has a cottage in the North West Coast of Ireland, she invited about 8 of her friends to stay there for the long weekend. The house is in Co. Donegal. It was a beautiful ride to her cottage. It took about four hours to get there and although it was a cold and raining weekend it was amazing to see this part of the country. This picture is taken on the way to the horns head cliff. It was really windy but absolutely beautiful. We were in the small town of Dunfaneghey and it was a very relaxing weekend!