The view from here

 We've had a great run of weather, and are currently half way around the Ring of Kerry. After a relaxing meal cooked on an impressive beach (photos to come) I noticed my legs were covered in ticks. Yup, like deer ticks. I proceeded to freak out, and so instead of camping out again tonight, we've rented a room in a nearby B&B (expensive, but with internet access!!). Apparently the suckers (ba-da-bing!) latched onto my legs during our various hikes yesterday in Killarney National Park. Luckily, lyme disease is not prevalent in Ireland and I'll have to watch it from now on (stupid me wore inappropriate clothing out walking yesterday. My husband was largely unaffacted). So other than that, which counts as the most expensive and annoying problem to date (hey! at least its not bed bugs) we've had a fantastic run of luck. We eat home-cooked meals most of the time, stay up late (the sun sets completely here around 10:45 pm!!), wake up early, and lounge around deciding what to do shortly before doing it. When we first started this trip, I had a laundry list of "things we should see", but eventually the list shortened so that we could stay longer in each place, which is what we both enjoy better. Who wants to spend their vacation in a car (even if it is air conditioned)? Rathlin Island was a big hit, the northern part of the country is beautiful. Kerry is also beautiful but much more tourist-y. We intend to spend at least a few days on Dingle Peninsula, which is a little less commercialized, before heading back into Belfast to return the car. Then Ferry from Belfast, train to London, fly to Berlin, and train to Prague. Can't wait!

 

Rainbow over Carrick-a-red in County Antrim

East Lighthouse path on Rathlin Island

View from our tent, Rathlin Island (sunny)

View from our tent, Rathlin Island (foggy) + hubby with town dog

Our sweet ride, an upgraded car rented in Belfast.  SKODA!

Abbey in Inis, County Clare

Hostel in Inis, County Clare

Alive and well, will post more later today. Maybe even with pictures!

Update: Eh, sorry. Wi-fi not working at the hostel, only a dingy old PC. Today we are headed to County Clare and the Aran Islands, then after County Kerry. The pictures, which I was able to upload onto my Mac, look fabulous! My picture taking skills are improving!

Spent the night in Dundonald last night, Belfast. Pretty quiet, as the campsite was far from the city centre. We had a really easy time navigating the transit off the train, which was nice. Cooked some spaghetti in the microwave last night, as there are no campfires allowed (something we hadn't anticipated). It was okay though. We are now on our way to pick up the rental car, having planned our next few days in N.Ireland last night. Antrim, Giants Causeway, a couple of castles and sleeping overnight on tiny Rathlin Island are on the menu. Wifi will probably not be available anywhere we will be visiting for the next few days. I did manage to take a few photos though, so perhaps I'll get around to posting those before heading home. Ciao!

In Inis

Lovely day puttering around, listening to the free live music in town centre (complete with highland dancers girls in oddly coloured, neon costumes) and enjoying the sunshine. Had a lovely, but expensive late lunch at Old Ground Hotel after taken a free one hour Irish language session. I now know how to say thank you in Irish (we call it Gaelic back home). Now we are about to head out for a pint in a bar where there will be live traditional irish music. We've booked our trains for tomorrow to get us to Belfast, and still looking for accomadation.

Our German roomates got angry last night because hubby was snoring really loudly. Not enough to wake me up, but enough to get top-bunk girl angry enough that she yelled down to her bottom-bunk friend, which woke me up. If she had yelled in English I might have gathered what she was upset about. Instead, she just sprouted angry German, and I promptly fell back asleep. Ahhh....jetlag. I advised them to just poke him hard next time ;)

Shitty time at Heathrow...we didn't make it to the station in time to buy tickets, so we were stranded at the terminal from midnight until 5 am. Tried to sleep, but cleaning crews/uncomfortable chairs made that nearly impossible. I occupied myself by paying 10 pounds for 24 hours of wi-fi at the airport, and surfing the internet for information on trains, train passes, and accomadations in Ennis. I booked the hostel for our first "real" night in Ireland, at the Rowan Tree Hostel. After a long day of travel (bought tickets 6:30 am, boarded train in Euston at 7:10, arrived ferry terminal 11:30, hoped on the ferry to Dublin from noon until about 2 pm, travelled 5 pm til 9 pm n interCity train). Once in Dublin, we had a hell of a time getting tickets and finding our train out to Ennis, but we made it just in time. The train ride from Dublin to Ennis was very enjoyable, with lovely older ladies for company and stories. Important since the damn thing stopped mid-journey with technical problems, which ended up prolonging the ride by 1 hour. Was able to grab a handful of groceries in Dublin before boarding the last train, so we will have eggs to supplement our free juice and toast served free tomorrow morning. Arrival in Ennis was charming, with easy navigation to our hostel. Our bags are bloody heavy, and I can't wait 'til we pick up the car in Belfast on Monday morning. Arrival at the hostel meant showers (yay! Soooo dirty at this point - 48 hours of travel with no proper sleep nor bathing options) and now we might take an evening stroll around town before heading to bed. We are sharing our room with two German ladies who are already tucked in.

Cheers for now. No pictures cause I haven't taken a single one. :)

for the fam:

In London heathrow at ten pm, trying to figure out where the train-ferry-train tickets are sold. Asked three different ~information~ kiosks and was met by blank stares 3/3... So paid $6 CDN to find out info online at an expensive kiosk. Answer: Just down the street at terminal two.

Picked up free wi-fi in Toronto though with the new MacBook (anniversary present Whoot!) and was able to book flights back to London from Prague and the B&B in Prague.

Next stop: Ennis, Ireland for a traditional music festival. If we ever get there.

Over the ocean blue

Blurgh, we just spent $450 on camping materials. I've booked the rental car for Ireland, and the hotel for Prague. Don't know how we are getting from one place to another yet, but the back-up/default has always been the train. Which has the added bonus of being similarly-priced no matter when you buy (even the day of). Toying with the idea of going all out an buying a computer so we don't rely on internet cafes the whole time, but we'll see about that. Spending a wee bit much money for someone who is homeless and jobless. We leave Thursday 6 am, and get back mid June. Updates on here may be sporadic, but I'll try to keep the masses edumacated.

Whooooheeeee...

I just cleaned out my desk. Dude. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Sigh.

My Last Day in the Lab

It's been pretty lax around work in the last week. I've been spending most days organizing and labeling my lab work (both virtual and physical) to facilitate the transfer of unfinished projects to new personnel. Today we went out to celebrate, and lots of people turned out (nearing twenty I think), which made me feel warm and fuzzy. My supervisor not only picked up the tab for my lunch (with a glass of beer - Sapporo for the first time!) but gave me a wonderfully suitable parting gift : a gift certificate to a bookstore :)

Also this week, a lead to a job in my field at my Alma Matter. No clue on how soon they need people. If urgent I may loose it on account of my trip to Europe. But the mere presence of a job opening is encouraging.

As of this morning, I am officially homeless. The pre-move-in inspection occurred without a hitch but we are still waiting on some fuckery with the bank to get our money. Our "$1600" pay-out penalty somehow morphed into a $6200 payout penalty, which is just fucking ridiculous. Hello GREEDY. Apparently the drastic increase has something to do with falling interest rates, increasing the differential between when we signed and when we paid out. The fact that the interest rates plummeted due to big bank corporate fucknuttery IN THE FIRST PLACE has not escaped my notice. I nearly cried in front of our wonderful mortgage bank person when I found out, she promised she would look into it with her manager. Here's hoping.

Still haven't done shit all in terms of further planning for a three week tour of Prague and Ireland. I'm confident it will work out well, if not a tad expensive. Once in a lifetime experience though, so I'm sure it will be great regardless.

Mini-update complete. Back to burning data to CDs and external hard drives...

Freedom Tastes like a Used Book Store Smells...

Well. I've obviously been kept busy NOT BEING A GRAD STUDENT ANYMORE. We spent last week in Toronto (I bought a shit-ton of used books, including Revolutionary Road, the Book of Joby and a hardcover version of Finday's Headhunter), this week packing up the house, this weekend moving, and then in a few weeks our trip to Ireland. I'm barely one step ahead of the planning, but enjoying the relative stress-free lifestyle.

We are still looking at properties. Meanwhile, I'm going to start/update a wishlist for a new (small) house:

1. The WaterMill, by canuck company Element Four, is an atmospheric water generator. Apparently it runs on about 3-lightbulbs worth of energy, producing potable water you can pipe into the house or into special dispensers. Perhaps this is how we can get around the "no running water" restriction of the building code? Out of sight by any inspector who may come visit = free pass?


2. The Little Cod cast-iron wood stove, which can be used for cooking and/or heating. And is gosh-darned cute!


3. And for the bathroom? How about a space-saving hand-wash sink. Just enough room to scrub the phalanges and spit out your (Tom's of Maine mint) toothpaste.


4. For the kitchen sink, I saw this one while shopping at Ikea in Toronto. I love the proportion and the shape (and the price!). Just not so convinced on the functionality of a smaller kitchen sink.


My favorite part:)