Ireland Pt. 11 - Finale
DAY 11 - DINGLE - TRALEE - LIMERICK - DUBLIN
try saying that 5 times fast....
It's A Long Way To Dublin
True to their words, Barbara and Michael were up at the crack of dawn for us. We had muesli and Michael's awesome bread. Michael drove us to the bus and he helped us with our luggage and even carried and stored them in the bus for us. What a nice guy! Barbara had also packed us bananas and yogourt for the trip. They are really good hosts! I definitely want to come back and stay with them.
So today would be the longest day of travelling ever. There was no direct route from Dingle to Dublin. The closest station to Dingle was in Tralee. The rail ticket to Dublin from Tralee was 60 something euros and wouldn't save us that much time...so we took a bus...again...ahahah. I fell asleep a few times on the way to Limerick. Once we arrived there, we had some time before the bus ride to Dublin. Lucky I can sleep anywhere, so I didn't mind as much... but still...we left Dingle at 715am and arrived in Dublin around 3 something close to 4pm!
We took a cab to Azalea Lodge from there. We were pretty wiped out, so we were happy to be greeted by Bernadette again...happy to smell the nice rooms again and the coma-enticing beds. I'm telling you, the room smells so nice and the beds are too comfy to be true. I would pay a pretty penny to have one of those beds...if I had any left!!
One Last Adventure
We decided to go to Dublin one last time. Heck, why not, seeing that we still had mid-afternoon left. We searched for some last minute gifts and food. We wandered around a lot. What else was there to do? haha. Took pictures of some sights, etc. Talked about how we didn't want to come back and wanted to continue our vacation.
It took us a while to find a good place to eat. Temple Bar, was lively, tourist-rammed and we almost got killed by the Guarda...(their police)...as they sped through on the sidewalk. That was a big sign that we needed to get out of there!
We went to a bookstore. Surprised? Probably not! Found two books on the Blasket Islands. Can't wait to read them. Bought a few other books too. It's a sickness... I can't stay away from them.
We ended up at a nice restaurant, with a really charming cute waiter...who wasn't Irish. He was so cuuuute. After eating we walked around for a bit, to find our bus and headed back. We re-counted the money we had left and packed our knapsacks. I'm actually bringing some money home YEA YEA!
The End of The Road
Our last night was restful. I had a good night of sleep. I really did think I could have gone comatose. Azalea Lodge wins hands down for the nicest smelling rooms and best beds. We had a lovely breakfast and then headed on our way. Bernadette said she loved the butterscotch lollies from Laura Secord. She asked whether US sold them and I told her only in Canada. It seemed like everyone else liked them too. Next time I come back, I'm bringing more of them.
Our flight left and stopped over in Shannon, where we did more shopping. Why not...hahaha I still had money. Yes, I did bring some back. 200 euros in fact. Aren't you proud? Picked up some Irish Whiskey and Irish Coffee. I love the name. Hot Irishman Irish Coffee. kekekeke. Lots of Butler's chocolates to eat too.
When we arrived in Canada, we cleared customs...though I told Pat if they pulled her over, I would ditch her. I felt that the feeling was mutual hahaha. Yes, we made it out...I brought home some goodies and though it's nice to travel, it's also nice to come home. So I'm baaaa-ck in time for my 25th...though I'm bogged down already with stuff I gotta do. I doubt you missed me, since I spammed you with all these long emails!...Just kidding. I hope to get the pictures up eventually, as my computer is still dead and we're replacing it.
So I hope to see you around. I hope you didn't get too bored. Thanks for reading through it! I lied about one thing though...I said this would be the last, but I'm sending one more...because I forgot my book with the stuff I wrote in it. So one more and then you'll be rid of me :)
-Sam
Monday, August 17, 2009
Ireland Pt. 10
Ireland Pt. 10
DAY 10 - DINGLE
Walk Till You Drop
Pat and I had a wonderful breakfast at Milestone B&B, where we are staying. We finally met Barbara, who is just as nice as Michael. Michael booked our tour around the Peninsula with Dennis and his car. We wanted a change from being bus bums... I don't even wanna think about how much time we've spent sitting in buses. Dennis would be picking us up at 3pm, so we had until that time to shop and walk around.
We were really interested in doing the walk to the lighthouse. The path was such, that you could just walk and end where ever you wanted. Well we've become quite the fan of walking around and discovering, so we figured, we'll walk till we're tired and then see what happens. We walked along until we found a beach. The weather was gorgeous! We could either walk on the elevated grass with the stone wall, or we could walk on the beach. We thought it might be faster to walk along the beach so that's what we did.
The beach was nice for the most part, but eventually we got into a really wet and slippery area. It was full of moss and slippery wet rocks and some seaweed stuff that looked like giant grapes which popped when we stepped on them. I did a lot of...ewww...that feels gross, that sounds gross too... we slipped a few times too. We would look up at the elevated grass and wonder whether we should have chosen that path instead, but we couldn't change our minds now.
That area finally cleared up and we were back to normal, rocky beach. We took a lot of nice scenery pics and we had been walking for over an hour. We got to the ruins at the end of the island. We seriously walked a far, far way....all the way to where the islands were divided. We climbed up to the ruins and found another secluded beach on the edge. We also found some rabbit dens! Some people were swimming, but we just went down to see the shore. We decided to head back, as we hadn't shopped around yet and time was running out.
We took the elevated grass way and even walked by some bulls and cows that weren't fenced in. It seems all the owners of the lands figured people would walk along there anyway, so there were areas to get through each person's private property. We did get through a tied up gate though. Made it back to town and a had a delicious lunch in the Dingle Crystal shop/cafe. Yes, in Dingle, there are stores that are half store/half cafe...like a tanner shop/cafe, etc. So random!
On Being Brown
We arrived back at the B&B half an hour before our tour would start. We were surprised to see we had both tanned a little more. I really should have worn my contacts, because I have a bit of the glasses tan going on. It's not overly obvious but oh well. I find it all very amusing. Who goes to Ireland and gets a tan?
What crazy weather is this? It feels like summer, but I'm not complaining. The Irish people themselves are surprised! This time last year, it was busy raining for 8 weeks straight every day. Lucky us! Mind you the weather changes with a flip of a coin...which you'll soon read about!
Touring with Dennis
Dennis knows his stuff about the Dingle Peninsula. We drove up Slea Head, to the town of Ventry. We looked at the Dunbeg Fort which is a promotary fort. He showed us the bee hive huts, which are like their form of native tents, but instead are made of piled rocks without mortar. Dennis says that the reason for all the stone barriers, is not to divide land, but to clear the fields. Where there is field, it means that people were moving the rocks. We went to the beach where Ryan's Daughter was filmed on the Coumeenole Strand. He told us about a lake at the top of the mountain which has a stream that flows down to connect to more water at the bottom. We drove over the stream too, and it flows under a rock bridge, which is called the upside down bridge. Dennis took us to Dunmore Head which is the most westerly part of Ireland.
We saw the Blasket Islands from a distance. Pat and I now have a fascination with them, because they are empty now. No one lives there anymore, because it became too hard. The Blaskets had their own culture and stories. In fact, they knew that things were changing so the people of the Blaskets, asked the three best storytellers to collect all the information and write about it. Those three books became best sellers. Since then, more people from the Blaskets have written and they have the highest concentration of writers in Ireland. There is only one remaining survivor of the Blaskets now. Pat and I wrote down the titles to look for.
We were able to see the three sisters, which are three peaks/cliffs. We saw the sleeping giant in the water and the rest of the Blasket Islands. By then the weather started to get cloudy and then the rain began. Unfortunate, because we could have done more, but the weather wasn't cooperating. We drove by Dolores' house...Dolores, the lead singer of The Cranberries. Her home is huge and she has a stable for her horses as well!
It was a nice tour and I hope to visit Dingle again, so that I can see the rest of it. Dingle is a relaxing place to be. The scenery just calms me and makes me relax. I would like to stay here for a week next time. Dennis drove us back. We took a break and then headed back out in the rain. We ate at Global Village Restaurant and the food was excellent. We were going to go out for drinks again, but the thought of trying to find a cab in the rain and still having to pack, as long as the early morning start made us change our minds. We trudged home in the rain.
We had left a note for Barbara and Michael telling them that we would take the 7:15 am bus to Tralee. When we got back the note was under our door. Barbara said that they usually woke up at 6:30 am and they would drive us to town for the bus. They'd also make us breakfast! They are truly good hosts!
The next email will be the last for this trip. Thanks for hanging around so long and reading them!
-Sam
DAY 10 - DINGLE
Walk Till You Drop
Pat and I had a wonderful breakfast at Milestone B&B, where we are staying. We finally met Barbara, who is just as nice as Michael. Michael booked our tour around the Peninsula with Dennis and his car. We wanted a change from being bus bums... I don't even wanna think about how much time we've spent sitting in buses. Dennis would be picking us up at 3pm, so we had until that time to shop and walk around.
We were really interested in doing the walk to the lighthouse. The path was such, that you could just walk and end where ever you wanted. Well we've become quite the fan of walking around and discovering, so we figured, we'll walk till we're tired and then see what happens. We walked along until we found a beach. The weather was gorgeous! We could either walk on the elevated grass with the stone wall, or we could walk on the beach. We thought it might be faster to walk along the beach so that's what we did.
The beach was nice for the most part, but eventually we got into a really wet and slippery area. It was full of moss and slippery wet rocks and some seaweed stuff that looked like giant grapes which popped when we stepped on them. I did a lot of...ewww...that feels gross, that sounds gross too... we slipped a few times too. We would look up at the elevated grass and wonder whether we should have chosen that path instead, but we couldn't change our minds now.
That area finally cleared up and we were back to normal, rocky beach. We took a lot of nice scenery pics and we had been walking for over an hour. We got to the ruins at the end of the island. We seriously walked a far, far way....all the way to where the islands were divided. We climbed up to the ruins and found another secluded beach on the edge. We also found some rabbit dens! Some people were swimming, but we just went down to see the shore. We decided to head back, as we hadn't shopped around yet and time was running out.
We took the elevated grass way and even walked by some bulls and cows that weren't fenced in. It seems all the owners of the lands figured people would walk along there anyway, so there were areas to get through each person's private property. We did get through a tied up gate though. Made it back to town and a had a delicious lunch in the Dingle Crystal shop/cafe. Yes, in Dingle, there are stores that are half store/half cafe...like a tanner shop/cafe, etc. So random!
On Being Brown
We arrived back at the B&B half an hour before our tour would start. We were surprised to see we had both tanned a little more. I really should have worn my contacts, because I have a bit of the glasses tan going on. It's not overly obvious but oh well. I find it all very amusing. Who goes to Ireland and gets a tan?
What crazy weather is this? It feels like summer, but I'm not complaining. The Irish people themselves are surprised! This time last year, it was busy raining for 8 weeks straight every day. Lucky us! Mind you the weather changes with a flip of a coin...which you'll soon read about!
Touring with Dennis
Dennis knows his stuff about the Dingle Peninsula. We drove up Slea Head, to the town of Ventry. We looked at the Dunbeg Fort which is a promotary fort. He showed us the bee hive huts, which are like their form of native tents, but instead are made of piled rocks without mortar. Dennis says that the reason for all the stone barriers, is not to divide land, but to clear the fields. Where there is field, it means that people were moving the rocks. We went to the beach where Ryan's Daughter was filmed on the Coumeenole Strand. He told us about a lake at the top of the mountain which has a stream that flows down to connect to more water at the bottom. We drove over the stream too, and it flows under a rock bridge, which is called the upside down bridge. Dennis took us to Dunmore Head which is the most westerly part of Ireland.
We saw the Blasket Islands from a distance. Pat and I now have a fascination with them, because they are empty now. No one lives there anymore, because it became too hard. The Blaskets had their own culture and stories. In fact, they knew that things were changing so the people of the Blaskets, asked the three best storytellers to collect all the information and write about it. Those three books became best sellers. Since then, more people from the Blaskets have written and they have the highest concentration of writers in Ireland. There is only one remaining survivor of the Blaskets now. Pat and I wrote down the titles to look for.
We were able to see the three sisters, which are three peaks/cliffs. We saw the sleeping giant in the water and the rest of the Blasket Islands. By then the weather started to get cloudy and then the rain began. Unfortunate, because we could have done more, but the weather wasn't cooperating. We drove by Dolores' house...Dolores, the lead singer of The Cranberries. Her home is huge and she has a stable for her horses as well!
It was a nice tour and I hope to visit Dingle again, so that I can see the rest of it. Dingle is a relaxing place to be. The scenery just calms me and makes me relax. I would like to stay here for a week next time. Dennis drove us back. We took a break and then headed back out in the rain. We ate at Global Village Restaurant and the food was excellent. We were going to go out for drinks again, but the thought of trying to find a cab in the rain and still having to pack, as long as the early morning start made us change our minds. We trudged home in the rain.
We had left a note for Barbara and Michael telling them that we would take the 7:15 am bus to Tralee. When we got back the note was under our door. Barbara said that they usually woke up at 6:30 am and they would drive us to town for the bus. They'd also make us breakfast! They are truly good hosts!
The next email will be the last for this trip. Thanks for hanging around so long and reading them!
-Sam
Ireland Pt. 9 - the most exciting night ever!
Ireland Pt. 9 - the most exciting night ever!
DAY 9 - CORK - TRALEE - DINGLE
Journey to Dingle
Yes, the name sounds dinky, but Dingle is awesome! We woke up extremely early, as I mentioned and took a bus from Cork to Tralee. I've taken quite a few pics through a bus window, but hey, they aren't letting us off to do it otherwise!! The ride took quite a bit of time...so much for that 2 1/2 hour theory they seem to have. It's so true that the Irish bus system is extensive, but infrequent. We arrived in Tralee and then had to wait for a bus to Dingle.
The bus ride to Dingle from Tralee was around 1h and 10 minutes or so, which was quite faster, but with all the twists and turns it seemed longer. The way there was beautiful and we passed by different ranges of mountains. We've seen quite a few students here, and let me tell you that their kilts are at a way more decent length than the girls I went to school with at St. Joe's haha.
Best Customer Service EVER in Ireland
Upon arriving in Dingle, Barbara (owner of the B&B we were staying at) told me to call the B&B and Michael (her husband), would meet us in the town. We called and he asked me that he would be there shortly and how could he recognize us. I told him Pat's luggage was purple and mine was blue (Pat keeps telling me it's gray, but I see blue in it...) anyway...just to be sure, I told him I was Filipino and Pat laughed at me. Well, I can say that yes, I've seen some Asians on this trip, but not a whole lot!
Anyway, Michael picked us up and was very apologetic that he only had a two seater. He could drive one of us and the luggage and come for the other, or, one of us could get in the back with the luggage. I chose to sit with the luggage hahaha...reminded me of when I was young and travelling with my cousins. I was just sitting cross legged behind the two front seats. Michael said that they lived 1km from the town, but he drove us around the town to show us the good places to eat and great pubs to visit. Then, he drove us to the B&B. Let me tell you that their B&B is beautiful! The scenery is gorgeous!! I will show you pictures later of my view from our room. Truly beautiful. Once Michael brought up our luggage, he gave us time to rest and then said he'd meet us downstairs to recommend some places for us to visit.
Michael made us tea and coffee and his SUPERAWESOME soda bread. It is the best I've ever tasted! Irish butter is wickedawesome too, if you haven't had it before. After we ate a bit, he gave us a free doublesided map. One was a map of the town with all the great restaurants and pubs highlighted and numbered. The other side was a map of the dingle peninsula, which highlighted all the historic/archaeolgical sites to see. He went through both maps with us and answered our questions. He was so nice and helpful. If you ever go to Dingle, stay at this place! We only paid 35 euros a night and it was well worth it and more.
Michael offered to drive us back to the town, but we decided to walk there ourselves. We took pics of the scenery and I got us on a bit of a detour but we got back to the town. (Turns out later, that the detour would have taken us there anyway, but oh well haha) We shopped around a bit and had a light lunch of clam chowder and bread at John B. Moriarty's , as we were still stuffed from Michael's soda bread. We headed back to rest a bit before venturing down for dinner and music at night.
Goat St. Cafe
Later on, after resting a bit, we decided to check out the Goat St. Cafe, which was high on the list of Michael's recommendations. He saw us on our way out and offered to give us a lift there. His wife Barbara was out golfing and was returning the next day. He dropped us off, taking the detour route I had led us on earlier and we went in. Goat St. Cafe had wonderful food. I decided to spoil myself...why not?...I'm on vacation afterall...so I ordered half a lobster. I took a picture of it. I love good food. Sitting beside us was a couple from South Carolina and they talked to us. We had some good conversations with them while we ate and enjoyed our food. One of the waitresses talked to us as well. She was American, but she just couldn't stay away from Dingle and finally quit her job and moved to Dingle. I can see why she'd be pulled there. It's a seaside town...more geared to tourism now, but it's beautiful and the scenery is incredible.
The Small Bridge
After eating, we went to a pub for music, atmosphere and drinking. Michael recommended Small Bridge...It's actually called something else..it has a Gaelic name, but all I can remember from it is An Drom...... Beag. We bumped into Ralph and Jan again, the American couple who was eating beside us. They've been married for 50 years and have been driving all around Ireland for three weeks. We really got along well with them. Ralph and I agreed that Rick Steve's travel guide is like an Irish Bible (in that it is the best reference to Ireland when travelling as a tourist). We were drinking pints of Murphy's, while Jan and Pat drank Heineken. The traditional music started soon after. A man was playing guitar and the woman played fiddle and flute. Upon looking closer at the man, he looked familiar somehow...GEORGE CLOONEY?!?!?! We swear that he looked very much like George Clooney. And no, we did not ask for his autograph. People from Toronto don't do that...we more like stare...and not say anything to them. Who would have guessed that George Clooney moonlights as a guitar player in the Dingle, when he isn't acting in movies!! I did have the guts to take pictures though...keep an eye out for them!
To Dance with an Irish Man
While we were enjoying the music, a jolly Irish man in I would say in his mid-20s - early 30s walks up to us and asks if any of us could play the accordian behind us. Does Pat not tell him that "she can" pointing at me... she laughs her head off and I give her this look that tells her, the next time she walks near water I'm going to help her take a dip. I laugh and tell him, that I can't. He says, "why the feck not? Play us a song!!" Yes, you can imagine what feck means... He talks really loud and fast - I think most of the time, the rest of them couldn't understand what he was saying. He really tries to convince me to try playing the accordian, but alas, I don't think I could wing it.
He switches to trying to convince Pat to dance with him. "Can ya dance?", he asks her. Pat tells him no and grips her glass of Heinekein. Well the fellow is persistent, as he tries to get one of us to take her glass and then even tries to take it himself. Hahaha...I couldn't stop laughing, nor stop myself from reassuring him that Pat CAN INDEED DANCE!! HAHAHA...an eye for an eye! I couldn't stop laughing! She looked to me for help and I told her that was why I chose the corner seat, so I would be protected by her and Jan. The man finally gave up, as Pat made it obvious, she would not dance. He announced that he would go for a pint and come back to dance.
After he left, to Pat's relief, the music started again and we continued to enjoy George and his music. A bit later on, Mr. Lord of the Dance returned. This time he decided that I knew how to dance. He took my hand and tried to drag me to the dance floor. Pat just laughed...oh that Pat! I told him I didn't know how to dance and he said that he couldn't fecking either! I told him over and over that I couldn't dance (who knows what kind of moves he'd make trying to dance!...he proudly told us himself that he had been drinking all day long). I told him that I'd like to see him dance. I told him that he could dance and we'd watch him. I found, however, for a milisecond I thought, why the heck not, I'm on vacation and it would be a heck of a story... then I thought about it again and thought no wayyy ahahahah. He eventually gave up, saying he'd drink some more and be back for us. He tried convincing another lady to dance, but she said.."if I didn't have that surgery..." hahaha poor lad just wants to dance with someone...
The Rhubarb Farmer
What an exciting night it had become. That wasn't enough, however, the night was still young...plenty more opportunities to be entertained. We found, as the night went on, that more and more people came and blocked our view. One particular lad was swaying and dancing to the music and would occasionally turn to look at us. Jan was convinced that he was checking us out. The man then started greeting women who walked by him, like he knew them very well. After a while, we realized that he was just hitting on any woman who walked by him. Didn't matter the age, the look, whether she had a guy with her... it was hilarious. The women here, really know how to handle guys like this. They'd kind of just play along and then leave. Soon, we found ourselves, kind of routing for him ahah.
At some point, a lady took his hand and led him outside and then a minute later he came back...ahhhh poor lad. He finally started talking to us. He asked Ralph if they were Americans and Ralph said they were Germans. The man then decided to tell anyone who walked by that we were his German friends. kekeke. He told us he loved Johnny Cash and Ring of Fire. We asked him to sing and he kept singing the same thing. He eventually told us that he was a rhubarb farmer. He grew rhubarb. We were welcome to visit his farm. He continued to try to pick up women, including a German woman who was two times his size and could probably kick a hole into him..hahaha...and she had a boyfriend...the look she gave him was priceless! He continued to volley back and forth from trying to score and talking to us. He asked both Pat and I to come with him and have a good time...right, sure...that was high on my list of things to do. It was pretty entertaining watching him. The night went on and we left...leaving our opportunities to dance with an Irish man and become a rhubarb farmer's wife... We said goodbye to Ralph and Jan and promised to send them pictures of George.
We give this night the award for Most Entertaining Night in Ireland! It was a lot of fun and I think we had not laughed so hard in a long time!
Still searching for my charming Irish man,
Sam
DAY 9 - CORK - TRALEE - DINGLE
Journey to Dingle
Yes, the name sounds dinky, but Dingle is awesome! We woke up extremely early, as I mentioned and took a bus from Cork to Tralee. I've taken quite a few pics through a bus window, but hey, they aren't letting us off to do it otherwise!! The ride took quite a bit of time...so much for that 2 1/2 hour theory they seem to have. It's so true that the Irish bus system is extensive, but infrequent. We arrived in Tralee and then had to wait for a bus to Dingle.
The bus ride to Dingle from Tralee was around 1h and 10 minutes or so, which was quite faster, but with all the twists and turns it seemed longer. The way there was beautiful and we passed by different ranges of mountains. We've seen quite a few students here, and let me tell you that their kilts are at a way more decent length than the girls I went to school with at St. Joe's haha.
Best Customer Service EVER in Ireland
Upon arriving in Dingle, Barbara (owner of the B&B we were staying at) told me to call the B&B and Michael (her husband), would meet us in the town. We called and he asked me that he would be there shortly and how could he recognize us. I told him Pat's luggage was purple and mine was blue (Pat keeps telling me it's gray, but I see blue in it...) anyway...just to be sure, I told him I was Filipino and Pat laughed at me. Well, I can say that yes, I've seen some Asians on this trip, but not a whole lot!
Anyway, Michael picked us up and was very apologetic that he only had a two seater. He could drive one of us and the luggage and come for the other, or, one of us could get in the back with the luggage. I chose to sit with the luggage hahaha...reminded me of when I was young and travelling with my cousins. I was just sitting cross legged behind the two front seats. Michael said that they lived 1km from the town, but he drove us around the town to show us the good places to eat and great pubs to visit. Then, he drove us to the B&B. Let me tell you that their B&B is beautiful! The scenery is gorgeous!! I will show you pictures later of my view from our room. Truly beautiful. Once Michael brought up our luggage, he gave us time to rest and then said he'd meet us downstairs to recommend some places for us to visit.
Michael made us tea and coffee and his SUPERAWESOME soda bread. It is the best I've ever tasted! Irish butter is wickedawesome too, if you haven't had it before. After we ate a bit, he gave us a free doublesided map. One was a map of the town with all the great restaurants and pubs highlighted and numbered. The other side was a map of the dingle peninsula, which highlighted all the historic/archaeolgical sites to see. He went through both maps with us and answered our questions. He was so nice and helpful. If you ever go to Dingle, stay at this place! We only paid 35 euros a night and it was well worth it and more.
Michael offered to drive us back to the town, but we decided to walk there ourselves. We took pics of the scenery and I got us on a bit of a detour but we got back to the town. (Turns out later, that the detour would have taken us there anyway, but oh well haha) We shopped around a bit and had a light lunch of clam chowder and bread at John B. Moriarty's , as we were still stuffed from Michael's soda bread. We headed back to rest a bit before venturing down for dinner and music at night.
Goat St. Cafe
Later on, after resting a bit, we decided to check out the Goat St. Cafe, which was high on the list of Michael's recommendations. He saw us on our way out and offered to give us a lift there. His wife Barbara was out golfing and was returning the next day. He dropped us off, taking the detour route I had led us on earlier and we went in. Goat St. Cafe had wonderful food. I decided to spoil myself...why not?...I'm on vacation afterall...so I ordered half a lobster. I took a picture of it. I love good food. Sitting beside us was a couple from South Carolina and they talked to us. We had some good conversations with them while we ate and enjoyed our food. One of the waitresses talked to us as well. She was American, but she just couldn't stay away from Dingle and finally quit her job and moved to Dingle. I can see why she'd be pulled there. It's a seaside town...more geared to tourism now, but it's beautiful and the scenery is incredible.
The Small Bridge
After eating, we went to a pub for music, atmosphere and drinking. Michael recommended Small Bridge...It's actually called something else..it has a Gaelic name, but all I can remember from it is An Drom...... Beag. We bumped into Ralph and Jan again, the American couple who was eating beside us. They've been married for 50 years and have been driving all around Ireland for three weeks. We really got along well with them. Ralph and I agreed that Rick Steve's travel guide is like an Irish Bible (in that it is the best reference to Ireland when travelling as a tourist). We were drinking pints of Murphy's, while Jan and Pat drank Heineken. The traditional music started soon after. A man was playing guitar and the woman played fiddle and flute. Upon looking closer at the man, he looked familiar somehow...GEORGE CLOONEY?!?!?! We swear that he looked very much like George Clooney. And no, we did not ask for his autograph. People from Toronto don't do that...we more like stare...and not say anything to them. Who would have guessed that George Clooney moonlights as a guitar player in the Dingle, when he isn't acting in movies!! I did have the guts to take pictures though...keep an eye out for them!
To Dance with an Irish Man
While we were enjoying the music, a jolly Irish man in I would say in his mid-20s - early 30s walks up to us and asks if any of us could play the accordian behind us. Does Pat not tell him that "she can" pointing at me... she laughs her head off and I give her this look that tells her, the next time she walks near water I'm going to help her take a dip. I laugh and tell him, that I can't. He says, "why the feck not? Play us a song!!" Yes, you can imagine what feck means... He talks really loud and fast - I think most of the time, the rest of them couldn't understand what he was saying. He really tries to convince me to try playing the accordian, but alas, I don't think I could wing it.
He switches to trying to convince Pat to dance with him. "Can ya dance?", he asks her. Pat tells him no and grips her glass of Heinekein. Well the fellow is persistent, as he tries to get one of us to take her glass and then even tries to take it himself. Hahaha...I couldn't stop laughing, nor stop myself from reassuring him that Pat CAN INDEED DANCE!! HAHAHA...an eye for an eye! I couldn't stop laughing! She looked to me for help and I told her that was why I chose the corner seat, so I would be protected by her and Jan. The man finally gave up, as Pat made it obvious, she would not dance. He announced that he would go for a pint and come back to dance.
After he left, to Pat's relief, the music started again and we continued to enjoy George and his music. A bit later on, Mr. Lord of the Dance returned. This time he decided that I knew how to dance. He took my hand and tried to drag me to the dance floor. Pat just laughed...oh that Pat! I told him I didn't know how to dance and he said that he couldn't fecking either! I told him over and over that I couldn't dance (who knows what kind of moves he'd make trying to dance!...he proudly told us himself that he had been drinking all day long). I told him that I'd like to see him dance. I told him that he could dance and we'd watch him. I found, however, for a milisecond I thought, why the heck not, I'm on vacation and it would be a heck of a story... then I thought about it again and thought no wayyy ahahahah. He eventually gave up, saying he'd drink some more and be back for us. He tried convincing another lady to dance, but she said.."if I didn't have that surgery..." hahaha poor lad just wants to dance with someone...
The Rhubarb Farmer
What an exciting night it had become. That wasn't enough, however, the night was still young...plenty more opportunities to be entertained. We found, as the night went on, that more and more people came and blocked our view. One particular lad was swaying and dancing to the music and would occasionally turn to look at us. Jan was convinced that he was checking us out. The man then started greeting women who walked by him, like he knew them very well. After a while, we realized that he was just hitting on any woman who walked by him. Didn't matter the age, the look, whether she had a guy with her... it was hilarious. The women here, really know how to handle guys like this. They'd kind of just play along and then leave. Soon, we found ourselves, kind of routing for him ahah.
At some point, a lady took his hand and led him outside and then a minute later he came back...ahhhh poor lad. He finally started talking to us. He asked Ralph if they were Americans and Ralph said they were Germans. The man then decided to tell anyone who walked by that we were his German friends. kekeke. He told us he loved Johnny Cash and Ring of Fire. We asked him to sing and he kept singing the same thing. He eventually told us that he was a rhubarb farmer. He grew rhubarb. We were welcome to visit his farm. He continued to try to pick up women, including a German woman who was two times his size and could probably kick a hole into him..hahaha...and she had a boyfriend...the look she gave him was priceless! He continued to volley back and forth from trying to score and talking to us. He asked both Pat and I to come with him and have a good time...right, sure...that was high on my list of things to do. It was pretty entertaining watching him. The night went on and we left...leaving our opportunities to dance with an Irish man and become a rhubarb farmer's wife... We said goodbye to Ralph and Jan and promised to send them pictures of George.
We give this night the award for Most Entertaining Night in Ireland! It was a lot of fun and I think we had not laughed so hard in a long time!
Still searching for my charming Irish man,
Sam
Ireland Pt. 8
Ireland Pt. 8
DAY 8 - CORK (KINSALE & CLONAKILTY)
Touring
First stop on the tour was to Charles Fort to take pictures. Also took pictures of Seven Heads Peninsula. Headed to Kinsale which is high in tourism and geared towards it. (Before I forget to mention, I found my other adapter, so I've been okay with taking pictures..too much in fact!!) Went to a store and the extremely friendly store owner started talking to us about our travels. He said that if we had come in the day before, around the same time, he would have driven us to Tralee, because that's where his father lives. ahhah. People are so helpful! Too bad, we couldn't take him up on the offer...instead we have to take a bus to Tralee and then another to Dingle.
We were able to take take photos of Courtmacsherry Bay and pictures at the old capital of Kinsale. It's really beautiful and what we were hoping to see and do when we came to Ireland - see the beautiful scenery. Visited Clonakilty - hometown of Irish leader and statesman, Michael Collins. Took a picture of his very charming statue, in which he looks like he's either mad or debating. Continued our costal tour through Ardfield and Red Strand, as well as the pretty village of Rathberry.
Drove past the ruins of Castlefreke, seat of the Lords of Carberry. Were able to get out, stretch our legs and do the flash happy camera thing. Ended at Timoleage and the famous ruins of it's Franciscan Abbey. Don told us about two American bombers that landed in the White Bog, instead of France, where they were supposed to be. Their pet mascot monkey, Tojo, was truly loved by the people there as well. Unfortunately poor Tojo died and was given a full military burial, and buried under O'Donovan's bar where an X marks the spot.
Dining by a Waterfall
- After the tour, we ate dinner at a restaurant beside a waterfall. It was called Greene's at it was delicious. I took a few pics to share, which you'll see later. Absolutely fabulous! Pat and I have been surprised to eat so many good meals here (although I've spent a bit more than what I had already budgeted for food, but it all works out in the end b/c I combined it with my liquor budget). To those who have travelled with me, I'm sure you remember my paperclip budgets haha!
Evening Walk
Pat and I love walking around and exploring, so we took a very long walk once we had changed at the B&B. We were able to take some really nice pics of the city. We ended our day very nicely, since we would have to wake up quite early for our bus to Tralee. Paddy woke up early to serve us breakfast, however Jane had caught a flu and wanted to spare us from it. I'll keep in touch with them for sure.
Gotta go again - sorry the emails are getting shorter. Dingle is awesome!
-Sam
DAY 8 - CORK (KINSALE & CLONAKILTY)
Touring
First stop on the tour was to Charles Fort to take pictures. Also took pictures of Seven Heads Peninsula. Headed to Kinsale which is high in tourism and geared towards it. (Before I forget to mention, I found my other adapter, so I've been okay with taking pictures..too much in fact!!) Went to a store and the extremely friendly store owner started talking to us about our travels. He said that if we had come in the day before, around the same time, he would have driven us to Tralee, because that's where his father lives. ahhah. People are so helpful! Too bad, we couldn't take him up on the offer...instead we have to take a bus to Tralee and then another to Dingle.
We were able to take take photos of Courtmacsherry Bay and pictures at the old capital of Kinsale. It's really beautiful and what we were hoping to see and do when we came to Ireland - see the beautiful scenery. Visited Clonakilty - hometown of Irish leader and statesman, Michael Collins. Took a picture of his very charming statue, in which he looks like he's either mad or debating. Continued our costal tour through Ardfield and Red Strand, as well as the pretty village of Rathberry.
Drove past the ruins of Castlefreke, seat of the Lords of Carberry. Were able to get out, stretch our legs and do the flash happy camera thing. Ended at Timoleage and the famous ruins of it's Franciscan Abbey. Don told us about two American bombers that landed in the White Bog, instead of France, where they were supposed to be. Their pet mascot monkey, Tojo, was truly loved by the people there as well. Unfortunately poor Tojo died and was given a full military burial, and buried under O'Donovan's bar where an X marks the spot.
Dining by a Waterfall
- After the tour, we ate dinner at a restaurant beside a waterfall. It was called Greene's at it was delicious. I took a few pics to share, which you'll see later. Absolutely fabulous! Pat and I have been surprised to eat so many good meals here (although I've spent a bit more than what I had already budgeted for food, but it all works out in the end b/c I combined it with my liquor budget). To those who have travelled with me, I'm sure you remember my paperclip budgets haha!
Evening Walk
Pat and I love walking around and exploring, so we took a very long walk once we had changed at the B&B. We were able to take some really nice pics of the city. We ended our day very nicely, since we would have to wake up quite early for our bus to Tralee. Paddy woke up early to serve us breakfast, however Jane had caught a flu and wanted to spare us from it. I'll keep in touch with them for sure.
Gotta go again - sorry the emails are getting shorter. Dingle is awesome!
-Sam
Ireland Pt. 7
Ireland Pt. 7
the adventures continue...
DAY 7 - MAY 15 - CORK (KENMARE, KILLARNEY & MACROOM)
I had a nice chat with Jane and Paddy yesterday. They offered to let me use their internet and phone for free. How nice! So I tried calling home, but no luck, so I left a pretty long msg.
We had scrambled eggs inthe morning and left early for our tour to Kenmare and Killarney, which are part of the Ring of Kerry. Our guide's name is Don O'Brien. He gave us some history about Cork City and it's buildings. Drove through macroom and when we first got off the bus, it was to take pictures at a Druid's circle. Our next stop was Ladys View for scenery pics of the Killarney Lakes. We went to Kenmare and shopped in the little stores instead of focusing on the sites...not enough time. Bouth an amazing coronation chicken wrap which I ate on the bus.
Muckross Estate, Killarney
Next we went to Killarney National Park which is gorgeous. The purple mountains were beautiful! We went to Muckross Abbey, instead of the estate. What a good choice, b/c it was awesome. On the way there, a young man came by on his horse and cart and gave us a free ride to the abbey. SCORE! It was fun and his horse was really well trained. The abbey had a mysterious feel too it and I was glad we were able to see it. On our way back to the main area, we walked by some army people training.
We made it to the gift shop before we left. Drove to Killarney City Centre. Pat and I walked around the town . We drove through some other towns as well...can't remember all of them. Were dropped off at the city centre at around 5:30pm. We window shopped for a while before having dinner at Pembroke Hotel's restaurant. Food was delicious and the price was great, as it was an early bird special. Walked around and stumbled on Debenham's dept. store sale. Bought a shirt and watch. Walked up the hill back to the B&B - quite a workout! Jane and Paddy lent me their cordless phone to call home...which I did at 5:30am in the morning the next day.
Tomorrow's tour is very busy, so I'll send it in the next installment. Places to go and not enough time. At this moment, we are in the Dingle Peninsula...very western point of southern Ireland. Will update later..
Until the next adventure!
- Sam
the adventures continue...
DAY 7 - MAY 15 - CORK (KENMARE, KILLARNEY & MACROOM)
I had a nice chat with Jane and Paddy yesterday. They offered to let me use their internet and phone for free. How nice! So I tried calling home, but no luck, so I left a pretty long msg.
We had scrambled eggs inthe morning and left early for our tour to Kenmare and Killarney, which are part of the Ring of Kerry. Our guide's name is Don O'Brien. He gave us some history about Cork City and it's buildings. Drove through macroom and when we first got off the bus, it was to take pictures at a Druid's circle. Our next stop was Ladys View for scenery pics of the Killarney Lakes. We went to Kenmare and shopped in the little stores instead of focusing on the sites...not enough time. Bouth an amazing coronation chicken wrap which I ate on the bus.
Muckross Estate, Killarney
Next we went to Killarney National Park which is gorgeous. The purple mountains were beautiful! We went to Muckross Abbey, instead of the estate. What a good choice, b/c it was awesome. On the way there, a young man came by on his horse and cart and gave us a free ride to the abbey. SCORE! It was fun and his horse was really well trained. The abbey had a mysterious feel too it and I was glad we were able to see it. On our way back to the main area, we walked by some army people training.
We made it to the gift shop before we left. Drove to Killarney City Centre. Pat and I walked around the town . We drove through some other towns as well...can't remember all of them. Were dropped off at the city centre at around 5:30pm. We window shopped for a while before having dinner at Pembroke Hotel's restaurant. Food was delicious and the price was great, as it was an early bird special. Walked around and stumbled on Debenham's dept. store sale. Bought a shirt and watch. Walked up the hill back to the B&B - quite a workout! Jane and Paddy lent me their cordless phone to call home...which I did at 5:30am in the morning the next day.
Tomorrow's tour is very busy, so I'll send it in the next installment. Places to go and not enough time. At this moment, we are in the Dingle Peninsula...very western point of southern Ireland. Will update later..
Until the next adventure!
- Sam
Ireland Pt. 6
Ireland Pt. 6
DAY 5...continued
Dinner & Music
Talked to Rhoda about making calls and met her chocolate lab, Lottie - very affectionate, playful and chewed on my shoe. She also brought me one of her chew toys. Dinner was wonderful. I ate deep fried Galway prawns, steak with side of mashed potatoes and veggies. Wexford strawberries and ice cream. (Forgot to mention that the night before I had a exotic fruits in a baby pineapple with banana ice-cream..yumyum) After dinner went to the bar for more music and had an AMAZING Irish coffee! Soooo good! Cheers to Barb :)
One of the same musicians and another guy were playing. They were hilarious in between songs. Much centered on the fact that no one was brave enough to sit in the seats right in front of them haha. Asked if any Canadians were present. Asked us from where. Joked that everytime someone asks where in Canada, ppl always say Toronto. Also joked about the wonderful weather and people getting heatstroke. He said that a whole generation of Irish children have never seen the sun...what's that big ball of light in the sky? haahha
We laughed so much because they just kept cracking jokes. We headed back to pack for the next day's departure.
DAY 6 - MAY 14 - KILKENNY - CORK
BREAKFAST ON THE GO
Rhoda gave us the choice of having omelettes in the morning so I had a ham and cheese and Pat had spinach and feta. They were really delicious. Rhoda called us a taxi and we took a bus from the station to Cork city centre. The bus which was supposed to be..guess...another 2 1/2 hours was longer haaha. We took a cab to the B&B after inquiring about some tours...cabbie got lost, but we arrived. Jane had set up two single rooms for us, as we had given her short notice about booking the extra day. It's very comfy and relaxing here. They are really nice.
We went downstairs and the sidewalks are really wide. The River Lee goes through the city and we actually saw some interesting characters here...bits of Parkdale in fact on the less busy streets hahaha. We hit the tourism office, got some souvenirs and found out more about some good day tours. We decided to take the tour going to Kenmare and Killarney. They are two stops on the Ring of Kerry. It would take longer for us to do it justice, so some is better than none. I'll update you on that tour tomorrow. We're pretty drained from the tour and we have another one tomorrow. Cork city is good as a hub to go to other places in Cork county.
Relatively short update huh? Tomorrow will probably be longer because we did a lot today. The trip from Kerry back to Dublin, is going to be killer long...gotta turn on the narco for sure...
Lator Gators,
Sam
DAY 5...continued
Dinner & Music
Talked to Rhoda about making calls and met her chocolate lab, Lottie - very affectionate, playful and chewed on my shoe. She also brought me one of her chew toys. Dinner was wonderful. I ate deep fried Galway prawns, steak with side of mashed potatoes and veggies. Wexford strawberries and ice cream. (Forgot to mention that the night before I had a exotic fruits in a baby pineapple with banana ice-cream..yumyum) After dinner went to the bar for more music and had an AMAZING Irish coffee! Soooo good! Cheers to Barb :)
One of the same musicians and another guy were playing. They were hilarious in between songs. Much centered on the fact that no one was brave enough to sit in the seats right in front of them haha. Asked if any Canadians were present. Asked us from where. Joked that everytime someone asks where in Canada, ppl always say Toronto. Also joked about the wonderful weather and people getting heatstroke. He said that a whole generation of Irish children have never seen the sun...what's that big ball of light in the sky? haahha
We laughed so much because they just kept cracking jokes. We headed back to pack for the next day's departure.
DAY 6 - MAY 14 - KILKENNY - CORK
BREAKFAST ON THE GO
Rhoda gave us the choice of having omelettes in the morning so I had a ham and cheese and Pat had spinach and feta. They were really delicious. Rhoda called us a taxi and we took a bus from the station to Cork city centre. The bus which was supposed to be..guess...another 2 1/2 hours was longer haaha. We took a cab to the B&B after inquiring about some tours...cabbie got lost, but we arrived. Jane had set up two single rooms for us, as we had given her short notice about booking the extra day. It's very comfy and relaxing here. They are really nice.
We went downstairs and the sidewalks are really wide. The River Lee goes through the city and we actually saw some interesting characters here...bits of Parkdale in fact on the less busy streets hahaha. We hit the tourism office, got some souvenirs and found out more about some good day tours. We decided to take the tour going to Kenmare and Killarney. They are two stops on the Ring of Kerry. It would take longer for us to do it justice, so some is better than none. I'll update you on that tour tomorrow. We're pretty drained from the tour and we have another one tomorrow. Cork city is good as a hub to go to other places in Cork county.
Relatively short update huh? Tomorrow will probably be longer because we did a lot today. The trip from Kerry back to Dublin, is going to be killer long...gotta turn on the narco for sure...
Lator Gators,
Sam
Ireland Pt. 5
Ireland Pt. 5
DAY 4 - WICKLOW - KILKENNY
On The Road to Kilkenny
Ate breakfast at 8:30 a.m. - full Irish breakfast - a bit on the greasy side, but I DID try a bit of blood sausage...there's always one thing I have to try that's new... Caught what was supposed to be the 9:05 am bus, which came at 9:30 am. Bus driver took us through a different route, so I was able to see the Wicklow Mountains and Roundwood, driving by. Got to Dublin at 10 something, close to 11am. We bought tickets to Kilkenny. Had to pay 20c for public washroom. Getting on the bus was a bit confusing as they said gate 6, but the bus said 7 to Clonmel. the info lady had said 2 1/2 hour ride, but it was more like 3 hours...oh well... I almost got us off at the wrong stop, b/c I kept seeing the word Kilkenny on the businesses and Castlecomer Rd (which is part of the address where we are staying). We still find it confusing that they have a cities with the same name as the counties. We tried to verify with the driver who wasn't superhelpful. We got to Kilkenny city centre fine and took an 8 min cab ride to Rosquil House.
Rosquil House
Rhoda greeted us and she is soooo nice! She showed us to our room, where we scored two kingsize beds and a very nice washroom with a bathtub/sower. She gave us the Kilkenny guide which we used the entire time we were here and coupons. She also told us about a walking tour and where to hear live music. Looked up transportation to Cork for us. After settling in, we went in search for the tourist office and food.
Kilkenny
Decided to go to Cafe Sol for food and atmosphere was amazing. We are around 20min walk from the City Centre. Kilkenny looks very much like a small European town with small shops. We ate our food and I also had a freshly baked scone that was to die for. We went to Mocha - a specialty chocolate, candy, coffee and tea shop. Went to an Irish craft shop, where the owner offered to tell us places that were worth seeing.
Went back to Rosquil House to freshen up . Went out for live music at Langton's. Music was wonderful and I had a pint of Smithwicks...cheers to Singapore Nancy. Music ended at 10pm. We left a bit later, did more planning and slept.
DAY 5 - KILKENNY
Great Brekkie
Woke up for a breakfast and was impressed by the wonderful spread. Selection of fresh fruits, cereals and juices. Cooked breakfast was also available and individual pots of tea and coffee. Rhoda offered us a wonderful change from the Irish breakfast. I had an open-faced potato omelette. We set out into town for a walking tour. Passed a number of little shops, cafes and pubs.
Marble City
Kilkenny is also known as the Marble City, which we learned on the tour. At the the thostle, which served as a marketplace and town hall, there was a cage that was hung overhead. Troublemakers would be locked in the cage and passerbys would give the cage a whirl. Poor troublemakers...ahhaha...too bad that's still not in practice!
A number of windows were blocked from the inside b/c there was a tax on windows. That's where they got the expression, "tax the daylights out of someone" or something to that extent. There was an old statue made of marble and it had the likeness of an Egyptian. Our tour guide told us that there are many Egyptian influences in Ireland. He also mentioned that some of the boats in Ireland are exactly like the ones on the Nile. We went to a number of historical sites, which you'll see in our pictures. Went to a butter slip, where people got deals on eggs and butter. We ended at Black Abbey and the Rothe gardens. We looked around for things to buy and get food. Upon closer inspection, there wasn't a lot of things, we were particularly interested in.
Tanning by a Castle
Had a light lunch at River Court restaurant, which was along the River Nore and had a beautiful view of Kilkenny Castle. I was surprisingl hot and sunny. We both tanned a bit. A tan in Ireland - who would have thought? People keep saying that the weather has been unusually nice. After lunch we wandered around Kilkenny Castle grounds. Took a tour of the castle and saw spectacular views from the windows, but weren't allowed to have our cameras with us. We saw tiny beds, beautiful portraits, some original furniture and a book case that had a wave in the glass. Went to Kilkenny Design Centre and saw some really nice stuff. Most were pricey, but really nice. There was a basketweavers exhibition which was really interseting and astoundingly intricate. Visted the butler's garden. Went back to rest.
Will tell you about the rest of the night and trip to Cork city centre, in the next email. This place is definitely one to be used as a base to go to other places. Lots of interesting characters here too.
Until the next one,
-Sam
DAY 4 - WICKLOW - KILKENNY
On The Road to Kilkenny
Ate breakfast at 8:30 a.m. - full Irish breakfast - a bit on the greasy side, but I DID try a bit of blood sausage...there's always one thing I have to try that's new... Caught what was supposed to be the 9:05 am bus, which came at 9:30 am. Bus driver took us through a different route, so I was able to see the Wicklow Mountains and Roundwood, driving by. Got to Dublin at 10 something, close to 11am. We bought tickets to Kilkenny. Had to pay 20c for public washroom. Getting on the bus was a bit confusing as they said gate 6, but the bus said 7 to Clonmel. the info lady had said 2 1/2 hour ride, but it was more like 3 hours...oh well... I almost got us off at the wrong stop, b/c I kept seeing the word Kilkenny on the businesses and Castlecomer Rd (which is part of the address where we are staying). We still find it confusing that they have a cities with the same name as the counties. We tried to verify with the driver who wasn't superhelpful. We got to Kilkenny city centre fine and took an 8 min cab ride to Rosquil House.
Rosquil House
Rhoda greeted us and she is soooo nice! She showed us to our room, where we scored two kingsize beds and a very nice washroom with a bathtub/sower. She gave us the Kilkenny guide which we used the entire time we were here and coupons. She also told us about a walking tour and where to hear live music. Looked up transportation to Cork for us. After settling in, we went in search for the tourist office and food.
Kilkenny
Decided to go to Cafe Sol for food and atmosphere was amazing. We are around 20min walk from the City Centre. Kilkenny looks very much like a small European town with small shops. We ate our food and I also had a freshly baked scone that was to die for. We went to Mocha - a specialty chocolate, candy, coffee and tea shop. Went to an Irish craft shop, where the owner offered to tell us places that were worth seeing.
Went back to Rosquil House to freshen up . Went out for live music at Langton's. Music was wonderful and I had a pint of Smithwicks...cheers to Singapore Nancy. Music ended at 10pm. We left a bit later, did more planning and slept.
DAY 5 - KILKENNY
Great Brekkie
Woke up for a breakfast and was impressed by the wonderful spread. Selection of fresh fruits, cereals and juices. Cooked breakfast was also available and individual pots of tea and coffee. Rhoda offered us a wonderful change from the Irish breakfast. I had an open-faced potato omelette. We set out into town for a walking tour. Passed a number of little shops, cafes and pubs.
Marble City
Kilkenny is also known as the Marble City, which we learned on the tour. At the the thostle, which served as a marketplace and town hall, there was a cage that was hung overhead. Troublemakers would be locked in the cage and passerbys would give the cage a whirl. Poor troublemakers...ahhaha...too bad that's still not in practice!
A number of windows were blocked from the inside b/c there was a tax on windows. That's where they got the expression, "tax the daylights out of someone" or something to that extent. There was an old statue made of marble and it had the likeness of an Egyptian. Our tour guide told us that there are many Egyptian influences in Ireland. He also mentioned that some of the boats in Ireland are exactly like the ones on the Nile. We went to a number of historical sites, which you'll see in our pictures. Went to a butter slip, where people got deals on eggs and butter. We ended at Black Abbey and the Rothe gardens. We looked around for things to buy and get food. Upon closer inspection, there wasn't a lot of things, we were particularly interested in.
Tanning by a Castle
Had a light lunch at River Court restaurant, which was along the River Nore and had a beautiful view of Kilkenny Castle. I was surprisingl hot and sunny. We both tanned a bit. A tan in Ireland - who would have thought? People keep saying that the weather has been unusually nice. After lunch we wandered around Kilkenny Castle grounds. Took a tour of the castle and saw spectacular views from the windows, but weren't allowed to have our cameras with us. We saw tiny beds, beautiful portraits, some original furniture and a book case that had a wave in the glass. Went to Kilkenny Design Centre and saw some really nice stuff. Most were pricey, but really nice. There was a basketweavers exhibition which was really interseting and astoundingly intricate. Visted the butler's garden. Went back to rest.
Will tell you about the rest of the night and trip to Cork city centre, in the next email. This place is definitely one to be used as a base to go to other places. Lots of interesting characters here too.
Until the next one,
-Sam
Ireland Pt. 4: Jail Time
Ireland Pt. 4: Jail Time
Before I write another novel to all of you, please let me know if you don't want to receive these emails. I know everyone's busy and you already get loads of emails. I won't take any offense at all, so holla if you don't want me spamming your inbox (I know you'll still like me anyway :D)
DAY 3 - MAY 11 - WICKLOW continued...
GOOD EATS
Those of you have read these emails / seen my pics before, know that I love taking pictures of food. I haven't done as much this trip because my camera battery is out...but we're figuring something out. Anyway we ended up at The Bakery restaurant which was supernice. We had chicken with savoy cabbage and peppers in a gravy sauce, which came with two plates of sides - veggies and potatoes. There was live jazz music. An older couple talked to us about their trip to Canada. The couple on the others ides had a really happy baby who was laughing and jumping and holding my hand.
JAIL TIME?!?!??
After that, we were sent to jail...more like we sent ourselves there?!? I told you we'd need to be bailed out!! We wanted to see historic Gaol in Wicklow and I've been calling it ga-ol. Gaol is actually "jail" ahahahha. The gaol was built in the 1700s and the gates of hell inside are still sturdy!! We made it for the last tour and were guided by the gaoler. There was a little kid on the tour who was terrified of the statues. The gaoler told us about the prisoners and their sentences like getting hanged for stealing a horse or speaking french. We walked in and out of cells, but there was one I refused to go inside because it was so dark and suffocating. A lot of people were punished by being sent to Australia or other places. We went into the yard and the walls were superhigh - no way I could escape unless I climbed the pipe onto the roof and maybe jumped. After the tour we left. Gift shop was closed and the library was closed as well. Went back to internet cafe to confrim bookings.
Walked to black castle which is ruins. Shoreline was beautiful! Climbed up to the ruins and I can see it as a good place to sit, think and relax. Would have liked to take a few pics, but cam was dead. Pat's been really nice, sharing her camera with me. Decided if we can't find an adapter, we'll buy disposable cams. Went down to the shoreline where two kayakers were. A woman showed up in an interesting get-up. At first I thought she was just wearing a sheer top, with a white bra, but she stripped to a bikini - demanding the attention of the kayakers. Pat and I tried not to laugh out so loud. She dove into the water for a minute or two...said something to the kayakers and then left.
Didn't see the whole thing because I was looking for rocks/stones. After tha, went back to the B&B to rest for a bit.
THE WONDERS OF GUINNESS
We went out to drink. I had 2 1/2 pints of Guinness. I like it a lot more here. Bartender was cute and kept winking at me, but that's probably what he does all the time. When I went for my last 1/2 pint. I also tried to order a screwdriver. The other bartender teased me, "you again?"
I ordered my 1/2 pint and asked for the screwdriver and said vodka and orange juice. Looked confused and made a driving motion and laughed and so did I. My regular bartender came over, said he never heard of the drink but would make it anyway. He put it in a martini shaker and shook it haha. Gave me a wink and change. Bar closed around 12am...we are shocked.. The other bartender came by our table. I said soemthing about the screwdriver and he laughed again. On our way out, said thanks to the bartender and he waved goodbye. We are still in shock about how early they closed.
Will update you on today's events tomorrow. I have to go, but we're in Kilkenny right now and this place rocks!
-Sam
Before I write another novel to all of you, please let me know if you don't want to receive these emails. I know everyone's busy and you already get loads of emails. I won't take any offense at all, so holla if you don't want me spamming your inbox (I know you'll still like me anyway :D)
DAY 3 - MAY 11 - WICKLOW continued...
GOOD EATS
Those of you have read these emails / seen my pics before, know that I love taking pictures of food. I haven't done as much this trip because my camera battery is out...but we're figuring something out. Anyway we ended up at The Bakery restaurant which was supernice. We had chicken with savoy cabbage and peppers in a gravy sauce, which came with two plates of sides - veggies and potatoes. There was live jazz music. An older couple talked to us about their trip to Canada. The couple on the others ides had a really happy baby who was laughing and jumping and holding my hand.
JAIL TIME?!?!??
After that, we were sent to jail...more like we sent ourselves there?!? I told you we'd need to be bailed out!! We wanted to see historic Gaol in Wicklow and I've been calling it ga-ol. Gaol is actually "jail" ahahahha. The gaol was built in the 1700s and the gates of hell inside are still sturdy!! We made it for the last tour and were guided by the gaoler. There was a little kid on the tour who was terrified of the statues. The gaoler told us about the prisoners and their sentences like getting hanged for stealing a horse or speaking french. We walked in and out of cells, but there was one I refused to go inside because it was so dark and suffocating. A lot of people were punished by being sent to Australia or other places. We went into the yard and the walls were superhigh - no way I could escape unless I climbed the pipe onto the roof and maybe jumped. After the tour we left. Gift shop was closed and the library was closed as well. Went back to internet cafe to confrim bookings.
Walked to black castle which is ruins. Shoreline was beautiful! Climbed up to the ruins and I can see it as a good place to sit, think and relax. Would have liked to take a few pics, but cam was dead. Pat's been really nice, sharing her camera with me. Decided if we can't find an adapter, we'll buy disposable cams. Went down to the shoreline where two kayakers were. A woman showed up in an interesting get-up. At first I thought she was just wearing a sheer top, with a white bra, but she stripped to a bikini - demanding the attention of the kayakers. Pat and I tried not to laugh out so loud. She dove into the water for a minute or two...said something to the kayakers and then left.
Didn't see the whole thing because I was looking for rocks/stones. After tha, went back to the B&B to rest for a bit.
THE WONDERS OF GUINNESS
We went out to drink. I had 2 1/2 pints of Guinness. I like it a lot more here. Bartender was cute and kept winking at me, but that's probably what he does all the time. When I went for my last 1/2 pint. I also tried to order a screwdriver. The other bartender teased me, "you again?"
I ordered my 1/2 pint and asked for the screwdriver and said vodka and orange juice. Looked confused and made a driving motion and laughed and so did I. My regular bartender came over, said he never heard of the drink but would make it anyway. He put it in a martini shaker and shook it haha. Gave me a wink and change. Bar closed around 12am...we are shocked.. The other bartender came by our table. I said soemthing about the screwdriver and he laughed again. On our way out, said thanks to the bartender and he waved goodbye. We are still in shock about how early they closed.
Will update you on today's events tomorrow. I have to go, but we're in Kilkenny right now and this place rocks!
-Sam
Ireland Pt. 3 (Ready for Reading?)
Ireland Pt. 3 (Ready for Reading?)
DAY 2 CONTINUED...
Battered Cod & Chips
After emailing you all we went for some foodage as we were quite hungry. The bars don't necessarily have food - they're more for drinking, I suppose. So we went to the hotel cafe/restaurant and ordered battered cod, mushed peas and chips. We had to ask for a menu ourselves, since we saw everyone else doing it and I had a Guinness too. Neither of us had mushed peas before, but they were good! We ate and relaxed and when we were ready to go I went to get the bill. It seems they have some quite young staff here as well and children run about in the bar too. Different culture, for sure! Two older ladies were having a drinking marathon. They were sipping the same drinks for over an hour, but they'd go out for smokes and come back...drink again and then smoke. Where was I? Oh yeah, the bill. The young man had trouble printing my bill...in part, perhaps, because I said fish n' chips?!?! Anyway, he finally came back and confirmed. We paid and then went back to get our sweatshirts, as it was getting a bit chilly. We went to the Super Valu and bought some fruit and snacks. We were so tempted by all the goodies....so tempted....we were so interested in the snacks that we almost didn't realize they were closing! We paid and went on our way.
Today's weather was a bit muggy. It rained in the morning and a bit in the afternoon. We changed and went back out for a walk. We're staying on Church Hill at River Lodge B&B, so we decided to go up Church Hill St. We saw Wicklow Cathedral and continued to walk along the road. We basically walked a huge circle around Wicklow City (yes, I've noticed, I call it both town and city...b/c it has the town feel to it haha). We walked by the Cinebus. They are having an arts festival right now, so we could watch a movie in a bus...we might depending on the weather.
Walked up a big hill to another Cathedral. It was really beautiful and it seemed there was much more walking to be done, but it was going to get dark. We decided to head back down. We took beautiful scenery shots and then my camera died...booo....I gotta re-charge it...
Went back and made an initial plan to go back out for drinks, but we were tired, so opted to stay in and watch some television. I ended up reading my graphic novel, Civil War...which was really interesting. To our dismay, we realized that BOTH of our adapters, don't work....so we have to find a shop with one, or no more pics :( Unless...I buy another camera!! We'll figure something out....
Eventually went to sleep....
DAY 3 - MAY 11TH
Time Warp
Today we woke up at 6am. It must have been our internal clocks or something, so we both went back to bed. I woke up again and took a shower and by the time we went for breakfast, we were told we missed it! Yipes...turns out Pat's watch and cell were one hour back....ahahhahaa. Oh well. They were nice to make us toast and give us orange juice, coffee and toast with butter/jam.
A Beautiful Day & Further Plans
Today we decided to take it easy and relax. We thought about going to Brittas Bay where the beach was. Walked in that direction as far as we could before the sidewalk stopped. We had walked outside of the city!! We walked for over an hour yea yea! The houses are BEAUTIFUL and so is the scenery. We walked uphill near the rocks, hills and water and took pictures with Pat's camera. It was so relaxing and the weather is lovely today. We're getting our exercise in this trip. We stopped by a country club/golfing club and two men were very nice in showing us where the washrooms are. They didn't even ask us if we were members (it was an only members club).
Made it back to Wicklow City and here we are at an internet cafe updating and double checking our accomodations. We scored pretty well! We'll be heading to Kilkenny tomorrow (medieval city) and the place is giving us the family room with two king size beds at the price of a twin room, since those ones have been taken! YEA YEA! We also booked an extra day in Cork and will spend that day in single rooms at the price of a twin room. Then for the two days that we had initially booked, we'll be in the twin rooms.
We'll just wing things today and make the most of our time here. Might check out Gaol, which is a historic prison and some other stuff.
So yes, here is where we were and where we'll be:
May 9 - 10 - Dublin
May 10 - 12 - Wicklow
May 12 - 14 - Kilkenny
May 14 - 17 - Cork
May 17 - 19 - Kerry
May 19 - 20 - Dublin
Pat's looking at some tour options for Cork since we'll be there for 3 days. I'm really happy with the trip so far. People are so friendly and just smile and converse with us. Looking forward to more great memories. Please cross your fingers that we find some kind of adapter, or we won't be able to take anymore photos :S
Later peeps,
-Sam
DAY 2 CONTINUED...
Battered Cod & Chips
After emailing you all we went for some foodage as we were quite hungry. The bars don't necessarily have food - they're more for drinking, I suppose. So we went to the hotel cafe/restaurant and ordered battered cod, mushed peas and chips. We had to ask for a menu ourselves, since we saw everyone else doing it and I had a Guinness too. Neither of us had mushed peas before, but they were good! We ate and relaxed and when we were ready to go I went to get the bill. It seems they have some quite young staff here as well and children run about in the bar too. Different culture, for sure! Two older ladies were having a drinking marathon. They were sipping the same drinks for over an hour, but they'd go out for smokes and come back...drink again and then smoke. Where was I? Oh yeah, the bill. The young man had trouble printing my bill...in part, perhaps, because I said fish n' chips?!?! Anyway, he finally came back and confirmed. We paid and then went back to get our sweatshirts, as it was getting a bit chilly. We went to the Super Valu and bought some fruit and snacks. We were so tempted by all the goodies....so tempted....we were so interested in the snacks that we almost didn't realize they were closing! We paid and went on our way.
Today's weather was a bit muggy. It rained in the morning and a bit in the afternoon. We changed and went back out for a walk. We're staying on Church Hill at River Lodge B&B, so we decided to go up Church Hill St. We saw Wicklow Cathedral and continued to walk along the road. We basically walked a huge circle around Wicklow City (yes, I've noticed, I call it both town and city...b/c it has the town feel to it haha). We walked by the Cinebus. They are having an arts festival right now, so we could watch a movie in a bus...we might depending on the weather.
Walked up a big hill to another Cathedral. It was really beautiful and it seemed there was much more walking to be done, but it was going to get dark. We decided to head back down. We took beautiful scenery shots and then my camera died...booo....I gotta re-charge it...
Went back and made an initial plan to go back out for drinks, but we were tired, so opted to stay in and watch some television. I ended up reading my graphic novel, Civil War...which was really interesting. To our dismay, we realized that BOTH of our adapters, don't work....so we have to find a shop with one, or no more pics :( Unless...I buy another camera!! We'll figure something out....
Eventually went to sleep....
DAY 3 - MAY 11TH
Time Warp
Today we woke up at 6am. It must have been our internal clocks or something, so we both went back to bed. I woke up again and took a shower and by the time we went for breakfast, we were told we missed it! Yipes...turns out Pat's watch and cell were one hour back....ahahhahaa. Oh well. They were nice to make us toast and give us orange juice, coffee and toast with butter/jam.
A Beautiful Day & Further Plans
Today we decided to take it easy and relax. We thought about going to Brittas Bay where the beach was. Walked in that direction as far as we could before the sidewalk stopped. We had walked outside of the city!! We walked for over an hour yea yea! The houses are BEAUTIFUL and so is the scenery. We walked uphill near the rocks, hills and water and took pictures with Pat's camera. It was so relaxing and the weather is lovely today. We're getting our exercise in this trip. We stopped by a country club/golfing club and two men were very nice in showing us where the washrooms are. They didn't even ask us if we were members (it was an only members club).
Made it back to Wicklow City and here we are at an internet cafe updating and double checking our accomodations. We scored pretty well! We'll be heading to Kilkenny tomorrow (medieval city) and the place is giving us the family room with two king size beds at the price of a twin room, since those ones have been taken! YEA YEA! We also booked an extra day in Cork and will spend that day in single rooms at the price of a twin room. Then for the two days that we had initially booked, we'll be in the twin rooms.
We'll just wing things today and make the most of our time here. Might check out Gaol, which is a historic prison and some other stuff.
So yes, here is where we were and where we'll be:
May 9 - 10 - Dublin
May 10 - 12 - Wicklow
May 12 - 14 - Kilkenny
May 14 - 17 - Cork
May 17 - 19 - Kerry
May 19 - 20 - Dublin
Pat's looking at some tour options for Cork since we'll be there for 3 days. I'm really happy with the trip so far. People are so friendly and just smile and converse with us. Looking forward to more great memories. Please cross your fingers that we find some kind of adapter, or we won't be able to take anymore photos :S
Later peeps,
-Sam
Ireland Pt. 2
Ireland Pt. 2
Good Morning Confusion
I last emailed you from Conolly Stn, and since then we got on the bus to Wicklow and were told that our accomodation in Roundwood is quite far from Wicklow. I suppose I confused Wicklow town with Wicklow Way >_< Oopsalini. We already paid for our ticket and still wanted to see Wicklow, so we got on the bus regardless. When we planned this trip, we only booked accomodations at the bigger places and we decided to just wing it for the smaller areas. m-i-s-t-a-k-e. We are totally living like the Christmas Story...no room at the inn.
We walked up a large hill to a B&B, but no one was home and the garden looked beautiful behind the house. So we headed back down to the city centre.
We found a big hotel in Wicklow, but decided to check out the tourism office. I got lost and Pat is now our navigator - not a big surprise to those who have travelled with me...i'm pretty inconsistent. Sometimes, I can navigate, but a lot of the time I get myself lost. Kudos to Pat for putting up with me. Tourist centre is closed for the weekend, but some helpful women, told us about more B&B's. We did a lot of climbing up large hills and got to a B&B which had no vacancies, but the nice guy there told us of another B&B that would likely have space. We asked for the business card and gave the other place a call. We managed to secure a room for tonight. It's a quaint place with a microwave and burners at the top.
The town is quite active and there's road traffic. We are still unsure whether we will stay more than a night here. We're trying to make sure to book the rest of our accomodations, so we don't run into more confusion. Honestly though, we got a lot of exercise and toured the town as we were looking for accomodations. We can see the water from here and we'll hit the beach before we go and also check out Black Castle (which is now in ruins).We also checked out a little market here.
I've figured out that Powerscourt and Glendalough can be day trips from Dublin... don't know if we'll go, but it might be nice to. Still figuring things out... we only know that we will be going to Cork (15th and 16th nights) and Kerry (17th and 18th nights) and lastly, Dublin (19th - our last night)...until then, we'll wing it and hope for the best. It's quite an adventure! I'm still enjoying myself and just taking everything in.
Will update you later, when we figure more of it out.
- Sam and Pat
Good Morning Confusion
I last emailed you from Conolly Stn, and since then we got on the bus to Wicklow and were told that our accomodation in Roundwood is quite far from Wicklow. I suppose I confused Wicklow town with Wicklow Way >_< Oopsalini. We already paid for our ticket and still wanted to see Wicklow, so we got on the bus regardless. When we planned this trip, we only booked accomodations at the bigger places and we decided to just wing it for the smaller areas. m-i-s-t-a-k-e. We are totally living like the Christmas Story...no room at the inn.
We walked up a large hill to a B&B, but no one was home and the garden looked beautiful behind the house. So we headed back down to the city centre.
We found a big hotel in Wicklow, but decided to check out the tourism office. I got lost and Pat is now our navigator - not a big surprise to those who have travelled with me...i'm pretty inconsistent. Sometimes, I can navigate, but a lot of the time I get myself lost. Kudos to Pat for putting up with me. Tourist centre is closed for the weekend, but some helpful women, told us about more B&B's. We did a lot of climbing up large hills and got to a B&B which had no vacancies, but the nice guy there told us of another B&B that would likely have space. We asked for the business card and gave the other place a call. We managed to secure a room for tonight. It's a quaint place with a microwave and burners at the top.
The town is quite active and there's road traffic. We are still unsure whether we will stay more than a night here. We're trying to make sure to book the rest of our accomodations, so we don't run into more confusion. Honestly though, we got a lot of exercise and toured the town as we were looking for accomodations. We can see the water from here and we'll hit the beach before we go and also check out Black Castle (which is now in ruins).We also checked out a little market here.
I've figured out that Powerscourt and Glendalough can be day trips from Dublin... don't know if we'll go, but it might be nice to. Still figuring things out... we only know that we will be going to Cork (15th and 16th nights) and Kerry (17th and 18th nights) and lastly, Dublin (19th - our last night)...until then, we'll wing it and hope for the best. It's quite an adventure! I'm still enjoying myself and just taking everything in.
Will update you later, when we figure more of it out.
- Sam and Pat
Sam & Pat's Excellent Adventure: Ireland Pt. 1
Sam & Pat's Excellent Adventure: Ireland Pt. 1
Hey Peeps,
We made it alright. I sat in between Pat and an Irish man who snuggled me when he slept, hahaha. Oh well. We landed at 11:30 am. Lots of friendly people here! Made it to a bus and the driver told us not to go to crazy on the Guinness. He let us off too early and whilst we were wandering lost, got helped my an older lady who told us we should take another bus a bit more. We tried to walk it, but another man said to take a cab, which we did.
Made it to Azalea and were greeted really nicely. Our accomodations are really comfortable and the beds are heavenly, so is the big chair. Anywho went back out and took a bus to the city centre. Visited Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library and some other placese, will explain more later, as I'm running out of time. Ate bagels, went to Trinity College...the Trinity Ball was happening so we went at a good time, as they weren't letting any more people in after us. Book of Kells was closed, but we're coming back towards the end of our trip.
We're off to Wicklow for two nights and trying to figure out things later. We realized we should have booked everything now, instead of only the big places. No rooms at a bunch of places, but we'll continue to try our luck. Will update you again soon.
Award for Best Directions go to Mr. Post Man who gave us some hilarious directions and ended with a smack on the shoulder to send me on my way.
Hope y'all are doing well!
-Sam and Pat
p.s. pls forward to whoever i missed...i'm on a tight schedule here!
Hey Peeps,
We made it alright. I sat in between Pat and an Irish man who snuggled me when he slept, hahaha. Oh well. We landed at 11:30 am. Lots of friendly people here! Made it to a bus and the driver told us not to go to crazy on the Guinness. He let us off too early and whilst we were wandering lost, got helped my an older lady who told us we should take another bus a bit more. We tried to walk it, but another man said to take a cab, which we did.
Made it to Azalea and were greeted really nicely. Our accomodations are really comfortable and the beds are heavenly, so is the big chair. Anywho went back out and took a bus to the city centre. Visited Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library and some other placese, will explain more later, as I'm running out of time. Ate bagels, went to Trinity College...the Trinity Ball was happening so we went at a good time, as they weren't letting any more people in after us. Book of Kells was closed, but we're coming back towards the end of our trip.
We're off to Wicklow for two nights and trying to figure out things later. We realized we should have booked everything now, instead of only the big places. No rooms at a bunch of places, but we'll continue to try our luck. Will update you again soon.
Award for Best Directions go to Mr. Post Man who gave us some hilarious directions and ended with a smack on the shoulder to send me on my way.
Hope y'all are doing well!
-Sam and Pat
p.s. pls forward to whoever i missed...i'm on a tight schedule here!
Installment 18: Harajuku & Italian
Installment 18: Harajuku & Italian
Morning Sickness
No, I'm not preggers. I woke up feeling the sickest I've been thus far. I had a headache and a sore throat with a stuffy nose. I know my body when it's like this. I felt kind of disoriented too. It was our last full day in Tokyo, so I forced myself out. Jos and I left the house at around 230ish. Jos wanted to go for shabu shabu again, but by the time we got there, the restaurant was closing until dinnertime. We decided to go straight to Harajuku and eat there. We took the omotesando exit and was surprised to see that the JE store had no line-up. They stopped Jos from taking a picture of the store, but let her take a picture of the billboard. I spent way too much money...again...
Some Italian?
Jos and I were pretty hungry at this point and decided on a pasta restaurant. We both ordered the same thing which was pasta with shrimps and sadly, (I didn't see it in the picutre) mushrooms. Jos ate miund, but I could still taste a bit of it in the sauce. I sucked it up and ate it anyway. The salad was good. We made our own milk tea with tea, liquid sugar and milk. The dessert was good. I ate a chocolate cake with ice cream. Jos had a cream caramel.
Waiting for Mellers
After we ate we walked around a bit and found a lot of thrifty and second hand stores. We found a nice hat shop and shopped a bit. I called Mellers and we arranged to meet at GAP. While we waited for her, we saw four girls on the corner dressed in Halloween gear. Mellers arrived and we headed off to the main shopping in Harajuku.
Harajuku Shopping
Mellers and I warned Jos that it would be impossible to not buy anything in Harajuku. I was actually good and Jos pretty good too. We shopped around pretty fast, because the stores were closing at 8pm. We took more sticker pictures and then we made our way out. Then Jos reminded me that I didn't get my haircut.
HOST CLUB?!?!?
Mellers filled out my form to cut my hair. Then I convinced Jos to get a haircut too. The both of us convinced Mellers to cut her hair as well. So we all got haircuts. Jos and I gave full freedom to our stylists, short of shaving our heads. Jos' stylist asked her if she'd been to a host club. We all laughed but then seriously started considering doing that. Mellers had never been to one and what better way to end our trip? Jos and Mellers finished their hair before I did and they continued to talk about the host club. We paid for our haircuts and then our stylists escorted us out.
Dinner at La Boheme
I believe that is the name of the restaurant. Feel free to correct me Mellers. We went to the restaurant that Mellers works at and ate like crazy. We had avocado, wasabi, crab salad...calamari, chirisso (i don't know how to spell that), margherita pizza and one plate of pasta each. Because I wasn't feeling too great I couldn't finish my food. We had a great time and it's clear the staff loves Mellers, b/c everyone made it a point of saying hello and talking to us. Dinner was great!
As for the host club...well...what happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo MUAHAHHAHAHAHA
I fell asleep in the taxi on the way home. Jos and Mellers could tell I was pretty sick. They helped me along. Went to sleep with my jacket on.
We are leaivng in 15mins for the airport. I had a great time as always here. Lots of great memories. Now...on to Canada and frigid weather. Tomorrow it will hit 0 degrees?!?!? See you all soon. I'll finish the Philippines installments when I get back.
-Sam
Morning Sickness
No, I'm not preggers. I woke up feeling the sickest I've been thus far. I had a headache and a sore throat with a stuffy nose. I know my body when it's like this. I felt kind of disoriented too. It was our last full day in Tokyo, so I forced myself out. Jos and I left the house at around 230ish. Jos wanted to go for shabu shabu again, but by the time we got there, the restaurant was closing until dinnertime. We decided to go straight to Harajuku and eat there. We took the omotesando exit and was surprised to see that the JE store had no line-up. They stopped Jos from taking a picture of the store, but let her take a picture of the billboard. I spent way too much money...again...
Some Italian?
Jos and I were pretty hungry at this point and decided on a pasta restaurant. We both ordered the same thing which was pasta with shrimps and sadly, (I didn't see it in the picutre) mushrooms. Jos ate miund, but I could still taste a bit of it in the sauce. I sucked it up and ate it anyway. The salad was good. We made our own milk tea with tea, liquid sugar and milk. The dessert was good. I ate a chocolate cake with ice cream. Jos had a cream caramel.
Waiting for Mellers
After we ate we walked around a bit and found a lot of thrifty and second hand stores. We found a nice hat shop and shopped a bit. I called Mellers and we arranged to meet at GAP. While we waited for her, we saw four girls on the corner dressed in Halloween gear. Mellers arrived and we headed off to the main shopping in Harajuku.
Harajuku Shopping
Mellers and I warned Jos that it would be impossible to not buy anything in Harajuku. I was actually good and Jos pretty good too. We shopped around pretty fast, because the stores were closing at 8pm. We took more sticker pictures and then we made our way out. Then Jos reminded me that I didn't get my haircut.
HOST CLUB?!?!?
Mellers filled out my form to cut my hair. Then I convinced Jos to get a haircut too. The both of us convinced Mellers to cut her hair as well. So we all got haircuts. Jos and I gave full freedom to our stylists, short of shaving our heads. Jos' stylist asked her if she'd been to a host club. We all laughed but then seriously started considering doing that. Mellers had never been to one and what better way to end our trip? Jos and Mellers finished their hair before I did and they continued to talk about the host club. We paid for our haircuts and then our stylists escorted us out.
Dinner at La Boheme
I believe that is the name of the restaurant. Feel free to correct me Mellers. We went to the restaurant that Mellers works at and ate like crazy. We had avocado, wasabi, crab salad...calamari, chirisso (i don't know how to spell that), margherita pizza and one plate of pasta each. Because I wasn't feeling too great I couldn't finish my food. We had a great time and it's clear the staff loves Mellers, b/c everyone made it a point of saying hello and talking to us. Dinner was great!
As for the host club...well...what happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo MUAHAHHAHAHAHA
I fell asleep in the taxi on the way home. Jos and Mellers could tell I was pretty sick. They helped me along. Went to sleep with my jacket on.
We are leaivng in 15mins for the airport. I had a great time as always here. Lots of great memories. Now...on to Canada and frigid weather. Tomorrow it will hit 0 degrees?!?!? See you all soon. I'll finish the Philippines installments when I get back.
-Sam
Installment 17: Sensoji Temple (Asakusa) and Halloween Party
Installment 17: Sensoji Temple (Asakusa) and Halloween Party
Sensoji Temple
Craig came by in the morning to get ready for the Halloween dress up. He had decided on Mickey Mouse's sorcerer's apprentice. Mellers was a flight attendant. Jos and I didn't have to dress up until the party. Mellers invited us to the candy exchange at SILS, but we declined, since we wanted to spend more time at the temple.
We went there and finally found zaru soba! Jos has been looking for it everywhere. Zaru soba is cold soba noodles with a soya dipping sauce and shrimp tempura. Jos was amazed at the shopping district that led to the temple. We found Chris a dress and found some other nice things. We made it to the temple and Josie and I did all the rituals. We lit the incense, poured the water, did our fortunes and made offerings. Then we bought charms.
We went back through the shopping district. I took her to the funky ice cream shop, but it was under renovations. I was really disappointed. Instead I took her for manju (fried biscuit looking thing with various fillings). We had green tea, pumpkin and sweet potato with sesame. She really enjoyed that.
We shopped more and then headed back. We got home just in time and we dressed up. Although Mellers had a witch costume for me, I ended up being an angel. Jos was Josie and the Pussycats. We met Mellers friends at Hub in Shibuya. She had a lot of ppl from her program there. Jimmy Mackey was there too. He is a former JE performer and still a celebrity in many fangirls eyes. We moved from Hub to the club where the party was being held, and stopped by Don Quixote again. Some fangirls recognized Jimmy and were squealing. He's not hard to miss..he's supertall and was dressed as a kindergarten student. Some of her other friends were dressed as 80's girls, drag queens, etc.
We went with Mellers to pick up Craig and then we lined up for the club. As we were going in, I looked up the stairs and saw Matsuda Shota!! He is an actor and is widely known as Soujiro in Hana Yori Dango (the Japanese live action version). Apparently, he bumped into Mellers and apologized. Mellers told Jos it was F4 and for some unknown reason, Jos thought it was Vanness from the Taiwanese F4. ahahahha She said the only F4 she thinks of is the Taiwanese guys.
The club was rammed. There were so many people there. Jos and I danced with Mellers and her friends for a bit. Then we moved around the club. We sat upstairs for a while and enjoyed other music and then finally found ourselves on the balcony dancing. Craig came by for a bit and then as we were dancing we saw Mellers dancing on stage with a whole lot of other people. She made eye contact with us so we were dancing from a distance too.
As the night ended, Jos and I checked out our stuff from coat check and waited for Mellers and Craig. Some dude tried to talk to me, but I just shook my head. We left the club and ran into Eugene, George and their other friend, who I had met last time I visited. We were hungry and really tired. We went to the station, ppl were staring at us and then we went to Yoshinoya. (Kind of like Matsuya.) Then we went home. Another tiring, yet fun day was done.
-Sam
Sensoji Temple
Craig came by in the morning to get ready for the Halloween dress up. He had decided on Mickey Mouse's sorcerer's apprentice. Mellers was a flight attendant. Jos and I didn't have to dress up until the party. Mellers invited us to the candy exchange at SILS, but we declined, since we wanted to spend more time at the temple.
We went there and finally found zaru soba! Jos has been looking for it everywhere. Zaru soba is cold soba noodles with a soya dipping sauce and shrimp tempura. Jos was amazed at the shopping district that led to the temple. We found Chris a dress and found some other nice things. We made it to the temple and Josie and I did all the rituals. We lit the incense, poured the water, did our fortunes and made offerings. Then we bought charms.
We went back through the shopping district. I took her to the funky ice cream shop, but it was under renovations. I was really disappointed. Instead I took her for manju (fried biscuit looking thing with various fillings). We had green tea, pumpkin and sweet potato with sesame. She really enjoyed that.
We shopped more and then headed back. We got home just in time and we dressed up. Although Mellers had a witch costume for me, I ended up being an angel. Jos was Josie and the Pussycats. We met Mellers friends at Hub in Shibuya. She had a lot of ppl from her program there. Jimmy Mackey was there too. He is a former JE performer and still a celebrity in many fangirls eyes. We moved from Hub to the club where the party was being held, and stopped by Don Quixote again. Some fangirls recognized Jimmy and were squealing. He's not hard to miss..he's supertall and was dressed as a kindergarten student. Some of her other friends were dressed as 80's girls, drag queens, etc.
We went with Mellers to pick up Craig and then we lined up for the club. As we were going in, I looked up the stairs and saw Matsuda Shota!! He is an actor and is widely known as Soujiro in Hana Yori Dango (the Japanese live action version). Apparently, he bumped into Mellers and apologized. Mellers told Jos it was F4 and for some unknown reason, Jos thought it was Vanness from the Taiwanese F4. ahahahha She said the only F4 she thinks of is the Taiwanese guys.
The club was rammed. There were so many people there. Jos and I danced with Mellers and her friends for a bit. Then we moved around the club. We sat upstairs for a while and enjoyed other music and then finally found ourselves on the balcony dancing. Craig came by for a bit and then as we were dancing we saw Mellers dancing on stage with a whole lot of other people. She made eye contact with us so we were dancing from a distance too.
As the night ended, Jos and I checked out our stuff from coat check and waited for Mellers and Craig. Some dude tried to talk to me, but I just shook my head. We left the club and ran into Eugene, George and their other friend, who I had met last time I visited. We were hungry and really tired. We went to the station, ppl were staring at us and then we went to Yoshinoya. (Kind of like Matsuya.) Then we went home. Another tiring, yet fun day was done.
-Sam
Installment 16: Kodansha & Tonkatsu
Installment 16: Kodansha & Tonkatsu
Odakyu, Keio and Seibu
Because Jos and I didn't have to be at Kodansha until 2pm, we decided to eat first and then stick around the vicinity. Our mission was to also find costumes for the Halloween party and find out about the limo bus to the airport. We ate at a small restaurant in baba (Takadanobaba) and then we headed off to Shinjuku to look for airport bus information.
After a while and asking for directions, we finally found it. We bought our tickets in advance and went into the department stores: Odakyu and Keio. We bought Shu Uemura face products and body spray. We also went to Seibu department store. There was food everywhere. OMG the onigiri (rice ball) was massive and they had different types of sushi, croquettes (deep fried potato with meat and various types of fillings)...basically food heaven. Jos and I basically bought a little of various items and the food was so tasty! Jos said this was such a good merienda, we should do it the next day too.
Jos also bought oranges on our way to Kodansha for my throat. Did I tell you I am sick?...yet again. After the typhoon, I've been under the weather, but trying to fight it.
Kodansha
Jos and I arrived at Kodansha early, just to be on the safe side. I took us to the wrong entrance, but the security man helped us find the right one. The receptionist already knew I was coming and said that Ms. Kubo would come down to meet us. She gave us guest badges and we waited in the seating area. I was really excited and Jos could tell. Ms. Kubo arrived and she gave me the company profile and a manga (japanese comic) catalogue. She gave us her business card and Josie gave her card and then I remembered that the darn typhoon wet my remaining business cards. I gave my somewhat damp card to her and apologized profusely for it's condition. (I apologized a lot about my card..I had to give my card...if Josie gave hers, how bad would it be if I didn't..seeing as how I was the one who was there for the appointment)
Ms. Kubo told us that Ms. Tomoko Suga would be coming down to meet us as well. Ms. Kubo is above 50 years of age and very friendly and kind. Ms. Suga looks pretty young and has a British accent. The latter was really business-like and well, I'll tell you more about it later. As we went up the elevator, they informed us that we would be visiting the editing department and we had a meeting with...THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF SHONEN WEEKLY MAGAZINE! Holy jebus....I was shocked! Editor-in-Chief....I inwardly panicked. I didn't have a lot of good questions to ask, but thank goodness Josie did. Ms. Suga told us that it the Editor-in-Chief, Hiroaki Morita, doesn't usually have meetings like this and asked what I wanted to know specifically. She translated all of our questions to him T___T She was a bit intimidating, but overall they were all nice to us. He showed us drafts and explained what editors do, as well as the history of Shonen Weekly Magazine. I'll tell you more about that meeting in person.
After the meeting was done, Ms. Suga went back to work and Ms. Kubo continued our tour. She showed us the library and the vault downstairs that has everything they have published. Ms. Kubo was extremely nice. We wanted to take her out for coffee, but she told us their cafeteria could only pay by card, so she treated us. I would really like to send them a thank you email.
Arcade Addict
We called Mellers afterwards to find out about dinner plans. She told us to come back home for 7pm. So Jos and I thought we might have time to buy costumes. We went to Ikebukuro, intending to avoid Sunshine City b/c we wanted to shop there with Mellers. We found ourselves there anyway. I found an arcade....and you know what that means right? For those of you who don't know, I am a self proclaimed claw game (ufo catcher) addict. I can't stay away from them...it's worse than a gambling addiction. So Jos went to look for costumes and I played the claw games. Jos had said she wanted a pillow...well I won two soft pink ones with cute bunnies on it. I also won...A DIGITAL CAMERA!! Well it's not one of those highly expensive ones, but a digi camera nonetheless. Jos was shocked when she came back! I only spent like $12.00 to get all three...then I spent $18 more trying to get other cute stuff, I'm such an addict. Jos had to get me away from there. Jos had bought our costumes...a halo and wings for me and a cat headband, bowtie, tail and leopard nose for herself.
Tonkatsu
We got home with all of our purvchases and called Mellers. She was still at the U.S. military base, so she told us to call Eugene for dinner and she would meet us later. We called up Eugene and went with him to buy his friend a gift. Unfortunately, the bookstore was closed. We went to Shibuya, so Eugene asked us what we wanted to eat. We said anything. He took us to a tonkatsu (fried, breaded pork) specialty restaurant. On our way there, we saw so many hosts! Holy jebus! Male hosts basically work at a club and fulfill the needs and desires of women ahahhaha. They tell you you're pretty and they romance their costumers. They were easy to spot in their ironed suits and the complex hairstyles. They must spend hours on their hair! Jos and I couldn't help laughing and she managed to take a picture.
We found the restaurant and ate some superyummy food. Wow. Tonkatsu was amazing and the potato/tuna salad was really good. The dessert was like a tofu pudding and it was sweet. Our dinner was delicious. After that, we met up with Mellers at Don Quixote (sp?) a store that sells everything including halloween costumes. I wanted to buy an evil kitty costume, but it was apparently for men, not women?!?! We also met Mellers friend Craig. He was dragging a big luggage with him, which contained all the purchases from the base.
Craig and their other friend went to eat. I told Mellers about my winnings at the arcade and then we saw another one. She told Craig to meet us at the arcade. I went crazy yet again... This time I won a cute little bunny and...AN MP3 player! MUAHAHAHHAHA. We also took some hilarious sticker pictures of Mellers, Eugene, Josie and me. They are seriously classic!
Craig came back and we went to baba for karaoke. Craig was tired, so he went home. We went to karaoke with Eugene, Mellers and their friend George. He's part American so we kept cracking jokes...he started it! While we were waiting for our Karaoke room, the luggage started to leak! The drinks had busted open and two were spraying. George and Eugene ended up spraying each other and I got out of the way. Our karaoke room was on the 7th floor. There are a lot of karaoke rooms at that place! We ordered a party platter and drinks. We also brought in some alcohol too, but we hid it under the table. Karaoke was fun. We sang in different languages. We got home past 3 a.m.
-Sam
p.s. I took Jos to Matsuya a day or two ago. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but it's kind of a cross of fast food and home cooking and supercheap! I like the food there.
Odakyu, Keio and Seibu
Because Jos and I didn't have to be at Kodansha until 2pm, we decided to eat first and then stick around the vicinity. Our mission was to also find costumes for the Halloween party and find out about the limo bus to the airport. We ate at a small restaurant in baba (Takadanobaba) and then we headed off to Shinjuku to look for airport bus information.
After a while and asking for directions, we finally found it. We bought our tickets in advance and went into the department stores: Odakyu and Keio. We bought Shu Uemura face products and body spray. We also went to Seibu department store. There was food everywhere. OMG the onigiri (rice ball) was massive and they had different types of sushi, croquettes (deep fried potato with meat and various types of fillings)...basically food heaven. Jos and I basically bought a little of various items and the food was so tasty! Jos said this was such a good merienda, we should do it the next day too.
Jos also bought oranges on our way to Kodansha for my throat. Did I tell you I am sick?...yet again. After the typhoon, I've been under the weather, but trying to fight it.
Kodansha
Jos and I arrived at Kodansha early, just to be on the safe side. I took us to the wrong entrance, but the security man helped us find the right one. The receptionist already knew I was coming and said that Ms. Kubo would come down to meet us. She gave us guest badges and we waited in the seating area. I was really excited and Jos could tell. Ms. Kubo arrived and she gave me the company profile and a manga (japanese comic) catalogue. She gave us her business card and Josie gave her card and then I remembered that the darn typhoon wet my remaining business cards. I gave my somewhat damp card to her and apologized profusely for it's condition. (I apologized a lot about my card..I had to give my card...if Josie gave hers, how bad would it be if I didn't..seeing as how I was the one who was there for the appointment)
Ms. Kubo told us that Ms. Tomoko Suga would be coming down to meet us as well. Ms. Kubo is above 50 years of age and very friendly and kind. Ms. Suga looks pretty young and has a British accent. The latter was really business-like and well, I'll tell you more about it later. As we went up the elevator, they informed us that we would be visiting the editing department and we had a meeting with...THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF SHONEN WEEKLY MAGAZINE! Holy jebus....I was shocked! Editor-in-Chief....I inwardly panicked. I didn't have a lot of good questions to ask, but thank goodness Josie did. Ms. Suga told us that it the Editor-in-Chief, Hiroaki Morita, doesn't usually have meetings like this and asked what I wanted to know specifically. She translated all of our questions to him T___T She was a bit intimidating, but overall they were all nice to us. He showed us drafts and explained what editors do, as well as the history of Shonen Weekly Magazine. I'll tell you more about that meeting in person.
After the meeting was done, Ms. Suga went back to work and Ms. Kubo continued our tour. She showed us the library and the vault downstairs that has everything they have published. Ms. Kubo was extremely nice. We wanted to take her out for coffee, but she told us their cafeteria could only pay by card, so she treated us. I would really like to send them a thank you email.
Arcade Addict
We called Mellers afterwards to find out about dinner plans. She told us to come back home for 7pm. So Jos and I thought we might have time to buy costumes. We went to Ikebukuro, intending to avoid Sunshine City b/c we wanted to shop there with Mellers. We found ourselves there anyway. I found an arcade....and you know what that means right? For those of you who don't know, I am a self proclaimed claw game (ufo catcher) addict. I can't stay away from them...it's worse than a gambling addiction. So Jos went to look for costumes and I played the claw games. Jos had said she wanted a pillow...well I won two soft pink ones with cute bunnies on it. I also won...A DIGITAL CAMERA!! Well it's not one of those highly expensive ones, but a digi camera nonetheless. Jos was shocked when she came back! I only spent like $12.00 to get all three...then I spent $18 more trying to get other cute stuff, I'm such an addict. Jos had to get me away from there. Jos had bought our costumes...a halo and wings for me and a cat headband, bowtie, tail and leopard nose for herself.
Tonkatsu
We got home with all of our purvchases and called Mellers. She was still at the U.S. military base, so she told us to call Eugene for dinner and she would meet us later. We called up Eugene and went with him to buy his friend a gift. Unfortunately, the bookstore was closed. We went to Shibuya, so Eugene asked us what we wanted to eat. We said anything. He took us to a tonkatsu (fried, breaded pork) specialty restaurant. On our way there, we saw so many hosts! Holy jebus! Male hosts basically work at a club and fulfill the needs and desires of women ahahhaha. They tell you you're pretty and they romance their costumers. They were easy to spot in their ironed suits and the complex hairstyles. They must spend hours on their hair! Jos and I couldn't help laughing and she managed to take a picture.
We found the restaurant and ate some superyummy food. Wow. Tonkatsu was amazing and the potato/tuna salad was really good. The dessert was like a tofu pudding and it was sweet. Our dinner was delicious. After that, we met up with Mellers at Don Quixote (sp?) a store that sells everything including halloween costumes. I wanted to buy an evil kitty costume, but it was apparently for men, not women?!?! We also met Mellers friend Craig. He was dragging a big luggage with him, which contained all the purchases from the base.
Craig and their other friend went to eat. I told Mellers about my winnings at the arcade and then we saw another one. She told Craig to meet us at the arcade. I went crazy yet again... This time I won a cute little bunny and...AN MP3 player! MUAHAHAHHAHA. We also took some hilarious sticker pictures of Mellers, Eugene, Josie and me. They are seriously classic!
Craig came back and we went to baba for karaoke. Craig was tired, so he went home. We went to karaoke with Eugene, Mellers and their friend George. He's part American so we kept cracking jokes...he started it! While we were waiting for our Karaoke room, the luggage started to leak! The drinks had busted open and two were spraying. George and Eugene ended up spraying each other and I got out of the way. Our karaoke room was on the 7th floor. There are a lot of karaoke rooms at that place! We ordered a party platter and drinks. We also brought in some alcohol too, but we hid it under the table. Karaoke was fun. We sang in different languages. We got home past 3 a.m.
-Sam
p.s. I took Jos to Matsuya a day or two ago. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but it's kind of a cross of fast food and home cooking and supercheap! I like the food there.
Installment 15: No Yokohama, Shibuya 109
Installment 15: No Yokohama, Shibuya 109
Shhhhhopppping
Jos and I were supposed to meet Mayumi to go to Yokohama. Mellers said she needed to sleep b/c she was really tired. Jos and I went to Shibuya to meet Mayumi. Because we had evening plans and we met a bit later, we decided to just go shopping instead. We met outside of the station and then headed to Shibuya 109 building. Jos saw
At first, Jos tried to be good and not spend any money, but there were a lot of floors of fashionable clothing. She eventually broke haahhaha. Are you surprised? I mean, overall, she was pretty good. I spent whatever...cuz I'm on vacation and I don't care muaahhahahaha. Halfway through we decided to go for coffee/tea. We went outside the mall, but the only coffee shop we saw was full, so we went to the top floor and ordered drinks and dessert.
Mayumi checked her cell to see how long it would take me to get to Kodansha publishing the next day from Takadanobaba. Did I mention that my friend, Ko, got me an appointment for a tour of Kodansha publishing in Tokyo? Anyway, we sat and relaxed up there for a while and Jos said she didn't want to shop anymore. She was trying to save her money and luggage space. In the end, we visited every floor.
After that Mayumi took us to a dessert food court...omg..the food looked amazing...so much to eat! Jos got something that looked like marzipan and then Mayumi bought two boxes of sweets for me to take home to the family. Thank you Mayumi! You are so kind! I promise next time, we will visit Yokohama! I look forward to it!!
Shabu Shabu
We took a few pictures and then parted at the station. We went home and Mellers was waiting for us. We went for shabu shabu with Mellers, Eugene and Airi (I hope I spelt that right). Mellers had to work so she sped through her meal and we ordered harusame (vermicelli noodles) a bazillion times, we thought the waittress hated us. The shabu shabu (hot pot - when you cook your food in the soup) is all-you-can-eat, by the way. After Mellers left, we continued to eat and talk. Eugene told us hilarious stories.
When we finished eating we took a picture and headed off to a bar called Hub. Eugene ran into some Waseda students and we each had a drink. We called it a relatively early night, meaning before 2 a.m. At Mellers place, Jos and I checked email and called home.
Shhhhhopppping
Jos and I were supposed to meet Mayumi to go to Yokohama. Mellers said she needed to sleep b/c she was really tired. Jos and I went to Shibuya to meet Mayumi. Because we had evening plans and we met a bit later, we decided to just go shopping instead. We met outside of the station and then headed to Shibuya 109 building. Jos saw
At first, Jos tried to be good and not spend any money, but there were a lot of floors of fashionable clothing. She eventually broke haahhaha. Are you surprised? I mean, overall, she was pretty good. I spent whatever...cuz I'm on vacation and I don't care muaahhahahaha. Halfway through we decided to go for coffee/tea. We went outside the mall, but the only coffee shop we saw was full, so we went to the top floor and ordered drinks and dessert.
Mayumi checked her cell to see how long it would take me to get to Kodansha publishing the next day from Takadanobaba. Did I mention that my friend, Ko, got me an appointment for a tour of Kodansha publishing in Tokyo? Anyway, we sat and relaxed up there for a while and Jos said she didn't want to shop anymore. She was trying to save her money and luggage space. In the end, we visited every floor.
After that Mayumi took us to a dessert food court...omg..the food looked amazing...so much to eat! Jos got something that looked like marzipan and then Mayumi bought two boxes of sweets for me to take home to the family. Thank you Mayumi! You are so kind! I promise next time, we will visit Yokohama! I look forward to it!!
Shabu Shabu
We took a few pictures and then parted at the station. We went home and Mellers was waiting for us. We went for shabu shabu with Mellers, Eugene and Airi (I hope I spelt that right). Mellers had to work so she sped through her meal and we ordered harusame (vermicelli noodles) a bazillion times, we thought the waittress hated us. The shabu shabu (hot pot - when you cook your food in the soup) is all-you-can-eat, by the way. After Mellers left, we continued to eat and talk. Eugene told us hilarious stories.
When we finished eating we took a picture and headed off to a bar called Hub. Eugene ran into some Waseda students and we each had a drink. We called it a relatively early night, meaning before 2 a.m. At Mellers place, Jos and I checked email and called home.
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm...
Dear Avid Readers,
I fear that there will be yet another delay in the Philippines installments, much to my dismay. Firstly, b/c we were so busy in the Philippines (so there is much to write), I could not faithfully send the installments to you. Secondly, we are now in Japan and would rather much stay as close to the current events than speak of the past. Fear not, I have kept notes of all the happenings in the Philippines, so I will try my best to recount what happened. I will most likely send you adventures of Japan more than the Philippines for the time being, so don't worry if the Installment email numbers are out of whack....no, you aren't missing any.
Please expect to read Installment 15 very soon and possibly 9...yada yada yada
So without further ado (is that even right?!)....the next installment...
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm
Bye Bye Philippines
In the morning we got ready to leave and finished off the last minute packing. I took some pictures of Franco hiding in my luggage ahahhahaa. We went downstairs for brekkie, which ended up being more like lunch. Our family feeds us well. We had rice, adobo, fish and lechon kawali. I decided to leave some of my clothes in the Philippines with Tita Bello. Why? Because I wanted more room in my luggage and my pants are too big now? Could I have lost weight while travelling? Well...if only it were in a more obvious place like my face...ah well. I still think I look the same...hopefully the PK staff will recognize me when I come back. Just kidding.
We said our goodbyes and took pictures with our family. Then Roly drove us to the airport. We were assisted by staff at the airport and lucky for us, there was no line. Score! Jos was talking with some staff too and one dude was particularly interested in us. He was asking me if I speak Tagalog and I just said no and then moved on. No, he is not a potential...he was actually creepy...kind of lurking around and staring at us. He even checked Jos' carry on and said it was heavy...sure enough 4kgs too heavy! She had to re-pack some of her stuff and also she had to take her boots of later on for screening and the lady thought her socks were her shoes...b/c of the design...
Mr. Creepy was on our side too once we had checked in...we had tea and coffee. We tried to make some phone calls, but we really couldn't understand the payphones. We were able to make one phone call and then we gave up. Flight went well. I was sandwiched by Jos and a tall dude who helped us with our luggage. Jos hasn't been feeling too great on the planes, but she's starting to feel better.
We got to Singapore airport and briefly checked our email. Everyone gets a free 15mins. So we rushed it. A few of you were concerned about what happened...don't worry..we're fine, just busy. Made some phone calls and shopped a bit. Jos bought ANOTHER Tokidoki bag..
Arrived in Tokyo to rain. The customs line was ridiculously long and tiring. They will start the fingerprinting/photo procedure starting in November. We got our luggage and took the Skyliner to Nippori. We were doing ok, a bit awkward with Jos' luggage, but ok nonetheless. That was until we switched to the Yamanote sen line...huuhuu...
When you're dragging two luggages each plus your carry-on and purse..it is really difficult to get everything in before the door closes. We were doing pretty well for the first two luggages and then the door started to close and my back was pushing between the closing doors with one leg on the platform and the other in the train...with Jos dragging me in and actually hitting someone in the face... T______T It was so funny, yet really embarassing at the same time. I apologized and Jos couldn't stop laughing her butt off.
Actually, a woman asked us if we were okay in Japanese. I assured her we were fine. We dreaded repeating this on our way out of Takadanobaba stn. Luckily a young woman offered to help us take our luggage out. She was really nice and actually left the train with her belongings inside...that's supernice in my books. Anyway, got to the station and it was raining really hard. No taxis would take us with all that luggage, so we walked in the cold, frigid rain. A 10min walk took 25mins. We were soaked when we got to Mellers. She felt bad for not being able to meet us, but it was ok. I took a shower and Jos took one too. We ordered Bulgogi Pizza from Pizza Hut delivery.
Made a quick trip to the convenience store and also saw the old, supermarket owner that I talked to in April. He remembered me too and was all ready to have another good conversation. We talked a bit and in my broken Japanese explained Jos was my sister and we visited other places too.
We went back and ate some food. We relaxed for a while and then got ready for clubbing. Yes, clubbing on the very first day we got to Tokyo. What a long day huh? Jos did a nice makeup job on me...b/c I really don't know anything about makeup and off we went. We waited at the pizza place near Gaspanic Cafe and surprised both Nare and Yu-chan. I was really happy to see them again! They both had different hairstyles too!
Gaspanic was crowded as ever. The music varied and Jos waited for her music to play. We danced to pretty much everything. Sadly I only saw a few hotties ahaha, but they didn't stick around long. :( The rest were yuck. And there was an extremely drunk dude who eventually got kicked out. Mellers did her long awaited Soulja Boy dance... We also took a break to the convenience store and saw the actor who played the rival high jumper in the Hana Kimi j-dorama. One of the guys there was wearing a netted shirt with a jockey with a faucet/tap stategically placed and money tucked in the jockey too.
Jos was pretty jetlagged and I even blinked a couple of times on the train ride home. We stayed till the club played the last song, I believe at 4 a.m. Went back to get our stuff and walked to the station. Can you believe we saw the drunk dude who got kicked out in a store corner embracing an asian woman (who seemed ok with it)?!!
Got home, took showers and went to sleep.
Ok...I need sleep. Update you again later.
Bye Bye
Sam
p.s. found out this morning that we actually walked through a typhoon...yup...just our luck!!
Dear Avid Readers,
I fear that there will be yet another delay in the Philippines installments, much to my dismay. Firstly, b/c we were so busy in the Philippines (so there is much to write), I could not faithfully send the installments to you. Secondly, we are now in Japan and would rather much stay as close to the current events than speak of the past. Fear not, I have kept notes of all the happenings in the Philippines, so I will try my best to recount what happened. I will most likely send you adventures of Japan more than the Philippines for the time being, so don't worry if the Installment email numbers are out of whack....no, you aren't missing any.
Please expect to read Installment 15 very soon and possibly 9...yada yada yada
So without further ado (is that even right?!)....the next installment...
Installment 14: Welcome to the Japanese Storm
Bye Bye Philippines
In the morning we got ready to leave and finished off the last minute packing. I took some pictures of Franco hiding in my luggage ahahhahaa. We went downstairs for brekkie, which ended up being more like lunch. Our family feeds us well. We had rice, adobo, fish and lechon kawali. I decided to leave some of my clothes in the Philippines with Tita Bello. Why? Because I wanted more room in my luggage and my pants are too big now? Could I have lost weight while travelling? Well...if only it were in a more obvious place like my face...ah well. I still think I look the same...hopefully the PK staff will recognize me when I come back. Just kidding.
We said our goodbyes and took pictures with our family. Then Roly drove us to the airport. We were assisted by staff at the airport and lucky for us, there was no line. Score! Jos was talking with some staff too and one dude was particularly interested in us. He was asking me if I speak Tagalog and I just said no and then moved on. No, he is not a potential...he was actually creepy...kind of lurking around and staring at us. He even checked Jos' carry on and said it was heavy...sure enough 4kgs too heavy! She had to re-pack some of her stuff and also she had to take her boots of later on for screening and the lady thought her socks were her shoes...b/c of the design...
Mr. Creepy was on our side too once we had checked in...we had tea and coffee. We tried to make some phone calls, but we really couldn't understand the payphones. We were able to make one phone call and then we gave up. Flight went well. I was sandwiched by Jos and a tall dude who helped us with our luggage. Jos hasn't been feeling too great on the planes, but she's starting to feel better.
We got to Singapore airport and briefly checked our email. Everyone gets a free 15mins. So we rushed it. A few of you were concerned about what happened...don't worry..we're fine, just busy. Made some phone calls and shopped a bit. Jos bought ANOTHER Tokidoki bag..
Arrived in Tokyo to rain. The customs line was ridiculously long and tiring. They will start the fingerprinting/photo procedure starting in November. We got our luggage and took the Skyliner to Nippori. We were doing ok, a bit awkward with Jos' luggage, but ok nonetheless. That was until we switched to the Yamanote sen line...huuhuu...
When you're dragging two luggages each plus your carry-on and purse..it is really difficult to get everything in before the door closes. We were doing pretty well for the first two luggages and then the door started to close and my back was pushing between the closing doors with one leg on the platform and the other in the train...with Jos dragging me in and actually hitting someone in the face... T______T It was so funny, yet really embarassing at the same time. I apologized and Jos couldn't stop laughing her butt off.
Actually, a woman asked us if we were okay in Japanese. I assured her we were fine. We dreaded repeating this on our way out of Takadanobaba stn. Luckily a young woman offered to help us take our luggage out. She was really nice and actually left the train with her belongings inside...that's supernice in my books. Anyway, got to the station and it was raining really hard. No taxis would take us with all that luggage, so we walked in the cold, frigid rain. A 10min walk took 25mins. We were soaked when we got to Mellers. She felt bad for not being able to meet us, but it was ok. I took a shower and Jos took one too. We ordered Bulgogi Pizza from Pizza Hut delivery.
Made a quick trip to the convenience store and also saw the old, supermarket owner that I talked to in April. He remembered me too and was all ready to have another good conversation. We talked a bit and in my broken Japanese explained Jos was my sister and we visited other places too.
We went back and ate some food. We relaxed for a while and then got ready for clubbing. Yes, clubbing on the very first day we got to Tokyo. What a long day huh? Jos did a nice makeup job on me...b/c I really don't know anything about makeup and off we went. We waited at the pizza place near Gaspanic Cafe and surprised both Nare and Yu-chan. I was really happy to see them again! They both had different hairstyles too!
Gaspanic was crowded as ever. The music varied and Jos waited for her music to play. We danced to pretty much everything. Sadly I only saw a few hotties ahaha, but they didn't stick around long. :( The rest were yuck. And there was an extremely drunk dude who eventually got kicked out. Mellers did her long awaited Soulja Boy dance... We also took a break to the convenience store and saw the actor who played the rival high jumper in the Hana Kimi j-dorama. One of the guys there was wearing a netted shirt with a jockey with a faucet/tap stategically placed and money tucked in the jockey too.
Jos was pretty jetlagged and I even blinked a couple of times on the train ride home. We stayed till the club played the last song, I believe at 4 a.m. Went back to get our stuff and walked to the station. Can you believe we saw the drunk dude who got kicked out in a store corner embracing an asian woman (who seemed ok with it)?!!
Got home, took showers and went to sleep.
Ok...I need sleep. Update you again later.
Bye Bye
Sam
p.s. found out this morning that we actually walked through a typhoon...yup...just our luck!!
Installment 6: Speedy Singapore
Installment 6: Speedy Singapore
Good Morning Singapore
Jos and I arrived at 1am in Changi airport. Once again we got cursed with a
screaming child on the plane, but we managed to get through it. We took a
taxi to Nancy's and once again the driver was not very familiar with her
address. I was able to somewhat direct him there. Nancy was already aware
that we were arriving late and had left the door unlocked. We got inside
and were greeted with a tray of water and Bailey's Chocolate Mint. Nancy is
awesome!
Mauled by the Malls
We changed and slept. We woke up in the morning and Nancy cooked breakfast
and gave us a key too. We caught up and Jos got to know Nancy more. Nancy
headed to the gym and we took a cab to Orchard Road. We dove straight into
shopping. I can't say I know exactly what Jos' thoughts were on the
experience. We shopped like mad. We went to lots of malls...Paragon,
Takashimaya, Wisma, Isetan, Ngee Ann Building and Lucky Plaza. Jos asked
around about cell phones and every shop had a different quote at Lucky Plaza.
There were lots of name brands and Jos and I tried to find some Singapore
brands.
We ate at the Food Republic food court upstairs Wisma. We had beef kway
teow (sp?), suimai, har gow (w/ aloe wrapper), dumplings, shells with veggies and shrimp and crispy fried tofu. We really ate a lot. I'm full just thinking about it again.
Breaking the Piggy Bank
We continued to shop and the last mall I took Jos to, was the Hereen Mall. In my head I only remembered it as the HMV mall. I really like the shopping there b/c it reminds me of Queen St. shopping. Jos had been really good thusfar and hadn't really gone crazy shopping like she is so capable of doing. THIS MALL BROKE HER. ahhahaha
She found two places. She bought a pencil skirt from Garcon and Jean Perrie. The latter had her walking out with over $100 in spending!! I bought two things there...I'm not sure how much she bought. The person who designs the clothes is actually Japanese, but doesn't have the manpower to have a business there and instead set up shop in Singapore.
I had just been dabbling here and there buying random shirts and some trinket stuff. In one store I bought a nice, black top and a black tie with a crown on it. I really don't know why, but I was attracted to that tie. I contacted Mylia and she was unable to meet me :( It's ok. I really wanted to see the Singapore girls, but I should not expect them to clear their schedules for a one-day rush event with me. Next time, I'll have to kidnap them!
Towards the end of the shopping at Hereen, I remembered I really wanted to go to the Venetian tea house I went to before. I remembered that the cookies were way costly, but they were really good and the experience was nice. Jos and I took a cab there and when I went back the same woman was there. The place is actually called the Cookie Museum.
Tea and Foodage
She did a tea service for us and yeah...Sam dropped the big bucks for three tins of cookies. It was my treat to myself...very extravagant! After that, I brought Jos to the outdoor food court to eat. I really hope Toronto could have one like this! It is really nice, great atmosphere and yummy food.
We ate hot pot, beef satay sticks, bbq ribs, oyster omelet and we drank Chelon (sp?) which is a nice drink with beans, and other things in it. Jos was really charmed by the hot pot owner and we took pictures with her too. After that we walked through Marina Square and Suntec City.
I felt that Jos' trip would not be complete if she didn't ride the Singapore MRT. She was quite overwhelmed...and I think jetlag might have played a part too. Hahahah I haven't seen her that overwhelmed and giggly for a long time. All we did was laugh and make a ruckus! She looked so lost!!
We waited in a long taxi queue and in the morning Nancy cooked the best pancakes ever and we also had ham and bubbly. THANKS SO MUCH NANCY! It was great to see you again!
-Sam
Good Morning Singapore
Jos and I arrived at 1am in Changi airport. Once again we got cursed with a
screaming child on the plane, but we managed to get through it. We took a
taxi to Nancy's and once again the driver was not very familiar with her
address. I was able to somewhat direct him there. Nancy was already aware
that we were arriving late and had left the door unlocked. We got inside
and were greeted with a tray of water and Bailey's Chocolate Mint. Nancy is
awesome!
Mauled by the Malls
We changed and slept. We woke up in the morning and Nancy cooked breakfast
and gave us a key too. We caught up and Jos got to know Nancy more. Nancy
headed to the gym and we took a cab to Orchard Road. We dove straight into
shopping. I can't say I know exactly what Jos' thoughts were on the
experience. We shopped like mad. We went to lots of malls...Paragon,
Takashimaya, Wisma, Isetan, Ngee Ann Building and Lucky Plaza. Jos asked
around about cell phones and every shop had a different quote at Lucky Plaza.
There were lots of name brands and Jos and I tried to find some Singapore
brands.
We ate at the Food Republic food court upstairs Wisma. We had beef kway
teow (sp?), suimai, har gow (w/ aloe wrapper), dumplings, shells with veggies and shrimp and crispy fried tofu. We really ate a lot. I'm full just thinking about it again.
Breaking the Piggy Bank
We continued to shop and the last mall I took Jos to, was the Hereen Mall. In my head I only remembered it as the HMV mall. I really like the shopping there b/c it reminds me of Queen St. shopping. Jos had been really good thusfar and hadn't really gone crazy shopping like she is so capable of doing. THIS MALL BROKE HER. ahhahaha
She found two places. She bought a pencil skirt from Garcon and Jean Perrie. The latter had her walking out with over $100 in spending!! I bought two things there...I'm not sure how much she bought. The person who designs the clothes is actually Japanese, but doesn't have the manpower to have a business there and instead set up shop in Singapore.
I had just been dabbling here and there buying random shirts and some trinket stuff. In one store I bought a nice, black top and a black tie with a crown on it. I really don't know why, but I was attracted to that tie. I contacted Mylia and she was unable to meet me :( It's ok. I really wanted to see the Singapore girls, but I should not expect them to clear their schedules for a one-day rush event with me. Next time, I'll have to kidnap them!
Towards the end of the shopping at Hereen, I remembered I really wanted to go to the Venetian tea house I went to before. I remembered that the cookies were way costly, but they were really good and the experience was nice. Jos and I took a cab there and when I went back the same woman was there. The place is actually called the Cookie Museum.
Tea and Foodage
She did a tea service for us and yeah...Sam dropped the big bucks for three tins of cookies. It was my treat to myself...very extravagant! After that, I brought Jos to the outdoor food court to eat. I really hope Toronto could have one like this! It is really nice, great atmosphere and yummy food.
We ate hot pot, beef satay sticks, bbq ribs, oyster omelet and we drank Chelon (sp?) which is a nice drink with beans, and other things in it. Jos was really charmed by the hot pot owner and we took pictures with her too. After that we walked through Marina Square and Suntec City.
I felt that Jos' trip would not be complete if she didn't ride the Singapore MRT. She was quite overwhelmed...and I think jetlag might have played a part too. Hahahah I haven't seen her that overwhelmed and giggly for a long time. All we did was laugh and make a ruckus! She looked so lost!!
We waited in a long taxi queue and in the morning Nancy cooked the best pancakes ever and we also had ham and bubbly. THANKS SO MUCH NANCY! It was great to see you again!
-Sam
Installment 5: Missing Wallet?!?!?
Installment 5: Missing Wallet?!?!?
National Museum of Korea
Josie really wanted to go to the National Museum of Korea and I had never been there, so first thing in the morning we went. There were tons of students there and I saw some Japanese students as well. The place is huge and there are pagoda gardens as well. We browsed through the floors and took pictures without flash. I usually walk pretty quickly through museums and Josie takes it in better. I love museums, but I find that I get tired if I am in them too long...don't know why. Took pics of the Korean alphabet, weapons...oh! and the first dictionary in Korean!! What else....just things that I thought looked interesting...plus it would be a waste for Jos and I to take the same pictures.
While she was looking through the Buddhist exhibit, I went to the tea shop to buy some tea. When she finished we decided to try to call Robin. We had tried earlier but no luck. We headed downstairs and decided to call home too. It was nice to hear their voices. We emptied our locker and headed for the pagoda gardens. We were taking pics and I saw a bunch of little kids...sooooo cute! I offered to take a picture for their teachers. Josie headed off to the large pagoda and I was videotaping...then I saw Jos on the other side of the garden. We quickly took more pics and headed back to grab a cab. We had to check out of Beewon.
Where's My Wallet?!?!
So we're in the cab and Jos checks her bag and her wallet is missing. We apologize to the driver (who is younger than all the other driver's we've had...and he says it's ok). Jos goes running back to the museum, with only 5,000 won in her hands... I didn't feel right going ahead without her. So I went back to the museum, with the intention of finding Jos and calling Beewon to tell them the situation and that we were running late.
Before I get to the main lobby, I hear Josie calling my name. She found it!! Thank goodness!! We made the call and Eun-Mi told me Robin called. We called Robin, who sounded ultratired. He might visit Toronto in March...otherwise we'll see him next September. We rushed back to Beewon and checked out.
What's Cooking in Korea?
Jos said she wanted a Korean cookbook. We were going to go to one of the big bookstores, but when we downstairs at Anguk station, we found a small bookstore. They just happened to have some English-Korean ones there, so she was pretty happy. That left us more time to visit Insadong.
Eating Flowers
We were pretty hungry, so Jos kept an eye out for some restaurants. We wanted to do Korean bbq, but alas we couldn't. Jos found a place that had interesting dishes. We had Korean pancake with oysters (Mom you would have loved it!), sundubu (tofu kimchi soup) and I had wild flowers with mixed vegetables and rice (like bimbimbap). It was pretty!
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
Okay...I didn't buy diamonds...but I bought some nice jewelry. Last year I bought some at a place and I went there again to get more. It's really unique. After eating I went to the jewelry store beside it and made friends with the owner and the girl working there. There stuff was soooo cute and they had white gold so I could wear it. I'm allergic to other metals. They were so nice and gave me discounts. The girl who worked there, Anna, is the same age as me and was talking to me in Korean. She was really friendly and we exchanged emails.
Goodbye Seoul
We headed back to Beewon to quickly re-pack and head to the airport. We took the limo bus 602-1 I think...I can't remember now...and we got there in an hour or so (and that's b/c they didn't pick a lot of ppl up). We had the fastest check-in ever! We were tempted to shop but didn't. Called home and I did yesterday's installment...accidentally only sent it to Jenni and Michelle...oops! Re-sent it just now for the rest of you. There was a 20min delay with the plane, but we finally boarded. They fed us again and I slept for a long time. Jos watched a movie. When I woke up, I had lost one of my new earrings...BOOOOOO...but I found it later when Jos reminded me to check if it fell on my shirt in the washroom. SCORE! Jos was able to tell the cabin crew about her various food allergies.
When we were getting off the plane and Jos was paged. They wanted to assure her that they were trying to make sure she got peanut-free meals. Only one of the several flights we have left is still pending for her peanut-free meal. How efficient and somewhat strange that they felt the need to page us for that. What a great airline. btw...I had cherry ice-cream and it was supergood. One of the crew, gave Josie a mango-passion fruit one as a substitute. Seriously ppl, fly with Singapore Air if you can one day...top notch!
Details of our day in Singapore in the next email. Gotta run. Need to shop, not a lot of time!
-Sam
p.s. thanks if you're still reading and sorry i don't often reply to your replies...i'm always in a rush!
National Museum of Korea
Josie really wanted to go to the National Museum of Korea and I had never been there, so first thing in the morning we went. There were tons of students there and I saw some Japanese students as well. The place is huge and there are pagoda gardens as well. We browsed through the floors and took pictures without flash. I usually walk pretty quickly through museums and Josie takes it in better. I love museums, but I find that I get tired if I am in them too long...don't know why. Took pics of the Korean alphabet, weapons...oh! and the first dictionary in Korean!! What else....just things that I thought looked interesting...plus it would be a waste for Jos and I to take the same pictures.
While she was looking through the Buddhist exhibit, I went to the tea shop to buy some tea. When she finished we decided to try to call Robin. We had tried earlier but no luck. We headed downstairs and decided to call home too. It was nice to hear their voices. We emptied our locker and headed for the pagoda gardens. We were taking pics and I saw a bunch of little kids...sooooo cute! I offered to take a picture for their teachers. Josie headed off to the large pagoda and I was videotaping...then I saw Jos on the other side of the garden. We quickly took more pics and headed back to grab a cab. We had to check out of Beewon.
Where's My Wallet?!?!
So we're in the cab and Jos checks her bag and her wallet is missing. We apologize to the driver (who is younger than all the other driver's we've had...and he says it's ok). Jos goes running back to the museum, with only 5,000 won in her hands... I didn't feel right going ahead without her. So I went back to the museum, with the intention of finding Jos and calling Beewon to tell them the situation and that we were running late.
Before I get to the main lobby, I hear Josie calling my name. She found it!! Thank goodness!! We made the call and Eun-Mi told me Robin called. We called Robin, who sounded ultratired. He might visit Toronto in March...otherwise we'll see him next September. We rushed back to Beewon and checked out.
What's Cooking in Korea?
Jos said she wanted a Korean cookbook. We were going to go to one of the big bookstores, but when we downstairs at Anguk station, we found a small bookstore. They just happened to have some English-Korean ones there, so she was pretty happy. That left us more time to visit Insadong.
Eating Flowers
We were pretty hungry, so Jos kept an eye out for some restaurants. We wanted to do Korean bbq, but alas we couldn't. Jos found a place that had interesting dishes. We had Korean pancake with oysters (Mom you would have loved it!), sundubu (tofu kimchi soup) and I had wild flowers with mixed vegetables and rice (like bimbimbap). It was pretty!
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
Okay...I didn't buy diamonds...but I bought some nice jewelry. Last year I bought some at a place and I went there again to get more. It's really unique. After eating I went to the jewelry store beside it and made friends with the owner and the girl working there. There stuff was soooo cute and they had white gold so I could wear it. I'm allergic to other metals. They were so nice and gave me discounts. The girl who worked there, Anna, is the same age as me and was talking to me in Korean. She was really friendly and we exchanged emails.
Goodbye Seoul
We headed back to Beewon to quickly re-pack and head to the airport. We took the limo bus 602-1 I think...I can't remember now...and we got there in an hour or so (and that's b/c they didn't pick a lot of ppl up). We had the fastest check-in ever! We were tempted to shop but didn't. Called home and I did yesterday's installment...accidentally only sent it to Jenni and Michelle...oops! Re-sent it just now for the rest of you. There was a 20min delay with the plane, but we finally boarded. They fed us again and I slept for a long time. Jos watched a movie. When I woke up, I had lost one of my new earrings...BOOOOOO...but I found it later when Jos reminded me to check if it fell on my shirt in the washroom. SCORE! Jos was able to tell the cabin crew about her various food allergies.
When we were getting off the plane and Jos was paged. They wanted to assure her that they were trying to make sure she got peanut-free meals. Only one of the several flights we have left is still pending for her peanut-free meal. How efficient and somewhat strange that they felt the need to page us for that. What a great airline. btw...I had cherry ice-cream and it was supergood. One of the crew, gave Josie a mango-passion fruit one as a substitute. Seriously ppl, fly with Singapore Air if you can one day...top notch!
Details of our day in Singapore in the next email. Gotta run. Need to shop, not a lot of time!
-Sam
p.s. thanks if you're still reading and sorry i don't often reply to your replies...i'm always in a rush!
Installment 4: To the Palace!
Installment 4: To the Palace!
Chandeukgung Palace
Jos woke up with a wicked hangover so I went to get her some gatorade and DAWN. (Dawn is a hangover drink with an ajusshi [middle-aged man?] on the can) Thanks KMP for sending me Sam unnie's phone number. I called her and although she is superbusy, we made plans to meet at 6pm yesterday. We tried to get to Insadong, but we ran out of time, b/c the English tour at the palace started at 3:30 p.m.
The entrance cost 3 dollars and of course, there were many foreigners. This palace was the most well kept of all the palaces here and we were able to see the Huwon (secret garden). Last year I missed the tour b/c of rain, so I was happy we were able to go see it together. Palaces are huge and beautiful. Did you know that when the emperor would go to the washroom to do a number two, they would take it and analyse it?! hard core! The tour was 1h 30mins long and after that we rushed to drop off our stuff before meeting Sam-sun unnie.
We called Robin, who was terribly hungover and although had the day off, couldn't manage to work on his script. He said to call him before 10pm.
University of Seoul
Our driver didn't know where exactly we wanted to go and I told him the station that Keonmi told me about...but he heard Seoul University and he thought it was the national university. I assured him we wanted to follow KMP's directions. The only university he mentioned was Kyunghee and even a bystander told us about it. So we asked the driver to drop us off at Kyunghee since we were under the impression that was the only one in the vicinity. We were a little worried, but we had no phone. During the ride, I got supertired...I fell asleep several times and kept "blinking"...I didn't even know I fell asleep, but Josie told me I did.
We got to Kyunghee University finally and could not find a phone. The first student we approached for help just looked at us and then waved us off when we tried to speak in English. I was told later on that although most students know some English, they are shy to use it. The next people we stopped looked like a couple. They were both good looking and very nice. We asked them where a "chonhwa baksu" was (phone box). They said there weren't any and then we said our friend was at Seoul University. We looked so worried and so the girl offered to lend us her phone. We were really grateful. The both of them were really kind and the guy would talk to us in broken English. I managed to get hold of Sam-unnie. The funny thing is she answers as Sam and then I tell her I'm Sam and then we get kind of confused at first hahahaha. Anyway, she asks us where we are and we tell her we are at Kyunghee and she says we're in the wrong place.
I asked the girl to write the university name in hangeul (korean) b/c the taxi drivers never understand our romanized writing. She wrote it down for us and we thanked her and her friend. We ran off to catch another cab and of course he was an older man who needed to pull out the magnifying glass to read where we were going. Did I mention majority of our transactions with taxi drivers have been like that? It's always an older gentleman who has to use a magnifying glass and my bad Korean to figure out where we are going. Oh wellz! He got us to University of Seoul! Woohoo!
We called Sam-unnie and it was really cold. I was wearing short sleeves b/c of my mosquito bites. They get irritated by long sleeves. Sam-unnie came with Seo-Ryeon-unnie who I met last year too. We all hugged each other and were happy to meet again. We went out for food. I think we ate something like spicy squid/octopus and then side dishes and then the waitress came with rice that she cooked in the same sauce.
We talked about coming to visit again and I gave them some gifts. I was really happy to see them even though I know they are extremely busy. Sam-unnie took us to her campus to look around and we had 100 won coffee which was really good.
To the Bus
Called our cousin Janelle and planned to meet for dessert since she ate and so did we. I told her we'd call when we were done. I was supposed to call Robin too, but I didn't want to take up more time when Sam-unnie had to go back so soon. We talked for a while on the campus and then Sam-unnie had to go, so we said our goodbyes. Seo-Ryeon-unnie took us on our first bus ride to the station. Holy moly Koreans have strong arms. Bus rides are bumpy and rough!! How do the elderly do it?!?! She also helped us by playing cards.
We went on a second bus and then headed to Nowon. Once there we called Robin. He told us he was waiting for our call and Gus was with him too. When we didn't call, they ate and then Robin went home. I felt sooooo bad!! I apologized and he said it was okay. He told me to call him after meeting with Janelle b/c we were far away from where he was. I aske him if he was sure, b/c it would be late, but he said to call anyway.
It's A Small World
We met up with Janelle and went to a bakery. We bought a small cake and they are awesome. They pack it up, give you candles, a plastic knife, matches, firecracker thingies and a birthday hat! We took pics and we sang a song and blew out the candles. Janelle and I pulled the firecrackers and WAHHHHH! Actually fire sparks, a really loud noise and streamers go flying hahahahhaaha. So much fun! When the bakery was closing we headed off to Beewon to call Robin and Janelle went home. We gave her a big hug. It was so nice to see her for so many days in Korea!
Fatigue
Taking the cab to Beewon, Jos fell asleep and even made snoring sounds, but I didn't want to wake her up b/c she was tired. She took a nap while I tried to contact Robin. He didn't pick up...he fell asleep. I read my manga and watched some tv.
Installment 4 to come next. Sorry for the delay but I gotta board the plane. We're leaving for singapore. Jos says hi.
-Sam
Chandeukgung Palace
Jos woke up with a wicked hangover so I went to get her some gatorade and DAWN. (Dawn is a hangover drink with an ajusshi [middle-aged man?] on the can) Thanks KMP for sending me Sam unnie's phone number. I called her and although she is superbusy, we made plans to meet at 6pm yesterday. We tried to get to Insadong, but we ran out of time, b/c the English tour at the palace started at 3:30 p.m.
The entrance cost 3 dollars and of course, there were many foreigners. This palace was the most well kept of all the palaces here and we were able to see the Huwon (secret garden). Last year I missed the tour b/c of rain, so I was happy we were able to go see it together. Palaces are huge and beautiful. Did you know that when the emperor would go to the washroom to do a number two, they would take it and analyse it?! hard core! The tour was 1h 30mins long and after that we rushed to drop off our stuff before meeting Sam-sun unnie.
We called Robin, who was terribly hungover and although had the day off, couldn't manage to work on his script. He said to call him before 10pm.
University of Seoul
Our driver didn't know where exactly we wanted to go and I told him the station that Keonmi told me about...but he heard Seoul University and he thought it was the national university. I assured him we wanted to follow KMP's directions. The only university he mentioned was Kyunghee and even a bystander told us about it. So we asked the driver to drop us off at Kyunghee since we were under the impression that was the only one in the vicinity. We were a little worried, but we had no phone. During the ride, I got supertired...I fell asleep several times and kept "blinking"...I didn't even know I fell asleep, but Josie told me I did.
We got to Kyunghee University finally and could not find a phone. The first student we approached for help just looked at us and then waved us off when we tried to speak in English. I was told later on that although most students know some English, they are shy to use it. The next people we stopped looked like a couple. They were both good looking and very nice. We asked them where a "chonhwa baksu" was (phone box). They said there weren't any and then we said our friend was at Seoul University. We looked so worried and so the girl offered to lend us her phone. We were really grateful. The both of them were really kind and the guy would talk to us in broken English. I managed to get hold of Sam-unnie. The funny thing is she answers as Sam and then I tell her I'm Sam and then we get kind of confused at first hahahaha. Anyway, she asks us where we are and we tell her we are at Kyunghee and she says we're in the wrong place.
I asked the girl to write the university name in hangeul (korean) b/c the taxi drivers never understand our romanized writing. She wrote it down for us and we thanked her and her friend. We ran off to catch another cab and of course he was an older man who needed to pull out the magnifying glass to read where we were going. Did I mention majority of our transactions with taxi drivers have been like that? It's always an older gentleman who has to use a magnifying glass and my bad Korean to figure out where we are going. Oh wellz! He got us to University of Seoul! Woohoo!
We called Sam-unnie and it was really cold. I was wearing short sleeves b/c of my mosquito bites. They get irritated by long sleeves. Sam-unnie came with Seo-Ryeon-unnie who I met last year too. We all hugged each other and were happy to meet again. We went out for food. I think we ate something like spicy squid/octopus and then side dishes and then the waitress came with rice that she cooked in the same sauce.
We talked about coming to visit again and I gave them some gifts. I was really happy to see them even though I know they are extremely busy. Sam-unnie took us to her campus to look around and we had 100 won coffee which was really good.
To the Bus
Called our cousin Janelle and planned to meet for dessert since she ate and so did we. I told her we'd call when we were done. I was supposed to call Robin too, but I didn't want to take up more time when Sam-unnie had to go back so soon. We talked for a while on the campus and then Sam-unnie had to go, so we said our goodbyes. Seo-Ryeon-unnie took us on our first bus ride to the station. Holy moly Koreans have strong arms. Bus rides are bumpy and rough!! How do the elderly do it?!?! She also helped us by playing cards.
We went on a second bus and then headed to Nowon. Once there we called Robin. He told us he was waiting for our call and Gus was with him too. When we didn't call, they ate and then Robin went home. I felt sooooo bad!! I apologized and he said it was okay. He told me to call him after meeting with Janelle b/c we were far away from where he was. I aske him if he was sure, b/c it would be late, but he said to call anyway.
It's A Small World
We met up with Janelle and went to a bakery. We bought a small cake and they are awesome. They pack it up, give you candles, a plastic knife, matches, firecracker thingies and a birthday hat! We took pics and we sang a song and blew out the candles. Janelle and I pulled the firecrackers and WAHHHHH! Actually fire sparks, a really loud noise and streamers go flying hahahahhaaha. So much fun! When the bakery was closing we headed off to Beewon to call Robin and Janelle went home. We gave her a big hug. It was so nice to see her for so many days in Korea!
Fatigue
Taking the cab to Beewon, Jos fell asleep and even made snoring sounds, but I didn't want to wake her up b/c she was tired. She took a nap while I tried to contact Robin. He didn't pick up...he fell asleep. I read my manga and watched some tv.
Installment 4 to come next. Sorry for the delay but I gotta board the plane. We're leaving for singapore. Jos says hi.
-Sam
Installment 3: Climbing mountains, Moving Guesthouses
Installment 3: Climbing mountains, Moving Guesthouses
I have been re-miss....(is that the right phrase?) anywhodanay...this is our itinerary:
Seoul from Oct 13 (6:45pm) - Oct 17 (7:45pm) 5 DAYS
Singapore Oct 18 (1:00am) - Oct 19 (1:25pm) 1 1/2 DAYS
Manila Oct 19 (4:55pm) - Oct 26 (2:20pm) 8 DAYS!!
Tokyo Oct 27 (7:30am) - Nov 1 (6:30pm) 6 DAYS
Mt. Namsan & Seoul Tower
Woke up in the morning without a hangover...shweet! We packed up all of our luggage so it would be easier for us to checkout and came to the realization that I needed to buy another luggage. Robin said that we could checkout at 1pm instead of 12pm so that I could also have time to get luggage. So, Jos and I climbed farther up the mountain to the cable cars. We got quality standing space to take pictures and when we got out we had to climb these wide and steep stairs to the top of the mountain. Of course, I re-lived the embarassment of seeing the strong, Korean seniors religiously climbing the mountain...while my youthful self took a cable car...>__< We were in a rush so we had to take the cable car up and down the mountain. We took pictures in the smoke signal area, the pagoda (gazebo?), scenery and went to some of the gift shops. When we went a bit higher we noticed all these locks on the fences surrounding. Apparently it was Couple's Day and ppl were hanging the locks. We took pics. It was really interesting!
Lugging Luggage
When we went back down we asked Robin where to buy luggage and he told us to go to Namdaemun market. I bought luggage underground and we went to the market very quickly. Btw...Josie really bargained well and saved me 10,000 won on that luggage! Visited Song one more time and took pics. He gave us more discounts. Headed back up the mountain and Robin drove us to Beewon. We made plans to meet him later for drinks. He couldn't find parking so he ended up parking right in front of the driveway. He was helping us bring our stuff in and then we heard yelling...ooops! He rushed back and we said we'd call him.
We've scored a first floor room with bunkbeds. We unpacked a bit and got ready to go back out, after using the internet. Off we went...
Ehwa Women's University
Jos and I got to Ehwa Women's University, which was fun. Bought some jewelry and other things. Jos bought some clothes and jewelry. Clothes were really cheap there, but we were running out of time! Called Robin, who told me Janelle called as well. He told her to call his cell when she was done b/c we'd be with him. We decided to meet at Jonggak station which is near where we live. We got lost a bit...I somehow lost my guidebook somewhere! :( That's like my guidebook here!
Robin & Friends
Met up with Robin, who was pointing to his watch when we finally got there! ooops. He had his friend, Gus, who is Filipino with him and his friend Jay. Both are Canadians and are teaching in Korea. Jay went to go meet someone for some Thai language lessons and we went to drink for a bit until Janelle came for dinner. It was fun. We talked a lot about movies and what we liked and disliked and it was soooo cheap! Drinking and eating is discounted and the food is so good.
My mosquito bites which are now at about 10 of them, were itching pretty badly so I went to a pharmacy, without a phrasebook and tried to communicate. She understood and I got some rub-on ointment that cools the bite. It kind of works for a bit...but i almost overdosed b/c i was so itchy!
Party Party
Janelle came and we decided to just eat where we were. Ate a lot of food and drank a lot of soju. Let's just say we were all pretty smashed...even Jos! It would come in waves for me...getting drunk...sober...getting drunk again...sober again...tipsy.. At Beewon, the office closes at 1am..but we were out past that time and were really worried. Janelle took a cab home. Robin walked back with us (since we didn't know how to get back) and managed to call someone to help us! Thank goodness for Robin! The most fun night we've had yet.
Gotta go now...we're going to Insadong and the palace.
-Sam
p.s. Chris, send me Michelle and Jenni's email addresses!
p.p.s. I fear I will be covered in mosquito bites after this asia trip...booooo....
I have been re-miss....(is that the right phrase?) anywhodanay...this is our itinerary:
Seoul from Oct 13 (6:45pm) - Oct 17 (7:45pm) 5 DAYS
Singapore Oct 18 (1:00am) - Oct 19 (1:25pm) 1 1/2 DAYS
Manila Oct 19 (4:55pm) - Oct 26 (2:20pm) 8 DAYS!!
Tokyo Oct 27 (7:30am) - Nov 1 (6:30pm) 6 DAYS
Mt. Namsan & Seoul Tower
Woke up in the morning without a hangover...shweet! We packed up all of our luggage so it would be easier for us to checkout and came to the realization that I needed to buy another luggage. Robin said that we could checkout at 1pm instead of 12pm so that I could also have time to get luggage. So, Jos and I climbed farther up the mountain to the cable cars. We got quality standing space to take pictures and when we got out we had to climb these wide and steep stairs to the top of the mountain. Of course, I re-lived the embarassment of seeing the strong, Korean seniors religiously climbing the mountain...while my youthful self took a cable car...>__< We were in a rush so we had to take the cable car up and down the mountain. We took pictures in the smoke signal area, the pagoda (gazebo?), scenery and went to some of the gift shops. When we went a bit higher we noticed all these locks on the fences surrounding. Apparently it was Couple's Day and ppl were hanging the locks. We took pics. It was really interesting!
Lugging Luggage
When we went back down we asked Robin where to buy luggage and he told us to go to Namdaemun market. I bought luggage underground and we went to the market very quickly. Btw...Josie really bargained well and saved me 10,000 won on that luggage! Visited Song one more time and took pics. He gave us more discounts. Headed back up the mountain and Robin drove us to Beewon. We made plans to meet him later for drinks. He couldn't find parking so he ended up parking right in front of the driveway. He was helping us bring our stuff in and then we heard yelling...ooops! He rushed back and we said we'd call him.
We've scored a first floor room with bunkbeds. We unpacked a bit and got ready to go back out, after using the internet. Off we went...
Ehwa Women's University
Jos and I got to Ehwa Women's University, which was fun. Bought some jewelry and other things. Jos bought some clothes and jewelry. Clothes were really cheap there, but we were running out of time! Called Robin, who told me Janelle called as well. He told her to call his cell when she was done b/c we'd be with him. We decided to meet at Jonggak station which is near where we live. We got lost a bit...I somehow lost my guidebook somewhere! :( That's like my guidebook here!
Robin & Friends
Met up with Robin, who was pointing to his watch when we finally got there! ooops. He had his friend, Gus, who is Filipino with him and his friend Jay. Both are Canadians and are teaching in Korea. Jay went to go meet someone for some Thai language lessons and we went to drink for a bit until Janelle came for dinner. It was fun. We talked a lot about movies and what we liked and disliked and it was soooo cheap! Drinking and eating is discounted and the food is so good.
My mosquito bites which are now at about 10 of them, were itching pretty badly so I went to a pharmacy, without a phrasebook and tried to communicate. She understood and I got some rub-on ointment that cools the bite. It kind of works for a bit...but i almost overdosed b/c i was so itchy!
Party Party
Janelle came and we decided to just eat where we were. Ate a lot of food and drank a lot of soju. Let's just say we were all pretty smashed...even Jos! It would come in waves for me...getting drunk...sober...getting drunk again...sober again...tipsy.. At Beewon, the office closes at 1am..but we were out past that time and were really worried. Janelle took a cab home. Robin walked back with us (since we didn't know how to get back) and managed to call someone to help us! Thank goodness for Robin! The most fun night we've had yet.
Gotta go now...we're going to Insadong and the palace.
-Sam
p.s. Chris, send me Michelle and Jenni's email addresses!
p.p.s. I fear I will be covered in mosquito bites after this asia trip...booooo....
Installment 2: So-ju...So drunk?!? and shopaholics
Installment 2: So-ju...So drunk?!? and shopaholics
Hello All,
Sorry for the lateness! Today we moved to Beewon Guesthouse at Anguk station...this is the account of yesterday's events
Late Start, Unwanted Affection
We started a little later than expected, but we made it up in the end by coming home late. Janelle stayed overnight with us b/c we drank more in our room. Jos and I got up pretty early and tried to get on the internet. I was having trouble sending out the first installment b/c of some of the email addresses...oh well. Got chatted up by Kent...the guy who teaches in China and well...he's a loner...and sooo wanting to get to know Janelle better hahahahaha
When we got ready to go, Janelle was gonna head home and we were going to go to Mt. Namsan and the Seoul Tower. Unfortunately when we were leaving, out comes Kent with the nastiest, greasy mullet. He was kind of hinting that he had no plans, but we didn't take the bait. He was going down the same way as Janelle, who really didn't want to run into him. He waited around the corner for a while, while we were talking but then he finally left. We walked down with Janelle and decided to shop at Myeongdong instead.
Broken Budgets?
HAHAHHAA...we totally went crazy shopping yesterday. At first Jos seemed disheartened b/c she is tall and we are "endowed", unlike many Korean women. We ate at the yummy dumpling place Des and I almost died at ahhaha from overeating. Then we went around shopping. There was a place Jos had peeked in and thought it could be dangerous..(as in she likes the style, but not sure if she could fit into anything) There was a saleswoman who fell in love with Jos..she took her by the arm and went around the store choosing clothes for her. She took me around too and we were able to find a lot of clothes. Jos dropped the big cash-o's there. Even while I was buying my clothes the saleswoman was trying to show her more clothes and if I didn't like what she was suggesting to Jos, she'd nudge and sometimes playfully strangle me ahhahaha. She said we were beautiful and she loved us.
We went through a lot of stores and didn't even finish it all, b/c we didn't want to majorly break our budgets. We dropped off all of our shopping at Namsan Guesthouse and then Jos went to use the internet and I went back to the underground shopping mall to see if my acquaintance from last year still owned his music store down there. Song was still there and he remembered me too! He gave me discounts and free posters..what a nice guy!!
I told him I would wait for Jos in his store and he brought out a seat for me. :) In the end, Jos didn't come at the expected time so I went back to Namsan. I talked to Robin for a bit. He is the manager at Namsan. Because of the confusion yesterday, he didn't charge me for Janelle staying over with us. He asked the other guy working to drive us to Dongdaemun.
Dongdaemun: Hats Are The Rage
Jos and I went crazy in the malls, buying nice clothes and hats. I got three, Jos bought ten?!?!? The lady just kept choosing these really nice hats. So helpful. Actually, sometimes we notice that some of the shopkeepers will not really pay attention to who is looking around and they are busy talking to friends in person or on the phone...but those who are nice, are supernice. Oh, they are really into cameos here. Frilly dress shirts with cameos. I really like the style, but so far haven't seen a shirt like that at a good price..they are around 30 dollars or more. Ahhh Jos is also buying scarves and the shop owner who helped her helped me too. He talked to me in Korean and I said "aratso" which means I understand, but he said that because he is my "oppa" (b/c he is older..that means older brother) that I should use "aratsoyo"...*embarassed* oops... I apologized and he was just teasing. I've been giving people my Laura Secord candies, so I gave him one and his co-worker too.
I think we hit three different malls there....spending spending spending
I'll Have the Raspberry Wine
Meeting Janelle for dinner proved to be a mission. Firstly we couldn't find our way around the underground shopping centre at Dongdaemun station to where she was...took us forever and asking people for directions. When we finally met her we ate a restaurant that had regular dining and also the type where you sit on the floor. We sat in the chairs. I ordered braised beef soup, Jos had bosam (pork lettuce rolls) and Janelle ordered raspberry wine. She ordered it from a young man who worked there. He couldn't understand what we were saying so I pointed it out to him. He told us it was 5 dollars. When we got the bill it was in Korean and we couldn't understand why it was more than we expected. Another waiter came around and told us what each cost was for. It seems Janelle's raspberry wine was actually 15 dollars! ahahahahaha....so then she takes out her coin purse and starts giving them all of her change ahahahahhaa. We were shocked and appalled and we made sure to drink every lost drop!!
Concert by the Water
Janelle went home and Jos and I went to walk by the water and watched a bit of a concert. Then we went shopping at Dottam (sp?) and there was a "LOVE SALE" so discounts on everything and they had wonderful fashion, but we were starting to get tired. Mind you, neither of us have jet lag at all. We decided to head back, b/c we always get to look forward to the hill back home. On our way back we ran into Song closing his shop. I introduced them and he asked us to wait for him. Apparently he lives near Namsan. So we waited and dropped by a convenience store...he paid for our drinks and jos' onigiri (rice ball).
Jos was talking about how she wanted to eat ramyeon. Song suggested we meet at 12a.m. and he'd invite us over to eat ramyeon with his friends. How could we say no?
So-ju..so drunk
Part of me was a tiny bit nervous. Song is a really nice person, but we don't know each other that well, but when we went into the place, it was such a nice atmosphere and his friends were great. We met Jin, Grace, Tesu (sp?) and another guy. We tried two different ramyeons...remember to cook it with egg..tastes so much better! We also drank a lot of soju. They were impressed that Jos could drink three bottles by herself. We talked about differences b/w our countries, our occupations (they are in film and are artists too) and type of guys/girls, etc. My glass never emptied and at some point I realized that I was drunk.
When we were getting ready to leave I stood up and WHAM..i totally felt it. They were all just laughing. I didn't fall, but I kept apologizing. I don't like being drunk in front of people, but we had so much fun. Song and Jin walked us to Namsan...Song was guiding me up the hill, b/c I wasn't walking straight. I could walk straight if I focused, but if I wasn't concentrating on it...I was walking crookedly. I was also talking to Song in Japanese. ahahah. He can speak a little as well.
Went to sleep and now I must go off for more adventures...this may the longest novel yet. Please excuse grammar and spelling mistakes, I'm in a rush :D *hugs to those who made it to the end!!*
Soberly Yours,
Sam
P.S. I have two giant mosquito bites..one on my finger and the other on my arm...booo...darn those mosquitoes
p.p.s. Please print/forward to my page buddies....chris still hasn't sent me their email addresses!
Hello All,
Sorry for the lateness! Today we moved to Beewon Guesthouse at Anguk station...this is the account of yesterday's events
Late Start, Unwanted Affection
We started a little later than expected, but we made it up in the end by coming home late. Janelle stayed overnight with us b/c we drank more in our room. Jos and I got up pretty early and tried to get on the internet. I was having trouble sending out the first installment b/c of some of the email addresses...oh well. Got chatted up by Kent...the guy who teaches in China and well...he's a loner...and sooo wanting to get to know Janelle better hahahahaha
When we got ready to go, Janelle was gonna head home and we were going to go to Mt. Namsan and the Seoul Tower. Unfortunately when we were leaving, out comes Kent with the nastiest, greasy mullet. He was kind of hinting that he had no plans, but we didn't take the bait. He was going down the same way as Janelle, who really didn't want to run into him. He waited around the corner for a while, while we were talking but then he finally left. We walked down with Janelle and decided to shop at Myeongdong instead.
Broken Budgets?
HAHAHHAA...we totally went crazy shopping yesterday. At first Jos seemed disheartened b/c she is tall and we are "endowed", unlike many Korean women. We ate at the yummy dumpling place Des and I almost died at ahhaha from overeating. Then we went around shopping. There was a place Jos had peeked in and thought it could be dangerous..(as in she likes the style, but not sure if she could fit into anything) There was a saleswoman who fell in love with Jos..she took her by the arm and went around the store choosing clothes for her. She took me around too and we were able to find a lot of clothes. Jos dropped the big cash-o's there. Even while I was buying my clothes the saleswoman was trying to show her more clothes and if I didn't like what she was suggesting to Jos, she'd nudge and sometimes playfully strangle me ahhahaha. She said we were beautiful and she loved us.
We went through a lot of stores and didn't even finish it all, b/c we didn't want to majorly break our budgets. We dropped off all of our shopping at Namsan Guesthouse and then Jos went to use the internet and I went back to the underground shopping mall to see if my acquaintance from last year still owned his music store down there. Song was still there and he remembered me too! He gave me discounts and free posters..what a nice guy!!
I told him I would wait for Jos in his store and he brought out a seat for me. :) In the end, Jos didn't come at the expected time so I went back to Namsan. I talked to Robin for a bit. He is the manager at Namsan. Because of the confusion yesterday, he didn't charge me for Janelle staying over with us. He asked the other guy working to drive us to Dongdaemun.
Dongdaemun: Hats Are The Rage
Jos and I went crazy in the malls, buying nice clothes and hats. I got three, Jos bought ten?!?!? The lady just kept choosing these really nice hats. So helpful. Actually, sometimes we notice that some of the shopkeepers will not really pay attention to who is looking around and they are busy talking to friends in person or on the phone...but those who are nice, are supernice. Oh, they are really into cameos here. Frilly dress shirts with cameos. I really like the style, but so far haven't seen a shirt like that at a good price..they are around 30 dollars or more. Ahhh Jos is also buying scarves and the shop owner who helped her helped me too. He talked to me in Korean and I said "aratso" which means I understand, but he said that because he is my "oppa" (b/c he is older..that means older brother) that I should use "aratsoyo"...*embarassed* oops... I apologized and he was just teasing. I've been giving people my Laura Secord candies, so I gave him one and his co-worker too.
I think we hit three different malls there....spending spending spending
I'll Have the Raspberry Wine
Meeting Janelle for dinner proved to be a mission. Firstly we couldn't find our way around the underground shopping centre at Dongdaemun station to where she was...took us forever and asking people for directions. When we finally met her we ate a restaurant that had regular dining and also the type where you sit on the floor. We sat in the chairs. I ordered braised beef soup, Jos had bosam (pork lettuce rolls) and Janelle ordered raspberry wine. She ordered it from a young man who worked there. He couldn't understand what we were saying so I pointed it out to him. He told us it was 5 dollars. When we got the bill it was in Korean and we couldn't understand why it was more than we expected. Another waiter came around and told us what each cost was for. It seems Janelle's raspberry wine was actually 15 dollars! ahahahahaha....so then she takes out her coin purse and starts giving them all of her change ahahahahhaa. We were shocked and appalled and we made sure to drink every lost drop!!
Concert by the Water
Janelle went home and Jos and I went to walk by the water and watched a bit of a concert. Then we went shopping at Dottam (sp?) and there was a "LOVE SALE" so discounts on everything and they had wonderful fashion, but we were starting to get tired. Mind you, neither of us have jet lag at all. We decided to head back, b/c we always get to look forward to the hill back home. On our way back we ran into Song closing his shop. I introduced them and he asked us to wait for him. Apparently he lives near Namsan. So we waited and dropped by a convenience store...he paid for our drinks and jos' onigiri (rice ball).
Jos was talking about how she wanted to eat ramyeon. Song suggested we meet at 12a.m. and he'd invite us over to eat ramyeon with his friends. How could we say no?
So-ju..so drunk
Part of me was a tiny bit nervous. Song is a really nice person, but we don't know each other that well, but when we went into the place, it was such a nice atmosphere and his friends were great. We met Jin, Grace, Tesu (sp?) and another guy. We tried two different ramyeons...remember to cook it with egg..tastes so much better! We also drank a lot of soju. They were impressed that Jos could drink three bottles by herself. We talked about differences b/w our countries, our occupations (they are in film and are artists too) and type of guys/girls, etc. My glass never emptied and at some point I realized that I was drunk.
When we were getting ready to leave I stood up and WHAM..i totally felt it. They were all just laughing. I didn't fall, but I kept apologizing. I don't like being drunk in front of people, but we had so much fun. Song and Jin walked us to Namsan...Song was guiding me up the hill, b/c I wasn't walking straight. I could walk straight if I focused, but if I wasn't concentrating on it...I was walking crookedly. I was also talking to Song in Japanese. ahahah. He can speak a little as well.
Went to sleep and now I must go off for more adventures...this may the longest novel yet. Please excuse grammar and spelling mistakes, I'm in a rush :D *hugs to those who made it to the end!!*
Soberly Yours,
Sam
P.S. I have two giant mosquito bites..one on my finger and the other on my arm...booo...darn those mosquitoes
p.p.s. Please print/forward to my page buddies....chris still hasn't sent me their email addresses!
SISTER ASIAN INVASION: Installment 1
SISTER ASIAN INVASION: Installment 1
NOT A BREEZE
Upon leaving, I almost forgot.....my passport! whoops
We got to the airport on time, but the lines were long. Our plane was delayed b/c of a family...two rambunctious, spoiled children, two car seats, an unwanted mom and a high-in-demand father... Jos and I slept majority of the flight and I watched SURF'S UP. Transferred in San Fran which was somewhat confusing b/c it was really big and we had to get to the International Terminal. We went to a Mexican restaurant and we were supposed to eat light, but my meal looked like it could have fed two. We were enjoying our fruity drinks and I went to use the washroom. I suddenly heard our last name on the speaker. I thought, there might be other DIZONS...but then I heard J and SD. They boarded us pretty quickly. Everything went pretty well...we watched some movies, slept a lot too. There were many children crying ever so often. Flight was delayed in letting us out....
Bus took forever b/c of fireworks and some event that happened with a lot of people. We landed half an hour late and didn't get to Namsan until 1030pmish. T---------T When we got here, we were told that our room was taken...major boo....the manager was called and it will be fixed tomorrow we hope.
COUSIN REUNION
We met up with our cousin Janelle at around midnight. We bought some booze and snackies and headed right to the SOJU TENT! OH YEAH!! We ate dumplings, kimchi pancakes, fish and broth. We are enjoying drinking the beers for now...tomorrow is soju time. We told Janelle to come stay over with us because it's late anyways. Been a long time since we hung out and did a sleepover. So funny that we are seeing each other more often in another country when we were all living in Toronto. After eating and drinking, we bought more stuff at the convenience store and headed up the hill. We talked, laughed watched some k-tv and drank more. We went into the computer room to get on the internet, and an old Japanese man, kept coming out and yelling at us for the noise..although we weren't making a lot of noise. Finally went to sleep, without finishing the email... so that's why I'm emailing now...
extremely short, eh? [canadian accent] don't get used to it...i'll write longer ones soon!
-Sam
p.s. if you don't want these emails, pls say so and i'll take you off the email list....hugs for those who keep reading!
p.p.s. can someone pls post for my page buddies and anyone else I forgot?!?!?! i have to get the emails from chris...i forgot them at home
p.p.p.s. it's taking forever to send this...crapnards...i don't see anything wrong with the address
NOT A BREEZE
Upon leaving, I almost forgot.....my passport! whoops
We got to the airport on time, but the lines were long. Our plane was delayed b/c of a family...two rambunctious, spoiled children, two car seats, an unwanted mom and a high-in-demand father... Jos and I slept majority of the flight and I watched SURF'S UP. Transferred in San Fran which was somewhat confusing b/c it was really big and we had to get to the International Terminal. We went to a Mexican restaurant and we were supposed to eat light, but my meal looked like it could have fed two. We were enjoying our fruity drinks and I went to use the washroom. I suddenly heard our last name on the speaker. I thought, there might be other DIZONS...but then I heard J and SD. They boarded us pretty quickly. Everything went pretty well...we watched some movies, slept a lot too. There were many children crying ever so often. Flight was delayed in letting us out....
Bus took forever b/c of fireworks and some event that happened with a lot of people. We landed half an hour late and didn't get to Namsan until 1030pmish. T---------T When we got here, we were told that our room was taken...major boo....the manager was called and it will be fixed tomorrow we hope.
COUSIN REUNION
We met up with our cousin Janelle at around midnight. We bought some booze and snackies and headed right to the SOJU TENT! OH YEAH!! We ate dumplings, kimchi pancakes, fish and broth. We are enjoying drinking the beers for now...tomorrow is soju time. We told Janelle to come stay over with us because it's late anyways. Been a long time since we hung out and did a sleepover. So funny that we are seeing each other more often in another country when we were all living in Toronto. After eating and drinking, we bought more stuff at the convenience store and headed up the hill. We talked, laughed watched some k-tv and drank more. We went into the computer room to get on the internet, and an old Japanese man, kept coming out and yelling at us for the noise..although we weren't making a lot of noise. Finally went to sleep, without finishing the email... so that's why I'm emailing now...
extremely short, eh? [canadian accent] don't get used to it...i'll write longer ones soon!
-Sam
p.s. if you don't want these emails, pls say so and i'll take you off the email list....hugs for those who keep reading!
p.p.s. can someone pls post for my page buddies and anyone else I forgot?!?!?! i have to get the emails from chris...i forgot them at home
p.p.p.s. it's taking forever to send this...crapnards...i don't see anything wrong with the address
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