Dublin, Howth, Belfast, and pending travels

Well, it's been a couple weeks since my last read update, so I suppose it's time to let you all know what's been going on and what adventures are to come.

So a the weekend before last was a lovely one. We hung out in Dublin, which at this point seems like it should have gotten boring but certainly hasn't. We managed quite a productive weekend for once, in which we managed a bit of culture. On Saturday we went to the theater to see a musical, which was very exciting for me because I've never really done it. We saw Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a fantastic musical about a barber who is driven crazy by revenge and ends up killing customers and putting them into meat pies. A very uplifting story, as you can tell. The production of the thing was really amazing, it was so crazy for me to see how well the live musicians, singers, lighting, and stage design all came together so flawlessly. I love going to concerts, but this was just a whole different level of impressive. Anyway, Tim Burton is making the musical into a movie starring Johnny Depp. Should be cool.


Then the next day some of us did a day trip out to a beautiful little seaside town called Howth. When we got there they were having their weekly outdoor market, which basically is a bunch of tents set up with awesome food you can taste and buy. It was a really nice day so we bought a bunch of fancy breads, cheeses, meats, and a couple bottles of wine and had ourselves a picnic right on the ocean. Definitely one of those relaxing moments where you just realize how awesome life is. After the picnic we found and fed some seals, which was hilarious. What strange creatures they are. So after the relaxing morning we went on a hike through the hills and cliffs along the ocean just outside of Howth. After hiking a long distance we came across a large cliff with a treacherous path carved into it that lead down to a small cove on the water. We managed our way down to the water where Steve and I decided to have a little adventure. So there we were, climbing over these insane rocks on the water and just kind of exploring. After much sweat and effort was expelled we realized how bad getting back was going to suck and decided the best idea would probably be to swim back. So we threw our clothes over the girls and entered the mighty Irish Sea. The thing about the Irish Sea is that it's a lot like Lake Superior, only salt water. It's bloody freezing! So I'm climbing into the water in my boxers with my glasses on, which I had planned to swim right over to the girls to avoid the danger of throwing to them, when I slip on a rock and get struck in the face by a large wave. Boom! My glasses are gone. Swallowed by the sea, sunk into the gallows. Now I'm blind and a bit panicked as I'm remembering how bad of a swimmer I am and realizing the strength of the water. Oh well, there was no turning back, so I struggled my way through the water back to shore. I have to say, it was actually pretty incredible. I'm in the Irish Sea, back stroking my way to shore and everywhere I look I'm surrounded by rocks and cliffs and birds. A pretty striking moment, and just another of hundreds where I have been really taken back by the fact that this is my life. Anyways, I ordered some contacts which I'm praying will show up today. Sightseeing is considerably less fun when you don't have your sight.

Then this past weekend we did an overnight trip to Belfast, which is the capital of Northern Ireland. I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the history of the situation, but Ireland and Northern Ireland have a pretty violent past. Northern Ireland is actually a part of the United Kingdom, so it was my first trip outside the country, though it almost seemed like a technicality. Belfast has some really cool architecture and an astounding amount of history, so walking around the city was pretty cool. Sunday we took a day trip out to Giant's Causeway, about an hour outside of Belfast on Ireland's north coast. It was one of the strangest natural things I've ever seen. It's basically a huge cluster of columns of hexagonal shaped rocks that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. It looked like a man made patio that rose to sporadic heights, but it was actually formed somehow by volcanos millions of years ago. I'll put up pictures of this peculiar site when someone makes some available to me.

So then there is the future. It's finally time to explore a bit of Europe! This weekend I go to London and Amsterdam. In London I'll get to hang out with Val and Kate, which I couldn't be more excited for. It'll be nice to see some friends from back home, especially Val who I miss a lot. Amsterdam should be amazing as well. Then after that I'm hoping Val makes a trip to Dublin so I can show off my vast knowledge of my large European city. That would probably be mid July, which would be followed by our group trip to Salzburg, Austria the last weekend in July. The last trip we have planned is for Barcelona, Spain the first weekend in August. I really can't believe I'm going to be doing these things. I couldn't be more excited!

As always, I hope all is well back home and hope to hear from you all! Leave comments so I know at least someone is reading my nonsense.

Love you guys.