Boring boat trip.

From Ireland I took a ferry across to France, so as to get to the city of love and romance, Paris. I learnt a lot on this ferry trip...most importantly... take along something to do. Something that can keep you busy for between 16 and 18 hours... unless you are a seasoned traveller and have learnt the art of sleeping anywhere, anytime (lucky you). I unfortunately had not learnt that skill quite yet, and so was wide awake (with the exception of a restless hour or so) for basically the entire 18 hour trip. Usually you would have Wi-Fi available, and it's free at that, so make use of the time to upload some of your photo's, without having to pay crazy internet cafe prices, or rely on, sometimes "iffy", hostel internet. Unfortunately the Wi-Fi wasn't working, so unfortunately YouTube videos, Facebook and Twitter were out of the question. Movies saved to my computer, writing in my journal, and making friends with random strangers (who are now not so strange) sufficed none-the-less.

If like me, you are trying to save money, book a seat instead of a bunk and make sure you have your sleeping bag with you. The seats recline, but I found crashing on the floor was a bit easier. The floors are carpeted with about 30 seats in a room with plenty of space around the seats, so you should have space. If you are willing to pay a bit more, go for a bunk. These are apparently a lot comfier and more private, especially if you are travelling in a group.

Be prepared to spend a little more on the ferry. Prices are rather high for food and the cinema etc., particularly when converting Rand into Euro's, so take a packed lunch, snacks and something to drink if you want to avoid paying. That, my friends, is how to travel cheaply/like a student.

My ferry trip was pretty boring, and excruciatingly long, but I did meet some really wonderful people. Take the time to chat to people around you. If you are lucky you might meet someone who is from the place you are visiting next. They can give you some tips on sites to see, cultural expectations, laws you may not have known about, and most importantly may help you overcome the language barrier a little. I was extremely fortunate to meet a lovely French girl who helped me learn a few phrases and wrote some things down for me. She also helped to find someone who was going to the station in Cherbourg, and so I was able to walk with someone who knew his way around.

I have met the most interesting people on my limited travels and have been so incredible amazed to see how kind and helpful people can be, regardless of culture, nationality or language. It is simply about taking the time to get to know someone, sharing a story or two and making a friend. :)

Unfortunately no photo's for this one, but please continue to read this blog and subscribe if you like.
Have a blessed week.

Beautiful Belfast...

It seems I have once again been neglecting my blog. My apologies. :)

On my 21st birthday, I had the privilege of visiting Belfast. Yes, that's right... Birthday in Belfast... has such a cool ring to it. A family friend, who had studied at Queens University in Belfast, took me through. It was truly an incredible experience.

Visiting the Titanic Museum was one of the most educational, interesting places I visited, and definitely, worth the money you pay to get in. So a definite gold star from my end. With floors and floors of Titanic information, you can fully understand the immensity of it all. Each floor tackles a specific aspect of the Titanic. With the bottom floor giving you a rollercoaster-ish type of ride "through the ship yards"... showing exactly how it was built. The middle floors show you exactly what life on the ship was like, giving you an idea of how everything looked and what exactly was on board. Another floor shows you all the movies, books or songs etc that have been made based on or in tribute to the Titanic. Whilst yet another floor focuses on the discovery of the Titanic (you can even watch a film of the underwater exploration). To add to the experience you can see the infamous Samson and Goliath from outside the museum. These are two giant cranes, with Samson being the bigger of the two, situated in the Harland & Wolff Shipyard.

Taking a "black taxi" tour of Belfast is awesome. You get an inside view of how Belfast is, and more importantly used to be. It is incredibly interesting, and if you know to ask, as did I, you can ask them to take you past Campbell College, which is where the famous author, C.S. Lewis went to school. You can even sneak a photo at the famous lamppost from "The lion the witch and the wardrobe."

If you're lucky, you might get to see the Parliamentary Buildings at Stormont... from the outside. They were preparing for the Queens arrival on my visit there.

One of the things I found most fascinating were the murals all around Belfast. They take you back in time and show you the history of Northern Ireland in beautifully, yet sometimes quite frightening, pictures, painted to represent the fears, beliefs and feelings of the citizens of Belfast. These murals vary depending on which side of the city you are on. Specifically whether you are on the side of the Catholics or the Protestants. These two sides are separated by a wall, now termed the Peace Wall. This was my favourite site in Belfast. It is quite scary to see how the wall was extended through history as fighting intensified. Now, as an attempt to beautify this, everyone is free to write or paint on it... basically acceptable graffiti. :) The messages of peace, love and hope are inspiring and beautiful.

Finally, I ended off my day touring around the breathtakingly gorgeous Queens College. With incredible old buildings and incredible botanical gardens next door, it was the perfect way to end my Birthday in Belfast before heading back to lovely Dublin.

 

Helpful tip #5

Backpacks!

If you are backpacking through Europe (or any other continent) having a decent backpack is vital. If you are physically going to be doing lots of walking and hitch-hiking stick to a bag that fits comfortably on your back and has different compartments, so that you can easily seperate your things. When buying your backpack, ask the store assistant to show/explain to you the correct way to pack it - in other words - where should you pack the heavy stuff and where should you pack the lighter stuff etc. This will make carrying a lot easier. Also try it on with some things inside and make sure the straps adjust comfortably. You will seriously regret buying a bag that will be uncomfortable the whole time.

If, like me, you will mostly be traveling by train, bus or plane and are staying in places very close to the stations or airports, get yourself a backpack with wheels. Yes, they make those now. They have all the same traits as a traditional backpack, but have wheels and a handle that pull out, making it ideal for wheeling around airports or walking down the road to a hostel. However, due to the shaft down the back making it possible to pull the bag, they are extremely uncomfortable on your back for longer periods of time as I discovered. You can easily manage them on your back for short periods, but they fail to mould to your backs shape and thus can be rather difficult to carry if you are walking around for hours on end. Luckily I only had this problem once, but quickly learnt my lesson.

This is when your day pack comes in handy. Take big enough a daypack that it can fit into you backpack but also be big enough to hold a decent amount of stuff, not only for day time trips, but also if you feel like venturing off and spending a night somewhere, you won't have to take your main backpack.

It's important to find a backpack that suits you and won't start bugging you 2 days in to your trip.

Ireland in pictures...

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I seem to be having a problem with photo upload, so will try to post photo's of Ireland as soon as possible. Peace, love and happiness. :)

Incredible Ireland

A country that never exactly made it on to my list of “places to see” and yet it was by far one of my favourite countries. I never really found Ireland appealing, but decided to pay the beautiful country a visit as family friends (who I had never met before) lived there and so I was able to see a bit of the country without having to pay for accommodation. Win!

My lack of interest in the country was quickly lost, upon my arrival, and replaced with wonder, enthusiasm and a feeling of being greatly impressed. The friendly people and beautiful, green countryside reminded me much of home, and I felt incredibly welcome and “wanted”. When saying this, I am not solely referring to the incredible hospitality expressed by my host family, but just by the Irish people in general. Honestly, it was the only country I visited where people asked you if you needed help or directions, instead of waiting for you to ask. It was also the only place where someone would walk you to the place you were trying to find instead of just pointing or showing you on the map. The people were just incredibly friendly wherever I seemed to go in Ireland. I stayed in a small village about a half hour outside of Dublin, and then did day trips from there.

The day I spent in Dublin was unfortunately rainy and miserable, but that did not dampen my spirits, and I quickly jumped on a “hop-on-hop-off” bus and saw the wonderful city. I never knew Dublin held so much history and it was a truly insightful, jam-packed day. Visiting sites such as the breathtakingly beautiful Phoenix Park, Dublin Castle, the National Art Gallery and Merrion Park, I learnt much about the city. Who knew that the author of Dracula was from there or that the well-known author Oscar Wilde has a statue in Merrion Park and a few things named in his honour. A trip to Dublin would not be complete without paying a visit to the ever popular Temple Bar (unfortunately I did not get to go at night), having a pint at the Guinness Storehouse or a glass of whiskey at the Old Jameson Distillery. Prices are quite reasonable if you have a student card, and I found the Old Jameson Distillery to be great value for money. The National Art Gallery was however, my absolute favourite place and a helpful tip in Dublin is that anything starting with “National” will be free entry. Something else to be aware of, not only in Ireland, is train times over weekends. Make sure you know what time the last train of the day is particularly if you are not staying in the city. I almost learnt this the hard way, but luckily after a truly wonderful day and almost missing the last train of the evening, I retired to a warm bed (and home).

I also visited the beautiful town of Maynooth while in Ireland. It is a university town, with the most incredible old buildings. The university itself used to be a seminary and so with intricate details, low doors and beautiful buildings, I felt as though I had been transported into another era. The town itself was just so lovely and quant.

One thing I found challenging in Ireland, particularly Dublin, was the lack of street names, or signage in general. This can make it rather difficult when navigating using a map. Then again, the locals’ friendliness and willingness to help you find your way around make up for this by providing a human map of sorts. Further, if you just keep O’Connell Street and the River Liffey within sight, you should be fine. Overall, Ireland was one of my favourite countries and I truly hope to return soon.

These were just two of the main places I visited in the South of Ireland (the Republic of Ireland), but please continue to read my blog as my next post will be about my experience of Northern Ireland. If you would like to be informed when I next post, please click the subscribe button on the right side of the screen. I would really appreciate this.

Helpful tip #4

Firstly, my apologies for the lack of posts lately. University has just started and so I have been a little preoccupied with that.

On to my helpful tip…

Take a hat! Particularly if traveling in summer.

If you plan on spending many hours in the hot outdoors, whether it is touring the beautiful cities of Italy or moseying around Capri, a hat is just about as essential as water, sunblock and a good pair of shoes. If like me, you didn’t think to pack one, I highly recommend buying one. You will probably be charged exorbitant prices (particularly in places like Rome) and stand out as a tourist (or blend in with the rest of them), but it is well worth it. Believe me, you will be grateful for the lack of sunburn and sunstroke later.

It may sound a little silly, and perhaps super obvious to many of you, but I was not so bright.

I promise my blog neglect is now over and I will post again soon…hopefully about something a bit more interesting and insightful than a hat.