Christmas in Killarney!

That is, more like Saturday in Killarney. Well first--a taxi to the train station. A train to Mallow. Another train to Killarney. A taxi to our not as cute hotel. Killarney!!!

Killarney has a beautiful national park that I had read about. I was told to rent bikes and just go for it. So that's what we did. The place was beautiful, the paths were great, and the bikes were only 10Euro each (no time limit that I know of). One word: GREEN!! I mean, I'm sure you could tell from other photos how green Ireland is, but this just hit the nail on its head.
We made our way to an old castle which we could only explore on the outside. Nevertheless, it was also situated on a beach which made for a great resting point. We continued on around and around until we came to a point where literally couldn't go any further. "Unless your bike was made for a guy named Peter," my mom had joked. I talked about how I missed Lake Tahoe and all its perfect rocks for some Little Mermaid singing. Sure enough, that's what Ariel and I sang on the ride back.
One of the workers for the bike company wanted to take a picture of us in front of his store. Good advertising, no? But I was thrown off when he said right before the picture, "Ok! Everybody say S***!" Say wha-? Oh well.We went to dinner at a traditional Irish pub called O'Donahughes. The food was very filling, but it was the dessert that was especially magical--a thing called Banoffi Pie! The end.

Notes

A couple valuable snippets from the Go Conference seminars:

Christ has not called me to a place, He has called me to Himself.

In Matthew 8 and 14 there are two storms. One Jesus calms, the other He walks through. We aren't asked to concentrate on the storms, but on Christ.

When it comes to reading the Bible, we need to view it like a feast. If we continue to have a good meal, we won't be tempted to eat the wrong things. But when we starve ourselves, when something comes by (some thing that we may even know will not satisfy or fill us up), we'll eat it. Then we'll get sick.

Too much

There is too much to say. Also, I can not upload pictures at this time because there are 500 of us using very little bandwidth. Is that the right spelling? I'm not a computer person..

Things to catch up on eventually (right now I should be leaving to have dinner):
1. Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Dublin.
2. The first two days of the GO Conference in Holland.
3. I eventually want to recap my road trip in Texas, but we'll see how that goes.

I do request that those of you who read this pray for me. I am learning a lot more than I think my brain can handle, but I am so grateful. Please lift up my transition time, as well as those I will be serving and living with in Cordoba.

Thanks friends!

My goodness, my Guinness and GOOOOAAALLL!!!

So it's still very clear that I don't like beer. I suppose that's not what this day was all about, so I let everything lead up to it in time.

First, Ariel came at 2:30am. She had taken the only direct flight from Athens to Dublin in order to spend time with yours truly before she goes back home to start the real world. Aww shucks moment I do believe. My dad had said, "Have fun reminiscing" as he kissed me goodnight. I remember saying that I was tired, but he was right. I don't think we actually closed our eyes to snooze until about 4:30 or 5.

So we wake up, eat some b-fast, and then head out toward Molly Malone and the very tall spire. Who's Molly Malone and what's the spire all about? I still don't know, but I reckon they're important to see. So we took the tourist pictures and moved on to the Guinness Storehouse. It's one of the biggest breweries in Europe, with the museum itself being 7 stories!

The museum is not all that interesting, well, unless you REALLY REALLY REALLY care about beer. Which I don't. There is a floor dedicated to learning how to pour from the tap. You even get a certificate for pouring the "perfect pint." Then you're supposed to drink your beer. Maybe that's how they try to make the museum more interesting. Get you drunk, then everything is awesome, man! No.. something to note though, is that there's a science to drinking beer that I never knew about. Apparently, you're supposed to take a breath, take a swig, gargle around your mouth, then swallow. Exhale through the nose. I definitely tasted a difference this way, but not a difference to convince me that it tastes very good. The main thing is that you're never supposed to sip beer.

Fascinating, I know.

We moved on to lunch-ish at Subway, the international safe haven for American food. Better than McDonald's at least, and more filling than Starbucks, although that has become a staple I've noticed for many American international travelers.

Then Ariel and I went on to St. Patrick's cathedral. I was thankful to get a redo on my picture taking. After too, the weather had cleared up so that we had some great sun in the green lawns outside of the cathedral. Mmhmm!!Something I've been wanting to do ever since finding out about Argentina was to go to a soccer game where the people actually care about what's going on. The World Cup helped me to care more about the sport myself, and I have been playing some throughout the past few years. I still don't fully understand it, but I have seen a certain Elijah Wood movie that led to the understanding of its great importance in our world culture.So here we are at the Shamrock Rovers game in Tallaght Stadium just outside of Dublin. They're like a minor league team in America, but they are very entertaining. Naturally the best part was hearing all of the memorized cheers that usually are sung to the tune of bar songs. What was most surprising though, was the sound of cheering even when players didn't score. The general feeling during the game was of encouragement: no wonder no one gets angry when the game ends in a tie. My whole family will stand by the fact that this is why soccer doesn't fly in America compared to the other sports.

Well, off to bed. I hope to learn to surf tomorrow! And stay tuned for the story of one of the best taxi drivers in the quirk blog!

Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paddy

Marnin' mates. It's currently day tree of the Ireland tour, but I've come to pay me 'spects to day two. Too pirate sounding? Lol. Trying to convey the wonderful Irish accent can be tricky.

I um.. didn't wake up until 12:30. I tried to tell mom that jetlag gets me every time. I s'pose now she understands what I mean. We set on our way to the hop on/hop off tour bus so that we could get to Christchurch and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I had heard in an earlier tour that the Gaelic word "Kil" means church: so think Kilkenny, Killarney, etc. as all referring to a church of some sort. Does that then mean Christchurch can translate to Christkil? duhn duhn duhn...

Speaking of kill, I dropped my camera in Christchurch and it officially broke. No hay funciona. I was trying to have a good attitude about it, but I was just frustrated that I had dropped it again (the first time was at Dachau). Thankfully, I have wonderful parents who supplied me with another camera, and this one with the proper outlet I will need in Argentina. God, you are amazing and I will never deserve you!

Time passed quickly this day, since I had gotten up so late, so while we wanted to go to Gaol, we ended up going straight to Trinity College in order to see the Book of Kells and Long Room. Word to the wise, the Book of Kells is not that interesting. I mean, it's interesting because of how old it is, but there's not much to it. Thankfully, we had skirted through without paying the 9 Euro a pop, as we arrived for the final ten minutes of the museum opening.

On the other hand, Long Room is most definitely worth it. I wasn't allowed to take pictures (well, nor could I!), but it is basically one giant library full of ancient books that also disperse that delicious ancient book smell! I think there's a scene in Harry Potter using this room, but I could be wrong. Just go see it!

I don't remember precisely when this happened, but at one point on the tour bus, we noticed that at every stop the bus driver was giving a different name. When we hopped on, he said, "Ay guys, welcome to the Dublin tour bus, me name is Mat-two." (They don't pronounce the "th" the way we do.) On the next stop, he was called Mark. You guessed it, then he was Luke. So all three of us shouted "John!" for the next stop

"Oh you caught me!" he had said, and then said that you could call him whatever you like. "In fact, call me Paddy!"

Classic.

We walked to the fair statue of Molly Malone, as well as a converted church. Hmm.. that's a funny phrase. A former-church-turned-tourist-information-center. Near there, we got a fantastic dinner where we were served by a kind waiter. One thing is for sure, Dublin is filled with perhaps the sweetest people I've ever met overseas. There's more to come on that in the next day's adventures. Also to be included: time with Ariel!!!

Oh laddy

Ireland. It really is that green. So far, it really is that beautiful too.

I arrived after more than enough hours of traveling. 2 hours spent watching Invictus (Matt Damon!) on the plane, 3 hours layover in London Heathrow, and 1 hour waiting for my parents in the Dublin airport. All the rest of that time? Sleeping.

When we finally found each other, we took a taxi to a quaint hotel named after my roommate coming to stay with us on Friday. Okay, not named after her, but the same name. That is, Ariel House. Pretty perfect, eh? And it really is pretty great for only 65 USD a night!

We dropped off our things and then headed toward town to take a hop on/hop off bus tour. This way, we could see what there was in Dublin that we would want to spend more time on in the coming days. We have made a sufficient list, mind you, and even already have some good pictures from the bus (when it wasn't raining on us!).
After the tour, we decided to take a taxi to meet up with one of mom's friends from work. Funny story. Since we didn't know the specific address, we thought the safest bet was taking a taxi. When we told the taxi driver the address, I noticed him try to get over to another lane, but it was too late. Have I mentioned that they drive on the left side here? Any who, the driver makes a giant circle to a place, the place we were going, a mere two and half blocks away from our beginning location. Smooth, Longorias, smooth.

Dinner was at Temple Bar. Not only is this the name of the bar, it's also the name of the general location in Dublin. In this area are loads of pubs and restaurants (that are mainly pubs). I figured that just as when I was in Germany and I sipped a German beer, I should probably try a Guinness.
I still don't like beer. :P But I aimed to at least drink to the bottom of the label "Guinness" on my glass. I came so close!

Now it's 9pm and I'm calling it a night. Blame the jetlag, but also give credit to the miles of walking I did in NYC. I'm pooped!

Moment

Just a quick reminder of hope.

A woman, carrying a baby in front of her, holding onto another via leash, with a little girl (maybe 9) walking alongside. Obviously, this woman has a lot on her hands and it's dreadful she's traveling alone. (There is a ring on her finger, so he must just be at the destination, I assume.)

Baby starts crying, and doesn't stop, throughout the transfer from terminal 3 in London Heathrow, to terminal 1. Line after line of customs and security make the moment perhaps unbearable, but she doesn't lose her nerve. She just takes it. Trying hard to rock the baby; willing to carry the other and bounce him up and down when he whines every now and then. Not once, do I sense that she's upset or frustrated.

She was behind me quite a ways, so I didn't know what to do. Finally, another woman had the right idea. She let her pass in front of her in the queue, as it's called. That brought the woman closer to me. "Keep going," I said, waving her on. You would've thought that Andre the Giant had called everyone to move. The entire line split and let her go ahead. They all had happy looks, knowing that if they were in that position, they would hope the same was done for them.

Simply beautiful.

Yo Jeter

Day four and five in New York.

Woke up Sunday rather excited to go to Redeemer Presbyterian, also referred to as Tim Keller's church. You know, like Mark Driscoll's church up in Seattle, right? Mr. Keller only preaches during the 6pm service, but I was happy to see what the body of believers in New York looks like. They meet at several different campuses throughout the Manhattan Island, so I picked the one that is pretty close, and doesn't start till 10:30. Dr. Lin preached about the Holy Spirit as the all-consuming (but not consumed) fire in Acts 2. I recommend you find the podcast, because it was very interesting! I liked the use of liturgy in the service, as well as the prayer offered by one of the congregation. Reminded me a lot of my times at Third Presbyterian in Richmond.

Met up with Kathryn right after (she had battled with the subway to get to church, and lost) for a quick Starbucks run before separating yet again. She went to a photography class while I went to the Empire State Building. The plan was I would wait in line, and she would join me after the class. Most research suggests the lines to the ESB are just as epic as the building itself.

However, I literally walked in the door, and was at the top within about half an hour (there are a few short lines for security and for the elevator after all). Beautiful. The views, I can not share with you, as I had left my camera in the apartment thinking I could get in on my way back from church. Oops. But for future reference, if you ever go to NYC, you must go to the top of the ESB. The views are too fun, and paying the extra money to go to the 102nd floor (as opposed to just the 86th) is worth it. The taller section is a much smaller area, yet not crowded either. And the men in uniform really are experts on the subject of the buildings and their history :P

Met up with Kathryn at the Flatiron building. I made her take a few pictures for me since I am impressed by the first skyrise in New York. Then it started to rain on us which we took advantage of. For you see, in Flatiron area, there is a famous burger joint known as Shake Shack. Typically, the line is at least an hour long, but since everyone wanted to avoid getting wet, we got through in 20 minutes. Hooray for short line number two for the day!

We couldn't think of what to do next. And then it hit us: let's be hipsters! NYC is a film capital after all, why not hit up an indie movie? It turned out we saw a really good one, one I think my pops would appreciate as it is about what makes art, art, and what can lead to the exploitation of art. I'll leave this link as a taste of what we experienced. Oh, and I should mention we were in Washington Square area by this point, close to Katz Delicatessen. That's right, I'll have what she's having.

It was still rainy and we must admit, we were tired. So we pretty much called it a night.

Today I decided two New York things were mine for the taking. The first: Ellis Island.

Before making my way to the southern tip of Manhattan, I rearranged my luggage so it was sufficiently supplied with what I needed in case I lose either one during transfer. I also had to make an extra key for my friend since one of the spare keys she had lent me wasn't working properly. During that time, I met a new friend, but I'll write about him in my other blog. Now, I was set to go.

Granted, all this time, I have not been using a map. I like looking up at buildings for my sense of direction, so I should have known that I would be helpless in the financial district, since I've mainly been midtown. I eventually found my good friend Battery Park, and proceeded to the truly epic line of all of New York. It is very clear that if you want to go to both Liberty and Ellis Island, you will need a day to see it properly. I only wanted to see one, so that helped me shave a few hours off my trip (outside of getting lost, that is!). In the process, I was blessed to meet another couple from California, which made the wait not as bad.I also would suggest paying for the audio guide, as it provided great information throughout the self-guided tour. I'm glad New York renovated the place, and am thankful for all the exciting additions such as clothes, passports, photographs and more. Definitely an important history lesson that we should review in our day!

Next came the long trip to the exact opposite side of Manhattan for a Yankees game. While I've always been taught to despise the Yankees, I remembered one thing. My favorite player is a Yankee: Yogi Berra. In fact, I saw someone wearing a tshirt jersey of his and thought long and hard about finding one myself. I remembered I didn't need it, but still. Close call.Besides, the Yanks lost (and I laughed at the fair weather fans), but at least Kathryn and I got to enjoy an important American pasttime.

Yo Brooklyn

Now I'm just in a New York state of mind or somethin'. I know, I know, cheap shot. But it's so fun to put "yo" in front of words now. In fact, at the Trailer Park Lounge last night, we had gotten into a conversation on how we would find the Cash Cab. Various jokes came into play, and it ultimately looked like I was finding it, pulling it over, taking out whoever was playing while holding a gun cocked sideways (kill shot!) and saying, "Yo cheesecake! Get outta my cab before I show you what's up." Too violent? I was thinking I'd make him an offer he couldn't refuse. bah dum cha!

More importantly, today we went to Brooklyn. The intention was to go to the museum there, but it didn't work out due to time constraints. It's okay though, walking the bridge was a treat in itself as you can see below:Afterwards, we hit up a coal oven pizza joint that's apparently the best NY pizza you could ever have. We waited an hour and a half in line and I started to wonder if they really just made those waiting feel starved and so they wouldn't know the difference. Just kidding. Grimaldi's doesn't have a top rating in Zagat's for nuthin'.Headed back to the Manhattan in order to try for the lottery tickets for West Side Story on Broadway. The way the lottery works (and this is pretty much for every show on Broadway just so you know), is you get to the theater 2.5 hours before the show starts. You put your name in a hat, and at 2 hours before the show, they call out a certain number of names who get orchestra seating (for WSS it was the first row--18 seats). If your name isn't called, then you can try to get tickets otherwise, but not at the discount lottery price.

We didn't win. But by the time we got there I realized how much I really did want to see it, so I was willing to shell out 50 bucks to go. Yeah, I like to live life on the edge. And I'm a fan of dressing up. :D

The play was so much better than what I was expecting. While Maria's voice was a little weak, I adored Tony. The dance sequences too, gasp! They blew me away with how much they utilized the stage space. Back to Tony, his voice during "Maria" gave me chills.

Plenty of great little laugh moments coupled with strong dance numbers and Spanish instead of English by the Sharks--I wanted to shout, "Yo Tony and Anita, that was awesome!"

Yo cheesecake

Day one and two in New York.

Grandma and Grandpa dropped me off at the airport, and were gracious enough to give me some cash for my taxi ride to Hell's Kitchen, the district where my good friend Kathryn lives. The plan was to drop off my things, then head out maybe to a museum before Kathryn got off work. Thus returns my motto: Be flexible.

It was raining, and there was an accident. So I actually got to the apartment (she had sent me her keys beforehand) right about the time she was getting off work. This worked out for the best, as the keys weren't exactly functioning any way. But I successfully lugged up my life, aka two suitcases, a backpack and a saxophone, four stories to an apartment only slightly bigger than my parents' former abode in Germany. (Kathryn was quite happy to hear that her apartment was comparatively "big.")

We then headed out for dinner at a local place, as Hell's Kitchen district is the home of every type of hole-in-the-wall restaurant you could ask for. We had some delicious Thai where I tested out my taste buds on some of the spiciest they had. Mmm!!

Walked around to Lincoln Center, which is a beautiful little square of high art performances. I hope she posts the pictures from that time soon, so I can share with you. Then a graceful walk to Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of Central Park (also a location from the movie Enchanted :). Ooh, but the highlight of the evening was the bomoboloni from A Voce Columbus in the Time Warner Center. Holy smokes!

If you can't tell, Kathryn is a food connoisseur. She used to say in college, "I should weigh about 300lbs with the amount of food I eat, but I just happen to have a high metabolism. Don't worry, it'll catch up to me." She's so funny. And yes, I'm working very hard not to gain that much while on this trip--bombolonis are to die for!

The next morning, I awoke in order to meet up with a couple more Northwesterners:I dunno, I just told them, "It's my favorite Asians!" And this is how they posed..

We walked around. Mainly because I insisted so, considering how pleasant the weather was today, as well as enjoying the view of walking through a big city that does situate everything fairly close together. How else could we have walked right by the Chrysler building without noticing it? I must thank the cop from whom I had asked directions, since he responded by pointing in the wrong direction (through a building the opposite direction in fact!). No worries, we found it on our way back, only to find that we can't even go to the top. Lame.Next came the New York Public Library (Ghostbuster's anyone?), Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and lunch at Gray's Papaya. Scratch that. Lunch on the steps of the US Post office, facing Madison Square Garden. I was very happy, as the place served Pineapple juice that I just so happen to love (no reference to Psych involved here).We then walked to High Line Park, which is a renovated rail junkyard basically, that has some decent foliage but more importantly, halfway comfortable benches where all three of us took a very necessary power nap. I awoke to the sound of firetruck sirens. Ah, New York..Followed this up by, gasp, taking the subway. Admittedly, my first time for NYC, as I had just walked around my only other time here 9 years ago, as well. Yes, I looked for the Cash Cab before heading below the streets. Nada. We ended up at MoMA--the Museum of Modern Art. The free ticket Friday starts at 4pm, so since we were early, and I was loaded up on pineapple juice, I requested we find a bathroom first. Josh took us to his place of work close by, but as we were in our street clothes, we couldn't see his cubicle. Dropped by a belgian waffle stand on the way back, but by this point I was full, so I didn't even bother. The line around MoMA wrapped almost all around the block, yet was surprisingly fast. I have Target to thank!

Although the crowd was hard to weave through, I about lost it when I realized Van Gogh's The Starry Night was here. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It's gotta be one of my favorite pieces. Tears certainly crept up, but stayed inside. It is not a very large piece, but I still love the curves and dents of the thickly laid paint. I was happy to see much of Picasso's cubism works there as well; not so pleased with Mondrian or Kandinsky (secretly proud that I knew who these people were. That art class in elementary school paid off! Just kidding, father ;)

We then met up with Kathryn at a great little diner called Trailer Park Lounge. This place is decorated with all the RV specials: a velvet Elvis, paper mache lights, vinyl chairs. They serve delectables like hamburgers, sloppy joes and tater tots. Of course, I went all out by ordering the quesadillas. haha. It was a great time had by all, and the joke about the possibility of yours truly being a robot continued on. They are ridiculous I tell you! 00101101001010.. I mean...Rojas and Josh had to go their separate ways, unfortunately, but I was so glad to see them. Kathryn and I on the other hand, went on to the Upright Citizen's Brigade, an hour-long improv comedy show. Hee-larious. That was some amazing talent. I'm talking, I hardly wanted to laugh, because I wanted to catch everything, and I was just so impressed by their talent!

Not too bad for a day and a half, huh?

As for the title. Rojas, Josh and I were walking through the city and we noticed some filming occurring in an office building above us. So a bunch of trucks for lighting equipment were parked on the narrow street, when a food truck of some sort tried cutting through. The driver calls out to another sitting in a lighting equipment truck, "Yo cheesecake, where's my coffee?!" In the best NY accent you can muster. I can do it for you if you'd like (I love assimilation). Any way, we chuckled about it in mild confusion.

Family

Currently in San Antonio enjoying the humble abode of Ruben and Elida Quintanilla. It's the second of I guess 4 legs of this journey. The first being hanging out with grandma in Ricardo, the next two being Dublin and Stephenville, Texas--for two very special items of entertainment: sugarcane Dr. Pepper and Baby O. I'm sure there will be pictures.

I'm only kicking myself because I just realized Milena lives in San Antonio. Oh well..

Nevertheless, the best part about visiting family, especially of the Hispanic variety, is that you always feel welcome. I knew I was in the right place after hearing, "So good to see you!" followed by, "Are you hungry? Would you like me to make you something?" I've enjoyed hearing some family stories I hadn't heard before, as well as just basking in the presence of great people to whom I'm privileged to be related. They are all very gracious, very loving. And they know how to cook!

More to come, but just felt the need to write something down. 5 days to NYC!

Ch-ch-changes

First came the glasses.

Next came the short hair!

What's next? I dunno, but some Dublin Dr. Pepper better be involved!