Sean Henri

Video from my trip (Part 2)

August 15, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

Here's some more footage from my recent trip to Ireland.  This one starts off on the tour bus that I jumped on with the Troop 3 scouts from Derby, which brought us through The Burren to the Cliffs of Moher, and then down to our hotels in Limerick.

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Video from my trip

August 14, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

This is a real touristy-like video from my trip to Ireland.  It's mostly just footage of the landscape from when I first landed and then while I was walking around Galway.  It's more for my own memory than for anything else, but I'm sharing it anyway.   I have one more clip coming.

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Back home from Ireland

August 12, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

I'm back home from Ireland.  I've posted all of my pictures as well as a few that I swiped from Randy from Troop 3 in the Pictures section.  I'll have more tomorrow once I get my hands on my brother Kevin's pictures.  I'll also upload my video from the trip very soon.

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One last night in Limerick

August 10, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

This week has been unbelievable.  Yesterday, after my stroll around Limerick, I checked out this restaurant across from my hotel on O'Connel St. called Luigi Malones a quick dinner.  The food was great.  They even gave me a glass of complimentary red wine which wasn't all that bad.

Following dinner I met up with my friend Rachel and from there we joined with a bunch of people for another night out at Molly's.  Had a blast, although I came back home with a few scratches and a bruise on my back.

Today started off much like yesterday did.  I walked around by myself for a bit.... ended up in People's Park and then made my way all the way down to the Hunt Museum to check out the 50's Chic/60's Cheek exhibit, which was somewhat of a disappointment due to the lack of photography they had on display.

That evening I met up with my friend Rachel and her friend Claire, who rode the bus with me up to the Ryan's where I saw Hazel and Mike once again.  We all had some pizza (which wasn't all the bad) and then we made some plans for the night.

My last night there was incredible.  Hazel, Rachel, Claire, and myself all went out to a a few pubs and a few clubs, including Nancy Blakes, Molly's, and Icon.  I can't tell you enough how good it felt to be there... especially with Hazel and Rachel who I hadn't seen prior to this week in about 8 years.

At some point in the night a photographer took our picture.  I guess it'll be in a Limerick newspaper sometime next week.  I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I had to end the night by packing for my trip back home.  My flight leaves in just a few hours and I need to stay awake to catch the bus to the aiport.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Ireland 2007, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (0)

Walking around Limerick

August 08, 2007 // 5 Comments  // Add yours »

Today's been a good day to just take it slow.  I have no plans and the weather isn't all that great, so I've just been going out for few short walks around Limerick city every few hours.  I guess I'm really tired out from all the moving around I've been doing the past couple of days.  But I'm still really enjoying myself because there's so much to see around here.

A bit earlier while I was out walking around, a stranger came up to me and asked if I could take a picture of him.  He was pretty excited that I was willing to do it.  I'm glad I took it because I kinda like how it ended up coming out.  He was with a bunch of people who were drinking beer near the Treaty Stone along the River Shannon.  I think they may have been homeless.

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Scouting in Meelick

August 07, 2007 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

As the bus left the Cliffs of Moher we headed down towards the city of Limerick where Troop 3 unloaded their luggage into the Jury's Inn Hotel and I made my way to the George Boutique Hotel just a few blocks  over on O'Connell Street.

Around 7:30 PM we all loaded onto another bus and took a trip to a meetinghouse north of Limerick in Meelick where the Troop 3 Scouts had a cookout with the scouts from Meelick.  It was great watching everyone slowly begin to interact with each other.  The kids were shy at first, but we all expected that.  It reminded me of an 8th grade dance where the boys are on one side of the hall and the girls are on another.  But Mike Ryan, the leader or the Meelick scouts, started up a few games and a campfire and once everyone was singing songs the kids all seemed to feel comfortable together.

As we left I heard one of the girls from the Meelick group tell one of the Troop 3 scouts to send her back a box of Lucky Charms - a sure sign that the American scouts had interacted with the Irish ones.

This night was special for me because I got to see a lot of people that I met during my first trip over to Ireland back in 1999 that i haven't seen since, such as Mike Ryan, his wife, his daughters Hazel and Rachel, and quite a few others.  Mike pointed out to the scouts that I was the first exchange scout to say that I'd come back and then actually do it. 

At night a bunch of the leaders from both troops met at the bar in the Jury's Inn.  I went for a bit, then headed out to a bar called Molly's with Rachael and a few of her friends.

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The Cliffs of Moher and The Burren

August 07, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

The bus driver for Troop 3 was nice enough to let me hitch a ride with them despite insurance concerns, so I was able to take an incredible tour of The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.  It was great getting a bit of history  from the tour guide while seeing all the sights.  It was also kind of cool driving past the area I have pictured on the top of this website.  My brother and Randy seemed to recognize it. 

We spent a good hour at the Cliffs of Moher.  They've finally completed all the construction so it was much more pleasing to see than it was the last time I came.  It was great to have my brother Kevin see all the places that I love so much.  I swear this part of the country is heaven on earth.  You couldn't believe how incredible it looks until you've seen it with your own eyes.

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Meeting with my brother in Galway

August 07, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

I woke up around 8, had some toast and orange juice for breakfast at the hostel, then parted ways with my friends from the night before.  I headed down towards Galway bay to snap a few pictures.  There's a beautiful beach with a walkway similar to what I had near my old apartment back in Black Rock, only they have a stunning view of the clean Atlantic Ocean in front of them and large mountains off in the distance.  It's far better.

After my walk I met up with Kevin and the scouts from Troop 3 in Eyre Square, the park in the center of Galway.  We went out for lunch at Supermacs and then jumped on their tour-bus.  Next on the itinerary is a tour of The Burren and a cookout with the scout group from Limerick/Meelick.

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Taking a break in Galway

August 07, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

I'm taking a quick break in Galway right now.  I'm currently sitting in coffeehouse named Mocha Beans.  I've only got a few minutes of internet access, so I'll have to hold off on the full update until later tonight when I head back to Limerick.  But here's a few pictures from the past 24 hours.

This last shot is in Galway.  These are some of the people I met.  The two guys are from Germany and the girl, whose name is Laura, is from nearby Liverpool, England.

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A hostel in Galway

August 06, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

I'm in Ireland, by myself, and I want to see something new.  So I take a bus up to Galway, a city I've never seen before, and decide to stay in a hostel with five strangers.  A great way to make friends, right?

It ended up working out nicely.  I met two guys from Germany and two girls from Liverpool and we all went out for dinner and a few drinks.  We ended up going to three different pubs, all of which played traditional Irish music.   The last place we went to, the King's Head, finished off the night with "All you need is love" by The Beatles and "Always look on the bright side of life", a Monty Python Song.

It was such a great night.  Everyone should visit Galway at least one day in their lives.  I'll definately be going back.

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A few short hours in Limerick before Galway

August 06, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Alright so soon after I landed Richie Hayes picked me up from Shannon airport.  After a quick chat he immediately drove me up to the top of this hill where I could see an unbelievable view of the Shannon region and Limerick.  He was able to point out three different counties to me.  Seriously, the view was unreal.  It was incredible.  There was a thick fog moving quickly up the hill so we didn't have very long to take pictures.  One of them I posted the other day.  He told me how they used to hang people up on top of that hill back in the very early 1900's.... pretty damn amazing.

From there we ventured up to Limerick University where I checked out some old abandoned mill and took a few pictures.  Richie had to head to work so Tom and i walked around Limerick for a bit before I jumped on a bus headed towards Galway.  It was just a 2 hour ride... but I knew I was going to fall alseep instantly, and I did.

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A landing at Shannon

August 06, 2007 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

The plane started to descend, the sun rose up, the clouds broke away, and then I saw the Irish coast approach from underneath me.  Next thing I knew it was snowing.  Yes... snow.  It was almost like a blizzard.  Thick, heavy flakes and I couldn't even see the tips of the plane's wings.  But as we got closer to the ground the snow turned to rain and as the sun began poking through the clouds forming a massive rainbow that I could see out my window.  It was such an unbelievable sight.. I could never even truly explain it.

Anyway, I'm here.  And we're driving on the wrong side of the road.  More later.

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I'm off to Ireland!

August 05, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

I'll be flying out to Ireland tonight.  This time I'm headed to Limerick - home of a few highly exceptional human beings that I've befriended over the course of the past 8 years.  This will be my third time visiting the country, and I'm just as excited as I was the first time I traveled there when I was 15.  I've taken a somewhat risky approach to this trip.  I spontaneously booked the flight back in May, not giving the how or the why too much thought.  I just made sure that I had a way to get there and decided that I'd figure out the rest of the planning later on.   I'm traveling solo this time around, but it shouldn't be all that bad since I'll be meeting up with several people once I'm out there.

Two weeks ago I realized I should probably come up with a plan, so I did a bit of research and booked myself a hotel at the George Boutique Hotel in downtown Limerick.  From what I can tell it seems like a pretty nice place.  Four stars, free wifi, my own private shower, and air conditioning.  Nice for Europe, right?

For the first night I've decided to scare myself a bit.  I made a reservation at a hostel in the city of Galway - Ireland's "culture capital".  I'll be sharing a room with 5 strangers.  It only cost me 20 euros for the night.  I could have afforded a real hotel but I thought staying there could be an interesting experience.  The plan is to wander the city Monday night and maybe stop in a pub or two for some traditional Irish music and a few drinks.   I'm looking forward to taking a lot of pictures while I'm there.  Check this link sometime Monday night and maybe you'll catch a glimpse of me checking in.

Tuesday morning I meet up with my brother and the boy scouts from Troop 3 in Derby.  They'll be coming into Galway from Dublin sometime in the afternoon.  I'm hoping to take a ride with them back to Limerick, but I'll have to whether or not their driver will allow it.

That night I'll be back in Limerick for a cookout with Troop 3 and a group of scouts from Limerick.  I'll get to see a bunch of old friends that I met the first time I traveled to Ireland back in '99.  Some of whom actually let me stay in their homes during the 3 weeks that I was out there and went out of their ways to show me the country.

The rest of the week is up in the air, but I know it'll be a great experience.

I'll be posting daily updates while I'm out there, along with pictures and videos.  I'll also try to be on the webcam at night after 9PM eastern time, so if you're interested in chatting with me go over to the "cam" section and click on the hourglass at the bottom of the screen.

That's all for now.  Next update will be from Galway sometime Monday night.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Ireland 2007, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (0)