Sean Henri

 

Back home too soon

July 04, 2008 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

My trip ended much too quickly.  Monday morning I was back in Connecticut, and back at work.  But as quick as the trip was, it was worth every penny.  Two days away was just enough to hold me off for a while.

My last day there was more casual than the day before.  We went to downtown Scottsdale for lunch then took a drive down RT 87 to Saguaro Lake.  By night I was back at the airport ready for my flight home.

A few more pics, all from Saturday:

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Sedona

June 29, 2008 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

The flight here was terrible.  My "window seat" lacked a window, the plane had no pillows or blankets, it felt like there was an hours worth of turbulence while over Oklahoma and Texas, and the woman next to me was praying the rosary like it was Armageddon.

It was worth it.  Friday night was kept low key, partly due to the fact that it was almost 2 AM by the time I arrived.  My friend Kristen and I grabbed some fast food from Jack In The Box (great stuff), had a quick chat, then called it quits for the night.

Saturday we started the day with some coffee and then took a 2 hour road trip up north towards Sedona.  The terrain changed fast - from flat desert and tall cacti to jagged red mountains in what felt like the matter of a half hour.  I drove most of the way because Kristen wasn't too crazy about driving in the mountains. The views were amazing so the drive seemed to go by very quickly. 

We pulled over at a rock formation to the south of Sedona called Bell Rock.  A lot of people go here looking for a Vortex - a place where people have reported feeling inspired by a beneficial source of energy.  Needless to say, I'm a bit skeptical about the existence of such a thing, but I wasn't there for that, I was there for the hiking.  We tried to make our way towards the top, but in 110 degree heat we couldn''t get very far so we had to turn back.

Once our attempt at hiking was over we made our way to downtown Sedona where we lunch and cooled off at a Mexican restaurant named Oaxaca. 

From there we did a bit more driving, and then found ourselves hanging out along a river and watching people jump off cliffs at Slide Rock State Park, just to the north of Sedona in the Coconino National Forest.

To sum it up: it's been an amazing weekend so far.  Videos here and pics below:

Hiking around Bell Rock

A jumper at Slide Rock State Park

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Arizona 2008, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (1)

One way to spend the weekend

June 27, 2008 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

It's a Friday night, and I'm sitting at JFK looking for ways to kill the time as I wait for my flight to arrive.  I think thunderstorms are to blame for the delay.  It's no excuse, we should have braved the weather.  I had only planned on spending 48 hours at my destination!  Delays simply aren't acceptable.

Where am I going?   Arizona.  There I'll be meeting up with a friend who I haven't seen since 2005 and then roaming around in the desert for two days.  Why am I going?  I couldn't really tell you.  I have a friend there that I've been meaning to visit, and I've really wanted to take a vacation for a while now.  Those would be two good reasons, but I'll only be there for a day and a half.  Two miserable nights of travel for 36 hours of fast paced leisure. 

People question the wisdom behind these fast-paced trips, but for me, it's worth it.  I'll get to see a part of the country I've never seen before, and I'll spend some time with a great friend who I haven't seen in years.  I'm considering this a preview trip.  If I like what I see, I'll come back.  I gave this very little planning... I actually just booked my flight 4 days ago.   Few people know I'm even going to be away this weekend.

There's a forecasted high of 112 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow.  I can hardly bare 80!   I'm told it's no so bad because of the lack of humidity, but we'll see.

I'll be posting quick little updates throughout my trip, via the blog, twitter, and YouTube.  You can find it all here on the right hand side of your screen under "Recent Thoughts" and "Recent Video".

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Win a trip to the French island of Martinique!

February 02, 2008 // 5 Comments  // Add yours »

I have a very simple request for everyone who reads this. I'd like for you go and enter a contest to win a trip to the French island of Martinique.  All you need to do is vote for my story "Getting Lost on the Appalachian Trail", and you could find yourself spending 7 days relaxing on Caribbean island.  Pretty easy right? 

I ask this of you because if I'm the blogger who receives the most votes, I'll be winning a trip of my own to the island.  I was asked to participate in this contest along with 24 other bloggers by the French Government Tourist Office.  I had never thought about going to Martinique before, but after doing some research it actually looks like an interesting place to visit.  There's a volcano on the island as well as some mountains that offer spectacular views for hikers.  It seems like it would be a great place to do some kayaking as well. 

So please go ahead and vote, and ask your friends to do the same.  But make sure they vote for my story!  I'll greatly appreciate it.  You can win, I can win, and we'll all be happy.

One way you could really help me out is by posting a bulletin on MySpace or Facebook that asks your friends to go vote as well!  To post on Facebook, simply click this link.  Or if you have a blog, maybe mention it there?  I mean who wouldn't want to win a trip?

Terms and Conditions | Color Me Martinique Contest

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Vote to send me to Martinique!

January 21, 2008 // 8 Comments  // Add yours »

I need your help!  The French Government Tourist Office has included a story of mine in a contest they're running, and I'd like to have your vote.  There's only 19 people being included in this contest and the person who has the most votes by March 1st will win a trip to Martinique!  My story is called "Getting Lost on the Appalachian Trail" and you can find it here.  Simply vote with a valid email address and you're done! 

If my gratitude isn't enough here's one more incentive for you to help.  By simply voting you will be automatically entered to win a 7 night stay for two at the luxury Sofitel Bakoua in Martinique!  So go do it!  Just click HERE.

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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.

Posted in:  Ireland 2007, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (0)

Kevin's Trip - Day 15 - The Roman Baths

August 11, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Kevin Henri!

Today was our last day driving around on the bus. We set out for the city of Bath, an old Roman city. It is the only place in Britain that has natural hot springs. We went into the Roman baths. Amazing. I expected it to just be that main bath that is in pictures but there was so much more there than I expected. It was just amazing to be walking on some stone floors that the Romans did thousands of years ago. Not everyone in our group was interested in going which is why everybody split off into groups. I walked through the baths with Mrs. Jalowiec. We were both fascinated by everything that we saw and it was nice to go with someone who was interested rather than go with my usual group who wouldn't have cared about what they were seeing.

Following this, we visited Stonehenge. It is a lot smaller than it looks in pictures and we have to keep a certain distance from it, but it is amazing nonetheless. The fact that someone could construct that without the technology we have now is astonishing.

We finished up looking at Stonehenge and set off to London. Once we arrived, we said thanks and goodbye to our tour director John and our driver, Billy. We will all miss them.

In London, we went out to eat and split up into two groups; my group going to see "Stomp!", and the other group went to see "Mary Poppins" on stage. Clearly "Stomp!" was far better than seeing a stage version of a movie that I have seen hundreds of times. Everyone in the theater was amazed by the performers' coordination, and there were some very funny parts as well.

Tomorrow we set off for home. Not too much will happen, so unless there is some excitement tomorrow, this will be my last journal entry. I can't wait to go home and see Katie. Peace suckasssssssss!

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Kevin's Trip - Day 14 - The ferry to Wales

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

Kevin Henri!

Last night, I laid in bed for an hour before finally falling asleep. This morning, we had to be downstairs for breakfast by 6. Naturally, I was destined to wake up at 6:05 and pulled the get-ready-for-the-entire-day-in-just-five-minutes routine. Nevertheless, I was late and got yelled at.

We headed out for the ferry to bring us to Wales. Goodbye Ireland. On the ferry, a few adults and I ranted about the Derby Public school system for most of the ride, and towards the end of the trip, I went through my receipts and estimated how much money is still in my checking account.

Once the ferry arrived in Wales, we drove to our hotel in Cardiff, got dressed up for our dinner later in the night, and headed out to Cardiff Castle. The castle is this huge piece of land surrounded by big walls. Inside in the middle of the property is a keep that was built in later years. The inside of one of the towers is very lavish. This rich guy designed the inside and it is just amazing how much money one would need to afford to decorate the place.  After we toured the tower, we went downstairs to this great hall with other groups of people, to have dinner.

The great hall was made of stone without much decorations. It was very medieval. We had a great show and some good food. The first thing that they serves us was seaweed wrapped in ham. Everyone was gorssed out by it, but some of us tried it, and some of us thought it was pretty decent. The show consisted of songs and acts, both in which the audience was very involved. We were all pretty rowdy and overall, everyone ended up getting worked up by the show. It was even better than the Scottish show.

After the show, everyone was extremely loud and talkative. The bus ride was very fun because everyone was so worked up. Then we all went to sleep. Excellent. For some reason, my phone hasn't had service since Limerick. I have signal but no service. Oh well. It's probably better that way because I can't make any more expensive calls, of which I have made too many.

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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)

Kevin's Trip - Day 13 - Blarney Castle

August 09, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Kevin again.

We were allowed to sleep in late today. It was about time. Our first destination was the town of Blarney. Obviously, this is the home of the Blarney Stone. As a group, we climbed Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone at the top. The castle had many rooms that most of this group skipped. Jimmy and I kept leaving the staircase to explore the rooms. The staircase was very narrow and as we got higher the steps got narrower and we struggled to stay on the steps. Towards the top of the steps, Alex Oppel fell. We finally made it to the top where everyone was kissing the Blarney Stone. The Blarney Stone is built into the castle. In order to kiss it, you need to lay on your back, grab these bars and slide off a little bit. You bend your head back and kiss it. The distance from the floor to the wall is about 2 feet. In that space are two bars to keep you from falling to your death, but it was extremely terrifying to be practically hanging off a ledge with hundreds of feet below you. After I kissed it and Jimmy took a picture of me, we walked down some other stairs. We found a room that we think was the bathroom there is the this long hole on the ground which leads to outside. This wasn't a normal hole, it was in the shape of a lowercase "L". We think it was an old type of urinal. After taking pictures, we found another room with an extremely tight doorway. This room was situated above the doorway to the big room. This is where they would pour boiling liquids on intruders.

We left the castle in our small groups and made our way to a cave. It was awesome. There were no lights in there. It was completely dark and muddy. I used the flash from my camera to find my way. We took a bunch of pictures, a couple cool ones minus the flash, instead, using candlelight. We left, covered in mud, and found some lunch. Then we all drove for a while and took a rest stop in Cork. It was cool looking there by the river in cloudy weather. We didn't stay for long but went to Waterford, where our hotel was.

Our hotel was situated along a river. It was the nicest looking location for our hotel yet. I walked along the river and took some pictures of the swans there using Mr. Poppa's camera lense. I like how a lot of them come out.  Not much else happened today. We ate and went to sleep.

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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.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Ireland 2007, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (5)

Kevin's Trip - Day 12 - The Ring of Kerry

August 08, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

It's Kevin suckas!

We started off bright and early to the sounds of our wake-up call. Not a very pleasant morning. While driving along, we stopped at a small village on the side of the road. I think it was called Bog Village. It consisted of old thatched houses. One of these houses had peat burning in a fireplace. Afterwards, we drove through the Ring of Kerry.  Looking out to my right, I saw a giant lake and mountains. To my left, I saw a big slope of one of the many mountains. This particular area was called "Dingle Bay" (haha). After many a picture stop/rest stop in the mountains, we showed up in Killarney, where we went for a ride through Killarney National Park in jaunty cars. Jaunty cars are carriages pulled by horse, for those who don't know.

We walked around a little where I found a replacement for my lost lense cap, had dinner at the hotel, and then had a choice to stay at the hotel or go out to town. I wanted to stay at the hotel to avoid spending money. Billy, Adam, Dan, Alec, and I ended up walking down the street but once we walked for twenty minutes without seeing anything, except a massive dead badger, we came back to our hotel. Probably the least eventful day of the trip, but very scenic.

Fin.

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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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Kevin's Trip - Day 11 - Galway to Limerick & Meelick

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

From the mind of Kevin:

We woke up, and we boarded our bus. Our first location we drove to was Galway. On the way there we played a rousing game of playing card bingo. Eire is even greener than Scotland. The grass here is weird. It looks like waves of green and I imagine that it is very soft and laying on it would be quite pleasurable.  I've never seen anything so green before. I don't think that my camera will capture how green it really is. We went up in Galway where we met up with Brother Sean and walked around for food. We got back on the bus after "making pictures" as Germanians would say. We drove to this rocky region called the Burren. It's cool how it is so bare and plain and alongside beautiful Galway Bay.

After the passing through the Burren, we went to the cliffs of Moher. These breathtaking cliffs are very high up above the ocean. The ocean is clear blue. We got on the bus and drove to our hotel in Limerick and set off to meet the Irish troop that our scouts stayed with when they came here as exchange scouts. In other countries, scouts is co-ed. We had a little presentation of gifts between the troops and had a "campfire". It was pretty fun. We all got to see people we knew that came to America years ago. Sean saw many people that he knew because he stayed with a lot of them the first time he went to Ireland in 1999. We finished up and came back late. At some point I lost my lense cap. Much sadness. I have to try and find a store with one if I can. I went to sleep late. Sean left with some Irish friends.

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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.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Ireland 2007, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (1)

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.

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

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.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Ireland 2007, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (2)

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.

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Kevin's Trip - Day 10 - A full day in Dublin

August 05, 2007 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

Kevin Henri again.

We woke up to go on a tour of Dublin. We drove past many a building such as the Irish Supreme Court and their Parliament building. There were also two cathedrals that we passed. We ended up picking up Mr. Ryan and driving by the Guinness factory and through Phoenix Park. It is one of the biggest parks in the world. It is bigger than Central Park in New York and Hyde Park of London combined. Then we went shopping and split off. Some of us stayed in town, others went to the hotel and we had most of the day off to do what we wanted to do. I went to sleep for a couple of hours and then the Cosmos group (minus Billy who went with another group to tour the Guinness Brewery) went to the laundromat in the next town over.

From there, we walked over to a pub/restaurant, where I got chicken breasts with garlic sauce and also a Chef salad. Both were amazingly good. They were probably the best food that we've had during the entire trip. Seriously, this food was amazing. It was good. Then the group went back to the laundromat to get their clothes, except Josh and I. We went over to the internet cafe across the street. I finished and we all took a taxi back to the hotel. I met back up with Dan Howard, Steve Poppa, Matt Poppa, Alex Oppel, and Billy Boroski in Dan's room. Then I went to sleep. We have to be downstairs for breakfast for 7 A.M. We are going to Galway and Limerick. At some point we will meet up with my brother, Sean Henri. It will be fun. Adios por ahora.

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Kevin's Trip - Day 9 - Wales

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

It's Kevin Henri yet again.

We awoke on time for once and got on the bus and drove over to Chester, England. The Romans used to inhabit this town way back when. It has an old wall in it from the Medieval Times. We walked along the wall for a while which was pretty cool until we left the wall and walked by the ruins of a Roman Amphitheater and some Roman gardens with some of the pillars still intact. We walked around and then got back onto the bus and drove into Wales. Their signs have both English and Welsh on them. The Welsh language is the dominant language in Wales and they are extremely proud of their Celtic language. Wales has many castles in the country, a lot of them being recently constructed within the last two hundred years. We passed through Conwy (Conway in English), and saw a very old castle that was constructed from 1283 to 1287, a remarkably short time considering their methods of building back then. It was very interesting. To leave, our bus had to pass through this very narrow archway and we just barely made it through. It was a little risky.

     We went on our way and stopped at Llanfairpwllgwyngogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It has the longest name of a town in the world. It has 59 letters and in English it means, "The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave". It's sister city is in Holland, named "Ee" and has the shortest name for a town in the world. We shopped for an hour and then headed to Holyhead to take a ferry over to Dublin. The ferry ride was three hours long but it was very luxurious in there. Lots of comfortable chairs, televisions, a movie theater, etc.

     Once we arrived in Dublin, we stopped at our hotel and then went out in our groups to have dinner. Pretty boring place to be at night unless you are a drinker. We stopped in a gift shop and then ate at Burger King (much better than all the McDonald's here), and then we came back to our hotel and went to sleep. The End.

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Kevin's Trip - Day 8 - Liverpool

August 04, 2007 // 5 Comments  // Add yours »

Hey it's Kevin again.

We left wonderful Edinburgh and the Edinburgh Capital hotel after spending two nights there. We headed out on the road with Liverpool being our final destination. The drive through Scotland was beautiful. Surrounded by small mountains in the green countryside, fields of sheep everywhere, colorful streams flowing through the fields and hills with wild flowers growing alongside the river. At one point we stopped along the side of the road and watched a farmer on a tractor herding his sheep with his two dogs. The dogs ran around the group, keeping any small groups from straying. At one point, one sheep started running away and both dogs ran for it at once, jumping on the sheep. The sheep quickly ran back to the group after that. The dogs looked like they were having the time of their lives running around fields and chasing sheep. It was amazing to see this because it isn’t something that the average person sees in his/her life.

While we were driving along, we came upon this point where we were high up in the mountains. Very tall mountains called “The Devil’s Beef tub”. It reminded me of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It’s weird because a lot of this drive has reminded me of Colorado, except greener. I loved it here. The mountains are indescribable. They are something that you would have to experience for yourself. Our next stop was Gretna Green. It was our last stop in Scotland before heading back to England. It wasn’t very interesting unless you wanted to elope and have a blacksmith marry you. There were a couple of shops and a restaurant or two. We had an hour there but Billy Boroski and I were bored and boarded the bus early.

We all drove back to England and towards Grasmere. It is a mountainous region and has many lakes. This particular area, with its windy roads along the mountains, lakes and pine trees, reminded me of Washington State. Grasmere used to be the home of a poet, William Wordsworth. We stepped off of the bus and wandered through town. Billy and I found the grove where William Wordsworth is buried. There was another William Wordsworth who died 30 years later, buiried close by. Grasmere had some nice buildings, but not much to do. Everyone was so surprised by how amazing Scotland is, that England didn’t seem as nice. We all came here with a low expectation of Scotland, but it is much better than England. Nobody knows what to expect of Ireland, but we all hope that Scotland doesn’t make Ireland seem lame in comparison.

We drove a few hours until we arrived in Liverpool, the city of Beatles fame. It was kind of like Bridgeport. It was exactly how I thought it would look with crappy buildings and the sky was filled with gray clouds but no rain. Liverpool is the city with the lowest household income in all of England. We stopped at our hotel Adelphi, which was where very old and rich cruise ship passengers used to stay. I believe that the rooms are $500 to $700 per night. Our room was spacious and also had a couch.

After settling in, we boarded the bus for a tour of the city. Our tour guide who was a life long Liverpudlian, brought us to Liverpool Cathedral, a modern cathedral started at the turn of the century and completed in the 1970’s in a neo-gothic style. It was the biggest cathedral we have visited so far.

We drove along Penny Lane and saw all of the places that were named in the Beatles’ song of the same name. We also saw where John Lennon went to school and where Paul McCartney and George Harrison went to school. I was disappointed that we couldn’t go and see Strawberry Fields and John Lennon’s house on Menlove Avenue, but we got to see the Cavern Club where the Beatles performed almost 300 times. We didn’t get to go inside, but instead went back to the hotel for dinner. We later learned that our female tour guide had dated George Harrison in the mid 1960s and wish we could have asked her more questions about the Beatles.

After a nice dinner some of us with the chaperones went over to The Cavern to go inside and also see the other Beatle monuments, like one to Eleanor Rigby. On the way we saw lots of women dressed in crazy group outfits, which is the tradition for bridal parties on a night out. When we went into the Cavern it was far underground and a lot smaller than I expected it to be. It was still amazing though to imagine that the young Beatles played here. It isn’t the original club that they performed in because that was demolished. A new one was built in almost the exact location to be just like it was when the Beatles were there, made out of brick. It was an amazing experience and a must for all serious Beatles fans. After we visited, listened to the Beatles era music being blasted, and had a toast to the Beatles, we went to the hotel y despues we went to sleep. Tomorrow we go to Wales for a while and then over to Dublin, Ireland.

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Kevin's Trip - Day 7 - Edinburgh

August 03, 2007 // 4 Comments  // Add yours »

Kevin Henri, reporting from Edinburgh.

Today we woke up late again.  For some reason we thought we had a wake up call when we had never asked for one.  Jimmy Anderson called us the night before as a prank calling to confirm a 4 A.M. wake-up call and we told him at 7.  Then Jimmy said it was him, and we all laughed.  The next morning my alarm went off at 7 and I realized that the phone hadn't rang yet because I was expecting it to so I went back to sleep waiting for the phone to ring.  Apparently since it was the last thing on our minds the night before, we had it in our heads that we had a wake-up call set.  I woke up and Billy checked the time on my phone and it said 7:18.  So we got up and got our stuff ready.  A minute later I put on my watch and saw the time said 7:35.  We were in trouble.  Randy, one of our chaperones, yelled at us and it was over. We were tired.

We got onto the bus with our tour guide, David McKree.  He was pretty funny and had a witty sense of humor.  He wore a kilt and has a strong Scottish accent.  He told us that Edinburgh is on top of a volcano and that the Scottish speak a language called "Lalenze", which consists of English, French, and Dutch.

We went to Edinburgh C