Getting you cought up

November 10, 2008 by admin.

to get you all up to date,

Kilkenny (you bastards!)-

It was very cold when I got in. The hostel was very small I think maybe 15 people total. I lucked out also because most of them were young. I met two girls the first night, both named Erin, one 18 and one 20. Usually I wouldn’t have spent too much time with them, but one was cool, and they were really the only people I found so we went out grabbed a couple of beers and went home. When we were at the pub a couple of kids came in with painted faces and asked for spare change. Usually I would have thought this odd but I was told of this Halloween tradition by my friend tony before I left. The next day we tried to go do some sights (of which there were few) but it was too wet and cold so we went and made lunch then watched breakfast club at the hostel. That night we made friends with a pair who met on a tour and decided to travel around together. Her name was Shari and his name was Ben, so we had two Erin’s two Ben’s and a Shari. the next day we toured kilkenny (you bastards!) castle. that was cool but they wouldn’t let us take pictures :( That night we all went to get drinks and found some great “trad” music. The next day one of the Erin’s and I hitched a ride from Kilkenny (you bastards!) to Dublin with the other Ben and Shari. from there I took the train to Belfast.

Belfast-

That was an interesting place… I know the fighting has been over for a little while but the tension in the air was almost tangible. I never saw anything that would lead you to believe it was nothing but a peaceful happy city, but everywhere I went and every second I was there I felt very uncomfortable. It was the only place I have been so far that I left early. I got in Halloween night, and as you have read before, thought I had happened on a time warp of some kind. Fireworks and screaming all night. The next day I wandered for a bit and found myself a quiet little coffee shop, not good coffee but a nice barista who made for good conversation and she was quite easy on the eyes. That night I referred to a N.Y. Times article ( http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/travel/19Belfast.html?8dpc) sent to me by my very own Saint Christopher, my dear Aunt Carol. The article as you will read (and you should) is about Belfast regaining its voice and culture. I checked out a few places in the article and was impressed by the ability of some of these musicians. All the same I left in the morning for Glasgow.

Glasgow-

I took the ferry from Belfast to Stranner very, very early in the morning. This is what my dear Grandfather would call “the worlds smallest ferry”… this thing was gargantuan it was called the Stena HSS. it had 4 movie viewing areas, 3 cafes, an arcade, 2 kids play areas, 3 lounges, a store, 2 bars, 3 restaurants Internet kiosks, A NAIL PARLOR, a teen hangout, and 2 or 3 casino areas… big. After the ferry I took the train to Glasgow. Glasgow was not very nice; dirty, grimy, and not all that much fun. The first night I did go see Longhorn Slim and the War Eagles, and yes Ouis I met them all hung out and drank beers with them and next time they come to Seattle I can almost promise, you and I will kick it with them. Very cool guys, I got great pictures and videos. The next day I found myself in full on cold mode, runny nose cough the works, but that didn’t stop me from wandering around and seeing the town… in retrospect I should have stayed in and taken care of my self, but how often will I be in Glasgow…? That night I was at the bar in the basement of the hostel and met some guys going to the Slayer show, they told me to come with them but thank god I don’t like Slayer. So I stayed at the bar and met some people from Frankfurt in town for the Oasis show the next day. They were fun but drank too much and got drunk too easily…

I’m writing all of this too fast and missing some great stories, so ask me later and I’ll give you the details…

Any way I have a friend who moved here just before i went on my trip to go to veterinary school at the University of Glasgow but I didn’t at the time have her number, i do now through no small effort (again ask for the story later). We were going to have coffee but I found out that my train was leaving for Fort William an hour before out coffee date. So I had to bail on her… but now I have a reason to go back and give Glasgow a second chance (shes a bit of a looker) and this time I wont be in the gritty city center.

Fort William-

Holly crap the highlands are amazingly beautiful and vast and empty. I love it. For those of you who don’t know the story (and correct me if I get facts wrong) Fort William was built to help in the stopping of the Jacobite rebellion. Bonny Prince Charlie had his eyes set on the throne of England, and the English didn’t like that so the kicked his ass and raided Scotland killing or deporting any and all suspected supporters of the Bonny Prince. So back to Fort William, my ancestors, the Cameron Clan lived and ran the area just west of Fort William called Glen Nevis (and still do). They happened to be some of those Bonny Prince Charlie followers that were deported (this is the reason you all are cursed with knowing me). Any-who, this is where I stayed. I swear to god not 100 yards from “the mound of evil council” ask for the story later. The hostel was at the base of the highest mountain in all of the UK called Ben Nevis :). I would have climbed it but, I was too cold ridden so I just wandered the glen looking for family stuff. I had no idea where any of this stuff was so I walked to the Glen Nevis visitor center and asked. If I had known what I was walking into I would have brought more things too find… and a tape recorder. Those guys running the visitors center must not get allot of visitors, and the ones they do get must just go in and ask where Ben Nevis is, to which I imagine and hope they respond, “you see that big thing… the one made of rock… yeah that’s it.” When I asked about Cameron Clan points of interest they light up and went and got topographical maps, books on the history of the glen, brought up websites, bantered, bickered, and poked fun at each other… It was great! I found quite a few places but I never got to find Samuel’s Cave (where my ancestors hid from raiding parties) sorry mom, I know exactly where it is but its hard to get to and off the path. After Fort William I headed to Inverness, where I am now. You will get the story about here after I leave.

sorry this one is was long but now you are all caught up. Hope you enjoyed it and ask about stories.

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