On the Road again

Yes, it's been an obscene amount of time since I last updated this blog but I've been busy saving the planet by watching as many 80s films as possible and occasionally taking an exam or two.

And so begins the great adventure: the j1.

4 months wandering around the east and west coasts of America and trying not to get sunburnt (or, as my mum worries, kidnapped by a mexican drug cartel) along the way.

Here, I will detail the good, the bad and, undoubtedly, the very ugly.

Hasta la vista!

The french happenings

Still in Montpellier and having great craic.The funniest thing about coming over here was discovering that Sarah and Naomi have made names for themselves as complete party animals.We're talking Kate Moss during the heroin chic days.It appears this legendary status is mostly down to the fact that the Americans on Sarah's course are extremely lightweight in the drinking department so Sarah and Naomi's intake looks pretty hardcore and/or alcoholic by comparison.

It's nice to see they're getting on well and meeting people anyway.The range of people stopping by the apartment is like a United Nations conference.Sarah is the only Irish person on her course so has to put up with the constant stream of Americans coming up to her and going (in a really thick Texan accent) "Oh, I'm Irish too!My Granny's dog once stayed with that guy from the Quiet Man so I'm pretty much a native."

I'm going to be home to tomorrow but will take with me the knowledge that the only helpful French people are the ones who don't work in customer service; that in a battle between me and the sun the sun will always win; that Guinness is older than America (really!) and that hurling is older than Jesus.Unfortunately I cant smuggle home any lovely bottles of French wine but might attempt to get some cheese home.I managed to get 2 pounds of sausages from Shannon to here so I'm feeling optimistic!

Sin é en ce moment.Slán go fóill!

Bienvenue á Montpellier!

Hey everyone,
I'm in montpellier at the moment visiting that Scully wan and "Anlon" as the French call her.Having a great time but dear god, my poor Irish skin is not able for this heat!Forgot to put suncream on my back yesterday so have a nice pink patch there but am otherwise unscathed.Montpellier is really beautiful and most of the people are really nice.We went to the olympic pool yesterday to have a swim and ended up staying there for about four hours.It was really nice and had slides and diving boards and stuff like that.We all had a go jumping off the 4 metre dive, felt a bit like getting hit by a car but was really exhilarating.Sarah's dad is coming to visit today so we're giving the place a bit of a clean.I'll be home on tuesday unless the TGV screws me again in which case I'll be living in Carcassone train station for the rest of my life.Could be worse I suppose.
A Bientot!

Scotland!

So I'm typing this in bed in Edinburgh looking at a jar of knackers. (That's really what they're called, will post pics soon!)I adore Edinburgh.Every single one of the buildings is gorgeous to look at, even the homeless shelter looks amazing!One things that I've noticed is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of Scottish people here though.It might be that I'm staying with a group who are all Irish (except for one girl from Portugal) but I haven't heard that many scottish accents or seen many kilts, although the ones I have seen were pretty special.

That's what I love about this place. It isn't what you expect.I assumed that being a big city and a popular tourist/stag destination that it would be insanely expensive but I've spent hardly anything here.It really shows you how overpriced Ireland is when yolu manage to get a huge meal of a burger, chips and a pint for £3.50. The exchange rate isn't even an excuse because the euro and sterling are equal at the moment.

The music scene is brilliant here.We went to see "Acoustic Dave" the last night and he was fantastic.Who would have thought a middle-aged guy in a batman tshirt ould be so entertaining!

We also explored the supernatural side to the city.We saw Acoustic Dave in what was supposedly the most haunted pub in Britain but the wailings you might mistake for ghostly anguish are more likely to be a group of drunken Spaniards murdering karaoke songs.We also went on a "Most Haunted" style tour of an underground vault.It was really eerie to be down there in the dark hearing stories about various ghostly happenings that go on down there.It's enough to make your imagination run away with you.It seems it got to one of the little girls who was on the tour; she said she felt someone rubbing her hair. Apart from that, there were no ghostly encounters to report.The guide had said that the spirits sometimes drain your battery devices like your phone but if anything when we came out my phone had gained battery.Cheers Ghosts!

I better toddle off and experience more of Edinburgh, will update later!

New York, New York?

Wow. It really doesn't feel like a month (give or take) since I last blogged. I guess sometimes you lose track of time. Over the last while, I've suddenly had an urge to do something. Anything, really. Travelling seemed like the simplest option. The least painful. Organising my career path or *cough* relationship *cough* path is far too much effort.

So, I'm going to Edinburgh to visit a friend. And then to New York, with friends. Then to Mexico, to visit a friend. And then to Paris, to visit yet another friend. Have I a really international set of friends? No.

They do seem to migrate once they get to know me though, should I take it personally?

Now obviously that's a hell of a lot of travelling for one summer so I know that it won't be feasible to do all of it at once, or even in two summers. But the point is, that planning these trips is really exciting for me. I love the idea of taking off and going somewhere completely different. seeing how other people live. If you'd approached me a year ago with an itinerary like that, I would have run scared. Now, it's kind of exciting. It's really incredible how much you can change in a short space of time.

To fund all this, I will also be working. Don't worry, I don't have an endless mountain of cash. It pales in comparison to what my friend Niamh is doing though, she's dedicating her entire summer (of about 3 months) to working with poor children in Calcutta. It almost hurts being around her because she's so virtuous. It makes me feel incredibly selfish for some reason. So, to ease my conscience and do my own little bit for charity, I'm doing the Flora Women's mini-marathon in Dublin for GOAL Ireland. It's not much but it is a goal (excuse the pun) to strive for and all in all I'm really looking forward to this summer.

I would love to know what you will be up to. Sky-diving, trying to keep the kids entertained (which is a sport in itself) or taking it easy and enjoying your time off?

Slán go fóill! (Bye for now).