The Luck of the Irish

Since we first arrived in Ireland, things have been going our way. On a train from southern Ireland to Dublin, Joe and I were interrupted by Tina, who upon seeing that we were playing cards invited herself to join. We were caught off guard at first, but hey, we'll roll with it. Next thing we know she pulls out two tall boys of Bud for us and insists that we take them (because the beer on the train is too exspensive). We played a poker with her until she had to get off the train, at which point she gets out two more beers for us. "Being nice costs nothin," she said several times. She sure was nice and kinda crazy too, but like she said, I'll never forget Tina. On that same train, Joe and I also met a especially nice (a very different type than Tina) older couple, Ilene and Herald. Long story shorter, we capped off our stay in Northern Ireland with Ilene and Herald. They took us (Joe, Brock, and I) to their house for tea and buscuits, then to some tourist sites (The Giant's Causeway & Dunluce Castle, pictures below), then back to their home for dinner. We were so blessed.

Ilene, Herald, and their home

Giant's Causway
Hexigonal columns of rock formed by volcanoes...
...however I believe the myth that a giant built them

Dunluce Castle
the ruins of a very cool cliff's edge castle,
on which C.S. Lewis supposedly based Cair Paravel

TMNT

For those of you that don't know, I used to (and still do) love the Ninja Turtles. This is a bit of a different take on them but it is also where they got there names...

Leo

Donney

Raf

Mikey

I thought I was in Europe?

Here are a couple things that made me feel more at home...or I just think are kinda funny.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle... just like it is in California
...and the main street is still Main Street U.S.A.
...but its in France?

Yes, this is Lady Liberty...
...only miniature
(its actually kinda weird to see it so small)

Paris in 2 Days

Paris happened fast. We crammed as much of Paris as possible into 2 days (probably too much). At the end of each day my feet ached, my head hurt, and I could barely keep my eyes open but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Here are a few of the monuments and churches:

Sainte Chapelle
Amazing stained glass

 Basilique du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart)

Eiffel Tower
We climbed 704 stairs to the second level, great view

The Lourve
Such a big frickin museum...overwhelmingly awesome

Notre Dame
We also got to go up to the top

Cap'n D's (aka Cap d'Ail, France)

We made it to the French Riviera, the beautiful town of Cap d'Ail. We couldn't pronounce the name so we called it Cap'n D's, an inside joke that is really not that funny but it makes us laugh quite frequently. Travelling here wasn't the greatest experience (sleeping on trains and in stations with some disagreements along the way), but seeing this when we finally arrived helped...

As soon as we had put our things away at the hostel, we were headed to the water. It is so blue and clear; and so refreshing but not too cold at the same time. Later that night we pretty much cleared out a buffet in town; it was the American thing to do, right? The night was capped off with conversation and laughter and mosquito bites on the patio outside the hostel overlooking the Mediterranean. Not bad in my opinion.

And then waking up to this...

Also not bad.

Carpe Diem

This is out of chronological order but I forgot I wanted to mention it quickly because I think it is pretty cool... Anyway, Joe and I were on our way to meet the guys in Gimmelwald and we had to transfer trains in Köln, Deutschland (Cologne, Germany). It was late and we hadn't gotten much sleep on the previous train, needless to say, we weren't in the most adventureous mood, in fact, we were thinking we might just stay in the station and try to rest. We didn't do that though. We went for it. "The city is right there, let's walk around for a bit." And as we walk out the door we see this...

... a bohemoth cathedral. It is so big, the pictures don't even capture the magnitude and shear size of it. I just thought is was cool that we almost didn't even go outside... SEIZE THE DAY

Beautiful Gimmelwald

I have been wanting to post something for a couple days now but I am just getting the opportunity tonight. While Joe and I were in Amsterdam, we went to the Anne Frank House, the actual office building and 'Secret Annex' where Anne and 7 others hid away for around 2 years. I had heard the story before and been amazed before, but walking through the house and hearing/seeing it from a new perspective was really powerful.

'The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God' -Anne Frank (Feb. 17th 1944)

I really loved this quote and I totally agree with Anne, in fact, I think it's good for anyone.

A couple of days later, Joe and I meet up with the other fellas in this place...

...it couldn't have been much more on time. The heavens, nature, and God right there.

I can't really describe the beauty that is Gimmelwald, so ill try to use pictures:

Mountain Hostel

The boys together again! So good.

Swiss National Day...
Just as we all lit our Swiss lanterns it begins to pour