Our first day of travel made the "bright first day of May" fall onto the negative end of the spectrum. At first I was happy for Doc's plan to leave later in the day instead of having an early morning flight, but as I did not sleep on the plane, I was quickly reminded that being sleep deprived during travel is much worse than being sleep deprived at college. On arrival in Dublin, I thought I would be able to run on the heels of a second wind. Unfortunately that second wind turned out to be only a few hours reprieve from the creeping tendrils of sleep trying to take over my mind, which made the Alma Choir's first stop at Russborough House a trying experience even though the history lover inside me really wanted to pay attention to all the works of art in spite of my sagging energy. I ended up happy with being able to identify a Northern Renaissance work from technique before it was pointed out to the group, as well as making my way to the center of the hedge maze while it was gradually turning into a small lake because of the rain. We stopped for lunch at Kilkenny where a small group of us explored the charming Butler's Garden across from the castle. Then we were off to Waterford, where dinner and a movie with my roommates Chelsie and Emily was the order for the night.
Waterford is best known for its namesake crystal, whose factory the choir visited the next day. The tour of the facilities there really captured my interest, and the willingness to let large groups of giggling college kids hold extremely expensive masterpieces of crystal made the factory one of the highlights of the trip. For lunch the girls and I successfully navigated our way to a grocery store for the first time and ate in our hotel room quickly before heading on a spontaneous excursion to Tramore. That decision was perfect. Sun warmed the breeze off the ocean, and playing on the boardwalk and beach allowed me to revert back to a child-like state for a few hours. Since we had a concert that night, we could only spend a couple of hours there, which prevented the mere furrow of boredom from setting in. That night was our first concert--a joint fiesta with both a women's choir and a boy's choir. Ready to be singing again after a few days break, the whole choir was more enthused than usual, or at least I was.
The next morning's concert in Cobh was a different story however, or maybe the sloppiness was my imagination magnifying things because of irritation at people that morning. After the concert we went to Cobh's titanic museum and then drove onto Cork for the choral festival there. We sang our first set that afternoon, and then had time to explore the city. Chelsie, Amanda and I went to the English Market and then walked further to St. Finn Barre's Cathedral. We reached the cathedral just before closing time, which led to the three of us almost getting locked into the cathedral grounds. Chelsie got the gatekeeper's attention just as he was crossing the street and almost out of hearing range. When we got back to the hotel Chelsie and I watched a cooking show with Riley and Thom because when you are hungry it makes sense to watch people prepare food you cannot eat. After dinner, the roomies and I held a long session of girl talk and then watched yet another movie. All of these nights in were happily designed by Chelsie and I as we both prefer more intimate situations to going out.
The very next day the Cork festival organized a showcase for all of the international choirs to "meet" each other, and then after a carry out lunch from Marks and Spencer the choir went out to Blackrock Castle Observatory for an outdoor concert and a view from the top of its tower. This concert was special, as beforehand the a cappella group I am in got to perform a song we chose for the trip twice. For dinner, Riley, Emily, Chelsie, and I spruced up and found a hole in the wall italian place. Then it was back to the cathedral we had spent time at the previous day for a concert by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland. Their best two songs were performed first which left me wanting more for the remainder of the concert.
All disappointment was brushed away the next morning when the choir went to Blarney Castle. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but the expansive, beautiful grounds were not a part of it. Going through the castle, kissing the stone, and meandering among the beauty of the park was another moment of the tour when I didn't want to be doing anything else than living in that moment. The afternoon and evening was spent first doing a concert of our own and then watching the competition for the Fleischmann International Trophy. An awkward night was made of going out to the club the choral festival set up for all of the participants in the festival. Anytime someone expects me to converse with strangers in a loud, crowded location they will find instead that I will sit and watch and wait for the first moment it is possible to escape for solitude. However, on our way out the door around midnight Chelsie and I chatted with some nice boys from the Filipino choir, which I suppose proves that I make all the awkwardness up in my own mind and if I try I can manage to act somewhat normally with people.
We (finally!) got to leave Cork the next day, but only after one last gig singing during the local presbyterian church's sunday service. The pastor's sermon contained a shocking amount that pertained to me, he made points about several qualities I particularly have issues with--relating harmoniously with others, being content--it was quite eerie actually. The drive to Doolin took about four hours through the sunny, green, Irish countryside which obtained more interesting landscapes the further north we drove. The main object of going to Doolin was a cruise to see the Cliffs of Moher, and we were especially lucky to see a dolphin that came into the harbor to play alongside the boats that go in and out. The cruise was lovely, although all of us practically froze trying to stay on the deck of the boat for the whole period of time. Dinner at Gus O'Connor's pub warmed us all up as we ordered fish and chips and beef stew.
Breakfast in Doolin marked the halfway point on our tour. We treated ourselves by having crepes in the hostel's kitchen, where I helped prepare breakfast and had fun dancing around while cutting up apples. After moving on from Doolin we reached the Burren. I had never seen a place like this ever before. Our bus driver, Jim, said it was the closest thing to a lunar landscape the earth has. The land there held an austere wildness I liked very much, and it was nice to get away from people and just sit on a cliff by myself for a while. Jim also told us as we passed Lisdoonvarna, home to a humungous matchmaking festival that the traditional way to propose there is to say, "Would you like to be buried with my people?" Of course the romantic in me was moved by the phrase right away, but after studying graveyards here for a little while, a lot of the tombs have multiple people in one place, so the woman agreed to be buried in a grave with the man's family, not just on his family's plot like I originally thought. This makes the question tie the couple's fate together even more closely. I find this proposal really endearing because of it. Galway was our destination after the Burren, and it was my favorite city we visited, most probably because it really reminded me of Madison with the downtown area, street musicians, and all the young people. It would have been nice to spend more time there. As it was, we managed to get to the Galway Cathedral, which I admired for its very well done blend of traditional and modern details. I also liked its shape; the cathedral was clearly laid out as a cross so that I realized while walking through the cathedral, not just knew vaguely it was planned that way like when I go to other churches. Emily, Chelsie and I also got to explore the downtown a little and do some shopping, after which we ate at the cutest tea shop. It was small enough that even the owner was serving tables and running the register. The evening consisted of one more concert, and yet another pub where live music was played. Being a choir, there came the inevitable sing along and an impromptu performance. When we got back to the hotel, Emily and I ended up falling asleep in Riley's room for a little while before blearily going back up to our own place.
The next day was the day I was looking forward to the most of the entire trip. In the morning, we stopped by at beautiful Ashford Castle and went to the school of falconry there. Letting those great birds lift off your arm and then come winging back to perch regally there as if they have belonged in that spot forever bring you closer to some sense of what true freedom feels like. They choose to return when they could easily go wild, an example is the Harris Hawk colony developing in the UK of birds that have deserted their falconers. I was supposed to bring in one of our hawks, but I too was deserted in favor of a meal in the forest somewhere. It was a little funny how abandoned I felt coming back with an empty glove. The afternoon brought another one of the best parts of the trip when we stopped at An Mullach Mohr. The cliffs were made of black rocks blending into white, and the choir was blessed with sunshine as we clambered around the boulders and their plush carpets of tall grass. The carefree mood changed with the arrival of the coach in Derry. I could feel tension there even before we got to the hotel, and I knew I would not go out that night no matter what.
In the morning we investigated further the tension I felt in Derry with a walking tour. Our guide told us more about the Troubles in Northern Ireland with particular emphasis on events that happened in Derry, like Bloody Sunday. The tour was very solemn, although our guide made it sound as though he had hope for the future and working through issues democratically instead of using violence. The Free Derry museum at the end of the tour was likewise interesting and I thought about how war has tainted this town for a long time and wondered how long the people here will identify themselves in those terms. Chelsie, Emily, Riley, and I went shopping once we were set to go and then Riley and I broke off to do some exploring of the city. We walked along the old city walls and went into a small church with a pretty garden and beautiful stained glass and followed it up with St. Columb Cathedral. It was interesting to hear how the perspectives changed from the history our catholic guide told in the morning to the bits of history the protestant cathedral told. The cathedral did in fact, have a small museum with relics from all the stages of Derry--there was even a first edition of the King James Bible on display. The rest of the day was spent talking in our room with several people, and we made a trip to our hotel's sauna and back.
The very next day the Cork festival organized a showcase for all of the international choirs to "meet" each other, and then after a carry out lunch from Marks and Spencer the choir went out to Blackrock Castle Observatory for an outdoor concert and a view from the top of its tower. This concert was special, as beforehand the a cappella group I am in got to perform a song we chose for the trip twice. For dinner, Riley, Emily, Chelsie, and I spruced up and found a hole in the wall italian place. Then it was back to the cathedral we had spent time at the previous day for a concert by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland. Their best two songs were performed first which left me wanting more for the remainder of the concert.
All disappointment was brushed away the next morning when the choir went to Blarney Castle. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but the expansive, beautiful grounds were not a part of it. Going through the castle, kissing the stone, and meandering among the beauty of the park was another moment of the tour when I didn't want to be doing anything else than living in that moment. The afternoon and evening was spent first doing a concert of our own and then watching the competition for the Fleischmann International Trophy. An awkward night was made of going out to the club the choral festival set up for all of the participants in the festival. Anytime someone expects me to converse with strangers in a loud, crowded location they will find instead that I will sit and watch and wait for the first moment it is possible to escape for solitude. However, on our way out the door around midnight Chelsie and I chatted with some nice boys from the Filipino choir, which I suppose proves that I make all the awkwardness up in my own mind and if I try I can manage to act somewhat normally with people.
We (finally!) got to leave Cork the next day, but only after one last gig singing during the local presbyterian church's sunday service. The pastor's sermon contained a shocking amount that pertained to me, he made points about several qualities I particularly have issues with--relating harmoniously with others, being content--it was quite eerie actually. The drive to Doolin took about four hours through the sunny, green, Irish countryside which obtained more interesting landscapes the further north we drove. The main object of going to Doolin was a cruise to see the Cliffs of Moher, and we were especially lucky to see a dolphin that came into the harbor to play alongside the boats that go in and out. The cruise was lovely, although all of us practically froze trying to stay on the deck of the boat for the whole period of time. Dinner at Gus O'Connor's pub warmed us all up as we ordered fish and chips and beef stew.
Breakfast in Doolin marked the halfway point on our tour. We treated ourselves by having crepes in the hostel's kitchen, where I helped prepare breakfast and had fun dancing around while cutting up apples. After moving on from Doolin we reached the Burren. I had never seen a place like this ever before. Our bus driver, Jim, said it was the closest thing to a lunar landscape the earth has. The land there held an austere wildness I liked very much, and it was nice to get away from people and just sit on a cliff by myself for a while. Jim also told us as we passed Lisdoonvarna, home to a humungous matchmaking festival that the traditional way to propose there is to say, "Would you like to be buried with my people?" Of course the romantic in me was moved by the phrase right away, but after studying graveyards here for a little while, a lot of the tombs have multiple people in one place, so the woman agreed to be buried in a grave with the man's family, not just on his family's plot like I originally thought. This makes the question tie the couple's fate together even more closely. I find this proposal really endearing because of it. Galway was our destination after the Burren, and it was my favorite city we visited, most probably because it really reminded me of Madison with the downtown area, street musicians, and all the young people. It would have been nice to spend more time there. As it was, we managed to get to the Galway Cathedral, which I admired for its very well done blend of traditional and modern details. I also liked its shape; the cathedral was clearly laid out as a cross so that I realized while walking through the cathedral, not just knew vaguely it was planned that way like when I go to other churches. Emily, Chelsie and I also got to explore the downtown a little and do some shopping, after which we ate at the cutest tea shop. It was small enough that even the owner was serving tables and running the register. The evening consisted of one more concert, and yet another pub where live music was played. Being a choir, there came the inevitable sing along and an impromptu performance. When we got back to the hotel, Emily and I ended up falling asleep in Riley's room for a little while before blearily going back up to our own place.
The next day was the day I was looking forward to the most of the entire trip. In the morning, we stopped by at beautiful Ashford Castle and went to the school of falconry there. Letting those great birds lift off your arm and then come winging back to perch regally there as if they have belonged in that spot forever bring you closer to some sense of what true freedom feels like. They choose to return when they could easily go wild, an example is the Harris Hawk colony developing in the UK of birds that have deserted their falconers. I was supposed to bring in one of our hawks, but I too was deserted in favor of a meal in the forest somewhere. It was a little funny how abandoned I felt coming back with an empty glove. The afternoon brought another one of the best parts of the trip when we stopped at An Mullach Mohr. The cliffs were made of black rocks blending into white, and the choir was blessed with sunshine as we clambered around the boulders and their plush carpets of tall grass. The carefree mood changed with the arrival of the coach in Derry. I could feel tension there even before we got to the hotel, and I knew I would not go out that night no matter what.
In the morning we investigated further the tension I felt in Derry with a walking tour. Our guide told us more about the Troubles in Northern Ireland with particular emphasis on events that happened in Derry, like Bloody Sunday. The tour was very solemn, although our guide made it sound as though he had hope for the future and working through issues democratically instead of using violence. The Free Derry museum at the end of the tour was likewise interesting and I thought about how war has tainted this town for a long time and wondered how long the people here will identify themselves in those terms. Chelsie, Emily, Riley, and I went shopping once we were set to go and then Riley and I broke off to do some exploring of the city. We walked along the old city walls and went into a small church with a pretty garden and beautiful stained glass and followed it up with St. Columb Cathedral. It was interesting to hear how the perspectives changed from the history our catholic guide told in the morning to the bits of history the protestant cathedral told. The cathedral did in fact, have a small museum with relics from all the stages of Derry--there was even a first edition of the King James Bible on display. The rest of the day was spent talking in our room with several people, and we made a trip to our hotel's sauna and back.
