Part XI: Under Better Circumstances This Would Be The Last Chapter

I didn't sleep well. Nothing has gone well. Thanks to an ice storm in New York I'm stuck in London until Monday at 11:00 am. I suppose there's worse places to be stranded (Minneapolis). I'm just lucky I was able to catch Sarah before her bus to Oxford left. As soon as I found out my flight had been cancelled I sprinted to the bus platforms (I've come to know my way around Gatwick pretty well now.) She wasn't on the platform, but upon checking the windows of the bus to Oxford I found her.
Right now we're back in Oxford while Sarah does laundry and packs for Rome. As soon as she's done we're heading back to Gatwick. We will be staying at the Hilton, compliments of Continental Airlines. This means another day in London, and getting out of classes on Monday.

But I was ready to be home.

Part X: This Is London

London today. Big Ben. Parliament. Buckingham Palace. Tower of London. Etc. Etc. We were only there for about eight hours and we were all over. It's definately not a city to experience in half a day. I'm exhausted and ready to go home. I need to be at the airport by 9:00am tomorrow. Luckily our hostel here in Gatwick provides a free shuttle to the airport.
The hostel is very nice. Definately worth 50 Euro. And there's a TV. That's new. I am going to sleep well tonight.

See you in New York.

Part IX: Westport (The Clever Titles Have Officially Ended)

I've felt sick most of the day. We got to Westport early this afternoon, checked into our hostel and then walked and walked and walked. We ended up at a pub called The Towers where I had a small, 2.50 Euro glass of water and the girls each had an Irish Coffee that I don't want to know the cost of. After we walked back to the hostel, Nate and I decided to take a break from all this vacationing and go see "Blood Diamond" at the cineplex conveniently right next to our hostel. The show teim was for 6:00 so we walked over at about a quarter 'til to find the doors locked and no one inside.
Back at the hostel, the woman at the front desk assured us that they opened at 6, and that's what they did. At about two minutes 'til six they began turning things on and getting popcorn ready.
Now we're back at the hostel going to sleep because our bus to Knock leaves at 7:15 tomorrow morning.

I'm tired.

Part VIII: The Cliffs of Moher

We arrived in Doolin just after 8:00pm. The last hour of the bus ride found me throwing up in my shaving kit. Needless to say, I fell asleep almost as soon as we got to our hostel.
We got up early this morning and caught the eight o'clock bus to the Cliffs of Moher. We spent the first part of the morning walking around and climbing over walls to get to the edge of the cliffs. While Nate took a several kilometer walk to some ruins, I sat in the cafeteria. We took the bus back to Doolin and the bus driver asked us what else we had seen in the area, and then ended up dropping us off a little past our hostel right on the coast. We stayed there for an hour or two, except Nate who left early to catch the bus so he could get lunch. The rest of walked back to the hostel a little later.
The landscape by the coast was beautiful. The rock formations were incredible, like giant steps cut into the coastline. Further inland, it was simply a green, rock-strewn, plain that, along with the cliffs, looked exactly like the music video to Sigur Ros's "Glosoli".
The bus to Galway was about half and hour late. While we were waiting, we met a guy who was in the military (U.S.) who was finishing up a month long world tour. He had made his way West from Hong Kong and was spending his last few days in Ireland.
The ride to Galway was much less nauseating than the previous bus rides had been. We checked into our hostel, walked back to the coast, and then attended mass at what I believe was St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Onto the pubs.

Part VII: Ireland

After an uneventful flight into West Knock Airport, we managed to find a bus that took us to Charlestown, which is one of the least Irish sounding names I've ever heard of as far as towns go. From Charlestown, we got a bus to Galway. Tonight we're staying in Doolin, but the bus for Doolin didn't leave until 6:00pm, giving us a few hours to kill. We walked around Galway, saw a bank that was once a castle where the mayor hung his own son, saw an old church, and eventually worked our way to Galway Bay. We were all much more excited about Galway when we realized it was right on the coast. (Evidentally none of us bothered to look at a map.) After we walked along the beach for awhile, we stopped in a pub called The Quays and then bought towels at a department store before heading back to the bus station. There's about an hour and fifteen minutes left before we reach Doolin. I'm either going to read some more of James Joyce's Ulysses, or get some sleep.

We'll see.

Part VI: 4am, We Ran a Miracle Mile

We left Sarah's flat at 4:00 this morning and arrived at Glouster Green a little before 4:30am. I'm listening to Hail to the Theif as we put Oxford behind us. Our flight to Ireland leaves from Luton Airport sometime around 9:00am.
I didn't sleep at all. It sucked until I realized that I'm not really that tired. I will be later, but until that hits... Goodbye Oxford.




Thanks for not raining.

Part V: Last Day in Oxford

Nate got in this morning at about 11:15 am. I met him at Glouster Green after a light breakfast at a Starbucks while I read Thomas More, which I borrowed from Sarah. I definitely need to buy a new book before I fly back to Newark. We had lunch with Sarah at the Cock and Camel. Tonight, we went to Jude the Obscure for awhile, and then got dinner from a Kabob van and ate on the way back to Sarah's flat. Now we're all bedding down for the night, because we have to be back at Glouster Green to catch the bus to the airport at 4:00 am. So with that being said I am going to bed.

Goodnight.