One of the first things I did when I took the offer to do this study abroad program was to virtually venture through the campus via Google's street view. I remember how impressed I was with the lush, green, countryside setting. As this is my last day in Limerick (just finished grading my portion of the final exams!), I thought I'd chronicle the walk from dorm to town so that when I'm back in the concrete jungle of Atlanta, I can re-read this and be transported back to this peaceful setting of fluffy clouds, gargantuan hogweed, and the trickling sound of the River Shannon.
The buildings in the lower right corner of the photo below are our dorms, Thomond Village. They're actually in County Clare, across the Shannon River from County Limerick, so when we cross the bridge every morning, we're commuting from one county to another.
And these nasty plants, called hogweed. I've remarked on them before, and apparently they are a noxious weed. Also, if you get their plant juices on your skin and then expose it to light, it can cause purple scars. (suddenly I'm less disgusted and more intrigued. How exactly does this photo-activated mechanism work? And why purple scars? And do they look cool like lightning scars?)
After about a mile along the river, we'll turn left (southwest) to walk along a canal that was built to connect Limerick to the River Shannon. I've heard that Shannon was used extensively by the Vikings to raid inland towns, and also by distributers of Guinness. Apparently the three-day journey from Dublin was perfect for getting the beer its ideal flavor.
I'm gonna go ahead and guess that this is the remnants of a crane that was used to load and unload boats on the canal. These youths are using it for parkour (though the guy in the back looks like he's interested in buying a horse...).
A billboard was being changed, which required the guy on the ladder to pull down sheets of old paper and plaster. It looked pretty fun, and I kinda wanted to stand below the falling sheets to see if it'd be like the parachute game that you play in elementary school. Probably not the same.
We're now in Limerick town proper! It's nice, but didn't make it into my guidebook. Meh, I guess that just means that it's genuine, no-nonsense Irish!
Did I mention that we're walking through a slightly rough part of town? Evidenced by anti-austerity and tax-the-wealthy signs.
After three miles, we've made it to our turnaround destination: St. Mary's church! Parts of this church were built back in the 12th century, and its active graveyard has been in use since 1726. Sadly, it was closed, so I couldn't get any photos inside.
Let's make our trek back to the dorms, and enjoy a nice sunset over the River Shannon!
...Okay, I really should start packing now!
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| Starting and ending at the dorms, upper right corner. |
The buildings in the lower right corner of the photo below are our dorms, Thomond Village. They're actually in County Clare, across the Shannon River from County Limerick, so when we cross the bridge every morning, we're commuting from one county to another.
Our view from the bridge.
On our little jaunt today, we'll turn right (west) after the bridge to walk along the south bank of the River Shannon. Vegetation abounds (as it often does along rivers), including these pretty little things:
And these nasty plants, called hogweed. I've remarked on them before, and apparently they are a noxious weed. Also, if you get their plant juices on your skin and then expose it to light, it can cause purple scars. (suddenly I'm less disgusted and more intrigued. How exactly does this photo-activated mechanism work? And why purple scars? And do they look cool like lightning scars?)
 |
| This guy was easily 6 feet tall. |
I'm gonna go ahead and guess that this is the remnants of a crane that was used to load and unload boats on the canal. These youths are using it for parkour (though the guy in the back looks like he's interested in buying a horse...).
This area of town is a little rough (some Irish call Limerick "Stabtown"), but besides some ruthless puppies being walked that might lick you to death, it seemed pretty fine to me.
A billboard was being changed, which required the guy on the ladder to pull down sheets of old paper and plaster. It looked pretty fun, and I kinda wanted to stand below the falling sheets to see if it'd be like the parachute game that you play in elementary school. Probably not the same.
We're now in Limerick town proper! It's nice, but didn't make it into my guidebook. Meh, I guess that just means that it's genuine, no-nonsense Irish!
Did I mention that we're walking through a slightly rough part of town? Evidenced by anti-austerity and tax-the-wealthy signs.
Let's make our trek back to the dorms, and enjoy a nice sunset over the River Shannon!
...Okay, I really should start packing now!
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