Lovely Dublin City

The last few weeks of my time here in Ireland I have been going into the city of Dublin and just walking around exploring what was left to explore.

This video chronicles some of those adventures with my time at St. Stephan's Green, Trinity College Dublin and the book of Kels, and some other cool spots in the city.


Around Dublin City


Hope you enjoy!
Stateside in 2 days!

Cheers,
Patrick

Last Trip to Belfast

So after my last trip to Belfast I had to make a short video about all the great people I was able to see.
Some of the pictures are from throughout the semester as well down in Maynooth and around Ireland.

I'll be flying home a week from today, Friday May 28, and we've still got a few adventures left in us, so look out for them soon!


Hope you enjoy!


Smiles from Ireland


cheers
Patrick

It's been a while...

Hello there!

It's been a wile since I have checked in with everyone because I've been so busy the past few weeks doing..well not much oddly enough. After the whirlwind of adventures, trips and travels I have had previously, the past two weeks have been a little more relaxed and quiet. We had out last two weeks of classes and now we have a week off until the exam periods begins. For me though, I get almost three weeks off, two more left, because my first exam is not until May 21st. So plenty of time to prepare for my essays!

All of my exams are essay based, so I will sit down and write out one to two answers from a list of six to nine questions. To prepare I spend time rereading books, notes and lectures to make sure I have main ideas and themes down that we heard about in relation to the various novels in each class.

So aside from preparing for my four remaining exams I will be spending some time doing some last explorations in Ireland. I'll spend a few more days in Dublin seeing various sights, most importantly making a visit to my great-grandfathers home in Donnybrooke, a suburb of Dublin. I also have a final four day trip to Belfast planned, which I am very excited about.

I hope everyone else is doing well in the final stages of the semester, I will be sure to share my stories and pictures form my final adventures here in Ireland as soon as I can!

I hope all the Mothers out there had a great day yesterday!
Love you Mom!

Check in with everyone later,
Cheers!
Patrick

The Video Journal

Hello all!

Here is the video journal from my trip to Athens.
Just finished putting it together, hope you enjoy!
(sorry about the wind in a few spots)


Athens Video Journal part 1

Athens Video Journal part 2



Cheers
Patrick

Athens all together

Here are all 5 Athens videos together


Athens Day 1

Athens Day 2

Athens Day 3

Athens Day 4

Athens Day 5


pat

Athens Day 5

On the 5th and final day in Athens I spent time at the Olympic Park, site of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and walked around the city of Athens really soaking it all in one more time. I also spent my sunset hours atop the Rock of the Apostle Paul, this time knowing where I was standing.

It was truly and incredbile journey nd I am so thankful I was able to have the exeprience of adventures I had while in Athens Greece.

Look for the Video Journal coming soon!


Hope you enjoy the video!


Athens part 5

Cheers
Patrick

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

One of the coolest things we saw in Athens was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This monument is located at the foot of the Parliament building in Athens.

It is the equivalent of The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, USA. Guarded by two Greek soldiers 24/7, it is a really solemn and awesome thing to see throughout the day as you walk past. The most intriguing thing about it is that it is not hidden away in a sense the way the Tomb is at Arlington, it is literally in the middle of the city and can be seen as you walk by every day.

I loved the experience of seeing it so many times a day because you really come to understand the idea of it being under guard 24/7. At some points in the day, there was as many as a hundred tourists to see the changing of the guard. But at one point I walked by at 11 at night, and the changing of the guard went on the exact same way as it did to the large audience. It was really cool to see.

The links below are two videos.
The first shows the entire ceremony of the changing of the guard which occurs every hour on the hour.
The second shows the Ceremonial Steps that the guards take every half hour during their "shift".


Changing of the Guard

Steps


Hope you enjoy them!

Patrick