Zoom, Zoom

It was the moment of truth, one I had been nervously anticipating, as I slipped into the driver's side of the compact Peugeot rental car and took a quick visual inventory. Everything was in place, but a mirror image of what I'd become accustomed to since I started driving nearly half my lifetime ago. What dexterity I have was exclusively assigned to my right side upon birth, and other than a few pathetic left-handed throwing competitions, I never really made an effort to balance out the abilities of my appendages. Testing the shifter in my left hand felt familiar though, as I recalled my high school days when a cheeseburger, a cellphone, or a cigarette (of sorts) in my right hand required some driving skills you never learn from an instructor (unless Otto Mann was your driving instructor). After awkwardly pulling out of the parking lot, I picked up my friends around the corner, and asked them to navigate me as quickly as possible out of the city and onto the highway, preferably with as few right turns as possible.

9am on Saturday morning, Juan, Clara, Maria and myself began our road trip south west towards the Ring of Kerry, which is essentially the road that encircles County Kerry. We did not have a set plan, but knew rough distances, a few places we wanted to reach, and how much time we had (which was not all that much). 2 hours into the drive we arrived in Limerick and stopped for some lunch. I thought it appropriate that each one of us would be tasked with coming up with one limerick (dirty or not) while we were there, but the Spaniards were not up for it. Perhaps if I shared one like this, they would've felt more inspired:

There once was a fellow McSweeny
Who spilled some gin on his weenie
Just to be couth
He added vermouth
Then slipped his girlfriend a martini 

Limerick, Ireland - Proof that pan flute bands are truly everywhere

Harpist's Bazaar

From Limerick, we continued towards Dingle Peninsula, which sits on the northernmost peninsula of County Kerry. We stopped to walk around the quaint little town of Dingle before driving on Slea Head Drive along the coastline of the peninsula. After a few stops where each view was better than the last, we decided future stops would be limited to quick pictures with the engine running, so as not to get delayed too much.

Inch Beach - a beautiful wind-gusting place where you'd never want to have your wedding photos taken. Oh wait...

Perhaps a wedding veil would actually serve a purpose in this situation

Blasket Islands in the distance

The affectionately/unfortunately-named town of Dingle

Unsurprisingly, they like their wool products in Dingle

In 1983 a lone dolphin, later named Fungie, arrived in Dingle and never left. With a crowd of people watching, Juan thought it appropriate to re-enact what he imagined a dolphin rape would look like. It's a real thing. 

Twin panoramic shots taken with no intention of capturing the photographers

After completing Slea Head Drive, our next mission was to get back onto the Ring of Kerry and find a B&B for the night, with only one stipulation: a pub within walking distance. About an hour before nightfall, we arrived in the town of Killorglin, famous (within 100 miles) for their yearly Puck Fair where the tradition has existed for 400+ years that they crown a goat King. Not surprisingly, this was something the locals seemed to be very proud of. 

This being a holiday weekend, the two best restaurants in town were booked until 9:30, so we headed down to the local pub that was full of locals and weekend visitors from Cork. While at the bar, I began chatting with a 6 foot tall blonde and somehow within a few minutes she was introducing me to her family as the American that was going to get her a visa. I uncomfortably laughed and asked her if she called that a proposal, to which she responded by adjusting her tight mini-dress, bracing herself on her high heels, and getting down on one knee, capturing the attention of the entire bar as she boisterously proposed to me. With every pair of eyes looking at us, I reluctantly said yes to which we received a round of applause, while her family in the corner looked embarrassed and worried. Her drunken mother and aunt then made their voices heard of how they disapproved, her aunt even telling me this girl, who never actually introduced herself, was a lesbian. I refrained from telling them I was a nice Jewish boy, and when dad walked in later, he also did not seem entertained, as though this wasn't the first time his daughter had pulled such a stunt. After receiving words of congratulations and well wishes from the bar patrons while sitting with my friends, we went to Nick's Seafood Restaurant which turned out to be the best meal I've had in all of Ireland. Following dinner, we followed the music outside to a bar/beer garden nearby, where an energetic band of locals played a variety of rock and pop music to a packed and fun-loving crowd, while the Chevy Chase classic(ally bad) movie Nothing But Trouble was playing on the TVs.

Throughout the night, there was a persistent feeling I had that made me feel very happy to be where we were, to continually be surprised by the friendliness of all the locals and their unique spirit. Towards the end of the night, I was able to confidently conclude that this was the best night I had had so far in Ireland. I felt determined to re-think the rest of my trip and temper my eagerness to get out of the country to see as much of Europe as I had instinctually felt I should do. Instead, I want to take advantage of the opportunity I have to see this beautiful country and spend more time getting to know the people and the places that make it so unique.

The view from our Killorglin B&B

The Kerry Krew

The next morning we hit the road early, knowing that we did not want to rush the Ring of Kerry. We were advised to drive to Cahersiveen and if the mountains west of us were clear (something that doesn't happen very often), we should take the ferry over to Valentia Island to do an extended drive and see some more sights. The weather was on our side, so we took the ferry over and drove around the island, visiting a lighthouse, a quarry/grotto, and the Tetrapod trackway, the oldest fossil record of vertebrates moving onto land, dated at 385 million years old.

Cromwell Fort and Valentia Lighthouse, once one of Europe's westernmost inhabited locations

The Grotto at the old slate quarry

We crossed the bridge back from the other side of Valentia Island and got back onto the Ring of Kerry, where we continued to drive along the coast towards Killarney. This might be a good place to describe driving on the Ring of Kerry. Most roads are the width of one car, some one and a half. The roads are also winding and tree-lined, so every turn contains a moment of excitement and adrenalin, and for most of those not driving the car, concern, about what may appear around the corner approaching us at a similar speed. This resulted in many a bated breath, for me and the others, and quite often rapid deceleration and a hugging of the treeline as the two cars sped by each other only centimeters apart. Though I could not enjoy the views as much as the passengers, I made sure that the 1,000km I drove were just as enjoyable for me, as I pretended my little stickshift Peugeot was a rally car and that it was quite normal for me to zipping along with very moderate braking.

Coffee break at Waterville, a favorite of Charlie Chaplin. Pro tip: if you're a B-list celebrity or higher, take a few trips to any little known town outside the US. At a minimum they'll put you in your guidebook, at best you'll get a statue erected. 

Sneem was our last official stop on the Ring of Kerry

After a lunch stop in Sneem, we arrived at the Killarney National Park and drove pretty much straight through, stopping only for one or two photo opps. Though we didn't have enough time to stop in Cork, I insisted we drive to the Blarney Castle as I did not know if I'd have another chance to visit it. When we arrived around 5pm, we discovered that the grounds were closed for the day, as I had anticipated. Slightly disappointed but undeterred, I scouted the area and the jagged fence, noticing an area outside of the security cameras' views with a nearby tree to serve as a boost. I needed to do no more than give Juan a look and receive an unmistakable nod back to know that he understood my exact plan and would be right behind me. As the girls looked on, I nervously maneuvered my feet over the the jagged steel fence and hopped to the other side, as visitors casually walked by. To my discredit, my daring fence-hopping looked much less heroic when Juan repeated the task with a mix of grace and nonchalance. Knowing we didn't have much time, we briskly walked around exploring the grounds, the gardens, and the castle. The castle gates were locked, and realizing it was built precisely to keep unwanted intruders out, and had successfully been doing so for centuries, we chose to not attempt another break-in.

Ladies View scenic point of Killarney National Park

The Blarney Castle, whose famous Stone did not receive my kiss. So who's the unlucky one?

I'm intrigued. Go on...

Funny enough, one of the few "poison" plants placed behind a barrier, and the biggest barrier, is the marijuana plant. Of course, not b/c it is the most poisonous, but b/c the others probably do not have the same risk of theft. You could even see a couple of spots in the ground where visitors tried to dig their way under the barrier. I had already broken into the place, and thought it wise to not push my luck.

After walking out of Blarney, unescorted and through the gates, to the minor dismay of Clara and Maria, we completed the two hour drive back to Dublin, exactly 36 hours after my initial adjustment to left-lane driving. Though the trip felt rushed at times, I felt like we had made the most of our time, and as with my previous trip out of Dublin, I continued to be very impressed by all Ireland had to offer. If only Ireland had better weather, well, then it wouldn't be Ireland. But to see these places with clear sunny skies, as we were lucky enough to have, is to see a land that has averted over-development not for the sake of maintaining an appearance of desolation. Ireland's weather may be a downer consistently 3/4 of the year, and most days of that remaining 1/4, but when you catch it on a good day, which I've been fortunate to have more than my fair share, there's few places I'd rather be. My next few weekends will be taking me out of Ireland, but I'm excited to continue discovering its beauty in June. Maybe one of you wants to join me?

- From Erez with Love

Jolly Good Show, London!

It was always strange when I told people that I had never been to London - somehow it was as surprising to me as it was to them. And though I had never been, I often pictured London as a city I could live in one day, and it was in my consideration set when looking at future job opportunities. Upon my arrival in the city, exiting the tube station at Westminster station, it was almost instantaneous that I knew the perceptions I had of London in fact undersold exactly how much I would feel that I could call this city home. Over the next 4 days, I continued to discover aspects of the city that cumulatively produced a schema in my mind of a city that exceeds NY in some of the things I love most about it - namely, the awe-inspiring history and massive size of its buildings and landmarks which stand adjacent to countless 21st century high-rises. The NY skyline is one that feels so core to how I define the most amazing city in the world, but I must say that London instilled some very similar feelings when I had the pleasure of a wide view of the building and monument outlines, during the day and when lit up at night.

Picture this being your very first glimpse of London

A better photo, but unfortunately missing the clockface. Contrary to popular opinion, Big Ben is not the name of the tower, but rather the bell housed inside the tower, which was officially renamed the Elizabeth Tower after the Diamond Jubilee.

'Abraham Lincoln: The Man' statue in Parliament Square. Later in the weekend my bus tour would mistakenly claim this was meant to honour him for abolishing slavery, when in fact it was installed to commemorate 100 years of peace b/w the US and Britain after the end of the War of 1812. There is a separate statue, and in fact an entire square, honouring him for abolishing slavery. 

My first experience of London was getting on the train at Southend Airport, although to be fair, Southend Airport is not at all in London, as the Ryanair website led me to believe. I boarded the dingy train car, mostly empty, with a dodgy middle-aged man sitting across the aisle from me. He was rolling a cigarette on the seat opposite his, which did not seem out of the ordinary. My first shock came when a minute later he lit the cigarette as the train was speeding towards London, with the windows closed, and nobody saying a word. My second shock came when the smoke wafted towards me, and a distinct smell of hash entered my nose.  It was about 9am on a Friday, just to add some context. I assumed this was not a commonplace occurrence, which was confirmed when I entertained my London-based friends throughout the weekend with that little anecdote.

While Google Maps provided me with a route to arrive directly at Victoria Station, adjacent to the Google office, I decided to hop out two stops early, to take a walk through the city and start to get a feel for it. In hindsight, I should've recognized the name Westminster and known I was about to see something grand, but I'm glad I didn't as that only added to my unexpected awe-struck reaction. I think about all of the tourists that arrive in Times Square clogging up the sideways staring upwards with their mouths agape. Well this time, I was that tourist.

Arriving at the Google London office in Victoria, I was greeted very warmly at reception, and then by the much-needed Coffee Lab and indoor park.

The rest of the office is unlike any of the others I've been to, perhaps not that surprising knowing that it's made up of a few hundred engineers that are working on some of our coolest products and services. With sharp lines of bright colors accenting the neutral-colored and track-lit walls, glass enclosures decalled with patterns reminiscent of Matrix-code, and curved seating you couldn't help but comfortably sink into, to me the design them was Tron meets Space Odyssey meets The Jetsons.

After some happy hour drinks and a stroll through the bustling Waterloo neighborhood, my friend Ann who I was staying with and I arrived at her apartment in Putney, about 30 minutes outside of the city. Upon arrival, we discovered that Ann had forgotten her keys at the office. We spent the next hour playing music and games on my phone before her roommate arrived and let us in. This was a savior not only in the sense that she let us in, but b/c I got to meet her that night, it was slightly less awkward when I accidentally walked into her room (mistaking her door for Ann's) the next morning, giving us both a scare as she produced the type of scream Hollywood pays the big bucks for, while covering herself up in a panic. After I offered my apologies, and the redness from our faces receded, we had a good laugh over the incident.

Bright lights, huge city

Throughout the weekend, London continued to impress me beyond all of my expectations. On Saturday Ann and I explored London, wandering along the South bank of the Thames, ducking into the Tate Modern for a visit when an unexpected hail storm, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, came raining down. London weather, eh? Impressive, yes, but appealing, not so much. After the Tate (where I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit on John Heartfield and his Anti-Nazi Photomontages) we met up with my friend Lise from South Africa, who I had not seen since India, at Borough Market under the London Bridge. We reminisced over India, traveling, and happiness over a few drinks at The George Inn, one of the most historic pubs in London, once frequented by Dickens & Shakespeare (not at the same time, of course). Saturday evening I met my friend Ana and her friends out for dinner in Chelsea, then Ann came to meet me and my friend Kevin at a supper club in Chelsea where the 30-person birthday celebration we joined ensured that Veuve, Belvedere, and Patron were being poured liberally all night. 

The Tate Modern, once a power station, littered with thousands of paper boats in the Turbine Hall. This is where Ai Weiwei famously filled the space with 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds, though after health concerns related to ceramic dust were raised, visitors were no longer allowed to walk through the field.

Other than welcoming me to her apartment without the keys to get us in, hands-down the best host one could ask for.

Running into friends in foreign countries always feels more special

On Sunday I was on my own, so I caught the tube to Piccadilly Circus and began wandering, knowing that at some point I'd likely get on a hop-on hop-off bus tour. After walking through St. James' Park, Green Park, and Buckingham Palace, I jumped on a bus and followed it for its entire winding route, seeing all of the major sites and listening to the tour guide explain the history and the culture of the city.

That evening, I met my friend Alyssa (another friend I met in India) who showed me around East London and Brick Lane, which I likened to Manhattan's Lower East Side/Ludlow St. of London, especially as I understood that this area also had a similar resurgence in the last 10-20 years as the result of regeneration programs that have brought much attraction and investment to the neighbourhood.

The Bird Keeper's Cottage @St. James Park - not a bad gig

 I wonder what statues (or monuments, landmarks, buildings, etc.) in the world have served as the most photographed backdrops? This wasn't one in particular I was excited for, but after taking a photo for a nice Indian couple, I felt like it would've been rude if I turned down their offer to take one of me.

 Changing of the Guard (singular), which includes a very comical shuffle

 The Special Escort Group waiting on some VIPs to come out of Buckingham Palace. Interestingly, they have specially fitted whistles that fit under their helmets which provide for more discretion than sirens.

 Horse At Water sculpture, which the artist has personally climbed to clean it of bird poop

 Houses of Parliament - Not unlike the US Capitol Building, the outside is far more impressive than what isn't happening inside

 Monday @11:30AM Changing of the Guards, where my camera which was extended far above my head saw much more than I did

The next time I come to see this I will likely have one of my kids on my shoulders, once again not seeing what is actually happening

On Monday, to travel between the two Google offices, I redeemed my river tour voucher that came with my bus tour. With the Thames river so central to London, in both figurative and literal terms, this was another fascinating tour focusing on the river and the buildings and landmarks surrounding it on both banks, from both a historical and present-day perspective. This is one I'd highly recommend to London regulars as well as newbies. 

The London Eye - to maintain its record they have now dubbed it "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel". George Ferris (that's really his name!) is rolling over in his grave.

The HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge, seen from the river cruise tour

After work on Monday, I met my Burning Man friend Shireen for a curry (I couldn't leave London without having a proper curry). My evening flight was out of Gatwick, an airport that one could reasonably assert is in London. My train ride and short flight allowed me to reflect on the weekend and digest everything I discovered in London, and compare it to my current experience in Dublin. Both cities have many qualities that I enjoy. Dublin is young and fun and diverse, and the Irish as well as the ex-pats are very friendly and welcoming. London, however, seemed massive and limitless in terms of its physical footprint with many different neighborhoods each defined by their own energy and the landmarks they contain. After NY, Dublin could be difficult to envision living in long-term, as the newness may wear off after some time. London, like NY, I could imagine a regular feeling of discovery even after years, as the city continues to change and adapt to its inhabitants' demands. I look forward to continuing this comparison of some of the major metropolitan cities I often put in the same category as London and NY, though for those I will need to factor in the language barrier for how I perceive those cities. Berlin will be next, hopefully followed by Paris & Barcelona in June. Before then, I've got some more discovery of Ireland to do, with an upcoming trip to the Ring of Kerry. Stay tuned...

- From Erez with Love

Round & Wide

As it turns out, those are my favorite types of photos to take of Ireland. And given the country's expansive and bright green fields, and mountains that cut sharply into the cliffs over the sea, those wide-angle (and photosphere) shots tend to capture them best. I recommend you go through the post and sample photos below, then afterwards follow this link to get the full panoramics and Photospheres. For the Photospheres, make sure you view them in the actual sphere mode (you need to click on the little circle/sphere icon), and I apologize if you're forced to sign into Google+ for it.

My second weekend in Dublin began after a stressful and tiring work week, though I certainly wasn't going to let that stop me from enjoying my Friday night out. A fellow Googler was DJing at a club called Madison on the pedestrian-only Grafton Street downtown. I had heard many people talking about this party around the office, and even beyond my expectations, it seemed like the majority of the crowd worked at Google. That was fine for me, as that just meant I knew more people there, and since most of the music had words, I had fun.

 Headless Joseph & the Technicolor Apron

 The horizontally-challenged bar we started at had an open shaft spanning all 4 floors, with a small stage on the 2nd floor where a 3-person band could squeeze in to jam out.

Bray


The more I see Ireland, the more I understand why so many have told me it has an unparalleled natural beauty. Saturday morning I met my friend Talita and her two Brazilian friends at the DART station, where we rode the 30 min train to the nearby town of Bray. A quick stroll along the seafront brought us to the mountains that form the Southern part of Bray Head. From there we hiked for almost three hours up the mountain and along the cliffs and beach, until we reached the town of Greystones where we had lunch and then caught the train back to Dublin.

 The town of Bray

 Bray from the other way

 Ireland is a country best-experienced horizontally

 Greystones in the far distance

I'll try to keep future beach/bay wide shots to a minimum

Heading North

Though I probably would've behaved Saturday night anyway due to a general exhaustion, the 6am wake-up call for my bus tour Sunday was an added incentive to take it easy that night. Getting home at 2, I still spent an hour in bed with Harry Potter (jealous, ladies?) before I went to bed.

With no plans for Sunday, I decided I would take advantage and go up North, on a 1 day tour of Belfast and the Giant's Causeway. After getting a little more sleep on the bus, we entered Northern Island (no passports needed) and drove straight to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Strolling along the coast, with views of Scotland in the distance, some paid the 6£ (yes, Northern Ireland is part of the UK and thus uses £s) fee to cross the bridge, while I walked around and found more panoramic and photosphere shots to take.

Scotland in the distance

sold-to-be-more-scary-than-it-actually-is rope bridge to the right

Maybe I did cheap out over the he 6£ fee, but the way I see it, the views were way better on this side

Giant's Causeway

Formed over 60 million years ago, this natural wonder of the world (note the lack of capitalization and preceding number) is the result of the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows, creating over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. Basically, it's like mecca for geologists and volcanologists (aside: if I could go back and do it all over again, I'd definitely become a volcanologist, and yes at least 60% of that desire is so I could tell people that is my job). As with any other geological wonder, the only way to ensure a regular and captive audience is to create some legends of folklore around it, what with the kids and their attention deficit disorders these days. The Giant's Causeway is no different, and as legend has it, an Irish giant named Finn McCool (originally Fionn cum Machaill, though his Anglicanized is much, well, cooler) carved the causeway out of the coast after being challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant. To go with the story, random rock outcroppings and formations that look like random objects and animals have been incorporated into the story, and can be seen on your walk down to the causeway. To be fair, if you squint your eyes hard enough, anything can look like anything. But I obliged and played along to appease the local staff, of which likely 90% come from families that have been in that part of Northern Island for over 5 generations.

At this point, I'd encourage you to go to my Picasa album and explore the full set of photos and photospheres. With the rainy and windy weather, moving people, and short-lived tour time and battery life, they didn't all come out perfect. But I only included the ones that are cool to check out.

 The tallest columns reach nearly 40 ft high, though they go down over twice that depth below sea level

The Captain's pose (minus the touristy audio guide contraption)

 "The Giant's Boot", which had the same pungent smell you would expect from an actual giant's boot.

All I need is to apply an instagram filter and that'd be a beaut!

 That's The Camel in the distance. No, really.

Belfast

The last stop on our trip was Belfast, where we arrived at 5pm and had a little over an hour to explore the city. Our bus stopped near City Hall, opened in 1906. To be honest, I hadn't heard many great things about Belfast, and was thus ok with only doing a quick visit there. However, in my walk around the city centre, I discovered a nice energy not all that different from Dublin, though I heard far fewer foreign languages and accents. Some of the girls I met on my tour had done the 2-day tour with an overnight in Belfast, and said the historical tours of the city were really interesting. Perhaps I'll take a trip back and do that at some point. And of course, I wouldn't mind the opportunity to check out the newly opened Titanic Quarter Experience (seriously, it seems very well planned and designed).

Two weeks into my trip, I'm feeling like I've accomplished quite a lot. But my passport is just crying out for a new stamp, and I look forward to obliging it in London next weekend. So until then...

- From Erez with Love

 By the time our bus left, the lawn spanning the entire front of City Hall was filled with families and students laying around and enjoying the sunshine

 Victoria Square Shopping Centre (and no those aren't Northern Irish ghosts, just artifacts from the panoramic)

Our bus driver & tour guide warned us before we entered Northern Ireland (and Belfast in particular) that we'd be seeing a lot of flags. To be honest, I didn't see a fraction of the number of flags I'd see visiting any US city, let alone the capital.