One of the most impressive geological formations in the world are the Cliffs of Moher located in County Claire, Ireland. Located approximately an hour drive away from Galway, it's an easily accessible location in the beautiful Burren region of Ireland, which has an eerie resemblance to a moonscape. The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland I visited the Cliffs once in 2011, but unfortunately it was foggy and didn't make for very nice photos. Thankfully I got a chance to go back again yesterday and got to see the Cliffs of Moher with much better sunshine this time. If you're going to visit the Cliffs of ...

One of the most impressive geological formations in the world are the Cliffs of Moher located in County Claire, Ireland. Located approximately an hour drive away from Galway, it's an easily accessible location in the beautiful Burren region of Ireland, which has an eerie resemblance to a moonscape. The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland I visited the Cliffs once in 2011, but unfortunately it was foggy and didn't make for very nice photos. Thankfully I got a chance to go back again yesterday and got to see the Cliffs of Moher with much better sunshine this time. If you're going to visit the Cliffs of ...

I've been bouncing around Galway for a week now, and one thing that surprises me compared to a lot of other countries I have visited is how hard it is to find free WiFi. Lots of places seem to offer it on the internet, but when you actually show up to use it you typically only get 20 minutes for free via BitBuzz or Boingo. As someone who typically works remotely as I am travelling, 20 minutes just doesn't cut it. Working In Galway Thankfully I found a pub in completely free WiFi in Galway: The Front Door. So while I typically prefer to spend my days working in coffee shops, for the time being ...

I've been bouncing around Galway for a week now, and one thing that surprises me compared to a lot of other countries I have visited is how hard it is to find free WiFi. Lots of places seem to offer it on the internet, but when you actually show up to use it you typically only get 20 minutes for free via BitBuzz or Boingo. As someone who typically works remotely as I am travelling, 20 minutes just doesn't cut it. Working In Galway Thankfully I found a pub in completely free WiFi in Galway: The Front Door. So while I typically prefer to spend my days working in coffee shops, for the time being ...

Back in high school I signed up to take English Literature, which for me at the time was a rather unusual departure. One of the reasons I decided to take the plunge was due to the rather passionate sales pitch by the teacher at the time, Mr. Chadsey. As it turns out, it was one of my most enjoyable courses ever, and many of the poems and prose I read at the time has stayed with me throughout most of my adult life. Oscar Wilde Statue in Galway One play we read at the time was The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Due to the controversial (at least at the time) life of Oscar Wilde, the ...

Back in high school I signed up to take English Literature, which for me at the time was a rather unusual departure. One of the reasons I decided to take the plunge was due to the rather passionate sales pitch by the teacher at the time, Mr. Chadsey. As it turns out, it was one of my most enjoyable courses ever, and many of the poems and prose I read at the time has stayed with me throughout most of my adult life. Oscar Wilde Statue in Galway One play we read at the time was The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Due to the controversial (at least at the time) life of Oscar Wilde, the ...

One of the first items I try to tackle whenever I hit a new country is to get a pay as you go SIM for my iPhone. If you are on a budget it's something that you may not want to do, but I find having data on my phone invaluable for various reasons. Last time I was in Ireland, I opted for a Vodafone SIM card for my iPhone. I remember at the time it was reasonably priced and gave me 100MB or so of data. Since I was going to be in Ireland for a month though, I wanted to have more data. I look at Vodafone's pricing, but it started at around 40 Euros for the month for 1GB worth of data. Getting A SIM ...

Voted the #1 most unsanitary tourist attraction in the world several times, I managed to visit the Blarney Stone back in March and give it a little smooch. Apparently I now have "The Gift Of Gab". So if I talk your ear off with eloquent speech, you now know why. It's actually kind of awkward to kiss it as you have to learn all the back and lower yourself down. But, I somehow managed to pull it off. ...

Voted the #1 most unsanitary tourist attraction in the world several times, I managed to visit the Blarney Stone back in March and give it a little smooch. Apparently I now have "The Gift Of Gab". So if I talk your ear off with eloquent speech, you now know why. It's actually kind of awkward to kiss it as you have to learn all the back and lower yourself down. But, I somehow managed to pull it off. ...

I've been going pretty much non-stop since last Wednesday. It's hard for me to believe that less than a week ago I was sitting in the airport in Buenos Aires getting ready to leave. Since then I've flown for 15 hours, been molested in Houston airport, and spent five days bouncing around New York City with my friend. Leaving Buenos Aires Before leaving Canada I managed to pick up a prescription of Ativan to help with airplane anxiety. I actually have a mild-phobia of hurtling through the atmosphere in a huge pressurized cylinder. I don't let my fear stop me, but I get extremely anxious during high ...

I'll probably do a summary post on Buenos Aires the night when I leave, but this is my last weekly update from Buenos Aires. My little widget says that I'm leaving my apartment in four days, at which point I'll be migrating to a hotel for my final night. I've been trying to get my landlord to commit to a time to do the final walkthrough so I can get my damage deposit, but he hasn't responded to me. I'm not worried, since I do hold the keys and he can't really rent it until he gets them back from me. But it would be nice to have that all in place for peace of mind. I'll send another email in a ...

Yes sports fans, it's time for another update. Today is day 65 in Buenos Aires. About an hour ago I had my last hair-cut in the city, and going forward there are a bunch of "lasts" about to happen. In fact, it seems like most of the expats I've met in the city are already gone or on their way out. A guy named Emerick from Montreal left two weeks ago, and another guy from New York is leaving this weekend. I suspect many people came to experience a summer in Buenos Aires, and now that summer is trailing off, it's time to leave. Everyone I've talked to had enjoyed their time here, but like ...

I've been busy making plans for April. I haven't pulled the trigger yet on most of it, but I've done a preliminary timetable and the budget works. So this is what it's looking like. March 31 - April 5 - New York City, USA April 6 - April 10 - Shannon & Limerick, Ireland April 11 - April 15 - Edinburgh, Scotland April 15 - April 17 - Dublin, Ireland April 17 - April 21 - London outskirts, England April 21 - April 26 - Paris, France There's a bit of bouncing around there, but I'm coordinating meeting up with a few other people, and that's how it has to happen to work. For example, I'm meeting ...

Last weekend I flew up to Puerto Iguazu and checked out Iguazu Falls. It was a great trip, and it was nice to get out of town for a few days. Puerto Iguazu reminded me a lot of Tofino actually, without the surfing. It was a quant little village with only a few main streets. The people were friendly, the food was good, and there were less bars on the windows and graffiti than here in Palermo Soho in Buenos Aires. The WiFi in my apartment (which is shared between about six suites) has been really dodgy lately, so I've moved over to a little coffee/pizza shop across the street. The photo pictured ...

I booked my ticket across the pond tonight. In April of 2011 I'll be leaving New York City and heading to Shannon, Ireland aboard Continental airlines. My friend Andy is living near Shannon with his girlfriend right now (she's in med school over there), and I told him recently here in Chilliwack that I'd like to come for a visit. So, now it's official! While I'm not much of a golfer, I'm eager to play a game of golf with Andy in Ireland, for the geography alone. I really haven't seen much of Europe. I spent a week in northern Finland at Nokia a few years ago, and had a brief stop over in Helsinki. ...