Monday, November 3, 2008

Haunted Expeditions

I believe it is about time for a new entry to this blog! I apologize for the amount of time that has gone by… I have been slightly preoccupied to say the least. I’ll begin this blog by writing about my most recent preoccupation:

CHARLEVILLE CASTLE – one of Ireland’s most haunted places:

Last weekend, the photography class that I’m in took an overnight fieldtrip to Charleville Castle – one of the most notoriously haunted places in the world in fact. I remember the van pulling up to the towering gothic-style castle while the rain and mist was pouring down. It was nothing short of eerie. Although the most strange experience happened when I walked through the front doors and a feeling of odd familiarity with my surroundings overwhelmed me. I had the feeling that I had been there before. Thankfully as we were taking a tour of the castle my scruples were relieved as the owner described to us how the movie Becoming Jane had been filmed at the castle. This cleared it up! Becoming Jane happens to be a very beloved movie to me and immediately I could see which scenes had been filmed at the castle! I wasn’t crazy! The rest of the trip was quite incredible. While I never experienced any paranormal phenomena’s, I heard tell of ghost stories that the owner of the castle has encountered while living there for 20 years. Our class photographed the gothic architecture and learned about the interesting Masonic history behind the place. All in all it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m so glad I went.

LONDON TRIP:

I ended up going on a week-long trip to London a few weeks back. I’ve never been anywhere else in Europe before (besides Ireland) so I jumped at the opportunity to expand my travel knowledge. Going to London ranks as a favorite part of my journey up to this point! I simply loved it! Much of the trip was filled by one stop after the other at a variety of art galleries. Some of them I loved… like the Victoria and Albert where I was able to see some sculptures by the most masterful artists of all time… but some of them… let’s just say were not my cup of tea. Another wonderful aspect to London was the variety of amazing food! I had never before experienced Lebanese food, but now I am completely addicted! And let us not leave out my first viewing of The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Royal Theatre! No way could I go to London and not see a show! So overall, my trip to London reeducated me of my love for city life and culture… living in the west coast of Ireland can make one forget what being in a city is like, so it was a great respite from Ballyvaughan Ireland!


Now it’s back to the grinding stone of artwork and cooking for myself. (Something I’ve had to become used to as of late.) Another update to come sometime in the near future… Until then…

Cheers!

Mariwyn

2 comments:

ashley said...

My goodness, what an awesome experience, Mariwyn! I look forward to reading your blog....take care, and I miss ya! Westminster seems forever ago :)
-Ashley

Anonymous said...

Super cute pictures hon! Love them!