Roman Holiday.

Going through some europe pics. Here are some I have not shared yet.

This is one of my favorites. I took this at the Colosseum, in Rome.

This is the Colosseum.


Duomo at night in Florence.


yummy Italian cappuccino.


Hope everyone had a nice christmas. I am not sick, thanks to sharing food and drink with loved ones.

Indiana wants me...

Why hello there!
I've been in Indiana for about 3 weeks now. It was been quite the 3 weeks.

I was unable to go to New York AND had to pass on an amazing $400 trip to Mexico because I am b.r.o.k.e. And that breaks my heart.

I've been looking for jobs, I decided to update my blog because I needed a break from sending out my resume. I'm not sure what direction I want to take this blog now that I am back, or if I even want to keep it.I welcome any feedback you might have. But as for now it is a good distraction.

So when I returned from Portland, I moved all of my stuff out of my ex's apartment and am now living at home with my parents and my grandmother who has Alzheimer's. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! haha
It is a really weird adjustment to say the least. You never really realize how much time you spend with a single person, until you stop hanging out with them! I'm fortunate enough to have excellent parents that are willing to help me out. I know that I also help them out with my taking care of my grandma. A truly symbiotic relationship.
I think the weirdest part about it all is having to have the same conversations with my grandma at least 6 times a day. She is in good health and very pleasant, not aggressive at all, so we are all very lucky that she is able to live with us.
It's strange how she remembers people. She knows me as the girl who traveled to Europe and she thinks I am married to a man with a beard.
I never know where she is in her head, I assume is she is in the present, but she usually is not. She often thinks she is a child or will call her old home to have her husband (who is deceased) come pick her up.

So that is that. We all float on. Here are some pictures.


trekking up to Bagby Hotsprings

the best!

spouting horns

say it with me ya'll

the world is my oyster, and i am its pearl.
the world is my oyster, and i am its pearl.
the world is my oyster, and i am its pearl.
the world is my oyster, and i am its pearl.

THE END IS NEAR

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!


So i depart for America tomorrow. WOW. 3 months has flown by. The big question still lingers in the air "what am i going to do when i return??" Well, fortunately i am able to (despite all logical reasoning, but i suppose logical reasoning has never been my thing) postpone my return to the reality that is of the common world by engaging in the following activities.

1. driving to Indianapolis with my kiki la rue to see one of my favorite bands, gogol bordello!

this song is very appropriate for this time in my life.
because i want an excuse to post these pictures from their video i worked on...


the man himself. eugene hutz.

elijah wood & i hung out that day. crazy.

and here is the video i worked on.

OK ANYWAYS. BACK ON SUBJECT. Thanks for letting me relive those moments. haha

2. Immediately after the concert my brother and sister are picking me up and we are driving to Tempe, Arizona! My brother finally found a job..unfortunately i will not see him often, but it will be nice to have someone to visit out there and I'm so happy he found work. he has been searching for a while. i hope he is happy out there!

3. i decided after Tempe that i will go visit my best friend in the whole entire world, JORIE in Portland as i will be sooo close and it will only cost me 90 more to fly there for a week rather than flying back to Indiana. also, when i get situated and find a job in this crazy world, it will be so much more challenging to find the time to take off and the 500 plane ticket. so that is that.

4. then i return to Indiana for a week, and i drive to NYC for the Macy's thanksgiving day parade with my dear friend, Jayme, and we will see some of our big apple friends. This trip i am a little more nervous about as i will reaaaallly have no money. I'm considering staying there for the holidays if i can find a job, as i know i will make good money during the holidays there compared to Indiana. but i dont know. we will see about all that.

so what have i been doing since leaving Rome?

well i went to courtelay, Switzerland to visit my college buddy, neuman, who is traveling Europe as well. it was really great to see a familiar face! he was working at a home where these fantastic people lived. they were building a theater in their home and a gypsy band played that evening. it was great! all the people that lived there were so wonderful and the children were so interesting! they were learning trapeze and salsa and martial arts. so much cooler than i! they also grew all their own food and only used local products. i think it is the best way to live!

so after courtelay, i took a train to Zurich and walked around. beautiful beautiful place. but so so so expensive. people have told me before that Switzerland is expensive, but i had no idea it would be THAT expensive. we are talking 15 USD for a value meal at burger king. and the trains! ugh, i couldn't get out of there fast enough!

i took the train to Munich, which also is a really neat city. unfortunately, i was only there for the evening as i left to tour the Dachau concentration camp memorial in the morning. that was an intense experience. i had to carry my big old pack the entire time, which i think took away from the experience a little, but not too much.

it was really interesting to see how a society can turn into such a place. it was interesting to see some of the parallels of American society today. i dont think it will ever ever ever get that bad again, but there are some similarities.
of all the terrible things i rediscovered for some reason the fact that they fit 400 people into a room designed for 50 boggled my mind the most. ugh. absolutely insanity at that time.

after Dachau, i took the train back to mainz, where i started. i got in around 1am. it was so good to see malina and hanna!! the following day i did absolutely nothing and it was WONDERFUL!! it is exhausting traveling and felt nice to just relax.

we went to Amsterdam for 3 days. met up with neuman. what a beautiful city. certainly not as i pictured it in my head, as marijuana and prostitution are legal. but you would never know those things existed there if you were just walking around. very classy! the weather was gloomy, but we had a great time. i had a space cake and felt the effects for about a day and a half. it is not a comfortable feeling being elevated for that amount of time!

on our return back to mainz, we watched spooky movies, went to german karaoke, and ate a lot of delicious german foods!

i'm uploading my photos to my flickr account, so i hope to do a photo post soon.

thanks for reading! hope you are doing well <3

rome

i wish i had more time in rome! 2.5 days is not enough!! i leave tomorrow morning to go visit a friend in Switzerland and listen to some gypsy music. it will be good to see a familiar face! i actually will be only seeing familiar faces from this point on, as i return to mainz after switzerland.

yesterday i went to the vatican. my mother is not a traveler and she is kinda whatevs about where i go..but she insisted i must go to the vatican. so i did. although, i would have gone anyways.

it was a wednesday, therefore the pope gave an "audience". there were thousands of people there from all over the world. it was a really neat experience. a marching band performed music that sounded like circus music, not very papal in my opinion, but maybe they are trying to soften the view of the vatican since the scandal?
so after the marching band, the pope comes out in his popemobile and drives around waving to people. everyone who had a chair (the people who prepared and got tickets) all stood on their chairs, so i wasnt able to get a good view.
he sits down on his chair in front of st. peters cathedral and some priests give readings, the same reading, in various languages. then the pope spoke, in latin, then a priest announced various pilgrim groups and people cheered and the pope waved. it was a really interesting experience. also i am pleased to report that the pope does not look creepy in real life! he is no jp2, but he is no sith lord.

i went to the vatican museum afterwards. the guy didnt charge me for my audio tour because he told me a silly joke about his friend learning chinese. i didnt really understand how that all worked in my favor, but i just added him to my list of people who are way too kind to me!! my goodness the museum is amazing! so many epic works. i was in awe! the skill and dedication these artists had blows my mind. i cant even really comprehend it. also! they have a really extensive collection of eqyptian artifacts, which i thought was interesting.

i went to st. peters basilica, which also, is mind blowing. it is huge and ostentatious and i dont really agree with a church having all this wealth while people are starving and blah blah, but i was able to quite easily put that aside and stand in awe of it all. also! the next time the jubilee doors (special doors that only open every 25 years so people make a pilgrimage?) open is 2012. add it to my list of conspiracy theories on 2012...

btw..sorry this post is a jumble of whatever. i need to leave the hostel in like 5 minutes!

after the basilica and sending POPEcards from the vatican i went to get some GELATOOOOO. it was pretty good. i saw a pigeon eating gelato from a bowl and laughed.

i returned to the hostel to do laundry and take a shower as i was a stinky chick. i talked to my italian friend, luca, who i met in kilkenny. he invited me out to a discotheque at 11pm. i went to that it was called i hate 80's. a lot of fun. no il imparo italian, so i didnt talk to thaaat many people, but i talked to some. and i got a free kanye west mask, so i am going to be kanye for halloween!
i took a taxi back to the train station, and got LOST, whoa, what a surprise! luckily since i was wearing my kanye mask on the back of my head, the street people thought i was just as crazy as they were so they were really nice to me. there were A LOT of people sleeping on the street. it was really heartbreaking.

so thats my roma update. i am going to the colosseum today and other great roman ruins after i go drink an italian cappuccino!

CIAO BELLAS!!


(me with my trusty pack in venice!)

iPod post

I'm currently sitting at a cafe in Venice. I just had the most delicious croissant filled with apricot jam and a cappuccino. I'm surrounded by old Italian women who are gossiping. The old people in Italy are so fierce and have amazing style. For whatever reason flicker had been a pain and not let me upload my pictures.

Cinque terre was incredible! I met some hilarious Aussies the first night then I had to sleep in an attic room alone for the last 2 nights. The guy who rented the room was kinda creepy and would just walk in the room and ask me random questions. I was afraid he was going to walk in while I was showering so I didn't shower for 2 days. Beautiful!!

Venice is so neat. I spent yesterday wandering the canals and streets aimlessly. I went and got my culture on at the Guggenheim as well.

I'm taking a train to Rome today and will be there for 3 days. I'm looking forward to seeing the coliseum and other roman surprises!

I'm slightly nervous as I return to the states in 13 days and have no job or apartment. I know it will all work out and keep trying to stay in the moment and keep on loving life!

Ciao bellas!

ciao!

hi everybody. hope ya'll, whoever you are, are doing great!
i've been moving around quite a bit lately. hope to update soon, but right now i am planning my trip to this place. which is blowing my mind just thinking about it.

goodbye ireland, hola barcelona!

sitting at the airport. was going to update this, but i apparently have to board my flight to barcelona.
ireland has been so good to me! i'm excited to see what spain has to offer, despite the awesome weather! (78 degrees!!)

have a great day!

Dingle is certainly the most beautiful place I have seen. I woke up on the bus to see the greenest hills I have ever seen, the sea and a double rainbow! Today I rented a bike for 10 euro and have been riding along the peninsula for the past 2 hours. I'm excited to share the pictures. It started to rain/hail so I pulled over to put my camera away. As I was doing so a little white pony came up and wanted me to pet him. Unfortunately I needed to keep my camera dry so no picture of the pony. I was fortunate enough to find shelter at the cutest pub in RIsac. Where I am writing this and just had a bowl of butternut squash soup and am finishing up a glass of Guinness AND the sun is coming back out!

Yesterday I kissed the blarney stone so I know have been bestowed the gift of gab/eloquence. Maybe that is why this post is so charming! :)

Hope everyone has a great day!

The Submarines - You Me & The Bourgeoisie

saturday night. holler! going to get some dinner with jacyln, my replacement, then off to celebrate kilkenny livin.

what did you do saturday night??

last week in ireland

crazy. time is flying! i leave Ireland in 6 days!and return to the states in one month! what am i going to do when i get back? i have no idea! i just got paid for my time here, which was really wonderful and unexpected. :)
last night i went to my favorite pub, andrew ryan's, for the trad session.

ryan's decor.

a picture of the arthur's day 2010 celebration at andrew ryan's!the owner of the bar gave it to me as a gift.

a video of my pal, aishling, singing at ryan's

video of the trad session at ryan's

denis is sad to see me go.

my pal jane & i. she gave me a charm bracelet as a going away gift. so sweet.

aishling, jacyln (my replacement), and fergus (my boss)


they even let me pour my own pint!

we also went to hole in the wall


michael. the owner. in addition to owning the hole in the wall. he is a cardiac surgeon and a big time metal concert promoter. amazing man!

where we talked history and pirates.
it was such a lovely lovely evening.
kilkenny holds a special place in my heart <3

Kilkenny love love love

I've never felt as much love as I have felt in Kilkenny.
Tonight I went to Andrew Ryan's for traditional music night.
I was invited to pour my own pint of Guinness behind the bar.
Took pictures from Behind the bar. My drinks were free. My photo was posted on the wall. The bartender gave me her bracelet. I got a copy of the picture of the cheers from the arthur's day celebration. And my friend e
Sang some trad songs. FANTASTIC NIGHT!!'

brendan benson

brendan benson
Originally uploaded by kellyhake

saw this lovely man last night at cleers. it was an amazing show in a room the size of my living room back home. i was not too familiar with his work, but was told that he was great, so i went. and they were right, as usual!
amazing song writer.
it was one of those nights where all of his songs were hitting close to home. lovely evening!


cold hands, warm heart.


what i'm looking for

dream

someone told me the saddest thing the other day. it actually made me cry!
we were talking about life and the frustrations of working in a job you hate. i asked my favorite question, "in a perfect world, what would you life be like?"
this person said they didn't know and that it was a stupid question. i think dreaming is so important. even just to escape the real world for a bit and to use your imagination.
if you can't dream of a great life you will never be able to achieve a great life!

so i ask you, dearest readers..
in a perfect world, what would your life be like?

bobby daly

bobby
Originally uploaded by kellyhake

this is bobby daly. one day i was sitting outside a pub writing in my journal and drinking a pint of guinness. bobby walked by and asked if he could join me. i am a polite person & always looking for a nice chat so i said yes.
bobby told me he was totally deaf because he used to be a scuba diver and the equilibrium messed up his ears. he hears very well though.
bobby used to work on an oil rig in alaska. he used to hunt in south africa. bobby daly loves guns. as a matter of fact, he had a smith western on him that he wanted to show me! i politely declined.
bobby daly is a drunk because he cheated on his wife and she divorced him and took all his fortune. she drives a rolls royce ghost now.
bobby daly invited me to his home the following evening for dinner. i said i would go because i was afraid he would shoot me if i said no. he said he would show me his guns and pictures from when he was young. bobby told me that he was quite fit for his age. i told him i didnt care.
bobby daly shook my hand 6 times before he finally left...and talked to the people sitting at the table next to me.

i went inside and some people asked me if i was interviewing him. i said no, he was just a little chatty. i found out these people were from israel and we ended up hanging out later than night!

music for your monday

looking for some good monday music..

i stumbled upon this song, which speaks to my soul. haha

this new hot chip song is always on the radio. dublin has the best radio stations!

this is on the radio too. super cute. the girls from the hostel in dublin kinda spoiled it for me because they were singing it & i kinda hate them still.

we always sing this song at the pub!

recently got into sleigh bells..so good.

my good buddies, arrah and the ferns, have a cd out. you should go buy it!

one of my favorites.

so much soul. maybe too much for a monday.

THIS IS WHAT YOU REALLY NEED FOR A MONDAY MORNING!

ok i went overboard. i am bored.

Dublin

Last weekend I had 2 days free from the hostel so I took the bus up to Dublin. It was a nice city, but I did not love it. There were so many people, I was too anxious to go to a pub on my own as they were all very crowded. But I did enjoy walking around the temple bar area and listening to all the street performers.

the sign says it all. craic (pronounced crack) = fun!


customs house.



the river liffey and little red and green houses floating on it.

i did not go there. :(






there were people dancing in the street to this music, but they stopped by the time i got my camera out
I was going to meet up with an Olympic swimmer (for real) I had met a few weeks ago to go yachting (for real), but I decided his level of interest in me compared to the amount of time that we actually spoke, was too much and I didn't want to deal with any awkward moments, so I spent the day at the beach instead.

it was beautiful!

i thought this was nice.



thanks for reading! :)

thought of the day

looking for jobs is a great way to harsh one's mellow.

kilkenny.

I love kilkenny so much. I could see myself living here. There is so much culture and the people are incredibly friendly and kind. I actually was offered to come back and run the place in November, while fergus goes on holiday. I have considered it and am weighing out my options, especially since I cant decide what I want to do when I return to the states. Here are some pictures i have taken over the last few weeks!

this is where i work.

this is where i sleep.

kilkenny.

this is an alley way i often walk through.

kilkenny castle. it's pretty awesome living in a town with a castle.

st. mary's cathedral

mary statue.

the target of kilkenny.

smithwick's brewery.

strange bird sculpture.


i think these signs are funny.


random trad session at ryans