Fangirling in Ireland?

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

So I'm finally making it to Ireland in the end of February, and am as unbelievably excited as you might imagine. A Wizard Abroad might not be my favorite YW book but it's Diane Duane and therefore ten times better than most other written material. I was wondering if any other YW fans have visited Ireland and seen any of the locations in the book. I'm not going to be there very long (three nights in Dublin, two nights in Galway) but while in Dublin I was hoping to take some kind of day-trip out toward County Wicklow, and I figured this might be a good place for suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Comments

[triad-serpent.livejournal.com]

OMG, I'm rereading that one now. Lol! Wish I could help, but I'm stuck states-side. :( I did get to go weigh myself on all the planets when I went to New York a few years ago, like they did in High Wizardry...I definitely geeked out, then. ^_____^ You HAVE to post pictures from your trip, especially if you see the locals from the book! Have a great time!

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

OMG I've never been to New York, but I know that when I make it there MAJOR YW-related geeking out will ensue. I'll definitely post relevant Ireland pictures. :)

[eavanmoore.livejournal.com]

LOL, I passed Bray once on the train during a family trip to Ireland and was tempted to ask my parents if we could stop there... but didn't. All it looked like from that vantage point was a boring little seaside town.

[caiteydid.livejournal.com]

You could go see the Ardagh Chalice, it's somewhere in a museum over there. I dunno what all else you could see though! I've not looked at it, although I bet I will if I can manage to make it over there while I'm in England.

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

AGH I had forgotten about the chalice! This is what I get for not having my copies of the books with me and not having re-read Abroad in a while. I'll definitely have to look it up.

[caiteydid.livejournal.com]

I've read that one more times than I can count- it was my favorite before the past two came out. It is one of two of the series that came with me to England for my year abroad- Holiday is the other because my copy of WaW is hardback and too heavy when I'm limited on weight.

[triad-serpent.livejournal.com]

I finally bought my own copies (previously having become very well acquainted with my library's copies) while living abroad in Taiwan for a year. Both Abroad and Holiday took on special meaning for me that year... :) Did you go through a program, or just go abroad for the fun of it? I went through Rotary Youth Exchange.

Anyone know if Castle Matrix is a real place, or at least based on a real place? My ancestors built (or maybe just lived in?) a castle in county Antrim until we were ousted in the fifteenth century... ^..^ Yet another reason I love Abroad so much! *grin*

[caiteydid.livejournal.com]

I'm on study abroad for my university. I brought Abroad and Holiday 'cause I knew they'd make me feel better. It's the same reason I brought Blue Sword. All the other books I brought are set in London (the ones by Wrede). I'm a strategic chooser!

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

Agh, I'm on a year abroad right now too, studying in London! I didn't bring the books with my physically (I have them all as audiobooks and I have a habit of listening to them as I fall asleep) -- but I definitely strategically picked the books that came with! They're all about strangers accommodating themselves to new cultures and surroundings. :)

[caiteydid.livejournal.com]

What're your favorites? I was trying to find books to read like that a couple weeks ago and didn't have much luck. It's kind of a funky thing to even search for, cause I'd say it stretches across all kinds of genres.

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

If you're in/near London you have to read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, which is sort of an urban fantasy set in an alternate London that's nonetheless intricately connected with the 'real' London. Really, even if you're not in/near London you have to. I find it brilliant, and I'm not one of those people who unequivocally loves Neil Gaiman.

I've also got Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, and Julie E. Czerneda's A Thousand Words for Stranger, both sci-fi works. LeGuin's book is about the first human emissary sent openly to this specific alien world in order to convince them to join up with a larger organization of all civilized planets; this human is the only one of his kind on a planet whose inhabitants are at once quite similar to humans (in general appearance) and quite different (their sex/gender system is so different from humans that it cannot be described in a parenthetical). I feel like it gets off to a slow start but then all of a sudden it creeps up on you and makes you see the whole world differently. Czerneda's novel is about a woman who's lost her memory and is trying to get by in the world while she struggles to figure out who she is and why she doesn't know that...everything is literally alien to her, even her own past and sense of self. But don't worry, it has what I would consider a happy ending. :)

You should know, my descriptions of these works can't do them justice. But I would say that Czerneda's work overall is the only thing that comes close to being on par with Diane Duane's, and I don't say things like that lightly. A Thousand Words for Stranger is Czerneda's first novel and it occasionally reads like one, but that's part of why I like it at times. However, I don't think she's got a UK publisher, so I don't know if you'll be able to find her in stores here.