Family in Ireland!

Hello everyone!

I have quite a few things to catch you up on, so I’ll get started. Last Wednesday, I had class until 3, so after class, I went to the Galway Cathedral to meet my family. I had tried to find their bed and breakfast, but I couldn’t, so we decided that the cathedral was a good landmark. When I turned the corner, I saw Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Tami and David standing on the steps. Dad and Aubz came running at me with open arms. After lots of hugs and kisses, we went into the Cathedral and I showed them around. Next we went to Taaffes, one of my favorite pubs in Galway. Everyone had their first Guinness, then we went to Riordan’s for dinner, then went back to Taaffes for some Irish music. We all walked from town, back to my apartment so they could see where I live. I think now they sympathize a little more with how much walking I have to do here. ☺ After that, we went to our Bed and Breakfast called the Sea Breeze Lodge in Salt Hill. It was such a cute B&B with an amazing view of the ocean. Everyone was pretty exhausted from two full days of traveling, so they went to bed at about 8:30.

Thursday, we got up and had an amazing breakfast and I got to meet Freddy, the owner of the Sea Breeze. He has a dog named Charlie, who is exactly like Willy, our old dog. He’s just a little fatter and hairier, but he reminded us so much of Willy. Dad, David, and I went to the airport to get the rental car and drove back to the B&B. David did a really good job driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road! I was very proud of him, and by the end of the trip, he got a hang of the round a bouts and the GPS system. ☺ We came back and picked up everyone else and I showed them around Galway. I had to go to my last class at NUIG, so I left to hand in my paper and met up with them later. We walked along the beach and touched the Atlantic Ocean. We went to a pub and then to an Italian restaurant for dinner and the food was absolutely amazing! After dinner, we went to a pub called O’Connor’s. It was such a cool looking pub. There was a big fireplace with underwear hanging in front of it and there were lanterns everywhere on the ceiling. It was very homey. After that, Aubz and I went to Taaffes and the King’s Head with some of my friends here. It was so much fun to hang out and catch up and show her around where I go with my friends.

Friday, after breakfast, we drove to the ferry to get to the Aran Islands. After the ferry ride, we got in a tour van that took us around the island. It was so beautiful and quaint. There are only about 800 people who live on the island, and they didn’t have electricity until the 1970’s. We climbed up to Dun Aonghasa, which is a medieval fort built from stones. It was up really high and we could stand on the cliffs and look out over the ocean. We stopped in a little café and had soup and brown bread for lunch, then got back on the van tour. We saw the world’s smallest church, and we drove by the shore where the seals come in at low tide. We bought Aran wool sweaters, went to a pub for a bit, then took the ferry back. That night we went to McDonaugh’s for fish and chips, which was delicious as usual. After, we went to Taaffe’s and stayed for the traditional Irish band. It was such a fun day!

Aran Islands Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=304272024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Saturday, we packed up some of our stuff and dropped some bags off at my apartment so we could go on our mini vacation. We drove to the Cliffs of Moher. We walked up and down the cliffs. They were so beautiful! After that, we drove to Tralee. We got hotel rooms and then went to Palm Sunday Mass. After Mass, we ate at our hotel restaurant and I got a steak ☺. It was so good to have real meat! We walked to the Brough’s Inn bar and had a couple drinks and there were some guys performing acoustic music. It was a really fun night.

Cliffs of Moher Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=304995024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Sunday, we got up and checked out of the hotel and drove to Dingle. We walked around and went in a couple shops, went to a pub for soup and brown bread, then drove to Castle Gregory. We found St. Mary’s Castle Gregory Parish, which is where my great great great grandparents got married. It was a really cute little church, and I’m so glad we found it so easily! Then we got on the road to Cork. We got rooms right in Blarney, and we could see the Blarney Castle from our window! We went to a pub and played a few rounds of Toss up’s (a dice game). I won two games ☺. We ate dinner at our hotel, then went back to the pub for a few more drinks.

Dingle and Connor’s Pass Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=303708024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Castle Gregory Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=305485024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Monday, we walked to the Blarney Castle and climbed up to the top and kissed the Blarney Stone. With a little persuasion, we got Tami and Mom to go up and do it ☺. We walked around the gardens on the grounds, did some shopping, and had soup and brown bread at a little café. We drove to Adare, a really small town and found a bed and breakfast. We walked around town for a little bit. All of the houses are small and have thatched roofs. It’s such a cute town. We went to a pub and had a couple drinks, ate dinner, then went to Sean Collins and Sons, which is a cute little bar. They had a group of students come in to perform some music. It was really cool.

Blarney Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=306345024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Adare Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=305758024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Tuesday, we ate breakfast and got on the road back to Galway. I went to my apartment and packed up the rest of the luggage, and went to our hotel. We returned the rental car, then walked around Galway a little more. It was pouring rain and really windy, but we walked towards the beach so I could show them where all the swans gather. I think they got a good taste of Irish weather. We had some drinks in the hotel, then I took the family to Monroe’s. We ate pizza and had a few drinks and watched the Irish dancing. We had so much fun and I finally drank my first pint of Guinness! Aubz and I Irish danced our way back to the hotel that night ☺. It was so much fun!

Galway Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=303110024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Wednesday, we woke up at 5:30 in order to catch the train to Dublin. Melissa met up with us and came with. We went to Trinity College and got to see the Book of Kells. It is a collection of old drawings and writing interpretations of the Gospels. We got to go into the old library above it and it was so beautiful. I’ve never seen so many old books in one place before. I was in heaven ☺. We walked around the city and found Dublin Castle, Christ Church, and the Temple Bar area. We went into a pub for some drinks and got to hear a performer. We requested Galway Girl ☺. We went to an Italian café for dinner, then to Duke’s Pub for a literary pub-crawl. Our leader, Derek, was so good. He told us a lot about Irish writers and some interesting historical facts along with funny anecdotes about their drinking experiences. We went to four different pubs. He did most of his talks outside in between the pubs, but that only left us with about 20 minutes in the pubs, but it was so much fun.

Thursday, we went to the Guinness Factory for a tour. It was so interesting, and it was a lot of fun to do with my dad because he could explain everything that we were reading about. He was like a kid in a candy store the whole time. We got to learn how to pull a pint of Guinness and we even got certificates to prove that we are certified for it. We did some shopping, then went to the Kilmainham Prison. We had a guided tour and it was really interesting to hear about the Irish history that went along with the prisoners’ stories. Many of them were the people who fought for Ireland’s independence from Britain. Next, we went to O’Neil’s for some drinks and dinner. David and I tried to find a Celtic craft store to find our Houlihan family crest. We got a little lost, and had to go back to O’Neil’s empty-handed. So I’ll have to try to find it before I come home. After dinner, we got some last minute souvenirs. We went to their last pub so everyone could have their last Irish Guinness. We came back to the hotel and played some Toss Ups.

Dublin Picutres:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=307218024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010

Friday, we had breakfast and packed up. It was really hard to say goodbye and it all happened really fast. I had so much fun with everyone, and it was so great to show them around where I’ve been living for the past few months. I only have about a month left, and as hard as it’s going to be to leave all of this, I am excited to be with everyone again. I love my family so much and it was so great to spend so much time with them!