Hello everyone!
I have a few things to update you on. Last week was Easter Sunday, and it was really hard to be away from home. We couldn’t celebrate here how we usually get to celebrate with family and friends, but we improvised. We went to mass and then my American friends and I died Easter eggs and played tag and other games outside because it was pretty nice weather. Maggie’s sister and her friend were visiting and the only thing she knows how to make is tacos so that’s what we had for our Easter dinner. It was a lot of fun to celebrate together. I got to talk to my whole family on Skype and even though it wasn’t the same as being there, it was nice to see everyone. At least that was the last major holiday that I have to be away for. I have less than three weeks left!
Last Wednesday, my friends and I went to Wicklow to see the Wicklow National Park, where P.S. I Love You was filmed. It was a really rainy, windy, cold day, so the pictures didn’t really turn out and we didn’t get a good feel of what it looks like. It’s too soon in the season for it to look like it did in the movie because the flowers aren’t in bloom until June. We got to see a 6th century monastery started by St. Kevin. Then we walked through the woods behind it, and got a great view of the mountains. It was very beautiful, even though it was foggy. I wish we could have had better weather, but I suppose if you wait around for a nice day of weather in Ireland, you’ll be waiting for a while.
Pictures of Wicklow:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=330065024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
The rest of the week was filled with getting some papers done. I’m done with my two final papers, so now I just need to get to work studying for my two final exams. I can’t believe that in a couple weeks, I’ll be done with my Junior year!
Yesterday, Melissa, Maggie and I went to climb Croagh Patrick. It is in Co. Mayo and it’s where St. Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland. It’s a very religious place, in fact thousands of people climb it every year to make a pilgrimage for St. Patrick. A lot of people climb it on Easter and then have mass on the top of the mountain. The really hardcore pilgrims climb without shoes on! When we got there and started climbing, we thought we were climbing to the smaller of the two mountains, but when we got there, we realized that we were climbing to the big one. It wasn’t too bad, but at parts it got really steep. Towards the top, it was basically a complete vertical incline. There were a lot of loose rocks that made it a little trickier, but the challenge was great. On the way up, I stopped to catch my breath for a little bit, and looked over and there was a sheep standing right next to me. It stared at me for a while, and then started running down the mountain. I wish I had my camera with me to prove it ☺. It took us 2 hours to climb. When we made it to the top, the view was extremely beautiful. It was such a warm, sunny day, and the skies were so clear, we could see out over Ireland. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. There was a small church on top of the mountain, but it was locked, so we couldn’t go in it. Then we started the climb down, which was almost harder than the climb up, because of the loose rocks and the steep path. Melissa and Maggie fell down a few times, and crazily enough I didn’t fall at all. We all lost our balance a few times and we took a lot of pictures and laughed a lot. It only took about one hour to get down, though. We met so many cool people on the way up and on the way down. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging. We got on the bus to Westport which is the nearest town to the mountain, and realized that we read the bus schedule wrong and there were no buses leaving that night back to Galway, so we had to ask a bus driver and he told us to take a cab to a town that was 20 minutes away so we could get on that bus back to Galway. It was just frustrating because it was an added expense that we hadn’t planned. But oh well, we got back to Galway safe and sound. Then we went to Monroe’s and had pizza and watched Irish dancing. I only have one more night at Monroe’s left!
Pictures of Croagh Patrick:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=330489024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, things are going really well. I’m trying to get everything in now that I only have a couple weeks left in Ireland and one week in Italy. I’ll be coming home on May 12th and I can’t wait to see everyone! Love you all and see you in less than a month ☺
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
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!
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!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Irish Dancing!
This is going to be a short one, but I just wanted to let you all know that I got to Irish dance with an old Irish man last week :)
My friends and I went to Monroe's like we do every Tuesday night to watch Irish dancing, and one the regular men who comes to dance, pulled us up and started teaching us the dances. As the music started, he pulled me aside and made me dance the first couple songs with him. It was so much fun and I had no idea what I was doing, but every one was so enthusiastic and nice, it was easy to catch on. He was the cutest old man and he was so energetic, it was hard to keep up with him! He danced a couple dances with each of us, and it was such a great experience.
Now, I'm in my last week of classes and anxiously awaiting my family's arrival tomorrow. My mom and dad, Aubrey, Tami and David, left for Chicago a little bit ago and they'll be in Galway at about 12 tomorrow! I'm so excited to see them and show them around. They leave on April 10, so after that look forward to a new post and pictures about our adventures around Ireland! I love you and miss you all!
My friends and I went to Monroe's like we do every Tuesday night to watch Irish dancing, and one the regular men who comes to dance, pulled us up and started teaching us the dances. As the music started, he pulled me aside and made me dance the first couple songs with him. It was so much fun and I had no idea what I was doing, but every one was so enthusiastic and nice, it was easy to catch on. He was the cutest old man and he was so energetic, it was hard to keep up with him! He danced a couple dances with each of us, and it was such a great experience.
Now, I'm in my last week of classes and anxiously awaiting my family's arrival tomorrow. My mom and dad, Aubrey, Tami and David, left for Chicago a little bit ago and they'll be in Galway at about 12 tomorrow! I'm so excited to see them and show them around. They leave on April 10, so after that look forward to a new post and pictures about our adventures around Ireland! I love you and miss you all!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Barcelona
Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a great weekend! I went to Barcelona and I absolutely loved it. We had to leave our apartment at 2:45 Friday morning in order to catch the 3:30 bus. Melissa and I almost didn’t make it on to the bus. We didn’t think it was going to be that packed at that time in the morning, but luckily we were the last people allowed on. We made it to the airport, checked in and flew out at 6:45. We landed in Girona that is a city outside of Barcelona, so we had to take a bus into Barcelona. We got into the city and had to ask around for directions to our hostel, then checked in and met our friend Amy from SNC. She’s studying in Toledo, Spain this semester and she was visiting Barcelona with some of her friends, so we met up and shared a hostel with them. It was so great to see her! It was also very helpful that they all spoke Spanish. In Barcelona, they speak Catalan, which is a little different, but most people understand both Spanish and English, as well.
We walked around the streets and found a few of Gaudi’s buildings, and ended up at the Sangrada Familia. It’s a church that Gaudi designed and they started building it in 1898 and it’s still under construction because they haven’t finished yet. The church is so detailed; I feel like we could’ve stood there and looked at it for hours. The whole front side depicts the Stations of the Cross. There are lots of pictures for you to look at. They don’t do it justice, but maybe you’ll get a little bit of an idea. We went into the church and got to see all of the construction, then went up to the top. We got to walk out onto the balcony and we got a great view of the city. It was so beautiful! We also got a chance to see more of the detail of the building. Afterwards, we walked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium and found a park on the way that was so beautiful. The stadium was so huge and there were fountains everywhere. We got to watch the sunset from there and it was absolutely gorgeous! I took a lot of pictures of it ☺ Next we went to the Magic Fountain light show. It’s a gigantic beautiful fountain that lights up and each fountain goes on and off along with the music. It was so beautiful! Then we went to a Spanish restaurant and had tappas and paella. Tappas are little appetizers (little potatoes with spicy sauce, bread with meat on it, and a type of potato salad with tuna). Paella has rice and either chicken, seafood, or veggies. I had veggies because it was Friday, but it was so good! We had a pitcher of sangria too, which was fabulous ☺ Then after dinner, we went back to our hostel because we had all been up all night traveling and went to sleep.
Saturday, we got up early and went to the market. It was so busy and there were so many stands with every kind of food. Then, we walked through the city to Guell Park, which was designed by Gaudi. It was so beautiful! We got to climb above the park and got a great view of the city. We had to climb up 325 steps, but the view was totally worth it! Next, we tried to find another park, but couldn’t find it, so we asked an old Spanish lady for help. She was so confused that we were trying to walk there, because it was really far, so she offered to show us how to get there. She walked with us to the bus stop and rode the bus with us. She told the driver when to tell us to get off. She was so nice and sweet! She spoke in Spanish, but I understood her pretty well. The whole weekend, I felt pretty good with my Spanish. I could understand people for the most part, but I just couldn’t think on my feet fast enough to be able to respond. I was pretty proud of myself for understanding it for the most part. We found a little grocery store by the park and picked up a baguette and some salami and had a picnic lunch in the park. We walked around it, and it was so beautiful. Then, we took the metro to the beach and put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea! We walked along the boardwalk for a couple hours because it was so long! Next, we walked back and found a band singing Spanish music by the port. We sat on the steps and listened and the sun was setting in the background. It was such a surreal moment. We went to a small Italian restaurant for dinner, and then got gelato for dessert. After, we went to a couple small bars for sangria. It was so much fun chatting with the girls about their study abroad experiences in Spain. Their program is so much different from ours, so it was interesting to hear about it. We went back to the hostel and then had to check out at 6:30 in order to catch the metro, bus, plane, bus, and walking back to our apartment. It’s a long day of traveling, but totally worth it!
Overall, it was a great trip. The weather was pretty good, but it’s been so nice this week in Ireland, it was hard to leave. It was about 60’s and 70’s, but very cool when the sun went down and windy on the beach.
Here’s the link for my pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254695363/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other news: Ireland won the Six Nations Rugby game and every one is crazy here! We went to mass tonight, and the priest talked for so long about how the country is blessed with a great team. It’s so cool how patriotic they are when it comes to sports. So many houses and apartments have Irish flags hanging outside of the windows now. It’s so great! Today is Mother’s Day in Ireland, so Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! ☺
Other than that, not much is going on here. I’ll be working on getting papers done this week, and anticipating my family’s arrival in 10 days!! I’m so excited to see them and show them around Galway ☺ I hope you all have a great week! Love you!!!
I hope you all had a great weekend! I went to Barcelona and I absolutely loved it. We had to leave our apartment at 2:45 Friday morning in order to catch the 3:30 bus. Melissa and I almost didn’t make it on to the bus. We didn’t think it was going to be that packed at that time in the morning, but luckily we were the last people allowed on. We made it to the airport, checked in and flew out at 6:45. We landed in Girona that is a city outside of Barcelona, so we had to take a bus into Barcelona. We got into the city and had to ask around for directions to our hostel, then checked in and met our friend Amy from SNC. She’s studying in Toledo, Spain this semester and she was visiting Barcelona with some of her friends, so we met up and shared a hostel with them. It was so great to see her! It was also very helpful that they all spoke Spanish. In Barcelona, they speak Catalan, which is a little different, but most people understand both Spanish and English, as well.
We walked around the streets and found a few of Gaudi’s buildings, and ended up at the Sangrada Familia. It’s a church that Gaudi designed and they started building it in 1898 and it’s still under construction because they haven’t finished yet. The church is so detailed; I feel like we could’ve stood there and looked at it for hours. The whole front side depicts the Stations of the Cross. There are lots of pictures for you to look at. They don’t do it justice, but maybe you’ll get a little bit of an idea. We went into the church and got to see all of the construction, then went up to the top. We got to walk out onto the balcony and we got a great view of the city. It was so beautiful! We also got a chance to see more of the detail of the building. Afterwards, we walked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium and found a park on the way that was so beautiful. The stadium was so huge and there were fountains everywhere. We got to watch the sunset from there and it was absolutely gorgeous! I took a lot of pictures of it ☺ Next we went to the Magic Fountain light show. It’s a gigantic beautiful fountain that lights up and each fountain goes on and off along with the music. It was so beautiful! Then we went to a Spanish restaurant and had tappas and paella. Tappas are little appetizers (little potatoes with spicy sauce, bread with meat on it, and a type of potato salad with tuna). Paella has rice and either chicken, seafood, or veggies. I had veggies because it was Friday, but it was so good! We had a pitcher of sangria too, which was fabulous ☺ Then after dinner, we went back to our hostel because we had all been up all night traveling and went to sleep.
Saturday, we got up early and went to the market. It was so busy and there were so many stands with every kind of food. Then, we walked through the city to Guell Park, which was designed by Gaudi. It was so beautiful! We got to climb above the park and got a great view of the city. We had to climb up 325 steps, but the view was totally worth it! Next, we tried to find another park, but couldn’t find it, so we asked an old Spanish lady for help. She was so confused that we were trying to walk there, because it was really far, so she offered to show us how to get there. She walked with us to the bus stop and rode the bus with us. She told the driver when to tell us to get off. She was so nice and sweet! She spoke in Spanish, but I understood her pretty well. The whole weekend, I felt pretty good with my Spanish. I could understand people for the most part, but I just couldn’t think on my feet fast enough to be able to respond. I was pretty proud of myself for understanding it for the most part. We found a little grocery store by the park and picked up a baguette and some salami and had a picnic lunch in the park. We walked around it, and it was so beautiful. Then, we took the metro to the beach and put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea! We walked along the boardwalk for a couple hours because it was so long! Next, we walked back and found a band singing Spanish music by the port. We sat on the steps and listened and the sun was setting in the background. It was such a surreal moment. We went to a small Italian restaurant for dinner, and then got gelato for dessert. After, we went to a couple small bars for sangria. It was so much fun chatting with the girls about their study abroad experiences in Spain. Their program is so much different from ours, so it was interesting to hear about it. We went back to the hostel and then had to check out at 6:30 in order to catch the metro, bus, plane, bus, and walking back to our apartment. It’s a long day of traveling, but totally worth it!
Overall, it was a great trip. The weather was pretty good, but it’s been so nice this week in Ireland, it was hard to leave. It was about 60’s and 70’s, but very cool when the sun went down and windy on the beach.
Here’s the link for my pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254695363/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other news: Ireland won the Six Nations Rugby game and every one is crazy here! We went to mass tonight, and the priest talked for so long about how the country is blessed with a great team. It’s so cool how patriotic they are when it comes to sports. So many houses and apartments have Irish flags hanging outside of the windows now. It’s so great! Today is Mother’s Day in Ireland, so Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! ☺
Other than that, not much is going on here. I’ll be working on getting papers done this week, and anticipating my family’s arrival in 10 days!! I’m so excited to see them and show them around Galway ☺ I hope you all have a great week! Love you!!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
St. Patty's Day!
Hello!
Things have been pretty mellow here lately. Last week was my roommate Niamh’s 19th birthday so we had a house party at our apartment, then we went to the clubs. It was a lot of fun and I got to go out with all Irish people. It was definitely a great experience…I’m so lucky to have such great roommates that I love and who are willing to take me out with them and all of their friends. I put up some pictures from the party of me with my new Irish friends, so here’s the link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680180/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and it was so cool to celebrate it in Ireland. I still can’t believe it! Maggie, Erin, and Tristin, my closest American girl friends had their boyfriends visiting this week, so we all got together and made brunch on Tuesday morning and had some bloody mary’s. Then, we walked into town for the parade. The parade was a lot like the ones from home, but not as long and dragged out. There were a lot of people dressed in green, but I don’t know how many of them were actually Irish… I know a lot of tourists are here around this time of year, so it’s hard to tell. The streets were so packed and everyone was cheering and having a good time. After the parade, we went to a couple pubs and had some drinks, then went home to nap for a couple hours. We went out again later that night to the King’s Head, where our favorite band was playing. They sang some Irish songs and some American songs and everyone was dancing around like crazy in their green gear. They played “Galway Girl” and every single person in the bar was singing along. It was such a surreal experience! I had a great day and I feel so lucky that I got to experience a St. Patty’s Day in Ireland ☺
Here’s the link to my St. Patty’s Day pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680689/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
That’s about it for now. I leave for Barcelona Friday, so I’ll have more pictures for you later next week. I love you all and miss you like crazy!!!
Things have been pretty mellow here lately. Last week was my roommate Niamh’s 19th birthday so we had a house party at our apartment, then we went to the clubs. It was a lot of fun and I got to go out with all Irish people. It was definitely a great experience…I’m so lucky to have such great roommates that I love and who are willing to take me out with them and all of their friends. I put up some pictures from the party of me with my new Irish friends, so here’s the link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680180/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and it was so cool to celebrate it in Ireland. I still can’t believe it! Maggie, Erin, and Tristin, my closest American girl friends had their boyfriends visiting this week, so we all got together and made brunch on Tuesday morning and had some bloody mary’s. Then, we walked into town for the parade. The parade was a lot like the ones from home, but not as long and dragged out. There were a lot of people dressed in green, but I don’t know how many of them were actually Irish… I know a lot of tourists are here around this time of year, so it’s hard to tell. The streets were so packed and everyone was cheering and having a good time. After the parade, we went to a couple pubs and had some drinks, then went home to nap for a couple hours. We went out again later that night to the King’s Head, where our favorite band was playing. They sang some Irish songs and some American songs and everyone was dancing around like crazy in their green gear. They played “Galway Girl” and every single person in the bar was singing along. It was such a surreal experience! I had a great day and I feel so lucky that I got to experience a St. Patty’s Day in Ireland ☺
Here’s the link to my St. Patty’s Day pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680689/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
That’s about it for now. I leave for Barcelona Friday, so I’ll have more pictures for you later next week. I love you all and miss you like crazy!!!
Monday, March 16, 2009
New Pictures!
Hey everyone!
The other day, on my walk I realized that I should take some pictures of the path I walk along and the beach where I walk because I'm there just about every day and I want you to see where I go. So here are some pictures. I tried to be a little artistic, but I don't know if it worked too well. Enjoy! Love you all!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254655112/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
The other day, on my walk I realized that I should take some pictures of the path I walk along and the beach where I walk because I'm there just about every day and I want you to see where I go. So here are some pictures. I tried to be a little artistic, but I don't know if it worked too well. Enjoy! Love you all!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254655112/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
London
Hello everyone!
I have another update for you! Hooray! Well this last week was RAG Week at NUI Galway. It is a week for the campus to raise money for charity, and there are a few events put on for this, but they are not publicized at all. It somehow turned into an excuse for Irish students to drink all week long. They don’t go to class at all and if they do, they bring drinks to class with them. There were foam parties during the day, and people drinking outside everywhere you looked. It was absolutely crazy! Irish kids really know how to party… They started on Sunday afternoon and pretty much didn’t stop until Friday. I went out a couple of times, but I cannot keep up with them ☺ It was definitely interesting to watch though!
On Thursday, Melissa and I left for London. We took the train from Galway to Shannon, flew out, and landed in the Stansted Airport, took a train into the city, then got on the subway tube to get to where we were staying. It was so much traveling, but we finally arrived around 8:30. We stayed with one of Melissa’s childhood friends who is working an internship in London this semester. She was really nice and living in an international student-housing complex with a lot of people from Wisconsin. It was nice to hear some familiar accents ☺ We went with them to Karaoke on Thursday night, which was a lot of fun.
Friday, we took a double decker bus tour of the city. We saw pretty much the entire city: Big Ben and the houses of parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Globe Theater, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and lots in between. Friday night, we went out for fish and chips…delicious! Then we saw Spring Awakening. It is a new musical based in the 1800’s but the songs are song like rock songs. It’s about teenagers going through school and trying to understand sex, and death and dealing with their parents. It’s very different, and the music is amazing!
Saturday, we took the bus tour to some of the places we didn’t get to see the first day, just random buildings and parks, but we got to learn about the history behind things. Melissa and I went to Billy Elliot for the matinee. It’s a story about a boy who wants to dance, but his father wants him to box. The boy was like 10 years old and danced so well! The show was so amazing! The set was unbelievable… I loved it! Then we went to dinner and saw Wicked at night. It’s the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz. I read the book last summer, and the musical is very different, but so good! The singing was amazing and the special effects were so great! It was such a good day. I’m so glad I got the chance to see these shows. I don’t get a lot of chances to see shows back home, so it was fun to take the opportunity to see them while I could.
Sunday, we took a boat cruise along the Thames River and ended up in Greenwich. We walked through the park there and saw the Royal Observatory. I got to stand on either side of the Prime Meridian! It was so cool! Then we went to the British Museum, ate lunch, went to mass, and then went on the London Eye. It’s the big ferris wheel type thing. It was very high up, but we got a great view of the city at night. I got some great pictures! After, we went out to dinner, then hung out at Angie’s apartment and went to bed.
We left early Monday morning on the subway, the train, the plane, and the bus, and I made it back in time for my class at 5. These weekends are so much fun, but I miss Galway when I’m away. It’s so nice to get away sometimes, but now Galway is really feeling like home. I also missed having a good skype connection. Because all of the Irish students go home on the weekends, the Internet gets much faster, so I try to take advantage of that when I can ☺
Here’s the link to my pictures on snapfish. It wasn’t letting me delete some of the duplicates, so I’m sorry if there are multiples of some pictures. And some of the buildings were insignificant; I just thought they looked cool, so I took a picture. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254600963/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, not much is new here. I got a little cold over the weekend, so I’m hoping that will be gone soon. I have a presentation in my Irish Short Stories class on Thursday, so that will be what the rest of my week consists of. I have to present on an author and make handouts for the class. It’s so hard for me to get back into the flow of doing homework because I hardly have to do anything. It will take some getting used to when I get back to SNC in the fall ☺
I hope you are all doing well! Please keep the e-mails and letters coming! As much as I love being here, it’s hard to miss out on things happening at home. I miss you all so much! Have a great week! Love you!!!
I have another update for you! Hooray! Well this last week was RAG Week at NUI Galway. It is a week for the campus to raise money for charity, and there are a few events put on for this, but they are not publicized at all. It somehow turned into an excuse for Irish students to drink all week long. They don’t go to class at all and if they do, they bring drinks to class with them. There were foam parties during the day, and people drinking outside everywhere you looked. It was absolutely crazy! Irish kids really know how to party… They started on Sunday afternoon and pretty much didn’t stop until Friday. I went out a couple of times, but I cannot keep up with them ☺ It was definitely interesting to watch though!
On Thursday, Melissa and I left for London. We took the train from Galway to Shannon, flew out, and landed in the Stansted Airport, took a train into the city, then got on the subway tube to get to where we were staying. It was so much traveling, but we finally arrived around 8:30. We stayed with one of Melissa’s childhood friends who is working an internship in London this semester. She was really nice and living in an international student-housing complex with a lot of people from Wisconsin. It was nice to hear some familiar accents ☺ We went with them to Karaoke on Thursday night, which was a lot of fun.
Friday, we took a double decker bus tour of the city. We saw pretty much the entire city: Big Ben and the houses of parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Globe Theater, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and lots in between. Friday night, we went out for fish and chips…delicious! Then we saw Spring Awakening. It is a new musical based in the 1800’s but the songs are song like rock songs. It’s about teenagers going through school and trying to understand sex, and death and dealing with their parents. It’s very different, and the music is amazing!
Saturday, we took the bus tour to some of the places we didn’t get to see the first day, just random buildings and parks, but we got to learn about the history behind things. Melissa and I went to Billy Elliot for the matinee. It’s a story about a boy who wants to dance, but his father wants him to box. The boy was like 10 years old and danced so well! The show was so amazing! The set was unbelievable… I loved it! Then we went to dinner and saw Wicked at night. It’s the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz. I read the book last summer, and the musical is very different, but so good! The singing was amazing and the special effects were so great! It was such a good day. I’m so glad I got the chance to see these shows. I don’t get a lot of chances to see shows back home, so it was fun to take the opportunity to see them while I could.
Sunday, we took a boat cruise along the Thames River and ended up in Greenwich. We walked through the park there and saw the Royal Observatory. I got to stand on either side of the Prime Meridian! It was so cool! Then we went to the British Museum, ate lunch, went to mass, and then went on the London Eye. It’s the big ferris wheel type thing. It was very high up, but we got a great view of the city at night. I got some great pictures! After, we went out to dinner, then hung out at Angie’s apartment and went to bed.
We left early Monday morning on the subway, the train, the plane, and the bus, and I made it back in time for my class at 5. These weekends are so much fun, but I miss Galway when I’m away. It’s so nice to get away sometimes, but now Galway is really feeling like home. I also missed having a good skype connection. Because all of the Irish students go home on the weekends, the Internet gets much faster, so I try to take advantage of that when I can ☺
Here’s the link to my pictures on snapfish. It wasn’t letting me delete some of the duplicates, so I’m sorry if there are multiples of some pictures. And some of the buildings were insignificant; I just thought they looked cool, so I took a picture. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254600963/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, not much is new here. I got a little cold over the weekend, so I’m hoping that will be gone soon. I have a presentation in my Irish Short Stories class on Thursday, so that will be what the rest of my week consists of. I have to present on an author and make handouts for the class. It’s so hard for me to get back into the flow of doing homework because I hardly have to do anything. It will take some getting used to when I get back to SNC in the fall ☺
I hope you are all doing well! Please keep the e-mails and letters coming! As much as I love being here, it’s hard to miss out on things happening at home. I miss you all so much! Have a great week! Love you!!!
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