Hi everybody!
I hope you are having a great week so far, I heard that MN was having a little bit of heat stroke for a while and I hope you all got to enjoy it! My last week has been pretty low key, but I thought I would shoot you an update anyway since I don't have very many weeks left! This past weekend I had two friends from St. Norbert who are studying in Spain wing through Ireland on there two week spring break travels, so they stayed with Alexa and I for Friday and Saturday! It is always great to see a familiar face and to get to show my home to someone. I wish I could share it with all of you! Kerrie and Katie came in Friday evening and we went out and did a little tour of the Galway pubs, then they left on Saturday to come back and we had a nice little night in on Saturday night. It was nice to catch up with them and get to hear all about there study abroad experiences. It is so cool how everyone I talk to is having such a different experience and to hear all about them. I had two final papers to do this past weekend and I finished those and handed them in on Monday! That means besides my final exams next week I am totally done with school work for Ireland, and had a very relaxing week this week knowing that those two papers were finished.
Yesterday my friend Maggie, Alexa and I decided we wanted to go on an adventure and climb Croagh Patrick, the mountain that St. Patrick fasted on for 40 days and banished the snakes out of Ireland from. We didn't really know what to expect, but we don't have very much time left here and are trying to experience as much as possible. We found a bus that would get us there leaving at 9am and transferring in a small town about two hours from here, then getting on another bus for an hour. When we left that morning it was cloudy and kind of drizzly, but the sun came out at a perfect time for us! When we finally arrived in Westport, the town the mountain is closest to, we found a bus to take us to the mountain and finally started to climb a little after 1. There were like 6 other people on the bus with us, all little old ladies, who got really excited for us when they found out we were going up the mountain and told us they would say a prayer for us. They were so cute! When we were on the bus we saw a really big mountain in the distance, and we all were like "how cool would it be if we got to climb that one!" But we really didn't think that was where we were going. When we started climbing we found out that the HUGE mountain was where we were headed! It was such an exhilarating feeling.
The way up was a really rocky path that felt like you were walking on those little rocks that surround houses for landscaping. It was kind of a faux path from people walking so often. Going up wasn't too bad at all until we got about an hour and 15 minutes into it, then we saw what we had to finish. The last stretch was at like a 70 degree angle straight up the mountain, still trying to maneuver on these very slippery little rocks. My lungs were yelling at me, and I realized how out of shape I was, but it was SO fun. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the view kept getting better and better. When we finally got to the top every pain and tough breath was totally worth it. It was the most amazing feeling, like standing on top of the world. There was a church at the top dedicated to St. Patrick, and the most amazing view. We didn't have a whole lot of time because we had to get back down to catch a bus back to Westport, but it was totally breath taking and the most fulfilling feeling to know that I made it up.
The way down was the same rocky path, only trying to walk down them was almost impossible! Maggie and I fell on our bums a few times, including one really graceful fall that left me with some pretty cool scratches on my arm haha. It was kind of like surfing down the side of the mountain, only instead of water below there were more pointy rocks. The way up was tough on the lungs, but this was tough on the knees and hips! We laughed the whole way down as we slid around and tried to keep our balance, and talked to every body we passed motivating them to keep going, it was totally worth it once you get to the top. We got down fairly quickly, about an hour compared to the two hours it took getting up, and ran to get the bus we thought was coming at 4:40, but then found out it wasn't coming until almost 5, oh well! We got back to Westport confident that there was a bus back to Galway, but it turns out the bus we thought we were going to catch only comes on Monday's and Thursday's, and there wasn't another bus until the next day! I went into minor panic mode, but we found a bus driver on one of the other buses and he told us that if we got to Castlebar, the next town over, there would be a bus to Galway in about an hour. We had to get a cab to Castlebar, which was frustrating because of how expensive they are, but we got on the bus and made it back in one piece! It is all part of the adventure I guess!
We went to Monroe's, our traditional Tuesday pub, for pizza and a little bit of Irish dancing but we were all exhausted and smelly and in sweats, so we didn't last as long as usual. It was one of my favorite days since I arrived here, top 5 for sure, and I am so happy we took the opportunity to do it. It was extra fun because it wasn't a tour or a planned thing, it was more spur of the moment and we had to figure it all out on our own. It was one of the first times here that I feel like I got to experience nature rather then just look at it, and I absolutely loved it.
This week I am going to the Cliffs of Moher on Friday, then celebrating my last weekend with all of my Ireland friends! We all start to go home starting next week, and I leave for Italy next Sunday! It is going to be so weird not seeing all of these wonderful people everyday, but it will be much easier to stay in contact when we are all back in the land of cell phones and cars! I am so so so excited to come home, I am missing everyone so much! I still have lots to do before I leave, so time is flying by! 25 more days!
I love you all so much, write when you get the chance!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Dublin x2!
Hi everybody, Happy Easter!!
I am counting down the days to when I come home, time is absolutely flying by and there is so much I am trying to fit in before I come home in one month from tomorrow! It is a very crazy feeling, and school work is getting in the way of finishing all of my plans haha. One thing that I hadn't done yet until very recently was go to Dublin, and since last week I have been there twice! It is definitely not one of my favorite cities, it is kind of dreary and boring, but it was great being there and experiencing the capital city of my country!
Last week Wednesday-Friday I was invited to go spend three days in Dublin with my friend Alexa's family who was visiting from home. Her parents, older sister, and aunt and uncle were all here for ten days and I spent the last three with them. On Wednesday we got up early and took a train to Dublin and got started right away by finding our hotel then headed to Trinity Collge. We saw the book of Kells and the AMAZING library. It was so beautiful, that is my dream one day to have enough books to need a ladder to get to them all, and this was definitely that big. Very Beauty and the Beast. It was a beautiful day and we had great weather, which was so great for them to be able to see more! After we walked around campus a little bit we walked around Dublin and saw Christ Church and Dublin castle from the outside, then found our way to Temple Bar area. We had a drink in Temple Bar, something everyone has to do if they come to Ireland. The atmosphere was great, and there was a musician playing traditional music which is always fun. After some relaxation time we had dinner then went on a Literary Pub Crawl! It was so cool, we traveled to four different pubs and around other parts of Dublin with our guide telling us stories about famous writers in Irish history then acting out a few of there pieces. Totally worth it, probably my favorite thing in Dublin. Our guide was hilarious and knew so much about literature and Irish history, very refreshing.
Thursday we woke up and made a bee line for the Guinness Factory. Alexa's dad brews his own beer so was VERY excited to go, and it was so much fun. The whole experience is very well laid out, and even though it is a self guided tour it is more like a museum and I learned so much. You get to taste a half pint at one of the stops, then learn the art form of pouring your own pint on another floor, which is pretty intense. Even though I am not the biggest Guinness fan it was somehow much easier to drink sitting in the factory surrounded by all of the history. The brewery was opened 250 years ago and has been super popular since, very cool. After the factory we went to Kilmainham Gaol, the prison where many of the supporters of the 1916 Uprising were held and killed. It was a very creepy place full of Irish history, but very interesting. After that we just had a low key night and went back to the hotel since it was the last night for them to be together. It was SO nice to stay in a hotel and be with a family, I think sometimes just seeing a new face is very very helpful.
This weekend I was having a tough time not being home for Holy Week, it is my favotire time of the whole year and I really did not like being away from St. Ambrose for all of the masses, but the Cathedral here did it really well and it was nice to celebrate it. My friends and I on Easter dyed eggs then played games outside because it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL out, then we had tacos for dinner haha. It was a nice low key day. The best part was my parents brought the computer to our family Easter and I got to talk to my grandma and all of my wonderful family. It really really brightened my whole week and I cannot wait until I get to see you all in person!
Yesterday my friends and I got up at 4am and took a very early bus to Dublin to do a bus tour of Wicklow National Park, called the Wild Wicklow Tour. It was a very very rainy day so we didn't get to see everything that we would have liked, but it was a very cool tour. It is a family run business and the tour guide was totally goofy and crazy. he cracked jokes about everything, but was also very knowledgeable about Dublin and its surrounding areas. We got to see where PS I Love You was filmed, where Braveheart was filmed, the Wicklow Mountains, Bono's house, and some other very cool things that I would have never seen if I hadn't taken the tour. It was a great day tour and gave us something to do while waiting for our exams to start!
I have one and a half papers and two exams left and I am totally done, which is so exciting. Next week will be pretty low key, but the week after I have two exams and it is my last week in Ireland! After that I have two weeks in Italy then I am home, which is totally surreal. I CANNOT wait to be home, but there is so much I want to do before I leave! I have made such great friends here, and leaving them is going to be so hard, but I am trying very hard to live life to the fullest these last 30 days! I love you all so much, update me on life and write me when you get the chance please!
All of my love and prayers coming your way
I am counting down the days to when I come home, time is absolutely flying by and there is so much I am trying to fit in before I come home in one month from tomorrow! It is a very crazy feeling, and school work is getting in the way of finishing all of my plans haha. One thing that I hadn't done yet until very recently was go to Dublin, and since last week I have been there twice! It is definitely not one of my favorite cities, it is kind of dreary and boring, but it was great being there and experiencing the capital city of my country!
Last week Wednesday-Friday I was invited to go spend three days in Dublin with my friend Alexa's family who was visiting from home. Her parents, older sister, and aunt and uncle were all here for ten days and I spent the last three with them. On Wednesday we got up early and took a train to Dublin and got started right away by finding our hotel then headed to Trinity Collge. We saw the book of Kells and the AMAZING library. It was so beautiful, that is my dream one day to have enough books to need a ladder to get to them all, and this was definitely that big. Very Beauty and the Beast. It was a beautiful day and we had great weather, which was so great for them to be able to see more! After we walked around campus a little bit we walked around Dublin and saw Christ Church and Dublin castle from the outside, then found our way to Temple Bar area. We had a drink in Temple Bar, something everyone has to do if they come to Ireland. The atmosphere was great, and there was a musician playing traditional music which is always fun. After some relaxation time we had dinner then went on a Literary Pub Crawl! It was so cool, we traveled to four different pubs and around other parts of Dublin with our guide telling us stories about famous writers in Irish history then acting out a few of there pieces. Totally worth it, probably my favorite thing in Dublin. Our guide was hilarious and knew so much about literature and Irish history, very refreshing.
Thursday we woke up and made a bee line for the Guinness Factory. Alexa's dad brews his own beer so was VERY excited to go, and it was so much fun. The whole experience is very well laid out, and even though it is a self guided tour it is more like a museum and I learned so much. You get to taste a half pint at one of the stops, then learn the art form of pouring your own pint on another floor, which is pretty intense. Even though I am not the biggest Guinness fan it was somehow much easier to drink sitting in the factory surrounded by all of the history. The brewery was opened 250 years ago and has been super popular since, very cool. After the factory we went to Kilmainham Gaol, the prison where many of the supporters of the 1916 Uprising were held and killed. It was a very creepy place full of Irish history, but very interesting. After that we just had a low key night and went back to the hotel since it was the last night for them to be together. It was SO nice to stay in a hotel and be with a family, I think sometimes just seeing a new face is very very helpful.
This weekend I was having a tough time not being home for Holy Week, it is my favotire time of the whole year and I really did not like being away from St. Ambrose for all of the masses, but the Cathedral here did it really well and it was nice to celebrate it. My friends and I on Easter dyed eggs then played games outside because it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL out, then we had tacos for dinner haha. It was a nice low key day. The best part was my parents brought the computer to our family Easter and I got to talk to my grandma and all of my wonderful family. It really really brightened my whole week and I cannot wait until I get to see you all in person!
Yesterday my friends and I got up at 4am and took a very early bus to Dublin to do a bus tour of Wicklow National Park, called the Wild Wicklow Tour. It was a very very rainy day so we didn't get to see everything that we would have liked, but it was a very cool tour. It is a family run business and the tour guide was totally goofy and crazy. he cracked jokes about everything, but was also very knowledgeable about Dublin and its surrounding areas. We got to see where PS I Love You was filmed, where Braveheart was filmed, the Wicklow Mountains, Bono's house, and some other very cool things that I would have never seen if I hadn't taken the tour. It was a great day tour and gave us something to do while waiting for our exams to start!
I have one and a half papers and two exams left and I am totally done, which is so exciting. Next week will be pretty low key, but the week after I have two exams and it is my last week in Ireland! After that I have two weeks in Italy then I am home, which is totally surreal. I CANNOT wait to be home, but there is so much I want to do before I leave! I have made such great friends here, and leaving them is going to be so hard, but I am trying very hard to live life to the fullest these last 30 days! I love you all so much, update me on life and write me when you get the chance please!
All of my love and prayers coming your way
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Adventures in the south of France
Hi everybody!
Holy cats I feel like it has been forever since I have updated you, but life has been pretty chill lately! This past weekend I went to Nice, France for the weekend and enjoyed a lot (a little too much) sun and relaxed for a few days. The weeks before that were pretty slow. Two weeks ago we were at Monroe's, our favorite pub in Galway, because they do Irish dancing on Tuesday nights and we usually go and watch. The atmosphere is so fun and the music is great. We were there early and had dinner, and the little old man who loves to teach American girls to dance came right to our table and told us to get up and dance. He taught us a few group dances before the Regulars came in, and then danced with each of us individually with the "prfessionals" haha, the real Irish people who come every week. It was so so much fun, his name is Michael and he is probably 75ish, and has more energy then anyone I know! It was my goal to dance with him at least once while I was here, and even though I obviously had absolutely no idea what I was doing he was a great teacher and didn't care. It made me remember why I picked Ireland!
Two weekends ago my friend Angie who is studying in London came to visit just for a quick two days. It was great to have a visitor, and even though we didn't do very much except stay around Galway it is always nice to see a friendly face!
Friday I left for Nice and was so excited to see the sun. We got to France about 5:45 and found our way to our hotel. We had found a super cheap hotel which was even cheaper then any of the hostels which was really great, it wasn't anything fancy but it was nice to have clean towels and someone make our beds even just for a few days! It is the little things in life that just make it better haha. After we found our hotel we made our way down to the water, which was about two blocks from our hotel, and walked along the water for a while until we found a restaurant that we liked, which was not difficult. It was a cute little open restaurant right on the water, and eating seafood, drinking wine, and looking out onto the ocean made the night SO perfect. We were exhausted from traveling and didn't really know much about the city yet so we made it an early night and headed back so we could get up early and enjoy the beach fully the next day!
Saturday we woke up and walked along the entire coast just checking things out and found that it was really really quiet. When we got back to our hotel it turns out we walked in the opposite direction of all of the actual city, but oh well it was so nice! We found a famous flower and food market down by the water and bought amazing picnic food, bread, cheese, olives, fruit, absolutely wonderful. We made our way down to the beach and sat and relaxed all afternoon. As much as I love Ireland I was definitely missing the sun, and it was so strong I think my body went into shock! It's like the first day of summer after a long MN winter. After we had our fill of sun for the day we wandered until we found a gelato stand and enjoyed yummy gelato while we walked the city a little bit. It is a super cute town filled with restaurants and shops. The crowd is a bit older then I expected, but it was so much fun. I went to Palm Sunday Mass in French, it is always an experience going to mass in another language but it is also one of my favorite things to do. I love how even though I don't understand all the words, it is such a universal thing that I can respond to in English without knowing any French. They had olive branches instead of palms, but were selling super intricately folded palms outside the church. Holy Week is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I am really going to miss being home for the Triduum and Easter, but I guess I can't complain! After we found a restaurant for dinner where I had FANTASTIC pizza and then we found a few bars and cafes where we sat outside and enjoyed the night life.
Sunday we walked the opposite way on the coast back to the big port where a cruise ship had just come in. There were little celebrations and tours for the cruise members, and we just took in all of the huge boats and beautiful chateaus. The water is so ridiculously blue and clear that I could have just sat and looked at it for hours, which lets face it I did. We made our way back to the market for picnic day two, and found that it had gotten cloudy since the morning. Me, being not so smart, decided that I didn't get that burned the day before so I didn't need to put sunscreen on because it was cloudy. ROOKIE mistake. I FRIED the tops of my feet, my chest, and my back, but oh well I guess I still haven't learned after 21 years of summer! That night we found a great little seafood restaurant and then went in search of some fun. My friend Erin had a heard of a place called Wayne's which was supposed to be super fun so we asked our hotel desk man to look it up. When we got there it was a total tourist bar, but one of the most fun places I have ever been. There were big long tables where everybody just sat intermixed and made friends with whoever was next to them, we had Austrians on one side and a few French boys on our other side. Our waiter was a very attractive Australian man who was totally crazy, and I think the guys next to us where pretty much the only French people in the whole place! It was totally crazy, and then a live band started playing. After a little bit everybody started getting up on the tables and dancing, apparently that is what Wayne's is famous for. Now I am so not a person who gets up on tables and dances, but the atmosphere of this place was so much fun and crazy I had to hop up there! What made it even better is I they served Amaretto sours, my FAVORITE drink which I cannot find in Ireland. I was one happy camper.
Monday we didn't have to leave until late, so we found our last bakery for breakfast then walked to a Russian inspired church a few blocks away from our hotel. It was really cool, it looked like a Russian palace with the striped spires and all. We headed to the beach for our last few hours there. We were all pretty sunburned so it was a short trip out there where we all stayed pretty covered up, unlike a few of the women who were definitely topless, oh the differences in cultures. We found our last gelato and headed to the airport to make our way back to Ireland where there is no sun. To prove this to us it was raining when we landed and all last night. Thanks for throwing that in my face mother nature haha.
This week I am going to Dublin with Alexa's family who is here visiting, it is crazy that I have been here for over 3 months now and haven't been to Dublin yet except the airport! I am very excited to spend time with her family and see the city. Classes ended last week so I now have two papers and two finals at the end of April and then I am done which is so crazy! Time is flying! I am almost ready to come home, but not ready to leave. Crazy mix of emotions!
I love you all so much, sorry this was such a long one! I cannot wait to hear from you, you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Happy Easter!
Holy cats I feel like it has been forever since I have updated you, but life has been pretty chill lately! This past weekend I went to Nice, France for the weekend and enjoyed a lot (a little too much) sun and relaxed for a few days. The weeks before that were pretty slow. Two weeks ago we were at Monroe's, our favorite pub in Galway, because they do Irish dancing on Tuesday nights and we usually go and watch. The atmosphere is so fun and the music is great. We were there early and had dinner, and the little old man who loves to teach American girls to dance came right to our table and told us to get up and dance. He taught us a few group dances before the Regulars came in, and then danced with each of us individually with the "prfessionals" haha, the real Irish people who come every week. It was so so much fun, his name is Michael and he is probably 75ish, and has more energy then anyone I know! It was my goal to dance with him at least once while I was here, and even though I obviously had absolutely no idea what I was doing he was a great teacher and didn't care. It made me remember why I picked Ireland!
Two weekends ago my friend Angie who is studying in London came to visit just for a quick two days. It was great to have a visitor, and even though we didn't do very much except stay around Galway it is always nice to see a friendly face!
Friday I left for Nice and was so excited to see the sun. We got to France about 5:45 and found our way to our hotel. We had found a super cheap hotel which was even cheaper then any of the hostels which was really great, it wasn't anything fancy but it was nice to have clean towels and someone make our beds even just for a few days! It is the little things in life that just make it better haha. After we found our hotel we made our way down to the water, which was about two blocks from our hotel, and walked along the water for a while until we found a restaurant that we liked, which was not difficult. It was a cute little open restaurant right on the water, and eating seafood, drinking wine, and looking out onto the ocean made the night SO perfect. We were exhausted from traveling and didn't really know much about the city yet so we made it an early night and headed back so we could get up early and enjoy the beach fully the next day!
Saturday we woke up and walked along the entire coast just checking things out and found that it was really really quiet. When we got back to our hotel it turns out we walked in the opposite direction of all of the actual city, but oh well it was so nice! We found a famous flower and food market down by the water and bought amazing picnic food, bread, cheese, olives, fruit, absolutely wonderful. We made our way down to the beach and sat and relaxed all afternoon. As much as I love Ireland I was definitely missing the sun, and it was so strong I think my body went into shock! It's like the first day of summer after a long MN winter. After we had our fill of sun for the day we wandered until we found a gelato stand and enjoyed yummy gelato while we walked the city a little bit. It is a super cute town filled with restaurants and shops. The crowd is a bit older then I expected, but it was so much fun. I went to Palm Sunday Mass in French, it is always an experience going to mass in another language but it is also one of my favorite things to do. I love how even though I don't understand all the words, it is such a universal thing that I can respond to in English without knowing any French. They had olive branches instead of palms, but were selling super intricately folded palms outside the church. Holy Week is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I am really going to miss being home for the Triduum and Easter, but I guess I can't complain! After we found a restaurant for dinner where I had FANTASTIC pizza and then we found a few bars and cafes where we sat outside and enjoyed the night life.
Sunday we walked the opposite way on the coast back to the big port where a cruise ship had just come in. There were little celebrations and tours for the cruise members, and we just took in all of the huge boats and beautiful chateaus. The water is so ridiculously blue and clear that I could have just sat and looked at it for hours, which lets face it I did. We made our way back to the market for picnic day two, and found that it had gotten cloudy since the morning. Me, being not so smart, decided that I didn't get that burned the day before so I didn't need to put sunscreen on because it was cloudy. ROOKIE mistake. I FRIED the tops of my feet, my chest, and my back, but oh well I guess I still haven't learned after 21 years of summer! That night we found a great little seafood restaurant and then went in search of some fun. My friend Erin had a heard of a place called Wayne's which was supposed to be super fun so we asked our hotel desk man to look it up. When we got there it was a total tourist bar, but one of the most fun places I have ever been. There were big long tables where everybody just sat intermixed and made friends with whoever was next to them, we had Austrians on one side and a few French boys on our other side. Our waiter was a very attractive Australian man who was totally crazy, and I think the guys next to us where pretty much the only French people in the whole place! It was totally crazy, and then a live band started playing. After a little bit everybody started getting up on the tables and dancing, apparently that is what Wayne's is famous for. Now I am so not a person who gets up on tables and dances, but the atmosphere of this place was so much fun and crazy I had to hop up there! What made it even better is I they served Amaretto sours, my FAVORITE drink which I cannot find in Ireland. I was one happy camper.
Monday we didn't have to leave until late, so we found our last bakery for breakfast then walked to a Russian inspired church a few blocks away from our hotel. It was really cool, it looked like a Russian palace with the striped spires and all. We headed to the beach for our last few hours there. We were all pretty sunburned so it was a short trip out there where we all stayed pretty covered up, unlike a few of the women who were definitely topless, oh the differences in cultures. We found our last gelato and headed to the airport to make our way back to Ireland where there is no sun. To prove this to us it was raining when we landed and all last night. Thanks for throwing that in my face mother nature haha.
This week I am going to Dublin with Alexa's family who is here visiting, it is crazy that I have been here for over 3 months now and haven't been to Dublin yet except the airport! I am very excited to spend time with her family and see the city. Classes ended last week so I now have two papers and two finals at the end of April and then I am done which is so crazy! Time is flying! I am almost ready to come home, but not ready to leave. Crazy mix of emotions!
I love you all so much, sorry this was such a long one! I cannot wait to hear from you, you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Happy Easter!
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