Happy Ending & A Tribute To The Wasters

[This is the hardest story that I have ever told]- the last blog about being in Ireland.


We arrived back in Dublin from Barcelona around four on Wednesday and I had to say more good-byes. :(  Dόnal was there to drive Iain and me back to my place.  We were spending our last few days together at my house with a trip to Wexford in the mix.

Dόnal had booked a dinner for us at The Church Bar.  I had mentioned earlier in the year that I wanted to go there sometime, so he had made reservations. It is such a nice restaurant that used to be a church.  We sat upstairs overlooking the bar area.  There are still stain glass windows and there was a musician playing while we were eating.  The food was delicious; I got a stuffed pepper with artichoke salad for starter and gnocchi for main.  I did try a bite of  Dόnal's haddock and cod from his starter and main, respectively.  I'm still not convinced on fish, but it isn't awful.  Then for dessert we split a berry crumble and chocolate fondant.  I was so full after all this, plus we had two glasses of white wine.  The date was like [A little bit of Heaven] (multiple puns intended).

We then walked a few calories off back home to Iain, where we attempted to watch a movie, but all fell asleep within the first half hour.

Thursday was our trip to Wexford!  Lucy accompanied us too, which made it even better.  Iain's house is so nice and his family was lovely!! They all got on so well and are extremely smart.  His younger brother and sister were both doing exams at the time but were so chill about everything.  They also have a bear, Tyson, as a pet.  When we first got there we played Just Dance 2 on the Wii and  Dόnal made Miis for all of us. Then we decided to head in to town.  We had no plans and all of us are very indecisive, but somehow we made it to the forest/beach.  In the forest there were some rope swings we played on for a bit.  Then we walked on and decided upon the tree  that we played 'tip the can' with for a good hour. It is kind of like hide and go seek, but has some different rules (which took a half hour to figure out the right ones...we played about half a dozen different ways first- wasters at their finest).  I miss being a kid, [I'm not pretending] ....the amount of games I played in a span of a couple weeks between the car rides and Wexford....

After we got tired and winded we headed to the beach beach and drew in the sand and watched the tide.  We had to start making our way back to the car because it was almost time for dinner.  Of course, typical wasters, we got distracted from our goal a few times.   Dόnal taught us how to drive and we all took turns (Lucy was already a pro).  I drove a manual on the other side of the road....but not really because we were basically just in a parking lot.  No one crashed or died = success.  Then one last stop off in Tesco before din din.  While we ate, Iain told his family the story about us getting stuck in the parking garage in Barcelona. They all appreciated it, and more fully when he included all the details.

We stayed in an played Wii Fit for a while before they introduced me to Father Ted, a tv series about priests, which once again we all fell asleep during the episodes.

The next morning we finished up our visit with some P.A. on the Wii Fit and rushed back to Dublin.  Lucy left us for about 24 hours and  Dόnal left us for a shorter time while he went to work in Cavan.

Saturday was cleaning, baking, and wasting before our last night out.  Billy was nice enough to pick Mooney up from the aiport AKA bring pictures of Mooney, so we could take pictures with her all night.  We went to Messrs, which always results in a good night.

Sunday was a skype date with Mooney and a trip to Blanchardstown, where there is a shopping center.  We had planned on making there at two, which means four or five, but we were good with our time and were only an hour later than planned.  We stopped in Pheonix park on the way back to get ice cream and walk around a bit. We couldn't stay too long because we were to meet Ellie, Jack, and Siobhan for dinner at seven.  We were just a bit late, still in the socially acceptable time frame.

We watched Ireland in the Euros at a pub (after we left one pub because they didn't except age cards and demanded a passport), unfortunately they lost, which is why everyone was depressed, not because I was leaving. [No hope, no love, no glory].  On our way home we picked up two pints of ice cream and sulked until we went to bed.

Our plan was to wake up at 5am, get everything together and leave at 5:30am so we would be at the airport a little after 6am.  I was planning ahead and giving myself a half hour to say good-byes, so then I would still have about three hours before my flight.  Definition of wasters- apparently I turned my alarm clock off and Lucy's didn't go off at all.  I [wake up at in the morning] at 6:30am....that was the quickest I've seen us move.  We made it out of the house in, I'd say 5 minutes flat.  Needless to say, I was freaking out.  Luckily the check-in line wasn't bad and neither was the security line.  I said quick and depressing good-byes.  We had our last group hug (until next summer when  Dόnal, Iain, and Lucy come to America for a J-1:) ) and I headed to the security check.  It was so sad to look back and see the three of them standing there and me leaving [This is the way you left me].  I think people were wondering what my problem was because I was crying throughout the line [No happy ending]. I composed myself a bit and then broke down after again after customs.  During the second security check the man working asked me if I was okay. ha. I made it to my flight in plenty of time.  I just didn't get to send in my VAT form or go to duty free to pick some stuff up for people.  It all worked out okay.  I called  Dόnal, Iain, and Lucy and talked to them right up until I was handing over my boarding pass.  I had to say my final good-byes so we could [Then live rest of our life, but not together].


The flight was fine I watched three movies and three tv shows during the seven hour and forty-five minute flight.  My second flight was delayed a bit, but not by too much.  Then it was just two more hours for a drive to Loogootee.  It was so weird coming in town because I hadn't been here in so long.

I'm not quite on Central Time yet. I woke up at [Two o'clock in the morning] and decided I would just blog instead of sleep.  Losing five hours was much easier than gaining five hours and in a few more days I'll gain three more hours. [Can't get no rest].
I may try and blog about my summer, but because confidentiality and what not it won't be that detailed.


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What I'll miss about Ireland (just a few)

•  THE PEOPLE
•   Being a waster
• The trips to people's to visit people's families
• Morning runs around the Liffey/Pheonix park
• THE PEOPLE
• A small class
• Class events (Mystery tour, horse races, dinners etcs)
• The Irish accent
• THE PEOPLE
• Scones
• The amount of ice cream/chocolate I ate
• The lax attitude
• THE PEOPLE
• K street mart
• K street library
• The libo-cop
• THE PEOPLE
• Coppers/Messrs
• Having my own house
• Being foreign
• THE PEOPLE
• Penney's
• Trinity library during exams
• Extended study breaks (after extended study breaks)
• THE PEOPLE
• Living in the city
• Grafton Street
• The country side
• THE PEOPLE
• Willy bum bum
• Mika
• Nights out
• THE PEOPLE
• The Younga
• Frank
• Domestics
• THE PEOPLE
• Going into the gym for the chats
• Wasting
• ETC

What I won't miss about Ireland

• The too lax attitude about certain things (grade returns)
• Having my own house
• The exchange rate
• The weather
• The exam system

I just want to thank all the people I've met throughout the semester.  All the Humnuts (and biomeds) had an impact on my life and I will miss you dearly.  (Add my friend Geoffrey Keating on Facebook ;) so we can all chat 'while I'm away')  You have all made my experience fantastic.  These blogs only do a small part of depicting the amount of fun I've had throughout the semester and how wonderful you all are.  I will come back to Ireland some day, but it won't be for a few years when I can afford it.  I couldn't imagine making such great friends and not seeing them again.  I have made such great memories with all of you and this experience was definitely something I will remember for a lifetime.  As sad it was to leave, I'm more than happy that it happened; I would do it ten times over. I love you all.  [Can't get no love without sacrifice]. Good luck in placement this summer!  Skype me!

And a special shout out to the wasters for destressing me a bit and making me a waster as well.  Keep calm and waste on.  

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Part II

Barca Barca Barca!

The weather in Barcelona was more of the summer weather I’m used to with a plus side, low humidity.  We didn’t arrive until Tuesday night, so we went right out to eat dinner and look for pubs and clubs.  It was a bit of a failed night in that area, but still a good time. 

Wednesday we went to, Barceloneta, the main touristy beach for the whole day.  It reminded me of a relaxing segment of spring break.  We got a volleyball, racquets, and a tube…and of course ice cream.  (Actually I think that day we had ice cream as pre-breakfast as well).  I may have my days mixed up, but after the beach I think we walked along the boardwalk and then around the city a bit.  We found a park with a version of teeter totters, a tire swing and ‘balancing’ balance beams.  

Wednesday night Ciara, Síobhan and I were the only ones that ended up out at the clubs.  We got in free and received two free drinks- woot!

Thursday we all went on cable cars that overlooked the city and went up to a castle.  We hopped off at the castle and looked around for a bit, ate lunch, took some fun pictures, and went back down the cable cars.  The plan was for us to split up, which we did, but half of us were to go to Las Ramblas and walk around and half go to a water park in Barcelona.  I was in the water park group, but it turned out it wasn’t going to be open for another couple of days.  Síobhan wanted to make the most of her trip and wanted to do something adventurous, so we talked to the nice information man and we went on a train to a non-touristy beach.  It was so nice; it was pretty small and secluded.  Our plan was to rent paddle boats, but we ended up mainly just sleeping.   

After we finally got our stuff together and headed back in, we ate dinner and got ready for a night out.  Everyone went out that night except Megan, because the poor thing was burnt to a crisp.  We found this row of about 20 different clubs that were all free in, so we just went down the line and went into each one.  Some of the clubs were quite interesting, nonetheless a good time. 

Friday was Dόnal and Síobhan’s last day, so they didn’t really have time to anything before hand.  Our plan was to go to the secluded beach, Garraf (or Giraffe as we called it).  The train ride was about a half hour- about the same as the Barceloneta beach.  Dόnal and Síobhan left before us so they could get something to eat and leisurely walk to the train station.  We ended up seeing them and saying good bye about four different times.  At the grocery shop, the train station, the ticket area, and the platform, we just didn’t want them to leave.

Our days at the beach were really just the same, go to the beach, sleep on the beach, get in the water a couple times, head home make dinner, and maybe go out.  Friday we stayed in though because we were all wrecked.  Saturday we went to Camp Nou, Parc Güell, and Las Ramblas.  Saturday night we went out to the clubs and before we knew it, it was almost 6am, so we decided we would just go home for breakfast and head straight to the beach.  I slept in quite a few different places in the span of a few hours that day:  on the metro home, in the sitting room for a few minutes, at the train station, on the train, at the beach, and on the platform between the train tracks.  The last one was because we beat the sun to the beach and it started raining while we were sleeping.  We debated a bit before getting up, but then headed to the train.  As we were waiting for the train, it started to get sunnier, so we delayed our train ride back. (I was asleep during the majority of these conversations- only waking up when a train zoomed past me and scared me half to death, along with Breda’s screams).  We ended up deciding it’d be worth it to stay, yet still proceeded to lay on the platform for a half hour.  It was cloudy but we all got a bit burnt that day, except Iain.  He was the only one the whole trip to not get burnt at all.   After our eventful previous night we  decided to stay in Sunday night and rest up before our journey to Port Aventura Monday.

Shona and Megan sat out for Port Aventura, so there was five of us going to the theme park.  We went on all the roller coasters, some not quite as thrilling as the others.  The park had Europe’s largest roller coaster, which we went on about four or five times.  It was our favorite by far.  The highlight of the park was getting stuck on the log ride.  I don’t think any of us are sure who’s idea it was to go on the ride because during it we all hated and wanted it to end because we were getting wet.  All five of us went in the same log.  There were about four hills to go down and when we got to the last one, the largest, we got stuck right before our downhill expedition. When we realized we were actually stuck, we were thrilled.  We were hoping we would get escorted down, so that we wouldn’t have to endure the massive splash.  However, when they did come up, we didn’t get escorted down by foot, just sent down in our log.  There were about seven logs behind us when our log started to move again.  It was actually hilarious.

Tuesday was our last day and another typical day at the beach.  We ended up never using the paddle boats even though we had intended to from day 1.

All right, the last eventful story of the trip, and maybe the best.  However, I think those that weren’t there will not appreciate it fully.  Our last night we wanted to be memorable, so we decided to go out to the clubs.  Breda, Iain, Lorraine, Shona, and I were the victims (Ciara had left for her next destination in Portugal).  We wanted to head out in time to get the metro to the clubs and make it in free before midnight. We set out a little after eleven, but did not make it too far.  We had climbed into the lift and intended to arrive on the first floor.  However, there was a lady that had called the lift down to the parking garage with a key.  She was giving us dirties, so we thought oh we’ll just get out here.  Bad idea (arguably a good idea, though)….we couldn’t get back into the elevator because we didn’t have the right kind of key. We were stuck in the parking garage.  We thought okay we’ll just call up to Megan and ask her to send the lift down to us (this was actually after about twenty minutes of skipping around and taking pictures on motorcycles) …BUT there was no button to the parking garage.  She tried them all and failed, so was forced to ask the neighbors to help (we were in a big apartment complex).  One man apparently said that he would go get us, but never did.  So were walking around trying to find an exit, but there is NO exit.  We tried to lift unscrew the garage door and lift it, but that wasn’t really working out for us.  Iain and I were having the bants, while Breda, Lorraine, and Shona were a bit nervous.  Quote of the evening by Breda, “Megan, we don’t know what to do.  We are running out of oxygen.”  This was completely false. We could actually go outside, but it was enclosed by walls and apartments.  It was quite stuffy down there though, so Iain had to take his shirt off to cool down.  Iain also used what little resources we had, maybe 100mls/~.5 cups of water.  He was doing pull ups and his hands got greasy, so he needed to wash them. 

Our escape was due Iain and his half-nakedness craziness.  After over an hour of being down there we had no escape and thought we would actually be sleeping there all night.  So Iain went to the outside segment and climbed up on this thin roof.  To make matters better Iain wasn’t wearing any pants because his jeans were too restricting to climb up the wall.  So due to all the ruckus, this Spanish man came out seeing Iain on top of a roof in only boxers and shoes and started yelling at him to get back.  After a while we managed to communicate with him that we were stuck with no way out, so the man came down and rescued us.  (Side note: at the start we had all brought down bags of rubbish and recyclables to put in the bins.  I don’t think very many actually made it to the bin, but the man saw the bottles of alcohol and thought we had been drinking down there.)

The only down side of Barcelona-I acquired food poisoning at some point in the trip, but luckily it didn’t really hit me until Wednesday, the day we were leaving.

It was the best trip abroad from being abroad.  Fun was had by all!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Part I

After exams were finally finished, Dόnal, Lorraine, and I traveled to Clare for the half marathon the next day. Lorraine lives in Clare, so we stayed at her house, which was right by the sea and across the way from the Cliffs of Moher.  It was so nice and would have been better if we could have stayed longer, but in the morning we were up early to head to the start of the half marathon.  It was my first one, for those who don't know, and quite tough.  We ran up two mountains; after the first one I told Dόnal, "Thank God that was at the beginning!" and then maybe two miles later he warned me, "I don't want to scare you, but look over there."  There was a second mountain we had to go up! Somehow I survived the second one and the full 13.1 miles.  It was very hard but had wonderful scenery and definitely worth it.

Next it was on to Caaaaaavan for a couple nights where I met everyone's parents. all their mom's are so cute and their fathers are complete babes. I stayed at Lucy's place and herself and Niamh showed me a night out on the town Saturday. It was good, but I was half out of it from the lack of sleep from studying (or attempting) and the half marathon. Sunday was a scorcher (relatively speaking: a scorcher here is anything above 70) so we went to a forest park where there was a beach and lay out for a bit. That evening we went to the Olde Post Inn, where Dόnal works, for a meal.  They pulled out all the stops.  It was amazing there was appetizers, starters, middle course, main course, dessert, tea, coffee & petit fours, and then two rounds of shots on the house! it was so good I got asparagus for starters and celeriac lasagna for mains. I'm getting lazy so i'm not putting up pictures. You can find them on facebook. Then we got our very own taxi to town by the chefs who were on their way home from work. It was great but I was stuffed, yet the night was still young. 

Two pubs and a nightclub later and we were all back at  Dόnal's, where I proceeded to show off my only talent, which is backflips on a trampoline. Also I fed Spud (the dog) a whole loaf of brown bread, and told him he was my best friend, before telling him he was only using me for the food.

Monday unfortunately we had to leave Cavan. Sad face. So we went on a roadtrip back to Dublin. In true waster style, it took us about six hours to leave but we had great fun in the car. 'is it a lake or a pond'. When we eventually got back to Dublin we went for food and I had to say some goodbyes to Mooney. it was terrible but I got a really cool poster signed by all of the class. It was totes emosh.

Off to the beach beach in Barcelona baby.

(co-wrote by  Dόnal  McGoldrick)

All Good Things Come To An End

I might get sick in the middle of this blog because talking about leaving Ireland makes me nauseous.  I have less than a month left, and what is going to make it go faster is that every day is planned out.  This could get emotional....

From tomorrow until Friday I will be studying.  I have a final Wednesday and my last one on Friday.  After our final, Shauna, a girl in our class is having a BBQ, so if we have time we'll make an appearance before Dόnal, Lorraine and I head to Clare.  The half-marathon is on Saturday morning and Lorraine lives close to the start and is so kind to let us crash at her place for the night.  Unfortunately, we will miss the last night out in Dublin with the class, but that's the way it goes.  Then after the run we will either head to Cavan, where Dόnal, Lucy, and Niamh live, or back to Dublin for one last night out with Mooney. :( very depressing.  She is heading to Cyprus on Tuesday.  I was going to try and come visit her there for one last trip before back to the States, but the trips were too expensive with ridiculously long layovers.....but new word on the street is that Mooney is coming to America in January 2013!!!!! 
Back to the itinerary: If I am not already there, Sunday I will be heading to Caaaaavan for a meal at The Olde Post, where Dόnal works, and a night out in the town I've heard so much about.  I'm not positive of the crew attending this dinner.  Dόnal, Lucy, Niamh and myself for certain, and maybe Iain and Colton.

Monday it is back to Dublin to get things together for my trip to Barcelona on Tuesday.  We have a good chunk of people going with us.  Originally it was Breda, Ciara,  Fionnuala, Lorraine, Megan, and one of Lorriane's friends.  Bittersweet, but Fionnuala had an offer for a really good job this summer and decided to take that, but would not be able to make the trip with us.  Iain then jumped on the bandwagon, and just recently, as in yesterday, Dόnal is now going for a few days and possibly Siobhon.

We will arrive back in Dublin the next week on Wednesday and that night Dόnal and I are going to the Church Bar.  Thursday Dόnal, Iain and I are heading to Wexford.  Iain lives there, so he's going to entertain us and house us for the night.  Then we'll all travel back to Dublin because Billy, one of the biomeds, is getting some people together for a night out at Messr's.  I am assuming Paul, James,....and then whatever other diets are in Dublin and willing to go out. (Shout out to Rόisín, Shauna, Fionnuala, Ciara F, Siobhan)

Saturday will be a lazy day as well as start getting things packed and maybe one last night out after our last night out.  Then Sunday I will finish getting things packed up, house cleaned, and everything sorted for my flight on Monday morning.  I have an eight hour layover in Georgia, so I could actually drive home in the length of my layover.  I'll end up getting to Loogootee around midnight Monday. LFR anyone?? except by that point I'll have been up almost 24 hours.

Officially depressed right now because I am just thinking about how I have to leave all the wonderful people I've met...all the good times.  I don't know if I've ever had fun in a library before I came to Ireland.  I can now say I've watched The Human Centipede...very scarring, so I won't forget that.... I have had 3 servings of spuds at one meal.... I have started to drink beer (still prefer spirits though)...I drink way more coffee and tea now....ran for pope....I've experience The Younga...I've wasted more time than I have ever thought I could possibly do.... been on a mystery tour...sandpapered a mushroom...celebrated St. Paddy's day in Dublin...etc

This is all for now too depressing and I need to get to bed.  I need to get up early enough to work out before heading to the library tomorrow.

Blogging before I get back to the states will most likely be short and scarce seeing that I have so much planned.  It would be a good break but I won't have anything to write about unless you want to hear about the knowledge I now know from nutritional science.

Lancaster LaLaLa Lancaster LaLaLa (Library LaLaLa)

When I started this blog it was last Thursday, but now it is two Thursdays ago I traveled to Lancaster, England to stay with Katie (a little slow, as usual).  It was their Roses weekend, which is a tournament against York in all of their different sports.  It was throughout Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  All the sports were worth different amounts of points.  There was netball, basketball, rugby, american football, football, lacrosse, badmitton, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, darts, etc.  Darts was actually a really big deal.  We went to go watch it and there was a massive crowd.  All the players would make big entrances before their turn.  We didn't stay for the whole thing, but apparently it had to be called off because there was a beer fight of some sort.

Katie had her football games Saturday and Sunday, which she won both.  Actually her game on Sunday won the whole tournament for Lancaster! Woot! Go Katie!!  That were are so many American exchange students that go to Lancaster (~1/2 of their exchange students).  I thought we had a lot in DIT (I think I've encountered/heard of 10).

The whole trip flew by!  There was so much going we stayed on her campus for the most part.  (Katie has a campus, but the city is my campus...my Irish followers may appreciate this).  We went out a night, attempted a few more; a great time overall and depressing to leave.  Now I won't see Katie until August because she doesn't venture back to the States until the very end of June.  By that time I'll already be out in California working.

My trip back to Dublin was an exciting one.  The earliest train I could get to Manchester from Lancaster was 5:45am and I had to change trains (waiting at least 10 minutes on the other).  My flight out of Manchester was at 8:55 and I did not arrive to the Manchester airport until at least 8:30, which was supposed to be past when the gate closed (thank God Ryanair is so reliable and always includes extra time to leave late). I ended up running all over the airport and was just about the last one on the plane.  All that matters is that I made it on and back to Dublin.  My heart rate may have been 130 bpm for half the flight because I was so nervous I wasn't going to make it (and running), but sure it gave me a thrill

Once back into Dublin it was straight into study mode.  I spent most of the last week in Kevin street library and a bit in Trinity library.  A bit more banter in k st library because it's so easy to not get anything done (and maybe get a stare down from the libo-cop).    I had my first exam today, we'll see how it went....in about 6 months when my grades get transferred.

Planning on posting another blog within 24 hours, maybe editing/adding pictures to a few...that part is less likely, but its a thought.

P.s. Colton, my fantastic roommate, told me to tell everyone HI

Better Late Than Never

So this will also be short and sweet because I am getting ready to meet the rents.  They came in last Saturday morning.  So far we went on Giant's Causeway & Derry tour (Northern Ireland), they went to the Cliffs of Moher (West Side(high)), and yesterday we went to the Blarney Castle/Kinsale/Cobh/Cork (Southern Ireland).  Tonight it's Hannah and Mooney's birthday, so a bunch of us are all going out to eat, along with the parents.  Tomorrow (Friday) is my last day with them before they're shipped back over to America.

Easter break (it already seems so long ago) turned out well.  I won't go into details because one of them isn't so happy.  Let's just say Amsterdam may have more memories of me than I have of it. (not because of an erased memory). Turns out Amsterdam isn't all about sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.  It has some great and interesting history.  They aren't liberal, they are tolerant.... While we were there we did a wine and cheese tasting tour, the Heinekin, Anna Frank Huis, a canal cruise, etc.  It was definitely good to get back to Dublin.  I missed my new home and English speaking people!

Since Easter break (nearly two weeks now) I've had some excitement.  We've had a couple exams (not such fun excitement), a triathlon at DIT (I wanted to die, but I didn't), and our formal, (<-- was the opposite) The Beast Ball (with potatoes and all), and as I've already mentioned the excitement with the rents here.

My semester over here is unfortunately winding down :(.  I only have 2 more classes and then exams!
Next week I'm heading to England to visit Katie Bush, so that will be an adventure, no doubt.

Well i'll try and add in some later; sorry for the poor, undetailed blog.

Mainland Europe!

This blog will be short and sweet due to the limited access of interenet I have. 

Currently I am in Vienna, Austria and everything is closed due to the Easter holiday!  Hannah and I went to mass this morning (luckily we were able to find an English mass), and then went to a cafe (just about the only one open) and had coffee and an applestrudel.

Steve left yesterday, and should probably be home by now.  We had a great time in Italy and then one day in Austria.  Naples was not that great, in my opinion, but I am not upset we went there.  The place we stayed was kind of in a shady area, but the B & B was nice.  We ordered pizza for lunch and thought they were going to be personal pizzas because they were six euro, but NO they were whole sized pizzas.  Needless to say I couldn't eat all mine and got it to go.  However, soon after I realized I did not want to carry around a pizza box all day, so I did my good deed of the day and left it by a homeless man.
 (I only have seven minutes left, so on to Rome)
Rome was amazing, but overwhelming at the same time because we only had two days to see the city.
We met up with Colton and Blair and went to the Colleseum, had dinner, gelato, and drank 'some' wine.  The next day we went to the Vatican and the Bascilica, more gelato, pasta, and wine.

Overall it's been a good trip, and I definitely want to come back to Europe (several times), or maybe even study here again, if possible.  It is now on my bucket list to learn another language.  I feel so inadequate because a lot of people in Europe know more than one language.  I met a guy from Germany last night that knows five languages!!

All right out of time! Blog most likely when I'm back in Dublin!

Living the Life

First off, I forgot to mention last blog that we made sandwiches for the homeless!!  I knew there was something else I did last week....can't believe I forgot that event!!

So last weekend was a nice chill weekend with working out and studying.  Sunday was the beginning of the best weather Ireland ever sees!!  It was so sunny and warm.  We went to one of the parks and enjoyed our dose of vitamin D.  I'm pretty sure a good majority of the city was there.

Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday were just as nice.  Monday we had class all day, so we weren't able to enjoy it.  Tuesday our finished at noon and Hannah and I went shopping for a while.  I said I wanted to get back earlyish so that I could work on my essay that was due Friday.  I got back to our place around 2 and couldn't even stay in an hour because it was so nice out....I had to enjoy  the sunshine.

Wednesday was quite an eventful day!  We had a clinical chem assessment, which was the least of our course's worries because we had the horse races to attend.  Everyone got dressed up, enjoyed the sun, a few drinks, some gambling, and I can't forget the sumo blow up games (like we have at prom).  It was a great day.  We planned on going out to a club afterwards because with the tickets we bought, we could get into certain clubs for free before midnight, but we ended up missing that time slot...

Thursday I completed my essay and then ended up being another movie night...we watched The Lion King and Disturbia :)

Friday was a sad day...I had to tell everyone good-bye for two weeks because it's our Easter break.  It's really going to be depressing when I have to leave them for an indefinite amount of time..... :( I'm really becoming attached to this place, and now I only have 2 months left, with one month of that is traveling.
Friday night turned out positive though- after working out, I spontaneously decided to go out. Mooney, one of the girls in our course, called me and (easily) persuaded me to go out with her and the biomeds. Good Night. 

Saturday was a semi-productive day at the library and Steve arrived yesterday (Sunday)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We leave early morning for Naples tomorrow and then head to Rome on Wednesday. Italia, here we come!!

And All That Jazz

I believe my last blog left off at Tuesday, which really was not that extensive.  The main event happened during our class.  We had a moc-dietary consultation with a group of elderly people.  Everyone in our class was paired up in twos and each of our groups had one elderly person.  They came in and we had scones and coffee/tea and then sat down in our groups of three and started our 'consultation'  This week only one of the students talked (So Breda my case) and just did half the consultation.  So next week I will do the other half.  Breda and my lady, Anne, was so great!!! I want her to be my Irish grandmother :)

Highlight of the week: Wednesday I got to teach a Turbo Kick class!!! A good portion of the people in our course did it (so like 15 people)  No one here in Ireland has ever heard of Turbo Kick, but they said they enjoyed it (I don't think they lied) and most of them said they were sore the next day (still got it!)

Wednesday night Hannah and I and a few of the girls in our course went to the DIT fashion show.  It's one of the biggest events of the year.  It did turn out really well.  I couldn't really take any good pictures, but Blair was actually photographing for DIT and got some great shots.  It was worth the 15 euro considering we got a goody bag and it included a 10 euro voucher for the phone company I use.

Thursday we finished one of our Communication lectures with a moc-radio interview.  I did mine on vegetarianism.  So now on Tuesdays and Thursdays I only have two hours of class!  I can't believe this semester is starting to wind down....kind of.  We have a practical assessment next week and then two weeks of four our Easter Break. .....which I just completely figured out.  It has changed a few times, but now we have our flights set!
Steve (if you don't know that he is my brother, I don't know why you're reading this) comes over in one week!! We fly to Italy- spend a day/night in Naples, then head over to Rome and spend a couple days there, then travel up to Vienna, Austria.  Unfortunately, Steve has to leave and head back to his big-boy job the morning after we arrive :( but I am meeting Hannah and we are spending a few days in Vienna and then flying over to Amsterdam, Netherlands until we head back to Dublin!!

That's basically been the extent of my week other than Thursday night we had a movie night at one of the girls' place and Friday night was kind of a lazy night as well.  We are preparing ourselves for the two-week long excursion to mainland Europe.

Blog atcha later
-K

Stereotypical Ireland

So it has been a fun- and event-filled week to say the least.  I think we'll start off with Thursday where the St. Paddy's day events began.

Katie Bush and Tyler Alverson came to visit Dublin and I.  I went to pick them up at the airport.  Of course, Katie and I were not very organized and I had next to no information about her flight, we have different country codes for our phones, and Katie had next to no minutes on her phone, so it took a little bit to get things figured out.  However, all that matters is that we found each other!!  It was SO nice to have a good friend from back home visit.  So our Thursday night entailed an hour bus ride back to my place and then what seemed to be a long walk back to my place (which is really only about 12-15 minutes).  We then grabbed a bite to eat and got ready for a night out.  A few of my classmates came over for pre-drinks and then they took us out to Coppers, aka Copper-face Jacks aka you fill in the rest.  Our classmates have been talking about Coppers all semester and we never managed to get there, but it lived up to my expectations.  

∆Z Love!!

So Friday after I was done with classes, Katie, Tyler and I walked all around Dublin.  I took them to the infamous Penney's, which is a really cheap clothing store where you can actually find a lot of cute clothes.  It is the only place that I have bought clothing here in Ireland (well besides my Jameson sweatshirt).  Then I took them to the Guinness Factory.  It was jammers! We didn't really the think of the fact that it was the day before St. Patrick's day.  There was a line around the block to get it, but it actually moved quickly.  We went through the five floors and had our Guinness on the top floor, but you couldn't really move around or see anything because it was so packed. Anyhow, it was a great day at the Guinness Factory and we each came home with a souvenir of a nice glass Guinness cup.

Fun Picture!!

Yay we're almost Irish

So after that was all finished with, we picked up some food to cook, ate dinner, and took a much needed nap.  We had to get a bit of energy to start our St. Paddy's day....at midnight. A bunch of Katie's friends from her school in Lancaster were over for the big weekend, so we met them at none other than, Coppers. Classic.  A Irish football player bought Katie and I drink to begin the St. Paddy's day celebration.  We didn't stay out too late because we wanted to be ready for the morning.

On the morning of St. Paddy's day, Katie and Tyler had to head back to England so that Tyler could catch his flight back to the States on Sunday.  Most of the main roads were closed due to the Parade, so we walked down to the Liffey and got them a cheaper cab there.  After that it was to one of the American's house.  He had breakfast and drinks for us.  After a while we headed over to watch the parade.  It was very theatrical!  There were people everywhere! People had the hats with the red beard, beers, green everything, everywhere.  It was stereotypical Ireland.... Leprechauns....(which apparently the Irish think that Americans pronounce it Lee-pra-seans [i'm not good at phenetics] which I'd never heard it pronounced like that until I came to Ireland)
We also watched the Gaelic Football game, which the first time I'd watched Gaelic football, usually it's rugby.  There was also a rugby game on after that, but we went to get some food before the rest of our night.

 

Monday was a bank holiday here since Paddy's day was on a Saturday, so that was great we did not have class.  So I worked out and went to the Dublin Zoo with Dόnal!  It's the most 'wildlife' I have seen since I've been to Ireland.  Usually I just see dogs, cats, birds, and the deer when I run in Pheonix park (which I forgot to mention that on Thursday Dόnal took me on a twelve mile run.  It went decently well I would say and I recently signed up for the half marathon at the end of May!)  The zoo had a good variety...and lots of turtles!!

Once again I'll have to put more pictures up later.  My computer won't let me upload anymore.  Overall Successful weekend and I'll try to blog again this week because I will have some activities to talk about for this week! How exciting!

Guinness, Newgrange, & Tara Hill

Sorry for the delay in the post.  I guess that's to be expected from me, so just trying to be consistent with that, I suppose.
So I was on spot, when I said we were going to the Guinness Factory.  It was quite fun, not as good as the Jameson Distillery.  The tour was self-guided, which I actually did not like as much.  With our ticket we were to receive a pint of Guinness.  You could either redeem it on the second floor and 'pour your own pint,' or wait until the seventh floor and enjoy it with the view of the whole city.

I decided to pour my own pint, and now I am a pro.  The guys that were working the station even taught us how to make the shamrock in the head.  I also received, yet another certificate.  I am curious to see what my next one will be.

So I will move on to my Saturday, since I did absolutely nothing on Friday except work out.  Saturday Colton and I went to Newgrange and Tara Hill via bus tour.  It was about 45 minutes Northwest of Dublin.  It was a tour full of history, so it was interesting, but I don't know how much I actually retained.  Our tour guide, Molly Gibbins, was like an encyclopedia, ridiculous.

Newgrange is in the Boyne Valley and was constructed over 5,000 years ago, making it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.  Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun.

                       

After this stop it was off to Tara Hill.  Back in the day (like 1100s) Tara hill was the capital of Ireland spiritually and politically.  Many kings used to live on this hill.  From the top of the hill, 3/4 of Ireland can be seen.  This was helpful so they could see for miles if any ones was coming.  Now there are not castles or any remains (besides two monuments), it is just mounds of dirt, but the view is magnificent.

I feel like I can't post the pictures that I took from there because they won't do it any justice.  I will add a few more pictures up of Tara Hill in the near future.

Saturday there was a rugby match, Ireland vs. Scotland.  It was a good match; i liked watching it.  Ireland won!!  We ended up going out that night, and there were a bunch of Scottish people out, in their kilts I might add.  I obtained a nice Ireland vs. Scotland scarf from a nice Scottish man.  

Well that's all for now, I believe..... If I don't blog tomorrow sometime, which is probably unlikely, I won't posting anything until after St. Paddy's day.  This place is going to get wild! *Earmuffs mom* Stocking up on the booze tomorrow.

 

Jameson for Dinner??? Why not?

So first of all I have to talk about last night (Monday) since something fun happened.  I went to work out again, and while I was working out...doing Turbo Kick for the first time since I bruised my knee bone.....one of the fitness instructors, J.B., at the gym was watching.  Anyhow I asked about the stereo and we got to talking about Turbo Kick.  I showed him some sections of Turbo and ends up he is a Zumba instructor.   He showed me a song and then had to go so his supervisor didn't yell at him.  So this instructor is from Spain, and I am not sure what exactly what he is doing in Ireland.....but he was a great Zumba instructor and he came back later and showed me another song.  It was so much fun.....a great/fun workout!!!!

Anyway on to today, Tuesday, (You guys are lucky I am having an exciting week.....and you might even get another blog before this weekend if you're lucky [Guinness Factory Thursday if it is decent weather])....
Two of Hannah's friends are here from America on spring break, so we are doing Dublin-y things this week.  Today we went to the Jameson Distillery, and it was one of the greatest days.
Colton and I arrived there before Hannah and Caitlin and Sarah, so we decided on an Irish coffee and Jameson neat (pure).  It was the best Irish coffee....ever!... and now I know how to make it.  Once they arrived, it was just about time to go on the tour, which was pretty cheap since we are students here.  John Jameson's motto was 'Sine Metu', which means 'without fear.'  It was interesting to hear about the grainstore, malting, milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation, marrying, and vatting of Jameson.  I was even chosen to be a whiskey tester.  We tasted Jack Daniels(single distilled), Scotch Wiskey(double distilled), and Jameson(triple distilled).  The Jameson is by far the best.  I received a certificate for being a whiskey tester (yet another certificate I have received in Ireland).  Also, everyone received a free drink either Jameson neat, Jameson with ginger ale, Jameson with cranberry juice, or Jameson with Sprite.

So I have been trying to add more photos, but my computer is pretty jacked right now.  

More to come later, I suppose. 

A Little Overdue

So I apologize for such a long delay in a post.  The past week was hectic with tests and having fun.  I just did not get around to it.

I will go back to last weekend when we went to Kerry/Dingle with one of my classmates, Ellie. This is on the very west coast of Ireland.  We went there by train after our classes on Friday.  The train ride was four hours and then it was another hour by car.  Her dad picked us up and took us on some crazy curvy roads around the mountain.  The deeper into the country you go, the more narrow the roads become.  It was basically a one lane road, so if another car was coming, one driver has to pull over on the side and let them pass.  On the way back you just kind of had to guess if a car was coming because it was so foggy.  (No worries, mom, I'm still alive!)

It was the best weekend I have had since I've been in Ireland.  It was so beautiful!!!!  If I was going to move to Ireland to live, I would live somewhere along that penninsula.  Dingle is a small town near Ellie's house. Dingle is one of the few towns left that is Gaeltacht, which is an Irish speaking community.  Ellie lives in Kerry, which is basically back-roads and wonderful scenery.

As soon as we arrived on Friday evening, we had amazing pasta and garlic bread along with a fruit & meringue parfait.  It was delicious.  Ellie's mom made us amazing food all weekend; it was so nice to have good home-cooked food.  I am pretty sure I gained weight over that weekend, but the great food was well worth it.  Friday night was a chill night.  We watched a movie and some Irish TV shows like Tallafornia (the Irish version of Jersey Shore...just as trashy)

From Ellie's house we had an amazing view.  She lives just about a ten minute walk from the beach, so we went on a walk there Saturday morning.  We had beautiful weather; people kept telling us, "Oh this isn't normal weather here.  You guys really lucked out."  Ellie and her boyfriend, Jack, took us around Slea Head and the whole mountain, they took us to see Fungie, the famous dolphin in Dingle.  People travel to Dingle to see this dolphin that has been there for years and years.  Some Irish think that the people of Dingle replace the dolphin time after time, but I'll believe the people of Dingle. We did actually see him too.
Saturday was a jam-packed day; we did more sight-seeing, and Hannah and I both got a hair cut and ice cream.  Saturday evening we went to mass with Ellie, her mom, and sister.  Apparently, they do not have hour long masses like we do in the States.  Around 35-40 minutes is the average length.

On the beach

A view from the beach looking back towards Ellie's house

A view near Ellie's

Ditto

Greenness

Slea Head

Cliffs off of Slea Head

Beauty

Our last event for the day was going to a pub and night club.  It was a good time.  Ellie also informed us that we wreak of American.  We were asking her if she saw us without speaking, would she know we were American.  Her instant answer was YES.  She explained because our complexion, eyes, and teeth mainly.  Not five minutes later this random guy came up to us and was like, "Hey, are you guys from America?"  How ironic, yes we are.  Later in the night we were asking some of Ellie's friends where we look like we're from or whatnot, and apparently I look more American than Hannah.  Bottom line: I WREAK American.

Sunday morning I went on a run on the beach and came back to a homemade Irish breakfast: eggs, toast, beans, tomatoes, and meat (which I obviously did not eat).  The rest of our day was mostly traveling back to Dublin.  It was a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday we had our first exam and that was in Professional Practice.  I thought it was going to be more specific than it was, so hopefully I did okay.  The girls in our course said that we may not ever know what we got on our exam?? weird, I would like to know my progress in the class. One of the lecturers for that class just retired, so we had a surprise fairwell party for her.  She is the sweetest lady!

Tuesday it was Blair's birthday (one of the guys from Purdue), so we celebrated.  Colton, Hannah, and I made him dinner and had a small cake for him, and then we met up with some other people and went to the a pub and club.

Wednesday I had my microbiology lab practical assessment.  I am so glad I am basically done with that class.  I only have a theory test in April for it. The lectures are over because it is half microbiology, half immunology, and I do not have to take the immunology section of it!!! So grateful for that.

One of the two guys in our class, Dόnal, is big into marathons and working out in general.  We went on two morning runs around the city.  It was so nice to see the city at that time, along with the sunrise.  I am wanting to do a half marathon while I am here, but I need to look more into the dates and places and whatnot.  Saturday I went on a run in Pheonix Park.  There are deer that just hang out in the fields, and I ran literally ten feet from some of them.  It was such a great morning to run.  The sun was out and it was decently warm, so perfect...for Ireland.
However, today (Sunday) it was hailing, while it was sunny.  It was kind of comical.

This past weekend we stayed in Dublin and just kind of hung out.  It was nice to have just a weekend here in Dublin.  Today for dinner Colton and I went to get sushi.  We lucked out and it happened to be all you can eat for 20 euro (for two hours).  There were plates just revolving around the bar and you just grab whatever you want.   There is one catch though, if you take a plate, you have to eat it all or you get charged extra. We probably ate about 120 euro worth of sushi; it was kind of ridiculous.  Towards the end Colton grabbed a plate of crayfish and it was awful.  We tried to find ways to get rid of it, like putting some of it a napkin, dropping a few pieces, & hiding a few pieces.  We left and could barely tolerate the walk home because we were so full.  (one of those had-to-be-there kind of stories...much funnier in real life).

Okay I am so tired of typing.  Hopefully I covered everything....I'll add more pictures later.  I can't even handle it right now.

2 weeks until St. Patrick's day!!!

To Come Soon

Sorry it's been a while and this will not even be a proper blog.  I have two exams this week, so it might be Wednesday until I get to blog about my weekend.  However, it was the best weekend in Ireland so far!
We went to Kerry with one of our classmates.
I did take some pictures on my ipod and I will have a camera today!!
More to come

A Great Weekend with a Bad Ending

So I guess I'll do the bad news first and get it over with.  There are no pictures to be uploaded (you'll have to go to Facebook and see what pictures were taken by others) My camera: jacked. gone. lost.  vanished.  never-to-be-seen-again. :(  It is very upsetting.  I still kind of want to get sick thinking about it, so we're going to move on...

Our trip this week was to Galway, which is on the west side of Ireland.  Adam, Colton, and Hannah (my three housemates), Arghanoon (a Swedish girl in our major), Blair, Ben (the other two American guys), and Jordie (an international student from Spain.  He'll be at Purdue next year for the last part of his program) all went.  All of us except Ben and Jordie stayed with one of Hannah's friends, Bekah.  She goes to University of Indianapolis and is currently studying in Galway.  She made us dinner the first night = fantastic, and then we went out to a few pubs.

Saturday we were picked up by a complimentary shuttle to the bus station.  We were going on a tour of the Cliffs of Moher.  To back track a little: on the bus ride to Galway, we met these three Italian girls.  One of them was crushing on Ben the whole way there.  Anyway, small world, the shuttle also picked up the Italian girls.  Also, Bekah worked at a camp with Amanda Verkamp, my sister-in-law's sister.  Crazy!!
Back to the Cliffs of Moher, our bus driver was not nearly as crazy as the one we had on the way to the Mystery Tour, but he was an interesting fellow.  At one point he pulled the bus over to tell people they needed to stop talking while he was talking.  It took us about an hour to get to up to a cave that we took a tour through.  It had some waterfalls and whatnot.

After that stop we continued on to the Cliffs of Moher.  We had to go up Corkscrew Hill, and were warned if anyone was feeling nauseous, to let him know.  One person at least got sick on the way there; however, I am unsure if there was alcohol involved in that scenario.   I hope not though because walking around the Cliffs of Moher in 50mph winds with >700 feet drops intoxicated would not have been a good move.  The wind was so strong I was literally running and not going anywhere.  It was quite fun.  I wish I had the pictures to show how awesome this place was, but I'll tag myself in other people's great photos.

Tonight (Monday) we are having pre-drinks at our house and then going to Copper's, one of the clubs that the girls go to a lot.
Friday we are going to Dingle with Ellie, a girl in our class.  I am unsure when I will get a camera, so I don't know about pictures for next weekend either.  :-/

Hope all is well in the States

So Much Room for Activities!!

So I was told I need to jazz up my blogs and add a lot more details.  Luckily, I have had an activity-filled week so far (and it's only Wednesday).  Since you asked for more detail, we'll start with Monday.
I woke up and had breakfast that was toast with peanut butter and a banana with water.  I believe we were out of milk at that point....okay kidding I won't be that boring.

Monday was an exciting day.  We had class in the morning, like usual.  Hannah received her bank cards, so we could finally get gym memberships.  Let me tell you, getting an Irish bank account here is a pain, which makes getting things that are needed with an Irish bank account a real pain in the ass.  I offered to pay for all my months of gym membership in cash and upfront.  Some things here are just a little backwards.
I also went to the physiotherapist to check my knee out.  He determined that I bruised my knee bone (I think actually my patella and my tibia), so that is much better than a torn ligament!  He told me that I should try a short run at the beginning of next week and then again at the end and see if there is any improvement.  I can't jump for a little while, so that means no Turbo Kick, unfortunately.  I would say that I should be able to fairly soon though!  Anyways, after our last class I went and worked out for a bit; the release of endorphins was much needed.  The gym membership was a great investment. I just got it Monday afternoon and I've already been to the gym five times.  It feels great!

After the workout it was time to get ready for speed dating at The Solas Bar.  This was a bit interesting, and really when I say that, it's an understatement.  The Nutrition & Dietetics Society, Computer Science Society, and Physics Society put together a speed dating event for anyone from DIT to come to.  Since both my brothers are computer science geeks I knew it was going to be a treat (just kidding ;) love you Alan and Steve)  At first the ladies were way out-numbered by the lads, but it evened up a little bit as the night went on.  The first part of the event was just speed dating, we had three minutes with our 'date' and then it was on with the next.  They had amusing questions during each round that we were supposed to ask.  Then the second part of the evening was a game.  Everyone paired up and was tied together at the wrist.  There were a series of tasks to complete, but if you failed to complete it, you were out.  It was 12A rated (or PG-13 in the States), so I am not going to go into detail on here.  Needless to say I put myself out in the first round. So I guess if you're family you'd say what a great kid or if you're a friend/acquaintance/random reader you might think I am lame, but I think the best entertainment was watching everyone else act like fools.  I do have some pictures, but I'm not going to post them.

Tuesday/Valentine's day (yesterday) I received a great package from my parents! (By the way one thing that they do not have here and I really miss is Triscuits! but now I have them since my parents sent them! woot!)  The boys we hang out with got Hannah and I some tulips (both our favorite).  I also received an anonymous Valentine card, so that was fun.  Last but most certainly not least, Hannah and I went on a date.  Our plan was to eat, shop, and then go to see The Vow. Technically we did do all those tasks, but we did not do a whole lot of shopping.  I was not really in the shopping mood. (which if you don't know me, that's pretty normal. Shopping a lot, or sometimes at all, is too much for me.) The movie was so good!  I cried.

Today, hmm, not quite as eventful.  I had two labs today.  I would have had another lecture, but it was cancelled, so that was fantastic. :)  Hannah and I went boxing at our gym.  I got my sweat on.  The instructor came up to me and was like have you done this before? I replied yes, and she was like of course you have.  She even gave Hannah different mitts for when we were doing hook punches because 'I have strong punches.' So that made me feel good. (Don't mess with me.  I may not be able to carry pepper spray on me here, but I pack a mean punch!)

After boxing we were going to go to a girl in our major, Ciara's, house to watch Operation Transformation for our Communication class. As part of the class we have to watch this show (like the Irish version of The Biggest Loser) and we discuss it, among other things.  However, we did not go because our class is cancelled tomorrow! What a fantastic academic week.  Monday I missed a class because I went to the Physio, and today and tomorrow we have a class cancelled.  It would be even better if Nutrition Science was cancelled.  That's our most boring class!

Anyway that has been my life, in a pretty good amount of detail, for the past three days.
I am going to Galway this weekend, so I will take a lot of pictures and try to upload them in a timely manner.

Hope you enjoyed

There's a 80% Chance it's Already Raining

So the past week, not too many exciting things have been going on, hints the no blogging action.
During the week we did not do too much.  The girls from our class took us out at on Wednesday, so that was fun.

Friday, I got my GNIB card (like my green card, I suppose) Thankfully that was taken care of, so they can't kick me out of the country! Friday night I went to Whelan's pub, the pub that P.S. I Love You was filmed in.

Saturday, my roommates and a few other international students went to Howth.  We warmed ourselves up with an Irish coffee and walked around the piers.  It was a dreary and very windy day, but no worries  We then got some grub at The Bloody Stream, where I was going to be adventuresome and try some fresh seafood, but nothing looked even close to being appealing.r   Instead I got some mushroom soup and chips(french fries).  After our big meal we walked around the cliffs to walk it off.  The scenery was beautiful and so peaceful!! We adventured off some of the paths to get some pictures.

Of course after we worked our lunch off, we had to get some great ice cream before we headed home.

Overall, a great trip.  I'm excited for the trip to Galway next week.  We have a free place to stay (one of Hannah's friends from back home is studying there), so that is a plus. 

So in Ireland their weather forecast is:  Look at the mountains. If you can see the sheep and the farmers it's going to rain.  If you can't see them, it's already raining.  It has rained a majority of the time we've been here, but warmer than Indiana would be at this time.

Skype is now easier to use because we have wifi at my house.  If you want to skype sometime let me know!

Mystery Tour was Loads of Craic

This weekend was loads of craic (that means fun; I was able to learn some of the Irish slang). So on the mystery tour we ended up going to Kilkenny and Carlow.  Our bus driver was a bit crazy, but made it more interesting and fun.  He tried to make it just as much a mystery as the people in charge.  He would go around the round-a-bouts a few times just to mess with us.  When we got to Kilkenny (where our hostel was) we had a five hours or so to walk around, get food, and drink if we wished to do so, then it was back on the bus. 

I thought I would take a nice picture in front of the Kilkenny Castle

More importantly, I had my first hot whiskey, my first Irish coffee (not pictured), and my first baby Guinness shots (Mom, those weren't my three shots.  I was taking them with the two in the below picture).

  The bus took us to Carlow and went to The Foundry, supposedly one of the biggest night clubs in Ireland.  We were given a list of things to complete for a scavenger hunt, such as getting a picture in the driver’s seat of a taxi, getting five beer mats, 3 business cards, kissing the barman, getting the shift, getting 3 strangers to do the Macarena etc.,  Our group of four completed them all, and needless to say we won.  I don't have any of those pictures, but they might end up showing up later. 

On Saturday we were told to be on the bus at half nine and we were going to another activity to go to.  Again, we did not know where we were going or what we were doing.  However, when we arrived it made the trip even better.  We were at The Chocolate Garden!! For all of you that know me, even somewhat, should know that I LOVE chocolate.  The showed us a few films about the history and making of chocolate, gave us a few samples, and we even got to make our own chocolate kittens.   (Kirsty, I immediately thought of you!! Made me miss you even more)  The first picture is mine below, and the last one is a picture of my certificate.  

We found a beautiful Catholic church to go to on Sunday.  It was actually even shorter than Father Effie's masses, if you can believe it (less than 45 minutes).  It is a short walk from our house, so I would say that might become our usual.  

We are planning a day trip to Howth, Ireland (just a bit north of Dublin) for this coming Saturday.  I'll try to take many more pictures that I have been.

P.S. I have added a few pictures to a couple of my previous pots & feel free to comment on my blog!!