Cold and Rain = Summer in Ireland

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Hey there folks! Today I'm looking out the beautiful windows of my flat and what do I see? Rain. Now, I was told that this is normal; to expect damp, cold, rainy weather as an everyday occurrence and that summer is a fleeting moment. Despite this knowledge, my eternal optimism could not be dampened (baha please pardon the pun!) and each day I rise to the new hope that I will see some form of the sun, or at least dry ground and enough warmth to not require a coat. Well today....these hopes have been squashed. I have finally come to grips with the fact that I'm living on an island renowned for it's unpredictable rainy weather and that this is how it's going to be. Rather than be depressed, I'm actually slightly relieved because now I don't have to be disappointed when I look outside; I can feel content and satisfied that everything is right with the world as I watch pelting rain soak unprepared tourists and trees bent double with gale force winds.

This weather also has not deterred me from travelling (as you've witnessed from our infamous and sopping wet journey to Galway) and next weekend I'm hoping to head back to that same coast for a riding adventure. Three days of trekking through mountains, galloping along beaches sounds like the perfect thing I need. While I'm enjoying my job tremendously and adapting wholeheartedly to city life, my small-town breeding cries out for more time in the countryside! And of course, the fact that I'll be riding a horse all weekend doesn't hurt either! I've fallen into this sort of comfortable lull of everyday life, so I've decided I need to jazz things up a little. More travelling, more seeing, more doing. It's so easy to fall into those sort of safe comfort-zones, but I didn't come all the way over here to be comfortable! No no, I am going to keep pushing my boundaries and keep seeing as much of Europe as I can.

The past few weeks have been fairly uneventful, although we did take a trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago. Having been to the Toronto Zoo, Busch Gardens, Sea World, etc. it would take a lot to impress me. And it didn't really haha. It was pretty small for a zoo, but definitely something different and new to do, so it was fun overall. We got to see a newborn giraffe which was SO adorable and his cheeky father who put on a good show for the crowds of people. There were some hideous orangutans and a seriously creepy gorilla, but I got some amazing pictures of red-ruffed lemurs (my fav!) and some neat endangered species. I also experienced my first big rugby match out at a pub with some mates and it was a really good time. I also spent another lovely weekend in Malahide with Colleen for the bank holiday, although unfortunately our forecasted heatwave was short-lived and bad weather cancelled our plans to journey around the countryside.

My next few months are due to be quite exciting and it's almost stressful now trying to fit so much in! I know it will be so exciting and worth it in the end, but right now all I can think of is how much I still have to see! This might mean an extension of my stay here in Europe, because I don't think I'll be satisfied until I've seen everything I came over here to see. I think a nice trip to the museum this afternoon is in order (since I've been dyinggg to see it and it's pouring rain out!) so enjoy my lovely animal pictures and I will blog soon about my next epic weekend adventure! My love to everyone back home, cheers!

xoxo Sarah

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