Blogs from County Galway, Ireland, Europe - page 29

most of these are scenic.. so i wont bother explaining them otherwise it will just get a little redundant... but basically, Kat, Kirin, Randy and I all took a bus out in the morning from our hostel in Galway towards the coast. From there, we walked about 2 1/2 miles to the actual coastline and wandered around in the countryside and the coastal land.. absolutely breathtaking. There wasn't much to do per say, but it was sooo nice just being able to hang out and relax.. away from all the cities wed been in prior. It was absolutely amazinggg.. :)... read more

Our last week in Ireland (October 31st - November 9th, I’m almost caught up!) was spent packing, saying goodbye, and enjoying the last little bits of the home we’d made over the past two months. Halloween in Ireland kicked off our last little bit of time. Halloween here is huge! The kids go all out dressing up with full body makeup and elaborate costumes. Originally I imagined spending Halloween in Ireland by sitting around a pub fire listening to old Irish guys tell spooky stories. Unfortunately, Brian got sick, so we dressed up in the apartment and watched scary movies for the night. A few days later, Shelley, one of Brian and my friends from back home, came to visit and stay with us. Shelley had the brilliant idea that we should have early Christmas, since ... read more

Its 5:25AM here in Ireland. Brian has been watching the election coverage on the laptop since midnight our time while my mom sent texts with every update as each state’s decision was made. Her texts came in seconds before Brian told me similar information, and with each state deciding on change, our anticipation grew more and more. And when the text came through that Obama was our president, and tears came to my eyes as Brian showed me coverage of people cheering, uniting, and embracing around the world, one particular thought came to my mind that drove me to grab my laptop at this ungodly hour. For years I’ve found it difficult to say where I’m from when I travel. Even living in Ireland when people ask I respond with “California” or “San Francisco” so as ... read more

Two weeks ago, my mom and my sister came to join Brian and myself in Ireland after their first stops in New York and Florence and Chrissy’s continuation of her trip to Cape Town and Lasutu, Africa. A few days after they arrived, my best friend and roommate/common law roommate :) of seven years, also made her way into Galway to visit. Being away from people I love so dearly for almost two months has definitely been taxing. But to see them in the new place I call home brought a joy I have never experienced. I felt proud of where I was, what I was doing, and at the fact that I got to show them around and actually know where I was taking them! (For those of you who don’t already know it, I’m ... read more

Our home for our time in the Connemara is tended by a British couple, the Skeltons, who have been doing the B & B thing for many years, first in their native Portsmouth and now in Ireland. We really enjoyed interacting with the couple. While Dave is the front man and the one we interacted with most often, it is pretty obvious that Diane rules the roost. Although he is well into his sixties, Dave has not outgrown that decade and continues to wear his hair as long as it probably was when he went to Beatles concerts! Diane keeps an absolutely immaculate house and you could bounce a penny off those well-tucked bed sheets…and we should know. We began our day in the Connemara with a huge breakfast prepared by our hostess. Diane made us ... read more