back from the irish adventure

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hey everyone, let me start off by saying happy mother's day. even though it is not mother's day here i have been told that everyone in the states is celebrating. I wish my mother and grandmother and diana and everyone's mothers the best of days today!!!

so i am finally back, i hear a bunch of you called my moma and asked about my whereabouts, i thank you for caring. so let me try to recall my adventure and let you know of all the fun we had.

i got to galway on the 3rd around 7. i was meeting my friend who is actually a girl in my program as well just based in galway. so we got to her place after about a 20 min treck! sadly they put they placed them closer to school rather than town so everything is really far away from her accommodations. the town as before was really great! it was so cute and again very irish. it is an amazing feel to be around irish speakers and the less city-like atmosphere. We went out and met up with a few of her friends. we went to this one pub where they were watching the football (soccer) game and then they had a trad session set up for 10. It was really great!

the next day we made our way to the aran islands with her cea group. it was really funny because only half (4 people out of 8) of her group was able to go they allowed me to go along without paying. so i got an extra cea planned event out of it! we made our way over to the aran islands by bus and ferry. While the rest of them planned only to stay for the day, she and i planned to stay the night. The group had planned to go around the island by bike but again because only half were there they could afford a horse and carriage. So we went around this little island, population 846, which was actually the biggest island, on a carriage pulled by lady lightning. It was absolutely magical. You will see from the photos but it was absolutely amazing. this island was barely inhabited, mostly by animals. the grass was so green, water was all around and it just seemed so strange, almost of another time. We made our way over to the fort where the cliff drops off the island and an ancient family used to live. It was breathtaking to be so high up and yet still where people made their life. I did not go anywhere near the cliff edge, but even from where i was standing it was a little scary! We then made our way back down and got back in our carriage to finish our 4 hour tour. We got back and the two of us went in search of a place to stay. We ended up picking this adorable little b and b. It was fantastic. we were able to have our own room and look out on the water. The full irish breakfast in the morning was fantastic and the people were excellent!! We then headed back to galway and set out to hunt for new boots for me. over the course of the last 5 months and me wearing my amazing eggplant colored boots everyday, they were actually falling apart and deteriorating from under me. The rain here mixed with the walking absolutely destroyed them and so once back in galway we went to find others. Sadly irish shoe shops are insane and are only selling sandals right now even though it is still raining and hailing at least once a week and cold enough that even i choose to wear shoes over my cali sandals. insane- oh well, i will keep an eye out. i ended up getting cheap shoes at dunnes.

we went out again that night with her friend that was leaving the next day. It is so sad that everyone is starting to pack up and head back. my roommate kasey is actually planning to head back on wednesday. i know what you are thinking- why am i not heading back? but because of exams which mine go up to the 28th i am not able to return. some got really lucky and managed to have all of their finals before even half way through the month.

anyway the next morning we went to doolin which is the closest town to the cliffs of moher. OH MY GOSH!!! i was absolutely OBSESSED with this place! it was so great, so cute, so amazing!! we even passed lisdonvarna- a town where they have a matchmaking festival every september. i had seen a movie with this town as the backdrop years ago and have wanted to go there ever since. oh man!! hehe it was adorable!! we only got to see it from the bus but it was so fantastic i can't even say! and doolin i have heard about since even before i came to ireland as THE place to hear irish music. they have 3 pubs that play nightly and are renowned around all of ireland. it lived up to its reputation for sure. and the hostel we stayed in won the award for the best hostel in i think all of europe but at least all of ireland. they gave us scones and tea for breakfast. the place was really great! it is the little yellow house pictured. we mainly went to oconnels or oconnors? haha not sure. we went around 8 and got food. i got guinness stew and kayla got muscles. Both were beyond words amazing!!! i have never had muscles before and those definitely spoiled me. they were heaped on her plate and she was stuffed and barely able to finish them. my stew was also incredible and i thought about it for the rest of the trip. it was the best thing i have ever tasted and i hope that some place back in cali has that to order or else i will have to learn how to make it. i also got a hot whiskey which was by far the best made one i have ever tasted!

the next day we made our way to the cliffs of moher. I have to say i was a little disappointed. i always thought they would be momentous. something akin to the grand canyon but no it was just about 6 cliffs that are sheer drops to the water- fantastic, but just unexpected. i have pics though so you can see. We randomly got asked to take a photo and it turned up that they were not only from california but from san luis obispo!!! can you believe that! RANDOM! but ya so after that we made out way to killkeny (not exactly sure how it is spelled) but in county waterford. it has one the tidy towns competition twice and was the cutest town ever. it is known for its shopping and restored castle. we stayed in a cute little hostel where they even had cereal for us for breakfast. we went to the little cafe called the great dames or something and they had little cupcakes for sale and they decorated the plates with the words 'yum' written in raspberry syrup. they were really cute and the tea was fantastic and in their leaf form. definitely want to get a tea pot or thing for the cup that can do that- it was so cool! then after that we headed back to cork. where my roommate lara was having a pizza party with a bunch of her friends. a bit overwhelming to have about 20 people in our apartment but luckily kayla was okay with hiding with me in hermitage aka my room and watching ever after 😊

then today we basically lounged around, i got her a little hooked on prison break and then she headed back at 2 😞 right after that i started studying for my exams. I finally sort of organized all my stuff and was able to begin. im going to be doing pretty much nothing but that for the next week. i have a test wednesday, friday and then the two fridays after. so wish me luck!

ok need to get back at it. again HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! love you all and guess what... see you soon! exactly a month from yesterday i will be back in california. i really can't believe my time is so close to being up. what an amazing time i have had and luckily its not over yet!

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Comments

[Pa Connell]

Irish Adventure
It is nice to have you back on the blog and to hear of your travels. I had read the Cliffs of Moher are spectacular but I guess after seeing the Canyon or the cliffs of Big Sur it may be disappointing. Enjoy your last month and we are all looking forward to your return. Love, Pa

[Diana]

Thank you
Hey you!!! Thank you for thinking of me on Mothers Day. We have loved following you through you adventure. We are so proud of you. It seems you have made the most of your time in Ireland. I do hope that when you return to the states you will consider coming for a visit to norcal. We would love to have you. You could bring your mom and dad if you would like. Thank you for staying in touch with us all. God Bless you, Diana