Mom's visit

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My mom left on Friday and we had an amazing time! I picked her up on Saturday night at the airport and we headed to our hotel in Dublin. Since it was pretty late and my mom was tired, we ate dinner at the hotel and my mom had her first Guinness in Ireland!

My mom read a couple of Ireland tourism books on her way and picked out a place for breakfast in Dublin. It was called Queen of Tarts and was the cutest little place and we had a great breakfast. We then went to the Guinness Factory and went through the tour. After the tour, you could pour your own pint. So my mom and I were taught how to pour a Guinness and then we did our own! We got a perfect pint certificate and everything! The Ireland rugby team won the 6 Nations Championship on Saturday so Sunday in Dublin, they had a welcome home rally for the team! So the streets were filled with people and we got to see the team on a jumbo-screen! We walked around Grafton Street and had fish and chips for a late lunch. After, we got on the bus and headed to Carlow where we hung out for the night.

On Monday, I went to class and my mom went to mass. I met her at O'Brien's where we had tea and coffee and then headed to Irish Experience class. My mom sat in on class and heard us playing the tin whistle and singing. We are not the best but I'm glad my mom got to see us play! I gave my mom a tour of Carlow where we saw the castle, park, Croppies Grave and where I go to school. It was so nice for my mom to make me dinner that night!

Elise's , my roommate, dad was visiting and he rented a car and invited us to come along on Tuesday because we were going to take a bus. We went to the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary and to the Blarney Castle in Cork. Kissing the stone was a lot scarier then I thought it was going to be! You will see that in the pictures I send. We also went to the Woolen Mills in Blarney and had dinner in Kilkenny on our way back to Carlow.

On Wednesday we took a bus from Carlow to Dublin and then Dublin to Galway. Our original plans we to go to the Cliffs of Mohr and maybe spend the night on the Aran Islands but we miss the only bus from Galway to the cliffs and back. If we would have taken the next bus, we would not have gotten back until the next day and then we would have missed our bus back to Carlow. So we decided to stay in Galway which is a beautiful town. We walked around the Galway Bay and shopped in all the cute shops in town. My mom got me a claddagh ring and she got an Irish sweater. We had a traditional Irish dinner and crashed in the hotel.

Thursday was my favorite day! We came back to Carlow and my mom came to my Irish Dance class. She joined in a dance and caught on quickly! We walked around Carlow and my mom made me dinner again! We went to a pub and listened to live traditional Irish music. We had a blast!

My mom left early Friday morning and got home safely. On Sunday, we were invited to one of the teacher's houses from Carlow College for lunch. It was a great lunch and it was nice to be in a home.

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