America Meets Ireland (Weeks 12 & 13: Nov. 17 - 30)

Well these past two weeks have been all about experiencing Ireland, yet also throwing in a lil bit of Amurrica, especially with this past weekend being the great holiday of THANKSGIVING!

Week 12

Leading up to this past weekend, we wrapped up rugby training for this part of the season. I was sad to see it end, because I really enjoy the new sport I've picked up as well as hanging out with the girls. After our Wednesday night session, where we didn't even play (we watched film of different rugby teams to see how to get better), we went over to Hannah's house and watched the second half of the Ireland vs. France World Cup qualifying match. Now a little background: this was the second match that they were playing against each other since that's how it works in the World Cup. France won the first meeting in Ireland, but then Ireland was ready to take on France on the home pitch.

Everything started off well, Ireland was up 1-0 at the end of regulation, but it was all tied up on aggregate, so they went into overtime. Ireland came 15 minutes short of forcing a famous penalty shoot-out against France when a highly disputed goal in the first overtime created the loudest uproar I have ever heard. French captain Thierry Henry blatantly handled the ball with his hand right near the goal and fed it to William Gallas for a header into the goal. Then, all of Ireland cried out in horror. Such a blatant handball, surely the ref will overturn it? FALSE!

France got to move on to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and Ireland left, feeling dejected. Since then, FIFA and other soccer elites have weighed the possibilities of letting Ireland be the 33rd team for a play-off game and adding more referees to each game. I hope Ireland still gets a fighting chance in the World Cup.

For the rest of the week, we just fumed about the unfair loss. I went to all of my classes, score! When we went out on the weekends, they were two of the best nights in Galway in a while. I think it was because we had such huge groups of friends both nights, that we practically owned the dance floor. Maggie, Bryeanna and I decided we wanted to at least make it out of our flats one time on Sunday, so we went to Riordan's for Irish breakfast. So yummy. Though it did take up a good chunk of the day, it immediately started to get cold and rainy when we got back, perfect weather to stay inside and "work"...I didn't eat anything until about 9:30 that night!

Week 13

This week marked the last week of modules (aka classes) at college! Wow, how quickly the semester has gone! It worked out perfectly that I didn't have any modules on Thursday, which was THANKSGIVING. I was lucky enough to be invited to two different feasts, but in the end, I was unable to attend both. I first went to my friend Brigid's, from Fairfield University, parents' holiday house that they had rented for the week. The McEntee family hosted about 15 hungry American study abroad students for a great feast! We had all of the fixins: turkey, two kinds of stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, rolls, butternut squash soup, baked apples and tons and tons of dessert! We wined and dined for hours, but then I had to leave early to head to the coach station to pick up Sloane! What better way for a Parisian to spend THANKSGIVING than in Ireland, getting some greenery and fresh air!

Since I was in my post-THANKSGIVING food coma and Sloane was tired from traveling, we opted out of going out to a pub or club for the night (and good thing too, because it was freezing and also very late...they would have been closing by the time we got there, ha!). So what did we do? Drink a bottle of wine and watch two episodes of "Glee": sounds like a good, relaxing THANKSGIVING night for me!

The next day, typically BLACK FRIDAY and spent shopping with the fam (or in my case, usually window-shopping since I hate crowded, hectic and chaotic dressing rooms...too overwhelming), Sloane and I went on a tour of Connemara, the west of Ireland's Gaeltacht region. We toured the Irish countryside and saw breathtaking scenery, despite a sometimes gloomy day. We saw Ireland's only fjord, the Killray Fjord in Leenane. In Leenane we stopped at a pub for "refreshments". Since it was a chilly day, what do Sloane and I opt for? Irish coffee, of course! It was actually my first Irish coffee, ever, seeing as I now prefer tea (two sugars and milk) to coffee. But nevertheless, it was refreshing and definitely added a lil sumthin sumthin to our morning!

After our pub stop, we made our way to the Kylemore Abbey. This landmark wasn't originally an abbey, rather it was an elaborate home for a husband and wife; the husband built it for his wife as a honeymoon/wedding present. It sits upon a gorgeous lake, surrounded by mountains and bluffs. There is also a miniature replica of the Norwich Cathedral on the grounds, as well as extensive Victorian gardens and a mausoleum. The interior of the big house was reminiscent of some of the chateaus I went in during my French adventures! And since it is now an abbey, I was totally expecting seeing nuns everywhere. Sadly though, I didn't see any "nuns having fun" (which is one of the funniest blogs/calendars/books I have ever seen), nor did I see any nuns singing about how to solve problems like Maria (shameless "Sound of Music" plug). Sloane and I had a great time exploring the grounds of this magnificent house.

After a late lunch at the Kylemore Abbey, we were off again traveling through Connemara. When we finally got back to Galway at 5:30 p.m., we were starving! We went to McDonagh's for a delicious fish and chips dinner, Sloane's fish and chips THANKSGIVING! Ha ha. After that, we headed back to my flat to get ready for a little bit of a pub crawl. We went to the King's Head first, typical popular pub. The band that evening was a GREAT Southern/Classic Rock cover band...played a lot of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the like. Sloane and I were digging it, being Southern Belles and all. Then some of the guys met up with us to enjoy a bit more of a jam sesh to some of "The Boss" (Bruce Springsteen for y'all uneducated folk). After the King's Head, we joined up with some of the other boys and girls at the Quays. It was PACKED! We luckily created a huge table in the bottom nook of the pub and just hung out. I liked that we didn't go to a club; it was nice to just chill and talk, drinks in hand. According to the Irish kids, the Quays has the best pints of Guinness in all of Galway, so naturally Sloane had to have her first real pint of Guinness here. We then headed home to rest up for another full day of adventuring.

We woke up to another gorgeous day! So sunny, though very cold. We first walked over to college and I showed Sloane our most "Harry Potter"-esque buildings. Then we walked by the Cathedral and we were going to go in and look around, but it was in the middle of one of the Mass services, so we decided to come back later. Then we started to get a little hungry, so we walked down a path by the raging River Corrib. The Corrib was so full due to all of the massive rainstorms and flooding (apparently the worst floods in 800 years!). There were some very adventurous and brave paddlers kayaking out in the rapids though. It definitely looked like fun! It made me miss paddling in North Carolina...not too much longer though!

We went to Riordan's for the full Irish breakfast, naturally. It is such a bargain for all of that food and it is so delicious! With our bellies full, we headed back out to take advantage of the gloriously sunny day in Galway. We walked down to the Claddagh and down by the bay. On our way to the Claddagh though, we stopped by the Spanish Arch, and there I had my brush with death. No, I wasn't mugged or held at gun-point...a HUGE swan got very, VERY angry at me and charged me. Sloane documented only the "before" and "after" shots, but had we recorded it, it would be the next Youtube sensation.

We walked all around the Claddagh and out by the bay, and boy was the tide high! There was hardly any beach left to explore. Though we did see many dogs out and about, and that started the "Oh I wish my dog was here! He'd love it!" reminisces. Soon enough, I shall be reunited with the best dog in the world: CHARLIE!! After walking off some of that breakfast, we moved on to the next order of business: SHOPPING. Sloane was on a mission to knock out presents for her dad and future brother-in-law. After a quick stop into my favorite Claddagh ring store/museum, we were off on our way looking for jerseys and Irish wool sweaters.

We enjoyed stopping into all of the touristy shops, killing some time before the Ireland vs. South Africa rugby match. We also went down to the market and I drooled over some of the prints of Galway and western Ireland. So many things I want to bring back home, I don't think I'll have enough room in my suitcase! We also went into the Church of Ireland, where I discovered a memorial to me, "Amelia", though I'm glad it wasn't really me, because that would mean that I would be dead. Probably death by swan attack.

Now we determined was a good time to head back over to the Cathedral, surely Mass would be over by now. We were in luck, no services. Just plenty of space to document the gloriousness of the Cathedral. Then we realized it was time for the match (though apparently kickoff was an hour earlier than I had thought...oops). No matter, we saw the end of the first half and the exciting finish. It wasn't much of a match, but fly-half Jonathan Sexton got the job done with tons of penalty kicks. Sloane quickly became a big fan of rugby, though we both agreed that drinking Guinnesses made the game a lot more fun! The atmosphere was unlike any other sports bar I've ever been in, and this win concluded a year of wins for the Irish: undefeated since November 2008. Quite the record.

After the match I took Sloane for the best hot chocolate in Galway. Granted, it was no Angelina's like in Paris, but it is still pretty damn good. We followed that up with a bit more shopping and then headed back to prep for going out. Then we went to the Cellar for dinner. How appropriate for two Richmond girls to go out to dinner at the Cellar: it was as if we hadn't left campus at all. Then we came back home and realized that we were both a lot more tired from our busy day of exploring and day drinking to go back out into the cold (it was literally 0 degrees Celsius aka freezing in Fahrenheit). Alternative game plan? Snuggle up under some blankets, drink wine and watch "Sex and the City". WIN!

We were up early since Sloane's bus to the Shannon airport was at 10:15 a.m., but Sloane could not leave Ireland without having a scone. We went to the Galway Bakery Company for tea and scones before one last goodbye at the coach station. I was so glad to have one of my good Richmond friends come for the THANKSGIVING weekend. I can't believe that our time abroad is quickly coming to an end. It'll definitely be a bittersweet goodbye.

Until next time...

But It's 2 AM...Time to Go RAGE! Barcelona (Week 11: Nov. 10 - Nov. 16)

Nov. 11/12

Nothing too exciting happened this week until Wednesday when we had a home rugby match versus Sligo IT. Of course, in true Irish rugby fashion, it was a wet and muddy affair. While it did not start to downpour until the very end of the game, it was still a slip 'n slide of a pitch.

But all of the mud and rain was worth it because we won! I think the final score was somewhere around 24-0, a solid victory. After showering up and looking like a real person, I joined the team at Monroe's for a little celebration, complete with drinks and pizza. Well that celebration turned into a long (but fun) party complete with teaching American drinking games, pictures and great craic.

Well, like all good things must come to an end (ooh, did I really just use that cliché?), I had to leave the pub early (mind you, it was about 11 p.m. at this time), in order do get my stuff to go to Barcelona for the weekend! Weeee! But of course, I hit probably the biggest snag in all of my travels thus far.

When I got back to my flat, I had enough time to take a little nap before my 1:30 a.m. bus to the Dublin Airport. I had set my alarm for 12:45, NBD. Well...I didn't wake up in time and woke up in a panic at 3:45 a.m. instead. I rushed over to the bus station, but the next bus to the airport wasn't running until 5:00 a.m....(why have a bus at 1:30 a.m. but not at 4 a.m.?!) There would be no way in Hell that I could make it to the airport in time for my 6:40 a.m. flight to Barcelona...ugh. THE BIGGEST FAIL OF ALL TIME! So I came home, devastated and dejected (but the silver lining: I could sleep in a bed instead of in a bus seat...).

I had to buy another ticket to Barcelona (insert: Frustrating Irish Moment ofthe Day!), but luckily the return flight didn't get cancelled too. Woot woot! So, I just hung out and slept to prepare for my second attempt at going to Barcelona.

Nov. 13

Looks like Friday the 13th wasn't so scary for me! I was successful this time, and I even ran into some friends from NUI-G at the airport who were going to Paris. Landed in Barca at about 10 a.m. and took the train to the train station where I met up with Courtney! So excited to see her, especially since I hadn't seen her since Oktoberfest. We went to her apartment so I could drop off my stuff and then we headed into the city centre, most notably taking a route down Las Ramblas, the famous strip in Barcelona where there are tons of shops, café, and of course, street performers. After doing some shopping, Liz and Sloane joined us for lunch at one of the cafés, where we were informed that we had to order the patatas bravas, apparently a traditional dish in Barcelona. They were little potatoes served with two delicious sauces, definitely glad we got them!

After lunch, we walked around a little bit more and then met up with two Richmond boys who happened to be Barcelona in for the night. We then made our way up to Parc Guell for the sunset over the city. Parc Guell was amazing! So many mosaics, fountains and crazy architecture. Barcelona really celebrate Gaudi's work throughout the whole city. Though it wasn't as spectacular of a sunset as it could have been since it was a bit hazy out, it was still really cool to see the whole city from high above.

We invited the boys over for dinner (which wasn't going to be served until about 9:30 p.m., oh Spain), so we went back home to prepare for dinner and going out. Liz made a delicious penne a la vodka, and we also had salad and Sangria (which tasted like fruit juice...mmm). Liz and Courtney's other apartment mate, Fariz, had his friends from Belgium visiting this weekend too, so we all took part in learning some Belgian drinking games before we headed out to some bars. The first bar we went to was Dow Jones, a quirky bar where the drink prices are displayed on monitors like on Wall Street. Periodically, there will be a "stock market crash" and drink prices will fall drastically, which encourages people to order during this time. And what a good deal!

After Dow Jones (we left before another crash), we went on to the main event of the night: CHUPITOS! I think "chupito" means shot in Spanish? Regardless, we went to a chupitos bar where there were literally HUNDREDS of different concoctions. And all for 2 Euro? MONEY MAKER! We took a bunch of different chupitos, and they were delicious, fiery and cheap (probably the best part). The fiery shots were a little intimidating at first, but luckily no burned lips or singed eyebrows! After we got tired of trying to figure out which chupito to try next, we went back home (around 3:30 a.m....they stay out really late in Barcelona) to rest up for a big day of touring and shopping.

Nov. 14

Woke up a LOT later than I am used to (like around 1 p.m.!), but I guess that's the Spanish lifestyle. The four of us (Sloane, Courtney, Liz and I) got ready and headed out down Las Ramblas to check out the street performers, artisan booths and other shops. I may or may not have gotten some birthday prezzies from the cool jewelry makers on Las Ramblas...I'll let you be the judge.

Then, in true American student abroad fashion, we were hungry for something cheap and familiar. Solution? SUBWAY! Ordering it in Spanglish was a bit troublesome, but in the end, GREAT SUCCESS! After scarfing (ha, perhaps an unintentional pun, since the typical American girl abroad is always sporting a scarf) down some delicious sweet onion chicken teriyaki, we headed on down to the Port and did a bit more sightseeing. We also got delicious waffles (who knew Spain did waffles?) as a lil snack.

We trekked back towards Liz and Courtney's apartment, while making a few more stops into different shops. We also happened to do a bit of cathedral hunting, coincidentally. Nothing like my typical go-to "oh snap a pic of dis cathedral, yo" picture to add to my Facebook albums. But they really are quite impressive, definitely nothing like them back in the States.

Since we clearly couldn't eat dinner anywhere near a "normal" time, what better way to pass the time than go to the fountain show at Montjuic? It was so cool to see. Instant fun? Have classical music blasting, epic light show AND JUST ADD WATER! After a mini photo-shoot, we headed back to prepare for a night out.

We had decided last night on the way to Dow Jones and/or chupitos that we were craving some Mexican like something fierce, so for dinner we had some fajitas. MMM. We then continued to get ready to try out a new club in Barcelona. Oh adventure! Liz and Courtney's friends from Bentley met up with us and then we were on our way. We raged and fist-pumped to Europe's greatest jamz (aka techno and David Guetta...my new love) at Ribelino's until about 5 a.m....wow, what a late night! It was definitely a great night to celebrate my 21st birthday, round 2. I'm still waiting for Round 3 when I get back home, so I can really appreciate being 21, ha ha. Went to bed around 6 a.m. and said bye to Sloane (though I'm seeing her for Thanksgiving in Ireland!), since she had an unfortunately early train out of Barcelona for Paris.

Nov. 15

Since Liz and Courtney had to do work (what's that?) since they were having even MORE visitors the following week, Courtney wrote me EXCELLENT directions to get to some places I had on my list. Their apartment is in a great location, virtually close to everything touristy. SCORE. I walked maybe five blocks to La Sagrada Familia, probably the mother of all cathedrals (aside from the Notre Dame). Yet the great thing about La Sagrada Familia is that it's been under construction since it's inception...back in 1882 by Gaudi (renowned Catalan architect of many of Barcelona's touristy hot-spots, like Parc Guell). It is not scheduled for completion until at least 2026! Luckily though, it's still b-e-a-utiful despite the scaffolding. Fortunately, parts are now open to the public for touring (complete with self-guided audio tours...WIN!), so that's one thing I did by myself.

The architecture was breathtaking. Describing it in words wouldn't do it justice. Even the pictures are a poor representation of seeing it up close and personal. Eh, you can't have it all I guess. After spending an ample amount of time at La Sagrada Familia, I whipped out the MetroCard, map and directions and headed over to the Picasso museum. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the museum, but it was a really cool museum! It was a little difficult to find because it blended in so well with the surrounding buildings. There was a special exhibit on his Japanese-influenced pieces, so that was interesting. After my typical dose of art history on a trip throughout Europe, I did a bit of postcard shopping and headed back to Liz and Courtney's.

One of Liz and Courtney's apartment mates, Telio, had his birthday this weekend and his parents were visiting from Toulouse, France. They cooked up a DELICIOUS meal for all of us: salad, pasta, meat and an interesting sauce. And for dessert, we had two different kinds of ice cream. It was nice to get a home cooked meal. Being abroad has been great and all, but I cannot wait until I don't have to cook/fend for myself on a regular basis.

After a delicious (and filling!) meal, it was off to bed since I had to make sure to catch my flight back home to Dublin en route to Galway! I had a great time in Barcelona! What a fabulous way to spend a weekend, you know, casually gallivanting about in Spain. The usual. But of course, like it happens to so many of us, there was one small casualty on the flight back. Don't worry, not like a fatality or anything (though I was a little devastated), I somehow lost my favorite sunglasses. My Ray-Ban wayfarers, which are normally around my neck on my Croakies, somehow fell out of my bag when I was going through security or something. Of course, I didn't notice they were gone until the sun was obnoxiously in my eyes on the bus ride home to Galway. FAIL. That's another birthday present that I'm willing to buy for myself...

I'm almost caught up! I'll catch up soon, I SWEAR! I'm only about 1 week behind...NBD.

The 21st Celebrations (Week 10: Nov. 7 - 9)

Well, I (and some other people) never thought I'd live to see the day: my 21st birthday. Now, I don't want to hype it up too much because then y'all will just be disappointed. But since I had low (if any) expectations for my birthday abroad, they were definitely met and exceeded! It was a grand weekend.

Nov. 7

My favorite British person, VERITY POSTLETHWAITE, arrived around midday which was soooo exciting. After dropping her stuff off in my room, I gave her the walking tour of Galway: we went from my flat over to college, through college and stopped by St. Nicholas's Cathedral. It was actually the first time I had gone inside of it, so that was exciting. After that we went through Shop Street and stopped for a lunch of fish and chips at McDonagh's. Delicious. We then continued exploring Shop Street and went inside the Claddagh Ring Museum. We also got hot chocolate at the BEST hot chocolate place in Galway, which was a great idea since it was a chilly and blusteryday. Then, since we didn't have anything else better to do, we went into all of the touristy shops and looked at all of the Irish and Guinness-related paraphanelia. Always a good time; the shops have also started setting up for Christmas and put out Christmas decorations and goods. We had fun looking at all of the creepy FatherChristmases.

After going into all of the touristy shops, we moved on to something even more enjoyable: the sporting goods store, Elvery's. I love looking at all of the cool football (not American), rugby and other sports jerseys. We then headed back home to rest and watch the Chelsea vs. Manchester United football match (unfortunately, Manchester United lost), made pizza and drank beer while we tried to watch/listen to the Richmond vs. Villanova game. Apparently I got a shout-out on the radio? That's cool. I was devastated to come home from Night 1 of my 21st birthday to find out that the Spiders lost by ONE POINT! Ugh. So frustrating. Oh well, now we've got that loss out of the way so the boys better tighten up and bring it on home!

Verity and I did a mini-pub crawl, starting off at the King's Head, then the Quays and ended at Monroe's: we decided that Monroe's was the most fun, mainly because it was a lot less crowded than the other two pubs.

Nov. 8

Happy Birthday to me! We started our day off by going castle-hunting, though we never made it to the actual castle. We did, however, come across a very interesting landscape and explored that some; there were some rock formations that looked very "Lion King"-esque, so naturally we had a photo shoot. We then headed down into town for a full Irish breakfast at Riordan's. It was so delicious and filling! Tea, toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes, eggs, beans and "puddings"...not too sure what the puddings actually were, but they were yummy!

After brunch, we went for a long walk down by the bay and the Claddagh, taking advantage of the best birthday present: sunshine! We walked back home to rest up for Night 2 of my 21st birthday. Unfortunately, most of the Fairfield kids and Georgetown girls were getting back late from trips, so they weren't going to make it out that night. But that's ok because some of the rugby girls came by and then we headed out. Verity and I had a great time out, we even rode in one of the rickshaws, which I've always wanted to do! Oh the simple pleasures...

Nov. 9

Verity had to leave early this morning...waaaah. But I'm excited because I'll get to see her again in December before the Vogler fam heads over for our Irish Christmas, so it's not "goodbye but see you later". I then headed to Irish language class and a few other classes. Then I just came home and rested before another night of muddy rugby training. Night 3 of the 21st birthday was about to commence, so it was fun to have the Americans come by to party. Three nights of celebrations in a row? Goodness, was I tired!

All in all, the birthday celebrations were glorious! And they'll continue when I head to BARCELONA next weekend! More updates to come...

PS- To get totally caught up, scroll waaaaaay down to read about my French travels.

A Ghoulway Halloween and Being Studious (Week 10: Oct. 31 - Nov. 6)

And the blog updates continue. Since this week wasn't nearly as busy nor adventurous as my French travels, no need for a very detailed play-by-play.

Oct. 31

Halloween was good craic, though apparently the students celebrated in full force the Thursday prior, so I was a little upset that I missed that. No matter, I had a fun Halloween with a few purchases from ol' reliable Dunnes (including two sequined items, skirt and vest/top thing) and some new crazy patterned leggings from a French H&M. I was going for a Hannah Montana/pop star look...not my best Halloweencostume but a nice, budget-friendly imitation.

One funny aspect of the Halloween night was that there were semi-spontaneous performances of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" along Shop Street: a bunch of people dressed up as ghouls and such broke it out, complete with jams pumping.

But a not-so-fun aspect of Halloween were the long queues outside of the clubs! Definitely the longest I have ever seen them, AND we had to pay to get in! That was the first time that I've had to pay to get in since being here...the stampers weren't being as generous this night, I guess. Another not-so-fun aspect was while in the queue, I got stilettoed on my foot. Now, getting "stilettoed" sounds exactly like how it sounds: some girl stomped on my foot (accidentally) and her stiletto heel came crunching down on my exposed skin and it broke the skin and started to bleed. Ew. Needless to say, this injury impeded my dance abilities, so I called it an early night (it also kind of hurt to walk on since she got the bone that connects my foot to my big toe! very crucial).

The rest of the week was pretty standard. I went to ALL of my classes! Yes, I went to every single class for a whole week...I don't think I've done that in a few weeks. Oops. It's a good thing that I went to class too because I got one of my midterms back: I got a 65...which is an A in Ireland! Never thought I'd be so happy to say that I got a 65 on a midterm, but when in Ireland...

Rugby training has been lovely and muddy. VERY MUDDY. So muddy that two of my shirts are now (despite several washes) a dingy, off-white. Oh well, a small price to pay to the Irish rugby gods. I really do enjoy this new sport and I definitely want to continue playing when I get back to campus.

This week was just preparing for a British invasion by none other than VERITY POSTLETHWAITE! Verity is a good friend from Keystone Camp, so I was thrilled to find out that she could come over for my birthday weekend.

Now on to post about the big 2-1!

Audio Tours in Avignon and a Quick Stop in Marseilles (Week 9: Oct. 28 - Oct. 30)

Now that we've made it to our last few destinations in France, Martha, Rachel and I were a little reluctant to end our glorious holiday because that would mean that we would soon have to say goodbye :(

Oct. 28

In the midst of our loooong, 11-hour train from Tours to Avignon, we had to switch trains somewhere close to Avignon at 6:30 a.m., which was rough! It was so miserable because we were a) tired from an awful sleep pattern and b) it was absolutelyfreezing! It was colder in France than it has been in Ireland!

We made it to Avignon around 10 a.m. and checked into our hostel (which was sooo dodgy) and met up with our friend Amy, who is studying in Perugia, Italy for the semester. Amy, affectionately known as "Baby Amy" for her small stature, was atOktoberfest too, so it was great to see her again! Once we were settled, we began yet another trek to the city centre and started exploring. Our first stop was the Palais des Popes, or the Palace of the Popes. For a bit of background, historical info, during the Reformation and Counter Reformation, there was the Great Schism with the Roman Catholic Church and they moved the Pope from the Vatican to Avignon for a good number of years. The Palace of the Popes was HUGE! We added another notch on the "touristy fanny pack belt", if you will, by doing an audio tour. It was neat to see the palace where about seven popes resided. I'm sure that in the prime-time of the Palais des Popes, the artwork was even more grand and breath-taking, though it was still amazing to see the remnants of the mosaics, paintings, tapestries, etc.

After touring the Palais des Popes, we went "cathedral hunting" over to the Cathedral de Notre Dame (NOT the one in Paris, haha). This was yet another display of Catholic and Gothic grandeur, with gilded statues of patron saints, immaculate stained glass windows and so forth and so on. This cathedral is located high up on the side of the hills, so it was a nice vantage point to see the whole city of Avignon. Though the best place to see the city was on the St. Benezet Bridge, or the Pont d'Avignon. Part of this old bridge had been burned/destroyed long ago, so it stops about halfway across the river. We joked that it was such a shame that the bridge didn't span the river anymore, since our hostel was located across the river from the bridge; it would have cut our commuting time in half!

We came back to our very dodgy, 14 Euro/night (though we did get breakfast included!) hostel for a much-needed rest hour and prepared to go out to dinner. The shower situation was questionable, at best. You know those faucets on sinks that you have to press and hold? Well that's essentially what the shower was like, but with no drain (just a hole in the floor) and a stinging mist that fluctuated between icy cold and scalding hot. Oh well, I guess that's what we get for only paying 14 Euro!

We had a very hard time deciding on where to go for dinner, and unfortunately, we picked probably the worst restaurant! We had an unusually long wait for our food...like over an hour! And we ordered probably the simplest meals: spaghetti. It doesn't take THAT long for it to cook! I know that people in France and other European countries eat dinner really late compared to home, but it was nearing 9:15 p.m. before we finally got our semi-decent spaghetti. After our lame dinner, we had to salvage the evening with a few drinks at where...a karaoke bar. Yes, there was a French karaoke bar in Avignon...we couldn't possibly pass up this opportunity. While we mostly just enjoyed hearing awful renditions of American songs with heavy French accents, we did belt out a few ditties (Celine Dion, anyone? I think yes.). Singing karaoke in France was definitely a highlight of the trip, and definitely a memory from abroad that I won't forget, especially since "It's All Coming Back to Me Now".

Oct. 29

We woke up to a loud, construction-esque noise (luckily it was past 9 a.m.), and decided that it was time to make moves. We got that free breakfast (complete with juice boxes, though the juice was less than delicious) and checked out of the hostel by the river and went to the Roman, Greek and Egyptian collection museum in Avignon...it also happened to be near the karaoke bar! It was an interesting museum to visit since they had an extensive collection. After our visit, we went shopping and got some take-away lunch and had a picnic by the river. We headed back to the hostel to pick up our luggage to catch the train to Marseilles, our last stop in France.

We checked into the hotel (yep, that's not a typo...a real hotel!), which was conveniently located near the train station. It was definitely a good idea to book a hotel room for our last night since we knew that everything would be clean and safe after having spent many nights in hostels. We then did a bit of exploring around Marseilles. Marseilles and Paris are very different from each other, aside from the fact that both are very populated. I didn't like Marseilles as much as the other places that I visited in France, but perhaps that is because I didn't go to the right places in Marseilles. I thought Marseilles was kind of dirty, crowded and busy...not exactly my scene after living in Galway for so long now.

We said bye to Baby Amy since she had been staying outside of Marseilles with one of her family friends and then grabbed some dinner to bring back to our sanctuary, aka the hotel room. It was a nice way to end the trip, just relaxing in the room, especially since we had to be at the airport early for our 6:50 a.m. flight.

Oct. 30

We woke up very early, much to everyone's dismay, to get to the airport. We had no problems flying out of Marseilles, but when we landed in Nantes, things began to go awry. Since there weren't any direct-Dublin flights on good ol' RyanAir, I had to change flights in Nantes, whereas Martha and Rachel just needed to take a bus back to Rennes.

Well, the Nantes airport only had one flight to Dublin that day, which was convenient since the connecting times weren't that far apart. Unfortunately, I had to get my checked bag off of the carrousel and check-in at the ticket counter. The woman working at the ticket counter proceeded to tell me that I had missed the time to check my bag and that it would be on the next flight to Dublin: commence travel freak-out. Fortunately, St. Christopher--Patron Saint of Travelers--was helping me out because right then Rachel (graciously) ran over with my bag so that I could check it. Then I had to pull a "Home Alone" (you know the scene where the McAllister family is sprinting through the Chicago-O'Hare airport?) and ran to my gate. Luckily I made it with time to spare since my flight to Dublin was delayed by about 30 minutes.

I made it to Dublin (and so did my bag!), but since I bought my bus ticket online prior to traveling (in order to save some much-needed Euros), it was invalid since I had missed that departure time due to the delayed flight. Of course, right when I get back to Ireland, I get a Frustrating Irish Moment of the Day! I got back to Galway around 3:30 p.m. and stopped at Subway for a delicious sub of the day: tuna! Exhausted from the fun week of traveling, I decided to lounge about and began watching the new show, "Glee", online. I'm LOVING "Glee", it's so good!

And so ends the adventures in France. Up next...Halloween!

Touring Tours (Week 9: Oct. 26 - Oct. 28)

So now begins the update from Tours, France (pronounced like "tour" not "tours").

Oct. 26

We were up early four our full-day of chateau touring around Tours. We went into the city centre where we were to meet our guide, Pascale. His English was good, but he had a strange accent, kind of like the movie announcer-voice. He also drove a sketchy auto-bus. The day started out very chilly and foggy, which was disappointing at first. Our first chateau was Chenonceau, the most visited in the Loire valley. It would have been prettier if there wasn't a bunch of scaffolding upon the facade. I enjoyed walking through the chateau, visiting the various bed chambers, some of which held French kings when they visited.

Our second chateau was Clos Luce & Amboise. Here, Leonardo da Vinci spent the remainder of his life, and it was the main residence of King Francois I. We ate lunch at a cafe nearby the chateau and we had two different types of crepes. For the main meal, we all had hearty, savory crepes, called gallettes: mine was filled with cheese, eggs and ham. Then we all had yummy chocolate crepes for dessert.

The third chateau of the day was Cheverny, a private home for the past seven centuries. It had an unusual furniture collection, but the family is LOADED. This was Martha, Rachel and my favorite chateau of the day. They even had current family photos in one room that was open to the public. The chateau has only been closed for three times in the past few decades: for the marriage of the current owners, when Queen Elizabeth visited, and when one of the past French prime ministers hosted a gala there.

Lastly, we visited Chambord, the largest chateau in France after Versailles. Unfortunately, most of it was closed for renovations. Waaah waaaah. It was a loooong day but very fun and historical! Uncle Francois was out to dinner with his fiancee and friends, so what do three college girls resort to for an easy dinner? FAST-FOOD KEBABS! They were so delicious and comforting. They took a while to get since they were roasting a fresh hunk of meat, but we had a nice time catching up and talking about school and our abroad experiences. We came back to Uncle Francois' to hang out and sleep in a little bit for tomorrow.

Oct. 27

We slept in to catch up on some much deserved sleep, which was nice. Then "Uncle Francois" showed us around Tours and we went into St. Martin's Basilica and St. Gatien's Cathedral. In France, we haven't done so much "castle-hunting", but rather "cathedral hunting". We got French pizzas for lunch, which was very good! The French sure do know how make delicious bread and cheese! The crust was excellent. We then came "home" for lunch and hung out. We even watched "Twilight", which was strange for us to see that Francois suggested it and liked it. Not too many straight men in the States would have suggested a movie about vampire love, but we didn't complain!

Francois' fiancee took the meat that he had prepared for us to work with her so we got to-go pasta for dinner instead; the pasta place was similar to a Subway: you could choose the type of pasta, sauce, cheese and fixins. It was pretty good for some fast food in France.

We then packed up and got snacks for our 11-hour overnight train to Avignon. Woof! It was such a bad sleep, even with taking some Benadryl to knock us out. Since we were all about saving money, we didn't get a sleeper-car, just seats that reclined a lot.

Now on to Avignon and Marseilles! Such a whirlwind adventure in France!

All Things Touristy, including Asian Tourists- PARIS (Week 8: Oct. 22 - 25)

Bonjour! Here begins the updates regarding my French holiday. And what better place to begin than Paris? Paris, the city of monuments, museums, shopping, glamour, fashion, bridges, cuisine, wine, lights, love...you get the picture. Paris should just be the city of everything as far as I'm concerned. Thus I give you my Parisian adventures...

Oct. 22

After the essential last-minute scramble before a trip, I left Galway via bus at....1:30 a.m. I kid you not. Surprisingly, there were quite a few people on this bus. I get to Dublin at 4:30 a.m....oy that's early. Fly from Dublin to Paris-Beauvais--I had a sneaking suspicion that this airport wasn't really in Paris. Confirmation: this dodgy little airstrip was just like Memmigen in Germany...about one hour bus ride from the city centre. Oh well, that's what I get for flying RyanAir.

Once the shuttle bus dropped us off in Paris (the real Paris), traveler's confusion hit me like a speeding bus. I had a little difficulty finding the nearest metro station, but I managed to navigate myself through yet another foreign metro system and arrived at my first ever hostel, Vintage Hostel. Located near the Sacre Couer, I was pretty impressed with this hostel: I had imagined cramped quarters and dirty rooms. Not so, though the carpet had seen better days. I dropped my stuff off and headed out to explore.

I figured that I wanted some "me" time, and what better place to have that time than at the Louvre? Yep. I casually went to the Louvre by myself and spent the next four hours "ooohing" and "aaahing" at these priceless masterpieces. I wandered around like an idiot, carefully studying the confusing map in the hopes of finding all of the great works of art. I think I succeeded, huzzah. I liked Delacroix the best, I think; "Liberty Leading the People" is one of my favorite pieces. And yes, I'm sure all of y'all are wondering if I saw "The Mona Lisa". Nope. Just breezed right by it. PSYCHE! Surprisingly, there was not a long line to see this little portrait. I probably took far too many pictures of it...it's like when a bug is attracted to light, you can't help but stare and snap a zillion pics. Crowded around this piece of art were a lot of people, going camera crazy. But something about this group of people struck me...they were all speaking a foreign language, and it wasn't French. These camera-crazy, surgical mask-wearing tourists were none other than that of the Asian tourist variety. They were out in full force at the Louvre (and every other tourist hot-spot). I wonder if people think that way about all tourists, or just Asian tourists? I digress.

After the Louvre, I headed back to the hostel with a quick stop to the grocery store to scrounge up something for dinner, since I hadn't been able to get in contact with my friend Sloane, who is studying abroad in Paris this semester. Surprise, surprise: my phone is having issues yet again.

I was happy to see that my column about Oktoberfest made it into the Collegian! Check it out at thecollegianur.com and search for "Oktoberfest".

Oct. 23

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! The big 55! So old...just kidding!

So Sloane and I had planned to meet at the Arc d'Triomphe around 10 a.m. since she didn't have class. I got there, no problem. Took some pictures, saw some more Asian tourists, yet no Sloane. My phone being on the fritz, I decided to take matters into my own hands and I did probably the most touristy thing I've ever done: I hopped on one of those double-decker open-roofed buses that takes you to all of the big sight-seeing spots, complete with headphones and audio tours. I saw just about EVERYTHING: the Louvre from the outside, Musee d'Orsays, Palais des Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Couer, the Obelisk and the Place de Concorde, the Opera House, Champs Elysees, the list goes on. Unfortunately though, we couldn't go up in the Eiffel Tower because it was closed for a bit of construction.

Then I finally met up with Sloane at the Arc d'Triomphe. The reunion was like out of a movie: I come up from the underground tunnel to get over to underneath the arch, and then Sloane comes out of nowhere and gives me the biggest hug! It was so comforting to finally see someone that I knew in such a large city. I'm all for being an independent traveler and such, but after the chaos of trying to meet up, I was so happy. We decided to head over to the Luxembourg Gardens and Sorbonne since I hadn't been over there yet. It was very beautiful, and Sloane said that it was her favorite typical Parisian park. We then went over by the Opera House again and the Place Vendôme, a very posh area where all of the jewelers (like Cartier) have shops. It is also home to the Ritz Carlton where Princess Diana stayed before she died. Then we went to the Galeries Lafayette, which seemed to me like Saks Fifth Avenue on CRACK! I then went home to change for dinner and before meeting a large group of Richmond girls for fondue. The fondue place where we went was like a little hole in the wall--long and narrow benches and tables filled the place. They served their wine out of baby bottles (yes, like the bottles that babies drink from). I think it was a good gimmick since it is so crowded, I'm sure in the past people knocked into others and wine spilled everywhere. Very practical. After the delicious dinner, we went to a Parisian bar called "The Frog and the Princess", but we didn't stay there long since the Metro closes at 2 a.m. We soon parted ways at the Metro station, and I headed back to the hostel to rest up before my next Parisian venture.

Oct. 24

Woke up and checked out of "Vintage Hostel" and trekked over to the interesting new hostel, "Peace & Love" (yes, that's the real name of it. It also happens to be in the Red Light District, apparently near the Moulin Rouge? NBD). It was such a LOOOOOONG haul over to "Peace & Love" since the Metro worker didn't tell me there was a quicker/more accessible metro stop near my hostel. I ended up getting to the new hostel a half-hour later than we had originally planned on, so I was nervous that I had kept Martha and Rachel waiting. But when I arrived, they were no where to be found...I was anxiously waiting and then there was a phone call to the reception for me! Such relief, but Martha said that they were delayed because their train from Rennes didn't stop at their stop and they went all the way to the Charles de Gaulle airport and then had to take the metro to our hostel.

Not a problem, though we had tickets for a showing of "Cinderella: the Musical" (in French) at 11 a.m. Then Martha calls again saying that I need to meet them at the theatre since the metro stop on the line they were on was closed! So here I am, RUNNING to the closest metro station to get to the theatre. I come up the escalator from the metro and I hear Martha and Rachel SCREAM my name and we're RUNNING into the theatre, right before curtain call. Then there was a ticket fiasco...apparently we needed to have printed our tickets out prior to that moment. Oops. We resolved it and then we got to our seats right as the curtain was rising. It was funny seeing "Cinderella" in French: I didn't quite understand everything that was going on since it was in French, but it was still enjoyable. All of the little kids were waving light-up wands throughout the performance, even when the actors were performing...you would think that they would have had to turn them off at that point, but oh no.

After the show, we went back to "Peace & Love" to drop off Rachel and Martha's bags and then Martha's friend Laura, who is studying in Paris for the semester, took us to one of her favorite cafes for lunch. We all ordered essentially the same thing, a "French" hamburger, that was served open-faced with great cheese, sauce, veggies, and a fried egg on top, served with "frites" and "salade". It was soooo GOOD! Then we went to a University of Richmond professor's apartment for hot chocolate. Professor Lidia Raddi is on sabbatical this semester, and she is Martha and Rachel's favorite French professor. She was so friendly and welcoming (especially since I had only taken two semester of French, though we didn't speak French the whole time). There were other Richmond kids there as well who happened to be in Paris for the weekend. It was fun to talk about school with other Richmond people.

Then we went back to "Peace & Love" to nap and get ready to go out in Paris. Since we had eaten such a late lunch and even more at the hot chocolate gathering, we didn't even bother with dinner. We started off with Happy Hour at "Peace & Love". We knew we definitely wanted to see the light show at the Eiffel Tower since it is the Eiffel Tower's 120th anniversary. Well, we didn't anticipate how long it would take us to get there, so we were literally RUNNING to see the light show. It was quite the typical, touristy sight to any locals, I'm sure. It was so cool to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up and changing colors. We had a little photo shoot about it, clearly touristy. We then met up with Martha's friend Laura at an Australian-themed bar, "Oz", where dancing on tables is totally normal. It was fun, though very expensive--guess that's just Paris for you.

Oct. 25

Woke up, packed up and headed to the Musee d'Orsays. It was a long line but we ran into some of our Richmond friends heading out as we were going in. We had a limited amount of time due to our train schedule, so we did all of the major highlights in one hour...BALLER. I liked d'Orsays better than the Louvre because it was less hectic and seemed more sophisticate in the sense that you needed to know a bit more about art to appreciate it. I also liked it since it was a bit more modern with the late 19th and early 20th century pieces.

We got some postcards and went back to "Peace & Love" one last time to collect our luggage and headed off to the train station. We tried to print out our tickets from the kiosk but that was a FAIL since Martha didn't have an international banking card with the chip. Luckily, the young man working at the ticket counter was very helpful and printed all of our train tickets out for us. Then we were on our way to Tours, where we were met by Martha's brother's former host mom who was currently hosting a very cute boy from Davidson. We had a delicious dinner of salad, bread, lasagna and apple tart. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal for once. After dinner, we went to "Uncle" Francois' apartment. Francois is Martha's host mom's younger brother (he's really only 22). He and his fiancee were late to come home and we were so tired from our travels that we passed out around 11 p.m.

So ends the Parisian adventures. Up next, touring in Tours.

Pre-Holiday--Irish Update (Week 8: Oct. 19 - 21)

Greetings! This week in Ireland was a bit dull (mainly because I was scrambling to finish two midterms and pack for my French excursion), though we did have our first rugby match in Cork on the 21st of October! That was quite good craic. We were meant to leave round half ten (though that quickly translated into leaving college at quarter after 11).

The bus ride to Cork was long but fun. I enjoyed (finally) learning everyone's names through various entertaining name games, singing crazy Irish songs and just getting to know the Irish girls. They're very welcoming and fun to be around, which is a nice change compared to how some of the Irish girls were at different pubs and clubs...they were more on the prowl out on the town methinks.

Of course, right when we step off the bus, it starts to downpour. Now if this had been in the States (and probably if it was a different sport), then the game would have probably been postponed/cancelled. Not so in rugby. "The wetter, the better" according to Coach Bertie (a very BIG guy with a scruffy beard; he kind of looks like a papa Grizzly bear, but also cuddly like a teddy bear).

We proceeded to warm-up and get ready for the game. The UC-Cork girls (well...they were more like horses) were BIG. I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite movie quotes to myself when I saw one of them:

"Buzz, your girlfriend...WOOF!"- Home Alone

Warm-ups in rugby entail some running/sprinting, passing, light tackling with tackling bags and the inevitable: getting DIRRTY. My T-shirt, even after treating it with stain-remover and washing it, will never be white again. Alas, such a price to pay to the rugby gods. No matter, tis the nature of the sport.

The game started and we had a good start, though we couldn't manage to get a try; we were definitely playing better than UC-Cork, but they got lucky and managed to get two tries in the first half. During the second half, we got really close to the try line, but injuries started taking their toll. My friend Alison (who's only in her second season in rugby but is a CHAMP!) got a nasty black-eye and was out for the rest of the game, Mary and Meadhbh (pronounced "Maeve"..spelled the Irish way) both got knocked around being on the front line...it was my first glimpse of what rugby is all about. I didn't play much, only towards the end for about 2.5 minutes, but it was fun being on the sidelines and observing.

We may have lost, but another great aspect about rugby is whether your team wins or loses, you drink to celebrate a job well done any how. The drinking songs are sometimes foul and disturbing, but that's what rugby is all about, according to Bertie the Bear (most of these songs were created by drunk guys, so obviously they can be crude). But our UCG Rugby Chick's song has a great line in it: "Win or lose, we're always on the booze". Gotta love Ireland.

As we made our way back to Galway, I was tempted to join the team for the drink-up at Monroe's, but I had to finish packing for my France trip...there's always next time.

Now on to my Parisian and French adventures!

A Very Irish Week (Week 7: Oct. 12 - 18)

Dia duit! That means "hello" in Irish, by the way. This week has been very Irish for me. I've continued to go to my Irish language class, one of the few classes that I attend on a regular basis...oops. I also went to rugby training Wednesday evening and that was a lot of fun! The girls on the team are very welcoming and nice, and we have our first match sometime next week. How exciting. I also had my first fish and chips meal this week at Galway's oldest fish and chips bar. It was delicious. Our friend Mary, the "original Galway Girl" from University of Richmond, was here for the whole week and introduced us to some of her Irish friends who lived in the area and we went to their house a few times. Always good craic to meet some new Irish kids. Remember, "craic" means fun. Not drugs. Also, people have asked for my address abroad. Well here it is, and what better time to give it out than right before a very important day in November, I believe it's November 8th. No, it's not a national holiday in Ireland or Amurrica (though it should be)...it's my birthday! And I'm turning 21 this year, so it's not as special abroad as it would be back home, but no matter! I AM ABROAD. Here it is:

Amelia Vogler

27B Cuirt na Coiribe

Headford Road

Galway

Ireland

Ireland doesn't do postal/ZIP codes...maybe because it is so small or maybe because they are just lazy? The world may never know. Also, Mama Allison has corrected me with some fast facts about the UR vs JMU football game from last week. Here they are:

JMU vs Richmond football games have never had more than a 7 point difference in the final scores.

Since we have been playing each other (started in the 1980s) after last week’s game total points scored UR 876 JMU 874.

Finally, no player on either team last Saturday had ever won a JMU/UR game on their home field so that continues until next season.

I guess since this week was a bit more eventful than last week, I'll revert back to a day-by-day synopsis.

Oct. 12

Well Monday was a pretty scholarly day, in some respects. I went to my Irish language class, of course. I like it and I think I am improving. The teacher is super nice and personable, a change from most of the boring professors during lectures. Then I spent the rest of the day studying for my midterm in Human Sexuality and working on another midterm for my Irish Emigrant history class; luckily, the test wasn't too bad. The Irish Emigrant midterm paper though....WOOF! So boring. Oh well.

Monday was also my friend Liz from the basketball team's birthday; she lives in the neighboring student apartment village of Gort na Coiribe, so we went over there to celebrate. I decided not to go pubs & clubs afterward since I had to wake up early to work more on the Irish Emigrant paper.

Oct. 13

Spent the majority of the day working on the Irish Emigrant paper, so going to basketball training was a much deserved break. Since I've joined the "B" team, they start training at 8 p.m. and I didn't get home until around 9:45 p.m., thus decided to catch up on some much-needed sleep instead of go out.

Oct. 14

Finished up the Irish Emigrant paper and went to two out of three classes...not too bad, considering the one I didn't go to was the Irish Emigrant class. Turned that paper in and headed home to prepare for rugby training. It was quite a hike to get over to the pitches (aka playing fields), so that was a warm-up of sorts. What a fun and interesting sport! We play rugby union, which has 15 players per team. The coaches and Irish girls were impressed at my skills for my first time playing. SCORE! Our first match is against UC-Cork sometime next week. Should be a good match. Got a lift (aka ride) home with some teammates and got ready to go out. Met up with the Fairfield kids and we went "stamp-hunting", which is when club promoters line Shop Street with special "free in til half 12" deals, etc. for each club. We first went to Karma, then to Cuba, though the line for Cuba was too long. We decided to forgo Cuba and go to Bar 903, which is the bar associated with Cuba, but different buildings. Actually, the Irish say "Bar 9 0 Tree" because that's how they pronounce "three". Quite a good joke and a good night.

Oct. 15

Went to both classes AND the tutorial for one of them today. Big day. Then after tutorial I went to work out at the gym. Came home and we hosted a mini Amurrican pre-game with the Solo cups and pong balls Mary brought us from home. We then went out to Hole in the Wall, then "stamp-hunted", ending up at Cuba. Cuba seems to be our go-to club.

Oct. 16

Since I don't have class on Fridays, I decided to go down to Shop Street and peruse, while making a few purchases in preparation for my trip to France next week. Just a few scarves and leggings to look more European. I also mailed some more postcards and got rugby boots and a gum shield (aka cleats and a mouthguard). Well, turns out that my Bank of Ireland account had run dry...my funds were going through a famine (ok, inappropriate reference to the Great Famine, but it was necessary!) So, yes, I am now THAT girl abroad...the one who runs out of money. Frustrating Irish Moment of the Day! No matter though, because my WONDERFUL, LOVING PARENTS (Big Jim and Mama Allison) and I figured out a solution. I'm only abroad once, gotta make the most of it, though it is depleting my funds. When in Rome...

I didn't realize that I had actually run out of money until the next day, but I had a sneaking suspicion. Came home from my afternoon out and Mary's Irish cousin Marian came over for the night from Sligo in northern County Galway. She was so nice! We played flip cup and pong with her, though she admitted that her skills were a little lacking since she only plays those drinking games with other Americans. From our apartment we went to the Cellar bar and then on to Cuba, again.

Oct. 17

Woke up rather late (like almost 12 p.m.) and I REAAALLLY don't like to wake up that late because I feel like such a waste and that the day is gone. No matter, I quickly recovered the day by going to Shop Street with Mary and Bryeanna and we went to McDonagh's for fish and chips. Wow. So. Good. It's on Quay Street, down near the Claddagh and it is one of the oldest fish and chips bars in Galway. It was delicious. I didn't need to eat anything for the rest of the day. Bryeanna and I tagged along with Mary so she could make some souvenir purchases and I scoped out the great touristy shops. So many cool things that I've added to my list. Then we came home to rest some more before Mary's last night out in Galway. We went to Mary's friends' house near city centre to hang out beforehand. It was fun meeting some Irish guys who weren't creepy (normally the ones out in pubs are older and fairly creepy. ew). From there we went to Bar 903 and to the Roisin Dubh, more of a hipster scene but very cool (clearly because the hipsters go there). It was a successful night to end Mary's return to Galway.

Oct. 18

Well Mary left today, and she took the good weather with her. It was a gloomy day, the kind where you just stay home all day and clean and pretend to do work. We went on a cleaning rampage in the apartment and then I began my midterms with much procrastination (hence the blogging). I only have a few paragraphs left of one paper and then one more paper before I head to France! Ooh la la!

Well, that sums up my week. I don't know if I will be able to blog while in France because I am hesitant to take my computer (though I don't want to run out of memory on my camera and would like to upload them onto my computer if needed and I need to register for classes next week, yikes!). But I'm excited to spend 3 days in Paris with my friends Chelsea, Elizabeth and Sloane (who just booked a Thanksgiving trip to Galway, score! No more lonely Thanksgiving!) and then go to western and southern France with my friends Martha and Rachel. Should be a trés bon voyage pour moi. I know my Francais is a little rusty...good thing I'll be surrounded by fluent friends!

Au revoir from Ireland!