The Mother Daughter Week Part 2 - Adventures

So once classes were finally over for the week, which seemed to take FOREVER, Mom and I were able to actually leave Galway and see more of Ireland.  On Friday we went to the Aran Islands for the day.... well we went to the biggest one anyway.  After getting up an hour earlier than we needed to because the hotel told us the wrong time to catch the bus, we did take the bus to get to the ferry.  The ferry took us to the island where a weird but slightly amusing man who gave bus tours accosted us as soon as we walked off the gangplank.  He convinced us to take a private tour in his bus (really more like a large ugly van), private because like five other tourists were with us on the ferry and they decided to get around the island some other ways (possibly bicycles those crazy people, it was quite cold for part of the day).

We looked at lots of teeny tiny Irish cottages, as well as sheep, goats, horses, and ponies.  Oh and seals, which Mom really adored and I thought were kind of boring because they mostly just looked like rocks since they hardly moved and are gray.  We saw some ruins, some church ruins, some ruins of houses, etc.  The main attraction on the island is what's left of a fort on the edge of a pretty cool cliff.  We took a bajillion pictures and walked past the door of the fort twice because we were too busy talking to notice it.  The climb up to the fort was a fairly rocky and occasionally a little steep, but definitely worth the effort.

We had the BEST beef and guiness stew yet at a little cafe, as well as a toffee square which I fell head over heels for.  It was really that good.  We shopped a little, and unsurprisingly I got something purple that I absolutely loved (a knitted doily for a table... it's so pretty!).  Mom's favorite part of the afternoon was the matching teapot and teacup her tea came in... we took numerous pictures of them.

Our guide never shut up the entire time.  We learned all sorts of useless things, as well as a few interesting facts.  He also tried to crack a few inappropriate jokes... not quite sure what he was thinking.  We are quite obviously a mother and daughter pair.

We slept almost the entire way back to Galway, we were so tired.  We stayed in for dinner for the first time that week since Mom wasn't feeling so great.  We had Supermacs, the McDonalds of Ireland.  We stayed in Galway Saturday and did a bunch of shopping.  I should mention the weather was amazing the whole weekend.  It was the nicest weather I've experienced since my arrival.  There was actually blue sky... for more than 10 minutes.  It lasted like a few hours!  Sunday we went to the Cliffs of Moher, which were just as awe-inspiring as the first time I saw them.  I even convinced Mom to be a bit daring, and we got close to the edge and took some pictures.  They came out wonderfully.  Unfortunately, on that trip the cold I'd been fighting caught up with me and hit me fairly hard.  I felt pretty crappy for most of the day, but we still had a really great time.

Coming back to Galway was bittersweet because Mom was leaving the next night for a hotel by the airport because there were no buses early enough for her to catch her flight in the morning on Tuesday.  I actually went back to my apartment for the first time in days, so I could go to classes in the morning (and do some homework).  We met up after I got out of class and spent our last few hours together at my apartment before her bus left.  We ate leftovers and I made pasta to go with it.  The walk to the hotel to pick up her luggage and then to the bus station was very emotional.  As soon as I saw the bus I started crying.  I stayed and watched it drive away, waved goodbye, and cried all the way back to my apartment.

So Valentine's Day was not the best since I was depressed that Mom was flying out.  I did get to skype her when she was safely home, but it was hard to acknowledge it will be another three months before I see her again.

The Mother Daughter Week

So, sorry for not putting any pics up yet... I promise to do it soon. Really, I do. I'll get to it. Soon. I mean it...

Anyway, I spent Sunday and Monday preparing for my Mom to arrive in Galway, i.e. I did nothing until Monday night when I frantically tried to get as much homework done as possible so we could spend as much time as possible together.  The day she arrived (Tuesday) I was insanely excited.  I barely focused in class, I barely slept, etc.  We had planned to meet up after I got out of my last class, but I couldn't wait and so tried to go to her hotel when I had a break from classes.  Unfortunately, she missed my call and we couldn't see each other until when we had originally planned.  I practically jogged to her hotel (well, a really fast walk anyway) and we had an amazingly fierce hug at the bottom of the stairs.  There may have been a few tears, I don't remember.  It felt like no time had passed since we said goodbye at the airport, and yet at the same time it felt like months had gone by.

We spent the next couple days going out to dinner and shopping, working around my class schedule.  I even crashed at her hotel the next night because we stayed up so late talking and I didn't have class until late the next day.  Mom bought me a claddagh ring, which I have worn every day since.  The dinners were great too, since I got to spend time with Mom and because I would never pay to eat out that often or in such nice places on my own. I tried beef and guiness stew for the first time, and I have to say it is the perfect combination of two of my favorite food groups. lol jk. Mom had a seafood pie at one point... yeah, not my style but she seemed to enjoy it.  My favorite meal we had together was at a little Italian place.  I had some of the best gnocchi I have ever tasted, a cheesy appetizer that was to die for, and of course white wine.  At the end of the week I believe we tried 6 restaurants, only 1 of which we disliked (not due to the food but because of a snooty waiter).  Every meal we ate had potatoes included in some form.

Over the weekend we went on a couple of trips and did some more shopping.  I'll post about this in a bit...

Another Week Gone By

So, another week has passed rather quickly.  Nothing too exciting happened for most of it.  I did go to the Cliffs of Moher on Saturday though.  It was an amazing experience!  The bus actually stopped a bunch of places, including a fairy fort and an old church and a pub or two.  The cliffs were unlike anything I had ever seen before. They literally took my breath away, and not just because the wind was so strong I got pushed around a few times.  There was also a lovely tower at the cliffs, which I took a bunch of pictures of.... until my camera battery died.  I forgot to charge it before I left that morning, oops.  I did get a few good pictures, which I will upload to facebook shortly.  Another great trip, and a Saturday well spent.

Week in Fast Forward

So, that week I didn't do too much of anything.  Mostly I did homework, or avoided doing homework.  I did make some Irish friends through one of the societies I joined.  I have hung out with them a few times and it's been great.  The week passed by very quickly... so quickly in fact that I forgot to blog during its entirety.  Whoops, my bad, I promise to try to not do that again!

Fun with the Garda

So, the Garda are the police here in Ireland.  As a visiting student for the semester, I had to check in with them and pay them to let me stay here, i.e. I needed a little card with my picture on it that lets me re-enter Ireland when I go on trips.  Since I have absolutely no sense of direction, I took a taxi to the Immigration office of the Garda.  The whole process of getting the card took less than 15 minutes.  The only snag was my issue with fingerprints.

Of course, they wanted a finger print for their system.  The Garda and Universal Studios have that in common.  Unfortunately for me, I never seem to have enough of a finger print to satisfy their scanner.  Aftter 3 failed attempts the officer finally gave up and let it slide.  Then, I had to find my way back to campus... I thought I remembered the way the taxi had come.  I was wrong.  I tried walking for a bit in 3 different directions, none of which looked familiar whatsoever.  Thankfully, I saw a taxi and got a ride back without any trouble.  And that was the 'fun' part of my Tuesday.

My First Long Weekend

So, since I have no classes on Fridays I was essentially done with college for the week after I wrote my last post.  I went to a pub for an international students event that night with a bunch of Fairfield students and others we met in our apartment building.  Friday was a very lazy day for me, which I very much enjoyed.  That night I went out dancing to celebrate a new friend's 22nd birthday.

Saturday was another lazy day, although I did go to the market that takes place every weekend in Galway.  As I am not much of a vegetable or bread person, I bought fresh doughnuts.  They were delicious.  Sunday I went with a group of about 15 students on a bus trip to Connemara.  We stopped a variety of places to take amazing pictures of the land and buildings and sheep on the way to a small town called Cong and then to Kylemore Abbey.  See facebook for pics (I think I took more than 150 lol).  It was a great first trip and I cannot wait to go on another one!

First Week at College

So, my first week of classes is basically over at this point.  I'm eating lunch on campus right now and have one class left for the week.  As predicted, I am 95% sure what courses I am going to take for the rest of the semester.  Also have learned that it is not called 'going to class,' instead one 'goes to college.' 

I am going to take a math module (suprise... not), a history module (modules are lectures/classes, remember), an archaeology module, an economics module, and two latin modules.  Very excited about the modules I've chosen. 

I attended around 3 or 4 extra classes this week, before I decided on these six.  Was very happy to find a schedule that worked for me, and allowed me to have Fridays  off. 

Other than classes, I didn't do too much these past four days.  I joined a bunch of societies (clubs) on campus, including the international students society, a volunteering society, a potter (as in HARRY) society, and a craic (fun) society.  I listened to some more live music in a pub.  All in all, it was a pretty great week :)