When you first opened up this blog, you will most likely be hearing the song “Galway Girl” this song was played every place that we went to in Ireland.
The morning of July 10th, we arrived into Shannon Airport from a 5 hour overnight flight to Ireland. It was 6a.m there but only 2am in America. We got off the plane being extremely exhaust to Theresa mother and her Uncle Peter. While driving to the place we were staying we stopped for Breakfast since it was in fact breakfast time even though we still believed it to be 4:30 in the morning and working on no sleep. Of course Amanda and I have never been out of the country and we had to get used to the money systems. During breakfast all of us got something to eat, costing about 5 euros. They gave us back 2 euro coins and 1 euro coins, just like it would be 1 dollar bill just in coin form, well Amanda did not know that and ended up tipping her about 5euros because she thought it was just coins! The funniest thing was she didn’t realize it until about 15 minutes later when we were talking about the coins! So that began our trip off with a great laugh and we all learned by Amanda’s mistake!
Once we finished breakfast, we continued to 2 hours journey to Connemara to Theresa’s late uncle’s house. When we finally arrived we were all so jet lagged that we ended up sleeping until around 3p.m. Once we got our sleep time in all wondered around Connemara to explore our surroundings. While taking a look around outside all you could see in the distance were hills of grass and stone. If you looked in another direction you would see horses, dogs, chickens and roosters owning the streets and land. We ended up walking to a small convenience store about a 1 ½ away to try some different snacks. I loved looking at all the different types of food and drinks! I loved trying a variety of new taste and over all none of them were that bad! After exploring we went to do some family visiting for the rest of the evening. We went to 3 uncles homes as well at Theresa’s grandmothers home. It was such a cultural difference while we were spending time with family! They constantly asked if anyone wanted tea or snacks when we first walked in, their accent changed like ours, some were really thick and we couldn’t understand a word and others we could understand crystal clear. After visiting a few families, we headed back to home. We all thought it was much earlier than it was because the sun doesn’t begin to set until around 11p.m and begins to rise at around 3am.
Day 2- Friday July 11th
Today was when we really began our tourist attractions. We got up and heading down to the Ferry to get to the Aran Islands at 10am. The ferry ride was about an hour away which wasn’t a bad ride at all. Once we landed back on land we ended up taking a island tour by van by a man who had lived on the island for many years. The main island that we traveled on had a population of about 800 people and in the summer about 1000 people live there. There is 3,000 miles of stone walls throughout the island. At a point in our trip we had to get out of the van and walk about up a very big hill to get to Dun Angus, a fort that was used to fight between the people of the island between the O’Flarety’s vs O’Brien’s. The Flaherty’s one and there are only a few O’Briens left on the island today. Once we came down from the mountain we continued on our van tour by stopping at the 7 churches. The 7 churches were where many saint are buried and is still used as a cemetery today.
We also stopped for a short time at the “beach” which was all rock but we got to touch the other side of the Atlantic Ocean which was pretty cool. I said hello to America on the other side. Once our tour was completed we got the 4pm ferry back to main land. Once we got back we headed up to the local pub, which was literally a 2 minute walk. We decided that it was time to try our first Guinness since Ireland was known for it and the drinking age was 18. I didn’t dare get a pint because I knew I was not going to be able to drink it so Amanda and I split a glass and Hannah had a glass, and the outcome….GUINESS IS DISGUSTING.We headed back home after our first disgusting drink and got ready to go out to the “disco” a.k.a club. Before the disco opened at Midnight we headed to another pub where a lot of 20 something year old were. It was such a great Irish atmosphere! People were playing Green Day/ Kelly Clarkson/Rhianna on the acoustic guitar while everyone was singing along. And of course they played Galway Girl. After we left that bar we headed down the street to the disco named Josies. Let’s just say Irish dancing is very different than any dance I have ever been too. No one was really grinding and my horrible dance moves such as the sprinkler and shopping cart was totally acceptable. I now see how white people have to dancing skills at all and I don’t feel that bad about my dance moves anymore!
Day 3. Saturday 12th Today we got to sleep in for a little bit before we made our hour journey to Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore Abbey is the oldest of the Irish Benedictine Abbeys. It was originally called Kylemore Castle; it was built between 1863 and 1868 as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy politician from Manchester, England who was also Member of Parliament for Galway County.
After the death of his wife Margaret in 1875, Mitchell did not spend much time there. However, he built a beautiful memorial church about a mile from the Castle on the shore of the lake, in which Margaret was finally laid to rest and where in due course he joined her. The church is a miniature replica of Norwich Cathedral, the inside being composed mainly of green Connemara marble.He and his wife are both buried in the small mausoleum near the church in the grounds of the abbey.
After our adventures to Kylemore Abbey we headed to Tullycross for Theresa’s uncle Jimmy’s Gaelic football Game. Gaelic Football is a combination of soccer, football and rugby but no padding what so ever. Gaelic football is played by teams of 15 on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by kicking or striking the ball with the hand and getting it through the goals.The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. Players advance the ball up the field with a combination of carrying, soloing (dropping and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands), kicking, and hand-passing to their team-mates.
London. See Other Blog!Day 8
We got up early and drove to town to catch the bus to Dublin which was a 3 hour ride from where we were. Once we got in we ate a late lunch at a local coffee shop and headed onto a bus tour to Trinity College, Guinness Brewery and the National Gallery. Trinity College was beautiful, we basically just walked quickly though it because we had to pay extra to go see anything in the college itself. At the Brewery we got to taste Guinness for the second time right out of the factory which was defiantly much better tasting then at the Pub we first drank it at.
The National Gallery was amazing. It was so relaxing to just be able to look at art for a few hours. We didn’t do much that day because of severe lack of sleep the night before and the bus ride just completely drained us. On the way home we got on the 8pm bus back to Theresa’s aunt Barbara’s I finally got to speak to Dan! My long lost boyfriend! 8 days and no talking what so ever! I never want to do that again! It made me so happy to finally get to be able to talk to him!
Day 9 This was basically a nice and relaxing morning. During this trip we barely got to sleep in at all. This was the first time we got to sleep in, well kinda. We woke up at 10 and wondered around the farm and hung out with the horses and cows.
Sounds weird but it was fun just being in a new environment. At around noon time we headed to Slieve Aughty Riding Center with Marid, Theresa’s younger cousin. The riding center was in a town named Slieve Loghrue. We ended up going horseback riding for an hour through the mountains which was relaxing but at the same time not because, well I’ve never really been on a horse outside of a pony area. But in the end it was a lot of fun.
Day 10 Today we did nothing all day! It was wonderful! We slept in but ended up waking up pretty early because our bodies were finally used to the 5 hour time difference. At 7:30 that night we took the bus into Galway City. We wanted to find a restaurant but ended up eating at Supermac’s which is basically their version of McDonalds. There was so many people all around the city because the Galway Arts Festival. Eyre Square was filled with performers and crowding the streets, it was awesome. There were people on stilts literally 9 feet in the air, fire jugglers, drummers, you name it and it was there.
After eating we went to a few bars but it was still pretty early so nothing was really happening since. The 1st bar we went into had live music and you could barely move throughout the rooms. We ended up staying for about 45 minutes and left since there was no one there our age. Yay for being hit on by men with gray hair?! The next bar we headed to was Fibber Mcgee’s which was a slightly younger crowd.
We stayed for a while and met up with Colleen and her friends! We ended up all getting drinks named “Fat Frogs” which was pretty good! It was a mixed drink of Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi breezers and Blue malted vodka. It was delicious. While we were all hanging out we got hit on by a few Irish 20 something’s, man they really have to work on their pick up lines. Since the one I got was … “so, I have a 4 month old daughter...” Hmm. Doesn’t fly silly Irish man.
After we left that bar we headed down the street ( mind you bars are within 10 feet of each other) to the Skeff which was where we stayed for the entire night. So many people were everywhere and old- school music was playing. It was by far the best bar of the night.
But still, these Irish guys really need to work on their pick up lines. The ones that we got from this bar.. “ my friends have 50 euro bet, can you name the 5 oceans” or “do you like hurling?”. But I got the winner for sure when I got the “ are you the Russian tennis player?” “huh?” “Anna Kournikova! I’ve always wanted to meet you!” ahhh. No drunken man I am not her and yes, you must have beer goggles on now. After a very exciting adventure of the Galway City nightlife, we got a taxi at around 1am and went to bed once we got home.
Day 11 & 12 Today we slept in! We did nothing all day. We basically just cleaned and organized the house since we were leaving in a few days. We cooked a lot of food that was going to go to waste if we didn’t eat it soon.
Day 13 & Flight Back The adventure was beginning to wind down for the last few days. We actually packed up all of our stuff and headed to Galway for a day of shopping. We spent all day there and ended up leaving around 6:30 when Theresa’s aunt Barbara came to pick us up to spend the night with her. That Wednesday morning, my flight was heading home. Somehow, I left a day before everyone but it was okay. The morning I left we got up early and I took a shower. We headed to Shannon Airport about an hour away for my flight. All the girls came with me to make sure I got in safe and sound. It ended up being perfect timing because their bus back to Connemara was right around the corner when I went to check in. I said my goodbyes and headed into the terminal. The flight back wasn’t that bad. I slept, got to eat my lunch and just relax. Got home to a horrible storm though, I was blessed another hour in the air and we would have been stuck up in the air because of the storm!
Hope you enjoyed my wonderful vacation stories! Feel free to comment!
We went to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park and the Princess Diana Memorial Walkway. We were only out for a few hours and once it started getting dark at around 9 we headed back to our B&B.
Archaeologists believe that the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. It was a beautiful site!
But always seeing pictures of Stonehenge, I always thought it was a big bigger then what it truly was! Pictures are deceiving! And I never thought of what was surrounding Stonehenge, but I found out…nothing. Absolutely nothing is around Stonehenge. Only one road is located around it and you have to drive at least two miles on this one, two-way road to get to the stones. 
The Roman Baths complex is a site of history in the English city of Bath. The complex is a very well-preserved Roman site of public bathing. The Baths themselves are below the modern street level and has four main features, the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum holding finds from Roman Bath.
We headed to Shakespeare Globe Theatre, River Thames, and Piccadilly Circus. After a day of all the touristy attractions, we when back to our Bed and Breakfast for the Ice Bar! 
That place was absolutely amazing! It was -5 degree Celcius and everything was made of ice. The chairs, tables, lights and the cups and bar itself! It was called the Absolute Ice Bar London and with your ticket in, you got a drink that they only served with Absolute vodka. Also because it was so cold, we could only stay in for a total of 40 minutes, while in there you got to wear a jacket and gloves. 
Once we left the bar we ended up eating at a pizza chain named Pizza Express, which had the best pizza! Anyone who goes to London and just wants a plain old cheese pizza…that is the place to go! Once we ate we headed back to London Victiora for bed. I ended up calling my mom and let them know how everything was.
We lucked out, it was such gorgeous weather! The Eye was located right next to the River Thames. After we got off the London Eye, Theresa and I headed to Kings Cross Station….yes where Harry Potter traveled to Hogwarts. Sooo we went to Platform 9 ¾!
