Hello all! I have had my first ever house guest :) Chris, on of my friends from Olaf is working in Cologne, Germany. He had some vacation time and decided to come visit me! Mainly because I was the closest person to him, being that we are both in Europe. I had such an amazing time! It was so nice to be able to do all the touristy things in Galway with someone who had never been to Ireland before. He is an archaeologist so he got a big kick out of seeing the old ruins scattered around the area.
The first day/ EXTREMELY EARLY MORNING, of his arrival (he came in at 3:00 am), we headed up to Horse and Lean's apartment for the tail end of a house party and just to say hello to everyone.
The next day I had class so Sam and Chris did a bit of a stroll around town. We then walked out to Salthill down the Prom, in the pouring rain (my idea) and were all completely miserable and sopping wet. So we stopped up in Sam's Mom's house for a cup of tea, a chance to dry off and to play video games with Sam's youngest brother.
That night we went out to Cuba with Nuala, who was back on break from University in Dublin, and some others. Then on to a house party where I got to play pool for the first time in ages!
The next day we were all exhausted so we slept in till the afternoon. Then went out for a bit of a walk around the bay and were lucky enough to time it so that the mackerel were around. There must have been hundreds of them, and thousands of the little sprat they eat in the water. The mackerel in turn attracted the seals. There were six seals out in the water, barking at each other and chasing after the fish. That is most the seals I have seen in Ireland in the water! To top it all of there was also a rainbow. I could not have asked for a better picture of Galway for Chris.
The next two days Sam's parents were kind enough to take us on a couple of day trips, which really made the vacation.
Sam's mom took us out to the Burren, which is always gorgeous. I had only ever been there on one of the bus tours so it was nice to get out with someone who knew some more secluded spots not seen by many tourists. We went to the ruins of an old monastery which had a round tower on it's grounds. I don't know if this is true or not, but apparently round towers a unique to Ireland. Then after that we went for some fish chowder. A real treat for Chris who loves fish and never gets to eat it in Germany. Then on to Burren National Park where we visited an ruined hermitage. It was in a really beautiful little fairy forest, with a holy well and everything was covered in bright green moss. It was such a contrast to the barren landscape of most of the Burren.
Sam's dad took us out by Roundstone, a little town known for it's Bodhran's (an Irish Drum). We went for a walk along the beach and I saw a hare! This may not seem that exciting, but Irish wildlife pretty much consists of fish and sheep. A hare is by far the coolest land mammal I have seen in Ireland thus far. Then we went back to town for another serving of seafood chowder and out to Ballynahinch Castle for a warm cup of tea and some fruit cake. Then a walk around the grounds of the castle which are absolutely stunning. The castle was the residence of the founder of the RSPCA, Humanity Dick.
We came back, played two rounds of Cranium and then Chris left the next day. It was so nice to see a friend and so much fun to have a little staycation in Galway. Long story short, if you want to come visit I am happy to show you around :)
Now it is nose to the grindstone working on my paper and doing my readings. Luckily I am really enjoying learning about my paper topic, analyzing the use of force in the South Ossetian conflict in Georgia in 2008. I am so happy I am able to do my paper on something that merges so well with my area of interest. Other than that I am keeping busy with Archery and Kayaking.
In other news "we" have still not turned on the heat in the house, ie the housemates, who are apparently much more tolerant of the cold than I. Forced to take drastic measures I have purchased two hot water bottles which I have deemed the best investment ever! I actually got so hot last night I had to take off my duvet and just use a blanket. Unfortunately they only work when I am in bed and do very little once I have to get out of bed. This has made waking up for class and getting out of bed a bit of a challenge. Haha.
Hope all is well with everyone!
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