Hiking, Walking, and (Pub) Crawling

A day of travel once again, but the trip was not nearly as lengthy or stressful as the journey into Ireland from America. Instead we were simply traveling from Galway to Killarney to meet with more relatives who are related to me somehow! Jess and I got up at 6:30am and got dressed, brushed our teeth, and packed everything else we needed before crawling back into bed for another hour and a half before everyone else got up at 8:00am. Jess and I are able to get up and get ready faster if we know we'll get more sleep time in. It's a thing.

Michael was up at 8:00am and met Jess and I downstairs for toast. Marie was up eventually, though she wasn't driving us anywhere so she was still in her jammies prepared to head back to bed when we left. We said our good-byes to her and she waved us off as Michael drove us to the bus station where we officially parted ways with out Galway relatives. The station was the same one we'd arrived in from and was less a station that 9 bus spots outside a train station which was the main attraction. Jess and my ticket was vague about which bus spot our bus would be in so we tried to find someone to ask but apparently no one who knew anything about buses was in so we walked up and down to see what we could find and eventually found a sign at Stop 9 that was for 9:00am that listed Killarney as one of it's stops.

Boarding the bus is where we had a smidge of trouble. Like the last bus ticket we used, this one was for the day after our travel day, a mix up we couldn't figure out how to correct on our own. So the driver hailed me down after boarding to explain the error and told me to run to the Bus Inspector who would correct it. I hoofed it there only to find I was right, no bus people at all were in that day and had to jam it back to the driver to explain. He was talking to another driver and they both laughed at my obvious concern and told me they would correct it at the bus switch in Limerick and that they wouldn't leave without me. I thanked them and boarded the bus to explain to Jess and the goings-ons.

The ride to Limerick was about an hour and a half, but this bus thankfully had a toilet on it, unlike the last one we rode for 4 hours. At the Limerick stop, as agreed, the driver took us to the Bus Inspector there who worked out the whole thing for us to board the next bus. It was actually rather a good thing we had to go to the inspector though because otherwise Jess and I would have had no idea which bus was our next one. Like I said, the ticket was vague and I didn't even know we'd be switching buses at all! Second bus didn't have a toilet, bummer, but it was only 2 and a half hour ride and Jess and I got a little more relaxation time in before we arrived for a fun-filled day in Killarney!

Our cousin, who keeps getting mistaken for our grandmother, Catherine, picked us up at the bus stop and drove us to her place where she cooked us some pasta and introduced us to her husband, Patt, and a cousin Tom who was in the house before he went to work at a hotel down the street. The pasta was fabulous and we ate it as we discussed strategy for the rest of the day. It was decided that Catherine would drop us off at Muckross Traditional Farm where we'd use her free pass to tour the grounds, then visit Muckross Abbey. We arrived at the farm around 3:00pm and Catherine gave us one of her phones to call her when we finished with the Farm and the Abbey for her to pick us up.

Jess and I have an affinity for walking, given neither of us drive or have a car, and it was nice to just wander around the old farmland and pop into the rural farmhouses. We saw a milking demonstration, walked in houses that were supposed to be deemed small but were actually bigger than the one we live in now (which isn't surprising as we live in a two-room tiny house), and saw lots of farm animals! I got to hold a kitten, which was definetely a highlight! I was just saying the other day that I wanted to pet a cat and I was presented with an actual opportunity to do so just like that! Jess and I played with the kittens for a while before was wandered ahead and found a playgroud near the end of the walk. We naturally couldn't pass up the opportunity to use the swings and do the obstacle course, so we played there for quite a while!

By the time we left the farms for the abbey it was about 5:00pm and we hadn't even noticed the time passing. We walked passed the Muckross House, a large manor, but didn't go in as it's guided tours only and Jess and I don't like like that. We did, however, take photos of the outside because it really is a pretty manor before we started the mile trek to the abbey. It was a lovely walk for Jess and I through trees and beside a large lake where waves were forming from the hard winds. There was a main path and a hiking path but we just went the main path as we weren't really dressed for hiking in rompers and flats but it was pretty no matter where you walked!

The abbey finally came into view and we took some time to meander the semi-large graveyard outside the building. Some of the graves were exceptionally old, but a lot were fairly new which surprised us. It must cost a fortune to get buried there, but it is a lovely final resting place. We found a few Kelliher graves and wondered if we were related to any or all of them before we took to exploring the abbey. It's a rundown stone structure that lost it's roofing years ago, but it's a bit like a maze filled with secret walkways and hidden staircases and a large winding tree in the center of the abbey that just looks magnificent!

We took lots of pictures at the abbey, naturally, while spending a lot of time just wandering around enjoying ourselves! We were told to call Catherine once we left and were at a gate that's at the edge of the property but it was almost 7:00pm by the time we called because the walk from the abbey to the gate was a long one. A pleasant one though, again by the lake, and we got to just walk and talk and enjoy the scenery of Ireland!

After Catherine took us home we had dinner of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches while we watched the Gaelic Football match. I've never seen Gaelic Football before but it seems to be a mix of soccar, American football, basketball, and vollyball, which is bizarre but entertaining to watch at least! Dublin won which was upsetting to all here as they've won for four years straight and no one's excited for them (except Dublin of course), so it's a bit like a Slytherin and the house cup scenario. During dinner Catherine decided we need to go out to the bars and pubs that night but her and Patt had to run an errand so they left Jess and I to get ready and said we'd leae around 10:00pm. Jess and I have never been Night Owls or Party Animals and aren't especially into drinking, but we had to do it, we're in Ireland after all!

10:00pm a relative of Catherine drove us to the first bar, The Shire, and dropped us off. The bar is totally Lord of the Rings themed and it was way cool! Catherine bought us a Hobbit Juice, which is a cocktail served with secret ingredients. We had no idea what was in it, but it tasted just swell! We left that bar as soon as we finished our drink and hit Murphey's for an hard apple cider each and got to hear some Irish music played live. That bar was a little more lowkey, but still packed with the weekend crowd! Next up was Mrs. Ready where we got a shared cider and our last drink of the night. There was also live music there, but the band was a Irish group playing enthusiastic covers of other songs, including Zombie and American Pie which everyone, including us, sang at the top of our lungs! We lost track of Patt there as he wandered off to a quieter bar and Catherine took us to Social 51 which is basically a bar/nightclub with a live saxophone player playing to exceptionally loud techno music. It's a very 'in' place according to Catherine and it helped save, or at least liven up the bar scene in Killarny by attracting young tourists somewhere other than 'traditional pubs'. We didn't have a drink there but Catherine had two Guinness beers before we went to bar #5 to find Patt. I can't remember the name of the bar he was at, but it was much quieter and more casual than the other bars and pubs in the area, though there was no shortage of customers.


1:00am everyone had had enough and we took a taxi ride from another of Catherine's relatives back home to finally get some sleep. I always think we do so little each day then I write it down and realize why I'm so tired in the morning. Oh well, we can sleep when we're dead!

Gal-Away

Another action packed day to report here in Ireland for the Honeyduo! We're not gonna sleep proper until we're home it seems! Jess and I did actually wake up at 10:30am, but we all had gone to be at 3:00am if you recall. We woke up to pancakes the Irish way courtesy of Michael. Apparently the difference is a lack of buttermilk, which you can tell as the pancakes are flat as anything and not as fluffy as American ones. It was still very tasty and a lovely breakfast though and Jess, Michael, and I enjoyed it before we got our act together and headed out the car to make a visit to one of Michael's sisters, Ann.

Ann's house was darling and she was overjoyed with the bottle of maple syrup we presented to her as a gift from America. Floridian's originally from Rhode Island bringing syrup from Vermont to a woman in Ireland. Life is funny. We gave lots of love to her dog Trotter before we went inside and had a chat in her living room about whatever we thought of, so the conversation went the way all the rest of the chats with the relatives have so far! Ann's a twin too, like Jess and I, and we had a great time discussing Twin Things with one another, like pranks we pulled (Ann and her sister Mary switched places on their dance dates without either man noticing) and Twinapathy, the alleged ability twins have to communicate even when they're apart simply by virtue of being twins. We chatted for likely over an hour before Ann had to get ready for a toe surgery she was having and we left for home once more.

Marie arrived home from her Mothers not long after we did but she was tired from the drive and we were all in the mood to relax so we went to our rooms and vegged out for some time. In the time we were all relaxing though, Terry, another one of our cousins apperently, arrived at the house and popped her head in to holler hello at least twice. Jess and I thought we heard something and poked out of our room to see a woman in a red car leaving. We assumed she was someone Mick and Marie knew and hadn't responded to for a reason, so we just went back to our room. It wasn't until a little later when we all returned downstairs to prepare for Michael's art exhibit that Marie called Terry to ask if she was coming to the exhibit that she had dropped by and no one had answered and she was now on her way our of town. Marie and Michael both said they hadn't head anything and they would have liked to have seen her and we all felt quite silly, but such is life.

Before we left we all had dinner together of chicken stuffed with black pudding wrapped in bacon served with a side of fresh potatoes and, of course, wine. The meal was excellent and Michael was impressed that we even tried the black pudding. According to him our mother was never as adventurous with food as we were and wouldn't even touch it. Jess and I actually aren't very adventurous with food, in fact we're really picky eaters usually, but hey, when in Rome! Or Ireland, as it were. We took that time to present Marie and Michael with the gifts we'd brought for them: Two 3D printed dragons, two Minnie Mouse shirts, and matching Mickey and Minnie keychains. The 3D dragons took forever to unwrap as they were overwhelmingly covered in clingfilm to protect them during the flight and it was quite the sight to see Michael surrounded by red and green wrap as he continued to pull more sheets of the relatively small dragons. Despite that, they both loved all of them and thanked us as we thanked them and it was a big thanking mess.

At 6:20pm we all set off for the Galway Art Club Art Exhibition where Michael's paintings were on display and for sale to the general public alongside 16 other artists. The event took place in a school gym but it was just lovely! Jess and I felt like such debutante's gliding around an art gallery with a glass of wine in our hand. It was all rather surreal. There was a lot of beautiful art for sale and if I'd had the money or luggage space (or wasn't too cheap to pay for a checked bag) I would have liked to have bought one! I really don't have the space though, and it was nice to just appreciate the art anyway. There we were introduced to Olda and Kloda, more third cousins of ours, who were very sweet and who's name I can't spell either because they're complicated to me or because I can't hear them being pronounced properly because of the Irish accent.

Michael had to be there the whole of the opening event so Jess and I had from 7:00pm to 10:00pm to entertain ourselves. We stayed in the art exhibit until 9:00pm and picked out our favourite works and played a game of 'male artist or female artist' based on the style and design or the pieces but we wanted some fresh air and to see a cathedral that was just down the road that we hadn't gotten to yet, so we took off for about an hour to check it out.

We found a lovely river on the way that we had to stop and look at before we got around to the cathedral. I have no idea what the river and cathedral were called, but they were both pretty and therefore we enjoyed them. We didn't go into the cathedral as it was obviously closed at 9:30pm, but we took a look around and it was quite pretty. Jess and I sticklers for old buildings though. It comes with the History Major. The return journey took us back into town where we poked our heads into a Spar store, essentially a gas-station-esque shop to see what they sold and the prices. We were very tempted to get a pack of Crunchie bars for 2 euro, but decided we were just hungry and should save our money for our further travels in Europe on more impressive things.

We returned to the school at 10:00pm to help with breakdown, which was just cleaning up wine glasses and throwing out plastic cups, and headed home with Michael and Marie. There we all settled into the kitchen and had toast with gooseberry jam and butter as Michael pulled out an old photo album to show us pictures of our relatives. We found a number of ones of mom where she looked just like us when we were younger. We also put Michael to the test by showing him pictures of us on the phones when our hair was different or matching to see if he could actually tell us apart. He really can't, but that's no surprise! Around 2:00am, because we're idiots, we all parted ways to get to bed. We all agreed to be up and ready at 8:00am for breakfast before Michael took us to the bus stop for our ride into Killarny. That left us with 5-6 hours of sleep but it was worth it for the extra time with Marie and Michael.

Twelve Bens and Third Cousins

Our second day in Ireland was a wonderful success! It naturally began with Jess and I waking up in a bed for the first time in a while which was obviously exciting. I was up at 9:00am and went downstairs to have a breakfast of Bran Flakes, which I thoroughly enjoyed because I love cereal! I could eat it for every meal and did for a number of years when my mother got 180+ boxes, but that's another story. Jess was dead to the world until 10:30am, possibly from jetlag but also because she just really loves sleep and it was exceptionally comfy in our bed. Marie had to leave about the time Jess got up to go see her mother somewhere else in Ireland, so we said our good-byes did the hugging thing. She wasn't sure when she was going to be back, but we hope it's before we leave on Saturday for Killarny.

We hung around the house for a bit and were general lazy gits while Michael took the dog, Duchess, for a walk, and drove his wife to get another car to drive to her mother. When he returned, though, he received a call from his mother, our (Great?) Aunt Nora, inviting us over for a drink and chat. Jess and I grabbed the gift we'd brought for Aunt Nora, a pink stuffed flamingo from Florida which our mother and Aunt Eileen had insisted was a gift she wanted. Together the three (four if you count the flamingo) of us walked the one of two houses over to Aunt Nora's place where we were greeted by Aunt Nora, our third cousin Collin, and two relatives, Alan and a woman who's name I couldn't spell if I wanted to who are related to me in some way but who on earth can keep track of how? We're already onto third cousins for goodness sake. Anyway, they all just happened to be there as they live close by and wanted to raid her alcohol cabinet. When I say 'live close by' I really do mean that too. All the houses in the general radius of Michael's house are houses built by relatives to be close to their other relatives so they all live next to each other. Despite this, according to Michael he rarely sees these relatives because he just doesn't bother and neither do they, so he was actually surprised to see so many people in the house.

Upon entering we were immediately offered our choice of drink, however Aunt Nora only drinks hard liquor so we had a choice of vodka, whiskey, and rum. I went with Captain Morgan's spiced rum mixed with Diet Coke and Jess got Absolut Vodka, also mixed with Diet Coke. While we sipped those, me more than Jess because I'm not even used to wine, we laughed and chatted and had a spectacular time with our relatives! I've never had such a wonderful time talking with people I'm related to. That sounds harsh, and I don't mean it like that, but as the youngest of my relatives I've always been on the edge of conversations, just listening and trying to find something useful or interesting to say, whereas here I was actually part of the conversation and people wanted to talk to me and listen to me and that was totally different and exciting!

We started off giving Aunt Nora her gift, which she thought was hysterical and loved. She's probably in her 90's so Michael says she's in her 'second childhood' which is probably true and she's definitely enjoying it! We then discusses all manner of things all at once and over each other, as loud and as fast as possible and Jess and I certainly kept pace with that! We're too loud and fast as it is, and we actually got to amplify that here! We talked about Jessica's research grant (you know, what we're actually traveling for), the temperature in Florida compared to Ireland (Jess and I are in jackets here while everyone else is in shorts, but they'd never survive the heat in Florida), Collin's middle name (which he didn't know and had to check his license to figure out), and Aunt Nora's memory of the war (in Ireland called The Emergency) though we focused mostly on the tea rations during the war which was a major concern at the time. Michael wanted us to have enough time for a drive around Galway so we eventually chugged the last of our drinks, and pink in the face, said farewell and took off.

For several hours then we took a drive around Galway and the areas around it. We chatted the whole way as Michael pointed out different landmarks and described them the best he could, which was amusing in itself. We stopped at Aldi's briefly and got to see what the Irish sell and what their prices are and had a laugh about the shape of their soda bottles before we headed towards Kylemore Abbey. The abbey is essentially a castle and a huge tourist attraction, so Michael didn't want to see too much of it or subject us to things that are overly tourist-populated for too long, so we parked, used their toilets, and snapped a number of photos outside before we tarried onwards.

  For the most part our drive took us past sheep, greenery, and the Twelve Bens, which are 12 mountains or hills or what-have-you that are very lovely and perfect for photographing from the car as you drive by, which is how we got most of our shots anyway. We also went by the only fjord in Ireland, called Killary Harbor because they didn't know what a fjord was at the time they named it.

We went about like that for several hours before arriving home to eat hamburgers, hotdogs, and sausage then help load up Michael's car with paintings for his art exhibition. In Galway town again, Jess and I helped Michael unload his art before once again meandering through town. There were more people than before, which was odd given it was only a Thursday, but it was still a nice walk around. We actually stepped into a pub, The King's Head, just to say we had, even though we didn't buy anything, but it's the principle of the thing. We also found an unusual outside/inside mall that is entered via an open mouth canal of some sort into an indoor underground style shopping mall. We saw a group of singers raising money for some disease or another and a window display featuring mannequins with horse heads and it was all very bizarre and wonderful.

We returned to the school to meet with Michael and got to take a spin around the now almost complete art exhibit to see everyone's work. A lot of it was lovely pieces, my favourite being a stunning oil on canvas wave that was just full to the brim with colours. It's just a small art display, meant to happen at the same time as the art festival that's going to be happening the same day it opens to attract more people, but there's a lot of talent on display. Eventually we meandered home, taking the long drive so we could see an area by the water where my mother, Uncle Brendan, and Michael stole a sign warning against parking too close to the edge for danger of falling in, which they have, obviously, since replaced. On the way home we could smell fire and saw fire trucks pulling away from a plot of land that had burned away. The drought has made everything dry and the heat and sun is setting things ablaze. That's supposed to end with Hurricane Chris, but we'll see. Michael wanted to take us into the Twelve Pins, a bar in Galway, but the smell of the fire was everywhere and we opted to just head home.

At the house there was a distinct smell of onion and we discovered that Duchess, the dog, had managed to get the leftover hamburger and sausage out of the celophane from the table by breaking the plate. Of course she was forgiven but we had a good laugh. Then, until 1:00am, Jess, Michael, and I talked and talked and talked. We talked about movies and the greatest actresses of all time (Audrey Hepburn is at the top for all of us), and we talked about Uncle Brendan and how Jess and I should have been able to meet him before he passed away. We laughed, and cried, and talked until we'd had enough of that and really needed to go to bed. Well, Micheal did. Jess and I hadn't taken a shower since before the plane ride and my hair was actually starting to matte, so that needed to be handled, 1:00am or otherwise. Taking a shower was definitely a highlight of the day, silly as it sounds, and I am finally refreshed completely and ready to take on the world. Or at least southern Ireland!

All The Way With Galway

14 hours of travel time, two flights, one bus ride, and a car drive later and we finally made it to Galway last afternoon around 1:30pm. Of course, such an excursion was an adventure in itself. We arrived at the Orlando International Airport about 1:00pm yesterday for our 3:00pm flight. There was some crying between myself, my sister, and my mother and Jess and I set off on our great travel adventure! When we got in we poked our heads into the Disney Store for a hot second but rapidly moved on towards security. Getting through that was mostly easy, but we forgot to take off our money belts and they had to get sent through the machine while we got the rest of our stuff. After that we meandered over towards our terminal. Orlando Airport is enormous so we had to take a tram to get to it. We were supposed to see about picking up cigarettes for our relatives in Ireland at the Duty Free shop but that store was on the otherside of the terminal, meaning we'd have to take three tram rides to get there, get back, then get to our terminal and it just wasn't looking time efficient. We ended up deciding to hit the Duty Free shop during our layover in New Jersey and just went right to the terminal. We got there with a decent amount of time left before the flight and took that time to each each one of the ham sandwiches our mother had packed us.

Not too long after we finished those we were on the flight and on our way to Newark, New Jersey. That flight was only 2 hours and 10 minutes long and Jess and I mostly listened to our iPods. There were screens on the back of the chairs for this flight with free movies, but I didn't realize they were free until we were just about to land, so that was that. We only got apple juice and a pretzel snack on this flight because it was only 2 hours long but that was fine for Jess and I and we saved the pretzels for when we landed and were hungry again. The flight was smooth essentially until we began the descent which was quite rocky and Jess and I both got slightly motion sick. We were fine once we officially landed though and that was the only time we got a little sick, which is fine with me. The layover in Jersey was a quick one, only an hour, so we had to be fast about finding our next terminal for the international flight into Dublin. We asked someone for directions and they were exceptionally helpful and got us there in no time! Along the way we decided we would get to the terminal and then see about whether one of us had time to run and find the Duty Free shop but as it happened we walked right past one on our way to the terminal! We found out, however, that (at least in New Jersey) the legal age to buy cigarettes is now 21, so we couldn't purchase any, which we didn't really mind, but we were glad we hadn't had to go out of our way in order to learn this. The terminal in the Jersey airport was smaller than the Orlando one and Jess and I had to sit a ways away, but we were closer to the bathrooms and water bubblers so it wasn't an issue at all.

Boarding took longer on this flight because more people were getting on the plane. Jess and I were boarding group 4 or 5, so we were in the almost last group of people getting on the plane, but with United we already had our seats listed so it didn't matter when we go on because we still just be going to our assigned seats. Apparently United has issues with not enough overhead storage space for Carry-On bags and ask that backpacks or your personal item be placed under the seat in front of you. Well, Jess and I had backpacks but we also had personal items (a purse and laptop carrier) and our backpacks were our suitcases essentially and were quite stuffed to the brim, so we figured it was fine to put them in the overhead. Everyone had enough room though so it all worked out. That plane ride, from New Jersey to Dublin, Ireland, was a little over 6 hours and we received 2 meals: Dinner and then a light continental breakfast. Dinner was served fairly early on, about an hour into the flight. We had a choice of chicken or pasta, and Jess and I both chose pasta, which was delicious! It might have tasted better because we were hungry, but it tasted nice all the same. The dinner came with a bread roll, butter, and some salad-type thing that wasn't quite salad but I can't remember the name just now. We also got a small ice cream about an hour later, vanilla gelatto, and that was lovely! After that meal Jess and I decided it was time to sleep given that it was about 9:00pm our time but we were going to be arriving in Dublin at 7:00am their time and we wouldn't get to sleep.

Sleeping on a plane is by far the least comfortable place one could possibly sleep. I'm sure you knew that, but I felt it was important for me to confirm and articulate that. Jess and I were in the center row with Jess at the aisle seat and me in a middle seat next to someone else. The guy I was next to was quite funny and nice but I did feel bad because I likely hit him a few times while changing position. The problem was mostly that it was so cold! I was trying to keep my blanket securely around my legs, my jacket around my body, and somehw navigate the pillow to be somewhere useful. Mostly I settled for pulling down the table thing and placing my pillow and head on that. Problem was my legs got cold cause if they were hanging down the back was exposed from under the blanket, but I made do! Jess and I both woke up just as the cart with breakfast was coming around, funny enough, and were able to get a nice hot croissant, yogurt, and more juice which was probably a bad choice on our part because we were about to get on a 4 hour bus ride, but we did it anyway. The guy next to us didn't eat yogurt so he gave us his and our mother had been telling us we need to eat yogurt every day so that was decent of him. We both slept a little bit more before we landed, then headed out into the Dublin Airport, officially in Ireland!

Jess decided we should go through the EU passport line, as we are duel citizens, and the line was faster, but the issues came with getting out passports stamped. Now there's no real reason we need to get stamps anymore besides sentimental reasons but I like getting stamps so I ask for them. But Jessica hadn't signed her Irish passport so the guy said he couldn't stamp it. I said we had a pen and she could sign it but he said that wouldn't work, stamped mine, and sent us through. I didn't get what the issue was, but I wasn't gonna make a scene and just went through. I really wanted that passport stamp though, and while Jess didn't quite care, I did. Right where we got out was the checked baggage pick-up thing so we picked up our one checked bag and I found 2 airport workers to ask about getting my passport stamped. They said customs would do it, which is what we'd just gone through, and I explained that the sign says we're not supposed to go back through it. The guy just told us to go through and ask because no one would stop us and the worst they would do is tell us 'no', so off we went. I went to the American passport people and asked them about it and basically half-lied and confused-Americaned my way into getting them to stamp Jess and my American passports and Jess's Irish passport. I didn't lie really, just said they hadn't gotten stamped when we went through the EU way and it was for special sentimental reasons and he explained that Irish passports don't usually get stamped here because it is, in fact, Ireland, but he stamped them anyway and even asked if I had my Irish passport to stamp but I told him that one didn't matter (not mentioning that it had already been stamped) and we thanked him very much and went on our way, all four passports stamped! I felt a little bad for putting him out by having him stamp them, but I wasn't going to travel several thousand miles across continents to not get a stamp. I just couldn't do it!

On the way out we asked a very nice woman about our bus stop and she pointed us in the perfect direction and we found it no problem. We popped into the bathroom that was right across from our stop before settling down at the stop for about an hour before our bus was set to arrive. While there was had to ask one of the people about our ticket. A mistake was made and our ticket was accidentally bought for the day after we arrived. We wanted to see if we could change it, but the guy there said we'd be "just grand" and have no trouble getting on today. He was right, more or less. The bus arrived (after Jess and I ran to the bathroom one last time because we were informed there was no toilet on the Bus Eireann) and the driver gladly took our ticket and punched it in. The machine didn't process it though, so he tried again, and again, then finally said "Something's wrong with your ticket, I can't get it through, go take a seat." This was a surprise to me! If it was America the driver would have said "Something's wrong with your ticket, get off" but that wasn't the case here! He just let us on and off we went! It was excellent!

We sat on that bus for 2 hours before we arrived who knows where and were let off for 5 minutes to use a bathroom before we all piled back on again. I was grateful for the bathroom break (all the apple juice really was a mistake) and we traveled for another 2 hours. Jess and I both, again, slept, as the bus carried us across Ireland and were quite awake when we arrived in Galway and were picked up by Michael. Michael is, I think, our second cousin. He's a great deal older than us, very nice, and lived in America for some time so is accent isn't so difficult to understand. His name is also, for reference, pronounced like 'Me-hall' because reasons. He laughed at how little luggage we'd brought in comparrison to how much our mother always brings, and loaded us up into his car to take us to our temporary home, his house. I'm not sure what I expected, but the house is outstanding! Michael built it himself and it's right next to lots of his other relatives. Jess and I get our own room together in the upstairs and it's the sweetest thing! I'd stay there the whole time if I could, but we won't be here for more than 2 more nights.

Once we got there Michael had to do some shopping and left us at home to rest, and Jess and I certainly appriciated that! We both napped in bed for several hours which we desperatly needed. Upon waking though, Michael had to go into town to help set up for an art exhibit and took us with him to let us wander the town while he was working. We had a wonderful time exploring Galway! The town is quite small, but filled with people and all number and variety of shops! Street artists fill the area with music and light as you walk through the winding streets and it was wonderful to just exist in that space for a while.

Jess and I managed to not get lost, which is quite a feat considering it's us, as we got acquainted with our surroundings. We tried to not look like tourists and tried to not be overly obvious when we took photographs. Still, we got some nice pictures of the downtown from the shops to the decorations to some strange woman who feed a great number of pigeons an entire bag of feed for no obvious reason.

  We didn't bring any money with us, which was probably a good thing to keep me from purchasing a rather large box of Irish fudge that I didn't really need, but we are on the hunt for some kind of fun souvineer. We want something original, but Irish, something that stands out and says something about our trip to Ireland. It could be a rock, like one's we got in Grand Cayman from the bottom of a secret spot we found while snorkling, or a slightly genuine purchase, like the pressed pennies I collected in Canada. Either way, we have to find something, it's like a law.

             

That night we headed home and had dinner with Michael and his wife, Marie.  Marie had made spaghetti in meat sauce and garlic bread. Jess and Michael drank hard cider, Anne drank white wine, and I had water with lemon because I'm me. We all watched the FIFA semi-final together and all collectively missed the winning score because we were all busy discussing wine. Marie went to be around 10:00pm, which didn't feel like 10:00pm because it was still sunny out! So much for helping me fight jetlag! Meanwhile, Michael, Jess, and I went into a parlor room of sorts and talked and drank and watched To The Manor Born's Christmas special until about 12:00am when Jess and  trotted off to sleep. After being awake for 28+ hours we were estatiec to finally get a proper nights sleep in an actual bed.

All Packed Up And Somewhere To Go

    The time of packing has befallen us! Or did, earlier this week. Jess and I went through our outfits to pick out what we wanted a few days back to do a test run with our backpacks. I had to stitch mine up and we wanted to make sure it would hold without breaking while also checking that we could fit just about everything we're taking in the two backpacks. We managed to fit all the clothes in then and it seems like everything's holding up just fine! That was not, however, to be the final packing of the clothes. Packing everything up that early in advance is, to me, dangerous. You can't pack everything and people tend to lose track of things as they take them in and out and try to keep track of what is where and that's how mistakes happen. I am not going to leave the country and suddenly remember I forgot my nail clippers because I took them out for a trim and never returned them to their proper place in my bag! So, the clothes we packed were pulled out yesterday to be washed completely before we put on a mini-fashion show of the outfit combinations in order to document via my phone's camera what the outfits we'd chosen looked like and decide if we even actually liked them anymore. It's entirely possible to like something when you pull it out of the drawer only to hate it when you put it on. Thankfully, that was not the case this time and everything looks fantastic! We ended up only adding a few items we hadn't before: One black pencil skirt, a black string crop top, a gold scarf, and four chokers, none of which take up an excessive amount of room. All in all, every outfit looks absolutely fabulous and I can't wait to wear them throughout Europe! The plan is to look as little like a tourist as possible, excluding France where I will be wearing my red beret. It's probably a faux pas or a tacky tourist thing, but I just can't stand the thought of going all the way to Paris without wearing my beret for photographs! I'd never forgive myself if I missed a fashion opportunity of that nature!

    Other important packing prep occurred besides clothes though! The other day we also went shopping at Dollar Tree (the Promised Land) and picked up a bunch of travel supplies we were lacking. Toothpaste, hand cream, energy shots to fight the jetlag, gum, empty bottles to fill with shampoo, and other necessities that come in 3 ounce or less containers we acquired, sorted, and placed neatly in our backpacks in the front pouch of out backpacks, accompanied by our freshly washed and re-packed clothes. While I know none of those products are going to last very long, there's something so satisfying about holding or even just seeing those miniaturized products! Tiny mouthwash is especially adorable for no particular reason. Maybe it's because miniature versions of big things remind us of items in a dollhouse. Whatever the reason, we stocked up and fit everything into our now perfectly rotund backpacks.

    So, initially, the plan was to only have carry-on bags. Jess and I would have our backpacks stuffed to the brim with clothes and toiletries and then, for the international flights at least, I would have my purse with my tablet and other do-dads and gew-gaws that we'd want close at hand for the flight and Jess would have her laptop bag with her necessities. While we are still planning of having those bags, my mother created a list of items we had to bring over to our relatives in Ireland, including several pounds of coffee and bottles of maple syrup, neither of which can get through on a carry-on. This was not realized by my mother until she spoke with us and we brought it up, so a new plan was devised. We went to Goodwill and purchased a rather ugly, but largeish, bag. This bag will be loaded with all the gifts for the relatives and sent in as a checked bag. While I'm sobbing at the thought of paying for a checked bag at all, it will only be a one time cost for for the flight into Ireland. When we arrive we will present the gifts to the appropriate relative and once the bag is empty it will be left behind before we travel onward to France. It's a roundabout plan, but it checks out.

    As of right now, everything except our electronics and the gifts have been packed up, tight and secure in our happy little backpacks! Everything is feeling realer and realer as we get closer to the 'Launch Date' and all the loose ends are tied up. That's a bit Columbo to say, but it's true. Planes are booked, and the bags are packed! That's not to say everything is handled because we've packed our bags! There's still, of course, because it's us, a number of important tings left to do. Number one is to handle our transportation across Europe, particularly across Ireland where we're gonna be traveling from one side of the country to the other with very little direction. Our relatives are all over the place and we're gonna get in a lot of mileage on buses across the country! We tried purchasing the tickets in advance, but it's us, so naturally that's been a hassle and a half and nothing worked out right but the bus thing's probably never gonna get settled completely until we get there and work it out. It's gonna be quite the adventure, I can assure you of that! In a number of hours a five year old can count to Jess and I will be sailing over the world, Europe-bound for the first time ever! The next time you hear from us, we'll be international travelers and I can't wait for it!