hello!

it was suggested to me that a blog should be started in order to track the adventures bernadette and i have while we're out here in ireland and other parts of europe. i've been taking notes and bernadette has been keeping a journal type thing so that we don't forget what's been happening. so i shall fill you in on what's been going on so far...

day one;
we arrived in dublin at nine in the morning and we were really excited to get off of that plane. i didn't sleep during the plane ride at all, unfortunately. bernadette kind of did. it was alright. it was a loooooonnnngggg plane ride, but it definitely could have been worse. breeda, bernard, eva, and helen met us at the airport. we took a bus to athlone with breeda and eva. taking the bus was weird. i lost track of the number of times that i thought i was going to die. but then i stopped looking out the front window, and everything was okay again. it's been raining almost constantly since we got here, but i don't mind. it's pretty amazing anyway. it's refreshing to be in a completely different atmosphere like this one. the houses, roads, and sidewalks are all so different from chicago. we pretty much chilled at breeda's house the first day, trying really really hard not to fall asleep until late so we didn't mess up our sleep schedule too bad. we ended up going to bed at midnight and then waking up at two in the afternoon the next day. we ate pizza (decent, but i am from chicago) and went to bed.

some things worth mentioning:
-the sky seems different for some reason.
-jet lag blows.
-i wish i could use my twitter
-i am completely lost without my phone! it's quite sad.
-signs are in gaelic :]
-oreos are called "chocolate flvored sandwich buscuits" instead of cookies.

day two;
after we woke up at two in the afternoon johnny and maggie came over and johnny took us down to clonmacnoise, which is where mulkerrins originated. it was some crazy stuff. i don't know how to explain the craziness. we went to johnny and maggie's house in dublin. i saw lots of cows on the way. my mom said i would see lots of sheep, but i haven't seen any yet. go figure. after we got to dublin we went with johnny to a cafe and listened to a band playing on the street. it was pretty cool. we had some hot chocolate and tea. then we came back home and watched tv until everyone eventually headed off to bed.

some things worth mentioning;
-people are so much more laid back here.
-my moms family is being absolutely WONDERFUL to bernadette and i.
-johnny is a walking encyclopedia.
-irish slang is pretty amusing.

day three;
bernadette and i woke up around one in the afternoon. it was still raining out. i guess we didn't bring the sunshine with us :[ that's okay though, cause nancy said she would. johnny took us out to try and go through a tour at a castle and at a science museum but they were both closed because we got up so late! (oops) we actually set an alarm for tomorrow. after we couldn't get into a couple tours we ended up going to the chester beatty library. it wasn't so much a library as a "place where this rich dude put artifacts he collected.", as johnny told us. they had a lot of information about religions there, and it was funny seeing so many of the things i had learned about islam, buddhism, and hinduism in worlds religions class last year. we stopped at a cafe again to get some snacks and then we visited trinity college. it has an INCREDIBLE campus. my jaw was on the sidewalk as i walked in. after trinity we wandered around in waterstones bookstore for a bit as we waited out some rain that had started when we were walking. johnny, bernadette, and i met maggie after work to have dinner at bewleys. i had a glass of wine with my pasta, which was rather interesting. maggie went home and jonny, bernadette, and i went to see bruno at a cinema. it was kind of uncomfortable, but amusing. now i'm sitting in johnny and maggie's living room. it's almost two in the morning, so i should be going to bed. i thought if i didn't start this now i most likely never would, though.

some things worth mentioning;
-even though i'm having a fantastic time i am reminded of chicago people and i do miss you guys!
-...that's pretty much it. lol.

i have to go to bed, but i love you guys!

-arielle.