6 Things I Love about You!

Well its been 3 months since I moved to Galway, which means that its been 6 and a half months since I left home on my European Adventure! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone, however it feels like forever since I left! I thought that in order to celebrate this half-year anniversary I would do another list of things that I miss about being at home and a list of all the reasons I love living in Europe! I hope you enjoy it!

5 things I miss about Canada

1. Ketchup Chips - barely eat them at home, but when you can't find them anywhere they seem to be all you crave...and when you try to tell people about them here they look at you like you are crazy...however this is a place that has 'Prawn Cocktail' Chips...need I say more?
2. White Vinegar - this is the land of Fish and Chips yet I can only get Mault Vinegar. I have nothing against Mault Vinegar, but I just really miss plain old white vinegar...sometimes you just need a plate of chips swiming in vinegar and ketchup!
3. Real Maple Syrup - and I don't even mean the good stuff...just the cheap Aunt Jemima stuff! Apparently you can get it here but you really have to look and sometimes (most of the time) I am just too lazy to deal with it! And when you find it its usually around €6 a bottle!
4. Rye - the Canadian Club commercials SAY that you can get it all over the world, but when I go into a bar in Ireland they all think I'm crazy! I just want a friggin Rye and Coke...or a Rye and Ginger! I am currently in middle of writing my angry letter to CC about false advertising!
5. Ceasars - its getting to be that time of year when after a long day of work you just want to go and sit on a patio and have a nice, spicy, yummy Ceasar, but since Clamatoe Juice is a Canadian phenomenon it's an impossible dream...I'll just have to settle for the less yummy version...the Bloody Mary

6 things I love about Europe

1. Guiness - it took a while for me to get up the nerve to try it, but now that it has entered my life I wonder what I ever did without it! I do have to put black currant in it though to take the edge off!
2. Chocolate - I can never remember what the difference is between North American Chocolate and European Chocolate, but I just know that it is damn good!
3. Cheap Clothes - every weekend I tell myself that I am not going to shop and every weekend I seem to find myself drawn to either Penny's or Dunnes and their inexpensive clothes. I find it so hard to stomach paying more than €15 for a pair of pants now or more than €10 on a top! I bought a skirt for €20 and almost puked!
4. Cheap Flights - London, Spain, Italy...wherever you want to go in Europe and all for under €1 before taxes! I don't know how I am going to live without them back in Canada where under $100 one way is considered a good deal!
5. Oatmeal - I know that you can get this at home, but there is just something so amazingly good about the hominess of it that I can seem to get enough of it!
6. Tea - speaking of can't get enough, I have to tell you that all the jokes and satires about Ireland and tea are true...no matter where you go they offer you tea...it just seems to make everything ok!

I'm sure there are a million more reasons why I love it here, but these are the most important to me at the moment. I hope everyone is enjoying the appearance of spring! Hugs and kisses!

No Green Beer!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
I hope you all made an effort to out and have at least one pint! I know I did!
But I am getting ahead of myself! I must start at the beginning because that is where all great stories begin.
My original plan was to leave work at 4:30pm and catch a bus at 5pm down to Cork...but you know plans and how they never seem to go the way you think! Of course we were CRAZY busy in the office and didn't end up leaving until after 5:30pm so I had to scramble down to the bus station in order to make the last bus out of town. Thank goodness the traffic was horrific causing everything to be late! I finally made it on the bus and settled in for the 4 hour journey south. Because of the traffic our bus was slow getting out of Galway and as a result were about 45 minutes late getting into Limerick, where we usually get a 20 minute bathroom break. Instead we only had about 5 minutes. I ran to the washroom, then ran across the road to get some change, grabbed some food out of the vending machine (I was SO hungry!), and then ran outside to get on the bus. And wasn't I surprised to see my bus pulling out of the parking lot...with all my stuff inside!!! I started to run after it, but clearly I was no match for a bus, so defeated, I returned to the station. When I approached the gentlemen that work for the bus company, there were extremely sweet. They calmed me down, and then called the driver to let him know I missed the bus. He pulled over at a roundabout and I was put in a company car and driven over. After appologizing profusely I was on my way again!
When I finally got to Cork around 11pm, Olivia picked me up and took me back to their place. We had some food and then just chilled out talking and drinking. Wasn't a late night though because the next morning was St. Paddy's day and we were heading to the parade.
Thank goodness the irish are drinkers and understand the benefit of a sleep-in! The parade didn't start until 1pm, and in irish time, much like Amanda time, that meant closer to 1:30. Luckily Alan, Olivia's hubby, was craving some Subway and we went to grab a sub. As the parade was starting we stood just outside of it and had the best view on the route! The parade was great! Everyone from town seemed to be a part of it! No floats, which was a little disapointing, but still so much fun!
After the parade, Olivia and I went and had a pint, or two, of Murphy's. Cork's version of Guiness. It was my first and I have to say that I quite enjoyed it! Especially the second pint because I tried it with black currant in it and it takes away a bit of the bitterness.
That night we went out to meet some of Olivia's friends Vera and Karen. We started at a pub called The Gables, then went to another bar where we thought there was going to be good music but it turned out to be a bit of a dump with some guy playing weird songs on his guitar. Needless to say, we had one drink and left. The last pub we went to wasn't too busy so we pretty much became the life of the party! SO fun! One of my favorite moments of the evening came when I checked my messages and found 2! One from Mom and another from Heidi, Terri, and Adam! They were SO unexpected that I kept playing them for people so they could see how amazing my family and friends are!
After drinking lots, Olivia and I headed home, woke up Alan, and then watched their wedding video...so much fun!
Saturday morning we slept in again and then went for a hike/job/bike up in one of the mountains. Alan went biking, Olivia went jogging, and I took Tyrone and we went for a hike. It was so beautiful and we barely saw anyone. Really nice after a night of drinking. The funniest part of the hike was that Tyrone likes to carry sticks with him, but is not happy having just any stick....he prefers to find the biggest fallen tree and try to drag it around. I had to be really careful because a few times he was running by with one and the branches would wack me in the legs.
Saturday night we went to see a Comedian named PJ Gallagher perform stand-up. SO hystarical! The MC was a guy names Michael Mee who was really good. He interacted a little with the audience, finding out where we were from, and making fun of his own last name. I told him I was from Toronto (because unfortunately I'm homeless so thought I'd go with somewhere people might have heard of rather than saying...well actually I don't know what I would say!) and he told me he was born in Kingston. I had to believe him because if he knows about he must be telling the truth and why would anyone lie about being born in Kingston?
The second guy was a bit of a loser, but then PJ came on and it was funny from the start! There was a drunk Aussie (I know...who would have thought) that would just randomly yell things out as though he were watching TV, and then sitting at the table beside us was a woman from Cork who kept making dirty comments. At one point PJ just told her to just come up on stage if she wanted to make the show all about her, so she picked up her stool and sat down right beside him. He was in shock. He barely made it through his routine because the audience was so roudy. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time!
Sunday was a quiet morning and then Olivia and Alan took me to the station where I caught my bus back to Galway.
It was a great Irish St. Patrick's day weekend, minus the green beer of course, and I am just SO glad that I could spend it down in Cork!
Not much going on over the next few weeks, so postings might thin out again for a while, but keep checking because you never know when I might add something!
PS Sunday night I was watching VH1's 100 teen celebraties (or something like that) and did you know that Cory Haim is Canadian? We really know how to produce them!

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round!

Welcome back my friends to the continued adventures of Amanda and Gail. When we last left off Gail and I had just completed a journey to the Aran Islands. On Tuesday we decided to go on a tour of the Burren, which is an area of County Clare that mainly consists of lots of limestone. The views are gorgeous and so unique.
Our first stop was at the Dunguaire Castle where they hold medieval feasts in the summer. Unfortunately there weren't any when we were there. I don't know if you can see it but there is one swan that was asleep but I was joking that it looked dead. That didn't go over too well with some of the people who heard me because of the bird flu that is 'sweeping' the continent. Relax people! It was just a joke and the thing was still moving!
After the castle we all hoped back on the bus and headed down to Doolin for some lunch. We had originally planned to spend a night or two down in Doolin to hear some music, but it just wasn't in the cards. However lunch at O'Connor's Pub was extremely good and was a great first taste of what the village has to offer.
When lunch was over we piled back on the bus and made the treck over to the Cliffs of Moher. Apparently the views are spectacular and breathtaking...we wouldn't know though because the fog was so thick you couldn't even see the edge of the cliff! But you can just buy post cards with the magnificent views so it was really something special to have it be foggy! We made friends with a traveling student name Emile so we took a picture with him. So funny!
Once we were warmed up and had bought some stuff in the Cliffs' Gift Shop, it was back on the bus for a quick stop at the Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient burial site where 16 bodies were found that were 100s of years old. The top rock weighs about 5 tones, but they can reach up to 20!
Our last stop on the tour was at the Aillwee Caves. They are caves that run under the Limestone hills of the Burren, and although there are over 400 of them, the Aillwee Caves are the only one you are able to entre. They are really spectacular with lots of calcium deposits that have grown over millions of years to what they are now! So incredible. Our tour guide here was a fiesty Frenchman who told us all about the formation of the different pieces as well as the history of the caves.
On our way back to Galway from the tour, we dropped Gail off in Clarinbridge to meet Olivia and head down to Cork for the night. She visited the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone and then spent some time shopping.
After a few quiet days in Galway, Gail and I headed back south to Ennis for Saturday night. We walked around the town which is really cute, did some shopping, had some lunch in a fabulous old pub, and then went to see 'South Pacific' put on by the local Theatre group. The acting was amazing but the story was really stupid! It just kept going on and on! But there were some funny moments and it was a nice night out.
Sunday morning Gail headed to Shannon to catch her plane, and after a HUGE delay in Chicago, finally made it home 24 hours later.
It was a great week and so nice to have someone from home around for a while!
Life here is going great. Sinead is settling into the house and its so nice to have 3 of us in the house now! I just can't get over how we all get along!
This weekend is St. Paddy's day and I get Friday off because of it! I know! You are all SOOO jealous!!! I am going to head down to Cork again to see Olivia and Alan and go to the Parade and drink some pints! Really looking forward to it!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Crazy Canadians Driving!

If you didn't know, the Irish drive on the wrong side of the road (that is the left side!) so Aunt Gail and I thought it would be fun to give it a try...I don't think the locals really appreciated it though!














PS we didn't really get in a accident...this car was just randomly parked near the 7 Churches on Inish Mor
PPS Gail is actually an American now...does that mean she's no longer a Canadian?

Snow and a visiting Aunt

I can't believe that I have been neglecting my adoring fans for so long! I am deeply sorry to have caused any boredom or anxiety due to the lack of postings. But I'm sure this long one will make up for the fact that I have been so remiss. So much to share and not very long to share it...I'm trying to fit this posting in on my lunch break!
Life in Galway has been going well. The weather was really nice for a few weeks, hardly any rain at all. However I did wake up one morning about 2 weeks ago to little snow flakes falling from the sky (as opposed to falling from somewhere else!) It wasn't much, but it was definetly snow! Big fat fluffy flakes of it. I loved it but most people were completely panicked about it and it took me a really long time to get to work that morning! As you can see it was still bright out, the sun never stopped shining as it snowed. Orla, my roomie, warned me to be careful walking to the bus stop because it would be slipery, but we Canadians know that big fat fluffy flakes don't make the sidewalk slipery when they are lightly falling...especially when its still pretty warm! I loved it.
So after the snow, the next SUPER exciting thing to happen was that my Aunt Gail came to visit for 10 days! It was SOOOO much fun. She arrived the morning of Friday March 3rd and stayed until the 12th. She flew into Shannon Airport and took the bus up to Galway where I met her at the Bus Station. After a quick stop at my place to drop off her stuff we headed back into town to have lunch with Olivia (who was covering the office for me while she was here) and Cliona, our new office nurse. It was great fun and after lunch I sent Gail back to the house in a cab to rest while I worked for a few more hours in the afternoon. Friday night we just chilled out around the house with Sinead and Orla...did I tell you yet that we have a new roomate? Her name is Sinead and she is super fun! It was totally worth the wait for someone because she fits in perfectly with Orla and I!
Anyway, back to details of Gail's visit. On Saturday we walked into town along the Prom, chatting and getting caught up. We did a little shopping in town, I introduced Gail to Penny's and Dunnes (love cheap shopping!) and we had lunch together at the Front Door.
Saturday night we met Olivia, Jason, and Maura (their cousin) for dinner at a place called Nimmo's (pronounced Nemo...but there were NO funny fish on the walls). Dinner was yummy and we had a little room all to ourselves so we were able to all chat. After dinner we took Gail to hear some Irish music at a pub called the Crain and then headed over to Mossimo's for a few more drinks. Gail and I packed it in around 11pm and headed back to my place where I introduced her to 'Saved', a histarical movie that you HAVE to see!
Sunday was once again beautiful with just a few little rain clouds, so Gail and I jumped on the ferry and headed over to Inish Mor, one of the Aran Islands. When we arrived there were a bunch of tour guides there to meet the ferry. We decided to go with a guy named Bernie and it was great! It was just the two of us on his tour so we basically got the royal treatment! Bernie took us all over the island and told us all about the history, as well as all the local gossip! So much fun. Our first stop was at the 7 Churches, which is actully just one church and cemetary, but apparently 7 monks used to live there. It was so beautiful. Bernie told us that all the headstones face east because that is the direction to heaven...do all headstones face that way? After that we went over to a cafe and had the best tomatoe soup I have ever tried in my life....SO YUMMY!! Then did some shopping in a few of the little shops. I didn't get much but Gail got a GREAT deal on some Aran Wool to make a sweater...way cheaper then just buying one! After shopping we headed up to Dún Aengus, an old fort built on the side of the cliffs. It's a round fort with walls that are 6m high and it sits on a cliff that is 300m high. Apparently no one knows for fact when, why, or by whom it was built, but the best guess is that it was the Dannes in the 9th or 10th century. The views were absolutely incredible and LOTS of pictures were snaped while we were there. On our way back down from the fort it started to rain and we ended up getting a little wet, but we were rewarded with a rainbow for our troubles. This was actually the second one we saw, the first was a full rainbow. It was incredible but I didn't get a picture of it.
After the fort we continued on our tour of the island, seeing lots of animals including cows, sheep, seals, and goats...SO cute!!!
That night for dinner we went to the local hotel and had a delicious dinner of lamb curry. We spent the night in a B&B and got up nice and early to head back to the main land. After a quick stop at the house to drop off all our bags, we wandered around down town for a few hours, lost each other for a while, then met up with Olivia and Maura again for lunch. In the afternoon we went to the gym for a bit of a workout and then went back to the house to hang out with Sinead.
My lunch hour is coming to an end so instead of doing one big posting I'll do a few over the next few days to keep you all salivating for more!!