St. Patrick's Week

Although it's been almost a month, my friends from home (Catelynn, Tyanne, and Kate) came to visit me in Ireland for St. Patrick's week and I thought it noteworthy.

I met them at Dublin International Airport on March 13th just to grab a quick bite and ride the 3 hour bus back to Galway with them. It was so great to sit with and have a best friend heart-to-heart with Tyanne on the bus, but only one for a whole semester is truly not enough! After dropping off their stuff at my apartment, we headed downtown to a couple of pubs so they could experience real Guinness and Irish culture, which they of course loved. We ate at Harry Fitz fish and chips, the best fish and chips in Ireland.

Monday morning we took a tour to the Cliffs of Moher, which I absolutely did not mind seeing again! It was wonderful re-experiencing them through three new sets of eyes. We ate at the same pub in Doolin and saw all the same sights with a new tour guide. When we got back, I cooked pasta and we were so exhausted that we (rather stereotypically) watched Leap Year in my apartment. Then we went out on the town and, let's just say, Kayanne Jannies joined the festivities. :)

Tuesday we were going to tour Conomara, but decided instead to sleep in a bit and just enjoy Galway for the day. Being a tourist in my own city was amazing. We went shopping, walked down to the harbor and beach, and heard some trad music in some of my favorite pubs. Then we had pizza and saw ceili dancing at Monroe's, which is becoming a Tuesday night tradition for me. Unfortunately, I was starting to feel super ill and feverish by 10 or 11, so we headed back to watch youtube videos.

Wednesday, I was feeling absolutely deathly. I shouldn't have but I boarded the bus with them to Belfast where we met up with Tyanne's Northern Irish friend, Claire, who hosted us at her house in Newcastle for two nights. We were supposed to all go to the St. Patrick's Day festival together in Down Patrick on Thursday, but I was so ill that I ended up staying in the guest bedroom all day. I have never been so sick or bummed out simultaneously in my entire life. I was angry that, of all the days to get sick in Ireland, it had to be St. Patrick's Day and the week my friends were visiting! But, looking back on it, I am very lucky we were staying with an actual family who made me tea and took me to a pharmacy to buy kleenex and cough drops rather than a hostel or hotel. That night we went to one of Tyanne's favorite restaurant pubs in the area (she's been to Ireland six times!) for dinner, which I could barely taste but thoroughly enjoyed drinking hot whiskey!

Friday we were supposed to spend the day together in Dublin and then possibly see an Enrique Iglesias or Mumford and Sons concert, but neither of those shows worked out and I was so ill that I went straight from Dublin home to Galway. They spent the day in Dublin and the night in the airport before their early flight home Saturday morning.

It was so wonderful having my girlies here and sharing my new home with them! :) And it's great to feel better again with the help of NUIG's free health center and antibiotics.

<3