birthday, connmera, and the cliffs of moher

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Hi everyone,

A lot has happened since my last blog. I turned 20 on March 19. I had to go into college on my birthday but after wards my friend Katlyn and I went to a fabulous restaurant in downtown Galway. I had amazing chicken spring rolls dipped in an orange jelly, the main course was penne pasta with chicken in a carbonara sauce, and an apple tart with ice cream for dessert. When I got back to my apartment my Irish friends and American friends were there with a guiness shaped cake. We then went out to celebrate.

Then on Saturday my friend Deanna and I took a tour to county Connemara. I was not very optimistic for the day since it started pretty coudy and windy, which is not enjoyable in Ireland. Our first stop was an old Franciscan church. Then we had a breakfast stop in a village where they shot a movie which I cannot remember the name of. I do remember that everything in the village was named after the movie they even had a museum. The next stop was a neolithic tomb which was not as impressive as the others I have seen in Ireland. The highlight of the day was Kylemore abbey. It is now a boarding school for girls run my Benedict nuns. It was built by an English man in 1863 for his new wife, but later he sold it when his wife died, not before building a church, mosoleum, and victorian garden. Only three rooms are open to the public but extravagence of the decor is oustanding. It is situated on a mountain side in the middle of nowhere with its own private lake. It is just gorgeous! If anybody reading this blog is ever coming to Ireland it is definitely a must see. The nuns are closing the school in 2010 in which case they might open more of the estate for the public to see. The bus driver was very entertaining and the people on the bus were not the usual annoying tourist.

The following day we went on another tour with the same company because we had so much fun the previous day, this time to the Cliffs of Moher in county Clare. The day was sunny and it seemed that it was going to be even better than the day before, also the Cliffs of Moher was one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Ireland. Well...it didn't turn out to be so much fun. The driver was kinda boring and the sites were not that interesting. We saw a faery fort which is just a ring of trees. Stopped to see a lot of sheep and a tower house. We finally got the the cliffs and it was misty and cloudy not so nice. there were a lot of tourists and overall a dissapointment. What was noteworthy was the discovery center which is a complex built into the surroundings.

So that is what I have been upto lately. School is officially over today. For me it was over last week. My only two finals are on the 23. The following two days Deanna and I have two more trips planned then hopefully I will be on a plane back to CA on the 27.

Until more interesting times!

p.s. i am trying to figure out how to post more pictures on here so bare with me.