Apologies for the delay everyone. I had to hurry back and do, well, nothing really this week. It is a very cold and windy day here, so I am curled up by the fire watching Star Wars and typing while munching on wasabi peas- even my mouth is on fire, and it's wonderful. It's the perfect blogging time.
It's only 5:26, but I am exhausted. It's completely dark outside thanks to the time change (it happened last weekend over here) , so class these next few weeks is going to be challenging, esp on the nights that I'm in until 6. (This was typed last Saturday- apologies for not finishing this post until today- school is getting intense!)
Last week was busy. I had just barely returned from Scotland when all of the sudden, it was time for France! Between working out, class, baking some awesome chocolate chip blondies and apple cinnamon blondies, and choir recordings/rehearsals, it was Thursday. Aka the day Beth learns her lesson about how to tell a good hairdresser from a terrible one. It had started off as a grand day- I woke up early and was able to get in a workout before my hair appointment. I was even on time- shocking, right? I was so prepared with pictures and everything of what I wanted. I knew that I wanted my red hair again, and I told the stylist "make it look like this. I want my red hair. I don't want it to look unnatural and I don't want it to be purple." When she responded with, "well, any time you put red in your hair it won't look natural" I should have run. Long, sad story short... well..... that was about 80 euro down the drain. I could have done it myself for 20 if I wanted to look like that.
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| Expectation... |
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| Reality.... I was so not amused. |
But hey- rock it while I'm young, right? So my hair was a purple/brown for a day or two, then (thank goodness) began fading out into just my natural dark brown with a hint of red. I can't wait to get home to my hairdresser again.
The day got a bit better. This was the day we had our choir recording session for the single "I Wish It Could be Christmas Everyday." Ladies and gentleman, I will be on iTunes (hopefully for the U.S. and not just Ireland!) Our single is done with a band called "The Rusty Fixtures" and they are pretty grand. This single is for charity and all money made from purchasing will go to a children's charity (I can't remember which one, but I will let you know next time). It goes up on iTunes next week and if it's only available in Ireland I will purchase CD's for people if they'd like :) Recording in the studio was so much fun!
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| When you listen to the single, I am one of the three jingle beliers :D |
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| This is how I make all of my friends.... |
After the recording, I went over to Salthill with some ISA friends and listened to scary ghost stories told by the Scottish storyteller again. He got us really good in one story- the entire room jumped and screamed. Then I went home and packed for France.
The journey began a bit rough- the 2:15 am bus to Dublin we had purchased tickets on was overbooked by one seat, so the 5 of us couldn't all get on (despite or reservations). But fear not, CityLink called another bus out and allowed the 12 or so of us still in need to get to the airport to get there in plenty of time (they book it in the mornings- Galway to Dublin in 2hrs 15 min!) We got checked in and fed/caffinated, then sat and waited for our flight. After making it to our gate, however, poor Chris misplaced his boarding pass. RyanAir was good enough, however, to look up his ticket and (literally) write him a new ticket. So with that hurtle cleared, we boarded the flight to France.
I have to add here that I have officially found the smallest international airport ever. It is even smaller than Dothan's, which I didn't think was possible. The airport in Tours is build specifically for RyanAir and the French Air Force. Getting through customs and such was a breeze. But we had landed and were ready to face our next adventure: Hotel Mister Bed...... dun dun dun
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| Home.. sweet? Home. |
All in all it looks worse than it was.... okay no, that's a lie. In the traditional style of a European hotel, the bathroom was the size of an airplane bathroom and the only thing that divided the shower and the toilet was a curtain. The "floor" for the shower was sunk in about an inch from the rest of the floor and the curtain was tearing off, so any time someone showered the entire bathroom basically flooded. The sheets and bedding made everyone's allergies and such go crazy, and weren't cleaned or changed in I don't know how long. Ewww. It was off the beaten path and about 25 min outside of town. I will give it this, though. It was cheap. And the beds were more comfortable than our dorm mattresses, and it didn't run out of hot water. See, there's the silver lining!
We arrived and took a lovely nap, and then headed in to the city of Tours. Figuring out the bus route was an adventure in and of itself- I can't tell you how many times we got on or off in the wrong place. Good way to see the area though! And I was no help- I can't speak a word of French. That was the real adventure part for me- being completely and utterly lost 99% of the time, but enjoying it.
With no agenda, we were free to roam and explore pretty much any area that we wanted- so we did. I have no idea where we went specifically that first day other than just around the city, but we found a lot of hidden parks. After that we grabbed some dinner. One big thing in Tours was having an indoor/outdoor dining area for a cafe/bar/restaurant. Basically, if you sit outside, you are in a giant plastic tent with heatlamps built in. It was sort of exciting eating outside, other than the fact that France was so much colder than Galway has been. (It makes no sense, we went south!)
After that we moseyed back through the park we had found the day before. There were some beautiful sights there, and so many ducklings! Sam was loving it. Although there wasn't much warm about this trip (I was freezing pretty much from when we stepped off the plane until we landed in Dublin again), this moment at the park gave me both chills and a warm fuzzy feeling. Here was this grandfather, taking his young grandson out to the park and photographing it. This little baby is one of the luckiest creatures I know to have a family that loves him like this. It was a time that made me think of my own family, and how blessed I have been to have them. It also made me miss them like crazy, but that's alright. This moment was worth it.
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| So Precious |
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| Make way for (French) ducklings! |
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| You know, just being obnoxious in France. |
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| Have you ever seen a more perfect mocachino? |
After the park, we headed to the other side of town where the tourism office was so we could book a tour to some of the Loire Valley's famous Chateaux. That side of town is where we discovered probably one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen in my life. The architecture was breath-taking and I could not stop photographing it (which I know all of you all will just HATE to look at ;) )
You had better be gasping for air by now. I wasn't kidding when I said breath-taking. The amount of work that went in to this cathedral, the sheer beauty of the stone blew me away. The stained-glass was playing off the corridors and made you feel like you were caught in a wind chime.
Right around the corner from this church was a stunning courtyard and an art mu
seum- the Musee des Beaux-Arts, to be exact. Now, I wasn't expecting to see what I saw in that art gallery. I didn't even expect to know any of the painters or their works. Surprise, surprise- in this museum, I saw works by Degas, Monet, and Rembrant. These may not mean much to you, but I sure as heck remember them from 7th grade art class. Yes, that is how much art affects me- I can't remember how to set up an algebraic formula or what the atomic mass is of Baron, but I sure can remember 7th grade art class.... Sorry, had to let a wave of nostalgia pass. Obviously, I don't have any pictures of the works, but trust me, they were lovely.
I loved randomly stumbling upon this museum and getting to see it's treasures. I feel like I missed a lot of opportunities in France purely because we discovered so many beautiful things and we just ran out of time, that I have to wonder what did I miss that I didn't even know about. As day two came to a close, we grabbed dinner and headed home to rest up for another day. Oh, this was also the night that I threw up on the side of the road on one of our many walks from the bus drop off to the hotel. I still don't know what caused it, other than the minor fact that I may have developed stomach ulcers. But that's another adventure for another post- I'll update you all as soon as I go to the drs.
Day three of France: the day we visited palaces and other super cool famous places. Of course, we had to fuel up first :)
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| Starting the morning off artsy |
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| and with delicious treats! |
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| Not kidding- the size of our faces! |
After that we were off to our first Chateaux. Umm, how come I've never lived in a Chateaux? I wouldn't mind having to stroll thru this on a daily basis!
The first Chateaux we visited was Chateaux de Chenonceau- the home of some of history's most famous ladies, including Catherine de Medici. Impressive, right? It was beautiful- one of the times I was definitely glad to have my camera
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| again- being obnoxious |
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| the front of the chateaux |
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| Just chillin in the gallery- nbd |
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| The Louis the XIV Drawing Room |
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| Catherine de Medici's bedroom |
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| Staircase |
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| Painting of the Chateaux |
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| The Garden |
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| The Chateaux over the river |
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| BYEE |
It was super cool to explore. After that we had the choice to go to the Chateaux de Ambriose, or to the Chateau du Clos Luce Par Leonardo da Vinci- aka the last residency of Leonardo da Vinci. I don't know about you, but I was stoaked to be in the house of one of the greatest renaissance painter/ scientist/mathematician/inventors to ever exist.
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| The outside of the house |
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| So I did this thing where I put the mug on da Vinci's desk.... |
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| An original painting of da Vinci's!! |
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| His name is right there!! |
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| I'm pretending this is the original Mona Lisa |
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| Clearly I was his original model in another life |
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| The Chateaux des Ambroise in the hill in the background. There was a secret tunnel connecting his house and Ambroise |
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| Chillin in the gardens |
But the best part of the day was yet to come... the wine tasting at a family-run winery in the caves. I am completely crushed that this place does not ship wine because it was the best wine I had ever tasted in my life. At the same time, it's great that they want their winery to be a "word of mouth" place, and want people to actually visit in order to discover their wines.
Other than just tasting fabulous wines, I actually learned about how they create different wines and the aging process. They actually age the wines in a cave that acts as a natural cooler for them. You can only imagine how much it would cost to keep all of their bottles in a cooler. :/ I learned about the purpose of putting certain wines in barrels and how they extract the yeast from the bottles and how they get the cork in the wine. Pretty fascinating stuff, let me tell you! It made the wine tasting better because I was actually able to identify the different flavors of the wines- whether or not they had been in a smaller barrel (stronger wood taste and more spices) or a large wooden barrel (more aromatic, less smokey/wood). And, how can you say no to the equivalent of 2-3 free glasses of French wine? Oh yes, it was the perfect end to our last day in France.
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| Wasn't kidding- they keep the wine in a cave |
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| So much wine |
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| smaller barrels for a stronger taste! |
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| Adorable French guide |
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| Large wooden barrels- more mild oak taste |
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| the size of a cork BEFORE it goes in the bottle- unbelievable |
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| all of the wines we tasted :) |
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| We covered the entire spectrum- from red.... |
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| To white so clear it looked like water! |
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| the dog at the winery- I wanted to take him home so badly! |
After all of this joy, it was time to get some food! We moseyed on from the tourist information center to the cafe we had dinner at the first night (why mess with a good thing right?) This meant that we passed the church again. Have I mentioned I am obsessed with it?? I didn't think it was possible for this thing to be more beautiful than it already was, but as usual I was wrong
I know I talk a lot about food here, but hey, when you love something.... well, you just do, okay? For our final French meal I ordered a delicious chicken dish that was the closest thing to chicken cordon bleu that I have had in years. Mmmm yummy! I also got myself a celebratory "last night in France- live it up!" crepe. Butter and caramel and fresh whipped cream. I was pretty sure I had died of food coma. Poor Rachel, however, accidentally ordered pig intestines that smelled like urine (honestly, it was rank) so her meal was not so flattering.
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| so good! |
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| How cute are they? |
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| Crepe! |
And the next day, we were on the road again. Back home to Galway. This past week was relatively uneventful, other than that minor holiday of HALLOWEEN. To begin with, halloween was this girl's birthday
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Ashley, photobombing from 3000 miles away. #boss
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Secondly, the Irish know how to do Halloween. I saw very few slutty costumes on girls- instead they had some dedication and creativity in their costumes. I saw people walking down the street in full scuba gear, and I saw some make-up jobs that looked straight out of a theatrical production. After a little house-gathering at my apartment, my friends and I went downtown for a bit. The intention was to go to a club and dance the night away, but everywhere was packed full by 11pm. Everyone in Galway was out, which was actually awesome for me because that meant that I got to see all of the amazing costumes. Despite the freezing temperatures, I had a better time just roaming the streets and people watching than I think I would have in a club. Plus my costume was, well, shall we call it- interactive?
Yes, I was my own facebook profile for halloween. It was the quickest and cheapest thing I could think of, but pretty inventive if I do say so myself! ... Okay, so I got the idea off of the internet by google searching "Cheap creative halloween costumes for college students". If I had found a box I more than likely would have been the Tardis, but alas- no box :( Even then, this was a hit that night. I had a pen so everyone could "write on my wall" and a space big enough for other people to "get in my profile picture" with me. Of course, when you mix a pen with alcohol, some crude things are written, so Im sorry if anything you read in the pics offends you :/ It was still such a blast, and I could keep warm all night. I still don't believe my costume was the best I had seen that night. My roommate Mary's makeup was intense!
And of course Matthew and Roisin were such cute couple costumes of Superman and Superwoman! I was impressed by Roisin's heels and wig- she rocked it! Now of course, my profile was "hacked" several times that evening, including by the statues downtown.
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| And by Matthew.... |
I managed to get pictures throughout the evening with the Joker, Wall-E and Eve, a Firefighter, and a Storm Trooper.
It was a great night for us. Sadly, though, it was not great for a young man in a night club. I won't spread rumors or make matters worse, but long story short this man was set on fire somehow in a nightclub in downtown Galway. He was wearing a polyester costume that of course went up instantly. Not only did the flames burn him, but the polyester melted to his skin and continued to burn him after they put the costume out. 80% of his body was burned and it is unlikely that he will live. I have to take a serious note here and say please please please everyone pay attention and be responsible when out partying. Tragedies like this are completely unnecessary.
This weekend I did a lot of nothing even though I needed to get homework done. These upcoming weeks are going to be murder with all of the pre-finals assignments. Now, I am off to read and write and be a productive student!!
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