Inishmor- Galway

The three of us began our day by stopping by the Spar to get some breakfast which consisted of some less than delicious sausage rolls and also got some digestives to have as a snack later on in the day. We then rented some bikes and were off to explore the island of Inishmor.

We began riding around the island when before we knew it we were trapped in a stampede. It was a blur but I'll try to describe it as best I can. We were riding our bikes up a road (we barely saw anyone on the island and were the only ones on the road) when I saw three cows running around the bend next to a ruin. I naturally screamed "stampede!" Following closely behind the cows was a car carrying an angry farmer. The cows stopped but as soon as they saw the farmer jump out of the car they began running again. I think that it is safe to say that it was a near death experience.

Irish Style Stampede

Our first stop was the Dun Aengus, an iron age fort, which was described in my first Aran Islands post from March (when I first went with Carolyn and Kristina). It was a less than ideal day to look at the cliffs due to the fog (typical Ireland) but we still had fun sitting up there, eating digestives, and of course, having a photo shoot.

After taking our photo shoot and digestive snack at Dun Aengus and seeing the Seven Churches we went in search of lunch and since Supermacs is my favorite and I was leaving Ireland ion a couple of days we seized the opportunity and stopped in the Supermacs on Inishmor (one of only a couple restaurants there). We got a tenders meal (as per usual) and it just so happened that the Ellen Degeneres Show was on the TV in Supermacs. It might be due to the lack of TV over the semester or perhaps due to the fact that the guest was Lea Michele of Glee fame but Laura and Grace wanted to stay and watch so we did. It was nice relaxing after a rough bike ride and we got back in touch with our American side. And stay in touch with our Irish side as we ordered another order of tenders (they are pretty much amazing).

Laura & Claire- International BFFs

After lunch we returned our bikes and went back to the hostel to get all our belongings. And catch the ferry back to the mainland. The ferry ride was pretty nondescript and after about two hours of transit we arrived back in Galway, where we were staying at the Amber Lodge Bed and Breakfast. I really wanted Grace to experience a true Irish B&B while she was in Ireland so we splurged and got one. After spending a lot of time in hostels (including sharing a room with three very drunk men the last night you cannot imagine the joy of having the room to ourselves (and even having a bathtub).

After checking into the B&B and verifying that it had free Wifi we headed out to a pub for dinner. It was a typical Irish pub and had patches on the wall from US police departments, including one from Cook County and another from Naperville. It was like being back in the land of Lincoln.

While in the restaurant we realized Glee was on (we had heard an advertisement for it on the ferry) and I kindly asked the waiter if he could put on Fox. He responded, “I don’t think boxing is in season,” but then I repeated myself and he set to work trying to find Fox on the TV. I saw it come up on the guide and went up to the bar to tell the bartender. I said, “Is there any way you could put on Glee,” and he said, without hesitation, “No way in hell.” And that was that; no Glee for me.

Typical rundown of the food: I had Irish stew (had to get it in while I had the chance) and Gracie had bangers and mash, which included black pudding, so I think she is the fiercest eater I know.

After dinner the three of us started a mission to find Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream, which I got Laura addicted to. As our last night together we wanted to get some ice cream and watch “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” just like back in good ol’ Roebuck 1. Our mission took us all the way out of the city centre of Galway and into the less quaint part, which had the Tesco and the ice cream. We bought some, along with a People magazine, and then set off back to the Amber Lodge B&B. We were all pretty tired and Laura offered to pay for a taxi back to the B&B so, after having some trouble hailing a taxi we were on our way back to the Amber Lodge.

Once we got back we took turns attempting to take baths (the faucet wasn't working well) and Laura was especially excited about it because she has not had a bath in three years! Three years! There is a draught in Australia and you can't take baths; I don't know how she has lasted that long. Anyway, it was nice to have a room to ourselves, instead of being in a hostel and after washing up and checking our emails we watched "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" while eating Phish Food ice cream. It was pretty perfect.

Hospitals, Pancakes, and Newsies- Oh My!

This was the first day in who knows how long that I have been able to sleep in, but I’m not complaining about being busy traveling about Ireland. I’m still livin’ the dream.

After a somewhat lazy morning Laura knocked on my door to vent about the fact that someone had drank half her Diet Coke 2 liter and most of her unopened parmesan cheese. We went on the passive-aggressive warpath and wrote a post-it asking whoever stole her food to fess up. Our roommate Claire came forward confessing that she was very drunk and ate the food, and apologized by giving Laura five euro to buy new food. That was nice of her to come clean. I’m just curious what her drunk food was considering she ate Laura’s parmesan and my ketchup was out.

Laura’s foot had been bothering her for a while and our hike in Glendalough had not done it any good so she asked me if I would accompany her to the hospital to get it checked out. I was down for an adventure so we walked over to St. Vincent’s, which was just down the road. She got registered right away and then we sat in the waiting room for quite a long time watching a soap opera on BBC which perplexed us, mostly because the waiting room was loud and we missed a lot of dialogue. After about two hours she went back for x-rays and said that I could leave because she didn’t know how long it would be.

The Tesco (supermarket) was right across the street so I headed over there to get supplies for dinner. Jen and I were having a movie date to watch one of my favorites, Newsies. We wanted blueberry pancakes for dinner so I picked up some pancake/Yorkshire pudding mix and was on my way.

Laura came back to the apartment and let me know that she had a stress fracture in her foot and had to be on crutches for the next week. We are supposed to go to Paris on Friday so I am hoping that she is well enough to walk around and take Paris by storm. I started mixing up the pancakes when Miss Jenni showed up and we started cooking. I don’t know what, if anything, we did wrong, but those pancakes are not like the ones I am accustomed to having in America. Maybe pancakes are different here but if you closed your eyes and ate our pancakes they tasted exactly like Yorkshire pudding (which makes sense because it was also Yorkshire pudding mix). I’m not really complaining, but it was extremely odd. Now I know not to trust Tesco brand pancake/Yorkshire pudding mix.

Then it was time for main event- Newsies. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this classic Disney musical, it is about newsboys in turn of the century New York who strike against Joseph Pulitzer. It is a really inspiring story which has a lot of truth to it. The newsboys of that time did strike against the most powerful man in New York- and won! And the best part of the movie is that it stars Batman himself, Christian Bale. Adolescent Christian Bale sings and dances with the other newsboys and does a great job. And the choreography is superb! And the music is by Alan Menken! And it’s directed by Kenny Ortega of High School Musical fame! What more can you ask for? Seriously I highly recommend it and Jen and Laura loved it too.

In conclusion:

Hospital- bad, pancakes- debatable, Newsies with my international crew- amazing!

Grocery Shopping in Ireland

Thursday I am blessed enough not to have class, so Brittany and I ventured the 1.5 miles to the Tesco to pick up some food. I had pretty much finished up my first crop of groceries and was in need of some cookies. If you have ever been a cookie aisle at the Jewel, you know that there are about a dozen brands of cookies (maybe more) and each brand has about 10 varieties. This does not hold true in Ireland. You can buy Oreos, but other than that it is mostly "digestive biscuits." I hear that they taste ok, so Hob Nobs: The Digestive Biscuit might show up on my grocery list next time. Here are some other differences I encountered:

• No canned soup. There actually are a few cans of soup, but nothing like the wall of Campbell's in America. I could not find a beef vegetable soup, and it is always soup weather in Ireland.
• Frosted Flakes are called Frosties. Who knew? There are also not a lot of cereal brands that are popular in the US, but I got some Honey Loops which I enjoy.
• Cheese and Onion flavoured potato chips (or crisps) are all the rage. Or at least I think they are because that is the prominent flavour I've seen.
• Cheese comes in two colours: red and white. It is just white cheddar or yellow cheddar. I bought some white cheese for sandwiches and will let you know how that goes.
• No grocery bags. This is not a bad thing; everyone is therefore forced to use reusable bags.

Here is the list of what I got because I'm sure my mother wants to know:

• yogurt
• milk
• stuff to make ham sandwiches
• frozen green beans
• pasta
• crackers (for peanut butter)

And Brittany and I got supplies to make tacos tonight. European Family Dinner!