I had forgotten to mention that we passed Dolores O'Riordan's house (Cranberries' singer) on our Ring of Kerry trip and I did not want to forget because I thought mom would appreciate that. I listen to the Cranberries and Shania Twain when I am missing her.. oh and NSYNC Christmas as of last week. I couldn't help myself.
-#TBT to broken ornaments Christmas 2015
Franciscan Well Brewery tour:
1. I love these beers and the environment of the Well, we come here probably once a week. There is always delicious beer, usually live music and there is also an outdoor beer garden (which is kept warm by heat lamps). In addition, they have pizza which is a close second to my Italy pizza (for real!), it is cooked in a huge stone oven inside the beer garden and made directly in front of you when you order.
2. We learned that after they strain the barley through the vessel, the leftover "mash" can be used to feed cattle, as biofuel, as rich protein for cereal bars and more. I am learning loads about how beer and whisky are made here and have developed a pretty big appreciation for the art! Doesn't mean that I will choose beer or whisky over other alcohol forever.. but I am beginning to be able to distinguish a cheap/low quality beer from a nice one and that's something!
3.
Uisge Beatha
Irish pronounciation: Ishka Baha
Meaning: Water of life; Whisky
1. Tasted like hell to me, like fiery death when I tried it at the Jameson Distillery tour
2.On the tour we were shown the barrels that the whisky sits in, during the maturation process, at different stages and how much truly evaporates during this period. Our guide told us that they call this evaporated whisky the "angel's share" and that at the distillery the angels get 29k bottles worth of Jameson EVERY DAY!
4.
Nicole came last weekend and we had so much fun exploring Cork together during Halloween. I showed her the city, took her to Blarney to kiss the stone and we went on a Paddy Wagon trip to the Cliffs of Moher. These were unbelieveable and I am so grateful that I was able to experience these sights for the first time with her. She was able to see the Ireland that I have fallen in love with and understand why I can not get enough. The busride to the cliffs was a bit rough (to say the least) after our Thursday night escapades, but I made it through and we were able to get back in Cork with enough time to go to the Triskel for a film. This was my first time going to a viewing here (this is the desanctified church turned art/performance center) and it was a blast! We watch The Thing and enjoyed a bottle of wine while relaxing in our pew.. which was odd, but the church atmosphere totally added to the creepiness of the movie. Overall, we had an awesome weekend together and she got up for her very early flight (5:15 wakeup )the morning after Halloween. I can not wait to be back at school next semester with her, but it is comforting knowing that she is just "across the pond".
5.
My next trip is a few days away! We are going to London from Friday-Sunday through API and I am eager to go back. I did not love London the last time that I went, however I am hoping that I have a great experience this time. We leave Cork around 1 Friday and arrive in London by 5:30, then we have the night off. The following day we have a 4 hour walking tour of the city, ending at the Tower of London. After, we have the rest of the day to explore and we plan to ride the London Eye. That night we have signed up for London Pub Crawl with some of the Bryant students who are studying in London which should be fun and we are prepared to show our English friends all that us Irish students have learned the last few months LOL. The last day we are able to do whatever we would like until we depart from Heathrow at 10 pm. We obviously need find activities to do during these three days, so I plan to ask Nicole (who is studying here) to give me a list of the big ones that we will need to see.
6.
In other news, Sarah and I have officially booked BARCELONA for 1-3 December which I am so excited for! Anddd... I am spending the next week accomplishing as many papers as possible so I feel comfortable also booking SWITZERLAND with Nicole for 7-9 December. Ahhh, so pumped. But I NEED to accomplish lots now so that I am able to turn the assignments in ahead of time, since I may be gone the week that all of the papers are do.
LASTLY, my parents will be here in 10 days! AHHHH, I can not wait to see squeeze them. Bob, Sandy and Kirsty take Ireland. Oh my! It will certainly be an adventure. Let the countdown begin.
Bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment