Things have been pretty busy around here :). I have so many things to write about but first, I'll start with the API program trip to PARIS!!
We did so many things its hard to even remember:
On the first night we got into our hotel a little late and we decided to just walk around the area and get some dinner. We quickly found we were staying in the area affectionately labeled "the red light district" it was very interesting...but we were right down the street from Moulin Rouge and at night the city lit up was beautiful. So at dinner, I decided to be adventurous and order the dish of the day (in french, mind you.) Our waiter told me it was fish, and made the hand signal of something swimming. I was like hey, I like fish, I'm from Cape Cod, I can handle it. Needless to say my fish was DELICIOUS. A little bony, but delish none the less. So then my program director, Kevin, told me that it was in fact Stingray. Yes. I hate stingray, in France. We then walked around and saw
the, again, VERY interesting sights and headed in.On Saturday, we walked around, took a bus tour and saw all of the sights. We drove through the city, stopped at the arc de triumph, the Eiffel tower, the opera house, the louvre, etc. I also was able to take a few artsy pictures from afar of Chanel, Dior, (Insert favorite french designer here) etc. As fashion-savvy as I am, I had to look from a distance in fear of getting too close and forgetting my study abroad college student budget.
After the bus tour, we took a small guided tour of the Louvre museum and saw all of the highlights. I was able to sneak through the crowd, (one benefit of being short), and take a picture of the Mona Lisa. Afterwards we headed to go up the Eiffel Tower. The tower was so beautiful and I am so glad we went up. It was windy, and basically freezing but a beautiful view and something I will remember forever. Here's a picture of me kissing the tower ;)
At night, a few Friends and I walked along the Champs D'Elysee, the main shopping street, but again, no bargains in Paris. We saw the city again all lit up at night and then headed back to the hotel!
On Sunday our last day, a few friends and I headed to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was so beautiful and something that you literally have to see in person to know how AMAZING it is. It was one of my favorite parts of Paris. Paris was such a fun city, but I was really happy to return to Galway again. I actually liked Paris better than London. It had so much culture, and the food was so good. Throughout the entire trip, I ate about 5 baguettes, 4 fromage (cheese) quiches, and so many pastries I can't even count. I would stay in Paris for another week to just eat.
When we got back from Paris, we were all super tired and went through another week of classes and hung out in Galway for the weekend. I attended a silent disco at one of the bars downtown, which was hilarious/great craic (fun) What's a silent disco you ask? Well, its where everyone has headphones, there's no music outside the headphones and their are two DJ's playing different songs and you take off your headphones and realize everyone is dancing and singing to different music!! Kind of weird, but so much fun...
This week, we had a small break in classes and my friend Meg and I traveled to the countryside with one of our friends and spent a mini "holiday"-vacation in Letterfrack, Connemara about an hour away from Galway. It's literally the smallest, but still prettiest towns, I've ever seen. We spent a day hiking up Diamond Hill, where I realized how much I miss my swimming lungs, and spent a night in the small town bar listening to the locals compete in a talent show, great fun in itself. I loved seeing the countryside, getting away from the city, and being with such fun people. Definitely made me realize why I came to Ireland and how happy/lucky I am to be here. (I will be posting pictures soon once I steal them from my friend!!)
And on a final note, I went to an Irish rugby game tonight Connacht vs. Glasgow, Scotland!!! It was so exciting and so much fun. My friends were even interviewed for an online TV channel...I think they thought it was funny that we didn't really know what was going on. They ended up tying but it was a great game and the crowd was awesome and so into it!!
Tomorrow, our API program is taking us on their excursion to Connemara. I think it will be fun and different from our own little personal tour this week, and it will be fun to be with everyone!! Next week is College week, with so many events going on for the university students to raise and give money to charity. It used to be called RAG week (raise and give) but they've changed the name this year and it's a pretty big deal around here. Google it ;). I'll have lots of stories coming up in the near future. Hope everyone is doing well and talk to you soon!
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