Fam visit and Tipperary...

So the Caulfields visited last week, which was a great time and it was so good to see them! We were so lucky to do things with them all week and be treated to some great food as well. Their adventures included Connemara, Cliffs of Moher, County Longford to see family, and the Aran Islands!

Sadly they had to leave us on Saturday, but that is the day we made our trip to Tipperary (Roscrea to be exact). We were going to visit our Irish friend Leah at her house with her family. It was awesome to get the real experience by staying with a family. Like most people in Ireland, all of her family members were extremely nice and welcoming. Her mom made us an excellent chicken curry meal and we spent time with her and her siblings before going to a local bar in the evening. We also went to an old Monastery and walked around on the grounds which were beautiful and scenic. Then we went to Moneygall. This is a small little town with not much going on except for the fact that Obama visited there in May 2011 because he is said to have family ties from Moneygall. It was crazy. Just because he was there for one day there were Obama things and American flags everywhere in the town. We even went to the 'Obama Cafe' which was only opened to commemorate his visit. Inside was nothing but Obama things everywhere, it was like an Obama gift shop which Obama decorations everywhere. Even the lady who worked there was quick to tell us American girls about the day she met Obama as if it was the best day of her life. Then we went to the bar that Obama poured and drank his Guinness at. This was again decorated in all Obama things (even a life size poster of him). It was funny to see this in a little town in Ireland.

All in all the trip to Tipperary was awesome and we are so glad we went and that Leah offered to take us!

Travelin' all around Ireland

So we are terrible about remembering to write down what we have done.

Lets see. A couple weeks ago we travelled to Cork. This was a really cool trip. Cork is a big city, not as small as Galway but not as big as Dublin. We walked around and saw the city on the first day (we even saw a live action role play thing or whatever those are called). We walked around the College over there and saw a pretty garden. We had dinner at a really good restaurant and then when out in the city at night. The bar we went to was kinda head banger and not so much our scene and the dj used cds and looked like he hated his life, but it was fun regardless.

The next day we went to Blarney, saw the castle and kissed the stone. this was really cool. Now we have the gift of gab and can bullshit with the best of em. perfect.


The next weekend we took a trip to dublin paid for by Fairfield, score. We had an AWESOME tour guide named Paul. We went to the book of Kells which was very cool. We walked through the Old Library which looked like it was from a movie, it was really something to see. We stayed in the Wynns Hotel which was a very nice spot, so much better than the hostels we're used to. We stuffed our faces on Fairfield's tab at a great dinner and then again went out on the town at night. The two places we went to were a good time and we made sure we made it to the famous Temple Bar.

Sunday in Dublin was the Guinness Storehouse and Christ Church Cathedral. Both cool spots to visit. The best part of the Guinness Factory is the Gravity Bar at the very top because the walls are windows and you have an awesome view of all of Dublin. We learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and were able to go into the famous Crypt underneath the church.

More to come......

Dublin Rugby Trip

Molly went to Dublin last night for a Leinster vs Treviso rugby match. Leinster is the irish team based out of Dublin and Treviso is from Italy. The game was really good and a lot of fun especially when I was able to talk to the man sitting next to me who said he comes to every single match. Leinster crushed the other team so the home crowd went home happy. It is crazy how big rugby and other sports are over here that just are not as popular in the US. There were even little kids who played at half time, they start training them early!

Dublin is also a lot different from Galway. It reminded me more of New York or a big city at home whereas Galway definitely has more of a European feel to it if that makes any sense. We're going back to Dublin next weekend with the school.

After the game we checked in at a hostel and then went out on the town in Dublin. It was a fun little adventure. We found a few cool places, one with an especially entertaining bar tender, and had a good time. One funny thing we noticed was the musical selection in some of the places we have gone to. A lot of places will play American music if they do not have a traditional irish band and some places in Dublin last night were pretty classy and playing not so classy american music, it was comical.

Now it's off to Cork for the rest of the weekend. Finally get to see the Blarney stone and castle!

CliffSsssSsssSSsss

We went to the Cliffs of Moher on Saturday with the rest of our group from Fairfield. It was a really good trip. The weather started out terrible as it was pouring rain and pretty chilly. Both of us left the apartment under the impression it was going to be a nice day, we're not really sure why? So naturally we were unprepared and did not wear raincoats or rain boots and both spent time straightening our hair before we left, ahh well.

But we went on the Galway tour bus and our tour guide was a little old man named Desmond and he was literally a leprechaun. He was so cute and told us stories and cracked sometimes inappropriate jokes the whole tour, whats not to love? But we say he is a leprechaun because he said that by the time we made it to the cliffs the sun would be out with the help of the leprechaun magic, and what do ya know! The sun was shining when we arrived at the cliffs.

The trip had a few stops before the cliffs. We stopped at an old castle, the burial rocks from the stone age and also a scenic area where Desmond placed leprechauns in the trees and ran around grabbing our legs saying the leprechauns were getting us, normal? sureeeee dessyyy.

we also stopped for lunch and to dry off at a pub in county clare where we were spending the day. the pub had a lot of american things everywhere including american dollars all along the walls and american license  plates, including MA. heyoo.

the cliffs were amazing. definitely the most beautiful thing we've seen so far. We ventured past the "safe" areas and made our way all along the side of the cliffs. we even learned there was a scene from harry potter filmed there, bonusssss!

all in all it was an awesome day. sunday was also an awesome day as we had an american feast with all of the fairfield crew to celebrate Super Bowl sunday. then everyone made their way over to a pub called garveys to enjoy to game and a few good drinks.

pictures are on Facebook!

So sorry for the delay, Connemara and Killarney captured our attention...

We sincerely apologize for how long it has been since we last updated this blog. We tend to get side tracked and forget things just a little. But fear not, we are back.

Unfortunately because it has been so long we will not have so many detailed descriptions of the comedy act that is our lives, but we do have lots to say about this beautiful place we've been calling home for the last 3 weeks.

Two weekends ago weekends ago we took a trip to Connemara and Cong. The land of the famous Connemara marble. The scenic areas all over Ireland are amazing. And everything is so green!
We were finally able to see the countryside. The endless land of nothing but green grass, sheep/horses, and the occasional historical monument, tower, castle etc. Check out our pictures on Facebook, so beautiful.
We had many stops along to way (we were on a bus tour) and every time we got off the driver would tell us when to be back and of course we were late every single time, he hated our lives and made announcements to the whole bus about the importance of getting back to the bus on time (obviously intended only for us two).....oops?

We also went to Cong in county Mayo. This is where the John Wayne film The Quiet Man was filmed. We have never seen the movie but now we've been to the famous little town it was made in!

We also went to Kylemore Abbey that day. The history of this castle was right up Molly's alley with a romantic love story being the reason for it's construction. So- long story short: a couple was honeymooning in beautiful Connemara and the wife fell in love with the area and asked her husband to build her a house there. So obviously he built her a castle overlooking the water with acres and acres of land and gardens. Tragically she died at a young age so he also had a neo-gothic cathedral style church built on the property in her memory......So yeah take out the dying part and a repeat of this story for Molly would be fine any day now....

Fast forward to this past weekend and we are at Mollyndsay's romantic trip to Killarney in county Kerry. We were nervous about going out on our own as we don't have the best record for planning things, but no worries, it was a success.

We get on the bus headed towards Killarney and are all ready to go. There were a bunch of stops before Killarney and the bus driver never announced where we were for any of them. So about halfway through we realized neither of us have any idea where we are or when we should indeed exit the bus, classic.

But we eventually realized when we were in Killarney and start heading towards the Sugan House Hostel. We are greeted and shown around by the Polish owner of the hostel. He seemed nice enough until we asked him what he suggested we do in the area and he told us unless we have a car we can't do anything? Like ohhh ok dude thanks so much....?

We don't let this discourage us: we explored Killarney and realize there is in fact SO much to do and it is a really wonderful area. We spent the night at two pubs in famous Killarney town, after a trip to Eddie Rockets (the irish version of Johnny Rockets ). Of course Mollyndsay can't go anywhere without having a comical experience. SO the second pub we go to is full of irish men. Come to find out we seem to be crashing a "stag party" aka a bachelor party. Being as we are two of the only females in the whole place and we are young americans, the irish men were very happy to have us as guests at the party. They were all very nice. There was a band of older men playing traditional irish music and it was awesome. Even more awesome when the men were teaching both of us how to traditional irish dance. Good times were had by all until we eventually irish danced our way out the door before embarrassing ourselves any further HA!

The night was a little sketchy because earlier in the day we both noticed a mens watch on the bed post in our room. We figured it was there to be used as a clock or it had been left behind? Now, we paid for a private room so we had a key and the door was locked while we were gone. But when we got back we noticed the watch was gone. So naturally we both freaked out and spent the night believing we were about to have the leading role in the movie Hostel 2.

But morning came and we were fine of course. We rented bikes in the morning and biked all day long around Killarney National Park. Yes, you read it right, Molly biked all day. Lyndsay coached her through it. But the park was awesome!! SO beautiful. Full of mountains and waterfalls and scenic views. We loved it. We also got to see the sites within the park included Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey and Muckross House.

We actually toured Muckross House and were inside the same rooms as Queen Victoria when she stayed in the house in the mid 1800s. Lynds correctly pointed out, how awesome is that for Queen Victoria that she can now know Mollyndsay and her have been in the same room.....

But really the house was amazing and full of history. Much like all of Ireland. Pictures from Killarney will be up soon!

Exploring

We have started to venture out and explore the local area. We love asking the people we meet for suggestions on where to go and what to see. Yesterday we went to Salt Hill and walked the path along the beach. We didn't make it to the end because it got dark but it was beautiful and we will definitely be going back again.

We went out again last night to some of the pubs. Always a good time. Except at one where we were asked for our IDs and obviously didn't have have them. Wait a sec? Are we in America again?

There is an awesome market in town on the weekends where vendors come and set up little shop type areas that you can walk through. We missed Saturday but went today and it was great. We will definitely be back again next weekend. Lynds met a lady from New York who moved to Ireland twenty years ago for a boy. Maybe that is foreshadowing for Miss Caulfield....

Tonight we will try and figure out what classes we are taking while we're here. Wait we have to go to school? This isn't just a 5 month vacation? Damn.

And then church tonight at the Galway Catherdral, we stopped by the other day and it is a beautiful church!

Day 1 and 2: Continued

So as promised we need to deliver the second half of the first couple days of our time in good old Ireland.

First off lets talk about yesterday when it was absolutely pouring rain with heavy winds and we both decided it was a smart idea to take a 20 minute walk to the supermarket to by none other than toilet paper. The thought of borrowing a roll until calmer weather was just clearly not an option! So we make the trek and get absolutely soaked and probably got there in way shorter time than normal because we were literally being pushed by the wind. We know, good decisions don't always come from our brains. But the adventure gets even better. So we find the handy dandy toilet paper and go to get in line to pay, when all of a sudden Lyndsay notices two dogs waiting outside of the store. (There are a lot of dogs in Ireland that do not wear collars even if they have an owner). BUT for anyone who knows Lynds, you know that the thought of these being stray dogs literally pained her. So she asks Molly whether or not we should buy dog food for the poor things. So there we are on our first night in Galway in the middle of the dog food isle, with Lyndsay almost in tears, debating whether or not to by dog food for these dogs we know absolutely nothing about. Final decision: no dog food, we didn't want two dogs following us home on the first night, our landlord may not be too pleased. Good thing because when we got to the check out we were informed that the dogs had owners and were simply waiting for them outside the store, breathe easy Lynds!

The rest of the night consisted of checkin out the local pubs. If going to the pubs in Ireland doesn't scream good time then I don't know what does. We went to one called the Kings Head and another called The Quay. Both had live music and lots of people of all ages (older folk know how to get down in Irish town), and both were a great place to spend our first night. Fun fact: reason why we left the Kings Head and went to the Quay? Yep we totally miscalculated timing while getting ready and thought we had all the time in the world. In typical Mollyndsay fashion, we get to the bar excited, ready for the fun to begin. Then womp we buy our first drink and literally two sips in, the owners are telling everyone to finish their drinks because the place was closing, poor start Mollyndsay, poor start. But first lets talk about the process of getting ready to go out. So we're in a new environment, it takes some getting used to. With that said, Lyndsay absolutely flooded our bathroom when taking a shower because she turned the water on without shutting the door and let it spray all over the room while screaming "Oh shoot, what do I do?" Oh dear. Its ok we needed to clean down the walls and floor anyway, who knows who had this apartment before us right?

One of the best parts of Ireland has been meeting the people who live here. They are really amazing people. One man stopped and talked to us at 2 in the morning about cool places to visit in Ireland and he talked about what he knew about the Boston area. He quizzed us on why we thought the Pilgrims didn't go to a different spot and such, we may not have had all the answers but the chat was worth it, all of the chats we have with the Irish people are worth it. Also two irish boys asked us if we knew where any open clubs were at that time because they thought we were Irish as well, day one and already fittin in with the locals. check.

After we got home, the adventure was left to our third amigo Mr. Mike Johnson. He came through in classic Mollyndsay fashion by locking himself out of the building and having to climb the rather large fence to get to our building because none of us have phones yet and have no way to communicate. Well done Mike, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The lack of communication leads to another Mollyndsay moment. Obviously we wanted to spend our first night with our bestie so we went to mike's room (or should i say what we thought was mike's room) to get him. We knocked on the door and rang the doorbell on three different occasions that night. We also welcomed ourselves in the apartment one time because the door was open. Why did we think this was normal? Not sure. But it definitely wasn't, most especially because we were at the wrong apartment. We were at the apartment of our friend we only met a couple hours ago and who now thinks we are crazy weird girls for just walking into his apartment uninvited......and waking him up because we thought he was mike sleeping. HA crazy? weird? Well as they say, if the shoe fits! Sorry Matt!

Speaking of our apartment building, we were both convinced that our toilet was broken and would absolutely not flush. Therefore we told the landlord, yet when she came up to fix it, she got it on her first try and just stared at us in confusion while we stared at each other in confusion. She may also now think we're crazy, aww shooooot!

Today was not nearly as eventful as yesterday. We had orientation at NUIG. National University of Ireland, Galway. We learned some things, ate some rock hard scones: good times over seas if ya ask us. We also very much appreciated our new love Susie for putting the juice boxes and food anywhere she could to take home for later. WE'RE ON A TIGHT BUDGET PEOPLE. Survival of the fittest. Molly found that out the hard way when trying to get money at the bank today using an american card. No joke on the fees people, they really aren't kidding. Ahh well still had enough to buy matching cozy blankets with Lyndsay, thank god.

Fun fact of the day: Two irish boys claimed they could tell what part of the united states americans are from based on their voice and accent. Molly was buying that part until he told Lyndsay that she had the most american face he had ever seen and that it was a compliment, I mean the most american face? Good line lad, like what does that even mean?

Oh and speaking of lads. We are no longer referring to our male friends as bros or dudes or whatever else americans say. From now on lad is the word. Get ready Mark Evans and Andrew Dinardi, two of our favorite LADS!

Until next time!

Departure and Day 1: Mollyndsay style

Hello beloved friends and family. Here we will post the awesome, and most likely comical, adventures of Molly and Lyndsay while we spend the next 5 months in Ireland and traveling in Europe!

Departure: We started off thinking we were doing great, everything was going well. We had our bags checked and our boarding passes in hand. We said bye to our families and started walking into the line for customs....when...oops just kidding...we get called back because we're in the handicap line. Re-do! Don't worry, we eventually found our way. Once on the other side of customs Molly needs to exchange dollars for euros so we go to the currency exchange booth and do so. Not until Molly goes to pay for dinner does she realize the lady gave her Canadian money and not Euros, TYPICAL. No worries: we made it on the plane, we're excited, we're ready! But then, we realize the man sitting next to us has quite possibly the worst body odor we have ever smelled in our entire lives. Awesome, good start. But again, no worries. We made it to the airport in Shannon and are obviously the last ones to go through immigration because we (Lyndsay) were unprepared. So naturally we're the last ones to get our bags, but once we finally do, we're ready, we're set, we start walking towards what we think is the exit when the man from immigration yells: "Uhh not that way, unless you want to go back to America. HA we already began to make our mark on the  locals, they found us entertaining to say the least.

Day one was amazing. We got our apartment, awesome. We explored Galway, beautiful. We had a romantic dinner, wait what? Oh yeah. We ended up having a dinner for two at table, which people usually have to book because the view is so lovely, in a cute little restaurant/bar. Of course we end up entering the place through the kitchen so the cooks are staring at us with a bit of confusion and then when we go in and sit down, the owners are also staring until tell us they don't open for another hour. But no worries for the third time, turns out Irish people are probably the nicest in the world and it ended up being a great meal of steak and potatoes for our first night in Galway.

This day one entry shall be continued at a later date, cheers!