Ireland 2011: Surfs Up With Amy

   My goodness, 10 days of travel really takes it out of you. Finally, home sweet home, back in Galway cozy in my apartment. It's about time this blog is updated. Many stories of family adventures have yet to be posted, however I feel as though my weekend adventures should be taken care of before I forget.

   Returning to Galway Wednesday evening, Thursday mornings presentation came early. Seeing as though my family didn't have access into the apartment building, sitting outside in the warm morning sun practicing my presentation was my best option. After 40 minutes with no sight of the family, I was off to class. Flying down the steps my fathers voice echoed through the stairwell...I know that voice all too well. They made it just in time! It was nice to say one last goodbye, send home pictures for safe keeping and wish them enjoyable travels. Presenting first was a blessing, as I was able to get it over and done with. As far as I can tell it went well; now for that 3,000 word essay due next Monday...ouch. However, upon completion of the essay the class will officially be finished!

   With my presentation complete my body was tired from the week of travel as my mind wandered and head bobbed during my Applied Organisational Pscyhology course. The 2 hours seemed to drag on forever, as most of it was a blur. However, the end of class signaled the beginning of fun adventures as Amy, my dear friend from highschool, flew in from Spain to join me for a weekend of fun in the sun surfing.

Arriving at 6:15pm, Amy's bus was right on time for us to venture over to the Irish International Hotel & Catering School, the location of this weeks 3D evening. Our Minion theme for the evening centered around the film Despicable Me. Sandlin, my pastors wife put in a great deal of work drawing, coloring and creating minions out of dish washing gloves.

Entering the party instructions were given to make name tags and our own minions out of fingers cut from dish gloves.

In addition to name tags and minions, 5 coins and lollies were distributed as part of a game. Throughout the night we were to challenge one another in coin tosses and games of rock, paper, scissors. Rock, Paper, Scissors was given many different names in several languages, however I can't think of them for the life of me. In order to get us all on the same page, I was asked to explain the game so we would all compete with the same rules. Coins and lollies passed between one another, as the winner received them as a prize.

After many games and good conversation it was finally time to dig in. The culinary students made us many delicious hor d'oeuvres to try. Indeed they were yummy!

,hor d'oeuvres

Good friends, Arturo & Joannie!

So glad Amy made it just in time to meet my church family
and enjoy the delicious meal!

Following the meal it was time to watch Despicable Me, a cute cartoon, with great lessons. Making it home at a decent hour we decided to hit the hay, waking up to a picnic at Salthill on Friday! Unfortunately, late Wednesday an e-mail was sent explaining a tutorial was scheduled Friday morning. Not wanting to attend, I decided it wasn't wise to skip it. Boy am I ever glad to have made that choice. Only 2 of us showed up and the instructor was incredibly helpful, providing insights for the final exam and help anytime I was in need. What a great contact to have and wealth of knowledge.
Abby C. brought Amy to campus, showing her around our buildings, eventually meeting me at Griffins (my favorite bakery). Each picking out a new dessert we headed out to Salthill for a picnic.

Upon arrival many swimsuits caught my eye. It was quite warm...but not that warm...as adventerous and fun as it sounded I wasn't about to join in. Elise, Aurelie and Abby C. braved the cold waves jumping in for a quick test of the water.

Brave girls

Others of us enjoyed warmer activities, such as Anja with her favorite, a smoke and coffee.

We all enjoyed our new desserts, especially Amy's maple cake. I think I'll go to Griffins more often!

With plenty of sunshine and nothing on the schedule we took time to relax. Reminiscing over memorable summer nights and friends back home we both agree, our adventures abroad have both been enjoyable, but dear friends like Chelsey and Kara are missed!

Most sights and sounds from the beach were quite fun and cute such as the little ones playing in the sand.

However, there were also a few not so appealing sights such as this one...yikes

Collecting seashells, catching up and taking in vitamin D made our trip to the beach well worth it.

Walking along Shop Street, Amy and I came across a fellow balloon artist/clown. We thought our mother clown, Freiberg would be proud!

March 25th marks Daffodil Day, a fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society, in Ireland. As one of my favorite flowers, I was thrilled to see the streets lined with dozens of brightly colored Daffodils.

In preparation for the surf trip, Abby C. went exploring shops for sunscreen. My goodness it's expensive. Who knew sunscreen in Ireland would cost you an arm and a leg?

Dinner time! Amy hasn't eaten many potatoes in Spain, but heard Ireland has plenty. As a special treat we decided to add a little flavor and put them in the oven. Very tasty!

Potatoes weren't the only item lacking in Amy's life. She had never experienced drinking a Guinness. So off to the pub it was for a bit of trad and pint of Guiness. Unfortunately, trad music was hard to find, but Monroe's had a great cover band and lively atmosphere.

Guinness Girls

What a sweetheart, she even bought me a drink!

Lehinch here we come! A small sleepy surfer town, Lehinch is located south of Galway. The town was so grand it has captured my heart and the title of my favorite village in Ireland.

Joy & Abby C. studying the map of Lehinch

Beautiful Ms. Amy Palmer

Surfers at sunset

The love chair...we didn't utilize it.

Typical Amy always wanting to learn and experience new things asked the Hurlers on the beach for a little lesson.

Abby C. was a pro!

Sadly I have no pictures of me surfing as we didn't have a photographer. However, there are a few group photos I'll try and get my hands on. All in all, I have fallen in love with surfing. Not to toot my own horn, but I was called "brilliant" and "a natural surfer" You can imagine I had loads of fun! If only Wisconsin lakes had waves. It's going to be a bit difficult to fill my desire to surf back home.