Ashbourne Court Hotel

This morning we left Galway, but before departing this lively city, I decided to try one last time to find shoes, this time going to a shoe store that was closed yesterday. Of course, lo and behold, I found not one, but two pairs of shoes. It was a good sign.

After we left Galway we drove across the country (sounds weird, I know) to Ashbourne, which is a suburban area near Dublin. We had to pass through the toll area of the M50 again ...

... were lovely and again the views of the cliffs were worth the walk. By the time we finally made it back into the town we had been walking for 4-5 hours straight. Again it was time for an icecream - gotta make use of this weather while we can.

It was a lovely weekend and I really am enjoying being outdoors and being active! Walking and hiking up mountains (they would probably really be considered as large hills!) is fun and exhilarating, especially when there are some fabulous ...

... out, that is a feat less easily accomplished than one would imagine. We wandered up and down Temple Bar and Fleet Street, the main area for pubs and nightlife in the city and could not find a place to see live traditional music. Well, we did see one place but upon further inspection, we saw that they were 21+! Eventually we gave up and went back to the hostel and took showers and went to bed. Don't despair though, since we got up ...

I can safely say that I am not upset about losing my house husband in training (well ok, maybe a little)..... Yes that is right, Max has landed himself a job!! Excitement all round I can tell you and it was aptly celebrated with a bottle or 2 of wine with housemate Fiona and her boyfriend, Shane.We might just have to celebrate again tonight with another bottle ....well it is Friday! So, I can hear you ...

... been hanging out all night. Pretty fun day. I feel like there's so much that I've forgotten to say, but I can't remember at the moment what it is so I'll have to put it in later or tell you all individually. Please let me know if I should keep sending the emails out that I updated my blog or not. I don't know how much any of you check it or want notifications, so please let me know. And tell me what's going on in your lives!!! I love and miss you all very much :)

... just had another relaxing evening. On tuesday Alan had class again so I went for a walk around St. Stephens Green a really nice park close by Alan's house. One of the heirs of the Guinness beer fortune donated the park to the city of Dublin after spending tons of money to landscape it. That evening I made some more quesadillas for Alan and I. The following morning I said goodbye to Alan and went to the airport for my flight to London!

Serena flew in from Scotland a few hours earlier than me so we made plans to meet somewhere in the Dublin airport.... considering i've never been there before we expected it to be interesting. No problems though and the Dublin adventure kicked off without a hitch. Spent the day with Serena's Irish friend Tara, drinking Bulmers in a park and walking around. In order to avoid police interrogation, we ...

I touched down in Dublin and went straight to a party from the airport. It was 10pm and I had no where to sleep, but I knew that I was going to a couchsurfing party, so what could possibly go wrong? Naturally with a question like that, you dear reader, are expecting that something will indeed go wrong - this was fortunately untrue and I found a host with no problem. On the contrary I had multiple offers for hosting - some were more attractive offers than others... So anyway I ...

Weekend in Dublin, lot's of Guinness! More of Magners for Jo though... It's not really part of our year off but hey, we want the percentage to grow on the 'travelled 0% of the world' map. Any excuse to add a country will do! Was a really good weekend, enjoyed the weather incredibly, visited Guinness Storehouse, ate well in restaurants and took a biketour on a tandem! Lovely place but maybe too many tourists... Many of them from Finland - never hear that much Finnish in Edinburgh! Johanna

Alright, alright. I know it has been a while since I have written in here, and I apologize for that. Things have actually started picking up around here and requiring me to do some homework. Also, the everyday things have become everyday to me, so I'm not as excited and wanting to tell everyone about them. I'm finally settling in here, but now, am getting antsy to travel. I am leaving for Venice, Italy on Friday. Our two week spring break starts then. To ...