Paddy's Day, spring break and runs on Wall Street

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!

Well, what a celebration. Apparently St. Patrick's Day is celebrated more hardcore in America, as according to the commercials I would see on t.v.:

(deep voiceover)
"Do you want to have the best St. Patrick's Day EVER? Then text the answer to this question, St. Patrick is the patron saint of which country?
a) The United States
b) Ireland
c) France
Answer correctly and you will win a trip to....(enter me thinking, Dublin, Galway, Cork) NEW YORK CITY!"
However, St. Patrick's day in Ireland is fun and crazy and wonderful. There was a parade at 12:30 to the town square, which I went to. It was adorable, local parade, the theme was "tribes" and there were lots of local groups marching. The pubs were open early, although not the ones on the parade route until after the parade. My day started at 9:30AM because our friends across the hall kindly hosted the start of the morning with a 'Kegs and Eggs' party = bring your own alcohol and maybe we'll eat eggs, to start off the day. I brought over cream puffs for breakfast and Galahad...the cheapest beer any of us can find, 80 cents for a pint can. Maureen, Lea and I also tried the legal moonshine I bought, potcheen, before the walk to town. Somehow I remembered it going down MUCH easier when I tasted it at the winery...
Then we walked to town for the parade and pub crawled until 6 or 7PM, the longest pub crawl I have ever done but I've never crawled for six or seven hours straight! We started with Tig Coili, then the Quays (keys), Monroes, the Front Door, Freeneys, the King's Head and ended with a Bailey's coffee in Tig Coili again. Unfortunately we forgot the Crane and Taaffes. I'll just make up for it this week...anyway I'm sure all of the family members reading this blog who don't want too much information, it was a very successful day. Very successful. Definitely ended with ordering pizza and I found Father Goose online and watched it from my bed...with a large glass of water. The Carrolls represented!

Also, I am leaving for my spring break vacation tonight. I am traveling with my friend Kym for the first 8 days, then our friend Maureen is meeting us, then Maureen and I are traveling for an extra 3. The itinerary is as follows:
3 days in Paris, France
1 day in Marseille
1 day in Aix en Provence (Easter Sunday, we're staying with our friend's host family there!)
1 day in Nice
3 days in Cinque de Terre, Italy
1 day in Pisa
2 days in Florence
2 half days in Salzburg, Austria (The Sound of Music tour leaves from our hostel!)
2 days in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany

I realize it looks like I'll be on vacation forever..wahoo! We are staying for free in Paris, Aix/Marseille and Florence, which should be great and save money. I definitely bought pretty clothes for spring break...but have decided not to feel bad about it! I have been saving for this trip my entire life (or since I've had a job, anyway). The reading list for the trip includes F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and the Brothers Grimms' Fairy Tales, and maybe Wilkie Collins The Woman in White. Also maybe I'll read my homework.
So since I'll be gone so long, I won't be posting for two weeks.

I'm kind of excited and scared to be on vacation for two weeks because I'll be out of the loop. I've been reading the news everyday and the U.S. market is quite scary, to be honest. Last Wednesday, my Environmentalism professor spent the last 25 minutes drawing diagrams and explaining the current state of affairs with the banks, derivatives, selling, sub-prime mortgages, etc. in the most simple but detailed way possible. By the end of it everyone in the class had their mouths open staring at him. I hope the Fed knows what it's doing and JPMorgan does too. Yikes. In Irish they would say, "Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat!" aka, Good luck to you.

Erin comes to Galway!

Erin came to Galway this week! What a week. It was awesome to see her..we realized that is the most time we are going to be spending together until next Christmas break--I think that is a LOT scary. growing up, all that stuff. ahhh. We spent the week catching up on life, drinking Guinness, going to castles and laughing.

The week in numbers:

1 -castle visited, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
1 -supper cooked by yours truly
1-pint of Guinness with a shamrock in the top
1 -winery visited
2 -samples each of mead and ponsheen at the winery
2 -movies watched, Must Love Dogs and No Reservations
3 -flights of stairs she pulled her suitcase up, plus a spiral suitcase
5 -days spent in Galway City
6 -pints of Guinness consumed by Erin
6 -meals eaten out
6 -shots of tequila
6 -classes I went to while she visited
7 -the number of pubs we enjoyed
+ infinite laughter do you remembers and uncountable chips (french fries)
= a successful visit

She said she was so glad she didn't go to Cabo and came to Galway! Me too.
Highlights were the Crane Bar -- a harpist sang and had a solo, so did a guitarist and so did a woman who sang a traditional Irish song acapella. Also she loved sleeping on the floor next to the heater..although Thursday night somehow I ended up on the floor and she was asleep in my bed. She came bearing gifts of heaven..People Magazine, OK! and a Carebears coloring book (no crayons, just markers, but that's okay) plus clothes from home! Only a few, but that's okay, a scarf can liven up any wardrobe and fool people into thinking you did NOT wear that exact outfit just a day ago.
Erin also noticed that I like to frequent the pubs with lots of Irish music...as a consequence she made the comment, "It seems like a much ... older crowd here. " Code for: Why is there barely anyone our age in these places??? The music is totally worth it, and more men over 65 have bought me drinks then under 30. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not, but free is always good and trad sessions are always better than good.
pictures to follow.....

LASER COMBAT TAG

So, this is us in the bunker, laser combat is a go.
we're serious.
fear the deer.

Connemara adventure camp

This weekend Fairfield sponsored a trip to Connemara, the region west of Galway city for us to go to Killary Adventure Center and experience...well...adventure!
It all began when the big white bus came to collect everyone at 7AM Saturday morning -YIKES. Luckily, I learned my lesson with the early Dublin bus and decided on staying in Friday and skipped the tequila. It was about an hour and half drive through County Galway, which was incredibly gorgeous. If you don't believe there are mountains in Ireland, drive out to Connemara so you can see them. It is a change from the green constantly and are more orang-y, dusky, brown. Once we arrived at the KILLARY ADVENTURE CENTER we were immediately given rooms and our activities began, summer-camp style.
Since it was windier than a hurricane, kayaking was canceled. Instead, I was in the first group who went on the zip line. I have done a zip before, so it was fun, of course, but not very new. We were on the zip for awhile though....wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo and then we bounced off of a tire before we smashed headlong into a large telephone pole. Very safe. Then we switched groups after an hour and changed into fabulous wet suits. As you can see from the photo, I was one of the last ones so I ended up with a retro 80s HobieCat sailing wetsuit in aquamarine. Very styling.
So, why the wet suit? I'll give you a hint..it has to do with water.
Actually, we went cliff jumping and walked up a waterfall.
WHAT.
Serious.
CLIFF JUMPING?
Yes. About 15-16 feet off of a rock jetting out over Killary Fjord, and Yes, it did start sleeting as we climbed over the rocks to jump into extremely icy water. Yes, I was still in Ireland in March when this was done.
IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER.
Then once we all swam out of the fjord and climbed back over the rocks, we went on a "gorge walk" which is really a fancy way of saying we walked up a fast flowing river that had mini waterfalls.
After lunch of soup, sandwiches, fruit and flapjacks (a chewy, sweet cookie, not pancakes) served to us by delightful French people, we changed for our afternoon games....laser combat!
Laser Combat was intense. We all had camoflague jackets and hats with two sensors on them, as well as our laser guns. When we walked to the outside course, it literally looked like whatever soldiers must train in. It was muddy, there were wooden forts, there were trees, there were hills, there were ditches and shrubbery. We played four games, including Capture the Flag and Last Man Standing (self-explanatory). It was intense and awesome. We all got into it, the group of 2 men and 14 women (yes we are finally collegiate men and women, I think). I fell into the mud no less than 4x and possibly ruined a pair of Gap jeans - they are more brown then blue! By the fourth time, I just gave up and resorted to lying in wait on my stomach in the brush, ready to laser anyone who attempted to cross the field. It should be Conne-mud-a instead.What a day...
On our walk back to the center, the sunset was beautiful and sheep were rambling over the hills and the road in front of us. We had a great dinner and for the first time in a long time -not counting my jet lag catchup sleep- we all went to bed and slept for almost twelve hours that night.
The more time I spend with the other stags, the more time I am loving our FU time. I'm having a great time getting to know them all better.

In other news, Erin is coming to visit tomorrow for a week, for her spring break, and I cleaned the refrigerator today.

Galway Girl, sung by Steve Earle

Well, I took a stroll on the old long walk
Of a day -I-ay-I-ay
I met a little girl and we stopped to talk
Of a fine soft day -I-ay-I-ay
And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do
'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue
And I knew right then I'd be takin' a whirl
'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl

We were halfway there when the rain came down
Of a day -I-ay-I-ay
And she asked me up to her flat downtown
Of a fine soft day -I-ay-I-ay
And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do
'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue
So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl
And I lost my heart to a Galway girl

When I woke up I was all alone
With a broken heart and a ticket home
And I ask you now, tell me what would you do
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue
I've traveled around I've been all over this world
Boys I ain't never seen nothin' like a Galway girl

Czech me out!

Welcome to Prague! I spent this past long weekend there because some of my best friends from Fairfield were there on spring break. FU Glee Club was on a European tour of Prague, Vienna and Budapest, so what better long weekend then to go and meet my best friends in Europe??
The weekend was incredible, mostly because I got to see people I thought I wouldn't see for eight months..or never see again, i.e. graduating seniors. But.
Prague was beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking, the buildings and architecture was detailed, stucco, cream, lemon, sherbert colors, red gabled roofs, bridges, gargoyles, goulash, strognosa and cobblestone everywhere. It is probably the most romantic city I have ever been in.
I arrived Friday morning with three other girls, and we spent the night at the clown and bard hostel, http://www.clownandbard.com/
That was pretty fabulous, there was free breakfast and we were in the "Nice View" room, right next to the "Best View" room with two Chileans who were on summer holiday. We went out for a good Czech dinner, we were about 20 minutes walk from the Old Town Square, which was just close enough to walk before dinner and far enough to be away from the touristy spots and legit Czech cuisine. I had strognosa, which is basically meat in brown sauce with vegetables. Of course I had a Czech pilsner with dinner...they come in half liter mugs and are cheaper than water! I have never heard of such a thing, but it was at least 10 crowns cheaper. Wow. And they say the Irish are bad....
The next day we all met up with the Glee Club (reunions are always amazing) and I became official first-class moocher. I slept in the hotel (a hotel!) and ate free breakfast everyday, which was incredibly delicious, I have never seen a hotel breakfast that good anywhere! There were considerably less chocolate croissants when I left the dining room...anyway, I also took free dinner Saturday night. The most awkward part was probably when Carol, the choir director came up to me and said, "Who are you?" HAHhh. That was interesting, but she was just glad they could help feed me in Prague.
Anyway, Saturday night we went to a five floor discotecha, which was fabulous. I loved the third floor because it was oldies, but everywhere was awesome. We chased down a AAA taxi to get back to the hotel, because apparently the taxis are extremely corrupt in Prague. AAA was recommended by the hostel and so we ran after everyone we saw until it stopped -3 of us women- and the driver said, "Eh, ah, thees ees the first time someone as run afta my taxi, a-ha!"
We ended up paying 150 crowns less than the rest of the group, so that was fabulous.
The next two days were sight-seeing mazes. We went to Prague Castle and all that entails, including Kafka's house, the cathedral, and the palace where the famous "defenestration" incident happened. (Basically, the king was mad at three messengers, so he threw them out the window!) The Charles Bridge, Clock Tower, and Old Town Square were all included in the walking tour (again, mooching hardcore). Once that was over, a group of 15 of us traveled and went to the John Lennon Wall, built in 1968, the Sex Machines Museum and the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments (I skipped this one and voted for the Charles Bridge at sunset instead....)
We also ate and ate and drank and drank...constantly. Some of the pubs we went to had cool English names, like The White Whale and some were in Czech, like the Karlozy-Lavre. All in all, it was a weekend of culture, I really think so!
I bought a beautiful pashmina as well, and Monday night, my last night was incredible because it was just the girls. Six or seven of us went back to the five floor discotecha and only two floors were open, since it was Monday. Well. We were rocking.
Czech Republic isn't so wild, they have absinthe there and you don't have to buy a ticket to get on the metro or tram, just risk a 10,000 crown fine. No one got in trouble. TMI? Sorry. :)

The best part of Prague? When I came home, that's just it. I felt like I was coming home to Galway. Maybe I can be a Galway girl after all?