Am I Eloquent Yet?

I was so happy to be back in Cork Wednesday.  I love Dublin, but Cork is my home.  And Cork is just an all around better place, not that I am biased or anything...

I went to my morning class on Wednesday so I would feel a little productive and not like I was slacking off all week.  After class, I met Lindsay and Conor, who had gone out to breakfast, and we headed back to my apartment to meet Kmac.  It was a beautiful day.  I almost did not need a jacket!  On our walk back to my apartment, I gave Linds and Conor a little tour of the UCC campus.  It is weird showing my HC friends my new school!  They thought that UCC was beautiful, which is it, and I was so happy they liked it.

Once we got Kmac, the four of us headed into the city.  I was taking them to O'Conaill's...shocker! I need to get my fill of O'Connail's in before I leave.  I do not know how I will survive without it next year!  We ran into Jane on our way to the city, so she came with us.  I needed someone who is as obsessed with O'Conaill's as I am to be with me so that I did not seem crazy about how much I loved it.  I was very ambitious with my order, and for the first time EVER, I could not finish.  I felt like I was committing a sin or something!

After O'Conail's, Kmac, Linds, Conor, and I parted ways from Jane and headed to the bus station.  We were going to the Blarney Castle.  This would be my fourth time here, so I really must have the gift of gab now.  It was a perfect day for Blarney because it was so beautiful out.  Everyone in the country must have had the same thoughts as we did, the line to kiss the stone was massive!  We eventually got to the top, and I kissed the stone for the fourth time!  I'll be going one more time when Maureen and Kathryn are here next month.  I love Blarney, though, so I could go over and over again.  

We had an awesome time at Blarney, we did not leave until after 6 PM!  I was going to cook for everyone, but by the time we got home, the grocery stores were all closed.  Instead, we decided to go to Coqbull for dinner.  It was really delicious, per usual.  I think everyone loved it!  We were all really tired, so we called it an early night.  The week was going by so quickly.  I guess time flies when you're haven' fun!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

Linds and me in front of the UCC quad

Conor and me at the Blarney Castle!

After we kissed the stone!

Gorgeous waterfall at Blarney.

Such a nice night.

Happy St. Paddy's!

St. Paddy's Day is upon us!  Dublin was a zoo because of the wonderful Irish holiday.  Who said that the Irish do not celebrate Paddy's day?!  They do in Dublin, at least...

We had a busy day ahead of us.  Before everyone woke up, I went for a run at the hotel gym.  I had an interview later in the day, so I wanted to kind of clear my mind.  It felt good to workout after how much we have been eating during our time in Dublin!  After my workout, everyone got ready for the day, and headed to the hotel breakfast (it was SO good).  After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, we would be heading back to Cork later that evening.  I was ready to get back to my apartment and show Kmac, Lindsay, and Conor all the things I love about Cork!

Once we checked out of the hotel, we headed over to Smurf's apartment.  He invited us over for some morning St. Paddy's celebrations and said that we could then walk to the parade with him and all of his friends.  There was no rain, so we can say the weather was a successful!  Smurf's place was really neat.  There was an outdoor patio that everyone was hanging out on, which was a lot of fun.  We then headed to the parade around noon.  It was packed with people.  The hard thing about being in another country is that there is no way you can contact people if you get separated on the streets, because you will not have WiFi.  This was definitely a pain in the buss.  However, we managed, and it was still a lot of fun.  We also ran into some HC and NWC people!

I left the parade at 3:30 to head back to the hotel for my interview.  They were really nice at the Hilton and let me use a conference room to prepare and conduct the Skype interview.  This wrapped up at 6 PM, and then we were off to the train station.  We were catching a 7 PM train to Cork, getting us in a little before 10.

St. Paddy's was fun, but I was ready to get back to Cork!

Be back soon!!

Linds and me pre-parade on the patio!

Kmac and me at the parade.

Selfie with Smurf!

Cliffs--Round Three

Monday was a very early start for Kmac, Lindsay, Conor, and me.  We were doing a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher from Dublin.  Luckily, the weather was decent, no rain!  That always makes for a much more enjoyable trip.

The tour took off at 7:30 AM from Dublin City Center.  There were two busses going to the Cliffs from Dublin.  I did not think it would be that crowded!  I do not know if it was because of St. Paddy's Day, or if it is because we were traveling from Dublin, but this were a lot more people than the Cork tours get.  The first stop on the tour, after a bathroom stop, was Kinvara.  Kinvara is an old fishing town in the west of Ireland.  It was very picturesque and an adorable little town.  After Kinvara, the tour took us the the "Baby Cliffs," also known as, the Burren.  This is a gorgeous landscape along the water, famous for the limestone rock covering the land.  We stayed here for about a half hour.  There was still no rain, so the time out of the bus was great!  Once we finished up at the Burren, it was time for lunch.  Our driver, Sean, brought us to a great little pub in Doolin.  I had the seafood chowder, and it was amazing.  The Irish really know how to make a great soup!  After lunch, it was time for the main event, the Cliffs of Moher!!!  Still, no rain, thank goodness.  We had a few hours here to wander around and take pictures.  I still cannot get over how gorgeous the Cliffs of Moher are.  This is my third time going there this year, and it is almost like they get better and better.  I have one more visit there at the end of April when Maureen and Kathryn come to me.  Crazy to be thinking about the "last" of my activities in Ireland...

After the Cliffs, we got back on the bus and headed back to Dublin.  We had one stop on the way home for the bathroom, and then it was on the road again.  We got back in the city a little after 7 PM, and everyone was exhausted.  We were all wondering why we were so tired if we just sat on a bus all day, but somehow, we were.  We grabbed dinner at a Portuguese restaurant, Nando's, which is one of Lindsay's favorite places to war at in York.  Dinner was great, but it was an early night for us.  Tuesday was Saint Paddy's Day, and we needed all of the rest we could get.

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Kinvara

Kinvara

 Linds and me on the "Baby Cliffs"

The group at the Cliffs.

I cannot get enough of the Cliffs of Moher!

Kmac (right) and me at the Cliffs.

A Lovely Day for a Guinness

Sunday was a cloudy day in Dublin,  which was perfect.  We were planning on going to the Guinness Factory, so it would not matter that we were inside all day!

We woke up around 10:30/11 AM.  The travelers were a little jet-lagged and needed to catch up on lost sleep.  After we woke up and everyone got moving, we took a taxi into the city to grab something to eat.  We ended up going to a really cool restaurant called Dakota.  I had a delicious chicken sandwich, better than Crackbird!  I would recommend this to anyone who is going to Dublin sometime soon.

After lunch, we headed to the Guinness Factory.  I had not done this tour since being in Ireland this year.  My family did it when we came to Ireland seven years ago, so I was excited to go back!  Guinness was buzzing with people and had lots going on for St. Paddy's Day.  It was an awesome time!  There were lots of free samples, food tastings, music, shows, a bunch of activities getting you in the St. Patrick's Day mood.  The coolest part of the tour was the bar at the top of the factory, giving you a 360 degree view of the city with a free pint of Guinness.  It was a lot of fun, but I am not a huge Guinness fan!

We killed the entire afternoon at Guinness, and got back into the city around 7 PM.  Everyone was a little tired and looking to sit somewhere for dinner.  We found another really cute pub off of Grafton Street.  I had an Irish Stew with lamb, it was delicious!  After dinner, we walked around for a while and listened to some of the live street music.  There were really great performers this weekend!  To end the night, we all had some ice cream from Murphy's, a very famous ice cream place from Dingle.  it was delicious.

It was an early night because Monday we were doing the Cliff's of Moher.  So far, so good!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

The gang at Guinness.

TRUE

Old Guinness advertisements.

Cheers from Linds and me (we had one sip and passed them off)!

True Irish spirit. 

Gang's All Here

Saturday was the day that Conor and Lindsay arrived in Ireland.  I was really excited to see them!  I had not seen Conor since May, and Linds since Copenhagen at the end of February.  I was ready to have the HC crew back together.

Conor arrived very early in the morning, 5 AM.  I took a taxi to the airport to pick him up, and then we headed back to the hotel.  Kmac was still sleeping there, and everyone was exhausted, so we decided we would go back to sleep for a few hours.  We woke up at around 10 AM, had breakfast at the hotel, and then Conor and I were off to go pick Linds up at the airport.  Her flight was coming in from England at noon.  Once we collected Lindsay, the three of us headed back to our airport to get Kmac and head to the next hotel we would be staying at for a few days.  We would be in Dublin until Tuesday (St. Paddy's) evening.

After we all settled into the hotel, which was beautiful (thanks, Care!!), we gathered up our stuff and went to have a late lunch/dinner at a restaurant called Crackbird.  The city was so crowded for the holiday weekend, it was impossible to find a place to eat, so we settled on Crackbird, and it was not the best decision.  It was a restaurant that only served chicken, very nontraditional chicken, and none of us were huge fans.  Once we finish eating, we headed to the Temple Bar area to meet up with some West Hartford kids, as well as check out the celebrations that were going on.  I could not get over how busy the city was.  I should have assumed it would be crazy, I mean it was St. Paddy's weekend.  We parked ourselves at the Norseman (a pub in the area) for the night.  We did not want to lose our seats!

It was a lot of fun having everyone together again.  Now that all the visitors were here, the touring and celebrations could begin!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Temple Bar!

Linds and me at the Norseman!

 Linds, Conor, Kmac, and me at the Norseman

Kmac Comes to Ireland!

Friday was the day that Kmac arrived in Ireland!  She would be here for ten days, so I was excited to get the festivities going.  Her flight came in very early Friday morning, so I knew it would be a low-key day.

Kmac's flight arrived at around 5 AM, meaning I had to leave the hotel at 4:30 AM.  It was not as hard to wake up that early as I thought it would be, shockingly.  This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I am very much on US time still, I do not know how this is still possible!  After picking up Kmac, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap.  It was around 6 AM, and I knew if we slept for a few hours we would be able to rally throughout the day.  The nap did wonders for us.  We felt rejuvenated and ready to conquer the day!  But first, we needed to fuel up with breakfast at the hotel and before heading into the city.

There were so many people from home in Dublin for St. Paddy's Weekend.  It was a crazy scene (not my cup of tea).  I showed Kmac Grafton Street and some of the famous areas around there, and then we headed to Temple Bar.  We met up with one of Kmac's friends, Julia, there, which was really fun.  After Temple Bar, we went to a pub for lunch off of Grafton Street.  Lunch was delicious and gave us the energy we needed for the rest of the night.  We walked around the city for a little while after eating, and then met up with our high school friend, Kristen.  Kristen is studying in Spain this semester, so it was awesome to see her.  Her birthday was on St. Patrick's Day and we were able to do some early celebrations for her 21st.  I loved having a mini NWC reunion!

I was picking Conor up at the airport at 5 AM the next morning, so we headed home kind of early.  Kmac's first day was a lot of fun and it was great to see some faces from home!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Temple Bar

Kmac and I bought a Selfie Stick!

NWC back together again! 

Kmac (middle), Kristen (right)

Let the Festivities Begin

Thursday was the day that I was leaving for Dublin to meet my guests coming for the week.  Kathleen (Kmac) was coming on Friday, Conor was coming Saturday morning, and Lindsay was coming Saturday afternoon.  I was so excited to see them!

I went to some of my morning classes, but not the afternoon ones.  I had to pack and clean up the house before leaving for Dublin, and it was a very dreary day.  Add those together and it mixes for little motivation.  I just really wanted to get to Dublin to see my friends!  It has been so long since I have seen the three of them, so I was getting anxious!  Alexa and Sam grabbed their bags from my place at around 3 PM, and they were off to their hostel for the next few days.  I left my apartment at around 5:30 because I was taking a 6 PM train from Cork to Dublin.

I arrived in Dublin around 8:45 and headed to my hotel.  I was staying at one near the airport because I knew I would be spending a lot of time there the next few days meeting my guests and getting everyone together.  The hotel worked out really well, and it was very comfortable.  I do not miss hostel living at all!

It was an early night for me, I had to pick Kmac up at the airport at 5 AM.  Friday is the start of a marathon of sightseeing and touring, I cannot wait!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Boarding the train, finally turned into a nice day! 

Home in Cork

Wednesday was a really boring day.  I had a lot of getting ready to do before my guests came here!

I woke up early with Sam and Alexa again because they were going to the Cliffs of Moher.  I did not mind getting up because it once again gave me some time to get organized and be productive.  I am slowly becoming a morning person, which I definitely need with all the work I have coming up!  I went to the gym because I thought that could get started on my day!  I had a busy day with interviews and paper writing, so it was a good way to clear my mind.

After my interview, I hung out with Meadhbh and decompressed a little but.  Applying for summer jobs has been the death of me, can it please be over soon???  After my afternoon break of hanging out, it was time for me to get to work.  I wanted to get a move on my papers so I could enjoy my time with my guests next week.  While doing my work, I had the best surprise text ever.  My friend Thomas Murphy (Smurf) told me that he and his parents were in Cork for the evening and wanted to know if I felt like meeting them for drinks later that evening.  It was so nice of them!  I met up with them around 9:15 at Oliver Plunkett.  It was such a nice break seeing them, and a great taste of home.  I have been feeling a little homesick lately, so it was just what I needed.

Safe to say, I did not get much work done.  But it is okay, I have time.

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Thomas, Mrs. Murphy, and me at Oliver Plunkett!

Prepping for Paddy's

Tuesdays are my days to get organized around the house after travel weekends.  I had no food in the apartment, so that meant English Market trip!  Also, I really needed to start some papers!

I woke up with Alexa and Sam at around 6:30.  They were going on a tour of Dingle on Tuesday, which worked out perfectly because it was a beautiful day, 50 and sunny (can you say, SPRING!).  After they left, I thought I would be productive so I went to the gym, and then class.  I was feeling like a morning person a little bit (this will definitely change soon).  When I came home, I caught up with my roommates for a little bit, and then got ready for the day.  I needed to get some supplies for the house that I was running low on, as well as the makings for dinner.

The City Centre was buzzing with people because of the weather.  Everyone wanted to bask in the sunshine while it was here!  Who knew how long this could last in Ireland.  You could sense St. Paddy's day in the city, there were decorations everywhere!  Also, I have learned from my roommates that spelling St. Patrick's day as "Patty" and not "Paddy" is super offensive...oops.  This is definitely a mistake made in America, so I am taking notes!  I went to the English Market to buy the makings of my black bean and lentil soup.  This is one of my favorite recipes, and it came out great!  I am getting used to cooking, it only took me 6 months!

When I got home, I worked on a paper, and had dinner with the girls.  It was great hearing what they thought of the Dingle Tour.  I have yet to do this and I think it will be one I bring Maureen and Kathryn on in April, especially because they liked it!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

SO MUCH SUN

Mom-- I thought of you when I saw Method!!

Ready for Paddy's Day at the English Market!

Craziness Begins

Monday was back to reality after my wintery weekend.  This week starts the craziness.  I have guests for the next three weeks.  But I am really happy to see everyone visiting me in Ireland!

I had a very low-key afternoon.  I went to the gym before my 12 PM class, so I could have a productive afternoon.  I needed to work on some papers before my guests come.  This week, my childhood friend, Alexa, and her friend, Sam, were staying with me.  I feel badly though, they came to Cork on Saturday, but I was gone, so they had to stay in a hostel, and I leave again on Thursday, so they will have to stay in a hostel until they leave on Monday.  They cam over to my apartment at around 6 PM.  It was really nice seeing Alexa, I had not seen her since August!

After we caught up for a little bit and the girls settled in, we headed to the City Centre for dinner.  I think you can guess where I took them, Oliver Plunkett!  I love bringing guests here because it is a perfect place to get the real Irish feel.  There is always great food, nice people, awesome music, Ireland in a nutshell.  There was a really good duet playing on Monday, so we lucked out!  We had dinner and listened to the music for a little while.  It was an awesome night, and there was a pretty good crowd at the pub for a Monday night.

We headed back pretty early, everyone was pretty tired!  It was fun having people from home here, and it is only the beginning!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin  

Irish Stew for dinner! 

Sky High

Sunday was our last day in Interlaken.  I did not want this weekend to end!  I know I say that every weekend when we leave somewhere, but really, why would I want to leave a place this amazing?

Jane and I had a very adventurous morning.  Sunday was paragliding day!! Our appointment for this was at 9:30, and they said it would take a few hours, which was perfect because we had to leave for the airport a few hours later.  I was so excited to paraglide.  I have seen a lot of pictures from other abroad kids doing it in Interlaken, and it looked so cool, this was definitely an abroad bucket list item of mine.  There were two other people in our time slot.  We were all taken up to the take-off location in a van with our assigned pilots.  I was not that nervous for paragliding because we had a trained professional strapped to us, unlike some activities such as bungee jumping.  My pilot was named Kurt, and he has been flying for 29 years.  I felt safe knowing I had a pro like him!  Kurt strapped me into all of the gear, which made me more nervous than the paragliding!  The mountain was really muddy, I thought I was going to slip down the entire thing.  I kept asking Kurt when it was time for take-off, he told me when the wind was right.  I didn't know how to tell that, so I told him to give me the OK and I would go.  It was really easy when in came time for us to go.  All I had to do was run a little but and we were off.  We were in the air for about ten minutes.  It was AMAZING.  The views from the air were even more beautiful than I could have imagines.  I could see both of the lakes on either side of Interlaken, the mountains, the town center, everything.  This was a "pinch me" moment.  I landed safely, and to celebrate, I decided to have some Swiss chocolate.

After flying, Jane and I decided we would walk to find the other lake.  it was a gorgeous day out, so we wanted to embrace it as much as we could.  We walked for about 40 minutes, and could not find it!  We gave up, because we did not want to be late getting out of the city.  It was a very pretty walk, however!  If we had more time we would have kept walking, but we could not risk getting lost today.

After our walk, we caffeined up with some coffee.  We needed energy for the rest of the day!  When we finished up coffee, we headed back to the hostel to check out.  This was a great place for our last hostel of the year (and hopefully ever).  It is safe to say we survived the life of hostels, woohoo!  After checking out, Jane and I went to grab a quick bite at Utopia, and headed out around 2 PM.  We had a very long day of travel coming up.  We had to take the train from Interlaken to Bern, Bern to Zurich, then fly from Zurich to Frankfurt, and then Frankfurt to Dublin, and the last leg, bus from Dublin to Cork, arriving at 3 AM.  This is the last time I ever have to do the Dublin bus home to Cork.  I am only taking it two more times: once to go to the airport for our flight to Rome, but Jane and I are staying at a hotel at the night before the flight, so it is not too bad, and lastly, to fly back to AMERICA!  I cannot believe I am talking about American, it is so soon!

This weekend was absolutely amazing.  I have to go back one day!!!!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Taking off!

Hello, world!

<3 Chocolate

GORGEOUS

View on the walk to the second lake.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Saturday was our first full day in Interlaken.  It was a beautiful day, about 50 and sunny.  We could not have asked for more perfect weather.

To start the day, Jane and I decided to go snow shoeing.  Interlaken is a big ski place, and since we do not ski, we decided we would do this instead!  I was really excited to get in the mountains and see some snow, at last.  That may sound crazy, that I want to see snow, because I know everyone at home is so sick of the snow.  I have seen almost none this winter!  The snow shoe tour was incredible.  It was about two hours, and we were led all throughout the mountains.  This was so much harder than I thought it would be, and it was so hot, we were in t-shirts, but it was so much fun.  I felt like I was in a movie.  The scenes were absolutely incredible.

After snow shoeing, Jane and I headed back into town to get some lunch.  We stopped at a cafe to have a sandwich and rest our legs for a little while.  The afternoon was definitely a workout, so we thought we would reward ourselves with the best brownie in the world.  The cafe we ate at, Utopia, is known to have some amazing sweets, and these brownies did not disappoint.  Swiss chocolate is delicious.

Once we refueled, Jane and I walked to one of the two lakes surrounding Interlaken (hence the name).  The one we walked to was Brienz.  It took us about 45 minutes, and it was a very scenic walk.  When we arrived to the lake, Jane and I were in awe.  The mountains, lake, setting sun, oh my goodness, it looked like a painting!  We hung out around the lake for about a half hour, we never wanted to leave.  However, the sun was starting to go down so we wanted to make it back before dark!

When we got back into the town center, Jane and I stopped for some hot chocolate to warm up.  We went to a restaurant the had a front patio, overlooking the alps.  This could not be real life!  I was sitting among the Swiss alps, drinking hot chocolate, after a day of snow shoeing...unbelievable.  After warming up, we headed to the hostel to clean up before dinner and hang out for a little while.  We were wiped out!

At around 8 PM, we headed out for dinner.  We went to this famous restaurant called Hüsi Bierhaus.  They are famous for having lots and lots of different types of beer and great food, a perfect tourist spot.  Jane and I totally pigged out having nachos and pulled pork sandwiches, delicious!

Saturday was an AWESOME day.  Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin  

Top of the world!

I fell down this about five times getting down the mountain.

WOW

Lake Brienz

Walking from the lake! 

We Have Arrived...in Heaven?

Friday was Switzerland day!  Jane and I had a very early morning, we were catching a bus to Dublin at 6 AM to get there at 9:30 AM for our 11:30 AM flight.  I seriously did not miss this bus!  I fell asleep though, so it worked out fine.  I am really getting good at falling asleep anywhere I can put my head down nowadays...

It was a 13 hour day of travel for me and Jane.  We went from Cork to Dublin (bus), Dublin to Zurich (plane), Zurich to Bern (train), Bern to Interlaken (train).  But, this travel was SO worth it.  Interlaken was the most beautiful place I have ever seen.  Also, the long day of travel did not bother me because this was our last weekend trip.  It is so weird to be talking about the "last" of everything.  Our next trip is the big one in April!  Until then, I have lots of visitors coming to Cork to see me!

When Jane and I arrived at our hostel, Balmers, we were very impressed.  This place was very nice, and did all of the activity bookings for us.  Interlaken is a ski and adventure place, so we could not wait to  get out and experience winter (even though it was 50 degrees in Switzerland)!  We booked snow shoeing for Saturday and paragliding for Sunday.  I was really happy with our choice of activities, they seemed like they would be a lot of fun, and some good exercise!

After settling in and cleaning up, Jane and I headed into the town for some dinner.  It was around 8 PM, and the center of town was so quiet.  We stumbled upon a restaurant, Bebbis, which was a scene, to say the least.  The staff was wearing cow print, which I was soon learning cows were a "thing" in Switzerland, the Swiss were obsessed with cows.  Dinner was really good, and what made it even better, chocolate fondue dessert.  YUM!

Jane and I were very tired from the day of travel, so headed back and went to bed.  I was so excited for the weekend!!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

Our view from the train

Fondue time!

Winter Wonderland Awaits

Thursday, AKA one more day until Switzerland!  I have been talking about taking this trip since before coming abroad, and I cannot believe it is finally (almost) here.  At last!!

I had a lot of classes today, which makes Thursdays a major drag.  But, once I was done with the day, it was the weekend.  So, I finally began one of my final papers.  I did not get as far as I wanted to, but hey, I started it!  You've gotta start somewhere, right?  It was a relief to know that I was off to a start, but this motivation did not last very long.  Once classes were over, I organized my apartment and got ready for the weekend.  Jane and I were taking a 6 AM bus to Dublin, getting us there at 9:30, for our 11:30 AM flight.  I have not had to do the bus to Dublin in a while, and I have not missed it.  I have been spoiled going out of Cork these past couple of months!

After I ate dinner and finished packing up for Friday's departure, Jane and I went over to Nicole's apartment.  She had an HC friend, Jenna, visiting for the week.  We wanted to make sure we had the chance to see her before she left on Sunday.  It is always nice seeing Holy Cross kids here in Ireland.  It makes me miss home and remember why I love Holy Cross so much, everyone is so friendly!

Early night for me, I have a long day of travel tomorrow.  Be back after the weekend with lots of stories, I am sure!!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitln

P.S.  I really miss iced coffee, they have not perfected that here in Ireland.  Well, they actually have not perfected coffee much at all.  Dunkin', I cannot wait for our reuniting.

Cloudy day

A BUDDING TREE!!!!

Ready for Interlaken

Wednesdays-- this means I am so close to the weekend, which makes it really hard to get through the day without bend distracted, especially when I have a big weekend ahead of me like this upcoming one!  I was so excited for Switzerland, I could barely concentrate all week!

The day was really quiet.  I was supposed to be writing final papers, but I was doing everything in my power to avoid that.  I even packed for my trip on Friday already, that is so not like me to be that organized!  I know I need to start my sort paper eventually, and starting it is the worst part.  It is even harder to do because this paper will be my first one of the semester, which is never easy to get in to.

I had two classes on Wednesday, Political Sociology and Sociology of the Media.  I do not really mind these classes, so I usually do not skip them.  At HC it would not be a question if I could skip my class or not depending on whether or not I liked it, I always had to go to them.  I am not going to lie, I sort of miss real school (I will kick myself for saying that in six months when I am back at HC).  I also do not mind attending my Wednesday classes because they force me to go to the gym at some point during the day!  The gym is a little bit of a hike and it is always easier to get the motivation to go when the walk is already halfway done being on campus.

I had a quiet evening just hanging out with my roommates in the apartment.  I was not really feeling too hot, so I was taking it easy.  I needed to rest before my big weekend of winter adventures in Interlaken!  I was SO excited!!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin  

For all of you back home, this is what grass and flowers looks like, in case you forgot:

Calling Summer

Tuesday was a pretty low-key day in Cork.  It was another beautiful day, however.  There have been less and less rainy days as the weeks go on, which as been great!

I went to my morning class, Folklore, and then to the gym after that.  Hopefully I can get my final paper done for this class in the next week!  It is crazy to be thinking of the end already.  Holy Cross is only on Spring Break and I am doing final papers, I cannot get over it.  After the gym, I came home, had some lunch, and got organized for the day.  I had to do a little grocery shopping, but not much because I was leaving again on Friday for the weekend to go to Switzerland.  Jane and I walked into town to go to the English Market and walk around for al title bit.  After our grocery shopping and wandering the English Market, Jane and I went to O'Conaill's.  For the first time EVER I did not get hot chocolate, I had a latte.  I felt like I was sinning or something! 

Jane and I went back to our apartments and parted ways for a little while to get some work done before our evening class at 6.  This 6 PM class is so hard to muster up the motivation to go to because I always forget that I have it.  It is my Science in Society class, but I have to go because I need to fulfill my science credit before going back to HC (I refuse to take a science there)!  When we walked to class, it was still SO light out.  This was such a nice change, and means that the warmer months are upon us and I cannot wait!

It was a great day.  Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

Latte from O'Conaill's

English Market!

So much sun <3

Channeling summer foods.

This is at 6 PM!!!