I Can Almost Taste the Pasta

Friday was travel day to Rome. I could not wait to get there and start my two weeks of exploring. More importantly, I couldn't wait to get there and see my parents and Carolyn! 

Jane and I had a 6:30 AM flight. This meant that we were leaving the hotel at 4:30 AM. Not very fun, but we were almost done with these very early departures. When we landed in Rome, the weather was GORGEOUS.  It had to be 65 degrees and sunny. We had about a half hour drive to our apartment, where my mom and dad were waiting for us. When I saw my dad waiting for us on the street, I was so happy. This was the longest I have ever gone without seeing my parents, three months to the day. I know this does not sound like that long of a time without seeing them, but if you know me, you know that I am such a homebody.  Going abroad was daring for me, even though I saw my mom and dad after only seven weeks last semester. Three months was a huge feat for me! 

Once we settled into the (awesome) apartment, we waited for Carolyn to arrive, and our family friend, Caroline (the one I visited in Copenhagen). After the whole gang got there, the six of us ventured to the Jewish Ghetto for lunch. This was one of Carolyn's favorite neighborhoods for food when she studied in Rome, so I was excited to go there! We went to a restaurant that literally looked like a hole in the wall. But oh my goodness, do not let the looks deceive you. The food was incredible. We had artichokes, pasta, chicken and roasted peppers, more pasta, bread, carbs, and more carbs. Bring on the food, Italy!

We walked all over the city after our feast. Rome was absolutely packed, which was not surprising, it was Easter weekend, after all. We went to the Trevi Fountain (which is under complete restoration currently, so no pics were taken), the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona, Carolyn's favorite cafe, Sant'Eustachio, and a lot of wandering, taking in the sites. I have been to Rome a few times before, however, after eight months of living in Europe, I have a total new appreciation for it. I was falling in love with Italy. 

Later that night, the gang headed to our cousin's house outside of the city. My dad's first cousin, Vito, invited us over for dinner.  It was so great seeing him and the rest of the family.  We never see these family members, or many of my Italian relatives, so this was a great treat. 

So far, day one was perfect. Be back soon (most likely overloaded on carbs--if there is such thing)!

XO,

Caitlin 

                   Jewish Ghetto

             Fam minus Maureen!

 

                       Pantheon

                 Such a nice day!! 

SUBMITTED

Thursday was the day I was leaving for my trip! I cannot believe it was finally here!

My morning was crazy. I needed to hand in all eight of my papers. I was so close to being done with my junior year! I would have one more exam to take when I came back from Italy and Greece and that was it. I went to a few of my classes. Once again, I showed up to one and no one was there. I really do not know what is going on here!  The rest of my day consisted in doing laundry, cleaning my room, and getting organized. I would be gone for two weeks. My mom and dad were already in Italy which made me even more excited! 

Jane and I took a train to Dublin later in the evening. We would be staying at a hotel at the airport for the night. Our flight to Rome was at 6:30. One of the last few early morning flights we would have.  Woo! 

Be back soon, in ROME!

XO,

Caitlin 

   15,000 words, 1 boarding pass later 

      Hot chocolate break at the hotel! 

More Birthdays!

Wednesday was more paper writing. I had to finish up my long one, and then do one more short one. I was so close to the end!

I didn't go to my morning class because I had already written the papers and felt that I could be more productive at home. I tried to go to my afternoon class, but when Jane and I got there, there was no professor. We definitely missed the memo on something!  After class, Jane and I went to a spin class before going home and getting back to work. 

When I came home from spin, Meadhbh and I had a little surprise for Orna. Her birthday was on Easter Sunday, so no one would be around to celebrate. Meadhbh and I thought that it would be nice for us to have a little birthday shindig for her. We got cupcakes and sang happy birthday and gave her some presents! She would be 22 on Sunday!

The rest of my night consisted of work! No fun.

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

               Gloomy day in Cork

              Happy Birthday, Orna!

HC Family Dinner

Tuesday was the day I had to write the longest paper out of the eight assignment I had. This was the day I have been dreading...

I did not go to my morning class, but I did go to my evening class. I thought that I need to maximize my time and I would be more productive if I stayed home and got work done.  My roommates were all working on assignments as well, so thankfully we could relate to one another's misery. Other than work, my afternoon was pretty quiet. I was trying to spend as much time with my roommates as I could. My time with them was starting to become very limited because he end of my semester was in sight. Not something I want to think about!!!

After classes, Shane, our advisor, took all of the HC kids out to Market Lane for dinner. This is a really great restaurant in Cork, so everyone was very excited. There is nothing better than a fancy meal to distract you from finals

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

           My favorite cider in Cork!

                     Steak dinner 

                        Dessert!

Getting Down to Business

Sunday was another day I needed to get back to the books and make some more progress on my papers. I was getting closer and closer to the finish line, an end was in sight!

I slept in a little bit because I was up pretty late working on my papers.  It is so much harder writing papers for UCC than Holy Cross. Professors at UCC provide you with little resources or information surrounding the power topics. At Holy Cross, my professors have always prepared me very well for every assignment I have been given. It is definitely an adjustment here regarding work. It has been nice because I haven't had very much, but I really miss HC a classes (I will be taking that statement back next year when I am drowning in work). Thankfully, I'm almost done wIth UCC classes! 

My afternoon consisted of homework and getting ready for my big trip. Thursday would be my last day in Cork for two weeks! I was so excited to meet up with my family in Italy and then go to Greece with Jane!

Be back soon, hopefully a little further in my work!

XO,

Caitlin 

                 Starting to pack!

Distracted...oops

Monday was my last Monday class at UCC. Crazy that classes are almost over! 

As of Monday, four of my eight papers were done. That sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't. I was putting off the hardest one, and I needed to face reality and get it done! However, that didn't happen on Monday. There is always Tuesday, right??? When I got home from class, I finished my packing. It was going to be very hard to pack for two weeks in my tiny suitcase. I needed to get the packing done with so I had some time to really organize.  I fit everything I wanted, I did not think this was possible! Once I packed, I worked on another assignment for a little while. I was making great progress on this paper, hopefully the motivation would continue!

I went to a spin class later in the evening so I could have a little bit of change in what I was doing. The apartment walls were getting to be a little stale to constantly stare at!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

                       PACKED

            Flowers in bloom at UCC!

Slow Moving

I really had to get down to business on Saturday with my final papers. There was no time left for slacking off!

I slept in a little bit, I really needed to catch up on sleep if I wanted to be productive. It was weird not waking up to Linds on my floor. It was too quiet for me!   Before I sat down to work, I walked into the city to get a coffee. I was really loving the fact that there was a Starbucks in Cork now. At a time like this, a very large coffee was essential, well, large in European standards (I really miss large Dunkins!). I also picked up some salmon at the English Market for dinner. I wanted to make a nice dinner because it gave me an excuse to take a study break at some point in th evening. It was a beautiful day out, so I took advantage of the sunshine and took my time. 

I finally got to work in the afternoon. I had two of my eight papers done at this point. I needed all eight done by Thursday. It was crunch time! I was pretty productive during the afternoon, so I decided to go to a spin class with Jane to clear my mind and have some human interaction. When I came home, I made dinner and got back to work. I needed these papers out of my life!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

                        Sunshine!

           A PACKED English Market

Last Night With Linds

Thursday was Lindsay's last day with me. I did not want her to leave at all. We were having so much fun, and when she left that meant it was time to get to work. 

I went to a few of my Thursday classes. I figured I would skip some so I could spend more time with Linds. After my 10 AM class, I met her at Serendipity for brunch. This is a really cute restaurant right by UCC. I had never been, but Lindsay and Conor went and loved it. It was so delicious. I had Eggs Benedict with spinach. It definitely hit the spot and got me ready to do some work for the afternoon. 

Before going to my last class, Jane and I went to the gym for a quick run. I needed to do something to get my mind off of papers! After science it meant it was the weekend, woo! This would be one of my last weekends in Cork until I leave, now that is scary. Once Jane and I came home, Lindsay, Jane, and I went to La Tana for dinner. We wanted to do something simple and quiet. Lindsay needed to pack and get organized for her trip to Italy, and we were all popped. Dinner was soooo delicious, which is no surprise. I need to go a few more times before I leave!

We had an early night. Be back soon! 

XO,

Caitlin 

             Brunch date with Linds!

                      Pizza time!

Work, Work, Work

Wednesday was an extremely quiet day. This means that finals have begun...

Lindsay and I woke up a little later in the morning. We stayed up on Tuesday night to watch a movie...probably not the best idea considering we had a lot of work to get done the next morning! But, it did not matter too much. We got up, had brunch, and got to work. I had 7/8 papers done, AKA a lot more to do! The only exciting thing that happened to me all day was that I truly perfected the omelette! Woohoo!

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

                   What a beauty 

Hittin' the Books...(ish)

Friday was the day my marathon of guests officially ended. Lindsay was catching a 10 AM bus for the airport. I was not ready to have her go! I would not be seeing her until JULY. That will definitely be the longest she and I have gone without seeing each other!

We did not want to rush to the bus, so Linds and I decided to get up early and take our time walking to the city.  Lindsay had a long ride to the airport so we stopped to find her some breakfast and goodies for the journey. She was traveling to Italy to meet her dad and aunts for Easter. Originally, we thought that we would overlap in Rome, but we would be missing each other by one day!

After I dropped Lindsay off at the bus station, I decided to get a few errands done. I needed a lot of groceries, so I stopped at the English Market and Marks and Spencer. I was in Cork for the weekend, alone, for the first time in what seemed like forever! As much as I loved having guests visit me,  I was excited to do some cooking and get ready for my trip!

On way home from grocery shopping, I stopped at a coffee shop near my apartment that I have been dying to try, Alchemy. I needed some caffeine in order to write my papers! It was a really adorable place. It was a bookstore/coffee shop filled with artwork from local artists. I loved it, and I would definitely go back again!

The rest of my day was filled with papers and getting organized. The homestretch was here! Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

       The bakery FULL of fresh bread!

                       Alchemy!

                  Dinner Creations 

Birthday Continues

Tuesday was back to reality. My birthday was over and I had a lot of final papers to get to!

My afternoon was very boring. Lindsay and I did work for a few hours and I had some classes to go to. I only had two weeks left of classes, I could not believe it! I was really ready to get my work done. I had 8 papers (14,500 words) to do in a week and a half. Once these were done, my year would be almost over, and I would be on my way to Italy to see the family.  I received a little sneak peak gift from the fam for my birthday, it was 21 gifts of all of my favorite things! They're the best :).

After doing work, for what seemed like an eternity, the HC girls, Linds, and I were going out to dinner for my birthday. We were eating at Cafe Mexicana, one of my favorite restaurants in Cork. This was where I took Sarah when she visited, and it was incredible. I thought it would be a fun place to get together with the girls before we all went into finals hiding! We had a great night, and the food was so good (not a shocker).    

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

P.S. I got an internship on Tuesday!!!! I will be working at Tuesday's Children, a nonprofit organization helping those affected by 9/11 and other acts of terrorism. I can't wait for this job to begin and I will be living in NYC!!!

                   My birthday gift! 

                           Dinner!

Twenty-FUN

Usually I hate Mondays, but not this one, it was my 21st birthday!! Finally, the day has come!

I was so excited Lindsay was with me on my birthday. It made it feel more like birthday. This was the first time I would not be with family on my birthday and it definitely felt different. However, Lindsay definitely made Monday feel more like my special day!  I went to class, which was fun because Jane surprised me with a "Happy Birthday" chocolate!  After class, Linds and I had a tea sitting at the Hayfield Manor. This is a very fancy hotel in Cork, so we thought it would be fun to go to for my birthday. There was so much food--sandwiches, baked goods, dessert pastries--it was amazing. When I came home, there was the best surprise. Orna, Meadhbh, Linds, and Jane planned a surprise for me. There were balloons all over the house, presents, cake, all just for me on my birthday. They were all so amazing for making it an awesome day.

Later in the night, the HC girls, Orna, Meadhbh, Linds, and I went out for drinks. We went to the Edison first, which was a really cool bar, and then Crane Lane (a bucket list item).  It was an early night because I knew I had a lot of work to do on Tuesday. This was one of the best birthdays ever, and I am so lucky!  It was an awesome last day before finals crunch time,

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin 

                    Time for tea!

          Linds and me at the Edison.

                    Jane and me!

 

Pancakes, Please

Sunday was a very quiet day. It was just Lindsay and me for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, we did not have any big plans for the week. The both of us had a lot of final papers to work on. 

I was really excited to have Linds with me in Cork. I was feeling like HC a little bit! When we woke up on Sunday morning, we decided we would make a classic American breakfast we both missed, chocolate chip pancakes! The pancake mix in Ireland is more like a crepe mix, so we had a little doctoring up to do. In the end, they were amazing. It definitely hit the spot for our pancake craving!  After we cleaned up the apartment and got organized, we walked into the City Center. I wanted to grab some grinder rolls for dinner. We had a lot of leftover meatballs, so we were going to have sandwiches for dinner (thanks for the idea, Dad!).

We had a very quiet rest of the day. We needed to have a day of nothing before getting to our final papers!

Be back soon! 

XO,

Caitlin 

            Breakfast of champions 

              FaceTimed with Olive! 

Sunny Saturdays

Saturday was Kmac's last day in Ireland. We were planning on having a very relaxed day, just walking around the city. 

Lindsay, Kmac, and I all slept in pretty late. We were pooped from the busy week. After we woke up, the three of us, along with Jane, walked into the City Center. It was an incredible spring day. You could not see a cloud in the sky! When we got to the city, we went to the English Market to have some lunch. Everyone decided to go to the O'Flynn's sausage counter. These are delicious sausages that you can put a variety of different sauces and toppings on. They are always so good. We had a little picnic in the park across the street from the market and enjoyed the sunny day. After eating, we did the Shandon Bells. I haven't done these since Carolyn visited in October! It was a great day for it. I even think I got a little color (much needed). 

Once we finished the Bells, Jane headed home and Kmac and Linds and I stayed in the city. We had some O'Connail's and did a little grocery shopping. I was making a spaghetti dinner with my dad's famous meatballs! Dinner came out really great, and I perfected the meatballs! Julia joined us for dinner and I had not seen her in a while so it was nice to catch up!

We had an early night because Kmac had a very early flight Sunday morning. I think the week was an awesome one for everyone. Be back soon! 

XO,

Caitlin 

       The girls at the Shandon Bells 

                   Dinner Feast!

Wrapping Up

Wow, the week flew by.  Friday was Conor's last day, and Kmac was leaving on Saturday.  We were having such a fun week, I did not want everyone to leave!

I have no classes on Fridays, so I decided I would take the crew to the Liberty Grill.  I will find any excuse to go there for the Egg's Benedict.  It is delicious!! I had their special Egg's Benedict that had a spicy sauce on it, soooo good.  Once we finished breakfast, the four of us walked around for a little but, and then grabbed a taxi to bring us to the train station.  We were going to Cobh for the day!  It was another gorgeous day, so we were very lucky.

When we arrived in Cobh, we walked around for a little while.  We wanted to take in as much sun as we could!  Our first stop in Cobh was the Titanic Experience.  I has never done this here before, so I thought that it would be an interesting activity.  It ended up being really fun.  We were all give boarding passes like we were real passengers (I was the only first class one, woo!).  The Titanic stopped at Cobh as its last stop before departing for the journey.  I never knew this, and it was a really interesting tour.  At the end, we were able to find out if our individual survived or not.  Lindsay, Kmac, and I did , but Conor did not..sorry Conor!  The entire group loved the tour, it was a really fun experience!  We walked around for a little while more, taking lots of pictures of the colorful houses.  Cobh is very much picturesque Ireland.  If you are in Cork, you have to go there.  It is a quick stop and absolutely worth it.

When we got back, everyone just chilled out for a little while.  We were a little sleepy and needed to get more energy for the rest of the night.  I don't think anyone wanted the night to end, it meant the week was almost over!  However, we all mustered up the energy to get moving for the night.  The four of us, plus Jane, were going to Oliver Plunkett for dinner and drinks.  We ended up getting an awesome seat in front of the music, this is rare!  We had so much fun, and there was incredible music.  It was a great way to end an awesome week

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

P.S. I forgot my camera for breakfast and Cobh, oops!

Conor me and Linds at dinner

The whole gang! 

   

A True Starbucks Lover

Thursday was another beautiful day in Cork.  I cannot believe it was already the end of the week.  This week totally flew by.  Conor was leaving on Saturday morning and Kmac was leaving Sunday morning.  I feel like they just got here!

Thursdays are my busy day of classes.  I went to the morning one, and met l up with Lindsay and Conor after.  We headed back to my house to get Kmac and head into the city.  I was going to cook dinner for everyone, so we had to stop at the English Market to get the food.  I was so excited to show them the English Market.  it is one of my favorite places in Cork, and I knew they would love it too!  We walked around for a little while, and decided that we would have chicken for dinner with green beans.  We could not get over how expensive the green beans were, it was crazy!!!  While we were walking around the city, I saw someone with a Starbucks cup.  I know that there is not a Starbucks store in Cork, so this was weird to me.  There had been some tumors that one was coming, but I knew that that was too good to be true.  I deiced I would walk around and see if I could find a store, and believe it or not, A STARBUCKS OPENED IN CORK.  This was huge news.  I missed good coffee, especially iced coffee.  I almost cried tears of joy, and then bought a drink to stop myself.

After my Starbucks stop, I spilt up with the group and went back to the house to go to some more classes.  I wish I could have stayed walking around the city because it was so nice out!  When I got back from classes, everyone met back at my apartment at 7:30ish.  Dinner was in the oven, so we had some appetizers and hung out.  Dinner came out really great, and I think everyone was impressed with my cooking skills!  We later met up with the Holy Cross group and went to the Franciscan Well (which I have heard is making its way to Boston...so many big news stories today!).  Kmac, Lindsay, and Conor all loved the Franciscan.  How could you not?  It is only one of the coolest places in Cork. We ended the night at the Wash, which I had not been to in so long, I missed it.  We had a lot of fun, and I am loving showing everyone some more of my favorite places in Cork.

Be back soon!

XO,

Caitlin

THIS IS REAL LIFE

Kmac and me at the Wash!

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.