meet me at the end of the rainbow...Ireland :): It's been a while...

Well, after a full week of busy work and class my parents came!!! They arrived Saturday Feb. 12th, and surprised me by coming early and just walking into the house. I was so excited to see them, and so was my mom. She was crying! That day we went to Dublin and walked around. I was able to show them places that I knew of. We did some shopping and then ate at a pub. They were pretty much pooped from jet lag, so I let them go back to their room and sleep. The next morning we drove to Kilkenny. I was weird having my dad drive, but he did pretty well. There was only a couple of times that I had to tell him he was getting close to cars or the grass. When we got to Kilkenny, we went to the Kilkenny Castle. That was fun, a lot of history! We ate lunch in a pub and i got my first Fish N Chip! So good, and I don't like fish! We drove back to Greystones and ate at a very fancy restaurant in town call The Hungry Monk. My parents loved the Irish food. On Monday they traveled with the group and I to Glendalough.

Glendalough means a valley of two lakes. It was founded in the 6^th century by St. Kevin. It is a monastery nestled among mountains and lakes. Glendalough was also a beaming community. When we got there, we had a tour and then hiked a mile to the upper lake. We had lunch and then I had to say goodbye to my parents. The group then did the 4 mile hike around the upper lake up on top of the mountain. It was a killer climbing 1057 steps. And the steps were not all at the same time, and it was still all up hill. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. But once we got to the top it was all worth it! It was GORGEOUS! It really made me thank God for his beautiful creation. It started snowing when we were at the top and it was just so fantastic! Then it was all down hill from there. The hike got easier, and it was a well spent time with God.

We came back from that trip with another full week of classes and homework! But once it was the weekend we traveled again. This time to Kilkenny. Lucky for me we went to different places.

On our drive to Kilkenny we stopped at Jerpoint Abbey and St. Canice Cathedral. It was a pretty cool day and spitting rain. At St. Canice Cathedral we climbed one of the oldest round towers. We were able to see all of Kikenny and the Castle at the opposite end of town. We ended that day all going out to a pub for dinner and just enjoying telling each other our first kiss stories. Just imagine 20 people crammed in a hotel room!

The next day we traveled to to the Castle of Cahir. We learned about defense methods that they would use. Then it was time for us to be kids and go explore! We were able to go pretty much all over that castle, it was pretty sweet! For lunch we had a cute little picnic out side the castle. Next was the Rock of Cashel. This is where one of St. Patrick rock is located. It is said that if you jump on one foot around the rock seven time, then you will get married. I should of done it, but I didn't. We went and explored Hore Abbey and Holy Cross Abbey. It was a long trip and a good end to the week!

This past week we have had class and a ton of work to do. We also went to a play called "The Cripple of an Inishmaan." I have been getting a head start on reading and so that has been taking up my time. But its nice to just relax. We have had BEAUTIFUL weather this past couple of days. It's been so sunny and warm! We had a free weekend to do whatever and just have time off. The group has been playing lots of card games and watching movies. It's been great to just hang out with everyone and all be friends, haha.

So far living in Ireland has been great. I am learning a lot about a different culture, and picking up on new sayings. It's grand! I learned that you have to be careful about certain words because the meaning here could be totally different. I have been growing in myself and been able to just have "me" time. I have been spending more time in the word of God, and being able to find him in my everyday life. This week we travel to the North! It should be grand.