Ireland!!! We are headed for Cork, Ireland for a few days with the new CSB/SJU study abroad students.

1/1 - We got to Stansted Airport via city bus and train. Once we got there we found a nice little cubby under an information kiosk to sleep in. We squeezed in and fell asleep.

2/1 - We got up around 4:30 am to check in. While we were in line we ran into a girl that had been in Laura's early start archaeology class in Cork earlier in the fall. We had Starbuck's gingerbread lattes for breakfast and headed towards the gap where I took a nap on the nice chairs. I think we sat on the plane on the ground longer than we were actually in the air. The sunrise from the plane was amazing! I also got to see the coast of Ireland and Cork from above! At the airport I was issued a tourist visa (2 stamps) until the 5th. When we got into town we headed towards the Leeside Apartments where the study abroad kids were staying. We got settled in, went grocery shopping, and had crepes with nutella, raspberries, and custard for breakfast, yummy! After a second trip to Tesco for food for full Irish breakfast tomorrow, I took a little nap since I really hadn't slept that much the night before. For dinner we went to Supermac's, the Irish McDonald's, which was really really good! Then for a quick stroll around town. We all gathered around a laptop to watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days before heading to the Franciscan Well Brewery & Pub just across the River Lee from the apartment building. One of the guys on study abroad was also from Maple Grove so we got chatting for a while. Our final stop for the night was An Brog one of the four pubs/bars in Cork that are open past 11pm. We had this amazing pear cider and I got into a pint drinking contest with an English ice hockey player. I drank an entire pint of Murphy's stout (similar to Guiness) in one go! Note to anyone out there, if you drink an entire pint of stout in one go (i.e. less than 30 seconds) you'll be drunk within 15 minutes, even if it's the only thing you've had to drink that night. What an amazing first day in Ireland.

3/1 - The day started with full Irish breakfast: black and white pudding, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, beans, eggs, and toast. Then we were off to Blarney. I was going to kiss the Blarney Stone! We wandered around the village first, then on to the castle. We went around the grounds first taking in the wonderful greenery and climbing trees. The castle itself was pretty well conserved considering how old it is and what style it is. The Blarney Stone is on the roof. You lay on your back, grab the bars, pull yourself over the edge of the castle and pucker up. So if you though I talked a lot before, just you wait, cause now I have the gift of gab! After the fact I looked down and it's a long way down!!! Laura was my official photographer, so I have all of this documented. After the castle we went to the Blarney Woolin Mills before heading back into Cork. In town we went down one of the main shopping streets, Oliver Plunkett Street, before going to the tourist office, cheesy but good. We ended up in the internet cafe for awhile before running into someone else from CSB on the street. She had done study abroad the year before and was back on her own for another semester. We had a quiet night in after all that fresh Irish air and excitement.

4/1 - Grand tour of Cork today. We went past St. Francis Church, Cork Courthouse, many pubs, Beamish Brewery, River Lee, Fosters being brewed in Ireland (weird to anyone else?,) Elizabeth Fort, the oldest pub in Cork and possibly Ireland, St. Finnbarr's Cathedral, Grand Parade, English Market, Oliver Plunkett Street, St. Patrick's Street, an art gallery, doughnuts, Cafe Depeche, University College Cork (UCC) campus including the Quad and Chapel, and then we hiked up to the Music Building which boasts the best view of Cork. That night we went to An Spailpin Fanac to finish my tour of Irish stouts with Beamish; I also had a Balmer's Irish Cider there. After that we went to the Old Oak, which is a really cool bar with good craic = Irish for good atmosphere. On to An Brog where we didn't last long and headed home just after midnight.

5/1 - Laura left for America at 6:30 this morning! I spent the day packing and getting ready for my trip back to London. Terril and I went on a hike to The Lough which Laura had recommended to us. The Lough was really pretty with tons of birds, it's a nice park inside of the city. I'm always a fan of greenery inside cities, otherwise you get too land and building locked. It was raining pretty bad, so when we got home all my stuff went onto the radiator to dry before my flight, I even used a hair dryer on my jeans they were that wet! By the time I walked to the bus station, took the bus to Cork Airport, checked-in, flew to Gatwick, got my baggage, took the train into London, and then the bus back to BUNAC, it took me 7 hours to get home! When I got home no one was up, weird. Chris came home not too much later cause he'd been at the Celebrity Big Brother launch.