The Land of Siestas

The first weekend of November, a few friends and I went to Madrid, Spain. This was the first trip we booked way back in the beginning of September. At SLU, a lot of students choose to study in Madrid because SLU has their own campus there. It’s easier for them to take classes and is the cheapest study abroad option. A lot of my friends chose to study abroad in Madrid, and I was so pumped to visit them. A few of my other friends studying in Rome came that weekend as well. It was so great to all be reunited again.

The morning of November 4^th, we had to wake at 1 AM to take a 2:15 AM bus to Dublin. Our flight was at 7:20 AM, so with the three-hour bus ride and arriving two hours before our flight left, this was the only bus we could take. Although I only got 2 hours of sleep the night before, I was unable to sleep on the bus ride to Dublin and the plane ride to Madrid. My mom gave me some Benadryl to take on the flight back to Chicago so hopefully that will knock me out when I head back December 19^th. Once we arrived at the airport, we went through security. I hate going through security, especially here. Since, I never check any bags all I have is my carry-on, and I’m always afraid airport security is going to catch me for something like the amount of liquids I have. Well this time they did. They made me throw out my face wash and face lotion. I was so annoyed because this was my final trip before I head home. I carried my face wash and lotion with me to and from both Scotland and London and no one stopped me. And, they both fit in a quart size, airport-approved bag. I told my dad about it when I got back and he told me that stuff like that doesn’t matter. But doesn’t he remember that he was the one who taught me to take care of my things and not be wasteful? But he is right. There are bigger problems to worry about. Needless to say, it’s been four weeks and I have gotten a new bottle of face wash and lotion. I just hope the airport donates all the thrown out bottles of lotion, shampoo, and perfume to a charity or something.

Now I don’t want to scare any of you away, but that was the beginning of my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Okay, I’m being dramatic, but I do love that book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” While on our flight to Madrid we were told by the captain that the Madrid airport was so congested we had to fly around the air until a gate opened up for us. Normally this wouldn’t bother me, but my friends insisted on meeting us at the airport (their flight from Rome came in two hours before ours) and I didn’t want to keep them waiting. By the time we landed and met them, they had been waiting for four hours, and they still greeted me with smiles and hugs. Do I have the best friends or what? Thankfully, one of our friends, Michael Shay, met us at the airport and took us to our hostel. I realized I didn’t need to write both his first and last name but that is how I always refer to him. He is studying in Madrid this semester and is also a physical therapy student. He became our tour guide for the weekend. Although I don’t think he volunteered to do so, rather his girlfriend (who is one of my friends studying in Rome) told him to. He made sure all of us got our metro passes and got to the hostel. This was my first time staying in a hostel because in London we stayed in a hotel and in Scotland we were fortunate enough to stay with Fiona. The hostel was awful, so unclean and overall, just gross. My friends from Rome have been travelling more internationally than we have thus staying in more hostels and they even said this was the worst hostel they ever stayed in. This wouldn’t bother most college students. They would rather save the money on a cheap hostel and spend it on alcohol, but I’m not meant for the 20-year-old college lifestyle. Get me into a nice bed at 10 PM and I’ll be out like a light. At one point during the weekend I even got locked in one of the bathroom stalls. Thankfully someone found me before I started to cry. We spent as much time outside the hostel as possible, which meant we got to see a lot of great things like The Prado Museum (Museo del Prado), Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol (both of these are squares with fountains and buildings all around them), Retiro Park, the Royal Palace, Saint Michael’s Market (Mercado de San Miguel) and Chocolateria San Gines (A place where they sell churros and chocolate sauce. They were scrumptious!) Michael Shay told us that about 500 years ago Catholics would hang meat in their stores to drive Jewish people out of Spain. Talk about exclusivity.

The first night we were there, we decided to go to this bar, El Tigre, which means tiger in Spanish. The bar was so crowded we didn’t stay for more than five minutes. However, when we left the bar, my friend Allie realized her wallet was missing. We went back in to see if she dropped it or anything, but it was gone. While she was in the bar, this man started talking to her, so she thinks that he was distracting her while his friend took her wallet. I felt so bad for her. She was so upset that she decided to go back to the hostel with our other friend and call her parents so they could cancel her credit cards. On our way to another bar, we met up with more of my friends from SLU, and then jumped on the metro. There was a big group of us, probably 20 or so, and the metro was already really crowded so we really needed to squeeze together. Hannah, my friend Danny, his friend Pat and I all jumped into one car. As I got on this woman who was already on the train kept moving wherever I moved and pushing up against me. After about 5 seconds of this, I looked down and realized my purse was open and my wallet was missing. I looked around and saw this man trying to squeeze his way through people away from me. I looked at my friend Danny and yelled, “He took my wallet!” Hannah with her quick reflexes reached for his jacket just to get a hold of him, and then my wallet fell to the floor. I immediately picked it up and maneuvered my way through a few people to stand next to Danny and Pat. I was so shocked! I couldn’t believe my wallet was almost stolen. So for the rest of the night, Hannah and I were on edge. Even though her wallet wasn’t stolen, Hannah felt just as violated as I did. I think both the man and woman were working together to take advantage of students visiting Madrid because after they got off at the next stop two girls from Germany said they tried to do the same thing to them. I guess I’ll never be able to pass as a Spaniard.

That night Hannah and I went home early because A. we were still nervous about the metro ride and B. we had been up for almost 24 hours at that point. My friend Wes, who is also studying abroad in Madrid and fluent in Spanish, got us a taxi back to our hostel. My first day in Madrid put a bad taste in my mouth, but thankfully the next two were better. Michael Shay showed us all around Madrid and took us to some great restaurants that served the best paella. Paella is definitely one of my new favorite foods. Another reason I love Spain: siestas. I took one both on Friday and Saturday. That's the only way people in Spain can stay out so late (We stayed out until 5 AM Saturday night! Aren't you proud of me, Gidge?) That night after a two hour siesta a big group of SLU students went to this club El Capital. It was so much fun! Probably one of my favorite nights abroad! Still, seeing everyone and being with them made me miss SLU. I can’t wait to be reunited with everyone in January!

The weekend may have started off a little rocky but turned out to be really fun! I liked Madrid but am happy I chose to study in Galway. I guess I prefer the small town feel rather than the big city. I can’t believe in exactly three weeks from now I will be on a plane ride home to Chicago. My time here has flown by, but now it’s time to finish my Shakespeare paper! So to quote Shakespeare himself, “Sweets to the sweet, farewell.”

Retiro Park

Puerta del Sol

The Royal Palace

Kate and I at Retiro Park

Hannah and I at Retiro Park

Kate, Danny and I (old friends from Marist, all the way to SLU)

A group of Billikens at El Capital

Home Is Where The Heart Is

The weekend after I was in London, I spent the weekend with my mom’s first cousin and Aunt Anne’s sister, Mary and her family in Dublin. I was really looking forward to seeing Dublin because although I travel in and out of Dublin, I have only seen the airport. Mary and her youngest daughter, Róisín, picked me up from the bus station in Dublin. Mary and Aunt Anne sound and look so much alike. I mean all the Giblin sisters do, but I think Mary and Aunt Anne are the most similar when it comes to looks. When we arrived at the Culligan house, I was greeted by Mary’s son, Tom. He was so polite. He immediately asked me if he could take my bag and coat to my room. I don’t think I have ever experienced that kind of service before. Mary had a delicious dinner made for us, and I was absolutely starving after the three-hour bus ride from Galway. That night, we all just hung out and sat by the fire. My idea of a perfect night. As I have said before, one of the things I miss most about home is sitting in the family room next to the fire. I imagine my mom will have one waiting for me when I get home on December 19^th. She actually said in one of her emails to me, “When you get home I can’t wait to sit in front of the fire with your head on my shoulder and hear about everything.” Three weeks left, Mom, three weeks left. After everyone else went to bed Kate, Mary’s oldest daughter who is 14, and I watched the movie, Temple Grandin. I definitely recommend this movie. I didn’t expect a lot from it never hearing of it before, but it blew me away. It is a true story about a woman with autism. This movie really shows you inside the head of someone with autism. It was incredible!Claire Danes played Temple Grandin, and she was brilliant.

The next day, Kate took me around Dublin. She showed me Grafton Street, Temple Bar, the Molly Malone statue, and Trinity College. People in Ireland walk everywhere. Kate and I took the bus into town, but Kate said she and her friends will usually walk. I was shocked when she said this. I thought the walk to the bus stop was long, but then we had to take a 15-minute bus ride as well. That’s why Kate is so skinny; she walks everywhere: school, her friends’ houses, town, etc. That night we went to mass. I was so excited because at home my family goes to mass on Saturday evenings and ever since I have been here I have only gone on Sunday mornings. It reminded me a lot of home. There were a lot of kids in the congregation, which was nice to see as well. After mass, we came home for dinner and spent another night around the fire. Seriously, I was in my glory this weekend. I wish I could spend every night in Ireland around the fire, all cozy under a warm blanket. Kate and I watched another movie, The Women. We didn’t like this one as much as Temple Grandin, but it was okay. The whole cast was women, never once did we see a man or even a boy. It was pretty interesting.

The next morning Mary’s sister, Kate, picked me up to go up to Northern Ireland for a couple of days. I didn’t want to leave the Culligan’s. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. I felt so at home. Claire and her kids came up that Sunday for Halloween, which was the next day. All the kids were off from school that week for a fall break, so before we left we got to see Claire, Mary Ann, Martha, Fionnán and Kate again. I know Martha was so excited to see Róisín. When I visited Claire a couple months ago, Martha said how much fun Róisín and her had trick-or-treating in Dublin last year. I forgot to mention that whenever someone comes over, whether it’s Claire or Kate, Tom greets them with a hug. How sweet is that? I don’t know any 11-year-old boy that would do that. Cathal, Mary’s 12-year-old son is just as nice and polite and what I hear, quite the soccer player. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in Dublin long enough to see him play, but all the more reason to come back, right? So after many goodbyes, I was off with Kate to see Northern Ireland.

Many of you don’t know this, but Kate is quite the traveler. She went on the Camino de Santiago, a Spanish pilgrimage, for four weeks this past September. Did anyone see the movie, The Way, with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez? Well that’s what the movie is about. I haven’t seen it, but it looks really good. Anyways, Kate has been all over the world! You think all her traveling would make her a very relaxed and confident driver. Not so much. On our way to Northern Ireland, we picked up one of Kate’s friends from Australia, Mike. Mike and Kate have traveled together in Nepal, Spain and Ireland and are great friends. The first thing Mike asked me was, “So what do you think of Kate’s driving?” I had only been in the car with Kate for like 10 minutes, and his question made me really nervous. I came to realize that Kate is just a very cautious and slow driver. Two things I’m sure my mom will appreciate since according to her, I am very “precious cargo.” After a few hours of driving we stopped in County Meath to see a passage tomb, specifically the one in Newgrange. I had never seen a passage tomb before so it was pretty neat because we were able to go inside the tomb and walk all around it. Kate’s style of travel is to just kind of go with the flow. I am a big planner so it was different for me, but I really enjoyed myself. It was much more relaxed and a lot less stressful.

After our tour of Newgrange, we headed even more north toward Giant’s Causeway. For those who don’t know, Giant’s Causeway is an area in the Northeastern part of Northern Ireland in County Antrim. As a result of an ancient volcanic eruption, there are about 40,000 basalt columns that disappear downward toward the sea. I’m just realizing now how hard it is to explain because let’s be honest, who knows what basalt columns are, so look it up online or just check out my pictures below. We actually didn’t make it to the Giant’s Causeway that day (we got a bit lost, I mean, took the scenic route) so we stayed in the small town of Cookstown in County Tyrone. We were off early the next morning to see the Giant’s Causeway. When we reached about 8 miles outside Giant’s Causeway, Kate pulled over and parked the car in a harbor. I didn’t quite know what was going on, but it didn’t take me long to realize we were going to walk the 8 miles to Giant’s Causeway. Yes, I was going to walk the 8 miles in my Northface, jeans, and new Sperry Topsiders. As we started walking, we realized we were going the wrong way. So we turned around and then we walked up and around this hill just to get back to where we started. Finally we started walking along the beach because if we walked along the coast it would take us directly to Giant’s Causeway. However, the beach came to and end, so Kate thought if we went up this hill it would take us to the main road. Needless to say, we ended up in a field of brush that came all the way up to my waist. We were forging our own path because honestly I think we were the first people ever to walk through this area. We then continued to climb over some people’s fence and make our way onto the road. I have never been more excited to see concrete below my feet in my entire life! As we walked the rest of the way to Giant’s Causeway, it began to rain. So we stood on the side of a closed coffee house and waited for it to stop. Once it stopped raining we continued our walk until we reached the small town of Portballintrae. We were all very hungry by this point, so we stopped for lunch. We had been walking for 5 miles, although I think it was longer with all the detours we made. Since it rained, my clothes and shoes were soaking wet, and I was freezing. Kate and Mike were just as wet, but it didn’t bother them in the least bit. I guess I’m just not meant for the outdoors. After lunch, we took a taxi (thank goodness!) back to our car and drove to Giant’s Causeway. I think Mike realized how cold I was and convinced Kate to take a taxi. Thank you, Mike! Now, I realize I'm coming off like I didn't enjoy my time with Kate, but I want you to know that's not true in the least. I had a great time talking with her and Mike about their travels, I just realized on this trip that I am not an outdoorsy person. I'd rather spend my day inside, probably cleaning out a closet or something like that.

Giant’s Causeway was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it. I am currently campaigning for it to be included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. The rock formations are so unique, and the way the waves hit them are breathtaking. Hands down, one of my favorite parts of Ireland. After the Giant’s Causeway, we drove back to Galway, and I took one of the best showers I have ever taken. I was still so cold and wet from the Giant’s Causeway that a hot shower was exactly what I needed. After a good night sleep, I got up for my only class the next day and headed back to Loughglynn, where my Aunt Kitty lives. Since all the kids were off from school this week, Mary came down to Loughglynn with Kate, Tom and Róisín. Some of my classes were cancelled for a few different reasons, so it worked out perfectly. That night we celebrated Fionnán’s 4^th birthday. Everyone came to Granny Kitty’s for some delicious cake. I was so happy to see everyone again. Claire and Kitty are so welcoming that I consider Loughglynn home. I wish I could spend all my time there.

The next day we all went to mass for All Soul’s Day, and it was Martha’s first time altar serving.At different points during the mass, the altar server is supposed to ring the bells. Sometimes it can be easy to forget when exactly to ring the bells, but thanks to Granny Kitty there was no problem. The first time Martha was a little late ringing the bells, Granny Kitty shook her rosary beads in the air to get her attention so she knew to ring them. Then every time after that when Martha needed to ring the bells, she got a little reminder from Granny Kitty and her rosary beads. It was so funny because by the end everyone in the church could hear the rosary beads and they knew the bells were coming.

That night, Mary and Kitty took me to see Johnny Kelly, the man who introduced my grandparents over 50 years ago. Sometimes when my grandpa has a few too many drinks, he will say, “God bless Johnny Kelly.” I was so excited when Kitty suggested we go see him. He lives alone now after “his Bridie” died and is so lonely, but he is the one of the kindest and sweetest men ever. Kitty and him pretty much chatted about people I don’t know, but he also told me how he introduced my Nana and Papa. It was so cute! When I get home in December, I am planning on asking my Nana and Papa their memories of that night and videotaping their answers.

Unfortunately, my trip came to an end the next day. I was so sad leaving because I really do feel like home in Loughglynn with Kitty, Claire, Mary and their kids. Next time my Aunt Anne comes to Ireland, I plan on packing myself in her suitcase just so I can see everyone again.Hopefully, within the next three weeks (Do you believe it? That’s all the time I have left here!) I will be able to see them all again!

Well, I guess that’s it! Again, I’m so sorry for not being better at keeping my blog up-to-date, but my last final is a week from Wednesday, so then I will have all the time in the world to update you. That is if I’m not visiting the Aran Islands or my Uncle Mikie and Winifred in the home-house in Cloonshee. So look out for my next few blog entries about my weekends in Madrid, Dingle Co. Kerry (with my Papa’s younger sister Eileen), Auntie Margaret (my Papa’s older sister) and this past weekend with Hannah’s parents in Dublin. Thanks to all of you still reading, and although I have fallen in love with Ireland, specifically Galway, I can’t wait to see you all again soon!

Love, Molly

Newgrange Passage Tomb

The entrance to the passage tomb

Kate and I at Giant's Causeway

Solo picture! I have a lot of these.

Kate and I

Fionnán and his birthday present, a tractor just like his dad's

Kitty and me

Happy Birthday Fionnán!

Tom being silly

Me, Johnny Kelly and Kitty

I am realizing now that I didn't take any pictures while I was visiting Mary and the Culligan's in Dublin. I guess that shows how much fun I was having that I forgot to even take out my camera. I guess they just have to come out to Chicago so you can all meet them :)

Keep Calm and Carry On

Hello everyone! Long time, no talk. Or update for that matter. I am so incredibly sorry for taking so long to update you all. School actually started to require some work. Who would have thought that studying abroad meant you actually needed to study? It’s a lot different here. For the first half of the semester, almost no one does homework, but then for the second half, teachers start dishing out assignment after assignment and you find yourself with six papers to write and four blog entries behind. I know you all have been on the edge of your seat for the past month waiting for me to tell you about London so here it goes.

London was AMAZING! I absolutely loved it. Four days there were just not enough. We arrived on an early Thursday. (We had to leave at 4 AM from Galway and since no buses leave before 8, which would have been too late to make our flight, we had to take a taxi to Shannon Airport.One of my friends suggested taking a bus Wednesday night and sleeping overnight in the airport, and then she saw the glare I was giving her and agreed that Thursday morning was the way to go.) When we got to London, it was only 10 AM, but it felt like 3 in the afternoon. We headed straight to our hotel to drop off our bags. Number 1 reason why I love London: the Tube! The Tube is London’s underground transportation system, and it is amazing. I could have spent the entire four days riding the Tube, getting off at different stops, and navigating my way around the city. It’s like a grownup puzzle. There are so many ways to get from point A to point B, and it was a contest amongst my friends to see who could find the fastest route. I was torn from my will to win and my desire to ride the Tube for as long as possible.

That first day we saw as much as we could from Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. At Trafalgar Square, my friend Amy was meeting one of her friends from home, Zack, who is studying this semester in London. He took us to see the National Gallery, an art museum right on Trafalgar Square. All the museums in London are free. It’s so cool because you can spend an hour or all day in there if you want. As we walked into the museum I heard a voice saying, “Notice on your right the brush strokes. During the 1500’s this style was very unusual which makes this painting worth what it is today.” I looked around for the tour guide giving a very scripted and boring tour to a group of very unfortunate individuals, but the only person I saw was Zack. I didn’t know whether to laugh at the sheer fact that Zack had speech prepared for us or to cry knowing I couldn’t get out of it. Thankfully, we were all very tired from our day of traveling so we only stayed for an hour. We headed back to the hotel, found a nearby restaurant for dinner, and called it a night.

The next day we went to see the London Eye. For those that have never been to London, the London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel, the tallest one in Europe, located right on the River Thames. It overlooks Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and so much more. It is really neat because you can walk all around the passenger capsules, which are made of glass so you can see everything. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who is afraid of heights. Next we took a tour of Wimbledon. My friend, Amy, is a big tennis fan so it was her dream to see Wimbledon.I don’t care too much for tennis, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the tour. Although I have many favorite parts about London, Wimbledon definitely ranks pretty high up. We got to see all the tennis courts and even sat where the players do while being interviewed in the press box after a match. After Wimbledon, we made a stop at King’s Cross Station. For those of you who are not Harry Potter fans like myself, this station is the starting point for the Hogwarts Express. We took advantage of the photo opportunity and took a lot of pictures at Platform 9¾. That night we went to the Broadway show, Jersey Boys. I had already seen it with my family back home, but I never pass up the opportunity to see a Broadway play. It was just as good as the one in Chicago, but toward the end of the play, after the actors were getting more and more tired, you could hear their British accents coming through. It was quite comical actually.

The next day, we went to Notting Hill (Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, anyone?). There is a famous market there on Portobello Road. It had so many cute things. I also bought part of my sister Bridget’s Christmas present there. Don’t try to weasel it out of me, Bridge. I’m keeping it a surprise. Later in the day we went to Tower Bridge, the very popular bridge in London. It was so extravagant! Before we crossed the bridge, Hannah spotted two men being interviewed, and one of them had on a Comcast Sportsnet jacket. Later, we realized that it was Anthony Adams, a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears, being interviewed before the game on Sunday.(Actually, we had no idea who Anthony Adams was before this, but we got a picture with him!)In honor of the English Shakespeare class we are taking in Ireland, we thought it would be appropriate to see the Globe Theater. Now it isn’t the actual Globe Theater, just a replica of the first one. It was interesting to see what it would have been like to watch one of Shakespeare’s plays in 16^th and 17^th centuries. In honor of the Olympic games next summer, the Globe Theater is putting on every single one of Shakespeare’s plays. They have theater groups coming from all over the world to perform. There is even a group coming from Chicago. Way to represent Chi-city!

The next day we went to Tower of London. This is not to be confused with Tower Bridge or London Bridge; however, Tower of London is right between both of these bridges. Instead Tower of London is a historic castle, also known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress. It is filled with a bunch of different historical pieces like the suits of armor former kings have worn and the Crown Jewels of all the previous kings and queens. The Crown Jewels was my favorite part. There are even the jewels the Queen wears to open Parliament every year. After our tour of the Tower of London, we were off to my favorite part of the weekend, the Bears game! I was so excited to see my beloved Chicago Bears play. Sunday afternoon football games is one of the things I miss most about home, after my family, friends, and Giordano’s pizza.There are so many American football fans in England. I have never seen so many NFL jerseys, and not just Bears and Buccaneers jerseys either. I saw Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles, Raiders, Rams and Titans jerseys too. You name a team and someone was wearing their jersey. It was like a football rainbow with the sea of colors surrounding Wembley Stadium. The game was so much fun! We had the best time, although a lot of mine was spent explaining to the Brits around me what was going on. The Bears made us proud and pulled out a win! Leaving the game, I came to realize I have only been to two Bears games, one in London and the other at Lambeau field.Don’t worry Soldier Field. We will meet one day. Christmas present, Mom? That night, since some of my (insert here: an adjective for “cheap” that only my hilarious Uncle John could come up with) friends didn’t want to spend money on a hotel for another night, I had the pleasure of spending my first (and last) night in an airport. Needless to say, I spent the entire next day catching up on my sleep.

Well, I guess that’s all I have for you right now. I apologize for waiting so long to update you. I think my dad is the only one who appreciates my effort to make good grades. Every time I talk to him the first thing he asks me is, “How is school? How are your classes? Are they going alright?” After reassuring him that school and classes are going well, I would ask if he has read my blog (obviously I haven’t asked him this in the past month since I haven’t written anything, but when I would ask him before that) and he always says, “It’s on my to-do list.” Maybe if I wrote a blog entry on how my classes are going he might read it. Then on the other hand, I would probably lose the interest of the rest of you, so I’ll keep thinking of something that might interest both you and him. I will try tomorrow to write about my week in Dublin, Northern Ireland and Roscommon, but don’t be upset if you don’t get to read about that one until early next week. Anyways, thanks to all of you who have stuck with me this far. I can’t believe I only have a month left here. Talk to you all soon!

Love, Molly

Amy, Hannah and I watching the Bears pull off a W

Hannah and I outside Wembley Stadium

Hannah, me, Anthony Adams and Allie (notice Tower Bridge in the background)

Hannah and I at Portobello Market in Notting Hill

Off to Hogwarts

Wimbledon

The view of London from the London Eye

The National Gallery

Just got off the phone with the queen, no big deal

Hannah and I outside Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Amy and I outside Big Ben and Parliament