Sorry it has taken me so long to update on my FANTASTIC WEEKEND!
Like I said in my last post, I celebrated Valentine's Day (which was spectacular) :). Then this past weekend I went on a school trip to the Ring of Kerry.
Now for those of you who do not know what the Ring of Kerry is; It is on the west coast of Ireland in County Kerry. It is the coast line and a tourist's Dream. It a trail that takes you along the coast to see beautiful landscapes that you would not be able to see any where else in Ireland.
We left Friday afternoon to start off the journey. The best part was that it was only 2 1/2 hours away from Cork! Short travel times makes Sara a happy person :)
On friday, we stopped off at the Kerry Bog village, which was pretty much a replication of a bog village that would have existed in the 1800s. It was really neat to be able to see how they would have lived.
After that we got to the Ring of Kerry Hotel (really nice) and had our first homemade dinner. *disclaimer: every meal was homemade and ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!* The desserts were even better :) That night was filled with Irish dancing and traveling to a local pub, great way to end the night!
Then on saturday we ventured out to Valentia Island and saw Cliffs, a Dairy farm and went to where the transcontinental cable (the one that connected Europe with the US) was established. It was an exhausting day filled with beautiful sites and a lot of walking. We also saw a ring fort (I nerded out). That night we had another delicious dinner, followed by a Gaelic football demonstration and trivia at the bar in the lobby. Saturday overall was a really solid day :)
On sunday, we had breakfast and left the hotel. We finished the Ring of Kerry tour and then made our way back to cork. However along the way we stopped at these little places to take pictures. There was this one place that took my breath away. *we had perfect weather the entire weekend, which NEVER happens*. We got off the bus and automatically I see the ocean, a beach, cliffs, and islands in the background. Then I turn around and I see mountains, fields of grass AND a rainbow. Then it starts to drizzle. That will be the only time in my life that, that will EVER happen to me again, to be able to see and experience all of that in a matter of minutes. It was an amazing feeling and I am so lucky to have experienced it.
Needless to say my weekend was absolutely amazing. I seriously recommend going if you ever visit Ireland (which everyone should).
After that weekend, nothing could compare, so this week has been pretty boring so far.
Monday was the usual.
Tuesday was FAT TUESDAY! However, in Ireland it's called Pancake Day. I think I can live with that ;) I splurged on pancakes and brownies...I felt sick this morning, but at the time it was delicious :)
The rest of the week will be relaxing and just preparing the rest of my travel plans for the last 3 months!
I cannot believe I only have 4 more weeks of classes and 3 more months left. Time is flying by!
Gotta take advantage of it now!
xo
Sara Leslie
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Love is in the Air ♥
Hello all!
Well it's been quite the week. Actually not really...it's been pretty boring.
Monday through thursday was the usual. Class and hanging out (I just recently got Netflix...it's AMAZING!) I'm addicted now :)
On Friday, however, My friend and I went to go see the Vow. What a great romantic movie! It was a tear jerker! A great way to start off the weekend and a couple days before.....VALENTINE'S DAY! After the movie, we went to a pub and hung out for a bit with some other americans that we knew and then called it a night.
Saturday = BEST. DAY. EVER. wanna know why?? because I stayed in bed ALLLLLL DAYYYY LONGGGGG. It was marvelous. I've never had one of those days and it was just what I needed, and what my knee needed. I watched movies and typed up notes. It was a great day.
Sunday was nothing different, went grocery shopping etc. Same ole sunday.
Today. For the first time since the first week I've been here, me knee didn't KILL my while dancing. It was a great feeling. I can feel the improvement and hopefully it stays like this!
Now, tomorrow is...VALENTINE'S DAY (if you couldn't tell, I LOVE valentine's day...actually I love ALL holidays :) ) But valentine's day especially because it is an excuse to eat chocolate, indulge and spend time with the one you love. Now even though the boyfriend isn't here, that doesn't mean i'm not going to celebrate! My girl friends and I are going to go get hot cocoa from the amazing chocolate place I stated in a previous post and then we are going to go out for some drinks later that night! I'm so excited. I love pink, red, flowers, chocolate, romance, and luckily it is all put into one day :)
I hope all of you have a romantic and special Valentine's Day, even if it is with your family, or with yourself (make is special with some wine, and a nice movie ;) )
xo
Sara Leslie
Well it's been quite the week. Actually not really...it's been pretty boring.
Monday through thursday was the usual. Class and hanging out (I just recently got Netflix...it's AMAZING!) I'm addicted now :)
On Friday, however, My friend and I went to go see the Vow. What a great romantic movie! It was a tear jerker! A great way to start off the weekend and a couple days before.....VALENTINE'S DAY! After the movie, we went to a pub and hung out for a bit with some other americans that we knew and then called it a night.
Saturday = BEST. DAY. EVER. wanna know why?? because I stayed in bed ALLLLLL DAYYYY LONGGGGG. It was marvelous. I've never had one of those days and it was just what I needed, and what my knee needed. I watched movies and typed up notes. It was a great day.
Sunday was nothing different, went grocery shopping etc. Same ole sunday.
Today. For the first time since the first week I've been here, me knee didn't KILL my while dancing. It was a great feeling. I can feel the improvement and hopefully it stays like this!
Now, tomorrow is...VALENTINE'S DAY (if you couldn't tell, I LOVE valentine's day...actually I love ALL holidays :) ) But valentine's day especially because it is an excuse to eat chocolate, indulge and spend time with the one you love. Now even though the boyfriend isn't here, that doesn't mean i'm not going to celebrate! My girl friends and I are going to go get hot cocoa from the amazing chocolate place I stated in a previous post and then we are going to go out for some drinks later that night! I'm so excited. I love pink, red, flowers, chocolate, romance, and luckily it is all put into one day :)
I hope all of you have a romantic and special Valentine's Day, even if it is with your family, or with yourself (make is special with some wine, and a nice movie ;) )
xo
Sara Leslie
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
PiCtUrEs!
Yea I know, I'm silly. DEAL.
Anyway, this post is merely to show people, who do not have a Facebook, what I have been up to via pictures :)
So here is my Flikr URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saras-adventures/
ENJOY! if the link doesn't work, or you cannot see the pictures, please let me know via comment below :)
xoxo
Sara Leslie
Anyway, this post is merely to show people, who do not have a Facebook, what I have been up to via pictures :)
So here is my Flikr URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saras-adventures/
ENJOY! if the link doesn't work, or you cannot see the pictures, please let me know via comment below :)
xoxo
Sara Leslie
Monday, February 6, 2012
Du Du Dublin.
Instead of going through me week...since it is usually pretty much the same (boring and filled with class), I will just talk about my amazing weekend in...DUBLIN!
So we left on Friday. We took the 10 am bus to get us there by 2:25--Perfect timing :)
Once we got there, we got to our (wait for it) HOTEL. Yes, we stayed at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Be jealous. It was like staying in the fanciest part of the Titanic. Absolutely gorgeous.
We got to the lobby and found out that they upgraded us to a suite! It was stunning (I promise I will upload my pictures onto my flickr soon). After checking in and getting to our room, we decided to get some tea (in the TEA ROOM, because it's a famous tea room) and chill before we head out for dinner with one of my old high school teachers. We met up with her and then went to Temple bar (the street) to have dinner. We went to this place called Boxty? It was amazing and had delicious traditional Irish food. Sooooo filling and good. After that we met up with Taylor's friend and went to a couple pubs before calling it a night.
Saturday was filled with touristy things and LOTS of walking. First, we went to *starbucks*...I have that in stars because they don't have one in Cork and I was really excited to have some. Don't hate. Anyway, after that, we featured to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Now let me tell you, I am not that religious, but walking into this historic and jaw-droppingly beautiful cathedral got me thinking and I actually was praying whilst inside. It was very spiritual and for me (being an archaeology major) it was just divine. After St. Pat's, we walked past Christ's Church and then went to Dublin Castle. We went on a guided tour of Dublin castle which was awesome. We learned a lot about the old and new parts and the fact that my family, the Fitzpatrick Clan, was a part of the Order of St. Patrick's, which is a very high honor.
After Dublin Castle, we moseyed on over to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells and the Trinity Library. I felt like I was in Beauty and the Beast! I snuck some pictures ;) Absolutely stunning. So many ancient texts and *drool* it was spectacular. After Trinity, we walked around some more and found...THE DISNEY STORE! It was the only one in Ireland and it was right down the street from our hotel. It was a sign and I was in heaven. I felt like a little kid again :)
After that adventure, we went back to the hotel and got ready for the night. We went out to dinner at this little restaurant and had a delicious and filling meal. After that...we were *still* hungry so we got some gelato (delicious) and walked to Temple Bar (the actual Bar). We stayed here the rest of the night and had some interesting conversations with some locals that bought us umpteen amounts of Guinness. I was a happy girl :)
Around midnight, we were all pretty tired and decided to go back to the Hotel and sleep in the comfiest beds ever.
Sunday came and reality set in. We got up early though, had our *free* continental breakfast. I GORGED my face with pastries and oatmeal and fruit and then we went shopping. Walking around Grafton street (rodeo drive of Dublin) was a dream. They had Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc. It was a dream :) Luckily I will be back, so I can see all of this again.
Once we were done shopping we went back to the Hotel to pick up our bags...Unfortunately it was at the same time that the Irish Rugby team was leaving (oh, did I not mention that they were staying in the same Hotel as us? ;) tehehe) It was a huge deal and everyone was waiting outside to cheer them on!
Unfortunately we could not stay and had to book it to the bus station to catch out bus that was at 2 pm. We got there with 20 mins to spare and then headed home.
Once I got back to my room, the first thing I did was go on my computer...seeing as I didn't have it the entire weekend (I know, shocker). I missed it so much :( haha
Later my friend and I went to a Super Bowl party...it was lame so we left, got chips and I went back to my room. Boring ending to an absolutely amazing weekend that was a once in a life time experience.
Being in Dublin and staying in that hotel has had me thinking about my life and how truly grateful and thankful I am for my family and how wonderful my life is. I do not know what I would do without my family.
I was humbled by the experience and Thankful for the much needed vacation.
I hope you all had less exciting weekends, so that you can live vicariously through mine :)
Until next weekend!
xoxo
Sara Leslie
So we left on Friday. We took the 10 am bus to get us there by 2:25--Perfect timing :)
Once we got there, we got to our (wait for it) HOTEL. Yes, we stayed at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Be jealous. It was like staying in the fanciest part of the Titanic. Absolutely gorgeous.
We got to the lobby and found out that they upgraded us to a suite! It was stunning (I promise I will upload my pictures onto my flickr soon). After checking in and getting to our room, we decided to get some tea (in the TEA ROOM, because it's a famous tea room) and chill before we head out for dinner with one of my old high school teachers. We met up with her and then went to Temple bar (the street) to have dinner. We went to this place called Boxty? It was amazing and had delicious traditional Irish food. Sooooo filling and good. After that we met up with Taylor's friend and went to a couple pubs before calling it a night.
Saturday was filled with touristy things and LOTS of walking. First, we went to *starbucks*...I have that in stars because they don't have one in Cork and I was really excited to have some. Don't hate. Anyway, after that, we featured to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Now let me tell you, I am not that religious, but walking into this historic and jaw-droppingly beautiful cathedral got me thinking and I actually was praying whilst inside. It was very spiritual and for me (being an archaeology major) it was just divine. After St. Pat's, we walked past Christ's Church and then went to Dublin Castle. We went on a guided tour of Dublin castle which was awesome. We learned a lot about the old and new parts and the fact that my family, the Fitzpatrick Clan, was a part of the Order of St. Patrick's, which is a very high honor.
After Dublin Castle, we moseyed on over to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells and the Trinity Library. I felt like I was in Beauty and the Beast! I snuck some pictures ;) Absolutely stunning. So many ancient texts and *drool* it was spectacular. After Trinity, we walked around some more and found...THE DISNEY STORE! It was the only one in Ireland and it was right down the street from our hotel. It was a sign and I was in heaven. I felt like a little kid again :)
After that adventure, we went back to the hotel and got ready for the night. We went out to dinner at this little restaurant and had a delicious and filling meal. After that...we were *still* hungry so we got some gelato (delicious) and walked to Temple Bar (the actual Bar). We stayed here the rest of the night and had some interesting conversations with some locals that bought us umpteen amounts of Guinness. I was a happy girl :)
Around midnight, we were all pretty tired and decided to go back to the Hotel and sleep in the comfiest beds ever.
Sunday came and reality set in. We got up early though, had our *free* continental breakfast. I GORGED my face with pastries and oatmeal and fruit and then we went shopping. Walking around Grafton street (rodeo drive of Dublin) was a dream. They had Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc. It was a dream :) Luckily I will be back, so I can see all of this again.
Once we were done shopping we went back to the Hotel to pick up our bags...Unfortunately it was at the same time that the Irish Rugby team was leaving (oh, did I not mention that they were staying in the same Hotel as us? ;) tehehe) It was a huge deal and everyone was waiting outside to cheer them on!
Unfortunately we could not stay and had to book it to the bus station to catch out bus that was at 2 pm. We got there with 20 mins to spare and then headed home.
Once I got back to my room, the first thing I did was go on my computer...seeing as I didn't have it the entire weekend (I know, shocker). I missed it so much :( haha
Later my friend and I went to a Super Bowl party...it was lame so we left, got chips and I went back to my room. Boring ending to an absolutely amazing weekend that was a once in a life time experience.
Being in Dublin and staying in that hotel has had me thinking about my life and how truly grateful and thankful I am for my family and how wonderful my life is. I do not know what I would do without my family.
I was humbled by the experience and Thankful for the much needed vacation.
I hope you all had less exciting weekends, so that you can live vicariously through mine :)
Until next weekend!
xoxo
Sara Leslie
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