Bad Blogger

Hey everyone!

Sorry i've been on a hiatus lately. The motivation needed to come back...luckily it HAS! :D

Now to update you all on the last week and a half. During the weeks, nothing really has happened. I go to class, chill in my room, and work out. You know, the usual. The last weekend in February was nothing special. I stayed in my room/apartment most of the time, while also making sure I went out and hung out with my friends.

This past week has been kind of crazy though. It was the beginning of March, which can only mean one thing...ONE MORE MONTH OF CLASSES! I'm in shock about how fast this semester has been going. I literally only have 2 more weeks of class, a week of "studying"...or exams (if you're me), then TWO MONTHS LEFT. It's insane.

But not to get ahead of myself, i'll keep going with this weekend ;)

This weekend I had my last field trip with my Archaeology class. We went to the Rock of Cashel (and other various sites that I won't bore you with). The Rock of Cashel was beautiful and the weather was beautiful as well :)

I'm loving my headband that my sister, molly, got me for christmas! It has come in handy over here with the bi-polar weather :)

After our exhausting field trip, we got back on the bus and had a 2 hour drive back to Cork...which meant only one thing. READING. yes you heard me correctly, I read :) The book for right now is the Hunger Games. I'm trying to finish it before the movie comes out so I can compare. I'm addicted to it right now...if you were to see me reading it yesterday, you would've been shocked. I got through 7 CHAPTERS! I surprised myself even :) But I couldn't put it down. Soooo good! Definitely recommend.

Once I got back to my room, I had dinner and was planning on going out, but unfortunately plans changed and I wound up chilling in my room again. Not an Ideal night, but it happens.

OH I forgot to mention. On friday I made cookies :) Chocolate oatmeal flour less cookies. they. were. AMAZING. Even my friends thought so. They taste like brownies. The recipe made 17. I gave two to my roommate and her boyfriend and then I took a couple...or maybe 5 ;)

well. Today is another day of pounding out this paper so I can finish before tomorrow (and let is sit so I can start my other 1500 word paper :( ) 600 more words to go!

until next time!

xoxo
Sara Leslie

Kerry On

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

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

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

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

Stone circles...and all that jazz

We meet again readers.

This week was the last week in January and i'm still in shock. I've been here for a month exactly (today) and it's going by so fast!
It's incredible how much I have done in the past 4 weeks. I can't believe it. However, this week was a little rough and boring for me.

Monday: same old song and dance (haha). Had dance class and Archaeology. Went grocery shopping and then actually did "homework" aka--> typed up notes for my class.

Tuesday: Today was different. I have been eating so healthy lately that I was CRAVING some hot chocolate. Luckily there is the best hot chocolate place in Cork near us. So my friend megan and I went and it was totally worth it. I had Dark chocolate with soy milk and marshmallows. It was like heaven in my mouth. They make their own chocolate and the way they prepare it is they take the chocolate, melt it, then add the milk (or soy). It was so creamy and delicious. Note for next time though...get the small lol they ALSO give you a side of chocolate chips (milk, dark and white) for a little nibble :) After that delicious adventure, I went to my last class and then out for a little. I came home though to my roommates having a little wine party, so I joined and we had a splendid time.

Wednesday: terrible day. It rained constantly. Fortunately I had one class, so I went to said class. The walked back in the pouring rain and stayed in my room the rest of the night (lie. I went to yoga to calm myself down). Not to mention my knee is still not doing so well...

Thursday: I had my class that meets twice. This class is very interesting, but the professor makes the material sound so dryyyy. It's horrible. But because i'm a good student, I went to the library and read some of the material that he "suggested" (nothing is required here) and now I am ready for next week :). Thursday night I stayed in because of my knee and watched a movie and some TV. It was a chill night, just what I needed. I also skyped with some people (aka my mom ;) and phillip).

Friday: Friday was the best day of the week (it was also phil and my 4 year anniversary) (besides the hot chocolate). I woke up feeling refreshed, went to a work out class from 7:10-8:10 in the morning (yes, you read that correctly. I woke up early to work out.) BOOM, i'm awesome. The class was intense but made me feel amazing. After that I went shopping a little, (knee still feeling like death) then came back, got ready and went out to my favorite pub with my roommates and friend taylor. It was a solid night of irish music and a Jameson and ginger ale :)

Saturday: Yesterday was the day of the field trip for my archaeology class. We left at 9:30, we didn't get back till 5:30. It was a LONG ASS day :( my knee was not kind to me, seeing as we had to walk everywhere. It was gorgeous (besides all the rain.) It was intensely green everywhere we went. We saw bronze age stone circles, a fortified 1616 house, and a castle. It was a dream (archaeology nerd). Unfortunately, it was an hour drive home and me knee seized up. I couldn't walk and had to hobble back to my apartment. I was in so much pain, but luckily I had ice on hand and laid around the rest of the night.

Sunday: This morning was great. I got to sleep in and my knee felt amazing. So me, being the "smart" person I am, went to go work out. AWESOME UPDATE: knee is fine..for now. iced it before, after and took aleve (miracle). I did my grocery shopping today also, because I wanted food annddddd i'll only be here till thursday because...I'M GOING TO DUBLIN NEXT WEEKEND. aw yea, bring on the jealously. But as of right now, I am laying in bed, watching UP and chillin. The typical night for an Irish/American student at UCC. well..my average night.


Sorry if these posts are getting a bit boring. I'll try and make next weeks upbeat (which is will be because i'll be talking about DUBLIN). The more I travel, the more interesting these posts will be. Promise :)


Lots of love,

Sara Leslie

Holla atcha whiskey girllll

Heyooooo

So tis the start of the weekly blogging. HERE WE GO:

Monday: Boring, nothing really happened. I had dance class and archaeology. Then went grocery shopping (much needed). Pretty much chilled in my room, taking care of my leg. It's still not doing so hot.

Tuesday: Again, class...But that night I went out with my friends, had some pints and a jolly good time :)

Wednesday: Bummed around most of the day (I still went to class). I watch movies quite frequently, which helps pass the time :)
ALSO the IT guy came and said that the internet problem I have been having was the same for three other people, and he didn't know how to fix it. So he was coming back on friday to figure it out.--I was NOT happy. On the plus side, I went to my first ZUMBA class here and it was a lot of fun! I'll be getting in shape in no time :)

Thursday: ClassClassClass...(the usual) Went out with friends again, because well...I DON'T HAVE FRIDAY CLASSES.boom.

Friday: alas comes the day that the IT was supposed to come. But before that I did a little walking and such to pass the time and get out of my room. That night the IT guy DIDN'T show up, BUT the warden fixed the problem and now I have..wait for it...INTERNET! yay for ethernet cables :) and it's the fastest internet EVER. not joke. Later that night Taylor and I went a got indian food (delicious) and watched finding nemo back at my place. It was a nice chill night.

Saturday: I will discuss this awesome day down below..

Sunday (today): Went and had a delicious brunch with my friends and then walked around. Tonight is the first spin class (hopefully my knee doesn't get irritated). WOOT


Ok, What you all have been waiting for. SATURDAY, was the day we went to the Jameson distillery. So here starts my whiskey of the month:

When we got there, the next tour wasn't until 1:15 so we had a lot of time to walk around and engulf ourselves within the Jameson gift shop and have a pot of tea :)

The tour itself was delightful, it was very informative and not that boring ;) We started with a 10 min video on the history of the Jameson family and how whiskey originated. Then there was a walking tour of the old whiskey distillery, it was so fascinating being in these 100+ year old buildings. They taught us all about how whiskey is made and how Jameson whiskey is *better* (i'm adding that). After the walking tour was the best part. TASTING!

After the tour he asked for 8 volunteers for tasting three types of whiskey and then you get a free drink :) so, being a Fitzpatrick, I HAD to volunteer ;) My friends and I were the only ones who quickly raised our hands HAHA it was quite funny, I was very excited.

We sat in the bar and in front of us were three types of whiskey. 1. Jameson 2. Scotch 3. Jack Daniels. We went through each one and found their flavor profiles. I personally loved the Jameson because it is kept in barrels that previously held bourbon and sherry for no less than 4 years and then are mixed. It had a sweet scent and was smooth going down. The scotch (second fav.) had smokey undertones due to the barley being dried with peet. It was a little strong though. And then there was jack daniels (not my fav.) It was sweet to the smell, but rough going down. After tasting, we received certificates stating that we are official whiskey tasters. WHAT UP! family reunion--get ready for the professional. We THEN got a free drink, I had a Jameson with ginger ale, new favorite drink :)

After that awesome day, we went out last night to the traditional Irish pub that we went to last friday and listened to an authentic trad band play music. Had a pint and a wonderful night.



Fitzpatrick family--you should be proud.

Well that was my week in a nut shell! Hope you all enjoyed it and my pretentious whiskey talk, more of that to come later!


xoxo
Sara Leslie