Life on the Greener Side: May 2013

Thursday, 9 May 2013

High on Life

Today was the perfect day.
The best day ever.
Today, I had my cake and ate it too, literally.

You know that feeling you get when you wake up without an alarm and you got the best night's sleep? Well that's how I felt. I woke up on the right side of the bed! After a morning workout I showered and Madison and I set off to Dublin. On the way to the bus we paid our donkey friends a little visit just to say hello. Lately, they've been out more often. We made the bus just in time which doesn't always happen because a lot of the time, it is completely off schedule. The weather today was nice enough. It was partly cloudy with some rain but it was about 55 degrees. Also, today was Thursday and Thursdays are always the best days of the week.

Once in town, we decided to grab some paninis at Aroma Cafe. We met up with Kiera and raided Pennys and I found the cutest shoes! Nic, Kiera, Madison and I went to the coolest vintage shop in Temple Bar. They had the cutest tops, hand bags, and scarfs. Shopping in vintage stores is like shopping in your grandma or great grandma's closet when she was as young as you. It's just fabulous.
After today, I just love vintage shops. That's it. While searching for hidden treasures we found a ton of fun sailor hats as well as a Notre Dame sweatshirt! Kind of an odd place to spot that guy....

After Tulteca (the closest thing you could get to Chipotle in Ireland) we found a cute store that my sister would be obsessed with called Avoca. It had everything from tea sets to blankets to baby clothes to books to kitchen utensils to clothes to 2 cafes to a little garden area away from the hustle and bustle of the city, so cute! And we even found... Aunt Jemima pancake mix!! I may go back and buy some just because I miss them from home. Also, I think I may gain a significant amount of weight when I return to America because I miss the food so much... oops.

Anyway, on to bigger and better things. After working hard while trucking our bags through Dublin going from here to there (everything was within a half mile of each other) we stopped at Starbucks because we didn't want to leave but didn't know what else to do. We each got a piece of chocolate cake and ate it all... We had our cake and ate it too... you better believe it.

When heading back to Maynooth the bus came right as we walked up to the stop, which was perfect. When we arrived in our cute little town we call home for these last few weeks, we could not keep the smiles off of our faces! Actually that happened all day. Things could not have been better! We parted and I finished my paper, skyped my girlfriend Lauren, and found out that I have two opportunities for the summer! So, I called my parents and was so happy I felt like I could fly or something. Then Erin, Madison, and I watched a few episodes of my favorite show, Grey's Anatomy, from the beginning. And I realize that I won't see Madison for a while because I think she may be addicted now.
Literally everything today was perfect. I'm so thankful to be here, it's so surreal. All I have to say is, when your cake is sitting in front of you... eat it, before it gets stale.

P.S. Information about the Aran Islands is soon to come.

Another Day in Ireland

As I was waiting to listen to Bastille this morning on YouTube this ad came up.
There's nothing like some good American stereotypes...

McDonald's Great Tastes of America

"You can choose to live your life with the joy of the front row

or solemness of the third row."

Friday, 3 May 2013

Adventures on Adventures

On the 12^th of April Aileen took Madison and I into Dublin for a night full of traditional Irish music. After my first Big Mac we headed to Whelans pub (as seen in P.S. I love you) for the concert. This was my first time going somewhere to listen to trad music since I’ve been in Ireland… shocker. I didn’t know what to expect whatsoever. Maybe that’s the best way to go in though because I think it made it that much better! We each got a pint and a table right in front of the stage. A band named Moxie opened which was a group of young guys about my age. Their music was so fun and upbeat! Then Kan came on and they were amazing! Side note: most of the men in this band were bald. Unfortunately my videos won't upload...

We felt pretty lucky because Dublin was last on their tour and we got to see the last show! I guess as with most concerts hearing the songs live are a thousand times better than hearing it on the radio. With trad music, it is 589325438956230 times better in person. Because we were in a small room, the crowd got so into it and the atmosphere is what made the session that much better. I know Mackelmore prefers to do concerts in smaller venues because of this, and I heard his concerts are awesome so… there you go. After the concert we walked around Temple Bar, always a good idea. In Supermac’s a drunk kid got sick in the corner which was pretty disgusting, then proceeded to get on the bus we were on all the way home to our stop… lovely.

Some fun things I’ve been doing lately…