Week 12: March Madness and Lockdown Lifting

Roadtrip mood: Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.

"I like this French music" (Emily)

"This is John Denver, bro."

~~~

It's been three months in Ireland now, and I can barely believe how fast the semester is flying by. Reality has yet to fully set in that we have only five weeks remaining in the beautiful Emerald Isle. I owe the faithful few followers of the Adventures Abroad blog a sincere apology for earning a reputation as "the world's biggest slackers- but in a nice way." (Quote: Clay Ramseyer). The woeful lack of regular blog posts in recent months has largely been due to the limited legal activities available, which greatly reduces the eligible content. 

HOWEVER. At long last, lockdown restrictions are slowly lifting! (Bless the Lord, O my soul!) As of April 12th, travel within one's county (and up to 20 km outside it) is officially allowed! Since the University of Limerick spans TWO counties (Limerick and Clare), that substantially increases the legally acceptable bubble and our ability to adventure. 

In celebration of our increased freedom, today's blog post is dedicated to catching readers up on all our recent escapades. 😊

Lough Curra

This beautiful hike was a sunny Saturday adventure spent with two full cars of French friends. In the group of ten, I was the only non-French-speaker, but they graciously spoke English for *most* of the trip, and instructed me with some essential French phrases for the rest. One of the students from UL had a girlfriend who was visiting from France for the week, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet her and hear about her many worldwide experiences and adventures. She speaks five languages and has visited seven countries, making her my present inspiration and future travel companion for our imagined trip to Australia. ;) The highlight of the day was the gorgeous sunshine, a welcome rarity; the lowlight was a massive blister from my boots that left me climbing the countryside in wet socks halfway through the hike. Emily stayed behind to cook a massive mac-and-cheese with Clay- topped with barbequed pork, Iowa-state-fair style.

Exploring with roommate and fellow adventurer Noemie

My newfound friend and future travel companion, Camille

The first non-dessert episode of Cooking with Clay and Emily

Lough Muskry

Foggy at the top

Let's just say the calves were burning after this one. Inspired by the sheep, we decided to pave our own way to the crest of the mountain (hill?). There may have been a panic attack or two about falling down the steep trek, but we pressed on and all made it to the top. Unfortunately, the clouds were surrounding us by this point and though the view was not visible, the feeling of accomplishment was shared by all.

The clouds cleared out for the descent enough to get a decent picture

Noemie's Birthday

Noemie's surprise present 1.0

We had a mid-week celebration for roommate Noemie's birthday! The first birthday surprise was adopting a fish from some neighboring Irish lads. There were two conditions: her name is Marie Antionette, and she can't be returned. Noemie cooked her celebratory dinner (raclettes) and dessert (yes, the candles are in 2 bananas to avoid ruining its appearance). The second (delayed) surprise was the group gift- a UL sweatshirt that arrived a couple weeks later. It was a fun evening celebrating our fun and fun-loving roommate. <3

Birthday bananas dessert

St. Patrick's Day

Breakfast

We started the day right with some green pancakes and Irish coffee (complete with Irish whiskey and Bailey's). The University of Limerick took the day off from classes, so we spent the day in the rare Irish sunshine, celebrating the missionary efforts of St. Patrick to the Emerald Isle. Wish I could remember more...

St. Pat's with the pals

Fondu and Presentation Night

What's a French meal without a pot of cheese and a good history lesson? I always enjoy coming back from training to a table set with friends and food. Apparently, a package from a parent is not complete unless it contains cheese, like the fondu for this meal. Katherine and I are still waiting for our parents to send us cheese... 

Bon appetit!

French history with Hugo

Galway

Excited for departure from the Limerick bus station

Our first attempt at using public transportation outside of Limerick took us to Galway. For anyone not familiar with Ed Sheeran's song, the iconic sea port is the home of his "pretty little Galway girl."

The bus ride went smoothly and the weather miraculously cooperated, making for a pleasant and exciting day out in the city. It was our first view of the ocean- the salty, windy waves did not disappoint!

First ocean view

Spring break: Connemara and the West Coast

Connemara views

At the end of March, the University of Limerick took a much-needed break after 10 weeks of arduous online classes. Our household, along with our French neighbors, road-tripped along the Atlantic Way and stayed overnight at an Air BNB in Connemara National Park. 

Connemara crew

We encountered a plethora of living and dead animals- a dolphin, camel, dog, cows, sheep, and female sperm whale (sexually mature but not physically, according to the friendly informative conservation officer). The best part of the trip was stumbling upon Dog's Bay (apparently Ireland's most beautiful beach) where we encountered the first sun sighting of the week. 

Dog's Bay

Ocean views

Roommate goals

Spring break continued... in Limerick

Reunion on the green

From that point, the sunshine continued: four straight days of sunny weather translated into four straight days of picnics, soccer, volleyball, and card games in front of UL's iconic white house. Seemingly all of our friends from the past 3 months joined at some point, and we were able to catch up and enjoy the remainder of the break together.

Stretching with roommate Maria

Burnt faces, hot friends;)

Easter: brunch with the French

A rare occasion for dressing up

Year two of a non-traditional Easter. Though we didn't attend a big church service or family dinner, we were able to share in the joy of the Resurrection with some dear friends. A couple chickens were roasted, eggs were devilled, and polos appeared for the occasion. 

Devilled eggs and tart soleil

Although these short synopses fall far short of encompassing the last month, they highlight the most notable of our recent adventures. Plenty of missed material to catch up on from past (and upcoming) expeditions! Stayed tuned for *hopefully* more regular future content from our adventures abroad...