Weekend #2 Adventures

It has been quite a busy weekend! Friday night was Mathilda's last night so we all went out to pub for one last hoorah together. We talked to some locals and enjoyed a few pints and then decided to go home a bit early...the locals thought we were crazy for not staying into the wee hours of the night...I guess we just aren't quite to their level yet. On the way back home we were walking up O'Connell street to the taxi cue and Mathilda was telling us how back home she and her friends would go to McDonald's at 3 or 4 in the morning after a night out. Even though there was a McDonald's around I decided to drag her into the next best place...Burger King! We got our Burger King and went home to enjoy. So there we were sitting in the kitchen having a grand time eating Burger King and drinking Coors Light...I am so proud of Mathilda for loving these two things! And I will mention that the chicken sandwich I had from there was 10x better than anytime I have had it in the U.S...anyway, I will miss Mathilda, but she wants me to come visit her in France, so maybe I could arrange a quick weekend getaway...it was a great last night with her though, full of tons of laughter and fun!

Saturday started off by going to a little street festival/show here in Dublin that the women's group was performing at. They have been working for weeks on personal poems so Saturday was the day they finally performed them for a crowd. They had so much fun with it and I was really proud to see them all work through their nerves to share their own personal thoughts and stories. Here are some of the women posing!

I headed straight from the performance to the train station to catch my train to Mullingar because I went to see Emmet Cahill in concert! He is a member of the group Celtic Thunder who (thanks to mom and dad and PBS) I am now a fan of. I'm going to be honest, though...Emmet is my age and is very attractive so that is part of the appeal :) Anyway...Mullingar is a very cute little countryside town that is about 50 miles from Dublin. I stayed at a place called the Maples B&B. It's a cute little place run by an elderly couple who were just absolutely lovely. They welcomed me in right away and made me feel very comfortable. Once I got settled in Terry, the guy, drove me into the town center and showed me where the arts center is that the concert was in. I forgot to take a picture of the B&B so I found one on a website...it's obviously not snowy right now though.

Here is my bedroom I stayed in. It was seriously the comfiest bed I have ever slept in!

So Terry dropped me off and for a couple hours before the concert I just walked around checking out the town. I grabbed a drink in one pub and skyped mom and dad from there! (yes, I was that person). Then I grabbed some dinner and walked around a bit more and finally went to the show.

This made me think of Aunt Pam for whatever reason haha

This is a statue of a guy named Joe Dolan who was a famous singer and entertainer 

Dolan! (my grandma's maiden name for those who don't know)

Fish & Chips for dinner!

A cute little jewelry shop with my niece's name!

And finally...it came time for the concert!

I had the best luck because my seat ended up being exactly front and center!

The concert was great! Emmet has one of the most gorgeous voices I have ever heard! He can sing everything from oldies, musicals, pop, and even opera. I was just in awe during the whole concert, not only because of how gorgeous he is, but because of the mad talent he and all of the musicians have. I have always loved music and wanted to sing or play an instrument so I always really enjoy good musicians. It was a really fun concert and all of the proceeds went to a local hospice, so it was for a good cause! After the show I waited around and got to meet him along with two other members of Celtic Thunder!! They were all incredibly nice gentlemen...unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the actual concert or with the guys. I'm still kicking myself over it...I just felt a little strange being a lone American girl. I didn't want to come across as a crazed fan, but I still should have asked for a photo. Then, they all went to a pub and I really wanted to join, but when I got there it looked like it was in a private suite type area so I didn't go in...I should have just gotten the confidence to go in and chat with them more, but again it was strange being all alone. It was a really good night, though, and I'm glad I went. At least I don't have the regret of not going at all. I got to meet him which was pretty sweet...now I just need to get tickets for the Celtic Thunder concert in Colorado later this year or even better the Celtic Thunder Cruise in November!! *coughChristmasPresentcough*

When I got back to the B&B last night, the lady was still awake and asked me what time I wanted breakfast. We agreed on 8:30 so when I woke up this morning I went downstairs and had a wonderful breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs and some veggies prepared for me along with toast, fruit and yogurt options, and of course...TEA! It feels like the option in Ireland isn't whether you actually want tea or coffee...it's an option of which one you want. 

I booked an early train so I unfortunately did not get to go around Mullingar anymore (an excuse to go back and find Emmet...??) When I got back I caught a bus and went to Phoenix Park to walk around. According to the website the park is over 1700 acres so needless to say I barely covered any of it. I walked around a bit though and it was beautiful. The Dublin Zoo is right there as well so I decided to spend some time there. I must say that the Denver Zoo is much more impressive. The Dublin Zoo is really big and pretty, but there is not a huge selection of animals to look at...I didn't stay very long because I was tired, a little bored, and it was raining a lot on and off. So, now here I am just sitting at home relaxing for the rest of the day. 

I learned tonight that I can actually cook some delicious meals for myself when I don't have my mom to rely on for din din. I made rice with chicken, spinach, broccoli, and green peppers in a mushroom cream sauce...good stuff. The macaroni and cheese I found in a can...not good stuff. I made it for lunch because I've been a bit homesick today and thought mac and cheese would be a good comfort food. It was so disgusting. I will not be buying that again! 

so here are some pictures from the park and the zoo. There were hippos of course which I was happy about and then there was a baby rhino which was so adorable!! I think that's about it for my weekend. I'm trying to do as much as I can over the weekends because my weeks are spent working, so sorry these blog posts get kind of long.