Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Although I haven't been out of the country since my AMAZING Ireland/Germany adventure, I have had one pretty big adventure; college.

For the most part, college has been great, not too memorable, but nice. I work on campus at the IT support center, I am doing well in all of my classes. I have made some friends. I play rugby.

But the excitement started on Tuesday, November 23, 2010, when I attempted to come home from Thanksgiving. The original plan was to attend morning classes, and then skip out and drive home, bringing my friend Christian with me, and picking up Holly in Ellensburg along the way. However, I was a little worried about my car, since it had been snowing for a week and was -7 and my car is pretty weak to begin with. So I checked everything the night before; started the engine, ran it for a few, checked my chains and other supplies, and was finally at peace.

Then, on Tuesday morning, right after my 8AM class, I go out to my car to warm up the engine, turn the key, clamp the wires (because about a month before that my car's ignition died and so now I have to hotwire it to start it), and...nothing. No spark, no sound, no movement, nothing. So, like I do with everything else, I panicked. Christian came over and we plugged in my car's engine block heater, waited a few hours, and nothing. We called my father who had said that the engine had frozen. So we spend an hour dumping boiling water over my car's engine, only to have my dad call and tell us to go to the Greyhound station. "The bus leaves at 3:15" "But we were warming up the engine" "I said 'Frozen' as in 'Junkyard Frozen'. It's dead." "Why couldn't you explain that an hour ago? It's -7 here, I though you meant 'COLD FROZEN'" "Oh well, the battery might be dead" "What? Um...ok. I will call you back, dad." Then Christian remembers that he has AAA, so they come out and take a look, where they told us we were hosed. Thanks, Mr. AAA man.

So at about 2:00, Christian and I get a ride from a boy in my dorm to the Greyhound station. It's packed. We get in the ridiculously long line, and pray that the other people here are NOT going to Seattle. They are. After 20 minutes of not moving, and man at the front of the line exclaims how Seattle is sold out and the next available bus is 8:45 AM Wednesday. No thanks! I called Dad, who said to get to the airport ASAP, and that my grandma was buying us the last two seats on the plane as we speak. The man behind us in line, who was very nice and kept saying how this whole scenario was like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, suggested that we all split a cab to the airport. Great! Christian calls for a cab. Moments before the cab pulls up, two women come over and ask if they can get a ride to the airport as well. Sure. Why not? So the 5 of us get in the cab/minivan. And go to the airport. About 10 miles. $5 each. Yeah. Christian and I get to the airport, pass the ungodly TSA, and wait for four and a half hours for our flight, which, thankfully, was the only flight on time. We made it home about 8:30 that night, after a 37 minute, $145 flight home. EEK!

But what about Holly? I was supposed to pick her up in Ellensburg, but obviously that did not happen. So once we realized that we were not going to make it in my little car of death, my father purchased Holly a Greyhound bus ticket online from Ellensburg to Seattle. Phew, that was a close one. So Holly simply called a cab to take her to the station and she was set. That is until the cabbie calls her back, informing her that due to the massive amounts of snow, the Geryhound station was not sending out any more buses that day. Thankfully, however, the cab company offers a shuttle to SeaTac airport, so Holly hopped on the shuttle and made it home by about 7:45. Still, it was one crazy day.

So that is my first great American college adventure. Stay tuned for more. Because believe me, there WILL be more.

The REAL Final Countdown!

OK

My sincerest apologies for a two month delay for my last post about Europe, but the adventures never really stop, and I do not know when I'll have time to share. But I think I can squeeze the last one in right now.

Stardate July 12, 2010-Monday

We gave more presentations in class today. Florian's neighbor Michael came over for about two minutes, and then Flo and I went into Munich. Where we got lost. Trying to find a giant purple bus. After finding our way again, we boarded and took a sightseeing tour of the city. Upon arrival at our final destination, I bought souvenirs and we stopped by the Aston Martin dealership, where I touched three different Aston Martins, averaging €177 000. We then proceeded to Markt Schwaben for the farewell party for the rest of the Americans. Unfortunately, I became ill and missed part of the festivities. However, I am glad that I went because I was fortunate enough to sit in the driver's seat of a running, brand-new Ferrari. (Picture to come!) After the party, Flo and I went home and watched a Bavarian independent film titled Der Schuh Des Manitu, or Manitu's Shoe. It is a parody of American Western Films. It is hilarious. I watched it dubbed over in English, and Flo informed me that it is almost as funny as it is in Bavarian.

Stardate July 13, 2010-Tuesday

Today we went to Neuschwannstein castle, or as my family affectionately calls it, New Swan Pebble. It was a nice two hour car ride on the Autobahn, 180 kph. That's between 100-111 mph. Oh yeah. The castle was a pretty big rip off, though. It's totally cool to go up and see the outside (which is free, jsut pay for parking), but I won't be spending the money to go see the inside again.

I finally had Döner. Which is just a Turkish kebab. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After dinner Flo and I went to the local lake. I hate lakes. I braved it and swam to the pontoon, but it was short lived. After touring the entire sports facility (which was pretty good for a tiny town), we went into the woods where this little creek flows through and creates a HUGE mud pit. It. was. AWESOME.

The evening was spent at Flo's neighbor/girlfriend's house practicing ballroom dancing. Michael and I invented Sumowaltzing, a new ballroom sensation in Germany. Look it up. Oh yeah, Michael plays the saxophone, and has a Selmer. So I was able to actually hold a Selmer. I could have died at peace.

Stardate July 14, 2010-Wednesday

I spent the day at school with Flo. Not too exciting as I understood half of what was giong on. I had a Spezi! It was delicious! However, when Flo opened it for me, the darn thing made the sound of a jet breeching the sound barrier. The whole class burst into laughter. I packed, went out to a nic dinner with both families, ate delicious food that did NOT agree with me yet again, and went to bed. But I could not sleep because of the AWESOMENESS of the lightning storm that was occuring.

Stardate July 15, 2010-Thursday

More airports, more flying by myself. The Munich security system for departures is TERRIBLE. Oh my! Philly wasn't bad. Wasn't good. But it wasn't bad. I watched several movies, Date Night, Alice in Wonderland, the Tooth Fairy, all of these movies I had kinda wanted to see but never had the chance. Well, 9 hours on a plane gave me the chance.

I arrived home safe and sound, and ya'll already know, and one day, maybe, I'll have time to post more of my adventures.

Catherine Hildebrand

Over and Out.

Finally

I am home, safe and sound, and the jet lag is gone. It took a while though, and soon (hopefully) I will finish my tales of Europe.

For now, Peace out!

Sunday in the Park

Sunday morning: I wake up, look at my phone; 7:30. OK, I have half an hour. Forty-five minutes later, Florian knocks on my door. "Catherine!" "I'm up!!!!!" Five seconds later: "SHEISE!" My door opens. "Catherine? Um, I thought it was 8:15, but it's only 7:15" "Really?" I checked my phone; 7:15. Man I'm blind. Or dyslexic. Sure, I'll bame it on dylexia.

We walked to the church and arrived as the 9:00 bells rang. Talk about close timing.

After mass, Flo, his mom, Julia and I went into the city. We began at some really famous fountain that for the life of me I cannot remember the name of, then we walked through Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche and St. Peter's Church. They were nice, but not nearly as beautiful as Salzburg. After we visited the churches we walked to Starbucks (I know, I travel around the word to drink Starbucks). However, while at Starbucks, an amazing thing happened. I looked outside, and across the street was an Aston Martin dealer. Unfortunately, it was closed because it was Sunday. But that didn't stop me from pressing against the glass and getting some pictures for David. =D

Once I recovered from the Aston Martin Experience, we walked to the English gardens, where people were surfing in a river! One of the strangest and coolest things I have ever seen! But we moved along to a spot where everybody swims in the river. Clothing: optional. Scariest sh*t of my life. AND, the water was FREEZING!

We ended the evening with a lovely dinner at home, topped with visits from Flo's neighbor/gf and Julia's friend Natalie. They are both very nice.

I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS!

Right now, there is plenty of thunder and lightning, and I am loving it! So for now I say Goodnight, and I will see you all on the other side.


All my love,
Catherine

Shönes Wochenende!

Friday night, the group took the train to Therme Erding, a naturally heated water park. It is situated atop a natural hot spring, such as in Yellowstone. It was SO COOL! There were a doyen waterslides, and a giant pool with a cave and a bridge and it went outdoors and indoors, several diffent temperatures and types of hot tubs, like sulfur and salt, and even a tanning deck for women only! It was amazing!

After 3 hours there, I went home to Rebecca's house, grabbed my stuff, and moved.

I am now staying with Florian, his mother, and his two sisters, Julia and Luise.

Now for Saturday.

We woke up REALLY early to catch the 645 train to Austria. I was surprised to find out that nobody but me brought their passport with them. Hmm...

First we went to the salt mines. That was nice and cold. And as terrified I am of caves and the like, I was relieved by the temperature. But that didn't stop me from being teerrified of the cave. What was even more terrifying was the 30 metre slides throughout the cave. I have one helluva picture to put up as soon as I am back in the U.S. Best €5 I have ever spent.

Salzburg itself was exhausting. Mobini had us walk up this HUGE hillside to see this castle that we couldn't afford to look at. So we made it to the top, turned around, and came back down. Thanks, buddy.

The churches in Salzburg were the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. They blow the one in Galway out of the water.

Saturday night was a blast. Most of the group went to Summer Vibes, or summer wibes as the Germans pronounce it. It is a fundraising party put on by the high school for anyone in the community 16 and up. It was basically a big dance in a barn. But I had a lot of fun. Nobody was dancing at first, and I wanted to, but no one would dance with me. Then Konrad came over and asked us to dance with him. So I did. We kicked it off...but it took about 45 minutes. But that's OK! Everyone at the party could tell I was American. Apparently we dance weird, but everyone seemed to like it.

My last night!

It's my last night in Germany. I will miss everyone dearly, but I cannot wait to go home!

More school...in Summer

Thursday at school we gave more presentations. It was just as exciting as the first day. One teacher told us that we forgot to talk about Hempfest. We stood there and uncomfortably told him that we weren't supposed to talk about that, and Mobini didn't even know that Seattle had a Hempfest. It was hilarious.

After school, Mrs. Knoblich did my laundry, which was super nice of her, and then Rebecca and I went to a BBQ, or GrillParty as they call it here. It was nice getting to know everyone better. We didn't get home until 11:30 again, and I was exhausted.

Then on Friday I was finally supposed to shadow Rebecca around school, but Mobini informed us (those of us that went to school..some when to a Sporting thing) that we were going to meet the Bergemeister, or mayor, of Markt Schwaben. OK! he gave us yo-yos, which was funny because when he handed them to us he said, "Um here we call these YO YOS". We just laughed.

More to come later, but for now, we dance!

School in Summer

I got up at 7:00 to go to school. In summer. Gah. But I was excited to see what the German school system was like. As it turns out, I didn't shadow anyone, but the Americans gave presentations to classes about American culture and whatnot. I didn't make one, so I didn't have to do one, but by the end of the day I was helping JeanMarie and Sarah with theirs. After one presentation, we taught these sixth graders the TRUCKIN' cheer. They loved it. The video is on the other blog. woo.
After presentations, rebecca had PE so I went with Florian to Spanish, where we watched the Legend of Zorro in Spanish. But that was ok, there were Spanish subtitles, so I still had no idea what was going on.

Later on, in the hallway, a group of children weer walking past, and while doing so , they were singing the TRUCKIN' cheer. LOL
Mobini puts on this stupid accent when he talks to the Germans. It's weird, and the Germans even notice it.
After school Rebecca and I went home to a fresh hot lasagna! But nobody was home! I was befuddled. It was delicious, however, so I didn't care.
At 5:30 we took the train to the Olympic stadium to watch the Germany vs. Spain game. Flo had a Deutschland cowboy hat. Cute. It might even be cuter than Jen's pink cowboy hat.


So in Germany there's this thing called a pfand, where basically for everything you drink when you buy it you pay extra and when you return your bottle or cup or whatever you get money back. Some people don't care and just leave their beer cups all over the stadium, so I picked some up and turned them in. I made 4 euros.

Mein Erster Tag--Happy now Florian?

Wow. It's been less than a week and I cannot remember what I did on my first day. Time to take out the journal.

At 6:30 in the morning, Rebecca's mom rushes in to warn me not to go out on my porch because it was unsafe. I had tried the night before, but I couldn't get the creen door open. So that was not going to be a problem. She then 'woke' me up at 7:00 to get ready for our field trip to HerrenChiemsee, a castle on an island built by Ludwig II, before he ran out of money and mysteriously died. After visiting the caastle, which was BEAUTIFUL, we had lunch on Frauen Insel, or Women's Island. Hmm. Sounds like my kind of place. It was really nice there, and I almost caught a duck, but it flew away--into Sarah's face. I think she may be scarred for life; she now goes no where near any bird.

Apparently, people in Germany like sparkling water. EW!

After dinner I updated my blog (sorry guys that that was the last time I did. I've been busy!) and talked with Rebecca's parents. They are super nice. I like them a lot.

My back is killing me. I miss Dr. Hunter. A lot.

"The Layover" Starring Catherine Hildebrand, Bradley Cooper

The details of my time spent in Dublin (as copied from the German blog):

I woke up on July 5, 2010 at 5:30 AM in Dublin. We of the Irish Studies group picked up our pre-packed breakfasts and headed for the airport. The rest of the group checked in immediately upon arrival at 7:30, however my flight was not yet open for check in. Thus we said our goodbyes at the security gate, and I waited. And waited. And then waited some more. For seven hours I sat in the cafeteria reading (I finished Dorian Gray), eating, and people watching. I wrote over 12 pages in my journal. Needless to say I was bored out of my mind. At 2:30 PM, my fight finally opened for check in. I made it through security within five minutes, and didn’t even need to take my shoes off. It was beautiful. On the other side, I bought a few last souvenirs, turned in my tax form, and sat at my gate for two more hours. I boarded my plane at 4:40 PM, after nine hours in the Dublin airport. My flight only lasted two hours, and since I was no longer watching my bag, I slept. I arrived in Munich at 8:10 PM, and breezed through customs. Florian and Rebecca, my hosts, were waiting for me, along with Rebecca’s father. We drove home, only about 20 minutes from the airport. We had an evening snack of bread, meat and cheese. My room is very nice. I showered, and then laid down on my bed. I was asleep in minutes. As exciting as my day was, it was exhausting. But I am excited to be here and I cannot wait to get to know my host family.

For the first time in Germany, live long and prosper.

Dublin to Munich: Let's travel with Catherine!

I wrote about 12 pages in my journal as I waited 9 hours in the Dublin airport (7 before I could check in, so I was totally alone). I am still sorting and will post the details tomorrow morning. Well I guess that would be this evening for you all. =D

But the point is that I have arrived safe and sound, and I miss you all.

I love you Mom Dad David Grandma Grandpa Dr. Hunter (I really miss you!) and everyone else!

Goodnight!

Northern Ireland and Back to Dublin

In N.I. we went to Derry, which was really emotional for me. As you may know, Derry is the city where the 1972 attacks happened on 'Bloody Sunday'.

We then went to the Giant's causeway, a natural formation of igneus rock into hexagonal shapes. It was very beautiful, but Mrs. Parker was hit by a bus, and that ruined it a bit. She seems to not be too badly injured, but she will hopefully see a doctor now that she is back in the U.S.

The drive to Dublin was also my blog. Well not really; Maggie edited it and wrote extra, but I helped so I'm copying it.

The last day of our epic journey began epically early, with breakfast at 7:00 AM and departure for Dublin at 8:00. We spent about 6 hours on the bus, stopping once for a "quickie pickie" at New Grange, a pagan worship site dedicated to the winter solstice. What's interesting is that it is perfectly aligned with Sonehenge and other pagan temples throughout Europe.

We finally arrived in Dublin around 2:00 PM and completed our souvenir shopping on Grafton Street. We visited the General Post Office, or GPO, on O'Connell Street. The GPO is the scene for the Easter 1916 Uprising , and the bullet holes are still visible on the pillars of the building's facade.

Our original plans were to take the train to a little town just north of Dublin Called Howth (Haut). However, due to an incident on the tracks, the trains weren't working, so we took the city bus! It was loads of fun because it was a Double Decker bus! It was so awesome! Howth is a sea town and we walked along the marina. Seals hung around the docks looking for fish, and they were so cute and funny. The views from the piers were spectacular. Even though it was windy and the day started rainy, the weather turned around for us by the end of the day. While waiting for the bus, we sang Karaoke with the guy across the street. We belted out great hits from Springstein and Springfield.

After we checked into the hotel, we had a quick meeting and held our own 4th of July "party". Thanks to Bridgett B's parents for supplying treats and decorations!

It was a great 12 days in Ireland, and as I said my goodbyes to the boys from Philly (and Will my kindred spirit from Manchester--Go trveler B!), I prepared for what lay ahead of me; Munich.

Letterkenny and the House of Horrors!

I slept on the bus. We stopped at Knock, the most holy place in Ireland where the Blessed Mother appeared to 14 people. I attended mass, which was nice. On the way out, I conversed with an Irishman. I helped him find where he was going, and he asked me who Fav-ruh was ( I obviously was wearing my Favre jersey). He thought that Favre was a soccer player for France. It was funny, because I then said America and he replied "Oh Landon Donovan and all of them" Not quite. American football. "Oh I don't know much about that". It was nice though.

We stopped at this little Seaside town, and Maggie and I went to the beach. Patrick got some good pictures of us jumping in the air--we had no idea he was even there at first.
I began reading Dorian Gray. It is quite n amazing book.
Upon arrival at Letterkenny, I was amazed at the splendor of the hotel. It looked fantastic, Victorian, and creepy. The carpet and the long hallways reminded me of The Shining. However, I did not realize how creepy the hotel was until I attempted to make it to my room. To get there I had to walk up the grand staircase, then turn right, go down the hall, and through a door to get to another staircase. This one was small and stupid. And creepy. Once at the second and top floor, I turned right, following a sign that says 228-271 this way. I was in room 270, the second to last room. The next highest room in our group was 256, not even close. Logically, room 270 would be down the hall and around the corner, but no, that way only continued to room 258, next to Maggie's room. Immediately after coming up the stairs and through the door, I had to make a right, down a separate hallway, no , a separate wing, in which none of the lights worked. So, walking down the dark, long hallway, I get to the end, and the last room is room 269. This is quite ominous, as I am 270. But at the very end of the hallway is a door, a push door that is labelled exit, but what the hey, I go through it. That brought me to a room, basically an extension of a hallway, with one emergency fire exit with an alarm, and two doors. Rooms 270 and 271. Creepz, right? Yeah, it gets worse. So hangin in this little hallway room thing is one piece of artwork, a picture of a little boy clown, curled up and crying. This is just getting to ominous for me, so I go in my room. It looks nice, until later that night, when I was in the bathroom, and the door opens. Twice. Also throughout the night the shower kept turning on and off. Haunted Hotel.
Plenty of other things happened in Letterkenny, like my first ever ride in a taxi and teaching Dennis to Runba in the lobby, but the creepiness of the hotel was moer than enough for you all.

Golden Galway and All It's Glory-- as copied from myself

I wrote the Kennedy blog on Galway, so I'm just going to copy that and then add a few things to make it more personal.

Here it goes:

Life is beautiful. Each new creation brought into the world is a miracle to behold, and how magnificent is the circle of life itself! Even more beautiful than birth, is the act of procreation between a male and female. Today, we were fortunate enough to experience this beauty as we passed a herd of cows in a pasture, and discovered that cows may not be so beautiful after all. :)

Today we visited Bunratty Castle. While on our tour, we learned about the layouts of medieval castles; staircases spiral upwards to the right so that attackers cannot hold their swords in their right hands. Our tour guide also explained the importance and attack value of left-handed swordsmen. It is no wonder, therefore, why I, left handed Catherine, sat in the captain's throne. We also learned about the line of demarkation which separated me and my high officers from the commoners in the great room.

After our fantastic excursion through the castle, we roamed about the grounds. What I experienced was strange and unsettling. Women and children beware. I heard this sound, a sheep-like bleat. When I turned around, I saw the rare, beautiful, endangered Jennifer Parker-Hass. Crikey! I could tell it was her from the red hair, green glasses, and unmistakable sound. Suddenly, a goat bleated back at her! Before I knew it there was an all out war between the two! It was "he said", then "she said"....the "what are you doing?" Hahahah....look, it responds BAAAAAA!

After a few more boring hours in the coach (bus), we arrived in Galway. The first stop for us was the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. Built of stone, with marvelous stained glass windows and a full pipe organ, I could have stayed there forever, perfectly content.

We were then given some free time in the town. I left my jacket in my bag and, of course, a monsoon hit! I walked from shop to shop with the boys from Philadelphia Chris and Santos, and also with Will from Manchester. We had a great time tooking form gift shop to gift shop, searching for a Christmas store, soaking wet. It was a blast.

After an amazing dinner of pizza and french fries (Jim says the ketchup was weird), the group split. (And now Jim has arrived to help me write.)Some went to the gym, some went to the hot tub, and I went for a few laps in the pool.

Today, while running to open the door, Jessika rolled her foot. After hours of icing and ibuprophen,, the swelling and pain remained. Mr. and Mrs. Haas took her to the hospital, and after four hours, and x-rays, discovered Jessika's foot to be broken. Please keep her in your prayers. (the cast goes on tomorrow)

Jim's getting tired, so I think it's time to go to bed.

Have fun, Seattle, and try not to miss us too much.

Love,

Catherine and Jim
Really the only things I need to add are that today Ms Dodge came down for breakfast and announced that we needed to sing Happy Birthday to Bruce, but Kate said that his birthday is July 30, I said check his passport because PH has it, but instead she just asked Bruce. His reply was, "No mz birthday is not until july 30th, why didn't you just check my passport? Mrs. Parker has it you know." Yes Bruce, I know.

The second day in Galway was rockin. No, it was shamrockin! We first went to the Aillwee cave, and you all know how much I hate caves, but it wasn't too bad. I bught a mood ring there, and what a rip off! It barely worked! And then I realized that I wasn't looking right. But it doesn't matter anyways; it turned my finger green. Fantastic.

The Cliffs of Moher were beautiful. I took as many pictures as possible, but my camera died. Like died died. Grr.....

Dinner consisted of OK soup, spicy yet tasty chicken atop white rice, and the most delicious dessert I have ever tasted; meringue and chocolate ice cream.

Jacqui woke us up at one in the morning, freaking out because Mrs. Zielinski was going around breathalizing people. She never made it to our room though.

I wish it was Christmas in Killarney

The drive to Killarney was nothing special. Killarney, however, cetrainly is. My first night there was epic. Here's why:

• First, a woman asked for directions, and I helped her find the street she was looking for.
• While in the sporting goods store, a woman asked what Hurling was, and I told her.
• Back on the streets of Killarney, I saw a man in a Packers hat. I screamed "Go Packers" t which he responded "YEAH!" I met a fellow Packers fan, and I thought my day was made. But that was just the beginning.
• Soon after my evening was made, a couple asked me for directions again. No only could I simply help find a street sign, but I actually told then which ways to turn and go to find the street they were looking for. Yeah!
• Less than five minutes after giving directions, an elderly asian couple stopped me on the sidewwalk and asked abut the hurley I was holding, and about the sport of hurling, so I explained it to them. Wow what a night for helping people!
• Dinner was fantastic; potato soup, ham, beans, and french fries-
• I went pee in a pub filled with people who didn't believe that Holly had blue hair.
• Holly bought Picture of dorian Gray. While in the bookstore Dennis came over and said, "Hey sugar! Now every time I see you I have to kiss you!" He's such a cutie pie.
• I had John's hat. He was about to drop it while carrying Jessika up the stairs and asked me to grab it, so I put it on. It stayed there for the rest of the night.

It was fantastic.

The next morning, the goodness continued. We had eggs for breakfast! Yeah! We then went on horse drawn jaunty carts to this lake somewhere and cruised around on the water for a while. It was very peaceful. The ring of Kerry, an all day scenic drive, was outright boring. We did stop at a ring fort, though, and Bruce crawled into a hole underneath and found a secret passage. Ms. Dodge finds it cute that Dennis and I blow kisses at each other. Apparently she doesn't notice that he blows kisses with everyone. lol Ms. Dodge.
At dinner, I discovered that I like cauliflower. After dinner we went to shop in town. When I had stepped out of the shop to go potty, Holly assumed I was still behind her and began singing "Wind eneath My Wings" to me, but as she turned around to face me, she realiyed that I was not there, and some attractive footballer was. She then yelled for me and I came running back in, only to find her laughing hysterically.

My Studly Kiss

I woke up sore from head to toe; a result of my intense workout the in the gym. It was a good feeling, but my knee was was swollen and in pain. Not so good.

Our first stop of the day was the National Stud Farm. We learned a little too much about breeding horses, but I guess it's always good to learn. However, I did get the enjoyment of seeing a Stud worth 80 million euros. 80 MILLION EUROS! That was crazy. I also heard some awesome quotes about the mares and their importance in breeding. "You could put a rockinghorse in her and she would foal a champion." Wow. The most important thing I learned about the Stud farm is that it is basically a whorehouse. A Horsewhorehouse.

We arrived that evening in Blarney, a small village outside of Cork. As you all may know, Blarney is famous for the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that one who kisses the Blarney Stone is given the gift of Blarney. What nobody tells you is that the Blarney Stone is at the top of a really tall castle on top of a really high hill. Not the best place for someone who is afraid of heights. But, I braved it and climbed all the way to the top, leaned over the edge BACKWARDS, and kissed the stone. The picture that they took of me was really bad, so the only picture I have is right after I kissed the stone, but that's okay. I don't mind. I look good. Sort of.

After my adventure at Blarney Castle, I had an even greater adventure at dinner. At first I sat down with the Philly boys, but they got up and left me. So after giving Dennis crap for it, he tells me to sit at the head of the table, and to at some point tell my table mates, "I suppose you have been wondering why I have brought you here today" to which I replied, "only if you pretend to get shot". And thus it happened. And it was hilarious. Patrick even got up to help Dennis at first, but then realized what was going on. We laughed so hard.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I would like to wish a wonderful birthday to my dad and grandma.

Dad, I hope it was great.

Grandma, I know you'll have a good one!

I love you both!

Everybody: I will try to post a few more days' worth of stories tomorrow!

I love you Mom, Dad, David, Grandma, Grandpa, and everybody else that I forgot because I'm being rushed. It's past curfew. In a really creepy hotel. Tell you all about it tomorrow.

Love Catherine

The First Days--Dublin

Immediately upon arrival, we dropped our bags off in the hotel lobby and went to the local mall. On the way there Jim thought it would be funny to pull my braids, but then when I flailed helplessly, dropping and breaking my sunglasses, I accidentally whapped Jim in the nose. The beeling stopped eventually, but it was a tad messy. Lunch was pizza in the food court with Jim, and then a gander through Tesco, the local grocery store.

Before we could check into our hotel, we spent the entire afternoon in Dublin's Temple Bar district. It is this little area of town just south of the River Liffey with a bunch of shops and pubs. We were given a little over 3 hours of free time, so Maggie, Holly, and I roamed about, and visited the Anglican cathedral, Dublin Castle, and statue of Molly Mallone, the famous Irish fishmonger. By the time we met up at the restaurant I was exhausted. But my hunger was stronger so I made my way up the stairs and sat down at the coolest table ever. Seriously, this table sat four and was very small, but portruding from the center of the table was a beer tap, serving Guinness and Carlsburg's. Obviously we didn't drink, but were you to pour yourself some beer, the tab was shown on the tap, and the charge went to the table. It was cool!

I wish I could say such wonderful things about the food. Corned beef stew.

The three of us finished out eveing in the hotel watching the top ten greatest Michael Jackson videos, but we only caught the last six. I was surprised that they played the entire video for Black and White, which came in 3rd and was about 10 minutes long, but they cut the Thriller video short. The number one video should not be the video that gets cut.

We began our second day in Dublin with a bus tour given by a local guide, followed by a picnic in St. Stephen's green and visits to the Book of Kells. St Stephen's green is a small park in the center of Dublin, and while we ate, a riot broke out just outside the entrance where we sat. Apparently it was a protest against some bank. What I thought was funny was how somebody sang "This land was made for you and me" but changed the lyrics to fit Ireland.

This land is your land
This land is my land
From the Dublin City
To the Aran Islands
All the way from Galway
To the Channel waters
This land was made for you and me

Friday was also some sort of Zombie Day. People throughout the city made their way to St. Stephen's green dressed as zombies, and from there they marched around the park and through the town. It was strange, but all of you in Seattle will be having a zonbie march on Sunday I believe. So prepare.

The book of Kells is translation of the four Gospels into Gaelic, and dates back hundreds of years. Seeing it was pretty cool, but the coolest part about Trinity College, where the Book is, was the fantastic library with over 200,000 of Ireland's oldest books, arranged by size. It was overwhelming.

Dinner at the pub was really good. We had beef, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies. I liked it.

And thus were my first two days in Ireland.

Hello!

We have finally arrived in Galway. I now have time to tell everybody all sorts of stuff. First, hi Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and David. I love you all and miss you all and can't wait to see you again! Dad, in case I don't get online tomorrow, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

and Grandma, I'm sure I will post again before sunday, but if not, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!


And a special hello to Mary Wells, who said she would look at this for sure. =D

I hope everyone's having a great time, I miss you all!

Planes, Airports, and Empty Seats

I began my journey to the land of leprechauns and lucky charms in the SeaTac airport. Fortunately my flight is scheduled to leave ten minutes before the other flight. So after we take our first picture for the blog, I run to my terminal, say the Rosary, and boarding begins. Then boarding stops. Then reverses. An hour later boarding begins again. The pilot announces that we might just make it to Philadelphia by 8:15. Boarding for my connecting flight begins at 8:20.

Touchdown in Philly at 7:50! Taxi at 8:12. I check the departure boards for my flight. It isn't there. I run to my terminal at 8:19 to find a flight for Zurich, Switzerland boarding. Great. After asking more people than necessary, I find that my gate has been moved to A22, about .4 miles away. No kidding

After sprinting, sweating, panting, and stressing, I reach A22 at 8:26 to find nobody boarding, but the flight is still on time. An hour later, the flight still says on time. Suddenly we see it delayed an hour. Don't you just love irony?

Thankfully, on my second flight I have the luxury on an empty seat next to me. However I must walk through customs alone as Patrick is nowhere to be found, but nearly the entire group was waiting at my baggage claim for me. After finding Patrick, we meet our Tour Director, Sue, and off we go into Dublin.

Finally Computer Access!

Hello everyone! I am sure you all have been checking my blog diligently, and I apologize for my 6-day delay in postings.

First of all, I would like to announce that I have arrived, safe and sound, and boy what a time I had in the airport. But I am here, and I've been keeping a daily journal so I can fill you in on my great adventures. So here goes!

Catherine