i had thursday off last week and decided to go visit the big city for some shopping and adventure. turns out they've decorated for christmas already just to remind me that i have no one.

it's very pretty though.

then i called louise to go for lunch and she had plans to go out for some drinks with some of the guys she works with. we ended up at Bob's, a bar in Temple Bar that has karaoke in the evening. we had a few drinks there then headed to SIN, a nightclub just up the street from Temple Bar.

SIN was a little weird, but we managed to enjoy ourselves. as we do.

then on friday, christophe's parents arrived from France to visit for the weekend. the first time they came over was on friday evening when i had just gotten off work (after not sleeping at all and going to work hungover) and was lying on the couch in my pyjamas eating ice cream and watching a movie wrapped in my duvet. not such a pretty sight.

then on saturday they came over in the morning with christophe and they had to buzz in because the front door was broken. so i woke up to open the door, again not looking so hot.

not the best first or second impression. but then they came over last night to make a big fondue dinner for the family and some friends in the building. they brought specialty french cheeses with them to make dinner for everyone. how nice.

it was a good little party, anyway. lots of wine, cheese, and baguette. and only french speaking! my french is definitely getting much better.

so we had dinner, then christophe's family brought out a pie they had also brought over from France and we all sang happy birthday (did i mention this was all because it's christophe's birthday? i think i missed that part) in french, of course.

it was very nice of the family to visit, i really enjoyed their company.

so, finally his family left and then we realized how drunk christophe was. he suddenly had this idea to rearrange the apartment, and decided that the irish flag needed to go on the wall.

but first he wrapped himself in it.

then remembered that we don't have a hammer or nails... so he found a pot and a hook screw and started wailing on it.

but finally he hung up the flag and we are all very happy for it.

how patriotic of us.

can i just say as well that yesterday marked the biggest, craziest storm i have ever experienced in my life? i have honestly never seen anything like it.

on my way to work yesterday the weather was fine. not raining, but just a little cloudy. then i went outside on my break and i couldn't get the door open on account of the howling wind.

finally when it was time for me to go home, i tried to call a cab, but sat on hold for about 10 minutes and decided it wasn't worth it. rain was really coming from all directions, and the wind was causing the puddles to splash up. i had to keep ducking around corners because the wind was pushing me so hard. i kept laughing because i felt like a mime pretending to be in a strong wind, but it was actually happening.

and i wasn't dressed like a mime.

i actually kept thinking there was a tornado because the wind sounded like a train and trees and debris were flying everywhere. no tornado though.

so that brings us to now. i woke up this morning and it was sunny, which seemed impossible after the weather catastophe that happened yesterday.

other than that, everything is well over here in tramway court. missing everyone, i hope you're all well.

don't be strangers.

written by  girlbits on November 20, 2006 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
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well, this story starts with last week when it was christophe's birthday. he really had 3 birthday parties: one with his parents, one on his real birthday, and the house party last weekend.

so on christophe's real birthday we all headed down to the pub down the street. we'd never been there before, but it was very cute and lounge-like. we had a group of about 30 and closed the bar. great night. then after a cold walk home we passed out at about 3.

i had a couple days off after that and went to city center to do some christmas shopping and go to the art gallery. the city is so heavily decorated for christmas it's unbelievable. very nice though. i was questioning what this sign meant, "baile atha cliath" only to discover it actually means "dublin". then i wondered why they had giant lit-up signs saying "dublin"... but at least they looked nice.

anyway, then we had the party on saturday night. it was so crazy because everyone seemed to get very drunk (except me... i had to work on sunday) and ridiculous. christophe was drunk even before the party started, and didn't stop drinking until i caught him wandering around holding on to the wall for balance.

the party was fun though. at one point i looked over and saw christophe with his head in the fridge and thought nothing of it until i noticed he had been standing there a bit too long. i walked over and realized he had actually passed out IN the fridge while getting a beer. possibly the funniest thing ever.

there was lots of dancing and fun times though, which is great. i ended up the last one standing because christophe passed out (in bed, not in the fridge) and there were still a bunch of people here. so i had to wait for everyone to leave.

you may be wondering what is happening here. i can't say for sure, but i know it goes along with a spanish song where they yell "HEY! HEY!" a lot and throw their hands in the air. then they all lock arms under their legs and say "HEY! HEY!" again. don't ask me.

but i was well behaved and made it to work for 9am the next morning.

someone mentioned that neither of us are irish, and questioned why we have the giant irish flag. so i got out my canadian flag and christophe made his own french flag, so as to represent our 3 countries.

anyway, other than that i've been working and hanging out with the guys from work mostly. morten, preben, and louise were in london for the weekend so i didn't get to see them. i see the students from my building quite often too though and we like to go out to molloy's, our neighbourhood pub, quite often for some drinks and socializing.

the weather has been crazy insane over here as well. there was a storm last night that knocked over so many trees, lamp posts, and traffic lights that they had to close down tallaght village (where i live). walking home from work was hell, as the wind and rain were actually hurting my face, and the wind ended up knocking me over into a puddle. i wasn't happy.

so that's that. everything is going well here, and dublin is treating me well. i'm getting a little sad about christmas and starting to miss my family and friends, but overall i'm having a great time here and always looking forward to the next experience or adventure in the old smoke.

written by  girlbits on December 1, 2006 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
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so, here we are.

again, it's been far too long since i've written anything and i apologize. everyone can stop complaining now.

things have been a little hectic. between all the pre-christmas parties, everyone in the building going home for christmas, working way too much, and morten having an accident with some stairs, things have been a little crazy.

the pre-christmas parties included a fondue night at our place...

a night out at the new pub downstairs...

a group excursion to molloy's...

and a party at the apartment next door...

so at least we all saw a lot of eachother before everyone goes away. it's gotten much quieter around here since everyone left, but last night there was a poker game next door for all the "survivors".

last night was also our danish christmas party at chateau danois.

preben made us a beautiful danish christmas dinner, there were nice gifts, and a rousing game of taboo afterwards. thanks for the night, you guys, i really appreciated it.

anyway, so now there are only about 4 of us left in the building who aren't going home for christmas. i've agreed to work on christmas eve and christmas day so as to avoid sitting at home wallowing, and at least all the guys from work will be around over the next few weeks anyway so i'm not alone by any means.

i'm sure there is so much more to say but i'm not feeling my best today, and it's been so long since i blogged last that it's hard to keep track of everything that has happened. overall, i'm still happy to be here and i'm having a great time. i've decided to stay where i am until may, then probably quit my job and travel around until august when i'll come back home. although, who knows. i haven't really made or stuck to any plans since i left canada, so we'll see.

i'm still planning a small venture probably in january. my Italy trip in december was cancelled due to bank and work issues, but now i think i'm better organized. we're still planning our trip to galway too, so we have that to look forward to as well.

i'm going to miss everyone over christmas though, it's going to be weird not having anyone at home or having louise to party with on weekends. but i'm sure i'll survive a couple weeks.

merry christmas everybody! i hope your holidays are happy.

written by  girlbits on December 18, 2006 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
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i am having the time of my life over here and loving every day that passes by. sure, the holidays are a little depressing but i keep a sense of humour about it all and keep on keepin on. i get to experience the holidays in a completely different culture, which is amazing! aside from the obvious missing everyone (and amaretto... i can't find it here) i'm really happy here.

happy christmas everybody! slainte!

the holidays have been pretty uneventful for me, as was expected.

on the 23rd we had our work christmas party at a posh restaurant/bar downtown called dandelion. lots of people showed up, and we got free drinks all night on paddy.

so, needless to say, i may have had a few drinks. the bar closed so we went downstairs to the nightclub and danced (and drank) the night away. very fun night though.

here's rob and i both making weird faces. i was hired with him.

this is enda and i.

and audrey and i. she's my boss. i think that might be a ghost up in the corner. or maybe a finger.

anyway, then i worked on christmas eve and christmas day. luckily a few people came in on christmas eve so i had company. i was literally the only one in the office on christmas day though. so i just watched movies on all the tv's we're supposed to watch the races on, and got paid an enormous amount of money for it. not so bad!

when i got home, i still had some time before the family woke up, so i started on christmas dinner. i decided to actually make a christmas dinner so that i wouldn't feel like i was missing out... but it ended up looking a little depressing.

how romantic.

anyway, then after dinner and watching "the nightmare before christmas", it was finally time for christmas morning in vancouver. skype really is a wonderful thing, it almost felt like i was in the room. so we both put our video cameras on and opened presents together. and bahbuttons decided to come and say hello...

so it was a good christmas. best i could have asked for under the circumstances, anyway.

and now new years is tomorrow! i think i'm going out with some of the guys from work. not sure what the plan is yet, but i'm hoping it will be good. most of us have to work on new years day anyway so it probably won't be rowdy.

i hope everyone had a great christmas, and have a happy and safe new year!

written by  girlbits on December 30, 2006 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
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and happy 4 monthiversary of my arrival in this country. 4 months! they just keep piling up. and my irish accent is really not coming along at all. i'm quite disappointed. bollocks!

well, let's start with new years. i didn't really have many plans, but a couple guys from work decided to take me out to a pub in rathfarnham, a town about 10 minutes from tallaght. it was really packed, but very casual and fun.

i may have had a few drinks so i didn't take many pictures. but we had a great night and i racked up quite the phone bill calling everyone i know back home. i guess it's a little weird when i call up at 4pm drunk saying happy new year. the time difference is slightly confusing still.

but we really had a great time, and i managed to get home by 2am and up for work at 10. me? responsible? what's going on here?

anyway, it was a fabulous new years eve and a great way to bring in 07.

after new years i tried to lay low for a bit and save money and my liver until the students started arriving home. christophe came home on the 6th and finally home feels like home again. until he leaves for good next saturday, anyway. boooooooo.

louise finally came home too and we had a great night out last weekend when we went for a great dinner in temple bar, then a few drinks at our favourite spot, fitzsimon's. as you can see, louise was very happy to see me too.

and now finally all the students in the building are home and it's noisy and full of life again. we visited our local, molloy's, the other night to reunite everyone with a guinness, as we do. it's exam time now so they don't come out much.

i swear i didn't drool on clemens' shirt as it may seem. unfortunate placement of a raindrop.

then i had two days off. i decided it was time again to get out and see something new and interesting in dublin which, in turn, gives me something new and interesting to share with all of you.

so i decided to go to Kilmainham Gaol, an old prison built in 1796.

i was expecting it to be a little creepy, but really was not prepared for what was actually there. when you first walk in, you're in the west wing which is the old part of the prison.

it was cold, dark, and completely eerie. the cells were tiny and had nothing but concrete floors and walls and one small window at the top of the back wall. prisoners didn't have a mattress of any kind, only one blanket and one candle they had to make last 2 weeks.

usually i wouldn't have much sympathy for people in prison because normally you would think of murderers, rapists, and generally horrible people. and of course this place housed many of these people as well, but they also kept women here, as well as children as young as 8 who stole food. most of the prisoners were political and were revolutionaries serving time for crimes against the government.

anyway, then as you walk through the small corridors and a few 4 foot doorways, you get to the east wing, or the "new" wing. this room was enormous and built so that a guard could stand in one certain spot and have a full view of all cells in that wing.

apparently they added the skylight because:

a) in the old wing, prisoners were dying of diseases associated with lack of vitamin D (sunlight) and

b) to remind the prisoners of God.

it was really an amazing place though with some great stories.

afterwards we went out to the courtyard where some very famous political heroes were executed. it was just a big stone courtyard with tall cement walls, but you could see where the walls were worn away from bullets. one small black cross sits in the corner and a plaque on the wall comemorates the people who died there.

needless to say it was a very moving experience. i think it was even scarier because i was there alone and just standing in one of those cells by myself was chilling.

so, after that i needed a walk outside and finally the weather was nice again. so i walked through the grounds of the irish museum of modern art.

i had the intention of going inside, but i spent too long walking around outside and taking pictures and by the end i was tired and hungry and not in the mood for modern art.

but the whole time i was careful of any sheep...

or hedgehogs...

at least i think that's what those are. not quite sure what the signs are for, but i thought they were funny.

at the end of my little adventure i stopped at this old graveyard, because i seem to have developed a strange and slightly creepy fascination with old graveyards.

so now i'm back at work again. boring as usual. kiki leaves next saturday and i'm really not looking forward to it. although, i have a new lovely american girl coming to live here with me for a few months so hopefully she can fill kiki's shoes! (melinda, you have to speak french. hopefully that's okay.)

but, the end of exam week also means big party chez britt & kiki! i'll hide the table this time.

written by  girlbits on January 12, 2007 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
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do i say that every week?

we had a great night out. i really missed those boys.

and the fun continues over at tramway court since exams ended last week. but along with exams ending comes the departure of many of the students here. sad days.

we had the last big party in the apartment next door last wednesday to celebrate the last day of exams.

i'm not so good at the self-control though.

anyway, the party was great. and included the final paquito:

and kiki ended up stealing our #42 off the wall outside our apartment, and then wore it on his shirt... luckily later he stole a 4 and a 2 from other apartments and put them back. now #43 is #3 and #21 is #1. but at least 42 is back.

a good last tramway court party anyway.

so that party was not the last. people continued to leave during the week,

once all the bottles were consumed, we headed out to city center to go to a club called Zanzibar. the ride on the luas was quite eventful as there were several international sing-a-longs.

and an impromptu luas paquito...

finally we made it to Zanzibar and and a fabulous last night for kiki.

there was lots of dancing...

drinking...

self-taken photos...

and other fun...

but we had to leave to get christophe home for his taxi at 4.

it was an emotional night overall. but on the ride home it started setting in that kiki was leaving, and everyone started to get sad.

the rest of the night was a complete wreck. i was fine the whole night... sad, but i hadn't cried. we stood in the courtyard while kiki said goodbye to everyone, and then it was time to go get his luggage. the minute we walked into his room i started crying... up until last night.

it's really just devastating to lose my kiki. it won't be the same around here without him. he's become such a big part of my life over here and, as the comment states, he has become my ireland family. i will truly miss him.

anyway, we came back inside and i clawed around in the dark trying to find the candles and blankets. and thanks, mom and dad, for talking to me while i drunkenly bawled my eyes out over the phone with you. it helped a lot.

then yesterday the power still wasn't on, so the group of us went to blubar, a local pub, for some warmth and warm food.

it's funny that ireland's idea of pub food is either stew or roast meats along with potatoes and vegetables. not quite the same as the greasy stuff you get in pubs at home. it was really nice though.

then we went to tesco to stock up on water and candles, not knowing how long the power would be out.

the power did end up coming back on last night, thank god. i was finally able to clean up the apartment from the party the night before, take a shower, and do the dishes. i did have to throw away all my food from the freezer and fridge, but i find that i appreciate running water much more when i've gone without it for 24 hours.

anyway, more people leave tomorrow. soon it will just be us survivors who are staying in the building for the next few months. vive the survivors!

it's lonely over here without kiki though. i will really miss having him here.

you will miss me, kiki.

tu vas me manquer.

anyway, i'll do my best to catch everyone up. i can hardly remember what's happened over the last few weeks so i'll just go by what i have pictures of.

so, then last week... well, about 2 weeks now... the lovely and wonderful melinda showed up! you know, i was a little hesitant about another roommate coming in, because no matter who it was they'd have big shoes to fill... but it turns out i am a fabulous-roommate magnet and lucked out once again. she showed up in the morning, i picked her up at the luas, and it's been only laughs and fun since then. good play, melinda, good play.

so then there was some time in between... and the next interesting thing, i believe, was the superbowl.

so finally we left the pub around 4:30 or 5, walked to the next town, and got a cab.

work the next day was not as pleasant as usual... but it was well worth it.

what happened next? hmm... there have been a few nights out, a lot of working, a sick day, a SNOW day...

oh! and a dinner party...

i decided to have the danes over for dinner so they could meet melinda and so everyone could experience my newfound culinary expertise. so melinda and i watched the rugby game during the day, cleaned up the house, got cutified, and started cooking for the guests.

it was a really great night, and melinda and the danes got along famously, as i knew they would.

so that brings us to now. i'm off to london tomorrow for a little touristy adventure and the billy talent concert! am i going to the show? am i not? who knows. but i booked the trip anyway. turns out my beautiful and fabulous sister knows someone who is on tour with them and he offered to get me tickets (the show was sold out months ago) and backstage passes. i don't think i've stopped crying or started breathing since i heard this news. but it's still not 100% yet and it's 2 days before the show. so let's just hope everything goes to plan... if not, i'll go see the lion king musical or something.

but my next post should be from the beautiful rainy tornado-y city of london... possibly from my jacuzzi tub in my executive room in my 4 star hotel. how did that happen? don't ask.

so, that's that. we recently passed the 5 month mark, which means i'm nearly halfway through my journey in the emerald isle. whoa, halfway. i need to get moving.

written by  girlbits on February 15, 2007 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
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but i just wanted to update a) because i like to be able to change the city i'm posting from and b) to let everyone know my london weekend went swimmingly.

i'll post much more about this trip in the next few days when i'm not tired and running out of wireless time. i have lots of pictures and lots of juicy stories, so keep in touch.