Luck of the Irish....or not so lucky

I'm going to give myself plenty of time to get to the airport so I don't miss my flight!!! Yes, good idea Laura. I leave my apartment at 4:15 to walk to the train station to go to Schiphol airport for my 8:45 flight. Surprisingly, everything goes smoothly and I arrive at the airport, through security, and at the proper gate, three hours early. Good thing I have my trusty Rick Steve's guide that I have read cover to cover multiple times to keep me company (if you are reading this send me a new book. any book.) Three hours later my flight starts to board, finally! I make it on the airplane and I'm so happy with myself that I actually made it onto the right airplane at the right time without anything going wrong that I open the flight menu to get ready to buy myself a congratulatory rum and coke (or maybe three).

15 minutes go by and everyone really seems to be sitting down in their seats with their seat belts on and their trays in the full upright and locked position waiting for the plane to take off. The captain says something over the intercom but it was in Dutch so naturally I tuned him out. After reading the entire SkyMall magazine (yes I DO want a toilet paper iPod holder and a Big Foot garden yeti sculpture, how did you know?!) we still hadn't taken off yet. Then the captain gets on the intercom and says (in English) we are waiting to be de-iced and it should only take a few more minutes. Weird, because earlier that day it seemed as if spring was actually coming!

An hour later, and we are finally in the que! Wow good thing it is currently 10 p.m. aka the same time I am supposed to be in Dublin checking on to my bus. FINALLY 15 minutes later the airplane takes off which is ironically the same time my bus is leaving. Classic. Good thing I don't have wifi to let Annie, who is picking me up from the airport, know that I will be a few hours late.

The plane lands and they announce the time as 22:30 which I thought was definitely wrong unless we somehow got to Ireland in 15 minutes and then I remembered Ireland is an hour behind the Netherlands! That threw me for a loop but I still had to let Annie know I would be arriving in Dublin at either 2:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. I'm waiting to get through Customs and oh look someone from Calvert Hall!!

Am I creepy? Absolutely. 

I Facebook Annie and let her know I missed my bus and am either arriving in Galway around 2:30 or 6, depending on if I can catch the next bus. I find the busses after some searching and the nice bus driver lets me get on the 12:15 for no extra charge! Irish people are so nice, the French made us pay for another bus ticket naturally. He even let me go grab food bless his soul. As I was eating some sort of pot pie that was actually delicious I remembered I never messaged Annie telling her I made it on to the bus and now I didn't have wifi. Crap. 

I arrive in Galway around 2:30 a.m. and am thanking my lucky stars they have free wifi. I message her but she is asleep so again, I am homeless for the night in a FREEZING COLD deserted bus station. Has nobody in Europe ever heard of heat?

Thank goodness I had these M&Ms to keep me company. 

Welcome to my humble abode. 

Around 4 a.m. after I opened my suitcase and put on every possible layer of clothing I owned (flashback to when I first arrived here sans ski jacket) I spotted a coffee machine. Wow that will be the perfect thing to get my blood flowing again! *Puts in 2 euro*

This is what I received. 

A single, empty, cold, cup. 

I'm pretty sure if I put it on the ground people would put change into it.

Around six a.m., as I could feel the icy grip of death close around me, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I'm in Heaven...hmm thought it would be warmer. I take off my jacket that was over my face and see an angel in the form of Annie McGuire. I was saved!! Hallelujah! 

We walked the bitter 20 minute walk back to her apartment where I proceeded to pass out until 3 p.m. 

After I woke from my slumber we went to the grocery store and made some dinner. I found this little gem at the grocery store. 

Classic Mount de Sales.

After dinner we went to the pubs with Annie's friends! 

The next day we wandered around the city center looking for something green for Saint Patty's Day, and I saw Galway Bay! So pretty. 

 And the cutest little boys!!!!!!!!!!

After that we grabbed some lunch of seafood chowder which was delicious! 

And ended the day at Butler's, where you get a free piece of chocolate with any hot chocolate. Ireland, you're being too kind. 

Chili hot chocolate, which was fantastic.

Classic Ireland weather, sunny with rain in the future. 

The next day before the McGuire children were to arrive, Annie and I stopped by the Saturday market and paid a visit to the crepe man. I should keep a tally of how many crepes I've eaten. 

There he is in all his glory. Some would call this love. 

I got a ham, cheese, mustard, onion, and scallion crepe. Of all the crepes I have eaten this might top the charts. 

Annie got a caramelized banana with chocolate and Bailey's crepe. 

Then we picked up the McGuire children! Adorbz. 

After they got settled in, we went from pub to pub to get a nice sampling of what Galway had to offer. 

Carolyn Schorr even stopped by for a visit!!! 

The next day was Saint Patty's day so we had to start the day off right.

Clearly we were the most spirited. 

Saint Patty's day was a slight blur due to so much fun being thrown at me at once. Parades were happening, beers were being drunk (drank? drunken? gets me every time), fun meters were rising. 

Probably the reason my flight in the morning was unpleasant. 

The next thing I know my alarm clock is going off at 4 a.m. Time to catch the 5:15 bus to take me to the airport. I hurriedly stuffed everything into my suitcase and sprinted out the door. I get to the airport smoothly! Shocked?

Dublin airport was a sight to see the day after Saint Patty's day, let me tell you. It took me a good five times going through security, and finally having to get pat down, that I realized the reason the buzzer kept going off was because I was still wearing my fun meter. After I got through security my fun was at a minimum.  However, I got on the plane with no trouble and landed safely in Amsterdam, where I was the last person getting off the plane because I was in the bathroom. I think you can guess why. Happy Saint Patty's Day! 

"Good idea you joined a gym"

This post doesn't need many words. Only pictures. Mouth-watering pictures. A couple weeks ago I went on a pancake cruise in Rotterdam. All you can eat pancakes, with endless toppings, on a boat.

My goal was to eat every single topping. 

Then I saw the amount of toppings and that goal quickly became just to eat more pancakes than anyone else. 

And yes, I am almost through all 8 seasons of How I Met Your Mother, thank you for asking!

We had our choice of pancakes with either bacon cooked in them, apple cooked in them, or plain. Yes, amazing, I know. Naturally my first choice was the bacon pancake. 

I decided to go for the Hawaiian type, so I put mozzarella cheese, pineapple, and ham on it. Seriously delicious. 

Next up: apple pancake.

I added some chocolate bits, banana and peanut butter. Seriously I was in heaven. 

Most people stopped after two. But not all. 

The bacon pancake was too good so I had to go back, and this time I added brown sugar and mozzarella cheese. After this bad boy my pants were feeling pretty dang tight. I looked around and realized I was pretty sure I was the only person still eating....

Whoops. I decided to digest a little bit and actually look out the window. 

Okay back to pancakes. The fourth one was going to be a struggle, but I had to do it.

For my final pancake, I chose the bacon pancake with chocolate, brie, and jelly. Weird combination but I would say this was the best one. Honestly delicious. 

There was a single bite left. I stared at this bite for probably ten minutes. I really didn't think I could do it. 

But I did it. 

Gee thanks mom.