Sorry this entry has been delayed!  Other things came up...like my car story and then St. Patrick's day!  So, here we go...

As many of you know, one of my friends, Grant, came to visit for a few days this month.  I spent a few days before he arrived pouring over my maps to find a few NEW locations to tour (outside of Dublin) since I've created a well-worn path in both Dublin and Kilkenny.  I came up with a few good ones!

We started his visit sticking close to Dublin, because you can't come to Ireland and not visit this city.  The Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour was even better than I remembered.  Very informative, and I added to my personal list of facts about the city in which I live. 

After visiting a few other places in and around Dublin, we decided to hit the road for a couple days in the west of Ireland.  Our first stop was the Bunratty Castle...the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland.  We loved this tour first of all because it was self-guided :)  Other high points included the preserved "village" that surrounded the castle.  We visited a fisherman's thatch-roofed home, the local doctor's office, and more.  We tried to visit the print shop, but as I opened the door, I was met with a stern "we're closed"...so we went on our way!

About this time it began to rain, so we went back to the car and headed off to the Cliffs of Moher.  This was the second most impressive site that I've seen since arriving here in Ireland.  (The first was Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland...see photos and you'll know what I mean.)  The wind was CRAZY when we arrived, so we were thankful for the stone wall that surrounded us at all times!   All I can say is...check out the photos...amazing!

Finally, we wound our way toward Galway, and I say WOUND because the roads were the most curvy that I've ever driven on.  Thanks to my awesome driving skills, we arrived unharmed :)   I can't say much for my sense of direction once we got to Galway though...it took us about 45 minutes to find our hotel! 

We woke up the following morning to enjoy a full Irish breakfast and head on our way.  So much to see in Galway.  My favorite row of houses (photo I took at the top of my website) , the ocean, and some great shops.  The weather was amazing, so we even enjoyed the 3 hour trip back to Dublin. 

Great time hanging out and enjoying the scenery!  Check out the rest of the photos on the Photo page...

No, Thanksgiving is not an Irish holiday, however, I celebrated it all day long here in Dublin!  The day started with a sinus headache, but that did not thwart my preparation of the green bean casserole.   Headache subsided just in time to head up the hill for lunch with some of my teammates.  I walked in the Laughlin's door to the familiar smells of turkey, gravy and stuffing.  Shortly after 2pm, we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner #1.  Delicious!

After heading to basketball at the community centre, I then took the bus downtown to the Mulholland's apartment.  They have this incredible place with an awesome view of Dublin. (check out the photos!) Thanksgiving dinner #2 was enjoyed around 8pm with several friends and a couple of new acquaintances.  More turkey, gravy, and stuffing...DELICIOUSNESS.

Following dinner, several of us sat down to enjoy the Peanuts Thanksgiving Special.  I hadn't seen the Peanuts in years.  If the writers  were historically accurate, I actually learned a couple of things :) Fun and educational!

I added some new photos from the day...click the photo tab and enjoy!

This has been the theme of my weekend :)  Two of my dear friends came to visit me from Nepal...Leah and Jenn!  We met two years ago at some classes in Pennsylvania and found that we only lived about 90 miles away from each other in Tennessee.  Since meeting and all moving away, we have remained close friends, and so our reunion was so great when I picked them up at the airport on Friday morning (way before the sun came up)!

Friday I had the task of keeping them awake until evening so they could adjust to the time change, so we walked all over Dublin...of course with a necessary stop at Starbucks.  We also had to make a quick stop at the store for gloves and hats...(I told you it was freezing here!)

Saturday we visited Kilkenny.  This has quickly become one of my favourite towns near Dublin.  They enjoyed their first tour of a European castle!  Then we went for coffee before heading home.  So much talking and laughing along the way...such an encouragement.  Still several more days to their visit, so more fun to come!

Pictured below...
top:  Leah and me in Dublin
bottom: Jenn and me in Kilkenny

So today I headed up North for a day with some of my teammates and a friend from church.  Our destination was a place called "Giant's Causeway."  If you haven't heard of this place, I have to tell you, it's one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life! 

Long story short, due to some volcanic eruptions and then the Flood from Genesis, this landmark is covered with thousands of hexagonal pillars of rock.  I saw it today, and I'm still amazed!  (You can get a better explanation from the "Answers in Genesis" website.) Again, I stand amazed at my God who created the world and left us with such beautiful things to see...just because He wants to!

I took a ton of photos :)  Click the photo tab above to see the rest...and YES we did walk up those steps on the side of the mountain!

This weekend I had my first chance to show a friend around my new home!  Tim came for a visit on his way home from business in Vienna.  On Saturday after leaving the airport, we explored downtown Dublin, ate some fish and chips, and ended with a cup of coffee at Insomnia Cafe. 

Sunday, after church we headed on my first road trip in my little orange car.  We traveled about 1.5 hours south to Kilkenny to see Kilkenny Castle.  It turned out to be great weather almost all afternoon, and to add to the charm of the castle, there was a "Heritage Festival" with all kinds of booths for food and crafts :)  We ended our day at the most famous pub in the area for some authentic Irish food--DELICIOUS!

It was a short visit, but packed with the sights...and good to see a face from home.  (more photos under the "Photos" tab)

check them out on the "Photos" tab!

Today I added another page to my site!  Check out some recent photos of some "beautiful things" I have seen since I arrived only 18 days ago.  See the "Photo" tab above...