Well...almost the end of November. Today was my last day of classes for the term and I'm headed for exams. Chris has been working on his masters, and teaching at the cultural institute. He's headed home on November 30th and I'll follow December 14th. It's been a very busy few months but we've had a lot of fun along the way....

We arrived on the bus to find our car with a dead battery and a flat tire. We rented a car which I promptly drove it into the stone wall of our parkade entrance...a little spit polish did it wonders!!

Our Irish friends tell us that the summer was horrible and rainy but the weather here has been nothing but gorgeous since we arrived....

These are a few shots taken at the Quays... the view from our apartment. Lucky us!!

Even a few days nice enough for....

relaxing at the beach with friends- Chris Noel, Angela, Maeve and Aine

Camping....

on the cliffs of the burren

with a view of the three Aran Islands

Mom Oldring visited in September. I had some unexpected exams sprung on me so she had to watch me study a lot but we also had some fun and it was great to have her here.

Hiking Mt. Roundstone

Surfing....

The 'road' to the surfing beach

Way to go Blue Thunder!!


I got a NEW SURF BOARD (Barge)!!!!!!!!!

(It's 9'4'')

A couple randoms....

How could you not love this guy??!!

too bad this wasn't a video cuz he was making a hilarious howling sound whilst trying to fly with those big ears (Bosco...you have competition!!)

Something to think about....

I took this photo in Bath, England. This guy was there all day and MANY people took him up on the free hugs. There's actually an organization based solely on this premise (http://www.freehugscampaign.org/). It was established to increase human contact and connectivity (and to brighten peoples days). It was actually banned for a while (huggers were arrested) until thousands of names were gathered in a petition. I think it's a really neat idea...everyone who got a hug left him with a huge smile!!

On that note....big hugs to everyone back home!!
.

BRILLIANT, ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!

Some of you may know this already but Kelly works hard in school, is really smart, and has impeccable taste in men. The first two qualities earned her the 1st place Dr. Henry Hutchinson Stewart Scholarship Award in Anatomy and the Dr. Henry Hutchinson Stewart Scholarship Commendation in Physiology!

The university sent us, along with a few other award winners, to Croke Park in Dublin for the awards ceremony and reception.

I was put in the back with the rest of the rif-raf and took some really crap pictures. There were pro photographers at the front so she'll get some non-blurry ones also.

Kelly receiving her award from the Chancellor of the University, Dr. Garret FitzGerald.

Way to go!!!

It was great that her friend Angela won an award also!!

Behind the scenes in Croke Park.

Here's a few more shots and stories from our trip to Poland....

It was tough going for a while!!!

No, this picture is not upside down....

neither is this one

When in Poland...

drink vodka with your breakfast....???!!!!

You can tell how much Chris loved the idea of knocking back a vodke at 7 a.m.

(If you like Benylin cough syrup, you'll love Polish cherry vodka. I'm pretty sure they just change the packaging)

That knife was provided to us for spreading pork fat onto our bread (seems like an appropriate size for the job doesn't it????) I was assured by some very nice German women that the spread was fine for vegetarians....apparently ''it's not actually meat, just fat''....of course I just got right in there after they cleared that one up for me. A polite no thank you to the pork fat but they do make yummy fermented rye soup and potato pancakes!!

On our way to the airport we decided to take some photos of a very big and beautiful castle that is in the centre of Krakow. Nice isn't it??? You'll have to take our word for it that in behind all that fog is a river and a beautiful castle. Oh ya, the man in the photo is selling pretzles and bagels...two more things they are really good at in Poland.

For my 30th birthday this year, Kelly planned a surprise party for me. I thought her and I were going to our local pub for quiet night of pizza and watching rugby. Turned out she had contacted a student of mine who organised a group from my school and had rallied all of our Irish friends for a party. I was super surprised to see everyone and we had a great night.
For a gift she organised a suprise trip to Poland on the Bank Holiday weekend (Oct 26-30). What a gift!!! Here's how it went:
When we arrived in Poland we realized that our English wasn't going to get us very far. Thankfully Kelly had arranged a car to be dropped off at the airport for us. While we waited we brushed up on our Polish thanks to a translation page and a friendly man in the airport.


Then off to Zakopane on the Slovakian border for food to take to the hut Kelly had arranged. Grocery stores were interesting as nothing was labelled in English and we couldn't communicate with staff. We got quite used to this scene as horses and wagons are still commonly used in rural Poland.
Kelly loved this man, his dog, and his homemade broom. He laughed hysterically when Kelly pet his dog. We couldn't understand word he said to us so maybe his dog had an infectious disease.

A common mountain home.

You had the option of taking a horse drawn wagon the 8km into the hut. We were both quite happy for a walk in the mountains!

Kelly was really excited for the walk. She had this grin on the whole way.

See?

Morskie Oko

This place was great. It had a staffed kitchen where you could order hot food and beer! A plate of food and a pint of beer was 3-4euro, same price as a tea bag in an Irish restaurant.

Morskie Oko from across the lake.

We made an attempt to climb Rysy (2499m), the highest mountain in Poland, but were turned away by waist deep snow. After deciding to turn around our most logical decent was by...

the butt slide!!

The hut had the most intricate woodwork I've ever seen. Every beam, handrail, wall, etc. was decorated with ornate designs.

Leaving the High Tatra Mountains we had amazing weather and views.

Once out of the mountains we saw the remnants of Soviet rule. It was quite common to see Soviet block housing in rural areas.

Then off to the small town of Oswiecim, more famous for it's German name Auschwitz.

The main gate's cynical message, "Arbiet macht frei" (Work brings freedom), under which workers and new entrants must pass.

After visiting Auschwitz we took a short bus ride to Birkenau. Birkenau was designed by the Nazis and built by prisoner slaves because Auschwitz couldn't murder fast enough. Auschwitz had one gas chamber with crematorium, Birkenau had four.

Bunks where prisoners slept

Looking down the railway unloading area to "Death Gate". This was where families last saw each other, unaware of their impeding fate.

Seeing these camps put into perspective the number of people murdered by the Nazis. Both Kelly and I had grandfathers who fought in the Second World War, it was really meaningful to see why they risked their lives.

Our final stop was Krakow

14th-century St. Mary's Church

The city was beautiful! It is one of the only cities in Eastern Europe not destroyed by war. There are many castles, cathedrals, synagogues, and monuments still standing with many little quaint neighborhoods surrounding the city centre. We stayed in Kasimierz, the old Jewish quarter, where Schindler's List was filmed. It was gone through a significant revival and now houses many cafes, restaurants, shops, and hostels.

Cloth Hall in the middle of Rynek Glowny, the largest medival town square in Europe.

We were so excited to see maple trees!