"Not all those who wander are lost"

I like this quote because lately, I have felt pretty lost. I am almost half-way through my third year of college and am no where closer to knowing what I really want to do with my life. I am constantly changing my mind and imagining the type of life I want. I feel torn between my many passions that I want to pursue. But this quote reminds me that it's ok. Just because I am curious and fascinated with the world doesn't mean that I'm doing something wrong. Just because I didn't crawl out the womb knowing what I want to do for the rest of my life doesn't mean I'm going nowhere. I have so many interests and studying abroad has only, no pun intended, broadened these interests. So I am a wandering soul. Not lost, just undiscovered.

It is week 9 of the semester out of 12. How did that happen!?

Time is flying. I can't believe another week has come and gone. I guess the fall Irish days seem to meld together when you keep busy!

I was in a musical in the beginning of the semester, but the performance dates are the same as an Irish Heritage Weekend that I already committed to, so I had to bow out.

I was also involved in the rowing team, but I seem to be facing sickness after sickness here. The semester began with bronchitis and a kidney infection, and now I either have tonsillitis or strep.. going to the health centre to find out later today. I think because of the amount of travelling and schoolwork and balancing all that with a social life, my body is just not able to keep up. Hopefully this week, i'll get some meds and be back on the water. 

So this past weekend, I decided to take it easy. Matt and I were going to hike Craogh Patrick, but since I wasn't feeling well, he came to Limerick instead. He really hasn't seen much of Limerick, so I decided to show him around a little. Saturday morning, we went to the milk market, a huge tented market in the city centre where all sorts of vendors come every week with delicious foods and unique crafts. I wasn't interested in buying anything in particular, I just love the atmosphere. The fresh fruits and vegetables, the smell of Irish meat on the grills, breads baking, chocolates, crepes, jams; anything you can imagine. And there are so many people rushing about. It's an incredible sight to see.

We walked down the streets of the city centre, which were already adorned with Christmas decorations! I guess since the Irish don't celebrate Thanksgiving, there's nothing in between Halloween and Christmas. It still felt a little too early to be singing Christmas carols though.

Grave at St. Mary's Cathedral

St. Mary's Cathedral

We walked down to St. Mary's Cathedral, built in 1168. It is a magnificent Gothic-style cathedral that almost resembles a castle from the outside. We tried to go in, but it was closed when we got there, so we just admired the small graveyard next to the church, filled with Celtic crosses marking the graves of the passed Irish.

King John's Castle

After the Cathedral, we visited the most recognizable symbol of Limerick, in my opinion, King John's Castle. There's a visitor center which houses exhibits and films explaining the history and significance of the castle to Ireland as well as the remains of the castle, which you can still go in. We climbed to the top of the castle, overlooking the River Shannon, the hills of county Clare, and the city of Limerick. It was such a beautiful fall day, and the view was just as nice.

After visiting the castle, we went to the Limerick Museum. There were hundreds of artifacts from all different periods of time. There were old love letters, military uniforms, medicine bottles, prescriptions, receipts, and weapons. I was fascinated by the amount of history in one small room. It was incredible! 

Dolan's Pub

We left the museum and spent the rest of the day just walking around the city until we came back to campus. That night, we headed out to Dolan's, a small pub near the docks that houses the music scene in Limerick. The downstairs features nightly local traditional music, my favorite :) These musicians just get together and improv a song. There's usually a fiddle, a tin whistle, a the bodhran (which is like a drum), most times a guitar, and even sometimes ullieann pipes, which are similar to bagpipes. There's also an upstairs which has modern  rock bands and any big acts that come to Limerick usually play there. And of course everyone was wearing crazy Halloween costumes. There were some older people that walked in that looked like tourists, and they were scared off by all the young people in halloween costumes. We didn't dress up, but we did sit and enjoy the trad music while sipping some Irish cider :)

Elise and I also booked our plane tickets for our Tour d'Europe. We are going to Barcelona, Rome, Paris, and Dublin, then taking a bus across the Irish countryside back to good ol' Limerick. Then I have one day to pack and it's back to the states! I can't believe that my time here is almost up. But I know I'll be back someday. I am so excited to see Rome, because during our week in Italy, there simply wasn't enough time to see it, so I'm really looking forward to it. And hopefully my semester of Spanish will pay off in Barcelona, although I'm pretty sure they speak Catalina there.

So my weeks ahead: This weekend we're going on a day trip to Blarney Castle so I can kiss the Blarney stone, which Irish people supposedly pee on to make fun of tourists. Hopefully I won't get herpes.. Then we're spending the day in Cork City. 

The following weekend is the Irish Heritage Weekend in the Ring of Kerry. Ceili dancing, traditional food, music, and ruins! 

Since we didn't get to hike Craogh Patrick this past weekend, Matt and I decided to go the third weekend in November. It's in County Mayo, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful, scenic areas in Ireland, so I didn't want to miss it. 

The next weekend is Thanksgiving weekend, during which Matt and I will be spending four days exploring La  Ville de Lumiere, Paris! I CANNOT wait! This week will also be the last week of classes. CRAZY.

Then I have exams, a Munster Rugby Game, and finally, my last shebang of Europe with Elise, then I'm homeward bound! 

La vie est comme un chanson