Worst Week of my life!

Hello Everyone...

As you can tell from the context of my title...I have had a rough week. And its only WEDNESDAY! I have had to write 2 papers, take 1 quiz, do 1 presentation, read 3 books, and have class from 8:30am - 5:30pm today. It has been awful! But....At least it is almost over and I dont have class for the next four days!

ANnnddddd.....I get to go to London Thursday to see the Alice in Wonderland premiere!!!!!!!!! Well not actually the premiere...but I am going to the red carpet to see all of the movie stars! I am so excited! hopefully I will get some good pictures from it to put on here...which could possibly include Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway! So yes...this week will have a happy Ending. I will also be going to Oxford, Stonehenge, and Bath this weekend...so stay tuned for a post this weekend!

Well, that is my life at the moment! I love all of you and I hope that yall have a wonderful week.

- Al Pal

Killarney & Dublin, Ireland...adventure of the Leprechaun!

Me at waterfall in Ring of Kerry

Me at waterfall in Ring of Kerry

Going out in Kilarney

Going out in Dublin

Longest City name in England

Me infront of the coast - Ring of Kerry

Ring of Kerry - about to be blown away

Chelsea and Me in a valley in Ring of Kerry

View from a cliff in Ring of Kerry

Beach on Ring of Kerry

Im in Atlantic touching Home!!!

At Blarney Castle...about to make my way up to kiss the stone :)

Me, Emilie, and Sara at Red Fox Inn having IRish COffee

View from cliff on RIng of KErry

John, Kara, Emily, Jessi, Me at water fall at Blarney Castle

Im having some trouble uploading the pictures..i will uplaod a TON more tongiht so stay tuned!

I added some more...i will try to keep adding. If you click on the picture then it will give you a better view :)

Top O' the morning to ya!

That is what you have to say in Ireland everytime you pass over a bridge...it is a little hello to the little people (Leprechauns) who live under the bridges.

This weekend was a LONG weekend to say the least. It all started Wednesday night at 6:30pm...We all boarded the coach to drive to Wales, where we arrived at 2 am! Needless to say, I was awake the whole bus ride. We got onto the ferry and it was like a cruise ship! There were restaurants and couches and lounges and everything! So guesssss what I did.....SLEPT! haha...my group was the only one on the ferry except for 10 other people so we spread like the plague on the couches. We arrived in Ireland at 6:30 am and went to a hotel to eat an "Irish" breakfast which consisted of baked beans, nasty sausage, some more poor quality English meat, and an egg. We freshened up and hit the road again for 2 hours. Next Stop...Blarney Castle. This is the location of the famous lucky Blarney Stone...which you have to KISS in order to get lucky!! Yes...I kissed the stone that millions of people (who probablly possess diseases unknown to man) kissed! It was quite exhilarating. I got my picture taken because it is quite an ordeal to get to the stone, so there are officials that help you. We walked around and saw the lovely sites of Blarney, had lunch, got some Euros, and boarded the bus again! Next Stop...Kilarney! Kilarney is a famous town, but small and quaint town in Ireland. It had lovely restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. It was so small and welcoming, we all knew our way around by the time we left! We spent the night here...more like crashed and burned.

NEXT DAY!! Wake up at 8am and board the bus once again...but this time is was a happy time. We took the Ring of Kerry tour from 9am until 4:30pm. This is a circuit of scenery sights along the Western Ireland coast that has some of the most amazing scenery that I have ever seen. I got to touch the Atlantic!! ... I was touching home :) We went to the Red Fox Inn which has some of the most famous Irish Coffe in Ireland. It also has ponies and the largest dogs in the world! I tried some Irish Coffee (which is Coffee and Irish Whiskey), a combination of two things that I never drink and dont enjoy. It was good, but I was tired of it after a couple sips. Next we went to some cliffs and beaches and valleys and waterfalls which all had breathtaking scenery...and all of which had some historical significance, but who cares about that?? HA Kidding! We got back to the hotel and got ready to PARTAY! We went to dinner at this small restaurant and had the best meal that I have had in the UK this whole trip. I had homemade Lasagna, mashed potatoes, and 4 different kinds of veggies (I had my 'Greens' Oma :)After that we went to a pub with live Irish music which was so much fun! We got the musicians to sing my friend Happy Birthday. Everyone had a Guinness (except me)...since it is brewed and apparently amazing in Ireland. The cool thing about this place was that the front was an Irish pub and the back was a night club with Hip hop and fun dance music. So if I may make a 'Hannah' reference...We got "The Best of Both Worlds" :)

NEXT DAY! Wake up at 8am and made our way to DUBLIN! Dublin is home of the Original Guinness Brewery and the Original Jameson Whiskey Distillary. It is also famous for the shopping and Temple Bar District...which is where all of the hoppin' bars and clubs are. Having Euros was awsome...it was like we were steeling everything...because the Pound is so expensive. However, in Dublin they didnt let us feel like we were steeling anything. Dublin was so much fun and a totally different feel than Kilarney. It was such a big city with some crazy people and Leprechauns...I saw them everywhere! We went shopping and site seeing most of the day and then went and ate at The Bad Ass Cafe! haha...we had to. After that we went to get ready to go out and 'Hit the City'! (Tik Tok anyone?...its a song for those who didnt get it :) We went to the famous Temple Bar in Temple Bar DIstrict, and it was packed like Bourbon Street when the Saints win the Superbowl! I met alot of really nice people...some Irish some from New York haha. I met a surprisingly large amount of people from the States that night. We got the Live Irish musicians to play Gallway Girl (This is the song in P.S. I Love you that Gerard Butler plays for Hilary Swank when she is in Ireland) It was awsome! The night was full of awsome memories and tons of great jokes!

Finally!!! Homeward Bound! Loaded the bus at 645 am...3 hours of sleep. Wonderful. By this time I was as homesick as anything, bothered. (Hello, its for you. Bothered.), and wanting to come back to Texas so bad!! This was mostly because I couldnt talk to mom and dad for 4 days because I couldnt get an internet connection. bummer. But I stuck it out and made it all the way back to the manor before crying!! Haha...yessss....We made our way to the ferry station and boarded the awsome ferry and took full advantage of it by sleeping the whole time again :) Got back on the bus at Wales and stopped at a city in Wales with the longest name in the whole United Kingdom

LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH.
Meaning: The Church of Mary in the Hollow of the White Hazel near the fierce Whirlpool and the Church of Tysilio by the Red Cave.

No...there are no typos. That is the name of this city in Wales...which is basically a tiny as a needle, but an enormous tourist attraction. We stopped their for lunch and made the rest of our way back to the manor!

Now I have to give a Presentation tomorow and a test on Wednesday :) Hoooray! NOT!

I am staying at the manor this weekend... I was planning to go to Wales. But after that 5 day trip I just cant get the idea of anymore travel in my head. And I also have a heavy amount of work building up on my plate.

However, I have booked some exciting trips recently for the future. THese are not school trips...these are ones that I have decided to take with a separate group of friends. I am going to Prague in April and Amsterdam to see The Dave Matthews Band the beginning of March!! So I am very excited and cannot wait for that :)

I am missing home more than ever right now. I love it here and I am making some of the best freinds ever, but there is nothing like home...OR TEXAS! I miss it and everyone so dearly. I really miss the sweet girl and the little bug (a.k.a. Emma and Riley)...I think of them all the time. Especially when I see puppies...which is alot. I think of everyone all the time... and my bank account is depleting rapidly!! haha and my hair is getting a little ratty and unruly...suffice it to say that I will be in need of a severe highlight treatment when I get home :) I just cant beleive that it will be summer when I get home...like an 8 month vacation!!! Except not because school is kicking my little hiney right now. The food here isnt getting any better...but I have gotten to the point where I can stomach any kind of food...well maybe not any...Actually not that much at all. But im working on it! One thing that I have been fortunate is staying away from any and every sickness!! Even after kissing the Blarney Stone!

Well I have a presentation waiting for me that isnt going to finish itself. I will post soon! I love you all very much and I hope that all of you have been well and enjoying the Texas snow :)

Ali

P.S. I love you :)

Who Dat.

Hey everyone!!

GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What! What! Superbowl today and I cant wait! Kick off here is at 11:30 pm! Hooray for late night NFL, and it hurts me to not root for the Colts but I must support the homeland :) So, this weekend was uneventful in the fact that I did not take any trips, but it was nice to relax and not have any obligations. I slept until 11:30 am on saturday (and watched 3 movies) and 12 pm today. My sleep schedule has been radical here!
(LAuren and Christi: I watched Three mUskateers, feeling a little iffy thinking that maybe it wouldnt be as good as when i watched it when I was three years old...haha!! IT WAS BETTER!!! I was CRACKING UP!!! I cannot wait to get back and quote our favorite lines from it --> [Rochefort. Isn't that a smelly kind of cheese?]. haha I love it!

I dont have many interesting things to say. I am going to Ireland for 5 days and four nights this week so I will have an awsome post next weekend! I will be going to Dublin and Kilarney. I dont have much to post this time but I just wanted to keep you updated on my weekend! I tried to post pictures of all of my friends but since they werent from my camera, they wouldnt post. Bummer.

(This paragraph is after the super bowl)...WOOOO HOOO!!! Saints won! Great Game huh?I watched the whole thing in a room FULL of Colts fans...everyone here is from Indiana haha! So there was tons of heckling towards me to say the least, but I kept my little mouth shut and I guess it paid off in the long run :)

HAPPY BIRTHDDAY LAUREN AND CHRISTI!!!! 24!!!! YAY!
(I wish I could have been there so bad)

I miss everyone SO much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURTNEY!!! 21!!! (WISH I could be there!)
(You will be getting a little surprise in the mail...use it for your birthday!)

Alex and Christopher!
I miss both of you so much! I hope Nursing School and Law school are going great (you little brilliant couple) haha Give Maddie and Walle (Spelling?) a big hug and kiss for me! Im so glad they are best friends now! Love you.

Miss you Bailey & Chance! I cant wait to come stay with yall at SMU...i miss it alot, but I wish that yall were here to party! (and Chel)

I was SO Happy to see you this weekend Grandma Bagley :) Love you.

Aunt Jean & Uncle Jim,
Mom and Dad told me that yall are enjoying the posts...and I am SO glad!! I love that I can share this experience with everyone at home. When I come home we will have to come to Trophy Club and have dinner soon! I hope yall are doing well. Love you

Hi Oma! I know mom will show you this post so I thought that I would say hello and I miss you very much and I cannot wait to get your happy in her package! I hope it comes soon! Love you :)

Love you mommy and daddy...i miss home so much :( Im trying to study hard and stay focused haha its hard here. This is the most liberating and amazing experience that I have ever been through, and all of the amazing people that I have met so far have made it even better. I wish that both of you could be here. It isnt the same without you...but we will be back :)

I am Desparately sorry if I forgot to address anyone! (I cant see everyone who follows from this page)...but I LOVE all of you and you better look out for my next post about Ireland!!

Stay Tuned to Party in the U.K.!!! (Ireland will be CRAZY!...im finding Gerard Butler while im there :) at least my own version)

-The Bal-ster