family coming over!
Door: KellyvanGrinsven
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Kelly
23 Februari 2011 | Ierland, Limerick
Thursday was the day my mum, dad and brother would come over to visit me for the weekend. Of course I had classes, in fact I had my first test at 2 (which I passed!) and after that a couple of other classes till six. The horror… Being the ‘good girl’ that I am I went to all of my classes (even though I knew my parents were already in Limerick somewhere) but I couldn’t wait to get out of there. My classmates did not understand my choice of going to (absolute boring) classes knowing that my mum, dad and brother were waiting for me.. I know I know…
Anyways, after my last class I walked towards the hotel they were staying at and they started walking my way. We met somewhere in the middle.
I had a lovely weekend. A weekend where I found out that: ‘Claudia, Sonny and Hope’ are weather forecasts, Limerick city centre is not enough ‘Limerick’ for my mum and I cannot tell you, as a guide, where any good restaurants are, but I can tell you where you can find the best pubs. :P
Cliffs of Moher
On the Friday my mum and dad took me and my brother to see the Cliffs of Moher (again). A place we went some 17 years ago as well. According to my parents the place has changed a lot since then. There are steps and walls now and you can’t walk on the cliff’s edge anymore… There used to be none of that and we could just walk up to the cliff’s edge back then. There weren’t even as many parking spaces as there are now.. It goes to show what tourism can do to a place like this. Improvement? yes I think so…
Also, a couple of the international students went to see the cliffs before I went there. Their reactions: WOW! Amaaazing! Never seen anything like that before in my LIFE! Me: well… they’re good, it’s nice but they’re not as good as the Preikistolen in Norway! – nobody knew what the hell I was talking about… One of many moments I found out how lucky I am to have seen so many places in the world :D Thank you mum and dad :)
Limerick
On the Saturday we had a beautiful day and I took my family to see some places in Limerick. We went to St Mary’s Cathedral and King John’s castle. The best part of King John’s castle however was the fact that we saw rafters in the River Shannon trying to peddle into a strong stream and failing every single time. :P Typing this, I remember my dad saying a day before: I’m not a fish, and I recently found out I’m not a bird either. (In other words: he doesn’t like water and flying is not one of his favourite things either :P – John B. would probably agree with him :))
Bunratty Castle
On Sunday we went to see Bunratty castle. (which is also a place we visited some 17 years ago). It was a very nice day and the theme park is huge! It was a shame however that tourist season hasn’t started yet and therefore the place is (looks) died out. During the high season you would find staff in original dress working in the several houses and shops (the way they would some couple hundred years ago). It was nice to be back again though, even though I couldn’t remember a single thing. I saw an Irish wolfhound though.. they’re huge.. I remember seeing one when I was about five years old (in Ireland) so it was cool to see one again.
Time flies!
Time really flies here… I have the feeling I’ve only arrived yesterday and when I look in my agenda I really have the idea that I’ll be home before I know it…
Emigrating?
I’ve always dreamt of (and seriously thought about) living somewhere else, anywhere but in Holland. Being here though for the past few weeks (month) made me realise I would probably never be able to do that. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not homesick! But I do believe a person will always long for home somewhere and to be honest, I’ve found out that even though Ireland (or Australia for that matter) are much MUCH prettier than Holland, these countries have their little quirks as well.. Ireland (or at least this part of Ireland) is very poor … I think I’ll just try and travel the world as much as I can, but always keep coming back home…
So for all of those dreamers like me out there, go live abroad for a couple of months, find out if this is really something for you :P It's a great experience!!!!
Yes, I have made clips but I'm not finished with them yet. So therefore here are the links to see clips of Killarney (from last blog)
Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ZDsISUbLM
Part two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY2GZMKN4O4
Have fun watching them!
Slán leat!
Anyways, after my last class I walked towards the hotel they were staying at and they started walking my way. We met somewhere in the middle.
I had a lovely weekend. A weekend where I found out that: ‘Claudia, Sonny and Hope’ are weather forecasts, Limerick city centre is not enough ‘Limerick’ for my mum and I cannot tell you, as a guide, where any good restaurants are, but I can tell you where you can find the best pubs. :P
Cliffs of Moher
On the Friday my mum and dad took me and my brother to see the Cliffs of Moher (again). A place we went some 17 years ago as well. According to my parents the place has changed a lot since then. There are steps and walls now and you can’t walk on the cliff’s edge anymore… There used to be none of that and we could just walk up to the cliff’s edge back then. There weren’t even as many parking spaces as there are now.. It goes to show what tourism can do to a place like this. Improvement? yes I think so…
Also, a couple of the international students went to see the cliffs before I went there. Their reactions: WOW! Amaaazing! Never seen anything like that before in my LIFE! Me: well… they’re good, it’s nice but they’re not as good as the Preikistolen in Norway! – nobody knew what the hell I was talking about… One of many moments I found out how lucky I am to have seen so many places in the world :D Thank you mum and dad :)
Limerick
On the Saturday we had a beautiful day and I took my family to see some places in Limerick. We went to St Mary’s Cathedral and King John’s castle. The best part of King John’s castle however was the fact that we saw rafters in the River Shannon trying to peddle into a strong stream and failing every single time. :P Typing this, I remember my dad saying a day before: I’m not a fish, and I recently found out I’m not a bird either. (In other words: he doesn’t like water and flying is not one of his favourite things either :P – John B. would probably agree with him :))
Bunratty Castle
On Sunday we went to see Bunratty castle. (which is also a place we visited some 17 years ago). It was a very nice day and the theme park is huge! It was a shame however that tourist season hasn’t started yet and therefore the place is (looks) died out. During the high season you would find staff in original dress working in the several houses and shops (the way they would some couple hundred years ago). It was nice to be back again though, even though I couldn’t remember a single thing. I saw an Irish wolfhound though.. they’re huge.. I remember seeing one when I was about five years old (in Ireland) so it was cool to see one again.
Time flies!
Time really flies here… I have the feeling I’ve only arrived yesterday and when I look in my agenda I really have the idea that I’ll be home before I know it…
Emigrating?
I’ve always dreamt of (and seriously thought about) living somewhere else, anywhere but in Holland. Being here though for the past few weeks (month) made me realise I would probably never be able to do that. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not homesick! But I do believe a person will always long for home somewhere and to be honest, I’ve found out that even though Ireland (or Australia for that matter) are much MUCH prettier than Holland, these countries have their little quirks as well.. Ireland (or at least this part of Ireland) is very poor … I think I’ll just try and travel the world as much as I can, but always keep coming back home…
So for all of those dreamers like me out there, go live abroad for a couple of months, find out if this is really something for you :P It's a great experience!!!!
Yes, I have made clips but I'm not finished with them yet. So therefore here are the links to see clips of Killarney (from last blog)
Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ZDsISUbLM
Part two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY2GZMKN4O4
Have fun watching them!
Slán leat!
-
23 Februari 2011 - 21:06
Carola:
Heya! Great that your parents were able to come and visit you... Sounds like you had a great time! And I haven't been to the cliffs yet, but I might pass that and go to the cliffs somewhere in Donegal which are even higher and less touristic.. Don't know the name anymore :p but thanks for your honest advice! and the rest sounds awesome.. and I agree with you on the going to live abroad, I also fancied that a few years ago but my visit here, in one of the prettiest countries in Europe if you ask me, made me reconsider that ;) let's just stick to travelling haha.. holland isn't that bad at all, to say the least!
Enjoy your stay and keep writing these blogs, really like reading them!
xxx from the north -
23 Februari 2011 - 21:11
Marianne:
Hoi Kelly, de tijd vliegt inderdaad. alweer 1 maand ben je weg en wat heb je allemaal alweer gezien en gedaan. Inderdaad mag je blij zijn met je ouders die je al zoveel van de wereld hebben laten zien. Maar je weet het spreekwoord oost, west thuis best. Trouwens ook gefeliciteerd dat je alles nog gehaald hebt van wat je daar moest kennen of maken. Maar jou kennende doe je er ook erg je best voor. De groetjes van ons hier allemaal. -
23 Februari 2011 - 23:11
Pascale:
Hey! I have also realised that whilst in The Netherlands, I am a definite pro-England person. Everything is better in England when I'm at home. But, now that I'm here, I've become this crazy pro-Holland person. I'm defending The Netherlands all the time... it's weird though, but I definitely understand where you're coming from!
Nice blog!! :) xx -
25 Februari 2011 - 18:57
Ons Pap En Ons Mam:
Dag kelly, het is echt een mooi weekend geweest. Alleen weet je al wat het nadeel van bezoeken is he? juist ja, je moet ook weer afscheid nemen. We hebben wel weer een heel gezellig familieweekend gehad, limerick was beter geschikt voor een hotelkamer maar het had ook zo maar de tent kunnen zijn. We hebben nu wel je voorleesmomentje gemist!! Davy komt nu al vlug dus heb je bijna geen tijd om ons weer te missen( als dat het geval zou zijn). Wij tellen de dagen weer af tot je weer thuis bent. Eigenlijk moeten we de mensen van Skype een bedankje sturen want dat is wel fijn. Geniet van je weekend Galway( overigens vind ik dat ook wel echt iers genoeg). xxx pap en mam -
02 Maart 2011 - 15:11
Jan Linders:
Hi Kelly,
So you decided to come home after all , your parents will probably applaud this decision :-)! Attractive scenery at Killarney, full of atmosphere, accompanied by melancholy Irish music, that always does the trick, doesn't it? You certainly seem to enjoy Limerick and its surroundings; And rightly so of course! greetz, take care,
Jan -
02 Maart 2011 - 17:10
Rick Bekkers:
jaja, ik zie t wel, goed naar je zin daar! Ik zou zegge succes met de studie en veel plezier nog! Grtz Rick
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