Knocknacarra

I had my homestay this weekend! I'm happy to say that it couldn't have gone any better.

Me and another girl from my program were picked up in Knocknacarra Friday evening by a friendly man named Martin and his 2 year old daughter Lilyanna. I made a great first impression when I tried to get in the driver's seat instead of the passenger's... old habits die hard. Martin thankfully made a joke and we laughed it off, but in my head I was thinking, well done, self. We drove about 5-10 minutes and talked with Martin about where we were from, and how we were enjoying Galway so far. He pulled up to his flat and we unloaded our bags and walked in.

Their flat is gorgeous – very posh and cozy. Martin showed us to our room upstairs and we were thrilled to find two double beds in a guest room! After unpacking a bit, we came downstairs and played with Lilyana, waiting for Roisin, Martin's wife to get home. She arrived and warmly greeted us then began to make dinner for us. Roisin and Martin are so sweet. They are a young, hip couple and Lilliana is the cutest two-year-old. She had so much energy and didn't hesitate to talk to Christina and I or to show us all of her different toys.

Roisin made spaghetti with a delicious meat and vegetable sauce and chocolate mousse for dessert. I couldn't say thank you enough for our lovely dinner after cooking for myself for the last three weeks. We chatted throughout dinner and they told us to do whatever we wanted so we truthfully told them how tired we were and hung out for a while, then read and went to sleep early for the first time since we've arrived in Ireland.

Roisin and Martin had to attend a funeral on Saturday so Martin dropped us off in town in the morning. Roisin was so cute – she packed us lunches to bring with! She kept saying “I'm your mummy for the weekend.” A bunch of the other Galway homestay-ers had the same type of situation so we met up with four other girls from our program and spent the day shopping, listening to street performers, and hanging out in random cafes and coffee shops. It was a good day and it was nice to feel like I had nowhere to be so I could just take my time looking around and enjoying city life. We were exhausted by the time Martin picked up Christina and I up for dinner. Roisin made us another amazing meal – the best chicken kiev i've ever had, mashed potatoes, and another mix of mashed, assorted vegetables. We helped clean up then played with Lilyanna for a bit and after she went to bed, Christina and I watched a movie and had tea with Martin and Roisin.

This morning (Sunday), Christina and I accompanied Lilyanna and Roisin to mass. I was excited to go to church and to see how Irish Catholic mass was compared to other church services I have attended. I found the service easy to follow and I recognized most of the hymns, the big difference was that it was only about 35 minutes long! It was a great experience though, and it made me feel even more at home to go to church here. Roisin's parents live right down the street from the church so we walked there after to have tea with Roisin's parents while she ran some errands. Roisin's mother Mags ran a bed and breakfast for a long time and her warm disposition showed years of caring for and hosting others. After way too many cookies and chocolates, Roisin picked us up and brought us back to the flat. We packed up our things and read for a while in the family room while Martin cooked. Roisin casually mentioned that he had been the head chef at our favorite pub, The Front Door, for a while and once the food was ready, it made sense. It was the most beautifully prepared and delicious meal I had received in Ireland so far – we had chicken with homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, and a variety of glazed squashes. It's going to be hard to cook for myself after eating so well this weekend!

I hope that I can stay in touch with Martin and Roisin, it would be wonderful to have kind of a pseudo-family in Ireland :)

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera with me so I don't have pictures of the homestay but I have more pictures of Galway!  

Nimmo's Pier

Great pub!

Irish sweaters.. I want them all

Shop Street