chilled to the bone

Each time I hopen the heavy red coloured front door my body is shot with a tight chill, every step I take I don't think it can get any colder but then I turn another corner and I'm surprised at the huge drop in temperature.
I'm trying my hardest to brace myself for it will only get colder in the coming months.
As much as I despise being chilled to the smallest of my bones, the cold weather brings a feeling of romance as well, wanting to grab close and cuddle up with that someone special wrapped up in your warmest of warm clothes or a huge, soft blanket drinking a glass of hard red wine relishing in each other's warmth and company.

I would like to get out to the country during the cold months and embrace this beautiful frosted green preserved country as much as I possibly can.
I love the rolling green hills, you picture and you romanticize about the way Ireland looks and the way it would feel but it's the reality of the country there's such a romantic history to it all.
Even living in Galway which is a larger centre, there are traces of the old lifestyle everywhere you look, be it a 2 metre thick stone wall inbetween a brand new shopping centre and a fast-food centre or be it the Spanish Arch circa. 1600's, or the deep smiles in the elderly people of this area. The people of Ireland all seem to be keeping a delicious secret close to their hearts and deep underneath their woolen woven jumpers and vests.

I also love how if you were to ever bring up fairies to anyone in this country you won't be able to shut them up, they believe full heartedly in them which satisfies my beliefs from when I was a young girl.

I love the mythical mysteries of this country.
Even the haunting, tight below freezing temperatures.

A Christmas Abroad

It's finally hit me that I will not be in Brentwood Bay, let alone Canada for Christmas this year. I'm excited to experience a completely new kind of Christmas but at the same time I would absolutely love to be curled up in my cozy home nestled in with a Terry's Chocolate Orange and my sweet little Gus.

Galway has been decked out in Christmas attire; Christmas hangings all along Shop St, a Christmas Tree in the middle of Eyre Square, painted frost in all the shop windows.. Yet it still seems to be missing something, it could be my friends and family? Or it could be that absolutely no one has any true Christmas spirit, all they care about is the coolest, most trendy gift for their ever consuming families!

Sam has decided to pimp our hostel out in decorations which I couldn't be more excited for, I don't know what it is I just love the atmosphere and the cold yet cozy time of year. I was a little undecided of what I would be doing over the holidays, should I pop up to Glasgow? Should I go and see Robyn and Brandon in London before they head over to India? Should I go home and settle my homesick urges? .. Well I've decided to stick around here, Ollie works at another hostel and they will be closing down for Christmas eve and Christmas day and kicking everyone out. So him and I will have the crib to ourselves! A huge hostel? Privacy? A fireplace? PLAYSTATION? .. could life be any better?!

A Pretty Good Craic..

My procrastination of updating my blog has officially come to an end. A few times I have sat down and surrounded myself in the couch with blankets, ready to pour my heart out to the keyboard but I just can't find the creativity to write, it may be a lack of challenging my brain lately, it may be that I'm as lazy as a sloth or it could be that I'm afraid if I start I won't be able to stop.

The last time I wrote was while I was still in Greece mode, rather post-almost dying Greece mode. The rest of my trip was everything I could have asked for.. well maybe it could have been longer.. I now long for the sun-drenched and Greek cuisine filled days.

I've now been in Galway, Ireland for about 7/8 weeks now.

Even though the "Honeymoon" stage has officially worn off I'm still absolutely head over heels in love with it here, well maybe minus the lowest employment rate in 12 years and the crude folk of the green isle.
I'm long terming at a hostel, The Claddagh hostel, a cozy place full of the kindest, most crazy people you will ever meet.

My days are filled with sleeping, cooking, job-hunting, drinking, wandering aimlessly and laughing my head off at the ridiculousness of this country. It's so easy to get lost in the spirit of this country and just drink all day and everyday until you turn in to a pint of Guinness and not want work another day in my life.

I as of now vow to myself to see more of this country as of my 7 so odd weeks since I've been here I've only seen this city and Inis Mor of The Aran Islands for a couple of days ( They were a really lovely pair of days, don't get me wrong ) .. I just want to see more.

Onward!

A Trip to Hell And Back

Yesterday we travelled from Crete to Santorini on a hydro-foil catamaran (which is a boat that basically looks like a robot frown..??)I didn't even think that the slight wind would affect the voyage that much... but as we began to catch speed the boat basically went on to one side and then slammed back down, I was thinking okay this is just from all the boats arriving and leaving from the port.. we get out to open sea.. SLAM! The boat dives in the water a few feet... Then jerks around the SLAMS back down at full speed then Up then DOOOOOOOOWN, I look to the left and there were rolling 20 foot swells headed straight towards our boat.
I begin to feel ridiculously nauseaus, while making peace in my mind with maybe drowning in the Meditternean.. I'm serious!
I stupidly looked to my left again and we were completely submerged in water and then I glanced to my right and it was pure blue sky, and vice versa for the next two and a half hours. Did I mention this ferry ride was about 3 hours? So the staff begins to come around with barf bags while people began to start a jam sesh of barfing intervals - (not me i might add, I kept my cookies down the whole way, not as much can be said for Robyn and Mum though) and as the staff handed out the precious gift bags they told us that this was completely normal and some days it gets even worse.. so that settled my nerves to see them completelyrelaxed still I tried to find my "zen" and lose myself in a rhythm.. with a never ending KABOOM! BOOM! WOOSH!With the boat beind tossed from side to side, up and down.. Imagine being on a 3 hour roller coaster ride, no seat belts, no windows ( not that I'd want to look at the scenery)
I kissed the ground when we finally reached land.

Thank you Jesus.

Besides all that jazz Santorini is breath-taking, people tell you it's beautiful but let me tell you it's beautiful .. everything looks like a painting, the water is like a textured glass with boats placed a top it, the beautiful white washed and traditional buildingsare more than I can describe.I love it here, I'm never leaving... seriously if I have to get on that ferry boat of a death again I'm swimming back.

Once again thank you Jesus, thank you for answering my prayers.

γειά σας!

Right now I'm sitting in a very "uppity" style internet cafe in a town named Pylos.
This is so far my favourite mainland town, it's got everything .. it's colourful, well cultured and RIGHT on the sea, more than I could ask for!
I went swimming in the beautiful azul sea today it was beyond refreshing, the sea here completely envelops my body and makes me feel almost supernatural.

We drove four hours from the town we've been staying in called "Rion".. Rion is just out Patra which is the third biggest city in Greece, I'm more than ready to get out of the city and get to the islands.. I can almost hear them calling my name. Pylos is just a taste of the island life we'll be living for the next two weeks!

Although staying in Rion, I got to see Olympia ( the site where The Olympics began) it was so exciting, you could just feel the energy running through the ancient walls, especially in the tunnel you can walk through now that would have been where the atheletes ran through to get to the main event track.
We also went to an ancient fortress town today that was really exciting, the energy was like a slap in the face as soon as you entered the central gate.

I can't even explain my feeling of complete content"ness" right now, I never want to go home .. nope not ever.

I'm at 29 minutes, and a Euro 1.21.. so good bye for now.


" Excuse You?... Excuse mee"

Welcome to Greece

We landed in Athens, Greece on the 24th.. it's been a lot so far.
Athens is very much overwhelming, with it's never ending traffic, people, ferrel animals, smells and lights, no matter all of it has this enchanting feel to it.

Athens itself has a definite feel to it, it's history is astounding but it is your regular big city with a cultural spin to it. It's great to get away from everything back home, Greece is everything I could ask for and more, the food is fantastic, the beautiful greek men are beautiful and I'm just getting started.

Yesterday we travelled to an island called Hydra where the only mode of transportation is donkeys and the electricity is only on for certain hours of the day, it was absolutely breath taking, it was all placed on a mountain side with white washed homes and stairs.


It was great to get away from Athens and have a foreshadowing to the islands to come.

Today we pulled the tourist card and went to The Acropolis and I saw my second wonder of the world ( the first being Machu Picchu ), it was breathtaking even admidst all the scaffoulding it truly makes you wonder...

Truly I've fallen in love with Greece and never want to leave. Nope.

Finally Here

Finally we've arrived in London, after a long trip filled with delays and grumpy/snobby folk.
The plane ride was completely un-eventful but for the first time I actually slept for a good hours and then awoke to a very stir-crazy and sleep-deprived Robyn, and quickly proceeded to become just a stir crazy resulting in this,



Anyways.. we're finally here,
We're staying in a quaint Inn just out of Gatwick, it's a really beautiful place.

It's awesome finally being of age, not being turned down at pubs, last night I had a delicious Magner's cider with black currant cordial, scrumdiddlyumptious! and this morning I awoke to a full-blown English breakfast filled with fried bread, sausages, eggs, cooked ham, fried beans and tea.
I feel oddly comfortable in the U.K. almost more at home than Canada, I could do without the snobby people who don't smile back though.

We leave tomorrow for ATHENS, I couldn't be more excited to finally get to Greece and explore EVERYTHING, we are in Athens for 3 days that typically is long enough to spend in the stinky large city, I can't wait to see the Acropolis having learned about it Comparative Civilizations class.
This whole trip even though it's just two days in is sitting so well in my heart, I feel like I'm actually supposed to be doing this, for the first time in my life I feel like I'm doing something at the right time.

Love.