Two Nights out

Class the past two days has been pretty good. We’ve been talking about trafficking, which is an area that Im interested in working it, so its been nice to shift from domestic DV to a more global discussion.

After class yesterday, I headed to town to pick up a ticket for Kimberly for the show we were going to and hit the grocery store. While I was killing some time, I did some gift shopping and got rid of some of the pounds I had left over from my trip to the North this past weekend. I had a chat with the shopkeeper for a bit. It was really amusing to hear his thoughts on Italian students (Alas, the annoying Italians saga continues) Apparently, they are known for epic shoplifting and generally being rude. As much as I hate stereotypes, I have yet to meet and Italian student to prove contrary to these views.

When I got back from my shopping trip, I had lunch and then hit the gym for a bit.

Then, it was time to get ready for what I deemed my “splurge night out.” My roommates, Kristen and I all had a really nice dinner at McSwiggens in town and then we had tickets to see Adrian Crowley who was playing as part of the Galway Arts Festival.

Dinner was awesome. It was more than I would usually spend on a dinner out, but it was well worth it and I went all out- dinner, drinks and dessert (something thats quite rare for me to do- which is going to continue to be so, because I ate way too much and was hating myself later because there was a lot of sugar in the pie I had making me feel a little sick)

After we finished dinner we headed to the Roisin Dubh for the concert. The venue was kind of cool- it was a room in the back of the bar with a stage. My main complains were that there wasn't much room to move around (issue when you are trying to get to the bathroom/get drinks) and the stools we sat on were not the most comfortable.- But we were RIGHT in from of the stage.

The “opening” act was Anna Scott. I actually really liked her- her voice was awesome. (I wanted to grab one of her cds but I didn't see where they were selling them :[ ) Then Adrian Crowley came on. I’ve never heard his music, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but it defiantly wasn't the kind of music I would expect for a bar scene. (At a few points I looked over at my roommates and they were cracking up, so I couldn't help but laugh as well- being close to the stage though, I attempted to control myself as much as possible) It started out a little too “artsy” for my taste, but then as the night went on and he added instruments, the music was a little better. (The Cello was AWESOME)

When the concert finished, Kristen and I grabbed a taxi back to the apartments and the others stopped into another bar that was playing music.

After I got back, I worked on reading for class and got ready for bed. Carlo stopped by to return my charger which he had borrowed earlier and we made plans to go to a play on campus.

After class today I hit the gym and then headed back to the apartment. I had originally planned to get some laundry done, but I ran out of time, so I just did some work and hung out. I ended up baking some Orange Cranberry bread- it didn't bake right- so it looks a little funny, but its tastes good. (And thats what matters right?)

At 530 I headed towards campus to meet up with Carlo for the play. Unfortunately they were sold out (and we found out it was 3x more than we originally thought) so we stopped at the computer lab so he could finish up some work and then we walked to town.

There was a group playing music on shop street so we stopped and listened for a bit. It was actually really good :D The band took a break when, in proper Galway form, it started raining. We kept walking and eventually stopped in a shop to grab some ice cream and get out of the rain. (I tried the honeycomb- it was super tasty.)

After we finished our ice cream, we continued our walk and eventually made our way to a Turkish place and grabbed some burgers. (Which were tasty as well) We kind of hung out and ate until a group walked in with a girl that was drunk and perpetuating certain stereotypes about American’s- specifically Californians. Mind you, it was hilarious- so that was pretty much our entertainment for the night. We talked a bit with some of the others in the group- there were two girls from Vancouver as well.

When the group left and we were finished eating, we walked back to campus (in the rain- I like the rain, so this wasn't much of an issue for me- just enjoying more Irish weather :P). I kind of bit it on the walk back and ended up with mud all over my jeans. (I know- Im so graceful) Also, my poor TOMS were completely soaked.

When we got back I spent the rest of the evening just hanging out. (After I grabbed some dry clothes)