My adventures in the Motherland

Howdie all,

Hope everyone is doing just great and having a great summer. From what I've heard from mam and dad it's been a scorcher all summer. Well it's been the exact opposite here. If it gets into the high 60's everyone at work is talking about how hot it is. The 60's people. I mean could you imagine a summer where the hottest it got was the high 60's. Well that's Ireland folks. A funny quote I heard, I don't know where I heard it but I get such a kick out of it. "The coldest winter I ever had was my summer in Ireland." I mean that's brilliant isn't it. And by the way so true. One of my mates who's from Southern California (don't worry he's normal) has never been in such cold weather. Especially not in the summer.

Okay let's get away from the weather. So last weekend I flew up to Amsterdam to spend a bank holiday weekend exploring Amsterdam. Unfortunately I did not give myself enough time to really get the chance to explore. I flew in Saturday morning and got into Eindhoven airport around 9. What I didn't know is that Holland is an hour ahead of Western Europe so when I booked my bus ride down to Amsterdam I didn't anticipate the time change. So I missed my bus down to Amsterdam and had to wait another two hours before the next bus came. Instead of getting down to Amsterdam at 1 I got down there around 330. Then I got a little lost and didn't make it to the hostel till 4. The day was not wasted though I made sure to book my hostel right in the heart of the city so I could walk everywhere. I usually do that, I feel like I get the best experience when I'm surrounded by everything. While being lost for that half hour I did stumble upon the canals that run throughout Amsterdam. Forget everything else you hear about Amsterdam the canals take the cake with things to see. Throughout every street is a canal. No wonder the city is so clean and the people are so laid back. Less pollution because people rarely drive and ride bikes everywhere. And I mean everywhere. About 95% of the time when there are more cyclists on the road then cars. Guarantee it. The city of Amsterdam really isn't made for cars with all the canals. The streets are far to narrow for people in cars to really get through so it is more convenient to cycle. And that makes people much more laid back. I can almost guarantee that is a fact. People are happier when their city is clean. Okay let's get away from my hippie rant and back to Amsterdam. I put my stuff down at the hostel and took off for the city centre. When I got there, there was a 4 on 4 (including the goalie) tournament going on. It was called the Dutch Homless Cup. Nevertheless my first impression was that all the lads would be homeless. At the time I felt somewhat embarrassed when I asked the guy next to me if it was and he replied that he didn't think so with a bewildered look. I was telling one of my mates the story and he thought the same thing I did. I didn't feel so bad after. Actually the guy (McKenna from SoCal) who I asked about the tourney to was a guy from the states as well. I swear I don't look to hang out with people from the states but it just keeps happening. He started telling me that he had been in Paris on holidays and he wanted to come to Amsterdam before he left Europe. He was traveling by himself and the guys he had met at the hostel had already left. We decided after the tourney was over that would get something to eat. He wanted some good food so we went to an Irish pub. I felt at home when we got inside. Had a few heinekens which in Amsterdam and I believe the rest of Holland tastes so much better than it does anywhere else. Just like in Ireland the Guinness tastes better than it does in the states. So much better!!! So we hung out at the pub and had a few pints got to know each other and then headed out to a few bars to end a solid first day. McKenna was heading back to the states teh next day. Sunday I wanted to get some tours in and see the rest of the city. I kind of bounced around from tour to tour because I wasn't really impressed with the girl who was giving the free tour. The Sandeman's free Europe tour are throughtout all the big cities in Europe. The first one I went on was in Edinburgh and then in London. Both were very good tours with lots of information about the city. I was disappointed that the Amsterdam tour wasn't better. Either way I still got to see the city and some of the sights. I am heading back to Amsterdam as one of the cities on my month long tour of Europe. So I will make sure to see the sights I didn't get to. The next day Monday which was the bank holiday was a bit of a disaster. I had to take the bus at 12 from Amsterdam to get to Eindhoven at around 230 for my 420 flight. When I got to the airport though the flight had been delayed till 815. Now this is no Neward or JFK airport people. This is a very very small airport where you walk to the plane to board. There was one restaurant in the airport and no stores or really anything to do to keep me occupied. If I had flown into another airport I would have just left and gone back to Amsterdam but because it was 2 and half hours away there was no point. So I was stuck until the plane actually left at 915. Seven hours in an aiport, no fun. So I got back to Dublin unscathed and got to work the next day no problem. Amsterdam was my favorite trip but I will make sure to do it better when I get back in December.

So just a little update on what's going on in Dublin. I'm on my 7 month in Dublin and 5 and half months with BNY Mellon. My contract was supposed to end August 21 but since they extended it I will be ending in late November. I was doing some contemplating as to what I wanted to to when my visa ended 1 January. There are a lot of options but for now I think I am just going to try and make some contacts with people at BNy who know people in the states and go from there. I was thinking about moving on to Australia and spending a year there or moving to Thailand and teaching english for a year. All that is in the future though and I'm having too good of a time right now to be thinking about what I'm going to be doing in 6 months or a year. I am heading to Munich for Oktoberfest in a month. Septermber 22nd to September 26. Should be amazing. I am going with a tour too so I am super stoked about that and think it will be a great way to meet people. I've heard it is usually Australians that go on these European tours but that's cool with me because I've gotten on well with eveyone Australian I've met. Well that's it for now. Cheers everyone

Bren

Hiya all,

Hope everyone is keeping well. I'm writing this on Sunday the 10th of July. Not a great looking day out but not raining so not too bad. I took two days off last week (friday and Monday) to go to London for 4 days. I had a great time and had pretty good weather. Overcast here and there but much hotter than Dublin and less rain. I could not believe how many statues and memorials are in London. It seemed like every street or around every corner there was something different. I'll get back to London because the weekend before I took off no time from work and went up to Belfast to see a band play at a festival. I had originally intended on crusing around the festival before Fleet foxes played that night but I met another traveller at the hostel and Johnny and I decided to hit the pub and catch some live music. Johnny is from Chicago but he is living in Switzerland with family. The way he travels is how I dream to travel. He didn't have much money when he flew into Ireland. He planned on staying in Ireland for a few days seeing a few towns in the North before moving down to Mayo to climb Croagh Patrick barefoot. Funny enough is that Jude and I partially climbed Croagh Patrick a few months back but did not do it barefoot(which is the way to do it) and it did not get all the way to the top. So I was talking with Jude yesterday updating each other on what we were up to when I started telling him about Belfast and this guy Johnny who was climbing Croagh Patrick. Now Jude and I have decided since yesterday we will climb Croagh Patrick within the next few weeks/2 months at the most. Jude and I are two both very spiritual people so I think we will get what is intended out of climbing Croagh Patrick barefoot. Jude is also heading to Minnesota for 4 days to build this machine so he is very excited about getting back to the states after being in Ireland for the last 3 years.

Sorry went on a bit ofa banter there but always a lot to say ya know. So Johnny and I met at the hostel in Belfast. We were staying in the same room and we just started talking and instantly clicked. He knew of some pubs that we were going to be playing live music on behalf of the festival. So we went into the pub and waited for the live music. In between the live music finally starting we talked about everything. He told me about his family in Chicago and I told him about my famliy in New Jersey. We had a lot in common and obviously liked the same type of music so that was also a topic of discussion. He was also telling about this pilgrimage in Lourdes, France. If you haven't picked up on it yet I will really try and find any excuse to do something new and see something especially if it is in a new country. So he was telling me all about this pilgrimage. I'm kind of embarrassed becasue I forget the basic details of the pilgrimage but no less it is a pilgrimage and I was sold. I am waiting to hear information back from Johnny about it. So the live music ended up showing up and we had a few more before heading over to the actual festival to see the opening bands perform. Johnny was a music junkie and knew so much about music and played so many instruments I kind of felt like I wasn't worthy to talk music with him. All I knew was that I liked the band Fleet Foxes and traveling so that was the reason I was here. He went into depth about why they were a good band and gave me other such bands to listen to. I told him I never played an instrument and spent the last 3 years in college listening to country music. I assured him I was off the country music now and strictly looking for all around good music to listen to.

The first band that was performing was a band by the name of the Low Anthem. They were kind of a old school classic rock band with some folk blues tied. Johnny and I both agreed that they were a good band and I have now been listening to a lot of there music sense. The second band was the Villagers who seem to be getting a lot of recognition for there previous album but out of the 3 band I liked them significantly the least. After the Villagers came on Fleet Foxes. I had been listening to the Fleet Foxes for about a month before the festival and was very impressed with how the sounded live. Fleet Foxes and the Low Anthem had many similarities in that they were very innovative with the different instruments they used. A Low Anthem member at one point was playing a saw and on another song a different member was using the loudspeaker on two cellphones to get a reception that souded like wind blowing. It was quite amazing to see and I reckon the rest of the audience felt the same. After the concert was over Johnny and I ventured out to Fibber McGees which was the pub I first met cousin Breege at when she visited Belfast. There was live music going after the pints we had at the festival and then another at Fibber we were dancing with old ladies and moving to the Irish music. On another note even though Johnny(Russo) doesn't sound irish at all he does have irish ancestry and loves irish music. He and his family band all play instruments and play irish music at family gatherings. And wiht 49 cousins on his mums side you know there are a fair amount of people playing. Okay well the next day the festival was over and Johnny was out of the hostel real early to make his way to Mayo to climb Croagh Patrick. Before he left we exchanged emails so the pictures i have posted are courtesy of Johnny Bernie Russo. Well hope everyone enjoys. I will write another blog for London. I didn't anticipate this one going so long but once I get going it is hard for me to stop. Cheers

Bren

Hiya hiya,

I am sure most of you have heard or seen of the tv show the Buried Life. Was on a year ago I believe about 4 guys who make a list of all the things they want to accomplish before they die. It was very inspiring and Liam and I always enjoyed watching it. While watching the show I always wanted to make a list and do just as they did. Now I have been in Ireland for 6 months and didn't make a list, until now. I have thought of a bunch of things that I want to accomplish before I leave Europ in another 6 months. The first 6 months was great but I want to keep traveling and keep experiencing new things with new people. So I have posted the list below here and each time I travel or not travel I will cross it off my list. I will continue to add things as I go along and I am sure I will think of some cool things. If anyone who is reading this has any suggestions of things to do in new countries or even in Ireland then I am more than wiling to hear your suggestions. I have some of these lined up to do already so I will keep you informed of when I am doing them. Here we go:

Learn how to play the harmonica- bought a harmonica 10.07.2011
Go Bungee jumping
Go skydiving
Volunteer.....(doing something important) eh or just volunteer
Perform on stage in front of a huge crowd
Zipline
Change someone's life(eventually even if I don't feel I accomplished it in the next 6 months
Ride in a helicopter
Snowboard in Australia>>>not happening this trip but still something I want to do
Go to Lourdes in France
Make a pilgrimage
Surf in Northern Ireland
Swim in the Irish Sea
Inspire someone
Ask a stranger out on a date
Dance in the middle of a crowded street
Write a book(someday)
Couchsurf for a whole trip
Have a full conversation in French in Paris
Make a speech
Protest Something
Clean up a park(Dublin is dirty)
Watch a GAA match with no one I know just locals and become one of the locals
introduce a band
learn a new language(that may take sometime seeing I was never really good at French)

Hi all,

So I saw on facebook a few people had posted something about their updated blogs. I read through their respective blogs and really enjoyed reading what they had to say. Then I realized and felt quite guilty that I had been neglecting my blog for a number of weeks now. So first off this is my apology to any blog readers out there. While reading others blogs it came to me that even though I didn't have a lot of detail to what they were doing I enjoyed reading it and really getting into someone's head. Which brings me to my next apology that you readers have to deal with my ranting and raving, ADD, run on sentences, poorly constructed paragraphs, and lack of memory.

Okay so beyond that as you can imagine things are still as standard as they were the last time I updated my blog. My brother came to see almost a month ago. He was here for 10 days(3 days in Cork, 3 in Galway, 4 in Dublin) He had the right idea and tried and to see as much as he could while he was here. Traveling on your own really gives one a better chance to reflect on the present and enjoy what they are doing compared to say a family trip or traveling with friends. I find it harder to stop and take a deep breath and exhale saying "wow life is good" when I am with other people. Don't get me wrong the travelling I've done with others has been great because in another sense you get to experience amazing things that you can talk about for years. So I took a half day on Friday, the first day my brother got here, and we headed down to Cork that afternoon. We got to Cork City at about 7, found our hostel, put our bags down and made our way to the pub crawl. Always a great way to see a new city. So we did the pub crawl thing. Met English girls, German girls, did some dancing at the club and made it back to the hostel. Saturday we ran to the bus station to take a tour of the Ring of Kerry. A tip for future travellers do not get on a bus after pub crawl the night before. Especially one that goes through the Irish mountains and has infrastructure that will throw your stomach in every possible direction. Getting passed that we had a great time on the tour. Kerry is a beautiful place, right on the water. If I won the lottery I would be have a place in Kerry with a boat right on the water with sheep and cows. A guy from the new york city suburbs living in the country with sheep and cows. I would love it. So we had a great weekend and made our way back to Dublin Sunday afternoon. I get very limited time off work so I couldn't get any time off to hang out more with Liam but when he came back from Galway I took him out with some of my friends and we had a good time. I know Liam had a good time cause he doesn't get excited about much but I could tell he was sorry to go. I was very sorry to see him go to. I missed my brother and the rest of my family an enormous amount. My family has always been my greatest asset(cliche maybe but so true at the same time.)

Also I went to Ballymote(home) last weekend for the Temple House Festival. Jude and his two sisters (Sinead and Cliona) had went to the festival last year and raved about it so I thought it would be a good chance to get up to Ballymote to chill out and get away from city life for the weekend. It was another weekend full of laughs and lots of RAIN. I thought I understood what a lot of rain meant gonig to school in West Virginia where it rains a lot. It rains a lot in West Virginia for a day then its nice out for 4 then it rains again. In Ireland you seriously have to bring a rain jacket, sunglasses, and an umbrella everywhere you go. Do not take this as me complaining, I'm not. I understand a country as beautiful as this only gets this way through massive amounts of rain and I also know from visiting Ballymote a few times now RAIN is a good thing. It makes the grass grow which feeds the cows and so on and so on. If you ever want to get a conversation going with an Irish person ask them how the weather is? I swear you will have a long in depth conversation about how the current weather is, how the weather is looking in the next few weeks, and when they supossed heat wave is coming. I even find myself talking about the weather with my mum now. It changes so much you have no choice but to make it a subject to thinkabout.

Okay so getting away from the weather not much has changed in Dublin. (besides the weather) My buddy Jay who I had been living with for my first 3 months in Dublin has now left Dublin to return to Chicago. Sorry to see him go but he is giving important information on readjusting to life back in the States. BNY Mellon has also extended my contract that was supposed to end August 21st to December 1st. The bank had offered some interviews for a permanent position but at the time I had decided after my contract was through then I wanted to make my way back to New Jersey. Now I am not sure what I want to do and will be weighing my options in the next few weeks. Until I do make a decision most of my thoughts are on future travels and where i would like to go next. I took off two days from work on July 1st and 4th to fly over to London for 4 days. I am looking forward to it which makes work weeks go by much quicker. Will spending America's birthday in the UK be a bit strange? Yes most definitely. But I am lookign forward to it. I have already spent New Year's flying over the Atlantic, Paddy's day in Dublin and now 4th of July in London. Not bad eh? Well any question or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. Ha that's what I HAVE to write in emails to my clients. But really do not hesitate to ask me any questions. I would love to hear from anybody. Not to sound destperate but everyone always wants to know what new stuff I am doing but I want to hear what new stuff everyone else is up to. okay don't be shy. Cheers

BREN

WELL HELLO ALL,

ON MY WAY BACK FROM ANOTHER WONDERFUL WEEKEND IN BALLYMOTE. WHEN JUDE SAYS "YEA IM HEADING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND TO CHILL OUT AND SPEND TIME WITH THE FAMILY" I KNOW WHY I ENVY IT. YOU REALY DO NEED SOME CHILLING OUT TIME AND AWAY FROM THE BIG CITY. I ENJOY THE CITY AND BEING ABLE TO CRUISE AROUND AND SEE NEW ARTISTS LINING THE STREETS WITH THEIR DRAWINGS OR MUSIC. THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE TRANQUILITY OF THE COUNTRY AND BEING IN A HOME AGAIN THAT I CANT EVEN GET FROM BEING IN MY OWN PLACE IN DUBLIN. SO NOT TO GET TO SENTIMENTAL TOWARDS THE COUNTRY BUT IF I COULD CHOOSE I WOULD BE WORKING IN DUBLIN IN 20 YEARS AND TAKING THE TRAIN HOME TO THE COUNTRY. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN SLOW COUNTRY LIVING. I EXPERIENCED A LITTLE WHEN I WAS IN WEST VIRGINIA AND THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT. NOW I KNOW I WANT IT BACK. HA. OKAY SO I HAD FRIDAY AND TODAY OFF BECAUSE OF THE BANK HOLIDAY. JUDE AND I HAD TALKED EARLIER IN THE WEEK ABOUT BOTH MAKING A TRIP TO BALLYMOTE TO SPEND EASTER WITH HIS FAMILY. I TOOK THE TRAIN FROM DUBLIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON TO BALLYMOTE. IT WA5S A 2 AND HALF HOUR TRAIN RIDE WHICH WAS MUCH BETTER THAN TAKING THE TWO HOUR BUS RIDE TO GALWAY AND THEN FROM GALWAY DRIVING UP TO SLIGO WITH JUDE. FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IRELAND DUBLIN IN ON THE EAST COAST, GALWAY IS ON THE WEST COAST AND SLIGO SITS SOMEHWERE IN THE MIDDLE NORTH OF BOTH CITIES. I GOT THE TRAIN NO PROBLEM. SAW TWO DODGEY DRUG ADDICTS GET ARRESTED IN DUBLIN WHILE I WAS LOOKING FOR AN ATM. WELLPLAYED GARDA(POLICE). HA SO THE TRAIN TO SLIGO WAS NO ISSUE. STARTED READING A NEW BOOK ABOUT JFK ON FRIDAY. AM I RAMBLING HERE? MAYBE ITS BECAUSE I KNOW I HAVE A LONG TRIP BACK TO DUBLIN. OKAY SO SCRATCH THAT. I GOT TO BALLYMOTE AT ABOUT HALF 5. JUDE SAID HE WOULD BE THERE TO COLLECT ME BUT HE WAS STUCK AT WORK SO SINEAD AND CLIONA LUCKILY SAW THE TRAIN AS THEY WERE PASSING AND POPPED IN TO SCOOP ME UP. THERE ARE BOTH WONDERFUL AS YOU COULD IMAGINE. CLIONA IS THE OLDEST FOLLOWED BY SINEAD AND THEN DAVID AND BABY JUDE. HAHA HE'D GET SOME CRAIC OUT OF THAT IF HE READ THIS. OKAY SO WE WENT BACK TO JOHN AND BRENDA QUIGLEY'S TO GET SORTED. JUDE SHOWED UP A FEW HOURS LATER AFTER GETTING OFF WORK AND MAKING THE TRIP. FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT WE MORE OR LESS JUST CHILLED OUT I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THEIR COMPANY AS I BELIEVE THEY ENJOYED MINE. sO sATURDAY LIKE THE ALARM MY BODY IS WAS UP WITH THE COWS AND READY TO START MY DAY. I WAS THINKING OF A RUN OR WALKING AROUND BALLYMOTE BUT THEN SINEAD AND CLIONA WERE GOING INTO SLIGO TO DO SOME SHOPPING AND ASKED IF I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THEM. I KNEW SLIGO WAS NOT MUCH OF A CITY LIKE A GALWAY BUT DECIDED I COULD TAKE A FEW PICS AND SEE THE CITY. SO WE WERE OFF AT ABOUT HALF 10. IT IS ONLY ABOUT A 20 MIN CAR RIDE INTO THE CITY SO WHEN WE GOT THERE THEY SHOWED ME A FEW SPOTS THAT MAY INTEREST A TOURIST AND THEN THEY WERE OFF TO SHOP AND I WAS JUST OFF. HA. I TOOK SOME PHOTOS OF WB YEATS AND THEN GOT A CUP OF COFFEE AT A LOCAL CAFE. LOST THE MAP THEY HAD GIVEN ME AND THEN REALLY STARTED TO FEEL MORE LIKE MYSELF. HAHA CRUISING AROUND A SMALL CITY NO MAP. SO I WENT INTO SOME PRETTY UNINTERESTING SHOPS UNTIL I WENT INTO A WOODCARVERS. HE WAS ALREADY SPEAKING WITH A FRENCH WOMAN AND ASKING HER, "WHAT HER FAVORITE ANIMAL WAS?" I KEPT TO MYSELF AND LISTENED TO HIS STORY ABOUT A CAT. HE SEEMED THE TYPE OF GUY WHO COULD HAVE HAD A STORY OF JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. SO HE CARVED OUT A CAT ON A PIECE OF WOOD WHILE TELLING THE STORY AND GAVE IT TO THE WOMAN. HE TURNED TO ME AND ASKED WHAT MY FAVORITE ANIMAL WAS? I FROZE FOR A SECOND AND COULDN'T THINK OF AN ANIMAL SO HE DECIDED FOR ME. A SALMON" HE GOES. I AGREED AND HE WENT ON TELLING ME A STORY ABOUT A SALMON WHILE CARVING OUT A VERY DETAILED SALMON(REFER TO PICTURES) HA. JOLLY OLD FELLA HE WAS. SO THAT WAS OUR ADVENTURE INTO SLIGO. WHEN WE RETURNED JUDE WAS UP AND MOVING AROUND AND HAD BEEN IN TOUCH WITH COLM ABOUT DOING SOME ACTIVITIES THAT AFTERNOON. THEY DECIDED FOR A HIKE UP, THE MOUNTAIN NAME SLIPS MY MEMORY BUT ILL TRY AND ASK JUDE. SO COLM, COLM'S YOUNGER BROTHER LUKE,MYSELF AND JUDE MADE THE TREK. LUKE WHO I HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE WAS ALL THE CRAIC. COLM AND LUKE GET INTO JUDE'S CAR AND I INTRODUCE MYSELF AND HE GOES," AH BRENDAN, HEARD A LOT ABOUT YA." OH MAN WE HAD A LAUGH AT THAT. TOUGH LITTLE GUY. CLIMBED THE WHOLE MOUNTAIN WITHOUT A COMPLAINT. SO AFTER OUR CLIMB WE MADE OUR WAY BACK TO QUIGLEY'S AND GOT READY FOR DINNER JUDE HAD RESERVED FOR US AT THIS ITALIAN SPOT IN SLIGO CITY. IT WAS CLIONA, SINEAD, DAVID, JUDE AND MYSELF. IT WAS KNOWN FOR ITS GREAT PIZZA BUT NO ONE GOT PIZZA AND WE ALL THOUGHT OUR FOOD WAS SO-SO. LESSON 1: IF ITS KNOWN FOR ITS PIZZA YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GET THE PIZZA. SO AFTER A NICE DINNER WE WENT OUR FOR A FEW SCOOPS IN SLIGO CITY. THE FIRST PLACE WE WENT TO WAS CALLED SHEAR THE CROWS. VERY OLD SCHOOL BAR WITH NOT A LOT OF ROOM AND MOSTLY OLD DUDES SITTING AT THE BAR. HA. SO WE STAYED THERE FOR A DRINK AND MOVED ONTO KENNEDY'S. IT WAS VERY PACKED DUE TO A LIVE BAND BUT IT WAS MUCH MORE LIVELY AND WHAT WE WERE THERE FOR. SO STAYED FOR ANOTHER PINT, TALKED FOR AWHILE WITH ONE OF JUDE'S MATES FROM BALLYMOTE, ANDREW AND THEN MOVED ONTO THIS A PUB KIND OF NIGHT CLUB CALLED CARAGROVE. IT LOOKED LIKE A COOL SPOT BUT WE FOUND IT WAS FULL OF HIGH SCHOOLERS THERE TO SEE A LIVE BAND. SO WE HAD A DRINK ON THE PATIO BUT IT WAS FREEZING COLD AND STILL PACKED SO WE CALLED IT A NIGHT. THE NEXT DAY WAS SUNDAY AND MUCH MORE OF JUST A CHILL OUT DAY. ARSENAL WAS PLAYING IN A BIG MATCH THAT WOULD EITHER KEEP THEM IN THE RUNNING FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPION OR END THEM. AND THEY LOST. UNBELIEVABLE ANOTHER ONE OF MY TEAMS ENDS A SEASON IN DEMISE. OKAY SO BESIDES THAT IT WAS A GREAT DAY JUS TO BE ABLE TO RELAX. JOHN QUIGLEY AND I BOTH LOVE THEF FOOTIE(SOCCER) SO WE ARE ALWAYS CHATTING UP ABOUT IT. HE IS A VERY CHARMING MAN WHO IS ALWAYS IN A CHIPPER MOOD AND GOOD FOR A LAUGH. I SAW SOME PICTURES OF JOHN AND MY GRANDAD AT A WEDDING I WAS AT IN MY FIRST TRIP TO IRELAND FOR AUNT ANNIE'S WEDDING. IT LOOKED LIKE THEY REALLY ENJOYED EACH OTHER'S COMPANY AND JOHN STILL SPOKE VERY HIGHLY OF MY GRANDAD. SO SUNDAY WAS JUST A RELAXING DAY AND THEN MONDAY WAS TRAVELING DAY. I TOOK THE TRAIN BACK AT 11 AND WAS BACK IN DUBLIN AROUND 2. I STARTED THIS ON THE TRAIN SO APOLOGIES FOR THE DIFFERENT TENSES AND FOR THE CAPS. OKAY WELL THAT IS PRETTY MUCH ALL FOR NOW. MY BROTHER COMES IN TWO WEEKS SO LOOK FOR A BLOG AND SOME MORE PICTURES. I WANTED TO MAKE IT DOWN TO CORK SO I THINK THAT IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO. OKAY CHEERS. LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL.

BRENDAN