Sorry I have not written in a while, but I had a wonderful visit with my mom.
On the school front, still some drama... but I have 4 chapters started (about 16,000 words completed of my total paper written).
Housing...the people above me have finally moved out and it is now finally quiet after 11pm! Its great. :)
A week before mom came, I had a lovely visit from some family friends! They were on a cruise and one of their stops was Belfast. I joined them for lunch and it was great seeing them, as I rarely get to see them but once a year for Christmas.
Mom arrived on the 19th of May and we were nonstop tourists since the moment she landed. That day we went straight away to Cafe Nero, and mom finally got to try some good coffee! Cafe Nero is everywhere over here...basically on every corner. Costa, not so much. In Dundee, it was the complete opposite. Then we went on to the Titanic Museum and the SS Nomadic and Pizza Express for dinner. In my opinion the little ride within the museum was the best, along with being able to see what the rooms looked like. And as for Pizza Express...Who doesn't like Pizza?!
Friday, I took mom up to the campus to meet some office mates and the nice ladies in the office and then headed to Carrickfergus. We went to the castle, which was neat, and had lunch at Papa Browns. This place was amazing at Christmas time, and it was even better when mom and I went.
Saturday morning we got on a flight full of drunk guys and headed our way to Amsterdam. For a 7am flight it was very entertaining. I, like I am sure most people, build up a place in their mind of what it was going to be like. And Amsterdam was nothing like I expected, it was better. Granted it was a little frustrating that everything was in Dutch. But I kind of expected the words to at least be translated in English along with Dutch. Other than that, as long as you watch the bikes, its an amazing place! We started off with a canal ride, and that was pretty good. Seeing 7 bridges at once over the canals was amazing. And seeing basically a parking garage full of bikes, was shocking. We did see the Red Light District (during the day). We were able to skype Lauren and Meme that afternoon so that was nice. We also went to the flea market that was started by Jewish immigrants in WW2, and I think it was one of the largest markets in the Netherlands (I think). We had one of the best dinners ever! Since we were lost, we wandered into a hotel, asked for directions, and next thing we know they have a gluten free menu for us. The Dutch love their bread. Oh my gosh. We got, probably close to 2 loaves of gluten free bread before our meal. We shared some shrimp (which kind of freaked me out as it still had eyes...give me a dead body any day...but food with eyes, no thank you!) steak, and dutch asparagus. Now, I just started eating asparagus, and its pretty good, but Dutch asparagus was a million times better. While we were eating a guy in a wonder woman outfit walked past the door... We were laughing so hard, we didn't get a picture. His friend saw that we were laughing and kind of stared at us as they walked by. Welcome to Amsterdam! We then went to the top of the hotel and got to look down at the city, which was really cool. We went into the largest library (in the Netherlands? Europe?) and got to see that, which was actually really cool. We bought some Dutch cheese and a Tolberone (I had never had one, and well we were close enough for Swiss chocolate, LOL). Sunday, we ventured out for our museum day! We started at Van Gogh's Museum, and had coffee near by at a cafe that looked like one of his paintings, the Rembrandt House Museum, Botanical Gardens, the Jewish square (Holocaust Museum and the Resistance Museum), and the Microbiology Museum. Van Gogh Museum was really cool, plus, it was featured in Doctor Who, so who doesn't love that? But it was cool to see his paintings, paintings about him, and his life story. I also got many pencils for my collection! :) The Rembrandt House was ok, and my favorite part was the skull in the corner. :) The botanical gardens...well I am not an out doors person, or a garden person, but this was interesting. I liked some of the flowers, and the cat walk to the different areas. But the thing that sticks out the most was the giant plant that if you rub the leaves, it smells like a skunk. The Jewish Quarter, well, to be honest I was very disappointed in the National Holocaust Museum. The other museum, the Resistance one, was pretty good, but I was very disappointed. They did have a list of all the names and addresses of the survivors, but other than that, there was nothing in there, except a floor dedicated to Amy Winehouse. I am still a little bitter over it, as I just expected more I guess. And as we were searching for a windmill, and our feet were so sore, we came across the Micropia museum! It was great. It showed and talked about all the bacteria in the world and where its from and the common bacteria on every day items. I loved it. What can I say, I am a science geek! They had one exhibit in there where they scan your body and tell you how much bacteria is in your body and once you click on the body area, it tells what has been found. Now, I know this may not be completely accurate, but it was fascinating and kind of like a dream come true. :) I am the weird one who wants to swallow a camera pill so I can see what is wrong inside me... Anyways, it was really cool. Our lunch was pretty good that day. We went to a restaurant that mom and I both think Aunt Diane would love. They had many vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options. So I got a tomato burger (Yes, a burger shape, made out of tomatoes), on a gluten free bagel...Moms was a mushroom burger and I liked hers better. For dinner, we ate at our hotel, and both had an amazing salad and some gluten free bread. (Fair to say, I think I am good on bread for the next year!) And we headed to our room and played some cards. Now, if you have ever seen Home Alone where the family is in Paris and the TV shows are all in French... yes, this was the hotel TV for us. We got 3 channels in English, I think, and everything was in Dutch. It was interesting to hear Legally Blonde in Dutch. Monday morning, after we got amazing coffee, my life long dream came true! We had tickets for the Anne Frank House and well, we got there an hour early and stood in the rain. We were first in line. I didn't look at too many pictures of the house before I went as I didn't want to ruin it... and needless to say, it was everything I imagined (minus the furniture). I first read the Diary of Anne Frank is 6th grade when Meme bought me the book, and since then, I have fallen in love with learning about her, WW2, and the Holocaust. I loved every minute of the Anne Frank Tour. It was fantastic. I knew what souvenir I wanted, because I am a dork, and I got the diary that you can write in that looks like hers. And I got several other books too. It was the best part of the trip! We then searched for the windmill that we had given up on the day before, but finally found it. It was pretty. My overall impression of Amsterdam is...when can I move there? I loved it. The people, 95% of them were nice, they were fun to watch, and happy people. The only downfall was the birds fly at eye level. Stupid birds.
Monday we headed back and had another eventful flight...the guy was drunk or high and very loud and an all around jerk. But it was entertaining.
Tuesday we did the Hop on and Off bus tour, lunch at the Crown Bar (thanks to the family friends who took me there), and toured city hall. I did the tour of city hall when I arrived, and I am still impressed by the building. The wood workers from the Titanic also did the wood work for the city hall building.
Wednesday, we took a tour bus to Carrickfergus castle, Giants Causeway, the Carrick-a-rede bridge, the Bushmills distillery, and the Dark Hedges from Game of Thrones. The Giants Causeway was not what I expected. I was expecting towers and columns of large rocks. But it was not. It was a bunch of rocks that formed these towers that you can climb. It was pretty cool. Mom and I had lunch on the rocks of the Giants Causeway. We then stopped at a farm house for lunch, which we didnt know about, but had amazing hot chocolate. The bridge, was really fun, minus the girl in front of me running at the end. It basically rope and wood planks above the water...and it sways.... Mom did really good walking on it and I filmed it so she can always relive it. :) Don't remember much about the distillery, as I didn't care to much...can't drink it anyways. LOL The Dark Hedges were really cool. Although, I do not watch Game of Thrones, it was very cool to see a tunnel of trees. :)
Thursday, mom went to meet some more people on campus, and then we headed into town, where we discovered an amazing coffee cafe. This place has arts and crafts from local business/free lance people, and they food is all local. The guys that own it were super nice and friendly and of course the gluten free sandwiches and coffee were amazing. I love that place. We then went to the Belfast castle, where we were only allowed to tour the basement due to a wedding. As we were leaving I had a panic attack. The bride and groom were taking photos, and all of a sudden this white, beaked, winged thing lands on the brides arm...She was taking photos with an owl. So we ventured out a different way and when we pass them, this huge owl lands on the groom... What the heck?! My heart is racing, I start speed walking, and in distressed and shocked. Who in their right mind would have owls in their weeding? I still can't shake the freakout/panic/fear from myself. When we arrived back into town, there was a fire that started underground and a bunch of trucks and people were near by. Not sure what caused it, but they had it under control. Then for dinner, a friend/office mate came over to meet my mom and have dinner with us. After dinner, we all walked down to the shore and made fools of ourselves on the outdoor exercise equipment. Nevertheless, it was fun.
Friday, we went to Londonderry/Derry. The University has a campus there, which I wish my course was there as it is an actual city. We had some gluten free sandwiches (Grilled cheese) and GF cake for lunch, which was pretty good. We walked along the peace wall and the peace bridge and got to see some churches and the city. I really liked Derry/Londonderry. It was really pretty.
Saturday, we headed into Dublin. I didn't know what to expect, except I heard it was similar to London (which I had never been too). Dublin, was not my cup of tea. Although it was a city, there were quite a bit of rude people. I did, finally get to taste a proper fish and chips. Usually they are not GF, but this place made it GF and well, I had it once, and I'm good. Not something I would eat again. We did the hop on and off tour, which for waiting for 40 minutes, it was a really good 2 hour tour. We then did the tour of Trinity College, the Long Room, and the Book of Kells. Those were pretty cool, esp. the Book of Kells and the Long Room. When we arrived back in Belfast we went to the International food market at city hall, and tried some cheese, and found some GF coffee cake and GF Baileys Cake. Happy birthday to mom and me!
Sunday, we went back to Dublin, and did the Guinness Beer Tour. That, even though I could not drink it, was actually very cool. I enjoyed that, and I got to learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. :P We then searched for this coffee place I saw on the tour from Saturday, called Insomnia. I had a dark chocolate mocha. It was an amazing cup of coffee, and I don't know what they put in it, but I can see why they call it Insomnia. So good!
Monday, mom thought she had to return home, so into the city we went to say our goodbyes. :( Still think she should have stayed... but it's ok. I think she should come back... I keep burning my food again. It was nice not eating burnt food while she was here. :D
We had an amazing time and I wish it could have lasted longer.
Friday I went back to the amazing cafe in Belfast, and the guys remembered me! They asked about mom and how she liked it here and the rest of our trip. Then I said I would have to rub it in that I was there trying some new coffee and she was back in the states...they said "Rub it in her face for us too!" I really do like this coffee place. :) LOL
The weather here has been awful. I think my family friends brought it over from FL. Gosh it's hot. I feel like I am back in the states with the allergies and the heat and no rain. :( Granted if you look up the temp for here its about 73 degrees, but the sun is blazing, no wind, no rain, everyone is mowing their grass, and no AC. Its super hot...and the radiator in the hall keeps turning on, which makes it hotter. Oh well. I like my fan!
Well thats about all for now. So until next time...Have a wonderful week and try not to get too hot in Texas/Florida...and hope the floods and storms don't cause too much damage.
Stay safe and have a good week! Miss and love you all!
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