My new stomping grounds: Philadelphia

During the second to last weekend in May, I went down to visit my boyfriend, Matt, in Philadelphia. As you may or may not know, he was offered a new job that led him to Philly in January 2011. Ironically, this visit to Philly was a little different because I had learned just before my Ireland trip that my job agreed to transfer me to Philly! So this visit was not only to see my wonderful boyfriend, but also to visit where I would be living!
We had an excellent weeked. Of course I had a cheesesteak while I was there! Matt and I went to Monks, a Bavarian restaurant, for some yummy food and a few Bavarian beers. After that, we headed back to Manayunk and grabbed some drinks at Manayunk Tavern.

On Saturday, in the morning, we went to see one apartment in Manayunk which we both thought was great. We then walked to Main St and grabbed a yummy breakfast. A little later we went to see an apartment complex that was not so great, haha. Then we went downtown to the Rittenhouse Spring Festival and enjoyed some outdoor eats, some awesome weather, some drinks, and just a fun festive atmosphere.

Later, in the afternoon, we went back to his house and rested and later cooked a yummy and healthy dinner together. After dinner we went for wine and dessert at Cooper's wine bar.

Sunday morning we played some games of tennis where Matt beat me, as usual, unfortunately! We also practiced teaching me parallel parking which was difficult for me, but Matt was extremely patient and nice. We did some quick food shopping, and then met Caitlin for lunch in Manayunk at an Italian restaurant! We hadn't seen each other in TOO long, and Matt and Caitlin got to meet one another. After that, I had to pack up and head back to Massachusetts. It was a great weekend and really helped me get an idea of where I wanted to look for apartments, and great to spend time with Matt and see Caitlin again. :)

Ireland: The Emerald Isle! Days 7-9

Day 7: We started our day in Galway with a delicious breakfast at our hotel. Then we set out and went souvenier shopping around, which we had held off from during our whole trip so we wouldn't have to lug stuff around. During our shopping, my Mom bought herself a Connemara marble ring, which was so pretty. Later on back at our hotel, I kept trying it on and decided I would get a matching one so we could have matching mother/daughter rings from our trip. So cute!
We had a good fish and chips lunch at McDonagh's, pretty famous for fish and chips. After that, we decided to go back and take a little rest and nap at our hotel.
Later on, we went walking around Galway more. One of the women at the jewelry store suggested the Asian Tea House, which had won many awards as the best restaurant in Ireland. We were craving some different food, so we were excited! The food was great and we had an excellent dinner. I loved how they didn't use MSG like in the US, and the food tasted much lighter and less greasy.
This night we decided to take it easy, and just hung out at our lovely little chic boutique hotel and enjoyed some Irish coffees and a bread & butter pudding dessert. It was a nice and relaxing evening.

Day 8: After two great nights in Galway, today we were catching a train back to Dublin. Once again, we enjoyed a great breakfast, and then spent the morning napping, hanging out at the hotel, reading. It's so pink and funky at the hotel, it was nice to stop and enjoy it.
Later, we went back to Milano for our last lunch in Galway. We made our way to the Galway train station, and had a lovely train ride back to Dublin. During the 2.5 hour ride, we both napped, read, I wrote in my journal, etc. When we arrived in Dublin, we were staying at the Jury's Inn this time, near Christ Church Cathedral. When I was in South America, I met a friend named Keith, who was from Dublin. We've stayed in touch and friendly, so we went to meet up with him. We met Keith at Fibber Magee's and sat outside with him and his friends where we enjoyed beers and some heated discussion on the US and politics--all the things you don't discuss over beers! haha. It was nice to see my old buddy!

Once we left, we headed to Temple Bar and decided to have our last Ireland dinner at Gallagher's Boxty, which was also the place of our first dinner in Ireland! There was a long wait, so we went to a bar across the street for a pint and some fun, live music. At Gallagher's, we had another delicious meal! The Gaelic Boxty-with steak, pancake, and mushrooms in a yummy sauce, and the onion and mushroom w/ potato dumplings in a blue cheese cashel sauce--delicious!!! We gobbled the whole thing up since it was about 11pm once we finally ate! As you can see by Annie in the photo, we walked back to our hotel and the city was bumping! :) It was a great last night in Ireland.

Day 9: I had a craving for crepes so we walked along the streets of Dublin in the morning, and found a crepe stand! Then we stopped at a cafe and enjoyed coffee (Annie) and tea (me). We then walked to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was so huge and beautiful and strangely haunting. It really made me think about time and history over the years.
We then headed back to the hotel to pack up, check out, and head to the airport.

Something noteworthy is our flights with Aer Lingus. What an awesome airline! We enjoyed flying very much with them. All seats had individual tvs where you could watch loads of recent movies, TV shows, and listen to lots of different new albums, and even play games. They fed you a lot, even with dessert and tea/coffee at different times. The attendants were nice and professional. Everything was on time! For anyone who flies often like myself, you know experiences like this can be rare with airlines. So if you're ever deciding whether to fly Aer Lingus--go for it.

In conclusion, my mother and I had an excellent trip. We saw many places, did plenty of fun activities, got to see a lot of Ireland, got to not only see but enter and meet the occupants of my grandfather's old house! We ate loads of good food, enjoyed plenty of pints, had some Guinness, saw the city and the countryside...but most important, made wonderful memories together while traveling. Definitely a trip to remember. :)