London

I was still sick when I flew from Dublin to London. I arrived at my hostel and collapsed into the bunk bed. The next day I only had enough energy to go across the street to Wagamama because Kela had recommended it to me. Luckily enough, they sat me off the side, all alone, so I did not have to worry about coughing into anyone’s noodles. I had a huge bowl of pork and noodles and broth. It was heaven sent. I felt a million times better after only one sip of broth. Kela was right. After that, it was back to sleep so I could get up early to meet my mom at Heathrow. While I was waiting for her, I wondered how I would react when I saw her for the first time in about 5 months. I thought I would be pretty normal, but as soon as I saw her in her little red vest, I burst into tears. It had been a long month of travel and travel-related illnesses, but now my mom was there and she would take care of me. She even brought one of her Christmas scones, Cranberry and Tangerine. We spent the day catching up on everything and walking around Windsor, which is only a short bus ride from Heathrow. Windsor was very beautiful, all the streets were lines with twinkling Christmas lights, and the castle looked epic but intimidating in the background.

Because London is an expensive city, we stayed in an airport near Heathrow. It ended up being pretty convenient, as we got coffee and muffins at the airport and ate them on the Tube on the way into town. Our first day in London we went to Leicester Square to buy tickets at the TKTS booth. We got a great deal on Wicked tickets, which I have been wanting to see for years. It was raining quite a bit, so we headed over to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels. They were unbelievable, and even though my brother told me not to get too close to the “family jewels” we rode the people-mover three times to see those stones.

Afterward, we walked across the river into South London, strolled past Shakespeare’s Globe, and popped into the Tate Modern. I wanted to go to an authentic pub, so we went to a charming little place called the Seven Stars. We totally ordered the wrong things on the menu; I was kind of heartbroken. To make up for this, we walked around Oxford Circus and browsed some bookstores.

On New Year’s Eve we went to the British Museum. This was one of my favorite events on our agenda. Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was something I have always dreamt of since my days at Marymount. It was also special for my mom to see the Easter Island Statue. Her sample lesson for her job interview at Santa Barbara City College was about Easter Island. She got the job, and the rest is history. That night we walked around the Big Ben and watched people gather around the London Eye for the fireworks show.

Ireland

My Ryanair flight sat on the ground for about four hours on the icy tarmac in Belgium. I was pretty stressed about getting to Ireland, but I read my copy of The Diary of Anne Frank. This gave me a healthy dose of perspective. I finally arrived in Dublin around midnight and caught the bus out to Shankill. My gracious hosts, Kara and Emer, waited outside the grocery store for me until about 1:15 am and then chased down the bus when it took off with my suitcase. We spent the following day wandering around Temple Bar, drinking cider and eating delicious Italian food. Kara and Emer introduced me to my latest food addiction: chocolate chip cookies from Marks & Spencer. Before I knew it, I was on the bus to Swinford.

It was either the best time or the worst time to arrive in Swinford. My cousin Claire’s friend Tara was celebrating her 21^st birthday in one of the pubs on the two main streets that make up this small Irish town. Every citizen of Swinford between age 18 and 24 was there, drinking and being merry. One of them was merry enough to greet me by licking my face. However, it was a very fun re-introduction to Swinford. I was shocked to see how old my cousin Jack looked. I had not seen him in about ten years. Of course, I always enjoy spending time with Claire and the rest of the McDonnell family.

Claire and I went to Limerick to attend an end-of-semester party at her friend Grainne’s. It turned out to be a pretty fun party even though it ended quite abruptly. Claire and Andrea and I went shopping in Limerick for Christmas presents. Limerick is a lively city with some cheeky youths. Although, I have to admit that my favorite part was chatting with Claire and Andrea during the car ride. We giggled a lot and came to some serious conclusions.

This winter was one of the coldest and snowiest in Ireland’s history. It was my first white Christmas ever and I spent it coughing and sneezing on the McDonnell’s couch. At least I got to watch a lot of bad TV from the other side of the pond. Santa brought me some nice little gifts, and I was touched. However, my favorite thing of Christmas in Ireland was all of John McDonnell’s stories. They always ended with “You can google it!” with an appropriate typing hand motion.