Peanut Butter Kit Kats

Hello all! It's been over a week since I've written, so I apologize for that first of all. It feels like so much longer than that for some reason, though! Hmm. No matter. Since then, I have had a few more delightful adventures, as well as a new favorite book.

It blows my mind that I've been here for almost a month. It gives me mixed feelings- extremely mixed- because I'm so glad for what I've already seen and done, but it makes me sad that so much time has already passed since my pre-flight jitters. There is a small part of me that is relieved, knowing that now there's only a little over three months until I see my family and friends at home face to face again; if any of you are reading this, I miss you immensely every day and I wish more than anything you could see these marvelous and beautiful things with me. But then,there's still so much I still want to do and I'm suddenly finding myself a quarter of the way through my semester and a list of things to see and experience that just seems to grow as the days go by. Like I said, mixed. The best thing to do at this point, I suppose, is try to do as much as I can with the time that I have, and enjoy each new and wonderful experience as it comes. :)

Anyway, so this week I went to a few different places. Last Friday, two of my friends and I took a walk to a little town nearby called Portstewart. It was about a 45 minute walk, and it was just gorgeous out that day! It was actually warm enough that I didn't bother to bring my winter coat and just wore a sweater and a hoodie-jacket. I admittedly regretted that decision on our walk back when it suddenly got very cold and windy and started to rain a bit, but for the most part, the day was lovely, and surprisingly consistently sunny until about 5 o'clock (This is actually a really, REALLY big deal). Just looking off the side of the road was just...mmm.

Ya know, just walkin along. 

I've mentioned I love this country, right? Cuz I do. Like, a lot.

We went to the beach, which was lovely. We sat and watched this funny little bird, some sort of duck I think, just chillin in the water and ducking under if a wave came by. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the view from the shores here. When we got up, we walked along the beach for a while until we came across what any normal person expects to find on a walk- a castle.

Just a castle, you know. Whatever. 0_0

So yeah, castle. Apparently called "Rock Castle" and built in the early 1800s. This was actually the one that we came across last week when we were way too early for the Irish music at the Anchor bar. It was much less scary during the daytime. It has a beautiful cliff-side walkway that we took to get into town, where we promptly headed for an ice cream parlor my friend recommended called Morelli'. Don't mind the fact that it was only in the late 40s; this is Ireland and there is now way I was going to wait for it to get warm before I had my ice cream, because I could be waiting for a really freaking long time. So yes, Morelli's. I got something called a "Banoffee Pie Sunday" and it. was. delicious. 

Chocolate, vanilla, and honeycomb ice cream, with toffee, banana, caramel, chocolate syrup, marshmallows, whipped cream, and a biscuit on top. I'm drooling right now just thinking about it. 

Needless to say, Friday was a very very good day. Saturday our little troop went to Bushmill's to visit their whiskey distillery. The tour was really interesting, and the room with the barrels was SO COOL, but unfortunately no cameras- or electronics in general- were allowed to be on. The tour guide warned us at the start that, because it was an alcohol manufacturer, if something sparked there was a chance we might all explode and die. So yeah, no electronics. What an Irish way to go though, right? Anyway, so at the end we were given a sample of Bushmill's Irish Whiskey. I got the honey whiskey, because apparently it's lighter and better for people who aren't really whiskey drinkers; even then, each sip was an event. It tasted yummy, but it was such an overwhelming sensation that it took us a good while to finish our samples. 

The town was quite lovely, too. We stopped for some tea and checked out a few shops. There was one adorable one that just made me smile called "the Millhouse." OH! I tried possibly my favorite candy ever- peanut butter Kit-Kats! OH MY GOSH. I am so desperately disappointed we don't have them in America. I'm thinking I might have to get them imported when I get back home. 

Sunday we went again to Belfast, this time to wander. We took the train, which was in itself quite lovely, though I actually dozed for a good chuck of the journey. Our first stop was Queen's University's botanical gardens, where we stepped inside a sweet little greenhouse and saw all sorts of lovely flowers. Then we went to the Ulster Museum.

 Dear goodness, the Ulster Museum... I've mentioned before that I am a history major and have definitely mentioned in the last couple of posts how much more thrilling that passion makes Ireland for me. This museum... I was basically in heaven. I took a crap-ton of photos, of artifacts as well as their little fact-cards so I would remember when each one was from. I can't express to you how absolutely enamored I was with the rather extensive history section of this museum. Not all of it was Irish history; there was a smattering of Asian and African history tossed in as well. There was even an Egypt exhibit,which I will get to shortly. There was stuff from B.C. people! There was a suit of armor from 1100!!! There were cannons and gold coins from the episode in history when the Spanish tried to attack England(under Elizabeth's rule) and failed in epic proportions due to weather and ended up with the majority of the armada sunk. There were weapons and armor and jewelry and trinkets and documents and all sorts of artifacts from stage after stage of history, a large portion of which was over 1000 years old. That whole so-happy-you-could-cry feeling? Yeah, I was embarrassingly close to that.

<3 

This is just snazzy. 

Off of the Britannica, Titanic's Sister ship. Both ships came out of Belfast, and this one didn't sink.

YEEEEEE!!!!!! 1600 GUYS! THIS CAME FROM THE FREAKING 17TH CENTURY. AND IT"S SO PRETTY AND SHINY!!

I literally was standing there gaping. Know why? Know what this is? This is an Aztec Tribute list from approx. 1555 that the Spanish had! 

This is a gorgeous crossbow. I was really into this and really really wanted it. I could slink around Ireland in a green cape or something and use a deep raspy voice and be like "You have failed this island. Now hand over your pastries and delicious candies." 

Just some Viking weapons. No biggie. 

Celtic shield and weapons <3 <3 <3

So yeah! It was spectacular. And I mentioned there was an Ancient Egypt room, right? Kay, well I was pretty excited about this. Walked in and what immediately caught my attention was this gorgeous decorated mummy case across the room. I was all like "This is awesome! Look at all those hieroglyphics! What a cool coffin!" 

See, look! all the colors and the oldness and GAHH!

So I was already thrilled that there was a mummy case in front of me. Then I heard a movie playing along the next wall and was like "that looks interesting." Went to turn around and promptly jumped about a foot in the air and threw my hand to my chest in surprise. Because guess what else the museum had, in addition to the mummy case? You guessed it, miss Tjesmutperet, a shrively mummy, just sitting(in a case, naturally) smack in the middle of the room. Incidentally, that movie I'd been about to investigate was about her, and how interesting it was to have her in Ulster to study. I felt... really dumb. I had walked right past the focal point of the exhibit, a mummy for crying out loud! It's not even like it was an easy thing to miss! And then I was completely startled by it when I did notice it. The five or so patrons milling about the room looked at me just like "Why did you jump? You did know the mummy was the point right?" 

Tjesmutperet in the flesh. Well, I mean, sort of. 

So yeah, that was fun. Afterwards I was mostly just exited. They had a mummy guys! I had already been pretty spectacularly nerding out, and then they had a mummy.

Well, after the museum, we were all pretty hungry, so we went to the little market we'd visited last week. Honestly, if it weren't so expensive I'd consider heading to Belfast every Sunday just for that market. There's all sorts of yummy food, and pastries EVERYWHERE and vendors, and samples of basically everything, and it made me very happy. I actually found a stand that sold Turkish delight! I bought a bag of pistachio flavored ones. Mmmm. I mean, if I were Eustace, I still would have demanded chocolate(PB Kit-Kats more specifically), but I guess I can see the appeal of the Turkish delight, so long as it was pistachio flavored (I don't know, there might be other yummy ones, that's just my favorite of what I've tasted.) 

After the market, we visited Victoria Square, a beautifully designed building that houses a shopping mall and has a gorgeous Victorian fountain out front then did a little shopping. Then we headed to the train station to return home. I had my first coffee in three weeks while waiting for the train, and it was basically the best thing ever. Oh, yeah, and I also found another PB Kit-Kat; I don't know if I'm physically capable of seeing one and not buying it.

The Victorian fountain. Isn't it pretty? : ) 

I think I might be in love.

 The train home was a little crowded, and I had to sit next to an elderly gentleman who I didn't know. So, in lieu of awkwardly looking across him and his Kindle to stare out the window for the hour or so ride back, I glanced about inside the train car. This resulted in a hilariously awkward game of "try not to get caught staring at random people, and especially that cute guy directly in my line of sight." Said cute guy seemed to be playing a similar game, because while sometimes he was the one to catch me looking, there were multiple occasions that when my gaze flitted around the car and back to him, he was the one to do the look-away-really-quick-and-pretend-you-weren't-watching-that-person thing. This went on for a solid 45 minutes or so until his stop, and not gonna lie, kinda made my night; I mean, it was already a pretty good day, but having an awkward totally-wasn't-staring contest with an attractive Irish stranger topped it off pretty wonderfully. 

The next couple days I had classes- yes, that does actually happen occasionally. They are actually really interesting classes, too! Well, two of them are, and the third I'm telling myself will be an excellent educational experience. For one I just  read three of the most ridiculous short stories I've ever come across, and I just had to laugh the entire time. For another class I just stock-piled a bunch of books from the library so that I have an inkling as to what is going on- this is the "excellent educational experience" one. For the third, I read a truly fascinating and somewhat disturbing article on hanging rituals in 1700s London. It's incredibly thrilling, all of the things I'm learning so far. : ) 

OH! For the same class I read the silly short stories, I also just finished what I've deemed to be my new favorite book. And I'm an English major. Picking a favorite book is not something we do lightly, if at all. The book in question is by one Oscar Wilde- The Picture of Dorian Gray. GAHHHHH!!! It's not just a book, not even just a piece of "classical literature;" that work is a piece of art, and it had me stopping sometimes just to let the words I'd just read wash over me. Wilde used language like a painter uses colors or a musician uses notes. From the first chapter to the last, despite the sadness of the story, I was completely enamored. On top of being beautiful, it is also deep and meaningful! It holds a message, more than one even, about life and one's soul; beauty, youth, and pleasure versus ugliness-physical and spiritual, age, and moderation. *sigh* It's just masterful. I only hope that one day I can manage to write something a fraction as resplendent. 

Okay, end rant. Haha, yeah. It was a good book. Anyway, Wednesday my friends and I went to the Anchor Bar, the one that had the traditional music, and joined in on quiz night! Some of the sections we did surprisingly well in, and some of them were just embarrassing. Don't ask a bunch of English/Film students to tell you about European sports, because it will not end well. Overall though, we did pretty well; we came in third and won a bottle of wine. We shared said wine on Friday, when for Valentines' Day we chowed down on two boxes of cookies and two boxes of chocolates while watching David Tennant and Catherine Tate in one of my favorite versions of Much Ado About Nothing. It was a very good night. : ) 

So yeah, that's been what I've been up to since last time! The girls and I have a trip planned for tomorrow, and I'm sure there's to be even more adventures in the near future. Well, talk to you again soon! Bye!