Gals in Galway

Hello everyone, this past week was my spring break so I have quite a bit of content for everyone. Our trip consisted of three cities, Galway, Ireland, London, England, and Paris, France. I want to be able to talk about each one, so I decided that I would just make three different posts about it. Our first stop was in Galway, Ireland. In Ireland, everyone is extremely nice and helpful, something my friends and I were not used to, so we probably came across as unfriendly to many people. The taxi drivers loved telling me about all their family who lived in Boston, one even knew the mayor of Boston when he was younger! We were also there for St. Patrick’s day, which surprisingly was much less of a big deal in Ireland as it is in Boston.

In Galway, many of my friends are studying abroad there, especially my roommate Angelina. I was so extremely happy to be able to see my friends, some of who came to visit from Fairfield for their spring break. While in Galway, we saw a lot of the scenes from the “Galway Girl” like the bar, O’Connors, and the colorful houses in the background of the video. Ang liked to point out to us the exact spots that she believed Ed was standing in and likes to believe she is the Galway Girl he is singing about in the video, even though she is not at all Irish.

We also visited the Cliffs of Moher which was a breathtaking site to see. Everyone told us to not go over the wall, because it is super dangerous, but of course we did the first second we got there when we saw how pretty our pictures would come out. (Once again, sorry Mom). It was extremely windy and rainy, but it stopped raining once we got to the top.  Maybe that was Janelle shining through for us? My friends and I had an amazing time there, and I was so happy to finally see the site everyone had raved about to me for so long. I had read Janelle’s blog beforehand and I knew how much she loved the sights of the cliffs, so I made sure to snap a bracelet picture so she would know she was there with me. She was also right, there is so many sheep in Ireland!!!!

St. Patrick’s Day was definitely my favorite day in Galway. I know Janelle would have loved the amount of beer options here, although I only ordered ciders. This was the day that I was able to see all the people from Fairfield who was visiting at the time and catch up with those who have been abroad elsewhere, as well as those who came from Fairfield. Seeing how happy everyone was to see each other and eager to hear of each other’s adventures made my heart so happy. I remember mentioning to my friends many times that day how genuinely happy I felt, when I have not felt so happy in a while. I was smiling all day long. It made me realize how lucky I am to be surrounded be such amazing people all the time.

My other roommate Mikayla traveled with me over spring break is extremely supportive of me. She listens to all the stories I tell her about Janelle, and asks me so many questions about her, and really wants to know her. I always wish that I could introduce them, because I think Mikayla probably feels like she knows her at this point. She even allows me to retell stories probably a million times, because telling everyone all my stories makes me feel like Janelle can touch so many more lives, even just by telling funny stories about her.

I feel like the moral of this trip is truly to just appreciate the people we are able to surround ourselves with. We are all so lucky to have so many people in our lives that care about us. Four months ago today, was the last time we had Janelle’s shining light on earth with us, and not a day has past where I do not miss her or wish I could text her or facetime her just one more time. Knowing Janelle has helped me appreciate the other relationships in my life, and want to appreciate the time that I have to spend with each and every person who I love and care about. As a community of people who love Janelle, we have built a stronger bond over time, which I will forever be thankful for. I hope we can all love our friends and family the way that Janelle loved us.