Los dias en Europe es moy diferente los dias en America. Yo nunca duermo tarde en America. En Europe es normal para nosotros duermemos tarde. Nosotros viajamos muchas en Europe. Nosotros cominamos muchos sitios.
The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, put our stuff in the car, and went for a walk to the Botanical Gardens in Dublin. The directions we got from the desk were incomplete and we ended up walking several extra miles. Basically a trip that would've taken us 15 minutes ended up taking an hour. We were told initially to make a right out of the hotel, walk down to the junction, make a right at the church, walk a ways, make a left and keep to the left in the same area we'd been in the night before the Botanical Gardens are on the left a couple miles down the way that way. Of course, they didn't tell us about the right fork we were supposed to take. After we'd gone at least three miles down that way we decided we should ask someone where the gardens were. The people we asked generously offered to lead the way to the fork we needed. So we followed them and talked to them as we walked back the way we came. Something I must mention now is that all of the people we've asked help from while we've been here in Ireland have gone out of their way to help us out and point us in the right direction. I know this might sound like a tour guide, but the Irish people are so friendly and obliging!
Once we'd made it to the gardens we took a break to use the restroom and rest our legs then we headed to the sections we wanted to see of the gardens. We made sure to see the annual section where it was in full bloom and completely stunning; the native plants section-which didn't have the name of a particular plant I've been seeing along the road, I think I'll call it the "Irish Ditchlilly"; the herb garden, which turned out to be more of a perennial garden than anything else (crocsomias are very popular); the grass garden, where I saw the little blue hedgehog spikes that we have in our garden; the woodland garden, which was a collection of strange looking plants that did well in the shade (I loved them); the Chinese garden, didn't have much in it but what was there was lovely and varied; and the rose garden, where Poppy made a list of 7 roses they needed to get as kids raised around the outer sidewalk. As we walked through I realized that a lot of the time I was the one who pointed out the unusual, and that I normally loved those things more than the average everyday plants. I won't forget what these plants looked like, but I know that I've already forgotten their names. It's so difficult to remember the Latin names of these plants! Now that I look back on it I wish I'd taken notes of the plants I really liked.
After visiting the Botanical Gardens we walked back to the car and started to head towards Glaslough. I worked hard to try and get as much done as I could while I was in the car, even though I got slightly carsick from it. Whenever my work was interrupted I was a little grumpy but I held my tongue. This was a really good thing because Ahmee had been looking for the tourist information center in Monaghan (sp?) and was having no luck finding it. We got out of the car and went into a shopping mall to ask someone where it was. While in the mall I looked around at the people my age. A lot of them were just hanging out on the benches, watching people pass by and making their own comments amongst themselves. This mall, like so many others, was the hangout place of people my age. Being the geek that I am, I just wanted to find the information center so I could get back to the car and finish working on my homework (chp. 8 AP US History study guide). We found a map that showed us that the tourist information center was on the outskirts of town. We got back in the car and headed out, I didn't even bother getting out my homework again because I knew I'd be going in with them. The tourist information center was in the local exercise building. This building had tennis courts outside and pools inside. Of course, the tourist information office was closed so Ahmee went up to the lady at the main desk and asked her two things: where we could possibly stay in Glaslough, and why the tourist information office was located here. Ahmee was not happy, she was very close to getting very angry with people. Since I'd missed most of the search I don't fully understand why, and I don't know how long they were looking while I was working. At any rate the woman told us she knew of one place we could stay in Glaslough and that that was 200 euros a night per person. Ahmee didn't want to do that and was talking to Poppy about moving on past Glaslough or finding a place to stay there in Monoghan whenever I piped in saying, "You know... it's not really that lady's job to tell people places they could possibly stay. Most likely that place is the most famous and thus is the only one people around here talk about. There might be other places to stay there." They decided to check Glaslough out, and I decided I was going to go back to work.
I barely even noticed when they told me they'd be back in 15 minutes that they were just going to check out the one and only b&b in Glaslough. As I got closer and closer to being done with my work I started to wonder what they were up to, because I knew that they had been in there for much longer than 15 minutes. I didn't worry too much about it though, because I knew that if they had stayed in there that long that we definitely had a place to stay for the night. Whenever I got down to the final few questions on my study guide I decided I should go in and check on them.
Shortly after we all got together again we decided we'd head down to the Castle to eat dinner. This castle has been renovated and turned into a hotel by the locally famous Sammy Leslie. This was the hotel that the lady had proposed we go to. Every time we go in to fancy places like this I remember The Chateau in Canada on Lake Louise. So fancy, fine, and expensive! The food was delicious of course, even though we were eating in the bar. We enjoyed the atmosphere and our food and talked about the b&b keepers. They had talked for ages and whenever they heard that Ahmee's great great grandfather James Anderson was born on Coolcollid Hill Mrs. Josie freaked. She told Ahmee and Poppy that that was the hill that they lived on. We all hoped that we'd get to see the hill that our ancestor was born on.
Before we headed out I decided I needed to use the bathroom. After every meal I always end up having to use the bathroom simply because I tend to drink a whole lot. I hope that they don't think I'm anorexic. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Our family has a history of having women who are very harsh on themselves if they feel they aren't thin enough or pretty enough. At any rate, on my way back from the restrooms I missed and step and stumbled. As I straightened up I saw a fireplace with a real log fire burning in it. I took a few minutes to warm myself by it because I love real fires (not the gas powered things), I like the smell, I like the warmth, and I like the look of the flames. I didn't stick around the fire too long though because Ahmee and Poppy wanted to head out.
We walked back up to the village and started to walk towards the information center. We found out that the only information about the town was enclosed in a case on the corner. While Ahmee read that Poppy and I looked around and realized that there weren't any people out on the streets at all. Poppy said he felt like he'd been dropped into the Twilight Zone. I said I felt like I'd been dropped into Duloc with Shrek and Donkey. Poppy laughed at me. Of course, the feeling that I was in Duloc quickly changed as I saw the smoke coming out of the chimneys, the moss growing on the roofs, the smallest bit of grass on the sidewalk- Duloc had nothing out of place and it was a strange place to be in. The town of Glaslough was slightly untidy, but it was a nice untidy, at least you knew the town was lived in.
That night I stayed up late writing. Poppy heard me talk in my sleep a lot that night, he told me I did not sound happy at all.
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