The Castle Tour of Ireland

Jude and Tara came to Europe for a three week tour of Sweden and Ireland. They first stopped in Dublin on a weeknight before heading to Copenhagen and then to Sweden for Vilda's Christening and a visit with Petra, Andreas and Hanna's family and friends. Since we only had one night before they continued to Sweden, we decided to head into Dublin City Centre and had a nice dinner at Peploes Wine Bistro which I would highly recommend for their ambience, selection of excellent cuisine and fabulous wine. After dinner, we walked around Dublin for a bit before heading back to Blackrock so they could taste a local pint of Guinness.

They returned to Dublin last Friday night and we decided to have a night of rest before beginning our tour around Ireland on Saturday morning. We started our castle tour by heading down to Kilkenny, where we had lunch followed by a tour of the Kilkenny Castle. We then did a bit of shoe shopping and headed back on the road to Waterford where we saw the Clock Tower, the Reginald's Tower and the Waterford Crystal Factory. The original plan was to also hit Wexford but I was told by several locals that it was too far for a one day trip so we skipped it. We then headed into Cork City for the night.

That night we had dinner at a local italian restaurant and stayed at the Imperial Hotel and walked around a bit in the rain. The next morning, the rain was a bit lighter so after an interesting breakfast experience at the hotel, we walked around a bit through the quays, Parliament Bridge, through the English Market which was unfortunately closed, and into the shopping district. We also got to see the Red Abbey and st. Mary's Dominican Church as we were searching for the car park where my car was hidden a few blocks from the hotel.

After finally finding the car, we hit the road and headed to The Blarney Castle where Jude and Tara kissed the Blarney Stone. Kissing the stone is said to bring the gift of magical eloquence or the "gift of gab". I declined as I have been told by several locals that the locals of Blarney actually pee on the stone. Yuck and no thank you...I already have the gift of gab and am eloquent enough without kissing it:) It was a beautiful castle to visit though.

We then headed toward the Ring of Kerry which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. There are winding roads and exquisite views over the ocean and quaint villages. Unfortunately, just as we were heading out of the Ring and towards our next intended stop, which was dinner and a night's stay at Bunratty Castle, my car literally blew up. We were coming down a hill towards a cliff and as I went to make the turn, my car literally lost all power including steering and brakes. I am not quite sure how (divine intervention maybe) but I managed to turn the car as hard as I could to not head straight off the cliff while pulling on the hand brake to get the car to a stop. Thank God I had ordered AA (which is Ireland's version of AAA) the week before as it took an hour and a half to get a tow truck to come and get us and take us to the nearest city which was Killarney.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we never would have seen Killarney if my car had not died and it turned out to be one of our best evenings. Jude found the name of a hotel out of one of our travel books and I called and booked the room at the Killarney Park Hotel. This hotel had the best service I have ever encountered in my life. Not only did they give us their last room at a discounted rate because of how late we got there, but they helped with everything including finding us a rent-a-car the next morning. Killarney turned out to be my new favorite place in Ireland. We found a late dinner spot as we were all starving at this point and then found a cool spot playing fabulous live music called McSorley's. McSorley's also has a two story night club which we danced at after the live music ended at about 1am. It was a great night and of course not at all part of the plan.

I awoke the next morning at 8am to get the car situation sorted so we could get back on the road, we finally found a rent-a-car place at the Kerry Airport (with the help of the staff at the Killarney Park Hotel) and were back on the road by noon, a bit behind schedule. Now I was learning new skills as driving a car on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road with a stick-shift around the roundabouts is quite a skill, I've decided.

We headed up the coast, through the town that hosts Kirby's, Jude's family name, to Bunratty Castle which I've visited before. Bunratty Castle also hosts the best apple pie I've had in years which we got to taste as the weather decided to take a turn for the worse and was downpouring. Finally, Jude and Tara were seeing the "real rain" of Ireland. We then high tailed it up the coast to Galway as I was supposed to catch the 6pm train that day from Galway to Dublin so that I could make it to work on Tuesday after the bank holiday weekend. We made it to Galway about 45 minutes too late though so we headed another hour up the coast to Jude and Tara's hotel for that evening at the Ashford Castle.

The Ashford Castle is unquestionably the most beautiful castle I have seen with an amazing golf course, although I didn't find the service there to be as nice as at the Killarney Park Hotel (Jude said the service was better the next day). We had a beautiful dinner and I did a tour of the castle as I wouldn't be there the next day to really explore it. I then woke the next morning at 5:30am, caught a cab to Galway, took a 3 hour train to Dublin and headed straight to work where I proudly arrived by 10:30am. Wow, what an adventure!

Jude and Tara continued to tour on Tuesday and saw the Cliffs of Moher, somehow got a flat tire in the rent-a-car(what was it with our bad luck with cars) and spent that night at the Drumoland Castle while I spent the evening getting some much needed sleep. They came back to Dublin on Wednesday night and toured the Hills of Tara and attempted unsuccessfully to tour Newgrange. They did see the Newgrange Museum but the actual tour of Newgrange had sold out by the time they got there. Apparently, you have to get there early or book through a tour due to it's popularity. So they returned to Dublin and we had our last night in Dublin at a great recommended restaurant Fire at The Mansion House. Tara was not feeling well at this point so we headed briefly into St. Stephen's Green, over to St. Patrick's Cathedral and then caught a taxi back to Blackrock and spent the rest of the evening packing for them to return to LA.

Other than my car exploding (I have since confirmed that the engine is blown and I will share that adventure in a later blog), it was a fabulous tour of Ireland. The castles were amazing, the memories will last a lifetime and it was so wonderful to have Jude and Tara visiting to share the experiences with. I was sad to see them go as it was so much fun to see so many things here that I may not have even attempted had they not been here. And we are already planning "The Comeback Tour" of Ireland to plan a trip back here to spend some quality time in the towns that we enjoyed the most. I already know I would like to spend more time in Kilkenny, Killarney and The Ring of Kerry.

Special Thanks: Thank you so much Jude for coming to visit, for all of your help and constant generousity with everything. I love you and will see you at the Barker Ranch for Thanksgiving dessert:) xoxo.

       

       

George Michael, Finally!

Last week before Tara and Jude arrived, I finally got to see George Michael in Concert. I attempted to see them in June but missed it as I was stuck in LA sick and ended up having to give the tickets away. So when he ended up cancelling the second day of that tour in relation to his pending drug charges when he was recently caught sleeping at the wheel in London, it was a blessing in disguise for me as I was able to buy tickets for the replacement show. Jo was an amazing trouper as I don't think she had the same love and passion for George that I did growing up but was open to the experience.

It was fabulous to see him in concert since I've followed his music since I was a child during his WHAM days and am an avid fan of turning up his Best Of George Michael CD while I clean the house on Saturday mornings. He played many of my favorite songs, including Freedom 90, FAITH (I bought the t-shirt, lol), Careless Whisper, and my new favorite Spinning the Wheel (I loved his live version). He also played a few of his new songs which I didn't even know and they were good as well.

I loved how he still dances like he did in the 80's, still looks suprisingly good in tight leather pants and still sounds amazing.

One thing I didn't know about George was his passionate political view points. So I was quite suprised when during his Freedom 90 song, a blow up doll emerged covering the stage of another George, George Bush, with the British Bulldog sucking his how shall we say "private parts". And then later on, another blow up doll emerged of a scary version of the statue of liberty with a plaque in her other hand that said "What is fuckin liberty". I had no clue he was using his concerts to boast his political viewpoints. Most interesting was that he didn't really receive a response from the crowd other than a slightly uncomfortable silence. OK then, back to the show.

I will say that the Irish had as great a love for George as I did and spent the entire time on their feet dancing, swaying and singing every word to every song, including a spontaneous outbreak of their own national anthem in between songs, so it was an exciting place to see the concert, one of my first in Dublin.

It was a great night and I am so glad that I finally got to see George...it only took 20 something years, buying 4 tickets, giving two away, and an hour and a half drive in traffic to the Point to finally see him perform live:)

Thanks JO for being a George fan for the night with me! I had a blast! Well worth the wait:)

       

The Beauty of Dublin and Kilkenny

I am still very behind on my travel posts. It is a beautiful rainy Saturday morning so I figured after my 12 hour sleep last night that I'd take a moment and catch up on my travels.

When I arrived back in Dublin, two of my favorite rock star friends from LA were already here for an Irish vacation. For those of you who don't know, I met George and Marisa separately at the Cat Club in Hollywood as I used to watch George's amazing band "JAY" perform there and Marisa and I became friends when she was cocktail waitressing there several years ago. She is also a beautiful actress/model and most importantly, one of my best friends...and of course, my favorite make-up artist:) George and Marisa later met and began dating and I love that we have all remained such close friends over the years. I also think it's funny how The Cat Club has brought so many people together.

It was so nice to come back to some of my LA peeps already in town. It was a godsend to have them in Dublin upon my return as I was feeling a bit nervous to return due to my recent health scare and as I entered the door of my apartment, they had already stocked my fridge with food from the local Superquinn and even put pretty yellow daisies in the window sill. What a wonderful way to come back to Dublin:)

So I pretty much threw down my suitcases, didn't even unpack and let the adventure began. We spent the first day in Dublin doing fun touristy things that I hadn't even seen yet. We visited the Guinness Storehouse where at the end of the tour, every guest gets a free pint of Guinness. What I didn't know was how beautiful the view was from the top of the factory. The glass windows of the top of the circular building show quite an impressive view over the city. We then took a walk down to the Christ Church Cathedral and decided not to enter when we realized they were actually charging an entry fee to enter the church which neither I or Marisa had ever heard of. We eventually headed back to the Dart and into Blackrock for a night of R&R as I was still jet lagged from the long trip from LA.

The next day we decided to take a road trip to the quaint town of Kilkenny where we roamed the streets sight seeing and taking in the beauty of the town. We had lunch in a pub, took a tour of the Kilkenny Castle and learned of the history of the Butler family who owned the castle until the early 1900's. We also saw a nice modern art exhibition in the basement and had fun taking pictures Charlie's Angel style in the shadow of the visual exhibition. We then strolled through High Street and took a tour of the St. Canice's Cathedral (we decided it was worth paying to see this one) where not only were the stained glass windows breathtaking, but you can climb a tower and see views of the entire city. George and I then hit a local Kilkenny pub for a pint of Smithwick's and a chat with the locals while Marisa headed to the Black Abbey. We met a hilarious man wearing a bright green cowboy hat who was performing that evening who did a solo performance for us before heading back to Dublin.

Marisa and George did a tour of the Ring of Kerry on Friday while I worked and then after much debate over what we should plan for the weekend (Galway, Dublin and the Roscommon Festival were all possibilities), we decided to do a walking tour of Dublin on Saturday. We started with lunch, and then signed up for a walking tour where we toured Trinity College, learned about the Vikings invasion of Dublin in the late 8th century, visited the City Hall (originally built as the Royal Exchange) and the Bank of Ireland which was the first parliament house in Europe and then headed into Temple Bar lined with cobblestone streets which hosts a variety of pubs, shops and my favorite, the Irish Film Institute.

After all of the cultural stimulation of the walking tour, we decided to find some art and music in the city so we headed to 4 Dame Lane where they were hosting a painting exhibit for a pint. We then pub crawled down Aungier Street to find live music and eventually landed at the Crawdaddy in the Tripod for live rock and roll music mixed with DJ rooms for dancing. It was an all nighter and so much fun:)

Sunday we chilled and headed to Dun Laighoire for a traditional Irish lunch in a pub and took the train to Dalkey for a bit of site seeing. We then headed back to Blackrock for dessert at Sheehan's. Their chocolate cake is amazing!

Unfortunately, George and Marisa had to return to LA on Monday morning and after a crazy adventure of flights, rented cars, etc. finally made it back to LA about 30 hours later. Another reason that I love the direct Aer Lingus 10 hour flight from Dublin to LA.

It was a fabulous week and I was so happy to have them in town when I arrived back in Dublin to continue the adventure.

       

       

Back in the Land of Liquid Sunshine:)

I have lately been a bad blogger, I will be the first to admit it. There are few reasons for this. One, blogging can be bullshit. I can write to my friends and family and keep them posted on the adventures of my travels, but the really juicy stuff will never be written on my blog because so many strangers have access to my blog and I would never publicly post this stuff for the public to read. Why? Because some things are better kept private. Two, I have journalled for most of my life, but the most intimate feelings and emotions that are tied with good journalling will never get full effect in a blog without exposing your innermost feelings...again I would not do this in a public forum unless it was something I was willing to share with everyone. Most things I am not willing to do this with. That said, it is fun to share the experience of travelling to a new country and the idiosyncricies that go with that in a forum that can be accessable to the public as well...as long as it is in edited version with tact and respect to not offend the people involved or expose situations which could be sensitive or harmful to those involved.

All that said, here is what has been going on with me. I am back in the land of the liquid sunshine, formally known as Dublin, Ireland. I say that because apparently this has been the worst weather seen here in 50 something odd years. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights when Noah built his ark...Ireland has seen more consecutive days of rain than that and this is supposed to be summer. Maybe the world is trying to tell us something and we are just not paying attention...hmmmm...there's a thought.

The liquid sunshine of Ireland has made people here very bitter. It is the worst case of SADS that I have ever in my life witnessed. Granted I lived a very LUCKY life to be raised in sunny California where SADS was something I read about in my college psych books but had no true concept of what that meant, but the reality is that SADS does exist, in states such as Washington and countries such as Canada, Ireland, etc. where people experience long lengths of darkness creating a lack of Vitamin D from the sun and has proven itself to be taking its toll on a good majority of the population here.

This has only had relevance in my life because of the extreme resentment received from a select few of those around me (to remain nameless) who have made it very apparent when I returned that they are very pissed off that I was in LA during this miserable weather, completely ignoring and dismissing the fact that I was extremely ill, could have died from the misdiagnoses I received while trying to get medical care here and required extensive medical treatment to diagnose and resolve my medical issues in LA, not to mention the extreme amounts of debt accumulated to get proper medical care. And the only thing I can really equate that to is that they are jealous that I was in LA where it was SUNNY and not in Dublin where it was RAINING. Seriously??? Are you kidding me? Who does that? I have found this behavior and attitude to be selfish, childish and honestly shows the lack of content in those people's character but all that said, the most interesting thing about being back in Ireland is that I really haven't cared.

It hasn't bothered me for one second that it has been raining here. It hasn't bothered me that there are some people who are ignorant here. It hasn't bothered me to not be in LA, which everyone knows I consider home. So the big news is that I am actually happy to be back. I am grateful to have found such a great doctor in LA who finally found out what was actually wrong and put me back on the path to recovery. I am grateful that they caught the infections and treated them before it was too late. I am grateful that I was able to do so with the support of my friends and family. I am grateful that there were people in my life who stepped up to the plate and truly helped me during the biggest time of need I have ever had. I am grateful that the people who were in my life who were not willing to step up to the plate when I needed them made themselves apparent as well and dismissed themselves.

My perspective has truly changed on so many things that it is amazing. I think that I was actually sick for much longer than it took to become hospitalized. I think that my body was fighting illness for at least 3 or 4 months before it got to the point that my immune system was no longer fighting back and the infection completely took over. I think that being sick for so long and fighting that infection really affected my mood, my behavior and my attitude in a negative way. I feel aweful that this had a detrimental effect on some of my relationships and that people had to be patient with me when I was feeling "off" and "irritable" and had no idea why. I am so grateful that I have enough good people in my life that they were willing to help me through and hold my hand through it when to be honest there were times that I was frankly miserable to be around.

I am still on medication to treat the infections. I still have days of intense pain. I try not to let it show, because I am sure that everyone is as SICK of hearing about it as I am sick of feeling it and sick of talking about it too. But I also have some days with little pain and because my health has improved so has my attitude and my perpective. I can no longer allow circumstances and events surrounding me to have such an effect on me as they once did because it actually effects me physically. I have no choice but to be less sensitive to others and to only allow people and situations in my life that are positive and encouraging. The negative energy that gossip and negative behavior can create can actually create ulcers or make them worse so I have no choice but to change the energy around me and in me if I want to heal and get better.

That said, because the medicines and the mandatory changes to my diet(no spicy food, no acidic food etc. etc.) have already started working, I am feeling more energized than I have been in months. Mentally at least. I am still sleeping alot, almost 12 hours a day, but I know that very soon, I will physically catch up with myself and be able to have longer days of productivity. For now, I am happy if I can make it to work for an entire day before crashing in the evening early. I am hoping by next week to have enough energy to make it back to the gym. I have a list of goals that I want to start crossing of the checklist one by one and have slowly started to work on those as well. And slowly but surely, the sun is actually coming out of hiding, even if does still have moments of liquid mixed in.

The Wedding!

So one of my best friend's finally gave up her single status and tied the knot last weekend. For someone who I know would have been equally happy getting married at the local city hall, it was the most amazingly detailed, fabulous wedding I have ever attended. The week of events started the previous weekend when 8 girls headed to Las Vegas for the bachelorette weekend and as we all know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but the sharable highlights included suites at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, a "Like a Virgin" themed night out(very big hit), the amazing views during dinner at MIX at the top of The Hotel, cabanas at the pool, an all night dance fest with VIP tables at Tryst and afterhours at Dre's, a bit of gambling, etc. etc.

The official wedding festivities started on Friday night with the rehearsal and over 100 family and friends were invited to a private party at Morton's in Beverly Hills for the rehearsal dinner. The wine was flowing, the food was fabulous and the desserts were mouth-watering delectable. After dinner, I headed to Venice to meet Alex, Rasmus, Mike and Andreas and hit James Beach and Viceroy for an unexpectadly very long night out.

The next morning, after virtually no sleep, I dragged myself to CJ at 9am for hair, raced to the hotel by noon for makeup by the always wonderful Marisa and her friend Diedre and around 3pm the entourage of help had arrived. There were more people in the room taking pictures and assisting with different tasks than I have ever seen or could have imagined. It was a bit overwhelming to see the crews of cameras and videographers, dressors, make-up artists, hair dressor, etc. etc. as we were putting the final touches of our dresses together and as Karen was dressed in her gown and preparing for her big day. We had an amazing suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The bathroom alone was bigger than my bedroom in Dublin. No detail was spared, there was even a fabulous girl who whenever you said, "I need or I forgot" seemed to be prepared with anything you could possibly need or imagine. Karen looked more amazing than I have ever seen her, and she is always beautiful but this was breathe-taking. All of the bridesmaids looked beautiful as well in the floor-lengthed cream dresses with black sash to floor and black strappy heels. The men were in tuxes with gorgeous silver silk ties and everyone looked fabulous as we were finally getting to see all of the extensive planning come together.

Pictures began around 3pm and we then had a break for a little bit in the hotel bar at which time we had a chance to touch up and rest and run into some of the fabulous celebrities of Hollywood including P Diddy staying in the suite opposite Karen's.

The official signing of the Katuba was around 6pm. There were appetizers and drinks included. Meanwhile, the guests were beginning to arrive for 7pm appetizers and drinks in a separate banquet room downstairs. The room was beginning to fill with approximately 400 guests and we were able to go down and mingle for a bit and see the amazing ball gowns of the women, the fabulous tuxes and suits of the men. Everyone was dressed beautifully.

Then came the official ceremony at around 8:30pm. We had to wait until sundown to begin as it was a jewish wedding. As we walked down the isle surrounded by hundreds of Matt and Karen's family and friends, I realized that since I'd been in our very fabulous 4 inch heels for about 6 hours by this point, my feet were becoming unbearably sore. By the time I got to the front, I realized my feet on the stone had officially decided to transition into the nausiating feeling of razerblades through the balls of my feet. I have never felt anything like this in my life and can usually handle myself well in heels of all sizes...but this was something different, so I took deep breaths, smiled and tried not to throw up or pass out as I was supposed to be standing for the bride not literally falling for her. I tried my hardest to concetrate while moving my feet to a small patch of grass to the right of my feet to releave some of the pressure, thinking, "Am I the only one who is feeling this?" The rabbi was a great speaker, they had a beautiful voiced singer and the ceremony lasted about 30 minutes, ending with the breaking of the glass...this is it, Karen and Matt were officially married. As I walked back down the isle with David, a groomsman, I was whispering slower, slower because I still felt like my feet were going to give out on me. It turned out that all of the bridesmaids were all feeling the same pain. Virginia, Laura and I literally collapsed into the cushy chairs in the outside of the reception area and stayed there with our feet up in the air for 30 minutes as the guests entered the reception.

As soon as we walked into the reception area and my shoes were replaced with very hidden flip-flops under our floor length dresses, my breathe was literally taken away as I was able to absorbe the details of the room and by the amazing arrangements of flowers throughout the room. No detail again had been spared. There was even floating roses in the center of the room surrounding the dance floor. It was like walking into a fairy tale. There was an ice-sculptured martini bar with Karen and Matt's initials engraved into it, where the bartender would pour the martini requested through the ice sculpture and into the glass. There was a cigar roller, a 5 course meal, an amazing band that was incredibly versatile and everyone seemed to be having an amazing time.

Matt and Karen had choreographed their first dance and I had no idea what to expect and had been teasing her about just looking into his eyes dreamily for the first dance and everything would be fine...so when they were introduced and walked onto the dance floor, I was amazed to see that they were actually looking like the fairy-tale couple floating on the dance floor, dancing and spinning around the room. It was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.

The toasts were heartfelt and hilarious, the kindest, funniest and truest words were spoken about Karen and Matt's relationship. The dancing was so much fun and the band played a huge variety of great music. I even got the pleasure of swing dancing with one of Matt's guests.

It was an honour to be a part of. I can't even describe how happy I am that the two of them found each other and were able to have such a memorable day to celebrate their union to each other. I was truly proud to be a bridesmaid in their wedding as I adore them both so much. And nothing I write will ever be able to truly capture what an amazing day it really was.

But the party didn't stop there...there was a brunch the next morning at Matt's parents house. It was equally fabulous with a coffee bar, omelette bar, variety of meats and cheeses and fruits and breads, etc. etc. They have amazing rose gardens and an equally impressive herb garden. I really hope one day to have a fresh herb garden to pick out fresh herbs and vegetables for cooking so this really impressed me.

And now they are off on their honeymoon in Italy and France and I am kitty-sitting their very-devilish cat until I return to Dublin next week. It was truly a most fabulous occasion and I wish I could describe it with the justice it deserves but this will have to do.

       

       

Hospitals and Doctors and Tests... Oh MY!

It has been forever since my last post, mostly since I have spent the last 6 weeks in and out of hospitals and doctor's offices, being poked and prodded in ways better not to describe and most of the time haven't had a valid internet connection or the energy to sit down and post.

To make a very long story as short as possible, when I returned from Barcelona, I had incredible stomach pains and cramping and all the fun that goes with that. This lasted for about 10 days before on a random phone call to my aunt who is a doctor, I described to her my symptoms and she recommended I immediately go to the doctor. This scared me because I could hear the urgency in her voice, and I had summed it up at the time that I had caught a bug in Barcelona and would feel better in a few days. And I am not a big fan of going to the doctor in Dublin as I've heard several times over from other American's of the short-comings of the Irish healthcare system. So against my stubbornness I made the appointment for that afternoon.

Scary got scarier when I walk into my doctor, explain my symptoms and she immediately refers me to the hospital...of which I am arguing, can't I go tomorrow? To which she responds in a "do not stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200" way and insists that I go immediately. So I did, and the next thing I know they are admitting me into the hospital as I am basically freaking out. My family doesn't even know I am there, I can't get a hold of anyone in LA, they are trying to admit me for an emergency endoscopy (at this point I don't even know what that means) and they are attaching all kinds of IV's to me (have I mentioned I am claustrophobic when I can't move and am attached to IV drips). I end up there for 3 days before they release me saying I have had bleeding stomach ulcers which are now not bleeding (thank GOD) and to take some pill once a day, get rest because it must be stress-related and don't drink beer. Gee thanks.

So I book a flight to LA where I can at least rest in the comfort of my family and friends vs. being alone in Dublin to figure out why I am "stressed". The forgetfulness of the anesthesia causes me to have complete brain lapses and I get all the way to the airport only to realize I've forgotten the most important thing you need to get on an international flight...my passport. AAAGGGHHHH! My friend E races to my apt to retrieve it while I frantically try to switch the flight causing the intense pain in my stomach to increase dramatically which makes me think, maybe I am stressed and this is what is causing my pain. After much time and racing to the 2nd flight (I missed the first one), I caught a connecting flight from Dublin through London to Los Angeles. And as things would go, they lost my luggage for 3 days so I land in LA homeless with no clothes...are you kidding me?

A few days into the "R&R" trip home, the pain begins to worsen again and after many more visits to the doctor and then specialists and many many invasive tests, it turns out I had a very serious bacterial infection in my upper and lower stomach from something I ate or drank which basically eats your stomach out from the inside, causing my very misdiagnosed Dublin "stress ulcers". Unfortunately, the doctor also saw something else that was suspect and despite taking over 12 pills a day for 4 weeks to kill the bacteria, I am still having many of the same symptoms and pain in my lower stomach and so I am waiting for the final results of a capsule test and blood test to determine another similar but separate issue that I may be having. For those of you who don't know what a capsule test is, I swallowed a horse-pill sized camera, attached electrodes and a computer to my waist and had to keep it on for 8 hours while it took pictures of my stomach, which transmitted to the computer I had strapped on. I have also learned that I am allergic to the tape they use to attach electrodes so by the end of the day, my stomach was red and itchy and the claustrophobic feeling to get this device off of me was practically unbearable. I don't want to even think about what the results of these tests may mean so I'm going to wait until the doctor confirms it definitively before even discussing it.

In the meantime, I was scheduled to be in LA for Karen's bachelorette party and wedding which took place last weekend and I have to say it was the most amazing wedding I have and will ever see. The only difficulty was keeping my stomach bloating down enough to fit into the beautiful bridesmaid's dress she had picked out. The stomach problems caused me to lose 12 pds so this was easy to accomplish as long as I didn't drink alcohol or eat spicy food for the week before the wedding. Can I tell you how sucky it is to be celebrating your best friend's wedding and you can't eat or drink half of the things at celebrations.

Unfortunately, the tests are taking longer to get back than anticipated so I have had to extend my stay in LA for another week in order to get the final tests and treatment before returning to Dublin. I will write about Karen's wedding separately as it is definitely worthy of its own post.

So that is the health update for now. I'm praying that this will resolve itself quickly and without further major issues.

Noteworthy shout outs of MAJOR thanks go to:
-Jo for helping me with my apt, concert tickets, etc. etc. and for being generally amazing
-Rena for being my only daily visitor while I was in the hospital in Dublin
-E for getting me my passport and not driving my car to Belfast while I've been away
-Jude for patiently letting me take over the Barbie room at her place for 4 weeks unexpectedly...one day I will return the favor.
-Karen for letting me stay at her place while she honeymoons in Italy & France, for the most amazing wedding experience of a lifetime and for not telling me that her cat was going to hiss at me daily while she is gone.

Coachella, Bridal Shower, Barcelona

Today marks the day that linked a series of events that led me to Ireland. One year ago today, two of my friends were married in Vegas. It was a beautiful wedding at the Belagio Hotel in Las Vegas. It was also the day that triggered a series of events that led me here.

But enough about that, everyone's been asking me to post about Coachella and Barcelona so here is the rundown. My first day in LA was spent with Karen and the wedding party. We started with a dress fitting, hit CPK for happy hour and had a nice and much needed girly afternoon. My first night in town, was spent with the girls and family at Casa Vega of course. Had to get my dose of Mexican food in. The next day was a mini-run around day including haircut and seeing Jude before heading to Coachella.

Coachella was as amazing as it always is. We rented a 30 ft. RV and headed into Joshua Tree fit with everything including full DJ equipment with speakers (Even Steven DJing on the way) for our traveling entertainment for the first night. After much searching for a campground big enough to fit our RV, Rasmus and his co-pilot/best friend Vicke finally settled on a camping ground outside of the customary area and got the fire and fun going. Our fabulous chef, Captain Jack prepared an amazing meal while we created an honorary flag for the weekend. Rasmus and I woke up at the crack of dawn to take pictures and watch the sunrise and then we all headed into Coachella.

We saw amazing bands throughout the day and night including David Guetta, Digitalism, Felix da Housecat, Benny Benassi (Satisfaction was the theme of the weekend) and Bjork. Repeated the whole adventure again on Saturday including seeing MSTRKRFT, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tiesto and headed back into LA on Sunday...just barely in time for me to make it to Karen's bridal shower.
       

The shower was themed as a tea party. Everyone was dressed up and hats were a requirement. It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon, one of the best bridal showers I've ever been too and made me remember how much I really do miss home.

   

As I had suspected, the trip flew by faster than I could breathe and I was back on a plane to Dublin. Only a few days later it was back on a plane for the 3 day holiday weekend to Barcelona, Spain with Christine and Aaron. We arrived late on Friday night and immediately headed for the local tapas bar for a bit of wonderful Spanish food and wine.

Saturday we did the hop-on, hop-off tour of the city and saw some amazing sites. We landed on the coast and had a relaxing and enjoyable meal and then walked up a street called Los Rambalas with the feel of 3rd Street Promenade back towards our rented apartment. We took an afternoon siesta as is customary in Spain, awoke around 10pm and headed to The Cat Walk for an evening of dancing until about 5am. And may I remind you that they are not lying when they say the nightlife does not begin until after midnight...it's more like 2am that things get hopping.

       

Sunday we decided to explore the other half of the hop-on, hop-off tour which unfortunately for me was not as exciting as the first days tour, but we did get to see the Sagrada Familia which was quite an impressive structure. We then headed back towards the museums we had not stopped at the 1st day for an afternoon of walking and leisure. We had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant and then wandered into a artsy underground bar which was hosting an acoustic evening for a night of traditional spanish entertainment.

Unfortunately, when we headed back to the hotel at 2am, we opened the door to find that the deadbolt was no longer locked, the lights were on and much of our electronic items were missing, including Aaron's laptop, 2 IPODs, a Nintento game system, my LA cell phone, my glasses and my sunglasses. In a shocked panic and after several phone calls on quickly dying cell phones, we were finally able to get a hold of the police to send a unit to our now tainted apartment. Unfortunately, when the owner had checked us in on the first night, he had also informed us that one of the keys was missing but assured us he thought the cleaners had it and would return it to us the next day. Unfortunately, that never happened and we were victims of circumstance.

We spent the entire next morning at the police station filing reports, had lunch at a cafe and headed back to the airport about 6 hours early as we were carrying our luggage at this point as it obviously could not be trusted to be left in the apartment with the "missing key".

I can't help but think that none of these adventures, the best or the worst of them, would have happened if not for the things that transpired at that beautiful wedding one year ago today. Those that know me, know the events and know I would choose not to repeat them in a public forum. In fact, I wish I could turn back time and erase most of that evening. But my plan instead is to spend the weekend at home, cuddled up, licking my wounds and getting some much needed rest until the new week begins on Monday.

p.s. I promise to post pictures of the trips soon.