Greetings from Canada!!

Hello, hello everyone! The very warmest of greetings come all the way to you from Calgary, Alberta, Canada! Apologies, it's been over three weeks since my last blog post but, you're going to have to forgive me this time guys. It took me a while to get set up with internet, I've had several appointments that had to be attended to first before I actually find the time to sit down and write a blog post for you guys! That being said, I am back! Reporting to you live from Canadian soil! Man, does it feel good to actually say that!

The last three weeks have been nothing but chaotic to say the least. Once I finished work, I had 10 days, 1 working week, left on Irish soil before my flight to sort my life out, that included packing. I was crazy busy! I had been in the post office more times that week than I had in my entire life! I had something to do everyday between posting things, sorting insurance and sadly, having to bid my last goodbyes too close friends and family. In saying that, one piece of advice I would give to you guys is to give yourself more than 1 week to have everything sorted. In hindsight, choosing to leave so close after Xmas was also, not the best decision. Because I was working so much right up until Xmas, I had no time to wrap my head around what I wanted to pack, what I needed to do in preparation like sorting our my international health insurance as I mentioned earlier. One minute I was working flat out, the next thing my notice was handed in, next thing I knew I had managed to give myself practically no preparation time.

People kept asking me "has it hit you yet" and it honestly, it didn't properly hit me until the night of our going away party. That night, when friends and family decided to head home and, I was saying goodbye, I knew in my heart it was the last time I was going to be seeing many of them. There was a tear or two, I had to hold them back, I'm not going to lie! I didn't want to be an emotional wreck, that's not what that night was about. I wanted it to be fun, a good send off!  In the end, I had a fantastic night and was genuinely shocked to see just how many people took the time to see us off and wish us well! People might not always express how they feel towards you but when they do, it's really nice to see! Very heart warming!

The tears really started to flow the night before we left, I had to say goodbye to my aunt and uncle and my aunt got upset so, I got upset and that was the start of it. I knew I was going to break down having to say goodbye to my immediate family. My mum and dad drove us to the airport but, there was no room left for my brother so, I cried saying goodbye to him. The day of the flight, I felt physically sick with nerves, I couldn't eat anything. I was shacking with nerves! I broke down saying goodbye to my parents, I didn't realise how hard it was going to be and how hysterical I would become. I even cried as the plane took off because I knew in my heart it would be several months before I would be back on Irish soil. For those of you who are waiting for your departure date or are thinking of applying for a visa, take it from me, the goodbyes suck.

Thankfully, myself and Larry made it Toronto without a glitch and were greeted by my family who we stayed with until Saturday January 24th when we flew to Calgary to be greeted by my lovely sister. Our time was very limited in Toronto, in hindsight I should have stayed longer. It's not that often I get to see my family and they also had to work through most of the time that we were there but, hopefully now that I live on the same continent, trips back and forth will be slightly more frequent. Over the few days we had in Toronto, I must have walked 1000 miles! Myself and Larry walked into Milton town centre where my family lives on the first day (got lost, of course!). Second day we managed to make our way into down town Toronto, met up with my friend Mark who I have mentioned on this blog before. He has been living in Toronto since October and loving it! Great to see a familiar face and that he is doing well.We took a trip to the aquarium,which was actually really cool! Saw some great sights and ate some delicious food but, before we knew it, we had to repack our bags and catch our ongoing flight out west to Calgary!

We've only been in Calgary a few days, still finding our bearings here. Lovely city, lovely views and skyline. Nowhere near as big as Toronto so, definitely think I'll be more comfortable here. Already finding it way easier to navigate! I'll write a more detailed post about Calgary for you guys soon! So far, all I've done is set up my phone, bank account and gotten my SIN (PPS) number....

Here's a few snaps of my first week in Canada!

Thanks for reading,

Ciara

First day at -16 degrees! 

Yum burgers from "The Works" Milton. 

Mark, myself and Larry. Love this photo! 

Lake Ontario FROZEN! 

Myself and Larry in the aquarium.

Me being a tourist! 

Me, Larry and our saw shark friend! 

Me, delighted with life and all the nemo's! 

Red and white CN Tower at night. 

Snap of Calgary from the air! 

Larry and myself.
Calgary tower in background

2 Weeks to Go!!

2015 has only been up and running for less than one week and I can all ready tell, it's going to be one amazing year! Within the first 5 days of the new year, I received so much exciting news, I still haven't managed to process it all!

Firstly, I had an amazing new years celebration! Myself and my boyfriend rang in the new year in what was supposed to be, a very low key house party but, when there's drink involved with the Irish, nothing is low key! Once we had gotten a few drinks into us and midnight had passed, we managed to end up in a bar in Sligo town, 5th on Teeling (which I have mentioned on the blog before) at a silent disco and it was honestly so much fun! Silent discos have made a huge comeback in Sligo recently. The Fleadh Ceoil is entirely to blame for that! As I said, the house party was supposed to be low key so, I dressed very casually for the gathering opting for flat shoes. Normally on a night out, I would don extremely high heels and of course, by the end of the night that would leave me barely able to walk! I think this was one of the reasons that allowed me to have such a good night. Also, I think a lot of Irish people would agree with me that, the best nights out are always the ones that are unplanned!

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I have mentioned a certain, very special lady before, my best friend Rachael. The last time I spoke of her, she had returned to London and I wouldn't be seeing her until around now, at Xmas. It's amazing what can change in the space of a few months and not just a year! She and her lovely boyfriend have actually moved back to Ireland permanently which I am beyond excited about! It's so nice to have her close again! Although... it's also quite sad as now, I'm the one who's moving away! The good news continues for her as she became engaged on Xmas day, has moved into a gorgeous house and got a new puppy! The stuff that fairy tales are made of people! I am beyond happy for her, she had a tough year in 2014 so, it just goes to show you that whatever sh*t (excuse my French!) life may through at you, if you persevere through it, good luck will come a calling! Congrats Racheal!

On Saturday, my boyfriend Larry had his first flying lesson! I bought him a voucher to do so last Christmas and he ended up losing it! Thankfully though Sligo Aero club keep a record of vouchers sold so, there were able to find it on file and he could still use it! We've had to reschedule his lesson a number of times due to bad weather mostly. This has been ongoing since about November and we were both worried he wouldn't get to do it before we left! The weather was on our side on Saturday and he finally got to fly! Unfortunately, I couldn't go with him as, he flew in a small duel control, two seater plane which left no room for me! I was allowed to hang around on the airfield though! Larry said it was an amazing experience and he got to see scenic Sligo from a whole new perspective! Who knows, maybe he'll one day end up with a pilots license!? Coincidentally, while we were there, the Irish Coast Guard got called out on an emergency call! I got to see the search and rescue helicopter warm up and take off! Pretty cool experience!

Dual control plane for Larry's
first flying lesson!

My lovely boyfriend Larry pictured
next to the plane! 

In the "drivers" seat! 

Taken mid-flight with Larry in control!
Thanks to his instructor for this one!

The Irish Coast Guard

On top of what was already working to be one amazing week, I then received the ultra amazing, fantastic news that my very own sister is also engaged!To much excitement to process! Her now fiancé proposed to her during a short holiday at the scenic Grand Canyon! I am beyond thrilled for both of them! I only have two siblings and a small family as it is so, really looking forward to helping her plan it, the hen do and of course, the actual wedding whenever it rolls around!

This week is my last week in work. My last day is on Saturday and I am looking forward to it. I'm hoping once myself and Larry are both finished work, his last day is on Friday, that we can properly wrap our heads around Canada. I currently still have loads to do but feel time constraints because I still have work! As my sister is recently engaged, I can't wait to get to Canada and see her! Myself and Larry have also decided to have a going away party, I've actually made appointments to have my tan, hair and make-up done. Why not? Go out with a bang! We're both really looking forward to it! I'm sure there will be pictures to follow!

Thanks for reading!

Ciara. 

24 Days to go...

Hello, hello everyone!

My sincerest apologies, it has been forever and a day since I last posted to the blog!! November/December has been a long month, it started off very quiet and that is the main reason why I was finding it so difficult to compose a blog post because I simply hadn't gotten up to anything remotely interesting. Then as Christmas edged closer and closer and I was working more and more, I couldn't find the time to sit down! As I was spending so much of my time working again, there's nothing particularly interesting about that either!

The good news is, as of December 22nd, I have officially handed in my notice at work and my last day will be January 10th 2015 giving me a full ten days to sort myself and some personal matters out before we leave! One piece of advice I would give you all, if you're planning on leaving your job, hand in your notice as soon as possible! Be gone from that job within 2 weeks to 1 month depending on how much notice you are required to give. What I was doing, slowly counting down the weeks and days was torture! I've been finding it really difficult to go into work recently and not feel a little sad! Over the last few weeks there has not been one day where I've set foot in the place and thought to myself, "I'm going to have to hand in my notice soon", "I'm going to be leaving soon". It's actually really hard! At the same time though, I am so excited for the day to finally arrive! Myself and my boyfriend Larry talk about it as if we're already living there!

As I haven't been able to stop thinking about my looming departure, I have been actively making purchases that are Canadian winter appropriate. I still have lots to buy, I've been doing it very gradually. As Christmas comes before Canada, most purchases I've made recently are presents for other people. I've bought winters thermals, I've even tested them out! Got the thermal vests, leggings and tops from Penneys and they definitely add warmth, but need to worn alongside other layers. Need to invest in a few more of those, the ones I have are not skin tight and I think they would need to be to work effectively.

Had a very quiet Christmas in my house this year. Gifts I received were small in numbers but, this Christmas was about spending time with my friends and family, as it should be every year! Preparations are full steam ahead now that Xmas is over! Here are just some of the outerwear items I have purchased for Canada. Hoping they'll serve me well!

Mittens from my mum. Xmas present.

Snow boots! Lidl's finest! 

Regatta Jacket!
Hope it keeps the cold out?

Close up shot of the jacket.

One interesting thing I did get up to recently is, on December 20th, I went to see The Strypes in 5th on Teeling here in Sligo. If you don't know who this fantastic band are, let me introduce you! Group of extremely talented and young men hailing from county Cavan here in Ireland. Their talent is one that needs to be witnessed first hand! If there's ever an opportunity for you to see them live, take it from me, good and see them! Below I have featured of them performing on the David Letterman show in America in March 2014! They are so amazing live!!

Ross Farrelly, lead singer

Cool snap, Ross Farrelly.

The Strypes

Season's greeting to you all! Best of love and luck for the new year! Here's hoping 2015 is one amazing year!

Thanks for reading!

Ciara.

76 Days to go...

If you guys follow my Facebook account at all, (which I highly recommend you do) you will have seen that I've had quite the busy weekend!
              First and foremost, I had my graduation ceremony on Friday October 31st, Halloween of all days! Interestingly, this is my third time to graduate and I think it's definitely going to be my last! For the foreseeable future anyway. At first I didn't really like the idea of having my grad on Halloween as I wouldn't be able to dress up like everyone else, I was afraid I'd look a bit silly dressed in my finery!? In the end it didn't make much of a difference, there was a lot of people wearing suits and dresses about Sligo town that night. My graduation ceremony was the last one to take place that day and out of all the ceremonies there were. I was quite nervous as a few days before the ceremony I had learned that the whole thing would be lived streamed! Just to give the entire world the opportunity to watch me fall flat on my face! Thankfully, that didn't happen though and I successfully made it from one side of the stage to the other! I graduated with a second class honours degree in business with marketing. I've been in college a grand total of five years so, it took a bit longer than normal but, it's still a great achievement and I'm not ashamed to say that I am proud of myself! Here's a photo of me that you may have already seen, I featured it on the Ciara in Canada Facebook page.

Quite an impressive cake! 

To celebrate my graduation, myself and my boyfriend Larry went to Galway that same weekend. Galway is my... our,  all time favourite place! It's just such a great city, small and quaint but packs a serious punch! There's always something to do and see there. It's only about a two hour drive from Sligo to! Myself and Larry have gone to Galway several times over the course of our relationship, the two of us are big into our food and there's a list of restaurants as long as my arm that we always visit while there! During this trip we ate in Oscar's Seafood Bistro, The Front Door, The Quay Street Kitchen and Moran's Oyster Cottage which is located 10 miles outside of Galway city. I highly recommend all of these restaurants particularly if you like seafood! Here's just a glimpse of some of the food we enjoyed over the weekend...

Menu from Oscar's Seafood Bistro

Brill with Mussels in a creamy sauce,
Hake with slow roasted pork and mushrooms and veg.
Oscar's Seafood Bistro. 

Mussels in a creamy white wine sauce.
The Quay Street Kitchen.

Fresh oysters!
Moran's Oyster Cottage/Moran's on the weir. 

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Ciara.

90 Days to go...

From today, my departure date is now exactly 3 months away , which is strange considering today is the 22nd and not the 20th  but, I guess it's because the month of September and November both have 30 days and not 31 so, there's two days counted in the following months.
It feels like only yesterday that everyone was saying Christmas was only 90 days away. Now look how close it is! If you're at all curious it's just 63 days away! How mental is that! Last  week, I had to say goodbye to another good friend of mine! Mark Brennan, a very funny, honest and hard working person who has also made the decision to emigrate to Canada. He's someone I have become close with over the past year and it makes me happy and sad all at the same time to have to say goodbye to him. He left last Wednesday so, he is living there one week now. Somehow, at the moment I would imagine it feels like he's on holidays rather than actually living there. (Hi Mark if you're reading this!) I wish him all the very best of luck on his new adventure. I'm hoping that Canada will provide you with every bit of happiness you deserve. I'll be sure to meet you in Toronto when I eventually get there myself.

Myself and Mark. Dec '13

I also got some good news this week! A nice surprise! My best friend Rachael returned home unexpectedly his week. She's been living in London for over a year and it was so great to see her again! I didn't realise how much I had missed her until she announced she was at home! Sometimes there can be a number of days or even weeks can pass by before we get the chance to speak to one another. I work, she works, our work hours can clash. We're both kept so busy all the time! Even when we're not busy, we're still busy! I only got to see her for a short amount of time but, it felt as if she had never left and we had only seen each other the other day?! The next time I see her should be at Christmas and then of course, because I leave in January, this Christmas could potentially be the last time we see each other for several months?!

Rachael and Me. August '13

My parents also returned from their trip to Canada/America and have been exhausted ever since! Jet lag is an awful thing! Could take a full week to get over in some cases! From the few photos I have seen Calgary looks like a small city (in comparison to say, Toronto) but, I'm so excited to go there! I'm hoping to see more photos of their trip soon!

That's all for now,
Thanks for reading!

Ciara.