Judy is a great host! She is absolutely friendly, welcoming and always helpful. Judy always wanted us to feel like home and cared for us. We were really happy to stay with her! Judys house is in the countryside, it is very quiet there. If you need a supermarket or a pharmacy you will find it in Ballincollig. The next bus stop to get to Cork is also not far away. It is a really nice walk to get there. The whole house was always very tidy and clean. You will find everything you need in the kitchen. We really enjoyed our stay with Judy. We had a great time there and Judy was always there for a chat, a cup of tea or just some time together. I would absolutely recommend staying with Judy - she is such a nice lady!

My name is Francie from Germany, I am 21 years old and I stayed with Penny and her family for nearly 3 months during the summer. When I decided to go to Galway for an internship during my studies I wanted to stay with a host family on the one hand to improve my English and on the other hand to get to know the Irish culture. I registered with homestaybooking and Penny was the first person I wrote an email because the family looked very nice. My first impression didn´t change at all. I had a lot of questions but Penny answered all of them very patient. We had a lot of contact before I went to Ireland, so I felt very safe and had a really good feeling to go there. When I arrived in Galway, Penny and the children picked me up from the Coach Station. It was a really friendly and warm welcoming and I felt to be in good hands from the first moment. *The family* Penny and Declan have 3 children, aged 4 until 9. The children are really open-minded, funny and active. Penny is at home every day. She goes to work in the mornings and comes back in the afternoon. Penny is an awesome person. She was always interested in what I did during the day and she was always helpful and did everything to make me feel comfortable during my stay. Whenever Penny went on trips with the children, she asked me if I wanted to come with them. It was also self-evident for her to take me to the city or a shopping centre. When Penny is working Maria looks after the children. She comes from Spain and works as an au pair. She is a really nice, energetic and outgoing person. Pennys husband Declan is at home only at the weekends. The family also has a small dog, called Ruby. '*The house* The room I was living in was really clean and bright and had a nice atmosphere. Penny always cleaned it once a week and always changed the bed linen. There was a TV in the room, too. In addition to that you can also use the internet access. There is also a big wardrobe, a desk and a mirror. Whenever I had washing, I could give it to Penny, too. The bathroom was also always clean and had a bath tub, too. I was a bit worried, because it´s a shared bathroom. But it was absolutely no problem, because the family has another bathroom, too. So you can use the bathroom whenever you need to. The kitchen is very big and has extensive facilities, which you can always use, for example a cooker, a microwave, a toaster, a water boiler, an oven, a fridge, etc. *The food* The price includes breakfast, lunch and dinner - which really cheap for Irish relations, because food is really expensive in Ireland. For breakfast you can have coffee, tea, milk, toast, cereals, ham, cheese, jam, etc. If you are out for lunch you can take a sandwich, crisps and fruits with you. For dinner you always get a warm meal and Penny is a brilliant cooker! We often ate pasta, rice, curries, vegetables, potatoes and meat. *The living area* The family lives in Galway City in a quiet and pleasant neighbourhood. It is not far to the countryside, but also not far from the city centre. If you go by bus it takes about 10-15 minutes to go there. If there is a lot of traffic, it will take some minutes more. The next bus stop is only 2 minutes away from the house. If you want to walk to the city centre, it will take about 60 minutes. If you need something for shopping you find the next shops after a 10-minute-walk. All in all it was an absolutely brilliant experience to stay in Ireland, not at least because of the hospitableness and cheerfulness of my host family. If you are looking for a place to stay, whether for 3 days or 3 months, I can only advise you, to stay with Penny and her family. You won´t find another place to live, which is as comfortable, nice and cheap, as Pennys household!