Cork

So this weekend me and a group of international students took a trip to Cork City. There were 13 of us in total- 7 Americans, 2 Australians, 2 Canadians, 1 from New Zealand, and 1 from Newfoundland. We took the 8AM bus Saturday morning and arrived in Cork around noon after a bus ride of just under 4 hours. We walked the quick and convenient walk to our hostel so we could check-in.

 Cork's city center: St. Patrick's Street, lots of shopping (don't worry- I didn't partake)!

 Our hostel: Bru Bar and Hostel

 Our cozy room for me and my three other friends: Carly, Jess, and Laura.

 Our bathroom.

 The common kitchen.

 The common lounge area.

After settling in at the hostel and satisfying our hunger, we took a bus to go check out Blarney Castle. This place was the one thing I remember my Grandma Oliver telling me about when she took a trip to Ireland when I was little. Kissing the Blarney Stone has been on my to-do list every since.

 Walking up to the castle.

 One of the many little caves and crevices along the base of the castle.

 We decided to explore one of the caves a bit further. It was all grand until we realized it was a dead-end and someone jokingly threw a rock and said the castle was falling down. That's when I had a panic attack and made everyone behind me turn around so I could get out. Good times.

 On the top! This is after I kissed the Blarney Stone. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good picture of me kissing the stone because of my camera's delay. But I did it and I should now be graced with the gift of eloquence. That and I can also check it off of Travel Channel's list of 99 things to do before you die. Guess I'll just have to go back another time to get a better picture!

 One of the windows in the castle, looking out over the grounds.

Well after we made our way out of the castle, the sun was setting so the grounds were closing and we weren't able to see any of the gardens and the Blarney House was closed for renovation (another reason to go back), we headed back to Cork City for some dinner. We wandered around Cork for what seemed to be forever looking for a place to eat. We soon realized that Cork's options for food were quite limited. They were either very expensive (or over-priced) places or just pubs that didn't serve food. Finally, after venturing quite far from our hostel, we found a pub with a grub menu. I ordered the traditional Irish cottage pie and was not disappointed. It was delicious.

 Yummmm.

After dinner, we headed back to the hostel to relax for a little bit before heading down to the bar where they had live music. The band was great and it was a good end to a long, rainy day. Afterward, we settled into our cozy quarters only to be awakened numerous times throughout the night by our lovely neighbors coming in from their wild night out. Oh well, I guess that's to be expected in a hostel. In the morning, there was breakfast served in the kitchen- nothing fancy (toast, cereal, coffee, tea) but it was definitely nice to not have to spend any extra money for that. We walked around a little bit more and then decided to take the bus back home since we had seen pretty much everything in town and the rain was not letting up. 

Bye Cork!

Overall, it was a great trip! Definitely worth it! And it acted as baby steps into the other trips we have planned. In many of the other hostels we have booked we don't have a private bathroom, much less a private room. We'll be sharing it with strangers and we'll have to be a lot more flexible. But it'll be an experience and I cannot wait! Well I'm off to do a lot of reading before calling it an early night!

Cheers!!

Glendalough, Co. Wicklow

Hello! Well this week has been a bit more hectic. Classes are in full swing and I have a lot of school work to go along with them. Mostly monotonous reading. But most of my classes are pretty interesting so it hasn't been too bad. Today I went on a hike with the other two people here at UCD from BU and the 54 BU kids at DCU. We went to Glendalough in County Wicklow. Glendalough means "valley of two lakes." It is the site of an old monastic village.

 From a distance.

 The archways where the gates to the village used to be. Only ones still intact among all the monastic villages in Ireland.

 It was windy and cold... but I posed for a photo-op regardless.

 The chapel.

 The tower.

 Then came the hike to the top of the mountain. The very cold, rainy hike.

 Luckily the sun came out for the walk down! Another photo-op!

 These views are the reason I came to Ireland. Breath-taking.

And we made it back!!

Well it was an exhausting day that left me numb to the core but it was definitely worth it. Got some exercise and to see the picturesque untouched views of Ireland. (And yes Mom- I saw lots of sheep!) Well I'm off to bed because we're getting up super early to head out to Cork tomorrow. Gotta go kiss the Blarney stone!

Cheers!

Dublin Tourism

So yesterday, the American group in the business school had a free field trip. Our first stop was St. Michan's Church were we went into the crypts and saw mummies!!

Next stop was the Guinness Storehouse. We made our way through the 7 levels and learned all about the history and the makings of a Guinness. We ended up at the gravity bar for our free pint (which regrettably I was not able to finish- yuck) and took in the 360 degree views of Dublin.

Our final stop was a restaurant on Dame Street. After a blustery walk we sat down to a free three-course meal! I had seafood chowder, Irish salmon and lemon sole, and creme brulee for dessert! So good!

After over eight hours out and about, we all came home and crashed. But a very good, eventful day- and thank goodness it was free! Today, Jess and I wanted to do some exploring of our own so we headed out to go see Dublin Castle. This is a picture of Christ Church which we passed along our way.

Unfortunately, once we made it to Dublin Castle, all the tours within two hours were full so we'll have to go back another time to see the inside but the outside was beautiful.

Then we just walked around, took in the Dublin city streets, and headed home. Now I'm off to cook myself a scrumptious dinner! Next weekend, we're hoping to plan a trip to County Cork and possibly Blarney Castle, so I'll definitely update on that!

Cheers!

Exploring Dublin

Well this week was all about getting into the swing of things. I had my first week of classes. My schedule is pretty ridiculous. No class Monday or Friday. 1-3 Tuesday. 4-9 Wednesday. 11-1 Thursday. I've never had such a late-starting schedule. I think it'll work out though cause I'll be able to get a good amount of sleep and still be able to run in the morning. This week was a nice week- the weather is very mild. Its been between 40 and 50 degrees the whole time and aside from one quick rain storm (which of course I was waiting for the bus in) we've lucked out. According to my friend's Irish roommate it doesn't rain here much. But I'm not sure if that's just relative to where he lives west of here where it rains all the time? We shall see I suppose. It is extremely windy though, which has not been good for my hair haha.

Wednesday morning I went and explored a little more- walked down Grafton Street (which is Dublin's shopping capital).

Found my favorite lunch spot- chicken baguette sandwich and wedges for 3 euros!! I ate my lunch on a bench in St. Stephen's Green Park where I was hounded by giant seagulls and pigeons.

Thursday we took a trip to one of the many National Museums of Ireland which are free to the public! Woo! We went to the Archaeology and History Museum and saw artifacts from viking and medieval Ireland.

 A canoe dug out of a very large tree.

Well I'm running out to go explore Dublin some more today. I will update you on the rest of my week later!

Cheers!!

Dun Laoghaire

Sorry for the delay- been a bit busy with classes starting and whatnot. But anyways... I'll start by updating you on last weekend. I went to Dun Laoghaire with a couple of friends (Jess from BU, and Nick and Josh from Australia). After a short bus ride we arrived at the coastal town. We walked along the pier and looked through town a bit before settling in for a late lunch at a local restaurant. It was a windy and cold day but it was definitely worth it!

pronounced [Don Leary]

town court house

 
Views of the pier and from the pier.

 

Maritime Museum (unfortunately closed for renovations)

 

"Christ Le Roi"

Walters- where we had a delicious lunch!

Well those are the key pictures from our Dun Laoghaire excursion. Will update soon with events from this week- classes, museums, and the Guinness Factory!

Cheers!!