First up was Ireland! We left Copenhagen right after class on Friday and caught a flight to Dublin. In Dublin, we were staying at my friend Meaghan's apartment and meeting up with our friend Lauren. The tricky part was that Meaghan wasn't going to actually be at her apartment that weekend- she left the key for us and gave us detailed instructions on how to find it, how to get in/out of the city, and lots of suggestions of things to do. All of that was incredibly helpful, and everything worked out without a hitch- except for a brief hiccup on the bus from the airport. Amy and I weren't aware that the busses in Dublin don't have set stops. They are very reliant on the passengers to know where they are going.. which we didn't. We ended up taking the bus a little too far and having to backtrack. Aside from that though, we did fine!
Once we got to the apartment, Lauren was already there. Lauren was my roommate over the summer at Stonehill, so it was great to be reunited! That night, we decided to venture into the city to get some food and explore a bit. We had dinner at our first legit Irish pub, listened to some festive live music, and caught up. The next morning, we had a full day planned, including Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Guinness Factory. Meaghan had also recommended a cafe for us to try- Queen of Tarts, where we enjoyed coffee and cake! So delicious.
Yummm.
Lauren and me at the Guinness Factory enjoying a complimentary pint!
View from Skybar at Guinness!
Trinity College
Trinity College
Oh, and remember that thing about the world being crazy small? Well that was confirmed at the Guinness Factory. After doing our tour, we made a stop in the gift shop. As Amy and I were waiting in line to pay, we see Lauren talking to someone who looks very familiar. We soon realize that its our friend Matt, who is doing an internship in London and who was in Dublin for the weekend with friends! It turned out that our friend Danielle was in Dublin that day too, but we didn't get to see her. I couldn't get over how crazy it was- it was my first completely random Stonehill encounter, and I couldn't believe it.
Later that night, we met up with our friends Jess and Casey who had also been in Dublin for the day and caught the bus to Galway! Jess, Casey, and a bunch of other Stonehill friends are studying there for the semester at NUI Galway. After a nice bus ride and a nap, we got to Galway, got settled in, and relaxed for the night. The next morning, we went to the Cliffs of Mohar with our friends Julia and Steph. Steph is studying in Grenada, Spain and happened to be visiting the same weekend as us! Our tour lasted all day, and our bus driver Desmond kept us all very entertained and made sure we "got the Cliffs of Mohar done, got the Cliffs of Mohar done." Yes, he repeated everything at least twice. Fortunately, we did get the Cliffs done before (a heavier) fog rolled in. We were even rebellious and took our lives into our hands (like all the other tourists) to walk out past the warning signs and look out onto the rocks and crashing waves.
Whoops.. the green warning sign is gone. So this must be okay?
Back in Galway, our lovely hosts cooked us a delicious dinner and we all got ready to celebrate our friend Paige's 21st birthday, Ireland style! We went into town and I got to experience the famous "King's Head," which, even though Halloween wasn't until the next day, was already full of people decked out in costume. Halloween is a big deal I suppose. On our way home, we also made a stop at "Charcoal Grill," which I had heard so much about- apparently, the garlic cheese fries and taco fries were amazing. In the course of the weekend, I sampled both, and they were DELICIOUS.
Happy Birthday!
Note the green wig..
Only the finest Irish cuisine...
The next morning, Steph, Amy, and I did another tour, this time to Connemara. We got to see the Kylemore Abbey and make a stop into a small town where we treated ourselves to coffee and a dessert. Oh, and we saw maybe 854903 sheep along the way. In addition, we purchased authentic wool sweaters! So many sheep. Back in Galway, it was time to celebrate HALLOWEEN! Because we only brought carry-on bags, we clearly didn't have room for costumes, so we had resigned ourselves to being literally the only ones in Galway who would be out in normal clothes. Fortunately, Jess and Julia went out shopping while we were on our tour and picked us up some costumes that were on sale! We hung out at the house for a little bit, got to meet some of our friends' Irish friends, and then ventured back out to a very Ghoulish Galway. Finally, we finished the night with another visit to Charcoal Grill.
The Abbey
Sheep friend
In the morning, it was back to real life for our friends who had class, and it was off to the airport for Amy and I- time to head to London! Before we left though, we stopped for a traditional Irish breakfast. Yes, I ate the black pudding. Nom nom.
Two cities down, 7 to go!
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