Dublin, Day 3 - Cliffs of Moher and ABC's of Ireland

Day 3 in Dublin, Ireland. January 27, 2013
         On Sunday, Claire and I got up super early so that we could go to the Cliffs of Moher with Paddywagon Tours. I am so glad that we did this tour, it was so much fun! And I personally feel like going to Dublin and not seeing the countryside or coast is like going to Denver, Colorado and not visiting the Rocky Mountains!! 

Our very Irish bus...you couldn't miss it!

         So, we found where the bus was picking up from and got on. We met our funny tour guide Marc, and on the way out of Dublin he told us some Irish history. He also told us the very important ABC's of Ireland (not really that important): Another bloody church, another bloody cathedral, another bloody castle. Well, from our adventures in Dublin and this trip we found out that this is so true! We stopped at a truck stop 30 minutes outside of Dublin, and I got apple juice and Nutri-Grain bars, my favorite! Nutri-Grain bars are the best, but I haven't seen them in Madrid. After our quick breakfast we drove about 2 hours to reach our first destination.
          Our first stop was a castle (ABC's of Ireland!) called Dunguaire Castle. It is a 16th century castle, is pretty close to the city of Galway, and sits on Galway Bay. It was absolutely gorgeous! It seems like it could be in a movie. In the summer you can go in and climb up the tower, but in the winter it is closed, so we just saw the outside of it. Apparently if you stand at the entrance and ask a question, you will know the answer by the end of the day. 

Dunguaire Castle

 

 

 

Front of Dunguaire Castle

     You might be able to tell from the pictures, but it was raining off and on the entire day. So some of my pictures are sunny and some of them it looks like it is about to storm. But, whenever we got off the bus it wasn't raining, and it would rain while we were driving to our next location....we got lucky! Apparently the day before it was raining the entire day. 
         Our next stop was an abbey...not in the ABC's of Ireland, but it is kind of like a church. Corcomroe Abbey was built in the 12th century, but later fell into disrepair. Many churches and castles were destroyed by the English when they were trying to take control of Ireland, a lot by Lord Oliver Cromwell in the mid 1600s. They wanted to destroy the Irish culture, and punish them for being Catholic and speaking Gaelic. Later, a roof was put on to cover the altar and the king that is buried there, King Conor O'Brien, or in Gaelic, Conor na Siudane Ua Briain. When our tour guide Marc was telling us about this abbey, he said make sure not to lean on the walls or anything as it may fall apart...I don't think it was that close to falling a part! Many tombs and gravestones are now in the abbey, as well as outside, most with the Celctic Cross.

Corcomroe Abbey, from the side.

King Conor O'Brien's tomb

        Our next stop was the mini-Cliffs! It was so windy there, but the view was pretty! These cliffs were very small compared to the real Cliffs of Moher, which we found out later. Marc told us the reason why the tour stops here is because you can get pretty close to the edge, unlike at the Cliffs where there is a 4 ft rock wall so you won't fall off. We could kind of see the city of Galway on the other side of the coast, and we could kind of see the Aran Islands: Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Óirr. In English they are Big Island, Middle Island, and South Island...how original.

Mini-Cliffs!

 

You could see how the salty ocean water weathered away the limestone...how neat is that?!

             Then it was time for lunch! We stopped at Fitzgerald's which had a restaurant and hotel and ate seafood chowder. Marc told us it was like the best seafood chowder in Ireland, or something like that. I am not sure if it is, but it was pretty good! And really warm after the windy and cold mini-Cliffs.

Seafood chowder at Fitzgerald's. Even Ireland has lemon Fanta! The US needs to bring that back.

               We then continued on our way, and as we went along Marc pointed out famine farms and walls that were built during the famine. Famine farms were often small with a small cottage for the family (often a lot of people) to stay in. The farming area was divided into different areas, but did not cover much land. Famine walls were built during the famine in the mid 1850s. The British government helped the Irish out by having work houses and building stone walls. The Irish people worked all day building these walls, and then got paid in food. 

Famine wall and farm, taken from the bus when it was raining.

          Then we finally made it to the Cliffs of Moher! Before we got off of the bus, Marc told us to take a certain path that eventually led to a part of the Cliffs where there was no wall. The 4 ft stone wall was put up a few years ago, after there was increase of people accidentally falling off the Cliffs, which is really scary! The wind is so strong that it could push someone over the edge, and some places the Cliffs could be unstable. We tried to find the place where he was talking about, but there was a really big pool of water blocking our way, and we weren't sure how deep it was, and didn't want to get all muddy! We did see a guy go up there, so it was possible. Even with the walls, it was absolutely gorgeous! These Cliffs were so much bigger than the mini-Cliffs! When we got there, the weather was really nice and sunny, but then it turned quickly and got windy.

Sign in multiple languages...although I think the pictures at the top explain it all...don't climb over the stone wall or else you will fall off the Cliffs!

 

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Claire and I kept trying to find the place on the Cliffs where they filmed the scene of Harry and Dumbledore going into a cave trying to find a horcrux.

    

Some sun and blue sky at the Cliffs of Moher. Absolutely beautiful.

 

And another castle...this one was built by England so it wasn't destroyed.

        After a 2 hour drive back to Dublin, that wrapped up our day tour of the Cliffs of Moher. It was so much fun and I was so glad Claire and I choose to do the trip! It was well worth it. We got back to Dublin and met up with the rest of the group and ate at O'Donoghue's, a little pub close to our hostel and the Temple Bar area. I had fish and chips (again) and it was really good! We went back to our hostel to take showers and pack up for our early flight out of Dublin to Madrd. 
     I would say it was a very successful trip to Ireland, and I want to go back! I definitely could spend more time there, maybe in the summer months when it wasn't so rainy! But I loved that everyone was very friendly and didn't care what you were wearing (unlike in Madrid). 
And to end my blog posts about my trip to Ireland, here is a traditional Gaelic Blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.   

      

 Cheers!

Dublin, Day 2 - Churches, Trinity College and Pony-Trekking

Day 2 in Dublin, Ireland, January 26, 2013
        After our first night in the hostel, we started our day early. After a breakfast of toast and hot chocolate or juice, we were on the search for some churches! When we were trying to find where we were going, a nice old man pointed with his cane which direction to go! The first church we went into was Christ Church Cathedral, an Anglican church. It was originally built in the 10th century, but has been rebuilt since then. There was some sort of music festival going on in Dublin that weekend, and in the church a stage was set up. It got in the way of some pictures! But the church was really pretty. It had stained glass windows and also intricate tiling designs. The church had multiple chapels in the back dedicated to different saints. It also had a crypt, which was kind of creepy, but is supposed to be oldest structure in Dublin, and the largest crypt in Britain and Ireland. They had many artifacts such as bibles, songbooks, and tombs. The TV show the Tudors was filmed in the church, so they had some of the costumes from it. 

Christ Church Cathedral

Site of Christ Church Chapter room, built in 10th century

 

Creepy crypt

        Our next stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous. This church too was being used for the music festival. A church for St. Patrick has stood in the spot since the 5th century, and the church that sits there today was built in the early 13th century. It just seemed so Irish!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Statue of St. Patrick

Pretty stained glass windows

    Our next stop was Trinity College! It was so pretty...I wanted to just stay in Dublin and go to school there! We just walked around the campus; we did not get to see the library or Book of Kells. Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university.

Trinity College

Trinity College Campanile

     Then it was time for me to go pony trekking! We found the train station for the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport) and I bought a ticket to Bray, and then I was on my way by myself. I had to wait a little bit for the right train to come (although now I wonder if the other train going south would have gotten me to the same place). I got to the Bray train station, and then waited for the Finnegan Bus to come along, which was a local bus. The Dublin Bus runs in the town, but none of the stops were close to the riding school. I waited a while for the Finnegan Bus, and then I got on and went to the Brennanstown Riding School. I walked down a road to get to the riding school, and followed some other riders to see where they were going. I got checked in, and got a helmet, and then I was ready to go! One of the older ladies that was also on my ride told me what to do...the horses were just sitting in a muddy ring, and their were younger girls that brought out the horses. So, I got my pony, Bumblebee and got on inside another ring. There were only 2 older ladies in my "ride out", but there was also another ride with about 9 young kids, probably aged 8-10. They were all riding ponies and it was so cute!! We started our ride, and it was kind of drizzly, but not too bad. It was so muddy though...I would not ride my own horse in those conditions! We were able to trot and canter some, but couldn't go the way that was planned due to hunters and some event that was going on. I think they are limited anyway in the winter since it rains the most in Ireland then. The scenery was pretty, with a mountain nearby and a lot of forested area and some creeks. And I got to see their cross-country course. It was a lot of fun, and I was kind of glad we didn't do a lot because I didn't have half-chaps on! (for English riders no halfchaps/tall boots and jeans = saddle sore).

View from DART on way to Bray...a small harbor

An our way back to the stable, following the kids on ponies!

Me riding Bumblebee, after the pony trekking. Look how muddy she is! (her legs were white before I got on)

       I made my way back to Dublin and met my friends at the train station, because it was dark and I didn't know where I was going. We walked around some and found a Carroll's to get Irish souvenirs. We were all really hungry and went to find something to eat. But by then it was 7:30 and a Saturday night, so most of the bars were packed with drinkers. We decided to go back to P'Borza (it must have stayed open really late) and I got some fish and chips, yum! We took our time eating and then walked back to our hostel because we were so tired! 

Things I learned in Ireland:

• There are a lot of churches in Ireland
• Horseback riders wear protective vests, even if they aren't jumping...I don't do that, and I've never been to a stable in the US that does that either!
• Rubber tall boots are a thing to ride in, too
• It rains a lot in Ireland, and is really muddy! But is also really green
• Fish and chips is a good meal
• Ireland also has Fanta...why isn't it as popular in the US? They even had the lemon kind!
• I love Irish things! Going into gift shops was a lot of fun
• I am glad I am Irish...my great-grandmother came over from Ireland!
• I want to go back to Ireland!

Cheers!

Dublin, Day 1 - Arrival and Guinness Storehouse

          I went to Ireland this weekend, and it was so much fun!! I really enjoyed the city of Dublin, and the countryside. It was a lot less hectic than Madrid, and everyone was extremely nice. Since I haven't had much to say lately during the school week, I will just do 3 separate posts about Dublin (for the 3 days I was there), because I loved it so much and I have so much to talk about!!
       Our flight left around 9, so that meant that we had to be up really early...not fun. But we took the Metro and got checked into our flight alright, and had plenty of time to spare. The flight was only about 2 hours, so I read and slept for a little bit. Before we left Spain, I was able to take some good pictures of the mountains! 

      When we got to Dublin, we had to wait a long time to go through customs, because there was a very large group of people from Brazil that were staying for 3 months, so they took longer. We finally got our luggage and we were off! All of the people I traveled with got the Dublin Pass, which you pay a certain price for it and it gets you into things for free. But, I figured since Friday we didn't have a full day, Saturday I was going pony-trekking, and Sunday Claire and I were touring the Cliffs of Moher, I didn't think it was worth it for me to get one (and I'm glad I didn't!). But if you plan to stay in Dublin for a full 2 or 3 days, it is probably worth it. 
      We got on a bus that was supposed to take us to the city center, which was kind of close to our hostel. Well, I don't think our hostel was close to city center, or at least not close to where the bus dropped us off, so we ended up walking around Dublin for a while. At least it wasn't raining! When we were walking, a lady asked us if we needed help and she pointed us in the correct direction. 
      We made it to the Four Courts Hostel and were able to check in. My first thought when I entered the hostel was "hippie", because there were posters on all the walls, and paintings, and the two men checking us in looked like brothers (or maybe even twins) because they both had gray hair pulled into a ponytail. There were a total of 6 of us, and 4 of us go to stay in the same room, a 6 person room, and the 2 others went a little cheaper and were staying in the 16 person room. It was definitely worth it to spend an extra 2 or 3 euros a night to have less people in a room...and it was only the 4 of until our last night, and we had our own bathroom! 
      After we got all of our things settled, we asked the man at the desk where to get something to eat, and where the Guinness Storehouse was. He told us to go to P' Borza, so we did, and it was good! I had fries (chips) and some water...we were all just so hungry. 
        We went to the Guinness Storehouse and did the tour. I wish we could have actually seen them make the beer, but they just explained the processes of it. It was really interesting, they had a section about Guinness advertising, how they make the beer and whats in it, you could look up your name to see if any family members had worked for Guinness, and of course you got to taste it. They had one part of the self-guided tour where they gave you a sample of it. I did not like it at all! I took one sip and I was done..ewww. Apparently it is an acquired taste. We went up to the Gravity Bar and looked out at Dublin. It was really cool that you could see all of Dublin from the bar, but it was crowded and quite foggy out. We then went to learn how to pour our own Guinness. It was fun to learn how to do it, and it was easy once one of the instructors told us what to do and why you do it. Who knew that there was a specific way to pour beer, well at least Guinness. You have to hold it at a certain angle, and then fill it up 3/4 of the way, and then let it sit for a little, and then you fill it up all the way, pushing the handle the other way though. Apparently they use nitrogen instead of carbonation, so you have to let it sit to let the bubbles do whatever they do. We all got certificates saying that we are certified in pouring Guinness! After, we went to the gift shop to look and see what they had. I didn't know what I would do with a Guinness pint glass, so I ended up getting 2 postcards.

My perfectly poured pint of Guinness! 

I thought this ad was cute, so I got a postcard of it

           After our trip to the Guinness Storehouse, we walked through the rain and ate at a restaurant close to our hostel, called O'Shea's. One of the men working at the hostel told us on Fridays they had 2 for 1 meals, so we were totally interested! I got a hamburger with cheese and bacon (actually ham) on a floury bap (a big roll) with chips. It was so good! We were all really tired, so we headed back to the hostel and found a room in the basement where we could all sit and charge our phones. It was a room with some books, but there was another room that had a TV with DVDs and also a Wii. We then went to bed at a reasonable hour so we could get up early to explore more of Dublin!

Things I learned in Ireland:

• It is better to spend an extra 2 or 3 euros a night at a hostel for a smaller room with its own bathroom
• Bring locks (combination lock and something smaller) so that you can lock up your things. At the hostel we had metal cages under our beds so we could lock up our belongings, there was also a locked room to store luggage
• You can't go to Ireland without a rain jacket, I had one and I was really happy I did
• People dress normally in Ireland, unlike in Spain where they always dress up. I would say sneakers/tennis shoes are acceptable
• Irish people are so nice and have awesome accents - multiple times people pointed us in the correct direction or asked if we needed help
• Irish people start drinking early - like 7. So eat dinner before then so the bars, restaurants, and pubs aren't crowded with drinkers
• Make sure to bring the appropriate converter. Ireland (and the UK) has different plugs than the rest of Europe, they use a 3 pronged one. But make sure that fits into your US plugs, because I needed the Europe plug  (which I didn't bring) to fit into the UK/Ireland one
•  Look right-left-right before crossing the road, because in Ireland people drive on the wrong side of the road...left instead of right! 

Cheers! 

Going to Ireland!!

Hello everyone! So I will be in Ireland for the next couple of days, and won't be able to update my blog, but I am sure I will be full of stories when I come back!

Nothing too exciting happened today, except I actually made the microwave popcorn that I got last week..and then I burned it a little. But it was pretty good...as some of you may know I love popcorn and I have missed it so much!!!

We had leftover lentil soup, salad, bread, fries, and breaded/fried beef for dinner tonight. Claire and I thought we were just going to get the fries and beef, and were super excited...then she pulled out the lentil soup. She put rice in it which did make it taste better. 

Things I have learned in Spain:

• The SuperSol near SLU-Madrid has more varieties of little packages of tissues than the boxes...I got 15 little things of 10 tissues for about a euro! 
• Packing is stressful...so is traveling
• Madrid has an Egyptian temple...who knew! I have to visit it for my art history class, so I'll be sure to take some pictures of it
• I am really excited to go to Ireland!!

¡Adios!

Another day of school

     Sorry I didn't make a blogpost yesterday, for those of you that might read my blog daily! I got caught up with homework, trip plans, and such. Nothing too interesting happened yesterday, but I did go to the SuperSol and get these Teddy graham type things because I was so hungry and didn't know what to get! They are chocolate but look exactly like Teddy Grahams but apparently are some sort of cereal or breakfast item for kids. They don't have too much processed food here...I really wanted some pretzels.
      I decided to drop my archaeology class, it was interesting but seemed like too much work. So, I had even more time to do things! I went to get money for my upcoming trip (to Dublin, yay!) and Claire was also looking for a mailbox to mail a letter. Well, we saw something that said Correos on it, but it wasn't a mailbox! We looked all around it for a mail slot, but there wasn't anything. We figured it was for the businesses or something...maybe. Then we went and found a store called Alvarez, which is a big sports store that has things for fishing, skiing, scuba diving, tennis, soccer, and horseback riding! I bought some boots for about 40 euros...they look pretty nice and fit well, and that price is pretty cheap for boots, even in dollars! I hope to do some horseback riding while I am in Europe, and hopefully when I go to Dublin! 
    Claire went to SLU Madrid and I went back to the apartment to drop off my boots - my first time on the Metro alone. It wasn't that bad at all. I have been walking the same way every day to and from school that I don't think I'll forget which way to go. I got back to the apartment and dropped off my stuff, and didn't really know what to do so I just took my time getting to SLU Madrid. I ate lunch with Claire and some other friends, and then we stayed in the extremely tiny cafeteria until our next class. History was good, we are still talking about the Renaissance and looking at art; that's fine with me! I definitely recognize paintings from when I was at CJA and taking art history. 
     On our way home, we saw a Correos mailman on a scooter, and we joked about just giving the letter to him, but then guess what Claire and I saw...a mailbox! It was yellow and said Correos on it. Whoever said that mailboxes are everywhere was not telling the truth. That was the first mailbox I have seen in Madrid! But now we know where one is, so that's good. 
      We got home and talked with our roommate Brittany how small SLU Madrid really is. No one actually told me how small it is. Everyone said, "oh yeah its small", but small can mean different things. So, I would like to tell all potential SLU-Madrid students: SLU-Madrid is about as big as 1/2 of Ritter Hall, or maybe same size as Pruellage, with 675 students. Just so you are not shocked of its size, it is a big difference from SLU.The location is great and its really fun, but difficult to find a place inside to study when it is cold out! Oh, and all the hallways and stairs are outside. Hopefully when they get the new building open there will be more places to go. 
     Tonight for dinner we had spaghetti with meat sauce, bread, and a slice of cheese. I miss my green veggies! 

Things I have learned in Spain:

• Mailboxes in Spain do exist and are bright yellow and round
• Mailmen/women ride on scooters to deliver or pick-up mail
• Planning out trips is hard and I understand why people hire travel agents
• It is scary when you go to an ATM because it takes the card from you, and when you are done it spits it out
• Spain doesn't sell a lot of processed food in grocery stores...I just wanted some pretzels or cheez-its! 

 

¡Adios!