The rest of last week was pretty relaxed, involving mostly class, a trip to Galway and homework.
Thursday we had our first night in the pub at the hotel as a group! Which was really fun because it gave us a chance to hang out as group and not have 28 of us walk into a pub and be looked at like the Americans.
Friday morning we left for our first excursion to Clifden. On our way we stopped at a few places, first we stopped at a Mamaen, which was a smaller mountain with a chapel on it. We hiked around there for awhile and headed back on the bus for a few other stops and ended in Clifden, where we spent the night. There we went to a poetry reading by Seamus Heaney, which was a once in a lifetime experience to see such a well-known poet first hand. The rest of the night we went to a few pubs that had live music. The next morning some of us went to the Connemara National Park, which was gorgeous and a beautiful way to start the day. On our way home, stopped at our first castle. Aughnanure Castle was not what I was expecting because it was mostly detoyed and rather small.It was still interesting to learn who lived in these places and also how they functioned and were built.
Sunday morning most of our group went to Galway for mass and shopping. After mass at the cathedral, I ran a few errands and got some groceries.
Monday September 21-Saturday September 26
The beginning of the week was as usually with class for 6 hours on Monday. On Tuesday, a small group of us had heard of this amazing house that was in Spiddal and went to check it out. We had to jump the fence in order to see the property but it was definitely worth it. Inside was what seemed like a magical forest and path leading up to the house.
Wednesday, we went into Galway for a few hours after class and spent the night in the pub at the Hotel again!
Thursday was the 250th year celebration of Arthur Guinness! So class was cancelled for the day! We headed in to Galway in the afternoon to begin our celebration at 5:30 there was a giant toast to Arthur and it felt almost like new years here! Galway was a lot of fun that night as we ventured to a variety of pubs and a club!
Friday morning we left for the weekend in Co. Mayo. Our first stop was at the Ballintubber Abbey, this abbey is the only church in Ireland that was founded by a king that is still in use. We heard a variety of stories and this is also where the pilgrimage for Croagh Patrick started. Pierce Brosnan was also married here. That day we also went to Foxford Wollen Mills where we saw the production of scarves, blankets, etc....after that we made one last stop at the Hennigan's Heritage Center where we saw how life was like living in Ireland during the time of the famine and living a small cottage. We also had some wonderful tea and scones here! After that we went our hostel, which was super nice. It was a house that we had all to ourselves. It was a beautiful old house with stained glass windows! That night it was culture night in Westport, so we went to an art gallery that was having a workshop. Here we looked at art, and got to make our own, all while enjoying a nice glass of red wine. We checked out a pub next door for a little while and listened to live music but called it an early night to prepare ourselves for the climb the next morning.
Saturday September 26
We woke up early this morning and enjoyed a lovely breakfast of homemade brown bread and coffee, provided to us by our hostel and headed for Croagh Patrick! It was supposed to take a few hours to get up the mountain and most of us were up for the challenge. A few of the guys climbed it barefoot, because of the spiritual tradition. I kept my shoes on stayed with my friend Sam. We took our time up the mountain and took many pictures. It was beautiful and seemed surreal at times. It was really cool to think about the fact that I was climbing the same mountain that St. Patrick did so many years ago. As we got higher the fog got much thicker and it became much much colder. The last half hour of the hike, was extremely steep, wet and cold. We reached the top in about an hour and twenty minutes and sadly couldn't see much and it felt like we were on another planet. Looking over the side you would see rocks and then it would disappear into a grey fog after about one hundred yards. On the top there was a white chapel that you could not get into and a marked off place for St. Patrick's bed. On top we waited for the rest of the group to finish and said a prayer. Since we couldn't see a whole lot and it was freezing we headed back down. The way down was very slippery and difficult because it had gotten damper and made the rocks slippery and difficult to climb down. When we reached the point where the sun was shining again, I took my time on the rest of the mountain and enjoying the peace and beauty that it held. There was also a stream that rushed down the mountain, which a few of us drank out of. Once we reached the bottom, we went back to Westport for a few hours and headed back to the Lodge. Saturday night we took it easy, and were very tired from the hike. We did figure out what we are doing for our ten day break in October. A group of 8 of us are going on a cruise to Barcelona, the south of France and Italy! So we booked that, and I am super excited!
Sunday was the Gaelic Football Nationals and Spiddal was in it, I know I've mentioned it before but this is town that we live in. It was an interesting experiencing and fun to see a new game, it is a combination of soccer, rugby, and basketball. It was also a good filler for Johnnie Football! It was close game near the end, but Spiddal ended up winning! After that we went to Galway for groceries and on our way home there were fires and people cheering on the side of the road in celebration to the win! We decided that it would be a fun night to go into Spiddal and catch some of the excitement. About 7 of us went in and hung out with a few of the players from the winning team.
This week has been pretty usual so far just having class and hanging out, but we leave for Co. Kerry tomorrow until Sunday where we are doing a Photography workshop which I am really excited about!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week One
So where do I even begin. I left on Wednesday September 9, 2009. The flight over went well until I got to Boston, where they had lost my flight information and then had to wait there for a good hour before they could reissue me another ticket. We reached the Shannon airport at 5:30 am on Thursday Spetember 10th Irish time and waited until 12:30 for everyone to get to the airport and finally get on our bus to The Park Lodge Hotel. Once we got there, we had a little time to unpack before dinner! By this time we were all exhausted from the days of traveling but decided to head into Spiddal and check out the pubs! We went to two pubs and my first drink in Ireland was of course Guinness. A few of us went to another pub and met some Irish guys who informed about some of the lingo we need to know! Since we were tired and had to be up in the morning we headed home around 11:30.
September 11, 2009
The next day we went to a town called Salthill for a bit and got to go in the ocean! Then we headed to Galway to explore. While there we just checked out a few shops and had some lunch at a place called Mr. Waffle and had a club crepe. We stopped by the gas station on our way home for some food to last us over the next couple of days and then had to walk a half hour home with our stuff in our backpacks. That night after our spaghetti dinner we walked to the ocean across the street as a group and had a toast and Megan(a girl on my trip) read us an Irish poem. After that we mostly just hung out at the Lodge and a few us went to the pub in the Hotel.
September 12, 2009
Saturday morning we got on the bus and headed for the Aran Islands! We took a ferry there and from there we had the day to ourselves. A group of us decided to rent bikes and head up to Dun Aengus! We had a little trouble finding it at first and went a couple of miles in the wrong direction, but the island was beautiful and the weather was amazing so we didn't really mind. We also found Gaelic football tournament going on so we watched that for a bit and before they started the game, the had a guy lead the team onto the field playing bagpipes. Once we found the right way, we reached the top which had the most incredible view of cliffs over the Atlantic! Once we reached the Lodge we relaxed, made dinner, and it was some one's 21st birthday, so most of us went into Spiddal for a bit but decided that we just wanted to go back kinda early. There was also a wedding going on at the Lodge that some of the group had gone to earlier, so a few more of us decided to join! The wedding was really fun and the Irish definitely know how to have a wedding!
September 13, 2009
Sunday morning we had the morning off, which was very nice and had to be back on the bus by 1:30 to head to Coole park. We met our Lit Prof there and saw William Yeat's house and also the park where he would write his poetry. It was beautiful, like the rest of Ireland. After that we headed to the grocery store finally, which was very chaotic because it was small and they did not accept cards of any kind, but we made it out of there and headed back to the Lodge to make dinner. We then headed to the pubs in Spiddal for some live music, unfortunately we were too late, so we just decided to have a pint before we headed back. In the mean time the Spiddal Gaelic football team came into the pub called Hughes and had just won Regionals. To celebrate they filled their large trophy with whiskey and cider and insisted that the "Americans" passed it around and took a drink. On our way home from the pub we ran ended up walking next to an older guy with an accordian, and he sat on the bench and played us some Irish tunes! Two of the girls know how to Irish step dance so they danced along with the music. After that we went to the beach in Spiddal and 3 of us decided to jump in the ocean, it was freezing but refreshing! Then we walked home singing Mason Jennings!
September 14, 2009
Today we had class most of the day starting with History at 10 am until 1 pm. The had Irish Catholicism at 2 until 5. It was a very long day of classes, but went well! I really think I'm going to like the Catholicism prof, she is very motherly and seems like she will be helpful and fun! After class me and my cottage mates went for a run and made dinner. A few people came over for some cards tonight but just took it easy!
So far I love Ireland! The weather has been amazing and it has yet to rain! It is in about 65-70 during the day and about 50 at night. Our cottages are very old fashioned and we have to heat them with euros! I have had one warm shower which was tonight! My group seems like we are all going to get along very well!
September 11, 2009
The next day we went to a town called Salthill for a bit and got to go in the ocean! Then we headed to Galway to explore. While there we just checked out a few shops and had some lunch at a place called Mr. Waffle and had a club crepe. We stopped by the gas station on our way home for some food to last us over the next couple of days and then had to walk a half hour home with our stuff in our backpacks. That night after our spaghetti dinner we walked to the ocean across the street as a group and had a toast and Megan(a girl on my trip) read us an Irish poem. After that we mostly just hung out at the Lodge and a few us went to the pub in the Hotel.
September 12, 2009
Saturday morning we got on the bus and headed for the Aran Islands! We took a ferry there and from there we had the day to ourselves. A group of us decided to rent bikes and head up to Dun Aengus! We had a little trouble finding it at first and went a couple of miles in the wrong direction, but the island was beautiful and the weather was amazing so we didn't really mind. We also found Gaelic football tournament going on so we watched that for a bit and before they started the game, the had a guy lead the team onto the field playing bagpipes. Once we found the right way, we reached the top which had the most incredible view of cliffs over the Atlantic! Once we reached the Lodge we relaxed, made dinner, and it was some one's 21st birthday, so most of us went into Spiddal for a bit but decided that we just wanted to go back kinda early. There was also a wedding going on at the Lodge that some of the group had gone to earlier, so a few more of us decided to join! The wedding was really fun and the Irish definitely know how to have a wedding!
September 13, 2009
Sunday morning we had the morning off, which was very nice and had to be back on the bus by 1:30 to head to Coole park. We met our Lit Prof there and saw William Yeat's house and also the park where he would write his poetry. It was beautiful, like the rest of Ireland. After that we headed to the grocery store finally, which was very chaotic because it was small and they did not accept cards of any kind, but we made it out of there and headed back to the Lodge to make dinner. We then headed to the pubs in Spiddal for some live music, unfortunately we were too late, so we just decided to have a pint before we headed back. In the mean time the Spiddal Gaelic football team came into the pub called Hughes and had just won Regionals. To celebrate they filled their large trophy with whiskey and cider and insisted that the "Americans" passed it around and took a drink. On our way home from the pub we ran ended up walking next to an older guy with an accordian, and he sat on the bench and played us some Irish tunes! Two of the girls know how to Irish step dance so they danced along with the music. After that we went to the beach in Spiddal and 3 of us decided to jump in the ocean, it was freezing but refreshing! Then we walked home singing Mason Jennings!
September 14, 2009
Today we had class most of the day starting with History at 10 am until 1 pm. The had Irish Catholicism at 2 until 5. It was a very long day of classes, but went well! I really think I'm going to like the Catholicism prof, she is very motherly and seems like she will be helpful and fun! After class me and my cottage mates went for a run and made dinner. A few people came over for some cards tonight but just took it easy!
So far I love Ireland! The weather has been amazing and it has yet to rain! It is in about 65-70 during the day and about 50 at night. Our cottages are very old fashioned and we have to heat them with euros! I have had one warm shower which was tonight! My group seems like we are all going to get along very well!
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