Mid Semester Break

I am finally back and rested from my mid semester (Spring) Break in Ireland. It was absolutely amazing. I did a tour that traveled over five days through the Republic of Ireland beginning and ending in Dublin. I then stayed an extra day in Dublin to explore the sights there.

I traveled with two girls from the US studying at the University of Stirling and along the way met up with a girl studying from the US at St. Andrew’s who coincidentally has a sister starting at AU in the Fall. (It’s such a small world!)

The tour began on Monday and we went from Dublin to Blarney (where I finally got to kiss the Blarney Stone) and then to Killarney. The next day we traveled along the coast and saw some the most beautiful scenery and the most Western point in Europe. We ended up in Ennis for the night where I had tortellini that one of the girls I was with was willing to marry (yeah, it was that good.) Wednesday meant the Cliff of Moher, which disappointingly has a giant fence around the edge a little high for me, so I mostly saw them from my camera lens. Afterwards we stopped at somewhat smaller cliff which were basically along the side of the road, where I got to be overly adventurous and stand on the edge. The next morning we were in Galway, which is now my favorite city. We traveled outside of the city to Leenane and other country towns for an Irish coffee and to see Connemare and Croagh Patrick (the mountains in the Paramount Pictures logo.) Friday was the last day of the tour and the whole eight members became like family. It was sad to part, but I still had some time in Ireland to enjoy.

On Saturday morning I was on my own. I explored the shops of Dublin, got a little lost, went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and of course the Guinness Storehouse. Later that evening, I got a shuttle to the airport and began my journey back to Stirling. I took a shuttle bus to the Dublin Airport where I got a plane to Glasgow where I hopped on a public transportation bus to the train station to a train that got me to Stirling then a taxi (because it was raining) to my accommodation. That alone is enough to wipe someone out, let alone walking all day.

Needless to say, after contacting my parents to let them know I was safely back, I slept well and missed church on Sunday. And when I finally did wake up, I woke up to an empty fridge. The first order of business was grocery shopping, but it began to hail, so that was taken care of after I did my laundry.

I can honestly say that this was my favorite trip so far. I loved every minute of it and can’t wait to return again someday!

Kissing the Blarney Stone!

Blarney Castle

Playing in the sand

Team America 

The tour group 

The Burren

The Cliffs of Moher

Kylemore Abbey

Killary Harbour

The greatest monument ever!

Monument

Croagh Patrick

National Famine Monument