http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca0F9q9KIQc&feature=g-hist&context=G28fadd2AHTyVcfwAFAA
My journey to Ireland began at 4am on Friday morning. My friends and I stumbled out of our Nottingham hotel room and into a taxi that would take us to the airport. At 6:30, I got on my first no-frills airplane and was on my way to Dublin. After our short flight ended, we made our way to our first hostel of the semester. Expecting to find a prison-like building with cots and cramped living quarters, we were surprised to see how nice our hostel was. It was a combination of a hostel and a B&B, and it included a delicious Irish breakfast that we enjoyed twice during our stay.
Upon our arrival, we told the woman at the hostel that we were planning to go to Wicklow National Park on our own. She strongly advised us to take a tour instead, and we accepted her advice. We later realized that, had we tried to navigate the park by ourselves, we probably would never have gotten back to the hostel!
Luckily we opted for the bus tour instead. We had a friendly guide who drove us around to important sites in Dublin before heading out into the country. The countryside was absolutely beautiful. The green fields, snow-topped mountains, flocks of sheep, and clear lakes were exactly what I had imagined Ireland to be. One of the most beautiful sites was called Lough Tay, also known as Guinness Lake. As part of the Guinness family estate, the lake is surrounded by the Wicklow Mountains and our guide told us that the Beatles once stayed there. Some people say that the lake resembles a pint of Guinness, with the sandy beach being the foam on top. We also stopped at the ruins of an old Irish monastery and got to see a cemetery full of beautiful Celtic crosses.
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| Just so everyone knows, this photo wasn't altered in any way. Yes, it's really this beautiful! |
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| There's me! |
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| This is Lough Tay |
On our tour, we made several stops at quaint little country towns, and we enjoyed lunch in an Irish pub.
On Saturday, my friends and I explored downtown Dublin. We saw lots of Georgian-style buildings. They all had brightly painted doors, so we enjoyed walking around and seeing all of the different colors. We went to the James Joyce museum and found an area of town with a bunch of shops and traditional Irish pubs. We enjoyed some lunch, shopping, and live Irish music. After a day of walking, we were all pretty exhausted, so we grabbed some dinner and relaxed in our hostel.
Overall, it was an amazing trip. I loved how friendly and welcoming all of the Irish people were toward us. Ireland is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and I was disappointed that I had to leave. I’ll finish up with one of my favorite Irish blessings:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
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