Goodbye Ireland

Cannot believe the 10 weeks in Ireland are over already....

Leaving Dungarvan was incredibly difficult after the town had become our second home. Before we left, all the students were invited to a going away party at Merry's. This was the local pub where we spent our first night, and now it was our last. I'm so upset to be leaving this place, but never forgetting any of the memories which were created here. In only one term abroad, I made friends that will last a lifetime and had experiences  that I will always remember.

Before I landed in Ireland, I honestly had no idea what to expect or how I would be spending the next two and a half months. In that short amount of time, I managed to cross numerous items off my bucket list as well as add new items! I was lucky enough to run a 5K in Ireland, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, see the Cliffs of Moher, visit caves and tour a variety of different castles. Overall, I think my absolute favorite part of this trip was just seeing first-hand the Irish culture. I feel in love with the idea of pub life, Irish hospitality, traditional music, bed and breakfasts, and so much more! It is easy to call Dungarvan my home away from home. Living there for 10 weeks was an incredible opportunity which I will never forget. I am so grateful for this experience, and cannot thank everyone enough who helped make this possible! Ireland will always remain my favorite place, and I only hope I can come back here again at some point in my life!

London and Big Ben!

Looking at the pictures I took, I cannot believe I was actually in London! My friends Emily, Nikki, and I arranged our travel plans to spend 4 days in London after our finals were done. All the days were packed with sight-seeing as we tried to fit every tourist destination into our trip!

The first day was a little rough... we boarded a bus Thursday night to the Cork Airport where we spent the night until our 8am flight the next morning. Who would have guessed that the airport would close at night and they would turn off the heat.... It was freezing!!! We all tried our best to sleep and then got on our Air Ryan flight to London! Things, thankfully, got better once we landed and found out apartment. Renting an apartment for the trip was a great idea because we had a kitchen to ourselves, and it was much cheaper than a hotel because there's no room service.
We were exhausted that day so we took it easy by visiting the Tower of London and then enjoying a nice dinner under the bridge with a glass of wine :)

Day 2 consisted of an 11 hour tour around London! An open-top bus took us to all the major sites of the city, including 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives), the Palace of Westminster, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. Next, the tour took us on a river cruise and then to see the Changing of the Guards! It was so neat to watch the old guards emerge from the St. James' Castle and then march to Buckingham Palace following a band. Our tour then continued onto Scotland to see Stonehenge!

Day 3 was a full day for us to explore the city on our own. We first went to Abby Road, and of course crossed it many times! We all agreed that we needed to relax from finals, so after Abby Road we spent time in Portobello Market. This area is mostly all outdoor shopping and cafes... perfect for three girls to relax and get some smoothies! After the market we walked around Hyde Park (which was gorgeous ) and found the Peter Pan statue! Before this day could end, we had to visit my top 'thing to do' in London.... BIG BEN!

Our last day in London was just as fun as the others! We started the day off by traveling just outside the city to the Wimbledon Tennis Courts. After seeing the courts, we visited the national History Museum and then went on the London Eye. Being over 440 feet above London, you could see everything from the Eye! It was really incredible!! Next, the three of us found Platform 9 and three quarters from the Harry Potter movies. We took a few pictures and then went to our last event of the trip.... Les Miserables at the Queen's Theater!! The musical was beyond words, I was in awe the entire performance

As crazy as London was, it was definitely an amazing city! I had a ton of fun visiting pretty much all of the major attractions and hanging out with my friends. This was the prefect way to end the school year and my study abroad semester!

Dungarvan Maritime Festival

This weekend will be the first annual Maritime Festival in Dungarvan! My roommate and I were lucky enough to be asked to join the crew of a tall ship as they sail into the bay for the festival! Yesterday, the two of us woke up nice and early and hoped on a small pontoon boat to head out to the Celtic Sea. I haven't been on a speed boat in almost a year so I felt like the happiest little kid!!

Once we reached the Keewaydin tall ship, Emily and I climbed on board! We met the crew and got to explore the 100 year old ship on our own. It took about an hour for the ship to sail into the bay, and then everyone on board helped to tie it off to the dock. As we sailed in, crowds of people lined up the docks to watch. It was really strange having so many people take pictures of the boat which we were on! Some locals were even ringing bells and cheering!

Sailing in on such a large ship was the best possible way to spend my first day of summer! It was also the first beautiful, spring day in Ireland :) I had such a fun time!!

The Ring Gaeltacht

As soon as I finished my Ethics final on Wednesday morning, summer had begun! It was my last test, and now junior year is over! After the final, Tom Keith took us on one last tour around County Waterford. This time, we went to the other side of the Dungarvan Bay- an area called the Ring Gaeltacht

This peninsula in the Dungarvan Bay is an all Irish speaking town. We toured their TV station, the College (and were welcomed with tea and scones!), the Famine Graveyard, and the peninsula itself. The views on our tour were beautiful! Endless green fields cover the hills which overlook the bay. Once we toured the area, we ended the night at a local pub called the Marine. Here, we had a delicious dinner of lamb stew and some Guinness  The owner even brought out his guitar and we all sang along to some Irish songs

Wait, a study abroad trip involves studying?

With all the fun we've been having around Ireland, reality is about to set in as we take finals :/
Ethics final is on Wednesday, but first we need to survive an Irish language final on Tuesday at Waterford Institute of Technology. This past weekend, most of us have been trying to speak Gaelic to prepare ourselves for this test. The professor will be testing us on everything possible. Sections if the test include language comprehension (a conversation in Irish in front of the professor and then answering random questions he asks you in Irish), writing an essay entirely in Irish, spelling what he reads off, and so much more. With only 6 classes to learn all this, it's definitely going to be tough

Wish me luck!
(And yes, I did write this just to procrastinate studying)

Weekend in the West

Our weekend in the west has come and, unfortunately, gone. This was our chance to get a tour of the "real Ireland" and see a side of the country that most of us had never been to before. 

Like all of our trips, we were up bright and early on Friday to board out bus. On the way to Galway, we stopped at Cashel and had a chance to take some pictures. 

After Cashel, we went to the site I had been dying to see since I arrived.... The Cliffs of Moher!! We were extraordinary fortunate with the sunny weather; however the typical coast line winds were there as promised. The cliffs were an absolutely breath taking view! Just standing at the top of them made me feel so little as we looked out onto the Atlantic Ocean. 

Next stop on our trip was Poulnabrone where we learned how dogs are used to herd sheep. The dogs are trained to bite the sheep in the butt, so that they are afraid of the dog. The dog can then run in a semi-circle behind the sheep, making them go in any direction which he pleases. To make it even more practical, the header trains the dog with a whistle... Certain sounds will tell the dog whether to run left, right, straight, or stop. The whistle can even make the dog run with the sheep or walk. 
The owner then demonstrated this! It was so cool to see how just by simply blowing a whistle, he could control anywhere that the sheep went in the giant field!
I also got to pet a sheep... Strange Ireland goal accomplished!

After the long day, it was finally time to get to the city of Galway and check into our hostel. We got our crazy 10 person room and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner cooked by Carmel (Tom Keith's wife) and her daughters. I cannot thank them enough for taking the time to make us a home cooked meal!!

Before we all went to sleep, we had some exploring to do in Galway! A few of us found a traditional Irish pub and enjoyed the live band. It was a great end to an awesome day!!

Saturday was spent entirely on the Aran Islands! (Blogged about in previous post)

Sunday was the last day of our trip. It wouldn’t be a complete Tom Keith tour, however, if we didn’t tour any castles! We left Galway early in the morning and drove to the Athenry Medieval Town where we toured the castle and went to Mass. After that, we concluded our trip with a stop at the Bunratty Castle. It was such an amazing weekend, but I’m glad to be back in little Dungarvan J