The Emerald Isle.. a.k.a Melissa's Happy Place

So for the last week of our Easter break our group took a five day trip to Ireland and I loved every second of it. I loved the atmosphere of everywhere we went in Ireland including Dublin and I'm not even a city person. I felt so at peace and just completely blissful throughout our entire trip there and I didn't want to leave! 

Day 1: Getting there (4/23/2011)

Ireland from the ferry

The bus picked us up from our flats at 10:30 am sharp and it was off to Holyhead, Wales to catch the ferry to Dublin. The only ferries I had ever been on were small ones on the coast of Texas but this thing was more like a casino cruise ship. It was huge! It had a casino area, restaurants, stores, a theater area... and that was just deck 4, the main passenger deck. It was a big boat. We took our seats in the big, comfy, seats in the theater area and I was all sorts of giddy. We were on our way to Ireland! The place I had been most wanting to see since I was old enough to know what it was. The place where there was live Celtic music, water, the most green grass you could imagine, and a ton of other people with just as many freckles as I have and are just as pale. I was beyond ecstatic. So we took our seats and for our entertainment they played Pocahontas II. Disney can try and try as they may but few sequels ever live up to the greatness of the originals. Then shortly after the movie was over we were within viewing distance of Ireland! I rushed up to the deck so I could peak around the side of the boat and see my beautiful Emerald Isle for the first time and then proceeded to jump for joy with my friend Lauren who was almost as thrilled as I was. I stayed up there for a few minutes to let my excitement out then went back downstairs because it was extremely windy and my hair was making it hard to see. I gathered my things and eagerly lined up at the door to disembark the ferry. When we were waiting in line to get on the bus my friend Ben turned to me (he had been laughing at my giddiness all day) and said "hey Melissa...we're actually on land now!" and while I know he was slightly making fun of me the smile I already had on my face got even bigger. I was in Ireland.

We took the bus to a place near the hostel and then went to the hostel and sorted out our room assignments and then it was off to see some of Dublin and the Book of Kells. We walked through the streets of Dublin, stopping at a couple statues. There is a tall metal spire built in commemoration of the millennium in the center of town which is kind of random but cool nonetheless. Our main destination for they day, however, was Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is an illuminated text collection of the four gospels of the New Testament along with some other texts written by monks around 800 A.D. It was amazing to see a book that had been so well preserved for that long. We also got to see the Trinity Library in which there was not a book there written after 1750 which was also very cool to see. Of course everything was behind ropes but it was still pretty awesome. After seeing the book of Kells we had the evening off so some of us went to go look around in shops but I did not stay for too long because I was not feeling well so I went to go lay down for a bit. After that was dinner and then later on that night some of us went to go hear some live music at a pub near our hostel and that was really cool. I absolutely love Celtic music and wished I cared enough about my violin to get good at it. Maybe one day... but all in all great day. How could it not be? I was in Ireland!

Day 2: Wandering around Dublin (4/24/2011)

Sphere Within Sphere

The day started off with a walking tour of the city led by our fearless leader, Tecwyn. He took us around town showing us where the major tourist districts were, some famous statues, the park, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. One of the statues he showed us was the "Sphere Within Sphere" by Arnaldo Pomodoro. There are only three of these in the world: one in the Vatican, one at the United Nations headquarters, and the other at Trinity College in Dublin. It was pretty cool to see. At St. Patrick's Cathedral Tecwyn left those of us who did not want to see the Guinness brewery to explore on our own so some of us did. Rachel, Shawn, and I went off to see the National Art Gallery and Museum, stopping at some shops on the way. A good portion of the art gallery was closed due to renovations so we didn't stay there long but the archeology and history museum was really cool. That had an exhibit on vikings and another on the Egyptians and they were both really cool to see. It's amazing to me how some things last so long and are so well preserved. But anyways, after that it was almost dinner so we decided to head back to the hostel to find some dinner and then after dinner I just called it a night and read because I still wasn't feeling well. I had a great day, though!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Day 3: On the way to Galway (4-25-2011)

The morning we were supposed to leave Dublin some of us decided to wander around a bit first. We went down to the end of the Liffe River (the river that runs through Dublin) to just look around, mostly at the bridges because we had three engineering majors with us and all of them love bridges and there was a bridge shaped like a harp that they wanted to see. There was also this really cool tilted building and their streetlights have clovers on them which I thought was pretty cute. After that it was back to the hostel to catch the 3.5 hour bus ride to Galway on the West coast of Ireland. I slept for the first part of the drive but as we got into the more rural areas of Ireland it was truly beautiful with rolling green hills and old stone walls everywhere. I just felt so peaceful and happy inside as I looked out the window. We got to Galway around 4 PM and dropped off our stuff at the hostel and then met Tecwyn for a short tour of the town. He took us to see a really famous salmon river and to the Roman Catholic cathedral and down to the harbor. In the cathedral there was a mosaic of JFK looking up at Jesus. The Irish really loved JFK... his picture is even hanging up in a lot of the pubs in Ireland. Anyways.. Tecwyn pointed out some important areas around the harbor, like the main street with all of the shops and the old Claddagh district. He pointed out the store that has the sole rights to the original Claddagh design and I bought my Claddagh ring there. It's pretty awesome to be able to say I got my ring from the place it started. After that some of the girls and I just wandered around until we got hungry and we went and got some food to cook. Then, after dinner, some of us hung out in one of the lounges and played a really fun card game and just had a good time with a lot of laughs until it was time to go to bed. Another great day in Ireland.

Day 4: Bikes and Cliffs (4-26-2011)

So day 4 was pretty much amazing. We took a ferry from Galway to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran islands, for a day of biking around. We biked around a good chunk of the island and it was so beautiful. It was completely agricultural so you could see everything. It was beautifully green and the the beach was gorgeous and I loved all of the horses and cows around. We even saw a foal! We road in a giant loop, Grant being my partner for the first half of the journey until we reached the cliffs of Inishmore and Dun Angheus. Dun Angheus is a fort that dates back to the Iron Age and is built on the edge of the cliffs of Inishmore. The cliffs are between 300 and 400 feet high and there is no barrier so we had some fun laying on the edge and taking pictures. The water was an amazing color and the power of the sea was apparent as it crashed against the rock. We spent a while up there just marveling at the cliffs and eating lunch. Garrett was nice enough to give me his extra sandwich so that I didn't have to buy anything at the cafe and that was really nice of him. I was super grateful.

After that Grant, Garrett, Deanna, and I headed out to find the wormhole, a natural, rectangular hole in the rock that the ocean flows freely into. We road through dirt roads of the island between the stone fences until we ran into a nice old man who pointed us in the direction we needed to go. We then parked our bikes and as we were heading off in the direction of the worm hole another man stopped to tell us where to go to in order to see the hole. The people in Ireland were just so nice and helpful and it really just makes you smile. But anyways, we crawled down some rocks to a flat bed of rock that the waves were coming up against and just kind of stood there in awe at the size of the waves and of the beauty of the place around us. It was a magnificent site. As the water crashed against some of the rocks it ran through grooves as it fell back down creating numerous little waterfalls on the rocks and it was really just breath taking. We wandered over a little more over to where the hole was and things like that just make you wonder how some things happen. This thing was a perfect rectangle and it just happened to be there. How do these things happen? Oh nature, you are a sly one. We stayed there for a while, watching the waves build and break and it was beautiful. I took way too many pictures and yet I could only bring myself to delete a couple of them. I also took a video which will be going up on facebook later. It was just awesome.

After our oo-ing and awe-ing at the waves we got back on our bikes to head down the coastal path and to see the seal colony. We got to the seal colony but none of the seals were on the beach. We saw a couple heads pop in and out of the water from time to time and thanks to Deanna's super camera with the 36x zoom I could see their faces. It was pretty cool to see seals in the wild... don't have those in Texas! Then it was back down to the docks to return our bikes and get on the ferry back to Galway. It was a beautiful day with the shining sun and light breezes and it was just fun. 

When we got back that evening Amy, Riley, Sheilagh, Teresa, and I decided that we didn't want to deal with cooking so we went off in search of a restaurant where I had the best fish and chips I have ever had (not that I have sampled much fish and chips in my lifetime.. but I'd say I've had a fair amount since coming to the UK...). The short amount of time in which we devoured our food was something that was both impressive and terrifying...but delicious! I guess we were all just really hungry. Then it was back to the hostel to chill until bed again to get ready for the next day.

Day 5: The Cliffs of Moher-a.k.a the Cliffs of Insanity! (4/27/2011)

Dunguaire Castle

We boarded the bus at 10 am for a two hour ride to the Cliffs of Moher, stopping at Dunguaire castle on the way. The castle is actually more of a tower house than a castle as it was never actually used for military purposes.. but still cool. Next to the castle were some really cute houses that I always pictured Ireland being covered in but had not seen many of... the little white houses with the straw on the roofs. I just love them and I finally saw some so that was exciting. We got back on the bus and continued to head for the cliffs and my face was glued to the window for the drive. The views were amazing as we headed uphill! Oh Ireland, my Ireland, can you bring your beauty to Texas, please? We got to the cliffs and were given a little bit of information about erosion and the fact these cliffs are the Cliffs of Insanity in the Princess Bride and the were also used in one of the Harry Potter movies. The guide also gave us binoculars to look down at one of the rocks and see that it was covered in birds. I'm not sure I've ever seen so many birds in one place! After he left we went off to stand on the edge of the cliff. These cliffs are 750ft high and epic. Yet, somehow, I was not that scared sitting on the edge of them.. odd. I laid on the edge just looking down and around the area and all I could think was "wow". They are so big! It was amazing. We took some pretty awesome pictures.. jumping near the edge, Grant pretending to walk off... it was a lot of fun. I wish we could have had more time there. But alas, an hour and 45 minutes later we were back on the bus to go back to Galway. Some of us did some last minute gift shopping and then we went to see the sunset on Galway bay. It was a gorgeous sight and a perfect way to spend my last night in Ireland.

Watching the sunset

Day 6: Saying goodbye, but not for good! (4-28-2011)

9:30 in the morning and we were on the bus back to Dublin to catch the ferry back to Wales. I stared out the window the entire bus ride, missing it already. I had an amazing time there and there is so much more of the country I still want to see. So I'll be back some day for sure. Ireland will always have a part of me.

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

Until next time!

<3 Melissa