Reminiscing About Ireland - Part II

Well, hello there!

It's Friday again which means I have some time to write more about Ireland! This week has been really stressful - a couple things happened earlier in the week that were emotionally draining and difficult for me to work through. It is so nice to finally relax and think back to my fantastic trip of this last last summer after all the stress and craziness of the past few days. 

I left off in Dublin, and let me say, I didn't really do Dublin justice. It was WAY more than visiting tourist places; it was a completely new way of life for me. Honestly, living in Dublin for that first week and a half was the first time I really felt like I was on my own. Since I live in the residents halls, I don't pay a monthly rent and I go to the dining hall on campus for pretty much every meal. In Dublin though, we lived in apartments and had to fend for ourselves most of the time. A lot of other people in my group went out to eat for almost every meal but I decided to make my own food for at least two meals a day because that is just way cheaper. My roommates and I definitely ate a lot of leftovers during that time since it was difficult to cook a new meal every day! It was a really liberating experience for me and although I really enjoyed going out west for the remainder of the trip, I really missed the feeling of being on my own in the way I was in Dublin. Once we went out west, we didn't stay in any one place long enough to feel like anything but tourists. 

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy myself. Though I do have to say that my favorite part of the experience was living in Dublin, I did have some fantastic experiences on my travels throughout Ireland.

We went to a beautiful beach on the Atlantic Ocean right below the town of Lahinich in County Clare and spent a good portion of one morning there; we also went to the Cliffs of Moher, though I'm afraid of heights so I didn't enjoy it to the extent that other people did. It is a beautiful area though! We then went to Galway, spent a couple of nights there and we took a ferry from Galway to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands.  When we arrived in Inishmore from the ferry after about an hour long ride, the group had a bit of a rough start since it was raining and almost everyone was crabby to some extent. To make matters worse, we decided to bike out to an ancient ruin; as most everyone was super crabby and hungry, the bike ride out there was not very fun.  However, once I got some food in me I felt so much  better and was able to appreciate and take in the beauty of the landscape on the bike ride back. I confess that I did not go up to the ruin since a) we had to walk up a long hill to get to it which I just wasn't feeling and b) it is perched on top of a cliff, and as I already stated, I am TERRIFIED of heights! Also, The Aran Islands are known for their wool products, so I did get a pair of mittens there (more so because it was freezing  to bike out in the rain without anything covering my hands!) and a beautiful purple scarf, which I just so happen to be wearing in most of the pictures posted here!

One of my favorite pictures from our day at the beach!

From Galway, we went to Sligo and toured around there. We we were able to see the grave of William Butler Yeats, the prominent Irish writer and some other interesting spots in the area. We spent one night in Sligo in these adorable Bed and Breakfasts. Outside of our apartments in Dublin, the B & B was definitely my favorite place that we stayed in! That night a few of us went out to find a place to eat for dinner and we ran into another American - she was from Indiana and was in Ireland for work. It was super neat to talk to her and we actually invited her to eat dinner with us since she was alone.

"Cast a cold Eye
on Life, on Death
Horseman pass by"

Having some fun at Dunluce Castle!

 Our next stop was Belfast in Northern Ireland! We stopped at Dunluce Castle and The Giant's Causeway on our way there. If you ever have chance to get to The Giant's Causeway, DO IT! It is an absolutely gorgeous area with some really cool land formations. Dunluce Castle was pretty neat too and it is right down the road from Giant's Causeway so it's pretty easy to see both in the same day... that's what we did!

Enjoying the beauty of The Giant's Causeway!

When we got to Belfast, I was really surprised, though in retrospect I shouldn't have been. Dublin is this really quaint, exciting place and everyone is so friendly. Belfast, though has a very serious feel to it. People have a more stern demeanor there; I felt like I had to be on my guard at all times. I really didn't understand prior to being in Belfast how much the area is still recovering from The Troubles of the mid to late twentieth century. There are still gates between the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods that close at night which I was absolutely astounded by. I definitely did not feel as comfortable in Belfast as I did in Dublin. Prior to being in Ireland, I was super naive regarding the extent of the bad things that had actually happened there and how it is still affecting people today. Northern Ireland, which is made up of the six most north eastern counties on the Island, is still conflicted today because though it is a part of the United Kingdom, many people still very feel very strongly that should it become a part of The Republic of Ireland. 

Nicole and I at my 7th birthday party, 2000

Nicole and I having our first legal drinks together in Belfast, 2013 

Despite my overall dislike for Belfast one of the absolute best parts of my trip happened there! I had the opportunity to meet my best friend since kindergarten, Nicole, in Belfast! She also happened to be on a study abroad trip with a group from her college and we just happened to be staying in the same apartment complex in the Queen's University neighborhood! Crazy, right? Although we were each very busy with our respective group activities, we had the opportunity to meet up the first evening that I was there and we also went out the breakfast together the next day at a cute little restaurant called The Mad Hatter!

While in Belfast, my group also had the opportunity to go the The Titanic Museum, which is only a little over a year old. The Titanic was built in Belfast which is why this museum is located there. It was a really cool place! I loved the layout of the museum and how it was so interactive. As someone who wants to go to graduate school for museum studies and eventually work in a museum, it made me think about what makes a successful museum in the twenty-first century. Lastly, we went to a wonderful play at The Lyric Theater called "Can't Forget About You" by David Ireland that was in its first run ever! It was funny and poignant; a simply brilliant piece of artistic work! The group also got to meet one of the actresses as we were waiting for our taxis after the play. She talked to us, signed our tickets, and was super kind! Turns out, she is one of the top comedians in Scotland... go figure! The next day we headed back to Dublin and three days later we were flying back to the States. 

One of my favorite pictures from the trip at The Titanic Museum in Belfast!

All in all, Ireland was fantastic. I learned so much, had so many wonderful experiences, and made some great friends. I will forever cherish the memories I have from those two and half weeks. However, I need to be somewhere soon so I must sign off for now! Write back sometime soon!