Ireland

For Spring Break, the GU group and myself went to Ireland. We first visited Belfast for the first three days, and then we ventured to Dublin. Overall I thought the trip was wonderful! I got to see a lot of sights and it was nice to have a break from school.


Once we got to the airport, we had a "Paddy Wagon" waiting for us. This Wagon was completely green, and it even had a Leprechan on it! There was no faking being a tourist with this bus, let me tell you! We had a very cheery, young, typical Irish tour guide. He was really nice, but sometimes he never shut up! He toured with us in Belfast, and continued throughout Dublin. That night we first got in I was pretty tired, so I just relaxed and then went to bed. Some of my peers some how had the energy to go out, but I waited until the next night.

The next morning, I had a quick Breakfast at my hostel (which was very ghetto by the way) and then we took a twenty minute walk to this University where we had a couple speakers talk about the current situation in Northern Ireland and other problems from the past. I thought it was interesting how the country is completely divided from the Protestants and Catholics. Apparently they absolutely hate each other!

After the speakers finished, we had a lovely lunch with sandwiches, coffee, and tea awaiting us. It was delicious! Then, Georgina, Meredith, Leanna and I continued to walk around the city and we embarked on some graffiti art (see above),
a beautiful church, and we also went to a very
famous bar and had our first Guinness in Ireland!


The next day was when we had the complete tour of the country side. Before we made it to the countryside, we got to see the sight where the Titanic was built; pretty cool huh? My favorite part of the day was crossing this very scary suspension bridge. It was really windy and very high up, so I am proud of myself for doing it
(the view was gorgeous!).






I couldn't believe how windy it was... very pretty though! Later that day we had another short tour in Free Derry. It wasn't a very exciting town (kind of seemed residential) but there was a lot of neat history behind it.

That evening, a few friends and I went to a bar but it was filled with highschool aged kids, but we ended up leaving after one drink. Here is a picture of my new friend Leanna and I. :)



Both places were very different, but I liked that a lot. My favorite part about the trip was the country-side of Ireland. It was nice being able to see where I am "from," because I am close to 50% Irish. There were so many sheep in Ireland! Random fact, but interesting. There were a few times when we had to stop our tour bus and wait for a herd of sheep to cross the dirt road! I was surprised that not that many people were speaking Gaelic, but apparently its becoming more popular. I loved their accents though! A few of the people I encountered were a bit hard to understand, but for the most part it wasn't too bad. I think it is hard to understand them because they tend to speak faster than us Americans.

I really enjoyed being in Dublin for St. Patty's Day. There was a huge parade that went on, and it was crazy! Lots of pushing and shoving, but I was able to get a glimpse of the performers. Very random performers, indeed.

Another highlight of the trip was going to the
Guiness factory in Dublin. We were able to see how the beer is made, and at the end of the seven story tour, we got a free pint of Guinness! I am not a huge fan of the beer, but it was fun to be where it is made!




I will post about my experience in Malta within the next few days. I am getting very eager to come home! Only 36 more days! :) Ta ta for now!