I have finally returned to write another post, but this time it is from my fabulous new Irish computer! yup that's right, Irish computer. My previous computer (may it rest in peace) just didn't want to be fixed; the poor thing just couldn't handle being my computer anymore. Due to the fact that I have 6 final essays to write and the library here closes at, like, 9pm and doesn't open on Sundays I had to purchase a cheap little netbook to pull me through. Just to add a little extra pizzaz, I decided to name it Steve McQueen:
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Anyways, other than the pile of papers that I need to get done, everything is pretty normal here! and its crazy to think I have just a bit more than two weeks left! yikes! I have to admit, I am a bit excited to go home, but I am going to be SO sad to leave! Ireland has certainly become my second home! I am hoping to make a trip back here in the future, perhaps even for spring break, but it has been amazing living in a foreign country for a few months.
I am missing having my family around Cork! They all made the trip over to visit me for thanksgiving. It was so much fun getting to see them and show them where I have been living for the past few months. Plus having an Irish thanksgiving wasn't too bad either, we didn't do anything special but it was nice to spend it with the family. Unfortunately for them, they visited just in time for the poor weather to hit. Their entire trip was cold and wet, but that's what you get for visiting Ireland at the end of November... I do have to give them credit for sticking it out through the rain! We got to visit a lot of places while they were here (and I made sure to jam as much sightseeing as I could into a week). The week started in cork by seeing the city, the university and of course grabbing a few pints.
From there, we spent a day driving around the ring of Kerry which was beautiful. The views were amazing combinations of mountains and the sea and even the rain wasn't that bad! all the clouds and mist from the rain made everything look that much more beautiful. It would have been nice to visit Kerry while it was sunny, but I enjoyed the misty view just as much.
We then traveled to Galway, driving through the Burren and stopping at a portal tomb and the Cliffs of Moher along the way.
We didn't spend too much time in Galway but it is a small city so there wasn't too much to see anyways. We made sure to stop by "Claddagh Gold", the jewelry shop known for the original claddagh ring design. My Mom, Becca and I all got a traditional/original claddagh ring there!
From Galway, we drove over to Dublin, stopping at Trim Castle along the way. Unfortunately Trim castle was closed, but we did walk around the walls and got to see a little of the castle.We grabbed a quick lunch in Trim before continuing the journey to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin in the evening and spent some time wandering around the Temple Bar area before we choose a place to eat. The place we chose was fantastic and had so many good beers to choose from. Our waiter was really great as well which always makes the meal that much better. After dinner we were all really tired, so we headed back to our hotel and made it an early night. The next day we got up early and were able to make it to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells before a line was able to form. The Book of Kells is well known because of its really detailed and decorated calligraphy, as well as the high quality of materials that were used to make it. We got to see some of the really decorated pages of the book (called "carpet pages" for those of you who want to know), along with some pages from similar books, like the Book of Durrow and the Book of Armagh. We also got to see the Long room, which is a really cool part of the Trinity College library that's filled with lots of really old books.
(This is not my picture, pictures were not allowed to be taken but it looked cool. This is from pinterest.)
From Trinity, we headed over to the National Museum, and spent some time looking around and checking out the bog bodies. We then headed over towards the Guinness factory, stopping at Christ Church Cathedral on the way. In the Guinness Factory, we all learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness!
We finished the day by grabbed a delicious dinner of beef and Guinness stew while listening to some live traditional Irish music at one of the restaurants in the factory. The next day, we headed to the airport, where they all got on a plane and I caught my bus back to cork.
