In Dublin's Fair City...

I haven't written a post in a few weeks because we slowed down our travels a bit after Easter and I've actually been busy working on coursework.  Last week was the last week of lectures and this week is exam review followed by a reading week and exams.  We all seem to be a bit more busy than we were and we are quickly learning that studying in Ireland has made us a bit more lazy about school work than we might have hoped.  We were lucky enough to take a bit of a break from working this weekend though and make a trip to Dublin.

Dublin is a great city, but we learned quickly that it is very different from Derry.  It was a lovely place to visit and there were plenty of things to see and do, but I couldn't handle living there for an extended amount of time.  Though I wouldn't want to live in Dublin I had the best time visiting.  We got to see St. Patrick's Cathedral which was beautiful inside and out.  I learned about how Guinness is made and poured a perfect pint at the Guinness Storehouse.  We visited Jameson Distillery  but didn't have time for a tour because we were also headed to Dublin zoo where I got to see 6 giraffes (which absolutely made my day).  Then we headed back into the city center to visit the Wax museum which was a bit disappointing except for the horror room which was terrifying!  After a full day of adventuring we even woke up early the next morning and visited Trinity College, Dublin and saw the library and the Book of Kells which was inspiring.  Then, as if the weekend wasn't eventful enough (especially since we were celebrating Stephanie's birthday) we went to see The Lion King which was just beginning its run in Dublin.  The show was absolutely breathtaking and I was taken aback by the music as well as the ability of the actors to portray animals so well.

We ended our stay in Dublin in the typical Irish fashion by enjoying dinner in a local pub followed by drinks to celebrate Stephanie's 21st birthday while listening to live traditional music.  It is sad to think back and realize that my time in Ireland is coming to an end and that this was the last Irish adventure that Megan, Stephanie, and I will take together.  I feel like it was only a few weeks ago that I arrived and I am already having to say goodbye to people and a place that I have come to love so dearly, but there is time to dwell on that later.  For now I am still here and am determined to make the best of the time that I have left here.  This time is a blessing and I intend to enjoy every last bit of it!

Exploring Ireland - week 2 of Easter Break

After spending an entire week in Scotland, it was nice to be back in Derry for Easter and to have a chance to explore Ireland a bit for the second week.
On Monday morning, after being woken up by a fire alarm at 5:30am, Megan and I began our travels to Cork in the Republic of Ireland.  We started off with a 4 hour bus trip from Derry to Dublin, then another 4 hour bus trip from Dublin to Cork.  When we arrived on Easter Monday we were a bit surprised to see that pretty much everything in the city was closed for the holiday, but we explored anyway and got to see a couple of really beautiful churches and headed to the hostel to get some sleep so that we could spend all of Tuesday exploring before we got on the train to head back to Derry that night.
On Tuesday morning we woke up and went directly to Blarney Castle.  Blarney Castle was the ideal picture of Ireland.  We got to see the Castle, kiss the Blarney Stone, and explore the grounds of the castle.  Kissing the stone was a bit more terrifying than I anticipated because (after we asked the people to sanitize the stone) we had to lay down and lean back over a gap in the stone walls that dropped 3-4 stories down to the grounds.  After we gained the "gift of gab" we explored the grounds which are home to one of the most poisonous gardens in the world as well as fairy gardens and druid stones.  Playing outside of the castle on the beautiful day that we were there was a blessing that fulfilled any preconception that I held about Ireland.
After a day of resting I went to Armagh with some Irish friends.  While we were there we went to the planetarium and then headed to the cathedrals (which was why I was there!).  Armagh is home to two cathedrals that are both called St. Patrick's.  One of the cathedrals, the oldest and the one that is said to sit on the spot where St. Patrick established the Church in Ireland, is affiliated with the Church of Ireland.  The other church, in typical Northern Irish tradition, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church.  We had a lovely day exploring another city and ended the day by teaching me how to play pool once we got back to Derry.  It was a fun day and a great way to end another week of adventures in Ireland.
I realize in moments and days like these what a blessing it is to be here.  Not only am I learning a lot from another culture, but I am learning about myself and ways that I function best.  This time as I explore a bit of the world on my own is something that will shape and influence the rest of my life.

kissing the Blarney Stone

St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral

Scotland the Brave!

The goal is to share enough about Scotland without writing a million pages.  I could not have happier with out decision to go and spend a week.  The girls and I were blessed to have the Wehmeyer family, who is living in Scotland for a few years, open their home to us.  I had not realized how much I missed living in a home until we were settled into the flat at the Wehmeyer's house.  Not only did we have plenty of space, but we had a living room to sit in which was wonderful.  It was also nice to have a mom around to cook occasionally and to take us places and give us advice on what to do and see.
We were able to take our time seeing the city.  We slept in a little the first day and still had time to go to the museum, get tea at the Elephant House (where JK Rowling would sit and drink tea while working on Harry Potter), explore a bit of the city, and get a bite to eat.  The next day was devoted to Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.  The castle is enormous and I'm not sure that I have ever been more cold in my life!  Tuesday was the day of castles.  Kate took us out all day and we saw two castles and a palace.  We started off at Dune Castle which was used in the filming of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, then we went to Stirling Castle which was huge like Edinburgh Castle, but more restored on the inside.  Kate also took us to Linlithgow Palace.  The palace was in ruins, but it is one of my favorite places that we went.  We also took a day to tour the Highlands of Scotland.  We got to see many beautiful lakes and mountains.  We traveled all the way to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle.  After exploring the castle we took an hour long boat ride on Loch Ness and got to search for Nessy between snowstorms.
We ended our trip with a full day on Friday.  After attending Good Friday service at Old St. Paul's in Edinburgh we hiked up to the to of Arthur's Seat which was a steady uphill hike most of the was and almost rock climbing at the top.  All of the work was worth it though because the view from the top was unbelievable!  We got to watch the sun set while we hiked down.  After dinner Megan and I went back into town for a ghost tour through the town and in the underground of Edinburgh.
The first week of Easter was amazing.  So much was done and so many beautiful things were seen!  More exploring to come during the second week of Easter break, but I will save that for a later post!