Ireland

So I spent 4 days and 3 nights in Ireland. I arrived on August 31st
and departed back on the ship on September 3rd. It was an eventful &
unplanned trip. I had no plans going into Ireland except planning to go
with some girls I met named Cindy & Earlene (Met at hotel) & some people
they knew. Luckily one girl had booked a hostel and the hostel had extra
room for our group. The hostel was called the Woodquay Hostel. It was
basic, but the people there were nice.

We decided to go on a tour of the Cliffs of Moher. On the way there
were lots of cows and sheep, which are Ireland's main agriculture. The
tour guide described how agriculture is a big part of Ireland's economy.
I listened to the taxi driver describe the areas we passed. We passed
lots of castles. I find castles so interesting because I just think how
amazing they are today, they must have been so much more ahead of the
time when they were made. I enjoy thinking of the people that used to
live their and what they used to look like (I know I'm weird). We also
passed the Burren which is hills covered with limestone. It was
magnificently beautiful. Along the way we stopped in a little town and
checked out a souvenir shop & were allowed time to eat. At the souvenir
shop I got a bottle opener cap most likely for my dad and 4 little
chocolate & caramel candy treats. So delicious. Then it was back on our
way to the Cliffs. Once we arrived there. The tour guide allowed us like
1 to 1.5 hrs. We first started the uphill climb to get up to the cliffs.
The view was worth the walk. It was magnificent to look down at the
water from so far up above. The tour guide said this place is in debate
for the 8th natural wonder of the world!!!! Wow! I was with Cindy, Anna,
Vanessa, Shelby, & Natalie as we climbed up to the top and ventured on
the path. You could go as close as you like to the edge since their was
no boundaries, but I stayed a good couple feet away cause I wasn't
chancing the edges falling. I got lots of pictures I will have to show
people if they care to see. I know everyone is like I want to see
pictures, but once they realize I took at least 200 photos in the first
country alone I know they will think otherwise. I am planning to make a
powerpoint and show to friends & family if I feel like it after this
whole experience is over. So back to the cliffs after trucking up and
around the many outlets of the cliffs with Vanessa, we decided to make
our way back to the main start point and head to the castle on the other
side. We headed up all the stairs and made it there and went up to the
top of the tiny castle if you can call it that. It wasn't magnificent
like the cliffs, but I enjoyed the chance to say i made it to both sides
and back to the bus on time after sprinting back downhill. The bus also
stopped on the way back for a photo op on some of the limestone rocks
with a beautiful view. I loved this area so much I was hopping from rock
to rock. Then back on the bus for the rest of the trip.

During the trip I enjoyed listening to the tour guide discuss
points of interest and answer some questions the 2 guys sitting in front
of me were asking. I found out a little more about the Irish history and
saw the most beautiful sight I have seen. The tour was definitely worth
the 15 Euros we paid.

Then we went back to Galway to the hostel and relaxed for a bit and
went out later that night to a few pubs. Saw some traditional Irish
dancing and had a sip of Bohmers, which the locals seem to prefer over
the large national chain Guiness (which has its main factory in Dublin).
The second day after much discussion a few girls and I decided to
stay in Galway because there were no places to stay in Dublin because of
the Notre Dame/Army football game going on. We (Shelby, Lauren, Amanda,
Anna, & I) booked the hostel for that night and went out exploring
Galway. We stopped to eat at an Irish restaurant. We walked through a
little farmer's market and I got a delicious cinnamon sugar doughnut and
also bought 2 name necklaces (One for me & one for a friend). We also
stopped at a market and i bought myself a little cheese pizza. We
checked out some shops in the area, but it was starting to rain so we
went back to the hostel early around 5. Shelby & I went with a worker
from the hostel to go to a store to buy Cadda (spelling) rings. Idk,
they were made in Galway and are used to show if someone is in a
relationship or not. If the heart is facing out it means your heart is
available, if it is facing in that means it is taken. It was 18 euro and
definitely the cheapest price you will see for this type of ring. I have
been wearing it everyday since, getting my moneys worth.

The next morning at 645 we got on a bus to Dublin. I slept most of
the way. When we got there Anna, Shelby, & I decided to head back to the
ship to shower. We then grabbed some lunch, It was GRILLED CHEESE! It
was the happiest day of my life! Literally it was! Then headed off with
Ashley, Amanda, Cindy, & Vanessa to do our own walking tour of Dublin.
We saw 2 different parks, Dublin Castle, and at this point today when
I'm writing this I can't even remember what else, but it was a lot. When
I check the picture out that will help me remember. This is why I can't
put off blogging for so long.

The next day once Cindy was up us two headed out to basically the
other side of Dublin. We saw the Guiness factory from outside. It was
huge & smelt like a mix of alcohol & gas. We walked through a beautiful
park/garden and walked a while without shoes in the soft grass. We saw
an Irish famine statue and made it to an old famous jail (name is
slipping mind, thank god i took a ton of pictures). The jail was used to
house many political rebels and other ordinary people whose only crimes
may have been stealing bread since they were starving. The prisoners
were put in a cell and given small meals. When we entered the large
portion of the jail I realized I actually learned something in my
Communications class last semester about history. I was able to pick out
that this jail was built like a panopticon before the tour guide
mentioned it. I wrote a 7 pg paper on panopticons so I feel pretty proud
about picking that out. A panopticon is a way in which a prison is built
so as the prisoners can always be watched but they may or may not be
watched. I found the history behind the jail interesting. A lot of
people were murdered there publically and privately with some being some
very high rebel political leaders. After the tour Cindy & I & another
SASer we ran into took a cab back to the port (Thank God I didn't want
to walk another 45 mins back especially since we needed to be back on
the ship to sail of to our next port).

What I learned: Irish LOVE beer! Ireland is not part of Great
Britain, say that and you will get killed. The Irish realize their past
history and political problems now & a few years ago and are working to
make improvements. They are trying to regain trust in their political
leaders and make their way out of debt. Just from all my classes on ship
especially intro to comparitive politics and global studies I knew a lot
about the country before going into it. I am happy that I was able to
have a sense of Irish politics and the people before entering the
country. Tip: Always be prepared to enter a new country. Don't enter
blindly, know the country's leaders and a little background.

Sorry this was so long I'm trying to catch up on my blogging. Hope
everyone is well, next blog: England!

Amy