ireland, bitches!!
Well, I'm back to the real world now after a fabulous weekend in the green fields of Ireland....well actually on a bus driving through the fields of ireland.
My flatmate Amanda and I woke up at 4AM on Thursday and made the fun tube/train journey to Stansted Airport. After some annoying repacking because my carry-on weighed too much, we were on our way! We were in Ireland by mid-day so we wandered around the city (where I was chased by a beggar lady holding a bundle claiming it was a baby---slightly scary) and got some awesome lunch in a pub where the waiter/bartender had such a heavy accent we could barely understand him. We checked into our hostel, which was interesting because the woman at the desk (perhaps German?) didn't know what toilet paper was and we were a little annoyed. The room itself wasn't too bad, even though there were 8 beds. Two American guys came in and introduced themselves and they were really nice...so they joined us to walk through Dublin to the Guiness factory. That was awesome, I learned a bit about beer and got to drink a pint at the top in this awesome bar where you are surrounded by windows and able to look at the whole city of Dublin. The guys came out with us to another pub in the Temple Bar area and then we got some awful pizza and some yummy gelato. We found our hostel and basically passed out from sheer exhaustion.
We woke up Friday at 6am to be downstairs for our bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher at 7am. We got there at around 10 of, checked in, and then wandered to the kitchen for some nutella toast (yum!!) and walk back out to find that the bus left without us!! We ask the lady where to go or if she can call them, and she is totally useless. Then I see the bus drive past the hostel, and we just start running. Now, it's raining, we have no idea where to go, and we are just chasing this bus. P.S. I hate running. Luckily Amanda is in awesome shape and was about a block ahead of me and finally caught the bus like 5 blocks later. We got on, and the bus stopped 8 times in the city to try to get directions---yes, the bus driver didn't know where to go and we had NO TOUR GUIDE because they called out sick. We were way behind schedule basically, and didn't get to stop for as long as we should've. The Cliffs of Moher were BEAUTIFUL though, and then we stopped at the Burren which was just fabulous. So many beautiful places where nature is still the showcase. I loved it and wished that we had way more time. We didn't get back until 10pm because we were so behind and it was terrible and we were exhausted. But we did get to see a lot of Ireland. We got a microwave pizza and ate it at the hostel and then crashed in our creepy bedroom.
Saturday we had our second tour, so it was another early morning. Our agenda was the Blarney Castle...and we actually had a tour guide on a van with two other American guys. It was awesome to be in a small vehicle and close to our tour guide so we could ask questions and chat about Ireland. Her grandparents had all been buried with military honors for fighting in the Irish revolution so she was 100% Irish and wonderful. We stopped in Limerick where we saw the Limerick Castle, and the Treaty Stone that was broken when Limerick was the only city in Ireland not taken over by the British. We then hopped back in the van and arrived at Blarney. We got in queue and walked up to the top of the castle and then kissed the Blarney Stone!! We wandered the grounds to Blarney House which is a mansion where people actually live now. We then went shopping in the woolen mills and I bought this really old-lady sweater that I love and that smells like sheep. HAHA. I am such a loser and I love it!! After that we drove a bit longer and arrived in Adare which is a small village with cute thatched cottages. It was nice to walk around for a bit before we headed back to Dublin. When we got back, we met up with the two boys on our tour and went out to dinner. Had some nice meat and potatoes and then chocolate cake!!! YUM. Ended up back at Temple Bar and watched people dance funny before we went back to the hostel.
Then Sunday we flew home, and then sat around all tired and happy to be back. I love London...I really never felt safe or comfortable in Dublin and it just wasn't anything too great. I'd love to go back to Ireland, but definitely to the more rural areas where it's worth the money. I did have fun, I just wouldn't stay in that hostel EVER because the staff was terrible, they let random old people stay there, and it was just creepy. It was definitely an experience and it was hard to get into the school mode today. Two more days of school and then I'm traveling to Germany!! Good times :)
Well, I have a ton of homework to do for class so I must be off. Love and miss you all. Keep safe. xoxo
My flatmate Amanda and I woke up at 4AM on Thursday and made the fun tube/train journey to Stansted Airport. After some annoying repacking because my carry-on weighed too much, we were on our way! We were in Ireland by mid-day so we wandered around the city (where I was chased by a beggar lady holding a bundle claiming it was a baby---slightly scary) and got some awesome lunch in a pub where the waiter/bartender had such a heavy accent we could barely understand him. We checked into our hostel, which was interesting because the woman at the desk (perhaps German?) didn't know what toilet paper was and we were a little annoyed. The room itself wasn't too bad, even though there were 8 beds. Two American guys came in and introduced themselves and they were really nice...so they joined us to walk through Dublin to the Guiness factory. That was awesome, I learned a bit about beer and got to drink a pint at the top in this awesome bar where you are surrounded by windows and able to look at the whole city of Dublin. The guys came out with us to another pub in the Temple Bar area and then we got some awful pizza and some yummy gelato. We found our hostel and basically passed out from sheer exhaustion.
We woke up Friday at 6am to be downstairs for our bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher at 7am. We got there at around 10 of, checked in, and then wandered to the kitchen for some nutella toast (yum!!) and walk back out to find that the bus left without us!! We ask the lady where to go or if she can call them, and she is totally useless. Then I see the bus drive past the hostel, and we just start running. Now, it's raining, we have no idea where to go, and we are just chasing this bus. P.S. I hate running. Luckily Amanda is in awesome shape and was about a block ahead of me and finally caught the bus like 5 blocks later. We got on, and the bus stopped 8 times in the city to try to get directions---yes, the bus driver didn't know where to go and we had NO TOUR GUIDE because they called out sick. We were way behind schedule basically, and didn't get to stop for as long as we should've. The Cliffs of Moher were BEAUTIFUL though, and then we stopped at the Burren which was just fabulous. So many beautiful places where nature is still the showcase. I loved it and wished that we had way more time. We didn't get back until 10pm because we were so behind and it was terrible and we were exhausted. But we did get to see a lot of Ireland. We got a microwave pizza and ate it at the hostel and then crashed in our creepy bedroom.
Saturday we had our second tour, so it was another early morning. Our agenda was the Blarney Castle...and we actually had a tour guide on a van with two other American guys. It was awesome to be in a small vehicle and close to our tour guide so we could ask questions and chat about Ireland. Her grandparents had all been buried with military honors for fighting in the Irish revolution so she was 100% Irish and wonderful. We stopped in Limerick where we saw the Limerick Castle, and the Treaty Stone that was broken when Limerick was the only city in Ireland not taken over by the British. We then hopped back in the van and arrived at Blarney. We got in queue and walked up to the top of the castle and then kissed the Blarney Stone!! We wandered the grounds to Blarney House which is a mansion where people actually live now. We then went shopping in the woolen mills and I bought this really old-lady sweater that I love and that smells like sheep. HAHA. I am such a loser and I love it!! After that we drove a bit longer and arrived in Adare which is a small village with cute thatched cottages. It was nice to walk around for a bit before we headed back to Dublin. When we got back, we met up with the two boys on our tour and went out to dinner. Had some nice meat and potatoes and then chocolate cake!!! YUM. Ended up back at Temple Bar and watched people dance funny before we went back to the hostel.
Then Sunday we flew home, and then sat around all tired and happy to be back. I love London...I really never felt safe or comfortable in Dublin and it just wasn't anything too great. I'd love to go back to Ireland, but definitely to the more rural areas where it's worth the money. I did have fun, I just wouldn't stay in that hostel EVER because the staff was terrible, they let random old people stay there, and it was just creepy. It was definitely an experience and it was hard to get into the school mode today. Two more days of school and then I'm traveling to Germany!! Good times :)
Well, I have a ton of homework to do for class so I must be off. Love and miss you all. Keep safe. xoxo