The bus ride was great craic, we must have sang "Galway Girl" as least 10 times. Upon arriving we settled into our hostels and were given some free time to stroll around the small city.
I had a place in mind that I wanted to go which was the the Claddagh, where the Claddagh ring originated. I already have a Claddagh ring but I wanted get one for my best friend at home (Nichole). Originally I wanted it to be a surprise but then I would have had to guess her ring size....not happening she's really short and she's going to kill me for writing about her in my blog. ;)
Anyway, I found the perfect original ring with a certificate of authentication and it was the last size 6 left! The shop owner also informed me that the Claddagh I was wearing was from Indonesia. I knew mine wasn't authentic my grandma got it for me at the mall, but now that I know it's obvious that mine is fake just by looking at it I might have to get myself a real "made in Ireland" one.
After some shopping we returned to the hostel and prepared for a pub crawl. One thing I have got to say after going to pubs in Ireland the live music is always amazing.
The next day we went to the Aran Islands where the famous wool sweaters or "jumpers" are made. We had to take a ferry to get there. The waves were pretty bad and it felt like the boat was on plane (I totally checked the stern after getting off for trim tabs and the displacement of the hull). Your not really supposed to plane in rough waters. Growing up on a lake with boats the rocking of the waves didn't bother me but many people came down with motion sickness. It was almost a little disturbing to see people running to the back of the boat and crew members handing out plastic bags. Gross.
The ferry ride was totally worth it once we got there. We took a tour the lead us up to the Dun Aengus fort which had these really awesome cliffs. Apparently this is where they filmed the last scene of the movie "Leap Year".
 |
| Aran Island Cliffs |
 |
| Looking down the cliffs |
The next day we visited the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle. I didn't get any good pictures at the Cliffs because the fog was so heavy, I might have to go back someday.
Overall I survived the trip...especially staying in a hostel for the first time. I really lucked out with a four person room with Callan, Katie, and Marcella. Somebody was snoring, I'm not saying who but I just put my iPod in and fell asleep. The hostel was pretty nice the only thing that really freaked me out was the showers had glass panels. I only showered once at like 2am so it worked out okay.
I'm glad we stayed in a hostel for a weekend before the big spring break trip. Just realized I hadn't mentioned this yet but Callan, Katie and myself are backpacking for two weeks to Amsterdam, Paris and London. We are also going to Rome for Easter with WSA (Weekend Student Adventures).....yes, we are going to see the Pope at the Vatican on Easter Sunday!!
In other news my amazing hockey team is on a winning streak! We won our game last Monday and this past Saturday while I was away they won again.
 |
| Enjoying a drink with my team after winning |
Probably won't be posting to much this week, I have lots of homework to do plus some stuff for Education in Ireland. Till' next week...
*Note: Anything highlighted in teal is a link, click on the link for more information or a for a video/music.
No comments:
Post a Comment