A Beautiful Place

So I want to go ahead and apologize for not writing! Internet is 5 euros an hour here or 10 for 24. We finally gave in and bought the 24 hours. Anyways, the flight experience from London to Dublin was awful. The airport there was intimidating, going through security and all. I have a really funny story to share later about that. But also the airport was laid out terribly and when one gate was releasing people from a flight you could not get past it. We were gate 78. It took 30 minutes to walk through the airport to our gate. Once we got on the flight, I finally had a window seat but the driver was crazy!! He was all over the air and my ears hurt for the first time in awhile. I was glad to get back on the ground but so sad I had to wake up...I took advantage of that 1 hour plane ride.

When we got to Dublin, we immediately took tours all day. St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church, Trinity College, and the Book of Kells wason our list. I was so ecstatic about going to see the Book of Kells but when we got there, they were working on it so it wasn't on display...a photocopy was in its place! Boo!

Finally back to our hotel that night, we ate a meal at the restaurant in the hotel with the whole CCSA program. After that a couple of us went out to a pub for about an hour before we came in to sleep for an early night. We have gotten really close to some people in our group, I really like it.

The next day we went to Wicklow, Glendalough, and Bray. The Wicklow Mountains were gorgeous. This is where parts of P.S. I love You was shot. It was beautiful, so green and unique. We went to Glendalough which was an old monastic site next to two beautiful lakes. I don't think any other place could have been this beautiful even though it was raining!

Sack lunches for the day...and then headed to Bray, a seaside town with a beautiful beach. Here is a picture of us with some of our new friends. This is Lauren and Ashley, Lauren is from Kentucky and Ashley is from Washington. They are really fun!

Exhausted once again, we came back and went to watch Twilight. :) It was nice to see it again! Then we headed to Braisen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin and Ireland! It was so full of character! There was a live band there playing....a group of older men playing some rock and roll...we had so much fun! Everyone loved the American girls! We were finally accepted and received some hospitality, it was nice!

Then yesterday we had a day to ourselves to go around Dublin. We of course went to the Temple Bar area which is a small district of shopping and tiny streets. We also went to Grafton Street which is pedestrianized and lots of shopping. Really fun but also expensive here! The difference between prices on tags was about 20 units between euros and pounds. So buy clothes in London and not Dublin! After lunch time we came back and took naps and then had class at 5. After class we attended another play, it was terrible! It was "Playboy of the Western World" an Irish pastime. It probably would have been better if we would have known the inside jokes that the locals knew, but I wasn't impressed, especially after attending Wicked last week! :)

And this is where we went today. A beautiful seaside port called Howth. Oh my goodness it was beautiful. I broke away from the crowd today and got some time to myself. This was so nice. I took pictures, walked out on a beautiful pier, met an old Irish man named Bernard and his dog Woody...only after Woody ripped my coat! Don't fear! He was a nice dog, just really excited and jumping and playfully biting. Bernard pointed me towards a place where I could get the most breathtaking views and a cutting edge over the rest of the students in my class..an old radio tower up on a cliff. It was gorgeous!

Here was the view! I was very thankful to my new Irish friend! After this, we headed to Malahide Castle on the train. Once again, a beautiful place. I haven't downloaded the pictures from there yet, my computer is having hard drive space issues...

It was beautiful though sitting in a huge green park. We watched the sunset there and then headed back into town. After getting back we ate at the restaurant at the hotel again and I had lasagna, it was delicious! And I haven't been feeling well today so I came back and napped for awhile.

I have had so much fun on this trip but time and sleep are catching up with me! It will be so exciting to get back to the States and get some good home cooked food and sleep and see all of you all! I hope you all are well! See you in a couple of days!