Trip to the Blarney Castle, the Wicklow Mountains, and getting sick

So it was an action packed weekend.  First we went to Cork, where we caught a bus to Blarney.  Then we walked to the Blarney Castle, which was AMAZING!  The grounds of the park were beautiful and the castle was super cool.  Going through the castle felt like I was playing pretend with Heather and Ally, like when we were little, again.  The main reason for us going was to kiss the Blarney Stone.  The legend goes, that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will recieve the gift of gab.  This is described as "pleasant talk, inteded to deceive without offending," so watch out!  To get to the stone, we had to climb up a spiraling set of stone steps (110 in all) in a small, cylindrical enclosure.  The only light coming in was from the few windows lining the stairs.  The view from the top was magnificent!  However, I was uncertain about kissing the stone once I got to the top because you pretty much have to hang off of the side of the castle with your legs held by an employee in order to kiss the stone upside down.  We were very high off the ground and I'm afraid of heights, enough said.  But I didn't travel 4+ hours by bus to chicken out of kissing the stone, so I did it anyways.

On Sunday, we (Megan and I) decided to take a bus tour of the Wicklow Mountains, which was nice because the tour guide pointed out all of the cool places that Megan and I wouldn't have found on our own.  We saw the filming location for P.S. I Love You in the Wicklow Mountains, but no Gerard Butler.  We saw Braveheart Hill and the filming location for several movies that have battle scenes.  Aparently, Ireland gives incentives for movies to be filmed in the Wicklow Mountains.  Very cleaver, I think.  Harry Potter was also filmed in the Wicklow Mountains.  The guide said they built a castle and everything, but promtly tore it all down as soon as they were finished filming.  Lake Glendalough (pronounced glen-doe-lock) was georgious!  The walkway was nice and the ruins were super cool.  We also saw a cute little town called Avoca which is the filming location of a British television series, Ballykissangel.  The guide pointed out "Ireland's dryest village" (it had no pub) and "Ireland's smallest village."  I think that village probably really is the only one without a pub.  They are a really big part of life here in Ireland.

The Blarney Castle



Vanessa and Megan working their way to the top of the castle so they can kiss the Blarney Stone




A wall surrounding the castle



We're waiting in line to kiss the stone.  We just made it to the top of the endless, spiraling stairs



Me kissing the Blarney Stone.  It was a bit awkward to say the least.




The dining room?




All these people have just kissed the stone or are waiting to kiss it!




This picture was taken out of one of the windows in the castle




A view of Blarney, the town, from the top of the castle



This picture goes with the next one



This picture goes with the one preceding it.  We need something like this in our house!




looking up from the floor of the dining hall?




Vanessa, my friend from Germany, ready to cross under the Rock Close




Megan ducking in the tunnel under the Rock Close



All of us in a garden/park thing by the Blarney castle. Megan(left), Vanessa (middle), and me (right)

The Blarney Castle from afar

A church at Glencree Peace a Reconciliation Centre. 

A cemetary by the church

The conference building (sort of) at the Glencree Peace and Reconcilliation Centre, where various government leaders of the IRA, British Parliament, etc. met to talk about a solution to the conflict in Ireland.  Various goverment leaders from the middle east still come for meetings here.

The Wicklow Mountains.  The reddish flowers are heather.

Megan in a field of heather

Me at the shooting location for P.S. I Love You. 

The grassy part below is owned by the Guinness family. 

I'm planning on blowing this picture up to be poster sized

Entrance to the monastic ruins at Glendalough.

The cemetary is newer on the ruins, but the tower is ancient.  The people would hide in here during raids.  It is on top of a well and there were tons of fruits and berries for the people to live on.

This reminded me of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  Random, I know.

One of the two lakes at Glendalough

waterfall at Glendalough

Meeting of the Waters (Two major Irish rivers meet here).  This was a beauty spot made famous by Irish poet Thomas Moore.  I wonder if we're related.

Avoca, a small village and the filming location for a television series, Ballykissangel

Another view of Avoca

Another view of Avoca

Trip to Howth!

Today was action packed, which was a welcome change from the boredom of yesterday (Saturday).  Everyone from the college went home and I think that I spent the whole day in my apartment.  :(  But today made up for everything!  It was a dreary day, except for the time we spent on the cliff when some of the clouds cleared up!  Heather, Megan, and I walked (sometimes in the rain) a lot around the Howth area and I'm glad that they were completely up for the trek!  Greatest travel buddies ever! We only spent about 1.60 to split a hog roast sandwich and a day on our Dublin bus pass for the trip that took us about an hour away from UCD.  Cheapest best trip ever!

flowers on the edge



The lighthouse



"The Eye of Ireland"

Heather (left) and Megan (right) in Howth

Heather (left) and Megan (right) at what I think is the fish market in Howth

More pictures!

These pictures are proof that Ireland does have the occasional nice day!  haha.  I went sightseeing last Saturday with a few people that I had met through Megan's roommate.  Megan is from Purdue, like me.  Her roommate, Vanessa, is from Germany. She brought her friends along, too.  We had an excellent day of just walking around the streets of Dublin.  There is still much to see (we kept getting sidetracked from going to see the castle near where we were).  We have plenty of time to find the castles!

Trinity College was established in 1592!  It was very beautiful.  I want to go back sometime to visit the library that is as old as the college.  It is the largest library in Ireland.

We also did a little bit of shopping (mostly the window shopping type).  We did this on Henry Street where most of the city shops for clothes, food, electronics, and whatever else they need.  It's all on Henry Street.  People walk around with their carry-on bags with wheels in order to carry their purchases.  It sure takes a load off of your back and keeps your hands free since you can't just run and put your stuff in the car (what car?!).  There are very few places available for parking in the city centre anyways.

We finished the day with a McFlurry at McDonald's, reminding me that no matter how far you go, some things stay the same!  :)  

Church's Restaurant.  (An old converted church)  I ate here!

The road going into campus.  I thought it was pretty.

UCD's Centre for American Studies

The canal that runs near Dublin City Centre

This was hanging upside down from the ceiling at the Hard Rock Cafe!

 

There are even Hard Rock cafes in Dublin! 

 

Me inside the Trinity College Campus


 

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Outside Trinity College.  It's a little sideways because I was walking when I took this picture.

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A statue of the "famous" guy that owns the house (below)



This was a house of some famous guy (can't remember his name) that is located inside St. Stephen's Green



Vanessa on one of the rental bikes (3 euro per day)



The outside of the church.  It was right next to the first building that housed ucd, in which James Joyce studied.



I had to take this picture without flash.  This is the inside of the church we wondered into. It's a bit blurry because I couldn't use flash!  A wedding was going to happen here soon.



Megan and I at St. Stephen's Green



Megan and Vanessa at the fountain in St. Stephen's Green



A picture at the pond in the middle of the UCD campus



This is another picture of campus.  It's nice to have the covered walkway in the rain that is always hitting unexpectedly.



Well, I've spent a few days in Dublin and so far I'm having a great time!  I danced last night away at the student bar on campus and learned (sort of) how to dance to traditional Irish music.  It's odd that there's a bar (actually 2) run by the college.  Since the drinking age is lower here, you just have to show your college ID to get into the one on campus.

I found this place (while trying to find a cheap hairdryer) called Argoss!  It's great!  It's like Walmart without the food plus you don't have to search all over creation to find what you want.  You just pick it out of a catalogue and take it up to the register where you pay and then you pick up whatever you ordered.  My hairdryer only cost 5 euro.  I'm not sure about the Irish food so far because it's pretty bland.  That means something coming from me!  I had chips and salsa at a restaraunt and it was terrible!  Not spicy at all and sort of sweet. 

They do have some Mexican food here, but I'm afraid to try it after the chips and salsa. haha.  They call burritos "Mexican sandwich wraps" or something like that.  Hope you all like the pictures.  I'll try to get more pictures of the prettier sights in town, but this is what I have so far!

One of the many pubs throughout the city

Fish and Chips!

World's smallest bathroom complete with the world's smallest shower.  The part lower than the rest of the bathroom is the shower.

Aer Lingus.  The plane that brought us over!

All of the houses kind of look like this.  Guess what!  They pave most of their front yards!

Glenomena (where I live).

A product of Ireland's psychotic weather!

My street!

Native Americans in Ireland!  Ally should know that I can buy a dreamcatcher here after all!  lol

Argoss.  One of the coolest ideas ever!

Longest Days Ever!

So the UCD people forgot to mention a few things we needed before we left which resulted in walking at least 3 miles with about 100 lbs of luggage.  Joy! 

I got to wait in a 3 hour line to get my student ID card (which was on the opposite side of campus from my apartment).  Then I got to run back to my apartment only to find out I was missing another vital document.  Of course, to get this one must run back to the place where one's student ID is obtained.

Throw all of this running around on top of the fact that I haven't slept for over 24 hours, smell bad, and need to desperately brush my teeth and you have a recipe for big fun.  I'm so glad I'm finally in my room though.  I'm going to take a nap before I start to think about all of the things I have yet to do.  Register at the Gaurdia (which I am told is just about as much fun as getting your room key), get food, and a get a few other things that I couldn't manage to shove in my suitcase.  I also notice that the fan thingy in my bathroom doesn't work so the floor is still soaked and the mirror is foggy  an hour after I took a shower.I'll load pictures tomorrow (when I have more time and energy) of the world's smallest bathroom and more!