Cliffs of Moher / Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

So, Arcadia's FREE day trip for us was on this Saturday, and it was to the Cliffs of Moher - the biggest tourist attraction in Ireland - which is completely and totally worth all the attention, and Bunratty Castle and Folk Park which is in County Limerick.

Cliffs of Moher were incredible. They're over 600 feet high at certain points, and we had a great time walking around and sitting on the edge (!!!) and just experiencing the wonderous natural landscape. A great part of this trip was that my best friend from home, Katie Cornwell, another Saint Mike's student, was visiting Ireland with her friends from Scotland (where she is currently studying) and they were also going to the Cliffs this day - and our tour buses got in at the same time, so we got to experience this beautiful site together! We walked along the cliffs on a restricted path... oops? And it was pretty muddy and slippery which got scary, but it was totally worth it for the views. Here are some pictures that don't even capture how breathtaking these cliffs were.

Cliffs of Moher!

Our Group at the cliffs.

Me, not scared finally of being on the edge!

Katie (my friend from home) and I at the cliffs! Reuinted and it feels so good!

Scary muddy cliff path!

Bunratty castle was also awesome! We had the cutest tour guide ever who gave us a fantastically enjoyably tour of the inside of the castle. He was one of the cutest old Irish men I have ever seen- heart meltingly cute.

The castle was also incredible! And the views from the top were beautiful. The best part of this part of the day trip was the weather though. It was beautiful outside and prime fall season, so the colors in the little folk village were incredible! We walked around little cottages, saw baby sleeping deer, donkeys, chickens, and had an overall wonderful historical little Irish fall day. It was great and I loved it... and when I thought I couldn't love Ireland anymore, this day proved me wrong.

beautiful fall day!

bunratty castle!

Cute little cottage

View from the Top of the castle!

Cheers!

Halloween In Cork!

So this is my first Halloween abroad, and this weekend went really well! My three friends and I decided to make our own costumes, and we were the four suits from a deck of cards. We found matching skirts, got some tights, felt, and white tank tops and my friend Katie got to sewing. A creative, cheap costume (under 10 euro!), and it worked really well! Here's a picture of us:

We all were missing fall in New England, so we tried to do as many Halloween-y activities as possible. We made homemade hot apple cider - apple juice, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, ginger, cloves. And for going out at night, adding a little amaretto and rum tasted lovely. We drank the hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks in our little mugs and felt super festive.

Homemade Cider!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups!

We went to a Halloween party at this bar, (the old jazz club I mention a lot) The Bodega on Saturday Night which was pretty fun. The bar was decorated and everyone was in costume, dancing. The only let down of the night, was that we were supposed to go see a showing of Rocky Horror, but unfortunately it was false advertising and just a Rocky Horror themed party.


We also downloaded some Halloween movies online (Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown) and had a movie night. We made homemade peanut butter cups too and they were absolutely delicious!

On Sunday, the actual Halloween day, Jenny, Katie and myself walked to the Cork City Jail, which is refirbished and offers tours to the public. They give you an old Sony Walkman (awesome!) and you walk around on your own, listening to the audio tour. There's old cells with wax figures of former historical prisoners, wax guards, creepy sounds being played over loudspeakers, and old prisoner graffiti preserved on the wall. For 6 euro, it was a great historic and festive way to do something "Halloween-y."

Youghal (y'all) - Day Trip

So needing to get away from jazz festival tourists, Anna, Katie and I went to the close-by town of Youghal for a few hours today. Well, the bus dropped us off pretty far from town, but we had fun exploring. We walked on the beach, laughed a lot because it was DEFINITELY not beach weather, explored the cute little seaside town, found a cute little place that served traditional irish breakfasts all day long, and then got the bus back home to Cork.
Also, we found a nice old famous church to explore which was really nice since we were the only people there. We also went on a little historic walk and saw a 16th century old graveyard, met a cute old irish lady who told us some history, hiked a little to see some nice views of the town, and explored a bit more of the more historic section of the town.
All in all, a cute day - saw lots of adorable, old, irish men and their dogs, but it was super cold and super windy on the ocean. But it was definitely a great time! Here's some pictures from our Irish Beach Day... haha

Jazz Festival Weekend in Cork

This weekend was Cork's Jazz Festival, which I was pretty excited about, since it is internationally known.

This weekend was also the first weekend I finally considered myself a Corkonian because I decided I hate the tourists that come here. I tried to go about running my usual errands, grocery shopping, etc. and I couldn't walk anywhere because of all the tourists snapping photos and walking 2mph down all the major streets. It was sooo crowded here, it was unbelievable. Also, every single bar/pub were full beyond their capacity from 3pm on so it was impossible to get an inexpensive drink anywhere.

Still a fun weekend though - saw some cool street venders, went out for a traditional irish breakfast (2 eggs poached, toast, bacon, sausage, grilled tomato, tea, and black/white pudding - YES, I tried it! And it actually wasn't that bad), did some shopping and exploring, got halloween costumes, FINALLY went to a chocolate cafe - a cafe that is literally just comfy sofas and everything to eat/drink is chocolate - got a white/milk hot chocolate which was the most delicious thing in the entire world, basically tasted like a melted chocoalte bar (anna got a praline white/dark hot chocolate which tasted like a melted kinder bueno bar, so i'm definitely getting that next time), saw 2 awesome jazz bands (the goldfish - electronic newage jazz) and the roaring forties (jazz tribute band) in some pretty cool bars. So overall, great weekend in Cork, but I'm ready for all the tourists to leave!
Cheers.

Chips/Crisps/Fries.... Whatever.

Ok, so obviously the term "french fries" is met with a blank stare here. "Chips" are "french fries," and "crisps" are "chips."
Well, for some reason, I find this terminology very difficult. When ordering food at late night places, I frequently get into disagreements with the people behind the counter because "i just want some french fries." But I've been trying to get better.
And then today happened. Katie, Anna, Jenny and I were craving Mexican food so we went to this mexican place in Cork. Well I was very excited for my chicken enchilada and my side order of chips and guacamole... until I got my food. We all started cracking up. I got a chicken enchilada, a side of guacamole, and.... french fries. I guess the server thought I meant "fries" when i said "chips." We were all cracking up. I dipped a french fry in guacamole and tried to make the best of it. It was still delicious, just a tad different.
So, when you come to Ireland, make sure you say "corn chips" if you want tortilla chips....

A Weekend in Northern Ireland: Belfast and Giant's Causeway

Hi everyone! I just got back from a weekend in Northern Ireland, an overnight trip that my program provider, Arcadia University gave to us for only 40 euro, which was fantastic.

For those of you who don’t know, Northern Ireland is a separate country from the Republic of Ireland, and is part of the UK (meaning that I had to get used to using the pound instead of the euro and that any texts/calls from my irish cell phone suddenly became very very expensive). 

Day 1 of the trip started out with a nice 7 hour bus ride to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. My friend Katie and I explored a bit before dinner and found Queen’s University and the Botanic Gardens. Overall, Belfast is very, very British feeling.

From the architecture to the cars to the accents – everything is very British and it definitely did not feel like we were in Ireland. One thing I noticed especially was the absence of the “irish font” – the style of writing that many pub names are written in. First off, there certainly weren’t as many pubs, Guinness was not advertised on every street corner, and all of the bar names were very british sounding – “the royal blah,” the “crown royal” etc. instead of pubs like “the bailey” here in the Cork. The street names were all pretty British sounding too… there were no St. Patrick streets or Oliver Plunkett streets here… and very noticeably the street signs were in English, not Gaelic (obviously).  We went out to a bar that night, but didn’t stay out too late because Belfast can be a bit dodgy at night, since even though there has been a ceasefire since the Good Friday Agreement (I won’t go into too much history here and bore everyone, even though I find it fascinating!), the conflict in Northern Ireland still remains.

Day 2 of the trip was a short ride east to the Giant’s Causeway. Oh my goodness was this place gorgeous. We got to pick a tour guide to go with and obviously I picked the cutest old man ever, who was an absolutely HILARIOUS tour guide. There is a lot of folklore behind the Causeway about a giant who created it (Finn Mckoon) and there are quite a few landmarks there that are supposedly remnants of the giant’s clothes, grandmother, dog, etc. Our tour guide gave us a lovely history of the folklore and also gave us the science of the causeway, which has to do with plate tectonics and essentially it’s a lot of old lava rocks that have rusted and formed an incredibly cool pattern (google it for more scientific stuff – geology isn’t my forte). Basically, it looks like a scene out of minecraft, and the stones definitely did not seem real. 

the causeway!

Me and the famous stones! )

some of the stones (very minecraft esque)

Finn Mckoon's Boot!

After walking through this, we did a cliff walk to return to our tour bus and just got incredible views of the causeway, all of northern Ireland, and since it was such a beautiful clear day, we could even see Scotland from the height of the cliffs (about 350 feet). My pictures don’t do this place justice. It was absolutely breathtaking and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. 60s, sunny – absolutely perfect.

View of the causeway from the cliff walk. Beautiful!

Another fantastic view of the causeway from above!

Incredible Views on the Cliff walk

Sheep!

Site of my future home? Yes, please.

Day 3 consisted of a historical talk about the murals in Belfast and the conflict that exists there and then we took a bus tour of the city and the murals before embarking on our very very long 7 hour bus ride home to Cork. I found the mural talk incredibly interesting because I love history. I’ll briefly summarize it here though since I know everyone doesn’t want to read a textbook. The Northern Ireland conflict is essentially between Unionists (extremists – Loyalists) and Nationalists (extremists – Republicans). Unionists tend to be Protestant and support the union with the Britain. Nationalists tend to be Catholic and want a united Ireland. Northern Ireland is mostly Unionist/Protestant and is home to the UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force which is a paramilitary group that was actually formed before the IRA. Essentially, the city is divided into Catholic and Protestant areas, which are separated by walls and gates – which still exist today, even after the peace agreement. According to our tour guide, the gates still close at a specific time at night, preventing you from entering into a different religious territory. The walls are also especially high between the areas to prevent stones being thrown or “petrol bombs.” – which our tour guide said very nonchalantly. I was amazed at how close the Catholic and Protestant areas are to each other. You could literally throw a stone over a fence and hit your protestant neighbor. The fact that the city is so divided seems ridiculous to me. I couldn’t believe the gates, walls, and the fact that curfews still existed.

Gate separating Catholic/Protestant areas.

While the conflict is beginning to ease up, and as Catholic numbers within Northern Ireland grow (now over 1/3 of the population), the division is extremely apparent – not only with the walls but also with the economic status of the neighborhoods. The catholic sections did seem a lot lower class than the protestant areas. Moving on, Belfast has a rich history which is depicted in the murals around the city which are mostly painted by Loyalists since it is much more difficult for a Republican to paint a mural without being ostracized. Most of the murals are either militant (many masked men wearing guns, holding warning slogans) or celebrating William of Orange and their British ancestry. The Republican murals are celebrating Irish history, the gaelic language, gaelic culture, and also have some militant IRA murals as well – but as a whole, the Loyalist murals are much more militant. Now there is a law about having militant murals, unless the gun is there for a historic purpose, but some are still seen. (mona lisa – the gun is pointing at you from whichever angle you look at). I found the murals fascinating and interesting. Especially how there were a lot of murals about the Israel and Palestine conflict, which many in Northern Ireland feels mimicks their own situation. 

Nationalist Mural.

Loyalist Mural (celebrating British heritage).

The "Mona Lisa" - loyalist mural.

The peace wall down Falls Road was built to separate the Catholic and Protestant area, and is now a site for peaceful graffiti and hopeful messages during this peacetime transition process. I wrote on the wall “Love is all you need.” Here are some pictures of other hopefully messages for peace that visitors and locals have written. I was inspired by the hope of this wall and it was really moving to be present at it.

The Peace Wall.

My contribution to the peace wall :)

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip. Cork is definitely a better than city than Belfast in my mind –Up the Rebels! But I did enjoy my time there. I am definitely happy I decided to study in Cork though – it feels more authentically Irish. One thing I am definitely noticing is how proud I am becoming to live in Ireland. 

Overall, good weather, good sites, good history, beautiful views, good friends, cheap drinks, lots of laughs – another great weekend in Ireland.

The Breakfast Toastie Debacle

So since I've been here in Ireland, I've been craving a bacon, egg, and cheese. Yes, I could make one for myself, but I really want one like the ones that Javier or Luis would make me at the Woodbury Diner before/during/after my shift. So this morning, after my Canterbury Tales class, I went grocery shopping. On the way to Tescos (supermarket), I stopped at an Obrien's, which is essentially a Bruegger's (for those in Massachusetts/Vermont) or a Panera. I asked for their Breakfast Toastie. (Toasties here are anything from a grilled cheese, a panini, or simply a sandwich on toasted bread). When the lovely Irish lady handed me my breakfast toastie, it had everything a good breakfast sandwich needed - bacon, sausage, cheese, ketchup.... but..... no egg? What kind of breakfast sandwich doesn't have an egg on it? So odd and so dissapointing. Also, all toasties, sandwiches, etc. here come with crisps on the side, whether you want them or not. And the crisps are ALWAYS sour cream and onion. Granted, I love sour cream and onion chips, but I'm getting quite sick of them. Anyway, I miss the bacon/egg/cheese and I miss normal Ketchup (irish ketchup, even heinz brand is really weird).

Ode to the Kinder Bueno

The Kinder Bueno. 


One of our best discoveries so far in Ireland. The Kinder Bueno is the most delicious candy bar in the world, and is only found in South America and Europe. Apparently you might be able to find them in the U.S., but they're ridiculously expensive. The Kinder Bueno has quickly become one of our best friends here. A package contains two candy bars, each separated into four little bite size squares. A chocolate wafer, covered in more chocolate, and filled with a milky hazelnut filling. It's basically milkier nutella covered in chocolate. Heavenly. 
Bad day, good day, stressful day, afternoon snack, midnight snack, etc, etc... we buy a LOT of them here and they always get the job done.

Mmmmmmmmm.

Galway & The Aran Islands

So we planned our first trip, successfully too! My eight friends and I planned a three way trip to Galway City (Ireland's third largest city and on the West Coast) and to the Aran Islands which are a short bus ride, and a rocky ferry away from Galway City.

The hostel we stayed in was lovely, the trip went smoothly, and we had a fabulous time. Galway was fun, but a bit of a party city and a bit too touristy for us - essentially, we missed Cork - the best city in Ireland. However, they did have the original Claddaugh ring store, so I got myself my birthday present, and got an original Claddaugh ring. I love it and don't take it off.

The Aran Islands. What can I say? Literally, the most beautiful place I've ever been to. 800 people live on the islands, and everyone speaks Irish. When we got to Inish Mor, the major island, we were all in awe. It's breathtaking and I felt like I was in the shire. You can either rent bikes or take a bus to explore the island, but we ran into Tom - our Irish savior. Tom offered to give us a horse and carriage ride around the island for the same price as renting a bike. DONE DEAL. So Tom and our horse, W.B. Yeates (they love him here) took us around the island. It was something out of a fairy tale. Riding around the shire in a freaking horse and carriage with the cutest old man driver in the world. The island is just covered in rocky coasts, beaches, hills, and a few scattered old thatched houses. Horses and cows just roam on the road naturally or hang out on the sides of the dirt paths. They come right up to you. It's amazing. Tom took us all over, showed us his neighbors houses, took us on scenic routes, and then took us up to the start of the hiking trail of Don Aengus, an old fort. The hike up was breathtaking and we all stopped a thousand times for pictures, but when we got to the top - oh man. You completely forget about the fort, because of the scenery you encounter. Standing on these cliffs (325 feet high), is breathtaking. I sat on the edge and conquered my fear, with the help of my friends, and just sat on the edge of the world, in awe. I can't even describe how it felt to be on those cliffs. We were all in the most fantastic mood walking back down to Tom. We stopped at the Aran Sweater market on the way back, got some christmas presents for our family and friends, stopped and had some soup/sandwiches and a Guinness before taking the ferry ride home. 

Quintessential Irish House on the Aran Islands

Good 'ol W.B. and our sweet ride.

Horses just hanging out on the side of the path

The hike to the top of Don Aengus

Cow, hanging out as well.

Katie, John, Sean, and I sitting on the edge of the cliffs!

The Cliffs! 350 feet high.

Me! On the edge of the world. or what felt like it.



Beautiful. Quintessential. Amazing.

Plus, the trip went smoothly! Yay us!

Rain, Tea, and Soup

First off, Ireland makes you like the rain. It's not rain, like at home - huge dirty puddles, giant rain drops that soak you to the bone, miserable, awful weather. Nope, it's a light drizzle. It happens about three times a day. Sometimes it rains harder, but it's never too bad. Thunderstorms sometimes happen at night, but they're fun, and only last about 10 minutes. All the rain only lasts about 5-10 minutes, then the sun comes out, sometimes a rainbow, and you're good to go again.

However, the rain makes you crave tea, bread, and hot soup. I understand why the Irish eat the way they do. My friend Katie and I went out to lunch the other day at our new favorite place, the Bodega, a jazz club with a beautiful old fashioned bar, comfy red plush seats, and delicious tea and food. When we got there, we immediately both wanted warm food and tea. Whenever it seems that we go out for food, we all want stew, soup, a baguette, tea, etc, etc. It's hearty and delicious and soothing. It warms you up and makes you feel cozy and at home.

P.S. try Shephard's pie here. It's ridiculously delicious. And Irish people love desserts, mostly chocolate cake and apple crumb - both delicious, and basically every restaurant not only offers both of them, but most people order them. Irish people like their food.
Mmmmmm. Cheers.

Homestay Weekend in Carragaline, Co. Cork.

So, part of the Arcadia program that I am enrolled in requires all students to participate in a homestay experience - where you live with an Irish family for a weekend.
My family lived in Carragaline, County Cork, and they were brilliant.
Bernadette was the mom, and immediately we became best friends. Her husband was a truck driver, and I only met him once when he explained to me how Belfast (Northern Ireland - which is mostly Protestant) made the Titanic and wouldn't let Catholics work on it, so while they were building the Titanic, Catholics were building icebergs. Yikes! There's that political and religious division I've heard so much about.
Anyway, Bernie had a German exchange student living with her as well, Charlotte, a 16 year old. I give that girl credit! I can't imagine living away from home for a year at that age, especially in a house without internet. Wow. Bernie also had a beautiful dog, Woody. We obviously became best pals for life.

I was kinda nervous about my homestay weekend, but I loved it. Home cooked meals, lots and lots of potatoes, and an exorbitant amount of tea. When an Irish person offers you tea, never say no. It's impolite. Even when it's your 8th cup of the day, when they look at you and say "you'll have a cup of tea?" you say "that'd be brilliant." I also loved talking with my homestay mom, Bernie. She has had over 150 international students stay with her, something unheard of in the states. Rural families in America would never be that connected to the international community. Props to Bernie.

The weekend was filled with food, tea, conversation, and lots of lots of TV. Irish people love the X-Factor and America's got Talent. Yikes. My "mom" and I did watch a Law and Order: SVU Marathon one night, which was grand. I also met every single member of Bernie's family. They all stop over for tea. I literally met more of her family than I've ever met of my own. We all drank tea together and ate potatoes. Fantastic. Also, Irish people like to talk politics, and they think they know more about American politics better than you do, so just listen, and agree with them. It's easier.

One day, Bernie drove me and my homestay partner, Mike, to a fishing town nearby called Kinsale. It was adorable. Mike and I explored the city, got homemade brownie sundaes at a cute ice cream shop, went to the beach, and found an old abandoned castle that we explored.

Kinsale!

Cool fort that Mike and I found in Kinsale

All in all, a lovely weekend. I miss ya already Bernie! It was great to have a homely experience, especially because I miss my mom so much. This experience definitely took me out of my comfort zone, but it was a great way to see how the Irish family works.

Kissin de Blarney Stone

Went to Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone.
Very, very scary.
The walk up to the top of the castle is slippery, very tight, very steep, and quiet honestly, frightening. There would have to be a disclaimer at the bottom of the stairs if we were in America.
But I walked up, thought I was going to be blown away, and then I realized I had to sit on the edge of the castle, lean backwards and kiss a stupid stone to get the gift of eloquence? No, thanks. I was happy just taking pictures of the beautiful green castle grounds from the top, and standing in awe at how beautiful Ireland was.

Blarney Castle

View from the top of the castle!

.... that wasn't going to happen because I met my lovely Irish friend who works at Blarney Castle. He wouldn't let me walk by the stone without at least sitting down so i could "get a better picture of it." Well, his job is to hold on to you and help you lean backwards to kiss the stone, and apparently it is in his job description to make sure EVERYONE kisses the stone, including scardeycats like myself. I held on to him for dear life, as he calmly told me "darling i wont let ye go!", and I kissed the stone. Whew.

The grounds were beautiful, and I really can't explain how green Ireland is. It's breathtaking. All around, brilliant day.

All of us in front of the Blarney House.

The Blarney House