Day 4: Glendalough and old Irish men make for a perfect day.

Today was just... amazing. I've run out of adjectives to describe everything I've seen here, and it's only day four! This morning we met the group around 10 a.m. and went on a tour of Glendalough. Glendalough is small town West of Dublin, most well-known for St. Kevin's monastery.

Our tour guide/driver, Ed, was the cutest old Irish man! He drove us up the coast through Black Rock, which is a town equivalent of a suburb. The tide was probably a mile out, and Ed told us that about four times a year, the tide flows over the 3-foot stone wall and floods the streets for about a week. The houses along that street keep sand bags outside to keep their houses from flooding. Ed let us get out at a viewing point and take pictures along the way.

View of Black Rock

The small tower on the hill in the back is called a Martello tower, and is one of 16 along the coast of Dublin. They were built to keep Napoleon from invading, and were actually most successful considering he never actually invaded! The best-known resident of a Martello Tower was James Joyce, who lived in one for a week. James Joyce also dubbed Dublin "Publin" because of the 848 pubs in the entire city.

After Black Rock, we continued along the coast to White Rock. The view was breathtaking. We took a few pictures, then Ed made everyone coffee and tea. He even brought us biscuits :) (i.e. Ginger Snaps!).

View of White Rock

After White Rock, we drove through Killiney a neighborhood/suburb of Dublin. We got to see Enya's castle. It was HUGE. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture from the moving van. But that's OK, because we also so BONO's house! Or what part wasn't blocked off. Below is a picture of his front gate. U2 lyrics are bronzed behind the iron gates. Amazing.

Bono's front gate!

Next, we ventured from the coast and headed toward the mountain path to catch up with the other tour bus that the rest of our group was in. Next stop: Guinness lake! This lake is on property that the Guinness family owns. And, it looks like a guinness beer! It's black from when glaciers melted hundreds of years ago. Also, the family has a huge house next to it. B. Love told us that Michael Jackson hid out in the house when he was being indicted for molestation charges and that Tiger Woods hid out there recently, too. It's a perfect hide out since it's so far down in the basin and the Guinness family's only rule for allowing visitors is that no one drive on the land. So, there's essentially no way for paparazzi to get down there. Also, it was beyond freezing up there!

Guinness Lake!

It's kind of hard to see, but the house is located on the far right.

Only the tower part is visible in this picture, it's white w/ a grey roof, between two tall trees!

After Guinness Lake, we got to see two filming locations from two movies. That's right, P.S. I Love You AND Braveheart! SO exciting!

This is the bridge where P.S. I Love You was partly filmed!

This is the valley where Braveheart was filmed. About 90% of the movie was filmed in Ireland because Mel Gibson discovered that he wouldn't have to pay taxes on anything he produced/filmed here due to a tax incentive at the time (1994) that encouraged artists and musicians of the like to come to Ireland.

Next, we finally arrived to Glendalough! I. Was. Speechless. One of the tour bus drivers took us through the monastery remains and showed us safe house/round tower and explained the history. It was built with absolutely NO cement and was essentially still erect because of two large stones in the front. The door was located 12 feet off the ground and was only 4 feet tall. If the door were any lower, the entire tower would fall into itself and collapse.

The hole at the bottom is the door. SO small!

Then we saw St. Kevin's chapel and cross. The saying is that if you wrap your arms around St. Kevin's cross and your fingers touch, whatever wish you make will come true! And mine touched! Woohoo!

St. Kevin's chapel

One of the only remaining buildings with a roof intact.

St. Kevin's Cross!

After the tour and photo ops, we walked 20 minutes up the road to two lakes. Glendalough actually means "Glen of two lakes" in Irish. The lake closest to the monastery is simply referred to as the Lower Lake. While it was still beautiful, it didn't hold a candle to the Upper Lake.

Upper Lake. Oh. My. Gosh. Beautiful.

I saw these two Irish children throwing rocks into the lake and decided to have an artsy moment.

They were adorable.

Rachel Q., Me, Rachel P., and Anna just jumping :)

Today was definitely my favorite day so far as far as scenery goes. Everything was just breathtaking! I slept pretty much the entire bus ride back because I was so exhausted. But man, it was so worth all the walking... and the sun burn! :(

We got back to Ariel House a little before 6 p.m. Then B. Love took us all out to dinner at Milano, where a few of us ate yesterday. I was totally OK with that since it was DELICIOUS. So B. Love got us all dinner and we sat and talked for a good 2 and a half to 3 hours. Just good food and good conversation, a perfect way to end this perfect day!

Now, Rachel and I are eating an Aero bar (omg, why doesn't Nestle make these in America?!) and packing because tomorrow we're moving into the dorms on UCD campus! Yay!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of the day. Just B. Love. You know, hanging out.

Haha!

From Ireland with love,

Hillary

Day 3: First rainy day in Ireland :)

Today was officially the first day it rained for the entire day! Constant drizzle. This morning was pretty leisurely. The group met once again in the drawing room (see pictures below :] ) before heading out to Brazenhead Pub in West Dublin around 1 pm. (http://www.brazenhead.com/) Brazenhead is THE oldest pub in Ireland! I had tomato soup for an appetizer, beef and guinness stew for main course, and bread pudding for dessert. It was SO good!

My roommate Rachel and me in The Drawing Room before Brazenhead!

Tracie and me outside of Brazenhead before brunch! 

After brunch, we were planning on going on the Guinness factory tour, but it was too rainy. Apparently the best part of the tour is at the end where you get to go to the sky bar and look out over Dublin. So, we plan to save that for a sunny day! Instead, we ended up going shopping on Henry Street, which has a ton of cute stores! H&M, Dunnes (which is the Irish equivalent of Target), Penneys (Owned by J.C. Penney and Primark, but more like a Forever XXI), etc. I didn't end up buying anything because it was ridiculously crowded, and if you know me, you know how much I dislike being in crowds. Terrible.

So, a bunch of us ended up going to see SATC2, but for real this time! I'm a fan. SO much better than the first! And the best part was probably when Charlotte's Irish nanny was introduced and the fact that we were sitting in a movie theatre in Ireland surrounded by Irish people. Our thought is that they were either really offended or found it hysterical. Haha! We just heard a TON of whispering whenever she was on screen! It was hilarious!

After the movie, we went to dinner at this Italian place called Milano. I got the Cannelloni and a glass of Chardonnay. It was probably THE best Italian meal I've had in my entire life. SO amazing! I feel like the closer you get the Italy, the better the Italian food gets! We had a leisurely meal and talked over wine. Perfect evening!

It was definitely a chill day today, which I think we all needed after yesterday! I definitely only took 5 pictures today because it was so gloomy! But tomorrow has a zero percent chance of rain (which is VERY rare in Ireland) and we're going to Glendalough with the group! I hear it's beautiful, and I can't wait to see it for myself.

Tomorrow we have to meet the group around 9:30 a.m., and considering it's already midnight here, I should be getting to bed! Goodnight.

From Ireland with love,
Hillary

Day 2: New flats were a bad idea.

Well, today was quite adventurous! After waking up (and staying up) at 4:30 a.m., my roommate Rachel and I ate a wonderful breakfast at Ariel House around 7:30 a.m. I didn't try the traditional Irish breakfast, for fear of the "blood sausage." BUT I'm determined to try it before we leave! I got scrambled eggs, grilled bacon, and delicious fruit and toast! YUM!

After that, we convened in the drawing room to get ready for our guided tour of Dublin. On the way to the meeting spot, a homeless man asked me for change and I felt like I was back in Austin for a second. Except he said, "That's alright, sweetheart." And I swear to God, my heart melted because of his accent. Adorbs. Then I remembered he was homeless, and it was just creepy. BUT, homeless people are much nicer in Dublin. Our tour guide was named Garvan, or Garbhan, in traditional Irish.

Yep, that's him! Red headed Garvan. This was right after we did a far-away-high-five because I answered a question correctly about Vikings. He was HILARIOUS! He even sang us a song. :) I have video of it and once again, don't know how to post it! Sad day. The tour lasted a good 3+ hours. We started our tour near City Hall, ventured to Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Temple Bar, O'Connell street, the Irish Parliament building (which the White House was designed after) and we ended at St. Stephens Green. Such amazing history in Ireland!

This is an arch in the center of Trinity College (and Garvan, haha). It's legend that if you're an undergraduate student at Trinity and you walk under the arch that you'll fail your finals and end up dropping out. I think Courtney Love must've done that, because she only attended Trinity College for one year before dropping out! True story. 

After the tour, Garvan took us to a pub called O'Neills. I definitely got the fish and chips, which was delicious!  Garvan even ate and hung out with us some more. We had every intention of going on a pub crawl afterwards, but around 7 p.m., we were exhausted! And the pub crawl started at 7:30 p.m. So, a few girls and I decided to go see Sex and the City 2! But... we walked all the way to the theatre, across Dublin, to find out that it was sold out! Fail. Still a little bitter. We'll try again Monday.  

We ended up picking up a few bottles of wine and coming back to our room to hang out. On the way home, we walked up to a hit and run scene. Apparently a woman was crossing the street when the driver's light turned yellow and he turned left in a hurry and hit her, then drove off. It must had just happened because the woman was still laying on the ground surrounded by the EMT, covered in blood. It was really tragic. We have no idea how she's doing, but I'm thinking (and hoping) she's still alive. And this was only a few hours after Professor Love warned us about obeying the walking signals (he told us to "Choose life!" after we illegally crossed the street LOL) and Garvan told us that NO ONE in Ireland obeys any laws in a collaborated effort to disobey government and that jaywalking doesn't exist here. Apparently everyone in Ireland hates the government in a leftover feeling of resentment toward the British government. 

We probably walked more than 7 miles today. I did manage to wear my Easy Tones for the tour (such a fan!), but I changed into my flats for the failed attempt to see SATC2. Needless to say, they were brand new flats and my baby toe actually BLED. Not just blistered, BLED. Thanks, Target. 

Well, I'm exhausted. Definitely time for sleep. Another big day tomorrow will consist of a welcome brunch at the famous Brazenhead pub, and then a tour of the Guinness, and possibly Jameson factories. Exciting! 

From Ireland with love,

Hillary 

Day 1.5: Jet lag cont.

It's 5 a.m. here. Geez. I tried my best to stay up last night to avoid jet lag, but I passed out at 6:30 p.m. and my roommate and I woke up at 4:30 a.m. Yikes. It's gonna be a rough week! So much for avoiding jet lag! Oh, and it's ALREADY daylight here. Out of control! Ok, that's all for now. I'm going to try to go back to sleep. We have to meet everyone back in the The Drawing Room at 11 a.m. and breakfast starts at 7! Yay for traditional Irish breakfasts!!

Day 1: Jet lag sucks, but Ireland does NOT.

Greetings from Dublin! I arrived this morning around 10 a.m. (4 a.m. central time). Starting today, the group is staying at a bed and breakfast called Ariel House. (http://www.ariel-house.net/) It's so cute and small! BUT, my perfume exploded in my luggage so needless to say, it's extremely difficult to breathe in my room. :(  Here are just a few pics I managed to take on the Aircoach, which drove us to a stop near our B&B.

JUST landed! First thing I see is a shamrock. That must be good luck!

This is Abbey Presbyterian Church. Breathtaking!

Upon arrival, I immediately showered and discovered my straightener does in fact work here (yay!). The group convened in "The Drawing Room" (adorbs, right?!) around 1 p.m. and met with our professor and our contact from University College Dublin (UCD), Enda. They distributed our local cell phones, too. I'm talking like old school Nokia brick-style phones from junior high. You know, the ones with the game Snake? I'm pretty excited about that. ;)

In an effort to keep everyone awake, our professor lead us to Dublin City Centre, which is about 1 or 2 miles away from our B&B. It reminds me of Greenwich Village in NYC... love it! We grabbed a quick lunch at a local deli (I guess you can call it that?). It mainly had pre-prepared sandwiches and salads, good for on the go. Then we walked to St. Stephens Garden, a beautiful park in the middle of the Centre, full of people and covered in the greenest grass, perfect for naps!

Then we walked around Grafton Square. We saw a TON of local musicians playing on the streets and it definitely reminded me of home. :) I took a video of a band called Mutefish, but I have no idea how to post videos on here. But here's one I found on YouTube! They're legit. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hi6w0m5bBg&feature=related ) I also carefully took note of a ton of shops I must visit before I leave. Shopping is a must here! Everyone is so well-dressed and put-together.

By about 4 p.m. everyone was getting extremely jet-lagged. Like to the point of becoming delusional. So we came back to our rooms a little while ago to rest. My feet are killing me and I'm exhausted. It's definitely time for a nap. Then a few of us are going to go grab some dinner and a pint at a local pub!

Big plans for tomorrow: Guided tour of Dublin! Professor Love said we'll be walking for at least 5 hours. Let me tell you, I really regret bringing flats I've never worn before. Smart move, Hillary.

I'll be more excited and optimistic after I get used to the time difference, I promise. I definitely underestimated the effect it'd have on me! It does not, however, change the fact that I'm ridiculously excited to be here! Skype me!

From Ireland with love,
Hillary

T-3 days until departure!

So, I leave for Ireland on Wednesday and I've decided to get a blog to keep friends and family updated about all of the exciting things I'll be seeing over the next 5 weeks! My professor says this maymester is "intensely busy, but entirely worth it" so I'll do my best to update regularly.

I miss you ladies so much already! I'm still finding it hard to believe the five of us will all be in different parts of the world this summer! But thank God for skype and blogs, right?!

My skype name is hillaryhdunn, btw. So skype me! :)

I should probably start packing, but I'm watching P.S. I Love You instead and getting excited to see the beautiful Irish countryside! I love procrastinating.