Study Abroad: Day Five and Six

Study Abroad Day Five

Today started out with me sleeping in way too late!  This meant wet hair and glasses, but that’s ok—as the Irish say, “I’m on holiday!”

We traveled to the Dublin Castle today, which was incredibly elegant and beautiful.  I learned that the terms “saving face” came from women who would put “makeup” on their face and would stand near fireplaces.  While they stood near the fireplace, their “makeup” would melt and sometimes (as our guide stated) the makeup would melt down into their cleavages.  After that, for lunch, I took a 30-min trek to a Starbucks to call Brian and make sure he was ok, and walk briskly back to the group to view St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Dublin Castle I

Dublin Castle II

Dublin Castle III

St. Patrick's Cathedral I

St. Patrick's Cathedral II

St. Patrick's Cathedral III

Guinness Storehouse

Abbey Tavern in Howth with Irish Coffee and Baby Guinness.

Whitney and I!

We then went to Guinness Storehouse (yes, I have been able to go twice now), and enjoyed a pint and hung out for about two hours.  I highly recommend anyone who travels to Dublin to come to this tourist spot.  After Guinness, Whitney and I took a nap (had to you all) and then we headed to Howth to the Abbey Tavern for an Irish dinner, music, and dance. 

Some of the dancing at the Abbey Tavern.  Reminded me of River Dance.

The scenic ride back was GORGEOUS, as you could see Dublin off in the distance.  Granted, it was like, 10pm-ish and the sun was not completely down. 

I have a theory right now that the Irish get so much more physical activity in during the summer months because the sun comes up at 4am, goes down at 10pm and they walk everywhere.

We came back to the hotel and packed up to get ready for Cork County tomorrow.  Sorry I can’t type more you all!  I am super tired.

Cheers!

Kara

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Study Abroad Day Six

Today started out with me super excited about traveling to a new area since I have been in Dublin for almost 10 days.  After changing my outfit for the day twice, I packed up, and left my bag outside for our kind bus driver “Nigel” to pick up and put in the bus.  Whitney and I snoozed on the way to the Rock of Cashel (a two and a half hour bus ride), and I slept sitting straight up with my mouth wide open.

Classy Kara.

The Rock of Cashel was so pretty!  Here are some pictures below:

We then took another hour bus ride to Cork, a beautiful, clean, and pretty modern area.  They have an “English Market” (kind of like the “Farmer’s Market” in Raleigh) which contains all fresh foods, like organic vegetables and fruits, raw meat, nuts, homemade sauces, delectable sweets, cheeses of all sorts (like the vegetarian, unpasteurized gouda that kept my mouth watering), and fresh baked breads.

Chocolates!

Cheeses!

Olives, Chilies, Pepperoncinis, Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil!  Made me think about my sister and how much she would love this.

After doing some shopping,  and sightseeing, we came across this mural/artwork being completed in rememberance of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic.  The Titanic actually had its last port of call in the town of Cobh, near Cork Harbor in Ireland.

Whitney and I came back and prepared for dinner at the hotel, which was probably the best so far.  I had a vegetable soup (Ireland purees the crap out of their soups), and fresh salad.  Here is a picture of the dessert they provided below.

We head for the Blarney Castle tomorrow and then to the Jameson Distillery.  All of us are super excited for Killarney tomorrow and what we hear is a very nice hotel!

Cheers!

Kara

Shamrockin’ Fact:  A referendum was passed here in Ireland today (by around 60%) and is pretty big news over here.  I will not bore you to death with all the details I have learned about it in the past 10 days, but I will say that most other countries in the EU did not approve this referendum (governments usually voted), but Ireland was a little different.  They let the population vote on it.  The signs around Ireland usually say the following, “Vote Yes for Investment, Stability, Recovery,” and “Vote No for Bank Bailout.”  Here is a link to more information if interested: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/uk-ireland-referendum-idUKBRE84U0C520120601