Weekend trip

Callie, Mag, Tracy, and I are going to London for the weekend! We are flying out Thursday night and arriving in London 1.5 hours later. We plan on spending the first night in a hostel or motel and then staying at Mag's cousin's flat for the remainder of the trip. We fly back to Cork on Monday morning around 6. I'll be posting some pictures! :)

Dublin... Keep 'em coming

The rest of the photos from Dublin...

At the Guinness Storehouse for a tour with Callie, Mag, and Tracy

Stroll around downtown Dublin - pretty windows

These angels are like paper mache and they line the courtyard of Dublin Castle, which is where the president of Ireland is inaugurated.

Dome inside the Dublin Castle courtyard

Christ Church Cathedral

Doors of Dublin

Dublin - Part Deux

Walking around...

Four Courts

Inside the Brazen Head. Go ahead... look closely.

Entrance to the Brazen Head

Cottage pie and chips - traditional Irish food? You bet.

Establishment where the Irish meal was consumed

Dublin Recap

It's been about a week since I departed for Dublin, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my photo documentation of the weekend.

Our hostel - loved the artwork on the walls

Maggie being a great model

Maggie, Tracy, and Callie

Little market we found on a side street

The Brazen Head - gourmet chicken nuggets and chips (fries) here. It's also the oldest pub in Ireland - about 2 blocks from our hostel!

I'll post more later - it's taking FOREVER to add photos right now.

Peace

Waterfull and Going to Dublin!

Flood warnings were announced on Tuesday for the River Lee (which is right next to our apartment). We haven't heard anything since then, so I'm assuming the threat is decreased, although the water level is still very high.

Maggie, Callie, several others, and I are heading to Dublin for the weekend! We are taking the bus on Friday morning and returning Sunday evening and staying (ironically for me, again) at the Four Courts Hostel. We will be hitting up the "traditional" site-seeing spots most likely including Christchurch Cathedral, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, the Guinness storehouse, and the multitude of art and history museums around the city. Hopefully this journey will be one of several that we make to Dublin during the semester.

More on our adventures within a few days...

Waterless

Quick update: A water line broke in Cork City because it froze, so we have been without water since last night. They said the water should be back on by tonight, so we'll see. Classes were held as normal today, though many people couldn't get into the city because of the icy and salt-less roads, including one of my professors.

A few friends and I were going to take the bus to Blarney on Saturday, but the snow wreaked havoc on our plans... hopefully the weather will be better this weekend so I'll have a few more photos to share.

Take showers, wash clothes, and drink some water for me!

A is for Ardmore

Ardmore expedition: site of the first monastic settlement in Ireland (by St. Declan).

Even though some of these pictures look... picturesque... don't be deceived. It was freezing on our 3 hour walking tour of this small coastal town about an hour from Cork. Definitely worth the 0 euros we paid to go on the day trip (excluding lunch).

Ardmore coast

St. Declan's Rock - supposedly carried a bell that led Declan to Ireland. He said wherever it landed was the place he would settle; that place was Ardmore! The bell was a gift from heaven that Declan forgot when he set sail - how would someone forget a gift like that?!?

View from the cliff walk

Roommate Maggie and Coast Guard station that was used as a lookout for foreign ships (the station, not the Maggie).

Other side of the cliff trail

We thought this sign looked like a grandma carrying a shilelagh [pron. she-lay-lee] (Irish cane/walking stick).

Palms!!

Ardmore Round Tower - reputedly the most structurally and technically advanced round tower in Ireland

Our tour guide, Liam, is showing off the panels that used to be inside the cathedral with no roof at the monastic site

Quick update...

Tomorrow I'm going with the campus ministry-like group at UCC to Ardmore and Youghal. Ardmore is supposedly the first monastic settlement in Ireland and Youghal is "Ireland's premier coastal resort" (at least according to the tourism website). I'll post some envy-inducing pictures of the beach and coastal walks, as long as the weather permits such frivolities.

Modules at UCC

I've decided on my classes at University College Cork for this semester - stress relieved. I'm taking
Buddhism (upper division theology requirement at CSB);
Culture, Language and Literature of Ireland (for fun);
Romance and Realism (for English minor);
Music in Modern Ireland (for fun); and
American Cinema/Genre from 1890 to 1960 (for English minor).

I'm also planning on attending American Cinema and Genre 1895-1960 on Tuesdays for fun (because I can't attend the second weekly class on Thursdays because of time conflicts with another of my classes).

Brilliant!!

I made it!

My flights from MSP to Chicago to Dublin were fine. No delays - but also no sleep. Last night my flightmates and I stayed in a hostel in Dublin and visited a pub for New Year's Eve. For lunch we ate at The Brazen Head, supposedly the oldest pub in Ireland. After early bus delays because of icy roads, we left for Cork city and arrived around 7:30 pm (19:30 here). I'm staying at Leeside Apartments, which is right next to the River Lee. I haven't met my flatmates yet (four other college women) but I think they are arriving tomorrow sometime.

Just unpacking right now - I'll post some pictures of the apartment and Cork after a coffee and shopping break in the morning.

Btw - all post times will be GMT - Cork time.

Much love!

Mel