I began this week with only two days of class. I rolled out of bed just in time to make it to class on both Monday and Tuesday. Monday consisted of a whole lot of relaxing after class. Tuesday after class Korinne and I went into town and ate at a restaurant called An Crúiscín Lán. I had an amazing BLT and we split a warm brownie and ice cream for dessert. After we returned from town we had to prepare for our trip to Dublin. After packing my bag, I went over to cottage two to watch The Bachelor. Afterwards I went back to my cottage and got ready for bed because we had an early morning the next day!
On Wednesday we all had an early rising as we had to be on the bus at seven in the morning. On our way to Dublin we stopped at Newgrange in County Meath. Although it was a rainy day, I still had a great experience! It was amazing to be able to see and go into something that has been on this earth for 5,200 years. Another place in County Meath that we stopped at was Trim Castle. This castle was built in 1176, there were several additions done to this castle later on. We arrived at Four Courts Hostel in Dublin late Wednesday afternoon. After getting settled in a small group of us went to eat at a restaurant called the Meat Wagon. This restaurant had a bunch of barbeque food. Later that night we went to a pub and had a couple of drinks.
Trim Castle 
Entrance to Newgrange 
Thursday was a very eventful day! Some of us started out by heading to the Guinness Storehouse, which was about a 20-minute walk from our hostel. When walking through the Guinness Storehouse you got to see the process of how Guinness is made and some of the advertisement that was shown back in the day. At the very top of the Guinness Storehouse was Gravity Bar, where you got a pint of Guinness and enjoyed the view. In the early afternoon we had a tour and tasting at the Irish Whiskey Museum. Uisce beatha is the word used for whiskey in Ireland. At the end of our tour we got to sample four different whiskeys, I was not a fan of any of them. Later that afternoon we met up with our literature professor, Dr. O’Brien. He walked us through the National Gallery of Ireland. After walking through the art gallery with our professor we all broke apart and had supper on our own. Later that evening we met back up with our professor and watched a play at the Gaiety Theatre. After watching “The Lieutenant Inishmore” we were all tired and headed back to our hostel.
The view from Gravity Bar 
Friday morning, we had a tour at the Dublin Castle. We got to see a part of the original gun powder tower, a beautiful church, and several different rooms in this castle. After this tour we again separated for lunch and the group that I went with went to the Cathedral Café. This café was near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This café had a delicious breakfast sandwich and one of the best cups of hot chocolate. We walked through St. Patrick’s Park after eating brunch. We headed to the Leinster House shortly after walking through the park. The Leinster House is the house of the Irish Parliament. During our tour we were able to see the different places in the house were matters of law take place. We also got to see the original document of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. On our way back to the hostel we stopped at Temple Bar, which is a touristy place that you have to go to at least once. For supper that evening ate at a place just down the block from our hostel called O’Shea’s Merchant. After dinner we joined a pub crawl through Dublin. This pub crawl consisted of a guide bringing us to five different pubs and one club. We also got special drink deals at every pub that we stopped at.
National Gallery 
The church at Dublin Castle 
St. Patrick’s Park 
Dinner at O’Shea’s Merchant
After a long night out, we managed to roll out of bed in time to get breakfast at the hostel Saturday morning. Shortly after breakfast we had to pack our bags and check out of our hostel. On our adventure home we first stopped at Kilmainham Goal. This was one of my favorite stops on this trip! It was chilling to walk through and see were prisoners were held. We were also shown where prisoners had their last moments before being hanged. When we departed the jail, we then went to the Clonmacnoise Monastery. When we arrived at the monastery, we watched a short video explaining the history behind Clonmacnoise. After this video we were able to explore the area. This was by far my favorite place that we stopped during our trip. It was calming and peaceful to walk around and see all the headstones and the remains of the monastery. After this stop we were finally on the last stretch to home. We stopped in Galway for groceries before we got home. We arrived back at Park Lodge later Saturday evening.
One of the stops during our pub crawl 
Sunday morning, I finished getting unpacked. Around noon a couple of us went for an adventurous walk into Spiddal. We walked down a road that took us to a cemetery that was very beautifully placed at the top of a hill. We continued our walk into town and walked along the beach and through town. We went down roads that we had never walked down before. After getting back we began our homework and made supper.
Ireland 2020 