Ireland

Ireland! We’re back on the ship from Ireland. We had so much fun there. We docked in Galway on Friday. We were all so happy to finally get off the ship after 8 days/nights! Once we got off the ship, we searched for our hostel. After a lot of walking around we found it- the Kinlay Hostel. My first hostel ever! It was actually pretty nice. It was all 6 of us girls in the room. Then we went to an internet cafe. My friend and I used two computers and when we went to pay, we realized we only had debt cards, and you could only pay with cash. The manager was completely okay with us leaving to go get euros from the ATM. In the States they would never let you leave without paying! Afterwards, we went to lunch at the Boar’s head. We even tried the famous Guinness beer! It’s everywhere in Ireland, but it was disgusting! It was so dark, I think I had about two sips. 

The downtown area in Galway was really cute. It was full of shops, pubs, and people singing and dancing. It was such a great atmosphere. At our hostel, Rachel and I first met some Northern Irish boys. It was so interesting to talk to them, because Northern Ireland is not part of the Republic of Ireland; it’s part of the United Kingdom. They told us about the riots and how they like the Republic of Ireland much more. The boys were really nice and welcoming. Also at the hostel I met an Irish boy who gave me a full Irish history lesson. A lot happened in Ireland. All the kids seem to know a lot about their history and are very proud of it. They even know a lot of the American history. They kept comparing their history with ours. 

The next day we woke up for our 9:15 bus ride from Galway to Dublin. Of course we missed our bus! We couldn’t find it anywhere. We ended up taking a 10:45 bus to Dublin. It was a really beautiful ride from Galway to Dublin. It was so green and there were farms everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn’t stay awake for the two hour bus ride, but I still saw the beautiful scenery. Once we got to Dublin, we again walked aimlessly. That was kind of the theme for the trip. We stayed at the Maldran hotel! It was so nice, especially compared to the hostel. We had two nights in Dublin and we really enjoyed them! Dublin is a big city; it’s really different than Galway. Galway is a much smaller town. In Galway we ran into Semester at Sea kids all the time, but in Dublin we rarely did during the day. 

In Dublin we visited the famous prison that many Irish people were put in during the riots. Rachel, Kellen, and I really enjoyed it. They first showed us a video on the history of Ireland. It was really interesting to see how the prisoners were treated. I couldn’t imagine living like this. The tour guide told us that during the Potato Famine, people would commit crimes just so they could get food and shelter. Also we saw the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was breathtaking, and right next to it was a really nice park. That day we went on a tour bus throughout Ireland and it was cool to see so much of Dublin! 

The first day we were in Dublin, it was the day of the Notre Dame versus Navy game. It was so much fun to be there during it! Although the Irish could care less about football. It was such a cool atmosphere with the Navy there. Notre Dame killed Navy 50-10. I wish I could have gone, but we got there so late. At night we met a lot of guys in the Navy and even the Navy boxing team. Also we met some of the Notre Dame football players; they weren’t supposed to go out, but they snuck out anyways! The next day was a semi-final men’s soccer game which was a huge deal. The game was Mayo (a county in Ireland) versus Dublin. It was a huge upset that Mayo one. There were so many Irish in jerseys supporting their teams. 

The second to last day, when we were trying to leave the prison, Kellen realized that one of our other friends who wasn’t with us had her tour bus ticket. So we had to take the cab. It is true that all the cool stuff happens when things go wrong! We took a cab, and the driver told us all about Scanlan’s pub. Kellen’s last name is Scanlan, and her grandma said to go there and tell them that her last name is the pub’s name. He even stopped the meter and didn’t charge us to take us to the pub. He told us what to say and how to act around the Irish. He was so funny! Once we got to Scanlan’s pub, it was definitely different than all the other parts of Dublin we were in. These were real Irish and it was kind of ghetto. Everyone in the pub knew each other and as soon as we walked in they knew we were foreigners. They were actually really friendly! They all wanted to talk to us and asked us so many questions. This old man named Jimmy kept talking to us and it was hard to understand him because he kept speaking Gaelic. He even sang us an Irish song! 

When we were on our way to the Temple Bar area, we ran into another boy who gave us a history lesson. He even showed us these huge pillars that still had bullet holes in them from when the Irish and English fought! 

Overall Ireland was amazing! It’s one thing to see pictures and talk to Irish Americans, but it’s another to be there walking around Irish people. They are all so friendly and talkative! They just want to hear your story and know why you’re there. They are so trustworthy too. I really enjoyed Ireland and I hope to go back some day! Now we’re off to the United Kingdom. We’ll be there tomorrow morning! Miss you all at home!!