Study Abroad - July 2, 2009

Today we split up into two groups. One group stayed on the bus and drove around the circle of Kerry. The other group, which I went with, went first to Muckross house. Please note: The walk to the house took about 15 minutes and it was pouring rain. We were all soaked by the time we arrived at the reception area. Anyway, the house was huge! We took a guided tour through the three-story, ninety-six room house. Seriously, the place was massive. My favorite piece of furniture were the face screens. Back in those days make-up was made from wax and lead. If a lady sat too close to the fire her "face" would literally melt and the lead would seep into her pores causing lead poisoning.
After lunch, a bunch of us (picture and names below) went exploring the expansive grounds. We went through a beautiful forest that had some very interesting foliage. We even found some secret stone stairs!
We then headed to Ross Castle on the other side of the Killarney National Park. Our scenic, and lengthy, walk took us past Muckross Abby and through a busy section of town. An hour and forty minutes from when we started, we arrived at Ross Castle with VERY sore feet. We took a 30 minute break and then toured Ross Castle with some more people from our group. The castle was tiny and not very impressive. All of the Muckross group then waited an hour for the bus to take us to Killarney. Will, Kelsie, Dani and I went to some bookstores then ate dinner at the Humble Pie. I had shepherd's pie and it was delicious! They serve chips (french fries) with everything. Seriously.
Once we got back to the hostel most people went to bed. The boys wanted to play a game so some of us went downstairs to the Reading Room and we played "In the manner of the adverb." Basically, the person who is "it" leaves the room and everyone else picks an adverb. "It" comes back in and asks people to do something in the manner of the adverb. It was a blast! We were kinda loud and we laughed a lot. A girl from Australia, Marie, came in and joined us because she heard us laughing. After a long and very tiring day, that game was a perfect way to end our day.

Muckross House
The grounds looked like Jurassic Park with random wire fences and huge plants.

Look at this leaf! It's huge!

Will modeling the secret stone stairs we found.

From L to R: Will, me, Courtney, McKell, Marianne, and Dani in front of Muckross house.

The guy who took our picture said, "Say Queso!"

We finally made it to Killarney! And we're looking good!

Killarney baby. Woot!

Me in an entrance point to Ross Castle.

The is the view from the lawn of Ross Castle.

Out there is Innisfallen Island where an old abbey is built.

Yay for Humble Pie!

Study Abroad - July 1, 2009

First full day in Ireland!

Our group headed to Gallarus Oratory which is a stone church from the 8th century. It looks like a beehive, doesn't it?

From there we went back to Dingle to pick up another girl in our program who had missed her flight. I took a picture of the pub I had dinner in last night and then Dani and I went exploring in the town. For lunch we all went to Inch Beach. It was my first time to the Atlantic Ocean! It was a pretty overcast day but we still ran around in the water, took lots of pictures, and had a good time.

Our bus driver, John, sings to us sometimes. He knows a lot of Irish songs that have been written about specific cities that we are visiting. I finally recorded him because he's so good! We drive A LOT. While driving through the various little towns I have been stuck by the cemetaries. This country is so much older than American and yet Ireland's cemetaries seem to be in better shape. The writing on the headstones looks so much clearer.

We took a short break at the Gap of Dunloe which is a gorgeous valley people can hike around in.

Our hostel tonight is located just outside Killarney and I've had the song "Christmas in Killarney" stuck in my head all day! Our group went into town for dinner and we ate at the Danny Mann pub because they had free wi-fi. My original room at the hostel was a no-go: the door wouldn't shut. So, they moved us into a TINY room but another room had empty beds so Dani, Rachel and I went into that room. This was the coolest looking building! We had a whole wing to ourselves so we played Twister and watched The Sword in the Stone. Well, other people watched The Sword in the Stone. After about 15 minutes I was falling asleep so I headed to bed. What a great day!


Gallarus Oratory

The pub where I had dinner. It's the blue and orange building.

Dani and I at Inch Beach

One view of our room in Killarney