Ireland

I´ve returned from my trip to Ireland and have so much to tell...the country was unlike anywhere I have ever visited and although my pictures will say more than I´ll ever be able to explain (for example this photo taken in Dublin at dusk overlooking the Liffey) I´ll try my best to recount the adventure I had with Natalie, my travel buddy.

Our departure flight was located in Málaga, a southern city in Spain near the Costa del Sol, where we spent the day visiting the Picasso Museum, La Alcazaba (a Muslim military building built on the coast of the Mediterranian-think "mini-Alhambra") and a beautiful cathedral. After a day in the sun, it was time to go to the airport to catch our late-night flight to Dublin; we arrived in Ireland after midnight and since we hadn´t booked any hostels for the weekend we decided to head to Galway as soon as possible. And so our adventure began...with an overnight stay in Dublin´s airport, attempting to sleep in the cold plastic chairs with a recording of a very angry-sounding woman going off every 10 minutes reminding travelers to never leave their bags unattended.

Sunday, 11 Feb

Despite this seemingly bad start to our trip, we caught a 6:15am bus and headed west. We arrived in Galway, the third largest city in Ireland (although after walked the "downtown" you´d never believe this fact), around 9am and checked in to a hostel for showers and some shut-eye. After resting a bit and then making some pasta with groceries from a local store down the road from our hostel, we toured the city by foot and went out for a drink later that night. Here we got a taste of traditional Irish music, which was mesmorizing...the band consisted of two violinists and an accordian player. At one point there was a solo on the accordian and a hush fell over the entire pub...a local citizen explained to me that this song was an example of the Irish heritage and represented something not of this world. It was a perfect way to begin our tour of the island.

Monday, 12 Feb

Today we took a ferry from a city west of Galway to the Aran Islands. We rented bikes and despite the cold, rainy, windy weather, we were able to tour much of the countryside. It was such a great experience because much of the land remains untouched by development and it felt like we were visiting a place untouched by modern influences. Most of the pastures created by rock fences still divide the land and there are a few sites on Inishmore, the largest of the three islands, that reflect years of early Celtic Christianity influences. Here´s a picture of the cliffs near a historical site built by Celtic tribesmen where the Atlantic Ocean abruptly meets jagged rock-this place was one of the highlights of my trip!

Tuesday, 13 Feb

Today after tourning the St. Nicholas Cathedral and the University of Galway, we decided to escape the bleak, rainy weather by catching a bus and returning to Dublin. Since it arrived later in the evening we checked in to our hostel, walked around a bit to familiarize ourselves with the city and bought groceries for dinner. After dinner we headed to Temple Bar with an Australian friend we met at the hostel. This is the most well-known pub and the biggest "touristy" spot to grab a Guinness and hear live music...and it´s where I tasted my first glass of this famous brew!

Wednesday, 14 Feb

After getting a late start due to fellow hostel-mates abusing their time in the community bathroom, we took a tour of Dublin Castle, inside and out. There were some beautiful Waterford crystal chandelliers, murals and French Victorian furninture scattered throughout the castle. We were also shown a buried part of a tower that was nearly destroyed due to a fire a few hundred years ago. It wasn´t discovered until the 1980´s when water from the old moat flooded one of the building built on top of the tower! Here´s a view of the church connected to the tower (in the upper left-hand corner)-this tower is the only part of the original castle that survived the fire.

We also toured a part of the National Gallery and Trinity College. Later that night we went to a pub called the Porter House and I tasted a locally-brewed stout that was actually enjoyable! Natalie and I also tried a fruity beer from Belgium (compliments of a random Hungarian guy) that tasted more like wine than beer. I think I may be spoiled now and will find it difficult to go back to the Madison brews this summer :)

Thursday, 15 Feb

Today we toured the Guinness Storehouse and learned all about what goes on in a brewery...although I can´t really keep everything straight with the barley, malt, yeast, etc., the complimentary Guinness at the end in the Gravity Bar (which provides an amazing view of the city of Dublin) was well worth the confusing info session.

After the Guiness Storehouse we made our way to Collins Barracks where they used to hold military drills. Near the barracks is the National Museum of Ireland, where we visited a few really interesting historical exhibitions on the Easter Rising of 1916 and Irish military history including the IRA. After taking an Irish history course on Revolt and Revolution, these exhibits were awesome to see.

Friday, 16 Feb

Our last full day in Ireland consisted of touring St. Patrick´s Cathedral. The picture to the right is a bit blurry but it´s a side view of the altar and if you look closely you can see the row of knight´s helmets above the seats. After the cathedral we took a stroll in St. Stephen´s Green, a beautiful park with lots of open grassy area, ponds, trees and benches right in the heart of Dublin.

After lunch (homemade mac & cheese made with spaghetti noodles, with baked potatoes on the side...since we were trying to use up all our accumulated groceries from the week...) we did a bit of shopping and I nearly bought a set of Waterford Crystal wine glasses. After I weighed the option of going to Portugal next month and sipping from real crystal at home (and believe me, it was a hard decision) I decided to go for the traveling option. I guess I know what´s first on my wedding registry down the road!

Our last night in Dublin took us first to a four-story bar/club where I had an outrageously expensive Irish Coffee. Next we headed to The Mezz, a bar with live music and lots of locals. We met a group of Irish gents who were celebrating their graduation from Trinity College and after chatting for a few hours, one of them talked us into seeing Croke Park the the next day before our flight home. He insisted our trip would not be complete without a tour of the largest Gaelic football stadium in Ireland-and I suppose this can be justified.

Saturday, 17 Feb

Here´s a view of Croke Park which is located on the north side of Dublin. Although we weren´t suppose to view the field without a guided tour, Naill (our Irish friend) talked to the info desk and we were able to catch a glimpse of the turf! It was fun to get a tour from a local because it was probably the most authentic thing Natalie and I experienced all week. On the way to the park we also learned a lot about the sports in Ireland. Soccer (as we know it) is not nearly as big as Gaelic Football, which is similar to a game in the US called Speedball (middle school gymclass anyone?). The only sports that are usually played in Croke Park are rugby and Gaelic football...soccer is also allowed but many die-hard Irish fans are not happy with this because soccer is a "European/English" sport that doesn´t have a place in Irish history.

After this we went for a delicious piece of carrot cake and coffee (mmmm) before booking it to the city bus we needed in order to catch our flight back to Spain. I believe this last tour was a perfect way to finish our visit in Ireland. Now I´m back in Granada planning my upcoming trips and getting back into the swing of things at school. It´s almost time for dinner so I´ve gotta run but hopefully more pictures from Ireland will be posted soon. Ciao!