February | 2013 | Adventures in Ireland!

My what another spectacular few weeks I have had! Two weekends ago I was able to explore the beautiful city of Galway. We started our adventure with a stop at the famous Cliffs of Moher. They simply took my breath away! I was amazed at just how close to the edge we were able to get! With the sun shining down, God blessed us with another gorgeous day to be able to visit the cliffs. As with many of the stops I have made in Ireland, this was another one that pictures simply do not do justice for. Seeing this awe-inspiring scenic view in person was something that I will forever treasure. We continued on our journey to the Portal Tomb. When we first stepped off the bus we were confused as to why we stoped at what looked like a cluster of rocks. However, this historic monument dates to before the Egyptian pyramids, so it was realy neat to explore yet another piece of Ireland’s past before heading to Galway for the night. We checked into our hostel and were extremely lucky to have our six friends together with a private bathroom! We went into town for dinner and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for a night out in Galway.

On Saturday, we made our way to the beautiful Aran Islands. These islands are home to 800 residents, 3 churches, 5 schools, 1 gas station, 1 small grocery store, and not one hospital. When we stepped off of the ferry we rented bikes and were able to ride throughout the island. There were many beautiful horses throughout the island that we were able to see. The rain held off for another day of soaking up the beautiful landscape. We then headed back for another night out in Galway.

Sunday morning we took advantage of “the most scenic drive in Ireland” through the Inagh Valley. We stopped at a few places on the way to soak up the breathtaking view. We saw hundreds of sheep and stone walls, which are all over the countryside in Ireland. After the stunning drive we were able to go back to Galway and explore the city a little bit more. We walked by the Spanish Arch and did a lot of shopping. We were able to go to Thomas Dillon’s Claddagh store. This is the original Claddagh store in Ireland. I was so excited to get a Claddagh ring from there! The Claddagh ring shows two hands holding a heart which wears a crown. This motif is explained in the phrase, “Let Love and Friendship Reign.” After shopping we hopped back on the bus and headed back to Dublin.

Fat Tuesday here is celebrated at Pancake Tuesday. My friend’s Irish roommate helped us celebrate by making us traditional Irish pancakes! They were delicious! I was able to receive ashes on campus by the Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on Ash Wednesday. It was very neat to take part in this mass with the Archbishop. Everything was pretty much the same. However, some parts were said in Gaelic such as the Our Father. It was such a great way to start Lent!

This past weekend we took a day tip to Howth. Once again we could not have asked for better weather!! Howth is a smaller fishing village outside of Dublin. Howth is known for the beautiful coastal hiking trails it offers. We were able to hike for about an hour and a half before stoping toward the top for lunch. On our way back we took a different route. What started out pleasant quickly turned towards a muddy trail! Thankfully we all had boots on and sucked it up and just went through it, but not without a few laughs! There was also a beautiful golf course in Howth. Even though I have only gone golfing a few times and am not the best, I really enjoy it and can’t wait to go again this summer.

As I have said before, one of my main goals during my time here was to grow closer to Christ. I have had the joy of experiencing services at many different places such as Trinity Chapel, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom on Campus, and Our Lady Queen of Peace which is in walking distance from school. This past Sunday I went to Our Lady Queen of Peace for the fist time. It was only a 15 minute walk from campus. Inside the church I was able to light a candle for my mom and sister by the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She will always hold a special place in our hearts expecially because of the love my grandmother had for her. After mass I decided I had to take advantage of the beautiful weather and went into town. This was the first time I went into town by myself. I must not have looked too lost because people were asking me for directions! I was able to finally walk through St. Stephen’s Green which is sort of like the Central Park of Dublin. It seems that most people had the same idea as I did to enjoy the weather! I am so happy that I took advantage of the beautiful Sunday the Lord blessed us with.

During this Lenten season I am focusing on my words. I am focusing on speaking not only kind words but words that only LIFT others and speak of the greatness of the Lord. I am focusing on positive affirmations rather than negative. Above all I want to speak words of praise and gratitude for all of my blessings

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Being in Ireland has also taught me to count my blessing and to live in the “NOW!” I thought I would share this with my blog readers. It definitely gives you something to think about! Make the most of your time!!

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course.
Each of us has such a bank. It’s name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against “tomorrow.”
You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health and happiness.

Blessings-

Julie xox

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

I apologize for not updating my blog lately. Time sure does get away from me when I am busy exploring Ireland! UCD took the international students to Merry Ploughboy’s, which is the only pub in Ireland that is owned and managed by traditional musicians. We were able to enjoy live Irish music and Irish dancing. The Irish dancing was my favorite part! The next day we went to Whelan’s. This is the pub where Gerry sings Galway Girl in P.S. I Love You. It sure looks different from the movie.

On Friday we left bright and early to explore County Cork. A big green Paddywagon tour bus greeted us. Our tour guide Freddy was extremely fun and shared many stories with us which made the bus rides fly by. Our first stop was Cahir Castle which is one of the biggest castles in Ireland. We then made our way to our hostel and went on a walking tour of Cork. I really liked the walking tour because I was able to learn so much about the history of Cork. Cork was extremely different than Dublin, but I really enjoyed it. Cork was more colorful and definitely not as touristy. We saw the big butter factories, beautiful churches, and ate at the famous English Market. The English Market reminded me of the West Side Market in Cleveland. My two favorite churches were St. Ann’s, and St. Peter and Paul’s. St. Peter and Paul’s was the most magnificent church I think I have ever stepped foot in. It was absolutely breath taking. We stayed in a hostel room with 16 other girls from UCD. Even though the hostel was not that nice it was fun to be with other UCD students. Saturday was an amazing day. We started by visiting the West Cork Model Railway Village in Clonakilty. The view from the village was gorgeous. The sun was shinning and it was a lot warmer than it has been recently. The village was adorable and it was a dollhouse-sized version of the town. We went on a train ride through the village and everyone was so friendly in the village. We stopped for lunch in Skibbereen before arriving at Mizen Head. Mizen Head is the most southwestern point of Ireland. We were able to hike the beautiful cliffs and cross a large bridge to see even more picturesque views. Soaking up the sunshine and listening to the waves crash sure was relaxing. It really made me want summer weather! We left Mizen Head and stopped in Bantry for dinner. We ate at a local pub and had the most delicious dinner since I have been here!

Sunday we headed to the small town of Kinsale. I fell in love with this town! It was very colorful and built up into the mountains with quaint coffee shops, boutiques, and an adorable chocolate store. We toured Charles Fort and then took a walking tour of Kinsale. We ate lunch at a famous restaurant called Fishy Fishy Café. The chef has been on the Food Network and the food proved that he deserved to be known! We left Kinsale and headed to Blarney Castle, where I kissed the Blarney Stone! I did not know what to expect. We climbed to the top of the castle and to kiss the stone you had to bend upside down to kiss the side of the stone. Hopefully the gift of “gab” will be mine for the next seven years. We shopped around outside of the castle and then headed back on our big green bus to watch the Super Bowl. It came on very late here so I could only keep my eyes open for the first half and the halftime show. I am looking forward to our trip to Galway next weekend!