More of the Emerald Isle

Day 3- (from journal entry)
I don't think it can get any better than this. I'm sitting on a rock wall overlooking the Dingle Penninsula. The beauty of this place just overwhelms me. The rocky coast, the mountains that look so different than home with mist and fog comin off their peaks in the morning dew. The breeze is a bit nippy this morning and it tickles my face. It just doesn't look real. I guess I don't realize how beautiful certain places in this world are. An Irishman just walked by and we started talking about Irish history and the Molly McGuires. These people are so friendly. By the way, a cow is randomly staring at me just far enough away that I can't touch him... crazy. Last night at the pub the band played "My Fair Lady" while the entire pub as well as us sang along. I think we were accepted by them after that ;-)

Later that morning we walked to the cliffs on the penninsula. We took a ton of group pictures at a WWI bunker. The cliffs were unbelievable. We chilled for awhile and prayed the rosary. Then I just took time to look out at the water and pray and rest in God's beauty and peace. Later Peter and I found a cave on the side of the cliff that went all the way down to the water. It look prehistoric and just amazing. Once we got back to Dingle we bought food at the Spar and had a picnic on the bus to Killarny. Lol eight people in the same room. In Killarny there was another amazing Irish band, but quite a bit more people. When we got back to the hostel, we all had a blast goofing off, laughing, and making memories and many inside jokes. :-) it was a good day

Oh Ireland

     Where do I even begin? Well...I guess I'll begin at the beginning. Lucia and I arrived in Dublin on the 17th and met up in the airport with our friend Natalie. We had to stow the luggage at the Travel Lodge before we took the bus to Galway to meet up with the rest of the group. So at the airport we found the city bus we needed. It took three tries to get on because the first time the driver pulled away and left us there. Second time we tried to hand him a bill and it only took coins. By the third time we had learned our lesson and piled our 6 suitcases and 3 backpacks into the bus to the obviously anoyed looks of the people on the bus. Of course the bus dropped us off on the side of the highway and the Travel Lodge was on the other side. So we treked it across the four lane highway and grass just to find out we had the wrong Travel Lodge. Oh dear. Time for a taxi.
     When we finally stowed our luggage at the right hotel, in the right room, we got on our first of many Bus Eireann rides. We met up with the rest of the group in Galway and went to a long awaited pub. I never thought that vegtable creme soup with hearty brown bread could be so wonderful. It was like heaven in a bowl, especially when accompanied with a Heineken. We watched some Irish dancers and then headed for bed.

Day 2- In the morning Lucia and I went window shopping in Galway and ate breakfast at the hostel. When the eight of us were back together, we caught a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. We only had about 35 minutes until the next bus so we split up to get pictures from different angles. Omg! like pre-historic, massive, Lord of the Rings style 700 foot cliffs. The wind was so strong we thought we were going to blow off the side because there are no railings. Luckily we didn't. When we left the Cliffs we went to Dingle and got another taxi to our hostel which was six miles farther out on the peninsula. On the way what should happen but we encounter a herd of sheep in the middle of the road switching pastures. Little children were running after them and chasing them with sticks. Unreal.
     We made it for sunset on the rocky shore and had a photoshoot for awhile. Then we got a bite to eat in the pub, which was actually our hostel as well. Crazyness. The best fish and chips I've ever had in my life though. We all discovered our favorite beer in Ireland- Schminicks. The night was so much fun because it was such a little coastal town where all the locals went. A three- generation Irish band played amazing music and the locals fell in love with us when we started singing the words to My Fair Lady. Some of us acquired Irish accents and others just thought us amusing. We finally went to bed because we had more places to go in the morning.

Packing, packing, packing

So.. I guess I didn't realize how much there was to pack for being in Europe close to four months. I have not only been sorting through tubs of summer, fall, and winter clothes, but also shopping for the new ones that I need before I go. Yep so walmart is getting quite a lot of business from me lately because I don't want to be stranded in Europe without shampoo :-). Besides the packing there has been a ridiculous amount of planning going into my Ireland trip for hostels, buses, flights, and meeting spots. But the planning is about done now. This week is going to be crazy doing last minute shopping, taking care of my horse Jammie, working, spending time with the family, and... of course...packing. I plan on updating this blog about once a week so check back often. I hope this will be a way to stay close in touch with my family and friends from home, Franciscan and everywhere in between. I love you guys and will miss you tons!
<3 Abby