Blogs from County Galway, Ireland, Europe - page 10

Galway is a very nice city and the hostel we were staying in was really good. It is called Savoy Hostel and we were in a four bed dorm with two Americans. It had a huge shower in the ensuite bathroom. The common room was awesome with a nice kitchen and TV and pool area. Most importantly it was very clean and had free breakfast. First night we went on a pub crawl and met some new people. It was heaps of fun and the highlight had to be wiping the floor with two obnoxious New Zealanders in a game of beer pong. The next day we got up bright and early for a day tour around Burren National Park and the Cliffs of Moher. The national park is a UNESCO world heritage site and a ... read more

Thursday 23rdApril. A rare thing on Irish roads is the overtaking lane. With the exception of motorways, the roads are generally two-lane, one in each direction. Even the national highways are the same, and these are the only roads that might be a little wider, with some even having an overtaking lane on a rare occasion. This information is preface to this morning’s drive north from Killarney to catch the car ferry across the Shannon River. The ferry saves about 120 km of driving, and runs once an hour on the half hour. I had allowed “plenty of time”, even by Irish standards, to get there for the 11.30 ferry – I thought. To cut a long story short, I rolled on to the ferry deck at 11.33am! Luckily they hadn’t closed the gates right on ... read more

My last stop on my Easter break was Galway. Galway was a great city and was super busy that last weekend of everyone's holiday. The city's medieval streets are easy to get lost in, but offer a different view of the city. The bars and pubs seem endless in Galway and the nightly entertainment was great. While I was in Galway, I visited the new Cathedral, only 50 years old, and St. Nicholas Cathedral. The new cathedral, looks much older and it is hard to believe that in recent times, people would build such an enormous cathedral, especially in the old stone style. St. Nicholas is a large very old, from the 14th century, church that serves the Church of Ireland. My second day in Galway, I actually left the city and took the ferry to ... read more

My first day of class at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) began on January 12, 2015. While there are some similarities, there are also many differences in student life in Ireland than in the United States. As a visiting student, I was able to "shop for classes" for the first two weeks of school. During this time I was able to sit in on classes that I thought I possibly wanted to take but did not have to commit to if I did not think it was a suitable class. I am now registered for five classes that mostly have to do with Irish culture (Irish history, Irish religion and folklore, intro to Irish culture studies, castle development, and sacred places/Christian buildings). Each class meets twice a week for 50 minutes and for my ... read more

Monday, January 5, 2015 - I arrived at the Portland International Airport at the dark and early hour of 3:30 AM. I was very fatigued because I could not sleep earlier that night, but was very excited for the upcoming trip. Me and the other three girls (Emily, Caitlin, and Alicia) I am travelling with from school made it through the first flight okay but experienced a very turbulent landing. We arrived in Newark, New Jersey an hour early which meant that our layover there was extended and was no 6 1/2 hours long. After spending the afternoon in the airport (and observing that Jenna Marble's claims about overdressed people at the airport were very true on the East Coast), we made it on to our second flight okay. We could definitely tell that most of ... read more