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Published: February 13th 2007
This is a bit later than I would usually have my post, but I've been absolutely crazy busy the last week or so, and the next week will definitely be just as busy, if not busier.
I just got back on Sunday from a Long weekend with the school. We went to Ireland. I used to have no desire to go to Ireland, because I figured it was green. so what? But, now I had absolutely no desire to leave the green island. Its beyond words how beautiful this place was.
Day 1: Wednesday - We had a huge British Studies Exam that was three questions long and took two hours to take. yeah, not the most fun thing I've ever done. So needless to say, the entire school was ready for our long weekend and ready to get out and not be stressed about this test. Well, the test ended at about 4, and about 96 of us got on a bus at 6:30 and left for our trip to Ireland. Those who were left took their own trips that weekend, which later turned disasterous because we got a snowstorm in London which cancelled almost all of the flights. Glad I decided to go with the school. 😊 Anyways, we drove forEVER through england, and then through wales. We got on a ferry at 3 am which was a bit later than we were going to because the seas were still a little too rough from the storm, but at least we got on. Slept on the Ferry for a couple of hours and got a nice hot breakfast at a hotel in Ireland at about 8am and continued on the road toward Blarney and Killarney.
Day 2: Thursday - We drove for quite awhile, although most of us were still sleeping from our pretty sleepless night, but when we woke up, we were passing through some pretty amazing hills and fields. It was already gorgeous. We took a couple more pit stops and ended up in Blarney at about 2 so we could all visit Blareney Castle, kiss the Blarney Stone (and receive the gift of the irish gab (eloquence), but I dont think it worked on me. bummer) and shop around a little bit. We then trucked on toward Killarney where were spending the next two nights. We had a cute little dinner (Lasagna for me), played apples to apples (thanks ma), and went to bed around 11 because we were still pretty exhausted and needed a good night's sleep.
Day 3: Friday - We woke up early, had a hot breakfast and some coffee (which I am learning to absolutely love!) and boarded the bus AGAIN but this time for a day around the Ring of Kerry. Not sure if ya'll know about the ring of kerry, but its like this stretch of land that is probably one of the most amazing places on earth. We saw Snow-capped mountains, The Atlantic ocean, sheep galore, and the irish countryside. We stopped at Dingle Bay, Sneem, Waterford, and places without names but were still absolutely amazing views. You'll have to check out my pictures and again, I keep saying it, but they don't do justice to what I saw. All four hundred pictures I have...(I went a little crazy) It was just awesome. awesome to see. I went in the Atlantic Ocean in Waterford and forgot that I was in Ireland where the water is probably around 40's F. Slightly Chilly. That night we went out, a big group of us, to an irish pub and heard irish music for about an hour. I had my first-ever guinness (which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be) and met a ton of new people and danced the night away.
Day 4: Saturday - 7 hour bus ride to Dublin. Meh. Not the most fun thing in the world, especially when I got on the bus a little later than some and had to sit all the way in the back next to all the smokers and bad bus bumps. But, I MADE IT. that's all that counts. we arrived in Dublin around 3-4 oclock which was a little later than we could have hoped but it turned out alright. We saw most of the historic sights, st patrick's cathedral, dublin castle, trinity college, and browsed the shops a little more. We went into Temple Bar District which was absolutely insane with drunk middle-aged men who were in town for a HUGE rugby match between ireland and france the next day. seriously, saw guys with blood all over their faces because they had been fighting. rough city! Me and a bunch kids tried to go to this one place where they advertised live authentic Irish dancing and music, and we walked in, and "smack that" was playing. I guess they didn't know what Authentic meant. ha, We had missed it earlier. We grew tired of the drunk old men and decided to call it a night.
Day 5: Sunday - We were suppose to leave our Dublin hotel at 6:45 am in order to catch a ferry back across the irish sea. All of the students made it, except for three. whoops. Anyways, we took the ferry back across and this time we were able to truly enjoy the four hour ferry ride watching the sun come up and actually having a good night's sleep in our bodies. We got off the Ferry said goodbye to Ireland and started driving through wales. We stopped at a town called. llaw;eoitjraweras dcf askjdfhasdlkfgheriubcwaegogoch. seriously. well, it's almost like that. it begins with a double l, and ends with gogoch. It's the longest-named town in Europe and was pretty cool to be there. Dont ask me to spell it, look it up or something. That was fun, then we drove through the welsh countryside and made it back to harlaxton by 6. whew.
I leave for spain tomorrow at 1pm and will be spending three nights and two days in barcelona, and two days in valencia. I can't wait! Luckily the girl I am going with is a spanish minor, otherwise all the spanish would get is "donde esta mi taco?" should be interesting. I will be back on Monday but as we have a black and white ball that night, probably won't update this until later in the week, like wednesday or thursday. Thank you to all who have sent me letters and packages, they mean the world to me and I simply looooooooove gettin mail. Emails too, I look forward to opening my mail every single day. I sincerely appreciate it. I miss you guys lots, and It's already less than three months until I am back home and seeing all of you! Thanks a million and keep it up!
Love, Alyssa
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mom
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thats the irish in you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip so much. We can't wait to see Ireland and you! I am glad you were able to have some fun with the apples to apples game, it doesn't sound like you are having any fun at all!!!??!!