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Published: February 28th 2007
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Hello again! I know that I have not been very good at keeping this updated - but at least I have some posts on here! And yes, the country is correct. I little over a week ago I went to Ireland. Why? Well, here are a few reasons that I thought up - you can chose which one you like or which one you think is right and let me know. Or you can suggest your own ideas! 1 - I was talking with some people about where they have been since being here and realizing that I have been hardly anywhere, I went home and bought the cheapest ticket that I found. 2 - I realized that once again, I had no date for the dreaded V Day - so instead of wallowing in self pity like some may do - I decided to make it a day that I would never forget by going to I country that I have loved but never have been. 3 - I saw that my internship was starting soon, panicked, and left the country. 4 - I was just sick of Finnish and needed to be around English again! Enough about the reasons
why - let me tell you my journey there.
I flew out on Valentines Day. And actually - my plane left from Tampere, a town about 2 or so hours away from Helsinki. So I got on a bus that took me right to the airport. It was a very small airport of about one terminal. On the plane I met a nice American who is currently living in Dublin. He helped me find a bus that would take me to where I needed to go. The bus took me to O’Connell street, where I got off having NO idea where I was! Luckily there was a tourist information store right across the street. They directed me to where my hostel was. It was only about a 5 minute walk from there. I remember seeing the street sign and then turning to see the “street”. It actually was an alleyway - and not the most friendly looking one either! I check in, dumped my stuff on my bed, and headed out to see the city. At one point during the evening, I had a destination that I wanted to go to. I found it on the map and I figured
Proof
Here is proof that I made it to Ireland. I am currently in an old monastery at the place where St. Patrick lit the Paschal fire. out how to get there. I didn’t think it was too difficult. All I had to do was to go down this one street until I came to another street and turn left and then I would be there shortly. Except that I ended up five block over the wrong direction! I have NO idea how this happened because I never turned at all! The streets turn and curve and change names every few blocks - and I’m not even joking. Well, that night I went back to my room to go to bed and was seriated that night by two different snorers - this went on almost the whole time I was there! By different people too! It was also interesting because I noticed that I was the only female in the supposed ‘mixed’ room. Luckily there were only a few people in the room. And I was joined later that weekend by some fellow female Americans - and from Minnesota too! So what was my first impression of Ireland? I was staying in a dark alleyway hostel, I got lost in Dublin (on the wrong side of the river too), and I was the only female in my
‘mixed’ room. I just smiled at all of this and thought of what a great story it would be.
The next day was much better. I ran away from the city by catching a day tour to different Celtic sights. I was able to see some old burial sites - older than the pyramids. As well as some old monasteries, all of which were just ruins. The history of it was cool though. One of my favorite sights was where St. Patrick lit the Pascal fire. It was turned into a monastery, which is now all ruins - of course. The view from on top of the hill was awesome. It was beautiful everywhere I went in Ireland, even though it was in the dead of winter.
Speaking of which - one of the things that I loved most about Ireland was that it was actually nice out! I could go outside without having to put on five different layers!
That night it was pasta night at the hostel - free food! Woohoo! Afterwards I went out with my bunkmate whom I had met that morning, a chef from America. Also with us was a student from Wisconsin who is
studying in England. We went out for a pint of Guinness. It was a small pub that played live Irish music. Although, we were outside so did not hear it very well. Nevertheless - it was fun. You can’t go to Ireland and not go out at least once for a pint of Guinness!
The next day I escaped the city once again by going on another tour. The great thing about the company that I went with is that they travel in vans, a little bigger than a minivan. So they can go where normal tour buses can’t go. This tour was more of landscapes. We went into the mountains and saw different lakes and waterfalls. We stopped at a pub in a small village for lunch where I had Guinness stew. (I could taste the Guinness - but it was still good.) One of the places we saw that day was an old monastery (surprise, surprise) and there was a Celtic cross there. It is said that if you look in a certain direction, hug the cross, and if your hands are touching then ….1 - if you make a wish it will come true 2- you will
be back again 3 - you have very big arms! Towards the end of the tour, we went to a place where there was a path you could walk down that lead to a lake. It was so beautiful and peaceful, walking among greenery after being surrounded by white for so long. It was very refreshing! That evening I went out again with the American chef. This time we went out for Fish and chips - another MUST in Ireland. Later that night I went across the alleyway to a bar where they have live Irish music and dancing every night (it was what I went to bed to every night). There I ran into Americans that I had met on the tour that day. I ended up meeting more Americans in those few days that I have in the two months that I have been in Finland!
The last full day in Ireland was spent in relaxing in the city. The morning was spent with with the American chef. We walked around a bit and saw St. Patrick’s cathedral. - But only from the outside unfortunately. We also ended up going to a farmers market. Being a chef -
he wanted to cook - I just happened to luck out and got in on it. It was crazy seeing the difference between Ireland and Finland - everything was cheaper in Ireland. He ended up making pasta, and he made everything by scratch. The sauce was the best - he used bacon as the meat! Yum!
I would have to say that the highlight of my trip was sitting on the steps of the chapel at Trinity College, basking in the sun while reading an Irish book. It was a nice way to spend my last afternoon.
Well, that’s about all - except for the fact that I had to get up at 4am to catch my 7:30 flight back to Finland. But I managed to get up and make it the airport on time. I even had time to buy some Turkish delights!
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Joan Rohde
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Your pictures are awesome
Hi Emily, It was great to hear from you and to see your fabulous pictures from your trip to Ireland!! You rock sister!!! You are becoming quite the adventurous traveller! God bless you during the rest of your stay in Finland. Enjoy every minute, every hour, every day. I love your attitude and perserverance! Keep those blogs coming - we love to hear from you. God bless you!!! Love, Aunt Joanie