Our trip to the South

To be honest our adventure to the south was more like the mis-adventure to the south. Our trip started off with clouds and rain and it didn’t get much better. The entire 5 hour bus ride down to the coast we couldn’t see a thing out our windows because the fog was so thick which was very disappointing.

We did however visit Dingle to hangout with the famous dolphin, Fungi, who has been living in the bay since 1983! You don't see many dolphins in Ireland but apparently there's a warm current that comes in and that's how Fungi can survive!

We had a pit stop at a beach, it was gorgeous but the weather wasn't all that great.

On Sunday the rain and fog finally let up and it was blue skies and sunshine! We stopped in Cork for breakfast and had time to walk around town.

Next stop was Blarney Castle. If you kiss the blarney stone you are given the gift of "gab" or "the ability to deceive without offending." It was a pretty intense process! You have to lean over backwards to kiss the stone but when you do so you are looking down hundreds of feet to the ground!

One of the reasons why I called it a mis-adventure was the fact that our tour bus broke down twice during our trip. One of the times it was in the middle of the road and we actually had to get out and push the bus to get it started again!

Farm time!

Caroline (our amazing history teacher) took us to her family's farm where they have been actively farming for over 200 years!

We started off with a walking tour of their property. This was the view from the top of the mountain that they own!

We got to pet 1 week old puppies and play with the lambs!

There was an all-you-can-eat buffet of all homemade goodness!

We learned how to play the popular Gaelic sport, Hurling! It's like a cross between lacrosse, field hockey, and baseball.

A bit of tradition and history!

Rag Trees

When I first saw this tree I was kind of confused, I thought that people had turned this tree into their dumping grounds for garbage and was a little disgusted BUT then I learned about the significance. Rag trees are really popular among travelers and it is said that if you have a problem you want to get rid of then you tie a piece of cloth around a branch of the tree. When you continue on with your journey you are leaving your problem behind!

Fairy Trees

A fairy tree is a single tree that is in the center of a large field. It is said these trees are the portal for the fairies to enter our world and are considered sacred. Most people who have fairy trees on their land build huge stone walls around them to keep people and animals from harming the tree. If the tree is harmed in any way you will be cursed with bad luck. In this picture the family built a house-like structure to protect the tree for eternity!

Famine Walls

If you look closely in the gray area of the picture you can see a wall. These walls are all over the mountains of Ireland and are called Famine Walls. They were built during the Great Potato Famine by starving people who had no work or no money for food. The British didn't want to give away food for free so they made the starving people build random walls that served no purpose whatsoever.

The Cliffs of Moher

This past weekend we took a trip to the west coast of Ireland and were fortunate to visit Ireland's #1 tourist attraction, The Cliffs of Moher! The cliffs are over 700 feet tall which allows for an incredible view! This was probably the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life and we were lucky to have such great weather!

Kelley and I

It was a tad windy! Lisa, Me, Chelsea, Kelley and Allysa!

The Hill of Tara

The Hill of Tara was the seat of the High King of Ireland and a sacred site associated with kingship rituals during the 6th century. 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. On a sunny day you can see all of Ireland (to bad it was pouring down rain the entire time we were there).

This stone is called Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny) and it is where the Kings were crowned. The legend says that the stone would scream once a series of challenges were met by the new king. If the king was accepted, the stone would let out a screech that could be heard all over Ireland.

This is called the Mound of Hostages and it's the oldest monument on the Hill of Tara dating back to 2500 B.C. and it contains cremated remains.

These standing stones date back to the Bronze Age. The taller of the two has a carving of sheela na gigs, which represents fertility and a bond with nature.

The Guinness Storehouse

One thing you absolutely can’t pass up when you’re in Ireland is the Guinness Storehouse! A few girls and I set off to find the famous brewery that has been operating since 1759.

A few facts I about Guinness:
*Guinness is sold in over 150 countries.
*The Storehouse is shaped like a pint class…the bottom floors are dark and the highest point (the Gravity Bar) is the lightest!
*There have been 199 people with the last name of Murphy who worked at the brewery!
*To pour the perfect pint you have to hold the glass at a 45 degree angle, fill it up 3 quarters of the way and let it settle, then fill it up to top it off with a nice head!
*It takes 119.5 seconds for the perfect pint to settle.
*Guinness gets its color from roasted barely.
*Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on the brewery property for an initial 100 pounds.
*Guinness is responsible for starting the Guinness Book of World Records: The first edition of the Book of Records was a promotional item Guinness gave to bars to be used to settle disputes before they turned into full-blown fights.
*Slainte (pronounced SLAN-CHUH) is the equivalent to cheers and means “to your health.”

Glendalough "The Valley of Two Lakes"

Today we took an hour long bus ride up the tiny mountain roads to Glendalough, which is known for the ancient (still standing) bell tower and monastery. The scenery was incredible and nothing like I have ever seen PLUS the weather was nice and sunny...for the most part.

Celtic cross

The bell tower

We took a 2 hour hike and this was the view from the top!

We hiked along this creek for a while...it was amazing!

Another view from the top

"An Gorta Mor" (the Great Hunger)

Today I learned about the Potato Famine in my history class and it made me seek out the infamous famine statues located on the quays of Liffey River.

The great famine was a period of mass starvation and emigration that took place in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. 2/3rds of the Irish population were dependent on the potato. It was a cheap and high yielding crop that produced lots of nutrients for the people who survived off of them but when the crops failed, due to a fungus that spread all over Ireland, the people were left with nothing to eat.

Since millions of native Irish people only had a small section of land to produced potatoes they had no money to buy food which caused over 1million people to emigrate to Canada or to the United States. In the end there were over 1 million people who emigrated and over 1 million people who died from starvation. Some people believe that this was not only a natural disaster but was also a form of passive genocide since the British were not much help during this time of desperation.

The National Botanic Garden of Ireland

Today I woke up before everyone else so I decided to take a 20 minute walk to check out the Botanic Gardens. It was a typical Irish day...quite cloudy and kind of cold, but overall pretty pleasant. When I arrived at the gardens I was shocked. I assumed that I would see a bunch of shrubs and trees on perfectly landscaped grass but instead the garden was brightly colored with wild flowers and had tranquil streams running all throughout the property.

I've Arrived!

I finally made it to Dublin! It’s been gogogo ever since I got here. The first couple of days were kind of rough due to the jet lag but I got over it pretty fast. Not to mention it was blue skies and 70 degrees! Kelley and I got settled into our rooms…they are teeny tiny but we made it work! We share a living area with 8 other people that include 2 couches, a small kitchen, and a dining area. Right next to campus is a gorgeous park with several soccer fields. I learned that Hurling is the new sport to watch here! It's very similar to field hockey. This weekend is a Bank Holiday so there’s no work on Monday, meaning there’s a lot of people out and about. There’s a big festival going on at the water front (Quay-pronounced key) that I will hopefully go to tomorrow!

Our room! To the right is the bathroom and to the left is the closet.

The park next to our school.