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.