Dublin was the third field trip we have traveled together as a group thus far. Our first stop on the way was the Clonmacnoise monastery. At first I wasn't very interested and thought it was just an old grave yard and ruins, but after taking a tour and learning about the history of the Clonmacnoise, I became much more interested of what the little town use to be like. Our next stop was the home of the Guinness family. I thought the tour was boring because we could only see part of the house and the tour guide seemed snotty. I was more interested in listening to an old lady who was also on the tour talk about her experience attending a ball at the Guinness family home 30 years ago. On Friday we toured the Irish Parliament. I enjoyed this very much because we were able to sit in on a very controversial debate regarding same sex marriage in Ireland. That afternoon I went to the Irish wax museum. This was an hour self guided tour that explored the people and movies in which have impacted Ireland in the past. That afternoon we toured the Dublin Castle. The Castle was beautiful and our guide was a goofy fellow.
Saturday we had the day to ourselves. Almost the entire crew went to the Guinness factory. (For future students, bring your student ID, because its cheaper). Don't be fooled though, the Guinness factory is just a museum of the history of Guinness and how it was made. Guinness isn't actually made there. Although it wasn't what I thought it would be, I found the museum fascinating and got a certificate for learning how to pour a pint of Guinness correctly! Also, you receive a few free beers at the end of the museum, so I would say it was worth it! After Guinness we went to Brazen Head for a pint. Brazen Head is known for being the oldest pub in Ireland. This pub dates back to 1198, so that was pretty neat. Sunday morning the group took a tour through the Kilmainham jail. I was totally intrigued by this creepy place. I was surprised at how much "modern" graffiti there was throughout the jail, which was sad to me. Our last stop was the Botanic gardens. I think I would have liked the gardens a lot more if I was able to hear the tour guide, but there were a lot of people and we were outdoors for most of the tour.
School is really starting to kick me in the butt. Sunday night was stressful because we had a 2,000 word essay due in Irish history due on Monday night, which I had put off for as long as I could. Oops!
Monday, instead of Gaelic class, a marine Zoologist taught our class. I knew when he said we were going to "be the sea" it was going to be a good! What a cool dude. He taught us how to tell when the tide will be high or low and learned about different seaweeds. Monday night we had tin whistle class. This was also a new class. I thought because I was a music major this would be simple. It definitely was NOT simple, but the lady was really nice and patient.
I can't believe it is April first, I have exactly twenty four days left in Ireland and I want to make sure I take complete advantage of the time I have left! This weekend I am going deep sea fishing! I absolutely can not wait for this exciting experience! My dad is so jealous!
Anyway, that's all for now!
Slainte!
Saturday we had the day to ourselves. Almost the entire crew went to the Guinness factory. (For future students, bring your student ID, because its cheaper). Don't be fooled though, the Guinness factory is just a museum of the history of Guinness and how it was made. Guinness isn't actually made there. Although it wasn't what I thought it would be, I found the museum fascinating and got a certificate for learning how to pour a pint of Guinness correctly! Also, you receive a few free beers at the end of the museum, so I would say it was worth it! After Guinness we went to Brazen Head for a pint. Brazen Head is known for being the oldest pub in Ireland. This pub dates back to 1198, so that was pretty neat. Sunday morning the group took a tour through the Kilmainham jail. I was totally intrigued by this creepy place. I was surprised at how much "modern" graffiti there was throughout the jail, which was sad to me. Our last stop was the Botanic gardens. I think I would have liked the gardens a lot more if I was able to hear the tour guide, but there were a lot of people and we were outdoors for most of the tour.
School is really starting to kick me in the butt. Sunday night was stressful because we had a 2,000 word essay due in Irish history due on Monday night, which I had put off for as long as I could. Oops!
Monday, instead of Gaelic class, a marine Zoologist taught our class. I knew when he said we were going to "be the sea" it was going to be a good! What a cool dude. He taught us how to tell when the tide will be high or low and learned about different seaweeds. Monday night we had tin whistle class. This was also a new class. I thought because I was a music major this would be simple. It definitely was NOT simple, but the lady was really nice and patient.
I can't believe it is April first, I have exactly twenty four days left in Ireland and I want to make sure I take complete advantage of the time I have left! This weekend I am going deep sea fishing! I absolutely can not wait for this exciting experience! My dad is so jealous!
Anyway, that's all for now!
Slainte!
Dublin Castle
Clonmacnoise monastary
Jail
Guinness family home
View of Dublin