Wow, so this might be a long post but I'll try to keep it short. This week has just been really busy and I haven't felt like typing up things after I get in so late every night.
So the main event on Tuesday, since everything else was just kind of blah (aside from sitting outside and chatting with my professor while he had a cigarette :-p), was the field trip to the Burren with my archaeology class. We rode for an hour and a half before ever getting there. The mountains were nice, but the land was insanely rugged. Limestone was everywhere and the ground was very misleading; some areas looked solid and were actually just crevices covered over by peat and moss or grass. I rolled my ankles several times with that. Anyway, the first stop was the prehistoric portal tomb, Poulanbrone. That was a pretty nifty site. The next site we went to wasn't as easily accessible. The bus drove us up as far as it could go on the little road and then we had to hike up the mountain to get to it. For whatever reason, the ancient people liked to build their cairns on the tops of mountains. Pain in the butt is what it is! In addition to the precarious footing, we were hiking up steep parts in some places and crossing over several stone fences/walls. The second one we came to came up to about my hip level so I figured I could just straddle it and throw my legs over one at a time. Definitely was a great concept because my feet basically touched each side. When I brought my 2nd leg over, though, I knocked a stone loose since there really isn't any mortar and it crashed down on my big toe. That hurt like hell! What's worse is I had to keep hiking up and then back down again. Luckily I didn't break anything but it was not feeling good at all. Anyway, the 2nd site we went to was Poulawack...what looks like a big pile of rocks. I was like really??? I hiked all this way and smashed my toe for that?? The view was nice, though I think I'd appreciate these tombs more if I could see what was in them. On the way back down we stopped at another little cave-like site. Sam said it was used for defense and he even crawled in and out of it...not something I'd do!! It was a neat little cave. I was so happy to get back to the bus...it was definitely a long day! Some of the girls had a little gathering to eat and such but I stayed long enough for a glass of wine and hit the bed early!
Wednesday was a rather lazy day for me. My toe was still recuperating and I had class. I wanted to go to the Irish class but was so exhausted that I just didn't go. I did get a lovely nap and laundry done though! Then we all got dressed up and went out for Jordan's 20th birthday, which was a lot of fun. The King's Head had 5 euro cocktail night, so I was happy. I even tried a baby Guinness! It's just a shot of kahlua with bailey's on top...soooo good. Definitely gonna have to do that with Daniel when I get home! Anyway, I slept well that night even though we got in around 1 AM.
The next day, Thursday, I headed off to Maynooth to see Dana. The bus ride was supposed to only take 3 hours but wound up being closer to 4. At one stop early on in the ride an old man sat down beside of me and was just babbling on about something. I could only pick up a word here and there because he had a thick accent and was missing several teeth. Would have been nice to have a conversation with him but he seemed a little...not completely with it. He had a bread bag with a few quiches in it...so random. Anyway, I made it to Maynooth and had lunch with Dana. Then we walked around the little town and the campus of NUI-Maynooth, where we met up with her friend, Bonnie. We had a lot of fun just chatting and strolling. The campus is really pretty and quite old. After a while we went back to Dana's apartment to hang out and take a nap until Eoin got home. He made us a very tasty dinner of spaghetti bolognese and before I knew it it was time to head back to the bus stop! I was really glad I got to come and I definitely approve of him...I just need to find one now! haha The ride home wasn't bad and didn't go too far off schedule. I was going to take a taxi from the city to the apartments so I wouldn't have to walk 20 minutes by myself at 1 AM but Libby and Ali offered to come meet me and walk back...which was great!! It saved me from paying for a taxi and the worry that something might happen. Traveling has a way of tuckering you out so I went to bed pretty soon after getting back.
And finally, today I went with Libby, Ali, and Regan to Connemara. We got a great deal, two day tour trips for 22 euro! Anyway, we didn't know exactly which bus station to go to and long story short, we didn't go see the Cliffs of Moher today because the bus was too full and we only made it to the other bus going to Connemara because the bus driver was nice. We were walking sooo fast trying to make it in time. I was tired before the trip even started! haha Anyway, it was a great day....the scenery was absolutely gorgeous despite the tiny and bumpy roads. One girl got really car sick and I felt bad that I didn't have my phenergan on me. We made a few stops to take pictures and such, but the main highlight was Kylemore Abbey. It is situated in such a gorgeous spot, mountains and the lough right there. Ireland is so amazing. We toured the abbey and neo-gothic church there, as well as the massive victorian gardens. The weather couldn't have been better...pretty cloudy but very sunny at times and warm. I was pretty nauseous myself by the time we got back to Galway due to the bumpy, curvy roads so I took some medicine and conked out. In the morning we are heading to the Cliffs of Moher so I can't wait! I feel like such a nomad...wandering from place to place this week. It's great because I'm getting to see so much! It's hard to believe that the 2nd week is nearly over :-(
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