Dublin!

Dublin is absolutely gigantic. We arrived last night and so today was our first full day in this metropolis. Over half of the population is under the age of 40, so it really is a bumping city! Today we had a tour guide take us to Glendalaugh, the remains of a medieval monastery outside of Dublin. It started to rain pretty hard so our tour through the ruins were quick, although very beautiful. It was the monastery of St. Kevin, and there stood a round tower (specific to Ireland) and the remains of his cathedral. It was pretty neat, but I must admit, you can only see so many old ruins before they all start to look similar to one another... hehe. Anyway, we had lunch there and then headed to the Martello Tower where James Joyce lived with two of his friends. It is also the inspiration for many of the scenes in his famous novel, Ulysses, including the opening scene. The tower was built hundreds of years ago as a way to ward off foreigners, and when Joyce lived there with his friends they only had to pay £8 a month. We went inside and so that was quite interesting. The walls are 8 feet thick so the staircase is tiny tiny tiny. Hard to imagine living there, but it makes more sense knowing who Joyce is and the caliber of his writing. After that it was on to Kilmainham Goal, a very old prison where the men who initiated the Irish Easter Uprising of 1916 were executed. It was a nice tour, and very very cold inside. That would be torture enough for me! It was a long day and we were all so tired from travelling all day yesterday. Tomorrow we have class in the morning and then a walking tour of some other sites in Dublin, including Trinity College. Our quaint hotel is actually right across the street from it! Anyway, not much else to report, other than I am getting so ready to come home. I miss everyone incredibly and am looking forward to landing on American land. We are going to three plays while we are here and have lots of class time so that will help make the rest of this week go by fast. I love you all and absolutely cannot wait to see you soon!!!
Love,
Louisa

Another Phenomenal Day

Hello again! We found our way to the Derry Library and are able to have 30 minutes on the computers for only £1.50, so hooray! Any way to save money is grand in my opinion.
Today was another gorgeous day. We have been so lucky with the weather (for the most part), and today was no exception. The sun came out as we drove to Daugh Island, a place in County Donegal that is absolutely phenomenal. We explored the Atlantic coast thoroughly, enjoying being able to take off our coats and the fantastic sunshine. There was a cave and so many beautiful rocks. Oh, it was glorious. This was on our way to Malin Head, the Northernmost point of Ireland, that was nothing short of breathtaking as well. The water of the sea crashed upon the rocks and out along the horizon we saw a rainbow. It was absolutely perfect. We also drove through Greencastle, the place where Brian Friel (Irish playwright) lives, taking advantage of watching an amazing sunset over the Atlantic. It was such a grand day. Last night we found a great little pub called Peder O'Donnells with live music and great company. The people of Derry are so kind and lovely to talk with. Big John came with us, as did a group of three American girls visiting from Virginia. It was a lot of fun. Tonight we are all pretty tired and have to read Friel's Freedom of the City by tomorrow morning when we go the Guildhall where the play takes place. We are going to meet the Mayor of Derry! We are all looking forward to the day with Big John. Nothing really else to report other than I love you all and am sorry again for not being able to call. We were going to buy a card for £5 and share it, but the store where they are selling them is already closed for the night and by the time we get it tomorrow, it would just be smarter to wait until Dublin to make any calls. I miss you and am starting to really look forward to my travels taking me back home. Love love love,
Louisa

Londonderry

Hello once again! Sorry it has been a few days, I hope no one was worried. We made it to Londonderry, which is more commonly known as Derry, last night. We are having many troubles with phone cards here, though, and thus, I was unable to call to let anyone know that I was alright. It looks like the internet may be my only option for communication until Thursday when we go to Dublin. The problems are due to the fact that we are now technically in the UK since Northern Ireland is not a part of the Republic of Ireland. Which brings me to a bit about Derry...this town has so much history when it comes to conflict. It is one of the last walled cities in all of Europe and IS the last walled city in all of Ireland. We took a walking tour of the city, following the wall, with a man affectionately known as Big John. He is a former member of the IRA turned peace activist and truly a phenomenal man. He perhaps has a more interesting experience than anyone here, although everyone native to Derry has some experience with the bloody conflicts that have ensued in this area up until 1972. There is still much controversy, but the violence has subsided, even if it was only up until 10 years ago. We went to the Bloody Sunday memorials today, as well as to the museum, after hearing Big John's firsthand account of his experience on the day. He walked us through the motions he went through, pointing out where people that he knew were shot and killed. Needless to say, it was quite an emotional day. We are all drained. I have so many more things to say about this and the history behind Derry, but I will elaborate upon my return home. I have talked about it enough today and still have to tell you about our experiences on Saturday before leaving Sligo.
Saturday was our first experience with unfavorable weather. It was a wonderful day regardless, though, as we still proceeded with our plans as usual. Our first stop was Glen-Car, a gorgeous waterfall in the middle of the countryside, one that I am certain is home to thousands of faeries. :) It is a waterfall that Yeats frequented and wrote about in one of my favorite poems, "The Stolen Child":
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills about Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star....
Anyway, I loved it at Glen-Car. How inspiring to think of Yeats absorbing the beauty just as I did, letting the feeling of the scenery wash over him and cleanse his soul with peace.
Then it was on to Knocknarea. The weather had started to worsen with rain and some wind. Undeterred, we began our trek up the mountain, raincoats, ponchos, and boots at the ready. The rain wasn't heavy, but enough to make for a bit of a wet start. Queen Maive waited for us at the top, and the legend is that she is there protecting her people and if you bring a stone to the pile, she will wish you well. The wind picked up substantially with the climb, and before long we found ourselves looking behind ourselves to the landmarks below through sheets of rain moving horizontally left to right at rocket speeds. No turning back! The incline continued as it became harder and harder to walk straight due to the galeforce winds. We made it, and I was able to throw up my stones to Maive. I have never in my life, however, been in such weather. The winds had to be blowing at rates up to 70mph, and that is not an understatement. We were all soaked and could not even hear each other through the winds and pelting rain. I am so amazed with myself for doing what I did, and would not change the experience for anything. Words cannot even describe the weather and the feelings I was feeling at the top of that mountain. The walk back down was terribly wet and slippery, but we all made it safely. I definitely realized that enjoying the challenge is much more satisfying than complaining about it, and I am determined to remember that for all my days to come. Take hold of life and go with it, I am not going to miss out anything again. It was so worth the struggle.
Well I love you all and will do my best to update frequently. It was £3 for this thirty minutes, so you can understand when I say that things are expensive here! I love you and miss you all greatly. A week from this Thursday I will be home!
Louisa

Yeats Country

I don't have too much time to update details, but just enough to let you know that I am enjoying the quaintness of Sligo and all it has to offer. We are in what is considered Yeats Country, surrounded by many of the places that inspired Yeats in his poetry. We toured to many of them yesterday (beautiful) and saw his grave. It was a great day, but it has been very cold here. Nothing compared to what I am used to at home, but the coldest it has been here in years! Crazy! Love you lots!
Louisa

Sligo

We made it to Sligo! We arrived last night and had a group dinner at the hotel. Here is a story for you... I washed my jeans in the bathtub and then needed a place to let them dry. We have radiator heaters in our rooms, so my roommate suggested that I hang one pair on the radiator to help the drying process. So I did. We went along our merry way and went to bed. I was almost asleep when there was a great deal of persistant knocking on our door, which I ignored, followed by a turn of the key and an opening of our door. The time was 1am. A man's voice asked if we were alright and apologized and said that something was telling him there was a fire coming from our room. I was so confused, and have to admit, at first a little wary that it was just some freak that was going to do something freaky to us. After I finally realized that he was harmless, I turned on the light by my bed and got up. He then clarified that an alarm had gone off downstairs indicating that there was a fire in our room. A sensor picks up the smell of a fire and then must set something off. I was frantic, and then realized that it must be my jeans on the radiator. Sure enough, I took them off and quickly was sure by their heat, that it must be that. My roommate was still sleeping. He was hard to understand, but he asked me to open the window and left the room. I didn't know how to open the window and I didn't think it was a big deal so I didn't open the window and got back in bed. A few minutes later, he knocked again and I went to the door. He insisted that I open the window because of the alarm, so he came in and did it for me. My roommate then woke up. The man was so nice about it and said it was a good story to bring home to the States. I had to agree, and wanted to laugh about it, but my roommate was not amused. So lame. Anyway, problem averted, I went back to bed. This morning, so many of my classmates were asking about the fire alarm last night! So embarrassing! hahahaha They didn't leave or anything, but many of them heard it and woke up because of it. So, moral of the story is, don't leave your jeans on the radiator. Whoops....
Today we had a walking tour of Sligo, which is really a quaint little city. It is smaller than Galway and a lot less touristy. It is beautiful. We met Michael Quirke today, who I will have to tell you all about later. He is such such such a delightful man. It was a priceless experience, and one of my favorites so far. Tomorrow is tours and whatnot. I will try to post then! I love you all so dearly and think of you constantly. I wish we could all have this experience together! You would all love Ireland so much. Love and kisses,
Louisa

Aran Islands

Today was QUITE the day to say the least. We headed to the Aran Islands by ferry, and after 45 minutes we made it to the biggest of the three, the name of which I am having trouble recalling at the moment. Beautiful ride across the Atlantic and the sun came out which rarely happens this time of year. Once at the island we rented bikes and rode 5 miles to DunAngus (phonetical spelling for sure haha). The ride was so beautiful, but so hard. Oh my gosh! My back tire started to go flat about halfway and thus the pedaling became even more difficult. It was worth the trip though once we got to DunAngus. It is a prehistoric rock formation on the top of a huge cliff that drops straight down into the Atlantic. GORGEOUS and powerful and I got great pictures, but they won't even do justice to the experience. We then had to ride back 5 more miles (oh my god, I was about to die, I swear) but this time we took the coastal road that runs alongside the sea. We saw seals and swans and it was absolutely stunning. My legs were screaming at me! Class tomorrow and a leisurely day. We will have to recover our legs from the bike adventure. I love you and will update soon!!
Louisa

Hello again! Day 2 and things are going fine. We went to Coole Park today just outside of Galway. It was the home of Lady Gregory, the phenomenal woman who founded the Irish National Theatre in Dublin with W. B. Yeats. It is the Abbey Theatre and we will be going to Playboy of the Western World there when we are in Dublin. Coole Park was gorgeous and so serene. She was an avid writer and I am looking forward to investing in many of her works when I get home. I have never read her. Her home was a landing ground for many literaries, though, including Yeats, George Barnard Shaw, and Sean O'Casey. She was great inspiration for all of them and helped them along immensely in their work. We walked a great distance throughout the park, which is very woodsy and just absolutely beautiful. Coole Lake is where we eventually ended up, a place where Whooper Swans migrate to in October and stay until March when they return to Iceland. We saw one, but she was sleeping far off in the distance. We read Yeats' poem "The Wild Swans at Coole" while standing near the lake as that is where his poem was inspired. It really was so neat. More stories there, but moving along!
Next was to Kilmacduagh, the remains of a monastery built somewhere between the 11th and 13th centuries. That was really beautiful. There is a round tower still standing there, which is unique to Irish monasteries. I believe it is one of the last.
Finally, we made it to Thoor Ballylee, the Irish name for Yeats' Tower. It is the tower where he lived with his wife and children. I touched the wall hoping that it would lead me to write lovely verse and with the idea that maybe, just maybe, he had touched that very wall also. There is a river that runs right up alongside one of the sides of the tower, and it is actually a river that connects to Coole Lake. We are sure he planned that so he could have Lady Gregory and her lake just at the other end of his home. They were such dear friends.
I love you all and need to get the pub! Ha! Many of us are going to do a bit of a pub crawl tonight to hopefully run into some traditional music. I walked by one pub last night where a band was playing "Sweet Home Alabama." Yikes. They found our worst music to cover here. I was a bit depressed by that influence to say the least. I loved reading all of your comments and Bob, I will do my best to find a piece of the Blarney stone, and Clare, I see your name EVERYWHERE and can't stop thinking about you because of it. Mom, my hat is adorable, Dad, the coffee seems similar to good coffee at home if that makes sense. Only Black Sheep could really compare. It is dark and thus, I have to drink it with some cream. Clarissa, I THINK OF YOU CONSTANTLY and have found the ring store you talked about! It is just down the street from our hotel (a really nice hotel, by the way). I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO SO SO MUCH and can't wait to be home to share everything with you. Tomorrow we are going to the Aran Islands which can only be reached by ferry across the Atlantic. It is bound to be cold, but I am really excited for it. I will try to update tomorrow or Monday. Tuesday we head to Sligo! Love love love love love,
Louisa

Ireland!

I have arrived! The flight from Newark to Shannon, Ireland was easy, uneventful, and long. I somehow managed to sleep for most of the 6 hour plane ride, even if it meant waking up every hour to readjust in my miniature seat. We landed in Shannon at just about 7am Irish time, so it would have been 1am my usual time. We all got our bags (thank GOD) and exchanged some money. How depressing to give them $70 and get 45 euros back! From there it was to the coach where Michael Rooney, a 50-something year old man met us to begin our Ireland adventures. He is such a delightful tour guide and will be with us until we head to Sligo on Monday. Think of an Irishman, and you are thinking of Michael. He is great. Our first stop was the little town of Ennis, where we just walked about the town for a bit to stretch our legs and get an initial feel for Irish culture. Then we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher, driving in Clare County! Hooray Clare! :) The Cliffs were stunning to say the least. I have great pictures to share. After the Cliffs we went through The Burren, a pretty barren plateau in Western Ireland where the natural wildlife has been let free. There are many flowers and fauna that are only native to that part of the world, but unfortunately nothing is blooming in January so it was just rocks. Beautiful rocks though, and we saw a grave that is 5,000 years old. We made our way to a few other landmarks before reaching Galway, but because I have limited time on this computer, I will have to tell you all about them later. So beautiful though, but cold! Especially on the Cliffs. I had to buy a hat because my ears were freezing and the winds were so fierce. Galway is a quaint city, but quite touristy which doesn't necessarily trip my trigger. I plan on doing more of my shopping in Sligo and Derry. Tomorrow we are officially starting class which means I need to start reading! Sunday we are heading to the Aran Islands by ferry across the Atlantic to bicycle on the biggest of the islands. I am really looking forward to that. The people are nice, I have a nice roommate for this leg of the trip. I find myself feeling a bit like Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, though, wondering to myself "What have I gotten myself into? I would rather just be home." Those moments are fleeting though when I remind myself just how quickly time will pass here and how many new things I will have learned after experiencing Ireland. I love you all and will try to post tomorrow as well!!
LOVE,
Louisa