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