ireland

day 1:

Hello Dublin! 11 hours later we finally made it. It was a long day of traveling but worth it when we made it to Dublin.
After meeting our group and tour director, we headed to our hostel.
The first group of us to get in had some free time to explore Dublin
so we decided to venture to see Trinity College.

It was only about a 20 minute walk, but it ended up taking us over an hour since everyone wanted to stop and take pictures every 5 minutes haha!

Later on we met up with the rest of the group (about 40 of us total)
and we went on a walking tour to get our bearings. We had a 
welcome mixer to get to know everyone and were able to see Temple Bar and the Jameson Distillery!

day 2:

an early morning...we started off with a bus tour of the city and made our first stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral. After that we went to Phoenix Park briefly before we headed out to Glendalaugh!

The scenic drive was our first glimpse at the Irish countryside...

the green you think of when you think of Ireland!

Glendalaugh was unique as it was a monastery with so much history

and was so beautiful. When we got back to Dublin we headed

to the Guinness Storehouse.

I am now officially Guinness Certified! (i actually got a certificate for pouring the "perfect pint")

 I will be sure to add that to my resume.

Funny story- after our time at Guinness, a few girls and I wanted to get some fish n chips so we put it in the GPS but only made it a few blocks before we realized we had no idea where to go.

It seemed like we were getting into a "sketchy" area but then, like out of a movie, a guy in a horse and buggy turned the corner and asked if we wanted a ride.

So we took a little horse and buggy to get fish n chips only to get there and realize there is no place to sit down and eat!

It was probably 7 or 8pm and were in the middle of a busy plaza...

but we noticed the Christ Church Cathedral gates across the street were open so we decided to go in and sit on the wall and eat our fish and chips! haha fun night

day 3:

early morning bus ride to Belfast, United Kingdom!

a lot has happened in Northern Ireland, so we had a tour guide tell us all about the troubles of Belfast that happened fairly recently.

The highlight of Belfast was definitely the Titanic Exhibit.

The Titanic is coined the "pride of Belfast" since it was built there.

The exhibit was amazing and it took you through all the

stages of the titanic from building it to the inside cabins

to the sinking to the aftermath. Worth the visit!

day 4:

by this time i was more than ready to be in the countryside.

Blarney Castle was the perfect start to it!

It really is a crazy feeling knowing you are somewhere that is hundreds of years old and thinking of all the history that has gone on there. a feeling i experienced multiple times on this trip!

of course i got to kiss the stone and receive the "gift of the gab"

this was the first time we got rain.

I might add that I forgot my umbrella.

yes, i went to ireland and forgot my umbrella! whoops.

when we arrived in Killarney we went to our adorable hotel

(with a full sized bathroom!!)

and later went on a walking tour around the small city.

a few of us girls did some shopping and then found a cute pub

for dinner, which we enjoyed while listening to an Irish

father/son duo sing some traditional tunes!

day 5:

we started our tour of Kerry with a jaunting car ride through

Killarney National Park.

Then we set out on a drive around the Ring of Kerry.

we stopped in Bog Village, a recreation of an 1800s Irish village.

Then made a photo stop at the Atlantic Ocean!

at one stop, we were all enjoying the view until

a few girls noticed some old irish guys

with baby goats and puppies!!

It was a charming scene with the old 

(and probably drunk off Guinness)

Irish lads playing their harmonicas while all the American tourist girls were playing with the day old baby goats and Pepper the puppy!

we continued to make a few stops along the way in the 

cutest towns before heading back to Killarney.

day 6:

a short but sweet time spent in Killarney...

next we were headed to Galway.

en route we stopped at the famed Cliffs of Moher.

It was obvious to see why it is the most popular natural tourist

spot in Ireland.

It was freezing and windy but definitely worth it.

Back on the bus to Galway our cutie bus driver Francis

wanted us all to see the limestone that made up The Burren in County Clare.

I was pleasantly surprised by Galway. I didn't know much about it before but walking the streets was almost exactly how I imagined the towns of Ireland to be like.

pubs and shops lined the cobblestone streets that were adorned

with green, white and orange flag bunting while street

performers played their instrument of choice in the cold air.

it was really something special!

day 7:

to me it felt like we had been here forever but at the same time

felt like we had just got there.

I wasn't really sure what to expect for our last day in the Emerald Isle. We took a ferry to Inishmore, the biggest island of the Aran islands.

again, I was pleasantly surprised. we definitely had our coldest weather this day. it was wet and windy all day. but the island far surpassed any expectations i had of it.

the highlight was Dun Aengus, a three thousand year old fort that sat on top of a 300 foot cliff.

it was literally breathtaking. by far the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's funny because Newsica and I almost didn't go up! We were so tempted to stay in the warm cafe with Francis instead of 

braving the wind and rain to see the fort but I am SO glad we did.

it really is one of those things that is hard to explain.

pictures and words just don't do it justice.

despite the insane winds (literally people we were getting knocked over because of how windy it was) Dun Aengus was the highlight of the trip for me! A must if you are ever in Ireland.

Newsica and I were one of the last ones to head back down, but we got some lunch in the cute cafe and then split some Guinness chocolate cake (they incorporate Guinness into everything there).

After soaking up the last couple hours we had on the island, we took the ferry back and headed to Galway for our farewell dinner with the whole group.

After dinner a few of us girls went to some different pubs but then ended up at The Skeff where a bunch of people from our group ended up as well. We all had to be up at around 4:30am the next morning for our airport transfer, so a lot of us decided just to stay out late and enjoy our last night in Ireland.

It was a memorable night with all of us dancing, laughing, taking a tequila shot together (because, when in Ireland...shoutout to the Miami girls)and having a good time!

Quite the experience getting to spend my spring break in IRELAND.

I am so grateful for this experience and I miss it already!

a full video of my trip coming soon... :)