once again, i've returned to dublin in the best of moods. i love coming "home" to the city after a weekend away. this past one was our last traveling weekend, and i've just returned from cork city.
we left dubz on an 8am bus, having barely made it to the station on time. oops! but, four hours later, we were dropped at the cork city bus station and left to our own devices. we checked into our hostel (bru bar and hostel), which was a bar on the first floor and hostel rooms on the other three floors. yes, bar first, hostel second. this is the ireland we've come to know and love. we arrvied in our six bed room with only five of us (maura had missed the bus completely and would come south with another group from the program later that day). leslie, nikki, kate, and katie are from wisconsin and the girls i spend most of my time with in dublin. i am most often the odd michigander out, which makes for good fun.
after settling in our tiny room, we set out to explore the city. we grabbed lunch at hillbilly (authentic fried food straight from the american south--some of the best fried chicken i've ever tasted, actually.) we traipsed around the city for awhile, checking out st. finbarre's cathedral and other city sights, and then popping into a-wear for a bit of shopping (8E jeans? okay!). After a nap, we headed downstairs (too convenient) for a drink and then went out on the town.
on saturday, we woke up for breakfast and then made our plans to visit blarney castle, a 20-minute bus ride out of town. we made it to the town of blarney and explored a bit, eventually ending up at the castle. the grounds were enormous, so we took our time getting to the castle. so much green to see! it was quite a bit warmer than normal, too, so we didn't want to make the trek too quickly.
to get to the blarney stone, you have to climb 100 steps in a spiral staircase built for infants. seriously. it's tiny. but, we made it too the top, were rushed through our kissing of the stone, and went right back down to grab some lunch. we ended up at the blarney woollen mills, a huge outlet store that had a cafe and restaurant built in. much to our delight, the outdoor cafe was serving grilled chicken, burgers, and sausages. it was a purely american lunch, and we were incredibly happy to indulge. then, we sat in the park for awhile before catching a bus back to cork. after a nap and a pizza dinner, we did a light night out on the town, making it back to bed by midnight.
on sunday, we had planned to do a bit of shopping before heading back to dubz. much to our dismay, the entire city was closed at 11am. THE ENTIRE CITY! but, that meant less money-spending, so we grabbed the noon bus to dublin and made it back for a quiet evening at home.
now, i've just finished my second-to-last literature class with james ryan, a great short story writer. i've been the star pupil in that class, engaging in conversation with the professors and generally sharing my opinions. it's been nice to make myself known in that respect. i'll head back to campus soon for history, critical issues, and gaelic culture. then, tonight, we have our reading with seamus heaney! this is the event i've been most excited about, since he's a poet laureate and nobel prize winner. such an amazing opportunity! tomorrow, we'll have film class and then a visit to the dail eireann, the parliament of the republic. then, the girls and i have decided to head over to st. patrick's to hear the children's choir sing evensong at mass. very exciting. on wednesday, we have class and then we'll be going to the theatre. thursday is our last day of real classes. that evening, we will receive our exam questions so that we can spend the weekend preparing. luckily, the essay exams we sit for are open note and, therefore, i plan on writing full essays beforehand. i feel like having this extra preparation will help me to succeed! also, i only have to sit for exams in lit, history, and gaelic culture, as our film final is an outside essay. so, this weekend will be chock-full of essay writing, but will also be one of enjoying dublin for the final time. we're planning a full day in phoenix park on saturday, and i'll be doing a ton of museums on friday. luckily, we don't have anything to do on monday, as it's a bank holiday and they've given us the day to continue preparing our exams. then, we'll sit tuesday and wednesday for exams, and wednesday night is our big reception for the closing of the program. all in all, we will have an incredibly busy, incredibly exciting next ten days. i can't believe we're nearing the close of the program so quickly! but, i'm sure i'll be too busy to think of anything but the next day, which will make the flight home all the more anticipatory.
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