Sorry it's been a while since I updated this. Do you ever feel like one minute your in...America...and the next minute your in...Ireland? Well, last week I went home to Cali for my brother's wedding, which I will blog about soon. Stopped by San Diego to surprise my friends there, spent a night in San Fran with my cousin Ilima, and went home to San Jose to celebrate my brother's wedding with all the family(when I say all the family, I mean ALL the family- we have a hugeee family). I will give you a quick summary of my ridiculous life(by ridiculous I mean ridiculously random and crazy. and awesome, lol).
Croagh Patrick and Westport: Westport was one of my favorite towns in Ireland. We walked along the bay and found a field full of sheep. It was a pirate-ish town back in the day and it totally felt like it when the fog rolled in over the 365 small islands in the bay. We met some friendly people in the pubs that night, including the old man Peter that I danced with in the pub that I mentioned earlier in a previous blog. Everyone, as always in this country, was very very welcoming and friendly in Westport. The next morning, we climbed Croagh Patrick which is one of the tallest mountains in Ireland and is significant because St. Patrick climbed it back in the day and banished all the snakes from the island(which is supposedly the reason why Ireland has no snakes to this day). There are three stops on the way up that people perform sacred rituals once a year when making their mecca to the top of the mountain in BARE FEET. When I heard they did this in bare feet I thought it was crazy! I can't believe people do that in bare feet because the whole way up we walked on pure rocks and there was even some snow at the top. The view was beautiful at the top and we could see all the small islands in the bay below. Definitely an awesome weekend in Westport/Croagh Patrick.
Jitka, one of my goof friends from Prague
I've never seen a sign like this before
Fishing nets
Climbing up the rocks...
Dublin and Kilkenny: We went here with our program, API (Academic Programs International). In Dublin, we got to tour the Guinness factory, eat cupcakes at a nice little cafe from a coupon I won, and we found a place that is called "Burritos and Blues", both something I love. We also got to see St. Patrick's Cathedral. We had less than one day so we literally ran around trying to make the most out of it like we always do. Oh and we also dressed ridiculous, just for the heck of it. haha. Next stop: Kilkenny. Here, we found a cute little town where the pubs were loaded with people. First we went to a huge pub called the Left Bank, then we went to a few other smaller pubs where we were able to dance/make good conversations with people. I met some very friendly people who allowed us to come to their farm and check out their animals. The baby cows were sucking my thumb like a baby bottle it was so cute! We also saw the Kilkenny Castle which was great. On the way back from Kilkenny to Galway, we stopped at a farm where they make hurls, the sticks used in hurling. We were able to watch how they make the hurls and buy some for ourselves. We also got to get some autographs by the makers of the company themselves. I have practiced a couple of times because it is a new sport to learn and so far I love it =]
For some reason the video I made for Dublin-Kilkenny isn't uploading on here, so I put it on youtube...click on this link to check it out!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtlKcut2XPg
Lisa and Pat, my fellow crazy-dressed friends who I love =]
Jumping in the Barley at the Guinness factory. Against the rules? Probably.
Epic pictures in the Guinness factory! haha
Waterfall at the Guinness factory
A Guinness at the Guinness Factory
Awesome artwork at the Cake Cafe
Me and Lisa being gangters. Ok, actually we were just freezing on the bus.
Cows in Kilkenny!
Stuff: I went kayaking with the NUIG kayak club and it. was. AWESOME! We got to learn some defensive swimming, did a capsize drill, kayaked over a mini waterfall, sat under a waterfall, and got pushed off a bridge into the canal(twice!). By pushed off the bridge I mean that they balanced the kayak on the railing, I climbed up the railing and into the kayak, then they pushed me over and I nose-dove into the canal with water pouring over me then popped back up a few seconds later. The second time around the guide guy through my paddle into the canal before he pushed me and told me to use my arms to paddle. No mercy here for beginners. haha.
Me and Abby, a girl who lives in my apartment complex and is also in the CU
Random Irish Fact: Instead of calling something "sketch-y", they call it "dodge-y"
