Howth

On Valentine's Day, a group of us went up after church to Howth, which is a little seaside town on a peninsula just north of Dublin. We were hoping to be able to spend the afternoon exploring and then catch a late lunch in one of the cute restaurants. By the time we got there, we were so hungry that we decided to eat first. Unfortunately, because of the holiday, the restaurants were so packed that it took forever to be seated, waited on, brought our food, etc. etc. We eventually walked out of the restaurant 3.5 hours later only for it to be dark, cold and rainy. So sadly, we spent the entire afternoon in a stuffy restaurant. Sigh. Oh well...on the bright side, we were able to see some sea lions! :) I'm sure I'll be back, so I'll put more pictures up when we finally are able to spend the afternoon outdoors.

In 2 Days...

I go to London!!! Erin and I bought some cheap flights and are staying with one of my sister's friends...I can't wait :) I've got to write 2 papers tonight, attend 4 hours of lecture tomorrow, pack, and get sufficient amount of sleep (we leave the house at 4 AM Wednesday morning!) but I'm sure it will be well worth it. Please pray for safety as we travel, and I look forward to blogging about my time there! (Oh, and call me crazy, but 3 days after getting back from London I fly to Colorado for my brother's wedding, and then the day after I get back I fly to Paris...what?! Haha...I love studying abroad! :)

Glendalough

I'm still about a week behind on my posts....but to catch up, the week after Malahide and the "Irish experiences", I went to Glendalough with Erin, Allie, and Katie. The place is beautiful; it's an ancient monastery tucked away in Wicklow Mountain National Park (Anyone seen "P.S. I Love You"?). We had talked about going earlier, but because it's away from civilization, you have to pay a pretty good amount to travel out there. Since I'm on a budget and dependent on public transportation, it's a bit more difficult for me to just up and go some where. HOWEVER, a few days before the weekend, we found out that the French study abroad students were being taken to Glendalough as a field trip type thing. There was room on the busses, so I got to go for free! Gotta love the free stuff :)

Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep the night before until 5 AM, and we had to get up to go at 7:30! Not cool...but even though I was exhausted and everything wasn't in bloom yet, it was still gorgeous! And now that I've been, I know that it's definitely worth my money to return later in the Spring :) Enjoy the pics...

There's a black cat that lives in the cemetery...creepy

Irish Experiences

On Saturday, the day after our trip to Malahide, I got some authentic Irish experiences. In the afternoon I went to a DBS (Dublin Business School...where I'm studying) soccer and rugby game. I've actually never seen a rugby match, so it was quite fun and interesting to watch. The games took place at an athletic complex, so I was also able to watch other sports being played: Hurling and Gaelic Football, both of which are native to Ireland.

At night I went with some friends to a pub that was featuring live Irish music and dancing. While the pub was a bit touristy, it was still a ton of fun and I loved the experience!

Our response the rugby game...it was brutal...and we were confused

Some old men playing field hockey...haha :)

At the pub

Malahide

It's rare for anyone to have classes on Friday, so that means long weekends and more opportunities to travel :) This last Friday, I went up to Malahide, which is just north of Dublin, with my housemates, Leanna and Erin. It's a cute little town along the coast featuring a castle, a large park, walking paths, and a sweet playground. While it was a bit chilly, it felt good to be outside, be in the sun, and see all the greenery :)

My lovely housemates in the midst of some of the greenery :)

Part of the big kids playground: The "surfboard" and...

...the "air walker"

Malahide Castle

Our cute little park bench where we ate lunch

The little kids playground...but we played on it nonetheless :)

Malahide coast

On our walk along the coast, it began to rain/hail really hard...thankfully we were able to take cover in some public restrooms

Greece?

Many of you know my desire for Greece, and a desire to one day end up there. I saw a lot of "signs" pointing that way this summer, and was/am hoping to visit this semester since I'm here in Europe. However, going to Greece is a little bit more hassle than I expected, and there are a lot of barriers that I would have to cross through in order to go (cost, finding someone to travel with, having a place to stay, transportation within Greece, where to visit, etc.) All that to say, I still really want to go, but it's not going to be easy. If you could be praying for me in regards to wisdom and direction, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Cheers :)

Do you hear what I hear?

Well, now you can :) Everyday I walk on Dublin's shopping street, Grafton Street, to get to and from class. There are almost always street performers, but just recently there was a band that was so good! Take a listen on the video below, and also catch a glimpse of what I see everyday :)