While having an obligation to write weekly articles, it’s a terrible feeling to have writer’s block, especially when your deadline is right around the corner. As I am sitting here contemplating what to write about, I begin to daydream about my trip to Ireland in July. It was the greatest place I have ever visited and somewhere I always wanted to go. I kept a journal of my journey, so I want to take this time to reflect on my first day in Ireland….
July 7, 2016
Arrived in Ireland today! I’m devoting this trip to my journal and pen. I’m never motivated to write but I’m in freaking Ireland so if I can’t be inspired here, then I’m a lost cause. I arrived at the airport at 5:00 pm on 7/6. We picked up a girl named Chloe on the way and we bonded right away. Our flight wasn’t until 9:15 pm so don’t ask me why our professor made us get there so early. We found the group, went through security, and waited three more hours until we finally boarded. I sat by Abby S on the plane (there’s 2 Abby’s but I knew this one at the end of this semester). So that was fun. We actually have a lot in common. She’s a music major and loves reading and writing. They showed “Daddy’s Home” on the plane which was really funny. I watched it in Sykes for a movie night. There was an Irish woman next to us named Jenna. She and her family were in the states to visit Miami. The ride was a little rough at first, but got better eventually. I listened to the country radio station basically the whole time and tried to pass out. I took some melatonin and had a glass of wine in hopes to get a few hours of rest. Our plane would land at 8:45 am (Irish time) which is 3:45 am USA time…fml.
Day 1:
Got off plane, got our bags, got money, got to our hostel. Our rooms are pretty nice. Suite style with 6 rooms and 2 bathrooms. I'm with three other girls from my group and 2 randos who go to medical school in New Jersey. They were cool.
July 16, 2016
Day 1 continued:
When we got to our hostel, we needed to leave right away to meet with a woman named Holly. She worked with Mary Immaculate College and took us all around Limerick. She had blonde hair and the longest legs I've ever seen. Needless to say, she wasn't easy to keep up with. She took us to an Italian restaurant. Yes, our first meal in Ireland was Italian. She then took us to a radio station. Live 95 FM. We toured the station however, we were so exhausted that we didn’t care how cool it was. She then took us to a local newspaper publisher, which intrigued me more, The Limerick Leader. We learned about their jobs, when they put out their papers, and how their systems work. They also showed us a room where they kept newspapers dating all the way back to the 1700s! We flipped through one from 1917. It was so cool!
We were all exhausted, so Holly began the journey home. However, her speedy long legs decided to take us everywhere but. She wanted to show us Limerick’s cultural center but they wouldn't let us in for some reason. Abby, Chloe, and I decided to go across the street to take pics at People’s Park. It was beautiful. Holly then took us to Redemptorist Church. I lit candles for Dennis, Dougie, and Raheem there. Holly then took us around campus. She showed us their chapel on campus and student union. I heard someone playing “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” on the piano. It was dope.
I forgot to write that we checked out the River Shannon after lunch. The weather was in the 70’ and sunny, surprisingly. We finally went back to our hostels and got ready to go to Killaloe (Kill-a-lu). There, we went on the Killaloe River Cruise. It was beautiful. The day was perfect and it was the first time I was able to witness the lush, green, rolling hills. Incredibly breathtaking. I was got my first glass of Irish coffee in Ireland.
After that, we went across the street to Flanagan’s for dinner. I had my first pint of Calrsberg. It’s a beer from Copenhagen, Denmark but I’ve never seen it in America before. I had so many more since then because it was delicious. We left Killaloe and had a nice night’s sleep, until 8am…
