Around the Ring of Kerry

So this weekend I found myself off on another adventure! I had almost forgotten, but back during the first week of school my roommates & I decided to sign up for the Ring of Kerry Heritage trip put on by the school. It wasn't the cheapest trip, but for where we were staying and the food we were eating and the places we were seeing I'd say it was worth it. It's rather funny because I remember when we were signing up I thought that the weekend we picked to go seemed so far away, yet here it's already come and gone. Time is going by too fast!

Anywho, on Friday afternoon a big group of us (international students) loaded up a bus and set out on our way to Kerry. It was about a 3 hour drive from Cork and there were many windy roads, so I was so relieved when we finally reached our hotel in the little town of Cahersiveen. When I tell you that I found myself in rural Ireland, I mean extremely rural. Cahersiveen's nearest hospital is almost an hour away, as well as the cinema. This might have been one of the smallest towns I've ever been in. What I loved about it though was the huge sense of community it had -- granted it wouldn't be hard when the population is so low.

The Ring of Kerry is on the southwest coast of Ireland and has some of the most beautiful sights to see. It makes a literal ring through Killarney, Portmagee, Ballinskelligs, and Kells to name a few.

We stayed in a hotel the whole weekend which provided us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner during our whole stay. The food was amazing too -- they let you actually choose from like 3 options for every meal. The first night we arrived we headed straight to dinner and after we had a speaker from the community come in to talk to us about the small town and afterwards taught us some traditional Irish dances. It was quite funny! The whole time I just kept counting in my head "point, kick, 1 2 3 4". The moves were easy but putting it all together was pretty funny. It was really really fun though. I wish i had some pictures or video of it, but I was too busy trying to get the moves down to snap any pictures. 

On Saturday, we traveled around Kerry learning about Ireland's history by visiting a bog village and looking at some farm animals. Then we headed to Telegraph Field where the Trans-Atlantic Cable was first set up to connect the US to the rest of Europe -- making it possible for telegraphs to be transferred instantly versus taking weeks. There was such a beautiful view from the Field. We next moved on to the Fogher Cliffs to hear from a local farmer who explained how farming has changed in Ireland over the centuries. This visit included more farm animal sightings! The farmer had a lot of calfs -- some of which had just been born that morning. They had the biggest eyes and were probably really confused by everyone taking pictures of them. But boy, did they have quite a stench! We ended the night with a trivia quiz at a local pub where we had another speaker talk to us about the sport of Gaelic Football. Was really interesting! It's such a weird sport -- mixes everything from basketball, football, to soccer. 

My roommates & I on Telegraph Field

rainboots are a definite must here! 

Irish wolfhounds -- theses dogs are gignatic! They are slowly being introduced back into Ireland and are used for hunting. They can apparently run for a whole day before going tired. 

18th Century Cottage Replicas in the Bog Village

baby cows! so cute :) 

Fogher Cliffs

seriously in love with the landscape here -- it's breathtaking. 

Our last day, Sunday, was spent finishing up the Ring. We visited lots of scenic outlooks, a beach, a slate mine, Daniel O'Connell's house (a famous 19th cent politician), Skelling Experience, Killarney's National Park, and I even got to hold a baby lamb! Visiting the beach and holding the lamb were probably my favorite parts of the trip. The beach made me miss home a bit -- i missed that smell of the ocean breeze. Daniel O'Connell was a very well known and rich lawyer in the 19th century that helped bring parliament back into Ireland when it was still under British rule. Although he was seen as "the people's person", he was rather wealthy for the time period -- making 9,000 lbs a year when everyone else was make 9 -- and he didn't really give any financial support to the people so he kind of seemed stuck up to me, but we visited his mansion anyways and the lovely gardens surrounding it.

The Skelling Experience was a museum we visited that told all about Skelling Michael which is an island about 14 km (9 miles) off the coast where monks set up residence in the 7th century. It is quite edgy, with no real flat grounds to it yet the monks built their own stone churches and houses where they could worship in isolation. As well as building several stone stairs all the way up the hills. Since it's on the island it has been preserved very well and many of the houses and stairs are still in good condition. Hopefully I'll have a chance to go out and visit the island when tours open up in April. 

Here are some more pictures from the rest of the trip: 

i want a lamb! he was so soft ;) 

Daniel O'Connell's house

waterfall in Killarney National Park

so much green in the park -- i could spend days on end here, it's so beautiful! 

slow and steady is the pace i like

I've been hanging around Cork and my campus a lot the last couple weeks. What with the flu, lectures, and what not I've just been lounging around and chilling, which i love to do so i have no problem with it. Spent a lovely Valentine's evening with my roommates Lily & Kelly...we went to this italian restaurant which was a mistake cause we looked as if we were in a polygamous lesbian relationship. haha the food was pretty good though.

other than that though, i can't say anything of huge importance has happened around here. OH, i did spend last friday morning at the Emergency Room for the first time in my life. Don't worry, it wasn't for me. My roommate ended up coming into my room at about 5 AM saying she felt horrible and needed to go to the hospital. I didn't ask any questions and just said, "okay, let's go!" but then was like, "wait, where do we go?" I'd never had to do anything like that before especially without having a car. we called up a taxi though and got there fast. Long story short -- we spent a total of 6 hours in the ER for them to tell her that she just had some gastro-problems. was super tired when i got home @ 11 AM and ended up missing my lecture, but i'm just glad it wasn't anything serious. definitely an interesting experience.

Today, Kelly Lily & I headed out early to attend mass @ St. Finn Barre's Cathedral -- about a 20 min walk from our apt. It was a beautiful church and i wanted to snap some pictures, but i was too worried about offending anyone that i didn't end up whipping out my camera till i got outside. I've been to mass before, so it wasn't anything too new. The choir was lovely and the church had such beautiful stained glass.

afterwards we headed downtown since it wasn't very far away and grabbed a late breakfast/early lunch. there is ONE bagel shop downtown and i finally found my favorite thing on the menu -- their all day breakfast sandwich! it was like having a slice of home with me...i've missed bagels so much! I could've eaten five more of these, so delicious. Then we headed into some clothing stores which wasn't the smartest thing to do for us ladies, but we couldn't resist and i was in some SERIOUS need for some rainboots. successfully found the rainboots i needed.... and a few more things along the way ;)

I have my first test on Tuesday in Archaeology...it's been so long since i've had to do anything that it's been SO hard to find some motivation. keepin' my fingers crossed that i'll do well. lots of studying to do tomorrow.

OH, & tomorrow i'm taking my belay-certification test @ the gym so that I can finally climb without having to have one of the "club leaders" follow me around everyone. it's been pretty good in the club so far, but i missed the last couple weeks and everyone else seems to have an experienced partner so when i've gone the last few times i haven't had anyone to help me climb and it's just awkward. blah, it's weird. i wish i had a friend that would go with me and help me break the ice. i hope i pass the test! pretty nervous.

Archaeology Adventures & Tea Time

So sorry, I haven't updated in forever but it's because I got lazy, and THEN I got the flu to top it all off. Pretty bummed this weekend since I was supposed to go to Scotland with my two roommates, but instead spent it in chills and sweating out a fever. Not to mention I lost almost 150 euro because I had to cancel my flight. things happen for a reason though... Anyways, not much has been going on anyways but last weekend I went on two little excursions.

Last Saturday, the 28th, I headed out with my archaeology class to explore some of West Cork and look at some old castles and ritual sites. The weather was not very pleasant -- it was cold and rainy. Being me of course I wore my Vans even though the professor recommended boots...I didn't think we were going to be trekking out into the fields of Ireland as much as we did. He sure proved me wrong. By the end of the trip my shoes were pretty covered in mud and soaking wet. Although I was quite miserable for a good two-thirds of the trip, it was pretty cool to go to these sites and really see all the history there is in this country. I'm going to go buy some rainboots this weekend for our upcoming second class field trip. here are some pictures:

Lily & I in front of one of the many castles around Ireland

only the beginning...

love this landscape! 

can't remember what this ritual site was called, but the stones are perfectly aligned to reflect
the winter and summer solstices. This is one of the largest stone circles in Ireland.

Then, the next day Lily, Kelly and I headed out to Killarney for some high tea and a tour around the national park in a horse drawn carriage! We had to wake up early to catch the bus out of Cork, but unfortunately as many of you know getting me out of bed before 8 is a bit of a task, so we missed the first bus, but we just jumped on the next one an hour or so later. The Tea Room in Killarney was the cutest I've ever been to. It had the greatest atmosphere and was so much fun. Then we were guided around the Killarney National Park, which encompasses more than 8,000 acres! It's so gorgeous. Our tour guide, Paul, was the nicest Irish man -- full of interesting facts.

And there's nothing like ending a long day with an Irish coffee!