Off the Beaten Path: Saying Goodbye to Ireland By Miranda Baker Exploring Dublin had been my goal from my arrival in the city. Then of course, two and half weeks of weariness kicked in and my plans were delayed. Finally, I found myself starting out this morning for one last, bittersweet day. My plans were simple: visit two shops relevant … Continue Reading
Today, we had the pleasure of visiting Croke Park in Dublin, which is the home of Ireland’s National sports, Gaelic football and hurling. About 60 matches are played at Croke Park each year. During the games, it is up to the speculators to keep track of the score, for both points and goals are shown; it is an … Continue Reading
Guinness Storehouse: On Friday afternoon a large group of us used our bus pass and went to the Guinness Storehouse. The Storehouse is filled with seven floors of Guinness history. The first floor details which ingredients are used in making Guinness. They had a sandbox filled with barley, several windows showing vines of hops, and the most important ingredient they … Continue Reading
Today our class went to the National History museum of Ireland where we got to see a wide variety of ancient Irish artifacts. Our visit started off with us watching a video on a book called the “Faddan More Psaltar” that was found in a bog and is dated at being 1,200 years old. We learned that the peat and … Continue Reading
On the first day of visiting Belfast we took a trip to Giant’s Causeway. Walking down the hill to reach all of the rocks and views along the water, it was interesting to see the characteristics of the place. The road–like most in Ireland–was very narrow and it was filled with both people and buses going to the bottom. At … Continue Reading
Remembrances of Times I Tried and Failed to Read Ulysses: The Dublin Writers Museum Today, our group took an audio tour of the Dublin Writers Museum. The main part of the museum is two rooms, one devoted to early Irish writers, the other devoted to later Irish writers up to about the 1980s. One of the most interesting things about … Continue Reading
Day 1 in Dublin! As we drove into Dublin, I was immediately captivated by a bridge that appeared to be a harp, majestically stretching towards the sky as it hovered above the water: the Samuel Beckett Bridge. After being fascinated by more monuments and buildings on the way, we reached the hotel. Soon we met outside so we could get … Continue Reading
Today, we visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Walking into this grand cathedral took my breath away. Every detail was accounted for from the stained glass windows to the high arched ceilings. There are many interactive activities for visitors to do like making bronze etchings of pictures and building a small Lego-like replica of the cathedral. As I explored, I wandered into … Continue Reading
Newgrange January 20, 2016 Today the class went to Newgrange, one of forty ancient burial grounds found 50 km north of Dublin. The tomb was measured to be about 5200 years old, dating it older than the pyramids or Stonehenge. It has an elaborate white quartz wall with round stones placed intricately … Continue Reading