This is the second week in Ireland and it was our first field trip. Our first trip was to Dublin. The first stop on the way to Dublin was New Grange. New Grange was really cool to see. This is a mound that was built thousands of years ago. The most impressive part of the mound was the inside of it. These people were able to build a window that captured the sun in a perfect way. The window is in line with the horizon and when the sun shines through it the whole passage lights up. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but there were three chambers. In one chamber there was a giant basin. Around the walls in this chamber had some cravings around it. The other two chambers didn’t really have a lot in them but the one in the middle had a really great craving of the triple spiral. The inside had also been vandalized with graffiti, but the cool thing about the graffiti is that it is old. I saw one that was dated 1821. This place was a very interesting thing to see.
The next place that we visited has been my favorite place so far. We stopped at Trim Castle. Trim castle was amazing. When we first arrived there you walked up pathway that was originally there. Even though it was raining that day everything there was just so great to see. To the left of the entrance was old ruins of where the Great Hall would have been. There was also a gateway near by that was close to the Great Hall. Walking further down the path was a moat type thing that you could walk down the stairs to get to.
We walked around the outside of the keep for roughly fifteen minutes. One of the old gates you were able to walk to and see where the guards stood. Walking around was really cool to see everything and I got some really cool pictures of the keep. The coolest part however was that we got to inside of the keep. I love seeing stuff like this because I think that it is so cool. Inside was really cold, the only good thing though was that we didn’t have to get rained on while we were inside. We started in the entrance of the keep. Here is where they would have collected weapons from visitors. After that we walked into the dinning hall. Here they had three models of how the keep was built into what it is today. This room was impressive. Even though it wasn’t very large if you looked up you could see these bridges that were leading into other rooms in the keep.
After that we climbed up these really narrow spiral stairs to the second floor. Here went to where the chapel would have been. On the third floor we crossed this bridge that went over the dinning hall room and if you looked down you could see everything. On our final climb we went to the roof. The view was breath taking. It was so cold and rainy but it was so cool. We took a group photo here as well.
After that we went to Dublin and checked into our hostel. That night we went out to eat then afterwards went to see a comedy show. That was a good time, the MC was really funny. The next day at 10:30 we went to the Guinness Storehouse and took a tour. On the tour we got to see how the beer was made and had a lesson in tasting it. You have to take big gulp so you don’t get just the foam.
I think my favorite thing from the tour however was going to the “academy” and learning how to pour a pint of Guinness. That was a lot of fun. After “class” we got certificates that showed we poured our perfect pint of Guinness.
After that Kylee, Nicole, and I went to the Botanic Gardens. This place was beautiful. There wasn’t a lot that was bloomed because of the weather but from what was it was really cute. We then met our literature professor at the art gallery and looked art by Yates and his son. Then we went to a play. It was very interesting and ended with them cutting up bodies to hide that they killed them. It was a strange play but I did enjoy it.
The next day we went to Dublin Castle. This building was not at all what I had pictured in my head. This building was enclosed all around and had four gates. The inside was like a government building. It was very interesting though. The cathedral that was next to was really impressive. It no longer was a functioning church but it was still pretty cool.
After that we went to lunch at a Korean place and it was really good. I enjoyed that for having it for the first time. After lunch we went to the Leinster House. This where the Irish government meets and works. That was a very neat building. We weren’t able to take pictures though. After that I walked with Marta to the GPO, General Post Office. This place was super cool too. This was a base for the rebels during the 1916 Easter Week Rising. The museum was below the actual post office and there was a lot of stuff down there. We watched a eighteen minute video that explained what happened here and a little bit about how the events during that time went down. There was definitely a lot more to this place then I thought there was going to be. After we were done there Marta and I walked to a near by restaurant and got some sodas before walking down Henry St., which was like a small outdoor mall. That was pretty fun. That night the group went to O’Shea’s. The food was really good there. After that the rest of the group went out and I went with two others out to a pub and we sat and talked for a few hours. It was a good night.
Saturday morning we packed our belongings and headed off to see Kilmainham Gaol. This place wasn’t very exciting to go to, not because it was boring but because it was a very intense place. It was neat to see. The story behind it is very sad but to be able to walk through history was fantastic.
Our last stop on this trip was to Clonmanoise. This place was another place in history that has so much meaning. The cool thing about this place is that even though now it is a graveyard people still have spiritual connections here. There are still big celebrations that take place. When this place was first built it was a place where people lived and worked. It was very beautiful.
I really enjoyed this weekend and had a good time. I can’t wait for the rest of the trip.
Journey To Ireland 2020 