On Sunday I showed them around Galway, going to Mass at Galway Cathedral, walking around the Christmas market in Eyre Square, and visiting some shops. From there we drove to Ballyvaughn, where we were staying for the night, which is pretty much directly across Galway Bay from Spiddal. The drive there was really beautiful, and Mom and I jokingly described what we were seeing to Dad, who unfortunately was too busy trying to stay on the narrow winding roads to appreciate the scenery.
The view from the window of a B&B we stayed in
On Monday we moved on to the town of Killarney, stopping at the Cliffs of Moher on the way. It was comically windy, and for a moment I thought we might actually get blown off the cliffs. Seriously, we could barely even walk it was so windy. But the sun made an appearance and the visibility was good, so the Cliffs were as stunning as ever. From there we successfully boarded a drive-on ferry to cross over into County Clare, and made it to Killarney by the afternoon.
Trying to not get blown over!
On Tuesday we drove around the Ring of Kerry, which looked a little different than when our group was there in September. It was still beautiful, with some brown and maroon and orange colors in addition to the green fields.
Wednesday we drove to Dublin, stopping at Bunratty Castle on the way, somewhere I hadn't been yet. We dropped the rental car off at the airport (Dad was very relieved at this point) and took a cab into Dublin to our hotel.
Thursday was a busy day in Dublin. We visited Kilmainham Jail, one of my favorite (and most educational) places from when our group was in Dublin. Next we visited in the Old Jameson Distillery, somewhere I hadn't visited yet. It was a cool building and a pretty interesting tour. Dad got to participate in the whiskey tasting at the end. We ate lunch at the Brazen Head Inn, the oldest pub in Dublin. After that we walked around Trinity College and took in the Book of Kells and the Long Room at the Library. We stopped by the National Museum of Archeology briefly and visited the "bog bodies."
Overall it was a great week. The weather could have been better, but I think it was pretty typical for December in Ireland. I enjoyed seeing the countryside from the vantage point of a car rather than the bus we drove around in all semester, eating some delicious meals, staying in cozy B&Bs, and catching up about what we have all been up to the past few months.
We thought we were going to be on different flights on the way home, but realized once we got to the airport on Friday morning that we were on the same one after all. We arrived in Newark around 11:30 yesterday morning, and were supposed to have different flights from there. My flight to Minneapolis wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:30pm. For some reason, an 8 hour layover didn't seem like a big deal when I booked my flight months ago. However, we were able to easily get me switched onto the flight my parents were taking, so my layover time got cut in half and we all left around 3:30pm! It all went smoothly, and we arrived home in the evening. When driving home from the airport I realized it seemed like I had been gone a lot longer than four months, probably because I didn't live at home over the summer either. I also realized that since I lived at school last summer too and was in Peru for part of last Christmas break, this winter break is the longest I will be at home since before college started! As much as I know I will miss studying abroad, I am so happy to be home.
Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this blog throughout the past months. I have so enjoyed sharing my stories with all of you.
Check back soon for one last blog post with my final thoughts about my study abroad experience!
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