I traveled to Ireland to meet with my parents and younger sister for ten days, and it was an amazing trip! I left on August 6th! I had to go to the school first to check into my RyanAir flight and print off the boarding pass. Then, I took the bus to Gyula. I was taking two suitcases, so unfortunately there was no room for me to sit on the bus, so I stood for the whole 30 minute trip. Then, arriving in Gyula, I waited around 15 minutes before catching a bus to Békéscsaba. I then took a train to Budapest. While on the train, I was screamed at by the train conductor in Hungarian because apparently I had accidentally purchased a discounted ticket without realizing it. Fortunately there was a man sitting across from me who could speak English, so he was able to translate for me and convince the train conductor to not only stop yelling at me, but also to decide to void my return ticket and have it work for one direction. It was stressful to say the least, but considering how many times I have been yelled at by Hungarians, it's becoming routine. When I arrived in Budapest, I tried to call the airport minibusz service, but it turned out my phone was out of minutes, so I took the metro and 200E bus to the airport.
My flight was delayed two hours, much to my disappointment, but I finally arrived in Dublin! I had been told to take the 747 bus to a tram, but I couldn't find the 747 bus at all. Instead, I took the 16 bus to the city center, and then took a taxi to where we were staying. Unfortunately, the taxi driver short changed me by 10 euros, but I was so glad to see my parents, it didn't matter! They took me up to the apartment we were staying in, and then I got to see Mary, too. It was beyond awesome!
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| Inside the Jameson Distillery |
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| Dad after receiving his certificate |
On our first full day in Dublin, we started with the Jameson Distillery. It was so cool! We all love Jameson (although Mary doesn't drink it straight like the rest of us), so it was a wonderful time. We learned all about the triple distillation process of making Jameson, and all the other steps in making the delicious drink, including how things worked historically, as compared to now. My dad took part in the whiskey tasting part, comparing Jameson, Johnny Walker, and Jack Daniels, and received a certificate! It was awesome.
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| Dad, Mom, and Mary in the museum |
After going to the Jameson Distillery, we went to the Irish National Museum. For some reason I really dislike museums, but the rest of them had a great time. I did learn a lot about how Irish immigrants were involved in so many of Americas wars. They had a section on wars, which my dad enjoyed, and then there was an Asian exhibition, and a different section with silver snuff boxes, tea pots, and other random things. There were a LOT of snuff boxes, let me tell you. There was also a furniture section, and a section of items from a Franciscan monastery.
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| Irish National Museum Courtyard |
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| Long Room at the Trinity College Library |
On the second day, we started off by going to the rental car place in order to make sure everything was in order for when we went to pick the car up the next day. Everything was fine, so we then went to the city center. We stopped for lunch at a delicious pub to get out of the soft weather (aka rain), and then went to Trinity College. We went to the Trinity College Library, looked at the Book of Kells--which was incredible!-- then went into the Long Room. It was really neat!
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral |
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| Enjoying my complimentary pint of Guinness |
Next, we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It has a beautiful garden, and the church itself was lovely. We wandered around there for a while, and then walked to the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness Storehouse, we found out, is the biggest tourist attraction in Ireland. More people visit there than the Cliffs of Moher, the Giant's Causeway, or any of the other beautiful places in Ireland. That's insane! The Guinness Storehouse was overpriced and much less cozy than the Jameson Distillery, but I'm glad that we went and experienced it all the same.
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| I'm at Blarney Castle enjoying the soft weather |
On day three we went to the car rental place again, picked up our car, and took off for Cork! My dad did really well driving on the opposite side of the road, but trying to navigate Ireland's tiny streets was interesting. We made it to Cork without any difficulties, and after moving our belongings into the apartment we were staying in, we went to Blarney Castle. The castle itself didn't have as much intact as other castles that I have visited in the UK, but the grounds here were beautiful! And, we all kissed the Blarney Stone, which was cool!
On the next day, we wandered around Cork. We started the day out by going to mass at Trinity Church. That is the first time I have been to mass in English in over 5 months, and it was so great! Going to mass in Hungarian, German, Polish, or Italian is not the same, so getting to celebrate it in English was incredible. After mass, we took advantage of a cute little walking path through Cork that takes you by their main tourist attractions. We saw an old fort, St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, the Red Abbey (a tower left over from an old Augustinian monastery), and South Chapel (the oldest Catholic Church in Cork). After enjoying these little gems, we went to Penny's, which is the Primark of Ireland. I loved Primark when I studied abroad in England, so going to Penny's was a blast! Mary really enjoyed it as well, and got herself an adorable outfit.
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| South Chapel in Cork |
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| The lovely landscape at Dingle |
On day five we left Cork early in the morning to drive to the Dingle Peninsula. Getting to our Bed and Breakfast was a bit stressful because the GPS couldn't find it, but once we asked for directions in Dingle everything went smoothly. After stopping for lunch, we went to drive around the peninsula. I LOVE DINGLE!!! It is such a beautiful place!! We stopped at some cottages that people lived in during the Irish Potato Famine, saw some beehive huts, climbed up a random hill for no reason (okay, there was a great view, but still), went to Brandon's Creek, and finally, saw the Gallerus Oratory and Kilmalkadar Church.
On the sixth day we sadly left Dingle and headed for the Cliffs of Moher. The drive took us through some amazing scenery, and then we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher. Oh. My. Gosh. They were so beautiful! And majestic! I simply so not have enough adjectives to describe how staggering they were! I would highly recommend going there if you are in Ireland. Seriously. They're awesome. Mary picked this location, so she gets major props!! After exploring the Cliffs of Moher, we left for Galway, where we spent the night before returning to Dublin.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast at our B&B, we drove the 2 and half hours back to Dublin. When we arrived, we dropped the car off and went to go to our hotel. Unfortunately there was something wrong with my Google map directions, so it took us a while to get to the hotel (it was on Pembroke Road, not Pembroke Street), but we eventually made it. After settling into our rooms, we went to eat lunch at a north African restaurant, which was so delicious! Then we walked to St. Stephen's Green, a nice little park near our hotel, before walking into a shopping area where we looked at books and souvenirs.
The next morning (Aug. 14th) after a tearful goodbye (at least on my part), my parents and sister left for the airport and the US. I stayed in Dublin another full day, and flew home on the 15th. I spent the night at a hostel in Budapest because my flight landed at 9pm, and then took the train back to Békéscsaba the following morning. I then took the bus to Sarkad, and made it back to my apartment before 11am. I already miss Ireland, but I miss my family even more. I feel so blessed that I was able to enjoy a vacation with them in Ireland, although I do wish my older sister Rachael could have gone as well.
That's all I have to share at the moment, but this summer vacation is finally coming to a close. TTFN!
