Anyone can say they've read a novel by Elizabeth Bowen or James Joyce. Very few can say that they've been to Bowen's grave sight or the ruins of one of Joyce's family home. From walking the busy streets of Dublin, to the quiet and secluded beaches near the Ring of Kerry, this study abroad opportunity presented countless of adventures both in group tours and individually.
International Travel Tips
- Minimize carry-on items
- Take a nap on a 6 1/2 hour flight
- Absolutely NO liquids when traveling through London Heathrow Airport
The most nerve wracking part of this trip was the first day! After double and triple checking to make sure I had all necessary documents, I was ready to head over to the airport. The trip only began to feel real once we were all buckled into our seats and ready for take-off. The 6 1/2 hour flight was the first thing I was dreading, but luckily the flight was equipped with numerous of Academy Award winning films that would keep me occupied until we landed in London. On this flight I watched Gone Girl and Interstellar. Both entertaining enough to keep me awake the entire flight; which I would later understand to be a very bad decision.
It was 6:00 AM when we landed in London, and we were all drunk from excitement and sleep deprivation! Little did we know, an hour and a half was not enough time to get through customs and security; and the majority of our tour group did not make the connecting flight to Dublin! Though stressful, this was not a major setback and soon enough we had finally touched down in Dublin!!
After taking the walking tour we finally made it back to our hotel where we were able to relax before dinner. Our dinner – which was an Irish beef stew – was served in the dining room of The Belvedere Hotel. After an exhausting day, we scarfed down our dinner and quickly went back to our rooms and started to get ready for our first night out in Dublin. Our tour guide Joe recommended the Temple Bar District where the famous Temple Bar was located, along with a street lined with different Irish pubs; all of which offered a different experience. Since it was our first night, we held nothing back and went to four different pubs. The first being The Temple Bar which was fun but filled with tourists. It was the definition of a tourists trap, but it was 100% worth it because of the experience it offered. After Temple Bar, we walked across the street and went into The Quays, which offered live music.
Day One
- Walking tour of Dublin
- Dinner at The Belvedere Hotel
Night One
- Temple Bar District
- The Quays
- Buskers
During our driving tour, Sally gave an entertaining explanation behind the doors of Dublin. At one point in time, when husbands were finding their way home from a night of drinking, they would find themselves walking into the wrong house. They used the excuse that all of the doors were black, so they would lose track of which door was theirs. So the wives of Dublin came together and agreed to change the colors of the doors. Unfortunately the husbands of Dublin still managed to wake up in the wrong bed.
Our second stop of the driving tour was Saint Patrick’s Cathedral where we were fortunate enough to listen to the Boy’s Choir practice for mass.
Our third stop on the driving tour of Dublin was in Phoenix Park where we took a photo in front of the Papal Cross. The drive through this park was interesting because we learned that it was significantly larger than Central Park in Manhattan, New York.
Before dinner we went to The James Joyce Center down the street from our hotel, where we listened to Anne Fogarty lecture about Joyce’s Dubliners.
After the lecture we had the rest of the night to ourselves. Mikaela and I had dinner at a local fast food shop and returned to the hotel to start getting ready for the night. Since we had been to the Temple Bar District the night before we decided to go somewhere different. Our first stop was a pub that drew us in with their live music. After one drink we made our way down the street to Pygmalion, which was slightly different than the Irish pubs we had gone to the previous night.
Day Three
After spending two days in Dublin, we packed our bags and made our way to Cork. Half way on our journey we stopped in Mitchelstown, where we visited the grave sight of Elizabeth Bowen. The grave yard was small quaint and respectful, reflecting the beauty and serenity of the Irish countryside. Being at this sight gave me a sense of purpose and I felt as if my presence at that moment was slightly significant because I was so close to someone so monumental in the world of literature. After viewing the grave-sight we had lunch in town, then went to a lecture given by Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy spoke about Elizabeth Bowen and Frank O’Connor and I was far more interested in the lecture than I expected. Listening to him speak with such admiration captured my attention and I couldn’t help but think how privileged he was to be so passionate about something. After the lecture we got back on the coach and finished our journey to Cork. Once we arrived to The Blarney Woolen Mills Hotel we had another hotel dinner, explored the small town, and began to get ready for our third night out.
Night Three
The first pub we went to was more of a sports bar, which cleared out once a soccer match ended. Once the match was over, the girls and I ventured down the street to another pub that made the third night one of my favorites! Since it was such a small town we were worried that we were going to call it an early night, but luckily it was Idris' 40th birthday party and we were able to enjoy live Irish music! If it weren't for Idris' birthday, we probably would have missed out on a great live band and a great night of dancing!
Day Four
After celebrating Idris' birthday the night before, we were all pretty tired. So waking up was pretty difficult, but it was totally worth it because we KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE! This was one of my favorite days, and I got so many incredible photos of the castles, and the grounds through different trails they had!
Some of us followed a trail that led to such a pretty garden with water falls, another trail led to a small open field with a horse, and another trail led to a mysterious house/castle that was not open for touring.
Night Four
After kissing the Blarney Stone we made our way to Killarney where we checked into the Kings Court Inn Bed & Breakfast. We were offered a dinner by the Bed & Breakfast but it was not the best meal during the trip. So after dinner we ventured into town to find somewhere to eat and have a drink. We found ourselves in a small pub that offered live music called The Porterhouse.
Day Five
One of my favorite days was the day we drove through the small roads of the Ring of Kerry! We were able to see the beautiful countryside of Ireland including cliffs and beaches. Along the way we stopped at a small house next to a high mountain where we watched sheep dogs herd sheep! As an animal lover, this was so entertaining to watch, as the dogs ran up and down the side of the mountain and to see how the sheep were moved in different directions! It was so interesting to see how the dogs truly loved what they did and how the way they respected their owner!
After the sheep dogs, we made a pit stop in a small town right on the beach! This was such a beautiful beach because it was in between two mountains and had large rocks going into the water. It was a little dangerous but the rocks were big enough to walk on and go out into the water without getting wet!
There was another beach we managed to find when we made it to a museum. The museum cost 2 Euro, but instead of going into the museum, we followed a trail through a field that led us to another beach. For some reason, when I thought about my trip to Ireland I never considered walking on a beach and the two beaches that we visited on the same day were absolutely so beautiful because they were so different! After our beach photo opportunity, we made our way back to the museum, and instead of going into the museum, I followed a separate path that lead me to a simple garden that did not seem real.
Night Five
Once the entire tour group was ready to leave, we made our way through the Ring of Kerry and made it back to the B&B where we freshened up and ventured into town to have dinner. After dinner we went back to the Kings Court Inn to get ready for our night out. We eventually made our way to a pub nearby called The Grand which became one of my favorite nights again because there was a fun crowd and live music! The band that was playing was so funny and entertaining, and took all of our song requests even though they had never performed the songs!
Day Six
After having such a fun day driving through the Ring of Kerry and a great night at The Grand, spending this Thursday on the bus was a good relaxing day. As we made our way back to The Belvedere Hotel in Dublin, we stopped to visit the Rock of Cashel. I’m sure this would have been a beautiful castle but unfortunately the castle was under construction and it was a very rainy day.
Night Six
Once we got back to The Belvedere Hotel, I took a nap until it was dinner time. After dinner we got ready and made our way to Whelans Pub which is the pub from the movie P.S. I Love You. It was exciting to be in a well-known pub, but it wasn’t the most fun. At around midnight I called it an early night and caught a cab back to the hotel as the other girls continued on.
Day Seven
On our final day we were all pretty bummed that we were leaving but we still made the most of being in Ireland! We started the day with another walking tour around Dublin, but this one was for a geographical description of the Easter Rising! I actually really enjoyed this tour because of how enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and comedic the tour guide was. After the tour, most of the undergraduate students stayed together and went to have lunch together. After lunch we all took taxi cabs to the Guinness Factory where we learned how they brew the perfect pint of Guinness! At the end of the tour we were able to pour our own pint and we were officially “certified” to pour the perfect pint! The tour lasted longer than expected and we made it back to the hotel in time to get dinner and get ready for a play we paid to see.
Night Seven
For our final night our entire tour group made our way to the Abbey Theater to watch “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream”. This version was slightly different because the producers took a modern approach to the storyline and had the setting of the play take place in a nursing home. This change of scenery made the acting more comedic and was enjoyable to watch. Once the play was over we made our way to meet one of my good friends from Dublin that I had the pleasure of meeting back home in Chicago. He was kind enough to meet with us and show us a fun night out in Dublin! We went to Pygmalion again, and made our way through The Temple Bar District again – but left soon after. My favorite part of the night was Copper Face Jacks which was a proper night club. My friend Gavin mentioned that the place does get a little rowdy, but only because it’s the only place that stays open until 6:00 AM.
Final Day
As we packed our things and made our way to the airport at 4:45 AM it finally settled in our heads that we were leaving one of the most fun cities and most importantly one of the most beautiful countries! It was also extremely depressing because we were leaving three days before St. Patrick’s Day! As we checked our bags and made our way through security we all sat at the gate waiting for our plane to arrive; and praying that our flight was delayed just so we could stay in Dublin a little longer. The flight back to London was short, and the security line through Heathrow was less painful than the one at the beginning of the trip. Unlike the sleepless 6 ½ hour flight into London, this returning flight of 7 ½ hours was easier to sleep on since we weren’t awake from excitement. Once we were home in Newark we were all severely jetlagged and fell asleep at 7:00 PM. The jetlag was even worse when it woke me up at 5:00AM and forced me to sit in bed and stare at the ceiling because it was too early to walk around Mikaela’s house.