Ireland

I left on May 19th with many tears. T had to leave the same day as me to go to a conference for work, which was great cause I got to sit next to him in the airport till he left. I had to fly from Charlotte to Atlanta and then sit there for three hours. My friend C, who was also part of the class, got the same flight out so I had company in the airport. After a long overnight flight we took another flight to Dublin. All told I spent almost 24 hours flying. It was exhausting.
We managed to find the apartment we were staying at with little difficulty but the other two girls who came with us were not so lucky. One had a $100 taxi ride cause the guy couldn't find the place. The other spent an hour in passport control because the agent felt it was strange that she didn't know the address she was staying at. (This was after the couple in front of her told the agent they had no itinerary or hotel reservations.) The apartment belonged to an ex-boyfriend of a friend of ours who spends months at a time in Turkmenistan so he wasn't home and was happy to have someone house sit for him.
The first day we were there was a wash because we were all so jet lagged and the late arrival of the other two girls, so we only managed to see the neighborhood we were in and eat at a restaurant.
The second day we went to the Guiness factory. (I was a good sport and went along.) It was not a bad tour. It was self guided and there were interesting exhibits on each floor ranging from old timey advertising (my favorite) to how the product is made. I also liked the exhibit on how they make the casks for the beer. We walked around the city a bit. I must say I was sadly disappointed with Dublin. The city is dirty (dog poop everywhere) and there are not enough historic buildings left to give it that European feel. The modern feel made the city feel more like Krakow than an old Irish city.
The third day we went on a train ride to Blarney castle, Cork, and several spots along the way. Our tour guide was this little old Irish man who smoked like a chimney but was so sweet. The Blarney Castle was our first stop. All of us in our little group kissed the stone since we figured we would probably never get a chance like that again any time soon. The area was green and beautiful so I felt much better about coming to Ireland than I did in Dublin. After we went to the site of the Lusitania graves at this small little cemetery. We followed on to the city Queenstown (Cove or Cobh to the natives) which was the destination of the Lusitania. There was a museum that discussed the international route that was key to the Irish immigration route to America. There was also the White Star Line office and a beautiful gothic cathedral. On our way back to Dublin we ran into a little trouble because the transportation unions were holding a lightning strike for a few hours. It delayed us about three hours all told, but we got back to the apartment safe and sound.
The fourth day we split up. Two of the girls wanted to go shopping but me and another girl wanted to do more site seeing. I wanted to see the Gaol, but the other girl wanted to see this coastal town called Haught (or at least that was how the locals said it.) I didn't want to go around Dublin by myself so I went to the little town instead and I was glad I did. It was amazingly beautiful. They had cliffs covered in birds and yellow bushes, a little lighthouse, seals in the bays, old fishing ships, and great panoramic views. My classmate was especially happy to see the seals, which are her favorite animal. It was a great day and it only cost us a few euros to get there.
The next morning we got up and went to the airport to fly to England to begin our class. I was glad we went early because it did take me several days to feel human again. It was also nice because I got to know the two other girls better.