Hello from Galway, Ireland!
One of the best things about studying abroad is being in a completely new environment from the one that you are used to. My friends and I are very adventurous people that love to get out and explore our surroundings. So far, we have had a variety of different adventures that range from local to a couple of hours away.
One of our very first adventures in Ireland was to visit a castle. Ireland’s countryside is known for the sprawling green hills, and amazing architecture from centuries old buildings, abbeys, and castles. We decided to go and walk to one that seemed like it was fairly close to us called Menlo castle.
A group of us from Linfield headed out earlier in the day to “hike” the one hour to the castle. The first thing we learned is that you can’t actually walk to the castle, and most of the way we were walking along the side of the road. When we arrived at our destination, we found out that it was closed to the public (always check online first, guys) and we ended up not even being able to see it. We walked to the entrance of the grounds for some cool photos and ended up walking even farther to visit the castle’s cemetery which actually gave us a view of the real castle from a distance.
This adventure ended with a long walk back and into town to get Italian food and ponder over our journey, even though we didn’t do what we set out to do in the first place.
One of my favorite experiences so far has been visiting the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are an attraction that most people visiting the West coast of Ireland set out to see, and our group was no different.
We found a bus that would take us to see them earlier in the day and bring us back in the late afternoon for a fairly decent price. After we got off the bus, we purchased day passes and entered to see one of the most beautiful sights in Ireland. The Cliffs left us all speechless and we walked up and down the trails along them to get in every view. We took lots and lots of pictures and even went inside O’brien’s tower at the top of one of the cliffs.
We were all happy to look at the view of the ocean and natural beauty that surrounded us for hours, but we eventually checked out the visitor’s center to learn even more about the cliffs around us. We were able to get a hot lunch after the chill of the sea air, get some awesome things from the gift shop, and warm up before the journey home. The cliffs are a must see for anyone visiting Ireland, and we all hope to adventure out there again before the semester is over.
Aside from our bigger adventures we have also been checking out the natural beauty surrounding us every day. We have beautiful beaches close to our school, parks, and my roommates and I have a reading spot down by the water that we like to go to after class sometimes.
Ireland is a beautiful country full of places to explore, and we have lots more exciting adventures in our future here.
Best,
Isabel Brown