Let the Summer Holidays Begin!

TOMORROW I am picking up my sister, who I have not seen in 9 months, from the Dublin airport!! I will be showing her around Ireland a bit before exploring Venice, Rome (where we will meet our other sister!), Athens and Santorini. I doubt I'll blog before returning to California on July 7th, but I'm sure Charly will. So if you want to hear about our Italy and Greece adventures, you can check out her blog: http://high-tide-or-low-tide.blogspot.com/

I'm taking a short break from packing to write this. My apartment is completely empty :( I had a very emotional week. You never realize how much you love a place/person until it is time to say goodbye. Luckily for me, I have a month and a half left... but it's still sad to leave campus, my apartment, friends and roomies.

Alright... let the summer holidays begin! After this trip, INTERRAILING!!! :)

Giant's Causeway & Coastal Route, Northern Ireland

Apparently we saved the best for last!! Caroline and I took a day trip (loooong day trip 6:00-22:00) up north to check out the 'eighth wonder of the world' and left amazed. This was the last trip we'd be taking in Ireland for the time being, and I'm happy to say it was by far the best. I know, I know... all along I was saying 'this is the best thing ever,' but now that I have visited every place I had wanted to (and more), I can confirm that THIS IS THE BEST PLACE IN IRELAND!! If anyone comes to Ireland, the causeway tour is a must!

We took a tour bus from Belfast along the coastal route. Along the way we stopped at a castle, the rope bridge, the Causeway and another castle. I won't say anymore and let the pictures speak for themselves... although they are not even half as great as what we saw.











um hello... are we in the Caribbean here?! Look at the color of the ocean... in Ireland!!





Rope Bridge... we crossed the Atlantic over a rope bridge! It was swaying back and forth and bouncing, frightening but exciting!



Giant's Causeway

You can believe the SCIENCE: an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption - or the LEGEND: The famous legend concerns two rival giants, Benandonner, who lived in Scotland, and Finn MacCool in Ireland. MacCool was a relatively small giant at 52 feet (about 16 meters), and the two giants would shout across the sea to each other demanding a trial of strength.

Finn MacCool decided to build a rocky path across the sea between the two countries to enable the contest to begin, but exhausted by the work, he fell asleep on the causeway and was found by his giant wife Oonagh. Suddenly she saw Benandonner approaching, who was truly a huge giant. Knowing that Finn would be no match for the huge giant, she placed a coat on top of the sleeping Finn.

Benandonner demanded to know where Finn was. Oonagh replied by pointing at the sleeping Finn and saying, "Be quiet or you will wake my child." Seeing this, Benandonner had second thoughts. If that was the size of their child, how big would Finn be? He ran back to Scotland, smashing the causeway in his trail.









Dunluce Castle - picture didn't turn out too great because of the damn sun in the wrong spot, but trust me, it was spectacular!!




OH! We had the NICEST WEATHER SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE on this day :) not a cloud in sight = unheard of and 25 celcius/77 farenehit. Once again... UNHEARD OF! Pretty much the hottest Ireland will ever get. Needless to say, I left with quite the sunburn. I don't even think they sell sunscreen here, so technically it wasn't my fault!

On a sadder note, this was the last trip Caroline and I will be taking together, aside from me visiting her in Paris in about a month. She has been one of my bff's/travel partners all year. The two of us traveled to many places, in Ireland and abroad, and always have the best time on our trips. Not to mention NONSTOP TALKING and laughing along the way. Ah reality... tear :(

New Addition to our European Sister Trip!!

Sam will be joining us!!! The decision was very spontaneous and last minute, but I am so glad that Sam will be able to explore Italy & Greece with us! This means all of the Provine sisters will be traveling = one unforgettable trip!! I love my sisters!!



And the countdown begins... 13 days!! Pleaaase ash cloud don't interfere with this trip!

Connemara

We took a nice break from all the essays and exams to head west and check out the gorgeous Connemara landscapes. We took a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Galway, then a 2-ish hour bus ride to and through Connemara - and back... all in one day! We woke up at 5 am and didn't get back into Dublin until half ten that night, but the trip was well worth it!

This is Kylemore Abbey. It used to be a castle way back when, and then was converted into a big ass house, a school and finally an abbey.



The 'castle' is said to have the biggest and most beautiful gardens in all of Ireland. I concur :)





The church on the estate:



The landscape all around Connemara was breathtaking!













Fun Fact: The movie 'Quiet Man' starring John Wayne was filmed in Connemara. This was the exact bridge that is apparently pretty well-known for any die-hard Wayne/Quiet Man fans (which I'm assuming is not many, as I watched this film in my Ireland & National Cinema class this semester and it wasn't very good) Everyone was pretty excited, so I thought I'd take a picture and share the joy in case anyone else has any interest in this. I still don't, but it makes for a pretty picture :)

Celebration!!

I think it is necessary to write a blog post today as I have now completed four essays in one week! You'd think the last thing I'd want to do was write more, but I enjoy writing if it's not torturous essays for my classes. Now all I have left to do is take two exams... and I'll be done with DCU forever :(

Can you find your card?

A burst of wind came through my window today and blew down all of the cards I had on my desk. With these already down, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to show off how loved I am. These cards have been accumulating over the past year from various friends and family members. Looking at them really makes me realize how very lucky I am to have such great and thoughtful people back home. These are just some of the cards I received this year. It means so much to receive things from home, so I thank you all for being so wonderful! Can you find your card?

American change

Lisa came back from the launderette with some American change she found in one of the machines. It was a quarter and a nickel. When she first handed it to me, I told her that it wasn't American coins. Then I looked closer and in fact she was right and I was wrong. I just haven't seen that currency in so long that I didn't recognize it! The quarter is similar size to the two-euro coin here, and it is so LIGHT compared to that coin! I couldn't believe it... The whole thing made me remember around Christmas when I received a 20 dollar bill with a Christmas card. At first I thought it may be a joke and 'fake money' because it seemed to be a weird size. Yet again I was wrong. It's going to be weird going back and getting used to the currency in America. It's so different here because I LOVE when I have change, as a few coins can be a substantial amount of money.