Back to EC

Tomorrow we will be departing Dublin and returning to Elmira College. We expect to be back around 9PM. The last 2 days of the trip have been free days. Although they have not been without some excitement.  Yesterday as the group was walking to dinner.  We witnessed the Queen of England and the President of Ireland pass in front of us. Thanks to all who have viewed this Blog and we hope you enjoyed reading it.

Onward to Dublin..

Tomorrow, we will be on our way to Dublin.  We will have a couple days to explore and get those last minute souvenirs and gifts. On our way to Dublin we will stop at Newgrange , Hill of Tara and the Boyne.  Below is a pic of the group at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Paths of Giants

Sorry for the delay in posting. The Blog site was down for maintenance. So today we are heading to Belfast (2nd largest city in Ireland behind Dublin). Yesterday we visited the Giants Causeway, Bushmills Distillery and a rope bridge.   We got a lot of good photos which you can see above and a group shot of us at the Causeway below.

Northern Ireland

Yesterday, we traveled to Northern Ireland and on our way we stopped at Belleek Pottery and Ulster American Folk Park.  The parked tracked emigration of the Irish to America.  We started in Ireland and by the end of the tour we were in Pennsylvania.  Today we are taking a walking tour of Derry. We will learn about the history of Derry and Bloody Sunday.

Below is a pic of the group at a one room Irish school in Ulster American Folk Park.

Heading North

Today we are on our way to Sligo .  We will spend one night there before we head into Northern Ireland.  We will have to exchange some money (Euros into British pounds). 

Defending the Castle

Yesterday, we went to Athenry Heritage center and learned about life in Medieval life. We also learned the skill of archery and got dressed up in the clothes of the time. We were maidens, princesses, kings, knights, jesters and even a robin hood. We got to view (and experience!!) some of the forms of punishment at the time.  In the afternoon we went to Clonmacnoise (a monastery foounded ~545AD).  Today is a free day and everyone is getting some sleeping and shopping done.  In the afternoon, we will got to the market and buy groceries for our homemade dinner we are making tonight.
Below is a picture of the group at Athenry.

Hanging off cliffs

Yesterday the group traveled to the largest of the Aran island Inishmore.  It was a 45 minute boat ride to the island. Once on the island we traveled by horse cart to Dún Aonghasa a prehistoric fortess on the island.  The group was able to get up to the cliffs edge and peak over (most all chose to do it laying down).  Today we are off to Athenry and Clonmacnoise.

A day off

Yesterday we had a well deserved day off. We caught up on sleep, did a little shopping and explored the city centre of Galway.  In the afternoon, we went to the grocery store and bought food so we could prepare our own dinner.  Amy, Jackie, Joe, Mary, Meagan and Phelim prepared a delicious meal that included a salad, penne pasta, garlic bread, a red sauce, Mary's home made Alfredo sauce (best thing I have had here) and chicken.   After dinner we had a surprise birthday for our two students who have birthday's while we are here (Michelle and Natalie). Today we are off to the Aran Islands (Inis Mor).



Dr. Stilts

Ireland Rocks!!!

Today we went on an adventure and saw (drum roll please)...rocks, in its many forms.  The day started off with a tour of Bunratty Castle.  We were able to walk around and explore the castle on our own, saw the dungeon, witnessed the making of Irish brown bread, found two adorable Irish Wolfhounds, and played on some canons (see below!).  After our castle adventure we headed to the Cliffs of Moher.  As soon as we saw them, they didn't look real; only pictures can capture the pure beauty of the scene.  Next we saw a bird show before going into the Aillwee Cave.  Some of us were able to hold one of the falcons and it flew around the area as part of the show.  After the birds we ventured 200 hundred feet into the earth and got to experience total blackness.  We literally couldn't see our hands in front of our faces...it was awesome!  Our last stop of the day was to the Portal Tomb and a sea of...you guessed it, more rocks!

Slainte!!
Kerri Haley
Katie Place
Meagan Davenport

On our way to Galway

Today we are on our way to Galway and we will be stopping at Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher.  In Limerick we have a very limited internet connection so no pictures today :(  However, we will catch up once we are in Galway.