So Tuesday Momma got he
re to Oxford, and Wednesday we went to Ireland! (poor mom spent way too much time on planes and buses for a few days) We got into Dublin Wednesday evening, got into our hostel, which was really nice, and then we went and found some random Indian/European vegetarian restaurant and had some really good food - we still don't know exactly what it was though! Thursday we got up and got on the DART and rode out to Howth (pronounced "Hothe"), which is a little fishing village just outside of Dublin. That is where they get all of their fish for the restaurants, so of course we had to get some fish and chips for lunch while we were there. The little town was so cute - I loved it! It was a peninsula so we were pretty much surrounded by water and it was just beautiful. I would love to live in some of those houses that overlooked the Irish sea. We walk
ed out on the barrier as the tide came in and climbed around on the rocks, and then we went back into the town and went and found the abbey ruins of St. Mary's church. From the ruins you could see all the fishing boats, the ocean and the hills - it was so cool! The church yard had been turned into a beautiful cemetery full of very Irish families (O'Reilly, O'_____, etc.). After we had spent a while in Howth, we got back on the DART and rode a little ways out to Malahide to the castle! It was really neat because you had to take a trail to get to the castle and it was way back in the woods so we had a nice walk (in the rain) out there. The castle itself was beautiful and we got a personal tour through all the main parts, including bedrooms and great halls! We learned all about the Talbot famil
y, who lived there for years and apparently a couple of them still do! ( I want to live in a castle in the middle of the woods!) We then had some delicious coffee and scones in the cafe overlooking the castle garden, and then made our way back to Dublin. We had found out that Evensong at Christ Church in Dublin was that evening so we made it back in time for the service, and it was so beautiful! There were very few people there, but we really enjoyed sitting and listening to the choir sing. Every word of evensong, whether spoken or sung, was straight from the Bible - it wa
s a really neat service. For dinner, mom and I camped out on some steps next to Dublin Castle and ate our picnic dinner and just enjoyed watching people walk around. Then we decided to go into the Temple Bar area (the downtown/square of Dublin) and we went into a few different pubs to hear some good Irish music! The first pub we went in (The Auld Dubliner) had 2 old men and a girl playing - one man with a guitar, one with an accordian and the girl with her violin! They were fun to watch - they really loved what they did. After they finished we moved on to The Quay's Bar where we could hear "Brown-Eyed Girl" through the door. The music there was awesome - all familiar songs (Country Roads, All My Lovin') and a couple people were dancin around at the front! It was neat to see how Irish people have fun! Friday we got up early and caught a bus tour into the Wicklow Mountains - it was beautiful! We got to drive all through the mountains and Glendalough (where Braveheart was filmed!). We saw the valleys that were made by glaciers and the lakes they left behind. We got to walk through the valley in Glendalough and it was beautiful and green (everything was covered in moss!) and there were waterfalls coming down the mountains into t
he lakes! It was pretty cold and rainy, but that is how I imagined Ireland so it was fine with me! After a long day with our crazy bus-driver/tour-guide, Mom and I came back to Dublin, did a little shopping and then found some cheap fast food that tasted great to our hungry bellies. We went back to our hostel and got moved i
nto our new, private room (the first 2 nights we were in 12-person rooms) and got showered and got some good sleep. Saturday we woke up to rain, but still enjoyed going to the weekend markets and exploring a little bit more (we went to the Dublin Castle and to St. Patrick's Cathedral) before we had to leave Dublin. It was a great weekend! We made it back to Oxford Saturday evening, and then Dad and Curt got here this morning! They had a very long day and a half of travel, so they were very tired, but we dragged them around for a while (in the cold wind and rain!). We got to go to the Palm Sunday service at Christ Church, ate at Eagle and Child for lunch, showed them where I do my grocery shopping, University Parks, and then had our chocolate fix of cake and crepes with ice cream for dinner! haha - nothing like splurging on food when you travel! Hopefully they're getting some good sleep now so we can fill this week with all kinds of English adventures! I'll update later! Cheers!
re to Oxford, and Wednesday we went to Ireland! (poor mom spent way too much time on planes and buses for a few days) We got into Dublin Wednesday evening, got into our hostel, which was really nice, and then we went and found some random Indian/European vegetarian restaurant and had some really good food - we still don't know exactly what it was though! Thursday we got up and got on the DART and rode out to Howth (pronounced "Hothe"), which is a little fishing village just outside of Dublin. That is where they get all of their fish for the restaurants, so of course we had to get some fish and chips for lunch while we were there. The little town was so cute - I loved it! It was a peninsula so we were pretty much surrounded by water and it was just beautiful. I would love to live in some of those houses that overlooked the Irish sea. We walk
ed out on the barrier as the tide came in and climbed around on the rocks, and then we went back into the town and went and found the abbey ruins of St. Mary's church. From the ruins you could see all the fishing boats, the ocean and the hills - it was so cool! The church yard had been turned into a beautiful cemetery full of very Irish families (O'Reilly, O'_____, etc.). After we had spent a while in Howth, we got back on the DART and rode a little ways out to Malahide to the castle! It was really neat because you had to take a trail to get to the castle and it was way back in the woods so we had a nice walk (in the rain) out there. The castle itself was beautiful and we got a personal tour through all the main parts, including bedrooms and great halls! We learned all about the Talbot famil
y, who lived there for years and apparently a couple of them still do! ( I want to live in a castle in the middle of the woods!) We then had some delicious coffee and scones in the cafe overlooking the castle garden, and then made our way back to Dublin. We had found out that Evensong at Christ Church in Dublin was that evening so we made it back in time for the service, and it was so beautiful! There were very few people there, but we really enjoyed sitting and listening to the choir sing. Every word of evensong, whether spoken or sung, was straight from the Bible - it wa
s a really neat service. For dinner, mom and I camped out on some steps next to Dublin Castle and ate our picnic dinner and just enjoyed watching people walk around. Then we decided to go into the Temple Bar area (the downtown/square of Dublin) and we went into a few different pubs to hear some good Irish music! The first pub we went in (The Auld Dubliner) had 2 old men and a girl playing - one man with a guitar, one with an accordian and the girl with her violin! They were fun to watch - they really loved what they did. After they finished we moved on to The Quay's Bar where we could hear "Brown-Eyed Girl" through the door. The music there was awesome - all familiar songs (Country Roads, All My Lovin') and a couple people were dancin around at the front! It was neat to see how Irish people have fun! Friday we got up early and caught a bus tour into the Wicklow Mountains - it was beautiful! We got to drive all through the mountains and Glendalough (where Braveheart was filmed!). We saw the valleys that were made by glaciers and the lakes they left behind. We got to walk through the valley in Glendalough and it was beautiful and green (everything was covered in moss!) and there were waterfalls coming down the mountains into t
he lakes! It was pretty cold and rainy, but that is how I imagined Ireland so it was fine with me! After a long day with our crazy bus-driver/tour-guide, Mom and I came back to Dublin, did a little shopping and then found some cheap fast food that tasted great to our hungry bellies. We went back to our hostel and got moved i
nto our new, private room (the first 2 nights we were in 12-person rooms) and got showered and got some good sleep. Saturday we woke up to rain, but still enjoyed going to the weekend markets and exploring a little bit more (we went to the Dublin Castle and to St. Patrick's Cathedral) before we had to leave Dublin. It was a great weekend! We made it back to Oxford Saturday evening, and then Dad and Curt got here this morning! They had a very long day and a half of travel, so they were very tired, but we dragged them around for a while (in the cold wind and rain!). We got to go to the Palm Sunday service at Christ Church, ate at Eagle and Child for lunch, showed them where I do my grocery shopping, University Parks, and then had our chocolate fix of cake and crepes with ice cream for dinner! haha - nothing like splurging on food when you travel! Hopefully they're getting some good sleep now so we can fill this week with all kinds of English adventures! I'll update later! Cheers!
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