Exit: Sligo, Enter: Galway

Day Eleven:                                                                                                            May 27, 2015

Sign in Michael Quirke's window

          We're a the Lisadell House right now. There are two long benches in front of Constance Markievicz's paintings and I thought that would be a good place to start my journal for today. We have a tour in about a half hour, so I'm just kind of biding my time. (Unfortunately, that's all I wrote for Day Eleven...but I'll add a bit more on here because I remember what we did after that). After the tour, a few of us got hot chocolate for the bus ride home (it was so cold and wet! We needed some warmth). Then, [Friend B], [Friend C], [Friend M], and I went out for lunch. We just went to one of the cafeteria style cafes, but it was very good. And the guy who got our food for us looked like Chef Gordon Ramsay, so we spent a lot of time trying to inconspicuously get a picture of him. I don't even remember if we were successful or not! After lunch, we went to a candy shop. They had chocolate frogs!! Of course I got one. I can't just pass up a chocolate frog. Finally, we got to go to Michael Quirke's wood shop. That's what I'd been looking forward to all day. He has such a wealth of information when it comes to Irish mythology. I think we were in his shop for almost three hours.
And he even took the time to carve small things for us! 

Day Twelve:                                                                                                           May 28, 2015

The view out of my apartment in Galway

          I am having a hard time keeping up with journaling. We left Sligo for Galway this morning. I was really sad to leave Sligo, but now that I'm in Galway, I'm pretty excited. Our apartment is very nice, quite homey actually. And it's right on the beach! I mean, it's too cold to really hang out there or swim or anything, but it's really nice to look out my window and see the ocean. I wish I could on the water. It's so beautiful. After we got settled in our apartments, we went grocery shopping. This time around went a lot better than when we went shopping in Dublin. Here, at least we had an idea of what kind of food we wanted to buy. We finally got [Friend H] to buy a Kinder Egg and now she's just as hooked as we are! And we found a whole gluten free aisle for [Friend B] and were able to get noodles, bread, and pizza that she could eat. We made the pizza for dinner and then went to our neighbors apartment...[Friend C] and [Friend M]! (And Other Person J). There were eight of us all packed in their tiny living room, all with our laptops out, working on assignments, drinking wine (water, in my case), and watching Britain's Got Talent. Not going to lie, Britain didn't seem all that talented. They were in their semifinals and there was only one that I remotely liked. Anyway, after we got back to our own apartment, I tried to figure out how to use our fireplace, gave up, and went to bed.

Enter: Sligo!

Day Eight:                                                                                                                         May 24, 2015

Parke's Castle

         Today was a traveling day. We were mostly on the bus, except at the end when we got to go to Parke's Castle. It was really cool and very informative, but unfortunately I left my notebook on the bus. I did get pictures though! So at least that counts for something. I've been having a really hard time with one of the girls on the trip. She keeps pronouncing my name wrong and I know she's doing it on purpose because I've corrected her at least five times now. She also keeps making fun of me for my faith. She was downright rude when she found out I went to mass yesterday and she makes fun of me for praying before meals. It's very lonely being the only Catholic. It really makes me miss home. Anyway, the hotel room is really nice. It's just me and [Friend B] in this one. [Other Friend H] will join us again once we're in Galway. I think that's all I have for now. (I might get to climb a mountain on Wednesday!)

          I forgot something that I wanted to write about. We stopped at a gas station on our drive to Sligo. I was talking to a guy in the check out lane and it was really cool! He's from Ireland, but he's been all over the United States (more places than I've been to!) Really cool guy, but he talked so close to my face. I was leaning pretty far back just to maintain my bubble. These people don't believe in personal space! But it's okay, I like them.

Day Nine:                                                                                                                          May 25, 2015

View looking toward Isle of Inisfree

          Today was really cool. We visited multiple Yeats locations, including the Glencar Waterfall, Doonee Rock, and the Isle of Inisfree. It is absolutely beautiful here! So far, I am liking Sligo much better than Dublin. Don't get me wrong, Dublin was great. I'm just not suited to city life. At dinner, I sat by [Friend B], [Friend M], and [Friend C]. We were so hyper and we laughed so much I was almost crying. And then later we hung out in [Friend M] and [Friend C's] room. It was really nice to

bond with more people. ([Friend B] felt the same. I mean, we love each other, but we also want to expand to other people too). Soon, I get to climb the mountain to Queen Mabh's tomb! The rude girl wasn't as rude today, but she seems to be gravitating towards me. I'm trying to have patience...

Day Ten:                                                                                                                          May 26, 2015

          Today was amazing! (...but then I did things and didn't have time to write, so I'm a day behind, again).

Mary at the Tobernalt Holy Well

          We started with a walk to a gallery that had a lot of Jack Butler Yeats paintings. Then we went to a church that was even smaller than St. Michan's church, but that's where W.B. Yeats was buried, so of course we had to stop there. After that, we went to Rosse's Point, where I presented my poem, 'The Meditation of the Old Fisherman'. It was very beautiful there, even if it was a bit chilly. There were these bushes of yellow flowers everywhere. I want to take one home. 

         

Halfway up Knocknarea

Oh! I almost forgot about the Holy Well! I actually think we went there on Day Nine, but I'll write about it here anyway. There was a stream that led out of the area and an altar at the top. To the left of the altar was a crucifix and on the right was Mother Mary. It was so peaceful there, but it was kind of ruined by rude people. Anyway, back to yesterday. We ate at Drumcliffe and then we got to climb Knocknarea! It was exhausting, but also super exhilarating. It was so much fun boding with [Friend M] and [Friend C]. We want to see if we can be roommates in Galway. Anyway, on the other side of that mountain were some pretty treacherous stairs. [Friend B] and I went off the path quite a bit, mostly because it looked fun. And it was. When we got back we all went to the bar in the hotel lobby. [Friend C], [Friend B], and I split a strawberry kiwi hard cider. To be honest, it tasted like Capri Sun. I wasn't really a fan, but it was fun hanging with my friends, plus [Friend A] and [Friend N], who pretty much joined our group after that. It was a good day.




"The herring are not in the tides as they were of old;
My sorrow! for many a creak gave the creel in the cart
That carried the take to Sligo town to be sold,
When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart."
                                         -'The Meditation of the Old Fisherman' by W.B. Yeats