Wow! I can't believe I've already been in Ireland for a month now! Time sure does fly by. Its about time for an update, and from now on I hope to make them much more frequent. So much has happened in the past month, and I finally have some time (and pictures! yay!) to share.
So, to go back to the beginning (and by the beginning I mean my arrival in Dublin of course) between jet-lag and culture shock, my first few days in Ireland were rough. Mom and I were staying in a great hotel/B&B called Paddy's House which provided us a place to stay for the time being, and a comfortable spot to search for housing on the internet. I had been sending out bunches of emails for the few weeks preceding my departure, but I had very little luck. By the time I landed in Dublin, I was more than a little nervous that I would be living in a hotel for my first semester. With nearly 25,000 students pouring into UCD each September, its no wonder the rental market gets bogged down. After two more days of frantically searching for a room to rent, by an amazing stroke of luck, a room opened up in a campus apartment which I gratefully accepted. Mom and I made a trip to IKEA and decked out my new digs :) I have my own room and bathroom, and share a kitchen and living room with 5 other grad students. Somehow it wound up that we are all from either the U.S. or Canada, which has been great because we've been able to go through some of the cultural adjustments and get to know the city together.
So, with my biggest stressor out of the way, Mom and I decided to do a bit of sight seeing and explore Ireland! The tourist offices here in Ireland are fantastic and incredibly helpful in setting up tours, giving directions, advice on tourist attractions, etc. We signed up for the Dublin Bus South Coast & Gardens tour which was only €24, all inclusive (http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/southcoast.aspx). We boarded the double decker bus, and grabbed ourselves a seat on the top floor. Such a great view of the city! Our tour guide was full of funny and interesting stories, and lots of great historical information as well. We drove from Dublin City Center down to coast through Blackrock and Bray (beautiful coastal towns), past the town of Dalkey, and then onto Powerscourt estate and Gardens. Powerscourt was built in the 1730's, and was everything you'd imagine a fairy-tale countryside estate to be! When we first arrived, I couldn't figure out why it looked so familiar to me, but then I realized that I recognized it from the movie The Count of Monte Cristo! Awesome! Mom and I walked around the grounds which included fountains, ponds, rose gardens, a pet cemetery, and a Japanese garden. Really a beautiful place to spend the day, and there was a great little cafe and shops there as well.
The following day, we went on another, much longer bus tour, this time to Northern Ireland. Our first stop was in the capitol city of Belfast. Belfast has an extensive history of shipbuilding, and is in fact the city where the Titanic was built. We had heard great things about the newly opened Titanic museum, and signed up to go on the self-guided tour. The exhibits were great and very interactive, and at one point we even rode along on an amusement park ride through the ship building process. It was well-worth a visit, and a great glimpse into the amazing feat of engineering the ship really was, and all the planning and work that went into making it a reality.
After leaving Belfast, we drove further north until we reached the Giants Causeway. The Causeway is made up of thousands of basalt columns; a natural phenomenon caused by the rapid cooling of volcanic basalt 50 to 60 million years ago. Irish legend describes the formation of the columns in a more colorful fashion, which includes battling giants and clever deceptions. I can't do it justice like the Irish storytellers, so google it if you're interested :) It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and by many considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the natural world. The main site descends straight into the ocean and is surrounded by steep green hills and rocky cliffs, some of which have visible basalt columns as well. It was such a unique landscape, I couldn't stop taking pictures!!
On Mom and my last visit to Ireland, Powerscourt Gardens and the Giants Causeway were two of the places we would have loved to see but ran out of time for. I'm glad we were able to visit them both this time around! It was also nice for Mom and I to spend some relaxing time together and forget about the stress of moving to a new country for a bit. My first week in Ireland went by fast, and before we knew it, classes were starting for me and it was time for Mom to go home to the states. I'm so grateful that she was there with me for my first week for all the moral support, setting up my apartment, figuring out the bus system and much more.
Well, I have so much more to write about starting my program and exploring Dublin, but that will have to wait until next time! Until then :)
So, to go back to the beginning (and by the beginning I mean my arrival in Dublin of course) between jet-lag and culture shock, my first few days in Ireland were rough. Mom and I were staying in a great hotel/B&B called Paddy's House which provided us a place to stay for the time being, and a comfortable spot to search for housing on the internet. I had been sending out bunches of emails for the few weeks preceding my departure, but I had very little luck. By the time I landed in Dublin, I was more than a little nervous that I would be living in a hotel for my first semester. With nearly 25,000 students pouring into UCD each September, its no wonder the rental market gets bogged down. After two more days of frantically searching for a room to rent, by an amazing stroke of luck, a room opened up in a campus apartment which I gratefully accepted. Mom and I made a trip to IKEA and decked out my new digs :) I have my own room and bathroom, and share a kitchen and living room with 5 other grad students. Somehow it wound up that we are all from either the U.S. or Canada, which has been great because we've been able to go through some of the cultural adjustments and get to know the city together. 
So, with my biggest stressor out of the way, Mom and I decided to do a bit of sight seeing and explore Ireland! The tourist offices here in Ireland are fantastic and incredibly helpful in setting up tours, giving directions, advice on tourist attractions, etc. We signed up for the Dublin Bus South Coast & Gardens tour which was only €24, all inclusive (http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/southcoast.aspx). We boarded the double decker bus, and grabbed ourselves a seat on the top floor. Such a great view of the city! Our tour guide was full of funny and interesting stories, and lots of great historical information as well. We drove from Dublin City Center down to coast through Blackrock and Bray (beautiful coastal towns), past the town of Dalkey, and then onto Powerscourt estate and Gardens. Powerscourt was built in the 1730's, and was everything you'd imagine a fairy-tale countryside estate to be! When we first arrived, I couldn't figure out why it looked so familiar to me, but then I realized that I recognized it from the movie The Count of Monte Cristo! Awesome! Mom and I walked around the grounds which included fountains, ponds, rose gardens, a pet cemetery, and a Japanese garden. Really a beautiful place to spend the day, and there was a great little cafe and shops there as well.
After leaving Belfast, we drove further north until we reached the Giants Causeway. The Causeway is made up of thousands of basalt columns; a natural phenomenon caused by the rapid cooling of volcanic basalt 50 to 60 million years ago. Irish legend describes the formation of the columns in a more colorful fashion, which includes battling giants and clever deceptions. I can't do it justice like the Irish storytellers, so google it if you're interested :) It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and by many considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the natural world. The main site descends straight into the ocean and is surrounded by steep green hills and rocky cliffs, some of which have visible basalt columns as well. It was such a unique landscape, I couldn't stop taking pictures!! 
Well, I have so much more to write about starting my program and exploring Dublin, but that will have to wait until next time! Until then :)
 |
| Beautiful and rugged Dunluce Castle |
No comments:
Post a Comment