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My tea while waiting for the train |
Well I am sitting in the Beauvais train station for the next
three hours waiting for the next train, because I missed my train literally by
ONE MINUTE. If the lady in front of me had not asked so many questions, I would
have been on that train and back in Amiens by 1pm. The way I look at it though
is that everything happens for a reason. No matter how terribly you might think
things are, there is ALWAYS a reason. That is one of the main things I have
learned during my study abroad time here. It has helped me to relax and calm
down after a crisis has occurred. There’s no point in being frustrated over
something when you will always be able to remedy it some other way. And this
way, by missing my bus, I have some extra time to work on my blog! I spent 18
euros to get from the airport to the train station, and that was only about 5
miles. I was not about to waste every bit of money I have in my account just
because I want to be back in my own bed! Now I get to sit in the train station
on a holiday and have my thoughts to myself. Did I mention that despite the
fact that the next train is at 12h40, my layover train doesn’t leave the next
station until 17h49. All in good time, all in good time.
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So happy to be on the train back to Amiens |
So like I said, my blog post of IRELAND! I arrived at the
airport extremely late at night, and Vicky and Olivia were there to greet me!
Vicky and I ended up staying up until 5 in the morning laying in her bed
catching up despite the fact that we had to be up early the next morning to
catch a train for Galway! The train was one of the nicest that I have ever been
on. It even had little tables where four people could gather around and play
cards, talk, or sleep (which is what we did). The countryside was beautiful. We
saw a total of four rainbows over the whole week! I was bestowed with a ton of
Irish luck (but apparently that doesn’t work in France…).
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Waiting in the train station! |
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On the LUAS (step #2) to train station |
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My welcome team! |
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Finally on the nice train |
Once we got to Galway, it started raining a little bit, but that didn’t stop us from wandering around and shopping for a bit before Sarah and Michael came to meet us to walk back to the house. Those two days were fun-filled with beautiful scenery, torrential rain, garlic cheese fries, a cathedral, and a pub in the evening. In the morning when we were scheduled to leave, the rain was so hard that we had to take shelter in a McDonald’s and wait for it to blow over.
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Vicky loooooves Nathalie! |
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The train that we took |
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Nathalie is super excited to see Ireland |
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Taking the bus (step #1) to the train station |
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The cathedral of Galway |
We made it back to Dublin in time to make some food and
repack for our trip to
Waterford the next day. I’m not too much of a girly
girl, so you can imagine my excitement at going to look at a bunch of
crystals…WOOO. They were nice, but not something that I would go back to.
However, we didn’t get to go on the tour because it was some sort of bank
holiday (what is it with Europeans and their holidays?!?!), so that might have
changed my perspective on the whole experience. The town was beautiful, with
cathedrals, sheep, and interesting stores. Pictures to follow:
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We love rainbows in Ireland |
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It was a bit windy that day |
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River leading to the ocean in Galway |
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We did not enjoy the rain so much |
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Inside the Cathedral |
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Our long walk to and from Galway center |
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Inside church again |
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Looking forward to that warm bed in Dublin! |
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Weird roadsigns in Celtic and English |
The most interesting thing about Ireland was that everything was written in the Celtic language FIRST, and then in English - despite the fact that no one really speaks Celtic anymore. There were the few Irish people that would occasionally come out with their language, but I feel as if that was maybe only to talk about the weird Americans! I really liked the look of the words, but I just found it interesting that most people didn't even understand the words.
We were more than glad to get back to Dublin and get some
good rest, especially since the girls had service work the next day at 10am.
That next day, I was extremely lazy. I told myself I was going to make a trip
into Dublin and wander around by myself, but when I looked outside, it was
raining (surprise), so I ended up staying in, drinking tea, and watching
Netflix (since I’ve been deprived of it in France).
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Vicky making me
food for the week. |
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Kilmainham Gaol |
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SHEEP! |
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Beautiful rainbows |
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Comic book-looking building in Dublin |
On Wednesday, I finally got out on the town and visited the Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Brewery with one of Vicky’s friends, Kaian. We were supposed to go with a bunch of his other friends after they got out of class, but then they decided to cancel last minute. I was just happy to not have to go to these places by myself! We actually got lost on our way to the Kilmainham Gaol (aka really old jail) and almost wandered into a REAL JAIL!! It is called Arbour Jail? I think. We decided not to try anything. We finally found Kilmainham and took the tour for two euros! It was really interesting to listen to the history of this jail and how it played a major role in Irish history itself.
After such a long day of walking and getting lost, you can
imagine our excitement to get to the Guinness factory with indoor heating and
beer. We both learned how to pour
a Guinness. I am now an official Guinness pourer, and I even have the
certificate to prove it. I didn’t drink all of it, but I had to drink at least
some of it in honor of my dad not being able to be there with me! It was a fun
day, but I was ready to be back in my warm bed in Vicky’s room!
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Anddd the Guinness gates! |
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Old Guinness paraphernalia |
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Learning how to pour a Guinness |
The final day of my trip I spent sending things to my
family, visiting
Temple Bar (the famous bar district in Dublin) and eating garlic
cheese fries for the last time from
Supermacs! I also might or might not have
become addicted to the show “Orange is the New Black” on Netflix. And I might
or might not have watched seven episodes in one night. Needless to say, I got
two hours of sleep, so I will be sleeping well tonight! Who knows when I will
be in Ireland again?! Might as well take advantage of everything including
Netflix!
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Temple Bar, didn't get to go inside |
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Next to the river in Dublin |
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Trinity College, with my Starbucks :) |
Sidenotes:
They have peanut butter in this strange country, but as
Vicky says it’s “ABC peanut butter.” It was a little creamier than it should
have been I think.
The Irish like to drink, or at least the ones I came in
contact with. They were drinking every night I was there. One night Vicky went
out into the hall and screamed down the stairs several times to “shut up” and
that she didn’t want to “hear their Irish mouths.” It was quite hysterical,
especially considering she came back in the room and said that it was best not
to mess with the Irish because they can be angry elves when they are drunk.
And finally, I have missed the heck out of my Brazilians. I
loved Ireland, and I loved being able to spend time with Vicky, but I have
grown so close to this group of seven Brazilians that it’s difficult to be away
from them for so long! They always tell me that I will regret my decision to
not tag along with them, but I still don’t believe that to be true! I enjoyed
Ireland so much, and I really needed to see Vicky, but I know I would have had
an incredible amount of fun with Bia, Henrique and Pri as well!
Hello France! I’ve missed you (even though I’m angry at you
right now for making me miss my train).
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