Summary of study abroad trip

I have updated a summary of my study abroad trip. Enjoy and please consider going abroad. It was a fabulous learning experience.

West Coast of Ireland: Cong & Connemara

For the second day of my west coast tour we went through/to Inagh Valley, Kylemore Abbey, Joyce County, Cong Village, and Ross Errily Friary. 

Kylemore Abbey: 

A lot of the trees around here have toppled over. Apparently the soil is very loose here.

Through Joyce County 

This tree is known as a rag tree. It believed to be a faerie tree. 

Going up north: Belfast

During the exam period in May, I had 5 days where I didn't have any exams. So one day, I took the train to Belfast. The train ride was about 2 hours. I spent the day walking around the city. It was a nice day. 

Similarities & Differences: Dublin/Ireland vs. Los Angeles/California

Coming to Ireland, I expected a lot of things to be different then California. Certain things are different but some are similar too. It is usually the little differences that get to me. I can't say that I'm completely over my culture shock but I learned to deal with the differences and live comfortably here.

Back in California

I came back to California on Thursday after a long day of traveling (7 hours from Dublin to Newark, a 3 hour layover, and 6 hours from Newark to Los Angeles). I'm so happy to be back home and sleep in my own bed.

Anyways, I still have a lot to talk about so I will still be creating new posts about places I've been to and stuff even though I am back home. Be on the lookout for new posts soon. 

Kilkenny: a medieval town

UCD's International Office planned a trip to Kilkenny a few Sundays ago. Kilkenny is about an hour or south south east of Dublin. 12 euros paid for lunch (tea sandwiches & soup), transportation, and a castle tour. We also had about 2-3 hours to explore the little town after lunch.

It was a gorgeous day to go out. The castle has a big park open to the public and it was full of families and friends spending a day out in the sun.

Kilkenny is advertised to tourists as a medieval town. There is one main road into the city with only one lane for each direction of traffic. The streets around the town are narrow and has small alleyways around.

Pictures under the cut

Cork: The Rebel County

Several weeks ago, my friend and I took a day trip to Cork City.  I had a 2 euro voucher for a bus ride to Cork and didn't want to waste it since a normal ticket costs 22 euros. So even though Cork is 4 hours away from Dublin, my friend and I decided to go down anyways. We woke up at 6:30 am to catch the bus into the city for the 7 am bus to Cork. After 4 hours we arrived in Cork City. We walked around the city for about 6 hours looking at the different buildings and what not before hopping on the 5 pm bus back to Dublin. We got back around 9 pm and waited for the bus to go back to Belfield.

Despite the 8 hours spent on a bus I did enjoy Cork. We went to the UCC campus and I absolutely loved that place. University College Cork was my second choice in my study abroad application. Both Laura and I agreed that while we love how the UCC campus looks we would rather live in Dublin.  We also walked to the city gaol (jail) and other tourist spots.

It was supposed to rain the entire day but luckily the heaviest rain did not occur until we were on the bus back to Dublin.