Glendalough: Where we found the REAL Ireland

Day 7: June 23, 2012

            There was no “old telephone” ringtone waking me up this morning. It had to have been God whispering in my ear or something because I slept straight through my alarm. I woke up with less than thirty minutes before our bus out of Dublin was set to leave. This was not a good start to the morning. Luckily I am pretty used to only having a short amount of time to get ready in the morning since I snooze at least three times before I get up for work, even though I know I’m going to have to rush if I keep doing it. So after a quick shower I finished packing my things and ended up not even being the last one to the bus.

            Once the bus trip got started we were on our way to Glendalough, an old monastery up in the mountains a little over an hour from Dublin. During the bus ride we finally started to catch glimpses of what Ireland is perceived like in all the Hollywood movies. Rolling hills and

pastures, dark clouds and rain, and little specs of white fluff traipsed all throughout the landscape. Everywhere you looked you saw sheep. But when I closed my eyes I was taken back to Virginia. In my ears all I heard was “girl you make my speakers go boom boom” and “well you know I like my chicken fried.” I faded off for probably ten to fifteen minutes dreaming about summertime back home. Concerts, the beach, the SUN, oh yeah and work (the one part of home I don’t miss). However, making money each week is definitely better than spending every euro you get. After I was rudely woken up by the windy, bumpy roads, I opened my eyes to see rain streaking against the window on the bus. Only a few thousand miles separate everything in Virginia and me, but it’s nice when the little things give you reminders of home.

            We arrived in Glendalough and were greeted by the sun barely peeking through the clouds and surprisingly the rain had stopped. We caught it in the best part of the day. It was absolutely stunning. It was a little walk over to the old church and a large graveyard with a bunch of graves dating back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries. The entire scene was picturesque. This is what we had all been expecting on our journey to Ireland. After a little hike up a trail (which I wandered slowly by myself) I got some great pictures (most will be on my facebook) and found a few small waterfalls. Everything was so very green! It was unlike any green I had seen before. It was so lush and vibrant. They colors gave the forest surround the path a very mystical feel. After about an hour of exploring we headed back onto the bus for the four hour ride to Cork. This bus ride was no different than the previous one besides the fact that it was much longer. Still filled with sheep grazing the pastures and rain dripping down the windows of the bus.

Ox Cheek Pie and Mash

            Once we arrived in Cork we had a short tour of the city (which is about a twenty minute walk from our apartments, near the campus of University College of Cork). I immediately realized that I was going to like Cork much more than the crowded streets of Dublin. I guess big city life just is not for me. This post is getting a little lengthy so for everyone’s sake I will wrap it up briefly. By saying I had the most amazing meal ever at dinner. It was Ox Cheek Pie. Don’t be afraid of the name. It was basically just shepherds pie with ox tail as the meet. The ox tail reminded me of a beef brisket or a beef cooked in a crock-pot. It was so tender and delicious! After dinner a few of us went to this pub called Preachers. The best pub experience so far. It was packed with mostly people in their early to mid twenties and the classic American songs were blasting through the speakers (songs included but not limited to: Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme Song and Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer”). Needless to say besides the horrendous wifi situation at our apartments in Cork, I think I’m going to enjoy our time here.