Exploring Dublin

Exploring your host city in your first week is an exciting time. Your senses are overwhelmed with the sights, smells, tastes, sounds of this new culture. And what better way to remember it than keeping a daily diary. This Fall, Amanda Weir from Mount St Mary’s University decided to make a daily journal of what she got up to in her first week exploring her host city, Dublin, Ireland! Follow along below to see what see got up to:

 Welcome to Dublin

On Monday, I woke up feeling refreshed. Finally, I had been able to sleep after 26 hours awake! At 8.30am we met our guide Callum. He will be our guide for our entire stay studying in Dublin. Next, we walked along the River Liffey in order to learn the way to get to class everyday. Oh yeah, we are actually here to study! It’s been great exploring our new commute. We pass by so many cute little coffee shops and pubs!

Classes begin

Day two was the first day of class. We have to take a course called Irish Life and Culture class which really puts where we are studying in to context. Class focused specifically on the Great Irish Famine.

After class, we had just enough time to grab a quick bit at a local café. Next stop? The National Museum of Ireland!

From this trip, I learned that there are a surprising amount of items that can be found in a Bog. For example, there are old and well pre-served bodies as well as old clothing and tools. I wasn’t feeling very excited for our field trip later in the week. Why? Well, we were heading on a Bogging excursion!

After all this talk of bog, I decided to finish up the day with some delicious Irish hot chocolate. Is it any different from American hot chocolate? No, but it still tastes amazing!

Trim Castle and Causey Farm

Later in the week, it was time for our exciting day trips. First stop, Trim Castle. You’d think that a castle would be out in the middle of the countryside. However, the town of Trim built itself around the castle.

Next stop, Causey Farm. It was an absolutely beautiful place. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get many photographs because we had to leave our belongings on the coach so that we wouldn’t lose them in the bog. I didn’t fancy my things becoming part of the ‘bog museum’ hundreds of years into the future!

Our first activity was making soda bread. The ingredients were flour, wheat flour, salt, an Irish version of baking soda, milk and one egg.

Then it was time for… bogging! This was super fun but I couldn’t get a single photo. We did get super muddy and then we got to have some delicious food along with the bread that we had made. Causey Farm was a great way to end another amazing day. It is such a beautiful place and is run by the nicest people.

Howth

On Saturday, we took an optional excursion to a small seaside town called Howth and is only a short train ride from Dublin. First off, we completed a Cliffside hike. I won’t lie, it was a bit nerve-racking! However, if I – a person who is terrified of heights – can do it than anyone can! It is also worth that climb because the view was unlike anything I had experiences.

There were blackberry bushes along the sidewalk and we all picked a few for an afternoon snack

After the hike we celebrated by heading down to a small beach. The brave people pictured below tried to go swim in the ice-cold water.

And, that’s a wrap. It’s been an incredible first week exploring Dublin and I can’t wait to see what is to come.

Slainte!