Countryside Getaways

For the past two weeks I have been exploring the English and Irish countryside. Once I turned in my Essay #2 I was packed and ready to go to my first stop, Mayo Ireland. And on St. Patrick's Day no less. I went with my cousins to a small parade in Ballinrobe before heading to a pub to enjoy some song and dance.

After St. Patrick's day I got to experience what it is like to live on a cattle farm. My cousin Gary is married to Niamh, and it is her mom who lives on a farm. We went for a long walk in the woods which just happens to be their backyard, passing a lake and the barn filled with cows!

The next couple of days I stayed with Gary and Niamh in Dublin. I had a few friends staying in Dublin so I got to meet up with them. One night I had dinner and drinks with my friend Kate from university, and one afternoon I went to Belfast with my sister's friend Dana. Myself, along with Dana and her friend Lauren took a Paddywagon tour up to Belfast to see the Giants Causeway. Legend has it that Finn McCool, an Irish giant, scared another giant by the name of Benandonnar and in Benandonnar's haste to escape back to Scotland he sped back along the causeway Finn had built, tearing it up as he went. The Giants Causeway was absolutely breathtaking but be warned...it is extremely cold and windy. On our drive back to Dublin we stopped in Belfast and I got to say a quick hello to my good friend Aaron who was there for a conference.

On the Thursday I took a train down to Cork to spend the weekend with my cousin Neil, his wife Stef, and their daughter Daisy. Friday was a day of exploration; I saw Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, University College Cork, and the English Market. The next day we went to Kinsale which is a fishing village and enjoyed some potato bread from Stef's favorite bakery. In the evening I went to a rugby match with Neil, Munster vs. Connacht. The game was fun and exciting, but again it was freezing cold. My other cousin Rory and his girlfriend Amy came over to the house after the match so I got to catch up with them and get warm by the fire.

I spent a few more days in Dublin and then returned to the west coast of Ireland before making my way back to England. Yesterday my aunt Annie and I drove to the Cotswolds where we stayed in a quaint B&B in Bourton-on-the-Water. Bourton is known as the "Venice of the Cotswolds" because of its numerous arch bridges throughout the city centre. Today on our drive back we stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare!