Finally! I made to Ireland's beautiful countryside. My roommates and I got up early yesterday morning to walk down to the bus station taking the CityLink bus to Clifden. About an hour and half drive from Galway, Clifden is the capital of Connemara. A sleepy little town with a few cute boutiques and beautiful countryside Clifden makes for a great day trip. Arriving around 10:30 none of the stores were open. I realize it was a Saturday morning, but many didn't open until 11:30-12 or just not all. People in Ireland certainly run on their own time.
It was a bit chilly so we found Walsh's bakery to sit inside and enjoy hot chocolate and scones. Sitting at the back of the café near the windows we were afforded a spectacular view of the narrow winding road passing the ocean. Finishing our sweet treats we decided we'd give the weather another try and see if the sun had come out.
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| Hot Chocolate & Scones : ) |
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| Our view out the cafe window |
Thankfully the sun had shown up and made it quite a bit warmer. Sky Road is famous for it's picturesque views and livestock along the way. The road not only met our expectations, but far exceeded them! Spending about an hour and half walking the road we passed incredible views of Clifden and the Atlantic. Small houses tucked into the hillside, sheep spotting the rollings hills, lush green pastures and radiant sunshine along the way.
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| So green! |
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| Resourceful. Once a bath tub, now a water trough. |
We could not have asked for a better day. Galway was foggy and a bit chilly all day, however Clifden was wonderful. By the end of our tour on Sky Road neither Abby C. nor Aurelie were wearing jackets. Of course seeing as though I am cold blooded and always seem to be chilly I had my jacket and mittens on, but it truly felt like May. Along the way we decided to sit a top a hill and enjoy a small picnic of sandwhiches and biscuits. The view was amazing as we soaked in the sun and enjoyed a break off our feet. Listening to birds chirp and feel the warmth of beaming sun rays I couldn’t quite get myself to believe it was January.
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| What was left of our picnic |
During our walk we came across a few castles and several bed and breakfasts, each with their own stunning views and stories. Especially toward the middle of Sky Road everyone seemed to own a donkey. I can’t say I understand the benefit of owning a donkey? Anyone else know? Sheep are good for their wool and a goat for it’s milk, but a donkey? Either way they were quite cute and many of them very small, making them look like the donkey character on Shrek.
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| Abby C. & Aurelie |
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| One of the many donkeys |
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| View of Atlantic |
By the way the bus system in Ireland is wonderful. Irish students use it almost every weekend to go home. It’s relatively cheap and very convenient. The buses appear to be brand new and even have Wifi onboard . It was fun to ride through the beautiful rural countryside and put up a status on facebook about the picturesque views out my bus window. I wasn’t expecting to be able to do that!
Returning to Galway around 4:30pm we walked back to our apartment in the foggy cold weather of Galway. Needless to say we were thrilled we spent the day in Clifden.
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| Clifden |
Galway Fellowship Church was celebrating 30 years today. It was neat to see members of the church come up and share early memories of the church. It reminded me of stories from Highland. My favorite part of church was standing between Paul from Kenya and Villy from South Africa listening to their accents as we all sang worship songs together praising God. It was such a neat reminder of how large the body of Christ is and how far reaching. The church was pretty charismatic, but very focused on teaching from the word. I don’t think it’s where I’ll choose to worship here in Galway, but I’m certainly glad I had the opportunity to meet even more believers and try a new church. However, I did miss the members of Galway City Baptist this morning. It’s crazy to think I’ve only been there two Sundays, but they already feel like family.
Everyday I’m learning new things. For example: I am not able to rent DVD’s over here and play them in my laptop. The globe is split into 6 regions each with their own codes for DVDs and electronics. North America is in region one and my laptop is also from region one. This means any DVD from back home will work just fine if played in my laptop. However, Europe is considered region two and I cannot rent a DVD in region two and play it in my region one laptop. Seeing as though Aurelie is from France, region two, I could rent a DVD and play it in her laptop.
Another quirk about electronics is the name for cell phones. It seems as though everyone is the states calls their phone a cell phone or their cell. However, in Ireland it’s called your mobile phone or just mobile. It’s not as though this isn’t ever said in the states, but I think maybe I find it funny partly due to the way it’s pronounced with the Irish accents (mow-bye-il)
An additional small difference with the names of things is drink driving. In the states we would say someone was drunk driving or drinking and driving. However, over here they’ll say someone was drink driving. It was explained to me that in Northern Ireland drink driving is common place and generally accepted. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but I surely hope it isn't.
In the states we would show up or arrive somewhere we needed to be. In Ireland you would be told to “turn up” at a certain location. Quite a few times I’ve been told to turn up at such and such a place. Whenever someone tells me this I can't help, but think of vegetables.
I must give a thank you to Katie, I would never remember all of these little oddities and experiences that occur throughout my days here unless I wrote them down. Before leaving she gave me a small travel notebook to keep with me. It has proved to be quite handy. Thanks Katie!
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| My notebook comes with everywhere I go! |
With Love from Galway
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