Today was the first of the two €5 trips that the international office planned for the study abroad students here at UL. The trip was called 'Into the West' and it included a stroll in Lahinch, a guided bus tour of the Burren, Irish dance lessons, and a visit to the Aillwee Caves. The trip included a lot of locations that I have already been to and blogged about, you may recognize some of the names and pictures, Which I was kind of bummed about... but it turned out to be a great day!
We started the morning at the Falls Hotel in a small town called Ennistymon for coffee and scones before they got us on our feet for some irish set dancing. Some of you may know that I am actually in an Irish dance class here in UL, so I had a head start today, but we got to learn a lot of new steps and dances. It was exhausting, but a great morning work out!
The Falls Hotel
The falls and Ennistymon! If you check out my post about the
Cliffs of Moher you will see a picture of the falls at dusk!
After set dancing, we hopped back on our busses to see the seaside town of Lahinch... again. As worried as we were about seeing the same things that we had seen on the OPC trip we went on last month; Steph, Sydney, and I managed to have a completely different experience in the town. When we got off the bus we headed away from the beach this time... the opposite direction the other students were wandering. We stumbled upon a pair of steps in a grassy hill and followed them to a great ocean view. Despite the wind (check out our hair!), the sun was shinning and the the day was beautiful... we even managed to wear short sleeves long enough to show off the ISU gear we all happened to be wearing!!
GO STATE!!
Back at the Falls Hotel we made a few new friends before lunch...
With full bellies we got back on the bus for a guided tour of the Burren and a trip into the Allwee caves... the picture descriptions give more details on this part of the day. Sorry for the quality, all the pictures were taken from a moving bus!
Red Mary's House
It is said that Mary lived in this castle in the 17th century with her husband, but when he died she was not able to stay there because women could not own land. To solve this problem she went into town the next day and married. She stayed with her 2nd husband long enough to produce a male heir... then she pushed him off the castle! (That's some crazy female empowerment!!)
Poulnabrone Dolmen
A portal tomb created 4000 years ago as a grave chamber in a cairn of stacked stones... yes I am referring to the stone table to the left of the picture.
Aillwee Caves
The caves are naturally formed and were found in the 1940, after being covered for millennia, when a farmer followed his dog, who was following a rabbit, into a hole. After the caves were discovered scientist found the bones of black bears (above) that had hibernated in the cave... Black bears have been extinct in Ireland for thousands of years! The caves have only been altered by human hand to put in the foot paths and safety railings needed for visitors. It's pretty cool down there!
A giant wall of lime stalactites... the water that slowly creates these formations
was continually dripping while we were down there.
We finished up the trip with another feast at the Falls Hotel and a long sleepy bus ride home. I still can't believe that I did all that for €5, but I'm not complaining! The next €5 trip will be incorporated with the weekend I spend in Dublin... I'm sure you'll hear plenty about that when the time comes!
Tomorrow is one of my first full Sundays here in Limerick since the weekend I arrived. I guess it's about time I start acting like a college student and head to the library to write a paper and study for exams! In other words... don't expect a post about the 2nd half of my weekend.
But do stay tuned... with all that studying out of the way next weekend I am off to the Ring of Kerry!
Looks like a good trip Laura! :)
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