Last of Ireland

Sorry i forgot to post my video that I made while in Ireland. 

It seems like ages ago now, but here it is...

(gosh I look like a crazed loon, please excuse)

Kilkenny and Dublin

So I found this Just now from about a little more then a week ago...


So, as we speak I am sitting very comfortably on a ferry headed for the British Isle. But before I get there,I will tell you about my last couple of days in Ireland.

I think where I left off, I was in Cork enjoying the good weather, well let me tell you, the weather stayed cloudless an warm, and is still amazing!!

So we headed up to a place called Mount Juliet, which is like an estate where people can stay or rent a house or even own a house, like a holiday house but with an amazing golf course, and other things that you can do on the property. It is about 15 minutes from Kilkenny and a beautiful part of the world.

I had a lovely time there, and finally had my first swim, not at the sea though, in their swimming pool on the estate, they even gave you your own towel when you got there, you didn't have to bring your own and take it home dripping wet. Imagine!

I also spent a day in Kilkenny, wandering around and seeing the sights. Kilkenny is a lovely town ( I feel like all I say on this blog is... I went here, it was lovely....then I went here, it was lovely too) so I apologise, my writing skills could improve and hopefully will have by the time I get back to the far away land of Oz (like the pun I did there?? I'm funny, aren't I??!!)

So, moving swiftly on I left Co. Kilkenny and headed for the Capital three days ago.

Can I just say, and I will try and be more descriptive in future, but Dublin is an awesome city. And sorry mum and friends, but I could definitly live/study here. Everyone is soooo nice and helpful, they drive like loons on loon tablets but on the plus side they have double-decker buses, so who's complaining.

I decided to get a tour bus ticket, a certain someone was adamant that I get one, and to be fair it was really good. It gave you the second day free, so I could use it for my whole time in Dublin and I got to see a lot more of the city then I would have if I'd been just walking around, cos I wouldn't have known where to go. And they also had really funny bus drivers, that commentated along the way. I had one that actually sung songs to us, which was quite honestly the funnest and best thing about the tour, you don't often get a bus driver that sings to their passengers as well as making jokes about his wife and giving the passengers the insight from a locals point of view, so in short, thank you certain someone 'cos I jolly well enjoyed it! 
Bravo I say!

I went to Galleries, saw a Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Manet, Monet, Renoir, and heaps more, and again as usual when you are by yourself and see something that you'r excited about you try and hide it as best you can, so nobody knows what a art nerd you are, and how, you really get your kicks from going to galleries with old people and students to see paintings by people that are dead.

My way of expressing this excitement was, to casually grin at the  paintings, and surreptitiously look around to make sure no one is watching you, and then to do a little squeal under my breath.

...Not abnormal at all.

I was going to go "out on the town," but seeing as I had no one to go with, and going to pubs in Melbourne wasn't something that I was really comfortable doing by my own anyway, to do it in another country was a little bit too out of my comfort zone. But I'm young, I can always come back and maybe next time I'll have people who can also come and pub crawl their way around the city with me.

Now that I am leaving the country, I feel like the only thing that I missed out on was getting to know some people my own age, because I think it would have been really cool to meet some Irish folk. The only thing I can think of is doing an exchange, but seeing as I'm not in school anymore, that's not really a possible option.

What I can say is that my time here has been an epic adventure and I look forward to coming back, as soon as my bank account allows it.

I would have loved to have seen the north of Ireland, and visited Belfast and Derry and the Giant's Causeway, but you can't do everything in one trip, so hopefully the things that I didn't get to see will pull me back here.

The tallest sculpture in the world...apparently.

Awesome bookcase in the old library of  Trinity University

"The Tart with the Cart" Molly Malone Statue

Nerdy art photos xx

Rembrandt

Vermeer

Guinness!

A Contemporary Exhibition 

Phoenix Park

A usual pub in Dublin xx 

Dublin Castle

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter of Ireland and look forward to your sharing my next adventure with you. LONDON!!!!!

(I really have been spending to much time on tour buses, I think I could even get a job on one I'm such a BOSS at it... backup career, methinks!)

Love to you all

Cheerio Chums

Katie G

Hello Again

Hi there, 

this is me just saying I'm still alive and well and that I haven't had wifi for a while and so haven't been able to blog, so now I am behind as my bottom. 

But bare with and I will try to get back on track with things. But for now, Paris calls me and I must scoot.

 xx Love Katie G xx

Ireland

So I'm finally tackling the elephant in the corner, or the Leprechaun in the shamrock field...that's not a thing

Anywho...

So I'm in Ireland, I've been here for nearly 2 weeks and am getting close to actually leaving the country but I will do my best to give you the overall experiences that I've had.









I flew from København airport to Dublin with a lovely Irish Airline (Aer Lingus) where I got excited on the flight just because of their accent.
I didn't have to try that hard to stand out as the weirdo though, because it turned out I was the only one on the flight who thought it was compulsory to pre-order a full meal on a 1.30hr flight, or to even order a meal at all. I chose an Irish breakfast which isn't quite the thing you normally would have on an 8.30pm flight. But it was yummy (I didn't touch the white and black pudding...I was too afraid)though, so who gives a...

Anyway so the entire flight I either had my nose squished up to the window, I finally got a window seat, trying to hide my inner 6 year old excitement from the overweight gentlemen next to me, lucky I didn't need to pee and it was a short flight, 'cos there was no way I was leaving my seat!

So by the time I'd touched down, found my luggage,and peed I was ready to face the unknown of Dublin. I wasn't really in Dublin for long, it was really just to have a quick snooze, and get into the city centre to get another bus to Galway, which my friends if your geography is not quite at it's best, or knowing that sort of thing isn't in your party tricks, tips and skills personal book, is pretty much straight across the other side of the country on the west coast.

I think I got a reasonably diverse introduction to Ireland on that bus, those three hours were spent listening to youths conversations and trying to (badly) mimic them under my breath... ...a habit I can't quite shake off.

I managed to sit behind a man I now think could have come straight from the county jail, so yes I think that was a diverse introduction indeed.

The streets of Galway

          The View from a window in a pub in Galway

In Galway I met the lovely Steiner family who were going to house me ever so kindly for about 5 days. They are partially-distant relatives of Lisa and Phil but are no relation of mine, so it was ever so kind of them to take me into their home, in a little town of 230 people, where one of the three Steiner schools in Ireland is. They took me partially up to Connamarra, which was amazing to say the least, I would say that part of the country is the typical irish coastline, not that I know an amazing amount about anything, but as we were drivingalong through sun and rain the marshes and little white houses seemed pretty true to what my ideas of Ireland would be like.

A Beach in Connemara

We then drove down to Co. Clare where I would be staying for the next couple of days. So far the irish weather had lived up to my expectations, it was chilly, rainy and cloudy. And it was summer.

Thatched roof in Co. Clare

This building is a still working forge.

On Saturday, we went and got our produce from the local farmers market on the main street of the town that I was staying in, Mountshannon.

This is the town of Killaloe

We went for a lovely walk along the top of a hill/mountain/steep thing and got a lovely view over Loch Derg

Due to the loveliness and generosity of the family I stayed with, I was able to see parts of Ireland, that I would have had no hope of otherwise seeing. We went on day trips out to The Burren and Cliffs of Moher, which were amazing to say the least.

The Burren

This is an ancient tomb that is older than Stonehenge!!!

The Cliffs of Moher.

I became extremely excited when I found out that Harry Potter and  the Half-Blood Prince was filmed here, soooooo cool!!

Some lovely Cows!

On the way home we saw a sight that made me laugh out loud, a group of men were carrying a rowing boat down the main road, all together, helping each other out.

I would like you to look at the name of this "medical hall" if you will. McGrotty's, yes charming makes me really feel well again, I'd deffs buy your products.

The location changed again as I moved down to Cork to stay with another generous and hospitable family.

This here is the Shanndon in Cork, I managed to time my visit nicely as they were preparing for a festival, hence the lovely flags.

A view of Cork

This is Kinsale, just south of Cork on the Irish coast. It is a truly lovely town, very picturesque and when I was there, sunny.

From the moment I got to Cork, the weather decided to pick up and the clouds were pushed away, and I've had amazing weather since. Every Irishman or woman that I've talked to has told me how lucky I am to be experiencing this good weather in Ireland.

This is a flag that flew, and I'm not joking when I say this, at the battle of Waterloo!!!!!

They have amazingly, and scarily big sea gulls here in Ireland!

It's just not normal!

I found this in an Art Gallery bookshop in Cork. I am a big lover of the Katie books, so to find out that there was more out there and a lot more (see below) was very exciting... Christmas presents anyone?? Wink, Wink.

So, that's all for now folks, I hope you enjoyed it and be sure to come back again and see some more... oh god, I've been spending too much time on tour buses!

Next stop Kilkenny and then onto Dublin.

I now feel a lot more up to date with it all. Lets see how long that lasts...

Anywho love to you all,

Love Katie G xx