Malahide:
We found out early on that Champlain would schedule several day trips throughout the semester on the weekends. The first of these day trips was to a small town North of Dublin called Malahide. The major attraction Tom told us about was Malahide Castle, a well preserved castle that had been inhabited by private owners until the 1970’s. Champlain was kind enough to buy us each round-trip DART tickets (the local train system) so our trip was made that much easier. One thing I’ve come to appreciate is the load off a pre-scheduled and pre-planned trip gives you. Anyway, we arrived in Malahide after a short train ride and proceeded to the castle. Quickly the town turned into a medieval setting surrounded by thick trees and stone walls. We passed a park-like area with a cricket field boarded by a stone wall with a game being played. The path through the trees was very cool; everything was covered in a thick layer of ivy. Toward the end of the path we could see the start of the courtyard and a large wall covered in overgrown vegetation. I skipped past most of the courtyard area because it was mostly touristy and the attractions were all closed.
After another few minutes of walking we crossed around a bend and into an open field where we could see the castle on the right. I was surprised to see how well preserved it looked. As we got closer, I noticed that even that castle itself was very much covered in ivy and other plants as well as surrounded by a thick layer of tall trees; luckily the front of the castle was clear enough to see and get a couple good pictures of. The overgrown state of it also added to the atmosphere and gave it an older look. I didn’t actually enter the castle because, from what I was told by other students, it’s mostly just a tourist trap and you see very little for the 7 Euro entry fee. I didn’t feel like I was missing much because there was plenty to photograph outside. Following the path took me around to the back side of the castle where I could see more of the castle itself as well as some of the more interesting parts of the inside.
The rest of Malahide itself didn’t overly impress me. I felt it was mostly just an expensive small town with a lot of tourists crowding the streets. The castle itself was more than worth the train ticket though.
Western Ireland: Galway
Our first big weekend trip was held last weekend, beginning bright and early on Friday and ending late Sunday night. The bus picked us up around noon and we set off straight for Galway. After around a three hour ride with one stop for lunch, we arrived in Galway outside of our hostel. We received our keys, found our rooms, unpacked, and were set free to do what we wanted for the rest of the day. Of course upon hearing this, we immediately set off for the beach. My immediate impression was that this was the Burlington of Ireland. Galway is an active, young beach town with a market street running down to the water that radiates Church Street vibes. By the canal, at the edge of the city, were close to a hundred people just relaxing on the grass. When we made it to the actual beach, we found some Irish hippies playing the drums and some of us went for a swim.
After our beach adventure, a couple of us made our way back into town for the best fish n’ chips I’ve had since arriving in Ireland. Back at the apartment we played a little GAA Hurling in the courtyard and gained a new appreciation for the sport. I was lucky enough to catch the Hurling Finals on TV the week before where Kilkenny took their 4th straight victory. To finish off the night, we met up at a pub called the King’s Head for some drinks and live music.
The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher:
Our destinations for day two were many. We began with an old abbey in the countryside that made for some good pictures. Our next stop was to a tomb of standing stones in the Burren. The standing stones themselves were really interesting, but I found the ground to be the better sight to see. The whole ground was made up of limestone that has been worn away by rain so it is covered in cracks and divots. It’s difficult to describe in words so I will attach a picture to give a better idea of what I’m talking about. After spending some time in the area, we began our trip to the Cliffs of Moher. From what I have heard, the Cliffs of Moher is perhaps one of the
best spots to see in all of Ireland and from my limited amount of time spent here, I would have to agree; the experience is breathtaking. There is a great angle of viewing from the top of the cliffs as you can walk around most of the edge and see the adjacent cliff faces from where you stand. The feeling of being on one of these 600+ foot cliffs and looking around you is surreal; it is something everyone should experience. I could easily see myself spending an entire day looking out over the various cliffs to the ocean down below.
We proceeded from the cliffs to Doolin, the town we would be staying in for the night. Rather than spending much time in the hostel, we decided to go check out the far side of some of the cliffs from the beach. We had to hop a few fences and pass by a dead dog but we did make it to the beach. The beach itself was pretty much covered in small rocks, but the view of the cliffs was worth seeing nonetheless. A couple others even went for another swim. From the beach, we went to a pub in town for a meal on Champlain’s tab. I am happy to report as well that it was some of the best food I’ve had—Champlain’s Ireland staff know how to pick the right restaurants. We even got to see some Irish folk music being played by a few locals in the pub after dinner. Nothing beats ending the day with a few pints of Guinness, great food, and great music.
The Aran Islands:
Day three was a little different than the previous two; we began our morning by heading to another area of the beach by the docks to check out the limestone terrain and relax while we waited for a ferry to take us out to the Aran Islands. The boat ride was quite exhausting, clocking in at over an hour, but we had the opportunity to see some of the islands and Ireland itself from a different perspective than before. The reason I said that this day was different from the previous two was because once we landed on the island, we were free to do whatever we wanted until the last ferry left the island at 4:00. A large majority of us thought the best idea would be to rent some bicycles and ride around the island to see what was there. The bike ride itself was rewarding in that we were able to cruise through the countryside at a brisk pace and take in our surroundings as we rode. This was very much a farming island, many people had horses and cows on their lawns and everyone had stone walls surrounding their properties. We made our way down the road to find a beach that looked out of place amidst all the limestone and old rock houses. You would swear your were in the Bahamas standing on this sandy beach on the West coast of Ireland.
The rest of our time on the island was spent on the beach, biking around to take in the sights, and relaxing back by the docks. I had a lot of fun on the island and really appreciated the openness and simplicity of our experience there. There isn’t a whole lot to say about the rest of the trip, we spent the next 6 hours or so between a boat ride and a bus ride and I was more than happy to arrive back at my apartment in Dublin. I found myself feeling very pleased with the trip and thankful that Champlain was kind enough to subsidize most of it for us. Now I can start planning my own trips out of Dublin…
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