Happy Leap Day! Unfortunately I didn’t find anyone to propose to today, but I’m keeping my eyes open. 😉 Even though my love life isn’t like Amy Adams’ in “Leap Year,” I do often feel like my life is a movie. I just marked one month in Ireland, and every day seems to have its own surprise. February was packed with fun moments, so I’ll hit the highlights.
Early in the month, I went on a South Coast tour with my friends Miriam and Ryne. On the tour we went into the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough, where a 6th century monastic site is located.
After leaving Glendalough, we visited the beautiful Powerscourt Estate. The gardens at Powerscourt are ranked #3 in the world by National Geographic.
The views at the Powerscourt Estate were equally matched by the food. We want to go back just to get more dessert!
While I’m excited about my big trips coming up, I really enjoy going around Ireland and visiting little towns and hidden treasures. One of those cute towns I visited is called Lucan. It’s a short bus ride from Maynooth and has some neat sights and a great park (watch out for the fairies that live there)!
During the middle of February, I went to two concerts in Dublin. I couldn’t decide which one to go to, so I just went to both! The first was Boy & Bear at The Academy. Miriam and I went for the music, but we left with both of us in love with the lead singer.
The night after Boy & Bear, my roommate Dominique and I went to the Olympia Theatre to see Colony House and Walk the Moon. I’ve been a fan of Colony House for a while and saw them in Memphis last year, so I was very excited to see them. Walk the Moon was the headliner and put on a great show! I left the show a bigger fan of both bands.
I’ve spent a lot of my weekends in Dublin. There’s always somewhere new to explore! A group of us went to a market one Saturday in the middle of the city, where I found delicious Mexican food and cheesecake. If you can’t tell, food is one of my favorite things! We also saw Brooklyn, which was nominated for Best Picture and is about a girl who immigrates from Ireland. It was great to watch the film and recognize place names and realize I’m already becoming familiar with Ireland. The next day, Miriam had to go a couple museums in Dublin for class, so I decided to tag along. We visited the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology and the Natural History Museum.
The exploring continued into this past weekend, when Miriam, Ryne and I took a weekend trip to Kilkenny. I stayed in my first hostel, and thankfully it was a pleasant experience. Kilkenny seems small at first, but the more you walk around, the more you discover. The town is full of historical sights. Our first stop was St. Canice’s Cathedral. It dates from the 13th century and is the second largest cathedral in Ireland.
At the cathedral, we climbed up the 100 foot tower. Scary but worth the views!
After this, we visited Kilkenny Castle. It was first built in the 13th century and since then, additions have been made and the building has been restored. The building and surrounding castle park are definitely worth a visit.
One last stop was St. Mary’s church, another cathedral that adds to the beautiful sights Kilkenny has to offer.
I can’t believe I’ve already been here for a month, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve lived here for a long time. February was great, but I’m even more excited for March! My friends Anna and Elizabeth are visiting me, and I could not be more excited to have a little piece of home in Ireland.
As usual, thanks for reading! And for those of you wondering (especially my parents), I do go to class…but who wants to see pictures of that?