Aran Island/Cork

This weekend was pretty fun, and very relaxing.  The bus ride for the ferry wasn't so great.  We first got yelled at by our professor because we were late, and then the bus driver yelled at me as I was trying to get my suitcase on the bus and then again when I asked this random guy if I could sit by him.  The bus was already jam packed and he had a bag on the seat next to him.  Some people are just cranky and rude.  But they're the first ones in Ireland that I've encountered.  It was a relief to finally get off that bus, however I think I would've rather stayed on that bus for another two hours instead of getting on that ferry.  Normally I love ferries.  This one was the worst ever.  It was already kind of a stormy day and so it was raining and windy but that didn't seem to phase the drivers of the ferry.  Oh no, they didn't think they needed to slow down at all.  The best way I can describe it is when you watch Deadliest Catch and they are in the middle of a storm just being tossed around.  It wasn't like that by any means but it felt that way. First we would go up, and then drop.  Then we would sway to the left and then back to the right.  I'm pretty sure everyone got motion sick.

Once we got to the island it was smooth sailing from there.  Our hotel was very nice and cozy, along with the town.  We only had two people to a room so it was a very relaxing and easy going weekend.  Definitely needed.  We were finally able to take showers without having to press any kind of button for hot water, and we didn't have to press a button every ten seconds for water either!  It was quite the luxury hahah.  At our hostel in Galway you had to constantly press this button or else the water would shut off.  A bit annoying, but it was easy to get used to. 

Saturday we were treated to a "full Irish breakfast" which consisted of two sausage links, two huge pieces of ham-ish-bacon (best way I can describe it) one over easy egg, and two little patties of what tasted like a sausage and potato mixture.  It was good but a little over kill on the meat haha.  After everyone got ready we all rented bikes and rode around the island.  We basically went to Dun Aonghasa and back, but on the way there we stopped at a couple places to fool around and take pictures.  Dun Aonghasa was a fort type thing made for "the king" whoever that was.  As you'll see from my pictures, it was just two semicircles on a cliff, and I'm pretty sure the main village or whatever was inside the inner most semicircle.  If you google it you can see a picture of what it looks like from a bird's eye view.  But that was really cool, the cliffs are kind of everywhere but they're pretty no matter how many times you see them.

After we got back a few of us just worked on our journals and watching a rugby game that was on TV.  A little later I sat at the bar in the hotel with the boys and watch the soccer championship game.  Cheered for Barcelona the whole time while everyone else was cheering for Manchester United.  After the game a few of us stayed in the bar and watched some live music.  It was these three little brothers, the youngest maybe 12 and the oldest 15ish.  They won the X-Factor competition or whatever a couple years ago, which they deserved because they were really, really good. 

Today was just another travel day.  Ferry from the island back to the mainland, sat on the top this time which equaled no motion sickness at all! (Yaaayyy!!!) And then from the coast a bus back to Galway, then a bus to Limerick, and then another to Cork.  So fun.....Our hostel is alright.  I guess I'm not very impressed with it, slow internet, super narrow room, the kitchen is a tad disgusting, along with our shower, and our door handle breaks off easily.  I'm just gonna pray that this week goes super fast.  Being here in this hostel is making me ready to come home hahah which is sad.  But it's just one hostel that I have to live in for five nights and then never again!  

Tomorrow we're going to the university and then I guess Eve's chocolates.  Really not sure what the schedule is but we're not getting back here until 5 p.m. So it's going to be a loooonnnngggg day!