Jameson & The Charming Coast of Howth

Greetings!

We last week at this time I was home sick with a fever, and it was absolutely horrible (it was only week one of classes!). So I decided to take it easy and just relax in hopes to get better for the weekend. I already had a long Friday planned with the Quinn School of Business-- a church stop where we saw real mummies, then off to the Jameson Distillery and finally dinner. This was stuff I didn't want to miss, so I mentally prepared myself (my antibiotics helped, too) and so my weekend began.

Our journey started at St. Michan's Church in the North Side. The church was founded in 1095 and contains mummified remains of Dublin's most influential families in the 17, 18, and 19 centuries. CREEPY! It was definitely a cool sight, but unfortunately I wasn't able to catch any photos of the mummies themselves.

ENTERING THE CRYPT!

St. Michan's Church + Graveyard

After seeing all these spooky skulls and bodies, it was time for a drink... seriously. We made our way towards the Jameson Distillery, which isn't all that large, for a tour and tasting. The tour itself was a little cheesy and got a little boring but maybe it was because I still wasn't feeling like myself (I don't know). It was more of a visual tour than hands on, but still neat to see how Jameson Whiskey was made. My favorite part, before the tasting, was seeing the different aged whiskeys. A normal age is 5-7 years, but some that we got to see were 20-50 years aged (just think of those prices!).

Different aged whiskey

SLAINTE!

As our tour came to an end, our tasting was just about to begin. We had two different drinks to try: a straight shot of Jameson or Jameson mixed with Ginger Ale and lime. I'm not the biggest whiskey drinker, but it still tasted good-- let me just say that the mixed drink was OFF THE CHARTS GOOD! Now I know how to drink my whiskey for next time!

Ok so at this point in the day I already had class, went to church, had a relaxing drink, and food was the only thing I was missing. We went to a little restaurant where I had delicious seafood risotto. So even though I wasn't feeling up to par, I had a good day to help me through it.








SATURDAY and feeling somewhat better-- we hopped on the Dart (a mix between a train and metro) and went to Howth. Howth is right on the eastern coast and is known for it's golf course and fresh seafood. After a 30 minute Dart ride we arrived and I felt right at home by the shore. It was absolutely beautiful. The fisherman boats, the beach, the restaurants, everything was just so great. Oh and the Irish definitely have the best sense of humor-- check some of these restaurant names out (LOL).

crab cakes & lobster bisque YUM!

Such a cool shot xx

Welcome to Howth

We had a pretty cool day. Sunshine, seafood, and the shore were all the right cure to get me going to on my feet for this week. I hope you enjoyed the pictures (there wasn't much else we did besides just hang out).

P.S. Stay healthy and remember the sunshine is always a cure!

Happy Day!

Ky xx

Put a CORK in it

Happy Day!

As we still are adjusting to our new home and class starting, we decided that it was too much to go away for the full weekend but rather a day trip was in store. Saturday morning we took a bus down south to Cork. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, ya know Dublin being the first, but it is still incredibly mellow in comparison.

The first thing on our minds after arrival was going to Blarney, that is after grabbing a coffee first. The Blarney Castle was originally build in the tenth century made from wood, but the Castle was destroyed twice; finally the Blarney Castle that we now know was build in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy. The famous Blarney Stone is the main tourist attraction; there are so many different legends about the stone, but the one that remains true is that one gains eloquence after kissing it.

Photographed by yours truly xox

Everything was just amazing, but as you could imagine we were so ready to find the stone and give it a kiss. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and I was incredibly nervous (of all people, me, I know!). So we entered the castle only to find this incredible line leading to the top where the rock lays. Soon enough we made it, and I was the first out of the group to go-- my adrenaline was off the charts! You had to lay down on your back, grab these hand bars, lean back and kiss it (don't worry a worker was there holding us)!!! Even though it lasted for seconds it was just incredible-- and hopefully I gained some eloquence, too!

KISSING THE LEGEND! xo

After venturing around the castle, we took a bus back into center city Cork just to walk around and grab a bite to eat. Even though it is one of the larger cities in Ireland, we still managed to get around town in a couple hours. It was not as touristy and the little shops were so great. We went to the market, which is comparable to the Strip District but all in one little building. They had absolutely anything you could want: Rastafarian gear to French macaroons to fresh meat and fish. 

Near the shopping/ market

DELICIOUS

Fun little park in town

A YMCA IN CORK! YES!

As you can tell we had a wonderful little day trip but as you can also imagine we were swamped by the end of the day! Sunday we hung out all day and mentally prepared ourselves for classes on Monday (don't worry everyone, I'm still not mentally prepared and it's Thursday).

TRAVEL UPDATE: OKTOBERFEST and LONDON STEELER GAME are coming up in a couple of weeks!!!!!

Happy Day!

Ky xx

Welcome to Dublin!

GREETINGS!

Well I arrived alive in the land of the green, but not without a "crappy" trip (LITERALLY!) There was smooth sailing all through Pittsburgh, even security, and our connecting flight to Newark was good. It all went down hill when we boarded the plane to DUB; my roommate got pushed out of the way by an elder man itching to go to the bathroom. I have absolutely no idea what happened there- nor do I want to know what went down- but it wasn't pretty. Whatever happened to that poor man and his stomach and the bathroom left the plane in a green/brown gas bubble for two full hours while maintenance people ran up and down the isles. Its ok though, luckily I had a blanket to cover up my nose.

Upon our arrival, we came directly to our house, it's just absolutely amazing. We live on Ailesbury Road which is also known as Embassy Row- every single house is just breathtaking. Our cab driver told us one night that it is the equivalent of a Beverly Hills (I feel right at home!!!). 

Our house-- St. Michael's College 1 Ailesbury Rd

We had a delicious dinner at an all organic restaurant, FARM, which made me think that the Irish food isn't too bad. I had a couscous plate with all fresh vegetables- no potatoes just yet! The farm house surprise desert though was the best. It was a huge sundae with the freshest homemade ice cream filled chocolate bits and  meringue- YUM!        

Monday was a new day and we were ready to take on Dublin... well minus all the jet lag. We had a morning full of house orientation, followed by the best nap, and finally finished it off at the Guinness Storehouse. The Storehouse took us through all of the different ingredients in each pint of Guinness as well as what happens at each step. It was still overwhelming and a huge tourist spot, so we took it easy cruising through the factory. 

When we finally arrived to the fourth floor, the release of a new exhibit was just opening so we dropped on in. I completely felt like I was walking in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory; there were crazy lights and mirrors and when we got to the room, there were fumes coming out of these large cylinders in the ground. The exhibit was simply to smell each ingredient of Guinness and correctly guess them--- I only got one right, it was roasted barley but smelled like chocolate (of course). Then we got a small glass of Guinness in which we were instructed to move to the next room where the colleague taught us how to properly drink and enjoy a Guinness: raise your arm up to your mouth, take a deep inhale, a grand gulp from the stout, swish, swallow, exhale, smile and enjoy! Sláinte!

Next stop: pouring the perfect pint of Guinness. Yes, everyone, I did thee perfect pint (well atleast I'd say so). I even got a certificate to prove it all! We didn't drink out pint right away, but took it directly upstairs to the sky bar- which is a lookout of the whole city at the top of the factory while enjoying only the finest Guinness in the world. I'd say this is the good life!

TIME FOR SCHOOL! hahaha just kidding! We went through a couple days of orientation thus far, but ya know it's all the same stuff (and quite boring..). I met loads of other international students, primarily from the states, which isn't all that exciting but still fun. Campus is about 25,000 students-- so think of Penn State and the Quinn School of Business is one of the top in the world!

Irish students only go out Monday-Thursday and go home on the weekends, so lets hope that doesn't affect my studying!

Today we ventured in to town just to figure out where everything is in relation to each other. We went up Grafton St., through St. Stephen's Greens, down Camden St., Trinity College and such. It was a wonderful day! Enjoy

 

Well I am off to Cork tomorrow morning-- going to kiss the Blarney Stone!

Cheers,

Ky xx