Más o Menos: Luck of the Irish

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend it in Ireland catching up with some great HC company and some sightseeing in both Dublin and Galway. Having many friends with Irish descent, this trip was highly anticipated and I’m so glad I went. The trip began with an overnight bus on Thursday night to Madrid (this is becoming a usual hah) to catch my flight to Dublin on Friday morning. As we were approaching Dublin from the air, I immediately knew I was in Ireland as it appeared just as I had imagined: flat greens, farmland, and gray skies. Once I landed in Dublin, I headed into the center of the city to meet Emma who is studying through HC’s program at Trinity College. From there, we enjoyed a nice lunch and walked around St. Steven’s Green and the Grafton St. area. Later on in the afternoon, I met up with a bunch of other HC friends who are studying in both Dublin and Galway to tour the Guinness Factory. It was a really cool experience and actually very informative; at the very top of the museum, they have what’s called the Gravity Bar, where you can see a panoramic view of Dublin and grab a free pint of Guinness, nice deal if I’d say so! Later on in the evening, we all made some dinner and went out to explore Dublin’s night-life.

After a great day in Dublin, we all hopped on a bus headed to Galway to meet some more Holy Cross friends who are currently studying at the university there. After a two-and-a-half hour bus ride, we arrived to Galway which is a quintessential western-Irish city right on the water. Although I loved Dublin, I could truly appreciate Galway since it is a smaller city and less-cosmopolitan,more-Irish (sort of how I feel with Madrid to Coruña). Immediately upon arrival, we made our way to the infamous farmer’s market where I bought a donut and bagel from the legendary donut/bagel carts; as most of you probably know, I love the food in Spain, however this kid needed a little taste of home, and that certainly hit the spot. After visiting the farmer’s market, Brittany, Katie, Lauren and I took a walk around the city and they were nice enough to point out some of their favorite spots around town. Later on in the evening, we decided to have a potluck dinner: Karinna and I were in charge of preparing a tortilla. All struggles aside, the tortilla and everything else, came out really great. As much as I love living with a host family and wouldn’t trade it for the world, cooking and eating together as a group truly made me think about Holy Cross and how I’m so excited for next year. It also reminded me of Pamplona, which I can’t believe has already been seven months ago! After dinner, we all headed out to the pubs and bars in town... when in Ireland.

Unfortunately, I had to leave Galway at 5 in the morning (that same morning) to head back to Dublin to catch my flight to Spain. Going into the trip, I didn’t realize how much of a headache my return to Coruña would be... it proved to be a lot worse! By the way, two fun facts about my travels: 1) Ireland is one hour behind Spain, 2) both Ireland and Spain had changed the time back one hour at 2:00 that morning. Here’s a timeline of my Sunday for your enjoyment.

4:45 am- taxi to Galway bus station

5:00 am- bus from Galway to Dublin

8:00 am- arrival to Dublin airport

8:45 am- checked in, through security, at the gate

9:45 am- flight departs for Santander

1:00 pm- arrival to Santander

3:20 pm- bus departs heading to Coruña (with connection in Oviedo)

7:15 pm- arrival to Oviedo, ten minutes late... missed my connection bus

10:45 pm- bus departs for Coruña

3:30 am- arrival to Coruña

After two taxis, three buses, six hours of waiting, and eleven hours of actual travel, I made it home. Needless to say, I probably had my best sleep that night. Although it was the longest day of my life, Ireland was so worth it, and I’m already anxious to go back!

Lucky for me, the university’s spring break is this coming week, so my brother CT is flying out and we’ll be in Rome, Florence, Palma and Madrid together... can’t wait!