Monday, October 5, 2009

Trip #1: Howth. 4 October 2009

The trip to Howth with the GSU, although only 20 minutes by train, was my first trip outside Trinity! 

Here are some photos from our walk:

View from beginning of our walk toward Howth Head



Couldn't resist getting a shot of the legal waiver!


An interesting gateway.  Many of the brick walls were made like this, with jagged rocks on top.



Someday...



Yes, that is a person on top of the cliff.
No, he was not with our group.
Yes, he was frighteningly close to the edge.
No, he did not fall in.



Isn't this pretty?!  This was about 1/3 of the way into our walk.





A long way down!  I love all the different colors here. 



Howth Head, with Dalkey Island in the far distance, above the house.



Another group enjoying the sunny day on the pretty hillside.  The cute elderly man in the white hat is what caught my eye - couldn't resist the photo. He just seemed so peaceful and reminded me of my Grandpa J.





Back to the harbor.  It was chilly-willy!  Some people stopped at the local "chipper" (generic term for fish-n-chips place), but Audrey (new friend from France) and I just sat here and enjoyed watching the boats for a while.



Irish sailors Celtic Cross monument, near harbor.  It reads:

"The Cross represents the love of God,
The rope edge and shell motif, his nets,
The anchor reflects our dependence on Him,
The rock . . . the safety of the land,
The swirling stones . . . the dangers of the sea,
The 12 sides . . . the months of the year,
The hooped railing . . . the rise and fall of the waves."

(in Gaelic and in English below):
Christ of the sea
Christ of the fish
May we be gathered in the nets of God.

(As for what the other 3 sides of this said, I dunno.  I had almost had my fill of picture-clicking at this point, so I was satisfied with one photo.)



Before heading back on the Dart, we stopped at a pub that was, conveniently, right below the Dart station.  This place was called (brace yourselves)... "The Bloody Stream"
Despite the name, the place is great.  Real fireplace indoors, heat lamps outdoors. 
...and a local dog named Oscar, who loved to play frisbee with those cardboard coasters!  He was really fun - and very good at coaster-frisbee.




Another one.  Couldn't resist.  He was so smiley and cute.
Yes, he was nodding off.
No, he didn't miss his stop.


It was nice to meet new students on this trip, I'm glad I decided to go.  I met students from France, Germany, Ireland, England and the U.S.  Audrey, from France, is 20 years old and is at Trinity as an Erasmus student, teaching English and French.  She invited me to "crepe night" in her dorm room later that night - yummy!  She and her flatmates made both savory and sweet crepes.  I had a cheese crepe and then a nutella and peanut butter crepe...so very yum.


After enjoying the crepes, I met up with a few other students whom I met on the GSU walk.  Of course, I was the oldest person there (ages ranged from 22 to 27), but it was fun.  We went to Doyle's pub and then to Le Cirk, then I called it a night.


So there you have it, my first full week in Dublin.  Classes, meetings, pubs, trains, outdoor excursions, getting familiar with my new locale and still working on wrapping things up back home in Cali.  Busy week!  I feel like I've barely had time to think, but it's been fun.

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