The first day my family was here, I showed them my house and the University of Limerick campus. We ate lunch at Delish cafe before checking in to the hotel. We had tea in the hotel while we waited for our room to be ready. My family brought me a few supplies that I needed. They also brought a care package from church, an Easter card from my grandparents, an Easter basket my mom made, and a letter and Pringles from my boyfriend.

Our second day was spent at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. As soon as we entered the first room of the castle, there was music playing. A crowd had gathered in what looked like a dining room to listen to the Irish music. We stayed and listened for a while before going on to other rooms in the castle. There were so many spiral staircases inside. It was fun to explore. After seeing the castle, we walked around the folk park. The tilty headed geese and green duck were definitely highlights.

The third day, we went to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a windy day, but it did not rain on us while we were at the cliffs. I was excited for my family to see such a famous sight in Ireland. We were able to walk on some of the cliff paths and take lots of pictures. We even saw cows! After seeing the cliffs, we saw the Burren which is a portion of the very rocky coast.

I showed my family around Limerick for their last full day in Ireland. We saw King John’s Castle. I took them to my favorite cafe (the Green Onion). I showed them what the city looked like and where my favorite shops were. That night, we ate at the Locke Bar which is one of the bigger pubs in Limerick.

I am so glad my family could come and visit. I am looking forward to seeing them again when I am home.

The University of Limerick has many different restaurant options. The four big ones are Stables, Scholars, the Pavilion, and Paddocks. Stables is pub while Scholars feels more like a cafe, and the Pavilion is a fancier restaurant. Paddocks is mostly a lunch place and has soups and sandwiches. Amanda ordered a BLT and I had a Club sandwich. Both were good. Paddocks is a great place to grab a bite to eat while on campus.

Another great place on campus is in between the stairwells. In the late afternoon on a Tuesday, it will be a quiet enough place to enjoy a snack. These purple and yellow snacks were prizes won from the tutorial Amanda and I attended: Inclusive Education. We recommend these snacks. The purple ones are two biscuits with a chocolate filling and a chocolate coating. They yellow snacks might be the best because they taste like fudge stripe cookies.

Continuing with the snacks, Amanda and I grabbed an array from the convenience store called Spar. The Club Rock Shandy was not our favourite at first, but we came around to the taste as we drank more. We decided the Skittles taste much better with shells versus without the candy shells. Shamrock and sour cream crisps are good but not worth buying again. Tayto crisps are fun. They seem less oily than similar crisps at home. The caramel in the Wispa Gold bar felt out of place. Orange flavoured chocolate is not for us we learned after trying the Twirl bar. The Starbar is good, but it can not compete with a Snickers bar. Boost was the best of all the candy bars. Crunchie was definitely the strangest. The top picks from this bunch would be the Boost bar, Tayto crips, and Club Rock Shandy.

One more stop before heading into Limerick. I was able to show Amanda around my house and we heated up sausage rolls for dinner. A sausage roll is white pudding and sausage in a puff pastry. They can be served hot or cold. We prefer hot. I picked these up from the grocery store.

Moving on to places in Limerick. Katie Dalys is a cute pub right next to King John’s Castle in Limerick. It was quiet on the weeknight that Amanda and I went. She ordered chicken parmesan and I ordered fish and chips. Both were very good. Fish and chips is a safe choice almost anywhere you go in Ireland. It is always good. It is often served with garlic mayo dipping sauce and mashed peas.

We wanted to see if the McDonald’s menu was different here in Ireland. There are a few different items, but we found the menu very hard to read. We resorted to new flavours of McFlurries. The Galaxy Caramel McFlurry is the best. It comes in a paper cup and has a cardboard spoon to go with. Salt packets are given out with fries enough though these fries were pre-salted.

On to my favourite part! It is time to talk about cafes! Amanda and I tried a place called Olio and Farina. The food was good. Bacon is different in Ireland. It is much more like ham. I prefer American style bacon. The tea and latte were good. I love how all the milk foam I have had in Ireland is a thick layer sitting on top of the coffee. I have never enjoyed milk foam this much in the States. I also tried poached eggs for the first time here. They were good, but I still prefer hardboiled or scrambled.

Hook and Ladder is such a great spot. The inside is inviting and they have a drunch menu. Amanda and I went in to warm up and get out of the rain. We each had a scone. Amanda had a mango and strawberry tea and I had black tea. I love that they give you a little tea pot when you order tea. It is enough for two cups of tea. The Irish will not skimp on tea or fish and chips. We had every intention of journaling while enjoying our snack, but we ended up chatting for most of our time. We highly recommend Hook and Ladder.

The Green Onion Cafe is our favourite cafe we have been to in Limerick. It is super cute! This is where Amanda found one of her new favourite teas and where I learned that I like sausage rolls. During this outing, we had waffles and pancakes which were great. The Green Onion Cafe is a cozy little spot with a great location as we walk in and out of Limerick City Centre.

I had so much fun showing Amanda some of my favourite spots and trying new places together. It was really great to have a friend around. Being able to pray together was comforting and encouraging. Thanks for coming to visit Amanda!

On the 3rd of March, I was nervous and excited. After our Google Meet for the study abroad class at Martin Luther College, I was going to Dublin. I packed my backpack, grabbed an apple, and walked to the bus stop. Then it hit me. I had taken special care to reserve my bus ticket back for 13:15. Many places use 24 hour time here. When it come to reserving my bus ticket to Dublin, I had selected 5:00. I had booked a ticket for 5:00am not 5:00pm. I was panicked for a minute. When booking online, a ticket must be reserved 3 hours before the bus departs. That meant I would not be able to book a new ticket. I would have to pray that there was an open seat on the bus so I could buy a ticket from the bus driver when he came. The bus arrived. I waited in line. I asked if there was room. There were open seats! I was on my way to Dublin!

My friend, Zoe, from high school, is studying abroad in Stockholm, Sweden. Her group had a study tour to Dublin. She decided to stay for the weekend after her study tour was over so we could meet up. Thursday night, I arrived in Dublin and we met up at our hotel. Then we went out to Darkey Kelly’s for supper. I ordered seafood chowder. It was good, but it took me so long to free all my mussels from their shells that Zoe had already finished her food. After supper, we stopped by Gino’s for dessert.

Friday morning, we slept in. We ate brunch at this adorable cafe called Queen of Tarts. Their scones were very good. Our hot drinks were served in glasses which was quite fun.

We shopped a little. Zoe and I found some souvenirs and such. Then we walked over to Christ Church Cathedral. We paid for an audio tour to marvel at the inside of the cathedral.

We stopped by a convenience store to grab a snack. Something to drink and a cheap cake did the trick. Zoe found King’s Park where we sat down for a picnic. We sat on the grass soaking up the sunshine. It was maybe 50°F outside. It was so nice to be with a close friend. I felt closer to home and pretty relaxed. We walked back to the hotel for a little rest.

Later that night, we went to a place called Token. It is a restaurant, bar, and arcade. We had chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, fries, and cocktails. We could not finish all the food. This was my first time having a cocktail. I did not like the one I ordered and I liked the one Zoe order even less. Those were not finished either. It was fun to play arcade games. I liked pinball the best. I remember playing pinball in my great aunt’s basement. That was so cool as a kid. Pinball is still just as fun as an adult. I might even be better at the game now.

Saturday morning we ate brunch at the West End Cafe. Zoe and I had crepes. An older Irish gentleman chatted with us. It was a lot of fun. Then we went on our way to walk around Dublin and find the Museum of Archaeology. I was surprised how many objects from the museum were found in bogs around Ireland. Apparently everything makes its way into the bog.

We grabbed an early supper from a take-away fish and chip shop called Leo Burdock. It was good. We had another picnic with our food in St. Patrick’s Park. We ate and chatted until we were chilled. Then we watched the dogs run around in the park and went to tour St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We used another audio tour.

We stopped by the famous Temple Bar. It is funny because the whole area is called Temple Bar after a man who had the last name of Temple who moved the river similar to how one would with a sandbar so that he could build his house outside of the city. This is why locals will look at you weird when you say you are going to Temple Bar. You are already there.

Sunday morning, Zoe and I woke up early to catch a bus to Howth. Howth is a little coastal village east of Dublin. We went to see their cliffs on the seashore. This was the best part of our trip. It was absolutely gorgeous. Along the coast is a walking trail. While walking, you will pass rocks that spell out EIRE and have a number above them. These are restored markings from World War II when Ireland wanted to make sure they were not bombed by planes mistaking Ireland for Great Britain. Walking further will bring you to a lighthouse and a beautiful view of the blue sea, green plants, and yellow flowers. We did not have long to walk around, but it was so worth going.

We ran to the bus which brought us back to Dublin. Then we had a quick lunch at the Stage Door Cafe. After eating, we picked up our bags from the hotel, and hopped on our buses to part ways. Zoe went back to Sweden and I went back to Limerick.

I had such a great weekend. I loved having Zoe around. We saw so much and were able to chat. This was one of the best weekends I have had in Ireland. Thank you, Zoe, for staying in Ireland a few more days to hang out.

The University of Limerick offers bus trips to different locations around Ireland every weekend. The price for a ticket has been €30. Four or five coach busses line up next to the Foundation Concert Hall Building on campus waiting for students to board as the rain decorates the windshields. Our first stop was Lahinch Beach in Lahinch, Ireland, and by the time we arrived the sun had started to shine. Ireland is home to many rocky shores that I get to learn about in my Ecology class. I was excited to see what we would be talking about and have my first experience seeing the ocean. It was salty, but not as salty as I expected.

Our next stop was the Cliffs of Moher! When we arrived it was cloudy. Then it rained some. Next, it was incredibly windy. I felt like a kite that was going to be taken away with a gust. Finally the sun came out. The cliffs were really beautiful. It was fun to walk around and take in the experience.

After seeing the cliffs, we stopped to see the rocky terrain. Wibke and I walked around and took pictures.

Our final stop of the day was at an ancient portal tomb.

I had a great day seeing part of the western coast of Ireland. I can now check off my first item from my travel list.