Glen Colmcille

Friday

We headed off for the small little town of Glen Colmcille. After waking up and having breakfast we got on a bus and drove out of the city. The views were amazing along the way and it was nice to finally see "the rolling hills of ireland". Nick and I both read Harry Potter most of the way so the ride didn't seem like it took long. We stopped at Enniskillen castle which was really pretty but i hope the rest of the castles are bigger. This isn't the type of castle you'd see royalty living in, it was more like a base and eventually did become a military base. It was still pretty cool and we've got pictures up of the place. The lunch that our host mom packed us was amazing. It was a big chicken sandwich/sub that had lettuce and the same dressing that our chili chicken twister had, a bag of chips, an apple pastry, a bag of toffee cookie things, two kit kats and a pepsi. We kept the chips and cookie toffees for later and ate the rest. When we were at the castle you could tell what a strong accent our guide had. I couldn't tell what she was saying when she kept saying "town" but after you got used to it it wasn't that bad. After the castle we got back on the bus and headed to Donegal. we looked around the little town for a while but there wasn't much there so we just wondered around until the bus was ready to leave. There was an area set up where a band was played that night but there was just music playing from speakers while we were there. We headed back on the bus for the rest of the journey there and when we got there we understood the meaning of a "small town". This place was tiny but it was really cute and it was soooo pretty. If i could afford a summer home somewhere this would be the place. The pictures don't even come close to showing how wonderful it was. We walked to a church nearby and then went back to the room to eat our dinner which consisted of the rest of our lunch and then some granola bars and starburst. We continued reading Harry Potter (it's addicting) until someone in our group asked us to come out and hang with the group we went we to the local store and each bought a bulmbers (amazing). We were with the group just hanging out for the rest of the night. We started in someone's room and then headed to two pubs but we didn't stay long because we had a very noisy group and we went back up to the common area above the pub. This was then named the "channel 8 lounge" and after hanging out there for a while we left and went to sleep after finishing my book.

Saturday

We got up and apparently breakfast time had been changed from 9am to 9:45 so we just took a little walk and sat down and talked until breakfast was ready. It consisted of a fried egg, sausage, bacon, toast and tea. I do not like tea. I even put LOTS of milk and sugar in it and still don't like it. I tried it once and now i'm done. After breakfast we went to learn to play gaelic football. We started off by doing drills and then ended with playing a short game. It's really fun and beth and i were talking about how we're going to have to get some friends together to play it when we get back to school. After that we got lunch from the local store. We split a BLT sandwich since the breakfast was big and neither of us were that hungry. The group met again and we started our hike. The first stop was the church nick and i had already went to the night before. This time though there was a tour guide that was a local guy that told us about all of the history. When they were burring a man they came across old tunnels that used to how monks during a raid. They would cover the entrance with a huge stone and then move it when the raid was over. We actually got to go down into these tunnels and even though it looks bright with the flash of the camera, it was pitch black and you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face. We had one flashlight that he called the "torch"and only about 10 people could go down at once. After the church we headed for a well that i think was named after st. columbus. If you took 3 pebbles and walked around the well clockwise and threw one into the pile each time around it was supposed to give you good luck. I did the whole ritual thing and Nick just threw his in and then went exploring. After i was done I seen him up on the side of the mountain/cliff so i went to join him. This experience made me remember how absolutely terrified i am of climbing on steep inclines with extremely large drops. When i finally got to him the view was amazing and he went to go climb higher and i took pictures. Then thinking i would just take the road with the rest of the group while nick cut across up top everyone else i was with decided they wanted to cut across too so i joined them in climbing higher. the views during this hike were hands down the most amazing things i've ever seen but i was also hands down the most terrified i had ever been in my life. We finally got to the cliffs and the only thing i can tell you is to look at the pictures. They don't even compare to what it actually looks like. On the way down Nick, devon, meg and travis all went down the side of the cliff while beth, stacy and i all took the road. They explored a lot more and it was even steeper and i know the views would have been great but i don't think i could have handled it. I know i sound like a complete baby but i was terrified. Nick said he found some sweet waterfalls and both of us have pictures posted of them. After that we went to dinner at a little folk village about five minutes down the road. We had soup and sandwiches that were really good and then they gave us apple pie for dessert. The apple pie wasn't like it was at home. It was a lot more natural here without all of the preservatives and a different type of flour. the whip cream was also homemade even though it wasn't my favorite. While we were eating there was traditional irish music and they even played the song that's on the movie P.S. I Love You. After dinner we went back and showered and then nick and i headed to the beach together. We got some really good pictures but because it was cloudy we couldn't see it fully set. After that we went back and read for a little bit and then i went out with meg and beth. After being with the group for a bit I went back to their room so they could get money and then we all went to the pub where there was live music. Nick was so nice that he gave me 5 euros to use. one drink was 3.90 so it went really far (not). After being down there for a bit everyone else was really drunk and it was getting annoying so i left and went back upstairs. The band at the pub was super cute but it just wasn't worth it.

This is literally the entire town.

Sunday

We woke up and had irish pancakes and cereal for breakfast. The syrup was yet again amazing. After that we just rode the bus back. We stopped at a small town that i don't even know the name of and we couldn't find anything to eat so we just shared some chips. After getting back we get on the computers for a while and then had potatoes, cooked/sliced/mashed carrots, green beans, corn, and we think possibly lamp or pork chops or something. It was really good. I talked with Aoife about harry potter and basketball and eventually we got talking about something that led to her showing me youtube videos and she showed me some funny ones. One was a british boy singing and then some other groups singing some funny catchy songs and also a band that was on xfactor. After that i skyped with my mom/sisters and our host mom brought us ice cream and strawberries which was wonderful and then later Aoife brought us hot chocolate and cookies again. It was a great first week in Ireland. :)