a bus that took us to Galway.  We started our excursion once arriving in Galway with a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher.  This was our first true look at Ireland's infamous countryside.  For miles all I saw was lush green grass and low stone walls.  Each land owner distinguishes their property line with a 3 foot wall built from the burdensome rocks that filled their property.  This was a way to keep smaller animals in, clear the rocks and mark their property.  

As we pulled up to the cliffs, the rain ceased and the clouds cleared.  The sun was just peaking over this incredible view, it was absolutely breathtaking.  We ran to the top only stopping for a few moments to marvel at the ocean waves crashing into the side of the cliffs and climbing 20 feet in the air to plunge back into the Atlantic.  As we reached the top we all enjoyed the fabulous view.  

That was until the rain interrupted our state of awe.  We desperately wanted to make it to the other side of the Cliffs of Moher so we ran from the castle that you can just barely see in the below picture to the opposite end (above picture).  As we trekked from one end to the next I remember thinking how pleased I was that my mom gave me rain boots, thanks mom!  One friend fell in the mud, another lost the heel of her boot and the rest had to face the mud or take on the pools of water.  The hike was worth it as we reached the top, we were 5 feet from the edge (sorry dad you would have hated that part) and again became transfixed by the view, that is until the all too familiar sting of snow started falling.  In 30 minutes we have experienced the sunny beautiful side of Ireland, the more common rain and now the unheard of snow.  Right as we decided to head back down we felt incredible gusts of wind strong enough to make me, the girl who jumped out of a plane for fun, nervous to be at the top. We have now experienced all four seasons in 40 minutes. 

That night, we joined a pub-crawl to make our way through the best pubs in town and chat with several locals.  The most interesting couple I met was a grandmother and her husband tucked in the corner of the second pub.  They kindly talked all about Ireland and Europe and asked me about American politics, 9-11, school in America and religion. 

The following morning Alex Justice (my roommate), Tricia Tyson (friend) and I set out on an early morning hike to the Atlantic Ocean to watch the sunrise.  The rest of the day we took a bus to the Kylemore Abbey Castle which had some wonderful sites along the way however I probably would not recommend it to tourists as there are loads of other things we would have loved to see! 

Overall, Galway is a quaint town with very kind people and beautiful views and I wish to come back again one day!

I have finalized the majority of my traveling, below are all the countries I have booked and my plans for the coming months.  Oh, school is going well too.  I am in Web Design and Analytics, Business Law, Art History and Medieval Literature.

This last Saturday I went on a horseback riding trip to Wicklow, Ireland - More to come on this! 

January Newcastle, England for a soccer game 

February Kraków, Poland for Auschwitz and Salt Caves 

February Bratislava/Vienna - to visit my Aunt Jill!

February Northern Ireland Weekend 

Spring Break: March 

Berlin, Germany 

Budapest, Hungry 

Ljubljana, Slovenia 

Zagreb, Croatia

Dublin for St. Patty's Day (obviously)

Lisbon, Portugal (TENTATIVE) 

School in Session:

March Amsterdam, Netherlands with Kaleb! 

March/April Southern Ireland Trip with the Family!!  

April Prague, Czech Republic  

April Santorini, Greece