my favorite

this mural in cork city we stumbled upon two weekends ago is without a doubt my favorite travel find so far.

and with that, i am off to paris!  

more blarney castle

showing off my brute strength.

album cover in the making.
squint your eyes!  we ran into a wedding and i tried to snap a shot paparazzi style.  

blarney castle

i must say, i expected blarney castle to be the ultimate tourist trap.  i was pleasantly surprised!  the castle had lots of fun caves and crevices to explore, the view from the top was incredible, and the garden surrounding it was entirely charming.  

kind of foreboding, isn't it?

this is my 'kristine-how-could-you-have-entertained-for-a-second-not-coming-out-here' face.  

to think, i would have missed this view!

more pictures to come!

kilmainham

last tuesday my program visited kilmainham gaol (or jail).  as ireland fought for its independence from great britain, a ton of political leaders in various rebellions were housed here.  

as my tour guide said, "anyone who is anyone in irish history has spent time in this jail."

this was one of my favorite days so far.  federal prisons are a really interesting point of reference for a country's political and social history.  

for example, i learned that during the potato famine, people purposefully committed crimes just to go to prison because prisons, with federal funds, had more food than much of ireland.  also, if you are interested, look up the easter rising of 1916.  it is one of the most famous happening in this jail.

and with that, good night!

best valentine's day kiss

that's right folks.  on valentine's day, i kissed the blarney stone.

sorry i have been so absent in posting, but expect more soon.

they are booked!

hello all!  i am sorry i have been cyber-absent.  this past week i had a terrible cold that kept me from having fun adventures.  however, the advantage of being stuck inside with a cold in europe is that a cloudy cold-medicine head keeping me indoors can be put to good use.

for what, you might ask?

making travel plans!  here are the latest:

-february 28-march 2, i'll be in paris

-march 8-march 15th, i'll be in spain hopping between malaga, cadiz, seville, barcelona, and perhaps (a ferry ride permitting) tangier in morocco

-april 4-april 6, i'll be in london (SURPRISE SHARON)  

-and (drum roll please), it has been decided that after my semester ends, i'll be spending most of my time in italy!  i already have two travel partners from my program who are on board as well.  

also, for those of you more economically inclined (aka mom), my flight to london cost 10 euro, or $13.  

i think my mantra for study abroad will always remain: i'm not complaining.  

my humble abode

for those of you who have lived with me, you know blank walls are my foe.  have no fear- my dublin white walls have met their match!  (thank you free irish travel magazines)

 

wicklow

thank goodness for dublin countryside.  here are some highlights of my first excursion out of dublin.

picturesque bridges leading to a crumbling cemetery.

trees.

mountains.
and waterfalls!

feast your eyes on the size of that field

this week i went to a galic football match.  think american soccer with more carrying of the ball and more body slamming.  

it was INCREDIBLE.

it was also the league's 125th anniversary, so the game was complete with a big-screen-style tribute video and a irish-rock-music-fireworks-laser-show extravaganza.  

certainly an exciting irish night.