First of Galway

I finally arrived in Galway on Wednesday. The start probably wasn't the most promising one, since when I took a taxi to my apartment from the bus station, even the taxi driver seemed a bit confused and unsure about the exact location of the apartment. But I did manage to get to the right place. The taxi driver was kind enough to phone my landlady and ask her about the location. And he even told me to be careful during my time in Galway, which I thought was kinda sweet. This kind of friendliness is something I deeply love about Ireland and it is one of the main reasons why I'm so fond of this country. This kind of hospitality and friendliness really makes you feel welcomed.
When I got to my apartment at last, I was pleasantly surprised. My room was very neat and tidy and quite spacious for a single room. Also the bathroom was very clean and the shower was very modern, for Irish standards, at least. The only con of the apartment is the kitchen, it's not that well equipped. During the second day I already had to buy a big saucepan, since the kitchen didn't have those, only small ones. But when something like that is the biggest of my "problems" here, it's safe to say I won't have any difficulties living here. Cooking utensils are something I can buy from a store, and they're not even that expensive in Ireland. Buying them is perhaps more of a slight inconvenience than an actual problem. So regardless of the kitchen, I do like this apartment.

Even though I had spent almost 4 hours on a bus from Dublin to Galway, I couldn't just stay in for the night. So I went to take a look around town instead. I headed for Salthill, one of the most beautiful parts of Galway that has a very picturesque beach promenade that goes along the coast line. I love the ocean, so having it only about 2 kilometers away from my apartment is like a dream come true to me. Even though it was very windy, the place was lovely. And I honestly cannot believe that I missed this gorgeous place during my last visit to Galway.

Salthill <3

Salthill Promenade

Salthill Beach, low tide

Salthill Promenade

On my 2nd day in Galway I decided to go to the Galway shopping centre. I was still missing some clothes for work for my internship and the shopping centre also has a big Tesco, which is great for groceries. There is a small Teso express less than a kilometer from my apartment, but it's super expensive, so I much rather walk the 1,5 km to the bigger and cheaper one. I'm a sucker for Tesco purely due to the fact that we don't have that in Finland. But in addition to Tesco, there is also a big Lidl and Aldi in the shopping centre. To have that many big grocery stores that close to my apartment is great. And there seems to be a cinema in the Galway Retail park the opposite side of the Galway Shopping Centre. So to have a cinema, big grocery stores and well, technically two shopping centres less than 2 km from my apartment even though I don't live in the city centre, that's just awesome.
Here's a couple of random shots from some of the buildings near my apartment:

The next day I decided to go see another place I have missed during my last visit to Galway, the Claddagh. It's another part of Galway, a little over 2 km from my apartment. It had some nice colourful buildings and also a nice walking path along the coast. And I hadn't even realized it till I got there, that the path leads right to Salthill. So basically I circled straight from Claddagh to Salthill, in other words, I got to see two places instead of just one. And Salthill was now even more beautiful, since the night I had visited it there was a low tide. Now it looked even more gorgeous and I got to see the other side of the promenade that I had missed during my previous visit. And I also got to see the Salthill Beach properly. It had looked quite different during low tide. Now with the sun shining, the clear blue water and the sun gleaming from the waves, it looked, if possible, even more beautiful.

Claddagh part of town

Swans!

It's not everyday you get to see swans this close.
Nor is it everyday that you get to see kids, feeding them.

Claddagh

Walking along the coastline

Salthill Beach <3

Salthill Beach

Salthill Beach

Salthill Beach

Salthill Beach and the Salthill Promenade

For the past couple of days I've been circling around Galway, I've been surprised how easy it is for me to move here. I thought it would be harder, I would get lost more or I would be really confused about where to go. But the routes for example to Salthill and Galway Shopping Centre from my apartment are very straight forward. I only had to go to those places once, and after that I already knew how to get there without using a map. The only more "problematic" area is the city centre. One of the main reasons I haven't gotten lost is the fact that I have used google maps on my phone. But even that app gets a little confused in the city centre for some reason. Maybe there are too many tiny streets and alleys there, who knows. But after a couple of trips I should be able to move there without any bigger problems too.
What little I have seen of Galway during the past 3 days, I can already say that this lovely city has completely stolen my heart. If the song Galway Girl goes "lost my heart to a Galway girl.." I think I could say "lost my heart to Galway.."

Tomorrow I'm going to Ennis for the first time and I'll also get to see my internship place for the first time. I will start my internship on Monday, so I will write more about Ennis and about my internship experiences after my first week.

Dublin revisited

Second blog post within two days. Excuse me for the spam, but since I have regained my enthusiasm for this blog, why not write when I feel like it. Especially when now there are some things to write about. So about Dublin:
Technically, this was my 3rd visit to Dublin. I was here in March 2014 with my friend and when I came to Sligo for a short vacation in October 2014, I stayed in Dublin for one night. But this visit was the first time being alone in Dublin for me. Though at first I was a bit nervous about being here alone (my sense of direction, it's bad. Veeeryy bad), but it all turned out well. I did not, I repeat, did not, get lost a single time while walking around the city centre today, which for me, is huge! Though I did get a little lost last night, when I was trying to find my hostel..  But then again, it wasn't entirely my fault, since I had printed a map from the Dublin bus station to the hostel, but it turned out that the bus would leave me to a bus stop near the bus station, not right in front of the bus station. This led to confusion and some wandering around.  But thanks to some help from a stranger (this is what I love about Ireland. People actually ask you, if you need help, and this can happen even in a big city like Dublin) I found my way to the hostel. And so far so good, I haven't gotten lost since that first time.

I spent most of this day just walking around the city centre. The weather has been beautiful, sunny and a bit windy, but still warmer than in Finland when I left. I was supposed to visit two of the sights I had yet failed to see in Dublin; St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Dublin Castle. But I got a bit lazy, and ended up visiting just the castle. It was an okay place. I just wanted to get a quick look of the place, so I didn't go on a guided tour, but got a ticket for a self-guided tour instead. I probably would have gotten more out of the place with a guided tour, but oh well, I got to see most of the castle anyways.
I've noticed that in Dublin, the major sights are not that spectacular. They are cool, but not the most amazing places I've ever seen. This was the case with the castle as well. But that's just my opinion, since I happen to prefer the nature landscapes of Ireland (The Cliffs of Moher, the beaches and coastlines of the country... Yeah, I know. The Western coast of Ireland has completely stolen my heart) over the likes of what for example Dublin has to offer. There is one very good thing about the tourist attractions in Dublin though; the tickets are cheap. I think the only place I've paid more than 10€ for entrance was the Guinness Storehouse. All other places have been way under 10€.

Outside the Dublin Castle

Inside the Dublin Castle. The ceiling was beautifully decorated.

After visiting the castle I went shopping. My enthusiasm for shopping comes and goes. I'm not too keen on fashion nor trends. I couldn't care less about what's in and what's out. But even I can say that Dublin is a very good city for shopping. And of course, Ireland has Penneys. Which as retail stores go, is one of the best things ever. Exactly how I like my clothes to be; cheap, yet cool. Quite often I find it hard to find anything cool at clothing stores, cause my taste in clothes usually isn't the most traditional kind. Yet I don't think I've ever left Penneys without buying at least one item. Since we don't have Penneys or Primark in Finland, it was great to go there again after a long time. I didn't find as much clothes as I would have thought (my wallet will thank me), but I did find clothes for my internship and something that satisfies the little geek in me A LOT.

The little geek in me is very happy right now.

I have to admit, it does feel kinda exciting to be in Dublin, regardless of my mixed feelings towards the city. For a girl from a small town, Dublin feels big. There's no way around it. And yes, I'm well aware that as capital or big cities go, Dublin is far from big. But to, it is big. There are a lot of people and there are people wondering about at all times, it seems. At first, that feels a bit exciting and of course different. But in the end, it feels a bit weird and makes me feel a bit restless. I like the liveliness of Dublin, but I also like some peace and quiet. I'd say that Dublin is a nice city to visit every now and then, to get a feel of the "big city life", but I would never want to live there. For a longer period of time, at least. Coming here is a bit of an adventure and my feelings towards Dublin have actually changed more positive, but at this very moment, I am still very happy about the fact that I will be living in Galway. Smaller, yet lively, cities are just more my cup of tea.
Since the weather is still nice and sunny, even though it's getting late, I'm gonna do one last stroll around the city centre and get something to eat. And tomorrow, my adventure can really begin. Galway get ready, cause here I come!

The river looks nice, especially on a sunny day like today.

All sun and no rain the entire day.

I've been away for too long

The day is finally here: I get to go back! To Ireland! This is something I have been waiting for ever since the last time I was in Ireland. 7 long months ago, to be exact. I cannot believe that I'm actually here again and words cannot even begin to describe how good it feels to be back

In a nutshell; Right now I'm in Dublin, in a crappy hostel where pretty much the only pro is that it has good wi-fi. Yet I cannot stop smiling  and feeling like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Before starting my internship, I wanted to take a short vacation. That's why I decided to stay two nights in Dublin instead of heading for Galway tomorrow. I figured I'm gonna play the tourist here, check out a couple of sights I've so far failed to see, do some shopping and just relax. I've always had some mixed feelings towards Dublin, so who knows, maybe this short trip here will change some of that as well.

I will tell more about Dublin in another post, so I'll stop now and go get some rest. It has been a long day. But it is all so worth it. It feels so good to be home <3

Strolling along the river in Dublin. Not a bad way to spend the evening.

Ireland, I'm coming back for you soon!

It has been a long, long 7 months that I have been away from Ireland. But that is all gonna change. I still have an internship to be completed as a part of my tourism studies in Finland and doing that internship in Ireland felt like an obvious choice to me. And, after months and months of waiting, uncertainty and dozens and dozens of sent applications, my hard work finally paid off: I got an internship place in Ireland! And this means that I'll get to spend an entire summer in Ireland. Which, let's face it, is like a dream come true to me. So yeah, sometimes, dreams do come true.

Since I started writing this blog during my Erasmus exchange in Sligo, I figured that this other, a little different Irish experience, would be the perfect opportunity to continue writing it.

I will write more about my experiences regarding Ireland, my internship etc. once I'll actually arrive there. For now, I'm gonna keep it short and only tell the basic things about the upcoming internship.

This time, I won't be going back to Sligo. Don't get me wrong, I did try to get an internship there,but no luck. And after sending in applications to numerous hotels and some restaurants in several cities all over Ireland, without getting hardly any replies back (not, even the simple, no, we can't offer you an internship), I started to get a little desperate. But my desperation was premature. I finally got good news from a small hotel in Western Ireland. 

So, the place for my internship for the summer will be Ashford Court Boutique Hotel, located in Ennis, Co. Clare. I have never been to Ennis before, but based on the photos I've seen online, it looks like a lovely little town. Though, Ennis won't be the town where I'll be living in. Due to practical reasons, mostly to do with finding an apartment, I'll be living in Galway and commuting to Ennis by a train or a bus, depending on my shifts.

My internship will officially start on June the 1st, but I will travel to Ireland a little bit in advance. I will fly to Dublin on May 25th and stay there a couple of days. And starting on May 27th, I'll be able to call Galway home.My internship will go on till the end of August. 

So all in all, I have most likely the best summer of my life ahead of me. But I will tell more about my short trip to Dublin, my first impressions on Galway as my new hometown, my internship and all my other experiences in the upcoming posts. So bye! For now.

PS: A post without any photos would be a bit dull, so here are some photos from a short trip I did to Sligo in October:

Benbulben mountain, Rosses Point 

Bundoran Beach, Bundoran

Sligo!

So much for the "bad" Irish weather. Nice and summer-like, even though it's October!