Work hard, play hard

I know it's been quite a while since my last blog post, but I am back to writing. Again. And since the previous post was mainly about work, this will be strictly about free time and spending time with an old friend.
Last week I had my first visitor to Ireland. A friend of mine all the way from Austria came to visit me in Ireland. I met her when she was studying in Joensuu as an Erasmus student and we hadn't seen each other since she left Finland in December 2013. So yes, it was a happy reunion after almost two long years! My friend had heard all the great things I have said about Ireland and she wanted to see and experience it all herself. And her coming to Ireland and me showing her around in this wonderful country was the best way to do it. This was also the first time for me to show one of my friends around in Ireland.

I met up with my friend in Dublin and stayed there for one night. Even though I'm not that big a fan of Dublin and I am a firm believer that compared to the rest of the country, Dublin is nothing. But still, regardless of my occasional negative views of the city, I still believe that it is a city worth seeing. I just don't think it is the best place in the country, quite far from it, actually.
Since we only had very little time to spend in Dublin, I figured I'd show my friend a couple of the local attractions and then just walk her around the city centre, so that she would get a feel of the place. On the first night I took my friend to see the Trinity College and its gorgeous campus. It felt very nostalgic to be there again, since I hadn't seen the place since the first time I was in Dublin in March 2014. Anyhoo, the Trinity College is a cool place. The campus is huge and beautiful. My school looks so institutional-like in comparison.
The next day it was time to check out St. Patrick's Cathedral. This was a place even I had missed, even though this was my 4th visit to Dublin. The cathedral was a cool building. We didn't go inside, just took a couple of photos of it and that was about it. After the cathedral it was time to head for the Kilmainham Gaol. Now this place is one of my personal favorite attractions in Dublin. The place is interesting, so much history of Ireland in one place, the guides are always good and really know their stuff when it comes to the place and history of Ireland and on top of that, the admission is only €2 for a student. Even though this was my second time visiting Kilmainham, the place was just as interesting as it was the last time. And even my friend liked the place, even though she wasn't that familiar with the history of Ireland.
All in all, my friend liked Dublin. Even though even she admitted that the rest of the country must be even better. I for one didn't like Dublin that much this time. Dublin during high season, packed with people, especially tourists, it just isn't my cup of tea. People are not even nearly as friendly as they are in the rest of the country and well, especially tourists, they can be rude and really inconsiderate of other people. But at least the cafés and restaurants in Dublin are quite cool. So yeah, I would say that Dublin is definitely better during spring or winter, when there aren't quite that many tourists in the city. Which I know sounds a bit weird, coming from a tourism student. But that's just how it is.

The Trinity College

Campus of Trinity College

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Kilmainham Gaol

After our brief visit to Dublin, it was time to head for Galway. The first night in Galway was mainly spent on walking around the city centre, the shop street, Latin Quarter etc. The next day it was time for a proper tour around the city. I showed my friend The Claddagh and Salthill. The weather wasn't ideal for the tour, but at least it wasn't raining. Claddagh and Salthill are my favorite places in Galway and I got the impression my friend really liked those places too. Especially Salthill and the ocean.

Sofia, the unofficial nature photographer..

The Claddagh

Salthill Beach 

Salthill

Since one does not simply leave Ireland without seeing the Cliffs of Moher, the next day we did a tour to the Cliffs of Moher and to the Burren. But on this day, weather definitely wasn't on our side. It was raining the entire day, which itself isn't that pleasant. Especially on a tour like this. Our clothes were  get damper and damper as the day went on. But we thought that by the time we would reach the Cliffs, maybe the weather would change for the better. But boy, how wrong were we.. It was literally storming when we got to the Cliffs. It was really windy and the rain was like whip lashes. In other words, the weather couldn't have been crappier. Still, we went up to the Cliffs, but we survived about 20 minutes. Then we couldn't take it anymore, we had to go back inside. We could barely see a thing. It seemed that me and Ireland were having a bit of a trouble in paradise. It sucked that the weather was like that on our visit to the Cliffs, since this was the place that my friend was looking forward to see the most. So I felt really bad for her. Talk about bad luck. But regardless of the shitty weather, I did manage to get a couple of decent shots of our Cliffs of Moher & Burren tour. And well, the photos of the Cliffs look fairly interesting, especially when I compared them to the ones I took on my first visit there.

Poulnabrone Dolmen

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher

In comparison, here is a photo I took of The Cliffs of Moher
on my first trip there in spring 2014. Quite a difference, huh.

Once we got back home from the tour, I don't think a hot shower, dry clothes and a hot cup of tea had ever felt better. But our day wasn't done just yet. Since Galway Film Fleadh was still going on, we wanted to see at least one movie as a part of this film festival. Originally we were supposed to go see an Irish movie called Pursuit. But look at that, the tickets were sold out, so we had to choose another movie. But it all turned out alright. We chose a movie called Bloodsucking Bastards and that movie turned out to be a great one. It was fucking hilarious and quite original. All in all, we weren't disappointed at all anymore that we had to go see this one instead of the Irish movie. And well, the producer of this movie was originally from the South of Ireland, so yeah, I guess that counts for something. If you get a chance, do go see this movie. It is a really good one. I for one haven't laughed that much at a movie since I watched the Wolf of Wall Street.

The next day it was time for another tour. This time Connemara and Kylemore Abbey tour. And after yesterday, Ireland definitely owed us one. And apparently, Ireland always pays its debts, since the weather for this tour was great. Especially at the Kylemore Abbey, the weather couldn't have been better. We got some amazing shots of the Abbey by the lake. And it was a nice change not having to be in damp or wet clothes the entire day. We also got to see some of the landscapes of the Connemara National Park. In this sense, I was a little disappointed. I would have liked to see more of Connemara, since it was a place even I hadn't seen before, even though I've done travelling around Ireland. But oh well, I guess you can't pack everything on a day tour like this. I am still glad I got to see at least a small part of Connemara and my friend liked this tour as well, which was the main thing. After all, it was her first visit to Ireland and I wanted her to see as much as possible during her stay.
Once we got back to Galway, we even got to see some of street performers, which are an everyday thing in Galway. The name of the performer was Super Scott. And the main reason we even stopped to see his act was his Scottish accent. But his act turned out to be really cool. He was juggling things like knives, which was cool. And he was funny as well. All in all, it was a great end to the day.

Somewhere in the Connemara

Somewhere in the Connemara

The Kylemore Abbey

The Kylemore Abbey

With my friend at Kylemore Abbey

Victorian gardens at Kylemore Abbey

Somewhere near Kylemore

Somewhere in the Connemara

Somewhere in the Connemara

The street performer Super Scott

It was great seeing my friend after almost two years. It was cool to show someone who has never been to Ireland before around this wonderful country. My friend enjoyed her stay and said that she would surely come back. I can't really blame her. Ireland usually has that effect on people. I know it had that on me.
Sadly this was the last full day we got to spend together. Next day I had to get back to work. We did get to spend some time together in the evening, after I got back home from work. The next day my friend headed for Dublin and back home to Austria. But I'm happy she enjoyed here time here and that she would want to come back here in the future.