One Week Gone

Oh my goodness, I really must get better at getting on this blog. Sorry everyone! So we have done a lot in the past couple of days. Let's see, have I written about the Guinness factory yet? I can't remember ahaha so I will just tell you that I met two couples from California and one of their sons had gone to Penn State and one of them had gone to Notre Dame! Her husband was wearing an ND hat and I struck up a conversation with them. They were excited for us to be in Ireland and taking classes. Yesterday, we went to probably one of the coolest places we have been to yet, we went to Kilmanin Gaol (Jail). It was amazing, it was creepy inside because they had restored it but keep the design the same. The jail was huge and the guide said that at one point it held 9,000 inmates when the capacity was only for 500 or so. Could you imagine? They were kept in the hallways and with 5 people to a cell and the jail held men, women, and children. The youngest boy recorded there was 5 years old for stealing of all things. But it was by far the most interesting thing we have seen so far I think. That night we decided to stay in and play games, it is expensive to go out here, even though it is so much fun.
Today we took a day trip to Kilkenny and saw a castle and an old cathedral. The castle had been remodeled a lot so it wasn't like getting the same experience as the jail, but it was still cool to see all of the rooms and the "portrait room" was amazing. There used to be hundreds of portraits on the walls that there was no wall to see but obviously most of those paintings were taken down, but the outlines of the paintings were still there. And it was huge, and we found secret doors and staircases so it was like an adventure. The cathedral we went to was less restored then the castle so it was nice to see something in its original splendor. Before going on a tour we climbed a tower that was 8 stories high, now that may not sound like a lot but the tower had zero foundation and if you were claustrophobic you were ill-advised to make the climb. And it wasn't stairs we climbed but ladders all the way and once there you could stand on the top of the tower with nothing supporting you but a railing that came up to your chest. The views were breathtaking and well worth the climb. Inside the church had beautiful glass-stained windows AND the grave of President Obama's 6th generation grand uncle was buried in the church, interesting eh?
Tonight we went back to Temple Bar because it's just a really fun atmosphere to be around and the music there is great, we didn't stay long though because even though we are in Ireland we are still taking classes :(
Well Galway this weekend, I'm so excited to see the Cliffs of Moher, I'll be thinking of my Aunt Karen while I'm there. Love you all!
Love from an aching feet girl <3