Another week has somehow flown by. Since my last post, we had our welcome dinner, continued internships, went to the Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny Castle, and visited the National Museum of Ireland.
Our welcome dinner was at The Little Kitchen, a quaint restaurant with great food. It was super fun, though perhaps a bit overwhelming for our many servers – we may have overstayed our welcome. The remainder of the work week was filled with interning, eating lunch in the park, and moseying along Grafton and Dawson Streets before catching the bus back to UCD. One of the best parts of the week was stumbling upon a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant near Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. It was a welcome discovery and has successfully proven to keep my time in the UCD kitchen at a minimum. On that note, I should mention that our kitchen was visited by a bird not once but twice this week! I was lucky enough to wake up those mornings to discover bread packaging torn up and egg cartons pecked through. It was so gross. We have since learned the necessary lesson of ensuring all windows are fully closed before going to bed.
On a happier note, we had a great visit to Glendalough and Kilkenny this weekend. The Wicklow Mountains were beautiful; we had perfect weather and enjoyed our walk to and from the lake. Equally as important, our bus ride allowed for good sightseeing, a bit of sleep, and even some unexpected entertainment in the form of accidentally destroying a stone wall with the tail of the *brand new* bus. Once in Kilkenny, we grabbed lunch and hung out in the park attached to Kilkenny Castle before starting our tour. Once again, the weather made this whole experience all the better.
When we arrived back Saturday night, we continued our exploration of Dublin’s nightlife. Then on Sunday morning, I got to sleep in for the first time in what felt like forever. I scrambled to finish the ANOP homework in time, but sleeping in was well worth it.
On Monday, we visited the National Museum of Ireland. Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the building itself was incredible. The architecture was stunning, with impressive moldings around the doors and on each ceiling. Our tour guide was informative, ensuring every artifact was discussed at length. We spent a good amount of time learning about Ancient Ireland, and I still can’t believe just how old this place is – nothing like a 5000-year-old stone to put time into perspective.
I’m excited for our trip out west this weekend and to see what next week has in store!
Glendalough Upper Lake
View from a guest bedroom in Kilkenny Castle — note the garden in the shape of a Celtic cross
People enjoying the nice weather in Kilkenny
The ceiling in the entrance of the National Museum of Ireland
Evidence of the bird. smh
Time to add another visit from the birds to the list…