Ireland & Scotland Trip Part 1: Limerick

(Wednesday, April 29th)
Today begins my trip to Ireland and Scotland. The trip begins with me catching a train to Manchester, then a flight to Dublin, and finally a 3 hour bus ride to Limerick. I am traveling alone for this leg of the journey, but my iPod keeps me company. The bus drops me off in Limerick outside the gates to University of Limerick (UL). A few minutes later a car drives up and out jumps Jenna, who is the one I'm here to visit. Jenna is an American studying abroad for the Spring here at UL. I met her during my visit to Naples over Easter break cause she was staying in the same hostel as me. After a quick hug we throw my stuff in the car and drive back to her flat.

Back at her flat I drop my stuff off in her room then make my way to the kitchen to meet the rest of her flatmates who are all local Irish students. It was really funny when I walked into the room cause of a few of them had their mouths and noses covered with their shirts because the swine flu was in England which is where I was coming from. We made the introductions then sat down to watch some football (soccer) with the group. One of her flatmates made dinner for all of us which was great.

After dinner we all just hung out in the kitchen and Jenna and I tried to work out some plans for the next day. We decided we would go with some of her friends to the Cliffs of Moher which was about 2 hours away by bus. After an hour or so we all decided to call it a night and retired to our rooms.


(Thursday, April 30)
Jenna and I got up early today to meet up with her friends and catch our bus to the Cliffs of Moher. As I mentioned before, the ride was about 2 hours long to get there. Along the way I got to know her friends better, which was fun. Two of them are Canadian so they attempted to name all 50 states and I attempted to name all the provinces and territories of Canada. I'd say it was fairly even between our knowledge of each other's countries. When we got to the cliffs we walked the paths along the cliff edge in both directions. The cliffs are absolutely beautiful and so is the Irish countryside. We brought some lunch so we had a little picnic in the sun. After lunch we toured the gift shop then caught our bus back to Limerick.

When we got back to Limerick we were hungry for a snack so we went to a little place and grabs some garlic cheese chips, basically steak fries with shredded cheese and garlic mayo. After the snack we caught a bus back to the flat. Almost as soon as we got back to the flat another one of her flatmates was finishing dinner so we had to eat again to avoid being rude. We both felt like blimps after that so we took a nap. When we got up we took turns grabbing a shower, then got dressed for the evening. Her flat was hosting a big flat party that night.

The party started around 8pm with only a few people there, but after about an hour the place was packed with their friends. I worked my way around getting to know as many people as I could. The party went on for about 2 hours then we decided to move en masse to a nearby bar/club called The Lodge. Only 1 person had a car to take people to The Lodge which was about a 20 minute walk away, so we hung back while he took a car load of people. After waiting about 15 minutes we decided the 5 of us would just walk there so we headed off through campus towards the main road. Along the way we came across a guy in a Avis van who was lost driving around campus. He asked us for directions and then offered us a ride. We all crammed into the van which meant Jenna and I were sitting on people's laps. I finished my beer as we drove and we talked with the guy. He dropped us off right in front of the club, making him one of the coolest random strangers I've ever met.

Similar to the party, when we got to the club it was pretty dead with our group being pretty much the only ones there. However, within an hour or so the place was packed. We all danced and drank the night away. When we left the club we caught a ride with Jenna's flatmate. Back at the flat we all reflected on a good night then went to bed.


(Friday, May 1)
The time had come for me to say goodbye to Jenna and leave Limerick. After a quick breakfast she walked me to the gates of the university and waited for the bus with me. We said our goodbyes and I got on my bus headed for Dublin. My time in Limerick was an absolute blast and I'm really happy I met her in Naples, otherwise I would have never had this opportunity.

Limerick Photos