St. Paddy's Day

Coming into St. Paddy's Day I had no clue what to expect. I had heard rumors that America crazy-fied the Holiday and Ireland did not really celebrate it as much. I would just like to say that these rumors are completely false. From Dublin to Dungarvan there were parades and parties. I started the weekend with a group of friends in Dublin to run a 5K with international students from around the world. As a part of this my group was able to march in the Dublin Paddy's Day Parade! The only problem? It snowed. After a bit of hiking, my group jumped the barriers and ran to the bus station to go back to Dungarvan. We arrived to a full Paddy's Day Party complete with students in their most obnoxious Paddy's Day Finery. Below are a few pictures from the weekend! 

 

Sunshine in Dungarvan

 The other morning something somewhat magical happened in Ireland, the sun came out! To show the sun God's that I greatly appreciated this I decided to take a little hike around Dungarvan to take pictures and explore. There really is nothing quite like the Irish scenery. Everything is so green and the nature to development ratio is much more abundant than in America.

I Didn't Chose the Pub Life...

In honor of St. Patricks Day and William Yeats, I thought I would post this little poem called A Drinking Song:

Wine comes in at the mouth

And love comes in at the eye;

That’s all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth,

I look at you, and I sigh.

Dungarvan's Harbor

The group first arriving in Dungarvan!

Settling In

Dia Duit! We arrived in Ireland to a full Irish breakfast which, I have to say, trumps Egan any time. I'm glad this was the first order of the day because the long flight left some of us out of sorts. We had Bewleys tea at the actual Bewleys Hotel in Dublin and received a fantastic welcome from the people who helped connect Mercyhurst University to Dungarvan! We eventually made our way to the town by nightfall and pretty much threw our suitcases into our lovely holiday homes and hit the hotel pub. It was grand being able to celebrate our first night in Ireland with a Guiness or a Bulmers (a hard apple cider) and get to know everyone in the group!
This is about it for the moment...the jetlag is calling.