Curly Haired Brunette on an Irish Adventure

Week 3
Dia Dhuit! That is hello in Irish. This past week has been full of adventures. Thursday the 11th, I went to Kilkenny, Ireland. It was a beautiful little town about a 2-3hr train ride from Galway. With beautiful castles older than America and cathedrals decorated with intricate detailed stain glass windows, you definitely felt like royalty visiting this place. Especially with how friendly the people here were. One friendly fellow who happened to be a palace guard and opened up the castle park gates for us, not only gave us some recommendations of good old Irish movies to watch but gave us some great life advice. His name was Matt and said after I asked his name, something along the lines of, being sure you know what you stand for and standing strong in that belief. Matt also said,
    "I am 49 years old and I have two bad knees, one bad hip and one bad foot, I don't have a lot of money and I'm not very bright".
Even though he didn't consider himself very bright, he happened to be the nicest person I have met while here in Ireland. One may consider themselves low, but don't underestimate the power of kindness, as I will remember his kindness toward us young travelers for a very long time.
       I however may have jumped ahead a bit as I missed an adventure in which did not seem like one while it was happening. One fella who happened to be traveling with our small group of four, got on the wrong train, leaving us three behind wondering where in the world he had gone. After speed walking a mile into town, stopping in four businesses to find Wi-Fi, and running back to the station, and this person finding his way back to the station, we finally made it to Kilkenny 2 hours later than planned. The important part however, was we made it.
      Jumping ahead to Sunday, (Valentines day), I relaxed and walked to Spidal to get some exercise and coffee. Sunday night, I enjoyed the sunset over the ocean, existing on a rock that raised high
above all the other ones. The locals in Spidal are very friendly, at least the ones I have talked to. They are kind of reserved, however, they will answer any question you may have about the country or places to visit.
       Saturday morning, we went on a 6 mile hike along the river to a beautiful old mill. Once you stepped foot inside this mill, it was like you stepped inside a whole new world. there was a little river going under a doorway and green luscious vines growing on the brick. It was like a magical place that you only read about in books.
      Monday, Kendra and I walked to a beautiful beach the opposite side of Spidal . This beach happened to be sandy. I dipped my feet in the water, which caused an instant chill to run up my legs as the water is basically ice cold.  I especially enjoy looking at seashells. I get a little grossed out if there happens to be slimy things in them, so I will just stick to collecting a few, and taking pictures of many. Speaking of the locals, we visited the local nursing home to see if we could do some volunteer work with them. I am very excited to get to know more locals.
   Tuesday happened to be the worst day as it was quite rainy and cold, however, Wednesday was beautiful.   I walked to Spidal to have some fish and chips. When walking back, the sun continued to shine with a small out burst of hail and a rainbow after wards. The golden sun reflecting off the spring green grass will never get old.

I cannot believe it has already been 3 weeks here and I look forward to many more!