Caitlin Miller

Caitlin Miller is a senior Public Relations and Advertising major who was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is interested in a career in event planning and hopes to eventually work in sports. Caitlin has never been out of the country before, but she has traveled throughout the states. She is very excited to travel to Ireland and Iceland and explore new places.

PRE-TRIP

It honestly doesn’t feel real that I was walking across the stage at gradation on Saturday, April 29, 2017, and now I’m packing and trying to prepare for my first international trip! I have heard about this trip in past semesters but when I heard Iceland and Ireland were the destinations this year I was practically begging my parents to let me go. I have been asking to take a trip to Ireland since I knew where it was on a map, so this is a dream come true. Adding Iceland on the list makes this trip even better. I am most excited to try lost of new foods, listen to new music styles as well as explore famous sites that I have been looking at in pictures for years!

12 more days!

Day 1: Reykjavik, Iceland

Oh wow! Where do I even being? So, we have been here in Reykjavik for about a day now and we have been going none stop. We spent about nine hours in the JFK airport which went by a lot faster and easier than I had expected it to. Around 9 o’clock pm we boarded our international flight to Keflavik (this was my very first international flight ever)! I ended up getting some of the best seats in my opinion with a foot rest and extra pillows and blankets. I kept myself pretty busy while watching Fences and enjoying our on flight meal. Our flight was about five hours long and we landed here in Reykjavik around 6:45 am (around 2:45 am in Pittsburgh time). I was pretty excited about finally being on the ground and about going through my first customs and getting my first passport stamp! After receiving our luggage we were walking out to the exit to be greated by Rachel, Jan and Helga who are accompanying us on this trip as tour guides. I soon  found myself a Dunkin’ Donuts. I don’t think I have ever been so excited for Dunkin’ coffee ever! It was a little different but so good! Once we were all on our bus we started to make our way to our hotel.

View from Keflavik airport.

 

The bus ride through Iceland was absolutely breath taking. We were surrounded by lava fields, mountains and ocean. I felt like I was in a dream. We had stopped a few places along the way including the Presdients house and a gorgeous church. I was still just in shock I was here. The weather was much different than I had expected it to be. It was cold but not too cold. It’s very windy, it reminded me a lot of my trip to Chicago last year. I thought I was going to need a huge winter coat and I am so glad I left that at home. I was perfectly fine in my great thrift store jacket that I found for about $5 back home.

Iceland President’s House

 

Once we made our way to the hotel we dropped out stuff off and took off to explore the land. While out exploring we found an indoor Flea Market that had loads of things. We spent a good amount of our time walking through there looking at all of the cool items that were being sold. There were so many people selling the popular Icelandic sweater as well as lava jewelry. While walking through, we found a food section and this cute young boy giving out free samples of the famous dried fish that we have been talking about leading up to this trip. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. The initial taste of it was okay but the after taste was not so hot.

Dried Fish

 

Finaly our rooms were ready and I was able to shower and change my clothes and relax for a few minutes, but my goal was not to sleep! I wanted to make sure my body was able to adjust to the time change and that I would be able to fall asleep later that night. Once I was all cleaned up it was time to explore again. Maggie and I decided to just go where the land took us. We walked to the Harpa, the music hall, to the ship yards, and through the main shopping drag. The architecture and the street art we found along the way was absolutely stunning. I was being pulled in every different direction by a new color or a new picture or even a cool looking shop. At some points along our little journey we found ourselves talking to the locals and asking them questions about their money system, which we are still trying to figure out as well as asking them about other cool things to do and see during out short time here.

 

I was dying to try the famous Icelandic hot dog from one of the little street shops! Everyone we had talked to before the trip had lots of mixed feelings about them but as a hot dog lover I was determined to try it! Once we found out that the shop right outside of our hotel sold them I was sold! It cost about 7oo ISK, which it about $7 for the hot dog with French fired onions, ketchup, sweet mustard and mayonnaise. I loved it! It was definitely different and a little weird at first but it was pretty good! Then we did some more walking around until it was time for dinner. Dinner was at Reykjavik Restaurant, which was right in our square. We were served a cauliflower soup, pork with potatoes, and a chocolate cake with whipped cream, raspberries and pop rocks for dessert. It was not at all what I was expecting but it was surprisingly good. I was also just so hungry by the time we were ready to eat that I would have eaten anything placed in front of me. Dinner ended around 9 pm and the sun was still bright and shining.

Overall, my first day out of the country and my first day in Reykjavik, Iceland was a huge success and I cannot wait to tell you about our day of sightseeing tomorrow!

Day 2: The Golden Circle Tour

Today was exciting to say the least! It started with our 7:30 am wake up call followed by trying to figure out where breakfast was being served at in our hotel. I was very surprised by the spread our hotel had out for us. There was cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, oatmeal porridge, fruit, some of the best homemade bread I’ve ever had and Bob Miller’s favorite, which I didn’t even try, pickled herring. After breakfast we took a short little walking tour around downtown Reykjavik with our tour guide Helga. We then boarded out bus ready for our Golden Circle Tour!

Reykjavik, Iceland

Our first stop was this super cool building that had a 360 deck with the best views of the city of Reykjavik. Up here you could see the church we went to visit on day one and all of the houses and buildings that just looked painted in the skyline. This is true lay a city of color. The roofs of houses were all painted different colors which made them really pop against the bright blue sky. We even saw a little rainbow popping out from behind the church.

The next stop on the list was Thingvellir National Park. He P letter is called a thorn and makes the sound th. This National Park is the home of the first parliament. I don’t think I have ever been to a National Park before and I am so glad that this was my first. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. You could actually see the plate tectonics. Helga had us touch this one plate at one point and asked us to guess why. None of us guessed the right answer but it was the North American tectonic plate. We walked down through them to be greeted by some small waterfalls with some of the bluest water I have ever seen. I thought those were breathtaking but we still had lots of things on our to do list.

On our way to our next stop we made a short pit stop at this small farm that had some of the best ice cream that I have ever tasted! The flavor was so rich and creamy I probably could have eaten the whole try of it. After our short little stop at the farm and the ice cream shop we were off to the geysirs and hot spots. Our tour guide Helga kept comparing it to Yellow Stone National Parks Geysir but I have never seen it before so this was going to be a new experience for me. Maggie, Nicole, Kristin and myself stopped right at the first geysir, Strokkur. Everyone had their phones and cameras out recording and waiting for the next blow to happen. WE weren’t even standing there 30 seconds and BOOM! It was like something out of a movie. I thought this boiling hot water was about to spray all over me and I was going to be burned so both Nicole and I started running for the hills. The little boy standing next to us who couldn’t have been older than four laughed at us like we were idiots. It was pretty comical to say the least.

Last but not least was my favorite stop of the day, Gullfoss. The most beautiful site I think I have ever seen. This whole trip I have seen something and described it as the most beautiful thing i have ever seen and then the next place we go to out numbers the rest. It’s a never ending cycle of beaut here. But back to Gulloss, meaning golden falls. Absolutely breath taking. We had to make our way down about four flights of stairs and then down the side of the mountain, which I would say was equivalent to about four more flights of stairs until we were basically standing right next to the falls. We were so close I could reach out and touch them. (I didn’t because I was afraid I was going to be washed away.) Maggie and I probably could have spend hours just standing there because of how unreal and how beautiful it was. I also thought it was going to be a lot colder then it really was. Up on the top of the mountain it was way more windy and I was freezing. Once we were standing right next to the water, it was perfect. I was actually starting to get hot. But we then had to trudge our way back up the mountain and back on the bus for our ride back to the hotel.
We arrived back at the hotel around 6 pm and had about an hour to relax before getting ready to walk to dinner. Dinner was at this stunning restaurant at the top of a hotel with a view that looked right out over the Harpa Music Hall and the water. Our dinner included scallops appetizer, chicken with salad and rice, and something that resembled a pineapple pie for dessert. It was to die for. I was so full I was afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to talk back to the hotel. Although Maggie was basically running because because her lost luggage finally arrived at our Hotel! I was honestly so happy for her! But our day is coming to an end as we cozy in for the night preparing for our first media visits tomorrow. Nicole and I are up first for questions at Promote Iceland. Wish us luck!

Day 3: Media Visits

Day three here in Iceland and I’m sad to think about leaving this beautiful place. Today we had our first two media visits. Our first media visit was to Promote Iceland. Nicole and I were also the leading questioners for this visit. Before going into this visit, I was already comparing Promote Iceland to Visit Pittsburgh. This visit was very eye opening. I was assuming that they were going to tell this beautiful place by the sights but no. They want people to come to Iceland to experience the people. The campaign Inspired by Iceland was absolutely perfect. I was actually crying at some parts. I felt honored to be here in this beautiful place with these beautiful people experiencing what Promote Iceland wanted me to. Throughout the presentation I was also reminded of my love for Public Relations. The past two years I have been experimenting more with the advertising side of this and this was a refreshing Bob O’Gara 101 course and I was loving every second of it.

Bob O’Gara

After our first media visit Maggie, Nicole, Kristin, Colleen, Jess and myself were hanging out in the lobby of our hotel when these two girls came up to us ad asked if we were Americans and if we had any free time to be in her music video. We had about an hour and a half to kill so we all thought, why not? We walked to this cool little bar down the street and stood in a group just laughing and talking like we were having the time of our lives. She said we were in the forefront of the video so we really had to play it up! This was something I don’t think I could ever forget. The artists name was Karo. She was so thankful that we could give up an hour of our time to help her out. So in about a three weeks there should be this Icelandic music video that we are all featured in!

Music Video for Karo

 

It was time to head off to our next visit at The Reykjavik Grapevine. This is the local paper or as they call it magazine that is free for everything and located just about everywhere. This meeting was so different then our one earlier at Promote Iceland. The people at the Grapevine were all so laid back and very cool. Almost none of them had a college education but they were more than excelling at their jobs with the paper. They took a different approach to reporting and sending out news because they aren’t just appealing to the locals but they are also trying to reach the tourist as well. Icelanders don’t really care what people think of them so they seem to say what they want when they want and that’s what I was picking up from this paper. At one point the Art Director, Sveinbjourn, said that this magazine is an absolute freak because how can you go from culture this and culture that to here’s an advertisement about a bus tour. It was honestly so different from anything I would see around Pittsburgh and I loved it.

Around 5:30 Maggie, Nicole, Kristin, Jess, Colleen Laura and myself boarded our bus to the Blue Lagoon. I don’t think I was ever this excited for anything ever! I cant describe the feel but I was so ready! We got off the bus and it smelled like straight sulfur but the water leading into the lagoon was absolutely stunning. Once you walk in and check in they give you a wrist band that acts as your tab while in the water and as your lock. The common curtesy thing here in Iceland to do before getting into the blue lagoon is to wash yourself completely naked because they want your body to be cleansed before going into one of their most loved places. Walking into the water was like something gout of this world. I felt like i had just landed on an alien planet and I was having an out of body experience. The water was the perfect temperature and spending it with some of the greatest people just added to this perfect moment. Throughout the lagoon there is a pool side bar and complementary face masks and additional ones for a little extra money. We had a great time just floating around with our drinks and our face masks. It was very relaxing after the past two busy days we had here in Iceland. It was also the perfect way to end this stop here in Reykjavik. Now we leave for Dublin, Ireland at 3:15 am and we have to leave this beautiful place that i have grown to love over the past three days. Hopefully I get the chance to come back and help someone else have the great experience that I had. But I guess its see you later Reykjavik…Hello Dublin.

 

Day 4: Dublin, Ireland

Well we didn’t sleep at all after our trip back from the Blue Lagoon. We got back around around 11:30 pm and we had to be downstairs in the lobby at 2:45 am. We boarded our bus and headed to the airport to catch our plane to Dublin. I slept the whole plane ride, giving me about three hours total in the past 24 hours. Once we landed we had to go through Immigration, which took much longer then expected them we got to meet our lovely tour guide Joe and our bus driver Mick.

Our first stop was for food. We were so hungry we just walked into the first place we saw, KC Peaches. It was actually pretty good, not very typical Irish food I was expecting but I was so hungry I would have eaten anything. One we met back up with our group to get a short little walking tour around the city. At this point I was so tired I didn’t even realize I was here and Ireland, I was just going through the motions. Our next stop was at parliament. We got a cool little walking tour and got to sit in two different what I would compare to city council meetings about different issues happening in Ireland. We were all so tired that everything was just going right over my head. I wanted to be so interested but I couldn’t bring myself to really pay attention. While we were in the first meeting room Nicole and I felt someone pushing us forward. I thought I was falling asleep and they were trying to wake up up but turns out there was the biggest spider I had ever seen hanging from the ceiling behind Nicole. I so badly wasn’t to scream and freak out but we were right in the middle of this huge important meeting. I would have to say we both played it off pretty well.

After leaving parliament we made our way to check into our hotel and we were all given 30 euros to spend at the grocery store up the street for our breakfast in the morning while we are here in Dublin. I ending up buying some grapes, blueberries, cereal and milk and a bottle of wine. Just enough to get me through breakfast for the next few days.

Back to our rooms. I’ll be staying with my partner in crime Maggie along with Emily and Chloe. They are super cute. They have two bedrooms with two beds in each, a bathroom, a living room with a kitchen and a balcony and event a little laundry room. We didn’t have any time to even lay down because it was ready to meet for our first group dinner.

Dinner was at one of the oldest pubs in Dublin, The Brazen Head. We were served a greek salad, Irish stew with mashed potatoes and chocolate cake for dinner. It was all so good, it was also just some of the best stew I ever had. But I was so tired that all I wanted to do was go back and sleep. So right after dinner that’s exactly what we did. I’m pretty sure I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. Next up we have our media visits to Dublin City University and Harmonia.

Day 5: DCU and Harmonia

After getting some much needed rest. Breakfast was on our own today so I made some cereal with grapes and blueberries. Then our day started with two media visits to Dublin City University and Harmonia.

At DCU we had a short lecture about the presence of media in Ireland throughout the years and how the school teaches it. The campus was very cool. Unlike any other campus I have ever been on. We got to eat lunch there in their little cafeteria which was surprisingly good for school food. Better then the Point Cafe…sorry Point Park, still love ya. After lunch we walked around and some of us were helping Maggie with her news story about fashion among people our age here in Ireland. She got to talk to some pretty cool people and some other people just wanted nothing to do with us.

Harmoia is a magazine company that distributes and produces the product. They have four major ones including: Women’s Way, Food and Wine, Irish Tatler, and The U. All of these are targeted to different women or men. The people we talked to there were so awesome, I probably could have spent hours there listening to them and learning about what they do to produce such great work. While in our one session the CEO was talking about all of the different events each magazine hosted and some of the names sounded just like some events I worked on with Casey Mahaven for Pittsburgh Magazine. They were using names like 30 under 30 Awards, much like Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 under 40 Awards and they were talking about their Restaurant of the Year Awards which reminded me of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurant and Chef Awards. I thought it was pretty cool that two events that I worked on back home in Pittsburgh happen over here in Dublin just on a different scale.

After Harmonia we had free time for the rest of the night. Before heading out for the night Maggie and I hung out in Nicole, Kristin, Jess and Colleen’s room and just talked about our trip so far and decided where we wanted to go for dinner that night. We didn’t really ever decide on a place we just walked until we ran into a bunch of pubs. We finally chose a place called Trinity Bar. Here I ordered my first Guinness ever. I thought you’re in Ireland Caitlin, you must give it a try. To my surprise, it wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t my favorite thing ever. But hey I can say I gave it a try. While we were at the bar I interviewed the bartender for my new story about the do’s and don’ts at bars in Ireland and what you should do as a tourist and what the locals make fun of you for. The bartender was so nice about answering all of my questions and was very interested in Point Park…I’m pretty sure he looked it up to make sure I wasn’t joking him. We left Trinity to find a new place to go and hang out and ran into some locals so Maggie and I thought this would be a great time to complete our Trump Assignment. This assignment was just to ask people here in Dublin what they think of Donald Trump as our new President, no matter what they’re answer was. We got some pretty crazy answers to say the least. We then stumbled upon this club we thought oh why not go in its going to be great. We were the only ones in there. But it was fun we only hung out for about an hour or so and then we walked back to our hotel for the night. Two more media visits tomorrow and then free time until Belfast!

Day 6: Media Visits and The Book of Kells

Rise and shine! Our morning may have started off a little rough with cold showers, quick grab for breakfast and a brisk walk to grab some coffee. We boarded our bus and headed off to our first media visit at Heneghan PR. we got a group tour of their small office and then walked to the hotel down the street for our presentation. I was so interested by their intern who was from the states because she was so excited to talk to us about the work she has done here. She said one thing that I think will stick on my mind forever. She talked about when writing your cover letter to write it like a feature letter or a press release to grab your possible future employers eye.

Our next media visit was in the same room but this time it was with Michael Chester who was the President of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland. He was such a great storyteller that I could have sat there and listened to him for hours. He talked about how he was never trained in becoming a photographer but how he just had a passion for it that never really went away no matter what he did. He showed us lots of pictures that he’s taking of celebrities and the Presidents and the Queen. I’m not any type of photographer but listening to him talk about his passion for this made me think twice about what my passion is even if I might not have a degree in it.

After our second visit we boarded our bus and headed over to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. I have been so excited to see this because I have talked about it with my aunt and some of my other family and have done a lot of research about it. When I walked up to it I was so ready to have this great feeling but I think there were just so many people around for me to have the experience I wanted to have. It was very beautiful but I just was very overwhelmed with all of the people. After seeing the book we walked around the campus for a little which was very different than DCU and Point Park. I don’t think I could ever go to a school where there are constantly tourist walking around because they have something everyone comes to see on their campus.

We had a short group meeting and this was the last time we had to do anything with the group until Sunday morning when we are headed off to Belfast. Our small group of six decided to go somewhere new for dinner. We found this place called O’Neils. It was so crowded that Jess and Nicole split from the group and tried somewhere else. The set up was a bit strange, it was seat yourself and like a buffet line style. It was very different but my fish and chips were sooo good! After dinner we met back up with Jess and Nicole to find a new bar to just hang out in. We went to two different places I’m not sure what the names of the places were but they were pretty cool. The first place was your typical bar upstairs but turned into a night club in the basement. The second place had a musician downstairs and a little lunge upstairs. Once we left there Colleen really wanted to go somewhere she could dance and we just happened to walk past a dance club so we went it. It was a Latin dance club and it was so fun! We only stayed about an hour and just danced in the center of the floor but we all had a great time. Tomorrow is our free day so we’re going to explore more of the city!

Day 7: Free Day!

Today is our free day here in Dublin! Everyone from our small group suggested one thing that we wanted to do on our last day in Dublin. My suggest was to go to Grafton Street. One because I’ve heard great things about it and two because Ed Sheeran sings about it on his new album! Our first stop though was this cute store that they only have in the EU, UK and one in Boston. In Ireland it’s called Penny’s but everywhere else it’s called Primemarks. It reminded me of a Forever 21 but cheaper and way more organize with a lot more options. It was great. I wanted to buy everything in the store but I just bought a bag and some sunglasses. Then we found our way to Grafton Street. It was just like I pictured it. There were people everywhere, street performers and shopping for days! We walked into a few different stores but I didn’t buy anything, I was just happy to be there.

For lunch we found a pub on one of the side streets that was pretty decent. I got Salmon three ways with a little salad. We walked around some more grabbed some coffee and headed back to the hotel and change to go to dinner. It started raining when we were leaving for dinner, we thought it was going to stop but it didn’t. We were half way across the bridge and my feet were already soaking wet and I didn’t have my raincoat and my pants were getting wet and it was just not a un time. So, we walked back to the hotel to change into more weather proof clothes. When we walked outside, it stopped raining and the sun was shinning and it was kind of warm. So much for changing our clothes. We used our transportation passes to take the DART, kind of like a subway, to Bray by the river. The ride was nice and smooth and stopped multiple places along the way. We had a nice dinner at this restaurant called Ocean Bar and Grill. I had the chicken and we ordered a bottle champagne for the table. It was so good! After dinner we took the DART back home and got kind of lost along the way but we figured out where we were going. We got back to the hotel and finished packing and called it a night. Tomorrow morning we start at 8:45 am with a train ride to Belfast!

Day 8: Belfast

Early morning start today with our train ride through the country to the beautiful Belfast. The train ride took about two hours it was very smooth. Maggie, Jess, Nicole and myself had four seats together with a table so we were able to chat throughout the ride. Once we got to Belfast we boarded our new bus and headed straight for downtown Belfast. I already loved it! We stopped to have lunch at the little cafe in City Hall which was so cute. It was set up like a museum with different Belfast attractions throughout.

After lunch we met out tour guide who gave us a guided bus tour throughout Belfast. I was taken back at the pure beauty of this city. Between the Titanic Shipyard, the murals painted on the buildings, and the peace walls that were still up, I was in complete awe. She was probably one of the best tour guides I have ever had. She knew just about everything about this great city and was always ready to tell a great Irish Tale. I could have listened to her talk for hours. We took a brief stop at Belfast Castle and I was ready to just move in now. The view from the top of the step was perfect and just the look and feel of the castle, I felt like I was Princess Mia in Princess Diaries. Our tour lead us to the peace walls that are still standing from the troubles. There is beautiful art painted along the whole wall and people come from all over to sign these walls to create some peace. I felt honored to sign my name on this wall and to partake in the meaning of peace here in this beautiful country.

Once our guided tour was done we said goodbye to our lovely bus driver and tour guide and checked into our hotel. No quads this time, so it was just back to me and Maggie. We freshened up and then met back downstairs so we could walk to our group dinner. Our group dinner was at a place called McHughe’s, the oldest building in Belfast. I had a salad as my appetizer, the salmon as my dinner and a toffee cake with ice cream for dessert. It was delicious.

We wanted to go out and just hang out a a bar after dinner but we weren’t really sure so we walked around the town for a little until we found this one place. It was kind out tucked away on one of the side streets so we expected there to be lots of locals there. Turns out out of the 40 people that were in this bar 30 of us were from America. We thought this was hilarious. We didn’t stay out long because we had a media visit in the morning so we called it an early night but we had a great time no matter what. Coming up, we have two media visits to the Irish News and BBC.

Day 9: BBC and Irish News

Finally! We got to sleep in today! We didn’t have to meet for our media visits until 11 so we slept in till around 9 am and then we got breakfast in the hotel. Now listen, this breakfast was unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I had eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, bakes beans, granola cereal, yogurt and croissants with coffee and water. Now that’s what you call and Irish breakfast! I was so full I was convinced I wasn’t going to be able to move. But we had to go get ready to walk to our media visits.

BBC was our first visit. I wasn’t sure what this was going to be because I wasn’t really interested in radio or tv or anything about production or broadcasting. But I was more interested than I thought. The head of News, Kathleen Carragher, spoke to us about the history of the news station and how they had to rebuild through the troubles and how they managed to work through things like that. Then we got a tour of the radio station. They were live on air for an early morning debate which was cool to be in the room watching this controlled chaos go on. Nothing made sense to me but to then it was all going as smooth as it could be. After our tour of the radio we all got to go on their actual news set. We met one of their reporters who was so nice to us and was so interested about what we were learning in school and was giving us great advice.

After our visit to the BBC we walked over to the Irish News. The Irish News is a family owned newspaper that has almost always been based in Belfast and was founded in 1891. I’m not really a newspaper girl or even any type of journalist but this paper was very interesting because they took a different outlook on things. The marketing director was trying to make sports the main focus of the paper because that’s what people in Ireland want to read about. They also wanted to get the younger generations excited about read the paper, but the Irish News in particular. I thought this was great because not many kids want to read the paper anymore when they can read anything right on their phones.

We finished at the Irish News around 5 pm and we were on our own for dinner. Maggie and I decided to go to McDonald’s for dinner and it was probably one of the best choices we made. Before leaving for this trip I was determined to find a McDonald’s just for my Aunt TC because I know she would love it. Well this McDonald’s was so cool! We got to order off the touch screen menu and they had so many more options and cool things on their menu it took us about 20 minutes to decide what we wanted! The food was just as good as my home McDonald’s, some things I thought were even a little better, like my chicken nuggets! Before leaving we thought we might as well try out the dessert menu! The options they had were unbelievable! I could have eaten here every day and I would have been happy! I got an apple pie because I wanted to see if there was a difference and Maggie got a Cadburry Crunch McFlurry. (Fun Fact: the McFlurry spoons here are actually straws too!) My apple pie was almost completely different, the crust tasted different it looked a little different but it still had that great same McDonald’s taste. I was one happy girl.

After our great trip to McDonald’s, Maggie and I went to this little bar right across the street from our hotel just to hang out because we had to travel in the morning and didn’t want to be out too late. While we were there we met this lovely guy named Sean. He mentioned he was somewhere in his 70s. He asked us if we were here on Holiday and then talked to us about school and about his grandkids and just his life in general here in Belfast. I could have talked to him and listened to his stories for days, he was a very interesting man. I even got him to help me with one of my assignment for class about some bar traditions. Before he left he asked us to pray for him…so please pray for my friend Sean, he has a great soul. After our friend Sean left we met Jean. Jean was a character! All she wanted to do was sing and dance. She was telling us about all of her traveling and was just a lovely woman to talk to. Then we started talking to the bartender, he was in his mid twenties and has been working at that bar since he was fifteen. He worked there all throughout his secondary schooling and throughout college along with his other job. He was telling us about his regulars and telling us that they never get tourist in there that’s why everyone wanted to talk to us young girls when we were in there because we were new. We left around 10 pm and headed back to the room and just hung out and packed and got ready for bed because we had to be ready and on the bus by 8:45 am. Tomorrow we’re headed off to Galway and we keep hearing about how much were going to love it! I’m so excited!

Day 10: Galway

Rise and shine! Today started a little earlier then planned with Maggie, Nicole and myself grabbing a quick breakfast in the lobby and then waking around downtown Belfast trying to find some last minute post cards. Luckily we found a few but then we boarded our bus and we’re headed for Galway.

Our bus ride was very bumpy. I never get car sick, ever, but this time I was like struggling so hard. We stopped once in the town of Kells, where the Book of Kells was written. The town was so cute! We stopped to grab a cup of coffee at a cute little book store and then we walked up to a beautiful church. It was absolutely stunning to see such an old church still standing in this tiny little town.

Our next stop was for lunch in another cute little town. We were so hungry we walked into the first place we saw. I got a chicken wrap that was very good. Then back on the bus for about two more hours until we made it to Galway! We checked into the hotel and then we had a group meeting in the lobby about our last two media visits before we took off on our walking tour of Galway.

Galway is so cute I can’t even handle it. There are shops everywhere and cute restaurants all throughout the walking section. After we took our walking tour to learn where we were, our group went to a famous restaurant called the Quays for dinner. I had the seafood chowder and the fish and chips. They were both so good, but I was so full I couldn’t even finish my meal. Once we finished our dinner we did a little more walking around and some bar hopping. We ended up standing there listening to this great street band called the Galway Street Club. They were absolutely amazing. I could have listened to them for hours. We stayed until they finished their whole set because they were that good. After some more bar hoping we grabbed some much needed McDonald’s chicken nuggets and took the 20 minute walk back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 11: Galway Bay FM

Today was our very last media visit day. Not going to lie I was kind of sad about that because the past few have been really great and I feel like I learned a lot about different medias that I have never studied. Today’s visit was to Galway Bay FM. This is Galway’s only independent station. We got a tour of the whole station and we even got to stand in on a live broadcast. Just as the broadcast was ending one of our group members got a little overheated and passed out. Luckily she was okay, we were all really worried about her. I put my great softball coach skills to work and checked her for a concussion. She was fine when I checked her but I made sure to remind her and her friends to keep and eye out for her. I was just glad she was okay!

After our media visit we went back to the shopping streets of Galway. We grabbed some lunch and then got in our last minute shopping. I got a few postcards and a great gift for my friend Nicole. Maggie, Nicole and myself wanted to go down to the bay to take some pictures and we met this guy who was giving train tours around the Galway area. We stood there and talked to him for a few minutes about it and he ended up giving us discounted tickets and what he would call the best seats on the train. The tour took about 40 minutes and we even got to stop at Salt Hill Beach along the way. Galway is so different than any other city I have been in and this little tour was the best way to see it in the perfect amount of time.

We started to walk back to the hotel for the night and guess what, our favorite street performers were playing! So we stopped to watch for about 20 minutes or so and then we really headed back to the hotel. We thought we would call it an early night because we had some work to catch up on along with packing out bags and didn’t really want to spend any more of our money. We got dinner at the little restaurant in our hotel and now were just relaxing in bed watching some Irish TV getting ready for our trip to the Cliffs of Moher and the Bunratty Castle tomorrow!

Day 12: Our Last Day

I am honestly so sad. Today is our last day in this beautiful country and on this great journey. I’m almost sad to go home but Herschel Field here I come! Oh how I’ve missed Franks wraps!

Anyways, today we woke up early had our breakfast finished our packing and boarded our bus. Our first stop along the way was a national park full of limestone rocks. I felt like a real adventurer trying to navigate my way through the rocks. I was i’m complete shock that this is just how they grew out of the ground. There were flowers coming through some of the cracks and lots of other greenery. This is exactly what I had pictures Ireland to look like.

Our next stop on our ride was to the Cliffs of Moher. This was absolutely breathtaking. I was definitely being a little daring and sitting on the edge and testing my luck to how close I could get. The view from the top of the cliffs were just stunning and the bright blue water didn’t even look real. On the top of the hill to the right was a cute little castle. It reminded me of Rapunzel’s just a lot shorter. The weather was absolutely perfect and I could have asked for a better last day.

We finally arrived at the cutest hotel I have ever seen! I’m sad that this is the best hotel and we only get to spend one night in it! Maggie and I changed and got ready and boarded the bus for our Mid-evil dinner Bunratty Castle. They greeted us at the top of a spiral staircase with mead, a mix of whiskey and honey. While w.e all stood around the musicians we soon found out that Helen and Bob were to be announced Lord and Lady for the night! I don’t think I have ever seen either of them as happy as they were in that moment. After our greeting we took the spiral staircase back down to the dining room.

In the dining room we were given white and red wine for of glasses but our water was to be sipped out of a smaller bowl with a lemon in it. Maggie thought it was for washing her hands haha. Our first appetizer was a parsnip soup that we had to drink straight from the bowl. I was so excited about the no utensils thing! Our second appetizer was ribs, which were some of the best ribs I have ever had (sorry Uncle Marty). Next was our main course, chicken with vegetables and gravy. This was great, I was excited to eat with my hands like a Miller typically does but also it was so tasty. Dessert was an apple tart sort of thing that was just as great as the rest of the meal. After everything there was a short 20 to 30 minute show from the performers. Sadly I only knew one of the songs. Once the show was over we loaded back on the bus. Joe our lovely tour guide decided we needed to sing a few songs including one of my favorites, No Nay Never! The whole bus ride back to the hotel everyone sang along. Once back to the hotel Maggie and I packed our things up and just laid down to relax for the night. Tomorrow is a big travel day because I am finally coming back to the burgh!

Day 13: Pittsburgh Here I Come

I cannot believe that our trip is finally coming to an end. These past two weeks have been so eye opening and such a great experience that I will never forget. I made some lifetime friends on this trip and I am more than happy that I got to experience these beautiful sights with them.

Our morning started out with a great breakfast and some upsetting news that our flight was going to be delayed until 2:30 pm. I was kind of upset about that but I wasn’t going to let that ruin the rest of my trip. Today is also Nicole’s 21st birthday! Joe our tour guide had everyone on the bus sing happy birthday to her and surprised her with a cute little gift and a card signed by all of us! Not going to lie, I thought I was going to give it away that we signed a card for her.

Once we got to the airport we learned that our delayed flight here in Ireland was probably going to make us miss our connecting flight in JFK to Pittsburgh. At this point I was just trying to be optimistic, if we miss our flight oh well, if we make it, great! We stood inline for about 30 minutes trying to figure everything out and Delta was very helpful and even gave us a backup plan just in case. The backup plan might get us home a day later but at this point I’m just going with the flow.

Our first flight which was seven hours was great. I was right next to Nicole and Maggie was in the row right next to us. I watched the rest of Fences, Jackie, and LaLa Land. I approved of all of them. We were served a nice dinner, I had the chicken and rice. We made sure to tell the flight attendant that it was Nicole’s 21st Birthday and they ended up giving her a full bottle of champagne! So cute. Our flight landed and we were ready to book it to the next gate. As soon as the doors opened up we were all running for our lives to make the connecting flight to Pittsburgh.

It left us.

Mostly everyone was sad and just wanted to get home but I was really trying to be optimistic about everything. Things happen and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Delta did a great job working with us and trying to get us the best option to get us home the fastest way. Some of our group members took other flights to Cleveland or had family members drive to JFK but I was totally fine with sticking with my roomie one more night here in NYC. Delta gave us $15 spending money for food and a hotel and a shuttle. Luckily there was a Kmart right across from our hotel so we could grab some toothpaste and some clean underwear. Hopefully our flight tomorrow around 3 leaves on time and I can finally make it home to Pittsburgh.