October 21st--Leave for Ireland/Scotland for Midterm Trip

   Today I woke up bright (not really, it was still dark out) and early at 3am. We had a taxi coming to pick us up at the ResHall at 3:45am for only £9 a person (but there were 6 of us) to London Heathrow airport. We couldn’t take the tube to the airport because it only starts running at 5am at the end of its line, meaning it probably wouldn’t get to South Kensington station until 6am and our flight leaves at 7am to Dublin. So that definitely wouldn’t work. Anyways, since it was so early in the morning and NO one was on the roads, we arrived at the airport at 4:10am.

   We were flying with BMI, but their check-in wasn’t open until 5am, so we just sat and chatted for a little while. At 5am, we checked out bags with BMI and got through all the security within 15 minutes because it was super early. We sat in a common area and got breakfast. I went to Café Nero and got a pain au chocolate (chocolate croissant J) and a green tea. At 6am, we walked to our terminal, which was a good 10 to 15 minute walk. Heathrow is HUGE! We checked-in at our gate at 6:30am for our 7am flight to Dublin (DUB). The flight was quick, but I still slept because I was tired and it was still really early. Our flight landed at 8am, but our bus to Galway wasn’t until 9:30am. We chilled in the airport and got a snack since we ate breakfast so early and we wouldn’t be able to get anything until we arrived in Galway around 1. We took the Citylink Bus (24 Euros Round-trip) at 9:30am to Galway. I slept most of the way and listened to music. I woke up with 30 to 45 minutes left of the trip as we went through the Irish countryside. So pretty!!! Our bus arrived at the terminal at 12:50pm and we set off to find out hostel.

   After an hour and asking 3 different people for directions to our hostel, we finally called the hostel directly and found it at 2pm. We asked at the Welcome Centre at the bus terminal, but when the lady said straight on this street, we took the other street straight and went to the completely other side of the town. We were staying at SleepZone Hostel and got our own 6-person dorm room with an en-suite bathroom for 12.50 Euros per person. It was really nice with 5 computers with free Internet access and free tea and coffee. I would definitely recommend it. We couldn’t check in until 3pm, so we went and got lunch at a café around the corner named Coco Café. I got a Smoked Chicken Panini. It came with white cheddar, chicken (obviously) and bacon and a side of chips and salsa for 7.20 Euros. It was excellent. I would also recommend this place. After lunch, we went to officially check-in to our hostel.

   Once in our room, we looked at brochures to figure out a tour we should do the next day. We found a tour for 16 Euros (student discount) per person and went to an Internet café around the corner so we could book and print the tour spots. AT 4:30pm we then walked down to the bay and beach. We were down there for a couple hours and I took a ton of photos. At one point, we climbed down onto the “beach”, which was really rocky and took pictures. No one fell thank goodness. I had one close call though. Haha. We got back to the hostel at 7:30pm and I read for 15 minutes, and then took a nap from 7:20pm to 8:15pm. We left to find a place for dinner at 8:45ish. We found an Italian place, where I had Pesto Chicken Pasta for 12 Euros. It wasn’t very good and I found hair in my food. NASTY! I was sad I wasted my money on what was suppose to be a “nicer” meal. We then got back to the hostel at 10pm and we took turns taking showers. While waiting, I went and checked my e-mail on the computers. Eventually, I took my shower and went to bed at 11:30pm. The lack of sleep the night before really hit me. Haha.

Internet is really slow at the ResHall, so I can't load pictures for this blog right now. :( Sorry!