My mom and I have watched the movie Pitch Perfect at least a hundred times (probably many, many more), and we never get tired of our favorite parts. One such scene is in the bus when the Barden Bellas are on their way to their first a cappella competition. The camera goes from girl to girl, showing them all bored out of their minds and finding their own ways to pass the time until they arrive at their destination.
Brittany Snow as Chloe, who had previously been softly humming to herself, starts singing out loud to the song on her iPod, and the whole bus erupts into an a cappella jam session involving dancing in the seats and air mics. Upon hearing a strange noise coming from the Bella bus, the jam session comes to an abrupt end as the driver Fat Amy tells the girls they’ve run out of gas.
This scene came to my mind multiple times over the course of the weekend. We had our field trip to Westport, but the sites we visited and adventures we took part in were not confined to the city. We traveled to historical and beautiful places spanning the Connemara area. I enjoyed seeing a variety of things, but the bus rides in between stops sometimes ran a bit long, and having three or four of these bus rides in one day is almost more tiring than actually going out and exploring the sites. However, imagining my peers and professor jamming out to Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” helped make the trip a bit more bearable (though the song does get old once it’s been stuck in your head all day).
Our first stop on Saturday was the Connemara National Park, where the more adventurous of the group hiked the Diamond Hill trail. After hiking just the very first bit, the cold wind and rain convinced me I was not properly prepared for the two hour hike to the very top (from what I hear from those who did attempt it, the wind got so much worse the higher up they went, it was almost impossible to walk). Had it been a nicer day, I’m sure the hike would have been gorgeous, and I would have loved to get pictures.
After a wonderful cup of hot chocolate, we hit the road again, headed for Kylemore Abbey, which was by far my favorite part of the weekend. The castle was built in the 1800s as a gift for Mitchell Henry’s wife Margaret and converted into an abbey in 1920. The estate was absolutely beautiful (though I did not get a chance to visit the gardens. I took too much time walking there and was late back to the bus as it was). I spent the allotted amount of time at Kylemore walking the paths to the gothic church, Margaret’s mausoleum and part of the way to the gardens taking pictures and enjoying the beauty of the landscape. The gloomy weather just heightened the beauty of the place, in my opinion.
The first four pictures below were taken at the Abbey itself, though the fourth is looking out from the Abbey rather than at the building. The fifth and sixth are of the Gothic church on the grounds, and the seventh is of the mausoleum where Margaret is buried. The last two are just two of my favorite nature pictures that I took.
Brittany Snow as Chloe, who had previously been softly humming to herself, starts singing out loud to the song on her iPod, and the whole bus erupts into an a cappella jam session involving dancing in the seats and air mics. Upon hearing a strange noise coming from the Bella bus, the jam session comes to an abrupt end as the driver Fat Amy tells the girls they’ve run out of gas.
This scene came to my mind multiple times over the course of the weekend. We had our field trip to Westport, but the sites we visited and adventures we took part in were not confined to the city. We traveled to historical and beautiful places spanning the Connemara area. I enjoyed seeing a variety of things, but the bus rides in between stops sometimes ran a bit long, and having three or four of these bus rides in one day is almost more tiring than actually going out and exploring the sites. However, imagining my peers and professor jamming out to Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” helped make the trip a bit more bearable (though the song does get old once it’s been stuck in your head all day).
Our first stop on Saturday was the Connemara National Park, where the more adventurous of the group hiked the Diamond Hill trail. After hiking just the very first bit, the cold wind and rain convinced me I was not properly prepared for the two hour hike to the very top (from what I hear from those who did attempt it, the wind got so much worse the higher up they went, it was almost impossible to walk). Had it been a nicer day, I’m sure the hike would have been gorgeous, and I would have loved to get pictures.
After a wonderful cup of hot chocolate, we hit the road again, headed for Kylemore Abbey, which was by far my favorite part of the weekend. The castle was built in the 1800s as a gift for Mitchell Henry’s wife Margaret and converted into an abbey in 1920. The estate was absolutely beautiful (though I did not get a chance to visit the gardens. I took too much time walking there and was late back to the bus as it was). I spent the allotted amount of time at Kylemore walking the paths to the gothic church, Margaret’s mausoleum and part of the way to the gardens taking pictures and enjoying the beauty of the landscape. The gloomy weather just heightened the beauty of the place, in my opinion.
The first four pictures below were taken at the Abbey itself, though the fourth is looking out from the Abbey rather than at the building. The fifth and sixth are of the Gothic church on the grounds, and the seventh is of the mausoleum where Margaret is buried. The last two are just two of my favorite nature pictures that I took.
Due to the weather, our last stop of the day was cancelled, but that just gave us more of an opportunity to relax before grabbing dinner and hitting the nightlife in Westport. Though I probably stayed out far later than I should have, a night out with my friends was just what the doctor ordered (and I could nap on the bus between stops on Sunday since I was so tired).
On Sunday, we visited the Ceide Fields, the area containing the world’s oldest surviving field system. We toured the ancient fields and saw stone walls that had been preserved in the bog for centuries. After the fields, we headed for the Knock Shrine, a monument built whee 15 villagers are said to have seen the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John and a lamb in 1879. A couple of my friends and I enjoyed walking around the grave yard where the villagers were buried and looking at the history there as well as at the shrine. The shrine was our last stop of the trip, and I have to say that I was ready to head back to the Park Lodge Hotel.
(The pictures below were taken at the Ceide Fields.)
On Sunday, we visited the Ceide Fields, the area containing the world’s oldest surviving field system. We toured the ancient fields and saw stone walls that had been preserved in the bog for centuries. After the fields, we headed for the Knock Shrine, a monument built whee 15 villagers are said to have seen the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John and a lamb in 1879. A couple of my friends and I enjoyed walking around the grave yard where the villagers were buried and looking at the history there as well as at the shrine. The shrine was our last stop of the trip, and I have to say that I was ready to head back to the Park Lodge Hotel.
(The pictures below were taken at the Ceide Fields.)
After stopping at the grocery store in Galway, we headed back to the Park Lodge Hotel, where I sifted through the 314 photos I had taken during the trip (mostly at Kylemore) and picked out my favorites (which was no easy feat, I might add). I managed to narrow it down to 30, and out of those I chose my favorites to put on here.
Next week is spring break, so I won’t be posting again until the week after when I'll tell you about my adventures in London.
Until next time!
Next week is spring break, so I won’t be posting again until the week after when I'll tell you about my adventures in London.
Until next time!