Day 6: Church in Wales & Llandudno

No matter where I attend church, I am always amazed by how much it feels like going home. As soon as we walked in the doors at church today, it felt like coming home to friends and family. The branch here is tiny and they happily welcomed us in their doors. As I sat there listening to the speakers today, I felt so close to my heavenly father and I felt the spirit tingle through my body. Tears came to my eyes when we sang the opening hymn and I felt completely overcome by the spirit. There is something very simple about life here. While there are less members of the church here, they are all very closely knit and they all have very strong testimonies. They showed parts of the missionary work world broadcast last week during the third hour, and again I felt overcome by the spirit. Being in Ireland and hearing the members speak about their desire to do missionary work really made me excited about it too. While I'm not planning to serve a mission, being here has ignited in me a desire to do as much missionary work and fellowshipping as a member that I can. 

One of my favorite things about this trip has been getting to know my professors. The Gardeners--Marv and Mary-- are the cutest old couple and I've decided that I want to be just like them when I'm older. They met two groups of people today--to Spaniards in our hostel, and a Pakistani brother and sister--who they invited to a Welsh musical fireside we had tonight with the branch here. What great examples of missionary work in action! It was so fun to talk to these four people and have my ideas about the world cultures broadened. I loved that.

Today, I also walked around the city we're staying in (Llandudno) with Bonnie and Abbey. It is a costal town, and it reminds me so much of main street in Disneyland and of the house in Marry Poppins on Cherry Tree Lane. It is so beautiful! These pictures just can't do it justice. This town is known for being the summer retreat of Alice from Alice in Wonderland. A little girl named Alice, who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, came here during her summers. They have a beautiful beach with a cute pier. It was a fun Sunday stroll! 

The white rabbit

The mad hatter

Can you see the windmills?

Isn't it a cute little town?

I will marry any man who will buy me that white house in the corner!

Flags on the pier

Building on the pier!

Our hostel! Isn't it adorable? I feel like I live in the Victorian era just by staying here!

Day 5: Arrival in Wales!

Today I woke up at 6 AM. That was so painful and my body has been hating me all day for it. The reason for getting up so early was to board a ferry to get from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales. Can I just say that I LOVE ferry rides? They are the best way to travel. Sitting at a table in a comfortable chair with wifi and food...can't get better than that. There was also a theater on board and plenty of things to do. I got through a chapter of my book before passing out on the table for a short nap.

Our ferry ride!

Arrived in Wales

Wales is very similar to Ireland. The differences I see are that the houses are more commonly made of old stone and look like old cottages, rather than with colorful paint like in Ireland. There seem to be more mountains (not like Utah mountains, but big rocky hills) and the landscape feels more meadowy and less woody. It's beautiful like Ireland, but also different. 

Our only stop today was at Conwy Castle. This is a huge castle built in 1287. This castle looked most like how I've always pictured castles. Conwy city still has the ancient wall that was once used to surround the city. It's amazing to me how old everything is here! America truly is a young country. 

Entrance to Conwy Castle

Isn't Wales beautiful?

 We had a pit stop at this city with the longest name in the world. Cool, huh?

Day 4: Dublin

Today we spent the day in downtown Dublin. We started out by going to see the Book of Kells in Trinity College. This is a book made in 500 AD comprising of the four gospels. The book was given to Trinity College in the 1200's. I found this amazing not just because they've had it for so many years, but that the college has existed for that long! The book has been beautifully preserved and the colors are still vibrant on the pages. Today the book was turned to a page in the Bible where Jesus describes the tree of life. After that, we went to this library area with lots of old books, statues of philosophers and scholars, and other museum items. It was a breathtaking room!

After we were done at Trinity College, we were free to explore Dublin for the rest of the day. I branched off with Bonnie and Sarah, and we ate lunch from food we got a grocery store. I've decided that I need to buy more food at grocery stores because it supplied me with both lunch and dinner for a price cheaper than any other meal I've had on this trip. On top of that, I really think I will be happy eating a baguette for every meal on this trip.

Then we wandered around the city and went into random shops in Dublin. I bought my one souvenir from Ireland--a thin leather watch from a vintage clothing store. We went back to our hostel to drop things off, and ended up taking a two hour nap instead of going back out. Eventually, we did though. I spent the last of my euros at Penny's--a store similar to Forever 21 with cheap clothes. I could have spend so much more money there so it was good that I only 10 euros left to spend.

We had to spend some time today doing homework--which consisted of interviewing locals about Gaelic and Irish dialects. We talked to this old man named Cirean who was very friendly and eager to talk to us. I've said this before, but one of things I loved the most about Ireland are the old men here. They may all love their cigarettes and alcohol, but they are the funniest, friendliest people in the world.

My conclusion about Dublin is that it is a dirty, crowded city. I loved seeing the country much more than I've loved the city. But Dublin has good shopping and food--just like any other city which is always great. I find it interesting that the city isn't very vertical like cities are in America--meaning that Dublin doesn't really have any skyscrapers or large buildings. It has very old and beautiful architecture though, which is fun to look at as you walk by. And just like all the other towns we've seen in Ireland, it has lots of beautiful bright colors.

Tomorrow we head to Wales. I'm sad to leave Ireland, but I'm excited to see Wales, too!

Day 3: Blarney Castle & Rock of Cashel Castle

Today we started by leaving our hostel in Kilarney and traveling to Blarney Castle. The Blarney Castle is home to the infamous Blarney Stone. This is the only place in Ireland that I’d heard of prior to traveling here. Legend has it that if you kiss the stone, you’ll receive the gift of eloquence of speech (or as some say, the gift of gab).  Near the Blarney Castle, there is also the Blarney house, fairy gardens, lake walks, and several other activities. We only had about an hour and half there, so when we walked in, I said that I thought we should go straight to the castle and kiss the stone in case there was a long line, and then do the other things if we had time. It turned out that getting through the castle took 45 minutes, so it was really good that we decided to do that first (our two professors even jumped in line with us so that they would have time to get through). The castle was cool, but it all of the other rooms in the castle were definitely overlooked in the thrill of kissing the stone. By the time we got to the top of the castle, the view was breathtaking. I will never get tired of seeing views of Irish fields and animals grazing nearby. It is the most picturesque view I’ve ever seen! Here is a view of the Blarney House from the top of the Blarney Castle. 

            We kissed the stone and it was a really fun experience. I was the only one who really got a picture kissing the stone, unfortunately. While it was fun to kiss the stone, afterward I felt like my lips and hands were so dirty from touching all of the same things that hundreds of other people have. On a sign on the way in, it said that this castle is the most visited and photographed site in all of Ireland...and I believe it. We joked about how we would all get cold sores from kissing the stone. They rush people through there so fast that you hardly have time to even do it! Needless to say, it was the quickest and most hurried kiss I’ve ever had! :)

           

            Then we got back on the bus to go to the Rock of Cashel Castle. Every time we get on the bus, I end up falling asleep almost instantly. That’s probably because my body is used to sleeping at this time of day, and also driving always puts me to sleep. I woke up as we arrived at the castle, which made me somewhat grumpy. We’ve seen four castles in the last three days, and I hate to admit that I’m already getting sick of it. But this one actually turned out to be my favorite one so far. It was built in 1235 as a cathedral. There is immaculate detail and beauty all over the castle. I loved the barrel vaulted ceilings and all of the ancient stone throughout the castle. There’s a really old graveyard outside the cathedral. Most of the headstones aren’t legible, but the oldest one I could find was from 1789. Amazing! The view outside of the castle is absolutely amazing, too.

            Now we’re on our way to Dublin for the next two nights, after which we head to Wales. I’ll be sad to leave Ireland—I love it so much more than I ever thought I would! It hasn’t rained on us once since we arrived—it’s been sunny skies and clear weather the whole time. I look around at all the lush trees, bushes, plants, grass, and flowers and I really think that anything could grow here. Every inch of this landscape is covered with a shade of green. Flowers grow wild here and tiny daisies and buttercups can be found on every lawn. I will be very sad to leave Ireland on Saturday!  

Irish sunset from last night. :)

            

Day 2: Tralee, Dingle, Muckross House, Ross Castle, Kilarney

I think a part of me has always known that I would love the British Isles. Today, we were driving from Tralee (a tiny city we spent the night in last night) to Dingle and I had a moment of overwhelming joy, contentment, and peace. The bright blue ocean was on my right, and the quaint rolling hills of farmland were on my left. I was listening “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor and I started thinking of my sweet Grammy. It seemed to me that she would absolutely love this beautiful country. It dawned on me that it actually is the country of her heritage—and also mine—and so it makes sense that I would love it so much. Tears swelled up in my eyes—I don’t know if this was from missing her, from wishing we could experience this moment together, or just from the overwhelming beauty of scenery. Regardless, it filled my heart with peace that stayed with me for the rest of the day.

Today, we spent a lot of time on the bus. I think I’m not as adjusted to the time change as I thought I was yesterday. There were moments today where physically couldn’t keep my eyes open on the bus and I found myself asleep before I realized it. The main sights we visited today were the Muckross House and Ross Castle. The Muckross House is an old house that has been owned by rich families for hundreds of years. Queen Victoria visited the house back in the 1800’s so it’s a very lavish and fancy house. It reminded me almost exactly of the house in Downton Abbey—the fancy staircase, the lavish dining room, plain servants quarters—it was kind of awesome. I almost loved the gardens around the house more though.

We also went to Ross Castle. It’s an ancient castle that’s been restored with original furniture. I have to say, I wasn’t that impressed. It was cool to walk around in, but it wasn’t my favorite part of the day. What really caught my eye today was the bright colors throughout Ireland. They love to use bright colors on their houses, on their boats, on their storefronts…it’s very picturesque. 

We ended the day by walking up to the ruins of an old Abbey and graveyard near our hostel. The sun was setting, so it made for a beautiful scene. The abbey doesn’t have any sort of restoration, and so it really feels ancient. There were tombstones in there from the 1700’s, and even more that were unreadable, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were older than that. I feel like my mind can’t even comprehend how old these places are. I am so in love with Ireland that I can’t even handle it!

Day One: Bunratty Castle

Today, we went to this beautiful old Irish castle...our frist real destination in Ireland. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here comes my flood of pictures. Plus, I'm way too tired to write.

Needless to say, I am in love with Ireland. 

Arrived in IRELAND!

We arrived in Ireland four hours ago, and it is even more beautiful than I imagined. The last few days has been an entire whirlwind of events. My friends made my last few days there absolutely amazing, and I miss them already. That being said, I am so happy to be in Ireland to start out this trip and there's no other place in the world I'd rather be right now! Until Saturday night, I was under the impression in my head that my flight was leaving Sunday morning at 11. It wasn't until I texted Sarah (my ride to the airport) on Saturday night saying "Ok, I'll see you tomorrow morning at 8:30!" that I was corrected otherwise. She responded saying, "Don't you mean Monday morning?" So I checked my ticket (which I should have done a long time ago) and it dawned on me that I still had one more day in Provo. Yes, just call me the girl who cried wolf...on accident.

Fast forward to Monday morning...the actual time of our flight. We get to the airport and discover that our flight has been delayed by two hours. So I called and said my goodbyes to my sisters and mom and also enjoyed some airport Cafe Rio with Sarah. Finally, we got on our flight to JFK. 

Because our flight was delayed, we ended up having to really hurry to catch our connecting flight in JFK to Shannon, Ireland. The flight to JFK was uneventful...Sarah and I had an extra seat in our row which was really nice. We stretched out and slept a bit. I caught up on my reading for our ward's summer Book of Mormon challenge (I've struggled this last week to stay on top of that). I started to try to read my required book for my book report in London, but sleep got the best of me. It took forever to get off that flight, so once we were off, we ran to our gate in the JFK airport. Holy crud...that airport is HUGE and CROWDED. We had to take a bus to get to our gate for our next flight. We were worried about cutting it too close, but we ended up getting there about 15 minutes before boarding. Here I am... on the threshold to the plane that took us to Ireland!

We seriously lucked out on our flight to Ireland. We sat in the emergency exit row, which meant we had very spacious leg room. And, again, there was an extra seat. So we had plenty of room. We loved having our own personal TV's, blankets, and pillows. It was the first time I've ever gotten meals on a flight...both breakfast and dinner! Not the best food I've ever had, but it was free, so no complaints. I tried to force myself to sleep and try to adjust to the time change...and I think  I was semi-successful. I only got about 2 hours of sleep on the flight but that's been enough to sustain me since we got here. We arrived in Ireland at 9 AM, and since then we've been hanging out with our group in a hotel waiting for the last three people to arrive and join us. It's now 1 PM here (6 AM at home) and we're about to head to a castle and then to our hostel. As soon as I saw Ireland from my plan window, I was awed by the beauty of the landscape here. It really is full of green fields, trees, rivers and ponds, and scattered with cattle and sheep. I've hardly seen Ireland yet, but I already know I'm in love. It's going to be a great six weeks. :)

My Testimony.

Today was fast and testimony meeting at church. 

In every single BYU ward I've ever been in, there's always been a rush of students on fast sundays that run up to bear their testimony. This makes testimony meetings a great spiritual feast, but it also makes it hard for everyone who wants to to bear their testimony. Today, my ward's meeting ran over with testimonies, and I didn't get a chance to get up like I would have liked. So, I promised myself that I would write down my testimony today for myself, my Heavenly Father, and maybe for a few others who might come across this blog.

I believe in God. My entire life is based upon my belief in a God who knows, loves, cares for, and calls me his daughter. As I look back on my life, and I see his hand in every answered prayer, inspired decision, precious friendship, and opportunity I've ever had. Because of this, I have no doubt in my mind that he will guide my future as he has my past. I know that just twenty short years ago, I was with him waiting to come to this earthly experience, and I look forward to seeing him again someday.

I believe in a restored gospel. Logically speaking, it seems ridiculous that a 14-year-old farm boy is responsible for restoring the Lord's gospel again upon the earth. But it did happen. And it is true. I believe in Joseph Smith and in the gospel he restored with all of my heart. I am thankful to be born into a family that believed in and taught me principles of the gospel, such as faith, repentance, baptism, and other eternal truths that have created a framework for my life.

I believe in family. I am a lucky girl to have such an amazing family. I love both of my parents, my four siblings, their spouses, and each of my 10 nieces and nephews with all my heart. I am so glad that I came at the tail end of our family so that I could watch to each of my sibling's amazing examples and that I could grow close with their children. They make me excited and eager to one day have a family of my own.

I believe in tithing. This semester, I've been working two jobs, I've applied for every scholarship possible, and I've done my best to pay my own way through school and for my study abroad. I'm constantly stressed about money, but I know that as I pay an honest tithing and fast offering, the Lord with recognize my efforts and bless me with success and financial stability. I haven't received much yet, but I know that the Lord is aware of my sacrifices and he will make things work for my future.

I believe in the future. I don't know what my future holds. I don't know what job I'll have, who I'm going to marry, or what things will be like 10 years from now. I do know that as I keep my feet planted in the gospel, that things will always come together and will work out. I trust my Heavenly Father with all my heart, and I know that he knows what's ahead.

There's so many more things I could write about, but I'll save them for another Sunday. For now, just know this girl is overflowing with happiness, gratitude, faith, and excitement for the future.