Ireland from the Eyes of a Twirler — Part 2
The back half of our Ireland trip began with another performance day. Before our performance, we traveled to the Rock of Cashel. A tour guide kindly showed us around the historic castle, and afterwards we were able to look around for ourselves and take in the spectacular view of the castle on the hill (Ed Sheeran pun intended).
After looking around the Rock of Cashel, we arrived in Kilkenny and prepared for our parade to the Kilkenny Castle. As we marched through the streets, I was beaming with pride for our marching band. Many of the Kilkenny people stopped what they were doing and came out of their shops to watch us march through. Kilkenny Castle was, in my opinion, the most beautiful castle we saw on the whole trip. It was such an honor to be able to perform a concert for the people of Kilkenny in such a gorgeous setting.
Following the Kilkenny performance, we transferred to a new hotel in Dublin and had a free night to enjoy the spectacular city. Our hotel was absolutely amazing and so was the city. I had so much fun exploring the town with my friends.
The next day, we traveled to Glendalough and County Wicklow, also known as “the Garden of Ireland.” There, we were able to walk around and experience the beautiful nature. I’d always heard how green Ireland is — and it is true. Yes, it rains quite a bit, but the scenery is worth it!
After we spent some time in Glendalough, we were taken back to our hotels and free to roam the city until dinner. My friends and I found a unique restaurant to have lunch, and then we caught up with a friend’s parents who were also in Ireland!
During our venture out in the city, we stopped at a Starbucks, per my request (thank you again to my friends for supporting, or rather, accepting my obsession). I am the biggest Starbucks fanatic, so going to a Starbucks in Ireland was one of the highlights of my trip. Though it really wasn’t much different than our Starbucks here, I did purchase a souvenir Dublin mug. Once I had my vanilla latte, we decided to check out Trinity College in Dublin, as we were curious to see what an Irish college is like. It was full of gorgeous buildings and eclectic sculptures.
That night, we had a full band dinner at Taylor’s Three Rock. The food was delicious and the entertainment was spectacular! An Irish band and Irish dancers performed for us all evening. It was such an enjoyable night to prep us for the big parade the next day.
Spending St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland, was unlike anything I’ve experienced before — definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. The parade was on a freezing cold, snowy day, which is unusual for Ireland. While we couldn’t feel our fingers or toes, the excitement of marching in this special parade surpassed our feelings of being numb. I absolutely loved representing our great university around Ireland. The rest of our final day, was spent celebrating the Irish holiday with our friends. I cherish the memories and friendships I created during this trip, and I am ever grateful, ever true, to be a part of this band family.
