Instead of having a spring break, I had a reading week. It was February 19th to the 23rd and technically you are supposed to stay on campus to study and read. However, I ensure you that this is not the case and campus is pretty much empty. Other Arcadia students decided to go to Italy during this time and others, like me, had family come to visit.
My dear mother and two of my cousins arrived in Stirling on February 14th and were staying there till Saturday morning when we all left to go to Dublin, Ireland. Naturally I showed them around Stirling, including the castle, and around campus. Introduce them to some of my friends and went into Edinburgh that Thursday with them.
Those of you that know my mother closely know that she has always wanted to go to Ireland, so this was the perfect excuse and timing. We did the stereotypical tourist stuff you do in Ireland. We went to Giant’s Causeway, the famous rope bridge, and explored Cardiff, the capital. We were extremely fortunate to have amazing weather and only a mist of rain the one day.
We also went to a castle which is now a requirement for all my vacations. As well, I got to see a mummy and view ancient books. One book I saw was the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Those of you that never heard of it, I recommend looking it up, but it is a manuscript in Latin containing four gospels and more. It is one of the most famous books and was amazing for a huge book lover like me. So basically, this was the perfect Allie trip cause what’s more me than castles, death, and books!
We enjoyed local food and got to go to an Irish pub. Those of you that know me from a kid know that I did Irish dancing, fun fact, so going to an Irish pub to see dancers and listen to traditional songs was a blasted. The time went by very fast and before I knew it I was saying goodbye to my family and heading back to campus.
I would definitely recommend Ireland and would go back. Though more importantly I encourage if you study abroad to find out when you have breaks and plan on your family coming up. Definitely nice and necessary to take a break once in a while.