City Life or Country Life?

Growing up I used to read a fable about the city mouse and the country mouse. The city mouse traveled to visit his friend (cousin in some versions) who lived in the country. After seeing the poor fare the country mouse offered him, the city mouse invited him back to experience the lavish meals available in the city. However, after a run in with a cat, the country mouse decided the city isn't for him, and he'd rather enjoy his simple meal in a relaxed and safe manner. The relevancy of this story is that I recently went to Dublin with a few of my friends, and I was reminded of how much I enjoy the relaxed attitude of the country. I am so very thankful my Study Abroad is based in Cork!

Don't get me wrong, Dublin is grand. It is a nice place...but it was just so crowded! Maybe it was because St. Patrick's Day was last week and this week is the 100 year anniversary of the Easter Rising, but there were so many Americans in Dublin (and French people as my French companion kept pointing out). I did not feel like I was in Ireland. Then again...we did stick to the touristy sections...

We left Dublin on Wednesday though to go into the country. We visited the Wicklow Mountains, and oh...my...word...beautiful! Absolutely, positively fantastic! I have never seen more beautiful sights in my life. This is the Ireland people should see. Spend a day or two in Dublin if you need to get your shopping done, or if you want to get your drink on in the Temple Bar, but please, please go see Wicklow Mountains!

P.S. It appears I have someone other than family and friends looking at my blog! Welcome stranger! Thank you for agreeing with my Ree-cee's pronunciation:P. I am glad I am not the only one who says it that way!

The above is one of my favorite photos that I took on the trip #nofilter

Instead of a Pub-Crawl, we went on a Cafe Crawl!

I wonder if they have yogurt?