Another week in Ireland has passed, and I can’t believe we have less than three weeks left. The office has been a bit slow lately, as many people are on vacation, but I’m continuing to work on my project, and it’s coming along really well. Wednesday was one of the other interns’ last days, and our manager got a cake to celebrate his time at Mental Health Ireland. After work, I took the bus straight to Dundrum for shopping. There were a few things I wanted to get for my weekend trip to Portugal. For some reason, I was very unsuccessful on my shopping ventures, so I had to go again after work on Thursday. My supervisor actually let all of the interns out at 3:00 so that we could enjoy the nice day, so I decided to take the bus straight to Grafton Street. This time, I was a little too successful and I arrived back at UCD with many bags in tow. That night, we attended the Irish House Party, which consisted of a dinner followed by a traditional Irish music and dancing show. The dinner was great, and I really enjoyed watching the dancing!
Bright and early Friday morning, Campbell and I arrived at the airport for a weekend trip to Albufeira, Portugal! We flew into the Faro airport and arrived in Albufeira around 12. We quickly grabbed lunch at a restaurant on the beach before heading to the beach ourselves. We stayed there, tanning and swimming for the next few hours, and it was so nice. One of my good friends happened to be in Albufeira at the same time as us, so that night we grabbed dinner with her and her cousin and explored the town. It was really great to see her! On Saturday, Campbell and I hiked to a hidden beach with stunning views, which was definitely a highlight of our trip. We spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday lying on the beach, soaking up some much-needed sun. Unfortunately, our flight back was delayed, so we didn’t arrive back in Dublin until 2 am. We somehow managed to make it to class on Monday morning, which was our last class of the summer. On Monday, we also toured Kilmainham Gaol, an old prison that once held many Irish revolutionaries. It was really interesting. Overall, it was an amazing week, and although I had fun in Portugal, I’m happy to be back in Dublin to enjoy my last few weeks.
Such a fun weekend with you!! Hiking to the hidden beach was definitely the highlight of my trip also. So glad we decided to do this!
Albufeira seemed like so much fun! I am so glad you had a relaxing weeking, but so glad to have you back!