It took a little while to get through customs. The lady asked us how long we were staying and what we were doing there, stamped our passports, and then we were officially in Ireland! We waited outside customs for a few girls who were on different flights. While we were waiting, some of us grabbed a snack/breakfast from the little store. The cashier called me "love" and I think it was then and there that I fell for that country! An Adam Levine song was playing which struck me as funny. I guess I never thought about how dominant the American music industry is and how our artists are pretty much known worldwide.
When the other girls got off their plane, we trekked across the airport parking lot to our bus. It was a lovely day, bright and sunny and I got a little warm in the sweatshirt I was wearing. We got on the bus and driving on the left side of the road was really strange. The whole driving situation over there was pretty scary. You couldn't pay me to drive in Ireland. If you think Americans are bad drivers, you haven't seen Europeans. Everyone had a Ford which was pretty cool, too. We were heading to County Monaghan to the estate we were staying at for the first two nights... or so we thought!
We drove through a couple city blocks, residential-type areas. The houses were adorable, Notting Hill-esque apartments (a little less colorful, though!). We pulled up to a gate that I thought for a second the bus might not fit through. There was a large parking lot in front of a gorgeous, old building and there were people walking horses a little bit away from that. The sign on one building read "Army Equitation School!" The Irish Army has an equitation school, founded in 1926, with the goal to promote Ireland and the Irish horse through participation in International competitions. The soldiers that ride are all officers that have been through Cadet School. The horses are all Irish-bred and are most often named after places in Ireland. They are either bought, leased, or donated to the Equitation School. We got a tour from Lieutenant David Power and also spoke to another officer. They were easy on the eyes, and those accents probably just added to it!
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| An adorable little Irish duplex in a suburb of Dublin |
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| One of the Irish Army Equitation School's horses |
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| Lt. David Power and his show jumping horse. The picture doesn't do him justice (; The horses are stabled in the old infirmary barracks. |
After our tour, we hit the highway to Glaslough! We stopped at a grocery store called Tesco and it was pretty cool. I bought a hair dryer and a pay-as-you-go cell phone straight out of 2005!
The drive there was beautiful and scenic and I tried so hard to stay awake to see everything. Jet lag, however, got the best of me. The exhaustion made me feel bus-sick and sleeping was just way too tempting. The few times I woke up, I snapped some pictures. I really wish I had gotten more, though.
We were running super late to Castle Leslie, so right when we pulled up, we jumped off the bus and ran to change into our riding clothes! We were assigned horses and they were already tacked up for us, so we mounted up and took a little riding evaluation. I was very self-conscious because I hadn't been on a horse in a long time before that, but it all came back pretty easily. I rode a little pony who was possibly part Haflinger, named Tigger, and boy was he named for a reason! Can you say 'bouncy?!' He was precious and once our evaluation was done, we headed out for a hack around the estate. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. A pair of riding pants and a light sweatshirt was so comfortable and it was sunny and just lovely. We rode through the woods, cantered up a hill, and then walked/trotted our way around their lake and down paths. Our guide pointed out Northern Ireland across a field. I didn't take my phone on the ride, unfortunately. I definitely could have and most certainly should have - the scenery was insanely gorgeous.
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| My riding group after our hack across the Irish countryside! |
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| Tigger and I! |
After riding we popped into the tea room and had scones with jam and cream and Irish tea. I honestly felt like a princess! We then drove up to our cottages that we were staying in. They were probably two blocks up the road from the entrance to the estate. We walked in and it was just incredible - they were so quaint and cozy! I don't have a picture of my room, but there is a picture of another girl's room. They were all different, but had very much the same feel. There was wifi, so I could text my mom that we had arrived at Castle Leslie. I got a shower/bath before dinner. We had a gorgeous claw foot tub but I couldn't quite figure out the best way to wash. There was no shower curtain so I effectively soaked the bathroom floor. I didn't particularly want to sit down in the tub (I'm so weird about that kind of thing) so an awkward shower it was. The tub was super deep and I almost slipped trying to get out of it. If I had the ability to Clorox it (germophobe problems) and some bubble bath it would have been amazing.
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| Y'all haven't lived until you've had these scones... |
We headed back to the cottages shortly after and pretty much went right to bed. Jet lag is no joke, y'all!
That brings me to the end of Day 2 in Glaslough! I will definitely have a Day 3 post up before another 3 months passes, ha!
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