I've just recently come home from Ireland! I spent the entire last week wondering how my trip was almost over. I had been planning this with my friend for so long! I had been looking forward to going to Galway ever since my first year, when I found out about this opportunity! And it was over now?
On Monday, we went to the Eyre Square again, to do some more shopping. We went to the mall, to a gift shop, and to a pub called The Kings Head. I bought myself a magnet from the gift shop, along with a souvenir for my friend. The food at The Kings Head was pretty good! It was quite a large pub, with nice decor and a nice atmosphere. I would definitely recommend going there!
On Wednesday we were getting quite anxious about going back home. I honestly am not sure why I felt anxious about leaving, but I did. We went to the arcade after work, to find it surprisingly empty! On Sunday it had been pretty full, though not too full to have to queue up for games, but on Wednesday there were almost no people there other than us! There was this weird Monopoly game, which we got over 100 tickets from. I have no clue what the rules for the game were, but no matter what you did, you somehow earned tickets from every role.
Thursday was our last day at work. We were pretty sad about leaving. At work we were learning more about how people work. We got a quick guide around the video and editing programs, and also learned about the website making process. While walking back to the bus stop, all we could think about was how this was the last time we were going to be there.
On Friday morning, we had a couple of hours before our bus left. After double-checking that I had packed everything, I read my book to calm my nerves. We left the house before 11 AM, and got on the bus to go back to the city center, where our bus would leave. We arrived at the Galway Coach Station at 11:30, and got tickets for the bus to Dublin, which left at noon.
During the bus ride, I mostly just listened to my audiobook. I often get carsick, so I couldn't read my physical book, or use my phone too much. If you're going on a long car/bus ride and get carsick like me, then I recommend to put on your headphones and listen to something. Whether it be music, an audiobook, or maybe a podcast. That's one of the best ways to kill time, I've noticed. Of course, just staring out the window and getting lost in your thoughts is fun too!
After arriving at the airport we walked to our hotel. It wasn't too far away, but walking while dragging heavy luggage is never fun, so on Saturday morning we took the shuttle bus, which the hotel offered for free. I spent the entire Friday afternoon and evening just chilling in my room. Boring, I know. But after everything I was quite exhausted, especially mentally, and needed a break to do nothing.
So as I mentioned, on Saturday morning we took the shuttle bus to the Airport, Terminal 1 to be specific. This time we queued in line for the check-in, instead of doing the self-check-in. I honestly don't even know if that was an option there. We arrived pretty early, so the line wasn't long.
After giving our luggage away, we went through the security check and then to our gate. We didn't have to go through the passport/border control at the Dublin Airport, which surprised me. We did have to go through it once we arrived in Finland.
This was the end of my trip! I hope you've enjoyed reading about it! I'll be posting one more Overview post later on, but we've reached the end! It still feels so surreal to me. Now that I'm home, the whole trip just feels like a dream that didn't actually happen.