NUI Maynooth and My Time in Ireland: A Day in Bray

    Getting off to an early start (6 a.m!) I made my way to the Irish rail once again, making a beeline to the small, seaside town of Bray in Co. Wicklow. Disembarking the Irish Rail after an hour and a half trip, I was greeted by a cool crisp sea air, ridding me of all my morning grogginess. A foreboding Irish fog hung over the town as I strolled through alleyways to the beach. Ahead of me, at the other end of the shoreline, cloaked in the fog was Bray Head, a 241m headland forming a portion of the Wicklow mountains as well as being my destination. Deciding to make my way to the top, I started off along the cliff walk leading to Greystones. About halfway to Greystones, and unable to find the route up, I turned around...realizing I had past it from the start.
    Unconventionally ascending to the top of Bray Head, due to me missing the path, I bore witness to one of the most beautiful expansive views of my life. Stretching all around me for miles (well, kilometers...) was a gorgeous coastline and the shadowy rims of the Wicklow Mountains. Deciding not to call it quits and descend I progressed off the beaten path along the tops of the mountains, interconnected by their highest points. After about two hours of hiking I was now in a place of my own. Civilization was nowhere to be seen and the countryside and ocean was all mine. Making camp for lunch on one of the peaks, the peace around me was indescribable. The sides of the cliffs around me were cloaked in blankets of both green and orange-turning ferns, rippling with the wind creating a wave effect matching the waves crashing below. With the ocean like a blanket before me and the mountains sheltering me from the world, it was a truly beautiful place.
   Losing track of time, I eventually had to turn around and descend. Saying goodbye to the mountains and boarding the Dart, a quick stop in Dublin led me to bear witness to a huge protest march against the austerity measures in Ireland with some very creative ways of expressing dissatisfaction present. Leaving Dublin and heading home to Maynooth absolutely famished I cooked myself dinner, did some work and now am reminiscing on a much needed relaxing and beautiful day.