THE COME BACK DAY by Víctor Alcaráz, Fernando Gallardo and Jorge Alberto Rodríguez

I don´t know how to describe the feeling...

On the one hand, we wanted to see our families and friends, but on the other hand we preferred to stay there for a long time.

The alarm clock rings. It is the last day. We wake up later than the other days, it is Sunday. Paola, our host mother, calls us for breakfast. I will remember that breakfast, it was the best I have ever dreamed of. It consisted of orange juice, fried eggs, cereals, milk, toasts and two sausages. After having breakfast, we end up making our luggage and we get them into the car that would bring us to the school. We say goodbye and thank for all to our host family. Finally, Paola drives us to the bus, that is waiting for us to drive us to the airport. We say goodbye to Paola and we get into the bus...

We were sad for leaving that place but we wanted to see our families. We arrived to the airport and checked our luggage. We stayed there for an hour and a half waiting to get into the plane. Finally the plane took off. The flight lasted two hours and a half. Another bus drove us to our high-school where were waiting for us our families. Embraces, kisses, some tears, it was an exciting reunion.

GUINNESS STOREHOUSE by Sebastián Botello and Alejandro Ballestrinos

On 19° January we went to the Guinness’s factory. 










It is the tallest building in Dublin and you can see the entire city.

It has 7 floors; the first floor is the shop and the entrance, the second and the third ones are the museum, fourth, fifth and sixth are restaurants, and the seventh is the Gravity Bar that has panoramic 360° views of Dublin city and beyond. 

It was funny and exciting.

Our last Saturday in Dublin, by Adrián Torres y Sergio Ribera

At 9:15 we were all at school to go to the Collins Barracks Museum, we went by bus. It took us about 45 minutes to get there. On arrival, we got off the bus and headed to the museum.

We walked across a park, then went into the courtyard of the museum. From there we entered the big building, there were several floors with different exhibitions.

We visited many rooms where you could see: swords, pistols, uniforms, even planes. 

Then we went to the cafe to eat something . 

Later we went to the Guinnes Storehouse and finally  we had about two hours to be at the shopping mall, the biggest shopping mall of Dublín and we could buy averything we wanted, clothes, food, gifts, eat something... Finally,  we went to the bus and to our houses.

WICKLOW AND AVOCA by Begoña Jiménez and Eva Gala

We were in the prison of Ireland. There they explained the life of the prisoners. They told us that if the prisoners weren’t ill, they were sent to Australia to work.

We were in Avoca looms, too. They are the oldest looms in Ireland. There, they explained how they make the wool. We really enjoyed it.

WICKLOW AND AVOCA by Carlos Lamela and Alejandro Quesada

In Wicklow there is the oldest prison of Ireland. Often these people were sent to Australia to carry out their sentence, or in extremely cases, to be executed.

There are actors who tell you the history of the prison like a jailer or a teacher.

There are a lot of cells, 60 more or less, and some dungeons, in three levels. In these cells and dugeons there are usually max estatues representing the prisioner's lives.

Avoca is a family cloth enterprise very important and famous in Ireland and over the world.

Avoca's cloths are the best of Ireland and there are fourteen factories in Ireland, we visited the first Avoca factory.

Some of the weavers are 100 years old and the other are electrics weavers. These work faster than the 100 years old ones but the 100 years old weavers' blankets are more expensive than the electrics ones.

Avoca exports their products (blankets, gloves, caps, scarves..) are of high quality, so very very expensive.

HOWTH PENINSULA by Elena Titos and María Varela

In Howth we could see one seal in the harbour. It was really really cold: freezing.





Then we went to visit the lighthouse, there were rough waves and we ran because the wind was blowing heavily and boosted the waves over the walls.

When we finished our walk along the peer, we went to eat the typical fish and chips. Afterwards we went to visit the cathedral of the Howth peninsula, it is a very beautiful cathedral and has an impressive rosette. 

Finally, we took the train and it was a two-hour trip. It was a long and wet way.

TRINITY COLLEGE AND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY by Alba Llarena, Carla Rivas and Cristina Rodríguez

TRINITY COLLEGE LIBRARY

The structure of the library has a serious and elegant aspect. 

On both sides of the corridor the books are in high enough racks, arranged in letters. Opposite every rack there are philosophers' sculpture like Socrates or Homero.

We could see the most ancient harp of Ireland and with which the march of the king was played.

In the middle of the corridor, there are a few store windows where the original typical books of Ireland are.

All the original books that are published in Ireland come to this nice and interesting library.





MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

In the museum we could see dissected animals and bones of animals of different ages.

The store windows portray typical scenes of the nature. The first ones were all kinds of birds, later the smallest mammals were coming. Also there were insects, beetles, shells, worms, sedates and some fish.

We surprised by some of the animals but others were really disgusting because their realism.

On the second floor the biggest mammals and the bones were of those that they could not have recovered.

The sequence of the animals finishes with the human skeletons.







In my opinion together with that of my companions, both activities were interesting. The museum was more interesting as we saw animals that we did not know but in the Trinity College we could see how important reading is for us.

IRISH DANCING by Elisabeth Martínez and Noelia Fernández

Today we went to learn something about Irish dancing in Dublin.

The dancing is very difficult, but we didn´t dance much.

Zoe is a professional of this dance. We worked in pairs to do it better.

We had three dances, the first dance lasts long, about twenty minutes.

She taught us to move the steps, but the first time without music and the second time with music.

The dance cannot be learnt in one day, because it is very long and difficult.

The second time is more difficult but we learn, and the dance was tiring.

The third dance is less difficult because we knew better.

When we learned the dance then the man played music with a guitar and the other instruments. He plays the instruments very well because he is a professional.

We learned this dance about one hour and a half. We finish tired and we went to the centre of Dublin to buy presents and then we went home.

THE LEPRECHAUN MUSEUM by Gema Martínez

On 16th of January the students of Bachillerato went to the Leprechaun museum. We followed a guide that led us through different rooms that recreate experiences associated with Leprechauns.

For example, there's a room where items such as furniture are unusually bigger to give the effect that you are smaller in size.

In the next room, there's a big map of Ireland with animation images while in a voiceover the narrator tells you a tale.

Another room contains a rainbow and, as you all know, at the end of the rainbow there's a pot of gold!

At the end of the tour there´s a big painting and you can take a picture of yourself with the body of a Leprechaun.

There's also a shop where you can purchase t-shirts, Leprechaun's Tales and souvenirs.

MORE ABOUT HOWTH by Daniel López and Rubén Talaverano

MALAHIDE CASTLE by Daniel Mérida and Ismael Delgado

Malahide Castle, set on 250 acres of park land in the pretty seaside town of Malahide, was both a fortress and a private home of the Talbot family for 800 years and is an interesting mix of architectural styles.

The Talbot family lived here from 1185 to 1973, when the last Talbot died. The house is furnished with beautiful period furniture together with an extensive collection of Irish portrait paintings, mainly from the National Gallery.

The history of the Talbot family is recorded in the Great Hall, where portraits of generations of the family tell their own story of Ireland's stormy history. Many additions and alterations have been made to this romantic and beautiful structure, but the contours of the surrounding parklands have changed little in 800 years, retaining a sense of the past. There is a legend that says that the Malahide Castle is haunted by five ghosts and their presence is felt in every room. Currently the Malahide Castle is a little museum but is one of the principal atractives of Ireland.

The Malahide village is north Dublin´s premier town. This picturesque village is not only renowned for its beauty but for its diverse selection of boutiques, bars & restaurants all within stones throw from the grounds of Malahide Castle.

So the Malahide Castle is a very interesting place to visit.