Map of Malahide grounds. 
Malahide Castle
The grounds around the castle. 
A picture I took by accident. Pretty cool though! 
Castle tower 
Malahide Castle 
The grounds 
Walking back from the castle. 
The forest we walked through. Yes, readers. Again today I didn't know what I was doing for the field trip.
My boss called me in on my day off to go to Malahide Castle with an Italian group. I said that I didn't mind.
I was given no information about the field trip, as usual. One of the people in charge said that the trip started at 2:15 pm, so I was planning on arriving a little before 2:15 pm. Another person told me that the appointment was at 2:15 pm and that I needed to be at the school at 11:30 am. I said that was fine and I wondered why I needed to be at the school so early? It was only going to take half an hour by coach to get there.
I got to school a little early and waited for my group. A girl, that was part of the group going with me, came up to me and asks if I was the American girl. Yes, I am the American girl.
The teacher of the group comes up to me and starts talking about how we are to get to the castle. She goes on about taking public transportation. What? My worst enemy. I called one of my bosses to make sure that was the plan. She said yes and thought I knew that. No, I didn't know that. Now I knew why I had to get to the school early....
So, next came the acting part. Acting like I knew what I was doing.
We got to O'Connell Street and had to meet some parents and grandparents of the students because they were coming with us. I was worried about the time so this kind of made me stressed, but at the same time I thought it was cute that some parents came out to visit their children. Reminded me of my parents.
We then had to catch the 42 bus to get to Malahide Castle. I had never taken the 42 before, so it was kind of nerve racking.
I found a stop that had the 42 A and B coming, but not just the regular 42. The other teacher said it was at the next stop and there was already a 42 bus there. I love it when other people tell me how to do my job.
We missed that bus because I didn't want to run to catch it. The thing with the students is that they walk so slow! So I knew trying to get them to hurry up would be almost impossible.
The teachers seemed not to like that we didn't get that bus. We only had to wait 20 minutes and we were fine on time I kept telling them.
Soon the bus came and we all piled on. One of the teachers asked the bus driver how long it took to get to Malahide Castle and the driver replied that it took 30 to 40 minutes. I thought that in 30 minutes I would ask the driver exactly what stop to get off at for the castle.
I never got a chance to ask the driver because after a while on the bus, I looked up and saw a sign for the castle. I ran to the front of the bus to make sure that we got off at this stop. I didn't need to worry because the teachers had already gotten the students together. Again, doing my job for me.
We then had to walk half an hour to get to the castle. I didn't mind this at all because we were able to walk through a forested area and it was very beautiful. It reminded me of the UCSC campus. The only pleasant memory I have of the school.
I was really hoping that I was going the right way. I sort of just followed other people that looked like tourists.
When we saw the castle I breathed a sigh of relief. I had lead them the right way.
I checked the group in and they had some free time until our tour started. We had actually got there early and the worker asked if I wanted them to start the tour early. I said no, because everyone had to go to the bathroom and I didn't want to rush them. I wanted to make sure we were on time for our tour.
While I was in the bathroom, one of the teachers was telling me how the place was haunted. Once she said that, she walked away and just then the window to the bathroom slammed shut. Oh my. I really just wanted to blame it on the wind.
Though I was impressed with myself for making the decision to give them extra time to make sure we were on time for our tour, it didn't matter because we were still late for our actual appointment. I am sorry, but the Italians are never on time for anything.
We took an audio tour of the castle. It was all in Italian, which I thought it should be in English because the students are here to learn English, but I understand that the teachers want the students to actually enjoy the experience. I had to ask a worker for an English handout.
Malahide Castle is 30 minutes from the city center of Dublin. The castle was built around 1185 and was given to the Talbot family. It was actually given to Richard Talbot, who was a knight that went with King Henry II to Ireland. The king then gave him the land as a thank you for his service. The castle and the lands stayed with the Talbot family for 791 years, from 1185-1975.
The castle has survived many hard times. One being the Battle of the Boyne, in which 14 family members sat down for breakfast at the castle, but by evening they had all died. Another tragedy was the Penal Laws, which were strict laws against Catholics. The Talbot family, being Catholic, suffered under these laws.
In 1975, the castle was passed down to Rose, after Milo Talbot's death. She sold the estate to the Irish State, mostly to fund inheritance taxes.
The audio tour mostly just talked about the architecture and other furnishings of the rooms and the castle. I wasn't really interested in these things. I am more of a history person.
My two favorite rooms were connected and at the end of the tour. The first was the grand dining room. This is where it is rumored that the 14 members ate their last meal together. I really liked it because it was built during the medieval times and even with the renovations, it stilled maintained that influenced.
The next room was the library. It was filled with old books that covered many different topics. How I wished I had this library! It should be a crime that I can't have any of those books!
You have to pay to get into the castle and do the tour. I don't think I would recommend the tour to anyone. If you are into architecture and furnishings, then it is great! But if you want more of the history of the place and time period, then this is not your tour. The grounds are lovely to hang out in if the weather is nice.
After the tour the group got an hour of free time. It was so nice outside that we all just hung outside the whole time. I was able to talk to some other activity leaders from other centers around town. I was so thankful to feel the sun on my skin! That is one of the things I miss about California: the sun.
During our free time one of the girls asked me if I could be part of their human pyramid they were doing for a picture. Guess where they put me? At the bottom. They soon realized that this was not a good idea and put me in the middle. We never got the pyramid to work. They did try it again without me and it prevailed. I hope it didn't fail on my part the first time! But it probably did! haha.
One girl in the group was very sweet. She was the one who asked if I was the American girl. She talked to me the whole walk to the castle and even invited me to sit with her and her friends during free time. She said that it probably sucks that I have to hang out by myself on the field trips. I said some times it is boring, but I don't mind being by myself if I have to. She was really mature and sweet for only being 16. Definitely a quiet and gentle soul. I really need to be like that more.
At 4 pm we all gathered up to leave. Liam, an activity leader at the same center as me, said that if we left at 4 pm that should be plenty of time to get back to the campus in time for dinner at 6:30 pm.
Well, good thing I said 4 pm because we got back to campus only 10 minutes before dinner. That is because we didn't leave the castle until 4:30 pm, which I totally knew was going to happen.
Not only that, but when we got into town, the teacher said that we needed to find a Tescos (Safeway) because SOME students wanted to get a frozen pizza. I tried to explain that I didn't know where one was near by and that we were on our way back to get dinner.
When we were only a block away from our bus stop, the teacher found a place to get food and EVERYONE, not some, went in and got something. I was so mad! I was so tired and this was not part of my job description. I was beyond furious. I was so happy to drop them off at campus because then I didn't have to deal with them anymore.
All in all, the trip went well and I was so happy that I was able to figure everything out myself! I feel as if I am getting more confident in doing these trips alone!
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