Ireland, Day 6: Galway and back to Dublin

Today

Stopped at the Marble Factory in Connemara on the way to Galway. It's no Parian marble, but it was cool to see the different varieties of marble present throughout Ireland (green from copper in the soil, red from iron oxide, as well as black and good ol' white marble), and to see them making jewelry, etc. in their shop. They even gave us tea and scones :)

Various Irish marble

Working in the marble factory

After tea we drove to Galway where we had free time to wander. I walked down the main street, and went in and out of shops. It was very crowded today because the Galway races are taking place this week. There were lots of street performers playing Irish music which was fun to watch.

Galway hooker

Piano Man

String Quartet

I walked down to the river where the Spanish arches are located. I wish I could tell you what they are but I honestly don't remember. So much information about Ireland was thrown at me this week while riding around on a bus for hours, which made it very hard for me to retain all the knowledge.

River, Galway

Back in Dublin. I just got fish and chips for dinner and am repacking my bag to get ready to leave tomorrow. How is it that I've been gone for 93 days? It feels like I just left yesterday yet so much has happened since I left. Am I ready to go back to The States? I'm not really sure (sorry!). These past three months have truly been an adventure filled with opportunities, experiences, growth and food :)

THANK YOU to everyone who kept up with my blog; and even though I don't think anyone reads this thing anymore, it was so important for me to reflect, recap and post. I am so happy I kept this blog and will definitely look back over it in years to come.

Shuttle to the airport at 6:00 tomorrow morning. I'll be back in Charlottesville by dinner. This is crazy; how can my travels be over?

Off for one last beer... Chin chin! Prost! Yamas! Slainte!

Photo of the Day

Overlooking Galway Bay:

Galway, Ireland

Lesson of the Day
The word "lynch" comes from Galway. It came about from the story of John Lynch who hung his own son.

The Count
Glasses of wine drinken: 160
Miles traveled: ~632 (my phone died again)
Counties visited: 15
Photos taken: 6093

Cliffs of Moher and Medieval Castles: Ireland, Day 5

Today
My favorite day!

We drove for most of the morning and took a ferry across the Rive Shannon to get to The Cliffs of Moher.

The Cliffs of Moher were incredible. They are in the running for becoming one of the new 7 Wonders of the World and the whole site is environmentally friendly, supporting the concept of "eco-tourism." I enjoyed walking up and down the cliffs and just embracing their size and color. I ran into a family from Michigan as a U of M alum walked by. Such a small world.

Cows, Cliffs of Moher

The signage around the site was pretty funny.

Danger.

The best view/experience of the cliffs was technically roped off, but that clearly didn't stop me (or anyone else)...

Danger.

Cliffs of Moher

I finally had Bailey's ice cream (nom).

After the Cliffs we went to our hotel in Bunratty. It was a very cute hotel and I got a king-sized bed!!!!

So comfy.

When I opened my window shade, I was a bit taken aback by the view:

Cemetery, Bunratty Castle Hotel

After a swim and some time in the hot tub, we went across the street to the Bunratty Castle for a medieval dinner. It was kind of creepy and I was expecting it to be like one of those band trip dinner shows I went to in high school, but I ended up really enjoying it. We started off with a reception where I had my first taste of mead, and then we went down for dinner.

Harpist, Bunratty Castle Medieval Dinner

There were people dressed up in medieval costumes and calling us "lords" and "ladies" but the food was surprisingly delicious and I had a good time. I sat with a mother-daughter pair from California who were on my tour, but the rest of our table was not from our group. There was a family who lived in Ann Arbor, one of whom was a U of M alum!!! So many Michiganders in one day, it was great :). All the food was local (I can't remember the last time I had ribs) and we were only given a "dagger" to eat with so it we got to slurp our soup and use our fingers for everything else; the red wine was pretty but but after 3 glasses no one could really tell anymore...

King-sized bed + wine = great night sleep.

Lesson of the Day

• 20% of Ireland's electricity is wind generated
• The term "honeymoon" comes from the tradition of newlyweds consuming a daily cup of mead, a brew made from honey.

Photo of the Day

Cow pasture, Cliffs of Moher

The bathroom sinks were really cool:

Waterfall faucet, Cliffs of Moher


Cliff Jumping!

The Count
Ferries traveled by: 7
Glasses of wine drinken: 159
Castles climbed: 2
Miles traveled: ~432 (my phone died so I lost GPS and mile-tracking capabilities)
Photos taken: 5997

Ireland, Day 4

Today
Misty day on the Ring of Kerry.

We spent the day driving around the Ring of Kerry: a trail in County Kerry covering cities such as Rossbeigh, Glenbeigh, Killorglin, Milltown and Waterville, that has spectacular views of various Irish landscapes.

We started at 8:30 and after an hour we made our first rest stop at Moriarty's Clothing and Gift Shop in the Gap of Dunloe. I am such a tourist this week it hurts: I ride a bus around the countryside, gawk and take photos, shop and eat. I had my first Irish coffee this morning, though, and it was delicious. I've previously been offered them after dinner but I can't have caffeine that late in the day, so I was happy to be offered on in the morning! So delicious :)

Irish coffee

The rain made viewing a bit difficult today. For example, we were unable to see the Gap of Dunloe (the gap between Macgillycuddy's Reeks and Purple Mountain) as well as various lakes and mountains because of the fog. We still made scenic stops though and everything is fulfilling my expectations about green, hilly, sheep- and cow-filled Ireland.

One of our stops was to see a shepherd and his dogs herding sheep. He talked to us about how he trains the dogs and showed them in action; he also talked about different kinds of sheep found throughout Ireland and their various uses (om noming and cuddling). My favorite part of the demonstration was him showing how good a dogs hearing is. The shepherd could whisper a command and the dog, all the way at the top of the mountain, would follow.

Herding sheep

Next, we stopped at the Skellig Experience and learned about Skellig Michael and Small Skelli, two pinnacle islands. Skellig Michael is the site of a well-preserved monastic outpost of the Early Christian period (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site); and Small Skellig is the home of 27,000 pairs of gannets -- the second largest colony of such seabird in the world. (www.skelligexperience.com). The "Experience" consists of watching a film and walking through a small exhibit. They do take boats out to the islands and you can climb up to the top, but the water has been so choppy they've cancelled the trip for 29 out of the last 30 days. Regardless, it wasn't in the group itinerary, but after watching the video climbing the 600+ stairs to the top would be awesome. Once again, because of the fog, we couldn't even see the islands.

We continued around the Ring of Kerry and made another rest stop in Sneem, where I met an Israeli couple! I heard them speaking Hebrew and offered to take their photograph in front of the river displayed below.

River: Sneem, Ireland

Continuing around the Ring of Kerry we then stopped in the Killarney National Park, home of the Ireland's only remaining wild herd of native Red Deer. We were able to see a few!

Killarney National Park

The roads throughout the Ring of Kerry are very windy and narrow, especially down through the National Park headed back towards the main village of Killarney. Usually busses take a one-way route around the Ring because the roads are too small for busses to share. There was some excitement, however, when some jerk of a bus driver decided to come up. There were lines and lines of cars and loads of wincing people as everyone squeezed by. Martin pulled us through!

We had dinner at the hotel again and then I walked around town with a mother-daughter pair on my tour to see more of the summer festival events. There was more music and dancing in the main square and kid's were running around with balloon animals. Killarney is such a cute village :)

Photo of the Day
Pretty flowers outside Moriarty's

Dew

Trinket-selling family at one of our scenic-view stops.

Father and son

Lesson of the Day
Farming communities of rural Ireland, have shifted from being mixed and self-sufficient to specialized, specifically for income--not as a way of living a sustainable life. Furthermore, in the last 60 (I think) years, farmland has doubled but there are half as many farmers due to automation and mechanization. I'm pretty sure this is a trend you'll find almost worldwide.

The Count
Miles traveled: 332
Photos taken: 5877

Ireland: Day 3

Today

Early morning. It's been interesting to adjust to timing and size of meals here. In Greece I was used to a small breakfast, huge lunch around 2 and dinner close to 9. Here, I have a big breakfast of cereals, fruits and yogurt and dinners have been at 6:45! It's also interesting because I have no idea if that's truly how the Irish function. The tour I'm doing is simply sight-seeing; I am hardly learning anything about Irish culture in terms of day-to-day norms. Of course, I'm getting exposed to pubs, dancing and our guide does give tell us history and stories, but what else sculpts the Irish identity? I was immersed in Italian culture living with my host family, and while I wasn't immersed in the culture but rather surrounded by American students in Greece, I was studying the culture and living it: not just touring it. But that's the nature of my week-long excursion in Ireland, and I am happy to be seeing the beautiful landscapes, it's just a very different experience from the past 3 months.

First things first: I fit right in with this group because we stop every hour for a bathroom break.

Today we drove from Dublin to Killarney and stopped at the Rock of Cashel to see a church, made a rest-stop in Kilkenny, traveled through Cork (the second largest city in Ireland) and stopped in Blarney. I climbed to the top of Blarney castle and kissed the Blarney stone (supposedly the "stone of eloquence"). The climb consists of narrow spiral staircases and the kiss requires bending over backwards. They have a photographer and someone to help you lean back at the stone itself. And after waiting 2 hours you're rushed through and in no time at all, headed back down a spiral staircase on the other side.

Climbing Blarney Castle

Kissing the Blarney Stone

View from the top

The line was ridiculously long and the whole process took about 2 hours, so I hardly got to wander around Blarney and the castle area, but it was still great. I did take a walk through the Poison Garden; Fun Fact: The Irish police (Garda) took out the marijuana plant.

No more marijuana

We made other stops along the way to see pretty landscapes and monasteries.

Irish countryside

We arrived in Killarney, the supposed "tourism capital of Ireland," in the late afternoon and had an interesting buffet dinner in the hotel. (It was the Irish equivalent of Golden Corral). I walked around the town, wandering in and out of wool shops and just admiring the small streets, atmosphere and abundance of pubs. The Irish Open (golf tournament) is going on in Killarney now so it's pretty crowded; there is also the Killarney Summer Festival so there was a band playing on Main Street and plenty of children were running around with painted faces. It feels very authentic.

Main Street: Killarney, Ireland

Lesson of the Day

• The national sports of Ireland are Gaelic football and hurling
• In region of Munster, Murphy's is the popular stout (not Guinness).
  -I tried one with dinner--it's not as bitter as Guinness; I think I like Guinness better.

Photo of the Day

Pharmacies are called chemists :)

Chemist, Kilkenny

The Count

Castles climbed: 1

Miles traveled: 222

Pints of Irish stout drinken: 2.25

Photos taken: 5722

Shots, oozkeepers, Australians and jigs

Today

Getting my yellow fever shot was almost too easy. After going on a wild goose chase through clinics and offices in Athens, walking to the second story of the "Tropical Medical Bureau" 1.3 km from my hotel was almost a joke.

I then boarded the hop-on, hop-off bus with the intention of completing the tour I hopped off of yesterday and also visiting the National Museum. After 3 months full of museum visits, you think I'd know better than to try to go to a museum on a Monday... I ended up at the zoo instead, though, so no complaints there :)

Irish police officers have STDs?

Garda

Wellington Monument, Phoenix Park

President's House, Phoenix Park

Sumatran Tiger, Dublin Zoo

Baby Giraffe, Dublin Zoo

This afternoon I finally met my tour group I'll be traveling with for the next 6 days. I'm not the youngest person! There's a dad with an 8-year old(ish) son and a few other families with younger children. I think I'm the only person traveling alone, though. We took a guided tour of the city, which repeated some of the stuff I had already done on the hop-on, hop-off tour, but I was able to hear better so I still enjoyed it. We got off and had a tour of the Dublin Castle as well. It is by no means a castle, but the president is inaugurated in the St. Patrick's Room of the "castle." The bus also took us down to the port of Dublin and the newer, "Financial District" of the city.

Famine

After a 3 hour tour (a 3 hour tour) I had a nice nap and then met up with the group again for a "welcome drink" where I met two women from Scotland and a couple from Sweden. We then went to dinner and a show in the hotel, where I sat with an Australian couple from Victoria (outside Melbourne), a mother-daughter pair from Queensland (also Australia), and a family from Oregon. Dinner was pretty good--vegetable soup, chicken, potatoes and mixed veggies on a portobello mushroom, followed by a "dark chocolate caramel cube" for dessert. Plus two glasses of red wine and an Irish music/dance performance...I'd say it was a pretty solid evening.

It's blurry because their legs really do move that fast...

Irish Dancing

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 153

Irish castles toured: 1

Irish cities visited: 1

Photos taken: 5608

Lesson of the Day

There are two stories behind the colorful Georgian doors (like the maize and blue ones I found yesterday):

1. After a long night of drinking a man once woke up in the wrong apartment, in the wrong bed, with the wrong wife...so color-coding the doors made it clear which house belong to who.

2. After Queen Victoria died, Irish people were told to paint their doors black in mourning. Fact of the matter is, most of the doors were likely already black. So the Irish, being the David Weiss' of Europe, painted their doors in all sorts of colors.

Seeing as I spotted Michigan neighbors yesterday, it was only proper that I came across this set today:

Wahoowa

Photo of the Day

This guy was huge:

Yawning Hippo, Dublin Zoo

Tomorrow

We have an early start (bags ready at 6:45, on the bus at 8AM) and a very long day of traveling through the country-side, visiting the Blarney Castle (kissing the stone), much more and ending in Killarney for the evening.

Welcome to Dublin, Where "Crack is Mighty!"

After a long, but easy day of traveling I arrive in Dublin, Ireland at 1:00 AM local time (3:00 AM Greece time). I slept briefly at an airport hotel, then headed back to the airport to catch a tour shuttle to our first hotel. The shuttle wasn't scheduled to arrive for another 1.5 hours though, so I got a cab instead. The cab driver was incredibly friendly and made me feel right at home. Driving into the city, I noticed the color and calmness the most: everything truly is green (especially in contrast to the burnt shrubbery of Greece) and the roads aren't bustling with cars honking their horns. The driver gave me some pointers about what to do with my day and pointed out important monuments, parks and buildings; he also taught my that "crack" here means "fun," and in Ireland, "crack is mighty!" :)

Checking into my hotel was a breeze and in no time at all I was out exploring.

Grand Canal, Dublin

I walked to and wandered around Steven's Green, a park right down the road from my hotel, then caught a hop-on, hop-off Dublin tour bus to see the city. I love the various architecture interspersed throughout the city: while excitingly diverse, it all manages to fit well together. I snapped a bunch of photos from the open top deck of the bus but I don't remember the names and history of everything we drove by--there's so much!

Christ Church Cathedral

I had originally planned on riding the bus for the duration of the tour in order to decide which locations I wanted to get off at, but was getting antsy and hopped off at Kilmainham Gaol, which the cab driver had highly recommended. They had a museum as well as a guided tour that took you through the jail to see the cells and various other rooms. The building was architectural inspiration for many 19th century Victorian jails.

Panopticon, Kilmainham Gaol

Afterwards, I went to the Guinness Storehouse where I learned all about making, advertising and drinking Guinness. The storehouse was HUGE--the atrium is a giant pint glass (so I guess it's not really a pint at all)...which, if filled, could hold 14.3 million pints of Guinness (world's largest pint glass). Not only was the tour, etc. awesome but I had an excellent lunch there as well (the first time I've had butternut squash in more than 3 months!!!!).

Lunch

My favorite part was the advertising section--I enjoyed watching the old Guinness commercials and seeing all their slogans like "Guinness for strength" and "A Guinness a day."

Guinness Ad

On the top floor of the storehouse is The Gravity Bar where you can get a full, 360 degree view of Dublin. A pint of Guinness is included with admission, and I got to pour it myself! The woman who taught me was actually a Korean Canadian...but she knew what she was doing, and now I do too!

Guinness, Settling

Topping off my Guinness

6 steps to the perfect pint

After more than 2 hours of beer touring, I started walking back towards my hotel. I walked through the area I had driven by earlier in the day in order to get a better feel for the neighborhoods, people and sites. Plenty of people smiled at me as I past and while I thought it would be weird being in an English-speaking country again, I've found I hardly notice a difference--maybe that's just because I can't understand Irish accents, though.

Photos of the Day

Wolverines are everywhere...

GO BLUE!

My new home...

Cottage, Steven's Green


Lampost

Lesson(s) of the Day

• They drive on the left side of the road here. These street markings are very helpful.

Life Savers

• Storehouse does not mean factory tour.
  
  
• Guinness is not to be sipped: drink it in gulps so you get the full spread of flavors in your mouth...bitterness of hops in the back, rich roasted barley in the middle and the sweetness of the malt in the front.

• What many people call a barrel is a cask. A barrel is a size of a cask, as is a firkin, a butt, or a a kilderkin.

Cooperage

The Count

Flights taken: 7

Pints of Guinness drinken: 1.25

Photos taken: 5196

(yes, I did take 333 photos today)

Tomorrow

• Yellow fever shot!
• The rest of the hop-on, hop-off tour and a stop at The National Museum.
• Guided tour of modern and ancient Dublin
• Tour of Dublin Castle
• "Welcome drink" with my tour group
• The Burlington Cabaret: a show of traditional Irish songs and step-dancing.

Should be another action-packed and exciting day!