Into the Emerald Isle

I did so much in Ireland I don’t even know where to start. I had a really great time. The country was beautiful, the cities were lively, and the Guinness was fresh. I met really cool people as well. I’ll just run through everything I did and go into some of it in detail.

I left for Ireland on March 21^st with Paul Russell. I was actually in the same suite with Paul freshman year; we both were originally planning on going to Ireland alone until we realized we both were going of course… So we decided to travel together. He wasn’t the most adventurous or wise travel buddy—he read alone at night and rushed through a lot of the places we visited. Ryan Air was the airline we took. It is really cheap and they generally run on time. It’s a free for all trying to get seats on the plane because they don’t assign them to you on your boarding pass. The flight only took 40 minutes.

We arrived in Dublin airport and spent the night there. I met some Americans on their way out, so we chatted and hung out until the early hours of the morning, when I caught a City Link Bus (really affordable) to Galway city on the opposite side of the country. Galway was my favorite city. It’s right on the bay and very lively. The main street was a pedestrian street where every other building was a pub if not a restaurant. The hostel we stayed at was called the Nimmos (never ever book there). We were roomed with some American tourists; they were juniors in college and I went out with them the first night to go to a pub and hear some authentic Irish pub music (all of the music was live)!

The next day we booked a bus tour with Lally tours to see the Burrens (which means the rocky lands) and the Cliffs of Moher (not sure what that means it’s just an amazing place). We saw a burial site, Aillwee Caves, and Doolin as well. I bought a Claddagh ring in Doolin so that I would have something similar to my parents’ wedding rings. My favorite site was definitely the cliffs. I walked along the main path of the site until I reached a sign that read “Please do not cross this sign” so I did… So many people venture beyond the sign that their feet pressed the earth flat into a dirt path that is as solid as stone. I walked about a half a mile to one of the highest peaks where I unzipped my jacket stretching my new fleece wings as wide as I could, stood about three feet from the edge and leaned into the wind allowing the updrafts to hold my footing. Dangerous, slightly, but simply breathtaking.

After two nights we took another bus to Cork. It was quiet on Monday because of the bank holiday. McDonalds wasn’t even open… But here is where I met one of the most interesting people I met on the trip. His name was Scott. He was a young Englishmen from Manchester who looked more Irish than any Irish person I saw the whole week. He had a ginger complexion, red hair, and a hooked nose. Mistakenly thinking he was a ‘native,’ (Allan will appreciate that jargon) I asked him for directions to the local TI. He had no clue, but together we found it. Later in the day we ran into him again, being one of the few people on the streets in this dead city. We all had lunch, and then we planned on meeting for dinner at St. Patrick’s Bridge (literally a bridge where we rendezvoused). After dinner, Paul returned to the hostel, while Scott and I went out to Brewery Bars. We picked the Franciscan Well, which just had a beer fest a few days earlier. It was really fun and the beer was all made right on location. After, we parted ways and the next day Paul and I went to Blarney to see the castle and the grounds. Blarney is really worth a visit. There is a lot to do on the grounds of the castle. Our last night at the hostel was slow but I met some South Africans and Australians. We talked about our home countries.

The bus ride to Dublin was long and it rained all day and everyday we were there. But I didn’t let that put a damper on things. We really had to stretch our imagination to make Dublin work for us. There are some worthwhile sites like the Guinness factory and Trinity College (Book of Kells), but really not much else—St. Patrick’s Cathedral was under slight renovation but there was scaffolding everywhere. Paul and I definitely had the best Hostel experience in Dublin. We met really cool people, I played chess with an Italian chess wizard, played cards, the receptionist gave me a ticket to see a live DJ, which was sweet, and we met an American girl name Camey who was traveling with her mother all over Europe. They were a nice breath of fresh air from all the Europeans. Paul and I finally learned how to eat cheaply while traveling—it’s called Tesco, the value store, and microwaves or ovens in the hostel kitchen. 3 euros we had a full dinner! The Guinness tour was well worth the money. We got a free pint of fresh Guinness which covers half the price (maybe more, because it was so damn delicious) and you get a tour. Normally a pint = 5 Euro in bars!

The last day it was raining and Paul and I were seriously out of options so we headed to the airport five hours early. But that was alright I learned how to make friends in airports. Learned another card game from a group of Americans called 10-1. As soon as I got back to Wroxton I ran to the North Arms for food and a warm welcome from Gary and Nicky! Traveling is really fun, but exhausting. I went to sleep as soon as I returned to the Abbey because I eagerly awaited Carrie’s arrival. She was in Italy all week. The whole week cost just under 900 American dollars.