Dublin

Friday, March 23rd
We arrived in Dublin right around dinner time, threw our stuff into the hostel and headed to the Temple Bar district! Maddie had arrived earlier that day (she had been in Florence with her family during the week) and her friend who studied in Dublin showed us around the entire weekend. It was so nice to have a student showing us around for our last stop of spring break!

We only went to bars with live music, and at the first one- Messr McGuires- we got to sit inside the four level bar and overlook the river. The place was absolutely packed but was still fun to look at all the memorabilia of Irish rugby players, old jerseys, and plaques of all sorts. It was right along Daniel O'Connell St. (the famous guy from Cahersiveen, the big bus tour). Caroline, Emma, Ashley and I wanted to go walk around and see other places so we split from the group and ventured to three other bars. The REAL Temple Bar was stop number 2 where a really lovely bachelorette party was celebrating. Thanks to the lack of front teeth and make up we just danced the night away with them! At every bar we went to, we had the musician play "Galway Girl", which is also the song Gerard Butler plays to Hillary Swank in PS I Love You. I felt like I was in the movie! (Click the middle to play the song I will never get sick of listening to!)

Onto bar number three! At the Auld Cauldron there was enough bodies in there to feel like a can of sardines. For some reason the bartender felt the need to come out and dance with us, especially with Caroline. But we all just kind of ignored it, spun each other, Ashley and I waltzed around, and again singing out loud when Galway Girl came on. After the bartender's friends started to come over, that was our sign to leave. The Auld Cauldron had too many old men. Where are the young business lads we were told would be swarming the bar?! It really didn't matter, we were having too much fun and wanted to go to one last place before bar close.

The final destination was the Quays Bar. It was much less crowded and laid back. We sat up at the bar chatting, and two business men in suits came up to us. Balding with wedding bands, they were very nice and the four of us girls talked to them about their wives and kids, as well as how they are avoiding going home (seriously, what is with the old guys?!). And plus, since it was 1AM, the kids would be asleep I assumed. But with the past few days in Ireland, people are just genuinely friendly and will talk to you about anything really. Since we only had another day left, their accents made for easy listening. we were kicked out at 2, and made way back to the hostel. Nighty night!

Satuday, March 24th

We didn't really have a plan for the day, and we slept in until 10. We had to go to a different hostel since the first hostel didn't have enough room for all of us to stay the second night. the Four Corners Hostel was so much nicer and a great walking distance from the Guiness Factory! We walked along the river that went through town and the rowing team was out practicing! Ok, I would definitely settle for a rower if I can't find a rugby player. They smiled as I took a picture, great start to my day thats for sure.

Wasn't sure what to expect going to the Guiness Factory but I was absolutely amazed at how clean, modern, and educational it was. Basically a science museum for beer drinkers I actually learned how they make beer! Where all the fun stuff was used to be the old factory (they've obviously expanded), and there were 8 different levels of exibits, and instead of going through each and every one, I'd rather just talk about my three favorite parts! Just go there before you die and you can see all the things I did. Or look at my map when you see me next :)

Thanks to science camp and starting off in engineering, I still have a soft spot for science. The 3rd and 4th floor talked about the brewing process: malting of the barley and blending that with flaked barley to make grist, worting the grist (adding water so its kinda like porridge), putting it in copper barrels. Boiling the hops and adding it to the barrels. Adding yeast to the hops and given time to ferment, and vuola! guiness beer, only 4 ingredients needed: barley, water, hops, and yeast. We got a little tester of beer after walking through all the steps.

Next favorite part was the marketing and advertising floor. All of the toucans, slogans, beer bottles from the beginning of history were there. They had interactive touch screens where you could watch every commercial ever made about Guiness. My favorite was the "Bicycle Built for Two" commercial (from the 1950s maybe?), a couple riding a tandem bike on a picnic and the man perfectly pulls out a cup of Guinness from the basket, "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'd go crazy all for the love of you". Made me laugh and sing along. I sat and watched commercials for a good 15 minutes until I realized I lost my friends. Oops, time to go find them!

Met up right before the last and final and BEST part of the factory: the Gravity Bar! A completely glassed in circular bar, the entire city of Dublin could be seen. Thank goodness it was another sunny day, we could see for miles beyond city limits and I didn't realize how big Dublin actually was. Right away Kelcie (the charmer) met some Australians, so we talked with them a while but Maddie and I were much more interested in taking pictures and enjoying our pint of Guiness. It was like being rewarded for going up all 8 stories... even though they had escalators.

 Didn't take long for us to realize we were hungry and tired from the night before, so we headed back for naps and then we went out for dinner back at Messr McGuires (I swear thats not a spelling error, that's how its supposed to be) and had to get some fish and chips. Being over in Ireland/UK, I had yet to get any. So of course I ordered it and I felt like I was being fed a small whale. The fish was huge! But still absolutely delicious, and I hope Ricky can learn how to make the perfectly beer battered fish since that was my one and only time I got to eat it.

We had a 3 hour long dinner, and thanks to the past week the nap from before still didn't really do us justice in getting our energy back. Called it an early night because in the morning, the group was splitting up for the last time before rejoining back in Florence.

Sunday, March 25th
Ashley, Maddie and I had to depart to Cork since that's where we were flying out of, everyone else was out of Dublin. Since they didn't have to travel again, they all went on another day long bus tour, Kelcie stayed back and Maddie went, and was going to meet us in Cork later. So Kelcie, Ashley and I decided to go on a walking tour of Dublin and actually learn more than just about beer!

Starting off in the Viking/Medieval area, a very old and tired church used to be the home of a drinking establishment. And a brothel. Seems like it's been cleaned out a little since then, but churches were also very common around Ireland, so as we walked along we would see plenty!

Next stop: Temple Bar area. Much quieter during the day, and learned how its always been a famous tourist place, but back in the 1700s it was an area owned by the Temple Family. With gardens and such they opened up a drinking establishment. Then there came about a classical music concert every year. Then in the 1980s after lots of years of wear and tear, they tore the whole area down, built up small shops, and now it is what it is!

We had a coffee break. Still didn't have my rugby shirt, and instead of sitting I went out on a hunt to find the best one I could find. When I have my mind set on getting something, I'm too stubborn to let it go. A little souvenir shop wasn't even open but they let me in. Their adult ones were okay, but I found one hidden in the back without any other of the same kind. PERFECT FIT and i was in love! Mission accomplished, so if you see me wearing a white and green collared shirt with navy and white stripe sleeves, thats my prized rugby shirt. I wear it all the time in Italy but don't really care. It might lure in a rugby player someday! Mom always says to dream big!

Next stop, City Hall. Not sure if I mentioned this from before, but Dublin is known to the rest of the country of Ireland as an outcast city. Dubliners are not true Irish since they were under British rule for so long, the cultures just kind of blended and its still obvious in Dublin today. City Hall was built by the  Brits in the 1700s, the main square still filled with the original cobblestone. Thousands of Irish people were executed here for the smallest of reasons.

One story I remember was a 12 year old boy was about to be executed and it was raining out. Lady Justice was looking over him to the left with her scale in her left hand. The British built it the same time in the city hall, but this Lady Justice was different: the scale balances truth and fairness, yet every time it rained in Dublin (almost every day) her arm would cover up half the scale, making it completely unbalanced. The boy blamed the British for ruining their country, and Lady Justice proved it. Then he died. But the scales are still not fixed to this day.

On the back side of City Hall is Dublin Castle. Where the jail part is, the walls are 12 feet thick and there are only 2 known people escaping, the O'Donnell brothers, and one survived to tell the tale. Basically 2 families were feuding, the O'Neill family lived in the castle, they captured the opposing brothers, and were going to kill them to prove to the other family they were better. Somehow they got away but the one brother died as they were trekking through the Irish countryside in the dead of winter without shoes. 15 years or so later, the O'Neills ended up poisoning the brother, so he still died at the hands of his enemies.

There is a large royal garden behind the castle, a big open grass area and a precious little fountain with flowers. I could identify a few thanks to obtaining a green thumb last summer working at Cal's, but the really funny thing about the garden is the massive wall on the other side. Just a slab, not enclosing anything. We learned that it was to block out the views of the slums from any royalty that wanted to visit Dublin. There is also the Chester Beety library next to the garden. He was a billionaire, the "King of Copper" to the Irish, so with his money and rare collection of Egyptian papyri and other books, he made a library and was considered an honorary citizen of Dublin.

After chatting with our tour guide about how much we loved PS I Love You, she said that the bar where they filmed was only a 15 minutes walk away! Either keep to the tour, or ditch early to have enough time to see that and catch our bus. Obviously we ditched the tour to hopefully make it to the bar, and that it's open!

Whelans bar was closed. Definitely worth the walk, just to say that we went where that movie was filmed. Dang it! Kind of a big bummer, but luckily we still got pictures outside, then made way to the bus station. Tour of Dublin was officially over.

After saying goodbye to Kelcie and meeting Maddie later that day, Ashley and I had a nice bus ride back to Cork where all the Irish adventures started. Since it was sunday and we got into town around 7, no pubs or restaurants were open. Our only option was Subway. Not too mad about it, since it was the first time eating it at all over break. Definitely enjoyed it actually!!! Picked up Maddie from the bus station where she was nearly in tears. She had half of her seat taken up by a fat guy that clearly invaded her personal space. Luckily Cork seemed to cheer her up and we walked around town for a bit. Going from the crazy streets of Dublin to the quiet peopleless streets of Cork was a drastic 24 hour change.

Back to the Aaron house where our friend Tracey greeted us with a big smile and hug, we got snuggled into our beds and passed out. 3:30AM wake up call for our 6:30AM flight! We caught it in plenty of time with a layover in Milan, then train back to Florence. What a wonderful, jam packed spring break conquering three countries and a new city at least every other day. Thanks for reading! Next stop: GREECE! Much love, AF

Where's Doolin? You're Here. See map of Doolin.

Thursday March 22nd
We drove along the coast for three hours at night, and as corny as it was, the moon made it so easy to watch the waves the entire time. We were on a single-lane road with those stone walls on both sides that served as gates to keep the cows in. I was jealous of the cows because they got to hang out along the ocean and eat all day. The road was really bumpy, and I think some of the girls felt car sick, but after four or so hours we made it into Doolin! We talked to the bus driver since we were the last stop to see if he knew where our hostel was. "The bus stop is across the street, you picked the right hostel or else you'd be in the dark!" and he pointed and there was the Doolin Hostel!


We got off the bus and right away started laughing. The main street of Doolin is the hostel, a farm with chickens, two souvenir shops, and a pub. Felt like middle of no where Iowa, but an upgrade to Ireland! Crossed the little street, and I kinda crooked my head to the side, baffled. Our hostel on the outside seemed more like a glorified barn itself, but we walked in and I still couldn't stop laughing. I was already in love with Doolin!






Inside we could still smell the fresh paint and there was new hardwood on the floor of the living room area. Anthony, a short salt and pepper bearded man greeted us with a huge smile. Besides a couple backpacking through Ireland, we were the ONLY people in the hostel. But it was really homey and felt like the Flor house back in Bloomington- before the addition. The front desk was a table pushed into the corner with a clipboard, and there was an cork board on a wall with one laminated white sheet of paper.

Nearest bank: 16 KM. Tourist Center: at Cliffs of Moher, 6 miles- about 1.3 hours walking. Rent a bike: out the door, turn right. Ferry: out door turn left. Golf: out the door turn left, 500 mtrs. Pub: out the door turn left. Nearest post office: Lisdoonvarna. (and now my FAVORITE PART) WE DON'T SELL STAMPS- FILMS- PONYRIDES OR HOTDOGS. WHERE IS DOOLIN??? YOU ARE HERE- LOOK AT A MAP OF DOOLIN.

That sent me over the edge, Caroline, Emma, Ashley and I were laughing so hard we started to cry. A few of the girls who were not so happy to know we were actually in the middle of no where had scared looks on their face. I was already excited to drop my stuff and go to the only pub in town, and see what the day brings tomorrow. I roomed with Caroline, Ashley, and Emma in the corner room and I felt like I was at summer camp: big wooden bunk beds, floral comforters, and two smaller windows. We did have our own bathroom (some of the other hostels they were communal). After changing our clothes we were ready to go out and meet some Dooliners!


Funny how Minnesota things seem to pop up everywhere. Right when we walked into O'Connors pub, a Minnesota license plate was hanging up on the wall! Another classy drinking establishment, brass handrails along the mahogany bar, wooden tables and furniture everywhere. Cozy yet surprisingly big for a small town bar, and it had the typical mix of tourists. A lonely business guy from New York in a Burberry shirt and shiny shoes was there, along with a couple and their daughter sitting in the corner. A group of college kids were sitting in the booth and a group of elderly midwesterners sat at the table behind us. The live music consisted of a big burly flute player and an accordion. They were really good and even sang to some songs!

The cutest person in the bar was the owners son, Sean, who chatted with us and during one of the songs was river dancing! I took a video on my camera, and shortly after another bar tender warned us he had a girlfriend, and that he was 18. Too young for me! But still another very nice Irish "lad". The other bartender also told us to not try to attempt river dancing, because those that do not know how usually think they can after a few pints. That's when it goes from river dancing to liver dancing! How clever.



Also talked to two guys backpacking who were from Canada, Brien and Dave. We had very similar accents and I talked to Brien about the boundary waters and hunting, and Italy of course. Seems to me that Canada is mostly like the boundary waters, he has a cabin on a lake his family basically has all to
themselves. And since I don't know much about guns or hunting, I just bragged about my brother and dad and how they've kill a few deer, pheasants and ducks. He showed me a picture of the mountain goat, mountain lion, and elk he shot. They really have the wilderness factor up there! But too cold for me, still really nice to chat with down to earth people that don't make fun of the Minnesoooota accent.

The live band had stopped playing and Sean announced last call. We closed down O'Connors with the same people from before. The Canadians were at another hostel ten minutes away and they had to put their head lamps on to show the way- Doolin had 6 street lights and they were all by the bar. Haha its not everyday you see people take those out of the     ir back pockets everyday. We went up into our bunks, opened the window to hear ONLY the ocean and crashed. Can't wait to see what Doolin is like with a little sunshine! Since all I've seen so far was a few buildings and a bus stop. Good night!



Friday March 23rd
The town rooster woke me up. I don't think that has ever happened, maybe once when Ricky would wake me up way back when but a real rooster? The laughs already started, and since there is only one bus that comes to Doolin that goes to Dublin (the final destination), we had 4 hours to rent bikes, get to the cliffs of Moher, get back, and catch the bus! (that picture is the view out our window) Thanks to the lovely info sheet, we went out the door and turned right like it said. Hilly, sunny, and plenty of cows along the way, we had a 15 minute walk to the bike rental place.
GORGEOUS Irish country side, all we passed were a few really small houses and a church.

Anthony kindly called the other hostel that had the bikes and they had 7 ready for us! We were all so excited and glad it was beautiful out and so excited to take cute pictures up at the cliffs, we got going at a very quick pace! The picture above with the horse is my favorite. Thanks to being with Ellie in the horse barns at ISU, I learned how to call them over: either by clicking, snapping fingers, or whistling. He came over right away with his silly haircut and let me pet him. I wanted to take him home!! But we had a bike ride to do, and luckily I was able to say goodbye after our (long awaited, you'll find out why) return!






It was like we were the Von Trapp children with Maria (Sound of Music, if you didn't know what I was referencing), riding our bikes through the country side and singing, going no-hands, and loving our nice little ride! Or so we thought. Ten minutes in, we were dying. Not necessarily because we were all out of shape, but because we were on a 50 degree incline. And if you think I'm exaggerating, there were signs warning of the incline and we were on bikes! So much for dressing cute, I soon put on my "We are getting to the cliffs no matter WHAT" face.



Cars drove by and giggled, some pointed and laughed, tour busses passed with confused looks. Was it really going to be that much of a challenge? The couple with their daughter at the bar slowed down after coming back from the cliffs in their car. They said we had quite the ride ahead of us. The road sign said 7 KM left to the cliffs. Oh sh*t.

Kate had already cried, the songs stopped, and we got off our bikes 2 times to walk because the incline was too intense for the gears/I had no endurance to be able to make it up. I still smiled the whole time because I saw this as a workout, where to some it might have felt like a death wish. Who can say they survived the 9 KM trek that was 100% UPHILL?? We kind of split into a faster group and a slower group, but in the end we made it! Close to the cliffs, a couple hundred meters out it was downhill. I was so happy to finally have seen the tourist gates. An hour and a half to get there; and the hostel said it would only take that long walking. Yeah, right.

We left our bikes by the guards because I don't think they would steal them. Or even want to steal them, because obviously we were crazy for biking there. The Cliffs of Moher were unbelievable!!! One of Europe's seven natural wonders of the world, I believed it! We were 700 feet up, and it was absolutely beautiful out! There was a light house out on one end, and in the other direction there were miles of these cliffs, sharply jutting in and out, with the waves below looking itsy bitsy. Thank you Anna Hanson for the recommendation, and the bike ride made it even more rewarding!!









Sweaty, still catching our breath, we (stupidly) decided to kind of go over the guard wall and sit on the edge of the cliffs. They do not have safety nets, and I barely had my ankles over the edge, even typing this makes me still sick to my stomach to thing we even did that! After a few photos, one of the workers came over and said we should stick to the sidewalk. Obviously, not the best decision but on a good note that was my closest near death experience while studying abroad (so far!).

We headed inside to the big museum/cafe and ate some lunch. It quickly got cloudy out and we could see some nice storm clouds rolling in. With an hour and a half left to catch our bus, we were not worried about making our entirely down hill trek back; oh no, we were excited for that but it started to rain. Torrential down pour, cats and dogs type of rain. It was cool to watch it come in over the cliffs and from the ocean but holy crap! No wonder why its so green here, it rains about every day! That made for many worried looks because we were going to have to bike back through that. We crossed our fingers (I actually prayed), that it would blow over by the time we were done eating. Where did the sunshine go?!

Our prayers were answered, it blew over in ten minutes and we booked it to our bikes in case it started to rain again. The seats were a little wet, but there was no way we could miss that bus! After only taking a lovely 1.5 hours to get up to the cliffs, take a guess to how long it took us to get back? From start point at the tourist center to getting back to the bike rentals, 25 minutes was a great return time! Thanks to my parents having me bike around with my competitive brothers on streets and mountain biking, I learned how to

crank the gears to be really high and just FLY over potholes and crap in the road. At one point a motorcyclist past me and gave me the thumbs up, I have no idea where the rest of the group was, so near the end I stopped by one of the stone walls and took pictures of the sheep. Really got some alone time and soaked all of it up, I could have stayed in Doolin for a week if I had to!










We regrouped and made it back to the bike rental place. Not only was the bike owner surprised, but so was Anthony when we made it back to our hostel! He just laughed at us, glad we returned in one piece and dry. We had about 20 minutes to just relax and watch out the front window for the bus. Another fun memory in Doolin, and what a trip! Could you see why I was obsessed?? Definitely going back there, and if I have to bike then so be it. We caught our bus and were excited for the LAST place of spring break: DUBLIN!!! And Maddie was going to be there waiting for us! (She was with us in Paris and returned home to see her brother and his wife. So she met us in Dublin for the second weekend we had. YAY) Nothing will ever beat Doolin, but we had our fun in Dublin, too! Much Love, AF

Galway

Wednesday March 21

After the fun, lazy day riding a bus through Kerry National Park all day, we were ready to get into Galway and see some nightlife with people our age and tour around the pretty little port town. We arrived around 10PM after a layover type thing in some random small Irish town where we danced in the train station and getting crazy looks from people.

A block from the train station, our hostel was really easy to find because Galway is very open and spread out. There was also a giant "Kilnay Hostel" sign outside, so that was a hint it was there, too. We walked in and it was surprisingly super modern, secure, and just all around cool. Dropped our stuff off and headed out to a bar with live music. We refused to go to a dance club or a bar that did not have live music (and we were successful with that goal the entire trip), so after recognizing some acoustic songs outside one of the bars, we went inside.

The Skeff bar was full of American students, and we found a little booth in the corner and with some pints in hand, we sat and listened to music for two hours! A few guys from New York or something came over and literally pulled us up from the booth and danced around. It was such a fun place and wasn't blasting rap music... this made me miss the country bar in Ames a little bit, actually.

They brought us to another bar, The Front Door, where there were six different levels that felt like a saloon/pub. Big wooden accents, brass handles and picture frames everywhere; I felt like we took a time machine a couple hundred years back. Galway was clearly a study-abroad destination because every person I met was either from the USA or the UK, except the one guy that started speaking Italian to me (since I studied in Italy), and I still to this day cannot speak good Italian. We realized we both spoke spanish (Emma helped me out because she did, too), had a nice convo, dipped out of that quickly and found the other girls chatting it up with some Irish people. Sleeping from waking up early (yes, 8:00AM to us is early), and headed back to our hostel. Good night Galway!




Thursday March 22nd
Another pb and j sandwich for breakfast with coffee, we really had no idea what there was to do in Galway. I was kind of getting tired of the bigger city areas, and really just wanted to relax since it had been a week into spring break. There were many streets filled with shops, such as TK Maxx (not TJ Maxx), department stores, and fast food. They had Pizza Hut, Subway, and lots and lots of pubs. Kind of like suburban Minnesota, except they had some historical things, too.

Near our hostel was Eyre Square, a huge grassy area where people were laying out and walking around. There were huge maple trees, plenty of dogs, tulips, and giant iron sculptures. We made our way down just about every street, stopping into little shops and just being really care-free. Lunch was at a restaurant that reminded me of a place in Uptown. Had minestrone soup and garlic bread- it was cold out but the sun stayed around all day long!











My favorite part of Galway was spending hours near the boat docks, main pier, and along the beach. We dangled our feet over the wall of the pier, watching a huge flock of swans swimming around in the ocean. Fishing boats were way off shore, but the seagulls swarming around made it obvious what they were doing.













Emma, Caroline, and I walked to the beach where there was nobody there. A man was playing fetch with his giant labrador (made me think if Ricky or Dad was doing the same with Allie), but we had the rocky/shell-filled beach to ourselves. I had to stick my feet in the ocean since it's my favorite place to be. VERRYY CHILLLY but so worth it!





On our way back into town, we passed the church that Christopher Columbus made his farewell to Europe speech in before going to America. Still can't believe the history some of these places I've visited have, and they don't even seem that old!








Near there, all of the girls wanted to get Claddaugh rings, a silver band with two hands holding a heart in the middle. I was not really into getting one because, depending on if the ring is upside down or right side up, that shows to the world if you are single or dating someone. Not something I felt like advertising, so I made it my goal to get a rugby shirt before leaving Ireland. I would get much better use out of that than a ring (I lose jewelry like its my job, too). We also passed the first cupcake shop I've seen since being abroad. Always up for cupcakes, so I got myself a vanilla red velvet cupcake and it was quite delicious!

With 7 girls shopping around town, we spent the whole day just goofing around in Galway. We had another bus to catch to our next destination, grabbing another on-the-go meal at a grocery store. 3 hours later, we made it to my absolute favorite city of my study abroad adventure: Doolin! Much Love, AF

Ring of Kerry Tour!

Wednesday March 21st

So we departed Cork early in the morning to get to the city of Killarney where we did a 180 KM (111 miles, been getting used to the metric system since being over in Europe. Still wonder why the rest of the world BUT the US is on this kind of measurement system. Anyways...) tour of the Ring of Kerry, a historical loop along the southwestern coast of Ireland and through Kerry National Park. To help save some money, we stopped at a grocery store to grab some lunch and snacks for the 7 hour bus tour. For the first time on spring break, I was very relieved to just be able to sit in the back seat (literally), listen to the tour guide, and soak up everything without sore legs at the end of the day. So to get to Killarney, we took a 2 hour bus, then took the tour bus for 6 hours. Led by Dennis, the jolly white-haired Irish man that cracked many jokes and wore a checkered barret. Of course we were all just LOVING the accents, and the many families/old couples joining us on the tour.

After a wonderful introduction of Dennis and the adventures we had to look forward to the rest of the day, we made way northwest to the city of Killorgin, a bog-filled town with lots of wetlands, creeks, and rivers. It's one of the oldest towns in all of Ireland, and hosts Ireland's most historical and oldest festival known to the world thats still celebrated today. Known as the Puck Fair, the men of Killorgin go out into the McGillycuddy mountains, capture the largest wild goat, and bring him back to the city.



For three days, the goat stands up on a 40 foot pillar, wearing a crown, and considered the King of the city. The only reason people sleep is because they pass out from drinking too much, so its just a giant drinking fest while worshiping a goat. The goats name is Puck, and the Puck Fair symbol can be seen all over the city, with a crowned and confusing looking goat on the front.




The next place we went to was the Red Fox Inn, a little cafe that has a historical Irish village and people dressed up from the 1700's, but also specialize in Irish coffee! I could not drink this kind of coffee everyday, but we all enjoyed a nice cup of it before we made way to our next destination. If it wasn't already obvious, the Irish like to drink. So, it is only appropriate that they have coffee with nothing but the famous Jameson whiskey in it. So, with very black coffee, a shot of whiskey, whipping cream, milk, and sugar, this makes up a great little drink that is deemed appropriate to have at any time of day since coffee is in it.

The Red Fox Inn was in a large bog area, where large parts looked liked they had large squares cut out of the ground. Hard to describe, but basically the bogs were important because instead of using wood to heat homes (Ireland at one point was only 1% trees... today it's about 10%), they would cut out parts of the bog, lay it out to dry, and burn it. That's why Ireland has a funky smell to it through the country because some people still burn parts of bog stuff to heat their homes. It takes about 100 years for 1 inch of bog to grow, so there's conservation efforts going on now to try to save most of the areas. I had to giggle a little when Dennis told me this because if it's been working for thousands of years, why stop now? Anywho, onto the next town!

Many sheep and cow farms later, we made it to the coast! Dennis also said that cows in Ireland outnumber the people, which I believe after traveling through out Ireland. We stopped between Glenbeigh and Kells to have the first view of the ocean crashing into the cliffs/rocks with the rolling hills behind. Even seen PS I Love You or Braveheart? Felt like Gerard Butler would pop outta no where and ask me to marry him, THAT kind of magical! haha made it to the city of Kells, and they're famous for the worlds largest and oldest Celtic crosses. We saw some big ones driving through up on huge hills, they made the hills look small- must have been anywhere between 10-30 feet high, made of complete stone.

Now, this next time really made for some great inside jokes between the roommates and I. The quintessential Irish town (that big word description will be explained in a bit), Cahersiveen (pronounced  Kuh-har-suhveen) just had been repainted and cleaned up because of it's history with Daniel O'Connell.  He was born and raised here, then left to make history.

That guy, Daniel, basically rebelled against the British when they took over the capital of Dublin. The British made it illegal for any Catholic to vote/publicly show that they were Catholic. So he began Ireland's Catholic Emancipation in the late 1700's/early 1800's. He convinced the Brits to change the rule, and was a hero to the entire country-and he did it without any violence. We saw the house that he was born in the hillsides of Cahersiveen (which was a very, run-down skeleton of moss-covered rocks that used to be a house, picture above),

and saw the church that was built and named after him. In Dublin (later in the blog entry for Dublin), they named the central/main street after him, "Daniel O'Connell Street'.

Driving through Cahersiveen we saw some younger girls river dancing outside of their school, and before we made it outside of the city a camera crew hopped onto the bus. Dennis said that they stopped his tour around 6 months ago, interviewing people if they'd go back to visit Cahersiveen. It was in bad shape, so this crew showed it to the people, and since then the local folk did a great job at cleaning the place up!

They interviewed Caroline and Emma, asking questions like, "So, what didja think of the town?" and "So tell me, wouldja come back to Cahersiveen?" and being put on the spot, they responded with "I like the colors, it's very clean" and stuff like that. On their way out the door of the bus, the last person they interviewed was a guy that looked like a college professor. I think he had more time to think (or a silly-huge vocabulary) and went on a five minute explanation, and the only thing from his interview is that he thought it was "a quintessential Irish town." So now we mock the interviewers every once in a while in Irish accents and throw that answer out there. Learning lots already!

Moving on, we drove along the coast until the next town of Waterville. We didn't get out and stop, but Dennis said that this was where the most famous golf courses in Ireland were located. Having all four seasons in one day sometimes, celebrities and pros alike (for some reason I can only remember Sean Connery and Bill Clinton...) find these courses to be rough. A big one that Dennis talked about was Waterville Golf Links Golf Couse, might have to take Dad back there and I can bring extra golf balls and drive the cart, since playing golf isn't in my set of skills. The rain would also make it interesting, since that seems to have been popping in and out all day during our tour. Especially when we could see gusts of it coming from the ocean and big waves crashing practically onto the greens- I'd love to see someone I know try to play that course!

Next stop: Caherdaniel, a city with a great grey-sand beach that was on a large bay with the ocean to the left. Again, big hills, lots of green, a cow pasture on the other side, and still crazy obsessed about Ireland. Another great photo op, with the Scariff Islands in the distance. These two islands, the bigger one on the right, used to be where a monostary was. I don't think it would be easy to survive on an island like that since it really just looked like a giant flat rock, so now theres nothing on it and it was fun to hear Dennis crack jokes about crazy religions.

So we stopped in the city of Castlecove, which being in a deep cove along the ocean, was actually the most densely wiped out city during the plague, only 5% of the people surviving. Obviously they've regrown in population (people, cows, and sheep), and most of it is now a protected park land. Dennis told us about the actual hiking trail of the Ring of Kerry- a 160 KM hike that basically goes to all the parts the bus tour does, but without the bus. He said he did it in 8 days, and with the hills we were going up, I would have to train and mentally prepare myself to do. Maybe someday though, not anytime soon!

Stopped at a random parking lot at the tallest coastal point where there was a man with baby goats and sheep we could pet. Definitely took advantage of this opportunity, as well as the view! Dennis warned us these animals were not potty trained, and my favorite part was holding the sheep. Also go to see it passed around like a baby to all 50 other people on our tour, and by the end it looked like it wanted its mom. That was another fun little pit stop before the next town: Sneem!

All of these Irish town names are really fun to say and made me curious to why there were called this. Maybe you were wondering this too: well, I do not have an answer. But I dare you to try to say Sneem 10 times fast before you read on what its famous for. GO! Hope that was fun, so anyways, the town of Sneem, which in Gaelic means "knot", considers itself the strong point, the knot, of Ireland.


 Theres cool architecture and monuments, but the most famous one is in the center square of the 4 by 4 block-wide city. World Champion wrestler, Steve Casey, was from Sneem and won a few times in the 1940's.  It was a smaller statue (in the picture its on the right), so I'm guessing he was in a smaller weight class, but something a small town would be proud of! Reminded me of Iowa... and how much I still don't like the sport of wrestling. We drove into the mountain part of the park, where we saw 5 of the 9 tallest points in Ireland. More sheep, more cows: and passed through Molls' Gap.

Moll's Gap is a big gap between two mountains where a narrow lake runs through with a great view! It's also a place where a bunch of roads meet and either head north or south. So with a great deal of road signs, we took a photo and headed to the last leg of the tour. WHEW!

To kill some time, Dennis told us about the Muckross house, a 65 room mansion that was built in the 1830's, and soon updated for Queen Victoria's first visit to Ireland in 1861. Arthur Guiness later bought it, and then it was sold to some other family, and then given to Ireland for preservation type stuff. Must have been too expensive to clean, but we never actually got to see the house since it was gated and in the middle of the woods! Our last stop, Ladies View, had to do with Queen Victoria's visit that year because her ladies in waiting were in charge of setting up a picnic for the queen. But they were too distracted by the views of Upper Lough and Lower Lough Lake, and the scenery, they never set up the picnic and made the Queen pissed off. So, the Irish people renamed the point Ladie's View after those easily-distracted ladies (go figure!).

After a last hurrah of photos, a farewell to Dennis and the return to Killarney, we caught the next bus to  the second largest city in Ireland: GALWAY!!! Hope you enjoyed that tour as much as I did. More to come soon! Much love, AF