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