Hey all, what's the story?!
Upon arrival into the gloriously green country of Ireland, our expectation of the country and the people in it was met instantly. An oddly-light misty rain greeted us, and the reply we got when asking a stranger about the bus whereabouts was "I haven't a clue!" accompanied by a huge, friendly grin. Minutes later we located said bus. After a brief discussion about the weather and where we needed to go with the driver, we were comfortably in our seats.
Ahh, the ease of an English-speaking country.
Our first stop was Dublin, with it's colorfully jam-packed streets and big-city feel. After settling in to our hostel, we threw ourselves into the mass of locals and tourists alike to explore. We hadn't even walked for ten minutes before hearing the various street performers playing and singing their hearts out to some traditional Irish tunes. We even passed by a little man dressed as a leprechaun...yep, that happened.
After getting some food and a coffee at a cute cafe, we spent a bit more time roaming the streets before heading back to our hostel. We had a small rest before deciding it was Guinness time. It's not hard to find a pub in Ireland, so we learnt to choose by music. We'd also heard lots about a big pub called Temple Bar, so we walked there to check it out. The pub itself was pretty cool, amd even though it's huge it was packed with people. The live band was unreal. Two guys absolutely-I'm going to be extremely Canadian here-GIVIN' ER on a banjo and guitar. Everyone was clapping and singing along. We were happily drinking our Guinness and relishing in the rowdier side of Pub Life in Ireland.
After our short stop in Dublin, we made our way south to Galway. A smaller city set on the coast, Galway was amazing for it's food and drink choices. One favorite of mine was Cupan Tae. A small and intimate traditional tea house with a simple, but delicious food menu. The tea choices were no bore, let me tell you! We could have sat for days trying to decide. Once you do finally make your choice, you are served your tea in the cutest teapot imaginable. Add some homemade goodies on top of that...heaven. Another great food stop was McDonaghs, where we tried the famous fish and chips. Mmm, perfect for a night of beer drinking. Speaking of drinking, the night scene was very alive! Girls in sky-high heels and wedges and guys in their track pants rule the streets. Shouting, dancing, and drinking their way from pub to pub. If watching that isn't entertaining enough you have a wide array of live-music to choose from. From the streets to the pubs, men and women play everything from Sum 41 hits to Galway Girl (Ps I Love You, anyone?). It makes for a great night out.
We spent a day on a tour of Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. Weather was extremely good to us, with the sun out and the sky clear. 650 ft high, 8 km long, the cliffs are quite spectacular. My camera was busy ;)
We met one old man we'll never forget...Andrew and I were walking along the ocean, and on our way back into town there was a 5 foot-nothin' man clad in wool and thick black-rimmed glasses, sitting on a bench not far from us. He struck up a conversation, and after about 20 minutes of chatting, we had barely understood a word! Andrew got the bits about salmon coming into the harbor, and how they are building a temporary bridge for the summer festivals(I'm pretty sure he called it "craziness"). At one point I brought up how great the history throughout Europe is, his reply? "Aggh, yeeah, the stone age and all that craic". Hilarious. His lack of teeth and strong accent made for an interesting chat. Never-the-less, his friendly manner made our day, "Ahh, I'm sure I'll be seein' yees again".
On a rainy day, I convinced Andrew to come to Bikram Yoga with me. An hour and a half of yoga in the hot room was enough to almost kill us! The good thing is, as we were readying our umbrellas to walk home in the rain, a guy from the class offered us a ride. We happily accepted, and after chatting during the drive we decided to meet for a drink later. After a much-needed shower we met up with Brian (a local from Galway) and his girlfriend Amy (from Wisconsin) in a quirky family-owned pub full, from floor to roof, with artifacts the family has been collecting since the 1800's. We spent the evening pub-hopping and chatting away. At the end of the night Brian and Amy invited us to stay with them. Their house is just outside of Galway, over-looking an old castle and farmers fields. We had such a good time staying with these two. They cooked great meals, Brian sang and played guitar for us, and we all snuggled in by the fire in the evening. It was so homey and comfortable. I cant tell you how nice it was to wake up to tea and crepes in the morning! Amy, you are a gem. They showed us around Galway some more (Brian is actually the one who introduced us to Cupan Tae, McDonaghs, and more great restaurants), from the busy streets, to the harbor.
Our last morning Amy cooked us a traditional Irish breakfast, complete with Black Pudding. They call it the Farmers breakfast. The array of meats and sausages will keep you full until supper! Andrew loved it all, especially the lemon-tasting sausages. Mentally, I, being Miss Picky, didn't enjoy the Black Pudding. As far as taste goes, it was quite salty, but I couldn't help thinking that I was eating dried blood... The rest was great though. And I am happy I tried the infamous Irish Black Pudding.
After four days in Galway, we decided to bus it down to Dingle, an even smaller town set on the coast with a beautiful back-drop of grassy hills. We spent two nights in a cozy bed and breakfast, and two nights in a hostel, 15 minutes walk from town. We delved further into the traditional Irish music by night, and walked, hiked, and biked our way through Dingle and the Peninsula by day. It was the perfect place to relax and enjoy the quieter side of Ireland. Our 40km bike ride around the Dingle Peninsula was a major highlight. The day started out cloudy, but slowly the sun peeked out and decided to stay. We took our time biking along, stopping at some of the cute cafes, pottery shops, and amazing viewpoints along the way. It didn't start raining until we were ten minutes from Dingle. We made it to a pub just in time.
We left Ireland extremely pleased with our experiences. The food, the pubs, the locals. It was a comfortable and relaxing country to travel. The vibrant green, sheep-filled pastures will always be picture-perfect in our minds. Ahh and the sun we got...we were kissing Mother Nature right on the lips for the weather she gave us. Luck of the Irish??
Now, I'm sitting in Allora. This old lady has been our home for the past 5 nights in Iceland. She's a dark blue, 1995 Toyota Corolla. With the back seats folded, front seats pushed up, we've created a perfect home in the back.
A&C's adventure is coming to a close, and our emotions are running high. Our excitement to see everyone is building, but there is a form of anxiety that comes with. What will it be like to settle back into life in GP? Our mixed emotions have really got us reminiscing about these last 6 months around the world. The people we have met, the crazy and adventurous things we have seen and done, the lessons we have learned, and the outlook on life we have both created along the way.
It's been a wild ride. Four more days to go.
With love,
A&C
No comments:
Post a Comment