On monday I departed for my 'paddy wagon' tour. There were ab out 25 of us on it and we all were loaded onto this big green bus at Connely station in Dublin. Our tour guide was thoroughly Irish, complete with red hair and a sizeable gut, making him oh so endearing. We left Dublin, and our first stop was the Pheonix wild park, where the Pope said mass to 1 million people in 2001 (i think) . The weather unfortunaly was cold and grey, with rainy patches. next we visited 'a bog.' Specfically the bog of Allen. This black stuff has been used by the Irish in rural areas for centuries to provide fuel for heat etc. We then arrived at Clonmacnoise: Ireland’s Golden Age Celtic Crosses. This place was wierd, its an old monastic graveyard, dating back to decades ago. extremely beautiful but also a bit eery, we wandered around taking photo's and also had a slide show, which was more like a bed time story. So after a long day of driving we arrived in the west of Ireland in Galway- party city, and that is where the fun began. after a stroll around this student town, we hit the pub, for some hearty Irish stew- mmmmmmm its AWESOME! and some cider and black current. the cider in Ireland was fantastic, and aided with blackcurrent, it was just like a lollie drink- perfect for yours truly (but not the next morning!), who as any one who knows me can attest to despises beer. although I must say I did try guinness and blackcurrent, thanks to my canadian friend Tim, but was still not converted.....lucky cider rivals beer on the economic front. Galway is MAD city, filled with students, and with plpenty of pubs, night life and energy it well deserves its name in Ireland as the 'party city.' We then moved pubs to a seemingly small pub, which despite its diminuitive entrance had 3 floors- very cool! By this stage we were all quite relaxed, and getting to know each other more. The pub had a live band, which was really good, and gave the place a lot of ambience and atmosphere. So after a few more drinks, and some fine Irish melodies Tim and I stumbled back to our hostel. I d love to go back to Galway- if your in Ireland, its a must!
The next day we had an early start, being 9am. We headed south towards the the lunar landscape of the Burren, this old castle at the edge of the wild Irish see. The landscape on this day was amazing! The Cliffs of Moher were absoulty gorgeous. they are these massive cliffs, with almost vertiical drops. my pictures are great. We hopped over the 'restricted area' and lay flat on our bellies at the edge of the cliffs to get thing I saw in Ireland. We then headed off to Kilarny to our next hostel. since our hostel was full, we had to stay at the paddy wagono one about 40 minutes out of Kilarny, it meant that we spent the night at the on site pub, and heard some almost non- understandable Irish accents. once again the cider was my friend, and we played pool, chatted away, and by the end of the night were all dancing away at 'in house disco.' - Happy times:)
Wednesday we got up and headed to Kilarny, for a Horse led ride through the National Park on the world famous Jaunting Cars. It was pretty good, although the weather couldn't have been more shit- you call this summer????? We headed off to the Blarney stone, after I got possibly THE best hot chocolate ever- if your reading this em S, it def beat blue zone! I kissed the Blarney stone- it was hot..... dah no, but it does mean that for the next 7 years i will be able to tell as many 'believable' lies as i like -apparently it gives you the gift of the Gab. finally we arrived back in Dublin, - after an interesting 3 days I returned to Jules, for some well needed rest.
The next day we had an early start, being 9am. We headed south towards the the lunar landscape of the Burren, this old castle at the edge of the wild Irish see. The landscape on this day was amazing! The Cliffs of Moher were absoulty gorgeous. they are these massive cliffs, with almost vertiical drops. my pictures are great. We hopped over the 'restricted area' and lay flat on our bellies at the edge of the cliffs to get thing I saw in Ireland. We then headed off to Kilarny to our next hostel. since our hostel was full, we had to stay at the paddy wagono one about 40 minutes out of Kilarny, it meant that we spent the night at the on site pub, and heard some almost non- understandable Irish accents. once again the cider was my friend, and we played pool, chatted away, and by the end of the night were all dancing away at 'in house disco.' - Happy times:)
Wednesday we got up and headed to Kilarny, for a Horse led ride through the National Park on the world famous Jaunting Cars. It was pretty good, although the weather couldn't have been more shit- you call this summer????? We headed off to the Blarney stone, after I got possibly THE best hot chocolate ever- if your reading this em S, it def beat blue zone! I kissed the Blarney stone- it was hot..... dah no, but it does mean that for the next 7 years i will be able to tell as many 'believable' lies as i like -apparently it gives you the gift of the Gab. finally we arrived back in Dublin, - after an interesting 3 days I returned to Jules, for some well needed rest.
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