Counter-Clockwise Circle of the Emerald Isle.

I'm alive!!

Hello my friends. It's been about a month since I've actually sat down and wrote a blog about what I've been doing. Good thing that I don't have much to do now because my feet are about to fall off from all the walking I've been doing! Wish I had one of those spiffy devices that measures your steps..

Anyways! In the last month, I've seen so much of this phenomenal country. SO much. This ten day trip was life changing. I was lucky enough to travel with my very good friend and travel companion, Crystal, and we had the time of our lives. There is no way that I'm going to be able to describe every occurrence, so I will focus on the moments that were most special to me.

Killarney, Ireland

After a very late arrival, our time in Killarney was limited to one full day. Luckily enough for us, Killarney was booming the weekend we visited. It turned out that there was rally going on! The rally brought drivers from all over Ireland... and their interesting  fan base (think frat boys, America). The city was bustling and the fans were driving their supped up little Honda Civics around the city, attempting to make the most noise as possible. The locals hated it, but Crystal and I thought it was entertaining to watch the rally driver wannabes cruise around town. All of the drivers prepared themselves for the race the following morning--a 120+ km/hr (about 85 m/hr) race around the lakes of Killarney, which is where we were actually exploring the next day.

The morning rolls round and the weather was absolutely stunning and perfect for checking out the Gap of Dunloe. The Gap of Dunloe is a mountain pass between Macgillycuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountain that leads into the Killarney National Park. Sidenote, how freakin' perfect are those names. Our day started with a horse and trap ride to Lord Brandon's Cottage. At first I was excited for this, until I saw how unhealthy the ponies looked. Crystal felt uncomfortable too. We shared a carriage with a couple from Dublin and tried to enjoy the landscape without worrying too much about the pony.

The Gap of Dunloe was beautiful. I had heard that Kerry is one of the most gorgeous regions of Ireland and the Gap of Dunloe definitely did not disappoint.

Horse and Trap, Gap of Dunloe, Co. Kerry

Gap of Dunloe, Co. Kerry

Sunshine! Gap of Dunloe, Co. Kerry

Rally car doesn't even ruin a scenic pic, Gap of Dunloe, Co. Kerry

We ate some soup at Lord Brandon's Cottage and waited to board boats that would lead us through the three lakes of the Killarney National Park: the Upper Lake, Muckross, and Lough Leane. We were lucky enough to get a boat with a very witty Irishman and his dog, Charlie. As we traveled the three lakes, we crossed under superstitious bridges, listened to stories of the lake, admired fishermen, and relaxed. Crystal got so relaxed that homegirl even took a little nap on the boat!

Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

Charlie admiring the view, Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

Oh gurl we was excited, Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

ZzzZZZZzz, Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

After our peaceful day, returned and prepared for our next adventure--Cork!

Cork, Ireland

Cork, Ireland

In Cork, we met up with Anne, Eris, and Maggie! We explored the city for the day and celebrated Cinco de Mayo with tacos and drinks during the night. Something else notable? I ate an oreo muffin and it was delicious!! Why have I not thought of that?

Someone has to keep these two under control, Cork, Ireland

We decided to take the bus to Blarney Castle and Gardens the next day. It's kind of required to kiss the Blarney Stone if you come to Ireland, so we had to do it. By kissing this stone, you in turn receive the Gift of the Gab--which gives you the ability to BS. But really, it apparently makes you a better conversationalist and makes it easier to convince people. We'll see if this actually works when I go back to work, haha.

Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland

We all took our turns kissing the stone. Some of my friends used tongue apparently... but I thought a simple peck would suffice. For those of you shaking your fist yelling "germs!!"--please do not worry. They did indeed sanitize the stone before all the lip-locking action. But does this remove the stone's powers? Hm.

Blarney Castle had much more than just a magical stone. The castle grounds were covered with many gardens, including a poison garden, and other activities to take part in.

Get it guys?! Guys!?

Tireswing fun! Blarney, Ireland

Blarney, Ireland

Kissing the stone was cool and all, but I was more excited for the Birds of Prey exhibit that was visiting the castle grounds that day! I was very lucky and got to hold a barn owl named Otis! He was so cute and so light. For those who know me, I love owls! Never got to hold one before, so this was definitely a cool experience!

Otis the owl! Blarney, Ireland

We also got the opportunity to visit the English Market, where I marveled at all the food that I couldn't possibly eat all at once. This made me miss my outings to the Galway Market every Saturday.

The best thing about Cork? Just hanging out with my friends. They crack me up. It was a lot of fun.

Messin' around in the gardens, Blarney, Ireland

Kilkenny, Ireland

Kilkenny, Ireland

What an amazing little town Kilkenny is. This town was a bit of a last minute addition to our trip and I'm so glad we were able to stop by. The weather was still being kind to us! We only got a bit of a drizzle while here.

We spent most of our time in Kilkenny wandering through the cute little shops and marveling at vintage clothes that neither of us could afford. We also indulged in a few sweets--including delicious milkshakes. We really tried to stop spending so much money on snacks, but milkshakes are just too tempting!

Kilkenny castle sits in the middle of the town and has gorgeous grounds. If I had all of the grass that the lords of Kilkenny castle had.... well I don't even know what I would do. So much room for activities! This castle was neat to see. But it was fully restored and I still prefer the dilapidated castles covered with moss. :)

This point in our travels, we were starting to get tired. I was falling asleep around 10pm, which is really weird for me! Traveling is exhausting. We ended up going to see Iron Man 3 because we could not move our feet anymore. We found out that apparently in Ireland that you are charged two euro for a pair of 3D glasses! That's dumb. Bet that will be coming to America soon. The glasses are also hilarious though and we pretended to be moles... yeah we're just weird and this mole event has nothing to do with how tired we were.

Kilkenny Castle! And my finger, whoops. Kilkenny, Ireland.

Shopfronts in Kilkenny, Ireland

It's a double rainbow all the way across the sky!!! Kilkenny, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

Back to Dublin! ....back to a downpour. It sure did rain here. We didn't even want to go outside. The thing about Ireland is you have to force yourself to go outside, no matter what the weather is doing. Besides, it will probably change in ten minutes anyways!

We mainly took our time checking out some of the touristy stuff that we missed the last time we were there. This included seeing St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Dublin Castle. We saw the cathedral and well.. we tried to see the Dublin Castle, but it was closed! We were just kind of bummed just because we had to walk in the pouring rain and be sad. Weh.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland

We ate at a very unique bar where we had pizza and beer. As you can see, they had chicken's hanging on the ceiling. Crystal loved it. There was also a really good band playing that night. It was a cool place! I wish I would have wrote down the name.

Chickens! Dublin, Ireland.

Yeahhh mirror pics!! Dublin, Ireland.

The next day we walked down to the International Museum of Irish Art... and found out it was closed until next fall. We were just having really bad luck with places being open! Luckily, the IMMA had gardens that we could walk through. The gardens reminded me of Goblet of Fire. I was waiting for Cedric Diggory to pull me through the bushes and stop me from touching the Tri-Wizard cup. #sorrynotsorry

View of Dublin from the hostel, Dublin, Ireland

IMMA Gardens, Dublin, Ireland

Our main reason for coming back to Dublin was to visit the Guinness Storehouse! This place teaches you how to brew Guinness and what makes it distinct from other stouts. The place itself is pretty unique because it is shaped like a pint glass! At the end, you get to enjoy a real pint at the top of the Storehouse in Gravity Bar. Gravity Bar boasts awesome views of Dublin.

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland

Dublin was fun, but the whole time I was excited for our next stop--Belfast!

Belfast, N. Ireland

Top of the double decker bus to Belfast! N. Ireland

I've been wanting to go to Belfast since I first got to Ireland. There was a lot of conflict going on there in the beginning of the semester and the abroad office highly discouraged us from visiting. Luckily, it calmed down by May so we were able to visit!

This city is smaller than I expected, but chock full of culture. It's a shame that we only had a day and a half here because there was so much to see! We had two things we really wanted to do: the Titanic Experience in Belfast and the Giant's Causeway. When checking in to the hostel, the desk attendant told us that we have to go for lunch at St. Georges Market. Good thing we listened to him because this market was by far the best that I had gotten to visit in Europe (so far). There were so many choices of food to buy, all from a variety of different cultures. I settled on a sweet chili chicken crepe and a lemon cupcake. I also bought a cute tote bag with a fox on it after Crystal had purchased a tote with an otter on them. So cute.

CUPCAKESSSSS

Crystal leading the way through the market

Titanic Belfast was well worth the money. The Titanic was built in Belfast by Harland and Wolfe, a very famous shipbuilding company. I had visited a Titanic exhibition in San Francisco, but that exhibition focused on specific passengers of the Titanic. The exhibition in Belfast talked about how Belfast had one of the most advanced shipyards of its time and how the Titanic was actually built. Belfast was (and still is) really proud of this ship. There were set ups of the cabin styles, original blueprints of the ship, and statements from the workers. They also discussed the telegraph and actually showed the Titanic's SOS and final words. I thought it was extremely interesting. I'm glad I got the opportunity to learn some cool stuff.

Harland & Wolfe, Belfast, Ireland

Titantic Belfast, N. Ireland

Titanic Belfast, N. Ireland

We also walked around the west side of Belfast where the peace wall is. The peace wall is a wall that was built to separate the Catholic and Protestant communities. Most of the Catholics identify as Irish nationalists and most of the Protestants identify as British unionists. It made me feel a little uneasy walking through this part of town. It also made me feel extremely sad. Eventually the wall is going to be torn down in the future, but who knows what will happen when that goes on. Look up "The Troubles" if you're interested in this.

Near the peace walls are the Peace Murals. These murals are absolutely amazing.

Peace Murals, Belfast, N. Ireland

Peace Murals, Belfast, N. Ireland

We woke up the next morning to an extremely dreary day. It was unfortunate, but I really wanted to see the Giant's Causeway--regardless of the weather. So we boarded the coach and prepared for a very wet day.

Oh rain.... :(((((

We were nice and cozy under our five layers... in May.

The Giant's Causeway was so unique, I've never seen anything like it! Here's an interesting little snip-it that I borrowed from Wikipedia that explains the legend way better than I could:

The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realizes that his foe is much bigger than him. Fionn's wife, Úna, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow.

.... or you can believe that the causeway was created by a volcanic eruption. The giants story seems pretty legit to me though ;)

All worth it! Giant's Causeway, N. Ireland

Giant's Causeway, N. Ireland

Giant's Causeway, N. Ireland

We were struggling to stand still because the wind was blowing so bad. I really wanted to explore and I convinced Crystal to climb some of the rocks with me. A really hard gust of wind came and the next thing I knew, I was watching Crystal do some sort of weird slow motion flip and land on her back in the mud. At first I was shocked, then I saw Crystal just laying there laughing. So I broke into fits of laughter with her.

Immediately after Crystal fell!!! I laughed.

Even managed to get mud on the back of her hood... haha

So now we were completely drenched, and one of us was covered in mud. It was a very eventful afternoon, haha. We were kind of losing it a bit...

Squeak squeak.

Yeahhhhhh!

Can't leave without Superman-ing

The sun did decide to eventually come out though!

Hey! The sun came out!!

Soaking in the rays.

... and then it went away again after five minutes... oh well.

Love you sheep. You cute little things.

This trip was too fun. I saw some of the most beautiful landscapes in Ireland and got to experience it all with one of my favorite people that I met in Ireland. I would do it all again in a heartbeat! So happy that I was able to see all this while I was here.

Much more information to write about, stay tuned. x