Ireland - The Gorgeous (Yet Rainy) Emerald Isle...(Part 2)

Day 2 began with a trip to the famous Cliffs of Moher, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean! They range in height from 400ft to over 700ft and offer some of Ireland's most spectacular views. As you can tell from the pic it was a very misty/dreary day which was a major bummer, but we could still appreciate their beauty. The coolest part was listening to the tide rush in, underneath the cliffs and into the caverns - very atmospheric! :-)

After we left the Cliffs, we headed over to Lahinch - Ireland's surfing capital. On the way though - we had a bit of a traffic jam...(see pic) - only in Ireland! HA!





Lahinch was great though! Just to paint the picture for you, it was about 45 degrees outside and there were LOADS of people in hardly any clothing or protective gear that were surfing in the water there. It was hilarious to watch! This one old guy stripped down into his boxers and decided to sprint to the edge of the water and then plunge right in! We did a bit of exploring along the beach though and took some cool pics. Tex (from previous posting) was quite impressed with the beach as well. Some very gorgeous views indeed! It was also on this beach that for the first time I saw *true* sea foam green!














Once we'd had our fun on the beach, we took the Tarbert Ferry across the mighty Shannon River and headed toward the village of "Dingle." Yes...Dingle. HA! Quite a cute town and we ended up spending MUCH more time there than originally thought b/c our crazy bus driver Frank, ended up blowing out one of the tires on the bus (thankfully we weren't on there) and it took FOREVER to get it fixed on a Saturday in the small village of Dingle. Tex and I ended up eating lunch in a small fish and chips shop (they were delish by the way!) and we were very curious about the "fried Mars bars" that we'd been hearing about - and decided to split one. If you can get over what you're actually putting into your body, it's FAB! Takes a minute to get over the fact that you're eating a fried candy bar topped with ice cream, but you get over it quickly. Apparently they're ULTRA popular in the area though - so what kind of tourists would we have been had we not indulged??? ;-)

Once we had ALL tires on the bus properly inflated and a driver again, we set off through the Sliabah Mish mountains (although couldn't see much b/c of the dense fog and mist!) and then through Slea Head, which is a spectacular cliff road drive. The thing about the western coast of Ireland is that it appears to be so untouched by modern technology and modern civilization. It truly is a peaceful place where people can go to relax. Speaking of, we saw the place where the lead singer for The Cranberries lives! Out in the middle of nowhere, but a very nice place!

After our afternoon drive, we headed toward Killarney which is a very colorful town beside the National Park. Much more of modern city than the other places we'd seen, but still quite laid back and relaxed. Once we all checked into the hostel, we made a HUGE booking at a family owned restaurant in town and all 30 of us went for dinner. Excellent food and good company! Then we headed over to this pub/nightclub for a bit more Guiness and some dancing. :-)

The next morning we set off early for Blarney Castle, the home of the Blarney Stone! It was another cruddy weather day, but the castle looked GREAT with the low fog and rain - very spooky almost. The castle itself is over 600 years old and very cool to explore on the inside, although the steps were all completely uneven and slick (b/c of the rain) and I was paranoid about eating it right there in Blarney Castle! HA! My favorite part would have to be the gardens that you overlook when you get to the top of the castle. All of the greenery had started to turn with fall colors and it was gorgeous, as I'm from Texas and we don't really see many fall colors each year.

Now there are many speculations about the Blarney Stone (see Wikipedia's explanation here), but basically it is said that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you'll never be at a loss for words. Everyone from Sir Walter Scott to a host of American presidents, world leaders, and international entertainers have been eager to take advantage of the Blarney Stone magic!

I have to warn you though, that I only BLEW a kiss to the Blarney Stone once I saw the logistics of it all. I was imagining this great big stone that was up on some pedestal that people kissed, maybe by kissing their hand first and then touching the stone for the gift of gab. BOY was I wrong! Basically the "Blarney Stone" is a piece of an external rock wall of the castle that isn't even accessible by walking up to it. Instead you have to lie down on your back on this totally gross mat, then have some strange and quite grumpy Irish man hold onto your jacket while you lead your head backwards behind you (holding onto these two bars) and kiss this nasty looking stone wall. Legend has it that the locals pee on the Blarney Stone after hours to have a laugh at tourists' expense. Whether that's true or not didn't matter to me in the slightest - there was NO WAY I was putting my lips anywhere NEAR that thing! So basically I leaned back and inches before I was in contact with the stone, I blew it a kiss. They don't call me Howard Hughes for nothin! :-)

After stopping for a quick sandwich for lunch and a few souvenirs, we hopped back onto the famous bus and started to make our way back home toward Dublin. Along the way though, we traveled through the People's Republic of Cork and then eventually stopped at the Rock of Cashel in Munster, which contains the ruins of a cathedral on a majestic rock. The Rock of Cashel served as the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Most of it doesn't even have a roof and birds just fly in and out in an eerie way. Of course the weather was overcast when we visited and that combined with the birds flying around and the almost dead silence made for a spooky visit.

The grounds all around the cathedral had the most amazing headstones and cross markers though - like nothing I've ever seen before! There were zillions and some of them were REALLY old (as in hundreds of years old), to where you could barely even make out the writings on the stones. There were obviously many statues of the Virgin Mary as well all over the place. The fields surrounding the area where insanely green, in true Irish fashion and that was nice to see. No wonder they call it the Emerald Isle...

Anyway, after that we had to high tail it back to Dublin so everyone could catch their flights and trains back home. We did see a marshmallow factory along the way home though! HA! By the time we got through the traffic in Dublin, some of us were seriously pushing it time wise with having enough time to make it to the airport. Long story short, Tex and I were ripped off by a local taxi driver and ended up having to pay WAY MORE than we'd planned to get to the airport, but it was worth it b/c we got there on time and I got an earlier flight than expected!

Ireland was quite an exhausting trip, and the weather was less than exciting - but I'm SO GLAD I went on the tour b/c I met some fab people along the way and saw some gorgeous scenery! :-)