Ireland

This is the kind of trip I had been hoping to plan. Rush to the airport, get on, and all of the sudden you are in DUBLIN. The flight was peaceful and as we got ready to land I noticed all of the green. This seems silly to say about Ireland, but for those of you who have not been here, it really is that green, even in March. Maybe I've been in gray Prague for too long (absolutely not complaining) but the color really struck me. Hearing English was so comforting, especially in their accents. The hostel is much different from the last one. More like a hotel, housing hundreds of travelers - some for months, like Robin who is interning in Dublin, and some just for the night, like the anonymous people in my room on Thursday.

Vicky & I got split up in the hostel (good news, bad news - who knows?) but we met some people who told us the best places to go that night. The Quays Bar was everything I thought Ireland would be like. A packed bar sang along with the two guitar players to U2, Oasis, and even a little Journey. I got twirled, stomped, and clapped with locals and tourists alike to "Galway Girl."



Friday we woke up early, met the rest of our group, and worked out the room situation so we were all together. We were ready to explore. The city is beautifully laid out. A perfect mix of city and grass. The Dublin Park is such a great patch of green amidst a city of buses and buildings. Finding this patch of land was the best part of Friday. We continued on to tour Kilmainham Gaol, which from 1796 to 1916 held the most famous of the campaign for Irish independence. During the great famine many would purposely commit a crime because they knew that the prisoners ate 3 meals a day here.


The Saturday plans were discussed briefly, which required getting up very early. We got lost looking for our first destination, but by 11:30am I found myself squished in the back of a rental car heading west. Car on the left side of the road, driver on the right side of the car, and a road map of Ireland in our hands. Our plan? Drive to Galway, and down the coast to the Cliffs of Moher. Galway was a quaint city with narrow roads and vintage shops. We ate at a traditional Irish restaurant called "Finnegans," and walked around admiring the darling shops and people. The visit was short because we were anxious to get to the cliffs.

The roads got hilly and narrow - we even got stuck behind a herd of cows. I felt like I was in a romantic comedy. We stopped to take pictures at one particularly scenic place, and a couple looped around and asked if we wanted them to take a picture of the whole group. It was so sweet that we all kind of looked at each other before yelling "SURE!" and giving him a camera. There was a short while where I thought we wouldn't make it to the cliffs. It was getting later by the minute and at every mile marker we were disappointed with the news.




We finally arrived at our destination to find it to be the most beautiful place I have ever been. The cliffs look exactly how they do in the movies (Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, Princess Bride, Macintosh Man, Far & Away). The fog and lighting made it look eerily beautiful, enchanted. I don't even feel right describing them - how do you describe the beauty of the immensity found in such cliffs? Or the fact that the waves crashing onto the cliffs seemed to retract into the edge of the world? I could have stayed there for hours, but it was getting late and picturing some of those Irish roads in the darkness was enough to get me moving.



The whole trip seemed like a dream. Ireland somehow was exactly how I thought, and so much better at the same time. The Irish, unlike a lot of other places, seemed happy to have tourists and loved talking about being Irish. And those accents! How sweet everyone sounds when they talk with that brogue! To sum up the adventure, I'd have to say it is one of the best in my life. MY IRISH EYES ARE SMILING!