This update is specifically for you, Mom and Dad...just so you stop bugging me about it :)
So last weekend I ventured up to Galway (mostly due to that's where we went to celebrate St. Patrick's Day...more on that later).
The first day we arrived we did a bus tour of the Conemara. We literally got off our bus from Limerick onto the bus for the tour. However, there were only about 20 of us on this particular bus and it wasn't filling up any more. SOOO then we were switched to a bus of old people. They were there for a bridge tournament...and no, I'm not joking when I say that. The tour was neat. The Conemara is much like the Burren...very much covered in rock, in this case granite. But it still was beautiful, I'd like to go back in the Spring when all the flowers are in bloom. We stopped at a Kylemore Abbey I believe it was called and that was absolutly stunning. Set right in the mountains on a little lake. This place cost a million pounds to build over a hundred years ago, so you can imagine how elaborate and elegant this place is. Gorgeous inside, some of the rooms were recreated, but you could only see so much because it is (or at least was at one point) a school. Still the place was gorgeous. The downer: my friend did almost die. She decided to take a jump onto a ledge to get a picture....well that decision almost cost her a 30 ft drop through trees onto the ground. LUCKILY she caught herself just shy of falling...Kaelyn and I were a bit stunned to help during the ordeal...It happened so fast we couldn't even move. Enough of that, the trip was wonderful.
The next day topped it in my book. We took a boat out to Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands. Firstly, I will say that the waters were a little rough that day. Now, going up to the top of the boat to get some pictures we hear this strange noise... A Irish coast guard helicopter is hovering over us...Not only hovering, but hovering close enough were if I had a rock I could have thrown it at the helicopter and hit it. We didn't really know why it was there, we assumed for the rough waters just as a precaution. Who really knows. When we got to the island we rented bikes. This was our mode of transportation for the day. People failed to mention that this island was completely uphill....So we rode uphill all day on bikes. Totally worth it though. The island was beautiful. When you get to a certain point, you stop and walk up more hills to get to the cliff where there is this really cool old stone fort and over the edge is a shear drop down into waves crashing into the side. It was an amazing site. The view, completley breathtaking. I could have spent all day there happy as can be just watching and looking. Unfortunately we had lots of biking to do before the day was over. So back onto our bikes we went. The other main attraction for me was the colony of seals that hangs out on the island. Yes I saw some seals in Ireland. I was pretty excited about it. They were cool. Overall the island was beautiful.
And this brings us to Tuesday...Yes St. Patricks Day in Ireland. We woke up pretty early in the morning to explore the city a bit. We didn't think that one through too well considering it was a bank holiday and all, but we still walked around anyway. Come 10-1030 the streets were pretty fileld with tourists and their green festive outfits (Oh yeah, I was one of them). We watched the parade that happened and it was really cool. I have to point out that the guests of honor this year were Jersey City Police...again, I'm not kidding when I say this. I wanted to talk to them, but I just never got around to it. Neato for them. I think there was a nautical theme to the parade too because there were a lot of fish costumes...That was strange. Then we headed back to the hostel and got ready for the day. We went back outside and walked down to the river. IT was so cool. Everybody was just hanging out (drinking too). Huge masses of people on both sides of the river. there were some hippies playing music. It was really a cool site. So we hung out there for a bit. And then we had dinner and went out again. The streets were so packed you could barely move. Paddy's Day in Ireland is nuts...what a good time.
The weekend was fantastic. We met some really great Canadian girls, we had loads of craic, and saw some amazing places. I would have pictures to show, but my camera was the casualtly of this trip. At least its lost in one of the most beautiful cities in Ireland, right??
Next stop Scotland...and a day after my return from that Norway/Denmark!!!!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Adventures in Cashel and Cahir
Yesterday was a lovely (but wet and windy) day trip to Cashel and Cahir. After much confusion on where to visit this weekend, we settled on these places.
First off, let me say how difficult it can be to get bus schedules...They hide them so you spend hours looking for them. Bus Eireann can be a real pain sometimes...more on that later in the saga that was Saturday.
So Cashel. A LOVELY little town in County Tipperary. A quaint little area set in a beautiful part of Ireland. Green and hills everywhere, and sheep (exceptionally loud sheep) out the whazoo, a setting that one thinks about when they think of Ireland. We walked around and followed signs to the Rock of Cashel, A monestary/castle. The architecture of the building was really awesome. The precisness of all the masonry and artwork on the walls and tombs was amazing. It was set high up on a hill which gave some amazing views below. We went on a cloudy and rainy day, but it really set the mood of the castle. I don't think it would have had the same ambiance if it were sunny. This is the place where St. Patrick was said to have come and was said to be the most religious stronghold in all of Ireland. So that was pretty cool too.
We then walked down a path to another old stone building in the middle of a feild (not an unusal site in Ireland) and poked around there for a few minutes as well. It was an old monestary (the name of which slips my mind at the moment). Afterwards we headed back up to town. While Cashel is a lovely town, it can be done within 3 hours...There's not much to do after that. We headed to a little coffee shop and had a cup of coffee and a pastery then waited for the bus.
Now, back to Bus Eireann. Typically you only put the schedules of the busses that actually RUN to that particular stop. Well no, not you bus eireann, you like to trick the American's (as well as the Finnish since they made the same mistake) and put fake busses on your signs. So we see a bus come that says Corcaigh (Cork) on it. Oh no guys, thats not our bus, we want the one going to Athrone (which stops in Cahir). 25 minutes later, the bus still hasn't come. So we call the company who says we needed to get on the Cork bus. Then WHY the HELL did you have a bus to Cahir LISTED on you sign if we just needed to get on the Cork bus? Then we had an hour an a half to kill. Lucky for us, there was a pub right across from the bus stop. The hour an a half consisted of pints, trip planning, childhood games like MASH and hangman, as well as wondering why we suck at reading bus schedules. Finally, we get on the bus and get to Cahir, where we had ANOTHER hour and 15 minutes to wait for our connection back to Limerick....Back to the pub we went. This time specifically to stay warm and out of the rain, because our luck had completely run out by this point and the weather that held out all day finally opened up and a monsoon touched down in Ireland. We didn't get to see the really awesome Norse castle in Cahir like we planned because of Bus Eireann.
We did make the last bus back to Limerick and we made it home several hours after the original plan. We made it back just in time to get the doors just about blown off our taxi and get swept away by the wind. However, it was a fun day and we had a lovely time in Cashel and that's all that matters....Right?
First off, let me say how difficult it can be to get bus schedules...They hide them so you spend hours looking for them. Bus Eireann can be a real pain sometimes...more on that later in the saga that was Saturday.
So Cashel. A LOVELY little town in County Tipperary. A quaint little area set in a beautiful part of Ireland. Green and hills everywhere, and sheep (exceptionally loud sheep) out the whazoo, a setting that one thinks about when they think of Ireland. We walked around and followed signs to the Rock of Cashel, A monestary/castle. The architecture of the building was really awesome. The precisness of all the masonry and artwork on the walls and tombs was amazing. It was set high up on a hill which gave some amazing views below. We went on a cloudy and rainy day, but it really set the mood of the castle. I don't think it would have had the same ambiance if it were sunny. This is the place where St. Patrick was said to have come and was said to be the most religious stronghold in all of Ireland. So that was pretty cool too.
We then walked down a path to another old stone building in the middle of a feild (not an unusal site in Ireland) and poked around there for a few minutes as well. It was an old monestary (the name of which slips my mind at the moment). Afterwards we headed back up to town. While Cashel is a lovely town, it can be done within 3 hours...There's not much to do after that. We headed to a little coffee shop and had a cup of coffee and a pastery then waited for the bus.
Now, back to Bus Eireann. Typically you only put the schedules of the busses that actually RUN to that particular stop. Well no, not you bus eireann, you like to trick the American's (as well as the Finnish since they made the same mistake) and put fake busses on your signs. So we see a bus come that says Corcaigh (Cork) on it. Oh no guys, thats not our bus, we want the one going to Athrone (which stops in Cahir). 25 minutes later, the bus still hasn't come. So we call the company who says we needed to get on the Cork bus. Then WHY the HELL did you have a bus to Cahir LISTED on you sign if we just needed to get on the Cork bus? Then we had an hour an a half to kill. Lucky for us, there was a pub right across from the bus stop. The hour an a half consisted of pints, trip planning, childhood games like MASH and hangman, as well as wondering why we suck at reading bus schedules. Finally, we get on the bus and get to Cahir, where we had ANOTHER hour and 15 minutes to wait for our connection back to Limerick....Back to the pub we went. This time specifically to stay warm and out of the rain, because our luck had completely run out by this point and the weather that held out all day finally opened up and a monsoon touched down in Ireland. We didn't get to see the really awesome Norse castle in Cahir like we planned because of Bus Eireann.
We did make the last bus back to Limerick and we made it home several hours after the original plan. We made it back just in time to get the doors just about blown off our taxi and get swept away by the wind. However, it was a fun day and we had a lovely time in Cashel and that's all that matters....Right?
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