Andrea's European Adventures: "Where the men are men, and the sheep are nervous" -Ireland

Luck of the Irish! A Rainbow!

This past weekend, I went on a 3-day paddywagon tour of Southern Ireland with stops in Galway and Killarney. Thursday night, we flew into Dublin, Ireland. The first night was our only one to be spent in Dublin, so we went out briefly to walk around the river, take pictures of the infamous Temple Bar, and to stop in a couple pubs to hear some live Irish music. The second day, we began our journey to Galway. Throughout the day, we had various scenic stops. We got our first glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean and the beautiful green countryside. As we drove through Connemara, we also got a lovely mountain view. We had a stop to take photographs at Kylemore Castle, which was entirely picturesque. Lunch was a picnic of cheese, bread, and fresh fruit. We very quickly decided that Irish cheese was way better than what you get out of the package in the States! We also saw LOTS of sheep, which our tour guide always pointed out by yelling “SHEEP!!!” every time he saw some. We also saw lots of walls that had been built to divide people’s land during the potato famine. That night, we stopped in Galway, where we did some shopping and then enjoyed a night of going to pubs, enjoying live music, and interacting with the locals. At one pub, we were talking to a very outgoing guy who then invited us to come to his friend’s birthday party in the back of the pub in what would be their equivalent of a party room. After, we met up with some of the other members of our paddywagon who were from New Zealand and Australia and went to a couple different clubs to finish off the night. I LOVED Galway!! It was exactly the cute, old Irish town that I was wanting to see.

A Stop at an Old Church

The Irish Countryside

Castle!

Morning River Side Run in Galway

Our second day on the paddywagon tour, we began the journey from Galway to Killarney, but not before I got my morning run in! I went by some old churches, the Spanish Arch, and for the most part ran on the river front. It was absolutely beautiful. I absolutely came to a true admiration for the quaint little Irish town. It was sad to have to move on, but the second day was absolutely spectacular. There is not a way that anyone could see the beauties we saw and not believe in a God. The entire day, we drove along the coast. We saw beautiful beaches, but most notably the Cliffs of Moher, also known as the Cliffs of Insanity. These Cliffs were absolutely just spectacular. It was easily comparable to the Grand Canyon. We also stopped at a wishing well where we had to throw coins in backwards. If we made it, our wish would come true, but if we missed, the opposite would come true! We spent the night in the very small town of Killarney, and enjoyed some pub life at a place called The Grand.

Castle by the Sea

Seaside Village

Cliffs of Moher

Enjoying the View!

The third day, we moved from Killarney towards Dublin. This drive included the counties of Cork and Kerry, lots of mountain views, and a stop at the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone for 7 years of eloquence of speech. Kissing the Blarney stone was probably one of the most terrifying things I have ever done in my life because you literally dangle 300 feet above the ground almost like you are doing a backbend. However, the grounds, castle, and cave were beautiful. It was a sunny day and it felt and looked just like spring. To conclude the trip, we stopped at the Rock of Castle Dunamase in the Golden Vale. There were lots of cool old stone configurations that we enjoyed climbing on, and we got a beautiful view of the Irish countryside. After this, we rushed back to Dublin, grabbed cabs, and raced through the airport (we had only 40 minutes from our arrival at the airport until the time the plane departed! Scary!) and were a bit rushed, but made it just in time.

Overall, Ireland was one of the most beautiful and spectacular places I have ever visited. Again, I truly felt as though I was able to become somewhat immersed in the culture here, and I could have spent days just sitting on the paddywagon bus admiring the country, mountains, and sea. It truly was spectacular. I hope that in the future, I can return to do a tour of the northern part of Ireland since I was only able to tour the southern part of the country.