Discovering Ireland

We were lucky to have a 5-day weekend which allowed us enough time for a nice little vacation. It was quite the journey just getting to the airport. We were happy our plane tickets from Brussels to Dublin only cost 10 Euros... but boy was it a hassle. Since we flew out at 6AM, we had to wake up at 3, leave our house by 3:25 so we could rent a few bikes to get ourselves to the train station, where our shuttle left at 4 to drive an hour to finally arrive at the airport by 5. It was quite the adventure...and was a little bit farther of a ride than I expected...and we almost missed our shuttle. Luckily, I was able to push through the pain and we arrived to the bus 2 minutes before its departure. Yes, we could have taken a taxi... but we like to travel cheap.

One thing we noticed about Ireland right away, is how friendly everyone is. Seriously, I've never been to a place where literally everyone is smiling and happy to help. I'm pretty sure we never got honked at, even though we were always entering other peoples' lanes and cutting people off when we got lost. They were just so patient and easy going.

But speaking of driving...we rented a car and drove on the opposite side of the road! It was CRAZY at first...especially when making right hand turns. But eventually, by the end of the trip (and after one busted left-side mirror) we adjusted quite well. Funny story though: while we were driving on the highway we both had a couple "freak out" moments when we looked over and shouted, "What the! That driver isn't paying attention!" or "Holy crap- that driver is sleeping!" ...then we we realized it wasn't the driver, it was the passenger. haha, just funny things you have to get adjusted to.

But seriously- I'm SO glad we rented a car. Even though it was a little bit more expensive than a bus pass, I think it was totally worth it. We were able to stop when we wanted to take pictures of the beautiful landscape and we were able to readjust our trip when we encountered some fog and rain. I would definitely recommend it.

The best part about Ireland was the scenery. There were so many giant castles, small stone ruins, bridges and rolling green hills. We were able to drive the famous "Ring of Kerry" which was absolutely breath taking. It's known as one of the most scenic routes in the world. Even with the patches of clouds and rain, it was still amazing. In fact, I must say I'm happy it rained because we were able to see 5 rainbows...the biggest, most vibrant rainbows I've ever seen in my life.

The highlight of our trip was seeing the Cliffs of Moher (one of my life goals). I think they've even made it on some list for natural wonder of the world and I can see why. They are spectacular! If you are planning a visit, I would be careful with booking a coach tour. The first day we went to see them it was so foggy and cloudy that you couldn't see ANYTHING. I could barely see people 25 feet in front of me.  I felt bad for the people who had paid like 60 Euros for some fog and an out-dated visitor's center. We were pretty disappointed, but luckily since we rented a car we were able to drive back the next day when it was sunny and clear.

Despite the risk, we had to venture past the "No Trespassing" sign to get a better view of the cliffs. I was a little nervous, but tons of people were doing it so I felt a little reassured. After we made it to the other side, I was SO happy I did. We had to shimmy through a rock fence and hop a mud puddle, only a few feet from certain death...but we made it. I was somewhat freaked out after reading yet another sign: "Dedicated to all those who have lost their lives at the Cliffs of Moher." So we were extra careful.

While in Ireland, we enjoyed some super Couch Surfing. We met a really great couple - Jim and Katri who were really fun to stay with in Limerick. There's just something special about staying with local people and truly experiencing the culture firsthand that makes traveling so much more fun.

After exploring the countryside and the cities of Galway, Limerick and Killarney, we headed back to Dublin. It's funny that Dublin is such a famous place because there wasn't really that much to do there. Mostly it's just filled with tons of pubs, famous beer factories, St. Patrick's Cathedral and some shopping. Our favorite part was actually Trinity College's old library. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. It's really beautiful and I would totally recommend everyone go see it...especially if you can go during the week because then they let you reserve one of the old books and you can actually go upstairs and read it! I've never seen so many ancient-looking books. It was awesome.

One special part about Dublin was meeting my friend John Green. He is the owner of Chem-Dry of Ireland and I had worked with him (over the phone and internet) at my old job. We kept in touch and he was generous enough to take us out to eat at a nice Chinese restaurant. It was so fun getting to meet him in person and hear all of his interesting stories. We really enjoyed our evening together.

Overall, our time spent in Ireland was amazing. The only things we didn't get to see were Cork, the Blarney Castle, Belfast, the surfing beach and Giant's Causeway. Maybe we will have to make another trip someday! Oh and another great thing about Ireland: their cute accents and funny lingo. So let me re-phrase myself..."Me thinks Ireland was grand!"