(NOTE: Lots of other cool stuff happened between spring break and now, but I'm just going to talk about Ireland right now because that's what's presently going on, and it makes more sense to do that come back to the other stuff later.)
This is the first thing I saw when I came into Dublin. Appropriate to Ireland, I think, what with the leprechauns. And the rain, of course.
Being in Ireland after so many months in Scotland feels especially strange because it's very similar to Scotland in many ways, but still different enough that it's weird. I can't really describe it, but I feel like I'm still in Scotland sometimes. And then I notice something different, and I realize I'm not.
It's also a bit strange being on a four-day group tour with mostly middle aged and old people because almost all the tours I've been on up until now have consisted of only students, and on the others I was at least with someone my age.
When I first arrived in Ireland, I didn't see much except like two streets in Dublin and the inside of my hotel room. But when I was riding on the train to Cork the next day, I realized that Ireland is much flatter than I'd expected. A man on the train said that all the hills are on the edges of the country. I was actually kind of bored looking at the landscape between Dublin and Cork because it looked a lot like central Ohio, in a weird way. But later, on the way to Killarney, I looked out the window and suddenly there were huge hills like the ones in Scotland. So some parts of Ireland are oddly familiar, and others are definitely different. And there are also way more cows, as far as I can tell.
I also think there are way more American and Canadian tourists in Ireland than in Scotland. That doesn't seem very fair because Scotland is such an amazing place with a lot of qualities similar to Ireland's. I feel like it gets overlooked because it hasn't been glamorized in a ton of American movies like Ireland has been, and a lot more Americans and Canadians have Irish immigrant ancestors than Scottish ones. There's also this common idea among North Americans that we are all Irish or at least want to be Irish. It's just a shame that more people don't feel as passionate about Scotland, but I guess it's also good because it keeps Scotland from getting too touristy.
Anyway, Ireland is really awesome in its own right, and I've seen a lot of amazing things here. On my first day, my tour group went from the Cork rail station to Blarney Castle. Although its most famous for the Blarney Stone, the castle itself and its gardens are really beautiful and probably more worth the admission price. I did kiss the stone though, even though it seemed kind of silly how people were lining up to do it. I knew that if I didn't do it, I would have regretted it later. The first time I tried, I actually missed it because I didn't realize I would have to lie down on my back and lean over the ledge, and it freaked me out. It's kind of hard to describe how strange the process is, so here's a picture of someone else kissing the stone.
It looks really awkward, I know. It is awkward. You have to aim for that rock all the way at the bottom of the wall, which is difficult for short people like me. And it's disconcerting, even when you know there's a grate and a guy there to catch you. I honestly wonder who thought of doing this in the first place.
I was disappointed in myself for doing it wrong the first time, so I went back and tried it again. The second time I was much calmer and managed to kiss the right stone, and I was really proud of myself for overcoming my nervousness.
Originally, the whole point of kissing the stone was to get the "gift of gab," which means becoming a really charming, eloquent speaker, like this politician who was somehow associated with Blarney. They also made sure you knew the difference between "baloney" which is "saying a 50 year old woman looks 20" and "blarney" which is "asking a woman how old she is in order to find out at what age a woman is so beautiful."
Besides the castle and the gardens, with their many scenic trails, there's not much else in Blarney besides this tourist shop called Blarney Woolen Mill. It is the "world's largest Irish store," meaning it's the world's largest Irish-themed tourist trap. When I went in there, I found it hilarious how similar all of the merchandise was to the souvenirs in Scottish tourist shops, except everything was green with clovers on it, instead of plaid with thistles. The restaurant next door was really good, though a bit expensive, and I rather enjoyed that part of being a tourist.
After Blarney, we drove to this lovely little coastal town called Cobh, pronounced "cove." It used to be a major port that a lot of Irish emigrants sailed from in the 19th century, and later it was used by many cruise liners. The White Star Line headquarters were there, and it's actually where both the Lusitania and the Titanic last sailed from before they sank. The Cobh museum talked all about its history, which was surprisingly interesting for such a small town. Annie Moore, the first immigrant to come through Ellis Island, also sailed from there, and she has a statue in front of the museum.
From Cobh, we took a train to Killarney. I was driven to a B&B there, run by this nice old lady. My room was really bright and homey and reminded me of a room you might stay in at your grandma's house. I was happy to have a double bed and my own bathroom, since I would be there for two nights. I decided to walk a few minutes down the road to get dinner at a hotel pub. They made a delicious chicken burger with bacon and blue cheese and lots of other good stuff on it. I also tried my first Carlsberg, and I liked it alright. It's not very flavorful, but not too bitter either, and it went well with the burger and fried potatoes.
The next morning, I got up early to go into Killarney and explore. It's very much a tourist town, but I found some cute locally-designed earrings and a make-up bag with a cool vintage Guinness ad on it. I've been trying not to buy too many souvenirs in Ireland though because everything tends to be a little expensive, and plus I have so little room in my suitcase.
I really love my new make-up bag. I even got a matching mug that says, "Black goes with everything." They sell a ton of Guinness merchandise all over Ireland, so I've been able to figure out which stores are overcharging and which are reasonable.
Unfortunately, it was raining the morning that I was in Killarney, so I bought a really cheap umbrella at Dealz, which I think is the same as Poundland. A lot of companies and chain stores in Ireland are the same ones that are in the UK, but with different names. Like Primark is called Penneys here, and Magners cider is called Bulmers.
Anyway, I found the tour bus in the center of town, and we departed to explore the Ring of Kerry. Of all the things in Ireland that remind of Scotland, the mountains in the Ring of Kerry are the most similar. It seems they are generally shorter than the Highlands though, which means they are somewhat older. But they are still amazing in their own right. I think I've grown used to the Scottish landscape, so seeing something similar in Ireland reminded me of the first time I saw the mountains in Scotland and how impressed I was.
The Ring of Kerry tour was worth it for the views alone, which got better as the weather gradually cleared up. But we made a lot of stops at tacky tourist towns. At least the tourists stops were located in scenic areas, so I was able to get away from them a bit and take some good pictures. And some of the stops were actually pretty interesting. I got to see a replica bog village from the 18th/19th century, which was overpriced and tiny, but still kind of cool. I didn't realize that some families kept their farm animals in a pen in their house in those days. I also got to see two adorable, sleepy Irish wolfhounds, which are my favorite dog breed ever, and a rare type of horse called a bog pony.
I also got to see a sheep-herding demonstration, wherein we learned about different sheep from around the world and how the dogs are commanded to herd them. That was my favorite part of the day, besides the mountains, and it made me want to watch Babe that night.
Basically every place we went on the Kerry tour made me feel like I was in an alternate version of Scotland, especially the last part when we saw landscape that seriously reminded me of the Isle of Skye. I didn't realize that Ireland had hills like that, and I'm glad I got see that awesome side of the country.
When we arrived back in Killarney in the evening, I shopped around some more and then had dinner in town at this traditional restaurant called Bricin. I got the "boxty," which they are known for, and it was basically a potato pancake with lamb stew folded inside it. It was really delicious, and I wish I had been hungrier so I could have finished it. I also had some great carrot soup and Irish brown bread with my first ever pint of Murphy's. The Murphy's brand is from Cork, and it's apparently Guinness's main rival. It's almost the same beer though, just a little bit of a different taste. I don't know which I like better, but Guinness is the one that's more widely available at home, so I guess I'll be sticking with it either way.
On my third day in Ireland, I had to get up super early for the shuttle to Limerick, so I slept most of the way there. I was wide awake after that first leg though because our tour guide that day was fantastic. He took us through Limerick and pointed out the road that Frank McCourt, who wrote Angela's Ashes, grew up on.
We drove from Limerick to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, which could have seemed like a really touristy place, like the bog village the day before, but our tour guide told us a lot of cool history and info about the stuff there which made it way more interesting. There was also a tearoom in the village that sold homemade scones, and they were still warm inside when you got them.
The castle was pretty cool too because they had everything set up like it would have been in the Middle Ages. There were some medieval tapestries and 12,000-year-old giant deer antlers mounted on the walls.
After the Bunratty, we went to Doolin, which is a little village with a really good pub where we had lunch. There was also a beach with some ancient rocks that had been sculpted by the wind and salt water to look really funky. I had never seen anything like them before.
The sights just kept getting better though because next we headed straight to the famous Cliffs of Moher. They were so breathtaking, and I took about a hundred pictures of them. I could have walked along them all day. The weather was perfect too, and our tour guide even said it was the best he had ever seen there. The sky was so perfectly clear and blue that I couldn't find any pictures online that made the cliffs look as amazing as they did in my own amateur pictures.
Not even this photo looks as good as the cliffs did in person.
I thought we would be done after the cliffs, but because we were ahead of schedule, we also got to stop at Burren, which is this really unearthly-looking rocky landscape along Galway Bay. It was kind of similar to the beach at Doolin, but on a much larger scale.
The cliffs were small, but still so cool.
From far away, it looks like the surface of the moon.
Our tour guide knew a lot about Ireland's history, and he told us some pretty sad stuff about their bad economic times and history of emigration. He pointed out that most of the ruined stone cottages were probably abandoned during the potato famine, and the plain stones lying in the old church graveyards were markers for poor people who died of starvation during that time.
On a lighter note, Galway Bay is remarkable, and I could not get enough pictures of it.
The last attraction was Dungaire Castle, which was restored in the 60s and 70s and is used to host banquets during the summer months.
There could have been no more perfect ending to my day than getting to stay at the Radisson Blu in Galway. I don't think I paid more than anyone else for my tour, but I'm pretty sure I had the nicest hotel. After all of the hostels and tiny B&Bs and I've stayed in, having a fancy hotel room with a king-sized bed was ridiculously exciting. I even had some time to get dinner in Galway (Limerick ham panini, yay!) and check out one of the pubs where random bands just show up to play traditional Irish music, like they did in the old days.
So far, Ireland has been great, and I'm really glad I decided to come. I know I'm going to be returning to a final exam when it's all over, but when I think of all the stunning things I've seen, I don't mind at all. I just have to make sure to do some serious studying next week.
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