So we spent our first week in Ireland touring the island and getting familiar with the culture. I have to say, this is a beautiful country with amazing culture. I wish the tour could have last another week. There are so many amazing cities I would like to have more time to explore.
A quick recap of the week:
Monday: We headed out of Dublin to Belfast. We mostly just stopped to eat here, but we did get to see some of the murals that have been painted all over the city after the troubles.
Also, that day, we went out to the Giants Causeway. The Causeway was formed by molten rock hitting the cold water of the ocean. But this particular rock formed somewhere around 38,000 columns. The result is pretty cool
Thanks to Vijay for this picture. Excellent timing with the splashing wave.
That night we headed to Derry (Or Londonderry, depending on which side you're on). We had a quick walking tour of the city, which was an important site during the troubles. Our guide explained it like this: a couple decades ago, the city (and all of Northern Ireland) was basically a war zone. So, to my parents, going over there might seem like a big deal. It would be kind of like my kids, when they're this age, going to Afghanistan as a tourist. That really made me understand more just how serious the problems there were. Now, there is still a big divide between the loyalists and those who want Northern Ireland to be free from England. The bridge below was opened a few weeks ago. It's a foot bridge that connects the two halves of the city. Apparently, when it was opened, one lady was particularly nervous about crossing because she hadn't been to the other side in 31 years. It's amazing how much of that still remains.
That night, we did get to experience a good Irish pub. It was pretty relaxed. There was live music (4 guys sitting around a table with instruments playing and singing) and we just chatted with the locals and had a good time.
Tuesday: Did a lot of travelling this day. We did tour a castle, Donegal Castle, and enjoy a festival in Galway. It was their arts festival, so there were performers on almost every corner. It's also a college town, with a fun atmosphere.
Wednesday: This was the day I was the most excited for. We got to go to the Cliffs of Moher. These cliffs are one of the reasons I have wanted to visit Ireland for so long. And they didn't disappoint. The highest point of the cliffs is about 700 ft high. It's even more impressive than it sounds.
And of course, the obligatory O-H-I-O. This is one of my favorites from the week.
After this, we headed into Killarney, where we spent that night and the next. Killarney might have been my favorite city. We had a blast here. We also got to do the ring of Kerry, which has a lot of beautiful scenery. We also finally got some bad weather this day (we were really lucky all week), but it was kind of cool to see so much mist coming in on the shore.
All in all, this week was amazing. I am really enjoying being here. We also had a great tour guide who made everything very entertaining.
I am looking forward to getting to work this week though. We drove past the office today...it's not close to Blackrock (where we're staying) at all. That should make it fun since I have to figure out the driving a manual thing. It should be quite an adventure.
I will leave you with one last thought. Peter, our tour guide was telling us about some Irish folklore. I'll share one I found interesting. Apparently, if a person sees seven white horses in one day of travelling, they will be married by the end of the year. I'm not sure how often that works out, but...
I saw exactly seven white horses the other day.
KT
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