Somewhere over the Rainbow

October 16-19, 2014
Southern Ireland

We went on an incredible 3 day tour of southern Ireland. We were lucky enough to visit Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, and Blarney Castle. We even got to kiss the Blarney stone and "embrace the gift of eloquent speech."

We began in Dublin, arriving Thursday night, and staying overnight before making our way to "Paddy's Palace" to begin the tour on Friday. Aside from slightly getting lost, and just barely making it on time, nothing went terribly wrong haha. Our first tour guide was pretty funny, and told us a lot about the history of Ireland. Our first stop was the village of Cong, which our tour guide said we should have heard of from a movie. The movie was "Quiet Man." I've never heard of the movie, nor could I even understand what he said when he said "Quiet Man." We only figured out the name of the movie because there was a statue dedicated to the movie that listed the name. And of course, Brittany and I HAD to re-create the statue, because we are adorable. ;)

Cong Abbey and the beautiful scenery around it captivated most of our time in Cong. While the Abbey was mostly in ruins, the surrounding area was gorgeous. We visited during the perfect time of the year: the trees were changing colors, leaves were beginning to fall, but there was just enough green to make things look alive! Just past the Abbey was a small bridge over a stream, and as you kept going it led to the river. We didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked due to time constraints, but what we did get to see was beautiful!

The leaves were too perfect to resist grabbing 

a handful and throwing them in the air!

You know I'll like a place if they have flowers! ;)

After leaving Cong, we made our way towards Galway, where we would stay the night. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the tour guide as we journeyed to Galway:

Speaking of Queen Elizabeth II's 2011 visit to the Republic of Ireland: "When the queen came we were happy to have her... as a guest and not a ruler."

"We don't get the rain. We get the liquid sunshine."

And finally, as the people not staying overnight in Galway were being dropped off in the city center, the best quote of all: "We sort of do this illegally... so you must be here at 5:15 (at the local bus stop) they do not like it, and the police do not like it. You have to be here at 5:15 because I can only stop and go." 

Galway was a very busy city, but we got there later in the day, so we weren't able to visit some of the touristy places like the Spanish Arch. Instead, we got to go shopping, haha. One thing each of us got was a Claddagh ring. Claddagh rings are traditional Irish rings that represents love, loyalty, and friendship. We called them our friendship rings, even though I was basically bullied into buying one by Brittany and Megan. :P  I also got a new best friend named Mr. Penguin, he is a hot water bottle. Some people know what I mean when I say that, but for those who were like me before I went to England, it is a rubber bottle that you fill with hot water that you use to keep you warm. Mine just has a fancy cover that looks like a penguin. It was a great purchase, no regrets.

 “The hands are for friendship, the heart is for love,

 and loyalty is shown with the crown up above."

Mr. Penguin

The next morning we were collected by Tony, our new tour guide, at 9:30 AM. Tony was awesome, and hilarious. Seriously, if you ever go to Ireland, do a Paddywagon tour;ask for Tony, you won't regret it. So we start the tour again, leaving Galway to head towards Kinvara. Tony tells us, "you get what you want. this is your tour. I'll do whatever. Except I stop at human trafficking. I wont do that. Actually, that is kind of what I do, driving people around. So I guess I already do that." Poor Tony though, I think everyone was tired, so we were all very quiet. Tony, however is not quiet, he likes to sing and tell stories. So after no one would sing with him, he turns around and asks if he did something wrong. We assured him he didn't, but I don't think he believed us. Everyone livened up as the day went on, our constant napping between stops helped, I'm sure. 

One thing I liked about the tour was that Tony would pull over just to let us take pictures. I loved it because we got some great pictures on those random stops.

We visited an abbey which was built by the 5 most famous stone makers in the world at the time. It took 47 years to build, and after it was done the owner killed them so that they couldn't build a better one for anyone else. At least that's what Tony told us, I think I believe him. Lol. Corcomroe Abbey is an early 13th-century monastery. The abbey is famous for its detailed carvings and other rich ornamentation, which are not commonly found in structures from this period. The abbey was cool, but it was cold and rainy so we went through it pretty quickly. Just before we left though, a slight double rainbow appeared! 

Corcomroe Abbey

Double rainbow outside Corcomroe Abbey

One of the highlights in Ireland was seeing the cliffs. First we went to the "mini-cliffs" which made me crazy nervous considering they were the "little" ones. 

these are the "mini" cliffs

Can't find the picture of Megan, Brittany and I sitting 

there, so enjoy one of our tour guide, Tony, instead.

After seeing the mini-cliffs, we got to go see the real deal. We visited the Cliffs of Moher which was an amazing sight to see. They were huge, and so beautiful!

The not-so-mini Cliffs of Moher

The cliffs rise over 700 ft in height! It was slightly terrifying to be even a little close to the edge! Especially when you have friends as tiny as Brittany! A small gust of wind could sweep her away! As you can see with my feet even just barely over the edge, I was terrified. I refused to walk to the edge, and scooted until I was that close! Megan kept yelling at me because she thought my rain boots (wellies) were going to fall off. The rain boots and I were both safe and made it to see another day!

After visiting the cliffs, we made a couple small stops on the way to Killarney, where we would stay the night. One of those stops was to see yet another castle, I lost count of how many we saw on the trip. People in Ireland really liked castles. Haha. The amazing thing is that some of them are actually still lived in! No one lives in Dunguaire castle, but according to legend, if a person stands at the front gate and asks a question, they will have an answer to their question by the end of the day. We didn't test it though, so I guess we'll never know if it's true. ;)

Dunguaire Castle

Another highlight from the trip was horseback riding at Killarney National Park! This was a last minute decision when Tony asked us the night before if we'd be interested. Brittany, Megan and I all decided we'd be up for it. My horse's name was Harry, and he was a sweet little thing. The only thing I didn't like was the girls in charge of the ride decided we should do some trotting--- not very fun when you haven't ridden a horse in over five years. Killarney National Park was beautiful, and we saw another double rainbow! The park was so beautiful our picture looks almost photoshopped.

Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold near Cork. It was one of the last big tourist attractions we got to see on the tour. I loved Blarney because of all the gardens, I wish we'd been there when there were more flowers though!

 While visiting Blarney Castle we got to kiss the Blarney stone to "embrace the gift of eloquent speech" or as Tony said, get the "most smooth pickup lines in history."

Kissing the Blarney Stone

After kissing the Blarney stone, we explored the gardens, and came upon the "wishing steps." Supposedly if you walk down and back up the steps with your eyes closed, and also walk backwards, and only think about your wish, that your wish will come true within a year. Unfortunately I can't remember my wish, so I'll have to go back another time before I can let you know. haha.

Our next discovery was the witch's kitchen. We decided it was better used as a climbing wall though. It was pretty fun, and I learned that my boots actually work okay for climbing. :)

When we were trying to leave one area we were in, I saw a beautifully colored tree, but Brittany said we shouldn't go that way. I went anyway so I could take a picture of the tree, and turns out, it was where we were trying to go anyway. We found the Fairy Glade, and it was gorgeous!

in the fairy glade, rocking the self-timer on my camera

Other highlights of the trip include: 

• singing "Happy Birthday" to Tony as he rolled the windows down so everyone could hear
• At some point Tony said, "this isn't the death tour?!?!! even if he dies on the bus it'll be the best tour ever."

Our trip to Ireland ended perfectly with a OneRepublic concert. I'm glad we went, but it was strange because no one at the concert stood up, or danced or anything. EVERY other concert I've been to they did, but I guess those in Dublin aren't much for rocking out the way we do at concerts. Despite this, it was a great concert. We got to see KONGOS open up for them. Come With Me Now was Brittany's favorite song by them, ;) but that's the only song we knew. 

COME WITH ME NOW

  

          

  

I love OneRepublic's music, and they performed AWESOME live! I'll definitely be going to see them again someday!