Dublin, Ireland

MacCoole Farm

Jameson Factory

Cliffs of Moher

I don't know how many of you have heard of or flown Ryan Air, but it is essentially a massive bus in the sky that calls itself an airline and offers extremely inexpensive tickets. The way Ryan Air makes its money is if you do not strictly follow their regulations. If you don't book to check your luggage in advanced- 100 euros. If you don't print out your boarding pass prior- 70 euros. If you don't arrive an hour in advance- tough luck. So naturally I was a bit stressed that everything would go smoothly... It did not go smoothly.

Upon arriving at the train station in Paris that we thought was connected to the airport, we discovered the airport was about a 45 minute walk, and the bus wasn't due to arrive for another hour. There were two Brazilian backpackers also trying to get to the airport so when they snagged a taxi and asked if we wanted to join them, we couldn't resist. As Danny loaded our bags into the trunk and I was one leg in the taxi one leg out, the taxi jolted forward in an attempt to speed away. Four men jumped in front of the car and proceeded to flash their guns.

At this point I think we are getting robbed. The taxi driver and the men are yelling in French, which neither us nor the Brazilians understand. Eventually the men with guns pull out their badges and identify themselves as cops. Apparently our taxi driver was illegal. The cops had to report the incident and took our passports and told us we would have to go with them to the station to make a report. At this point in time, all I'm thinking about is my precious passport because when you're traveling it is your everything.

 In the end, the taxi driver admitted to whatever crime he had committed and we didn't have to go to the station. The cops actually took us to the airport so that we would make our flight on time and everything worked out fine. Needless to say, it was a huge relief to arrive in Dublin safe and sound.

We were in Dublin for four nights. We wanted to book an extra night, but due to a huge football (soccer) game that was taking place, everything was completely booked. I loved Dublin. The first night we went out in Temple Bar (the bar area) with some of our roommates. We went to a couple places and they were all everything I imagined an Irish pub to be like. There was live music, both modern and traditional Irish, pints of Guinness, people chanting drinking songs- it was a blast. At home I hate Guinness, but it was so much better out of a tap in Ireland!

Our first full day was spent doing another free walking tour, checking out Trinity College, Dublin Castle, and just exploring the city. We also went to the old Jameson factory where we had a tour about how the whiskey is made and then had a tasting at the end. Dublin is an amazing city, but the following day was by far my favorite day.

We booked a tour that went to the Cliffs of Moher and to Galway. The tour was coordinated by the MacCoole family, so the first stop was to their family farm in the Burren. There we got to see all of their animals, went on a hike through their property and learned some Irish history. After the tour we went into their grandmother's old home and enjoyed homemade pastries and tea. It was so picturesque and adorable.

The next stop was the Cliffs of Moher which was my favorite part of Ireland and maybe even the entire trip. The cliffs are over 200 meters high and were created 320 million years ago. There is a wall you can walk behind, but we chose to walk on the small path closer to the edge. We had to be very careful to not get to close to the edge because the winds there are insane and there are on average 12 accidental deaths there every year due to people getting tripped up by the wind and falling. Just looking over the edge gave me goosebumps. Even though they were a little nerve racking, they were so gorgeous it was impossible not to enjoy them. We walked along the path for almost two hours before continuing on with the tour. The tour took us to a few more viewpoints and small towns, ending in Galway.

The rest of the trip was spent sight seeing and enjoying the crowds. There was a really big qualifying football game (Dublin v Sweden), so on Friday there were Swedish people everywhere getting drunk and partying in Temple Bar from noon until the game started (which I think wasn't until 7). We also went to the archeology museum which has these mummified bodies that were found in the bogs. The cool thing is that the bodies weren't preserved on purpose. Something about the minerals in the bog preserves the body and these mummies still had hair, leathered skin, and perfectly defined fingers and toes. It was creepy but very interesting.

Our final night we met up with our travel buddy, Natalie, that we met in Florence and also met up with in Paris. We went out for dinner and drinks with her and her friends and it was a great last night. It was hard to say goodbye, but hopefully we can meet up again soon! Now I am on my way to Edinburgh, my favorite place I visited when I studied abroad. Kristen also arrives in two days so I have a lot to look forward to!