We started off the trip in Galway to see some Ireland country. When we checked into our hostel, the front desk man gave us a map and circled the pubs we needed to go to and "have a pinttt" (in his cute Irish accent). We started off at The Skfff. This was your typical Irish pub, with a couple singing Irish folk songs and everyone drinking Guinness and cider. I liked to pretend that I knew the songs and get into them, but the only one I recognized was Galway Girl. Perfect first Irish pub to go to. Here we ran into a group of girls from the college nearby that wanted to show us a good Irish time. One of the girls loves Americans and seems to think that we all go around saying "Yeahhh buddy". We humored her and continued to use that phrase all night and taught her to start saying "for sure" when agreeing with someone. They led us to a nearby disco, Karma. Here we finished the night with lots of dancing and talking to some Irish boys. :)
The next day we booked an all day tour of Connemara. We wanted to experience old Irish towns and this trip included a castle, a true Gaeilge speaking town, and lots of countryside. It did not disappoint! Our tour only had about 12 people and our tour guide was quite funny. He kept saying to yell at him to stop the bus if there was anyplace we wanted to stop and take a photo. We started off with a quick tour of Galway and then went on our way. The first stop was the bridge from the John Wayne film "The Quite Man". I've never seen the film, but it sure was pretty! We went on to a tiny town where we stopped for an Irish coffee (delicious!!!) and went on to the Abbey Castle. It was built by a young couple that were in love and had a large chuck of money. From there is was sold a lot and turned into an all girls boarding school until a few years ago. It was very pretty and the gardens were amazing. The rest of the tour included sheep, Connemara ponies, and some Irish history lessons.
That night we took a bus back to Dublin and were ready to see the other side of Ireland. Dublin was a perfect mixture between a historic and modern lifestyle. I loved it, and I still can't get over how nice everyone way. Everywhere we went we were welcomed with open arms and people wanted to show us around. For dinner we went to an Irish pub (go figure) and got some typical Irish food... sort of. I got a ceasar salad, because I haven't had one since the states. Dublin gave me a little taste of American foods to hold me over. I also got Quiznos (honey mustard!), McDonalds, and Starbucks. Starbucks did laugh at me when I asked if they had Pumpkin Spice Lattes... I guess I'll have to wait until December for that one.
We met up with Aideen, a friend of Laura's friend Clare, who was kind enough to let us stay with her and show us Dublin. We had a typical Irish breakfast of sausage, eggs, brown bread, and black & white pudding. Not the pudding like Americans have, these were different and I can't say what was in it. It's best if you don't know until after you try it. Not bad though! This hearty breakfast gave us energy for our tour of Dublin. We walked around the city center and looked at the main points of Dublin. Aideen took us to a pub that has flea markets on Saturdays. They had the cutest stuff and I was sure to buy a scarf for a souvenir. The rest of the day turned into the drinking tour of Dublin. The Guinness factory was first on the list. I learned all about the art of making, pouring, and drinking Guinness. I successfully drank my first Guinness on the top of factory with a 360 degree view of Dublin. Up next was the Jameson Whiskey factory. At the end of the tour Laura got to take the official whiskey tasting where she compared the Jameson with a scotch and some American Jack Daniels. Luckily she didn't finish them so I could have a taste of them all. Jameson was my favorite! Sorry American, Dublin wins this one. I also got my complimentary drink of Jameson and cranberry which was delicious. We headed back to Aideens where she had dinner waiting for us. It was absolutely delicious! After dinner we went to her friends house and met a few other girls for drinks before we went out. They were a lot of fun and we chatted a lot about American/ Dublin life. She brought us to a Reggae bar where her friend was playing. After a few songs there Laura and I headed to an Irish Pub. We figured if you're in Ireland, you have to hit up Temple Bar! We walked down Temple Bar street and found a place with live music, Gogartys Pub. Here we met 3 Irish guys - Steven, Alan, and Henry that wanted to show us a good Irish time. They were a ton of fun to hang out with. We listened to the band, did some dancing, and had a good time. Afterwards we went to a disco with them and walked around Dublin. What a perfect Irish night!
My time in Ireland was amazing. I walked away singing Irish tunes, with a rugby jersey, and a Starbucks in my hand.
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