Sorry it's been so long.. again! Well, picking up where I left off... After Waterford, Mom and I packed into the Micra and headed to Cork on Wednesday, June 30!
Haha! See?! It looks like a clown car!
We stayed in The Imperial Hotel, which is the same hotel Michael Collins stayed in the night before he was assassinated. Pretty cool, right? And not at all creepy... Anyway, we got to Cork around 2 or so, and after unpacking we decided to head to Blarney to kiss the Blarney stone! After figuring out the public transportation system, we popped on a bus and headed to the castle! The castle was breathtaking! And we had to climb 100+ stairs to get to the stone all the way on the top.
On the way to the castle!
The Blarney Castle
Almost there!
Kissing the blarney stone! Now I have the gift of gab.. not that I really needed it!
Mom kissing the stone!
Haha, mom left her lipstick on the stone!
Luckily, we found out that they do sanitize it after each person.
So, after all that excitement, we went to catch the bus back to Cork, and ended up waiting for a freaking hour. Mom and I were NOT happy. But Mom was more happy than me at the time because she bought a TON of souvenirs! But still, the bus took forever! So when we finally got back to Cork, we were starving. We were planning on eating in the hotel, but on the way, we passed a Chinese restaurant called... wait for it... Panda Mama! HA! So we definitely stopped and ate. and I couldn't have asked for more delicious fried food in my life. Even got a banana fritter for dessert. DELICIOUS. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and passed OUT. Long day.
The next morning, Thursday July 1, we woke up pretty early and got a head start for our next destination... Killarney! We arrived around noon, grabbed lunch at a cute little cafe called Mac's, and then checked into our hotel. Then we decided to go drive around the Ring of Kerry, which according to my guidebook, was a must-see. And boy, was it! Such beautiful views.
The Ring of Kerry is essentially just a "highway" around the coast of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry. And by "highway" I mean the narrowest roads full of potholes! We started in Killarney and drove through a number of small towns and even through Killarney National Park.
In Killarney National Park! Beautiful!
This is a tunnel we had to drive through in the National Park. Legit. No joke.
So glad no other cars were coming!
Staigue Fort along the Ring of Kerry (that's me on the wall!)
And actually, it was 2 miles off the highway, and we legit drove down a "two-lane" road in which we had to stop and pull over in the bushes to let people go past. See picture below!
Hands down, the narrowest road I've ever seen/driven on.
Mom at the fort!
Yea, that's their idea of a door. But considering the fort was probably built in the early centuries AD before Christianity came to Ireland, and without any mortar between the stones, I guess they did the best they could! The wall is six meters high and 4 meters thick. Impressive.
After driving 214 km, or 132.97 miles (which may not seem like a lot, but it definitely took us 4 and a half hours, because the fastest we could drive is about 35 mph on those roads) we hauled it back to the hotel, ate dinner at Milano (the same place I ate at in Dublin! mmm!) and then passed out super early. Driving definitely takes a lot out of you!
The next day (Friday, I believe), Mom and I woke up super early (like 6 a.m.) to head to the Cliffs of Moher! I was actually really excited to go again! And they were just as breathtaking as the first time. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to show you of Mom's excitement and/or Jedward hair due to the crazy wind. I forgot to upload the rest of Mom's pictures and my camera was slowly dying since I left my camera charger at UCD! :(
But let me tell you, it was the WINDIEST day I've ever experienced. I was amazed we didn't blow over the edge! Seriously, we got windburned! After the cliffs, we headed to our final destination... Galway!
We stayed at the Salthill Hotel right on the Promenade. (The same Salthill where my other hotel was the first time I went with a few girls from the program!) It was extremely windy in Galway, as well. Boo. Well, after checking in and taking a much needed nap, Mom and I met up with Rachel and her mom for dinner at Da Roberta's (that exceptional Italian restaurant we had the first time in Galway!) and Mother/Daughter Pub Crawl Part 2!
After dinner, we hit up Richardson's, The Quays, some random pub with a good singer and accordion player!, The Kings Head, and finally O'Connells Famous Pub for a delicious hot whiskey with lemon and cloves. Seriously, delicious! Then it was definitely time for bed!
The next day, Mom and I slept in until after 10 a.m. And. It. Was. Wonderful! So, we took our time getting ready, and then took a Taxi into city center for some shopping! We each got Claddagh rings (and one for Hayley!). The rings originated in Galway and symbolize friendship, love, and loyalty. If you wear it with the heart facing out, it means you're single. And if you wear it with the heart facing you, it means you're taken!
After some more shopping, we visited the local Museum and saw an exhibit featuring JFK's visit to Galway (and other parts of Ireland) in 1963, three months before his assassination. It was really cool to see video footage and letters from the Irish politicians to Jackie O. giving her his condolences. After the museum and walking under the Spanish Arch, Mom and I WALKED back to our hotel, which is a good 25 minute walk from town. This normally wouldn't be a big deal, but it was still windy as all get out, so it definitely took us over 35 minutes. Of course we had to walk AGAINST the wind. Then, you guessed it, we napped! After a much needed nap, we ate dinner in the hotel, and it was delicious!
Sunday morning, we checked out around 9:30 a.m. and headed back to Dublin! We arrived around 1 p.m. and checked into the Dublin Carlton at the Airport. After taking a little break, we decided to attempt to drive to Jameson for the tour. Luckily, we made it there and back with no flat tires! Yay, Donna! So, we toured Jameson and it was pretty legit. I didn't know that the distillery on Bow Street was no longer in operation, but they turned into a tourist attraction for sure. Jameson currently operates out of a distillery in Midleton, County Cork.
After Jameson, we returned the good ole Micra to Hertz and headed back to the hotel for dinner. We split fish and chips and pizza, and of course, each got a pint of Carlsberg! Delicious.
Monday morning, we headed to the airport at 8 a.m. to catch our 11 a.m. flight to Newark. On our first flight, I watched a total of FOUR movies! And we landed in Newark at 1:20 p.m... It's as if I watched 4 movies in 2 hours! Crazy!
We finally landed in Houston at 6 p.m. As soon as I walked outside, the humidity smacked me in the face. I definitely did NOT miss that. But, Hayley and Dad picked us up and we immediately went to JUANITA'S for some amazing Tex Mex and margaritas! Yesss! Just what I needed.
That sums up my time in Ireland, and I couldn't have asked for a better 5 weeks in my entire life. I was so glad that Mom got to come, too. We put a total of 1223 miles on that Micra, and we both came out alive! Hallelujah!
This concludes my blog! Now back to reality... boo! I start my LSAT prep class on Saturday (eek!) and go back to work on Monday. Man, I wish I were lounging in St. Stephen's Green just watching the swans and not thinking about the fact that I graduate in December... If only!
From Austin (not Ireland.. sad face) with love,
Hillary
No comments:
Post a Comment