The long awaited adventure began with the beautiful country of Ireland. This was the trip that we had all been looking forward to and we were all overly excited. A little before 6 am we hopped on the bus to make our early train ride that would then take us to Munich. Once at the Munich train station we switched trains to go from Munich to Memmingen West. From there we took a bus to the Memmingen airport were we then checked in our bags, went through security, and waited patiently for good ole Ryan Air to depart and take us to Dublin.
We had fear that we were going to start fall break one man down. As we were going through security we noticed Autumn was going through extra security and talking to a police officer. Turns out she had forgot to take her pocket knife out of her suitcase! To top things off she had a book on Terrorism in her backpack that she was reading for CIV. Luckily after a thorough pat down and confiscating her pocket knife, they allowed her to go through.
For those of you who are unaware of Ryan Air's reputation I put together a short list for you:
-cheap, very cheap flights
-small planes
-seat yourself
-bumpy
Okay, as I started to make the list I noticed there really wasn't too much to complain about. I just get really motion sickness, so the small bumpy plane rides always seem to leave me in a sour mood.
Our plane landed and after about a 30 minute bus ride we arrived to our hostile. The Generator! It was your typical mid-class hostile. A private 8 bedroom for our group. I guess I should introduce you to the travel crew:
Sumer Starks- the one and only talented and beaut... okay just kidding
Autumn Denton- my fellow season in crime
Whitney Gardner- my favorite ginger
Kristen Pace (KP)- my sister my friend
Morgan Bordy- The show stopper
Allie France- The lead of the pack, agenda setter, and hug lover
Mary Jensen- She's not that innocent jk (hence my Brittney Spears reference)
Paige Dale- the always pleased, and positive
Now that you know my wonderful travel companions I will continue.
After we got settled in to our hostile we went to dinner at O'Sheas. I had a very bland Irish burger. On the plus side there was free water with ICE and REFILLS. The waiter probably thought we had been on a day long hike across the country the way we were downing pitchers.
After dinner I headed back to the hostile, showered, and hit the hay.
Saturday we were up early to leave for our weekend tour. We gathered our things and headed to the meeting spot for the Shamrocker tour. We loaded the bus and our tour guide, Kev, introduced himself and told us what to expect over the next couple of days. Afterward we all went up one by one and introduced ourselves to the group. The eight of us made up the majority of the tour group. Also in our group was an amazing nice couple from Australia (Alex and Penny), a 19 year old from Australia who was traveling alone (Maddie), a 25 year old girl from New Zealand, and two other girls who kept to themselves.
Our first stop was the Blarney Castle, famous for the Blarney Stone. The Blarney Stone is located at the top of the Blarney Castle. The legend is that if you kiss the stone you will be granted the gift of gab, or better noted, flattery. (Watch out boys) To kiss the stone isn't as easy as you may envision. You have to sit backwards on a ledge and then with assistants you lean back over an opening and kiss the wall backwards.
Kissing the Blarney stone!
After the castle we loaded back on the bus and headed for our hostile which was located in Ennis. Once there we went to have a true Irish dinner. I had pork roast and cabbage. It tasted like pork roast and cabbage. After dinner we went to an Irish pub. This where we got to know Penny, Alex, and Maddie a little better.
Penny and Alex- The cutest couple ever. Alex is an electrician, and took off from his job because it has always been Penny's dream to travel. Penny had a job in the PR field and just quit to travel. They just built a big house and invited us to come and stay... one of these day's I plan to take them up on this offer!
Maddie- Crazy 19 year old who is traveling around by herself.
After the first pub we migrated into the pub next door after I heard them playing MJ. The band was called Bad Destruction. The lead singer's voice slightly resembled Adam Levine, but not nearly as attractive.
It wasn't long before we were back at our hostile fast asleep.
The next morning, November 4, 2012, may have been the best day of my life.
We left our hostile, hopped on the bus, and made our way to our first stop of the day.... wait for it.... THE CLIFFS OF MOHER!!! Prettiest place in the world. I know people use the saying "it was so pretty I could have cried" well it was so pretty that I did cry. Tears of joy were in my eyes, and I just keep thinking how I would love for my family and friends to be there with me to take it all in! It had been sprinkling outside, and about the time we made it to the edge of the cliffs a huge rainbow appeared. It started in the water and ended far from my vision. The view was spectacular. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better another rainbow appeared! The pictures don't give the view an ounce of justice.
Cliffs of Moher
Double Rainbow
Sooo pretty!
KP and I -- alpha love!
After taking countless pictures of the same thing. We loaded the bus and took a short bus ride to another set of smaller cliffs class Black Head.
Black Head
After another short photo shoot we headed to Galway.
We had a few hours to walk to streets and shop. We searched the stores high and low for the perfect claddagh ring.
The Claddagh ring is a unique Irish symbol of love. The hands of friendship, crown of loyalty, and the heart symbolizing love. The tradition dates back to the 16th century when a native of Galway City, Richard Joyce was captured by Algerian Corsairs on his way to the West Indies. When he eventually returned he settled in the small village of Claddagh just outside the city of Galway where he crafted the first Claddagh ring.
Worn on the left hand with the crown pointing away from your heart, tells are you are spoken for. Whilst worn on the right hand in the same fashion suggest love is being considered. If your heart is not spoken for the ring should be worn on the right hang with the crown turned to your heart.
I didn't manage to find my Gerard Butler (who is actually Scottish not Irish) so I will be wearing my ring on my right hand, crown turned to my heart.After our time in Galway we made our way back to Dublin where our tour ended.
We spent the next couple of days in Dublin walking the streets. We managed to find a candy shop, eat at the oldest fish and chips shop in town, and walk into countless tourist shops.
The oldest Fish and Chips take away in town
Salad
Salmon and Veggies
Raspberry Cheesecake!
The band.
As we were working on dessert (raspberry cheesecake) some of the world's best Irish dancers graced us with their presents on stage. They were incredibly talented. Turns out of good friends Alex and Penny were there too! It was so good to see them again.
Irish dancers.
The band mentioned that they would be playing at another pub after while so we made our way there and enjoyed some more Irish music with our new friends.
The next morning we said our goodbyes to the beautiful country of Ireland and made our way to Barcelona, Spain. More on Barcelona in my next blog.
If you made it this far in my post you must really bored, scrolled through a lot, or really love hearing about my life.
Keep it real folks,
Sumer
