This one is coming to you from the sky, somewhere above the Atlantic! We are currently en route to Philadelphia, which is a seven and a half hour flight. I fell asleep before we even took off, but haven't been able to doze off at all since then. I can't even believe that I am on a plane home! Ireland was an incredible ending to the trip, though. Galway was very small and charming-- the first full day there, we really just walked all over the place and shopped all day. We walked along the bay, and cut back to town through "Claddagh Village", which was once a big fishing neighborhood. I had an Irish brunch of scrambled eggs, toast, baked beans, tomatoes, and filtered coffee. The traditional version also comes with sausages and black and white "pudding" (some kind of scary-looking meat thing). Afterwards, we got a lot of souvenirs, and I bought another skirt. Since the first one wasn't really a skirt to begin with, it hasn't been working out to well. We'll see how it goes once it meets the sewing machine.
That night, we tried to do laundry, which didn't work out so well for Kelly. Apparently the dryer decided to stop working right after I finished using it (not my fault, I swear!). Problem was, we found Kelly's wet laundry on top, and thus thought some jerk just took it out. So by the time we realized, it was like 2 am. And we couldn't sleep in, because we had booked a tour for the next day! Somehow we managed to stay awake for it, although I almost dozed a bit on the bus. We had an amazing guide/driver, Desmond, an older Irishman who said everything at least twice. ("There's a road that leads to it, and I'm gonna take it. Ladies and gentlemen, I am taking it...") The main stop was at the Cliffs of Moher, which were really striking. Along the way, though, we also saw an ancient tomb, a "fairy ring", the ruins of abbeys and castles, and the distinct landscape of the Burren area (LOTS of rocks). It was quite a full day, so we just packed and finished drying Kelly's laundry that night.
Thursday we started at the Museum of Galway City, which had an exhibit on JFK, and a lot about the city's history of fishing and war. Then we were off to Dublin, where our very nice hotel turned out to be quite outside the city. We decided to stay at the hotel for dinner, which had really terrible service and food, and then watched "Just Friends" on TV. Friday we headed into Dublin, and bought tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus tour. We did the whole hour and a half circuit, and then went to the Writer's Museum. There is a lot of literary tradition there, with statues of James Joyce and Oscar Wilde in the parks, and so many famous authors. The museum wasn't too great though, I just kept yawning and getting that over-heated nausea feeling. So we spent the rest of the day outside, visiting the Trinity College campus, and a bunch of parks and squares. Saturday was a really full day, which started early at the Museum of Archeology, then onto St. Patrick's Cathedral. Next, we took a tour of the Jameson Distillery, where they told us all about how their whiskey is made, and of course, we had a free sample. We then rushed over to Dublin Castle for the last tour of the day. It isn't so much a castle as a modest government palace, and it's where foreign diplomats used to stay (including Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher, not together though!). Some of the rooms were like a smaller-scale Versailles, which was surprising since the outside wasn't very elaborate.
That night, we had dinner in the Temple Bar neighborhood, which was very, um... lively. Lots of crazy street performers, many drunk people, and a whole bunch of bachelorette parties. Some groups wore cocktail dresses, but one group was dressed as chickens, and another like cowgirls (with a bride in a cow costume). So it was very entertaining night out! The next morning we went back downtown to visit the Kilmainham Jail, where many people were imprisoned in the fight for Irish independence. So we were happy that we got to learn a lot more about the country's history there, too. The rest of the day was spent in our hotel, packing up for our flight! The hotel did have an indoor pool and spa area, so I made good use of that for a few hours. For dinner, we got Domino's pizza (yes, I know), and watched the Travolta film, "The General's Daughter", and fell asleep.
Monday morning, we left around 11 am for Dublin Airport, and the whole day went relatively well. Airport layouts are just terrible, though! Dublin had a bunch of flights leaving from the same few gates, with everyone crammed in a small area. And we had a layover in Philadelphia, where we had to collect our baggage, walk down a hallway, and wait in line to give it back to them. Plus, we were no longer in a secure area, so we had to go through the security again. But at least the flights went smoothly. My parents came to get us at Logan, and then on the way home, we accidentally entered the Ted Williams Tunnel, for some added fun. It is so nice to be home, but a bit strange, as well. After 10 months away, I feel like I am looking at everything from a fresh perspective, though I am sure that will wear off quickly. Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!
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