May 2, 2013 - Don't look down!

This morning was sunny (please knock on wood if you are reading this) so I started off the morning with a run along the shore line. I then jumped onto a tour bus for a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher. This was a full day tour, we left at 10:00am and got back at 7:00pm. The bus was horribly bumpy and I was carsick most of the time. The roads in Ireland are bumpy, narrow, and cattle crossings are common! In addition to spending 2 hours walking around the beautiful Cliffs of Moher, our bus also stopped at many other wonderful Irish landmarks....

May 1, 2013 - Live music and dance

Today was a very fun day! I woke up after a surprisingly good nights rest and went to a city walking tour. The walking tour was over two hours long and covered all the main sites in Galway, including: Lynches Castle, River Corrib, Galway University, St. Nicholas Cathedral, Historic pubs, and much more. After the tour and a lunch with my tour group, I walked to Galway City Museum to learn more about the history of Ireland and the town of Galway. At this point, it was time for dinner, so I invited an Italian girl named Veronica, in my hostel...

Apr 30, 2013 - Touch-Down in Ireland

Apparently, nobody wants to go to Ireland on a random Monday in April because my flight was empty. So empty, in fact, that I had a whole row (4 seats) to myself: I was spoiled. On the flight, I met this man who was born in Africa and then moved to Clackamas. He is involved in some wonderful social work projects and when I landed in Amsterdam, for my 4.5 hour layover, he invited me to join him in the KLM "lounge". This is where first class and gold card members relax during their layovers. There were showers and chairs that reclined into...

Jan 7, 2013 - Galway

We left Dublin on Sunday to drive across to Galway, about a 2 hour drive to the western coast of Ireland. Galway is a real gem. A mix of old and new. Bookstores, pubs, cafes, more pubs, and more pubs. The weather has turned to the miserable side of the weather vane. Wet and windy. But not as cold as we thought it would be - about 10C. After a turn around the city area, we found a great little pub to have some lunch in. Julie had a beef and Guinness stew while I had pork & leek sausages with mash potatos and lashings of gravy - takes pub...

Oct 13, 2012 - Dingle and Galway

After a night in one of the best hostels I've stayed in for a while, we made our way around the Dingle Peninsula. The weather was generous and although cold, didn't rain that much. The landscape is very barren and windswept. Reminded me of north-west scotland. After stopping off at Dingle for lunch we headed to Galway - one of my favourite places in Ireland. On the way we stopped at Adare, just outside Limerick. It is full of thatched cottages and stone houses. It's like a step back in time in a good way. Nice pubs too (can you see a theme...

Aug 26, 2012 - Return to Galway

Dinner (Galway): McSwiggans - Dinner is opened up with a toast to all of the lost sheep out there - We experience the Irish ues of reflexive pronouns. Waitress: “What can I get yourself?” - Jim asks Tim and Henry to go back to hotel with him. Henry: “We can make it a threesome.” Tim declines to join them. After Dinner: Crane Bar our group got there just in time to take over about ⅓ of the upstairs of the bar After trying to place the band members in order by age, Henry decides to yell “More vocals!” during every instrumental song the...

Aug 25, 2012 - Arrive in Galway

Arrive in Galway - John takes us around the city and explains the origins - tribes settle to form the town; the Claddagh region is outside Galway - Claddagh was first designed with hands for friendship, heart for love, and crown for loyalty - First use of “We don’t do problems and pressure is for tires” - John Hotel: Imperial Hotel (Galway) (Eyre Square) Mass at Galway Cathedral (Catherdara of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas) - 10 minute walk... or half hour by scenic route (Beth has pictures) - Singled out at Mass for being...

Jul 23, 2012 - the ride to Galway

Monday felt like a long day on the bus. We left Killarney around 8:30 and drove to a little town called Adare; it’s said to be the prettiest town in Ireland. We had 45 minutes to look around, and honestly, that’s all it took. Very small town, one main street, houses with thatched roofs, and several gift shops. After that quick stretch of legs, we drove through gray skies and rain to the Cliffs on Moher, one of the most dramatic sights in Ireland. Unless it’s raining and the fog has rolled in, which it did on cue. This happens so often that...

Jun 29, 2012 - Aran Island: Inishmore

On Wednesday, we had breakfast early to catch a 9:30 a.m. bus and 10:30 ferry to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. The islands are remote and rustic, filled with simple folk. Inishmore, with 750 residents, has one grocery store, a handful of pubs and cafes, and mostly gift shops. We hired a van driver, a retired fisherman named Thomas, to take us around the island. The main attraction is Dun Aenghus, a 2,000-year-old Celtic stone fortress on the edge of a spectacular cliff. (As the cliffs erode, it's slowly...

Jun 28, 2012 - Dingle to Galway

Tuesday was a long drive day with more rain, but it included an awesome sight near the end. We headed north from Dingle, bound for Galway. In Tarbert, we took a short ferry to Killimer, which shaved some drive time. We ate our picnic lunch in the car while we waited in line. The most dramatic part of the day – everyone’s favorite part – was the Cliffs of Moher. Pronounced “more,” these 5-mile-long cliffs are Ireland’s Grand Canyon – on the coast. Some are as high as 650 feet above the Atlantic. We drove along The Burren, a series of...

Jun 1, 2012 - I am a terrible blogger

I admit it. I am a terrible blogger. First of all i am writing this from the airport in the united states, jfk to be specific. At the end of the trip. After it is over. Who follows a blog that a week late and posted from home not abroad? Could this be the end of my career as a travel writer? Is this an indication that the words people use to describe my trips, aka "You are spreading yourself too thin" have finally come true, i have exceeded my own capacity to keep the pace, and the writing is the first to go? Maybe the lack of blogging is...

Jun 1, 2012 - Cliffs of moher

The drive to the cliffs was another amazing site. The whole trip has been filled with views of greenery and sheep on hillsides. When we got to the cliffs it was simply breathtaking. There was a harpist playing music and singing. Bryan saw this a chance for some great meditating time. Kim was in awe at the sites. Tim and Estefania crossed the walls to hang on the edge. Oh my got.....700 feet above the Atlantic while watching the waves crash. We learned of the Galway hooker. The locals trade with the people of the Aran islands.(where the Aran...