Ireland exceeded all I could have imagined it to be. From the first moment I stepped off the plane, it stole my breath. I was caught up in the magic and beauty of the country. I fell in love with every step and let my smile spread wider and wider. I soaked in the unique stories, people and surroundings.
As I passed through the airport in Dublin, the man checking my passport said to me, "Oh, you're an O'Loughlin? You'll fit in quite well with the Celts here." For once, I had no words, only a grin. The fresh air that hit my face as I stepped into the misty rain brought Alaska to my mind, but that was quickly washed away when I listened to the numerous, beautiful voices of the irish people! Their accents are soul-melting. Kate and I stepped onto a double decker bus and drove out to O'Connell street where our hostel was. After settling in, we went out for a midnight dinner of Subway and I got a free cookie. Dublin is a wondrous city! I found it to be much nicer than I'd expected for a big city. We ate at adorable cafes and enjoyed the soda bread and creamy butter they have here. I almost always ordered soup so I could get the basket of bread! We went to the Guinness Tower and learned how to pour a pint of Guinness. The guy behind the counter asked who wanted to be the demonstrator and after a few awkward moments of silence I thought, "why not?!" and said, "okay, I'll do it!" That was a bucket load of fun and I enjoyed all the details and steps to learn, just for pouring one glass! After everyone else had poured, we sat at the bar and drank our creations. Kate and I started talking to a group of guys from Belgium who spoke Flemish, French, Dutch and English. It was so cool! They invited us to listen to some irish music later that evening so we arranged to see them there. Once we arrived, the music instantly was sensational. After a few hours, the belgians wanted to head to a different bar and reluctantly I followed along. I am SO thankful I did because this bar was crazy. Not only was the band amazing, but the crowd was INSANE!!! They chanted, clapped, and danced around like nothing I've ever seen. I was surrounded by wild irish people and I was loving it. I got right into the thick of it and danced my heart away while chanting and clapping until my hands were raw! They even began to play 500 Miles by The Proclaimers at one point, and I yelled out every lyric. It was a blast. The crowd was so intense that the band had to force them to shut up and leave the bar.
Sadly, the next day was a sleepy day because we only had about 3 hours to rest before heading to Dingle. The bus ride there was so beautiful that I actually cried. The bright greens, the countryside and the water. It was more than any photo could ever capture or convey. Once we arrived at our hostel, I met some cool people who were also traveling around before heading out with Kate to a little castle and enjoying a small cove which I fell in love with. Later in the evening, after having dinner, we went to a bar and I had some irish whiskey. Mmm is that good and tasty! The next morning, I went into the village to rent a bike. When I came to the supposed address, it was 2 swinging doors that led into the dirtiest bar I've ever laid my eyes upon. It was 9am and there were 4 or 5 old, mangy men drinking pints of Guinness. They all turned and stared at me while I stood in the middle of the room, wondering how this could be a place to rent bikes. The bartender told me to go down the street to his friend, and they'd help me there. I gratefully exited but to my dismay could not find where to go! I was determined to get a bike so I marched back in with my head high and asked for help. An especially old guy stood up and said he'd take me there. Then all the men started joking about how I was in terrible danger and I tried to laugh along with them. It rather felt like a movie. Fortunately, Keith (the old guy!) was super sweet and I enjoyed talking with him while he led me to a tiny hole in the wall stuffed with bikes. After renting one out, I began my journey into the cliffs of Ireland! I biked and biked and biked and kept on biking as it rained down on me. I loved it! I experienced the mountains and cliffs while driving on the left side of the road and I eventually wound up so far away from Dingle I couldn't even see where it was. I stood in the ocean, climbed on rocks and ran through the sand while the cold air hit my face. I was overjoyed. On the way home, I stopped at a cafe to have breakfast but it was too late, so I ordered the best Irish Coffee I've had in my life and some seafood chowder. I had to take the creatures out of the shells while I ate the soup! It was so delicious. After my biking venture, I relaxed a bit in the hostel and then Kate and I walked through the town looking at the shops and we ate some ice cream. I sampled honeycomb flavor which was quite spectacular but ended up buying Baileys and Irish Bread flavor. It was awesome! We ended up in a bar listening to some music and I was really craving a spinach pizza. The bartender heard me complaining about it (surprise surprise!!!) and told me that was a disgusting craving and that no one should like spinach on pizza. I defied him and then waltzed out into the night to find a pizza store. I found one but they didn't have any spinach. So I came back defeated and sat back down to complain some more. A few minutes passed and then the bartender came over and murmured, "If you walk down a few streets and turn right there's a bar called Blue Moon and they said they'd make you a spinach pizza." I smiled so big I thought my face might break and then rushed back out to find this place. (Poor Kate had to sit at the bar with my beer and wait for me!) I walked up some stairs and came into another incredibly filthy bar where jazz music was playing and a crazy girl was sitting at the counter hurling random paper mache creations around the room. I walked over to the counter and asked the guy if he'd make me a spinach pizza. As I waited, I sat down and enjoyed the jazz music while taking in the filth of the kitchen where my food was being prepared. I decided not to care. Once I paid, I walked back through the chilly night air with my warm pizza box and then ate it outside of the bar, feeling like a homeless person. Then I let Kate have some and we ripped the box into tiny pieces so we could throw it into the mini "litter" can that was on the street. We came back in so I could pay for my beer and a middle aged man who had been talking to Kate ended up buying us free drinks while he spoke about any and everything. I was glad to get back home and sleep!
At one point, Kate and I were walking through Dingle and she saw a shopping cart next to the road. She pointed out that she could get the money for that if she'd take it across the road and stick it in the slots with the other carts. (when you shop here, you put 1 euro in a slot to get your cart out, and then get the euro back when you put the cart away. Germans don't like messes!) But for some odd reason, Katie felt so embarrassed to walk with the shopping cart, so I grabbed it and marched across the road and over to the market to return it and kept the euro all to myself!!! Sometimes I really didn't understand her! :)
While Kate and I were eating dinner in Cashel, I heard an older couple speaking german. I went to the bathroom and when I came out I decided to stop and talk to them. So I spent the next 20 minutes speaking in german with them! It was so fun! I love that about Europe. I'm from America, traveling through Ireland, and meeting people who I can speak in german with. :)
Our bed and breakfast in Cashel was amazing. The lady welcomed us in and put on some hot water for tea while we ate some shortbread. Then she turned the hot water on so we could take showers. :) After the first few nights of hostels, I felt like a queen while I laid in a big cozy bed! I could look out the window into the garden and then the fields beyond. They were out quite a few miles from the city. Needless to say, I slept like a log. The following day I explored through the vast house. The couple had a fair amount of children so the house was quite large and the styling was so fascinating! Very much out of a movie to me. :) In the morning we ate a lovely, homemade irish breakfast consisting of coffee, eggs, bacon, (I refused that nasty bloody something or rather) fresh soda bread, toast with jam, and yoghurt with granola and fresh fruit. Delectable!!! Then we drove out to see the city of Cashel. I didn't want to pay to go in at the Rock of Cashel so instead I wandered around the outside walls and the hills surrounding it. I had quite a blast for no money at all!!!
I bid farewell to Ireland as the ferry shipped me away through the ocean. It was a bit sad but new adventures were awaiting so I tried to cheer my spirits. Once we arrived at Pembroke Dock, we walked through the silent city and tried to find an atm to exchange our euros for pounds. At one point, I sneezed right as a man walked by my and he said, "bless you" in his lovely british accent. That was my first taste of being in the UK and it made me smile! Once we arrived at the train station we waited. and waited. for so long. Thankfully, a woman began speaking to us and turns out she's a police officer. She began explaining to us all about the gypsy culture and how she is involved in their community. I learned so much! It was fascinating. We talked while a few young gypsy boys played barefoot in the street. It was hard to talk to them because their dialect was so thick. I looked at them playing and saw the chasm of difference between our childhoods. It was like I was walking through a history book when I listened to the lives of these kids!
Once we arrived in England, it was past midnight and we stood in a line outside the train station waiting for a taxi. They kept arriving out of the dark in the midst of the busy city beyond. They were so old fashioned looking and I had such fun when I hopped inside! Our hostel had a very creepy entrance and was also rather creepy inside, but it was a bed to sleep in at least! Really though, not much else. It was really hot and there were a lot of people in the room. I was happy to leave early the next morning to explore London. Kate and I walked through all the famous areas and at one point I walked out across Millennium Bridge and spent 40 minutes listening to some lovely musicians play classical music. It was so peaceful! Kate found a cool bar where we hung out for a while and had dinner. Eventually, a guy came over and gave us a trivia quiz thing. So the whole bar was playing trivia and we ended up somehow getting all the employees on our team! They randomly flocked over to our table and then proceeded to cheat on every answer with their stupid phones. Even then, we only got second place so we had a pitcher of beer to share. They were really funny, and I enjoyed meeting people who had grown up in London. It felt more real and not so touristy. One of the guys moved there from Egypt 2 years ago and it was so fun listening to him explain the culture and the religion that he grew up around.
In conclusion, here is the collection of my favorite word-moments with Kate:
"I love reading light, fluffy literature. It's like eating cotton candy."
"My neck hurts. Man, I should've gone to the dentist!"
"Oh, that was your stomach? I thought that was the train!"
