Day 62 (Part II): Galway and the Cliffs of Moher

Let the grasses grow
and the waters flow in a free and easy way
But give me enough of the rare old stuff
that's made near Galway Bay

Galway is my favorite city I've seen so far in Ireland. I'm happy I'm studying in Dublin but if I ever had to live here, Galway would definitely be my pick (after Inishmore of course! More on that later!)

The Irish claim that Galway is the "most Irish" city and I'd have to agree. It's not very commercialized, not as much as Dublin anyways, and its the first time I've seen menus, signs, advertisements in only Irish. Also, every once in awhile you're hear someone speaking the language, culture is alive and well!

We got to Galway on Thursday and took the Cliffs of Moher tour on Friday before heading to the Aran Islands which will get its own post!


Genevieve by the waterway that spills into Galway Bay, again we were blessed with stupidly nice weather this whole trip!


St. Nicholas' Cathedral. The inside is covered in war memorials and individual tributes to soldiers.



The claddagh museum in the back of Dillon's jewelers. These guys made claddagh rings for Grace Kelly, Queen Victoria, John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara! They were almost completely sold out because of St. Patrick's Day. The older woman who worked the shop was just as sweet as can be, we probably talked to her for a good 20 minutes.


Interesting menu, no? I am particularly intrigued by the Cajun.


Streets of Galway


Paige in our awesome hostel with a map of the city. I would definitely stay at the Kinlay house again, it was beautiful and had a pretty good free breakfast.


A trip to another city in Ireland isn't complete without a Mexican meal! Not too bad.


Me and Oscar. On the other side of the bench is a statue of his father who did a lot of archeological work in the area. They're wild about the Wildes over here!


The first stop on our Cliffs of Moher tour, the desolate Burren. What the heck can you grow in a pile of rocks besides potatoes?


The Cliffs of Moher tourist center. They might as well put a sign in front that says "Bag End" or "The Shire."


Cliffs of Moher


Ah!


Ireland really takes safety seriously.


How close is too close?


Abby's strange pose is in tribute to HP, right behind her is the cave where part of the 6th Harry Potter movie was filmed! So excited!


Don't do it Abby! I had to leave after awhile because she was scaring me too much.


Just hangin at the Cliffs (safely behind a wall).


Passage tomb which is older than the pyramids of Egypt! It was built by the ancient people that somehow lived in the Burren. Inside they found 33 bodies as well as various jewelry and tools. There are lots of these all over Ireland, this one is called Poulnabrone Dolmen. The cap stone weighs something ridiculous like 15 tons. Very cool.


Here are some bear bones in the Allawee cave in the Burren. These bones I think are 1200 years old, bears have been extinct in Ireland for about 1000 years.


Picture on the inside of cave. It's probably upside down for all I know. Caves aren't very photogenic.


Cave Waterfall!


Me and a castle, an obligatory attraction on any Irish trip. This one has medieval banquets in the summer!


Finishing off the day with a drink at the King's Head pub! There was an excellent rock cover band, they played everything from Green Day to Kings of Leon to Creedence Clearwater Revival!! My favorite part? When a French kid came over and sang all the words to "Sweet Home Alabama."

Pictures of Inishmore soon!

Day 62: St. Pat

If you're enough lucky to be Irish, you're lucky enough! ~Irish Saying

Let me start off by saying that Dublin is a lot more fun when it's not St. Patrick's Day! There were so many people here, it was pretty overwhelming! Nothing like the Halloween parade in the Village, but Dublin has a lot less space to put people. I took the advice of the Irish people I know and laid low for the festivities, but here are a few pictures from the celebration!


Here's some of our friends that we invited over for breakfast! Abby and I tried our hand at a traditional Irish breakfast, but it was mostly an American breakfast with an Irish twist.


What's left of the smorgasbord.


We watched the parade in front of Trinity's gates. I couldn't see most of it, but the little kids who could seemed rather impressed.


Why? This parade was full of things that had nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day! Besides the Chicken there was someone dressed as a shellfish singing opera music and some giant mannequin puppets in tuxedos. Crazy!


Anywhere is free game for parade watching.


My drink of choice on St. Patrick's morning.


At night Abby and I met our friends Genevieve and Christina at the Bleeding Horse, a pub about 10 minutes from our apartment. We were back to our apartment by 10pm, what a crazy night!

Day 55: T-minus 1

It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money!
-Irish Toast

Happy St. Patrick's Eve!

Apparently the festivities are being cut back this year in Dublin because the suffering Irish economy, but none of the tourists seem to mind! On my way to the library at my school today (imagine that, school work!) I saw no less than 11 white, orange and green feather boas and 15 leprechaun hats. This city is ready. I'm just a little afraid for tomorrow!

The agenda for tomorrow is a big Irish breakfast (made by yours truly and my roommate Abby), followed by the parade, and then getting the heck out of city center to find a pub closer to our apartment.

Tonight they had a ceili at St. Stephen's Green which was filled with predominantly French and Spanish tourists. They were definitely more into the dances than the scattered Irish that were there.


I opted to observe.


This is the kind of shopping you do the night before St. Patrick's Day. Back bacon and soda bread! Yes, that is Baileys flavored whipped cream. It's going to top our java and Baileys tomorrow morning. Did I hear somebody say best Irish coffee ever?

Wish the Singing Dolans were here!

Day 53: Howth is Magic (according to the tourist flyer)

"Once a selkie find its skin again, neither chains of steel nor chains of love can keep her from the sea."--Tadgh Coneelly in The Secret of Roan Inish

Spent a fantastic day in Howth (sounds like both)! Abby, our friend Paige, and I caught the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) to the northern shore town that's only about 25 minutes from city center. A fishing port and home to an expensive yachting club, Howth was the perfect place to spend a sunny day. We went on the cliff walk to the highest point in Howth, Howth Head, and then had some fantastic fresh seafood. Don't worry, of course there are pictures.


Every Sunday Howth has this great farmer's market which actually reminds me of Howland's summer farmer's market...minus the Amish and with the audition of delicious sausage rolls Paige is amazed by the selection.


Oh hello! Howth is famous for all the seals that live along the port. These guys are everywhere around the island, always in at least pairs if not giant posses. Surprisingly you are allowed to feed the seals, but I think they're more fascinated by the humans than the food. Make eye contact with them across the harbor and they'll swim right up and have a staring contest.


Big Daddy.


They swim mad deep.


Coffee on the coast.


This was a very pleasant surprise! Apparently Yeats lived on the Howth cliffs for three years. They seem almost too cheery for him, maybe that's why he only stayed for a few years. Didn't keep me from getting overly excited at this plaque.


A packard car? On Howth Head? Yes.


All up in the heather.


Mountain path.


The ocean was so clear and blue.


Howth head and one of the oldest lighthouses in Ireland.


The Bloody Stream pub. Doesn't sound too appetizing, but titles can be deceiving.


Me and Abby with our hearty meals, some mean fish and chips.


Two lighthouses, one day.


Sunset over the harbor.

After a fantastic day, we headed back to Dublin to find it had been transformed into the Jersey Shore...or a Walmart parking lot in the summer. They have very classy carnies here.



It's almost St. Patrick's Day! Isn't a Ferris wheel ride and a hot dog the perfect way to celebrate?

Day 52: Locked Up

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?"
-Jeremy Bentham

Today in Dublin it was fittingly gray for my visit to the Kilmainham Gaol just outside of Dublin's city center. The jail opened in 1796, partially organized by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham who helped reform the jail system essentially based on fear. I forget the exact term for the architectural design, but the jail was created so that inmates always felt as if they were being observed, you'll see how they achieved this below. (Remember when John Locke on LOST used the alias Jeremy Bentham?!)

The gaol closed in 1924 and much later was refurbished and opened as a museum. In a little over 100 years, Kilmainham housed pretty much every major political prisoner in Irish history, including the leaders of the Easter Rising.

If you want to learn anything about Irish history, the formation of the free state, this is the place to go. It was an informative, eerie, and very somber experience.

Before the tour we explored a three floor museum devoted to the history of the building and some of its famous inmates.


Keeping those radicals on lock-down.


This is the "Roll of Honor" from the IRA in the mid 1920s. Basically the tapestry has all the names of those that died or were currently serving with the radicals. I like that one of the pictures literally shows a glorious rebel throwing a bomb at a car. History tends to repeat itself...often.


These badges and arm bands were added to the IRA uniforms of those who assisted in the 1916 Easter Rising, those who managed to avoid Kilmainham that is.


IRA gear: protective padding, camera, telescope, machine gun, you know just the basics.


Into the prison! One of the more solitary hallways were political prisoners were watched very, very closely. Literally, there were peepholes in the doors and carpets so the inmates couldn't hear the guards sneaking to the cell.


Found this scratched on the inside of a cell. Most likely a tourist making their mark but it does make one wonder...


Just to give you an idea of how nice and big they built these cells.


See? Roomy!


The East wind of Kilmainham gaol. Beautiful architecture despite the fact that it was a hell hole to live in. The guards would stand on the center platforms and could see into pretty much all the cells in this large, circular room. The tour guide commented that this is how many shopping malls and hotels are still built today. The films In the Name of the Father and The Italian Job were both filmed in here, along with a few others I haven't heard of.


Here is the stone cutting yard where the 1916 conspirators were one-by-one shot. James Connolly was too sick to be held at Kilmainham, but the ambulance brought him here to be executed. They delayed the firing squad until they could find a chair to tie him to because he was too weak to stand. Charming.


This painting of the Madonna and Child was painted by Grace Gifford on the wall of her prison cell. She was the wife of 1916 conspirator Joseph Plunkett, she married him in the prison chapel about 10 minutes before he was taken out to the firing squad.

Needless to say a pretty intense experience.

On a lighter note...

I'm amazed at the amount of butcher shops in Dublin! Abby and I walked down Meath street today and there are literally six butcher shops! The lads that work in this one always seem particularly cheery. I picked up a fresh loaf of soda bread (still warm) from the bakery on Meath for only a 1.50 euro. Cheaper than a french fry from McDonalds!

Tomorrow exploring Howth, more pictures sure to follow.

Day 46: My Goodness!

Between you and me, a few pints of Guinness and I can go even faster, you know.
-Michael Flatley

So yesterday Abby and I ventured West to the mythical Guinness Storehouse. Even though it's the number one tourist attraction in Dublin, it was at the bottom of my list because I personally can't stand drinking it. However, Abby got free tickets from work so we decided to see what all the fuss was about.


Negative right from the start.


Basically this is beer Disneyland. The whole thing is all flashy lights and effects. I guess it's necessary since the actual explanation of the manufacturing process is rather dull. It was super crowded so we didn't stop and take in every single sign, exhibit, etc.


Abby looks thrilled. Here we are at the Gravity Bar, the top of the Guinness factory where you get a complimentary pint and a 360 degree view of the city. The view was definitely cool and we thankfully had a nice day.




Not so bad...right?
It's not that I don't want to like it guys, maybe it's the Greek in me resisting.


The windows of the bar were covered in quotes from James Joyce's bibliography. The quotes matched up to the area of Dublin that the window faced, pretty cool.


Tiny bit o' sun.


And, on a completely unrelated note I present to you Jedward! Twin brothers John and Edward from Dublin are basically the substitute Jonas Brothers over here. I found out about them a few days ago when they were making an appearance at a record store by my apartment and 12 year old girls were flooding the street. The most hilarious part? Their first single was Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice even collaborated with them. God help us.