Ireland

After a delayed start, we kicked off our time in Ireland. We had looked at doing tours and looked at buses and we decided hiring a car was the cheapest and easiest option. We were somehow able to find a deal for only €10 a day unlimited km’s. So we picked up the car and headed out on the road. Even without our little delay from the day before, our time in Ireland was rushed. If we had our time again, we wouldn’t have booked a return flight from Ireland, so we could choose how long to stay there, 5 nights wasn’t enough to see it all! We drove straight down to Cork which took about 3 hours, and we checked into our hostel, which was a cool hostel/bar. We then went out to see Blarney Castle, where we kissed the Blarney stone. In the evening we drank wine and ate in the hostel where we met a good group of guys and girls, and we headed downstairs to the bar to continue, unfortunately we were just a little too late to make the karaoke.

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The following day we had a long day of driving, going from Cork to Killarney, via the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry is beautiful, varying landscapes ranging from dramatic cliffs, to beaches, to farm land, to barren rock lands. All guides suggested that the safest direction to go was anti-clockwise, however we didn’t read that until we were well and truly committed to going clockwise. There were a few hairy moments passing coaches on narrow 100km/h roads. We stayed the night in Killarney a quiet touristy town.

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The following day again involved a lot of driving. We drove from Killarney north to Galway via the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren. The cliffs were spectacular, it was very very windy but that just added to the spectacle. We spent a while taking it all in, and in no time we were back in the car. The Burren region is hard to describe, it’s basically an area of rocks scattered across paddocks, it looks totally out of place, quite bizarre, interesting to see though. We continued to Galway, where we checked into a hostel that Katherine and Janna (whom we met in Cork) were staying. It took a little over an hour and half to drive from one side of Galway city to the other, it was a mad house. The hostel we stayed at was along a cobblestone pedestrian lane and we instantly fell in love with the area. Everywhere we looked it was pedestrian only streets filled with bars, restaurants and cafes. We were staying right on the bay, and it was beautiful. We had dinner in the hostel with a few drinks and then headed across the way to a bar where we drank the night away with a few of our hostel friends. Alison and the other girls retired about midnight when the bar closed, but I continued the party with 2 American guys (Tim and Adam) whom looked like line backers for the New York Giants. We had a blast at this random night club in Galway, Adam and Tim had people coming up all night asking them how tall they were and how much they could bench. Both Adam and Tim could drink quite a bit more than me, but they were intent on ensuring that I kept up, so every time they bought a Guiness for themselves, they got me one also. Then the shots started. The rest of the night was a blur, but I got to bed somehow and got up the next morning in time to check-out by 11. We then drove across the country back to Dublin.

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We got into our hostel and slept and recovered from the previous day. We met a few guys in the hostel; South African fella (Southy) and Tim (Ommit); whom we spent a bit of time with in Dublin, and then Ommit, we saw a whole bunch of times post-Ireland. The following day we walked around Dublin checked out some of the old buildings, and then finally made it to the Guiness factory where we met Ommit and Southy and toured the facility. As all reviews have mentioned, you finish in the top level of the factory in a bar, with a great view of Dublin, and the best Guiness of your life – all of which was completely true. That evening we head out with the guys to Temple Bar, which is the pub and club district of Dublin. We also met up with Kiera (looking back to our Vancouver trip, this is Claire and Alan’s daughter) and her boyfriend, and it was great to catch up.

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We were supposed to be leaving the following morning, but the volcano yet again intervened and we were made to stay another night in Dublin. So we shopped around, continued to sight see and killed time, before going to bed waking up early and flying back to London.

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After arriving back in London, we moved ourselves back into John’s place and again made him sleep on the couch. I decided to take a trip up to Leicester to see Alec. Not exactly the cultural centre of the universe, but we had a great time. We caught up, drank lots, kicked a soccer ball, played golf and had a night out on the town in some of the amazing pubs and clubs Leicester had to offer – we seemed to be the only ones with a full set of teeth.

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Whilst I was in Leicester, Alison was in London, and made a trip to Stone Henge with Janna, Katherine and Ommit. The plan was to take a trip to Bath, but a comedy of errors meant that Portsmouth was their final destination.

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We made the cheap and awful decision to take the overnight bus to Paris, and so began our time in mainland Europe.