Ireland Part I

12:39 PM

I thought I was picture crazy in Italy but Ireland was just something else. The rugged, lush terrain was just totally unexpectedly stupendous. Don't hate, just get your rear end to Ireland ASAP.

We rented a car in Dublin. I really have no idea what we would've done without a car. You'll see in the next few posts that we went to as many places as we could possibly get in 8 days but I suppose that if you stick to one specific place/hitchhike (that happens a lot in Ireland), you could do without a car. I just have one tiny experience to share about hitchhiking and not the slightest clue about public transportation. Jo and I did pick up a couple of hitch hikers (brothers) between Clifden and Galway (don't tell Taylor) and we asked them about hitchhiking, if they hitchhike often, if it's safe, and how long they'd been waiting for a ride. They had waited a solid 3 minutes before we and another car simultaneously stopped to offer them a lift. It happens all the time I guess.

The first church we passed on our way straight west to Doolin in County Clare. I thought was cool enough to stop and take a picture. Then we started passing so many cool things that we just had to keep driving or we would never get anywhere at all.

My view from the passenger seat (on the left side) of the car. I had an 80% success rate as giving good directions as the map reader. Living life with GPS is hard, but so much more adventurous. Plus, it's cheaper than paying €30 a day for it :) We always had time to chat in the car and one of the things we can't imagine is what the generation of our future children will be like. Will they ever even have to use a huge map to get around a foreign country? Will phones and wireless data just flow across international lines uninhibited in the future? What will airplanes look like? How much will a ticket cost? Will we have gas-fueled cars in 25 years?

This is why I love road trips. Especially with Jo.

We stopped to see a house built into the side of this hill and I never ceased to be overwhelmingly excited about the livestock that roams on every hillside. See the sheep that walked to the top of the hill to get a look at us? They heard our car and voices and came to see who was making such a ruckus.

The first castle we made a little detour to see. The gate to get in to see it was already closed for the day.

Just inside gate of the castle above. Everything is so cool and old in Ireland.

The gate I stuck my phone through to get some pictures :)

After some crazy map struggles, we made it to our hostel in Doolin. It was a happy miracle because it was Jo's birthday wish to get to this cute little place for her birthday. She had spent the morning in Rome and flew into her favorite country of all time in the afternoon.

This is pub is called Fitzpatrick's and these amazing pub, the musicians and others we met made Jo's birthday a magical one! The pub had stopped serving food so I was going to be happy with this pot of chamomile tea and biscuits while we listened to my new favorite instrument: . However, the Irish generosity that I would see over and over started this first night. A man in the pub took it upon himself to make sure the birthday girl had a meal in the pub, went into the kitchen and whipped us up some sandwiches and found some cookies to offer. It was so sweet!

The musicians performing that night, Blackie and Cyril, serenaded us with Irish tunes and between numbers chatted with us and taught us about the history in the lyrics and even about current world events. It was amazing night and so personal getting to know these local musicians along with the small crowd who sat in Fitzpatrick's that night.

The Allie River Hostel in Doolin. It is so adorable! It was just across the river and street from Fitzpatrick's. We stayed here just the first night because it's Jo's favorite hostel in the world and it is such a short drive to the Cliffs of Moher!

Allie River.

The sweet donkey lives and grazes on this plot of land by the hostel.

And the pictures of the shoreline of Ireland begin. I can't think of a better place to start than at the famous Cliffs of Moher. Think Princess Bride (such a Utah Mormon flick, Taylor has yet to see it...) The Cliffs of Insanity? Pretty sure that was filmed here.

Right by the entrance and visitors center is this tower called O'Brien's Tower. I don't even remember the name because we thought it was too new (1835) and didn't even get close up to see it. The tower at Hag's Head is 3.5 km south of the Visitor's Center. Jo has been to the cliffs multiple times but had yet to make the trek out to Hag's Head. What? You want to walk seven kilometres in non-hiking shoes with constant, misting rain in our faces and strong gusts of sea wind that freeze our slightly wet clothes to see a tower that was possibly used as a lookout point in the Napoleonic War? COUNT ME IN!

And so we set off south toward Hags Head, way off in the distance there. It's called that because the rock formation is strange and looks like the shape of a woman's profile looking out towards the sea. This is NOT a good picture to see the profile. I don't think I could have taken a proper picture of it without being in a boat. These cliffs are 400 feet above sea level.
(Utah dwellers can compare Timpanogos mountain peaks and the shape of a woman who sleeps on her back with her feet to the south IF you grew up in Utah County. I hear they taught Salt Lake County kids that she lay the other way. I could also have just switched those two. I confused myself because I can see her both ways)

Looking back at O'Brien's Tower from almost halfway to Hags Head.

The misty rain and fog kept rolling in toward us.

This was one of those moments where someone with acrophobia would clutch the small, wooden fence and miss the view down, beyond the cliff.

400 feet straight down...

The wind kept blowing the mist and fog fast and long enough that we got some sun as we got closer to Hags Head!

The fog was behind us (for a while) and the sun shone on our path and made everything MAGICAL. This was when Ireland stole my heart. Less than 24 hours. Record time.

If you know Jo, you know she is passionate about certain things. Horses are one of the highest on her list of loves.

Don't be scared!
Jo got this bangle with the most beautiful Irish poem and I'll always think of it when I see this picture.

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

the rains fall soft upon your fields and

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand

Convinced you need some Irish love in your life yet?

Moher Tower at Hags Head. (pronounced mo-her. We were mistakenly calling it 'more' with a silent 'h'. Just saving the future visitor's the reflex look of annoyance some of the locals can't manage to hide.)