Europe adventure. Day 4 of 34.
Written on Westy's very comfy couch on day 5.
Aah! Yesterday! Where do I begin? Well, I woke up really damn early I'm the morning for no reason at all and could not for the life of me get back to sleep. But I think I was just too excited about the Cliffs. So while everyone was sleeping I got my things together and took a nice shower. I was not coming back to Adrian's after the Cliffs. When the others woke up I made sure we got a picture of the three of us. I wish Adrian had been in it, too, but I didn't want to wake him. Ariel will be posting that picture on Facebook later, since we took it with her fancy iPad.
We packed a picnic, got all my stuff (which isn't much) and headed out. It's pretty great how I can carry/drag all of my things from Salt Hill to the center of Galway with absolutely no hassle. It wasn't too heavy, I could wheel it over basically anything; the only thing I had to worry about was running over people's toes.
We didn't miss the bus! We actually got there about 45 minutes early, so we had time to get some breakfast at a little place called The Jungle Cafe. Such a cute little place! A little expensive for Ariel's porridge, but it came with fresh bananas and mango. I was pretty jealous.
PJ was the name of our bus driver and he was very nice and pretty funny, too. The first place our day tour stopped was a little farm in Burren, right by the mountains. Such a beautiful place, where we had very tour guides whose family had lived there for 300 years and who seemed like they knew everything about Ireland and the Burren.
We saw a very cute little mountain goat who, if I remember correctly, had gotten abandoned by his mother and raised on the farm. He was very friendly, looking to play with everyone, and his name was Billy. And then as we walked farther out into the farm and towards the mountains we were joined by a couple of adorable farm dogs. They just loved everyone and seemed like they could never get enough attention.
One of the dogs, whose name was Lizzy, followed us as we hiked up the hill. Or for large portions of the tour, led us.
The Burren is beautiful, and the weather was perfect. Almost too nice to seem like Ireland. We learned a lot of things about cow farming, the farming industry in Ireland in general, and other random historical facts about Ireland.
One of my favorite stops on the hike was at a Hawthorne tree that was covered all over with little pieces of string or fabric or random things. Apparently Hawthorne trees are doors to the fairy realm, and if you left a trinket on the tree you could also leave one of your problems behind with the fairies. Of course they told us it would not work for hangovers; they had tried.
After some homemade cake and pie (which looked fantastic, even though I did not eat it) we all got back in the bus and made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a pretty long drive full of amazing scenery and narrow, twisting roads. I was highly impressed with our driver.
I can't even begin to describe the Cliffs. I...I am basically in speechless awe just thinking about them. There you are, on a grassy coastline dotted with cows, and the world just drops away. Those cliffs made me feel tiny and the world seem vast and full of magic. They made me want to fly more than anything. My heart was just racing with an uncontrollable joy when I stared down at the ocean below, the gulls flying down near the cliff face. The rocks down there were patched with grass and flowers and I wanted to be down there on a the rocks, having a picnic and bathing in the sun. Of course if I tried that I would die, so I didn't. I did, however, stay pretty close to the edge, not within the safe little path behind a wall of stone. Yeah, right.
We only had a little less than two hours at the Cliffs, which was not nearly enough. I was getting pretty sunburned and overheated, though, so maybe it was for the best. We stopped at a little town called Doolin for lunch and at Fitz's Restaurant and Bar I got a very Irish meal of glazed ham, cabbage, carrots and parsnips, potatoes and also mashed potatoes. It was absolutely delicious, but way more food than I could eat.
Full to the brim and carrying leftovers, I got back on the bus. And took a nap. I did wake up when we stopped to take pictures of a castle, but I have to admit I missed a lot of the other coastal scenery. It's okay, Ariel took pictures for me.
Back in Galway I went to pick up my luggage in the internet cafe where I had left it and Ariel and I split ways. I am going to miss Galway and all of the friends I made! I am also sad I missed not only the Aran Islands but a silent disco as well! That is definitely going to be a blast, so I can't wait to hear about it from everyone.
I got some ice cream while I waited for my bus to Westport and wrote some CS referrals at the internet cafe. Then I was on the bus and napping again.
When I did wake up, the sun setting behind the mountains and the green hills was amazing, and my phone was dead, so I want able to take a picture or find out where I was meeting my host. Thankfully, he did find me at the bus station, so that was no big deal.
Westy is just great! He is fun and spontaneous and welcoming and I had a great time meeting all of his his friends. I had a few drinks and watched a lot of them play on an Indo Board before we walked down to a little night club. And the club was huge fun. It has a very laidback yet upbeat environment, and though I felt a little under-dressed I did in no way feel like I didn't belong. I had some Irish cider, mingled with all of the people I had met at Westy's house and couldn't seem to stop dancing, even in the hallway.
When we were kicked out at closing and everyone went back to the house, I brought out the makings for s'mores and a lot of them ready loved that. Most of them seemed like they had never tried an actual s'more, or even a graham cracker.
I am very glad I was able to stay awake that long, but once I hit the couch/bed I fell asleep pretty fast, even with all of the noise from the other room. And I got sleep! Who knows when I went to bed, but I slept well into the morning, so that is magnificent.
We packed a picnic, got all my stuff (which isn't much) and headed out. It's pretty great how I can carry/drag all of my things from Salt Hill to the center of Galway with absolutely no hassle. It wasn't too heavy, I could wheel it over basically anything; the only thing I had to worry about was running over people's toes.
We didn't miss the bus! We actually got there about 45 minutes early, so we had time to get some breakfast at a little place called The Jungle Cafe. Such a cute little place! A little expensive for Ariel's porridge, but it came with fresh bananas and mango. I was pretty jealous.
We saw a very cute little mountain goat who, if I remember correctly, had gotten abandoned by his mother and raised on the farm. He was very friendly, looking to play with everyone, and his name was Billy. And then as we walked farther out into the farm and towards the mountains we were joined by a couple of adorable farm dogs. They just loved everyone and seemed like they could never get enough attention.
The Burren is beautiful, and the weather was perfect. Almost too nice to seem like Ireland. We learned a lot of things about cow farming, the farming industry in Ireland in general, and other random historical facts about Ireland.
After some homemade cake and pie (which looked fantastic, even though I did not eat it) we all got back in the bus and made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a pretty long drive full of amazing scenery and narrow, twisting roads. I was highly impressed with our driver.
Full to the brim and carrying leftovers, I got back on the bus. And took a nap. I did wake up when we stopped to take pictures of a castle, but I have to admit I missed a lot of the other coastal scenery. It's okay, Ariel took pictures for me.
I got some ice cream while I waited for my bus to Westport and wrote some CS referrals at the internet cafe. Then I was on the bus and napping again.
Westy is just great! He is fun and spontaneous and welcoming and I had a great time meeting all of his his friends. I had a few drinks and watched a lot of them play on an Indo Board before we walked down to a little night club. And the club was huge fun. It has a very laidback yet upbeat environment, and though I felt a little under-dressed I did in no way feel like I didn't belong. I had some Irish cider, mingled with all of the people I had met at Westy's house and couldn't seem to stop dancing, even in the hallway.
I am very glad I was able to stay awake that long, but once I hit the couch/bed I fell asleep pretty fast, even with all of the noise from the other room. And I got sleep! Who knows when I went to bed, but I slept well into the morning, so that is magnificent.
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