Irlanti - Ireland

A week before my spring break, my mom, dad and I took a lovely trip to Ireland for 10 days. My mom has been wanting to go to Ireland for some time now, and decided no time like the present! So my parents flew from Phoenix to Dublin, where I then met them for what was to be a beautiful 10 days! We immediately got in the rental car and started our journey north. We went to Belfast, then to Derry (or Londonderry), then Galway, the Dingle Peninsula, then Kilkenny, and finally back to Dublin. 

I admittedly knew very little about Northern Ireland, and the struggles it has gone through in its quest for freedom from British rule. It's crazy to think that in my life time so many bad things have happened to good people. It was humbling to see the memorials and street art in honor of those who lost their lives fighting for Northern Ireland. The IRA has a presence that can still be seen and felt in both Belfast and Derry. The Nationalists and the Unionists had some disgusting battles that have left their mark on these cities. Regardless of their war torn past, Northern Ireland was beautiful and we all really enjoyed our time here. 

Belfast street art

Belfast street art

Belfast street art

Abandoned buildings in Belfast

The wall separating east and west Belfast

Between Belfast and Derry we stopped at two sites, The Giant's Causeway and Bushmill's Distillery. The Giant's Causeway was a beautiful natural wonder, that was really incredible to see. The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. The tallest are about 12 metres high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places. These hexagonal rocks are really incredible and have become the subject of a really cute urban legend. 

According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realizes that his foe is much bigger than him. Fionn's wife, Úna, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow.

Giant's Causeway

Looking back

So many hexagons, it was crazy!

I was into it! :)

After the Causeway, with some time to kill still, we decided to take a tour of the Bushmill's whiskey distillery. Basically if you've ever taken a beer tour it's the same kind of idea, except whiskey, obviously. The important parts are that Corvin made friends with the employees, per usual, and they gave him an honorary vest to wear during the tour. And then we shared in our complimentary samples, of which I'm the only one that really enjoyed them haha!

Corvin making friends wherever he goes, always.

A true bonding moment.

The next leg of our journey was in Derry, also known as Londonderry. This town was much smaller, but still just as lively. There were still many reminders of the tension between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, however it is quiet for now and therefore very pleasant to walk around in. The most iconic part of this town were its peace murals, they were beautiful and very humbling to see.

There were a lot of hints about how pleased the people are about Maggie being dead..

Pretty heavy. 

The 14 victims of Bloody Sunday

This rendition of the Wizard of Oz classic hit number one on the BBC charts

After leaving Derry, while venturing to Galway, we stumbled upon a beautiful bit of coastline. This coastline is someone's view from their back porch, and not just someone, whoever lives in this insane castle! I can't imagine living in such an epic structure, let alone having the view of the Irish coast as you sit and sip your tea! 

Is this real life?

I was so psyched on not needing a jacket!

And someone had their horses out here; they were super friendly!

Then we arrived to Galway. This beautiful, coastal town sure provided for a great stay. We stayed here two nights, but the first night my parents and I partook in separate activities. I went for a 12 mile run along the coast, to continue preparing for my half-marathon, that was 2 weeks away at the time. It was a beautiful run, and I'm so grateful that I was able to see the city in this way. But the second day we took a boat tour of the Aran Islands. These islands, which were cultivated some time ago, are made of stone, and therefore, in order to inhabit them the first settlers had to gather the rocks, and made elaborate fences out of them. Then to render the land cultivatable, they had to lay down seaweed and sand, and then they could finally grow some crops. Nowadays they have been connected to the mainland underwater, and import some things, but it's still a marvelous site to see. It's quite barren, and rather shocking, but still incredible to say the least. They also speak Gaelic here, and that was really fun to get to eavesdrop on. 

Insane the amount of work that must have gone into these fences!

We even got lucky to see some seals, they're the black blobs in the background :) 

Corvin was scared of the edge!

Flowers growing at the edge of the world! 

I think old gravestones are so beautiful!

Lobster fishing gear 

All smiles!

After Galway we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher on our way to the Dingle Peninsula. These infamous Cliffs are worthy of their fame, in my modest opinion. They were unbelievably beautiful and stunning to stay the least. Nature's wonders always have a way of blowing my mind, especially when coupled with sunshine and good company. The most incredible part of this natural wonder is that there is no fence along the edge, which while admittedly dangerous, is still really damn cool, because not having your view impeded by man's hand is always something I am grateful for. 

Cliffs of Moher!

The white specks in the crevices are all birds.. Corvin decided that this mustn't be too bad a place to be a bird! 

Thumbs up for the Cliffs of Moher!

So cool!

and again..

I adopted the touchdown Jesus pose for the trip, in case it hasn't become apparent ;)

The Dingle Peninsula was next, and yet again a truly beautiful landscape! This peninsula is full of magic, and showed us a really wonderful time. We took a 30 mile drive along the coast where we saw so many colors: greens, blues, white, and shades of gray. We stopped so many times to get out and stare at the beauty, and to obviously snap photos, because this coastline was truly amazing. I could see why people decided to set up their homes along these parts. The two nights spent in Dingle were very relaxing and scenic. We unfortunately didn't get a glimpse of the famed dolphin that lives in the area, but hey we're not complaining because the rain held out for us, and that mattered more! Not to mention, the hotel breakfast in Dingle was epic, maybe that's where my true biased opinion comes from ;)

The colors were unreal!! 

I reeeeally want a baby sheep! 

And this dude became my friend as well!

Old beehive shaped huts! How cool!

Some more beautiful coastline!!

Touchdown for the Dingle Peninsula!

After Dingle we ventured to Kilkenny for a night, but along the way we stopped to see the Rock of Cashel. Here's what wikipedia has to say about this site... 
According to local mythology, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil's Bit, a mountain 20 miles north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock's landing in Cashel. Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century.

The Rock of Cashel

The roof is missing...

The Rock of Cashel graveyard.

In Kilkenny we primarily came to see an impressive castle, but I neglected to take any photos of it. Instead I was more focused on the grounds, which I also didn't take any decent photos of, so instead you just have to trust that we went to Kilkenny, but if you want real proof, then this photo of an art exhibit I stumbled upon will have to do! How crazy that I stumbled upon an exhibit about Finland, whilst in Ireland!

It's a small world.

From Kilkenny we made our way to Dublin, the last destination of the trip. Dublin proved to be a good time, as expected! The weather was great, aka no rain, and the sun even shined most of the time! The city is very much alive, with people all about and everyone couldn't be friendlier if they tried! We had a good time roaming the streets, seeing the sights and eating good food! We stopped at Trinity College, supposedly it is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, as well as Ireland's oldest university. We also got to see the Book of Kells while we were here, it is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800; it's crazy seeing things this old! We also stopped at the Kilmainham prison, it played an important part in Irish history, as many leaders of Irish rebellions were imprisoned and some executed in the prison by the British and in 1923 by the Irish Free State. And then we obviously ventured past many infamous cathedrals, like St. Patrick's Cathedral. Other then that, lots of roaming the streets, window shopping and occasionally purchasing a thing or two!

We stumbled upon an amazing restaurant, The Fumbally, and they had this perfect quote on the blackboard!

One of the numerous famine memorials.

Oregon maples on the lawn of Trinity College; it's so refreshing to see green!

The library at Trinity College, it's amazing!

Kilmainham prison

Kilmainham prison

The Dublin spire, it commemorates nothing...

All in all it was a lovely trip, and so great to get to spend time with my parents! I am very grateful for this time with them in such a beautiful place! I highly encourage anyone and everyone to venture to Ireland if the opportunity ever presents itself, you surely won't be disappointed! Lastly, I'll leave you with this epic bachelor party that we stumbled upon in the Temple Bar district, obviously Dublin's party area! :)

I'm convinced that Alex's groomsmen would have been wise to torture him in this way!