The Emerald Isle

It has taken me a while to write a post the accurately sums up my trip to Ireland. I wrote one, but it was filled with a little too much vitriol and negativity.

I'd love to say the trip was an amazing adventure. There were parts of it that were great, and there were parts of it where I was pretty miserable. This is partly because I was not at all mentally prepared for this trip, or the concept of traveling with people besides Steven. Lets just say that I probably would have enjoyed the trip 100 times more if it had been just Steven and me. I knew before we left that I don't travel well with people, and this just solidified that fact for me.

The short summary is as follows:

We arrived in Dublin, where we only spent about 6 hours before getting on the road to Kilkenny. Kilkenny is a really neat little town, and we met a bunch of crazy Irishmen at the pub across the street from our hostel. Apparently the way to get Irish people to talk to you at a pub is to start playing cards. This is a pretty normal bar activity in Wisconsin, at least where I come from. Apparently not so much in Ireland, and we were made fun of for doing so. At least it was a good conversation starter.

After Kilkenny we headed to Kilarney where there is a national park. We ended up staying in Kilarney two nights and I really enjoyed the time we spent there. It was pretty much the highlight of the trip. I sure do love nature, and nature abounded. We saw mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and lots and lots of sheep. You know what I don't love? Narrow Irish roads and using a map that isn't drawn to scale to figure out where in the heck we were in the park. It sure was beautiful though.

We filled out the rest of the trip with stops at the Cliffs of Moher, a stop in Galway and then on to a wedding in Rathmullan and a reception in Ballybofey. Irish wedding receptions apparently go until 5:30 in the morning. There was no way I was going to make it that long. I was actually pretty surprised at the number that did.

Let me pass on some things I learned while I was on this trip:

• When one is traveling very long distances by plane, one should set aside a day to become acquainted with the new time zone, especially if one has already been awake for 20 hours. One should NOT attempt to get by another 12 hours with 20 minutes of sleep. If one does attempt this, let this be a warning: you will become one tired, cranky traveling companion.
• Ireland is hella expensive. I thought it was terribly ironic that the dollar reached an all time low against the Euro the first time I leave for a European vacation. Add on top of that the fact that Ireland is known for its "rip-off" culture. I paid 9 Euros (about $14) for the greasiest fast food quarter pounder and cheese with fries. I had no choice because...
• In the off tourist season, you have a very small window in which to eat dinner. This window is 6-9. If you had a late lunch and aren't hungry until 10, you are fucked and you will pay $14 to eat a meal that will have you hurting for days afterwards.
• Also, bring Kleenex with you when going on a hike in the woods. I think that's all I'm going to say about that.
• If the other couple you are traveling with suggests playing Euchre, politely decline. Especially if it ends up being boys against girls and one of the boys is officially THE SOREST LOSER ever. Arguments will abound.
• When one is entering a really cool area of a bar in Galway, one should pay attention to where they are stepping. Otherwise, one might inadvertently miss two stairs and roll their ankle. This was even before any drinks were to be had. [Incidentally that happened to Steven and not me.]
• If you are prone to panic attacks, do not try to visit Slieve League, Europe's highest sea cliffs, with someone who drives like a maniac. The roads to get there run very close to cliffs, and as I mentioned above, Irish roads are already too narrow for my tastes. Every time a car came at us I kept envisioning our car careening off the road and down a very steep cliff into the very cold ocean. It was not a good thing.
• I say this every time I fly there, but I refuse to fly out of O'Hare ever, ever again. I am ashamed to admit that Steven and I got lost in the Economy parking lot (sadly, this is the second time that's happened). We were tired and disoriented and cranky. We just wanted to get home after a fairly stressful trip, and O'Hare was determined not to let us do that. F-off O'Hare.

I'm labeling this trip an experience. That labels it neither negatively nor positively. It just was. The country itself was incredibly scenic, but I don't really feel the need to go back anytime soon. I have so many other places I need to visit.