Some Kind of Wonderful: Ireland 2012

Our last blog post left off with our ferry ride to Dublin, Ireland. We started off in Dublin and then finished up in Dublin, so we were able to experience the city 2 separate times during our trip. Dublin was my favorite city in Ireland. The city has tons of character and you can't help but to have a good time while in this city! The first stop in Dublin was spent taking a walking tour, shopping, coffee drinking etc. We lucked out with good weather too!

After taking off (via our bus) from Dublin, the first few days in Ireland were spent in the northern parts of the country. Northern Ireland was such a historical experience. I had heard and learned the basics of the IRA and the internal conflict in the country between the Catholics and Protestants, however I had NO idea how recent the turmoil and effects were. Many of the northern cities of Ireland, Londonderry (Derry), Belfast, etc. still have walls up in the cities dividing the Catholic from the Protestant side. In Belfast, they still continue to close the wall gates at midnight each day. Belfast also contains a PEACE WALL that has been signed by millions accross the world who come to wish the people of Northern Ireland peace and hope. Bill Clinton had been there and left his mark on the wall. The northern cities are also known for their murals. Almost everywhere you look in the communites you can see buildings with painted political murals. It was fascinating to hear the different stories behind each one. In Derry, our walking tour guide, Ronan, explained how most citizens of Derry express interest in destroying the walls but are not quite ready. The two communities are still working on building trust- which might take a generation or two. Walking through the northern cities of Ireland, you could feel that the people and cities had been through hard times (although the people were as nice as could be!) It was incredible to think that only 5-10 years ago the country was in turmoil. It says a lot about how far a person, city, country can come in such a short period of time!

Side Note: Belfast was also the city where the Titanic was built and we were able to visit the brand new Titanic Museum.

Northern Ireland brought history and beauty, but nothing could beat the heart of Ireland and the Southern/Western coast! This part of the country is what you see in the movies! Endless rolling hills covered in the greenest green you have ever seen :) (What a rhyme!) The hills in Ireland are vast and draw dropping (not mountainous like Scotland.) During this part of our trip we visited Galway, the Cliffs of Mohr, Cork, Kilkenny etc. Each city had a distinct 'flavor' and feel. Galway inspired our tour theme song, "Galway Girl"- this song still gets stuck in my head, ha. Cork and Kilkenny both brought history and walking and castle stops along the way. One such castle, Blarney Castle had to have been a favorite! So many of the castles we had previously visited had been "updated", however this castle was old and magnificent- set in the Irish countryside. The castle is also home to the Blarney Stone! Mel kissed it and I did not. Supposedly she will have eloquence for 200 years!! Other stops included the Jameson Distillery where we took the coldest and rainiest walking tour- of my life. It must have been raining and 40 degrees....this is cold for us Houstonians! Not to mention my umbrella had seen much better days by this point in the trip :(

In Kilkenny we spent our time walking around the city and making some of our last trip purchases. We stopped off for a beer at a local Irish pub and had a dinner with our tour group at a local restaurant. Our last day in Ireland was spent back in Dublin! That morning we took a tour of the Guiness brewery! It was pretty interesting to see how Guiness is made. Now, I am not at all a dark beer lover however you can NOT go to the home of Guiness and not have a sample! Suprisingly it was much smoother than anticipated. Mel quite enjoyed it and her almost empty glass proved that! I finished off about 1/3 of my glass, which I was proud of! Later that day we walked around Dublin and Mel toured Trinity University while I walked around on my own snapping pictures.

Our last night we headed out to the Temple Bar district for a great tapas dinner and some beers at the local pubs! I had a blast listening to the live music! Dublin is known for it's live music, which can be found EVERYWHERE. We hit up a couple spots, one complete with traditional Irish music...or as the locals say, 'trad' music.

Every now and then someone will ask me why I like to travel so much. I can talk to them for days about how fascinating it is to learn about another culture while you are emmersed in it, or how wonderful it is to escape to a part of the world that is rich in century old history, but nothing explains it better than a picture. Enjoy!