Slàinte

Ok, so, hello in Ireland is Hello (unless you speak Gaelic, which clearly I don't) but they drink a lot, and I did learn how to say Cheers in Irish, so I thought I'd go with that! Ok, so, I just got back a couple of hours ago. I had a really good time, however the weather was mental! Blue skies one second, pouring rain the next, gale force winds and then perfectly still. It was all over the place. Was quite cold too, especially with the wind chill factor. But I struggled on through!
8/3- I arrived in to Dublin on the most knuckle clenching landing yet, due to the gale force winds, and not helped by the fact there was only 23 on the plane, so it was rather light! I trudged to the hostel, dumped my stuff and went for a walk, grabbed a bite to eat, and then met up with yet another internet person. I got my own private guided walking tour of what to bother with and what not to in Dublin, and then we had a hot chocolate in a cafe, and I headed back to my hostel.
9/3- I got up early and walked to the place where my '3 day Western Rocker' tour was leaving from. The first stop on the tour was Locke's Distillery where we had a tour of the old distillery, which is not purely for tours, and got to taste the Whiskey, which was... horrible!
Then from there we went to the old Monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise where we got an audio/visual intro then could roam around. It was blue skies when we got there, then it rained, and the whole time it was so windy I climbed up a little wall to take a photo and almost got blown off!
Next we drove through the Burren Plateau which is all limestone and the largest area of natural deforestation in Europe. We stopped off to see Pol na Brone Dolmen which is an ancient burial tomb that would have been under ground, but it had had the soil swept away and eroded away from around it so now it stands above ground. There is a cool fairy tale that goes along with it, that this man and woman fell in love and she betrayed her husband to be, who was high king at the time, and ran off with him, and he put a curse on them and said that she could stay with this man, so long as they didn't make love on his land, so they built these all across Ireland as they were running from him, so as not to break the curse.
Then from here we drove through a little town called Lisdoonvarna which every year has a matchmaking festival, and it all sounds a bit wrong, because rich American divorcees come to find themselves an Irish farmer, and 60 yr old men get with 16 yr old women. Wrong! Then from here, as the weather was no too horrible, we drove out to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a bit misty, but not pouring with rain which it can be. Again, it was SUPER windy. They have recently spent millions on the site putting up a windbreak wall as people kept getting too close to the edge and getting blown off! It was quite impressive, with the sun streaming through the clouds as well.
Then on from here we went to Doolin, where we stayed for the night. Most of us went down to the local pub for traditional Irish stew and I tried Guinness (with blackcurrant in it, which is the girly way) and it still tasted like filth. 10/3- We got up in the morning and drove for a fair way to the Tarbert Ferry which took us across the Shannon river. We drove through the Sliabh Mish mountains to Dingle, where we stopped for lunch. Dingle is a small fishing town that has a bottle nosed dolphin called Fungie (as he used to follow around an old sea dog who had crumbs and stuff in his beard and fungus grew there) that is their major claim to fame. We didn't see Fungie that day, but there is a brass statue of him!

Then we went for a drive around the Dingle peninsula which would have been spectacular if there wasn't so much mist you couldn't see what was meant to be out there! We went down on Coumeenole beach which had foam from the waves blowing all around with the wind! Then we drove on down to Killarney, where we had a group dinner in a restaurant, then went and saw a traditional Irish story teller, who was good, but had a way of yelling all the time, which would have been fine on stage with 200 people, but we were like 20 people in a tiny room. So we could have done without the yelling.
11/3- We had a long drive to Blarney Castle. On the drive, as with every other drive we had had on the trip, there was lots of fields, and sheep, and occasionally goats. It was very pretty, but very repetitive, so hard to stay awake for it. In Blarney we climbed the steps (which got increasingly more narrow in their spiral that at the top I had to take off my backpack cos I got stuck) then at the top, I kissed the Blarney stone, which is an effort in itself, as you have to lay down and bend over backwards to kiss it. So now I should have the gift of the gab (as you can tell by this mammoth blog). Then we went for a walk around and saw the witch's kitchen, which is in the stone under a giant tree and even has a chimney stack, pretty cool.
On from here we drove to the Rock of Cashel, another castle, and then back to Dublin. When we arrived back it was pouring with rain, so I trudged back to the hostel, showered, and went to bed.
12/3- I went on the open top tour around Dublin, and got off at the Guinness Store House where I learnt how Guinness is made and did a quiz, so now I am an honorary master brewer's apprentice! Then at the end you get to go up to the gravity bar for a free Guinness (which I did not indulge in) and the view is very nice. Then back on the bus and around to Kilmainham Gaol where you got to learn a lot about the uprising in Ireland and how the leaders of this were put in gaol there and then killed. I also saw the smallest pub in Dublin and I was amused to discover the mailboxes were green in Ireland! Then I did a bit of wondering around, waiting for 8pm, and watched the sun setting over the river Liffey, which splits Dublin in north and south, and in the evening I went on the Dublin Ghost Buss Tour which was very good. You learnt about some of the haunted places, how Bram Stocker might have come up with Dracula, how to body snatch, all with a very funny guide who liked to scare the crap out of people. There were 2 Chinese girls who were so scared of him they ran away every time he walked near them. It was very funny. We got off twice, once to go into an old graveyard and a haunted church, and the second time to go to the most haunted place in Dublin, where lepers used to be allowed to stand outside and listen to mass.
And then today I came back. Woopdidoo! So yes, it was a good time. I enjoyed it. Loads of interesting history and random facts were passed on to me. And I even have another quiz for you all.... this time it is on Irish Fairies. As with last time, email me your answers and the first to get them all correct (easier this time with multiple choice) will get the prize:
1- Is a fairy ring:
a) a ring of stone placed in the bottom of the garden by fairies?
b) a ring of mushrooms that fairies sit on?
c) a ring of flowers that fairies dance around?
d) a ring of trees that people must not go inside?
2- If your normal, happy child suddenly starts crying all the time, it could have been swapped for a changeling baby. If you suspect this is the case, how do you prove it?
a) drop water on it's forehead and if it steams the baby is a changeling
b) throw the baby in the fire and if a puff of purple smoke comes out, the baby is a changeling?
c) hold the baby underwater for 1 minute and if it doesn't struggle it is a changeling?
d) place a cross on the baby and if it leaves a burn mark it is a changeling?
3- If you want to make a wish at a fairy ring do you...
a) walk around the outside anticlockwise singing your wish?
b) walk around the outside clockwise singing your wish?
c) walk around the outside anticlockwise thinking your wish silently?
d) walk around the outside clockwise thinking your wish silently?
4- Is a Fairy tree...
a) a magical tree that fairies live in which can bring good luck?
b) a tree that is part of a fairy ring?
c) a tree that has been carved into by a fairy with a spell?
d) a single tree randomly placed in a field that if cut down will bring bad luck?
5- If a Banshee knocks on your door does it mean...
a) someone inside the house will die?
b) the person who answers the door will die?
c) a curse has been placed on the house?
d) she has run out of sugar and wants 2 borrow some?

Ok, so, that is my quiz. Good luck to all. And I hope you liked my long rambling blog!