We had officially survived a weekend in Dublin as well as our Northern Ireland adventure. On Monday morning, we left my friend Amanda’s place and drove to our hotel that we had reserved for the night. After all, it was the night before my 25th Birthday, so what better way to ring in a quarter century than staying in a castle hotel?! The atmosphere of the castle hotel was unreal, from the music to the decor, they most definitely made us feel like royalty!
The trip to Northern Ireland the day before kicked our asses, we were exhausted! So firsts things first in the castle was a royal nap! Not even a slight breeze could disturb the sleep.
After a much needed nap, we felt rejuvenated for another night out in Dublin (pre bday celebrations)! We freshened up, took some pictures in the castle and hopped on a bus to take us downtown.
First stop was a Mongolian BBQ place recommended by Amanda. It was our first time having it and it was delicious and very reasonably priced!
Next we made our way back to the Temple Bar area and hopped around from bar to bar, making sure to stop to listen to the music and grab a Guinness (or two). Each bar we stopped at had enjoyable live music. On a side note, this was a Monday afternoon and the place was booming like late Saturday night back at home. Dublin was clearly the best place on earth to celebrate a weekday birthday!
After endless amounts of Guinness pints and Jameson shots, we were hungry and hoping to see some traditional Irish dancing. Another recommendation from Amanda was a place called The Church. Unlike most churches back at home, this church had a bar, restaurant and club located inside. The waitress seated us at the bar, where we had the most amazing bartender, Sean! We also had a decent view of the stage with the band and Irish dancers. (Refer to Savannah’s live video to see more). The drinks, food and service were all outstanding. They even brought me a birthday dessert!
While at the bar, a tall man with dark hair, most likely in his 30s, kept coming up next to us to order drinks. At first he seemed really nice and friendly. He told me that he was a doctor and I thought to myself that he was too nice to be a doctor. We were getting ready to leave when he stopped and asked why were leaving so early when it was my birthday. Things started getting real weird real quick and that’s when Savannah heard the bartender say to her “you guys need to get the f*ck outta here.” Thankfully we already paid, Savannah grabbed me and said we are leaving! We exited the church and sprinted frantically down the street in attempt to find our bus stop. Savannah told me what Sean said and scenes from the movie Taken ran through my mind! Who knows what kind of drugs the “doctor” had on him to sedate a couple o’ lassies. Good thing we didn’t stay long enough to find out!
Before we knew it, we were lost in downtown Dublin. As it turns out, where the bus drops you off is not the same place it’ll pick you up. (Growing up in a town with a population of less than 1500 most definitely did not help prepare us for this moment.) Thankfully a very kind lady gave us directions to find our bus line. Never had I ever been so thankful to be lost in a country, especially where English is the main language! Eventually we found our bus line and headed back to our castle.
After a much needed good night’s rest, we packed up and headed west towards Galway. Did I mention that we navigated all of Ireland without a GPS and relied only on maps?? I’d say most millennials don’t even know what a map is or let alone ever had to use one. So I’m pretty proud to say we actually made it to our destinations without Siri telling us where to turn! Even though we had a newer car, it didn’t have a compass. We felt like Lewis and Clark relying on landmarks such as water and the sun to tell which direction we were headed!
Luckily, from Dublin to Galway it was almost a straight shot so we made it there with no problems. At a gas station stop, we grabbed the ingredients to make our own lox n bagel.
When we arrived to Galway, first we stopped at an info center for some maps of the town. Next we hit up a coffee shop, because caffeine! We roamed the streets of Galway to find many cute little cafes and souvenir shops. There, I purchased a claddagh ring for a reasonable price. The store I purchased it at was actually the first company in Ireland to make claddagh rings.
After roaming the streets of Galway for a couple of hours, we headed south towards the Cliffs of Moher. The route to get there was similar to that of a crazy, winding enclosed roller coaster ride. But instead, with occasional views of luscious green hills covered in sheep or cattle. Not going to lie, the drive was terrifying at times. The roads were extremely narrow and right off of the (nonexistent) shoulder stood rock walls covered in greenery. At times I probably could have reached out and touched them while going down the road. Oh, and Savannah and I both screamed like little girls every time we passed a bus that flew by us.
We finally arrived to our last stop of the day, the Cliffs of Moher. We spent a couple of hours there walking around along the sides of the steep cliffs. At times, the wind gusts felt as if they could’ve blown you over!
Have you seen anything “Moher” beautiful??
It had been a long day of travel and we were exhausted. We stayed the night in a hostel close to the cliffs. It was a nice place along a river in a small town.
The next day was our last day in Ireland together. We had a long day of travel ahead. First we drove to Macroom, which is where Savannah has family heritage. We stopped at a church there and the priest was able to show us records of her family’s baptism.
Next we headed towards the famous Blarney Castle near Cork. Were you even in Ireland if you didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone??
We explored the enchanted forests and beautiful gardens that surrounded the famous Blarney Castle.
Couldn’t have asked for better weather on our last day in Ireland!
Overall, this trip has been nothing but amazing. From learning how to read in Iceland to learning how to drive in Ireland and everything in between it’s been full of nothing but adventure. I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am to have been able to go on this trip and be with my sister at the same time! She’s kept me sane, made me laugh and scared me half to death with her driving skills, but I would trade any of this experience for the world! The past 10 days have given us enough memories to last a lifetime and more. Thank you for following along our journey. It has been fun to write and share our experiences. We’ll leave you with an Irish blessing-
“May the road rise up to meet you,
may the wind be always at your back,
May the sunshine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.”
The Aud Blog 