After dancing the night away, it was really difficult to wake up for our tour at the crack of dawn, so difficult that my friend and I forwent makeup and all other cute personal hygiene routines and hauled our asses to the bus stop where our tour guide was taking us to the Cliffs of Moher! Before getting there, we were to make a stop in Galway which is a little over an hour away from our destination of the cliffs. Our awesome tour guide who kept us entertained and laughing the whole trip made this first stop in Galway to show us the quaint and peaceful life that belongs to people who live along the water. During this time, they were having a festival, and our tour guide allowed us to walk around and take in the sights! It was here that we learned about the famous Claddagh ring which is a sign of love, loyalty, and friendship in Ireland and is rumored to have originated in Galway! My friend and I of course had to get matching silver ones as friendship tokens and they still hold up to this day! After leaving Galway, we continued on towards the cliffs, and the scenery out in the country was breathtaking. As we rose higher and higher, we saw many different farm animals and houses out in seclusion with their closest neighbors being miles away. We were so high up and the road winded so much, in fact, that one passenger actually threw up...which wasn't so pleasant, but that's part of the adventure right? Once we got to the Cliffs, after that beautiful drive, we dismounted the bus, reinvigorated by the prospect of being able to see the famous natural landmark that appeared in movies like The Princess Bride! We were given free reign for two hours, and we definitely needed that much time as the trail along the cliffs seemed to never end! We were fortunate that the weather was nice as we walked along the water and really took in nature's beauty! After leaving the cliffs (I don't even think we made it even nearly halfway to the end), our tour guide took us to a village for dinner to get great fish and chips. This was my favorite meal of the entire trip, Gus O'Connors is a must when visiting Ireland as it is extremely authentic and a great representation of real Irish life. The fish and chips were excellent, and the service was fast, despite our large tour group. After eating, we went to an adorable fudge shop next door, where we bought wares from a woman who lived in the village. After eating our fill, we headed back to the bus for the long trip back to Dublin, but not before our tour guide had us stop by a beautiful cliff so we could see the sunset to end a perfect day. Dublin: Night FourBy the time we got back to Dublin, my friend and I were just looking to drink and dance anywhere, as Dublin clearly was not the place for the type of music we wanted. We got dressed up for our last night and wandered around. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and not a great day to dance, of course, but we did find some great bars for beer and lounging. We went to the Workman's Club, had some Guinness and kicked back while people who may have been on drugs danced to nonstop 80s. The beer was cheap and really good so we spent a good part of the night here. When we were ready to go, we wandered around some more and were directed toward a really cool underground bar called Yamamori Izakaya, which played a lot of deep house, but had a really friendly crowd and cheap drinks. We met a guy who lived in the city and he listened all about our trip, half-amused and half-horrified at some of the things we had encountered. He bought us shots and kept up great conversation, I would say out of all the people we met, he was a perfect example of Irish hospitality and kindness.
After leaving, we accidentally stumbled into a gay bar that played great music...unfortunately I can't recall the name, but it was definitely memorable.
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Ireland 2018A trip to Ireland in November of 2018 ArchivesCategories |