it aint over til the drunk irishman sings

Got my Irish arse kicked this week.

So I spent a couple days at Connemara (a beautiful countryside region of Western Ireland) and met lots of people at the hostel... basically because you were kind of trapped inside. The first day a bunch of us went hiking around a mountain and the fjord to the side of it... yes Ireland has a fjord... just one. I think it was around 12-15km.

The next day a friend and I cycled like mad. Bc it's the only way to get anywhere if you don't have a car. I mean the hostel is literally in the middle of nowhere! I think we cycled around 40km (and that's not flat land), plus stopped off at the Connemara National Park to hike a bit (5km). I also fell flat on my butt at the Kylemore Abbey after slipping on a hill of moss. Ouch.

Met lots of international people: Switzerland, Czech Republic, French Canadian, Italian, Australian (Australian kayak instructor=well done Australia...). I was complaining on Wednesday night during the World Cup game bc there were so many French people but I had never met any of them. They seem to stick to themselves and I wanted to meet one so I could disprove the "stereotype." Well that all changed Thursday night when 2 French guys invited me and my friend to play pool with them. Turns out they didn't just run out of people to play with. They were nice enough, but now I think French people are a little creepy....

The only way to get from Connemara to Galway on Friday was a shuttle bus that ran at 8:30pm. This meant that I was stuck at the hostel but had to put all my bags in storage for the day... stuck w/the French guy and 81 middle schoolers who were coming in that afternoon! Luckily (hi mom) I was offered a ride by Bostonian brother and sister. So I hitched again, I guess.

I had a great time with Joey this weekend! On Saturday we climbed Croagh Patrick which was absolutely ridiculous. We were making fun of it initially because lots of old people make the climb as a pilgrimage. I had no idea of the resolve of Irish old people, though.
It was the rainiest day of the week and it was disgusting. We got to a point where the wind nearly knocked us off the mountain (like a hurricane w/those newscasters). It was probably one of the hardest things I've done. When we got to the top, we were SOAKED like we went swimming in our clothes, and it was freezing plus there was wind. I was afraid I'd have to lose a couple of my fingers to frostbite!
This is summer in Ireland, ladies and gentlemen.
Much of the climb were just huge stones set up at 60 degree climbing angle. And if it wasn't stoney, it was muddy. We couldn't see anything but 5 yards in front and behind us. Crazy... we picked a mighty fine day... but we made it. Now I have to go back two more times for my penance according to my relatives. Maybe a sunny day would be a good idea? We did do the entire climb in 3 hours which is pretty good. I fell once (going down, you're pushed by gravity) and now my hand is purple and puffy, but I didn't feel a thing at the time. I'm sure it should have hurt...

After the climb we made our soaked shivery journey back to Galway (yes the challenge was not over yet). Yes, Croagh Patrick you kicked my arse too.

We also watched the rather anticlimatic World Cup Final... go Italy... their team is hotter anyway... and not French.

Blarney Castle... probably the most touristy place I've been so far, but I went RIGHT when it opened, so I was able to appreciate the beauty of the whole land. I'm SO glad I went. Cottontail rabbits there are like our squirrels in FL. They're everywhere. The whole area (minus the castle and gross Blarney Stone) were soooo beautiful. I have lots of pictures and videos that I'll post later. Probably one of my top 5 places of all time. Tall trees, meadows, rock clusters, horses... Too bad tourists polluted the beauty soon after opening...

I've been having my lunches at this park in Cork where these crazy people hang out. It's really fun to people watch. Yesterday a drunk man was slouched on a bench with an inconspicuous bottle in his hand, singing REALLY loudly... Today was goth day I guess. But there were still a few old guys passed out in the grass (at 6:00pm!).

Last night in Ireland, tomorrow I fly back to London!

Ireland!

Everyone in Ireland is so nice!

Got here on Monday and stayed with family in Dublin. Dublin is nice, enough attractions to keep you occupied but I really wasn't feeling too much Irish culture.

Until I got to County Sligo. I stayed with a relative and she lives on the land that my Great Grandfather was born on. Needless to say, I woke up one morning, looked out the window and there was a cow staring back at me. Moo... I even got a cow kiss on my hand! They have really wet noses and icky tongues. Went to "town" where EVERYBODY knows EVERYBODY! It's insane! Not only that, everybody knew that I was coming! People were great and I met so many people that SOMEHOW I'm related to. Ah, town life. Still, I really enjoyed living like a real Irish girl for a few days, and saw so many beautiful sights of the countryside.

People here are obsessed with Gaelic football and hurling. If you're curious, google it, but these are two very unusual sports. Wish Co. Sligo good luck in the football match this weekend!

One interesting thing about the Irish: (hi dad!) the men always drive. I mean a lot of the women are self sufficient and drive their own cars, but when a man's in the car, he drives. I guess they're a little old fashioned in that sense.
The women always cook, of course. Here's how I really don't fit in tho: they LOVE their potatoes and tea, both of which I'm not a really big fan of (tho they're both growing on me). Every time people ask if I want tea and I decline they look at me like I'm crazy!

County Mayo was great too, I stayed with a friend of the family in Castlebar. She took me around the county and to this big pilgrimage site called Knock. Apparently some locals saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist there in 1879 (i'm hitting them all up, katie). But the whole area is surrounded by TACKY giftshops. So kitsch, but I guess they have to make money so far. Miracles are really good for the economy. Went to Mass there (I've really been making up for my lack of Jesus in Jordan) and they had Annointing of the Sick where all of the old people who thought they might die soon came up to get a special blessing. LOL, for insurance purposes I guess.

On my way to the Connemara region which is supposed to be beautiful, then on Friday I'm meeting up with the world famous Joseph P. Wilson (shout out!) and we're going to climb the famed Croagh Patrick!

Yay for Ireland.