Doolin

After taking the ferry across the Shannon River (which does NOT have a glass bottom; many were duped by Murf’s constant sarcasm) we drove to the famous Cliffs of Moher. The breathtaking landscape was set off by the gorgeous weather and the setting sun (made possible by our missing the original ferry). We took many photos of the last of Irelands 3 most famous tourist destinations (Guinness, Blarney Castle and the Cliffs of Moher). After some time at the cliffs, we drove to the small town of Doolin for the night. We had a dinner of Irish stew and Lamb shank before enjoying some traditional Irish music in the pub. After a while, we grew tired and returned to the hostel for a good night’s rest, or so we thought. Camille was awoken by bed bugs and was forced to switch bunks (she has the bites to prove it). After the move, sleep was much easier.

The following morning, we loaded up the bus yet again for our last day. Our first stop was a Fairy Ring. Murf told us on the way of the different types of fairies. All of which, besides Leprechauns, appear to be explanations for hangovers and things you do when you’re black out drunk. At the fairy ring, we had to follow 4 rules: walk around the ring in a clockwise direction, you may not enter the fair ring, no swearing, and at the end, you must thank the fairies in Irish. If you break a rule, the fairies will curse you (apparently there have been bus break downs in the past.) We successfully navigated the ring, made our wishes and left the rest up to fairies.

The next stop was in the Burren terrain of the coast. The rocky ground resembled lava flows as we carefully made our way out to an ancient burial site. Murf told us tales of the burial grounds and a more uplifting version explaining the rock formation above the grave (it’s an ancient bed that a famous couple shared for their wedding night).

Another stop was made at a church ruin surrounded by a graveyard full of Celtic crosses. Some of the oldest and most detailed Celtic designs can be found here in the museum next to the site. With extra time on our hands, we ventured out to the pasture to take photos of the cows and leafetry.

After another short drive, we stopped at the Kilbeggan Whiskey Distillery. Although they no longer brew whiskey for distribution at this particular site, we were able to view the process and “enjoy” some samples.

Eventually the bus was loaded up one last time and we made our final journey back to Dublin. We walked back to our hostel and made calls home before heading out into the mayhem (the national Irish Soccer game had just ended with Kerry beating Cork) for dinner. We had Irish pear cider and our final meal in Ireland at the Bleeding Horse. Corinne had roast beef with mashed potatoes and some sort of vegetable while Camille had the Bleeding Horse Grill which consisted of bacon, one fried egg, a grilled tomato, sausages, a lamb chop and some Irish Pudding. We headed back to the hostel to pack up for our flights the next day and said goodnight and goodbye to Ireland.