The morning of the first full day in Ireland for me was one of sickness. It could have been the worst cold that I have ever had, and I hope I didn't keep all of my hostel friends up w/ my snoring.... as I was informed. Anyways, after a meager breakfast which I didn't participate in, we walked out to another hostel called Paddy's Palace. This was where our 3 day bus tour pick up spot was, called Paddywagon Tours. I recommend this tour to anyone under the age of 25, but I thought and you'll come to find out that it is one of the best ways to see Ireland in its entirity. Our bus driver Conrad, was pretty much straight out of the farmland country, and he knew about everything there was to know from the minute the tour started.
We drove through Dublin, saw the spire which apparantly most of the Dubliners hate, the house of Parliament, drove past the Guinness factory, and went into Pheonix park. This is apparantly the largest metropolitian park in the world. I got to see a cross constructed for Pope John Paul II when he had his huge mass in Dublin. It was crazy, 10 million apparantly celebrated with him at this mass. It made the Catholic in me very proud, and I knew that this Ireland trip was a good idea and off to a great start even though I was sick. We ended up driving through some of the most interesting farmland I've ever driven through. Sheep were herding everywhere eating grass not hay. Something to be aware of the differences between the States and the Irish. Meadows, hills, it was gorgeous. Eventually, I saw my first pog and was explained the art of the turf fire and the products of the bogs. Its extremely interesting stuff, and hard to explain in text, something you must see though. Our first stop was coming up and boy, was I about to be shocked
Celtic crosses, Clommacnoise is one of the greatest examples in Southern Ireland about monasticism in its Golden Age. I walked around this ruined monestary and saw the architecture, and scholarship that these monks had. I was astounded, it was beautiful and spiritual at the same time. I took some pictures of the river that splits the countr into two parts and admired the beauty of the Irish countryside. I felt at peace with the world in that tranquil hour of a stop. Something again that you must see before you leave the earth, words cannot describe it. After leaving Clommacnoise, we said goodbye and ended up heading to the birthtown of my BusDriver for lunch.
After hitting up the local pharmacy for some much needed Sutafed (sp), and flirting with the girl who was helping out the pharmacist.... (her Irish eyes were indeed smiling) Dinah and I decided to go to Barb's Bar in this little town. It was there where I ate my first curry fries and had my first pint of Dublin-based Guinness. Now, I've mentioned before that beer over here is different than the States.... I will go on the record saying that Irish Guinness and Stout is the best beer in the world. There is a different taste to it and they make it the right way. After lunch, Dinah and I went back onto the bus to take off to our stop of the evening in the city of Galway.
Galway is located off of the southern-westernly side of Ireland. There is a bay, and it is a port/fishing town right off the ocean. We got to our hostel and were explained the rules and regulations of the place and then took off to see what Galway had to offer. I ended up calling my credit card company for a good 45minutes, and then walking around the city's pedestrian boulevard, as well as checking out an Irish cemetery..... (I know weird) but it was cool exploring the names and the customs that the Irish have for burying their dead, plus like New Orleans it was above ground... which was cool to check out. I ended up looking at the highlight area district marked off by the Spanish Arch, and sat on a ledge overlooking the bay with Beth and Dinah for a good 20 to 30 minutes.
Our bus driver Conrad who we were now lovingly calling "EL CAPITAN" had arranged dinner for us at Buster and Harry's in the middle of town. I had a Guiness and an interesting dish called "Hamburger" that was basically seasoned hamburger meat placed on top of mashed potatoes w/o a bun or cheese. It was suprisingly good and filled my belly completely. The girls and I after dinner were free to check out Galway's night light... so we ended up at a pub called "The Kings Head" and since I never hang out with unattractive ladies, (cough cough) they were quick to talk to a few Irish men. I was buying a bottle of Merlot for Dinah because I owed her for last night's hostel when I sat down with three gentlemen who were just my age in Ireland. We had Aloiscious, Allen, and Daughtly. They were pretty interesting fellows who bought me a pint and then explained that they were affiliated with some interesting political views. We talked politics, sport, and everything under the sun all night. Eventually, culminating with Irish jigs, and them hitting on all of the girls that were Americans who I pointed out. Good times and as my tour guide/ bus driver would say, "good craic."
The girls and I got pretty happy at the pub and we ended up walking our way through Galway back to our hostel for some much needed rest. It was a good way to start off a day in the middle of Southern Ireland, and I was looking forward to what would be one of the most beautiful and perfect days of my life following my good sleep that I was about to have.
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