An Irish Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we spent 5 days with 3 of our Warsaw friends traveling all over the bottom half of Ireland. We flew into Dublin wednesday afternoon, rented a van and spent the rest of the time driving all over the place. When it was all over we had put 998 miles of road beneath us. What was really amazing was how polite and friendly the Irish people are. Quite a switch from the sneering faces we usually see around here most of the time.

Most of the first night was spent in a Dublin pub playing a drinking game with two locals. Knowing we wouldn't be seeing much of the city before going home, I left everyone else in the pub for an hour or so and ventured out to get some night time shots. I got a few, but I really wish we would've had more time, there's a ton more to see there and I would love to go back some day.

On the second day we drove to Kilkenny for a while to check out the castle. We took an hour long tour that was pretty cool, the inside was pretty cool. They actually used some of the rooms in one of the Harry Potter movies (not sure which one, since I hate HP).  After that, we hauled ass to Blarney Castle just outside of Cork. The castle was amazing, and we all (except one of us who shall remain unnamed) kissed the Blarney Stone. Then we headed for Killarney to find a hotel and some dinner. We got there just in time to see some Thanksgiving football at the hotel sports bar. The Lions suck ass.

Day three was spent driving around the Ring of Kerry, which is a beautifully scenic 112 mile loop through the countryside. We pulled off to the side of the road a bunch of times, there were plenty of things to take pictures of. There were ruins, churches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, etc. After that we took a ferry across one of the bays and went to find a hotel for the night.

The next day we drove to the Cliffs of Moher and spent a while there. Standing on the edge of the ocean looking 700 feet below as hundreds of birds fly around was awesome. Next we drove to Limerick to see King John's Castle. The castle was pretty cool, especially the severely overacted 10 minute movie they showed inside. After the tour we started heading back to Dublin, stopping at a pub on the way for some delicious lunch and rugby watching. Speaking of rugby, the New Zealand All Blacks have the greatest pre game ritual war dance thing ever. If I was standing in front of them while they did the war dance, I would forfeit right there.

We got back to Dublin a few hours later, then went out one last time to pick up a few souvenirs (don't worry, Ed I got you a damn shot glass) and get dinner. We ate at a restaurant that had a stage with a tradition Irish dance group performing. And as much as I hate the Riverdance, these people were unbelievable. I didn't know a human could move their feet that fast!

The trip was amazing and there was so much more that we didn't see, so we plan on going back someday. If not to see the stuff we missed, then to drink more of Bulmers Cider. I'm not sure how many pints I had of it, but lets just say it's a good thing I wasn't the driver. Yummy!