Greetings from across the pond!
It’s only been two days but we’re already in freaking love with this country. The landscape is unreal, the history is obviously rich, and the people are completely awesome.
We kicked off the trip slowly, as we arrived in the Dublin airport and had to wait two hours for a transfer, and then another two hours for an available room at our hotel. But after a crucial one-hour power nap, Brandi and I hopped on our CIE tour bus to check out the city of Dublin. We were immediately struck by the diverse color patterns in the Georgian-style buildings (Brandi will cover Irish style and architecture in a later blog post), especially the doors.
The scheduled first stop on the tour, the Dublin Castle, was unexpectedly shut down for the day because Irish president Mary McAleese was visiting, so we settled for a visit to historic Trinity College in the city center. The highlight of the visit was seeing the Book of Kells, an 8th century manuscript containing the four Gospels of the New Testament, written in lavishly decorated calligraphy-style text. We then walked through The Long Room of the Old Library, which was easily the coolest and oldest library room I’ve ever been in. It featured Ireland’s oldest harp (the country’s national symbol) and more recently is said to be the inspiration for the Jedi Library of the Star Wars prequel series.
We wrapped up our tour of the city and later that evening, visited the Merry Ploughboy 20 minutes outside of the city to eat some grub and jam out to traditional Irish music and dancing. My personal favorite was the dude who played the Bodhran, which is an Irish drum.
After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to dominate Day 2. We set off from our Dublin hotel for Killarney, with a few key stops along the way. Ireland has thousands of killer pubs – the true inspiration for any American bar which calls itself an “Irish pub” – and our first visit to one came two hours into the trip in Portlaoise. I was psyched for my first “official” Irish Coffee – a combo of coffee, Jameson whiskey, and topped with cream – and it didn’t disappoint. Then, almost like it was a movie or something, we chatted with a local poet named Pierce about Irish sports like hurling, “long puck,” and rugby, and how all related to various social classes in Ireland. The bartender even let us take this photo behind the bar … nicest people in the world.
Then, it was off to the Blarney Castle to “kiss the brick,” as our rad tour guide Dave Yates explained. For those not familiar with the Blarney Stone, read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone. So Brandi and I trekked our way up the medieval castle (the first one we’d ever seen in person) in its narrow, dark and damp stairwell.
Finally at the top after 100 steps or so, I indeed kissed the brick (Brandi passed – she wasn’t feeling it) like millions have before to, as legend has it, gain the “gift of eloquence.” I gotta say, I’m feeling pretty damn eloquent, so it must’ve worked.
After eating lunch and perusing the Blarney shop, we made our way to the fantastic town of Killarney for dinner, drinks, and a new hotel for the next two nights.
Check back in later for more updates from the Emerald Isle!!
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