Ireland: St. Patrick's Weekend

Saint Patrick's Weekend was awesome! It was also my birthday weekend so a couple of my friends came to visit me and we had a blast! My best friend Gabby who is studying in Spain came to Dublin with a lot of friends from her trip and the first thing we did after having a traditional Irish breakfast was head to the Guinness factory.

So all of the big buildings in Dublin were lit up green for St. Patrick's Weekend, and so was the inside of the Guinness storehouse! The storehouse is shaped like a pint glass, and all 7 levels were lit up green. It was so crowded but still super cool.

 Looking up the massive pint glass.

 All the old Guinness bottles, some are still filled so we took care of that.

 Pictures of pictures of Guinness. Picception.

 We were able to pour our own pint! They even gave us a certificate so I am officially a professional pourer.

 Gabby and I with our brown glasses, we still have to wait for it to get black. Black is beautiful, and so is the Guinness.

 My friend Madison, who is studying in Scotland, came to Dublin with her friend Dana to celebrate the weekend as well!

 More swans!

 The whole weekend was filled with all kinds of events, and near Stephen's Green there was music almost every afternoon.

 This picture isn't the best, but to be fair I was creepily taking pics behind the mom. But the two girls had these adorable green wigs on and I couldn't resist!

 The Temple Bar District, which is the most popular for tourists, was packed the whole weekend, and at nights it was packed to the point where it wasn't fun any more. Luckily I know all the local places which were fun, safe, and not full of drunk tourists.

 The rugby game going on attracted everyone to the pubs and it wasn't even worth going in any of them because people were too distracted to move.

 The Auld Dubliner! For you, dad.

 Sunset over the River Liffey.

This is Temple Bar at night. CRAZY. This isn't even on Saint Patrick's Day.

 Shamrock shakes and a shamrock toothpick in my burger? I'd say I was in the spirit. Also, Madison.

 Maddie and I decided to run a 5k on the 16th...let's just say the Guinness from the night before weren't doing me any favors. But it was fun regardless! We dressed up hardcore, or just me, and like Nike would say, Just Feck It!

 There were a ton of people, the race was so fun! And we finished in 26 minutes which actually isn't that bad!

 On March 16th we spent the night hitting up local pubs until we ended up at my favorite place, the Bleeding Horse! We arrived at around 11pm and were just having drinks and talking amongst all the dressed up locals. Then when it hit midnight, my friends Tessa and Alex surprised me and silly stringed me while I was pulled on the table to chug my Guinness, initiating me into my 21st birthday. It was by far the coolest birthday experience. Turning 21 with great people, in my favorite pub, on Saint Patrick's day, was just the best!

 On Saint Patrick's Day, we made our way to watch the parade, Saint Patrick's Cathedral is seen on the left in this picture.

 I made sure everyone was wearing massive amounts of green, and thanks to my mom, we were even more decked out with our green mustaches.

 And then my camera was taken away from me and the crazy pictures of the crew commenced.

 Tessa went all out and painted her eyebrows and had tattoos all over.

 Saint Patrick himself was thawed out from being frozen all these years. Or was that Walt Disney...

 Later that day, I saw a hurling match and a Gaelic football match. The GAA Championships for both of these sports happens each year on Saint Patrick's Day. It was so fun! I sat next to this really nice old lady who told me about the McNeff's who live in the north of Ireland. The crowd was so fun at the game, too!

 This is Croke Park, it is huge!

 

Overall, Saint Patrick's Weekend/my birthday was such a success! Ireland, you proved to be a wonderful host for a wonderful weekend!

Ireland: Galway, The Aran Islands, and the Cliffs of Moher

Our weekend trip to the West of Ireland was a school trip that about 70 of us adventured on. They were nice enough to give us time to roam about each place we stopped, but I wish I could've stayed longer. Every place that we went was beautiful and unique and made me love the countryside of Ireland even more. Our first stop was to Galway, and before our dinner reservations, we had some free time to explore. Tessa and I ventured off to find the inlet of water that leads to the ocean, it was full of debris but we both found beauty in the trash that littered the water.

 A cool skeleton of a leaf. And the gorgeous and willing model, 1 of 2 Tessa Belanger's.

 Tessa's in the rock on on the Rocky!

 I call this, crumpled paper on grass.

 Then we found a play ground!!! Yup, we're both almost 21...

 Mine! Mine! Mine!

 The day was pretty tiresome. Sorry, I'm sure you're tired of all the puns. Okay fine, I'll stop, I'll retire from the puns.

 These cute little gardens lined the water, they were so pretty!

 We stumbled upon a rugby field and stadium across from this one that was empty, and later that night we saw people exiting the stadium. We must have just missed a game!

Tessa, the photobomb model. Also, later this night Tessa and I saw Bill Murray play a small but meaningful role in The Grand Budapest Hotel. We both share a love for the great Bill and it was a magical night between the three of us.

 

  Our next stop was to the Aran Islands! We took a 40 minute long ferry ride over which was pretty wild, the ferry had to stop for a few minutes because the waves were so aggressive and choppy that the engine was getting raised out of the water. But, we made it on the small island and it was an interesting journey from there! We took a janky tour bus around Inishmore and then hiked up to an old fort, the islands basically survive off of tourism, so there was a lot for us to discover, like all of the wool hand-knit sweaters, cool art, and weird food like Aran Island seaweed.

 We walked up to this old fort which you can see at the very tip top of this hill.

 Once at the top, there was a 300 foot drop off, like in Finding Nemo, but real life. There were no railings and the wind was blowing so hard that I had a hard time not getting blown away. That didn't stop all of us from testing our luck at the edge of the cliff. Here, Alice daringly looks over the edge in hopes of seeing her reflection in the water.

 Who's that caveman you ask? Just an ancient woman warrior named Tessmonster.

 Alice, Corey, and Kaitlin peer over the edge.

 This is a pretty epic picture, Tessa couldn't stop screaming and Gabby's hair wouldn't stay down because of the ferocious wind. Oh, yeah, when I looked over the edge I almost lost my glasses, that would've made for a fun rest of my trip.

 Our bus driver took us wherever we wanted to go, so when we spotted a donkey and some horses, we had to pull over. Side note, on the Aran Islands, they primarily speak Irish. Their second language is English, so it was a really cool experience to hear our tour guide speak fluent Irish to the other tour guides.

 I'll refrain from inappropriate donkey language in case any small children are reading this. Also, if any small children are reading this you should probably stop, I'm sure I've already crossed the line, or will in the near future.

 Sarah the horse whisperer.

 "Oh, stop, I hate being photographed! But, this is my good side." -Sassy McSasspants the Donkey

 After our wonderful island getaway we traveled to the Cliffs of Moher! The drive was so suspenseful it felt like a cliffhanger! Ahh...and they're getting worse. Anyway we arrived at the cliffs and behold! This was our view! "What the fog?!" was the first thing out of my mouth. "We want Moher!" was the next. It was Sunday Punday so I couldn't help myself. But there was so much fog when we arrived, and we only had two hours to stay, so we continued along the walk hoping for it to clear up.

 See the cliff?! Gorgeous.

 But then it started to clear up a bit! And from what we saw despite the fog, it was gorgeous, and the cliffs were absolutely amazing. Did you know that Peregrine falcons live in the cliffs? Fun fact of the day. I only saw seagulls but I'll take their word for it.

 You could walk along the entirety of the cliffs but we didn't have time. It's on my bucket list, though. Again, there weren't any railings...the people in Ireland are really relying on the common sense of humanity when it comes to safety. Not sure if that's the most logical idea considering the amount of alcohol produced here...

 Tessa, signing off as the last picture on this post. Thank you Tessa for being my model throughout our trip to the West of Ireland. In short, GO TO THE WEST OF IRELAND. The end.