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.
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