We started off in Dublin, where American Airlines caused the rest of the family to be a few hours late due to a missed connection in London. Anyway, I’m not really a fan of Dublin, and we didn’t really spend much time there. Though I will say the highlight was a pair of street performers we bumped into while taking a nightly stroll. They were just two, both playing guitar, while one had a tambourine duct taped to his leg, and the other a nifty pedal system where his tapping foot equated to a beating drum behind him. Needless to say, it was quite a cool contraption they had devised, which has hence earned them the “highlight of Dublin” award, whatever that is worth.
After Dublin is where the hardcore (and dare i say life threatening) adventure really began; the driving of a vehicle. On the wrong side of the street. On ridiculously-should-be-outlawed-skinny-roads. While we all survived without injury, our rented vehicle took a bit more of a beating, ending in a few added scratches, the loss of a hubcap, and a missing rear view mirror piece. Here is the vehicle pre-American-inflicted-injuries.
We spent quite a few days in a small town on the mid-west-ish coast of Ireland called Doolin. I would have to say this was one of my favourite stops in Ireland, as the people were friendly (though strangely attracted to fire) and the landscapes were stunning. One of the main things that drew us to this area were the “Cliffs of Moher”. Basically, they’re massive cliffs that border the ocean in a seriously beautiful clash of epic heights, bright blue water, and endless green fields. The hostel owner gave us directions and a sketched map of a trail leading to the cliffs, so we set off for a bit of a hike. While it was a bit tiresome, the views were totally worth it!
From there we headed towards Northern Ireland, where we stopped by the town of Derry, the Giant’s Causeway and a few castles along the way back to Belfast.
Needless to say, we had quite a blast touring a bit of Ireland, though I’m convinced we could easily have spent the entire journey exploring more of the countryside!
Refer to chips as crisps, fries as chips, candy as sweets, biscuits as cookies, and elevators as lifts.
Pretend to enjoy Rugby, or at least make an effort to understand it.
When crossing the street, look right first, then left, then cross. This is important.
Pronounce Z as “zed”.
Drink tea. Often.
Say “wee” in place of tiny, small, little, etc. Use it frequently.
End every sentence like it’s a question, even if it’s not.
If something is cool, then it is “class”. If it is fun, it is “craic” (pronounced like “crack”). (eg, “How was your weekend?” “It was great craic!” “Oh, that’s class!”)
Eat chips with everything – waffles, pizza, beans, etc.
Eat beans with everything – waffles, toast, baked potatoes, etc.
Do not understand the concept of corn dogs, peanut butter and jelly, or s’mores. You think these are strange and exotic foods.
You think Obama is way cool and you cheesily use his face and slogans like it’s the Uncle Sam of the 21st century.
*This data has been compiled by a highly trained person with extensive (though not related) post-secondary education. It is not intended for public use. It is also highly stereotypical.
Last Saturday I woke up and pretty much spontaneously decided I wanted to go somewhere for the day. I ended up on a train to Carrickfergus, which isn’t terribly far (45 minutes by train-ish). It’s pretty much just a quaint little Irish town, complete with a castle and port.
The castle was built in 1180 (I believe it was) by Normans (vikings???). I didn’t actually pay to tour the inside, it looked like it’d been overly tourist-ified (I’m sure there is a better word for that), but I wandered around the outside. There was a little passage-type thing around the back, with stairs that led to rocks by the water, which I found quite lovely.
Apparently Andrew Jackson (as in 7th President of the US) ’s family can be traced back to Carrickfergus – random fact of the day! Also, a few miscellaneous photos from around there, for good measure.
