Is that the Kilt of your Clan?

(quick note, this blog will be edited/added to in a few days when I return from a weekend trip, but I thought I'd get it posted!)

At noon the day my parents headed back to the states, I headed off to the land of shamrocks and Guiness: Ireland! My flight arrived in the Dublin airport 20 minutes ahead of time, and as I waited for my friend Scott, I realized something kind of exciting – for once I would be in a country where the native language was English!

Scott (a best friend of mine from IU and the friend I visited in Madrid) and I met up pretty easily, and soon thereafter we were off on a bus (double decker!) to the downtown Dublin area. We were supposed to wait at the bus station for Nic (best friend, studying in Bologna), but since we had some extra time on our hands, we naturally headed out for a beer. Not wanting to have our first Guiness without Nic, I was unsure what to order. So when the barman asked what I’d have I said, “Something Irish!” So, Smithwick’s it was!



Nic met up with us just in time to catch the next bus to Galway, a city directly across the country on the west coast. That being said, it was only a 2.5 hour drive! Even though I slept through a lot of it, which didn’t surprise Scott or Nic in the least, I still enjoyed the countryside. We got into Galway at about 9 or 10pm, but that was no problem. After checking into our hostel, we quickly headed out to a local pub that had a great live band going. And without a doubt, our first pint was a Guiness!

The next day was, in a word, phenomenal. Nic and Scott headed out on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, but I was set to cross something off my bucket list – ride in Ireland! The day didn’t start well, it was doomed to rain which would surely cancel, or make miserable, any ride. But as I hopped on a city bus headed to Lisdoonvarna (the town closest to Mountain View Riding Stables), rain started to subside so I got much more hopeful. The bus ride itself was fantastic, a beautiful ride taking us through the gorgeous, green countryside; the Burren, alongside castles, estates, etc. Finally, I got off in Lisdoonvarna (upon checking Wikipedia, the area has a population of ___). Not long after, the owner of Mountain View, Peter, picked me up in his truck and we headed off on the 5 min drive to the stable.



I was quickly introduced to Murry, my horse, a white Irish hunter and Clare, my guide for my 2.5 hour ride. After hopping into the saddle, a quick adjustment of the stirrups, we were off!

Clare probably thought I was crazy because I COULD NOT stop taking pictures. I didn’t do it on purpose: I would take a few of a gorgeous view, then put my camera way. But, then we would turn a corner to another, completely different gorgeous view and I had to take my camera out again! Passing cows (including little calfs!), farms, charming mountain and forest areas, then the shore (!!), in the Irish countryside was the most beautiful setting I’ve ever had for a ride. Truly, though, it was a dream equestrian experience. Words cannot describe! My favorite moment was cantering along a path near the shore, with the Aran islands off the coast and the Cliffs of Moher in the distance. I had to remind myself, “remember this moment!” I think I’m going to start keeping an eye out for cheap flights to Ireland from here on out…



Once we got back to the farm, a friend of Peter’s took me back into town. Then, I had to deal with a small challenge: Getting back to Galway. Even though it was only 30 miles away, the last bus from Lisdoonvarna to Galway was at 2pm. I knew that going into my ride, but I was so set on riding for a good amount of time that I didn’t care. So my only other option was hiring a cab for the ride, for the low cost of just 80 euro. That was meant to be sarcastic!

I found a cab driver’s (hackney’s) number on the bulletin board of the Lisdoonvarna post office. Why was I in their post office? Because that’s where a few teenagers pointed me when I asked for the tourist office. But I suppose it did have some contact information/flyers posted on the walls. So while I waited for my cab to arrive, I had a cup of tea at a local B&B, then headed to a convenience shop. Knowing I needed to withdraw money, I asked the woman at the cash register where the nearest ATM was. She gave me a bit of a blank stare, and then responded with the name of some city at least 20 km away! Guess I’d have to wait until I got back in Galway.

But actually, my cab ride was great! My driver was Murphy, and he had been a hackney for the past few years after he gave up driving semi-trucks throughout Europe (all the way to the Mediterranean, Turkey, and Russia even). We had a really interesting 1.5 hour discussion about Northern Ireland politics, the Irish economy, tourism, the cab industry, etc. The most interesting part for me was his point of view on the Troubles. I had done a small presentation on that part of Northern Ireland history for a class once, but after talking to him, I learned I was completely wrong. Apparently, they had absolutely nothing to do with religion (aka the Protestant Northern Irish and Irish Catholics).



In short, British government made the whole affair seem like a religious issue because they knew it would keep the US out of it. If they portrayed it properly as a civil uprising, then there would be more international pressure. Murphy made it clear that if I asked ANY Irishman in the country, he or she would back up his sentiments that it was NOT an uprising based on religion (his example: Quite a few leaders in the Republican/National party were Protestants, and plenty of Loyalists were Catholics). Interesting.

I also just enjoyed my discussion with him about this family and life. They’re going on a long camping trip thoughout Europe in the fall. I’m quite jealous! Also, his son is famous! While NO children were harmed in the making of this video, his son is a YouTube sensation. Check out “Irish Spider Boy”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1zsqaSDZFc
(However, he did tell me that both boys were grounded after they found the video: The younger one for climbing the door, the older one for making a video and posting it online without permission!)

After I got back into Galway, I met up with Scott and Nic at our hostel, and we were back to the bus stop for the return trip to Dublin. And, naturally, after a nice nap on the bus (as usual), we grabbed a pint after checking into the hostel. Somehow, even though I’m not normally a beer person, handling a pint or two in Ireland was no problem at all. And the setting was perfect: THE Temple Bar was just about a .3 minute walk from our hostel, and that night they had a great live band! One girl in the crowd started to do some traditional Irish dancing, and I was so jealous of her: She was so good! The perfect conclusion to the night hearing one of my favorite songs, and a classic from PS I Love You, “Galway Girl,” that evening.



The next day, we started exploring Dublin pretty early. Trinity College was my favorite. Its library is absolutely amazing – reminded me of that classic library scene in Beauty and the Beast! And the best part was when a really nice student pretended that we were friends of her so that we could get in without paying 8 euro! The library is also home to the Book of Kells, an intricate Medieval gospel manuscript that Nic affectionately called the Book of Spells.

We wandered around Dublin the rest of the day, checking out the castle (which had very, VERY random architecture), anything that looked old, and finishing up at the Guiness Storehouse. Once we got back, we met up with a fellow Rouennaise and IUer, Marina Best, who finished Dublin with us and would travel with us to Scotland. Naturally, the four of us went out for Ireland-cumulating beers (and an Irish coffee). We even ran into some acquaintances from IU at one pub!

The next morning we had an early 7am RyanAir flight out to Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. All things went as planned, and we got into our hostel bright and early Thursday morning. And our hostel, High Street Hostel, had such a cool atmosphere and set-up, I would definitely recommend to anyone! After chilling for about an hour in the lounge, we walked down the street where I very promptly bought an Anderson clan tartan scarf before we started a 3 hour tour of Edinburgh on foot.



Our guide was Kate, and even though she was Canadian, I know she knew more about Edinburgh history and legends than most citizens of the city. From the kissing stone (which everyone spits on), to Greyfriar’s Bobby, and the tale of the Stone of Destiny, it was a great tour and I really enjoyed getting to know the city so well. I’ll have to take advantage of these free tours more often!

Even though we were simply wiped after our early flight and 3-hour tour, that didn’t stop us from taking a hike up Arthur’s Seat that evening. Not far from Holyroodhouse, the residence of the Queen when she’s in Scotland, Arthur’s Seat is a mountain/cliff overlooking Edinburgh. So yes, we got even more exercise that day! The day cumulated with a visit to a discount grocery and us making dinner, snacks (my famous bean dip), and lunch for the next day – all under 20 euro for the four of us!



The next morning, we got up bright and early for an all-day tour of the Scottish Highlands – aka absolutely beautiful countryside! Hard to compare it to Ireland, but gorgeous all the same. The highlights? 1) Taking fun “Nessie monster” photos on Loch Ness, 2) jumping pictures w/ Marina in front of gorgeous mountains, 3) coming across a really BAD English bagpiper, 4) questioning Andy (our guide) on the bus, 5) befriending the captain of our Loch Ness boat ride, 6) dealing with the jokes about my odd sleeping-on-the bus sleep patterns.



Our time in Edinburgh ended with one last night out, and an early rise the next day for Marina and I to catch a train to Glasgow, because RyanAir has no Edinburgh – Paris service. Glasgow, however, was a really cool city! Even though we mostly hung out on a bench in the central square (we were so tired!) I really enjoyed the atmosphere at architecture. The airport experience was another story: Marina had a bit of luggage on her and that didn’t go to well with the one carry-on RyanAir rule. But she handled it masterfully – and got by with it! – and we were on our way back to Paris. And despite train strikes we were still able to get back into Rouen at around 1:30am. Good thing I was able to sleep in late on Sunday!