27 Before 27: The Emerald Isle

Following my week in London, I made my way to Dublin, Ireland, to begin a one-week vacation around the emerald isle. I met my sister Cady and two friends Kacey and Caitlin in Dublin and we began our Contiki tour. Contiki is a tour operator with vacations tailored to 18 to 35 year olds. A few years ago I would have scoffed at the idea of going on vacation on an organized tour but it was very nice to get on the bus every morning and have the day already planned out. Not worrying about where we were going to stay the following night, meals, etc. = a more relaxed vacation!

We had a quick orientation and dinner in Dublin and then it was off to Northern Ireland the following morning. We spent the day learning about The Troubles, conflict that recently occurred in Ireland. We could still feel the tension in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry and it was a very informative, history-based day. We also had the opportunity to visit the Titanic Museum in Belfast, as Belfast was where the Titanic was built, and the Giant’s Causeway.

Cady and I at the Giant's Causeway.

Giant's Causeway.

Day three of the tour took us to Galway, a cutesy town located along the western coast of Ireland. We spent the day exploring Galway and also visited the Aran Islands the following day. The Islands are a short ferry ride from Galway and a total of 800 people live on the three Islands. We visited the island called Inishmore, which is rural and somewhat remote but very beautiful. Cady, Kacey, Caitlin and I, plus a friend named Erin who we met on our tour, took a pony cart ride around the Island and explored Dun Aengus, a ruined fort located on a cliff which reaches heights of 330 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

Lady, our trusty transportation around the Aran Islands.

Cady and I at the Aran Islands.

Following a few days in Galway, we next traveled to Cork with stops at the Cliffs of Moher and the Blarney Castle. The only disappointment of the trip was the weather on this day; it was so rainy and foggy that we could not see the Cliffs of Moher! The fog was so thick, you could barely see your hand in front of your face! So, I guess this means we’ll have to go back to Ireland and try to see these illusive cliffs!

Me at the Blarney Castle.

After 4 successful kisses on the Blarney Store, we arrived in Cork. Cork is a more industrial city and has a very different feel than the other cities we visited in Ireland. We all decided we quite liked it. The next day we made our way to Kilkenny via Cobh. Cobh was the last port-of-call for the Titanic before she started across the Atlantic and they have a nice museum highlighting this event as well as the mass migration of Irish folks which occured in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Approximately 80 million people around the world have Irish ancestry, due in large part to mass migration that happened because of events like the potato famine.

Our final day of the tour took us back to Dublin where we learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and explored Trinity College. After a delicious Italian dinner (very Irish, right?!) we packed up our new Irish souvenirs and made our way to the airport for the long flight home. Overall, Cady, Caitlin, Kacey and I had a great trip around Ireland. We saw and did SO many things on this tour; I can confidently say that we conquered Ireland!