Ireland/London Photoroll

I know it has been a while since I last posted, but I think it may best for me to post photos rather than write from my journal to the web. Below are an assorted number of photos that either Dan or I took on our trip.

A dorm that we stayed at in London. Even though we stayed in a 28 bed room, the atmosphere and people we met were amazing.

Shayla, myself, and Dan with the Tower Bridge in the background (London).

Another picture of me, but this time standing on the bridge.

On the London Underground subway system. I discovered there was a stop called Russell Square.

In London, we enjoyed the musical The Little Shop of Horrors

Dan holding our hitchhiking sign to get back to Galway.

Now it is my turn.

"Beware of the Risen People" is a quote within the historical Kilmainham jail (Dublin).

Dan readying himself to be taken away to his jail cell.

Walking along the Cliffs of Moher.

A castle we saw on the way back to our hostel (Doolin).

Returning from surfing on the western coast of Ireland.

Dan looking over the Cliffs of Moher.

Walking up to the Cliffs of Moher.

On our trip t o the Guiness factory we found this quote, which we were glad to hand over to our roommate Ryan (a homebrewer).

As you enter Trinity College, Dublin, you first encounter a tower as seen above.

Ireland: Day 5 (Killarney/Pubs)

Today we said goodbye to Doolin and decided our next adventure lie in Killarney. We jumped on a bus, and settled in to our normal state of sleeping on our long ride to the pub packed town.

When we took a 15 minute break in Kilkenny, Dan & I discussed why we slept so much on the bus rides. Dan suggested it was probably due to the slow rocking motion of the bus. While I still do not have a solid idea, I thought at the time that the sleep could be caused by the amount of Guinness we drink the nights prior to catching a bus. One suggestion I received by another tourist was that it could be the cause of jet-lag. While I like the visitor's suggestion much better than ours, especially my alcoholic one, I realized that this wasn't the case because we had already been in Ireland for 5 days. What do you think?

On arriving in Killarney, I first reacted by exclaiming, "Damn, how many pubs are in this town?" According to our Lonely Planet guide, it states there are approximately 50 pubs in this small town which contains it's own style. Once we settled into our hostel, I secretly thought that it would be fun to challenge ourselves to see how many pubs we could visit in one night (rule: need to drink one pint at each pub). Did this turn out to be bad hang-over on the next day? Tune in tomorrow to check.

Ireland: Day 4 (Cliffs of Moher)

The size of the cliffs are amazing. I have yet to see something of its magnitude in my life. As Dan & I layed near the edge as well as we protected ourselves from the whirling wind, I thought that nature was on mysterious creature. How on Earth were these cliffs formed? Gigantic waves? Earthquakes? Wind? Maybe all or some of these contributed to its current form.

After visiting the cliffs, we walked back to Doolin in hopes of taking a break. While Dan continued to rest, I decided to go on a run through the countryside. Once I returned, we went to a pub to try and listen to traditional music. While we listened to some traditional music at one of the pubs, we bumped into two Englishmen who were in the area for the Irish Open (golf tournament). We both had a great time talking politics, culture, sports, & life with these two British. Before we said our goodbyes, we received their numbers in hopes of having their families (sons & daughters) guide us around London's nightlife. Hopefully today (May 28th) we can give them a call.

Ireland: Day 3 (Bus to Doolin)

Most of the day was spent on a bus from Dublin to Doolin. Although it was great to the countryside, I would rather have not watched from the seat of a bus. Once we arrived in Doolin , Dan & I took a break from the long ride and took a nap at the Rainbow Hostel which we decided to stay.

After our short nap, we walked to the closest pub to have a bite and drink. At the pub, they had a live band which played some great traditional music (none of which I had ever heard before...I think Dan recognized a few songs). The rest of the night we drank Guinness and talked the night away with each or others that were near our table.

Ireland: Day 2 (Run/Guinness/Night)

I started off the day with a run through Trinity College. Each building that I passed had a history, which the US could never match. I also noticed something else while I ran through the city and Trinity...there are not that many people that run in Dublin. Although I don't know why, in Portland there is someone running on the streets whether it be rain or shine.

Later on, Dan & I visited the Guinness Storehouse (where they brew the sweet black stuff). While it was interesting to see how they blended the barley, wheat, hops, yeast, and water, the true attraction was the pint tasting on the seventh floor (really the 8th floor since the ground level is considered zero and not one...they do this throughout Ireland). The panoramic view of the city gave us a chance to see where we had gone or wanted to visit.

After the tour, we took a break in a local park nearby St. Mary's Cathedral before hitting the pubs hard. In one pub, I had an interesting conversation with the owner about who is the biggest asshole in the world. We came to the conclusion that she was the biggest since she was the oldest one in the pub (plus the owner's word was stronger than mine). We then visited a local dance pub near our hostel and then jumped in to bed. I'll try to catch up with our adventures in the next few days. Thanks for reading about us.

Ireland: Day 1 (Flight/Check-In/Pub)

As Dan & I sat on the plane going from San Francisco to Minneoapolis, I wondered if we would be late for our next flight (going to London). Once we walked off the plane, we heard an intercom announce that we had exactly 5 min. to get our next flight which was London. At this point we stepped up our pace to a sprint to get to our terminal gate. When we arrived at the gate, the attendant mentioned that she was monitoring our flight and that she would not leave without us. Although we felt special, we were a little ticked off that we sprinted about a 1/2 mile to get to our terminal.

After that we took our seats and shedded our clothing, we watched movies on the flight till we arrived in London. Once we arrived in Dublin, we checked in to our hostel, the Ashfield House. The place was well kept and served the essentials and few extras such as breakfast and the internet. As soon as we dropped off our bags we headed to the nearest pub. Our first Guiness of Ireland was wonderful (better than the States). The bartender chatted with us about politics, sports, and the best places to visit while visiting the island. Since Dan & I were both a bit jetlagged, we retired early to wake up for the next day. We will let you know more about our adventures later.

Ireland Trip: Dublin Ashfield House

Yesterday, Dan and I booked our first hostel in Dublin for two nights at the Ashfield House. According to our Lonely Planet book, the hostel is a converted church next to the Temple Bar (around Trinity College). I'm excited about staying at this hostel since it is in the heart of a college community.

Also, our flight is leaving tomorrow and we'll be in London the next day. Dan or I will be posting an article to give a quick re-cap as two Americans in Ireland.