IRELAND WAS AMAZING

So Mike and I went to Ireland about three weeks ago now. We loved the beer, the people, the beautiful green rolling hills, the beer and the beer. Everyone we met there was so great. The Irish are so personable and really do know how to have a great time. They were always laughing and enjoying life. We forget to do that so often.

We flew into Dublin and spent a little more than a day there. We had the best cup of coffee ever with our first traditional Irish breakfast (eggs, Irish bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, and toast) in Temple Bar, a famous shopping and pub district in Dublin. We walked across the O'Connell Street Bridge over the river Liffey to see the O'Connell Spire. Visited the Irish National Museum where we saw the remains of vikings (including one viking whose head was spit clean with a hatchet), their swords and other ancient artifacts dug up all over Ireland. And then, of course, we had a few beers and listened to Irish music with the locals at 2pm in the afternoon.

The next day we drove across the country to the West coast of Ireland. On the way we stopped at a former orphanage for refugee children from Russia who escaped WWII. There we saw donkeys and the most beautiful old iron bridge nestled in the forest spanning a tranquil gurgling brook. It was there Mike officially proposed. Then we drove over the tallest mountain in Ireland - a whopping 3,400 feet. Not quite as impressive as the Rocky Mountains, but beautiful all the same. There we saw the tallest waterfall in Ireland. The rest of the drive (which took about 3 more hours) was through the beautiful green country side. And I forgot to mention that this whole time Mike has been driving on the "wrong" side of the roads that sometimes have lines and sometimes don't; following signs that are all written in both English and Irish; and thinking that there is no way the roads can get any narrower, but they do.

When we made it to Doolin, we found the most perfect vacation town we could ever imagine. We spent the evening enjoying the company of a couple of young surfers from South Australia and an awesome chick from New Zealand listening to the local musicians play at the table next to us. The next morning we woke to the faint mooing of cows and amazing views out our bedroom window of the B&B. That day we had an amazing wedding. Picture perfect.

The rest of the trip flew by. We visited the Cliffs of Moher, the most photographed place in Ireland. Drove along the Atlantic ocean (kind of weird seeing it from the other side) to another town called Clifden where we stayed in castle turned hotel for a night. We also visited a major college town called Galway where we got to shop some more and drink more beer. Our trip ended when we got back on the plane in Dublin to come back home. It was sad to leave such a beautiful place. We will always cherish that trip.