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Hi all!
I haven't had a chance to get onto the internet since Bath so I have lots to update you on!
We left Bath on the 28th back to London and stayed in a hotel close to Gatwick airport to get up early the next morning for our flight to Dublin. Being slow as we are most mornings we missed the airport shuttle bus and had to get a taxi but we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare so no hassle! We were however fretting a little bit because we hadn't printed our boarding passes and the airline (the cheapo Ryanair) was going to charge us heaps if we hadn't but some kind people at the Ryanair help desk were in a good mood and decided they would just print it for us (phew!).
Ireland day 1
The weather was pretty shocking flying to Dublin and there was some pretty hectic turbulence (or so Alex tells me, I can sleep through anything) and when we arrived in Dublin it was honestly the worst weather we've had so far, pouring rain and absolutely freezing!
We made it to our hostel and then walked through the city, which unfortunately wasn't what we'd made ourselves believe Ireland would be like and was quite dreary. We got lost a few times looking for somewhere to eat at night and ended up getting some pringles and a sandwich from the closest convenience store and sitting in Alex's bed to watch some episodes of 'Scrubs'. Was about 10 when we went to sleep but only a couple of hours later we were rudely awoken by some enormous man who crashed around the room, getting into the bed next to me and proceeding to snore like nothing I have ever heard before. I said earlier I could sleep through anything.. but not this. That man is lucky to still be alive.
Ireland day 2
After deciding we didn't feel like spending as much time in Dublin as we had originally planned we got up early for our 3 day tour and changed to the 6 day tour. It was all very easy, we just paid the difference and hopped on the bus. We drove through some of Phoenix Park and stopped at a giant papal cross where we all got out to introduce ourselves. Turns out that in our group of 14 all but 1 is from either Australia or New Zealand. Next stop was the Clonmacnoise monastery, which was adjacent to the Shannon river - massively overflowing!
After the monastery we drove on and got to Galway by 3:30 with the sun already starting to show signs of setting. Yvonne (tour guide) drove us around a bit of the city, explaining historical bits of this and that. First impression of Galway far exceeded that of Dublin - it's a muuuch prettier place.
We checked in at our hostel then went out exploring the city with some girls from our tour. It was a very scenic walk around and we watched the sun set along the seaside.
Ireland day 3
Got on the road early to head towards Killarney, stopping a few times on the way to see some great countryside scenery and the cliffs of Moher. We've been quite lucky with weather so we could actually see the cliffs unlike some tours before us apparently!
Arriving in Killarney we had dinner in a local pub with the group and then some of us headed out to another pub for drinks. Later in the evening a musician began playing we all got up and danced and sung along till 2am. Alex and I were accosted once again by strange men - one was a 49 year old man who thought Alex was so beautiful he told her many times then came to talk to me about it some more. It was a tad creepy. It became even creepier when he dedicated her a song. Later in the night when we were up and dancing I was grabbed by some crazy Irishman who began spinning me around and dancing with me like a nutter until Alex saved me by cutting in. All in all, Killarney has been well worth it just for the crazy night life!
Ireland day 4
This morning the people on the 3 day tour left us to head back to Dublin and the 5 of us left on the 6 day tour had another night in Killarney and a new tour guide (Gabriel) who took us around the Ring of Kerry. We stopped in a small town for lunch and Alex and I AGAIN attracted the attention of some weirdos. There were lots of school kids around who stared at us wherever we went, which is a slightly unnerving experience, and then when we went to get back on the bus we were honked by 2 different cars of teenage boys.
After lunch we went for a 45 minute walk/hike through the Killarney National Park, an incredibly beautiful place with fantastic forest scenery.
Ireland day 5
We spent today driving around the Dingle Peninsula. Stopped again several times for some scenic walks along the coastline, once we stopped at Inch beach (the place where they filmed the Coldplay song 'Yellow' and it was just as dismal looking as it was in the film clip - their beaches don't quite compare to back home!
Stopped in at the town of Dingle for lunch and were extremely unlucky to be caught in some freak shower and hail storm that lasted about 10 minutes and only moments before I'd looked outside and decided that I didn't need my umbrella so I left it on the bus (ah!)
We passed a small beach and Alex decided to take a quick dip in the Atlantic ocean (completely nuts).
We stayed tonight at a town called Annascaul in a hostel named 'The Randy Leprachaun' and there was karaoke on from 9pm but sadly I just started to get sick and I had a terrible headache so I missed it!
Ireland day 6
I woke up with my cold worsening but still had a really good day. We went to the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney stone, which is a very bizarre experience, you literally have to lie down and have someone hold you as you lie over the edge of the castle to try and kiss this weird piece of stone. But, I can now say I have done it. We then walked through the castle gardens, which were very pretty despite the cold and rain and Alex and I had fun spinning ourselves around on a random tyre swing in the middle of nowhere. We then drove to a small fishing village called Kinsale where we had lunch and then drove to Cork.
And here we are in Cork!
Phew, that was epic. A recap of 6 days all done. Sorry if that was too much to take in!
Lots and lots of love,
Ellie xxxxxxxxxx
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