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Well- it's my last night in Dublin!
Today was a good day, though. I even got good sleep last night! They stuck me in the same 12 girl dorm as earlier this week, but the girls were very quiet when they got in at 2-3am. I sort of woke up once and then passed out again. NICE!
This morning I got up at 6am and got ready to go on my day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. Like I mentioned before, I was debating on whether or not to do this... it's 3.5 hours away from Dublin... so that's over 7 hours in a freakin bus. Not my idea of a great day, but the Cliffs of Moher turned out to be worth it! They were so pretty! My pictures I took, awesome as they are, hehe, will never do the real thing justice. They are just so immense and pretty.
On the way there we also stopped in Limerick to take pictures of King John's castle. I learned that Limerick was the setting for the book (and movie) Angela's Ashes. Apparently the Irish were none to thrilled about the harsh portrayal of Irish life. I guess alot of them don't think the conditions were AS bad as the book described them, and the rest feel that even if they were, it is not the Irish way to glorify how messed up a life they had. The guide told us that the Americans just ate up the book and movie- they loved it because it described their ancestors having a hard life. I guess it makes Americans feel good about themselves and what they have, and proud that their ancestors survived it ).
We also stopped in a placed called the Burren, which is this windswept landscape of green grasses and jagged rocks. It's got it's own unique prettiness along the coast. There's an interesting story behind this area, too. In the Burren are several stone walls that serve absolutely no purpose. During the big famine, the English began free soup kitchens for the Irish. But after a little while, they got worried they were making the Irish stronger- strong enough to starts revolts. So they started making the Irish work for their food by making them build these useless walls in the Burren. It served a dual purpose- tiring out the Irish AND humiliating them.
We stopped for lunch in Doolin, which is a cute little place in the middle of the nowhere. There's seriously only a handful of buildings there. I figured that since it was my last day, I'd go all out on the Irish meal. Seafood is supposed to be good in Ireland (especially on the west coast) so I had the salmon with veggies and a Bailey's mousse for dessert. Hella good!
Anyway, like I said, Cliffs of Moher were awesome! The area near the visitor's center has a 4 ft wall keeping people away from the cliff edge. But if you hike south towards a point called Hag's Head, like I did ofcourse, you get wall-free unobstructed views. =) I hiked for about an hour- freakin awesome.
I didn't back in Dublin until 8pm, but I figured since it's my last night I'd make one last stop to Oliver St. John Gogarty's. I had a myself a pint of Bulmers and listened to the musicians. There were SIX this time! The other two times I was here there were only 3.. This time there was a guitar, fiddle, flute, bodhran (a small Irish drum), banjo and another guy (who was BLIND!) with a banjo or guitar that he hadn't taken out yet. Great stuff. =)
Anyway, I'm gonna head back to the dorm to shower and hop into bed. I'll be home sometime around 1pm tomorrow! I'll let you guys known when I'm home safe and sound! =)
Love ya all!
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