Ireland

I just returned from a nice 4 days in Ireland. I had a week off of work and I really hadn't planned to go anywhere but at the last minute I found a cheap flight to Dublin. I rented a car at the airport and headed straight to the west coast, to get a much needed dose of the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was cold but 3 out of 4 days were sunny. The minute I drove out of the Dublin airport I felt at home- the place smells like cow manure, just like Point Reyes. There are cows, sheep and horses everywhere, green grass and mud. I loved it.

Unfortunately I was pretty ill and the best I could do was drive around and look at things- I wasn't up for hiking or anything physical- I think I just had a tummy bug- nothing serious but I got it the day before I left and it was enough to keep me from really eating anything for 4 days. That was probably a blessing- Ireland is incredibly expensive (I paid 25 Euro for a bed in a hostel dorm!), so I saved a lot by not having to eat.

It was a quick trip- I made it to the city of Galway the first night, but on the way stopped at Clonmacnoise, beautiful old ruins of a monastery. The next day I drove up to Clifden, all along the coast, through tiny towns, pasture land, and lots of nothing, then on the third day I went to the Cliffs of Moher. On my last day I drove to Dublin, got in late that night & had the whole next day to explore the city.

The Irish people were very nice but they sure do drink a lot! Pubs everywhere, drunken people on the streets- not just the Irish, either- I think that a lot of people go there just for the pubs.

It was a nice trip and I would definitely like to go back. There is a lot to see there and 4 days just isn't enough but it was a great start. And most important, I got to breathe some fresh ocean air.