Moving on west, Galway here I come

Okay, its been awhile since I last wrote so this may be a long one. And to answer Cian's question I stayed out in Tallaght only one night at a cheap hotel so that I could get a good nights sleep (1) and (2) because everything in the city center was booked. I moved to the Dublin International Youth hostel in the city center on Sunday morning and spent the next two days there. Dublin was fabulous and many thanks to the hostel staff who were wonderful and let me tag along to the pub my first night. Also thanks to my bunk mate the fabulous Sam from Perth Australia who I had sooooooo much fun with. I toured Dublin and got lost more times then I care to think about. I visited the Guinness Brewery and had a pint of the black stuff for Jason my brother. I went out with Sam and met the entire Meath Gaelic Football team and had quite a party for my last night in town. That night alone could be pages so for now I'll skip it. I'm now in Galway enjoying a slower paced city that is easier to negotiate. I went yesterday to the Cliffs of Moher and the Alliwee Caves. Personally the caves I could have skipped but the cliffs were amazing. The only downfall was that it was packed with other tourist and it was definitely catering to them. I was a little disappointed with how many people there were and that there were walls put up to block people from getting to close to the edge. I know it's for safety and all but it kind of ruins the natural and majestic of the cliffs. But regardless they were still amazing and I got loads of pictures, which at some point I will figure out how to post. I know, I'm technologically retard for a 26 year old. The tour I took was great. The guide/bus driver, Mike Rooney, was awesome and during the first part of the drive told everyone about Irish history and culture, which me being the discovery channel kind of girl that I am adored. We drove throught the Burren which is a quirky landscape to say the least. It's rocks and bushes and grass all mish moshed together. But honestly, I think it is beautiful. We stopped at Poulnabrone Dolmen which is a Late Bronze Age burial site.  It was amazing to just stand there in the presence of something that has been standing in the same spot for 5,000 years.  It's crazy to think people built it before the advent of the wheel. Again, sorry at the lack of pictures. I was happy as a clam being able to walk around near it. It reminded me so much of my Palaeolithic Archeology class with Professor Joachim (Lisa knows what I'm talking about). Today I went to the Aran Islands, or more specifically Inis Mor the largest of the islands. I was lazy and took a van tour which someone at the hostel recommended and loved it even more then the cliffs. Our first and most important stop was the 3,000 year old circular fort, Dun Aonghasa.  It was awe inspiring. Built on the side of a cliff (granted its only half the size of the Cliffs of Moher but still nothing to sneeze at) with multiple stone walls in a semi circle on top of a hill. I can't even describe it properly it was so majestic. But I got some great pictures which I will eventually add on to the site. Dad, I promise I was very careful when I took the picture laying by the edge of the cliff and over the cliff. After a couple of hours at the fort I went back down to tourist land a found myself in a jewelery shop, I know big surprise, and bought my first chach-kies a silver celtic ring for my pinky and a great celtic knot necklace which I was drawn to immediately and couldn't leave without. I picked up the same necklace three different times and figured it was a sign. In any case after that we saw the "seven churches" an 6th century ruin of a church and then drove around the island. I spent most of the day walking around with two lovely canadian teachers here on vacation and we sat and enjoyed a Guinness back down by the harbor before setting off to come back to Galway. All in all the last couple of days have been stupendous and I can't

wait to move on to Cork on Saturday. I'll be writing more from there I'm sure as tomorrow is going to be spent doing boring things like laundry and walking around town. But Galway is a beautiful city and much more restful then Dublin. It will be interesting to see what Cork is like. So until next time.