Natural Wonder of the World

Today was a free day in Ireland. After arriving in Limerick last night and walking to the hotel in the rain, we were hoping for a sunny day for our private tour around the area and the Cliff’s of Moher. However, when we woke up, it was still raining. Our tour guide Kristine picked us up at our hotel and we were off to see the countryside. As we started on our way out of the city, the rain began to lighten up. We stopped at several places along the route to the cliffs, including old burial grounds and castles. The countryside was beautiful as everything was green and blooming. We ate lunch in a small town called Doolin near the Cliff’s of Moher. By that time the rain had stopped and the sun had begun shining. We were all excited that it appeared we were going to have a great day to enjoy the views along the remainder of the drive and while walking around the cliffs.

When we arrived at the Cliff’s of Moher our guide informed us we could either stick to the paved paths and stairs or go the harder way with no pavement or stairs. So, of course the guys took the harder route, and everyone decided to follow. We walked along the cliffs and up the hills while avoiding the muddy puddles. We captured some amazing pictures. I even snapped one of Kyle and Abbie skipping up the hill, however they claim they were doing an Irish jig. I believe my picture confirms the skipping. Jeff was on a mission to see the puffins that live around the cliffs, but they were never spotted. After over an hour of enjoying the amazing views we were back on the bus heading to the train station to catch our ride to Killarney.

We arrived in Killarney in the evening and I bet no one can predict what happened after we left the train station. Following our tradition, we got lost while following the Google map directions. We finally made it to the hotel and were excited to see that one of the best pubs in the city was in our hotel and had live Irish music. We got settled in and then a few of us went downstairs to enjoy a pint or two of the local treat, aka. Guinness, while listening to the live Irish music.

We all enjoyed the day and thought that the Irish countryside was amazing. The Cliff’s of Moher were beautiful, along with the rest of the places we saw. The sad part is that our trip is coming to an end. I think that all or most of us are excited to go back home and see our friends and family, but it is sad to think that our four weeks in Europe are about over. We hope that everyone has enjoyed our blog. We appreciate everyone’s support of the blog throughout these last four weeks. We will be back in Sioux Falls somewhere between 9:30 and 10:00 pm Monday night depending on the airline’s punctuality.

John

P.S. The Cliffs of Moher are in the running as one of the “Natural Wonders of the World.”  You can vote at http://sevennaturalwonders.org/europe/cliffs-of-moher