Do ya Want a Guinness? Scotland and Ireland: March 27-31, 2009

Yah! Holiday Break! I love studying abroad because the Dutch have more respect for holidays and downtime…which means more traveling for me! So we decided to kick off our holiday break with a trip to Scotland and Ireland. We were able to book really cheap flights (I think one of them was a total of 5 British pounds), but we were doing a lot of random traveling.

We started our journey and headed to Charleroi (the discount Brussels airport which is really 1 hour south of Brussels and a huge pain to get there) which is an experience in itself. We then flew from Charleroi to Glasgow, Scotland for a few hours. Then we would take the train/bus to Edinburgh for Friday night and all of Saturday. Then take a flight from Edinburgh to Dublin, Ireland. A night and a spent in Dublin, and then take a bus for a few days in Galway, Ireland…what a trip!

So we started off on the train to Charleroi where we met some girls who stay in the Guesthouse with us, but are in the Baylor program (there are about 50 of them but they are pretty secluded). We learned all about their program and why they had HUGE backpacker's backpacks and stuffed purses with them. The way the Baylor program is set up- they take 3-4 classes the first block (we take 2) and then they get the month of April to travel and they all meet in Greece in the end. They also have meals, bikes, Eurails, and flights included in their program fees (must be nice!). It is a pretty sweet setup, but I know I wouldn't be able to travel that much in a month…I need my breaks!

So it turns out our Baylor friends were on the same flight as us, and were beginning their world tour in Scotland. When we landed in Prestwick, we went to the ATM to get some pounds and then took the very nice train to Glasgow. We were so hungry so we searched for a place to get some good food. We found a cool restaurant which is probably like the TGIFridays of Scotland, but with a lot more character. We all got meals and pints and desert for like 6 pounds! My bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes) were delicious!

After eating lunch, we wandered around Glasgow and down their big shopping street, Buchanan Street. There is not a lot of touristy stuff in Glasgow, so we caught our bus to Edinburgh because we knew there was a lot more to do there.

When we arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, it was dark and beautiful! The buildings are so ummm…Scottish! We met up with a friend of the one of the girls traveling with me and went out. We ate dinner at a really cool pub, and I drank some Stella (wasn't feeling Bulmer's cider). Then, we went to this really cool vodka bar- basically all of their specials have vodka in them- all the others did shooters but I was perfectly content with my Strawberry Woohoo (only Edinburgh's drink of choice haha).

After leaving the Vodka Bar, we were approached by a promoter who offered us a free limo ride to a club. I wasn't too keen on the idea because you all know how much I love clubs, but the others got in so I did too. This was my first limo ride, and for the whole two minutes it lasted, it was fun. When we entered "Subway Club" (I think that is what they called it), we knew we were going to be entertained for the whole night. This club is like what you would go to in the movie, "EuroTrip". I was completely sober, but was having so much fun hysterically laughing at all the incredibly trashy people there. There was leopard girl who was wearing terrible clothes and dancing by herself for about one hour. Then there was crazy drunk girl who kept flashing everyone. Then there were about ten guys dressed in either Hawaiian shirts or golf polos who were terrible dancers. It was priceless and oh so interesting.

So after that memorable night, we were ready to see the sights on Edinburgh. The next morning (Saturday), we woke up and packed our stuff for the day (our flight to Dublin was that night so we had to carry our packs all day), and headed to the Royal Mile. Now anything you could ever want in Scotland is on the Royal Mile- kilt makers, scotch whiskey distilleries and taste shops, souvenir shops, Scottie dogs, men in kilts, William Wallace, castles, ect. We walked up to Edinburgh castle, explored ,and saw some great views of the city (the castle is on a hill). We decided not to go in because entrance costs 13 pounds! So we ventured down the Royal Mile- I bought a rugby jersey!

At the end of the Royal Mile is Holyrood House- the State residence of the Queen when she is in Scotland for the summer. It is also the residence where Mary Queen of Scots lived before she was imprisoned. The others didn't want to pay, so Lisa and I split from the group and went inside. Holyrood House is beautiful! As a working castle, it is so interesting to see the modern with the old. We saw the room where Sean Connery was knighted, Mary Queen of Scots private rooms, the old abbey that stood before the castle was built, and a ton of other really cool rooms. Julie would be so jealous. I was in heaven and am so glad that I was able to tour Holyrood.

After our awesome tour, we met back up with the group and climbed Calton Hill. On the top of the hill, there are ancient Roman ruins and amazing views of Edinburgh. The sun was setting so we stayed up there for a bit and enjoyed our last few moments in Scotland. Then, we walked down the hill and caught our double decker bus to the airport (we sat on the 2nd level of course!).

After another Ryanair flight, we landed in Dublin and got our shuttle to the center. After we finally found our hostel, we headed out to enjoy some Irish music. We found this great pub with traditional Irish music and settled in a corner. I was drinking Smithwicks (which apparently is weird for girls to drink because I kept getting comments all night) and it was delicious. We danced, sand, and met a nice drunk Scottish couple. It was a fun Irish night!

After the few hours of sleep that we all got, we got up to do Dublin in a day. We did it! We saw the Christ Church of Dublin, St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Stephen's Green, Temple Bar, Trinity College, and walked down Grafton Street. And of course, toured the Guinness Storehouse because no trip to Dublin would be complete without going to the Guinness brewery. Let me just say, I like Guinness, surprisingly. I thoroughly enjoyed my pint (and Christine's half) at the Gravity bar. I love the Guinness foam…it's like a latte!

So after getting tipsy in the Guinness Storehouse, we realized that our bus to Galway left in less than an hour and we still needed to get our luggage from the hostel…yikes! So we ran our little butts all over Dublin, and we made our bus! We were all exhausted and were excited to get the 3 hours of sleep during the ride. Now, I tried to sleep, but the Irish countryside was so beautiful, and every time I saw a little lamb I would get really excited and think about how I wanted to raise lambs. So naturally, I was unable to sleep because there are sheep everywhere in Ireland, but that's ok, I was very happy.

We arrived in Galway around 7 pm and were starving. We found this great pub which had awesome food and cheap beer (best combination). The Irish people are so hospitable too! After dinner, we tried to meet up with the girl we were supposed to stay with that night, but between our phones sucking and miscommunication, we ended up just booking the hostel a night earlier. We stayed at the Barnacles Quay Street house right in the middle of the shopping district, and despite the cheeky receptionist, it was great!

The next day (Monday) was the part of the trip that I was looking forward to, our bus tour through the Burren and to the Cliffs of Moher. I had booked our tickets before hand after reading reviews online and had decided to go with the Galway Tour Company, and IT WAS AWESOME! We met our tour guide/bus driver Desmond as we boarded the bus. He was the cutest 70 year-old Irish man ever with his sweater and accent. We knew the tour was going to be awesome when we were greeted by the stuffed leprechaun in the front seat.

On our tour, Desmond enlightened us on the history of the western part of Ireland, explained why the Burren is covered in limestone, and just about anything else you would want to know about Ireland. He was funny and told so many interesting stories. We stopped at Dunguaire Castle which is on Galway Bay and it was beautiful! We also stopped at the Ballyalban Fairy Fort (a ring fort built to hide from strangers but Desmond told us that it is now inhabited by leprechauns), Corcomroe Abbey, and saw the Poulnabrone Doomen- a 5800 year old family tomb—so cool! We stopped at a family-owned pub in Doolin for lunch and I had homemade fish and chips and a Guinness of course!

Then, we made it to the Cliffs of Moher….amazing! Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The Cliffs are a 214 meter drop to the Atlantic Ocean and are absolutely beautiful (see my million pictures). Luckily, the fog had cleared while we were eating lunch so the views were spectacular. We were at the Cliffs for two hours, but I think I could have stayed there all day!

On our way back to Galway, we took the coastal roads and saw Ballyreen (the flat rock shores) and Black Head (a cool lighthouse on the flat rock). And Desmond led us singing Irish folk music. All in all, the day trip was so much fun and the Cliffs of Moher are absolutely amazing. No trip to Ireland would be complete without going on this tour!

When we made it back to Galway, we walked around the shopping area and met a kid from Northwestern playing the bagpipes…random. We went out again to the pubs, and met some really nice people who were so interested in our travels. I loved Galway and was sad when we left on Tuesday!

Well I am blogged out for now. My next trip is over Easter weekend to Prague and Berlin. Until then, I miss and love you all!

Tot ziens!

Betsy