Keeping up with blogs is slightly difficult

While traveling, especially on a tour, its hard to find time to get on a computer or sit down and write in a journal. You're either super tired at night, or getting ready for the day in the morning, or out exploring during the day. Patrick and I are currently on day 2 of our 3 day southern tour. We had two days in Dublin during which we hung out with our Aussie friends and went on a free walking tour of Dublin. I have now learned the history of Ireland two times over, and have retained maybe 25%.

Our 3 day tour as been good so far. The first was slightly lame for me because the tour route deviated from what was advertised. So our first day was pretty much the same day tour as one that I had taken on my own in Galway. But the weather when I went on my own was gray and drizzly (the start of my love for rain jackets) and yesterday was beautiful, so I got to see the sights in a new light.

Sunny Day

Rainy Day

Our tour guide yesterday was a trip in itself. It felt almost as if he wouldn't stop talking, but at the same time, didn't say enough. He told us a few times how his father went fishing a lot, but didn't eat the trout he caught. That he would eat his dad's trout and his dad didn't like it when he rang him on the boat. When Patrick asked if he spoke Gaelic, he went on a 30 minute rant on how he didn't actually know any Gaelic, except for a few words and why he didn't know any. I've definitely had my fair share of open mouth sleeping as well. These buses just knock you out within 5 minutes. Boring tour guides or irish folk music don't help much either.

Today has been much better. The driver today, Seany, looks like a grungy street guy and talks like a leprechaun, so pretty entertaining. We saw the Cliffs of Moher today which looked like the Cliffs of Insanity in Princess Bride, aka AMAZING!

Mini Cliffs

Hardcore, I know
The Cliffs of Insanity...

A couple days ago, I learned that the library in one of the later Harry Potter movies was based on the long library of Trinity College AND that Hogwarts was based off of a castle in Edinburgh, so naturally, I have added Scotland to the end of my trip. Looks like, in total, I will be travelling one month with Pat in Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, meeting my sis and bro in Germany, and continuing on my own to Italy, England, and Scotland, and finally home July 6th.