Traveler's Guide to Ireland - Part 3

Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin:

My friend and I were told that Dublin is the place to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day and I’m pretty sure that that’s true. Head back to the train/bus Station in Galway and make sure you arrive early enough in the day (basically, don’t arrive in the afternoon and miss the parade). And yes, wear something green, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. The parade is really interesting to watch, there are local schools participating and different sections of the military are in it as well. Oh, and you get to see a dude dressed as a drunken Pope running around and leading the parade (not sure if this is an annual thing though…).

So, here are some snapshots from the parade... There were so many participants that it was impossible to take pictures of all of them! 

Some of the "vehicles" the particpants rode in...

Once the parade is over, head to the pubs or walk around, Dublin is absolutely ideal for sightseeing. There’s a river crossing through the city and bridges connecting one side to the other – no fees. There are various musical festivals taking place all throughout the city during Saint Patrick’s Day, but if you have a certain artist in mind that you know is performing that day and you’re dying to see, ask for someone helping out at the Saint Patrick’s Day festival to tell you where exactly he’ll be performing. Some of the people I saw that day were performing in the most bizarre little streets and I would’ve passed by them without even knowing.





If you’re interested in attending one of the big music concerts, you will get to hear a mixture of modern Irish folk, rock or even traditional Irish music, all of which are amazing! I even got to participate in a contest that was meant to be put in the Guinness Book of Records: at a given time we were all asked to repeat a phrase in Irish Gaelic, in the hopes of becoming the largest amount of people to be speaking Gaelic at the same time.



















Now, my knowledge of Irish Gaelic is next to nothing so I’m not sure if we were wishing for world peace or calling someone’s mother a fat cow, but it was really fun! I didn’t get to see many tourist places in Dublin since most of the day I was taking pictures in the parade and conversing with the locals and visitors from all over the world but I’m sure that if you get a tourist guide, you can go wherever you want; it’s an easy city to navigate through.

If you’re planning on spending the night in Dublin (or anywhere on Saint Patrick’s Day) make sure that you book your hostel in time! Hostels are a great way to save money in Ireland: they’re cheap, they’re clean and it feels like you live in a nice little community for as long as you’re there, but that’s ONLY if you book them in time!!! Even though we took a late night bus back to Belfast to stay there instead, everything was booked days in advance. We ended up spending the night with three other guys we didn’t know in a tiny room where one bed was stuck next to the other, the bathroom was down the hall but the sink was in the room next to the last bed, the heat went on and off and the door didn’t lock. To top it all off, we didn’t get to see our “roommates” at all; my friend and I went to bed as soon as we got into the room and we heard them stumbling in, completely wasted at around 4am. We woke up a couple of hours later to find them sleeping in various places of the room – thankfully nowhere near our beds. Lesson learned…

The next day I hopped on the bus to the airport and headed back to New York to finish my final semester as an undergraduate. The tunes of the Irish songs I knew and had the chance to finally hear live for the first time in their country of birth accompanied me to the airport and on the journey back. I’m all for trips that “feed your soul” and Ireland definitely did that for me. So, I highly recommend a visit there and…

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand

(An old Irish blessing)

*S

A Traveler's Guide to Ireland - Part 2

Heading West:

(You’re in Western Ireland now, so exchange whatever money you have – your own currency or left over British pounds from Belfast – into Euro)

My friend’s place was in Galway, so we headed back west, passed through Belfast and arrived in Galway. Galway is known as a cultural center in Ireland and there are numerous festivals taking place throughout the year. Depending on what time of the year you visit, you can attend all sorts of fun events. It’s also one of the few places in Ireland where they still speak Irish Gaelic. Also, there is a difference between Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic – the locals who still speak one or the other, just call it Gaelic.

There are museums and theaters to visit and you should but once you’re done with that, head towards the port and find where Cupan Tae is. The title has a squiggly line over the A and it’s pronounced as if you’re saying “Cup and Tea” really fast.

This place has the most awesome tea flavors from all over the world and you can also buy them in bulk. It’s also a nice place for lunch or breakfast because they have sandwiches and the like. Overall, I visited this place every single day I was in Galway and it’s one of my loveliest memories (probably cuz I love good food as much as I like to travel).

Once you’ve had enough tea for one day, take a walk towards the docks and the beach. There are swans swimming nearby which was a first for me, and then… there’s the beach. I don’t know what it is with the beaches in Ireland, but every time I came near one in that country I felt as if I was walking into a dream land. Again… pictures are worth a thousand words.

The River that runs through the city of Galway

Look, a swan (^___^)

My Birthday at the edge of the World – Cliffs of Moher

I was fortunate enough to have two things coinciding with my trip to Ireland. One, my birthday fell in the middle of my visit and two, I got to experience Saint Patrick’s day in Ireland. It’s the same with Guinness; you might hate it while you’re anywhere else but once you try it in Ireland, it makes all the sense in the world. I didn’t hate Saint Patrick’s Day before I went to the Emerald Isle, but I can safely say that I had the proper experience of this celebration in the right place.

So, my birthday is on March 13^th and my (awesome) friend was kind enough to give me a day trip as a birthday present. We joined a tour group leaving Galway and heading southwest – the final destination being the Cliffs of Moher. I unfortunately don’t remember the name of our tour guide but he is easily the funniest person in (at least) Ireland. His tour started with visits to old castles and lakes, and also a fairy’s circle, which consists of a circle formed by trees where it is believed that fairies come at night to discuss the problems that you have mentally left there for them to examine. It’s a very nice spiritual gesture to participate in, even if you don’t believe in that kind of stuff.



The castles we saw were tied to important historical events and even included the stories of some very brave Irish women (yay girl power). In between castles and lakes and old tombs, we were also informed that our tour guide is happily married but would love to get rid of his mother in law, that we could all participate if we felt like it and that all real Irish men always sleep with one eye open because of their feisty Irish wives. He also told us about a festival that takes place in a village that we passed by: all the single girls can find a husband on that day because there’s a matchmaking ceremony going on. So there’s a guy out there for everyone – or, as the tour guide put it, “an old fart with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel”.




This is an old Irish tomb that we visited during our tour. The cracks on the rocks surrounding it (that are now filled with grass) have been caused by the constant rainfalls in Ireland!!!

As mentioned before, our final destination was the Cliffs of Moher. And this is literally what the edge of the world must look like. The world’s not round, it ends at the Cliffs of Moher and you can certainly verify that when you’re standing on the edge of one of the cliffs, the wind blowing, and the sea waayyyy beneath you. It’s a “if you’re afraid of heights, don’t look down” situation, but totally worth it. You can walk along each cliff as the mountain they’re on goes higher and higher and when you do reach the last one, take a look behind you: you’ll find yourself between air, water and grass and nothing but open land and sea for miles.

So here are some pictures from the Cliffs of Moher!!!



 

P.s There’s a fence made of rock and wood that’s supposed to let you know how close you can get to the cliffs without falling. I would stick near that fence – even if I totally didn’t on that day and got some pretty amazing shots to prove it. Yes, it was a good birthday.

When you get back to Galway and just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day, have a drink at any of the local pubs that has live music. You’ll listen to some nice Irish folk songs in Irish Gaelic or in English from local mucisians that might also be students at the University in Galway and you’re totally welcomed to sing along :)

(End of part 2)

*S