It’s the last night in Ireland and I’m camping out in a hotel in Dublin prior to an early morning departure. The beauty of this country’s parks and scenery will be missed — even dull bus rides are enjoyable by watching the sheep, mountains, and old country houses that line the roads. I’ll have to do more hiking in Bear Mountain to try and match this.

Cows and Clouds in Cashel

Originally I planned on a fourteen day trip away, because I wanted to fully take in the culture of an area. This trip hit nine days, which was enough to get through a lot.

Some highlights:

- Walking through a field full of cows (with no fences in the way). They were massive and I was afraid.
- Wedging my feet between the tiny steps of the Blarney Castle
- Trying to get dinner in Dublin, only realizing everything shuts down at 7 PM and having to grab a sandwich from a grocery store
- Waking up on the water in Cobh
- Having the bartender lock Kelly and I in a bar with a dozen other people after official bar hours closed.
- Walking by HMV and being overwhelmed by the massive outdoor Arctic Monkeys posters
- Spending the night in a bar meeting locals (by myself)
- Pouring a perfect pint myself
- Sitting in the grass of St Stephen’s Green with Kelly as we counted our final hours in Ireland
- Listening to Irish music in an old pub while watching a daddy long-legs dance to the beat
- Going for relaxed runs around the castles of Cashel and Kilkenny
- Getting late night post-pub pizza at Uncle Sam’s