the cliffs

As I sit in 'The Underground' - a University Starbucks cafe - drinking my latte and eating what the Scots call a vanilla slice (basically a pie crust on the top & bottom filled with vanilla creme in the middle) I struggle to find the incentive to write this post. Seeing that I had promised its creation on Sunday, I knew in the morning that I would have to find time at some point to write the post. That doesn't make it any easier. The sun is shining, it's a warmer-than-usual 51 degrees, my iTunes plays the soundtrack from the film Midnight in Paris (a delightful film with early jazz and European-infused musical score) and I'm being wildly entertained by some NEDs (non-educated delinquents) smoking on a bench outside the one of the cafe's many windows. The entertainment comes from the wildlife, a swan in particular, that, while seeing several lucky ducks (literally) being fed crumbs from the teens waddled its way to the bench and picnic table with the speed of a trotting horse. This of course led to those sitting on the grass to jump up and out of the swan's way. They're much larger than they appear in the water, and when they flap their wings, it's an even greater cause for concern from the human species. But I can't stare at the swan all day. Or can I? Maybe I will buy an expired loaf of bread after blogging and go feed them. Before that though, Dublin.

From arriving in Dublin to the time of our check in was a dark time in my life. Just as it was so with the plane ride to Scotland (and the ride home, which I'm not looking forward to given my early departure), I was un-energetic and lacked all compassion for the world. I needed sleep. If I wasn't going to be able to sleep, I was going to need coffee or tea or something else that is more so based in Amsterdam, Holland than in Dublin, Ireland. So, the four of us traveled through the drizzling rain to our hostel and left our bags. It was only 10:30AM, so we were unable to check-in, but the hostel offered a locked room for our possessions. We walked some more in random direction in the hopes of finding food, and food we found! The small and barely noticeable cafe was called Le Petit Parisien Cafe. I know. We weren't in France, but we didn't care. It seemed legit, and it was. I ordered a peppermint tea, knowing the caffeine would be a bit more stable than the crash that would later come from a cup of coffee. Luckily, the cafe served traditional Irish breakfast. Two eggs, a vine of 6 baby tomatoes baked slightly, baked beans, and two pieces of toast. It was simply divine. After resting our legs for a bit at the cafe, we agreed to look around a bit and try to find some tea to take as a gift for dinner later that night (more to come in a bit). Fortunately, there was a specialized tea shop right across the street, so we didn't spend too much time wondering aimlessly. After the cafe we found ourselves at the mercy of Grafton Street - a major shopping avenue. I wanted nothing to do with going into stores because that's not why I traveled to Dublin. The other three, however, had a different idea. They wanted to go into every story imaginable. This is the moment I realized I may be tried for homicide by the end of our trip: Especially when they wanted to go into the Disney store. Most people grow up hearing "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." But think about that. How interesting would the world be if everyone followed that rule. I'll spare you the complaining for the next several hours and fast forward to nap time. 2 o'clock came, and we rushed to the hostel. We showered and went to bed so we would be able to make our dinner plans without dying on our hosts.

Several years ago my sister Kate studied abroad in Ireland and lived with a host family. Since then, she has kept in good contact with them, and since they lived close to the center of town I wanted to meet them very badly. I planned a week in advance to visit her host family, Leone and Peter, who had graciously offered dinner on Thursday evening. As a college student trying to spend money wisely, I will never pass up a free meal. I even told them I eat meat (I don't normally eat meat, but have done so a bit more since being abroad). The original plan was for me and my three traveling buddies to wake up at 5PM so we could make it to dinner by 6PM. We woke up at 5:15PM and rushed out of the hostel on a journey of which I wasn't too convinced. Traveling out the town on a schedule is difficult. So, we get on the Luas (a train that travels in the middle of the road of main streets). It's a poorly thought-out concept. Anyone can walk on without a ticket. We didn't, of course, know this when we traveled on it the first time. No one check our tickets either there or the way back. Being that it is boarded not through a station but rather just any plain street, there are no gates to enter either. Anyway, we get on the train (all directions were in Gaelic, an official language an not recognizable with any romance language - the only languages my friends and I could decipher if need be) and end up making it to the right stop thanks to friendly locals who were more than willing to tell us how many more stops to go.

Once we arrived at the correct stop we adventured to the house. I'll state here that Ireland is the most complex layout EVER. Telling you the directions would be inane (except for you, Kate) but let's just say we showed up at an address resembling that of the house we were looking for. 30 Crescent Road was where I first knocked on the door. A man answered the door, and I cheerfully declared, "You must be Peter!" Well, it wasn't Peter. This man had no idea who Peter was. I chuckled nervously and apologized for showing up at this stranger's door. On we traveled to continue our search. We turned a street corner and there we say a woman with a child in a stroller waving at us from her porch. This must be Leonie! We approached the house and as we got closer the woman stayed still. Once we got rather close, she yelled an apology saying she thought I was her neighbor. You've got to be kidding. Where is this magical house? We were now 20 minutes late to dinner, which is not my style. I'm never late for anything. After a brief pause to look at the map, we found our way again and eventually arrived at 30 Crescent LANE. A blonde woman holding a baby girl answered the door, and I tried to get it right once again, though to no avail. "You must be Leonie!" She wasn't Leone. She was her sister. See, Leone had gone to the hospital with one of her foster children who had fallen and hit his head. She ended up having to stay the night and Peter was working so I was unfortunately unable to meet either of them. We did, however, have a great dinner!

Later in the evening we all went to a bar that was playing live music. After one drink we all called it a night for several reasons. First, drinks run at 5Euro for the cheapest (except beer. But I really dislike beer), and secondly, we were going to be waking up around 5:45Am to be traveling the next day on a day tour to The Cliffs of Moher. As advised by my sister, a day at the Cliffs is worth a week in Dublin, so to the Cliffs it was. There was a nice tour in collaboration with our hostel that ran less like other tours. We made more stops than other buses and tended to stay at our destinations a bit longer. 

Billy, the baby mountain goat

When we woke up on Friday morning it was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was a light blue and the crisp, Spring air was very welcoming. The first part of our trip consisted of a two-hour drive to a the side of an empty road where we waited ten minutes for our actual bus to pick us up. There were fifteen of us from all different countries and of all different ages. Most slept on the bus ride, as it was quite early. Once we were kicked out of the first bus we all stared blankly at one another wondering if we'd be stuck at this stop forever. There was little sign of life. Eventually our tour bus arrived, and on we went to join approximately 25 other people. We drove for another hour while listening to the tour guide's commentary on the area of Galway until we stopped at a family farm. This was the first difference from other tours. The original 15 - or those who schedule through hostels - were dropped off at a farm while the others were taken to a nearby cave museum. The farm we were at laid at the base of large mountains made mostly of limestone. We met our tour guide for the farm (who lives and works on the farm with his family). He was very kind and explained to us why he does what he does (with the tours). For years, his family had watched tour bus after tour bus drive through the town of 9 houses on the way to The Cliffs, which are owned by the Government. The money from the Cliffs never really helps the country, as he claimed that the Irish Government never really helps the people who struggle to keep their farms running. So with his degree in geography and archeology, he decided to work with one of the tour companies. The bus would drop off a group each day for two hours. During those two hours we were able to feed the family's baby mountain goat, Billy, who was discovered in the winter abandoned on the mountain. He was a pretty feisty fellow with his little antler/horn attachments, but was cuter than anything! We also got to see the cows and ponys. After gawking at the animals as if none of us had never been to a farm or zoo before, we started a hike up the mountain led by our tour guide. The whole way up he gave us a history lesson of the area, which was fascinating. We came along a tree near the top that is believed to connect two worlds. Being so, you take something of yours and tie it to the tree. It can be string or a watch or tread from your shirt. The object represents one worry in the world. Whatever worry you have , you tie it to the tree and let it cross into the other world, never to be remembered again. The most fascinating of concepts and the most spiritually calming traditions. While I won't tell what worry I rid myself of, I feel the other world has already sent back a new worry to replace it. As Frank Sinatra croons, "That's Life." Once we descended the mountain we entered the family home and were able to buy some fresh baked goods made by the family. I had an Irish coffee, which was unbeatable (brown sugar, Bailey's, french-pressed coffee, and freshly whipped cream on the top).

Our tour bus arrived back at the farm and began its journey, once again, to The Cliffs of Moher. The view was breathtaking as we traveled through the middle of the stoney mountains to the Cliffs. Once we were close we received the all-too-predictable "Don't get close to the edge. Stay inside the lines. Be like everybody else. Please conform." Well Mr. tour guide, that's not how I really do things. You gotta live large!!!! I was taking a video while he was making his speech and the following is a direct quote.

------"...very beautiful, but they can also be very dangerous. Now the only times the Cliffs are dangerous are when people are taking silly chances, and believe me folks you could see people down there today taking silly chances. Sometimes you see people sneaking outside the fences, going to the very edge of the Cliff and sometimes even leaning against the wind and as soon as the wind disappears, so to speak, well so does the person. However, if you really want to go to the edge, and if you happen to fall off, as you're falling off, folks, if you just look over to the right hand side you get a fantastic view of Galway Bay. The only problem is that it'll be your last view." -------

So we arrive to the Cliffs and the first thing my friends want to do is go to the gift shop to buy postcards. I could have spit nails. We going to the f***ing Cliff of Moher and you want to buy a postcard before you even see them? The nerve. I joined apprehensively joined them and after wasting five minutes that I could have spent laying along the Cliffs, we finally headed up the giant staircase to the first major lookout. To describe the Cliffs is would be trying to describe any great wonder of the world. Pictures are always decent representations but will never be able to do justice to seeing them with your own two eyes. The wind of the Cliffs was extremely strong that day, but the sky was as clear as crystal. As the four of us traveled along the path of the Cliffs I decided to travel at my own pace rather than the let's-see-everything-we-can-and-never-stop-to-enjoy-it pace of my companions. Plus, I wanted to walk on the edge, which Barbara contested adamantly. She tried to tell me know as if she were my mother, but as an adult I paid her no attention. To the edge I went. YOLO! I can't imagine I'll ever forget my day at the Cliffs because it was one of the best. Off the top of my head there have only been a handful of days (3 or 4) that have been better. After our time to leave came, we all loaded back on the bus and were taken to a local restaurant only ten minutes away. There I was able to taste a local beer along with seafood chowder (with fresh fish!) and a wonderful dessert that I don't really know what was in it. 

The ride back was almost as spectacular as the Cliffs themselves. We drove along the coast line of the Ocean and watched as the tide rose. We stopped at several castles and beaches where we were able to leave the bus for about ten minutes. Too many people stayed on the bus because they were tired. I thought I could sleep when I was dead, so I get out at every stop to explore and smell the fresh air and yell at the sheep to see if they'd look at me. "HEY SHEEP!" (It's a jovial game you can play with all sorts of animals! Since sheep and cows are everywhere in Ireland, it was pretty easy.) Here, I am said to say, my camera died. I didn't think to bring the charger, so the photos from the trip end here and there won't be as many to share on Friday, but it's not really a concern of mine. The world's way of telling me to look for myself rather than through the lens of a camera. Anyways, the travels back were remarkable. While others were sleeping, I saw three different rainbows, watched the sunset on the vast ocean, and said said goodbye to a memorable day filled with laughter, amazement, and humility. 

So that was my Friday in Ireland. I could have expanded even more, but I think that was long enough! Plus, I've been writing this since 3PM and it's now 8PM. (I haven't of course been writing the whole time. I took breaks to feed the swans an entire loaf of bread and to choose a film to watch with friends tonight. Elizabeth: The Golden Age: One of my favorites and one of few I'll watch again.) Before I leave though, I want to share this video (CLICK HERE) that sums up my irritation with Barbara and Mirco during the vacation and especially on our travels to The Cliffs. Eventually Tina and I ignored them. But seriously... check the video out. It's really funny, and you'll understand why I'd be irritated. It also saves me from writing any more on the subject.

Until Friday!
-J 

"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons
of reason which, today, arm you against the present."
                                          -Marcus Aurelius