My captain, (Tim) my captain

If I thought “catching up” on sleep was a possibility before Ireland, it almost seems laughable now starting the second leg of our journey.  Its 6 am (1 am for you savvy followers)  and I’m the last awake and the first ready, praising my foresight of picking up a starbucks from the little corner market under our flat the night previous.  As I worship the five sips of coffee it holds for me, the rest of the crew makes the final touches in their grooming.  The crew now includes a Steve and a Lara, of which this adventure was originated, as today is a day for a proposal.  But to get there, a fifteen-minute walk into the Trinity College area is included aswell as a three hour bus tour. A Three Hour tourrrrrrr, Gilligan was not included.

We meet up with Lara’s sister, Courtney who is an amazing wedding photographer who jumped over just for two days for this event.  We take the back of the bus and get some shuteye, opening them to the Western bank of Ireland at the Cliffs of Moher.  We have an hour and half, to find a place for Steve to drop a knee and soak in all the salty air our lungs can hold.

 Going past a few safety barriers, we find the spot and Steve makes the move.  Although they may have had literal cold feet with the freezing mountain wind, there was no hesitation to be found and the proposal is a wild success with many a cheer from happy on-lookers. 

Of course we took some pictures too

So we naturally mixed some exploring with a bit of joyful memory making from peak to peak along the torrid sea side cliffs. These where probably my favorite photos from the trip, fitting that it was also one of my favorite days even being rushed along by our faithful Tim. 

Although this was the Cliffs of Moher tour, the majority of the day was spent traveling and getting to see more of Ireland.  Including lunch at a little village in Doolin.  Little Dooliner Beer, little chip, little fish, goes a long way. We were off again!

 We rolled past the The Burren, which is part of the County Clare.  It is known for its almost lunar like landscape from large sedimentary rocks, mostly composed of limestone. 

We have fifteen minutes here. I know, that is less than a hiccup for any photographer.  And I considered hiding between ridges; I was hailed back to the bus.  Shoot.

I will be back, I will drive my own car, and I will play on rocks.

Lastly, we drive on up to Galway, continuing Lucia’s obsession of recreating as many Ed Sheeran songs as she can.  

This quaint town was full of life and another place I wish I had at least night to take in.  This also provided an cultural experience for my fellow travelers as this was the first public bathroom they used and found themselves turning their pockets in for the change in order to pass through the turnstile entrance.  Disney? 

With only an hour here, we have enough time to walk from one end to the next and make our way back to the bus.  For the first time all day, we do not receive the cold stares as we make our way to the back as we were not the last on the bus.  Heading back to Dublin, our tour guide (Tim) and driver did a bang up job of giving us some historical understanding of Ireland from the Potato famine to the famed Obama gas station. That is no joke; it is truly a memorial to the Presidents visit to the country when he was seeing where some of his ancestors had once lived. 

Pulling back into the city, although the 14 hour day naturally would march oneself straight to bed, we put on our party boots and marched back out into the city to celebrate everlasting love and all that mushy stuff.  We kicked back a few Guinness’s (they really tastes different here) and listened to a few bands at Trinity bar and then over to the famous Temple Bar. 

What a day.