I don't want to be number six...

After I got out of work on Friday, I rushed back to my apartment to pack and make sure I was ready for a 19:15 bus ride (I'm finally getting used to military time).  The bus took 2.5 hours and I slept the entire time with my iPod on shuffle, but when we arrived at Galway I was suddenly wide awake.  We got off the bus and headed to our hostel, "Civic Tourist."  We were greeted by an older lad named Declan, a friendly local who told us to make ourselves at home.  Here's a picture of all of us (Aunt Jamie, I figured out how to post pictures here so you can see them, but I also think it's time for you to get a Facebook!)

After arriving at the hostel, we didn't waste any time.  We changed into fancier clothes to explore Galway's nightlife, and ended up at a pub (forgot the name) and then a club (also forgot).  We got back to the hostel at 3:30 a.m., and set our alarms for 9:30 that morning so that we could make the last call for breakfast.  After we ate our toast with nutella (yum), we decided to walk around the town.  One of the girls in our group, Amy, organized a list of sights, restaurants, and cafes that she researched online before we left.  Amy reminds me a lot of my friend Lauren from home (Bizz, I know you're following this blog, so here's a shout-out to you!)  My friends at home call Lauren our "mom" because she is always organized and looking out for us.  Amy took on that role here too- she researched and booked our hostel, made us send her our bus tickets so we could print them at an online cafe ahead of time, and knew exactly where to go; she has great navigational skills.  Bizz, you'd love her.  She would totally visit me in D.C. and come up with a list of places to go and take the metro by herself while I was in class like you did.  You guys even dress alike too... creepy!

Anyways, here's what we did in Galway:
1)  Walked around a farmer's market- which they have every Saturday.

2)  Ate lunch at a delicious restaurant known for their fish and chips (guess who researched that one ahead of time).

3)  Walked around the gorgeous river and beaches and saw the Spanish Arch.

4)  Ate dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant.

After dinner, half of our group decided to go out while the other half decided to rest up for our Cliffs of Moher tour in the morning.  Guess which group was I in?!  The lame one!  I was so exhausted from the night before that I couldn't even bring myself to get out of bed, so I hit the sack early so that I would be able to appreciate the sights the next day.  Anyone who knows me well is aware that I need two very important things in life:  food and sleep.  Without either one of them, I'm crabby.  Luckily, I figured that out about myself early on in life, so I can plan accordingly during times like these.

The next morning, we woke up early to catch the bus at 10 for our Lally Tour!  Check out the website to see details of what we saw:  (http://www.lallytours.com/).  Guess who complained about being sleepy in the morning?!  Not me! :) Our bus driver was so personable and informative, I think we really lucked out.  In between stops, I learned a lot as he talked to us about the 1916 Ireland rebellion, the famous "matchmaking" festival that goes on every September in Lisdoonvarna and Lahinch Beach (I definitely thought of Patti Stanger when he was describing it...), and the famous Poulnabrone tomb (estimated to be 5,000 years old!) We stopped in Burren first, then went onto the tomb, grabbed a bite to eat at a pub, and finally stopped at the Cliffs, my favorite destination.  Here are some pictures (Cliffs of Moher, Tomb, Burren)

Our bus driver told us to be really careful at The Cliffs of Moher because five people died by standing too close to the edge and falling off when sudden gusts of wind caught them off guard.  Whenever we'd try to take a picture close to the edge, I'd freak out and tell everyone to move forward.  I didn't want any of us to be number six after all.  The whole scene reminded me of Christie's novel "And Then There Were None."  So scary!

Even though it was raining and foggy, the cliffs were absolutely incredible.  We only had an hour to walk around the area, so we were really efficient with our time and took advantage of every minute.  I didn't want to leave!  When the time was up, we headed back on the bus and back to Galway, where we then went on another 2.5 hour bus ride and finally arrived back in Dublin after a long but exciting and adventurous day.

I'm starting to realize that my title to this blog, "It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away," couldn't be more fitting.  Now that I've been in Ireland for two weeks, I'm getting used to what my friends like to call the "bipolar" weather.  In the morning (while we were in Burren), it was sunny and beautiful.  Our bus driver was so enthusiastic about the weather and told us that we would get great pictures and views at the Cliffs.  Apparently he jinxed it, because right when we arrived at the Cliffs it started to rain.  I can see why Bono and the rest of U2 sing "Beautiful Day."  Here, it's true that you really can't let it get away... you never know when the sun will fade and the rain will pour.  However, despite the rain, I had an amazing weekend, saw some incredible sights, and wasn't number six.  I'd say that's a success.