Ireland all wrapped up

This is going to be long since we had no comps for the majority of the Irish Fest 2010. Here are some of the high lights…

Galway
         Love it. When we got there it was clear, and sunny, so perfect that everyone who lived there was outside and the white white irish men thought it such ideal tanning weather that none of them had shirts on. The sun reflecting off of their white skin was blinding.

         Day 2 was not so beautiful, the weather we were told was “Irish”…foggy and rainy, with a chance of sunshine for the optimistic. Being the wonderful planners we are, we had the whole day to spend outside in this glorious weather. We took a walking tour of the Burren in County Clare (beautiful farm countryside) saw flowers and cows and all things farmy. At the end of the walk we got to eat homemade apple pie (still hot!) with fresh cream from the farm next door. Needless to say, Gabe and I both approved of this day so far. Later on our way to the Cliffs oh Moher, the driver Paul told us lots of stories about the hookers and the hooker festival held every year. He then explained that hookers are the boats, not people. Phew. We also learned why all the streets are not straight and why they wind all over…it’s laid out how a drunk would walk ;) Later at the cliffs, it was foggy and rainy. But we trekked all over that darn cliff anyways and have the pictures to prove it

       a lil clip... in the beginning I was holding the camera (hence all you see is grass) then Gabe took it and since he's a few inches taller, he actually had a view

Killarney and County Kerry
        Love it…even more than Galway. County Kerry was the most beautiful part of Ireland we saw. Like some old lady from and English film with Rupert Grint in it said “it’s so f***ing green!” (Gabe, you know what movie it is)

        We went all around the Ring of Kerry, saw lots of villages, a little horse and a huge dog, saw a girl fall into a creek, and also saw a baby sitting at the bar…all good stuff. In Killarney we walked through the Killarney National Park (its huge) and later took a carriage ride through it with a lovely Irish driver who graciously explained many important features of the park to us (there are two types of deer in this park….male and female.) Gabe said he felt like he was in places from Lord of the Rings.

Cork
        We spent the first day in Cork sitting in a park and reading, before going to some pubs. The Second day we went to Blarney Castle (we took the long way….we missed the stop and so we stayed on the bus till it turned around and hit that stop again.) A friend had said it wasn’t a good castle to go to, but since it was the first castle we saw that was still standing; we gave it two thumbs up (other castles we’ve seen are as impressive as the forts in Grandma’s backyard.)

        The last night in Ireland we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast, which was cute and had the name Rose in the title =)
Pandemonium
        Sunday night (our last night in Ireland and right before we were headed to the airport to get my luggage) my wallet and everything in it got stolen, and since we were headed to the airport I had my passport on me. So that meant I had no passport, no credit card, no debit card, and no money (though I had very little of that anyway.) Let the pandemonium ensue.

        Two ladies at the hotel, lady with the red hair and Trish the manager were very helpful. Lady with the red hair (I never got her name) gave us her phone to call home to mom, so we could tell mom to cancel my cards. She also gave me a list of things I need to have before I go to the US embassy, and told me which bus to take there, and when it opened, and she was really just great. Trish the manager found the video surveillance of it all, and then walked us down to the garda (police) where we gave a report of it all.

       This all happened between 7pm and 9pm Sunday night. Fast forward to Monday morning….early Monday morning (think 4:30am.) We are up and catching a bus by 5 to get to the airport so that I could change my flight (my original flight was at 7:20 am.) Aer lingus doesn’t refund a ticket, so I had to get a new ticket. After walking between different airline desks and getting no help, we found a computer and booked a flight online. Then I left Gabe at the airport to catch his 12:30 flight, and caught a bus to the US embassy. Except the bus didn’t drop me off at the Embassy it dropped me of a 30 minute walk from the embassy. I walked for 15ish minute, before I had no idea where to go and so I got a taxi to take me the rest of the way.

         At the embassy, I was 3 euro shy to get a new passport, so I went to the bank across the street to try and make a withdrawal with Gabe’s debit card, it wouldn’t let me, so then the bank dude (will) said they could give me a money advance, but because of the time difference between Arizona and Dublin he couldn’t do it for about eight more hours. Joy. When I told him I was 3 euro short, he got his card out and withdrew 10 euro and gave it to me. With this in hand and walked back to the embassy and stood in 2 lines, and talked to 2 embassy people, and chatted with 3 ladies I was in line with. Long story short, in about 3 hours time, I had a new passport, and Bridget had given me 50 euro to get me by until I got to “where you need bein”, the lady in the white jacket gave me 10 euro to buy bus fare, and a security guard had shown me a back way to get to a bus that would take me straight to the airport.
        At the airport I had to get my luggage out of left luggage, I explained to the man I had no money but I would pay if he gave me an address, and so he gave me the address and told me I could pay later. When I went to check my bags (on my new flight, on a new airline so my baggage would have to be paid for), the Nigerian man who checked me in, let slide the 245 euro charge. After a day of running around, a million hail mary’s and litany of saints, and some Irish angels, I made it on my flight to London, and then to Vienna, and got to campus Tuesday evening in time for dinner.

A great many thanks and blessings to my Irish angels who got me out of the country.
          May your glass be ever full.
          May the roof over your head be always strong.
          And may you be in heaven
          half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

(irish angels: trish, red hair lady, will, mr bald security guard, lady in the white jacket, bridget, and ngyijke...I am forever thankful)