Holiday Part II, Ireland

Tuesday, 26 March
Early flight from London-Stansted to Shannon in Ireland.  =\ We took a taxi (at 5 am) from the apartment we were staying at to Stratford Station. We then took a bus directly from the station to Stansted airport. This...was an interesting morning, to say the least.  Bus-tangent: We're on this bus early in the morning and basically everyone is asleep and quiet.  Sarah was sitting behind me.  This guy sitting across the aisle from us appeared to be about to cough, but what ended up happening is what we call an 'enthusiastic cough' where what actually happened is he threw up. Now, yes, this in itself was bad enough but just wait, and...how are you supposed to react to that.  Is there any approved reaction to that? And what's worse (because yes, it does get worse, and I shudder a little to say this) is that it definitely got on me. Story aborted.  I don't really want to remember that and I don't have much more that I would like to say about that except for that I literally stuck my jacket under the faucet at the airport and don't want to think about that morning for a while.
As if that morning couldn't get much worse, I was attempting to get cash from the exchange counter while Sarah was waiting in line, and my card continued to fail me. At the same time that I owed Sarah money for our accommodations, I also was going into Ireland with no money and was a little worried. I decided to let it go and worry later.
So here's the thing, I don't really like going through security. Love flying, hate security.  The only thing that makes it any better for me is knowing that everyone else probably dislikes it just as much.  Sarah had her carry-on searched as we went through security there.  We then proceeded to wait (with croissants and hot chocolate) for our gate to be posted even though our flight time was approaching swiftly.  It was a nice and easy flight, SO SUNNY! We went from the gloomy land of England to the sunny skies, then the still-almost-as-sunny land of Ireland. 
Since I had wanted to travel a bit to the Southwest of Ireland, Sarah and I had compromised on traveling to Killarney for a night.  We took a bus from the Shannon airport to Limerick, then Limerick to Killarney.
Killarney was such a touristy town, and so beautiful! We loved it there and everyone was so friendly.  We quickly fell in love with the country of Ireland.  When we arrived, we found our hostel and a room.  We then decided to take a walk around town. We visited the little shops as we walked past and came across a bank which I went into to try and get some cash. I waited in line with a man from Oklahoma who was very nice and there on holiday/business with his wife.  He told me about where to eat dinner and where to visit while in Killarney.  The woman at the counter proceeded to give me a hard time about my signatures on my passport, license, and credit card.  (First, I was stressed enough about getting money as it already was.  Having to cancel my debit card and then all the nonsense I went through trying to get any cash was difficult enough, but then to be hassled about my signature and my credit card was honestly sooo not appreciated.)
Sarah and I then wandered around the edge of town a little where we found an entrance to the Killarney National Park--so beautiful! We found a sign with directions on it which said there was a castle 2.4km away which we decided to walk to.  We got to Ross Castle and it was absolutely gorgeous.  It was nearly sunset and the light and the setting were beautiful.
We got fish and chips again for dinner! (We love fish and chips and it was the place that the man from Oklahoma had recommended) It was getting late at that point and we decided we were exhausted, so we went back to the hostel and had a quiet/early night in.
Wednesday, 27 March
We took a bus from Killarney back to Limerick and then further North to Galway. Sarah had arranged for us to stay with some people she knows in Galway--Cathy and her daughter Mimi. Cathy picked us up from the bus station and took us to their home, only several minutes drive away. We talked for a while getting to know each other a little better and we had home-cooked meals! That night we had chicken and rice with salad and it was delicious (all the food we have eaten on this trip is delicious).  They also have a bunny in their house who we became acquainted with whose name is Angel.
Thursday, 28 March
For breakfast, Mimi made crepes and Cathy made oatmeal.  I learned that sugar and lemon juice are great on crepes. As well as pretty much any other sweet toppings. Delicious!
Sarah and I had wanted to rent bikes since we had gotten in Ireland.  The land is so lovely and you just want to be so close to it.  So we decided we needed to actually 'hire bikes' for a day.  We invited Mimi to go with us and we picked a route to bike. Cathy helped us in planning our venture and we chose a route out of Westport.

Cathy drove us to Westport where we got our bikes, helmets, vests, and a map.  We started out.  It was a long bike ride and it was a bit cold out.  The trip to Newport was 12 km (24 km round trip, about 15 miles). 

Needless to say, we overestimated ourselves, but we did make it--and not without our share of trials.  For example, I went to take a picture when we were almost to Newport and I was taking the camera out of my pocket while stopping, anddd I might have pushed the brake a little too hard too quickly at which point I proceeded to flip over the handle bars of the bike on a downhill slope.  It....hurt a bit--though I was probably laughing harder at myself than wincing in pain, but the bruises say it all.
When we returned to Westport, we met up with Cathy at a small cafe and then picked up tuna for dinner. On our drive back, Cathy took the scenic route which was absolutely beautiful.  We passed loads of sheep just walking alongside the road, and the light was so beautiful on the country as the sun was setting
Friday, 29 March
This day we went to Inisheer (also Inis Oírr in Irish/Gaelic) which is the smallest of the Aran Islands. We flew there in a tiny plane! I was so excited to take this plane there and back.  The island itself is small enough to walk around in the day and is not very inhabited.  For a while, Sarah and I thought that nothing inhabited this island besides dogs.  We came across a beautiful dog (who we named Rory) who just walked with us into town and to the beach while we had no knowledge of who owned Rory and no way of getting him to leave us.  We then encroached upon another dog's territory and Rory left us while this new dog (soon named Patrick) joined us.  We saw other dogs but there were two in particular, Patrick and Olivia, who joined us for a walk around the island.
It was cold, but it was a great day and thankfully the sun came out and we could see quite a distance.  There was really only a small village nestled on this island along with a lot of 'fields' fenced in by stone walls.  There would be empty fields for quite a ways and then all of a sudden in the middle of nowhere there might be a cow or a horse or two.  Many of these pastures didn't have gates and we read that the stone walls get torn down and built back up to let anything in or out. (yay)
We ate lunch in a little family owned pub/hotel type place on the island. Sarah and I both had the seafood chowder which was absolutely amazing! We then went to the other end of the island where we saw the Plassey (a shipwreck that is now above sea level and just chillin' there) and the 'beach.'  We then got to fly back to the mainland and take a bus back to Galway. Cathy had gone to Dublin to a concert so Sarah and I rested a bit and then had dinner with Mimi.  (That night I was also able to talk to my parents and they were able to wire money to Ireland that I could then go get the next morning, yay!)
Saturday, 30 March

This was our Galway day.  Since we had been out and about since we had gotten to Galway, we hadn't really seen much of it.  It's a small city, but very cultural and nice. 
There was a Food Festival taking place during the week/weekend so we walked into town and looked through food and shops.  Mimi took us around and made sure that we got donuts (made right in front of us, nice and warm and delicious!) and Sarah and I also invested in some jewelry--including Claddagh rings.  Claddagh, now kindof part of Galway, is the origin of these rings so it was awesome to get one in Galway.

As Easter was the following day and we were going to be out and about, we had our Easter dinner on Saturday night.  We had lamb (which I had never had before! it was so good!), sweet potatoes, chick peas, and Bok Choy.  Very good! 

Sunday, 31 March

Easter! (and Daylight Savings for Ireland--time switch!) Sarah and I awoke to the amazing surprise of traditional Irish chocolate Easter eggs. It was so generous and so nice of Cathy to do that for us.  Eventually we got around to getting out of the house and traveling a ways to the Burren.  We went for a short walk in the Burren and met up with Cathy's friend there.  Afterwards, we were cold and hungry and we stopped at the Perfumery nestled in the Burren to take a look and to get some soup and hot chocolate/coffee.

That night, Mimi had to babysit so Sarah, Cathy, and I had dinner together.  While Cathy was preparing dinner, she told us about a little bar down the street where we could go to get a pint before dinner. In good Irish fashion, Sarah and I both got a pint of Guinness while we listened to the locals play songs on the guitar/accordian/banjo.  When we got back, Cathy had put together leftovers from each of the days before and made a delicious meal which we ate with chopsticks! It was a great evening.
Monday, 1 April
Monday we left Galway to go to Dublin.  We had stayed an extra day in Galway because we loved it so much there, and arrived in Dublin mid-evening and were ready for dinner and bed.  The people we stayed with were fantastic and the house was amazing. Breakfast foods were provided and we had a kitchen to cook in, so we made dinner one night there and made nice breakfasts each day. 
Cliffhanger!

Holiday update! Part I, London

Friday 22 March
My friend Peter drove me to London (Epping, actually--where I caught the underground in to more- central London) This day was really crazy because I was supposed to be meeting Sarah at the place we were staying (which I was really worried about--with good reason) but then found myself being a little bit lost in London when the map that google had given me with the address was wrong.  Thankfully I had my phone and called the person we were renting a room from for the duration of our time in London and he was able to set me straight and give me directions to get to the apartment.  I was worried Sarah would be just as lost as me--especially as she had just flown in from Italy--but we ended up arriving at similar times and were thankful to see each other.
We desperately wanted fish and chips for dinner and we found the perfect little place with a Friday Evening special on Fish and Chips with a drink for only six quid. (We tried a lot of different fish and chips along the way and this was probably our favorite or them all) Also along with all of this nonsense was the fact that I had checked my bank account several days before my trip and noticed there were extra expenditures and it turns out my debit card had been compromised--an added stress for sure.  My parents worked quickly to figure it out at home and eventually had to cancel my card--which left with no way of accessing cash and hardly any money. Thankfully my parents had made me get a credit card before I came on this trip which I could use a little. We will discuss this nonsense later on.
Saturday 23 March
Sarah and I both had heard of a little dish called Bubble and Squeak ('Bubble') which we were going to comb the city for (basically glorified mashed potatoes for breakfast with other vegetables in it), so we found a cafe online which offered bubble as part of a breakfast meal and traveled across the city to get it.  We found ourselves at a little cafe called 'Cafe Oz' (which we realized later was amazing compared to some other cafes we ended up visiting) where we had brunch (Sarah was able to get breakfast with bubble and I was able to get lunch with bubble).  It was veryy delicious and enjoyable.  After that, we found a nearby payphone to try to call the number on my credit card to understand how I could get cash.  I was supposed to be able to call collect and I had never used a payphone before...it was definitely an interesting time.  I put in change and dialed the number and almost as soon as it started ringing, I needed to put more cash in.  This call was the most expensive call I've ever made.  I recruited Sarah to help me feed money into the machine as I tried to make the call. We started with my coins and watched as the amount dropped at a rapid pace on the screen of the phone and coins had to be fed continuously.  But I got my answers, but I didn't go get cash right away as I had some still.

We then continued to another part of the city where the Natural History Museum is. There was a long queue to get into the museum (while it was snowing) but it moved quickly and we got in. We tend to like pushing buttons and pulling levers, so when we saw an exhibit that had two levers and asked us to pull one of them, Sarah and I both pulled one each.  The computer then proceeded to spit out 'WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!' and then continued by explaining that though the directions told us to only pull one lever, most people are inclined to pull both of them (even though Sarah and I each only pulled one, hahah, didn't think of THAT did ya, computer?) That night, we went back to the apartment and didn't know what we wanted to do for dinner so we walked to Stratford looking for a place to eat and finally decided on a chinese place, then took the bus back as it was pretty late when we were done.
Sunday 24 March
Sunday we checked off quite a few things on the checklist.  Sarah had some things on her checklist to see so we went around Sunday morning checking off some of them. We moved along to more central London and saw Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, ate lunch, then proceeded to the London Film Museum.  After that, we headed across the river to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, where we decided we're not great at looking at art and didn't stay too long.
We then headed across town back to near the Natural History museum to the Science Museum--which we found to be really great.  There were plenty of floors and tons of people so we started in the basement.  Here, we began in the home section which was a collection of appliances over time and how they worked with plenty of buttons for us =) and ways to try things out. 
We went across the basement to a special Google exhibit where we got these cards which saved our creations on them as we went around the room.  There were instruments that were played at the touch of a screen and people around the room and around the world could tap in and control the instruments on their computer or on the screen in front of the instruments.  There was another station where you could get your face drawn in sand after the computer took a picture of it.  It was really neat.  After spending so much time in the basement, we went upstairs and quickly made our way through the bustling ground floor and proceeded to the Agriculture exhibit then the very top floor to the Veterinary exhibit (which was so tiny! and all about horses) and the Medicine/Human Health exhibit thing was was veryy interesting.  It was cool to read through about all the developments in human medicine and philosophy and such over the years in all different aspects of medicine and health.
That night for dinner, we went to a restaurant near the science museum and had fish and chips again! And then finished off the meal with chocolate mousse.
Monday 25 March
Monday was our last day in London so we tried to finish up any final things that we wanted to see. We had brunch at a little cafe on our walk into Stratford where there were some definite complications in communication about our orders.  I was also severely worried about cash at this point and we were working on finding a bank to go into where I could get cash out.  We headed to a museum that Sarah found online that was part of University of London--the Zoology museum.  It was very small, but extremely interesting.  The exhibits were composed mostly of skeletons, dissections, or preserved specimens with little blurbs about the animals.  There were also discussion-provoking questions posted on iPads around the museum which I found interesting to read through. They asked questions like 'Do you think it's okay to breed animals specifically to get qualities that are desirable?' or questions about cloning or other things.
After that museum, we decided we were hungry and so we went to the cafe we had seen the day before that was closed to grab a bite to eat (and of course a hot chocolate!).  I can't really remember what we did after that, but we went to the bank so I could get at least a little cash in Sterling, and then went back to the apartment to pack up our things to be ready for the early morning that awaited us for our trip to Ireland!