A short update on Ireland....I have not been able to write so much, but it would be a shame to leave out some of my adventures in this amazing land. My itinerary was Dublin for a day, Galway/western countryside for two days, and back to Dublin for another day. Again, a whirlwind tour of too few sites in such a beautiful country.
In Dublin I met a wonderful girl through Couchsurfing, who took me around Dublin. We shared a wonderful meal together, met some friends at a party, and took me to see an amazing pub in a old church. On the second day I was in Dublin I hopped to a number of pubs on Temple Bar seeking out live music, and found some awesome bands. I loved seeing the buskers on Grafton street (where Glen Hansard's character from Once was seen playing), but only a few were really great musicians. I found the good bands to be in the pubs.
I also went to Trinity College which was old and gorgeous. It would be incredible to actually go to University here (though a bit strange with all the tourists around). I saw the famous Book of Kells here, which is basically a 1st century Celtic-monk manuscript of the Gospels, in Latin. Pretty cool!
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| Dublin by the Leffey |
Galway was gorgeous. The shopping area was a bit crowded and touresty, but also cool to hear different languages and accents. One of my favorite moments was taking a long walk to a quiet part of the beach....it took a while to get to a quiet place, because there was a triathalon going on (which was also cool to see, but I wanted to get away from the megaphones and music). But once I got to the see I sunk my feet in and meditated on the wideness of the space, the coolness of the water, and how I could actually allow myself to be at peace, with no place to go, no time constraints, and nothing particular on my mind....
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| Galway Art's Fest music tent |
There was also the Galway Art Festival happening that weekend, which was fantastic. There were art galleries and street performers all around the city. One of my evenings, Josh Ritter was performing in the main performance tent, where you had to have tickets, but I listened from outside from the riverbank. I also heard a local band here that was outstanding--kindof folksy/indy. I bought a CD and talked to the main singer for a few minutes about the association between Irish and American Bluegrass. It's so fascinating how you can listen to a guitar/banjo and/or fiddle and hear either Celtic or American folk (or British folk? i.e. Mumford and Sons) depending on your roots.
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| Connemara |
From Galway I also took an all-day tour of the countryside of Connemara, which was gorgeous green rolling hills, pastures with sheep and horses, scattered shimmering lakes, and old abbey's dotting the land. Just the Irish countryside I was hoping to see. :) I believe my Irish side of the family comes from vaguely this area (my mom said Kerry, which is a bit south of where I was), so I envision my ancestors working the land, and I feel a connection here.
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