Jackie broke the bad news to me that she wasn't going to make it to Dublin. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, but I was still looking forward to the Paddywagon Tour and hoped that I would luck out (as I did on my sailing trip to Panama) and get a good group of people. I had one more full day in Dublin to bum around so I went to the hostel, Paddy's Palace, where the tour picked up, and reserved a hostel room for the night before and after the tour. I met one of the head guys in charge of the tours and he recommended some things I could do that day in Dublin, including lunch with him, I passed haha. Instead I went to the National Museum of Ireland where I learned about the bog people, are you scared? and saw exhibits such as, Ireland's Gold, Prehistoric Ireland, and the Viking Age. So, if you are not familiar with bogs, I will inform you. A bog or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—usually mosses, but also lichens in Arctic climates. Clothing, jewelry, books and even people are preserved when buried in a bog. There were three bog people on display and even though they were a bit weathered, they still had bits of hair and nails. Creepy! I made dinner at the hostel the night before the tour and went to bed early since I had to get up at 7am. In the morning I was ready and waiting with about 50 people while they called off the names of different tours. "6 day north tour, let's go!" "10 day all Ireland, you're turn
!" "3 day north!" As more and more people filtered out of the room, many of us were left, half asleep, waiting. I started talking to a couple people around me who were on the 6 day south tour, but I was on the 3 day south tour. I was starting to think no one was on my tour. By 9am, we were a bit antsy. By 9:30 there was an announcement that our van was getting gas. I was unaware that it takes an hour and a half to fill a van, but I'm glad I know now. At 10:07 our van finally arrived. The 6 and 3 day south tours were starting off together for the first day and in Galway we were going to split up. Our tour guide either had way too much coffee that morning, was extremely hung over and trying to compensate, or was using some sort of mood enhancer. I'm go
ing with option number 2 since he flat out apologized for being late because he was out partying the night before and totally slept in. Getting gas, haha, really fooled us! He made weird noises and drove like a maniac, but it made for some interesting moments. The countryside is absolutely gorgeous and is exactly what I expected. Green green green for miles and miles miles miles of sheep. On our way to Galway we stopped at a cemetery full of Celtic crosses, but most of the tour that day was through the van windows. We all thought he was trying to make up for lost time. When we arrived in Galway, we checked into the hostel and had a couple hours before meeting at Monroe's for dinner. I had been hanging out with this girl from Boston and she wanted t
o go the The Original Clada Ring store to get a ring for her boyfriend and herself. We walked down the tiny main street of Galway and marvelled at the people kayaking in the undoubtedly freezing water. Back at the hostel to get ready for dinner, my new friend had to call her boyfriend, I figured she was going to use Skype, but she pulled a standard home phone out of her bag. What!? I have never seen anything like it. Whatever works. We met the rest of the group at Monroe's and I had a delicious dinner followed by musical entertainment. It reminded me of being at the James Joyce in Santa Barbara, listening to the Harlequins, but of course nothing compares :) The next morning we were leaving the 6 day s
outh tour and headed out with our new guide (thank god!) and a smaller group (also nice). We had about 14 people made up of 11 Aussies, 2 Canadians and 1 American. Such a surprise, huh? I'm glad we had a small group and everyone was really cool. On day 2 we were on our way to Killarney, part of the Ring of Kerry in the Southwest part of Ireland. We stopped a couple times on the way, first at a castle on a hill, then the Cliffs of Moher, the Bog of Allen, and then ferried over the Galway Bay. Killarney was another small, but charming town. We got in pretty close to dinner time and then we went out for drinks and dancing. There was a live band, very The Killers-esque, so that was really fun.
the next morning we went on a horse and carriage ride through the Killarney National Park. It was sprinkling so that made things interesting, but it was a beautiful park nonetheless. We had a couple stops on our way back to Dublin such as the Blarney Castle where you kiss a rock for good luck. When we returned to Dublin, the driver was nice enough to drop everyone at their own hostel. There were about 5 of us staying at Paddy's Palace, but we made plans with everyone to meet for dinner and to check out Temple Bar before everyone headed in their own direction. Whoever said that Temple Bar is the center of the nightlife was absolutely correct. The cobblestone streets were packed (on Sunday night) with street performers and drunken idiots. We went into a bar called The Temple Bar, appropriately, and listened to some live music. One of t
he street performers had a bike so that when you turn the handle bars one way the front tire goes the other way. It seems tricky but he does it flawlessly, obviously since he is making money from this. Drunk on-lookers look at the street performer ride the bike across the line and think to themselves, "well that looks easy." They pay 5 euros and if they make it across the line they get 25 euros back. I saw about 10 people try this and no one person made it 2 feet before stumbling off the bike. Our Canadian friend from the tour attempted the bike trick but he was unsuccessful. Bummer. The next day was my last day in Dublin before my flight home on Tuesday morning. I had already walked around Dublin for two days before the tour so I didn't really need to do that again, but the two Canadian guys also had one more day in Dublin and hadn't seen the city yet. I told them if they paid me 1,000 euros I would give them a walking tour. They happily obliged, but I decided not to charge them and enjoy the company for the day instead. I made dinner again at the hostel and got my bag all packed up for the flight. I was really excited at this point to be coming home. Actually the last week in Ireland, even though it was great and I'm glad I did it, I was getting in the zone of coming home so I was definitely ready. I took the bus the next morning to the airport and said adios to an amazing time. Although I don't feel like it's "goodbye," it's "I'll see you later," because I know my traveling isn't over yet!Back in Santa Barbara, I found myself always looking around for people I might recognize (as if I'm the most popular person, ever). I saw a girl running on the Mesa who I used to always pass on my runs and I thought to myself, "wow, that girl is still on the Mesa, running the same loop," (as if it has been years and it's THAT weird that this girl is still running on the Mesa 5 months later..?). I guess my time frame was a bit off. It was weird going back and not having any kind of routine. I was used to working 4 jobs and having a purpose in Santa Barbara, so I knew I needed a job ASAP. Two days after I got back I was already on
the road again to Northern California for Drew and Melissa's Wedding. It was a great wedding and a nice way for me to see everyone. I did get a job in SB after less than a month of being back, but I really didn't like it. I was feeling antsy and kind of trapped in the bubble of Santa Barbara, even though I LOVE SB and my friends there. In Novemeber, Chien, Jake and James were on a roadtrip in California. Obviously I made them come visit me! It was great to see them again and it made me really envious that they were still traveling. Lauren and I ended up meeting them in Las Vegas and again in Santa Monica (I think this shows how much my travel bug is lingering) before they returned to the land down under. Anyway, Lauren and I had an awesome time with the guys and it was really sad to say goodbye.
I made the decision over xmas break to move back to Napa. I don't really know what I'm looking for in terms of a job, and I know I can't be picky right now in this economy, but the job in sb was horrrrible. I got a restaurant job within the first week I moved home and I am still searching for an accounting job. Cross your fingers for me.
Now that I've been back from my trip for 3 months, I feel like I never left. I love looking back at the photos and talking to the awesome people I met, but it seems so surreal. I am so glad that I have stayed in contact with the friends I met, and I look forward to seeing them in the future. I am excited for the day (years from now) that I go back to day one and read my blog because it will remind me of the great times and the great people that I met. This was an amazing trip and I wish that everyone could have the same opportunity. If you made it through my blog, I reward you. If you enjoyed following me through my journey then stay tuned for January 2010. I just might have something in the works :)
Assuming the money comes rolling in soon!
