This week was insane. The work week was short but sweet, and then we had a marathon weekend out to the West Coast. I knew it would be busy with so many landmarks to hit each day, but I was unprepared for how it would play out in real life.
On Friday we went to the Rock of Dunamase, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Burren. I’m still not entirely sure what the Rock of Dunamase is or was, but it was gorgeous and super cool. It started pouring the last two minutes we were there, which made me nervous for the weather and visibility at the cliffs, but turns out we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The view was completely clear, the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, and everyone was enjoying themselves. And just as we settled back into the bus and began to drift off, we stopped at the Burren for what was supposed to be a quick photo but turned into 30 minutes of running around, gawking at the view, taking dozens of pictures, and throwing rocks into the water below.
Saturday may have been my favorite day. We took a ferry out to Inishmore Island and rented bikes for the day. We rode them around the island, stopped for lunch at a cute pub, and then rode out to the opposite end of the island to hit the (only) ice cream shop. Due to unfortunate timing, we had to turn around as soon as we arrived, which meant the bike ride was a bit more intense than it should have been. Nevertheless, it was beautiful and a great way to explore the island and take in the scenery.
Sunday was just as busy. We said goodbye to the hostel and headed to Kylemore Abbey and the Killary Sheep Farm, where we saw a sheepdog demonstration and fed and held the lambs. Just as cool was the mile-or-so walk to and from the farm, down a hilly, winding road cutting through acres upon acres of otherwise uninterrupted land.
We took full advantage of Galway’s nightlife and infamous live music scene, leading us to crash in the hostel for only a few hours both nights before getting up and doing it all again the next day. It was go, go, go from 8 am Friday to 8 pm Sunday, but in the best way. When we drove through Connemara National Park on our way to Kylemore Abbey on Sunday, I was caught in a battle with myself between needing to sleep and wanting to stay awake and take in the view.
As I said, the weekend was insane. Unfortunately, when we arrived back in Dublin, it all started to catch up with me; I was exhausted and came down with a gnarly cold hard and fast, landing me in bed – and asleep – for almost the entirety of Wednesday (hence the delay in this blog post). Thankfully Dr. Mom has been on call from the U.S., telling me what to take to kick this as quickly as possible. Looking forward to Blarney Castle this weekend!