Four score and six days ago, I set out for Dublin. Spirits were high, and we were hoping for the best. At first thought, I wasn't all that excited about returning to Ireland. I remember thinking to myself, "I won't go back to Ireland before I've seen other parts of Europe".
I lied.
Within 2 hours I was in another country, with a place to stay, and freedom to roam a very sweet city. It is dirty, yes, and the countryside is really what you want to see, but we had an incredible time.
*The highlight of the trip was the bus tour of the Irish countryside. You have not lived life to the fullest if you have never stood atop a cliff's edge, looking out over acres and acres of beautiful landscape, blue water, and every shade of green known to man. The air is crisp. The smell is wonderful. No camera could ever capture a scene like that to the fullest.
I'm pretty I became healthier from breathing in air from the Irish country-side.
Terry, our Irish tour guide was quite humorous. He took us to this old village, which had been around since the late 16th century. We walked along this path from one lake to another, and saw the raw Irish countryside. We must have made five or six stops, stopping for food, coffee, and to see where BraveHeart was filmed. (That fact was both cool, and disappointing -- you mean they didn't even film that in Scotland? Sad day) .
More fun, led to more good food, and of course live Irish music in pubs. We toured around downtown Dublin and saw Trinity College, founded in 1592, and Christchurch, as well as Dublin Castle. We also managed to find the "U2" wall, which is this old building, coated in a thick layer of graffiti. You can actually see the recording equipment in the second story window which was used to record several of U2's brilliant albums. History was made there -- and I saw the remnants.
Ireland is wonderful, and I am quite happy to have had the opportunity to tour through a small part of it again. They still don't speak English though ...
`ajb
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