Our time in Ireland

Hello again to all. Following is a synopsis of our time in Ireland.

We arrived at 7 in the morning, November 7, after getting very little sleep on the plane. The flight went fairly smooth and quickly. Once we figured out how to get into the city, we spent the rest of the day walking around like zombies, attempting to convince one another of the importance of staying awake. I think we both ended up falling asleep a couple of times, either during lunch or over one of the many coffees we shared that day. We did make it through, saw a bit of the city by foot, and were in bed by 8pm.

While in Dublin, we went on a tour of the Guinness factory, and enjoyed a pint and an amazing view of the city. An interesting fact, we learned that 2/3 of Ireland's barley is turned into Guinness. We also went to the Irish writer's museum, where we learned about the many writers that have come from Ireland, including Oscar Wilde, who was quoted as saying (in reference to the dingy wallpaper in the Paris apartment where he lay dying), "One or the other of us has got to go". Next was the Jameson Distillery where we learned that there are not many differences in the way whiskey and stout are produced. We watched some live Irish music (guitar, flute, and accordion) in a small pub on Saturday night. They played "Whiskey in the Jar", which was cool, before asking us to either buy another drink or leave. I ordered a beer, and the guy said that if Emily didn't want to buy one, she could leave. We ordered her one as well, and then turned and walked out. Seemed a bit rude on their part, so we didn't feel bad for the unclaimed order.

We bussed north to Belfast on Saturday, the 10th. There we got to go on a day tour to Giant's Causeway, which allowed us to also see some of the famous Irish countryside and coast that we hadn't seen yet, as well as some castle ruins and a cemetery dating from the 1400's. Giant's Causeway is a formation of 40,000 hexagonal-shaped stones formed from volcanic activity millions of years ago. The stones, the tourists, and the breath-taking coastline provided for some great memories and photos.

Today, the 12th, we took the ferry from Belfast to Stranraer, Scotland. We then took the train north to Glasgow, where we'll be for 2 or 3 days. After this, we plan on going to Edinburgh. As we do not have the camera cable with us tonight, we'll have to post photos for Ireland, along with Scotland, at a later time.

Thanks for reading!