The Cliffs Of Moher And Rag Week In Galway

Ireland is cool. You should try and come here some time.

We woke up just before 10:00 and got ready to head south. After a long car ride, we stopped at the Ailwee Caves in Ballyvaughan, County Clare. We took a tour of the caves and it was really cool. At one point, they turned the lights off so we could see what it would be like in complete darkness and it was unbelievably dark. After that, we drove to The Irish Arms in Lisdoonvarna for lunch. Nice atmosphere, but don't get the cajun chicken panini. From there we drove to the Cliffs of Moher. Wow. It was a little drizzly but still amazing. I'd love to go back on a clear day.

The ride up to Galway was a little rough for me, but once we got there it was nice. We checked into the Western Hotel and did what we always do at this time of day: napped. Eventually the five of us went for a walk to find Mike's parents at Tigh Neachtains (pronounced 'Naughton's'). We looked for about an hour and couldn't find it, but just as we were about to give up we realized we walked past it about three times. That's Gaelic for you. They weren't inside, so we went back to the hotel to find them. Eoghain, Aofie, and the rest of their family were there, so us kids went to find somewhere to eat. We ended up at Fat Freddy's. Aoife and I shared some nachos, and most everyone else got pizza. From there we went back to the hotel and watched First Date or something like that for way too long. We decided to go for a walk about the town around 10:00 but once we got outside, we realized it was Rag Week (like American Spring break) and Galway is like Fort Lauderdale. There were a ton of really drunk kids all around, but we found the adults and decided to get off the streets.

After a little more time in the room, Mike, Aoife, and I went down to the hotel bar to have a drink and socialize. Soon after, the rest of the guys came down and joined us. Two pints and three hours later, I was left with Mr. O, Jerry, Aoife, Brendan, and Eoghain in the bar discussing the Naval Academy, our plans for tomorrow, and an intense Wii Golf incident. I love Ireland.

It's now 2:12 a.m. and I have to be up for breakfast in a few hours. Goodnight, all.