We've all been stereotyped by where we live....
In Texas it's assumed we all live on ranches, wear cowboy hats and boots, ride horses to school and we all love George W. Bush. In California, they're all really tan liberal surfers that have the happiest cows. Georgia MUST have the best peaches because that's obviously the only thing they're known for as a state. Wisconsin is full of rednecks that eat cheese. Canadians say "eh?" and the only thing they do is hockey all year, and if you watch South Park then they all only have half of their faces attached to their heads. One of my all-time favorites has to be Family Guy's description of the Russians: bears on unicycles. Anyways, you get the picture, just to name a few.
Which begs these questions from most people: Are the Irish out every night drinking? and Is Ireland full of gingers?
Sadly, the latter is a no. Not everyone is a red-head. There are a lot, yes, but not as much as you would think. Though I do find it interesting to hear different cultures speak with an Irish accent. No, I'm not racist. Like I said, it's just interesting. The Irish, do, however, love to drink. They aren't drunk all of the time, despite what some people think, but they do like to drink after work, and mostly all of the pubs are packed by midnight every night and stay open past 3am.
I have never met people more friendly than the Irish, however. They love to talk to you about anything and everything, and they will always help you out no matter what. Just be careful, because sometimes when you ask them for directions, they'll be so eager to help you that they lead you all the way to your destination. And don't be surprised if they ask you to stay for dinner, and maybe get you to sign adoption papers while you're at it. :) They aren't THAT friendly, but that would be pretty funny.
Anyways, to put it in a few words, I'm having a blast in Ireland soaking up the culture and the country's beauty that surrounds it.
This is Giant's Causeway, named the 8th wonder of the world.
On the outskirts of Belfast, on the way to Giant's Causeway
The Titanic was built in Belfast... unfortunately this is the only remembrance of it. There were barely any tours! HOW do you not have a big memorial for the Titanic?!?!
Albert's Clock, though you should never go by it, because it's never on the right time...
The biggest Celtic Cross in Ireland at St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast
What's left of the four Spanish Arches built in 1584 in Galway. The other three were destroyed in a tsunami.
The Cliffs of Moher. Unfortunately my camera died right after this, so I didn't get a lot of pictures :(
The legend of this beach is that once you stick your feet in the water, you are leaving a part of your soul in Ireland.
Not the same beach as the other picture, but still beautiful!
Us Texans leaving our mark in Ireland :) Yes, I drew that in the sand, don't judge me.
This is Ross Castle in Killarney National Park, it was a very huge park and we got lost so it took us about two hours to find this place.
This was taken in Killarney National Park, as you can see it's gorgeous!
This was also in the Blarney Castle... there was a very small opening that I had to crawl through and a pathway that I'm not sure if I was supposed to go in, but I did anyways with my friend Jill and we came to a dead-end. Unfortunate, but still entertaining.
Next stop was the famous Blarney Castle. I know I have a pretty bad picture seeing as it is one on the "must-see" list of Ireland, but the Castle itself was under construction and we weren't allowed to take pictures of us kissing the Blarney Stone because it was done professionally. So my dungeon picture had to be good enough.
My first weekend in Dublin, we went on a 3-day trip over the weekend before we were all going to be stuck behind desks for the remainder of our days in Ireland. Our first stop on the trip was Archbishop McGrath's Cathedral in Killarney. The importance of the Archbishop? I'm not sure, there wasn't really a story from it. But it was a really pretty cathedral and it overlooked a small graveyard.
This is the strangest legend I've seen here so far: The famous Molly Malone, on the streets of Dublin. The song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin selling "cockels and mussels", but who died young of typhoid fever. She is typically represented as a hawker by day and part-time prostitute by night. In contrast she has also been portrayed as one of the few chaste female street-hawkers of her day, and she's a legend on the streets of Dublin. The first part of her song goes like this:
This is the beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral founded in 1191, and is the largest cathedral in Ireland. The background story is pretty neat, but way too long to even shorten onto here.
Just a pic I took along the river of the city.
I just thought this building was so cool with the vines and the plants growing out of it.
Christ Church Cathedral, founded by the Vikings in 1028.
