An Engaging Endeavor

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The Cliffs of Moher, located on Ireland's west coast, are the most popular natural tourist destination in the country. The sheer rock climbs up to 702 ft. above the sea where waves crash and thousand of sea birds make their homes. Besides the Cliffs, this area of County Clare is home to many small quaint towns and tourist shops.
Our first attempt to view the Cliffs was last Friday. There was a fog at our hostel in Lisdoonvarna, several miles inland from the sea, and as we drove out toward the cliffs, the thickness of the fog only increased. A few days earlier we had attempted to drive the Ring of Kerry through some bouts with thick fog, but that did not hold a candle to this stuff. I stood on the edge of some of the Cliffs of Moher and though I could hear the sea below, I could not see any water below me, nor could I see the cliffs reaching down toward it. I have never seen fog that thick in my entire life.
We were all quite disappointed that the Cliffs were not at all visible, yet we resolved to try again the next morning. Though some fog still lingered Saturday morning, we we able to gather a much better view of the Cliffs. They truly were spectacular. Not only do these cliffs jut out into the Atlantic and stand towering above its waters, but they are topped with the thick, bright green grass characteristic of the Emerald Isle.
Remember that my girlfriend, Abigail, is joining me and my parents on this Ireland trip. Abigail and I have been dating for over two and a half years, having first started dating during my junior year at Olivet. She and I took a path that wound three miles along the tops of the Cliffs. At one point we stopped to take pictures and were standing on the precipice of one of the green cliffs. I had purchased a diamond ring several weeks before this trip, and took the opportunity of our seclusion and the wonderment of the natural beauty surrounding us to get down on one knee an ask Abigail to marry me. Thankfully, she said yes. Upon finishing our hike, we shared the good news with my parents and afterwards Skyped Abigail's parent to tell them. Needless to say, the best souvenir that I got from this trip is a lovely fiancée.

Saturday took us to a bed & breakfast in Galway - a lovely city right on the bay with a charming pedestrian-friendly city centre. We've stayed in some pretty nice hostels over the last two weeks, but nothing can compare to the fluffy duvets, cloud-like mattresses, amiable hosts, and sprawling breakfast spread of an Irish bed & breakfast.
Sunday took us to Connemara, a region north of Galway containing beautiful mountain vistas and sweeping meadows. In Connemara is located Kylemore Abbey, originally a castle-like mansion built by an English tycoon for his wife in the 1860s and later transformed into an Abbey and private boarding school. The architecture, grounds, and furnishings of the mansion were impressive and really demonstrated what can be accomplished when people have more money that they know what to do with. Our day was finished out by a hike through Connemara National Park and a three hour drive across the country to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin late and did not have enough time or energy to adequately explore the city, but seeing as none of us are fans of cities or crowds, we were okay with that.
And so ends this year's international adventures. We managed to fly from Dublin to O'Hare after facing incompetent and rude airline personnel, unnecessarily long queues in the airport, and constantly screaming children on an eight hour flight. Given this experience and my Christmas Eve experience of 2013, I feel confident in warning everyone to avoid Aer Lingus like the plague, unless you enjoy being treated like an inconvenient obligation instead of a paying customer/human being.


Food

We had a few occasions in which we were able to take part of traditional Irish cuisine. Among the dishes were steak & Guinness stew, Irish stew (lamb meat, onions, potatoes, carrots, etc.), and fish & chips. I also made a cottage pie, served with toasted Irish soda bread and baked beans, during our stay in a hostel. Just to further your knowledge, a cottage pie is a dish made with ground (minced) beef cooked with onions, carrots, and peas, layered in a baking dish and covered with mashed potatoes (and sometimes shredded cheese). This is identical to a shepherds pie except that a shepherds pie uses minced lamb where a cottage pie calls for minced beef.
A full Irish breakfast consists of "bacon" (really a piece of ham; apparently, Europeans don't know the joy that is real bacon.), a fried tomato, toast, white and black pudding (like sausage, but with more blood and an even less appealing texture), tasteless sausage links, an egg, and baked beans. Though I consider myself a connoisseur of breakfast foods, I would not willingly stomach half of the items just listed. If you want to travel somewhere with exceptional breakfast food, skip Ireland and just drive to the nearest Cracker Barrel.

So ends the blog posts for this European adventure. Subscribe for email notifications from my next international adventure (no idea when that will be). Until then, happy trails!

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Photos

My lovely fiancée
Green eyes to match the green grass

Cottage pie, Irish soda bread, and baked beans
As prepared by yours truly

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

We love Ireland
Beautiful

[Larry Ferren]

Our Irish Experience
Brian and Abigail- Congratulations on the wonderful news. Concerning the fog and the nasty Irish weather, I cannot resist the temptation to gloat a bit. When we did the Ireland tour, they were having a spell of dry weather. I think we might have seen a partial morning of showers. The rest of the time was bright and sunny. All of those sights are really nice in the sunshine!!!

[Mike Nay]

A bit of fog can't veil true love
What a grand experience, and how romantic. I do appreciate how you spent paragraphs describing the cliffs and fog and two lines to describe the proposal. I'm sure that it was too momentous to be put into mere words. Also, that castle looks pretty fantastic. Maybe someday I will have more money than I know how to build castles with.