"Blair Witch it Up"

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Geo: 53.2789, -9.06619

Yes, I would be in on this epic blair witch adventure story had I NOT been sick in bed. =( I wasn't quite as sick as the night before, but still... the thought of drinking was not appetizing. Perty lame. So we stayed in the tiny village of Cong. There's maybe... a dozen buildings (okay... I'm exaggerating... there might be two dozen, I didn't count). It's a small town, and as our trusty guide said, it was very funny how ten minutes after the group arrived in the pub, half the village showed up. So they all had a wonderful night of drinking and then headed down to the local Kelly Cave on the way back to the hostel, which is a 7min (brisk walk sober... could be hours when you're drunk) walk in pitch black. They had one local boy, poor guy, with them. One of guys recorded their conversation at the cave. "Excuse me Irish boy, what is your name? Is it Jack the Ripper?" "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my gooooooooooooooood, we're gonna get murdered!" "Let's Blair Witch it up!" (that was said about 50 times). We played the recording on the bus this morning. It was pretty freakin hilarious. Oh, and one of the Aussie girls just kept trying to mimic another Californian so she could get down the accent- "I sound AMERICAN!!!" "What are we, FARM PEOPLE?!" lol. Damn, I wish I was there. Instead, I finished the prologue to Lord of the Rings.

Today was a shorter but very bumpy driving day, and my first day using the anti-nausea motion sickness med. I was stoned, and only slightly nauseous. Which was a major plus considering everyone else on the bus had massive hangovers and were nearly puking every 10min. The tables have turned. Unfortunately, I did not have the epic experience behind my sickness. Am I bitter? Yes.

We stopped at a fjord ("fee-yord") in a town that is probably called Leenane (but I could be wrong.... my head is fuzzy today). Very pretty. The whole countryside is pretty, and their mountains aren't much bigger than the hills in Sunol but they're the biggest things I've seen in Ireland so far and they're snowcapped. Also had a lot of sheep. Very pretty! =) This was also the point in my trip that I heard the funniest quote of my trip thus far. Chris was commenting on how quickly one of the girls walked back to the hostel (in the pitch black). Without skipping a beat she retorts, "Well I'm not here to fuck spiders!" I laughed my ass off.

Then we stopped at Kylemore Abbey for what our guide says is the best scones in Ireland.. until they changed their recipe. I think they're the best I've had so far, so I can't complain. The abbey has a sad story behind it, though. So this man from England married the love of his life, and they went to Kylemore on their honeymoon. They fell in love with the place, so they bought up a bunch of land and built their house. The locals were worried about whether or not he'd be a fair and nice landlord, and it turned out he was. He did a lot of benevolent things for the village and locals. Two years later the couple went on a trip to Egypt where the wife came down with dysentery and died. =( So he built a church on the property in her honor. So freakin sad! A bunch of Belgian nuns bought it at one point, and it became a school for girls for the longest time. Apparently Madonna wanted to send her girls there, but they closed down not too long ago. So freakin pretty- a castle on the water.

Then we just finished driving up to Galway today. We got here about 1pm, got lunch and walked around Shop Street. Guess what's on that street?! Shops! So clever. Anyway, I bought a claddagh ring from the authentic place. I asked what made them original- apparently they're the only ones allowed to call themselves original. The whole ring is done in one casting and is very detailed. Its even got the official Irish government stamp on it. What does the ring mean? The heart is for love, the hands are for friendship and the crown is for loyalty. If you wear it on your right ring finger, if it's sitting up on your finger then you are taken and if it's upside down you are looking for love. If it's on your left hand, then you are engaged. =)

Since my tummy is happy, I am hoping to have my own epic blair witch-like adventure tonight in Galway. =)

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Photos

Leenane(?)
Very pretty fjord (saltwater lake)

Kylemore Abbey
Best scones 'n jam in Ireland!

Comments

[Mi]

Nice! Bernadine has the same ring =) I think I've seen that ring in a couple of movies too

[dianasaur]

GORGEOUS!!!!!!nicki, get married there!

[dianasaur]

I feel just by the name that this street was MADE for me!

[Nicki's Dad]

At least Chris wasn't wearing his "Died of Dysentary" shirt, right?