Ireland – Man that’s a whole lot of rocks! � 10 September – 24 September 2011

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To be sure to be sure to be sure, Ireland… you blew my mind! The only regret for this leg of the trip is that I bought a return ticket, as I would still be there exploring this strange and amazing place!



Where do I start… well the beginning has always served well so here we go! I could tell it was going to be a good trip when in traditional ‘Emmy style’ I accidently abused a celebrity at Heathrow… well I meant to abuse them… I just didn’t realise they were a celebrity! Hee hee… oops!



This DOUCHEBAG wearing a leopard print jump suit, a stupid cap with tall blonde hair spiked out the front, PANDA shoes (ok they were kinda cute I’ll pay that… on a five year old GIRL!) is footpath tailgating me walking to the terminal, now as I’m a peaceful person who avoids confrontations, I walked super slow and took up as much of the footpath as possible (: So when the people in front of me drop all their suitcases and I have to stop suddenly he walks straight into the back of me… Mr. Panda Shoes throws a sarcastic ‘sorry’ over his shoulder, and I fix him with my best ‘Christopher Death Stare’ and fire back a very intelligent, well thought out retort ‘Yeah you will be!”… yeah I sure told him! Anyway when we arrive at Dublin, I’m greeted by Katie and her Dad… Mr. Douchebag is greeted by a couple of hundred screaming fans… oops… turns out I mouthed off at ‘Jedward’ one of two identical twins, who no one in Australia has EVER heard off, but are pretty big over here after being Irelands submission in Eurovision… not sure which one I yelled at but a good start I think!



I find Katie through the pack of screaming tweens and get introduced to Katie’s Dad (Phil), who says, ‘Hello, Sarah’s Sister’… my stomach drops and I think, oh god what has she done (Sorry Sarah, all those years of high school, being your sister and the tone the teachers used remain with me! He he) turns out he kept calling me Sarah and Katie would say, no that is her sister! So instead of remembering my name I became Sarah’s Sister!



So big hugs all around we jump in the car and a lovely surprise, we aren’t heading straight to Katie’s Dad’s place we are going on… an adventure!!! Now we all know how much I love adventures and Katie was a wee bit excited to see me too so we proceeded to jabber and chatter the whole 2.5 hour drive down to Youghal, a beautiful seaside village in County Cork, the Watkins home town. In the car we have Phil, who has an amazing voice and serenades us with traditional Irish songs, seems to know the history of EVERYTHING so brilliant tour guide also; Lisa, Katie’s big sister who I was worried was a little quiet and may get lost in the craziness… but no is just more like Jen who watches… then rips you or comes out with a pearler when u least expect it leaving you in stitches; and Kian, Lisa’s little boy who seemed hell bent on killing me the whole trip, not entirely sure why but his best idea was: setting me on fire, putting me in a cannon, firing me out the cannon so when I hit the ground I turn into a million little flaming Emily’s… oh and did I mention I was a zombie too?



So this maniacal group heads down to Redbarn a beautiful seaside resort run by Uncle Charlie (another Watkins). As I mentioned this is the Watkins home town so everyone knows everyone and I am being introduced to everyone… as Sarah’s Sister. Off to the pub we go! Many ciders later the band comes on (of course they know the band), lovely man singing a mix of traditional songs and pop hits, calls a couple of people up to sing including Katie’s uncle, then all of a sudden “Can Sarah’s Sister come up here please?”… yup Katie dobbed me in. I’ve been in Ireland about six hours and already up with the band… hee hee… hated every minute of it too (: Brilliant night!

A very slow start the next day we eventually head into town for a late lunch and explore! We head up to the old church… now I mean old… not just old but DAMN old! This replacement church was built in the 11th century! They have maintained it so well! It was so spooky that by the time we finished exploring it we had constructed a whole scary movie based around the town and this church… actually I think this is where I became a zombie (:

After a delicious dinner (where I got to meet a man called Paddy!!! AGH!! Well I was excited…) we headed back to the house and had such a lovely night. Picture this…. The TV is off, everyone is sitting in a semicircle around the fireplace drinking red wine, Charlie has an acoustic guitar and everyone is telling stories and jokes. Phil and Charlie are only two of eight siblings and we hear all about the crazy things they got up to as kids in this town, such as taking all the doors out of the house to make a raft; on which they put their baby brother and sent down the river! The son that ran off the join the circus, one who kept speeding around town so they BURIED his car! It was such an amazing night, one that will stick with me for a long time… how many hours do we waste staring at a flashing screen when we could all be doing this? It was brilliant (:



Back in Dublin Phil spoils us, taking us on day trips, out for meals and in true Watkins style just being an amazing host! Katie and I headed to the Guinness Factory… now I never used to be a big fan of Guinness, but everyone who drinks it will tell you that it tastes different everywhere you go – I don’t know if I was brainwashed by the museum (a fair possibility), was caught up in the excitement (beer factories do tend to send me a little crazy) or if this is true; because I actually really liked it! The tour ends at a bar at the top of the building where you get a full view of Dublin… aaaaannnndddd…. a pint of Guinness! Hurrah! Word to the wise… when you have skipped lunch and only had a tiny breakfast… don’t drink a pint of Guinness… unless you want to be having ‘deep and meaningfuls’ at three ‘o’clock in the afternoon… don’t also then go on to the pub, go back home and play drinking games with Jamesons whisky… it doesn’t end well!!

In good fortune Katie’s 24th birthday happened to fall on her last night in Dublin! Oh hilarious moment when we are in the shops – Katie is looking at handbags and I feel terrible for not having gotten her a present, she is umming and ahhing about one in her hand so I say – I’m getting it for your birthday, grab the handbag from her and run away with Katie crying ‘No!” behind me… let’s just say there was some explaining to do to the security guards… (:

Another uncle surprised her by flying in just for her birthday and we all headed to the Arlington Hotel which puts on a MEAN three course traditional Irish feed and ends in RIVERDANCE! Hurraaahhh!!! Now how good I am at Irish dancing depends on my level of inebriation but damn those guys are good! After the dinner and show the uncles headed home and Katie and I headed to Temple Bar… to… volunteer at the homeless shelter… yeah that’s exactly what happened…

Final farewell the next day, no more bloody teary goodbyes ok!!! I grabbed the bus into Dublin city, just as I am about to conclude that I am the WORST backpacker in the world after the amazing treatment I have received from everyone…. Hello reality!

Let’s just say… trekking through Dublin city (ok, ok, I was lost!) with a 15kg backpack, a killer hangover, oh and the sun decided to come out so was sweating like a… hmmm public forum lets keep this clean… I was sweating a lot… this was NOT fun! I found a bike rack to prop by backpack on and just prayed to not throw up in the middle of the street… but I found my hostel, got some sleep and had a mini explore before my hangover drove me back inside.

Can I just say hostels are not bad! And I’m learning plenty about myself:

I can lift a 15kg backpack up four flights of stairs without dying

I can feed myself quite healthily for €2 (instant noodles and tuna count as healthy right?)

I am capable of putting things away after I have used them (I know mum!)

Modesty does NOT exist in these places

I can be quite tolerant of people shagging on the bunk bed under me… awkward!!!

So the next morning I repack to set off on Shamrocker Adventures! We are all meeting in the lobby, all excited I head down there ready to make a great first impression so I make lots of friends… and promptly get my backpack stuck in the door… it takes three people to release me from its evil clutches… but hey, what a great way of meeting people!

Our tour is headed by the maniacal Carol, an Irish gal who is insanely hilarious and spends most the tour cracking herself up and convincing us that giants, fairies and leprechauns actually exist! We have a pretty diverse crowd, young Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, French Canadians and a couple of oldie couples, who bless them, were pretty tolerant of us (:



We head straight to Blarney Castle where the Blarney Stone is – now the story is that is you kiss the Blarney Stone you get the ‘gift of the gab’ or in nicer terms ‘the gift of eloquence’… now these people knowing me for only a few hours are already nervous of me kissing the stone (great first impression eh?) but I figure while yes I can already talk under water with marbles in my mouth… I could sure use some eloquence! But after kissing the stone and exploring around I call out ‘Where the f**k are these f**king caves?!’… it’s safe to assume that it didn’t work (:



Next stop is Killarney where we are warned the local men are… different… apparently the local women pick their men based on the standard of his tractor (they actually have Lamborghini tractors!!!) and how much ‘frontage’ he has (insert juvenile giggle here!) which is basically the amount of land between his house and the road… you can tell a Kerry man by his dress… flannelette shirt tucked in at the front and rolled up at the sleeves to show off the farmer tan… what do you think? Future husband? I do dig a man with big frontage! Bahaaaa…. Then to the pub for some tour bonding – nothing like a big night to form everlasting friendships (:



The next day we head off to see some of Irelands beautiful coastland and go to the most Western point of Ireland… as much as Carol insisted we could NOT see America from there (: We went to Dingle which is home to an antisocial dolphin, strange (yet awesome) flavoured ice cream (salt, popcorn, bread… somehow it works!), then to Coumeennole Beach where legend has it if you dip your feet in the water it takes a part of your soul and you must return in twenty years to claim it back… well that’s an excuse for another holiday if I ever heard one… Coumeennole Beach see you in 2031!!!



We stayed at Ennis this night in a haunted hostel!! Woooooo!!! Nah I didn’t see any ghosts… well my reflection was a little pale the next morning but what else is new?! We hit the local pubs which played the traditional Irish songs… ‘Danny Boy’ almost made me bawl… nothing is sung like an Irishman sings it… well maybe a Scotsman……. hmmmmm……. sorry I’m back! The previous night I discovered one of my new friends Ashlee knew how to play the acoustic guitar so we had a bit of a sing along in the pub… so this night one of the girls dobbed us in and just for something different, we got up and performed for the pub! I think Khe Sahn may have been a little lost on them, but hey it was the only one both of us knew (:



Sooooo… the next morning we head off to see a world renowned natural beauty! This place has actually been nominated as one of the seven natural wonders of the world… the Cliffs of Moher which rise hundreds of feet above the Atlantic Ocean and would take your breath away…. That is if you could see them through the dense fog that descended, and stayed, for the entire time we were there… it was fecking hilarious as we all posed for photos by… the fog… I gave guided tours around offering different viewpoints of the fog and explaining the history of the fog. Luckily no one was upset at missing them, nothing you can do about the weather eh?



We crashed the filming of a new movie… Asterisks and Obelisks I think it was called… so once it’s released if you see a bunch of idiots dancing around the background… that’s us! (:



Into Galway for two nights, after a nice cheapy dinner at the hostel we… what else… head to the pub! Hurrah! This place was brilliant, the band sang all the traditional Irish songs (“I’m in love with a Galway Girl!” sorry that sticks) but took requests too! Irish band rocking out Lady Gaga was hilarious!



Day four of tour; Inis Mór! Hee he… that rhymes (: Sorry… anyway! This land is… nuts… seriously just move to the Caribbean or something! It’s an island that is about 40 minute ferry from the mainland and is made up entirely of ROCKS! They had to move seaweed and sand to cover the ENTIRE Island just to grow grass and make it habitable! Yeah it’s cool but why would you bother? Highlight of the day was Dun Aonghasa which is a 3,000 year old fort sitting on top of 300ft high cliffs! No barriers either – you want to ditch a body? This would be a perfect place for it! You have to crawl to the edge so the wind doesn’t blow you over the side – no joke, this wind is so strong you can lean into it and it holds you up… many hats were lost this day…. The movie Leap Year was filmed here too! Crap movie… great scenery!





So we have had a few days of lovely stories of Giants, Leprechauns, Fairies and seen some beautiful scenery… but reality is about to hit home as we venture into Northern Island…





Talk about a culture shock! Northern Island is a lot harder than the republic, they still have a lot of political and religious problems here and you can see it everywhere. We did a walking tour of Derry where the infamous ‘Bloody Sunday’ took place. There are monuments and murals everywhere dedicated to the people who lost their lives, there is a ‘Peace Wall’ in Belfast which divides the Protestants and Catholics to basically stop them from killing each other. This was a massive shock to all of us who didn’t know this even existed! We all know the Berlin wall and are shocked that that only came down in our lifetimes – this one is still in use, was improved upon in 2005 and the gates are still closed on weekends. It really makes you realise how easy we have it in Australia, we are so sheltered. Reading the monuments you see that children as young as four have been killed in attacks and it really breaks your heart. The houses along the ‘Peace Wall’ have cages over their back yards so missiles thrown over the walls roll straight off and the windows are plastic so they don’t shatter in an explosion. Things have been improving for them, the gates being opened during the week is a big leap forward, however it is all still happening so you have to be careful… luckily for us the night we were in Belfast coincided with Arthurs Day!!! A Day celebrating Arthur Guinness – the brilliant man who brought us this liquid goodness! So all the locals were pretty chilled out… by chilled out… I mean drunk (:





The biggest highlight for me was seeing the Giants Causeway!! Now if you believe science, this ‘natural phenomenon’ was created when a volcano erupted, when the lava hit the water it cooled into block like formations… pfft… clearly it was giants! The story goes that a Scottish giant picked on an Irish giant, so he built steps out of rocks to reach Scotland and teach this giant a thing or two! Which giant won depends if you are listening to an Irish tour guide or a Scottish tour guide – either way by the time they are done you are convinced that nature had nothing to do with it. We also got to see Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which was another tick off the old list!





We got to have one last dinner with most the group in Dublin, it was very sad to say bye to everyone… it’s amazing how fast you can form friendships when you are all chucked on a small bus together! It’s great though, now have some potential travel buddies, have a place to crash in Scotland, and now another possible stop on way through due to some new Canadian friends (damn this trip will never end!!!) but all in all have fallen in love with Ireland – definitely going back in the next few months! Shamrocker was an AMAZING experience and I would recommend anyone to do it!



So back in England now, sitting in the sunshine (?!?) map and calendar in hand planning the next few months adventures… looking like Wales and Scotland are the next two big jumps! Off to Portsmouth with Unky and Hilary this weekend then heading into London town for a week or two before deciding where to go next. Until then I think I’ll enjoy the privacy of a single room and only climbing one flight of stairs to go to bed! That’s all for now thanks for reading (:

Emmy xox

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