We arrived very early on Friday morning, dropped our bags off at the hotel then hit the town. To be completely honest Dublin wasn't anything impressive. The city was a bit run down, and very drab. I'm not sure if it was just that we are so used to the old architecture we see all the time living in the UK now, or if it really was so unimpressive! On a side note although the city wasn't real nice, the people were AMAZING! They were just so nice, and fun. They just seemed so happy, and always helpful when we asked questions. We walked from our hotel to the other side of the city to hit up the Guinness Factory for a tour. Of course I didn't get to enjoy the samples offered, being pregnant at a beer factory doesn't work the best! It was still interesting to see the factory and learn about the history of Guinness.
The tour ended with a free drink in the "sky" bar on the 7th floor of the factory, it was pretty cool, had great views of the whole city!
Aww isn't he a cutie enjoying his free beer in Ireland!
Views from the bar area...
By the time we were done with the tour I was ready for a break, so we walked all the way back to our hotel to freshen up before our next event on the trip. Brandon had booked us tickets to go to a local pub that has a dinner and show on the weekends. It is called the Merry Ploughboys. Brandon was pretty stoked about this, but to tell the truth I wasn't too sure about it. However I ate my words on this one, Brandon was right, it was so much fun. One part I was worried about was the menu wasn't very big and didn't have much I thought I would like on it, but the food was really good (especially Brandon's meal) Then the band got up and performed for about 2 hours, they played traditional Irish folk music. I really liked the music, but not near as much as our little girl did! I swear my ribs and abdomen were bruised. She just went crazy the whole time kicking with the beat! It was hilarious, I just kept laughing the whole time! At one point the band was playing a song and during the chorus they told everyone to clap with the beat, then when they started the verses to stop clapping. They made a bunch of jokes about people in the audience not having any rhythm and that they would be watching and as soon as they saw someone off beat they would call them out. So of course who gets called onto the stage for not being able to clap with the beat...that's right ME! Luckily they took pity on me and my fat gut and didn't make me do anything to embarrassing, just wave to the audience then they gave me a free CD! I guess it pays to have no rhythm. Then while the band took a short break some dancers performed...and guess who got one stage for a little audience interaction? Thats right Brandon, he got to dance with one of the girls up on stage! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of that due to the low lighting! Although it was a late night, it was so worth it! We had a blast and would recommend going to the Merry Ploughboys to anyone planning a trip to Dublin!
Our second day we did an all day bus tour out to the cliffs of Moher! I was so excited about it, since that was where they filmed one of the the Harry Potter films, and parts of the movie Leap Year!!!!! Although it was a really long day on a bus it was so worth it! Here are the pics we took on the trip. Our first stop was Limerick, or Stab City as the tour guide told us. Not a real nice area or city but had one photo op.
Then the next stop was the Cliffs, here are a bunch of pics from that stop!!!!
The next stop on the tour was the Burren. The Burren was pretty cool, and very unique. Now I have to brag on myself at least a little at this point! The Burren is very rocky, with uneven ground, and tons of crack, now anytime this would be a bit of a hazard to me, I am so clumsy, but couple being clumsy with not being able to see my own feet, I just knew I would end up falling. However I managed to make it the whole day without a single fall! Go me! Here are the pictures from the stop at the Burren!
The last stop on the tour was an old church near the Burrens. Now we have seen A LOT of old churches over the past 9 months, but this one was just different enough to make it fun to go into! Plus with all the celtic carvings, it made it one of my favorite churches we have seen!
There were so many awesome views on the tour, and I wish we could have stopped every 5 minutes, but I had to settle with trying to get a few shots from the moving bus. They came out O.K., but of course not great, here is my favorite moving bus picture I took :)
So overall I have to say Ireland was AWESOME, a very pleasant surprise. I can't say that I have a huge desire to see Dublin again, but I would love to go stay in a cottage in the countryside and spend more time in the areas near the Mohers!!!!
Stay tuned for Scotland pics...who knows how long it will take me to post them but I promise it will come :)
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