4 Days Left :(

Only four days left before my trip to Europe ends. I have had fun the in the past weeks and I have enjoyed my time here in Ireland and the UK. I have met lovely people and have learned that I do not like the the fact that many sites do not have any one to ask questions of or any real information about the site. At others I have to buy a book to learn anything about the site and there are very few guided tours of sites and the ones that have guided tours are quite large and it is hard to hear anything.

But since I only have a few days left I am off to explore Dublin and make the most of my last few days overseas.

Galway to Cork to Ring of Kerry to Dublin

 From the city of Galway the travels continued down the west cost of Ireland stopping by Dingle and then on to Cork. There were stops along the way at some abbeys, landscapes that are called lunar landscapes, and the Cliffs of Moher. There have been some issues with the trips and some places being over booked so we stopped early at Blarney Castle. The gardens in the castle were very nice, I enjoyed the rock close there were way to many people in the castle itself.

Blarney Castle

After leaving Blarney we headed to the Ring of Kerry and Killarney. There was plenty of rugged coastline along the way with a stop in the National Park for a quick walk up to a waterfall.

Over the course of the tour I met some really cool people. I have enjoyed getting to know them and I wish them all the best on there travels.

Shona, Me, Sam, and Amy After the tour in Dublin

Travels Through Ireland Continued

After a few nights in Derry (LondonDerry) we went to Glenveagh National Park where a castle was built next to a lake and the guy who built the castle displaced tenants so that he could have his hunting lodge. We also stayed in the town where the John Wayne movie The Quiet Man was filmed. I have also seen several monasteries and abbey ruins as well as St. Patrick's hill a sacred mountain here in Ireland, didn't make it all the way up due to time constraints. There have been old stone forts and ruins from past civilizations. At one point we stopped near a town that had a castle that was turned into a hotel, the going rate of which is apparently 700 Euro a night! Overall the past few days I have gotten to see things that I would not have gotten to see had I been travelling by myself. I have also gotten a nice dose of history from the bus driver/guide as well. The people I have been travelling with have been fun to hang out with and they are all nice.

10 Day all Ireland Tour

I have started a 10 day all Ireland tour. I got tired of planning my trip and not really meeting people that I could hang out with several days in a row. The first day we travelled up to Belfast and saw some interesting sights along the way. While in Belfast I did a Black Taxi Tour that was something to hear about the troubles which are recent and ongoing.

One of the stops that we did was the ruins of a monastery. At there monastery there was some information about what the designs on the Celtic Crosses mean.

Today we travelled along the north coast of Northern Ireland and I visited Giants Causeway I got to see some new things that I had not previously seen.

I have made several new friends this trip and so far I have been having a blast.

New Friends at Giants Causeway

Tramore

This weekend was spent down by the beach. It was nice and warm, at least when the sun was shining and I was on the other side of the dune from the wind. I had some pretty nice weather and enjoyed walking down the 3km beach. I found this past weekend quite relaxing as I wasn't running around trying to see something or felt like I needed to go see something. I enjoyed listening to the ocean on the other side of the dune as I read a book. While Tramore is well known for its surfing, or so I hear, I did not participate something to do with the really cold water.

Today I also realized just how short my time in Europe is coming just a little over two weeks before I make the journey back to the US. I know I will miss it but at the same time I have enjoyed my time here and have learned a lot about myself during my travels. Off to have some fun for the little bit of time I have left!

Ireland

I have arrived for the last leg of my journey, Ireland. I will be finishing up the journey in Dublin. The past few days I visited Kilkenny, and Glendalough. I would enjoy going back and spending more time down that way which I might near the end of my trip. I probably will not be seeing as many castles in Ireland as I kinda overwhelmed myself with castles while in Wales.

Dublin is a very confusing city but as long as I am near the river and have a map I count how many bridges till I need to turn!

Upper Lake Glendalough

Snowdonia

The past few days I have been relaxing in Betws-y-Coed. This is a lovely spot near Snowdonia National Park. The day I arrived I went to hike up to a lake part of the way there I found a lovely spot to eat lunch and then I took a nap, never actually made it to the lake. Today I went on another hike and it was very nice. This place has been very relaxing for me and I hope that one day I will get to explore more of the national park.

North Wales

The past few days I have been in North Wales so far it has been beautiful. The town is right next to the shore and is pretty small. Everything is pretty close here in North Wales so I should be able to make it to Snowdonia soon.  After Wales it will be off to Ireland for my last few weeks in Europe. I have been having a blast so far and been meeting some pretty cool people.

I have been visiting some more castles as Wales has plenty though the lady at the tourist information said you sure are picking the smaller and less known ones. The weather is nice and warm I really wish I had different sandals with me so I could walk along the beach.

Conwy Castle

Wales

Wales is going to be tough for my wallet but really good for my dragon collection! I have actually decided to limit myself to one new dragon purchase, I know that I will want to buy several but one should be ok.

Wales has a pretty good transportation system not so much a system of cheap hostels like the rest of the UK. This means that I may not get to see everything I would like to see.

Over the past few days I have visited three castles that were restored by the Fourth Marquis of Bute, he had a lot of other titles and was very rich. He restored two castles on the outside to look like what they would have in the medieval times the insides though were what the Victorians thought they did. The third castle was partially restored but was never intended to live there.

The three castles were Cardiff Castle, Castle Coch, and Caerphilly  Castle. Cardiff was nice but kinda eh, though they are trying to make it seem more lively but with just mostly walls left it will be hard. Castle Coch looked really cool on the outside was nice and small inside horrible taste in decoration. The area though was quite nice and I enjoyed that. The third castle is my favorite so far. It is a restored ruin with lots of little nooks and crannies that make it interesting. I enjoyed exploring Caerphilly Castle.

Caerphilly Castle