oirlander

So five of us flew into Dublin together on Saturday morning, got a hire car, stopped for a pint, and hit the road.

It still amazes me how neon GREEN everything is here. I mean, the grass looks like a freshly tossed salad. I even tried chewing on some at this Medieval castle near Galway. Wasn't as tasty as it looks, but seriously for a place that doesn't get any sun, they do have a lot of chlorophyll in their grass.

The Irish really are the butt of all jokes for a reason hey. So we pull up to our little B&B in Galway, the owner flings open the front door and welcomes us - with hugs and everything - like we're his long lost buddies and he's been waiting for us to arrive his whole life.

Kind of disorientated and stuff, our new best mate Des, seemed to reiterate why the Irish tend to overexplain things, or rather, state the obvious.

He walks me to my room and points to the hairdryer. 'And tis is your hairdryer lass.'
And he did that twice. He showed me my hairdryer twice.

Then the locks. Explained to us a few times how to turn the key in the locks. Even though there was a diagram above the lock explaining how to do it. Focking hysterical. Was standing outside having a smoke and he walks out and goes. 'Ah, yes. You know you can only smoke outside roight?'

Er...that's why I am standing outside here in the pissin' rain, Des.

We drank a lot of Guinness, had a steaming plate of bangers and mash.

Then we drove down from Galway to Killarney, where my company is having a conference. The stretch of coastline between Galway and Killarney was so focking exquisite, my eyes hurt. Just rows of stone walls, rolling green hills, doted with sheep and farm animals, castles, quaint little coffee shops and pubs, serving steaming plates of cockles and mussels and fresh Guinness.

It was honestly one of the most picturesque journeys I've ever done. Winding roads, bursts of rain, and lots of rugged cliffs. I'm told this area of Ireland - Shannon and Clare counties - looks very much like Cornwall. Had it been less rainy, we would've taken a ferry to the Aran Islands, but we ended up whacking our car onto a ferry anyway.

And now we're in Killarney, and the guy - thee guy - is here with me too.
I am so unbelievably happy. He's amazing.