This Ireland trip was my third vacation in Europe and I really wanted to be careful to not try to do too much. A few years ago, Truman and I planned out a ridiculously “ambitious” whirlwind tour of southern Spain that left both of us wishing we’d spent a lot less time on trains and a lot more time eating tapas. With this trip we decided to limit ourselves to the northern half of Ireland and I’m glad we did. The rest of Ireland will still be there and if I’m lucky, someday I’ll go back.

 

Sligo is a medium sized town on the western coast. It has a nice little downtown. I’d been thinking about getting a tattoo while I was in Ireland, a phrase written in Gaelic. I really believe that a person’s fate rests in their own hands, that they create their own success. I made the decision to get a tattoo saying as much but found the only tattoo artist in town was booked for two weeks straight. I really liked his work but obviously I didn’t have two weeks to wait around so I did a little shopping for friends back home and then headed to Galway, a university town known for late nights and loud music. Too bad. Would have been cool to come back with an Irish “souvenir.”

I should mention that it was on this Europe trip that I began taking a heightened interest in American football. And by interest, I really mean obsession. I decided to create a spreadsheet to try to predict the outcomes of games. It started small, but I’ve continued working through today and by now I’ve logged over 100 hours.  I don’t want to give all my secrets away but I am planning an article or blog about the spreadsheet. We’ll see how it goes.

Back to Ireland. There’s only one reason to visit Galway, and that’s the nightlife. Truman and I arrived amidst a rainy downpour and a flood of rush hour traffic. The city isn’t that large but due to poor map reading skills and a little bad luck, we actually drove around the town’s central park five times before finding our accommodation. Soon enough though, the rain let up and we found ourselves the only patrons in a cozy restaurant serving delicious and really hearty food. I hadn’t heard much traditional Irish music yet but Galway had plenty of that. It actually sounded a lot to me like old time fiddle music from mountain bands in the U.S.

 

The following morning was my second to last day in country, notable for a few reasons. After a splendid drive along a road between sprawling boulder fields criss-crossed with rock walls, I finally visited the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s most photographed spots. This place is amazing. Here, shear cliffs wind their way like a ribbon down the coast. 700 feet below, large swells crash against the cliff walls, at times sending sea foam all the way up to the onlookers peering over. I’m not ashamed to say that when the concrete walkway ended, I hopped over the wall and continued walking along the cliffs. At this point, the only thing separating me from an extremely long swan dive was a miniscule rock wall precariously lining the cliff edge. Mother nature started spitting a little bit, which only added to my excitement.

 

Tragically, the other element that made this spot dramatic came when I realized upon retracing my steps, that a man was in the process of attempting suicide. There is one spot along the cliffs that forms a table-like ledge jutting out over the water. I realized to my horror that a man was dangling his feet off this cliff and was screaming at authorities to stay away from him. As I watched, the poor guy stripped off his clothes until he was only in his underwear. At this point, it had been raining for an hour straight and the temperature couldn’t have been much above freezing. It sounds morbid but I couldn’t look away. I also don’t know what ended up happening because security people closed the cliffs so we left. I’m hoping the guy’s attempt was just a cry for help. If he truly wanted to do it he could have at any time. I felt really bad for the guy and I like to think he came to his senses and talked out his problems with some friends but I’ll never know.

 

To say the least, the Cliffs were extremely dramatic. I’m very glad that I got to spend about 90 minutes or so before witnessing the suicide attempt because my memory doesn’t just consist of this sad experience.

 

 

On my last night on the island, I caught the utter dismantling of Ireland’s rugby team by the french in the Rugby World Cup. Need Brawl? Mix equal parts of heavy drinking and frustrated Irishmen. Add rain and stand outside any bar in Dublin. I stayed away from all hostilities but I was definitely asked several times that night if I was French. For once, it wasn’t bad to be traveling and American. :)  In the picture below, note one belligerent Irishman pointing to another.

 

 

I wrapped up the Ireland trip with a three course meal inside a restored castle (touristy but very fun), a two hour tour of the Guinness “Storehouse,” and a beautiful midnight stroll through the grounds of Trinity College.

 

After a quick stopover at the Duty Free shop in Heathrow Airport, I finally headed home.