Emerald Isle

About two weeks ago I was standing on a street corner in Killarney, Ireland watching a real Irish St Patrick’s Day Parade. Wow, what an experience! Not only did the town crazy (who they let out of the loony bin until 6pm) dance a jig up and down the parade route, but I saw green dogs, lots of men in plaid skirts, bagpipes and a little boy so dedicated to his penny whistle playing that he stepped in a ginormous pile of horse poo without even flinching. Go Irish!

Since there is just far too much Irish goodness to write about all at once, I will just highlight a few favorites for quick and easy consumption. (They are arranged chronologically since it was too hard to rank any other way.)

1. Cliffs of Moher: the most beautifully unbelievable cliffs of pure insanity I have ever seen in real life. It is truly amazing to me that 3 giddy girls could actually get in a backwards European car in a foreign country with basically nothing but aspirations of great times and find some of the most beautiful sites in the world, the Cliffs of Moher were just the first of many.
2. Random castles and stone creations strewn about the countryside. We had no idea what they were or how old but they were everywhere and that alone was pretty awesome.
3. Dunnes: Ireland’s version of Super Target, sure to fulfill all your American needs for only triple the dollar.
4. J90 at The Grand: the best, cute Irish boy American-pop cover band in the world singing just for us in an Irish pub.
5. Gerry aka Our Hero: General manager of our hotel in Killarney who rescued us from the parking nightmare in the back ally, quenched our thirst with free cocoa and gave us sweet insider tips on the most happening night spots. Our love was mutual.
6. Killarney: our hearts will forever belong to this sweet Irish town that gave us shelter, took our money and showed us how to have a kicking time Irish style (well, minus the alcohol)
7. Ring of Kerry: the most breathtaking 2.5-hour drive along the coast of one of Irelands smaller peninsulas. The roads were terrifying but the scenery was totally worth it and just when you think you’ve seen it all, there is so much more!
8. Blarney Stone: we made it to the Blarney Castle 5 min before closing, just in time to run up the itty-bitty spiral stair case to the tippidy top of the castle and kiss the stone for good luck. As a bonus, if you travel with a blond American girl you will likely get a free dinner offer from the creepy, old Blarney Stone man who holds you tight for ‘safety’ while kissing the stone. Awesome.
9. Leprechauns: this is what we affectionately called all the locals we befriended which was actually quite remarkable considering the language barrier. Turns out, they only technically speak English. One memorable leprechaun: Julie, our St Paddy’s Day Parade narrator who really just wanted a ‘fag’ and didn’t care much for the 'Mormons' but chatted and laughed with us for hours anyway.
10. Irish food: boiled tomatoes and warm milk for breakfast, that is the Irish way. And just when you think it might be safe to order a chicken sandwich remember you’re not in America anymore.

In the end, I spent a ridiculous amount of Euro, walked hundreds of miles, saw at least a million sheep, kissed one very old, slimy stone, climbed a thousand extremely uneven and rather unsafe stairs, took almost 300 pictures, laughed till my sides burst, drank cocoa in a pub, fell out of the shower, danced with the locals, chatted with leprechauns and brought back through customs so many other memories of Ireland to last 2 lifetimes. When I landed back on US soil I was ecstatic, not only to run to the nearest BBQ, but also because I just turned one of my life goals into a reality that I get to enjoy forever. I can hardly wait for the next one to begin!