Cliffs of Moher

On Sunday, we took a bus for about 2 hours through the twisting and turning roads of the Irish countryside to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's top Visitor attractions. The Cliffs are 214m high at the highest point and range for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. 

  
It was beautiful. I don't really have much to say about it except... this is the most picturesque part of Ireland. 

O'Brien's Tower

The Cliffs of Moher take their name from a ruined promontory fort “Mothar” which was demolished during the Napoleonic wars to make room for a signal tower.

It was very cold and very windy.

this was the caution to Katie!

The Cliffs are home to the major colonies of cliff dwelling birds and puffins. Thank goodness they were not really out on the day we went. They only come to shore in April and May... good planning on our part! 

We took this sign to mean... "Don't cook the birds over an open fire." I"m not really sure what it really means but, "stay away from the birds" was a good enough warning for me.

We enjoyed our short but sweet trip to the Cliffs.

Exploring the Emerald Isle

To celebrate my best friend's 30th Birthday we decided to go to Ireland. Katie's birthday is in June and since June is super expensive for international flights, we decided October would be better. We only had 4 days but we made the most of them.

On our first night, Katie's sister's band (the DollyRots) played in Dublin.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Our first full day consisted of a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral  and the Guinness Store House. See, a little church before the beer...we like to keep things balanced.

 

The Storehouse was awesome! I will have an entire blog post about it soon.

After the Storehouse tour, we went to the Abbey Theater for a show. We saw the Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. It was a very cool theater and an interesting show.

On Saturday, we took a bus to Galway. A few years ago, Erin had studied abroad in Galway, so she was a great tour guide for us. We visited the Galway Cathedral (two churches in two days.. woah)

 

buying street art in Galway

After church we visited some pubs in Galway. Irish coffees at The Kings Head Bar, pints at The Spanish Arch and fish and chips at McDonagh's.

On Sunday, we took a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. (Stay tuned for a blog post about that soon.)

Our Irish trip was very fun, super quick and one that will need to be repeated

The Fro had to GO!

 I have been talking about doing it again for a while now... and this weekend I did it.....

CHOPPED!!!

It is much lighter now AND I use much less shampoo... I like it.

Phun in Philly!

Colleen, me and Andrea in DC in 2010

This past weekend I took the train up to Philly for some fun. It was my first time on a train in the United States and I must say... I quite like it. Wifi, power outlets, lots of leg room and beer. Who could ask for anything more?  It was also super easy!

us in Philly 2012

I went to Philly for a "Girls Weekend" with some GREAT girls. It was mostly a girls weekend... however,  we spent Saturday evening with Kurt, Andrea's new beau. They are kinda perfect for each other, both teachers, both love football, both have huge hearts and both are happy spirits. Overall rating: WE APPROVE!

However, I do feel sad that I did not get a chance to sit him down and give him the stern... "You hurt her... we hurt you" talk. Although, we did discuss my Tough Mudder and my increasing abilities at the gym so... I think he got the point.

We had a great Saturday night, watching the games, visiting Andrea's favorite places in Philly and catching up. Its been WAY too long since the three of us were together and fun times well overdue. 

For instance, the walk home from the bars OF COURSE included a pit stop to pet the police horse. Silly things happen in Philly. 

Sunday was possibly the coldest day of the year as of yet. We slept in a bit (8:00 is LATE for a bunch of teachers) and then went to awesome brunch at Hawthornes. I had Breakfast Nachos... um, YES... that is a thing and YES it is AMAZING... I HIGHLY recommend it and YES I will be trying to recreate those at home this weekend.
After brunch, we did some sight seeing and made a stop at  LOVE part for a quick photo shoot.

Our next plan is to spend President's Day weekend in Illionis at the frozen lake with the Ringa family... maybe my hockey skills have improved... I can't wait!

greetings from Philly!