Ireland!!

After one week into my Ireland/UK adventure - I feel like I have been gone for a long time! So much has been seen and experienced in such a short time that it blows my mind that this will be my life for the next month or so and even well into my nine months in Singapore.

I started out my trip to Ireland by flying into the Shannon Airport and taking a bus directly to the small town of Ennis. I checked into my hostel (Rowan Tree Hostel which is very very nice by the way) and started to explore. Ennis is the hub of County Clare, a place that I feel is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. I've always been a big fan of lush, rainy, green grass and picturesque countryside and this area is right out of a dream. The first day I visited the Cliffs of Moher with a tour group which was great but I felt very rushed. That night I ran into a couple of cool Australian girls, Katie and Laura, who were staying in my hostel and they invited me to ride with them to the Cliffs the next day and then onto Galway which was my next stop. The second trip to the cliffs was a much more fulfilling trip since we had time to just sit on the edge, eat an apple, and experience all the different sights and sounds. On our way to Galway we also stopped to sit and talk to a random Irish couple who was camping on the beach in their van - talk about a cool experience. Below are a pic from the cliffs (the rest can be found here)

On Wed and Thur, Katie and I took a trip to the Aran Islands off the coast of County Clare. It was one of the most stunningly gorgeous places I've ever seen. I have many of my pictures available to look at in Dropbox at this link. We rented a bike and rode all over the island and had a picnic on the edge of another cliff with an American guy from North Carolina. One highlight of my Aran Islands expereince is when Katie and I were biking down a random off road path (which was off the beaten tourist route) and I thought it would be cool to take a video with my camera while riding the bike. It turned out okay until there was a slight incline which I tried to slow down by braking with one hand - the results of my efforts can be seen in the following video. My camera doesn't have any sound; that would have made it a lot better if it did.

Despite the tumble I will never forget my first trek into western Ireland and the awesome people that I met there. Please please please let me know if you ever are planning a trip to that region and I can tell you exactly what you need to do to make it a life-changing experience.

The next few days will be spent in London with my old roommate Kyle Hoback who is pursuing a degree from the London School of Economics.

Cheers!