We left the house at 8am to get to the airport by 11. We nearly gave bryan a heart attack, with how close we were to missing the 8.58 train. he wanted to leave home before 8, but due to our lack of organisation we didnt leave til 8am so got stuck in all the school traffic. so what should have taken 20mins took close to an hour. we got on the train wita minute to spare and off we went to gatwick airport. we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, carry on luggage in tow. stephs bag was over 10kg so ty were going to charge her 100pound to check her bag on as it was 11.5 kg. so off she went to the toilet and came out with two bras on and 5 t-shirts. we had breakie at the airport and then our flight was dealyed an hour and a half. what do they say about cheap flights..... you should watch this clip. brian and steve showed us this clip when we said we were flying ryan air and easy jet. it is very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc we finally were on our way to cork just after 3pm. we hired a ford fiesta from budget car rentals and we were on our way. we drove around town trying to manouver the one way streets. some of the streets were ridiculously narrow. we found a hostel owned by a new zealander above a pub. we got a beer, then headed down the road to find some tea. none of the pubs we found served food. so one pub said if you order fish and chips from across the road you can eat them there and the fish and chip shop will even deliver them to you at the bar. sounded like a plan. the pub we were at was very small with no music, but the locals were friendly. the pubs are mainly for the over 50's that we found. possibly becase it was only a tuesday. the next day we looked around the town then got on our way to killarney. we went to blarney to the castle on the way. the grounds the castle are on are very pretty. just as we walked towards the castle it bucketed down. so we took shelter in a little cave while we waited for it to pass. to get up to the blarney stone you have to walk up a very steep winding stair case and the steps get smaller and smaller and steeper and steeper. near the top the railing becomes a vertical rope hat you have to hold onto, thats how steep the steps are. at the bottom is a sign that says you are entering at your own risk. the blarney stone sits out from the castle so when you lean back your body is over open space that has a bar through it to stop you from falling to the ground. a little freaky. i wasnt going to do it, but i did. we had lunch in blarney then hit the road to killarney. we found one place above a pub but they were full for the night, so they recommended another hostel. we got our own room and ensuite for 12 euro each, bargain. we went exploring down the main street and found a place for tea. steph and i got an irish stew for tea, made with guiness. it was really tasty. then we went to the singing pub where there was a duo playing irish music. when they finished for the night they played the irish national athem while everyone stood. after that we went to another pub that also had a night club. they had a band on that played popular rock songs with an irish twist. i really enjoyed it. then we went into the nightclub for a boogie. we went home to bed at two. the next morning we had breakfast in town then drove into the killarney national park to ross castle. after that we drove towards gallway taking the scenic route. we got on a 20min car ferry to take us across the estuary to save us 2 hours. we stopped just before the cliffs of maohar for a very late lunch- at 4.30 then drove to the cliffs of mohar. it was soooo cold. the drive to the cliffs was in pouring rain which stopped just as we pulled up. we hurried around and took some photos then got back in the car to drive to galway. we were on a highway, but i wouldnt really call it one. the road was so narrow and there were little stone walls on either side and it was very winding. what i pictured the roads in the irish countryside to be like, not a motorway. we got into galway just after 7pm. we had a quiet night as we were very tired, especially jess from driving. steph and i went to a pub to listen to some music. it was a cool pub with mezzanine floors and had four bars, even though it was smaller than all the pubs at home that only have one. the band was really good. they played old rock and roll- the beatles etc. we stayed until 12 then came back to the hostel for bed. today we will look around galway then go to dublin where we end our irish adventure.
