Travel Rocks

My first and brightest travel discovery took place in August, 1999. It was a children camp called Barretstown and situated in Ireland.
That was my first time of traveling abroad. What did I feel? Of course, I was very nervous. But when my group came on the site, all my worries disappeared. We were met by one american guy who was singing one Russian famous song “Ochi Chyorniye” (that means “Black Eyes”). We were surprised by this funny and extraordinary greeting. Afterwards, that guy became my good friend.
In Ireland, everything was different from Russia: people, buildings, landscapes. Especially, after Russian hard political and economical times. I had the feeling of getting onto another planet.
We lived in cottages with the windows on the roofs. We were allowed to drink water just from the tap. We could sit on the grass and the asphalt paths. Oh, God! There was such different exotic food! Yoghurts, various sorts of cornflakes, fried sausages and bacon, French fries, salads, and they were just for breakfast! Now you can’t surprise anybody in Russia with it, but then it was something unbelievable!
The last day In Ireland we spent in Dublin, the capital of the Emerald Island. Walking around the city I had the strange feeling that Dublin is very similar to St. Petersburg, my native town. The architecture of the buildings, the bridges, the river, even the changeable weather and grey sky - all these reminded me my city.
Only one thing showed that I was in another town. The left-side car traffic. I was surprised by polite drivers who let us cross the street even if we went on the red light. Our behavior can be called the herd instinct. Aborigines go, and we repeat.
Sorry my moving over the main thought - my travel discovery. Another thing that I discovered in Ireland was traditional food. We were supposed to have lunch at McDonald’s - the magic place for all children, especially from Russia, where this restaurant chain just started developing and was very expensive.
You had to look at our upset faces when we were said that we would go to some other place to try traditional Irish cuisine. We could do nothing about it, but it was better than to stay hungry. Our menu included traditional Irish fried fish with traditional Irish chips and some honey, and apple juice. It was so tasty, that I can highly recommend it to everyone.
And after my journey to this fairy land called Ireland I still tell some stories and my discoveries about it to my family and friends.