Ireland

I'm finally back from my Ireland excursion and somewhat settled in again. I must say it was one of my favorite places I have ever been in my life. Katherine and I stayed in Cork City down south and got to stay in a nice bed and breakfast the whole time. The room reminded me of the "Red Room" at my (former) house in the Ozarks and each breakfast rivaled the Schaumburg Royales' that we ate every morning there. The owner's were an unlikely couple: A friendly old Irish man with a thick accent and his talkative wife with a dramatic sense about her (Bringing up how "treacherously laaaaaazy her kids were and cultural genocide in the first conversation). The house was on the top, and I mean the very top, of a gigantic hill overlooking the city.

We explored the city and found some very nice and helpful people along the way. The college there looked like a work of art and we later found out that people all over the world come there to master the art of brewing beer. We found some great restaurants around the town and a great Easter beer festival with a ton of microbrewers showing off their beer.

To finish up we stayed in Dublin (the popular Temple Bar area) and we toured the Guiness Factory. I thought it may be a little touristy but it turned out to be great, I had never been to a brewery that big. The city was pretty cool but didn't have half the charm of a city like Cork. It's funny because it is the biggest city in Ireland and it is about 1/4 the size of Kansas City as far as population goes. There was a lot going on and next weekend I start my nearly three weeks traveling so I definitely need to rest up and organize this week before I get ready.