March 28

Another early morning for us spring breakers. We booked a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher! We had toyed with the idea of renting a car and driving to the Cliffs, but settled on a bus tour for peace of mind. It is truly a challenge to get used to traffic being on the left. At crosswalks, it is often painted on the curb "Look left" or "look right" to help unsuspecting tourists like myself know which way they are about to be struck by incoming traffic. The tour stopped through a few smaller Irish towns before reaching the Cliffs. We grabbed lunch as a group at a cafeteria designed to accommodate charter buses. The Cliffs of Moher were beyond beautiful. Mother Nature, you did good, lady. Their sheer vertical rise is captivating enough, but the bright green Irish grass paired with the blues of the Atlantic and sky were unreal. Looking down, my stomach flipped and I got the willies. There were a few too many "Call these numbers if you need to talk" posters and the insistence that all entrants check-in and out for "numbers control" to make me a little uncomfortable. I kept comparing the Cliffs to Cinque Terre--Cinque was much more private and tucked away, you had to really search for the views. The Cliffs, on the other hand, came at you full force, putting everything out there. Also, much smaller than Cinque, there were fellow tourists every-which-way, but I didn't mind in the slightest with those kind of view. As we were exiting the park, we (get this) ran into a girl in our same sorority that graduated last year. How surreal to see a familar face from home while in Ireland! She is teaching English in Spain and was traveling this week. We arrived in Dublin around dinner time. Kelsey had scouted out a traditional Irish pie restaurant for dinner, but unfortunately it was already closed by the time we arrived. We spotted a gourmet grocery store and thought we'd check it out. It was deli counter style and I saw a Moroccan fish stew with my name on it. Portions were massive and I did the very lady like thing of unbuttoning my pants mid-meal. While we waited for our food to be served, Kelsey and Maggie had a freak-out moment at the deli counter when they realized that their favorite dessert--a Biscoff cookie spread, think Biscoff cookie peanut butter--was being sold at the grocery store. They are certifiably obsessed with the stuff! They debated whether it was worth the cost and eventually put the jar down. Now get this. A man and his middle school aged daughter came up to our table as we were eating with a small grocery bag. He said, "Please exchange it if it is not the right flavor," smiled, and walked away. He had overheard Mags and Kels, and bought them the jar of cookie butter. Luck of the Irish? Heart of the Irish? Either way, it was a moment to be remembered. I loved seeing the sweet smile of his young daughter and knowing she will remember the time her kind father helped some crazy Americans get a cookie butter fix. The night at the hostel was...interesting...and I am going to abstain from complaining to keep with the spirit of my great spring break. But...yeah...interesting.