The Ring of Kerry

Hi Everyone,

How's everyone doing? I hear there is snow in Minnesota, if that's true, I sincerely apologize and feel bad, as I am only dealing with spotty rain and chilly winds at night. I can't say that I'm missing the winter forecasts that come into play during a Minnesota fall season, and although a "White Christmas" will be bittersweet to return to, I will definitely be in for a bit of a culture shock.

Okay, I know I write this in every post. "This is the coolest thing ever", "amazing views", and "beautiful scenery" are used to describe things in my usual posts. But seriously, I mean it this time! This weekend Papa Jacobs (yes, he came over from MN to visit me!) and I travelled down the coast of Ireland to the area of Killarney, also popularly known as the Ring of Kerry. This area is the farthest point to the ocean. At one point on our tour, we were at the farthest piece of land. The next stop would be the coast of the United States. It's the closest I've felt to home in awhile :)

The Ring of Kerry had everything that we love about Ireland - sheep, vast green landscapes, islands, blue water, and of course.. mountains. We met a nice couple from Wisconsin on our way, and oddly enough, I ran into them a few days later in Galway. It's always a small world! People from the Midwest continue to be the nicest people on the planet, no matter where my adventures take me.

Sometimes a picture can't even do scenery justice.

In the photo above, you can see the gap in the mountains, famously known as "Moll's Gap". This is probably my favorite picture of Ireland so far, I feel that it captures everything that I love.

A few days and hours of bus rides later, we went to the area of the Aran Islands, which are three islands on the outside of the Galway Bay. It was about a 45 minute ferry ride (and a bumpy one, too), but it was totally worth it. I've never felt so free and I was breathing fresh island air while biking through the miles of rock walls. Abandoned churches from centuries ago, thatched houses, and demosticated horses greeted us on our bike paths through the island.

I made a video to summarize my time in Ireland so far as a part of a video contest, and I thought I'd share it here for you guys to see! WARNING: I'm not a video professional, actually this was the first video I've ever made, so don't expect anything fantastic. It has some landscape shots and my friends spoke foreign languages for me, so check it out!

http://youtu.be/Y6TgbzcJMlM

In the meantime, I've been perfecting my Irish dancing (HA), hittin' the library, and attending more Galway events. I know that my time is pretty limited, so I'm trying to fit it all in when I can.

Thanks for reading! Upcoming trips for me include Amsterdam and Barcelona, so stay tuned!

Linds