Don't Kiss Me, I'm Not Irish! St. Patrick's Day in Ireland

One of my good friends, Meghann, is studying abroad in Ireland this semester.  Before we left, we promised to visit each other but didn't make concrete plans or dates.  Lucky for me, I visited her over St. Patrick's Day!

I left on March 16 and went through 4 countries, took a train, 3 buses, an airplane, and a taxi to get to Meghann.  I traveled for about 18 hours that day but it was worth it to see Meghann (and her mom, who was visiting her at the same time as me).  I also got to meet Meghann's friends from school, so that was great.  My plan arrived in Dublin and I took a bus to Galway but I needed to take a taxi to get to Ballyvaughan, a tiny village on the Atlantic coast.  

Ballyvaughan

Unfortunately, I spent WAY more money on the taxi than I expected to (or should have; he charged me a rate when it was supposed to be a flat fee and the driver took 2 hours to get there instead of the 1 that it should have).  I don't want to say how much I spent on the taxi but by the time I got into the bar where Meghann, her mom, and friends were, I was so tired and broke that I wanted to cry.  Meghann gave me a huge hug and dragged me upstairs where she promptly made me a drink and we talked for a while until I felt better.  

Apparently on Wednesday nights, everyone in Ballyvaughan comes to the bar and there is Irish dancing.  Meghann has Irish danced for longer than I have known her (a long time) and so she participates every week.  I got to watch her dance with the townsfolk.  She danced with this old guy a lot, it was so cute!  I wish I had thought to take pictures!

Thursday was Saint Patrick's Day!  We were supposed to go to a parade in the next town over but we got there too late so instead, the Ballyvaughan taxi driver's wife (everyone knows each other in Ballyvaughan) invited us to their house/farm to see the baby lambs that were born only the day before.  These baby lambs were a million times better than the parade would have been, I am sure.  Imagine the softest thing you have ever touched and then multiply that by 3.  That is how soft these baby lambs were.  Meghann got to hold one but the mom was freaking out while she held him so she didn't hold him for long.  It was so cute- it still had part of its umbilical cord attached!

After playing with lambs, ducks, cats, and chickens, we went back to Meghann's house and hung out for a little bit (we were still tired from the day before) before we started celebrating.  St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was amazing.  I am very cautious about posting these pictures since anyone can see them!

We toasted to so many things that night.  Mostly to friendship in Ireland

With Meghann and her mom!

with Meghann and two of her friends from school; the bar was closing

Friday morning we woke up early because Meghann had class.  Lucky for me, this class is called "Irish Studies" and it's basically a field trip every Friday to somewhere in western Ireland.  I got to go with Meghann and the other students from her school.  We went to a cathedral, old castle ruins, and a place called Coole Park (which was AWESOME, not just cool).  In Coole Park there were SO many trees- Lady Gregory had them planted when she lived there.  It was cool to learn about it!  Unfortunately, my camera battery died and I didn't have time to recharge it from the night before so I only have the pictures from Meghann.

This was the only picture Meghann uploaded from Coole (Awesome) Park :/

Friday night Meghann made a tasty dinner (per usual, she is a lovely cook) and I think we kept things mostly quiet since many people were still feeling rough from the night before (I felt terrible most of the day).  

Saturday, Meghann and I woke up feeling great and we were planning on going to the Cliffs of Moher.  We went to wake up her mom at the Bed and Breakfast but she wasn't ready yet so we walked around half worrying about making the bus to the cliffs on time.  This is a good point in my blog to post landscape pictures of Ballyvaughan.

Meghann's house!  She lives with 5 other people, they're all really nice

The church behind Meghann's house.  We went to Mass on Sunday; it was nice :)

Ballyvaughan was a definite change to Strasbourg, but it was really nice to get out into the country side :)

Fortunately, we did make the bus to the cliffs.  It took about an hour to get out there but the sight was well worth the wait.  Here are pictures!

Saturday night was both a good and a bad night.  It was our (my) last night in Ballyvaughan and also the night that the local DJ came to the bar.  He was such an awful DJ that it was great.  We had fun but I won't go into detail.  However, when Meghann and I woke up, I had lost a bracelet that my mom sent to me, she had lost her lip ring, and there were vegan whoopie pies (cookies) everywhere.  We were/are so confused but good stories came out of that night.  

Sunday, Meghann and I went to mass at the only church in Ballyvaughan and then got ready to take two buses to get to Dublin, where I was to fly out on Monday morning.  The three of us (Meghann, her mom, and myself) got to Dublin around 5 and we called up her mom's best friend's brother in law who lives in Dublin.  We met up with him and met his family and his daughter, who is really cute.  Afterwards, we ate Chinese food for dinner and went looking for a hotel.  We booked the hotel and then went out into Dublin.

I should have known that in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is not just a day, but a week-long celebration.  It was a Sunday night and all of the bars were packed.  After Saturday night, the mere thought of drinking more made me feel sick but we still went into a bar to listen to music and hang out.  

On the way, right outside of the Temple Bar, I saw a real Irish brawl.  There was a drunk Irish guy standing outside of the bar arguing with a cop.  Right as we passed by, the Irish guy yelled, "Oh shet yer foockin' mouth!"  Before you could blink, the cop slugged him, fist to face.  Then the cop started strangling the Irish guy and then pulled him on the ground and put him in a headlock where he continued to strangle him until another cop came over and started beating the guy up, too.  The last we saw/heard was one of the cops handcuffing the Irish guy as he kept saying, "Don't foockin' touch meh!"  Lesson learned: Don't mess with Irish cops.  They will strangle you.

After midnight we were already pooped so we headed back to the hotel and passed out.  I had to be up at 7 to get to the airport and travel another 17 hours to get back to France.  I was so sad to say goodbye to Meghann and her mom but I had such a wonderful time with them.  I loved Ireland.

Frequently Asked Questions about my Trip to Ireland:

Q:  What countries were you in?
A:  I took a train in France, then a bus to Luxembourg, where I switched buses to go to Frankfurt Hahn airport in Germany, then I took a flight to Ireland.

Q: What did you drink in Ireland?
A:  Shots of Jameson Whiskey, of course.  That is the only thing I drank but Meghann's mom might have bought me a few gin and tonics on St. Patrick's Day...

Q: Did you meet any cute Irish guys?

A: No way.

Q: How was the food?

A: I don't really know- Meghann cooks her own food so she made me a lot of really yummy stuff and we didn't really go out to eat at all.  I did look at menus and the food sounded really good but very heavy.

This is Snaggle-Tooth Drooley-Cat, a fat cat who sits outside of Sparr (Ballyvaughan's grocery store) and drools all day.  I nominate her to be Ballyvaughan's mascot.