Dublin Down

We found cheap flights to Dublin on RyanAir, so we decided to take a weekend trip to Dublin.  Katie and Jillian had never been, and I had not been since I was 15.  After booking our flights, we set out to book a hostel.  Everything was booked for Saturday, and the hotels with availability were super expensive.  We did not realize that it was the Gaelic Football finals, which would be the equivalent of the Super Bowl in the US!  We decided to book a hotel for Saturday, then got a hostel for Sunday and Monday nights.
The hotel, O'Callahan Davenport, was very nice and was located next to Trinity College.  We asked for a breakfast suggestion and they recommended we try Kilkenny's, which is a cafe located above a small department store.  It was 6 Euros for a full Irish breakfast, and we left full and happy.

We had bought the Dublin Pass, which provided admission at most of the major attractions in Dublin.  We got a 2 day pass, and the lady told us that we could visit each place once per day.  Our first stop was the Jameson distillery.  While we were waiting, we each had a hot chocolate with Jameson in it.  The tour started with a video, then they led us around telling about the distillation process.  It was really more of an educational experience ;) At the beginning of the tour, they asked for 8 volunteers, so Jillian and I stepped up.  It turned out that we were going to be tasting Jameson alongside Johnnie Walker and Jack Daniels.  We all really enjoyed this place, but we had to leave in order to fit everything else into 2 days.

After the Jameson distillery, we headed for the Guinness Storehouse.  The building is a 6-story museum, and the 7th floor is a bar with a 360-degree view of Dublin.  The inside is very nice, and I loved the industrial feel of it all.  We did the first 3 floors, then decided to get our pint of Guinness and return the next day to finish the museum.  After the Guinness Storehouse, we went to find some lunch.  We ate at an Italian place off of Grafton Street, then headed to our hotel to rest up since we had been awake since 4:30 AM.  After resting, Jillian and I went out for a walk and a drink, then headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, we got breakfast at a cafe, then headed back to the Guinness Storehouse.  We started on the 4th floor, which walked through the advertising of Guinness through the years.  They also had a large display of all of the Guinness memorabilia throughout the years.  They also had an area where you learn to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, then you get to drink it.  We headed back up to the Sky Bar to drink our pints, then walked through the rest of the museum.

Following the Guinness Storehouse, we walked to the Kilmainham Gaol, an old jail which was open from 1796-1924.  It housed many of the leaders of the 1916 Uprising, as well as many people imprisoned during the famine, some for crimes as small as stealing a loaf of bread.  Many movies have been filmed here, such as The Italian Job and In the Name of the Father.  Our tour guide was excellent, really painting a picture of what it would be like back then.  If anyone visits Dublin, I would highly recommend visiting the gaol.

We then set out for Glasnevin Cemetery, which was highly rated on Trip Advisor.  The cemetery was about a 15 minute bus ride north of Dublin.  Unfortunately, we missed the guided tour, but we still enjoyed going through the museum and then walking around the cemetery.  The fact that it was a gorgeous day certainly did not hurt!

After the cemetery, we headed to the hotel to get our stuff because we had to relocate to our hostel.  The hostel was located across the river from Temple Bar.  Katie showered, then we went to dinner at a pub recommended by the girl at the hostel desk.  After dinner, we found a bar to listen to live music and soon learned that Dublin was VERY expensive.  It was 8 Euros for a Vodka & Soda.  Needless to say, we each had one drink and then headed back to the hostel.
The next morning, we got ready and then found a place for breakfast.  After breakfast, we decided to go to the Science Gallery, which we had seen the day before.  Once we got there, we learned that they were closed on Mondays, as were most of the museums in Dublin.
We walked around the National Gallery (art museum) for a little bit, then decided to go to Saint Stephen's Green, a large park located in the middle of Dublin.  The park reminded me of Central Park.  It had a lot of monuments, including one for the famine victims.  It also had a pond with swans, running and biking trails, and gazebos scattered throughout.  We walked around the park for a little bit, then decided to grab lunch from a nearby cafe and eat it in the park.  After lunch, we stayed in the park and read and laid around and people watched.

Later, Katie went back to the hostel while Jillian and I went to John Kehoe's Pub.  My dad's cousin owned it for many years before selling it, and it is still one of the most famous pubs in Ireland.  We had a pint of Guinness and had fun chatting with the bartender.  The guy sitting next to us at the bar was a pharmacist from Reno, so we talked to him for a while.  He even joined us for dinner at Elephant & Castle--an amazing restaurant that was recommended to us.
After dinner, we left to go back to our hostel since we had another early wake-up call.  We had a great time in Dublin, but we didn't realize how expensive it was going to be! We ended up canceling plans to go to London the next week!

Week 3

Week of September 15
Even after 2 different antibiotics, Jillian's eye was not improving.  They swabbed her eye, but she had to wait a week for the results.  Once the results came back, they showed that it was viral (not bacterial like they originally suspected).  She has stopped taking the antibiotics and now is using lubricating eye drops.  Her eye has greatly improved! We think the antibiotics may have been irritating it, so it has taken almost 3 weeks to improve!
For entertainment this week, we went to a bar to see a guy play guitar, harmonica, and sing.  He was really talented, but live music doesn't start until late here, so we only stayed for about 45 minutes.  We also saw another movie.  We saw Pride, which is about the LGSM (Lesbians & Gays Support the Minors) movement in the 1980's.  It was a British film, and we both really enjoyed it.  This theater did not have couches, but they did have VIP tickets (one pound extra) that we took advantage of.  They provide you with a comfy leather seat right in the middle of the theater.
We had a pretty typical week in the pharmacy.  On Friday, we went to Stirling to work at the pharmacy at Stirling University.  It was interesting because it was a totally different patient population than we encounter at the other stores.  After Stirling, Katie returned to Edinburgh with us because we were bound for Dublin the next day! We took her to Bon Vivant, the tapas place we love.  Again, we had a great meal.  I even tried haggis, which just tastes like meatloaf.  It really wasn't bad at all--as long as you don't think about what you are eating!
We went to bed early, knowing we had a 6:30 AM flight to Dublin the next morning!

Inverness and Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye Tour
We woke up early Sunday morning and packed an overnight bag to go on our Isle of Skye tour.  We had to be at the tour place at 7:30 AM, and it turns out we actually went to the wrong company, so luckily we still make it on the right bus!
We took a bus up through Stirling towards the Highlands.  We stopped a few times for coffee, lunch, and pictures.  The views were beautiful, both in and out of the bus.  As we drove, the bus driver told us little bits of history, which was interesting.

  

When we stopped for lunch, Jillian and I both had fish and chips from the chip shop.  They take a fresh piece of haddock and fry it to order--it was the best fried fish we had encountered thus far!

The bus took us to Urquhart Castle, which sits on the banks of Loch Ness.  The castle is mainly ruins, as it had been invaded several times over the past millennia.  After walking around the castle grounds, we took a boat cruise on Loch Ness.  It was a very nice day for a boat cruise, and we were glad we took part in this optional part of the tour.  Whenever I pictured Loch Ness, I did not imagine it to be as vast as it really is.  It is over 27 kilometers long, and is extremely deep.  This, coupled with the peat in the water, is one of the reasons "Nessie" remains a mystery.

After the boat cruise, another bus came to transport us to our hotel in Inverness, The Craignay Guest House.  It is an adorable B&B run by a husband and wife, Rodney and Gail.  They were so sweet and offered suggestions on what to do on our one night in Inverness.  The B&B sits near the city center, so we were able to walk around easily.

Inverness Castle

Craignay Cathedral, located right by our B&B

After walking around for a little while, we found a place to eat dinner.  We then went across the street to hear live music at a bar called Hootanany's.  We stayed out until about 11, but then left knowing we had to get up early again the next morning.  

The next morning, Gail made us a delicious traditional Scottish breakfast-- bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, tomatoes (and mushrooms and baked beans, which I did not get).  We really enjoyed talking to them, and were sad that we could only stay for one night.

Our drive from Inverness to Isle of Skye was also very scenic and included picture stops.  The first stop was to see the Thomas Telford Bridge which spans waterfalls from the River Moriston.

The stop also had a view of Highland Cows, which I would now like as a pet.

Another stop on the way to Skye included Eilean Donan Castle, which has been featured in many movies.  We opted to not go in, but rather admired it from the shore.  We also watched the bag piper that was playing by the castle.

We were then bound for the Isle of Skye! We stopped for lunch, and then we crossed the bridge to Skye.  It was a gorgeous drive, but the roads are so narrow that I don't think I would have wanted to navigate them by myself.  We drove as far as you possibly could on the island, and then got out to take pictures.  The views were breathtaking, and we were so grateful to have such nice weather!

It was sad to leave such a beautiful place, especially after such a long journey.  We were returned to Inverness, where we had to catch a train back to Edinburgh.  This was truly a memorable experience!