Runup to Galway

Monday was intense. Took a coach bus to a series of places, starting with the Hill of Tara, a series of ancient passage tombs and monuments, seat of the High Kings of old. Neat church and graveyard nearby. Started with a video, then a tour of the site. In the old days, potential kings had to come here to be tested. A worthy High King would fit into his predecessors cloak, harness 2 wild (never broken) horses to his chariot, ride it at top speed at the gates to Tara (which would open magically if he were worthy), then touch a special stone that would scream out his name if he were to be king. The stone did not scream my name when I hugged it, but to be fair I never harnessed the horses. Hany rolled down some hills, we hiked around, then got back on the bus.

--Next was Loughcrew, a hike up a mountain to the passage tomb and cairns at the top. A guide takes you INSIDE the passage tomb, talks about it, very cool. All the guides tell you the science, then the myth, and invite you to remember whichever one you prefer. After that, we climbed atop the tomb, hiked a bit, and walked down the mountain a quicker way. Hany got left behind, ran after us and couldn't stop, then fell. Lucky bastard missed stones, nettles, and a barbed wire fence by doing that and didn't injure himself. Back . . . to the bus!

--Kells - where the book came from. Celtic crosses and an old church, then about 15 minutes to check out shops and cram sandwiches down our gullets. Hany hurt himself jumping a low wall to see the crosses.

--Trim Castle (I Think - need to check) Nice groungs, rained a bit. Got some good photos, then a tour of the inside and roof of the castle. Pretty cool. We got back, and I opted not to go to the authors reading which had been made optional. Headed down for a pint with the crew afterwards.

Tuesday after class we toured the Jameson Distillery. It was fun, similar yet smaller than Guiness or Heineken. Guided tour, very basic process and history. I was selected as a Whisky Taster at the start, thanks to Matt abdicating (due to my name and all), so after the tour I got to sit and do a tasting of 3 whiskeys - Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker, and Jameson. All good in their own way, overall I preferred the Jameson. Also had my free tour drink, Jameson and Ginger Ale, which was tasty. Got a certificate proclaiming me a trained whiskey taster, shopped, then home for dinner and to the pub to watch the Netherlands pound Uruguay. Wednesday we went to City Center after class for some lunch, then some general wandering and shopping. A few bookstores, a comic/movie/media store Keith and I found, Caroll's (the Irish gifts mecca), and the Sinn Feinn shop. Got a miniature hurling stick with a quote and an image of the Proclamation on it. Keith bought a beard trimmer that will require a power converter to use at home, but he's fine with that. Dinner, then to the pub to watch Spain throttle Germany - wtf Germany? Way to prove that octopus right!