The Gathering: the finale

And here it is, the low down on the last of my days in Ireland for this trip. I'm now back home in the states, getting ready to go to work later this evening- really, no down time, just jumping right back into things. So, let us relive the beauty of the holiday. :)

Alright, so after leaving Galway, I headed for the Cliffs of Moher. I had no way of knowing, but this would turn out to be the most spiritual experience of my life up to now. Never have I seen anything more beautiful, dangerous, challenging, and haunting, and never have I been more called to a place than I was to the cliffs. The Cliffs, located on the western coast of Ireland in County Clare, are up to 702 feet high and stretch for 5 miles along the coast. My pictures, I'm afraid, will never do justice to the experience of actually being there. You cannot know the steepness of the cliffs without traversing them yourself, the fury of the winds that promise to blow you where they must, the beauty of the grasses and natural life upon its landscape. I got much too close the every edge, escaping sure death by laying flat on the cliffs rolling away from them, certain that if I stood, I'd be taken over the edge to a rocky, watery grave. But I can say, with definitive understanding, that there is nothing more incredible than hanging off the edge of a cliff, feeling the absolute power of the universe in a single breath and knowing, in every molecule, that you are more alive than ever. Below, feast your eyes on the most beautiful sights I've ever seen:

 The Cliffs of Moher

 On my steep drive up to the Cliffs. I had to leave my hat in my bag or else it would have blown off.

 Little nubbin :)

 I was blown over a couple times and have the grass stains to prove it. Lol

 It's impossible to get a decent picture up here.

 Here, my face is being blown off.

 A memorial on the side of the Cliffs. See its plaque below.

 

 In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gotten so close.

 Living on the edge.

 Hey, those look sharp.

 Parts of the Cliffs were literally flaking away like croissants in my hand.

 Beautiful plants on the Cliffs.

 Feeling proud and accomplished that I'd gotten through an almost impossible part of the Cliffs because the wind was so strong, it literally blew people around like scraps of paper. I did it! I spent time resting and journaling here and a wild cliff dog came and laid at my feet. The whole experience was so moving, I cried there on the Cliffs at the edge of the world of extreme and utter bliss.

 He actually had a collar, but no identification on it. I forgot to mention, Cliff dog had only three legs. This three-legged dog must hobble around the Cliffs, finding happy strangers and living life wild and free. I love this dog.

Getting back on the road, looking like a wild woman.

I almost forgot, these signs were posted along the paved walkway... just in case. Lol

After leaving the Cliffs of Moher, I began the long drive to Killarney, where I'd be spending the next two nights of my journey. On the way, I stopped in Limrick to see a poetry hot spot my friend Curtis had told me to check out. (I've been a spoken word artist for many years, so I longed for the chance to participate in the Irish poetry scene. Unfortunately, I had arrived on a Sunday night, and the poetry night is on Wednesday. Booo. Nonetheless, if I ever pass through Limrick again, I'll be sure to come on a Wednesday night.

Now, at most gas stations in Ireland, there are large plastic cones outside advertising that they had soft serve ice cream. I had seen people all over the country eating these and I thought 'damn it, I want one!'. So, I had a few cones while I was there. :) And now, it's all I crave now that I'm home!

 Mmm! :)

Now, about my first real day in Killarney. I headed to a place called Muckross House. It has beautiful, expansive land among its contained garden, as well as a waterfall and other beauties in the surrounding area. I spent some time in the House store, getting some delicious chocolate and souvenirs before heading out. The land on which the House was built is massive, and I found myself getting voluntarily lost in its forests, choosing to fall off the beaten paths and explore the unknown. As always, I was beckoned deeper and deeper into its clutches by the beauty I saw, always wondering what other mysteries lay beyond the visible. Here's what I saw:

 The inside of a bell flower

 Babbling brooks

 MASSIVE leaves

MASSIVE trees

 Stony stairways

 Giants

 Open fields

 Wishing sticks

 Ruffled mountains

 Steep climbs over waterways

 Green moss covering EVERYTHING

 Torc Waterfall

(What felt like) all of Ireland

 Canopies of trees

 After coming out of the forest from the waterfall, the weather had much improved. The sun was out!

 The coolest slug I've ever seen!

The gardens of Muckross House

I stopped by Killarney Castle on my way back to my hotel:

I later checked back into my hotel room in Killarney, a noisy, cute little room just outside of a small in-town fair ground and local restaurants with loud music and drunken singing. As the room didn't have AC (which I found was common in Ireland), I had to keep my window open all night for air. Here were my digs:

I took myself out for one nicer meal during my trip, having eaten frugally for most of my trip, and I chose this place:

 Beautiful decor

 Mushroom caps with couscous and steamed veggies

 The gorgeous upstairs terrace dining area. I'm in love.

 The cool bathroom. Inside the bathroom, they had Nat King Cole playing.

 I was seated beneath this royal fellow.

The bathroom floor was gorgeous.

Overall, the food and atmosphere at the Smoke House were quite good, but the staff was very inattentive and failed to mention that it was a cash-only establishment. Luckily, I had the cash, but if not, I could have been washing dishes in Ireland!

This is for my castmates! <3 at="" b="" bar="" hotel="" musician="" my="" outside="" playing="" the="">

The next day, I was back on the road and on my way back to Dublin to finish out my last night. It was my intention to leave early so I could spend the day exploring the city, but as always, nothing goes to plan, and I took many stops to explore...

 Amusing myself on the long journey (about 5 hours)

 Driving in the country with the windows down lets you know just why Ireland is so green. PEW!

The awesome map the cabby had given me: my lifeline on this trip

With my handy map, I was able to navigate my way to the Rock of Cashel. Here are some sights at this landmark site:

 In the graveyard

 A crow was seriously just hanging out here, guarding this grave. Creepy.

 Also creepy.

 I don't know what this castle is in the distance, but I'm moving in there.

 Not all the dead were buried. Poor creepy crow.

Now, by the time I finally made it to Dublin, it was about 7 PM. I had found my hotel quickly enough with the succinct directions of a guy at a gas station, but parking was a whole other issue. Because I couldn't find parking, I ended up losing the hotel and not finding my way back for another two hours. Dublin is a circus. It's Downtown Orlando and Winter Park on crack times ten. I actually didn't even find my way back on my own; I paid a cabby €5 to lead the way. I had to pay the hotel parking lot €8 to park (which is bullshit) and didn't end up checking in until 5 minutes to 10. I was exhausted and stressed from driving all over the city in city traffic and getting lost, and I was hungry. The hotel check in clerk informed me that the restaurant was closing at 10, so basically, I knew that meant I'd have no options for food. So, I dropped my stuff off in the room, and headed out onto the streets for find food. I stopped at the first restaurant I saw outside and walked in (only to discover that I had walked into the restaurant's entrance of the establishment attached to the hotel. Lol The bartender was nice enough to let me get some food and a well-deserved Bulmer's (aka Magner's in the states). A few silent and tears fell from my eyes and I noticed I was shaking. So much stress for one night for one girl. I quickly ate my butternut squash soup with brown bread and chips while reading the local paper, which the bartender had given me. He was very friendly and provided an oasis of peace in a city that had been so unkind to me. I'm used to city living and city people (heck, Orlando was voted the 3rd rudest city in America- I'm used to putting up with pricks!), but this just wasn't what I had hoped Dublin would be to me on my last day. I had hoped to return to Brian's shop, maybe even stop in to Giddy pottery studio to say hello to the owner who'd been expecting me that day, but none of that came to plan. Instead, I took a quick shower in the hotel room, which I hated, drank my delicious roadside juice, packed my bags for the trip home, and went to sleep. I awoke early the next morning to find my way out of the Dublin circus and back to the airport. It took me some time, as I had a few wrong turns and general confusion, but I found my way out of the city and ready to be home in my own bed. I returned my car, got a shuttle to the airport, and headed to Toronto for a three hour layover. I would have loved to have spent some time in Toronto, but perhaps that is a journey for another time.

I finally arrived home in Orlando, tired and limping a bit with a sore ankle from all of my walking around the country (in the wrong shoes, I might add), and was greeted by the face and escort of a treasured friend, Viet. I was so grateful to be home, and for all that I experienced. When I do Dublin again in the future, I will hostel it so I can meet other people and I'll just take the bus or walk so that I can appreciate the city instead of stress myself out. I will always treasure the memories I made, the sights I saw, the food I ate, the lessons I learned. I drove myself around a foreign European country, on my own, with nothing more than an insatiable desire to be somewhere and become someone new. I did it. I lived fully, on my own terms, in my own way. I became more connected to my ancestors through the land that had offered and challenged them so much. I am grateful.

So what next? Who knows? As we know, I plan nothing, instead opting to set goals in the directions of my dreams, and trust that the rest will follow. My goal is to finish school this semester and close that chapter of my life. It is to travel more, and work professionally. I would love to make my sole living off my talent for comedy, storytelling, poetry, writing, painting, acting, dance- any and all of it! I'm 26 years old, fully in the midst of becoming a great woman, unsure of the future, what and whom it will hold, but going confidently into its hands knowing that the best is yet to come.