The Crack is Good.

Sarah and I definitely learned about the crack in Ireland. The first time we heard about it was from her older distant relatives. I just thought I didn't hear them correctly . . . but I had. They explained it. It's spelled c-r-a-i-c and pronounced like 'crack.' It, in no way, means what we assumed it to mean. Craic is basically fun and good times. After we heard it the first time — it was everywhere. How's the craic? They have good craic. . . yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway, Sarah and I had a great trip. Before we left we had only rented a car and booked a hotel for the end of our trip. We pretty much planned as we went along. We started out by taking the Megabus to Chicago and then flying straight into Dublin. Our flight was alright. Our flight attendant seemed to be trying to hook us up with the two Irish guys in front of us. It was quite humorous. He also offered us a free round of drinks. Of course, I was the only one who took him up on the offer. Free is good. Don't judge me.

We landed in Dublin and picked up our rental car. I drove the whole trip and was lucky enough to get the hang of driving a stick shift left-handed. It wasn't as bad as I had planned, but 2nd gear was a tad tricky.


Three hours later we made it to Galway. Out of the three cities we visited, it was my favorite. It was just more of what I expected to see of the scenery and the people of Ireland. We found a great place to stay for three nights. One of the days we made it out of Galway and went to a town called Clifden, but not before some guy pointed out that we had a flat tire. I know, how didn't we notice — but the tires on those tiny compact cars barely come up an inch of the ground when they're full. :) Somehow, and I have no idea how, we came across a tire place and they were great and helped us out.

Once we made our way out of Galway we headed to Cork. On the way we met up with some of Sarah's relatives she hadn't met before. They were very nice. We had tea and looked at old pictures. Then we continued on our way to Cork. Cork was neat, but it seemed too modern. It was a decent mix of new and old. We stayed in Cork for two days and then made our way to Dublin.

Dublin is a cool city. We did all of the normal touristy stuff in Dublin — Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Christ Church Cathedral, and the Guinness Storehouse.

I, of course, enjoyed going out in the evenings. I had my fair share of beers. There were several occasions people would come up to us and tell us we were American and we asked them why they said that. Their response, "They don't make Irish girls that pretty." Ha! . . . what a line. They must teach them that line in kindergarten. But, all in all the people were great. I think that's one of the best things about traveling is meeting the wide variety of people.

It's unfortunate, but I think my travels for the time being will be done, but I am so glad I've had all of these opportunities. I do have a teaser for you — I have a trip planned for next February. Dad and I are going to London and we are going to see Michael Jackson in concert. I'm a huge fan and I've always wanted to see him live. Since this is his last concert — I have to go :) It's near the end of the tour, so I'm hoping he doesn't dance himself to death. I wasn't sure if my Dad was that excited, but I went to have dinner with my parents a week ago and I went in the house and Dad is sitting in the chair with one glove on. ;) It should be a good time.