Erin Go Bragh!

EDIT: Pictures are now up. I took around 430 pictures so no part of the trip goes undocumented (well, almost no part goes undocumented).

http://picasaweb.google.com/jbird60/Ireland2010?feat=directlink

It's 1:09 PM on Thursday, March 25th, and I just returned to Sheffield from an amazing week in Ireland.

A brief synopsis of what we did there:

1.) Started on Friday morning with the 3-day Paddywagon Tour of Southern Ireland. Started in Dublin, spent nights in Galway and Killarney. Got to see many landmarks along the way, including the Monastery at Clonmacnoise, a few castles, the Cliffs of Moher, and Blarney Castle (yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone and have proof of it).

2.) Visited the Guinness Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery in Dublin. Learned how to pour a perfect pint of Guinness from a tap. Also compared scotch, irish whiskey, and bourbon to determine the best of the three.

3.) Northern Ireland: arrived in Belfast, took a tour around Belfast to see how the city has been affected by the racial tensions in the country. Got to write a short message on one of the peace walls running through the city, dividing the Catholic and Protestant sides. Also took a 1-day Paddywagon Tour to Derry and back.

As usual, those on Facebook should have access to the picture log of this trip. I'll be uploading them to Picasa soon as well and will edit this post with a link to it.