TURAS GIRLS

During our many long discussions on road trips, I discovered that Stef had always wanted to go to Ireland. I proposed that we plan a trip there that would coincide with the Dublin Marathon and, as crazy as she is, she bought in to the idea. Somehow we convinced Stef’s brother, Mike, to go as well.

In October of 2011, the three of us commenced on a whirlwind adventure through Ireland. After a long overnight flight, we met Mike at the Dublin airport. We foolishly rented a car thinking it was a good idea to adapt ourselves in a matter of minutes to driving on the opposite side of the car and the left side of the road.

A short drive from the airport and many circles around the block led us to our hotel and into our room. Much to our surprise, although I booked a double room, there were none available. As we stood in the doorway of our tiny room with one double bed, we all wondered how this was going to work out. We were so tired our first night there that after finding some dinner at a small pub, we all crawled into the double bed and restlessly tossed and turned like 3 snug bugs stuck in a rug.

Our first full day in Ireland we had plans to drive south to Blarney Castle with a detour through Wicklow Mountains National Park. The length of time it took us to get out of Dublin with our mapquest directions delayed us and we got to Blarney Castle at dusk as the gates closed for the night. If ever you drive in Dublin, a good tip to remember is most of the street signs are a brick in the sides of buildings and quite difficult to see unless you know what you are looking for.

Frustrated and quite disappointed at not getting to rub the Blarney Stone, we headed into Cork for a pub. We weren’t disappointed as one thing is a sure find in Ireland…pubs. We filled our stomachs with none other than a burger and fries and imbibed in some good Irish beer, Smithwicks. Stef tried her hand at driving on the left side and sailed us right into Dublin late that night.

The next morning we made our way out of Dublin a little more smoothly and headed for the West coast of Ireland to experience the Cliffs of Moher. The drive was quite scenic….green pastures full of sheep and thatched roof houses. As we got closer to the coast the scenery changed little but the ocean breeze was refreshing. Roughly 3 hours later, we arrived at the amazing sea cliffs. They rise to 390 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and are a sight to behold. We strolled around in awe for hours snapping pictures and taking it all in.

Eventually we had to move on and straight into Doolin we went. Blink and you might miss Doolin but its got some charming streets with a handful of pubs and restaurants. We stopped at Gus O’Connor’s for a couple of pints in hopes of hearing some local musicians. We missed out on this particular evening but heard it’s the place to go for some great traditional music. Gus’ was a great place with Irish charm galore. We stopped at McGanns Pub for some grub and more ale and then headed back to Dublin for the night.

We went on an early run the next morning in Saint Steven’s Green and then went in search of breakfast at the Cake Cafe. This charming place was difficult to find but so worth it. I think the three of us still agree it was one of the best finds in Dublin. From traditional breakfast foods like pancakes and eggs to some scrumptious baked goods like cookies and cupcakes, there’s something for everyone. Once full and ready for some adventure, we took off to see the sights of Dublin. Trinity College, the Guinness Storehouse, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We saw it all. No tour of Dublin would be complete without popping into a couple of the hundreds of pubs lining the streets. We enjoyed lunch at O’Connor’s Pub, had a pint of Guinness at the storehouse, listened to amazing musicians while drinking some great beer at Porterhouse, and ended the very late night at a pub none of us can remember the name of, but seemed to enjoy.

The next day was the Dublin Marathon. Fortunately, it started at 10am so our very late night didn’t seem as foolish, however, the amount of alcohol might have affected the outcome of our run just a little. Stef and I ran our hearts out until about mile 6 where it began to rain. We finished our marathon at some point in the day, frozen and in need of some nourishment. Mike was a refreshing sight to see at the finish line and the chocolate milk he brought us was a God send.

We got back to our hotel and sat in a hot bath, clothes and all, until we were no longer a bluish color. Once warm and clean, we set out to find some grub and the infamous Irish painkiller, beer. We hit up O’Donoghue’s just down the street from our hotel and met an Irish family who took us in, sang us the National Irish song, and educated us on the proper way to drink a pint of Guinness….take a good shlug and then sip the rest. At some point that night we had dinner but, by far, the highlight was our time talking to these locals and learning about their culture.

We left for home the next day, but this is the trip that began the fulfillment of dreams and cemented my longing to learn about other cultures and see the world God created.