this is really unrelated but...

Completely unrelated to Ireland and travels, but I found this online and really wanted to share it somewhere. The link to the website it was found on is accurate as well : "reasons why latvia is the best country in the world" 

ONLY 3 1/2 WEEK UNTIL I'M BACK IN LATVIA!!!! 

Dope Irish Places - the Aran Islands

The Aran Islands are a group of 3 small islands located at the mouth of the Galway Bay. The largest island is called Inis Mor - this is the one we visited. Irish is the main spoken language on all three islands. All schools are taught primarily in Irish and students only learn English as a secondary language as we would with Spanish, French or Italian, for example.

The largest island, Inis Mor has about 800 inhabitants. That's it. Only 800 for the whole island. Although it's so small, it still seemed big for us little people riding around on our bicycles. 

The entire day was an adventure for us. We woke up early to catch the bus that would take us to the Galway Bay, where we would catch a ferry. We were definitely expecting having a whole slew of people on the bus with us, but turns out because it was a Sunday, we got to have the whole bus to ourselves. Our tour guide who drove us to the bay grew up on the biggest island, Inis Mor, and gave us the basic overview of the islands before we got there. 

of course we had to do titanic poses on the ferry... duh.

Everything in the Republic of Ireland is written both in Irish and English, and most signs have the priority of English first. On our way to the bay by car, there was a certain point (around the area of Connemara) where all the signs were just in Irish. Kind of a mind fuck, not going to lie. I'm so used to seeing and understanding all of the signs at least so some extent. This was the first time that I truly felt like I was in a different country. I mean, I know that I'm in Ireland but for the most part, a lot of it is similar to the states - aside from the accents.

bicycle riding, hellz yeah.

When we got to the islands, there was really no other way to get around than bikes. Because I've grown up in Long Beach and rode bikes all the time, I was SO excited!! These islands were exactly what I pictured Ireland to be - roaring green pastures, next to the ocean with an occasional rain shower and cows grazing on the grass. It was absolutely amazing.

just one example of how beautiful it was there - pictures can't really describe it fully!

We found an area near the ocean front, so naturally we had to take ninja pictures. We took a couple superhero pictures as well, but the ninja had to be represented here mainly because well... I am a ninja. Duh. 

I try to be artsy sometimes. But don't these stones look so cool?! like.. a screensaver or something. 

Well, I guess that's all for now.. I might write down some more random thoughts or something in the next couple of days. Turns out I actually like blogging... what?! 

Guinness Storehouse Trip 1 - because I know I will be going back.

I plan on stealing a glass from a bar somewhere. 

A few weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Guinness Storehouse at St. James' Gate. Let me tell ya.. this place was NOT easy to find by any means. It took us a couple of tries, a few days, a lot of walking and many bus mixups to FINALLY get there. Thank god it was completely worth it!

I learned more about beer than I thought I could, but unfortunately because I got there relatively close to closing, I didn't get to fully experience the factory. But no worries, I'll be going again when Abby comes visit me over St. Patrick's Day weekend :) Then I will officially be able to have a certificate that tells me I am great at pouring a Guinness! Because yes, they give you the opportunity to pour yourself a pint to fully experience this place. I mostly loved this factory because it was completely hands on and I could touch anything I want basically... I was a five year old again and I loved it! A five year old that got to drink beer many times along the way...

the waterfall in the factory. so epic, words can't describe. I had to touch it. 

the barley they use for making the beer. such an odd touch! 

Before coming here, I wasn't sure if I'd really enjoy Guinness. Actually, the truth is.. I thought I was going to hate Ireland because I had this odd notion in my head that everyone only drank Guinness and that they were going to hate me because I don't like drinking it. But then I came here, had a pint and realized this idea was completely wrong for multiple reasons. 

1. The Irish do drink other alcohol. And there are a few who don't drink or rarely drink pints of Guinnesses (whether or not I approve of this, we won't speak of... because I don't really)

2. I found out that only Ireland do they tap the Guinness correctly. Therefore, I should have as many pints as possible in order to make sure I remember this taste forever. Because there is no way that anywhere else do they tap this beauty of a beer correctly. 

if anyone could get me an old school Guinness advertising poster, I would love them forever.

All in all, the experience was completely worth it and I can't wait to go back to the factory!

Galway!

Like I said in the previous post, I'm going to be talking about Galway now! At this point, I've been in Dublin for about a month and I have accustomed to being in a bigger city outside of the states. It was a difficult adjustment at first, mostly because of the accents and the fact that I could order my own pints of beer without having to sneak around and ask someone over 21 to buy me something. Yay for independence?

not my first pint of Guinness, but a good picture nonetheless! 

Galway is located in County Galway in the west of Ireland - it is the 6th largest city in Ireland and is the fastest growing city on the island. In comparison to Dublin, Galway is extremely tiny. It only took us a couple of hours to explore the entirety of the city of Galway, including getting a bite to eat. Dublin, on the other hand, is much bigger and there are so many different sections and areas that are recommended to visit. Being in a city completely different from Dublin was an interesting experience. Visiting Galway was even more surreal to me than being in Ireland itself. 

our wonderful tour guide, Lucy, telling us what we need to do.

I loved Galway for the sheer closeness of everything - pubs are all within a 5 minute walking distance from each other. The major difference between Galway and Dublin would possibly be the age differences of the people at the pubs. I had to accept drinks from both young men and older men (who I simply just used to benefit my own wallet, not ashamed to say it). 

We spent two nights in Galway, but for me, that was enough. Not that I didn't enjoy myself, but there wasn't enough variety for my tastes. Both nights we ended up at the same places but I must say.. the Quays was probably my favorite out of all the pubs we visited. Not only did we have an amazing time, but we also got a free bottle of champagne, courtesy of lovely Annie's flirtation with the Lawrence UK. 

here you can see his chin. 

I promise that whiskey is something that I actually like... believe it or not. 

I'd like to conclude this lovely post by including this picture of a keyring that really meant a lot to me when I read it. It made me realize just how many people I have the opportunity to apply these words to. I am an extremely lucky person to have as many close friends as I do. I honestly don't know what I'd do without any one of them! Y'all know who you are ;)

So. It's been almost a month. But considering that nobody (except for possibly Abby) has been pining for a blog post, I don't think it's too serious that I maybe sometimes a lot forget to write things down.

But I suddenly got inspiration to blog a little bit more. Mostly because I have been reminiscing about my trip to Galway a couple of weekends ago.
We didn't put too much planning into the trip, but we did know one thing for certain: we were definitely going to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are located at the south-western edge of the Burren near county Claire, Ireland. The highest tip of these cliffs is about 700 feet right near O'briens Tower, a round stone tower approximately at the midpoint of these cliffs. From the top of this tower, you can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay and most importantly.. that big gap of water known as the Atlantic Ocean.

isn't it just beautiful? this attracts about one million visitors every year. 

This is the group of us who came all the way from Dublin to visit these cliffs. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better bunch of people to be traveling around Ireland with. We all come from different friend groups, but we have adjusted to life across the Atlantic Ocean quite well. I'm definitely enjoying every moment I have had here with these people.. it's always an adventure! 

Ok... this was my Cliffs of Moher post. I'll continue to talk about Galway and the Aran Islands! 

I'm in a different country, we all are. Why not do it for the story? We're going to need to tell people what we did, why not make it a super adventurous or crazy one? Gotta keep 'em interested! 

Honestly, there's no true way to explain how amazing these first few days in Dublin have been. I've had the obligatory first pint of Guinness in Ireland (and even took a before and after picture with the team):

There was this one shot that Tom had that was amazing purely just because it was the Irish flag shot. So obviously, I had to take a picture. Being a cheesy tourist is the best. 

It might seem that all I've done is drink copious amounts of alcohol, but this isn't true... for the most part. I have explored many parts of Dublin, have seen dancing leprachauns (who are really just men practicing for a dance contest, I believe), have met some Irish people on the canoe/kayak team (which I am considering joining and have met Americans from other parts of the states. 

We've only been here a few days but I feel as if we are already getting acclimated. We're getting to know the bus system and most importantly, we have explored the building where our classes will be. Which lucky for us, is the biggest building in all of Ireland, possibly Europe. There are many different sections of the building, but luckily enough, there are colored stripes on the ground that we can follow in order to get to the right part of the building: 

It's like they know that I'm going to get lost or something. 

I'll try to update this again and possibly for specifically, but there's not guarantees because DUBLIN IS AMAZING. Or well, I should say grand. Dublin is grand fun!

And this is what I'll be doing starting tonight! Well, at least just travel around Europe. That is something I get to do TONIGHT. I'm leaving for Dublin and I have such a mix of emotions right now. I'm both excited that I'm finally going to be able to go somewhere I've only dreamed about, but I'm also nervous because it'll be a completely new and different environment. But, there is only so much you can worry about until you realize that it's not worth it to worry at all! I know that I'm going to have an amazing time and I will try to update this as much as possible! As Jason Aldean says,

And now onto making a playlist that I'm going to listen to on my flight... next update from Dublin!