June 5 #birthday

I flew into Cork on Sunday night, slept in a lil’ the next day, then went to see Blarney Castle (where I kissed the Blarney stone and became eloquent). I met New Yorkers while doing that, which is nice. Then I went to the Jameson Distillery, where I learned the value of triple-distillation. It really is pretty much what we did in our lab a lot at JBU, minus the liquor. That night, I made friends with a German guy who was doing an internship in Galway.

The next day, I ventured on to Galway where I received a personalized tour from the German guy. We went to the cheapest pub where pints were 2.50 euros, and also stole some Guinness pint glasses after downing them.

The following day, we went on a tour to the cliffs of Moher, and holy mother of, it was among the greatest sights I’ve ever experienced. You can tell why superstition thrives in that area of the world, with the power of the wind and the sea so incredibly apparent. As our tour guide told us, this was as far west as we could go without running into America, so we were facing the winds of the Atlantic head-on. Weather was subject to constant change. It was cold and raining, with me wearing everything I owned, then it changed to bright and sunny, where I felt comfortable in just one layer. The cliffs themselves were simply immense. It was like the Grand Canyon in that you had a hard time fathoming the greatness of it. Certainly a fantastic present for my birthday eve. An hour after we returned from that tour, I took a train to Dublin. I had a birthday pint at midnight in the Temple Bar area, which, by the way, sucks if you aren’t in a group. They sang happy birthday to someone else at the stroke of midnight, so I finished my pint and stole the glass, then went to bed.

Today is my birthday. I am officially 24 and I dislike the idea of being in my #midtwenties, but I suppose that if anything aged or matured me properly, this trip likely did. I’m nearing the end now and am just thankful to have the privilege of staying in Belfast for two nights, so no worries about checking out tomorrow. I’m going to be able to meet with some good friends today and perhaps I’ll also meet a few natives as well. The world remains my oyster.