change of plans: Cliffs of Moher

Today I was going to go on a walking tour and then... I don't know what.  Shop more, walk more, try to find something open on a weekend.  It would probably have been slightly boring and slightly depressing.  Instead, I went on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher.

First, I walked out on the hostel's breakfast.  I've been doing that a lot this trip at hostels.  I suppose when I was twenty-one and well beyond broke, I was willing to eat the European version of Wonder Bread, with off-brand jelly and instant coffee (actually, I didn't drink coffee back then).  Now, I don't care that it's free, I'm not eating it.  I'd rather spend money for decent food.  So I went out at around eight-thirty this morning, found out where and how to catch the tour bus, and then spent some time waiting for things to open so I could get coffee and food.

On boarding the bus, I found myself seated next to a college student from Switzerland, who was reasonably quiet and pleasant and a good seat partner - plus, I got the window seat.  The day was a lot of driving, but we also saw a lot of different things.  In addition to the Cliffs of Moher themselves (which are best described by the pictures) we drove through the Burren and saw a number of castles and ruins.  The day dragged a bit at the beginning and the end, but I'm definitely glad I went, since this was exactly the sort of stuff one comes to Ireland to see.  (Although it seems like a lot of my trips are starting to blend together at this point... Ireland and Iceland look a tiny bit alike)

Now my trip is mostly over.  Tomorrow I'll spend a bit more time here in Galway, if I can, before returning to Dublin, and Tuesday morning I go home.  It's been a good trip, especially the cycling part.  I'd forgotten how isolating and dislocating solo travel can be - something I forget every time I'm planning a trip, and remember as soon as I am on it.  But I suppose all travel has its difficulties; family vacations seem to be not really fun for anyone, and couples trips can entail a lot of fighting.  One should probably try not to quote cancelled television shows, but I'm reminded of a line in Joan of Arcadia in which God tells Joan that she needs recreation, but that the word should be taken literally, as a re-making of herself, and not to mean necessarily fun.