What does Saturday mean? Usually at school it means catching up on some sleep lost during the week, working on a couple of assignments to be ready for Monday, and a night out. But when in Ireland, none of those apply. This Saturday meant yet another travel adventure day, and I'd been looking forward to it all week. We took the DART (coastal Irish train) to a small town called Bray on the Irish Sea. From there, we ventured on the cliff walk that ran along the cliff to another coastal town called Greystones. Somehow Morgan, Krista and I got separated from the group, but that was fine. We had almost reached Greystones when we saw a narrow beaten path that led up the face of the mountain. We decided to take a chance. After persevering through pricker bushes, rock faces, and vertical climbs, and more than 4 stops to "take pictures" (aka to try to regain some semblance of oxygen in our lungs) we made it to the peak of the mountain. The wind was so strong at the peak that we joked about being hurricane news reporters, but it was all worth it. To the left we could see the entire town of Bray, straight ahead was a panoramic sea view, and the the right was the entire town of Greystones, and finally behind us were a couple of other mountains and seemingly endless rolling Irish farmland. As much as I tried, there was no way a camera could capture it. We climbed from there to the peak at Bray, where a large cross was erected over the sea. Another incredible sight. We descended and sat on a picnic bench overlooking the sea and ate snacks that we had brought with us before heading to lunch. Krista and I ordered chicken wraps, and Morgan ordered the "recession fish". No thanks. We had to pay 40 cents for a small side of ketchup, but we joked and laughed about it enough to where we weren't annoyed anymore. We agreed to go back into the city-center at 7:30, and just walk around without spending money. It actually ended up being really fun, we heard a couple of performers playing in the streets of the Temple Bar area.
Lessons learned today:
1. When they say "cliff-walk", don't automatically assume that means you're staying on the path
2. If you're afraid to ruin good shoes, don't wear them in Ireland, because you never know
3. The best views are the ones that are hardest to get to, but the most worth it when you get there
4. If you do these activities, you are officially exempted from the gym, forever*
*You will however, need the sauna or hot tub, because you will be sore for days
5. And apparently, ketchup for your "chips" costs 40 cents here. I'm definitely stocking up next time I go to McDonalds, because paying for ketchup is not in the budget
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