4th Quarter Katie

Have you ever had an idea on how you think things are going to work out, and then had yourself plesantly (and sometimes, not so plesantly) surprised that they worked out completely different than you had imagined?  That was yesterday.  Fortunately for me, I had anticipated every possible disaster and had basically assumed that all said disasters would indeed happen to me.  I assumed that I would miss a flight, lose my luggage, get lost in Dublin, and end up robbed, taken advantage of, and dispondant by oh… 4pm.  I am happy to report that I am snug as a bug in my little hostel in my first destination city.

Oh crap.  There was one major disaster… me being me, I over packed.  I am going to come back looking like the incredible hulk from hauling around my backpack.  Note to self, just because your pack CAN hold everything, doesn’t mean you should BRING everything.  Doh.  The darn thing weighs as much as me, I am convinced.  I am in desperate need of a good massage, any volunteers for when I get back? (By the way, I know a couple who are excellent and both of their names begin with B… Come on, you know you want too…)

I was insanely happy and praising the good Lord as I arrived at my hostel with no mishaps or wrong turns.  I checked out my accomodations and jumped right in to checking out the local flavor.  It did not disappoint.

My first Irish encounter was with a 50+ woman who in hindsight, had been drinking all day.  She took it upon herself to show me the Belfast nightlife.  It became clear to me after visiting, Muriel’s, a fantastic little pub, that she was not in it for the long haul.  She was just plain drunk.  As soon as I could slip out unnoticed I made my way away from her and to a bar where I met a fabulous group of 30 – 40 somethings on a birthday outing.  We laughed and talked and they adopted me for the evening.

I spent the next morning and afternoon wandering around Belfast, then I headed back to the hostel for an evening in.  There I met some great people, including an adorable British woman and a pair of betrothed Canadians who had been living in Ireland.

The next day, the Canadians and I went on a tour of the coastal causeway and specifically, the Giant’s Causeway.  Along the way we had an unfortunate mishap.  The bus driver accidentally hit a small boulder in the road.  We spent 3 hours waiting for a tire change.  Finally underway, we head to Carrick-a-rede and the Giant’s Causeway.

The Giant’s Causeway was well worth the delay.  I cannot describe the profound beauty of the Giant’s Causeway at sunset.  The formations are unbelievable.  I also met an Italian woman named Marta.  She and I toured together and made plans to meet in Galway.  That evening I went to bed feeling content and spent.