DAY 2: A day of murder, exploration, and starvation. (just a little bit of the last)

Waking up at half seven in the morning is a usual routine in Katie's life, a semi-normal event in my own, but never after going to bed around three in the morning while on vacation.

And yet for some reason, this is how our first full day in Ireland started.

Around eleven, after packing and checking out of La Stampa, we wandered down the road to look for food before catching the bus to Glendalough, wailing in misery at the weight of our bags. After lugging them down the road and then all the way back to the bus stop, everything was starting to hurt. It's not just that the bags are heavy, it's more that they're awkward to carry and balance. And complaining to each other doesn't really make us feel better. So we thought we'd let all of you know, too.

We thankfully got to the bus somewhat early, allowing us to find two seats together, prepping ourselves to see Ireland in the light, and without the hordes of drunk foreigners from the night before. Oh wait...the bus is full of tourists. The unusual number of Americans is followed not so closely by Spanish speakers, something which we definitely did not see coming. Though not as spectacularly embarrassing as certain conversations overheard on the plane ride from Edinburgh to Dublin, some of the loud conversations competing for highest pitch definitely made America proud.

Now, the ride: first we went through the Dublin suburbs , which were wide and spacious, almost looking American in their own way. And the little cutesy apartments with their cutesy flowerpots...once outside the city though, we were surprised to find ourselves driving between some pretty big hills. Who knew they existed! It was also surprisingly brown, considering that this is supposed to be the Emerald Isle. To me it looked like parts of California and the Washington/Oregon area, which was definitely a surprise. But then we came out from between two hills into a rolling area covered in.....sheeps. Baby sheeps. That was the point where we may have possibly joined in with the others in squeaking as the lambs bolted away from the fence in fear of the bus. (Sidenote: I may have murdered two flies by luring them into the bus curtain and smushing them, all the while looking horrified at the slaughter of such innocent creatures—a priceless look, according to America 2).

After continuing along, we were finally dropped in the parking lot for the Glendalough Heritage Site. Apparently, the hostel didn't give directions of how we should find it from there, but the driver was very helpful with his directions and we set off, lugging our luggage (oh the alliteration) once again. A group of 3 American girls tagged along—we're sharing our dorm room with them right now—and we walked somewhere between a quarter of a mile to about 10 miles to find the yellow building we would be spending the night in. Our rooms weren't ready so we left to go walk around the park. Highlights include: Me scaling a sheer drop over a waterfall and beginning to wonder why Katie was lagging in this adventurous detour when I was informed that she doesn't “do” heights, nor creating new paths straight up hills. Who knew. Also, I learned how to crawl on trees (see picture) and that there's nothing funny about icecream.

Katie tallied it up to over 16 kilometres that we walked today, around this heritage site which included a falling apart monastery, cathedral, and strange Rapunzel-looking tower thing in the middle of a grave yard with headstones that pre-date our entire country. Pictures are probably better than just reading my words, but it's the English major's turn to write today, so deal with it. Thanks.

JJ learning to crawl...didn't help that a two year old watched and tried to do it better...

After walking around, we moved in our bags....and crashed. We were terribly exhausted, from lack of sleep and heaving all the dead weight about. (Note: we're not that out of shape or being pathetic—it was just a rough day). So we had a 20 minute powernap (Katie passed out, I definitely did not) and then walked 4k to get groceries and come back. And now it's about 9 p.m. And I can barely keep my eyes open. But, due to our hopefully early bedtime—might be thwarted by the other girls who are watching a movie in the room—we are going to get up and go for a quick hike before our 9:30 am departure. However, how we feel at 6 in the morning tomorrow will definitely be playing a role in whether this happens or not.

P.S Note: Hike definitely did not happen.