Galway

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

Galway is like the Harvard Square of Ireland. It was wicked fun, and the hostel was another one of the best we stayed at. Way chill, like the Aile River Hostel ('Ostel) in Doolin. The dude who worked there made tiramisou and shared it with us. But that wasn't till the last night, when the cute French guys decided that because it was after midnight they could speak English to us, after we'd made complete arses of ourselves the whole week trying to speak French. Anyhoo, this is an alley near the harbor, and another potential album cover shot =D

Irish Coffee

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

... is the best drink ever. Unfortunately, it's more expensive than a pint of Guinness. I've discussed it a little at my other blog, but failed to have any since being in Ireland. So, this one we're having in the so-called best pub in Ireland (I liked The Celt better; and the pubs in Doolin). This was our reward for climbing Croagh Patrick. Not that we didn't go to pubs nearly ever other night of the trip as well...

So High the Climb

So we climbed this mountain. I posted all the pics at once, so this part goes in chronological order downward (instead of up like usual). Enjoy...

Croagh Patrick

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

At 762 meters above sea level (do your own damn conversion... I'm tired), Croagh Patrick is a mountain many climb as a pilgrimage to honor St. Patrick. So we climbed it too. It was high, but we made it up and back in time to catch the bus home again. Then we had another amazing dinner, courtesy of chez whatever hostel we were staying in (by chefs KPd and myself). Then we slept in a tent.

Almost looks like Middle Earth or something

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

The early parts of the path were along a nice stream with lots of green. Then it got rockier.

The Trio

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

Ok we should have a cooler nickname than the one those geeks used on Buffy when they tried to be evil and take over Sunnydale... Any suggestions?

Anyhoo, here we are at the bottom of the mountain.

The Path and the Peak

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

It was a long climb ahead...

TMQ's Feet!

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

So the big hero of the day was T the Q, who climbed the whole mountain barefoot, as St. Patrick did when he prayed all the snakes out of Ireland. The last quarter to third of the climb was wicked steep and rocky, like this. We all needed those walking sticks.

The Summit

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

There was a chapel at the summit, and many people milling about. Some were doing the second Station, most were eating food and drinking water. The fog (or, cloud, at that altitude) was thick.

Success!

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Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

We reached the summit! And TMQ did it all barefoot! It would've been cool to see the view from the top, but at the same time it was pretty amazing to be in the middle of a cloud and just feel so removed from the rest of the world. It was pretty surreal and amazing.