It's raining, it's pouring....it's Ireland!

Last post was from the sauna/internet cafe in Rennes.....I'll catch you up from there. We took a train to Roscoff (our port city). First stop was to Irish Ferries to buy our ferry ticket....which was a whopping 75 euro....100 dollarsish....which is outrageous for a ferry....Irish ferries is by far the most expensive and worst ferry company we have encountered. Second goal was to pass the time away until our ferry left.....a day later at 7:00pm. We......hit the public library (to read our own books...since all of theirs were in French).....watched a cheesy Christian music concert (husband and wife) at a local church....strolled the streets.... We slept outside in a park by the ocean to save some bucks. It got cold and a little wet (dew)...but, it wasn't too shabby. In the morning, we spent time in a little cafe to warm up and pass time. Hit the public library again....Dave got his haircut while I sunned by the pier. A grocery store stop before the boat finished up our time. I indulged in soem peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter is not a european thing (exception being Holland)...so...a small jar of Jiffy ran me like 5 bucks...but....pb and j on a nice french baguette rocked pretty hard.

The ferry was pretty standard. We snuck into the DaVinci Code movie that was playing in the theatre. It was good....but....a different experience when you've read that book....steals some of the suspense. We slept in a hallway (foot passenger rates are cheaper...and come without a "real" place to sleep. In the morning, our class difference was emphasized by the small child passing and telling his dad...."hey dad....they don't have a cabin". Ferries may provide one of the best modern obvious class distinctions.....I guess planes are another......long distance travel in general maybe. It wasn't too bad.....way over-priced....but....we slept fine....and awoke in Rosslare.

In Rosslare, I enjoyed some authentic fish 'n chips in a portion large enough to feed a small army....or a hungry backpacker......it was good...although, I still think that Long John Silver's rocks pretty hard in comparison. We then visited our old friend Martin (you may remember him from an early post). He was thrilled to see us.....spoiled us with another "spot 'o tea (tay)"....more drawings of boats (he was drawing when we came in)....and some cute Irish pins he had purchased from a good cause of some kind. He is a trip....a real Irish bumpkin....and exemplary of the Irish hospitality we have enjoyed along the way since.

The furthest we could make it yesterday was to Waterford....not very far inland but better than nothing. The train was replaced by a van due to low turnout. I really enjoyed the ride. We got to see the Irish countryside and pass through some quaint small towns. On the bus we met a guy who was heading to visit his parents......who turned out to be a huge help. He found out we didn't have a place to stay (a situation made dire by the rain). So.....he had his mom drive us to a B&B and a hotel. The B&B was the reasonable option at around 42 bucks a night...but still high for us. We hit a grocery store to get a bite...and ask about other options. The store was getting ready to close...and gave us free dibs at any leftover bread items (we each got two small loaves....a muffin...a pastry)...and recommended a place right behind the store. The place....something Manor.....is student apts that are empty now due to summer. We paid around 30 dollars each......and expected something fairly drab. We were led upstairs to a fully furnished pad with a bedroom for each of us......and each bedroom has its own bathroom and shower! We have TV (in English!)......pots and pans......it's just ultra-sweet. So....we slept in before assessing how to tackle our last few days. It is still raining.....we are getting the true Irish experience.....which makes backpacking just a drag (I have a raincover for my pack that helps...but....'tis still a big pain)....so....we will stay at the posh pad again tonight before making it to Galway via train tomorrow. We will then have one day/night in Galway.....return to Dublin (we have our hostel reserved there already)...and fly home on Tues. It is tough to see Ireland in our typical quick-stop manner, because the public transportation is not equal to that of the mainland unfortunately. However, we are both ready to head home...and not overly disappointed by being stuck in nice digs (as opposed to hustling around and not knowing where we will sleep).

I am very much looking forward to returning to my beloved homeland (land of the free, home of the brave, and bestower of free refills on drinks!). I have dreamed about meeting up again with "mee mum" at the airport in Chicago enough that I may have zapped myself emotionally already. I was lucky enough to catch her on the phone this morning......

I wouldn't expect too much action on the blog before we return....possibly a post from Galway....possibly one before we take off from Dublin....but...the internet is terribly expensive here.....and we are erring on boring (in lieu of wet and unproductive back and forth travel)...so, we'll see. Enjoy the weekend all. Can't wait to return home and see everyone.

Much love,
Josh

PS-Dave decided to keep going on the Taize posting...so...you can check out his for that info....and mine for the boring travel details.