After three wonderful hectic days with Martin and Heike, it was off to Dublin, Ireland via Ryan Air with tickets bought on the Internet for less than a Pound each (plus taxes)!! We spent a week in Ireland, a very funny, perplexing and picturesque place. The accents are lovely and lilting, the people friendly and we actually got to enjoy a pint or two of Guinness with the locals and many Australians, as Ireland is full of them.

We chose to do a three day backpacker bus tour of the southwest and a one day tour to Belfast in the North with Paddywagon tours . The rest of our time was spent in Dublin.
 
Besides being cheap Paddywagon tours proved to be an excellent choice. The other travellers were mostly young, friendly and wouldn't let us get to bed before 2.00 am - we had to go night clubbing with them! We stayed in hostel dormitories and our driver Don, Irish through and through, did the commentating as he drove the bus, which included profanities when traffic cut him off etc. Plenty of "craic" with Don and the Paddywagon crew!

We kissed the Blarney stone, wandered around Galway and Kilarney, saw lots of castles and Irish history, were overawed by the cliffs of Moher and danced in nightclubs to the early hours.