Waking Up
Today would be a rough day, so I made sure I got as much sleep as possible. The next place I will be visiting will be Kiev, Ukraine. The flight to Kiev involved purchasing two entirely separate tickets. If I missed the first leg or it was cancelled, I was screwed. The first flight was from Dublin, Ireland to Venice, Italy. That flight was scheduled to leave at 6:25am. I needed to be at the airport 2 hours prior to the flight. I also needed around 2 hours to get to Dublin from Limerick, which meant I needed to wake up around 1:30-2am if I wanted to add some slack time. I would have likely budgeted an hour for the drive to the airport had I relocated to Dublin, so the extra hour for the drive from Limerick really wasn't a big deal. I had considered not keeping the hotel. Since I knew the next day was going to be rough I kept the hotel figuring whatever sleep I did get would be worthwhile. In any case, street parking is restricted after 9:30am, so I woke up a bit before than to move the car to the garage. I went back to sleep for a couple of hours and was up an hour or so later.
Downtown Limerick
Before leaving Limerick for the Cliffs I strolled through downtown. The night earlier I strolled through what appeared to be a nice shopping district across the street from the hotel.
Mailing Stuff Home
I had picked up a few items at the Guinness Store I needed to mail back home, so a trip to the post office was necessary as well. I figured I'd unload some of the items I no longer expected to need. Specifically the UV water filter, misc. tickets, and some torn pants.
First, I needed a box to put the stuff in. I strolled in a small shop that refilled printer ink cartridges and asked the man (who appeared to be the owner) if he had a box. He was extremely helpful - he found me a small box and taped up the small package. Gotta love Irish hospitality. Finding the post office wasn't hard, but the line was huge. I waited in a long line labeled 'all services'. When I got the counter I was directed to a different queue that was almost empty. I guess 'all services' in Ireland doesn't mean what it does back in the states. At first, the postage was to cost 40 euro for the cheapest shipping option. If I shaved the weight down 1kg and used a smaller box the price dropped in half. The post office sold boxes and I was able to get the package down to the 2kg weight. Off to lunch.
Eddie Rockets
Much like Johnnie Rockets, Eddie Rockets is a diner styled restaurant in Limerick. I wanted something quick and it appeared to be the best option. The restaurant offered WiFi, so I could do some planning and blog updating while I waited for the food. I was indifferent about the food, but it served its purpose. The music playing in the background skipped often and jittered. I was pretty certain the music was poorly ripped into MP3 from a CD.
Heading to County Claire
County Claire is on the west end of the island, Dublin is on the east. The coast of County Claire is where the Cliffs of Moher are located. Visiting the Cliffs of Moher would give me an idea of what the other side of the island that is Ireland is like. I'd also get to drive through the famed Irish countryside. The drive to County Claire was beautiful. The green fields, the flowing water, everything I heard about the Irish countryside was appearing before my eyes validated everything I had heard previously.
Bridge over the River Shannon, King John's Castle (closed for restoration)
Irish Countryside
Irish Countryside
Cliff's of Moher
Admission to the park is collected when a vehicle is parked. Since the Cliff's are literally in the middle of nowhere I imagine this works fine. A small information center offers photos of the cliffs during various weather events (strong storms, winter, etc.). I picked up an energy drink and candy bar and was on my way to do some hiking. The weather forecast called for cloudy weather and showers. While it did rain a little bit and was overcast for a good portion of the time I was at the park, the clouds did clear at various times. I probably spent about 3 hours hiking around 4-5 km. The views were spectacular.
Me!
Need to talk before jumping? Call this number now.
Back to Limerick
After finishing up at the park I head back to Limerick. It was around 9pm, a bit later than I had wanted to get back. I head into down looking for dinner and found a decent steak place that was open. The food was decent. The restaurant had WiFi allowing me to finalize accommodations in Kiev. I had sent the Ukrainian an email a day earlier and was waiting to hear back on where to book a hotel. I had provided her friend my flight information earlier, but didn't hear back from him either. I gave up waiting and found a decently rated place close to the Kiev city center. After dinner I head back to the hotel, packed my things, and set the alarm to wake me up in just a couple of hours.
Today would be a rough day, so I made sure I got as much sleep as possible. The next place I will be visiting will be Kiev, Ukraine. The flight to Kiev involved purchasing two entirely separate tickets. If I missed the first leg or it was cancelled, I was screwed. The first flight was from Dublin, Ireland to Venice, Italy. That flight was scheduled to leave at 6:25am. I needed to be at the airport 2 hours prior to the flight. I also needed around 2 hours to get to Dublin from Limerick, which meant I needed to wake up around 1:30-2am if I wanted to add some slack time. I would have likely budgeted an hour for the drive to the airport had I relocated to Dublin, so the extra hour for the drive from Limerick really wasn't a big deal. I had considered not keeping the hotel. Since I knew the next day was going to be rough I kept the hotel figuring whatever sleep I did get would be worthwhile. In any case, street parking is restricted after 9:30am, so I woke up a bit before than to move the car to the garage. I went back to sleep for a couple of hours and was up an hour or so later.
Downtown Limerick
Before leaving Limerick for the Cliffs I strolled through downtown. The night earlier I strolled through what appeared to be a nice shopping district across the street from the hotel.
Mailing Stuff Home
I had picked up a few items at the Guinness Store I needed to mail back home, so a trip to the post office was necessary as well. I figured I'd unload some of the items I no longer expected to need. Specifically the UV water filter, misc. tickets, and some torn pants.
First, I needed a box to put the stuff in. I strolled in a small shop that refilled printer ink cartridges and asked the man (who appeared to be the owner) if he had a box. He was extremely helpful - he found me a small box and taped up the small package. Gotta love Irish hospitality. Finding the post office wasn't hard, but the line was huge. I waited in a long line labeled 'all services'. When I got the counter I was directed to a different queue that was almost empty. I guess 'all services' in Ireland doesn't mean what it does back in the states. At first, the postage was to cost 40 euro for the cheapest shipping option. If I shaved the weight down 1kg and used a smaller box the price dropped in half. The post office sold boxes and I was able to get the package down to the 2kg weight. Off to lunch.
Downtown Limerick
Eddie Rockets
Much like Johnnie Rockets, Eddie Rockets is a diner styled restaurant in Limerick. I wanted something quick and it appeared to be the best option. The restaurant offered WiFi, so I could do some planning and blog updating while I waited for the food. I was indifferent about the food, but it served its purpose. The music playing in the background skipped often and jittered. I was pretty certain the music was poorly ripped into MP3 from a CD.
Eddie Rockets
Heading to County Claire
County Claire is on the west end of the island, Dublin is on the east. The coast of County Claire is where the Cliffs of Moher are located. Visiting the Cliffs of Moher would give me an idea of what the other side of the island that is Ireland is like. I'd also get to drive through the famed Irish countryside. The drive to County Claire was beautiful. The green fields, the flowing water, everything I heard about the Irish countryside was appearing before my eyes validated everything I had heard previously.
Bridge over the River Shannon, King John's Castle (closed for restoration)
Country roads from County Claire
Irish Countryside 
Irish Countryside Cliff's of Moher
Admission to the park is collected when a vehicle is parked. Since the Cliff's are literally in the middle of nowhere I imagine this works fine. A small information center offers photos of the cliffs during various weather events (strong storms, winter, etc.). I picked up an energy drink and candy bar and was on my way to do some hiking. The weather forecast called for cloudy weather and showers. While it did rain a little bit and was overcast for a good portion of the time I was at the park, the clouds did clear at various times. I probably spent about 3 hours hiking around 4-5 km. The views were spectacular.
Me! 
Need to talk before jumping? Call this number now. 
Back to Limerick
After finishing up at the park I head back to Limerick. It was around 9pm, a bit later than I had wanted to get back. I head into down looking for dinner and found a decent steak place that was open. The food was decent. The restaurant had WiFi allowing me to finalize accommodations in Kiev. I had sent the Ukrainian an email a day earlier and was waiting to hear back on where to book a hotel. I had provided her friend my flight information earlier, but didn't hear back from him either. I gave up waiting and found a decently rated place close to the Kiev city center. After dinner I head back to the hotel, packed my things, and set the alarm to wake me up in just a couple of hours.
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