Anyway, I believe I left off right as we took the bus to Limerick. We arrived there and it was a bit cold and rainy. We went there originally only to go to Bunratty Castle but decided to take advantage of the afternoon and explore the city. We walked along the river and through town. Limerick itself is much more of a business town than I expected. There's not much charm as much as there is the hustle and bustle of a big city. It was great though- very familiar.
I kindof tried to keep to myself considering I was still traveling with Charles and Ryan. Ryan, at that point, was a challenge and it wasn't easy to get along. However, simply put, we're different people. So, I just tried to keep to myself and hang out with Charles who was super down-to-Earth and actually cared about the culture and appreciated the surroundings.
We made it to King John's Castle. I thought this was a great place to go because it was kindof a one-stop-shop of all things Limerick; tons of history of the town, beautiful views, archeological excavations and, of course, a castle. Boom.
It was really great. It was nice to notice the smaller details about things- like how flat and straight the old walls are, how much work went into them all, and the years it took to mold the city into what it is today. I love how expansive the views are in Ireland. I have no way of explaining it. Once you think you have a good idea of the perspective, you see a speck move and realize it's a cow. It changes your life.
After the castle, we walked along the other side of the river, back to the hotel to get ready for the castle banquet.
We arrived at Bunratty Castle right as the night was starting, so we didn't get to explore as much at that point. We went straight to our table.
It was AWESOME! Absolutely shamelessly touristic, this medieval dinner show was loads of fun. We sat with a 20-something, Australian guy who was unemployed and traveling for a bit who was so vulgar and entertaining, in his own right. The "Your mom" jokes flew all over. Discussions about South Park and comments about the ladies that were singing made for tons of laughs. Ryan got to talk about himself and how great his job is for a while, which is always a good distraction as this kid was just soaking it in- they were totally on the same level. Charles and I got to relax and enjoy the show.
They had been asking certain audience members to taste the food to 'test it for poison' and Ryan ended up testing the pork. That was funny.
We drank wine after wine after wine. The jugs just kept being filled and I kept filling everyone's cup with an American pour (to the brim). It was so much fun and I'm so glad we went.
After the show, we had to leave the castle and I asked the guard if we could just go in for a moment because Charles really wanted to see it but, of course, no because they were getting ready for the second banquet.
Honestly, Charles is one of those truly good people. He had been so generous, kind and didn't expect anything in return. He missed his family. Plus, he had to tolerate Ryan much longer than I did. I was on a mission: do anything to get Charles into that castle.
So, I found an open door, grabbed Charles and just started heading up some stairs- past kitchens and people, who were not paying attention because they were preparing for the later banquet. I decided to just keep a "naive American" look on my face whenever anyone saw me and they didn't say anything. We made it to this great room that had thrones and some exhibits. We totally nerded out and sat on the thrones and pretended to be kings and queens for a few pictures. It was a lot of fun. Not taking too much advantage of my tigerninja abilities, we headed back down and explored the castle grounds in the rain for a bit. It was such a great rush- not to mention a beautiful castle.
Ryan, being completely allergic to silly, was waiting for us at the bar down the road- the original Durty Nellies. I split off from them there and met a family from Ohio who was on a trip together and asked me to sit with them. I also met a group of old Irish men who, oddly enough, were there after their friends wake. They were so much fun! We were singing traditional Irish songs and drinking Guinness. One of the old men kept grabbing my face and kissing me on the lips- which was not as much fun. When I explained that I have a personal bubble and he has a personal bubble and those shouldn't cross, he would just hug me and scream, "Anna! This girl is the best! Ahlove her!" What can you do? Just go with it.
I was having a great time. When it came time to leave, I tried to get to the bus stop about a block away in time but Ryan was talking with people, etc. We ended up missing the bus and I finally couldn't keep quiet. If I had done that, he'd go insane. Then Ryan said something that made up my mind that I was done traveling with him after I made sure he was safe at home.
So, I walked away. Later, when I went to find them to leave for the last bus of the night, I asked someone where they were and I was told that they left a bit before that in a cab. Bunratty is about 25 min from Limerick and my hotel.
This was a bad moment. I had been drinking, it was late, I was alone (from what I knew), I was tired, and I had no way home in my mind. I didn't really see any cabs around- Bunratty is kind of in the middle of nowhere. And it just kind of all hit me at once. So, I went and took a walk trying to get some focus and came back, sat at the bar with a nice old man and the bartender, trying to figure out how I could get back.
Suddenly, the Australian guy was there and asked me where I had been and I told him what was going on. "What are you talking about? Ryan and Charles are right there." Sure enough, there they were in a back room I didn't even know was there. They had already called a cab and we were to leave shortly. Of course, Charles is the one to tell me.
I just wanted to enjoy the ride back and chill out because we were so tired. So, I chatted with the driver about the Irish language and about who spoke it in which parts of the country. I learned that, really, only foreigners refer to it as Gaelic, most people call it Irish, but if you really know what you're talking about, you'll call it "goo-ale-guh". I don't know how to spell that but now I can sound official in an Irish conversation. :)
I took off from the cab to take a different way back to the hotel and just enjoy some time alone. I randomly hit a cross street at the same time Ryan and Charles did. Charles was like "Anna! Hello!" and that made me smile but when I asked which street I was on in relation to our hotel, Ryan said something unhelpful and sarcastic and I had had it. It was definitely time to part ways.
However, forgetting the fools that trip us up sometimes, this was really the story of one fantastic night with everyone else. It was an unforgettable, crazy, adventure.
Oh, and lesson learned: old Irish men are great kissers. Blaghhhhhh... Grossssss...
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