the Cliffs of Moher

today we drove from Galway to the Cliffs, going through the Burren. the Burren is a vast expanse of rocky land, but it's not as barren as it looks - it's home to hundreds of species of plants, and mediterranean and arctic flowers coexist there. tolkien visited the Burren and it was inspiration for Middle Earth. really bad weather at the cliffs but they were still increíble. later, visit to the connolly family farm, a short walk up their mountain/hill, poignant views of the stone walls that peasants built during famine times, still standing even though built without mortar hundreds of years ago. the irish are known as storytellers because in times before tv and radio they'd gather together and tell stories or sing songs to keep each other entertained. that night, a stay in Lisdoonvarna, and dinner at a pub, turned into a pretty funny night - the owner giving out lotr posters and dillon/dylan getting progressively drunker until he got kicked out.