10 Things we learned in Ireland - (KK/LL)

    1. Pubs in Dublin actually have good food, really they do. At least those we visited. And there actually are tons and tons of pubs - literally everywhere you turn. Interesting fact: There is a pub for every 100 people in Dublin.

    2. Having craic ("crack") is 'having fun'; having a good time. We had lots of craic in Ireland. We love craic.

    3. There are no dangerous predators and NO SNAKES in Ireland. The biggest wild animals are deer. In the mountains there are a few fox, but that's as wild as it gets. Makes hiking a bit more relaxing.

    4. It very, very rarely snows in Ireland. Why did this surprise us? It snows about as often as it snows in Austin. They have mild winters and mild summers due to their Atlantic location.

    5. Where our Dublin Hotel (Brooks Hotel) is, there once was a leper hospital.

    6. Being driven on the Ring of Kerry could best be described as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It heightens your sense of your own mortality. The drive through County Meath to reach Brú na Bóinne is possibly even more harrowing. There are warning signs that are just exclamation points.

    7. There's a tradition of match making in Ireland. It's faded over the last 50 years, but every October in the Village of Lisdoonvarna there's a big Match Making Festival of music and dancing. Anyone interested in meeting someone (40-50 yr olds mainly!) come, and the matchmaker takes all your details and matches you up with someone and makes introductions. It's a real life match.com. (Which is probably what the younger people use) Its a tradition here for over 100 years. Thousands of people come for the festival. #notetoself

    8. The rural areas, especially along the East Coast, use peat - a renewable energy - for heating. Peat bogs are harvested for peat, which is dried and made into little briquette logs. These peat logs are stacked up just like firewood. It smells slightly like tobacco when burned. We saw the bogs and the peat log stacks, and the smoke from chimneys throughout the countryside. (Elsewhere, however, oil is most popular - people have tanks on their properties and have to have them filled.)

    9. In Galway there were many Claddagh ring shops. The tradition was begun in Galway and is still a big thing throughout Ireland (and the world). The way you wear the point on these heart-shaped rings indicates if you are single or not.

    10.    Kristi really thought she'd see her people here for which she was very excited, but as it turns out only 9% of the Irish population is naturally red headed. #wheredoallthegingerslive?