September 14
Clayton Hotel
Our last full day in Ireland, we woke up a little later, enjoyed the buffet breakfast again, then packed up our things and checked out of the hotel. There were a few attractions we could have checked out, but we were still pretty worn out, and the majority of the attractions involved more castles (we had already seen 8), and other things that didn't sound overly interesting to us, so we hit the road to Dublin.
Athone
Along the way, we stopped in Athone to check out a castle there, and to do a little shopping. Unfortunately, the castle wasn't open for whatever reason, so we didn't stay there too long. I found a couple shirts, but that was about it.
Athone Castle
Athone Methodist Church
We got to our hotel (Bewley's Hotel - Dublin Airport) early in the afternoon, then returned our rental car (early) and took the shuttle back to the hotel for the night.
We toyed with the idea of taking a bus back downtown to eat, but decided to just eat at the restaurant at the hotel. And gosh were we disappointed. It was pretty pricey, and my ravioli tasted like they'd taken some frozen crap out of a bag, heated it for 5 minutes in the microwave and poured a nice sauce over it. Mark wasn't overly disappointed with his wings, but he wasn't impressed either. The service wasn't bad, when they came around, but it was odd to see the waiters just kinda chillin, talking and what not up by the register - what you might see in most restaurants' back rooms. Overall, we wouldn't recommend it. It was unfortunate, considering it was our last real meal in Ireland, but oh well.
We went to bed early, eager to get a great night's sleep before our early flight the next morning.
September 15
We woke up early and were at the airport by 7am to be sure not to miss our flight. We didn't have much trouble getting through security or customs, so we just relaxed, enjoyed some breakfast, did a little shopping, and waited for our flight.
It was a really long flight home, but we made it in one piece, and were VERY glad when the plane touched down in Toronto.
We were worried we wouldn't quite make our next flight, considering we had only 90 minutes between flights, and we had to go through Canadian customs, re-check our bags, and get back through security. However, we ended up with plenty of time, and before long were on our way back to Minneapolis!
It was a great feeling to be back on US soil, and while we had a wonderful time in Ireland, we sure appreciated familiar food options, and WIDER ROADS!! Oh, and not to mention we could finally use our cellphones to call our family and friends again!
On our way home, we decided to stop for supper in Mankato (and a little shopping), so we enjoyed some Buffalo Wild Wings and picked up a few things at Kohl's. The weather got pretty crazy in Mankato, and we ended up driving home in a downpour, and even through a wall cloud, which was pretty freaky.
Our own beds felt heavenly that night :)
It was a really incredible trip, and we'd recommend it to many people, but I'd be wrong to say we'd recommend it to everyone. Ireland is one of those places where you have to pack your patience and learn to adapt quickly. You can't expect the luxuries from the USA, and you have to learn how to do things differently. It was a great experience...for US, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.
