To the West, To the West

Today starts my last week here in Dublin, so I will save my next post to talk about the good vs the bad of Ireland's most populated city. As for today, I'm going to talk about our school trip to the west of Ireland that we took last weekend which involved goats, cheese, castles, and unfortunately me getting sick.

Goat Selfie at St. Tola Goat Farm

Our trip to County Clare resulted in a visit to St. Tola's goat and cheese farm. First let me start off with saying goats are VERY temperamental. I did however master the art of taking a goat selfie after numerous failed attempts and loss of hair as they enjoyed chewing on it. At the farm, we were able to play with the goats, learn about how their cheese is made, and then were given the chance to taste some of their products. Being the worlds pickiest eater, I opted out of tasting the goat cheese to continue petting the goats, but was told it was 'surprisingly good'. 

Near Cahir Castle 

Next we drove what felt like hours to Tipperary which is a large county in the west of Ireland. The clouds and rain in the photo above are typical for this specific area of Ireland and while residents are used to it, we were definitely not and did not dress for the weather. Trying to cope with a major cold, we walked around the town of Cahir which back in the day was home to a famous family, the Butlers. Cahir is also home to one of Ireland's largest castles. Being a historical city, Ireland strives to keep it relatively the same over the years. So WiFi..... a foreign concept. And modern civilization.... also rather rare. 

Rock of Cashel

Next we traveled about 45 minutes to the town of Cashel which I fell in love with. More specifically, the Rock Of Cashel. This tourist attraction is located on a 'rock', really just a hill, and was home to a castle, cathedral and cemetery. While many of these buildings have been rebuilt, fixed up and furnished, they chose to keep this spot as is. And look how beautiful it looks. Some of us ladies were late getting back on the bus because we wanted to continue our photo shoot. 

The west of Ireland all together was great and it was really nice to get out of Dublin for a couple of days. If able to visit I just have two main tips: I highly suggest bringing a thicker, instagram worthy jacket because you are going to want to post every photo but not get sick and next bring a hair tie to the goat farm so you don't lose a layer of hair.