This is Places Productions, signing off (May 28th)

Alright, quite clearly I have started tailing off with posting new blogs.  It's been a combination of lack of desire and nothing interesting to write about, so I'll sum up the last bit of my trip.

Friday, Nath and I rented a car so we could explore a bit of Ireland.  We got an insanely good deal and I was very excited to drive on the wrong side of the car and on the wrong side of the road.

It took a little time to get used to, but by the end I got pretty used to it.  The hardest part of driving was remembering how much car I had to the left of me.  I mentally kept thinking, "I have to hug the left side of the road"....all of which made Nath terrified as he sat in the passenger seat of the car, which came dangerously close some parked cars and shrubs.

And I'm glad to say, I only drove down the completely wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic ONCE!

It turns out though, that the rental car only got one day of use.  Our plan was to head to Galway, so we rented the car....we did this BEFORE checking to see if there were any hostels open...which there weren't.

We ended up going to Kilkenny the first day, where the Whalens of old hail from.  Though I didn't go see any old gravestones or anything, I had a sense of nostalgia being so near where my family came from.

Kilkenny was also where Smithwicks is brewed, so we made sure to have one at dinner.  It was pretty good, but honestly it tastes the same as back home.

Saturday and Sunday we didn't do anything because Turdo McGoo (Nath) didn't want to go anywhere.  Sunday, we did go get some groceries though, so that was pretty cool...NOT!

I took the car back on Monday.  A 15 minute drive took an hour because I couldn't find ONE street sign to point me in the right direction...how do people find their way around in Dublin???  Seriously...not ONE street sign!

The rest of my time here was spent trying to get out of Dublin for the day, but ultimately, I didn't want to spend 6 hours of travel time for 4 hours in whatever city I would end up in.  I was sick of staying in hostels and moreover PAYING for them, so I didn't want to stay overnight anywhere to turn it into a two day trip.

Oh well.

My time in Dublin and Europe has now come to an end.  I thoroughly enjoyed ever second of my trip, but it'll definitely be great to get home.  Has it really been two months?  Doesn't feel like it AT ALL!

Thank you to the thousands of people for reading this...I hope you enjoyed it.  It's been fun to write it, at times.  Other times, it felt like homework.  But in the end, it was about updating people on our trip and to help us remember the little things that will undoubtedly be lost from our minds over time.

Well, this ends Places Production's blog, "Places Productions goes to Europe."

Coming soon:  Places Productions flunks out of grad school AND Places Productions Wonder Emporium.