Once upon a time...

I went to Ireland. And once upon a time it was the highlight of my trip to Europe so far. Festivities included:

• 1: exquisite bike ride around the Dingle Peninsula. 30 miles later my butt was sore, but the rest of me couldn't have been happier.
• 1: ride in the trunk of the hostel manager's VW Golf to get us to the drop-off point at the top of a mountain.
• 1: hike with Emma up the ridge and down the face of aforementioned mountain through marsh, bog, sheep dung, and farmers' fields.
  
• 6: different buses that got us where we wanted to go and back. (airport to limerick, limerick to tralee, tralee to dingle. repeat in reverse order) I can't really complain, however. The countryside was breathtaking.
  
• 2: packs of Fruit Pastilles (thanks for the suggestion Whit. Delicious)
• Countless number of cookies/chocolates
• 3: different fantastic hostels. 1 above a pub, 1 with a kitchen and lovely sitting room, and 1 B&B run by a great old Irish lady who was hard of hearing and liked to pinch your cheek like a grandma.
• Hundreds of SHEEPIES!!!!
• A few shepherds, all with great dogs. Which I wanted.
• 0: times I was required to put on my raincoat. (Incredible, right?)
  
• 4: fantastic days with 5 friends spent in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
  

I am now back in Paris and kind of depressed about it. I know, I'm spoiled. Depressed about being in Paris? How is that possible? Now you know that Ireland was just that great. Here are some pictures. They don't even come close to conveying the beauty of it. There is no possible way to capture it.