Saturday April 7th - I think we arrived around 8 am... Arklow is about 45 minutes from Dublin so by the time we got our bags and got out of the airport, we were back at Rachael's by around 10. She cooked us a traditional Irish breakfast which included eggs, toast, rashers (bacon, just thicker than ours) black and white pudding (grainy and pretty disugsting) and I can't remember what else it entailed. Anyway, we were starving so we ate up and then basically went to bed, as we hadn't slept on the plane over. I slept for a solid 6 hours (and was called Dracula because of it) and then it was time to hit the time for our first night out in Ireland. It was actually quite mellow, as everyone was saving themselves for Monday's bank holiday. We still managed to have a good time, and stay up until 4 am. 
Sunday April 8th - We slept till noonish, but it still wasn't enough! We stopped off at Avoca Handweavers, which was a great touristy place to go. We'll hit it later for some souvenirs. After that, we headed to Glendalough, where there were some castle remnants, lots of great scenery and the first of many long walks. We spent most of our day there and when we got home, it was time to shower and hit the bars again! We made a few new friends and had a great time, although I was more than ready to go to sleep while the Irish guys all partied in the next room. Monday April 9th - We got up around 9 to make the trek to the Waterford Crystal factory, where we got a guided tour and plenty of time to rummage through the store. I ended up getting a few gifts there, and also plenty of souvenirs. After that we drove another hour and a 
half (if not more) to Blarney, where they have Blarney Woolen Mills (three floors of traditional Irish souvenirs) and the Blarney Stone. When we looked it up online it said the Stone closed at sundown, which is about 8:00, so we went to the Woolen Mills first. We were in there for quite some time but around 5:00 Rachael and Crystal started trying on sweaters. I couldn't find one that was worth the price for me that I thought I'd get a lot of wear out of, so I passed. Anyway, the girls FINALLY settled on their sweaters and after throwing our stuff in the car, we walked over to the Blarney Stone... as the gate was coming down. We literally missed it by 3 minutes and they were NOT letting us through, no matter what we did. We went to dinner to eat our sorrows away, then hit the road for home. We considered going out when we got home, but luckily everyone realized putting on their jammies and chilling out was a much better idea.
half (if not more) to Blarney, where they have Blarney Woolen Mills (three floors of traditional Irish souvenirs) and the Blarney Stone. When we looked it up online it said the Stone closed at sundown, which is about 8:00, so we went to the Woolen Mills first. We were in there for quite some time but around 5:00 Rachael and Crystal started trying on sweaters. I couldn't find one that was worth the price for me that I thought I'd get a lot of wear out of, so I passed. Anyway, the girls FINALLY settled on their sweaters and after throwing our stuff in the car, we walked over to the Blarney Stone... as the gate was coming down. We literally missed it by 3 minutes and they were NOT letting us through, no matter what we did. We went to dinner to eat our sorrows away, then hit the road for home. We considered going out when we got home, but luckily everyone realized putting on their jammies and chilling out was a much better idea. There's the first few days. When I have some more time I'll post about the rest, including a trip to London and a final night on the town. Hope you had a great weekend and got outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather!
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