well, so we went to Loch Ness while staying in Inverness, but did NOT see any monsters floating around :( We did see Urquhart Castle, which is a very impressive ruin. that was neat. Then we were off to Oban, near the seaside, where we got to our B&B (real bathroom and own shower!!) in time to run to the Scottish Show at a local restaurant, where we (by chance) got a front row seat for dinner, and got to see the Scottish dancer, singer, bagpiper, fiddler, and accordion guy. THe bagpiper even talked to us, and believe it or not we were the ONLY Americans in the room!! The next day we wandered through the streets which was much fun, esp. when we found the old-fashioned candy shop! We then traveled to Swansea, Wales, where we were basically just staying for the night before taking the ferry to Ireland. The Ferry was neat and has a pub and a game room and all kinds of neat stuff, for a 4 hr ride. We stayed in Rosslare that night, with a couple of older ladies sharing the room (one of whom struck me as nuts....) and the next day went to Waterford.
We took the Crystal Factory tour, which was absolutely fascinating. We saw how they blow the crystal, shape the diff items, cut the crystal, engrave it, and also sculpte out of solid crystal. now i know y it is so expensive to buy. In the room where they put the handles on the crystal jugs, there was a sign that said "Monday morning, Dazed and Confused" and under it was a jug with the handle under the spout!
After waterford we headed off to Galway to explore and had a great time, although we also went to a restaurant where it took them 2.5 hrs to serve us! it was Horrid service. anyway, we found a great club where first we saw a live jazz band, then we went up to the nightclub and danced till 2am. they played mostly american music. anyway, now we are in dublin and going out to see everything we can!! and thats all, folks.

Tags: adventures, dublin, europe, galway, inverness, ireland, loch ness, rosslare, scotland, waterford