On lost notebooks and more planning

I fully intended to write some posts about Iceland. Lovely long rambling posts which no one will want to read save to look at the pretty pictures. Same as always.

Problem is, I've managed to misplace my travel notebook. The little stripy one that I keep all my diary notes in. Things like "Amy burned her bum on a hot rock". That sort of thing. I know I had it when I got back from Iceland, but now I can't find the damn thing anywhere. I'm pretty certain it's in the house somewhere... just not sure where... hmm...

Just as soon as I find it I'll sling up a couple of really badly written posts. Until then, let's just settle for me rambling about other things.

I have a new job earning more money, so my long held dreams of going on an epic round-the-world trip are turning more into plans. Obviously I still need to do a lot of planning and save up more money so for now I'm bridging the gap with another self-drive holiday. This time to Ireland with Gemma (who came to Iceland) and Claire (who came to New Zealand). It will be wondrous. We're not going till September (most likely), which gives me loads of time to write stupid blog posts about things that no one will have any interest in whatsoever. Because I can and I'm awesome. Obviously...

Ireland. Ireland... Umm... If Iceland was the land of fire and ice and New Zealand was Godzone, what's Ireland? Ah, the Emerald Isle. Of course. I shouldn't have had to google that...

Anyways, I've wanted to go to Ireland for years. I spent two weeks near Dingle on a field trip while I was studying and it is one of the most beautiful places.I'm sure it's different across the island but I loved how wild the Dingle Peninsula and Killarney National Park felt (despite knowing, as an ecology student, that large parts of it are anything but).

Stupidly though, the thing that really sparked this desire to go to Ireland is a book I read when I was maybe 7 years old. One of the Animal Ark books called Ponies at the Point. It's set in Connemara on the west coast of Ireland and there are, as the title suggests, ponies. Wild Connemara ponies to be precise. I was massively in love with ponies and horses as a kid, so it makes perfect sense that the main reason I want to go to Ireland is to see actual Connemara ponies (wild or not, I don't mind). I mean, look at them. They're gorgeous.

[PIC]

Even better, I think certain friends who are coming with might be open to the idea of going riding. I haven't been riding since before I read that book, so no doubt I'll fall off and injure myself, but hey. Experiences.

Ahem... enough rambling about ponies...

Currently the plan seems to be to fly into Dublin, hire a car and then drive around for two weeks, mostly around the coast with a couple of detours in land possible. We're also intending to head into Northern Ireland so that we can visit the Giant's Causeway (and I can geek out over awesome geology). There will be no Guinness drinking. Well, probably not. Eurgh, stout.

Going off on a tangent again. What else? Claire wants to go to a hurling game, so if anyone can point us in the direction of such a thing happening in September, that would be cool.

All right. My brain's given up. I'm writing this in my lunch break at work and all that's going through my head is a whole load of spreadsheets. Yick. I give up. I'm going to stick helpful tabs in my Lonely Planet guide to Ireland instead. Oh yeah. I'm so cool.