I went to the Cliffs of Moher today. I had totally forgotten this trip until yesterday, a testament to how amazing studying abroad has been. For example, as Minnesotans were dodging snow flakes the last two days, I was dodging jellyfish in the Atlantic Ocean. It was 70 degrees and sunny yesterday. Today started the same way, but soon we had ascended into the clouds: literally. I still am absolutely baffled by the roads over here. The first 30 minutes of our drive today was slow and uphill and I swear I could hear that clicking noise a roller coaster makes as it climbs the first big hill. It really does feel like a roller coaster because the road is no wider than the track of the Wild Thing. As soon as our bus hit the clouds, we blindly made a dramatic drop that was complemented with twists and turns until we were 700 feet above the ocean at the Cliffs of Moher. The clouds began to lift and the cliffs were incredible, with a special mysticism added due to the wisps of clouds, nay ghosts, flying down to the ocean. The Cliffs of Moher: It's a long way down or I survived the Cliffs of Moher are my two entrepreneurial t-shirt ideas. Another good day in Ireland.

Tomorrow is start of the 10 day midterm break. I will accompany seven fellow students from this program on a cruise on the Mediterranean. It sounds great, all I know is that there are seven restaurants on the boat I can eat ate for free and I will take warm showers. I will be taking a break from my pilgrimage and return to an American lifestyle. We were able to smooth-talk our way into a relatively cheap deal and it is an American company so we payed in dollars, not Euros, which makes a HUGE difference. I know people that are backpacking and staying at hostels that have already spent more money on their trips than the cruise. I fly out of Dublin on Saturday to Barcelona, were I will spend one night in a hostel and than board the Norwegian Gem at 5 in the morning on Sunday. This is my next week:

Itinerary

Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
Sun	Barcelona	-	7:00 PM
Mon	At Sea	-	-
Tue	Valletta (Malta)	8:00 AM	3:00 PM
Wed	Naples	8:00 AM	7:00 PM
Thu	Rome (Civitavecchia)	7:00 AM	7:00 PM
Fri	Florence/Pisa (Livorno)	7:00 AM	7:00 PM
Sat	Cannes	7:00 AM	3:00 PM
Sun	Barcelona	5:00 AM	-

I'll be off the computer until I return but I will update any followers I still have after my voyages.

Sailing new seas everyday,

John Murray