“Once in awhile it really hits people that they don’t have to experience life in the way they have been told to.” ~Alan Knightly
Fact. There is sooooooo much world out there to see and experiences to be had… I want to see as much of it as I can!! This quote resonates with me in ways I cannot even begin to explain. This year has been incredibly weird, tough and joyful all at the same time. As you all know by now, I ruptured my achilles tendon back in February. It knocked my world upside down and around again. While I am fully healed up (thaaaank goodness), it was a long road with a lot of forwards and backwards steps. I was challenged mentally, emotionally and physically… professionally and personally.
Now that I am able to walk/jog… I am back to feeling like myself. But I desperately needed a little break, a little clarity… Soo what do I do when I need a little clarity? Travel, of course!! I booked this trip on a TOTAL whim… Decided at 10 am I wanted to go overseas again (hey, it’s been a YEAR). Asked my boss for the days off and by 11 am, I had booked my flights and trip. I was set to go to IRELAND. Picked solely on the fact that it was far enough away (7 hour flight), yet close enough to justify only a week vacation. I am always interested in maximizing my time off, however, this was juuuuust enough of a getaway to get a fresh perspective on all things and see a new piece of the world — which always makes my heart feel full.
Soooo sit back, put on some Irish tunes (Personal favorite: Galway Girl, by Steve Earle) and take in all things that are Irish and magical. Side note: We were some of the luckiest bunch of misfits… we had nearly perfect weather all 7 days. Irish luck was on our siiiiide!
Dublin–> Belfast–> Londonderry/Derry–> Galway–> Limerick–> Aran Islands/Inishmore Island–> Cork–> Cobh–> Kilkenny–> Dublin
Belfast
Though we started the tour in Dublin, I neglected to take any photos on my real camera… I am gonna go head and blame the jetlag. Oops. After a night in Dublin, we headed North to Belfast, Northern Ireland. A city that is completely and utterly segregated based on religion (catholic vs protestant) . As we toured the streets, we also saw that the town was divided by a giant wall and a GATE; that is closed EVERY night to separate the two sides. Insane. The street art is also quite the statement piece, we even had a chance to stop and write our own message to the world… I just snapped pictures. Ha!
While in Belfast, we learned that the Titanic was constructed in Belfast (a fact I did not recall… apparently) and as such, they have a huge museum dedicated to it. A few of those on my tour jumped off and experienced the exhibit (and said it was amazing), but since we only had a short amount of time available, my friends and I took off for lunch while we could. Even as we drove around the Titanic exhibit, I was in awe of the design of the building and the little touches they put into it. Stunning to say the least:
“Made in Belfast” Cafe: The most ADORABLE place I’ve ever set foot in. And being the foodie that I am… I was overjoyed to learn they were “farm to table!” LOVE. If you ever swing through Belfast, Northern Ireland (b/c ummm I am sure you will, right?! ) – definitely add #madeinbelfast to your list of must places to check out! Obsessed. I ordered the most delicious ham and cheese croque – I mean… LOOK at that melted cheese?? Yummmmtown.
Giants Causeway
I’ll admit it, I didn’t do much research into Ireland before I arrived. However a few of my co-workers mentioned a few must do things and luckily enough, as we went along… I discovered they were on our agenda! And as such, we made our first stop at Giants Causeway. “According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realizes that his foe is much bigger than he. Fionn’s wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the ‘baby’, he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal’s Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this.“
Londonderry/Derry, Northern Ireland
Londonderry was an interesting stop filled with mixed opinions. We arrived after dark so we didn’t get to see anything or do much. Our only experience was dining and visiting a few local pubs. While they were fun, we all felt it was a bit of a let down. A place that felt a little on the “trashy side” wellll…. until the sun rose. The next morning, we experienced a wonderful walking tour by a local man named, Ronan. A man who filled us in on the history, tragic past and the horrors that still reside within (and outside ) of these city walls. Yet again, another city that was separated by religion and beliefs. I was floored… the children of this city do NOT interact with one another. They will never play together, go to school together, be allowed to even TALK to one another…. all because they have a separate beliefs. But as the sun rose, we saw the beauty of this city and all the wonderful history (albeit, sad) this place offered. I only wish that one day this city will be at peace.
Galway
Oooooooooooh Galway, you have my heart. Ps. Feel free to turn up “Galway Girl” by Steve Earle here… b/c ummmmm we did every time we drove around this town. Yet again, a charming little coastal town full of rich Irish history. Pub-lined streets streaming live Irish music at every turn, I LOVED it. Oysterfest happened to be going on whilst we were there. I am not sure if the streets were always this busy, but it didn’t bother me one bit. I felt like I was apart of something special and beautiful… and I think we genuinely were. Unforutunately, we only had one day here so we didn’t get to explore the city at night… but my goodness, I’ll be back.
Aran Islands//Inishmore Island
Hands down my favorite day in Ireland. Afraid it was going to be a crappy, rainy day, we reluctantly piled on extra layers, rain jackets and warm clothes. We then moseyed on over to our meeting point to grab the 40 minute ferry over to Inishmore Island. As we were docking, the Irish gods yet again smiled upon us. The skies thinned out and we had the most wonderful greeting — full sunshine and blue skies. We hopped on our bikes (complete with BASKETS!!!!) and began pedaling all over the island. Granted, every 10 feet we all would stop and snap a picture of the view. A DONKEY?! YES. COWS?!! Cute little houses?!!! A stunning BEACH!! Crazy insane cliffs!! It was all beautiful, we didn’t know what to do. After we hiked, biked and strutted our stuff all over the island we were all due for a lunch and a drink (or two). We found a cute little bar in the middle of the island, plopped down for a drink/fish and chips and sat back and enjoyed the live irish music that filled our ears.
Cliffs of Moher
Yetttt another day that began with drizzle and heavy clouds, but as we arrived the clouds parted and out came the sunshine and blue skies… AGAIN. No complaints here, but I, once again, dressed wrong. Mostly we just all snapped pictures of the view and talked about how ridiculously amazing it all looked. Because honestly… it kinda just takes your breath away, right? Incredibly thankful for the wonderful weather — Everything is better with a bit of sunshine, ay? The Aussie boys, once again, provided endless hours of entertainment.
Blarney Castle
Confession time… I had no idea about this until my co-worker, Stacey, mentioned the “Blarney stone” the day I was due to depart. Lucky for me, this was an included stop on our little journey. Everyone has all these tall tales about these things. For instance – that people pee on it and that we shouldn’t kiss it. THANKS, Stacey. Whaaatever. Ha! For those that don’t know about the Blarney Stone: “At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Tourists visiting Blarney Castle may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. There are many legends as to the origin of the stone, but some say that it was the Lia Fáil—a magical stone upon which Irish kings were crowned.” Soooo – you bet… I kissed that sucker.
Cobh/Cork/Kilkenny
Again, this tour moved sooooo quickly we only had a few hours in each spot and it was no different for Cobh and Cork. Cobh was the last port of call the Titanic stopped… 3 days later it sank. There were a few wonderful exhibits full of historic photos and tales of stories of those immigrating from Ireland to the states (or elsewhere). Fascinating stories of those that were lost, how immigration, in general, evolved and other historic ships that have notoriously sunk. I love looking at old photographs and this was no exception. After Cobh, we were on our way to Kilkenny… a beaaautiful little town that I did not capture on camera. I reluctantly forgot to bring camera out and about with me… I know, WORST photographer ever… but if you follow me on instagram, you can sneak a peek at this adorableness.
Dublin
Our last and final stop is where my portion of the tour began, Dubssss. First up, the Guinness Storehouse tour. If you know me at all, you know I don’t drink beer… unless required to do so for a competition. HA! However, I decided to partake in this tour after hearing nothing but amazing things about it. FYI: I highly recommend it. The view up top alone, is worth it. After that we had the day to roam the city and off we went… in search of the best bloody mary in Dublin. This ended up being an epic fail, but we discovered a delish Irish restaurant (again, with wonderful music) and we got FREE hats. Ha!
At times, I didn’t have my camera with me because I wanted to just sit back and enjoy the view. I wanted to savor the REAL moments and take it all in through my own eyes (vs. the viewfinder)… which is definitely hard for me. However, I still think I captured a little bit of the soul of Ireland… at least I hope! All in all, this trip went by incredibly fast, but I made some wonderful friends along the way. For the next four weeks, I will be incredibly slammed with photoshoots (happily) and then I’ll be moving and sorting the rest of my life out. Haha – so stay tuned on that. Bottom line… if you have a chance to go to Ireland, I highly recommend it!!!!
