My phone has this cute habit of dying when I’m having adventures and want to take pictures.. but I have gathered the few pictures I do have from my Irish adventures! (In hindsight though this is one of the most picture heavy posts I’ve written.. Sorry)
To preface this post about Ireland I should mention that my mom’s dad was from Ireland and his whole family is Irish. I know next to nothing about the Irish culture which is what made this trip all the more important to me — there will be a post coming soon just on my perception of the Irish and how I feel about my experiences with its culture. But for now I’ll just do my “week in pictures”!
To start with I fell in love with Dublin from the moment we left the airport to get to our hostel. It was big, rustic, and lively. I can’t ever recall a time that a city that I’ve envisioned in books coming to life in a way that Dublin did for me that first day! The streets are lined with pubs, shops, and there were so many people out and about despite the chilly weather and gray skies. Absolutely. Stunning.
I think we can all agree that traveling is the worst part of travel. The buses, the plane rides, the number of hours of just waiting is absolutely exhausting and I almost always count that day as a lost afternoon just because of how we tired we all are after transporting our bodies across borders. So the first day we just settled in and made some plans, went to dinner at the oldest pub in Ireland, and agreed to be up bright and early the next morning!
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On our second day in Dublin we found ourselves on a free 3 hour walking tour provided by our lovely hostel! Ohmygoodnessgracious. Day 2 and I was coming up with plans to obtain my Irish citizenship and figure out how I could move to this wonderful city.
Our guide had that dry sense of humor that initially took me by surprise but which I quickly came to enjoy. I learned more in that 3 hours than I ever have in a history class just because we were walking around and heard from someone directly impacted by Irish history. It was at this point that I started to get a taste of what a hard past Ireland has gone through. Our guide would have been scolded back in the States for his controversial commentary on the politics, religion, and culture of his country. I loved every bit of it. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t separate the reality of his country from the pretty scenery and the nice monuments. He made it clear why the monuments held significance, or didn’t.
We had delicious pot pie during our break halfway through the tour and it was such a nice afternoon just sitting outside and listening to that brogue accent and watching people going about their business!
One of the most captivating things I saw on the tour were these statues scattered across Dublin featured in the far right picture above. Everywhere we went we would see these depictions of too-skinny and meek citizens who represented those who were forced to emigrate during the Irish Famine. It’s really easy to dismiss that entire part of history as someone else’s generation and no longer relevant. (Guys, I promise I’m not vapid or careless, these are just things that don’t really plague my mind at nights!) But after hearing our guide’s first hand recount of his family’s history with the famine and the impact it had on the entire nation.. and effectively the rest of the world due to the massive emigration, I had a whole new respect for what the Irish people had to endure.
Following our amazing tour around Dublin we went to the Guinness store house! I was telling my dad that Guinness is probably my favorite beer out of all of them so it was appropriate to visit the place where it all started!
I’m not a fan of partying back in the States on account of the law, the gross environment surrounding alcohol in Gainesville, and because it’s never been on my list of priorities.. but going to this store house and hearing about the story of Guinness definitely made me appreciate all the time and effort that went into building the “perfect” beer. It was an unexpected education I gladly received!
The top floor of the shop featured a panoramic view of Dublin and I loved sitting down with my friends and taking all the views in! I had to finish about 3 other girl’s drinks because they apparently did not appreciate the dark beer. Dad would be so proud.
So.. that night I followed in my oldest brother’s footsteps and got my front helix pierced in a nice little tattoo shop about 5 blocks from our hostel. Because why not?
DAY 3 WAS A MAGICAL DAY. We went on an all day tour to Cliffs of Moher. Now you may be thinking, as I was, that I spent about 12 hours to go see a cliff. And honestly I had kind of expected that too. Because the tour was just called “Cliffs of Moher” tour and we just kind of went for it.. BUT NOPE. Our guide, Joe, to start off with, was the most outgoing and energetic adult I have ever met. He was singing the entire way, telling stories, and recounted the history of Ireland. He was an absolute joy to drive with and I appreciated all the commentary he provided!
We first stopped at St. John’s castle in Limerick. It was a quick stop but I liked the view and felt like I was experiencing more than just the Dublin scene in Ireland, which is great because I’ll be moving there soon and need every bit of exposure I can get.
Then we just went straight to the cliffs and whoa holy moly. When we first arrived the fog was so thick you really couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you. I was a little sad. I could even feel the bitter words coming out that “maybe we shouldn’t have come after all..” right before the fog lifted. People always write that in books, but I swear it was like the fog was on a string that someone just tugged up on. Within the span of 2 minutes we had a spectacularly clear view of the cliffs.
I could probably spend an entire day talking about the cliffs and just reflecting on its size and shape, but I won’t because I value your sanity. Suffice it to say, the entire experience was absolutely breath taking. Every time we walked a little further up a cliff we were exposed to a new view from our angle and I never got tired of looking down at the waves crashing against the shore. We threw a rock down and lost sight of it about 300 feet to go.
After we went to the cliffs we stopped by several places. First up, another set of cliffs. These were smaller but no less beautiful. Remember Joe? He’s a little nuts. He went bouncing from rock to rock and invited us to join him.. apparently only Michelle and I were interested in following in his footsteps because out of the 50 people nobody else was comfortable sitting on the side of the cliff with their feet dangling off and leaning over.
I could see how people become adrenaline junkies. We followed Joe from rock to rock and got down into crevices and nooks and sat looking down at the rocks and waves. Every time we got a little further out I could feel my heart beating a little faster and was reminded of my own mortality.
Next up, we visited a pub! On the way we met a rowdy group from a bachelor party! They were a fun time and when we stopped in the pub we all ordered a Guinness (because Ireland) and cheered to the Bachelor. It was a fun afternoon, followed by a quick stop at a chocolate factory.
The next day Renoli, Michelle and I went on a Game of Thrones tour in Northern Ireland! I am a big GoT fan so I was fangirl-ing a little bit whenever our guide pointed out scenes that were filmed where we were standing. It was such a cool experience!
More than anything I was appreciative of Northern Ireland’s stunning landscapes. It was absolutely beautiful and even writing about it makes me miss it, despite the fact that I was only there for a few short days. Sigh.
On our last day in Ireland we just tried to use all the time we had left in this wonderful country. So of course we went to a place called “Queen of Tarts” and had the most delicious lemon tart and chocolate chip cheese cake I have ever had in my entire life.
There were more of the incredible statues, a park on a sunny day, and St. Patrick’s cathedral.
I almost didn’t go in, but I’m so glad I did. I know Catholicism and Protestantism is one of the biggest sources of tension between the Irish people and I regret that any institution is capable of bringing so much pain and suffering to its followers, religion especially.. but for all the negative religion has provided the people of Ireland, it’s also offered something of a haven to some.
St. Patricks was a beautiful cathedral that honored the fallen Irish people throughout various wars and hardships. The art and architecture inside was absolutely beautiful. While I was there the choir was running through rehearsal so as I was sitting in a quiet chapel tucked in the back of the church I was listening to the sounds of gospel music and it echoed throughout the entire cathedral.
It was a perfect way to end my trip to Dublin. I absolutely fell in love with Ireland and I am dead set on making a return trip in the near future! Sorry for the ridiculously long post.. believe it or not this is the condensed version.
It was bittersweet leaving Dublin but I am happy to be back in Rome, where I’m having a much slower love affair, and to throw myself back into the Italian culture!
Running in Rome 