For my entire life I have always been interested in Ireland and have wanted to visit there. My background is 75% Irish which is where the initial interest came from. I wanted to make it over there last time I was studying abroad but was unable to make it there. This time around I knew I wanted to go and I wanted to do it right. I was able to spend an entire week in Ireland bopping around to different cities from the North to the South. I did most of Ireland by myself which definitely had its ups and downs about it as traveling alone does. It was really cool to be somewhere that I had such a connection to and interest in by myself so that I could really pay attention to the way I was feeling and how I was absorbing the new places I was experiencing. I started out in Northern Ireland in Belfast, made my way down to Cork, and then ended the Irish travels in the infamous Dublin. The only place I did not get to go and will have to make it to in the future is Gallway.
I was nervous about going to Belfast because I was going to be alone and the last time I traveled alone on this trip, nothing turned out the way I had planned it. I remember waking up one morning in London after we had gone out the night before and had to check my e-mail to make sure I hadn't dreamed taht I booked my flight and hostel in Belfast. I was delighted to see that although I had had several drinks in me I booked my Belfast trip accurately and happened to pick one of the best hostels in the UK. I stayed at a hostel called Vagabonds and it had a similar homey and welcoming feeling to that at Jetpak Alternative in Berlin and to Carpe Noctem in Budapest. I was so thrilled to be staying at a place like this because it was easy to meet people by myself. Originally I had not planned to go to Belfast, but along the way I talked to several people who had been to Ireland already and talked about how great Belfast is and how there is loads of history packed into this city. I'm so glad that I decided to go. During my first night in Belfast, I discovered that I actually love Guinness. I previously believed that I don't like dark beers, let alone Guinness but I went to a pub recommended by the hostel for dinner and decided, When in Ireland...I better have a Guinness. I basically did not stop drinking Guinness from that night until I left Ireland. The next day I did a highly recommended Black taxi tour of Belfast. It's called the Black Taxi tour because during the "troubles" in Northern Ireland that spanned (officially) from 1969-1994 in West Belfast in the Catholic side of town they were not allowed to use busses, so Catholics that drove cabs would use their black taxi cabs as busses for the Catholic people in this neighborhood. It was so interesting learning about all of the conflict that has plagued this part of Ireland and the sacrifice and violence that the people have been coping with for so long. It was baffling to me to still see a "peace wall" up in a modern city. Over and over again, I would have conversations with Irish people talking about the conflict and they would all say in the end they have no idea what all of the fighting is for. Religion defines the people that live in Northern Ireland and the people living there can tell your religion just from looking at you. It was very interesting driving around in West Belfast because I could feel the turmoil that the city had endured. After the taxi tour I walked up to the Belfast castle which was a tiny little thing, but beautiful and from the gardens the view of Belfast was gorgeous. In the gardens there are several cat sculptures and statues because at the Belfast castle they believe it is the cat of good fortune and whoever visits the gardens will have good fortune as long as a cat remains in the gardens. I enjoyed a snack at the tavern inside the castle and had the most delicious Irish coffee I've ever tasted. I swear Ireland has the BEST signature beverages.
The next day I decided to go on a day trip tour up the Northern coast and to Giant's Causeway. The drive along the Northern coast was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I have never seen green look so good. It is SO green everywhere on the countryside in Ireland. It is true though that it rains all of the time. But it is strange because it doesn't rain all day it just rains for parts of the day. They truly have four seasons in one day in Ireland. During my day trip I saw - snow, rain, and sunshine. On this tour we rode a bus and our first stop was at the famous rope bridge called Carrick-a-Rede that is connecting two large cliffs. The views were stunning of the surrounding cliffs here and I could see Scotland from across the water as well. However, it was FREEZING cold, snowing, and windy on the walk down to the bridge. I had my face buried in my scarf. Before we actually got to Giant's Causeway we got to visit the oldest Whiskey distillery - Bushmills. Once we finally got to Giant's Causeway, somehow the clouds parted and it was sunny and beautiful outside. Giant's Causeway is a collection of basaltic rock columns on the water that was created from a historical volcanic eruption in this area of Ireland. The columns form what looks like steps and are shaped in column/rock like hills. It was an amazing sight to see. The most amazing part about seeing this was hiking up the "steps" and watching the waves crash against the front of the rock columns at my feet. Looking out into the endless sea and back at the columns and columns of rocks formations, I just laughed to myself at how gorgeous a sight it was and at how much in awe I was that I was there at this historical wonder in Northern Ireland.
After Belfast, I made my way all the way down to Cork that is on the Southern Coast of Ireland. The small town of Cork was bustling with Christmas spirit and Irish cheer. I took a day trip in Cork as well and got to kiss the Blarney stone at Blarney Castle. It is said that if you kiss the Blarney stone you get the gift of the gab for 7 years, so hopefully I acquired this gift. I had to hike to the top of the castle and at the top was a little old Irish man who holds you while you lay on your back and stretch your head down and kiss the blarney stone. Besides kissing the stone, I walked around the gardens which were glowing green, stunning, and pristine. There was a poison garden as well that contained poison plants that they used in the Harry Potter books. During this day trip we were taken to two very small coastal towns in Southern Ireland called Cobh and Kinsal. Both were very quaint and had little houses that were brightly colored all stacked one next to the other. I was happy to be able to see some small towns in Ireland because I had heard the charm of the Irish towns is lost a little bit in the bigger main cities that I was primarily visiting and it still is very much alive in all of the tiny towns.
Dublin was the last stop in Ireland and it was a blast. Dublin is a really cool city and there are people partying at all times of the day seven days a week. We went on a pub crawl our first night there and went to the pub that is in PS - I love you. I love the feel of pubs. There is more often than not, live traditional Irish music being played, everyone is laughing with their close friends and the lighting is dim and cozy. I also got to play beer pong again at one of the pubs and, of course, won! The next day we wandered around the city and it was so windy I thought I was going to be blown away but we trekked through and went to the famous old prison there called, Kilmainham. It was amazing seeing an ancient prison like you see in movies. It was also very interesting to learn about the history of the prison and how so many crucial Irish revolutionist leaders were imprisoned and some executed in the prison. It was cool to see famous names on plaques above the cells. It was also eerie looking inside at the dark cold cells and at the original graffiti that the prisoners wrote or drew themselves. On our last day we went to the Guinness brewery and the highlight of the tour was the Gravity bar at the very top. It is a beautiful 360 view of the city of Dublin with just glass windows all around. We ended up sitting with two British ladies who were celebrating one of their 60th birthdays. One of them lives in London and the other lives in Santa Barbara and said they have been best friends for years and have traveled together several times. Laura tapped me and said that is going to be like us in years to come :)
It was very sad hugging Laura goodbye on Wednesday night. It is crazy how close we have become and how much we both have shared and now know about each other. The length and amount of time that we spent together is more than I have done with anyone else. After I walked away from her it was really hard to fight back tears. As I walked away from her so many thoughts clouded my mind and I felt like I wasn't walking in my body, everything stood still because the realization of the fact that this life changing trip was over sunk in. So much was put into the planning and preparation for this trip and we have seen so much together. Sitting here now it feels like it was a dream, yet at the same time I can't imagine my life without having gone on this trip. It was one of those things that despite all of the things that went wrong on the trip, from before I left, throughout the entire trip, and then now as I'm reflecting back, I knew that I was doing the right thing. I knew that I was meant to travel instead of anything else in the world at that point in time. Each place we went to felt right and I felt like I was supposed to be there. It was a foreign feeling to me because normally there are always doubts about decisions and about our paths in life. I have no regrets about this trip and so while I miss being in Europe already so much, I also feel content. I know that it is time for the next chapter and I am excited to see what is ahead. As well, I have already thought through where my next trip is going to be to....and the one after that :)
I'm going to keep up this blog although of course it will drastically change because I am not longer traveling in foreign countries. However, there were things that I have wanted to reflect on about my trip that I wasn't really able to do given my limited internet and computer access. If you're interested then you can check back and read if you'd like and it will be at this same address! I hope that whoever out there has been reading this has enjoyed it and I appreciate that you have read about my rambling thoughts.
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