Can we please take a moment and talk about how unbelievably cool Ireland is? First of all, despite booking the wrong flight), and having to pay an extra 100 euros to go on standby and then almost missing our flight, the trip was incredible! From the moment we stepped off the plane, the atmosphere and the people were so inviting! Even the guy at customs who stamped our passport asked us our names, majors, and told us that we would be great at our jobs! Who does that?!
Flying definitely adds some stress to traveling, but the Lord didn't give us anything we couldn't handle with Him. When we arrived to our hostel, the cutest man ever told us where we could get some traditional Irish food. It felt great to take our packs off and finally get some food in our systems. I had this potato cake salmon dish. yum yum! We also tried a pint of the Murphys beer, but it was a no-go. gross gross gross....We perused down Temple Bar (a very touristy street) and then went to bed because we were exhausted after a long day of traveling.
We woke up early to try to get some sightseeing in before we hopped on an 11 am train to Gallway. However, that plan fell through as we missed our train by 1 minute. At first it was kind of frustrating, but it ended up being a blessing! We were able to walk around Dublin and see Trinity College, the beautiful doors, eat lunch in the park, and just experience the city. Dublin is a beautiful place. It's a lot different from the other European cities we have visited thus far. It's definitely a pub scene versus a cafe scene. I like it a lot. Not to mention, everything was GREEN, and that automatically made me smile! Speaking of smile...as I walking I passed this one guy and he looked at me and said, "Hey! Nice smile! Thanks!" He thanked me for smiling at him! How cute! haha.
Around 2 we made it back to the train station where we caught a train to Gallway. Can you say PERFECT?! Gallway was beautiful! It is on the west coast and where P.S. I love you was filmed. It was everything we dreamed it would be and more. We found the Sleep Zone where we dropped off our stuff, and went exploring! We were in a cute Irish town on the coast so we had to go try the Fish and Chips! We went to McDonoughs, the famous fish and chips place, and that's when the night starting getting interesting....
While we were eating, two men came and sat with us and started up a conversation. They were hilarious! Long story short, we met up at the Quays (it was 60s-70s night...so they had a live band playing Bob Marley, Beatles, etc.) It was perfect. One of the most engaging, interesting, and fun nights of my life! It really felt like it was straight out of a movie. Irish people are arrogant, witty, hilarious, confident, and chivalrous. Never once did I feel anything but pure happiness. We just had a great time.
The next day we went bike riding all along the coast of Gallway! It was epically beautiful. We saw clovers, rainbows, leprechauns...okay, not really, but I really could not believe that I was biking in Ireland. IRELAND.
We had a beautiful day biking through the coast. When we got to the beach we unpacked our lunch, had a picnic, and just took in the amazing scenery. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I was able to sit up high on a ledge and just sing, pray, and relax for a few minutes before moving on. I treasure those moments on this trip. After about 2 hours we stopped for coffee and rested some more. I loved getting out and getting to see the countryside. When we got back to Gallway we purchased rings and walked through the market. I could definitely see myself living somewhere away from the states and going to the market every saturday to pick up some fruits and vegetables for the week. What a great lifestyle. I wish we had more time to play in Gallway, but alas, we had to return to Dublin. The train got us into the city around 9 so we only had time to get some dinner and then go to bed.
Ireland is definitely a place I will return to visit. Despite the stress, what a gorgeous weekend!
