Last summer’s European vacation started with a quick trip to Ireland… No offense to the many lads and lassies out there, but I had heard such mixed reviews about Ireland that I didn’t know if I was going to like it.. Rest assured, I looooooooooooved it, and can’t wait to get back. With the Euro being so weak, and having seriously the. best. travel. partner. ever, our trip was well-balanced between slight extravagance (every morning started with Butlers for coffee and chocolate… obviously), and frugality (we stayed at an Air BnB and lunches were just sandwiches). Another advantage of staying over in Ireland on our way to mainland Europe was that it’s cheaper to fly in to, and flights to mainland Europe from Dublin are dirt cheap too! Another bonus is that it’s an hour behind mainland Europe, so transitioning in to European time is a little more manageable.
Oh, side note about our Air BnB: it was the coolest, and I can’t recommend it enough. David was the best host, and was even able to get our jet-lagged asses in our room slightly earlier than anticipated, which was soooo nice. The location was awesome, too! It was only a few bus stops away from all the sights, and the bus route was really easy to figure out. If you’re going to Dublin, stay at David’s! You won’t be sorry!
We did all the touristy things we could do in Dublin and Galway… Those were the only cities we saw! Dublin was great.. We saw the Book of Kells, had a drink or two at Temple Bar, and just walked around enjoying the sights. The next day, we took a bus across the country to the west coast. Our original plan was to do the Cliffs of Mohr from Galway, but found that we had missed the bus when we got there :(. After an initial lamentation, we did a bus tour of Galway, and loved it! The Galway Bay is beautiful, and I loved learning about the history of the Claddaugh ring. Being of Irish descent, I wondered if one of my ancestors walked the streets of Galway, years ago. They were from County Mayo, which isn’t far, so it’s possible! We also stopped at the Galway Cathedral, which was very modern and cool. I don’t remember the exact story, but JFK had something to do with building it, and was supposed to come over for its dedication, but died before he could. The tributes to Americans all throughout Ireland was very striking to me. They lost so many of their population to America, and I find it an honor that they still consider us their own in so many ways.
