Okay sorry. I keep having to remind myself I'm not Irish.
For in case you didn't know, I went to Ireland last week! My gal pal, Rachael and I packed up our scarves, boots, and gloves and headed to the land of the Irish. The land of greenery. The land where rain never ceases. The land of hot men. The land of the nicest people you will ever met.
Before we landed in Ireland, we planned a 10 hour lay over in New York City to spend the day there. We had breakfast in Central Park, visit the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza, Ground Zero, and rode the subway. It was Rachael's first time in NYC so it was exciting!
Our week in Ireland consisted of a lot of driving, site seeing, people meeting, laughs, green, sheep, rain, cold, rain, cold... and rain. What it did NOT consist of was sun, mean people, and good radio in the car. The radio in the car mainly consisted of newstalk radio and 80s music.... and the occasional traditional Irish folk music.
We took day trips and long drives to see different towns, cities, and country. The first few nights, we did not have good solid sleep because our bodies kept waking up because of the 8 hour time difference. We woke up early morning and went to sleep relatively late so we were constantly sleep deprived.... but it was fine. We're young. Whatever.
Places we visited:
Dublin
Enniskerry
Newgrange
Kilkenny
Ring of Kerry
Muckross
Kilarney
Galway
Limerick
Adare
...and random towns in between.
Here are a few photos!!!
Our first night in the city.
Sweet live Irish music in Temple Bar
Not only did we (well... Rachael) have to drive on the other side of the road, but it was manual. My friend rocked it!
Kilkenny Castle... what a rad little town.
Shout out to my dear travel buddy, Rachael! I could not have asked for a better travel partner. I haven't laughed so much ever and her positive attitude made all the difference. It was phenomenal sharing this experience with you!
The people were all so friendly and always willing to help us find our way. We actually enjoyed the public transportation system there. It was raining all week while we were there which was unfortunate because we were not able to capture the beauty of it all when we took pictures. But, I prayed my heart out for at least a few hours of sun and clarity. Jesus answered my prayer and we had sun for a few hours in the morning on our last day there while we were along the coast. God is good.
I can't believe heaven is going to be more beautiful than Ireland. It's freaking mind boggling.
Things I have learned and will bring back and apply in America:
1. Be nicer with people you don't know. It's easy.
2. Be more eco friendly: There were so many smart cars and air dryers instead of paper towels in just about every restroom, including nice restaurants. Save the environment!!
3. I, as an American, need to be more informed of the world outside of the U.S. The Irish are.... why can't I be?
4. Irish men are extremely good looking... and nice.... which makes them even more good looking.
5. Jam DOES make everything taste better.
6. According to an Irish man we met, his answer to my question when I asked him why are Irish people so friendly? He answered, "We live by the philosophy that it could always be 10x worse in life. Just move on and be happy." Done and done.
7. Their portion sizes are awesome!
8. What is the biggest city in the world? Dublin. Because it just keeps Dublin and Dublin and Dublin.... (a drunk guy that hit on us told us this joke. It was awesome.)
Thank you, Jesus for this experience. I feel very blessed that the Lord made it possible for us to make this trip happen. Answer to my prayers... literally.
Wonderful experience and I am now more anxious and excited to plan my next trip out of the country. World traveler Jenn in the making!
Awesome post! Now that you've been bitten by the travel bug, I can't wait to see where you're off to next :) xoxo
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