Sláinte: The Emerald Isle

Over the past few weeks, my travel experience has undergone quite a change.

The last time I sat down and truly reflected on my experience, I was on the beach in Bali enjoying the sunset, which was consistently around 7 PM.

Fast forward a number of taxis, trains, planes, and buses later, and I find myself zipping through the Belgian countryside on a comfortable high speed train onto my third continental European city, Jennifer still in tow. 

Over the Emerald Isle

For the past two weeks I have been in Ireland, and as I mentioned, underwent quite a transition, personally and emotionally, from the previous five months of my life. 

Like the human experience everywhere, one can become conditioned quite easily, and in travel I always find the results to be entertaining and interesting.  The conditioning to deal with constant difficulty that I experienced with my travels in previous months in Asia was something that I not only came to expect, but that I had strangely enough become incredibly attached to.  I had charades prepared at the drop of a hat, the “confused, lonely, language-isolated, puppy-dog” looks perfected, and had become quick to assert my “I’m a student” state of poverty when I felt that I was being taken advantage of financially.  

Guinness Factory Tour with Aidan & her boyfriend Mike (who was forced to be our photographer)

When I arrived in the Dublin airport, I was practically ignored and allowed to exit customs with little more than a small stamp in my passport and a nod from the agent.  No translation problems, no visa fees, no bribes to pay – to say it was surreal would be an understatement.  A part of me felt immediate loss and resentment at the convenience of everything. 

After getting my backpack, my phone connected almost immediately to the complementary wifi provided at the airport. Before I knew it, I had received my friend Hailey’s message and without depending on anyone to interpret the signs for me I headed for the proper AirCoach platform and onto the route that would ultimately lead me to her flat near city centre in Dublin.

Weekend brunch at herbstreet

Hailey is a friend of mine from high school, and has been studying medicine in Dublin for two years.  She was gracious enough not only to open her flat to me, but also to Jennifer.  This allowed us a degree of freedom and comfort in our travels and a laid-back timeline while exploring the Emerald Isle.  

Dublin Castle Courtyard

More than once, Jennifer and I remarked that it would be a wonderful city to move to with its many gardens, outdoor restaurants, and handful of international headquarters for the EU, such as Google and Facebook.  This is prime real estate for Jennifer since she is going to be the CEO of one, or many, companies in the next few years. Watch out world!

Loving the cute window boxes all around Ireland

In my previous time in Ireland, I was not able to explore Dublin due to inclement weather conditions.  This time was exactly opposite.  The weather was fantastic, much to our surprise, and allowed for comfortable city exploration by foot.  The sun does not set until after 9 PM, which also made our days there enjoyable and leisurely.  

Sisters reuninted!

Because Hailey is doing research this summer she was not able to join during some of our weekday excursions around the city, but she introduced us to a few fantastic brunch spots on the weekend, and drove us on a tour to Enniskerry and through the nearby Wicklow Mountains.

Our day in Enniskerry & the Wicklow Mountains

We were lucky enough to meet up with some familiar faces from back home, as well – being in Europe it is much easier to coordinate than Asia!  Our middle sister, my old roommate and her boyfriend, and a sorority sister from Georgia Tech were a few of the friends we were able to see.  Seeing people from home makes it seem like I’ve only just left Atlanta.

At the Street Performer's Fair in Dublin with Jenny and Sarah (forcing Tim to be the photographer...)

Jennifer and I spent a few days in Galway, where we were able to take a day trip to the Aran Islands.  Barnacles Hostel on Quay Street was fantastic (shout out to Hailey for the suggestion), and with its central location and laid-back vibe we were able to meet a handful of great new friends!  

On the Salthill Prom Pier in Galway with Kyle from Portland, OR

It was also great fun to watch the semi-final match of the World Cup, a luxury we did not have in Bali for most of the tournament.  I was cheering for Argentina, and think I might have been the only one in the entire city...maybe even the entire country.

On the edge of the cliffs

We spent our day on Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands, renting bikes and soaking up the fantastic weather and beautiful natural landscapes.  We visited the local Spar for two sandwiches and had a nice little picnic on the beach near a supposed seal colony, but we didn't see any of them.  Dun Aonghasa is a famous archeological structure noted for its continued mystery to scholars.  The only mystery to us was what the life expectancy of a society living this close to a cliff must have been...  

Dun Aonghasa

The cliffs of Dun Aonghasa were incredible, and eerily unmarked, making us both nervous for the little kids running around near the edge.  It was exhilarating to get near the edge, but terrifying to think about the consequences of a strong wind.

Beautiful weather on the Aran Islands

Although the weather was perfect, we made an obligatory stop at the famous Aran Sweater Market just in case we were able to find something cute to keep us a bit warmer.

We headed back to Dublin in time to catch the Ellie Goulding and Macklemore & Ryan Louis show in Marlay Park, which was a highlight for Jennifer during our time in Ireland.  The show was incredible and we were lucky enough to run into two Irish sisters who we spent the duration of the show dancing and singing with.  After the concert we met up with Jenny, Tim and Sarah before calling it a night.

Great concert with new friends

Revisiting places is always an interesting experience when traveling because of the memories, expectations, and new perspective you have gained or simply the changes the place has undergone that allow you to re-explore when you return.  It was a great two weeks, and maybe I'll return when Jennifer moves there one day down the road...!