Walks and Tours, Tours and Walks

 Feb 23, 2023

Today I did one of my most favorite things to do when visiting a new city. I went on a free walking tour. I always get so many fun tidbits of information otherwise never known to travelers and sometimes even locals. For instance, did you know, when the Brits were trying to create maps of Ireland the Irish folk would purposely translate their street names from Irish (Gaelic) incorrectly. Not only are there lots of duplicate streets, but anyone who knows even a bit of Irish will tell you that many of the English translations posted underneath the Irish signs are wrong. Translating maps was almost impossible. Google is still struggling because of this. Another outrageous bit of info- The English used to charge the Irish a daylight tax. It was based on the number of windows the residence had. Residences with more windows, aka homes that allowed more daylight, were taxed higher. One of the banks of Ireland protested against this ridiculous tax by being completely windowless. To this day the bank still exists and it's completely vaulted- no windows (or daylight) to speak of. Of course we talked about some of the beautiful cathedrals, (pictured below)

and about the Kings and Patron Saints. But we also talked about Darky Kelly, a prostitute who ran a brothel. She was known for keeping her women safe and if any man tried to cross them he'd usually wind up buried beneath the brothel.  Eventually Darky became pregnant and when she demanded support from the man he accused her of witchcraft and she was burnt at the stake. There's now a bar in her honor. 

Not only did I learn a lot on this tour (and make an annoying friend who asked me for photos every 4 minutes) I also got a fabulous lunch recommendation (another reason why I love these tours). I ditched my photo obsessed friend and walked until I came to Sheehan's. It had every feel of an Irish Pub and the brown bread, soup and glass was the perfect combo. 

Next it was time to visit the Book of Kells and the Library at Trinity College. Seeing the old manuscripts and learning how the monks used colored oils to transcribe them by hand made me reflect on just how far we've come since then. I was listening to a digital guided tour- someone talking through a device that was available to everyone, instantly, while these men worked 13 hour days to write one book that was the ONLY copy available. 

My day wouldn't have been complete without a street busker sighting so I stopped to enjoy the music one last time. 

That night I met a lovely German girl in my dorm. She invited me to go out with her. We started at a sports bar with live music, then made our way to Temple Bar and finally to a smaller pub up the street with a 3 man band. It was there I recognized some girls who had been in the hostel Ben and I stayed at in Cork. They joined in our fun as we continued to search for live music. Our next stop was a club so I politely bowed out and headed home for the night. 

In the morning I'd be homebound. Slaintè Ireland, for now. 🍻 

Oh My Goodness My Guinness

 Feb 22, 2023

Ben and I went to a beautiful morning market in Cork where we had pastries and coffees and picked up some cheeses, breads, olives and meats for our train ride back to Dublin. When we arrived we checked into our hostel. The room was HUGE with two sets of bunk beds and a double bed- ALL FOR US! Guess I wouldn't need to worry about hitting my head here. 🙃 

We walked along the river to the Guinness Factory and oh my goodness did I learn a lot. We toured 5 floors packed with information about the building of the factory to present day and everything in between. Even if you're not a big Guinness fan (like me) I'd still recommend this place. It's wicked cool. I'd also recommend getting your face on a beer because that's also wicked cool. 

After enjoying face beers and 360 rooftop view beers it was time to walk off all said beers. After freshening up at the hostel we checked out this bao bun place and it did not disappoint. Then, of course, we went to Temple Bar for some live music. 

Kisses For Baby and Blarney

 Feb 21, 2023

I woke up in utter shock. Mom and Jimmy had messaged that Candace was going into labor. But she's more than two weeks early! I got in the shower and by the time I got out baby Josie had arrived. She was perfect and precious and brought me to tears before I'd even met her. I felt bad because I was getting up and out before Elizabeth but I had to tell someone my exciting news so I woke her up in a fit of excitement. She shared in my joy and then sent me off to the train station. Ben and I were meeting early and then catching a train to Cork-- the plan was to arrive before lunch. It took me awhile to find Ben (mostly because he was late and the place we had planned to meet at on the map didn't exist) but we found each other nonetheless and settled in for a cozy ride to Cork. Our hostel room was tiny, with a bunk bed that I bumped my head on more than once 🤦‍♀️ after burgers and beers we grabbed the bus to Blarney Castle. We wandered the beautiful gardens before coming to the actual stone itself. Of course I had to kiss it. 💋 🪨  Ben, on the other hand, had no desire to. 

After bussing back into town we grabbed dinner at a local Asian spot and then bought cigars-- we had a baby to celebrate after all.

 Our hostel had live music so we drank and danced the night away. I even managed to get the guitarist to sing happy birthday to Josie. Ben and I smoked our cigars and then I headed upstairs to FaceTime with mom, dad, Candace, Jimmy and Baby J. 👶 ❤️ 😍 It was the perfect end to the perfect day. Love you Baby J. Today, tomorrow, and every day. 

Rain, Rain Go Away, We're Going Hiking Today!

 Feb 20, 2023

Connemara National Park

It was day 2 of boarding buses very early for excursions. Today we were going to Connemara National Park. While our driver was skilled at operating the bus, he didn't provide any stories or songs like our driver the day before. On the way to the park we stopped in a small town and were very unsure why we were stopping. Most of the places were closed (it was technically still off season in Ireland) and it was pouring. We wandered all through the streets until we found one open pub. It was not even 10am so we opted for warm tea and the toilet before trekking back to the bus. We were dropped at Connemara and told we had 3 hours. 🙈 The rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was whipping. Definitely not an ideal day to spend 3 hours hiking. We stopped in the lodge to tighten our coats and pull up our socks before venturing out. We did 2 hikes. One was 30 minutes through what can only be described as a fairy garden. 🧚‍♀️ The vegetation was so bright green and it was glistening in the rain. It was actually quite beautiful. 

After, we made our way up the winding countryside hills for about an hour. The views were spectacular but the wind and rain made it incredibly cold. 

We spent the rest of our afternoon in the tiny lodge café where we tried to no avail to dry off and warm up. We met a woman from Germany who had also given up on the outdoors and talked with her at length about work, culture and housing in Germany versus the US. 

After making our way back to Galway- the rain had finally let up- we wandered through the town and treated ourselves to some Irish donuts and a bookstore browse. 

That evening we boarded a bus back to Dublin. We arrived around 830pm so we stopped in a pub for pizza and a pint to reminisce about our trip thus far. Sadly, Elizabeth would be leaving the beautiful country of limericks and leprechauns early the next morning. 

After a late dinner we walked back to our hotel (the room was HUGE with two big beds!) Elizabeth went on one last walk through the city while I cozied up with my book in hopes of getting a good night's sleep.

Day Trips to the Cliffs

 Feb 19, 2023

Bright and early we boarded a bus bound for The Cliffs of Moher. Our guide was so cute and even sang for us as we bounced along the roadways in the rain. We visited a wishing well, some beautiful castles, bluffs along the sea (affectionately called The Burren) and finally The Cliffs. The entire day was spectacular, down to the stop for lunch in Doolin. If we had more time I would have loved to have spent a night in Doolin. (All the downtown pubs play traditional Irish music every night of the week.) Although it rained, it was still a really lovely day spent in Ireland. 

In the photo above I'm peaking through a window to the sea from inside the fortress pictured below.

That evening we went to a famous fish and chips spot (my hot take is that it was just OK) Then we went out with girls we had met on our tour. We started at a place with live music- Galway Girl (the Irish version) is always a hit- then we went to a place with traditional Irish music (think 3 man band with accordion) and then we found ourselves at a club (WHAT?! 😀) I know what you're thinking however it worked out SO WELL for Elizabeth and I because it was right underneath our hotel. There were 2 downsides though: 1) I had kept my leggings on underneath my jeans from the day and OH MY GOSH was I hot. 2) We played this coaster flipping game that I could not get the hang of. (I've since brought it to the US and while people are usually like wtf is the point, they get addicted pretty quickly) 

No club night is complete without staying til bar close and being encouraged to transfer your drink to a plastic cup for consumption on the street. This explains the earplugs on our bedside tables when we checked into our accommodation. 😂

Girls in Galway

 Feb 18, 2023

So unfortunately I kept all my blog posts written on my samsung notes app and then my phone shattered and I lost them 😔 I'm super bummed because I'm really diligent on all my trips and blog each night/morning to record the fun/wild/unique/outrageous things I've done. So, while I'm posting the pics that weren't deleted and a brief overview, most of the content for the rest of my trip to Ireland will be left to the imagination. 

Elizabeth and I spent 2 days in Galway. We took a taxi to the bus station in Dublin and then bused 2ish hours to Galway. When we arrived we decided to walk to our accommodation and oops did I lead us astray. When planning our trip we were between 2 places so I booked them both and then canceled one after. I accidentally walked us to the one I had canceled. Since it was Ireland in February it was obviously a cold and rainy walk 😔 The silver lining was that we stopped at this beautiful church and got to wander inside. The not so silver lining was that we had to backtrack almost directly back to the bus station to get to our actual hotel. 😳 

Elizabeth didn't disown me however we weren't done with snafus quite yet. When we checked into our tiny little hotel that used to be a prominent family home and church and got on wifi we discovered that the tour company we used to book our tours of Cliffs of Moher and The National Park had a death in the family and wasn't operating the tours we had booked for either of our days in Galway. 

The great thing about traveling during off season is that it's pretty easy to rebook tours for the following day at 6pm the night before, so we did just that. After 2 problems solved we decided to reward ourselves with a dinner out. Elizabeth chose the place and navigated us there (smart thinking on her part) and it was delicious. After dinner we went to a local Irish Pub and both had a Guinness while we listened to a band. We met some fascinating (and not so fascinating) locals. We chatted. We danced. We sang. We got our beers drank by random men because they wanted to buy us Jaeger instead? 

Cheers to an interesting first day in Galway. 

So I Did A Thing Where I Spent The Night In A Castle

 Feb 17-18, 2023

I took off Friday night and flew 6.5 hours to arrive in Dublin by 9am Saturday morning.

I ate a fruit cup at the airport and contemplated the fact that I'm traveling again- YAY!
I took the 700 bus downtown and met Elizabeth at the William Fitzpatrick. It was so nice to be able to brush my teeth and throw on some DEO before heading out for the day. We walked around and explored the shops, enjoyed the street buskers (thanks Elizabeth for teaching me a new slang term), stopped in the CUTEST French patisserie #girlstrip2020 #covid #livingvicariouslythroughthispastryshop
And had tea and macaroons which were delectable. 

After we walked around the ground of Trinity College and explored the outdoor gardens across the way from our hotel. AND we stopped for a glass (not to be confused with a pint) at a local bar that was POPPIN. We couldn't understand why this particular place was PACKED inside and out--- people were even standing outside with no tables enjoying a beer. We obviously had to do what the locals were doing and follow suit.

Then we headed to Clontarf Castle- our accomodation for the night. It's spectacular. It's 6 floors of castle decorated in art that tells the story of its history. We got upgraded to a special room. I'm questioning it because there's no hot water but there are 2 beds. 😂🤦‍♀️

Went to Knights bar. Super packed. Sat at bar- no service. Got moved to table. Mediocre burger. No dessert. Private parties IN ALL THE ROOMS. No bars around. We went to bed at 1030pm and slept until 1015am. (Minus when there were drunk girls yelling in the hallway and some kind woman yelled at them to go to bed. #earplugs #5am)

Rain, Rain Go Away, We're Exploring Antigua Today!

 July 11, 2022

We got to the airport early only to find that they hadn't even opened security yet. Once they did however, we were allowed to go through with full water bottles 😳 Nothing like feeling real safe at 6:30 in the morning. After landing in Guatemala City we were ushered off the plane in a single file line and marched across the tarmac, into the airport and to an attendant who would individually take each of our temperatures. We then, still keeping in our single file line, were handed off to another flight attendant who walked us to baggage claim (we flew on a super small plane so everyone had to gate check their luggage). After getting our bags we were finally allowed to venture out on our own-- thank goodness because of course I had to go to the bathroom 😄 We then went through immigration even though we had already been in the country? 

Since it was only 8am, we got a taxi to a breakfast spot Kristin had looked up and planned our day from there. The skies opened up and it POURED rain minutes after we entered so we were so glad to have a dry place to hunker down. The rain let up about an hour and a half later so we ventured out and made the 20 minute walk to our airbnb. There were no sidewalks to be found so we were traversing through the busy city streets with our bags in tow. We got to our airbnb (after some difficulty because it was in a gated community), dropped our bags and changed. Then we grabbed a taxi to Antigua, a small mountain town about 45 minutes outside of Guatemala City. Upon arrival we were offered a walking tour by one of the local guides. He said it would be about an hour. 3 hours later and we were still walking through the city in the pouring rain. I finally broke the news that the tour was absolutely lovely and that we'd learned so much but that we were ready for something to eat. 

Our guide, Fidencio suggested an Indian restaurant and while it did not disappoint it was another 20 minutes before we reached it. After warming up a bit, enjoying a local craft brew and a delicious meal we were ready to uber back to Guatemala City where we chilled at our aibnb for the rest of the evening.

Being Sick on VK Sucks

 July 12, 2022

Kristin and I both woke up feeling sick so we spent the day on the pullout futon watching Chopped. Because we felt so crappy we ordered in food via ubereats and crossed our fingers for a better next day. 

Feckin' Flights

 July 13, 2022

After a long night I woke up to an email that our flights to El Salvador had been canceled 😞 We could either rebook for Friday (today is Wednesday) or we could get a voucher for the airline to use one year from now. Both were not helpful because we were supposed to fly back to the states Friday and were not planning on heading back to El Salvador within the next year. 😢  We tried and tried to figure out a solution but were ultimately afraid of getting stuck in another country while sick  🤒  😷  we found flights out of Guatemala City for that morning so we RACED to get ready (while still not feeling well) The line for checking in at the airport was SO long and finally a sweet man spotted me and asked if I had to check a bag or just check in. I told him it was a carry on and that I just needed to check in so he ushered me to another line, much to the dismay of the female customer who had been raising her voice at me insisting that I had to wait in the same line as everyone else. But I'm not checking a bag. But I'm not checking a bag. She did not want to hear it. Thank goodness this man did. My luck I'll be sitting next to her on the plane 🤦‍♀️ 

I made it through security- thankfully- and found Kristin at her gate so we got to hang out a little before departure. We also got to witness the lovely music from this 5 man band playing in our terminal. 

All in all it wasn't the ending we had been hoping for, however, making it home as opposed to being stuck in another country while sick was a silver lining. Until next time, Central America. 👋