Two months ago, Brynna and I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. We had wanted to do something special together to celebrate both of our graduations, as well as both of us landing jobs for after school with Brynna working on LI with the Boston Beer Company and me starting with Disney in August . We came up with a list of countries that we knew we wanted to see, as well as family and friends we hoped to visit. During the months prior, we planned, budgeted, conferenced, and organized our ideal graduation trip!! First up on our bucket list was IRELAND!
A brief prelude about our Irish hosts, in the summer of 2010, my family participated in the Washington Ireland Program (WIP) where we hosted an Irish student for the summer while she worked in D.C. We hosted a young girl from Belfast named Nuala and she quickly became part of our family, visiting us in the states several times over the next few years. Nu, as we called her, became my surrogate older sister since I never had my own. Also participating in the program was a young lad, David from Dublin, who became good friends with my father and our family, visiting us in the states as well. Over the years, we've stayed in touch with our 'Irish family' hoping to visit them eventually when the time arose.
So, on Monday, June 4th we began our adventure, leaving from Newark airport at 7pm. We had a layover in Iceland and continued onto Dublin, landing around 11am local time. David's mom Gabrielle greeted us at the airport with welcome signs. We made a few errands to exchange currencies, get phone plans, and took a much needed nap before exploring. We ventured around the city of Dublinthat afternoon with Gabrielle as our tour guide, walking down Grafton Street and passing Ha'penny Bridge eventually meeting up with her husband Ciaran at The Long Haul Pub for a pint of Guinness. Later that night we took a drive along the coast to see the ocean,
The following day we got an early start as we had reservations at Kilmainham Goal in the morning. We toured the jail which was rich with Irish history and stopped at a local coffee shop for lunch. We continued on to Guinness Factory that afternoon for our tour. We walked around the storehouse and finished at the Gravity Bar, which came with a complimentary pint of Guinness as well as a 360 degree view of the city of Dublin.
We continued venturing around the city, stopping at Dublin Castle and the local market. We met up with my friend Julia, with whom I swam for several years before and during college. After drinks, we ate in Temple Bar where there was a fantastic live band during dinner, featuring several Irish dancers. Brynna, Julia, and myself enjoyed a few more drinks before continuing on to the actual Temple Bar for a fun night of live music.
The following morning, we were up at the crack of dawn for a spontaneous day trip to Galway. We caught a 7am bus to Galway, which was 4 hours across to the west coast of the country. Brynna had visited friends the previous fall in Galway so she was familiar with the area. Upon arriving, we walked around the city and sat down by the docks. We grabbed lunch in the city and stopped at a local shop to get me an authentically Irish Claddagh ring, which I love.
We returned back to the docks for the scenic views were we just sat and relaxed. We walked around the city for most of the afternoon, stopping in St. Nicholas' Church and passing the beautiful flowers and bridges. We caught one of the last buses from Galway back to Dublin, where we immediately caught a train from Dublin up to Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is about 2 hours north of Dublin.
When we arrived in Belfast, Nuala picked us up from the train station and brought us home, where we met her boyfriend, Sam, and son, Finn. We went to bed almost immediately, as we had another early morning of exploring. The next morning, Nuala, Finn, Sam, Brynna and I drove up to the northern most coast of Ireland to see Giant's Causeway, as natural rock formation that is the fourth greatest wonder of the world in the UK. Later, we joined the family for an outing to a Northern Ireland beach, and passed a few castles on our journey home. We had a lovely night in, after Finn fell asleep, playing board games with a few glasses of wine, unaware of how late it was because the sun set at about 10pm in Northern Ireland.
The next morning, we slept in a bit, but were still up in time to visit St. George's Market, a local market with excellent live music and dozens of Belfast vendors selling everything from cheeses to steaks to soaps and paintings. We then visited the Titanic Museum, located in Belfast as it was the site from which the infamous Titanic ship launched. The museum was incredible and very well researched and informative. There were recordings from the original passage, and a detailed timeline of the events, as well as recounts from survivors. We also visited the Titanic Hotel, which was where the initial plans and drawings for the vessel were drawn.
Our visit to Belfast was just one week after Nuala's term as Lord Mayor of Belfast (in city council) had ended, however, she was still well known around the city. We were able to visit Belfast City Hall, and she was able to personally show us the chambers where they held meetings. Brynna and I each got to try on the Lord Mayor's robe, as well as the official Lord Mayor jewels, which were incredibly heavily. That night we had our last dinner together with our Belfast hosts before taking our train back to Dublin where we would spend the night before an early flight.
We loved visiting our Irish families so much and are so grateful to have such amazing and generous friends in our lives. We loved every minute in Ireland, as we come from a large Irish family and cherish our heritage. The time we spent in Dublin, Galway, and Belfast are some of my favorite memories filled with beautiful scenes, wonderful company, and, of course, good beer. We are so thankful for the Gilmartins, as well as Nuala, Sam, and Finn for their hospitality.
Slainte!
Next stop LONDON
Stay magical & stay tuned..
Song: Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran