Thursday morning I headed off to the Paris Buveais Airport to catch my ten euro plane flight to Ireland. That's right. You heard me. Ten euros.
A pretty painless process in the small airport aside from the fact that I had to repack my bag and literally shove it into the carry-on luggage display to convince the lady that it was small enough.
I got a stamp in my passport and boarded the plane from the tarmac for the first time!
I landed in Shannon and then bused over to Limerick; adorable city that is the third largest in Ireland and has so much character. *First experience with wrong-side-of-the-road driving. It certainly threw my mind through a loop!* I walked around Limerick, over bridges and alongside castles. The weather was sunny and beautiful and I felt very safe. At 8 o'clock, the first of my Couch Surfing hosts kindly picked me up and drove me through the bus routes and on to his house. Brendan O'Sullivan is exactly the type of Irish person I would've imagined: red, curly hair, a thick accent, and a knack of teaching me the difference between chips, fries, and taytos.
Friday I took a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher with the Paddy Wagon express. Most of the time I couldn't decipher what the driver was saying because Irish English and American English are two very different languages. Not to mention his accent, too. The cliffs were fogged over almost the entire time and it poured down rain but it was a great adventure! The cliffs, the ocean, and the countryside surrounding were absolutely gorgeous. It was my first time seeing the Atlantic Ocean! And it was on the West coast! After the tour, I was dropped back in Limerick and had time to wander. I actually decided to go visit an Irish pub and see if it was at all exciting. Well, I was too early for any of the action or live music. Basically, I sat at the bar alone and ate some really good onion rings and drank a ginger ale. Definitely didn't look like I belonged either. Kind of a lame Irish pub expereince so I will definitely be returning some day. After that, I happened to be walking down the road when I noticed a set of missionaries talking to a lady and I got so excited! I waited until they were done and I approached them and introduced myself as "a member from the states". Highlight of my week was talking to them! Both guys from the states but they had both developed thick Irish accents during their service. Apparently, there were 4 sets of elders walking around that night.
Saturday I ran into the same missionaries for the second time! Obviously I went up and talked to them again. Highlight #2. I spent time at the Milk Market in Limerick before taking another bus down to Tralee where I was to meet my second Couch Surfing host(s). Patricia and John, the cutest couple who lived in the little, teeny, tiny village of Kilfynn. By the end of my stay with them, they had adopted me as another granddaughter and invited me back for Christmas. They were so kind! I attended a Catholic service with her, a village craft fair, and ate some delicious steak and potato dinners with the traditional side of mashed peas. I also did a fair share of shopping for warm clothes like a hat, scarves, and fuzzy socks while in Ireland because of their famously cheap store, Penneys. It is originally called Primark (the name of it in England and France and elsewhere I'm sure). So cheap and so awesome. If I didn't have to fit it all in a small traveler's backpack, I'm sure I would've done a lot more damage!
Monday was the day I went down to the Dingle Peninsula and spent the whole day perusing the shops to escape the downpour and enjoying some fine Kerry Cow ice cream and golden fish and chips. Despite the sopping whether, it really is a stunning peninsula. The bus ride to and from Dingle had some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Winding up and down mountains (or the Irish version of mountains) gave me views of quilted, green landscapes filled with sheep and cows and just green, green, green. In the distance was the gleaming ocean and pretty soon, a rainbow popped up. My first Irish rainbow, ah! I really think I found my favorite place in Ireland.
Tuesday morning, I caught my first train to Dublin. Sad to leave the adorable countryside, I must that I really liked Dublin! The later in the day it got, the more exciting the sights became. By dinner time, the glistening streets were filled with people and the atmosphere was very fun. Upon a marvelous recommendation by Hannah, I went to Pieman's Cafe for lunch. A restaurant of homemade pot pies. So yum! Had they accepted debit cards, I'm sure I would've bought way more than just my one pie. So. Good. I browsed the whole city and loved it. Temple Bar is a place I will definitely be returning to. I must go into a pub and listen to live music! Bucket list item, for sure! When it was time for me to make my way to my next host's apartment, I crammed myself onto a bus (literally shoved into the wall) and awaited my stop. Well, I guess I didn't read her text directions right. I got off 3 stops too early and wandered up and down a road for an hour trying to find 124d. With the help of a very kind pizza delivery guy, I found my host and her apartment. Great company! Two roommates, Tatiana from Canada and Natasha from France, who were both living in Dublin as volunteers for an organization that helps the homeless people of Dublin. I mean, for a free apartment, free utilities, and a 500 euro paycheck each month, it was a very nice apartment! Modern and clean. Heck, sign me up for that job. Their neighbor from Germany came over and we talked and talked into the wee hours of the night. I crashed on their couch and awaited my very early morning...
Wednesday morning: catching a flight out of the Dublin airport at 6 am. So, I planned on waking up at 4, grabbing a taxi to the station, then a shuttle to the airport. Well, my alarm was set an hour early so I woke up at 3 am and hailed a taxi thinking my reserved car just didn't show up, and then realized my mistake. An hour early!? Ugh. So I sat and read some scriptures at a very cold bus station for an hour and waited for my shuttle to arrive. When I got to the airport, I was breezed through security (props, Europe!) and took my mile-long walk up and down corridors and hallways to my gate. Well, I saw some more missionaries!! They were actually running down the corridor as if they were late so I didn't actually talk to them again but I did notice that one of them I saw was the exact same missionary I talked to both times in Limerick. The odds of being in a small town of Limerick and then in the huge Dublin airport at the same time and place and seeing them was shocking to me. Definitely a reassuring sign, if you will :)
So, I boarded my plane (accidentally missed going through American customs before), and flew to Glasgow, Scotland.
BEAUTIFUL flight from Dublin to Glasgow. Inlets of water, green landscapes, rolling hills, peppered with cities; I loved it. When I landed, I took a bus into the city center and then a bus to Edinburgh. Definitely a favorite city! As I was walking around, I gazed up at the Edinburgh Castle perched atop it's mini mountain and I thought to myself, "Gosh, this looks like Hogwarts". It wouldn't be until nearly a week later that I'd discover that is exactly the castle that Hogwarts is based off of because of the fact that JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series in Edinburgh.
Back to the city... Amazing! The best castles by far. Very fun shopping centers, a park that has a view over the whole city with the ocean in the distance and the hills of Scotland to the right. I may have found myself in the really touristy shops down from the Edinburgh Castle and I may have done a lot of damage $$$ in souvenirs for my family... Oy vey. But so worth it! Now to ship them home...
I bused back to Glasgow and spent my remaining hours in Scotland around the city center and enjoyed the streets at night and browsed endlessly through Primark. I wanted to buy everything there. I discovered Primark's stock of Harry Potter themed clothing and made plans to buy a Griffyndor sweater in London. It would double as a Halloween costume and a novelty possession that I will sport proudly. Next stop: painfully long bus ride to London overnight.
I arrived Thursday morning in London at 6:30 am. The gorgeous weather granted me the opportunity to watch the sunrise through the streets of London with a glimpse of Big Ben and the London Eye surrounded by the bright pink sky. It was kind of magical. I meant to find my friends at the awesome Killer Cereal Bar but after getting hopelessly lost, I rented a city bike and biked the city. I swear, I covered a lot of ground on that butt-bruising bike. Best way to spend my 6 hours of London! Perched with my stuffed, 50lb backpack on my back, I took on the streets of London and got yelled at by cab drivers and motorcyclists more than once and nearly got run over while trying to remember that they drive on the wrong side of the road. But alas, I am alive to tell the tale. I am definitely wanting to go back to London and actually experience more of it. I did leave the city with my Griffyndor sweater so I was a happy camper!
Then begins the most painful bus ride of my life. 10 hours. Hot. Cramped. Cranky girl next to me. Getting held up at the Euro Tunnel/Chunnel from London to France. Arriving in Paris 45 minutes late. Missing my train home. Taking 3 metros to my city. Walking a mile+ uphill to my home. Peeing my pants. Finally reaching my bed all sweaty, dirty, disgusting, and smelly. I fling everything down, strip down to clean clothes, and CRASH.
Vacation: over.
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