"Rainy Days"

For those of you who know me well and follow my updates and albums on Facebook, it may seem that we're "living the dream." I'm always posting about all of our travels and sunny days in Dublin where the Guinness is flowing... but some people may be glad to know, it is NOT all lollipops and rainbows. There have been many rainy days, both literally and figuratively: the real rainy weather days and the emotionally "rainy days." You know, the in-between days... the ones that don't get documented in pictures.

I read a post on my friend Sam's blog, Hooah & Hiccups (it's fantastic, you should follow it!), about An Eeyore Kind of Day and it made me feel so much better to hear that someone else was comfortable talking about having a down day. Most of the time I keep it inside, but thought it'd be good to talk about it too...

Don't get me wrong, I love my life -- our life. I'm a newlywed, living in Ireland and traveling throughout Europe with my wonderful husband & best friend, sharing unforgettable experiences that are teaching me so much about life and about myself. That being said, this is also the hardest thing I've ever done. Granted, the fact that this is the hardest thing I've done makes me extremely thankful to have been fortunate throughout my life. But yes, uprooting my life and moving to another country overseas has been difficult at times... much harder than I ever anticipated.

St. Stephen's Green - packed on a rare sunny day

In the beginning, I felt like I was "on holiday" and not really living here yet, still hopped up on adrenaline from our whirlwind departure from the states and delighted by the idea of a little time off of work. I still thought the constant rain was charming and all part of the fun. "It's liquid sunshine!" (what one Irishman called rain, ha). However, once the initial excitement wore off and I got my fill of Netflix, I was left wondering what to do without a job or a soul to call here. I miss my family and friends, I miss the every day conveniences, I miss summer (just as people may envy pics from our trips, I was so envious to see pictures of my friends out on boats on Lake Michigan enjoying warm Chicago sunshine), I miss work and feeling productive -- I went through a nightmare process with the Irish government, resulting in my being unable to accept a great offer that I was thrilled about... and I'm still fighting the good fight for employment here and coping with being an "accidental housewife." 

With any big move, I know there are trade-offs... 2 sides to every story. I get to live in Dublin, but I worry that I'm putting my career on hold (even in this short time!). It's easy to travel Europe, but it takes much more time and money to travel home. I'm meeting tons of new interesting people, but I'm missing time with loved ones - visits with my family, my nephew/nieces' cute stages, my friends' weddings and babies...

Funny that this is one of the only pics I have of rain!

I know, I know... I live in Europe, woe is me! Of course, I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's a day-by-day process. I'm slowly building a life here and constantly redefining who am I as a person. It takes time and it's a growing experience. In addition to my husband being a fantastic support system, I'm learning how to support myself and maintain perspective. In the grand scheme, missing 6 months of work (not to mention for a legitimate reason) doesn't matter... In many ways, it's a blessing that I'm able to take a step back and remember that work should not define me. I want to work to live, not live to work. As much as I'm missing family and friends now, we have the rest of our lives to settle down closer to home.

It's not easy to open up and let everyone know that I have "rainy" days. I usually don't like to talk about it because I think no one wants to hear about the bad stuff, or I worry people wouldn't understand how I could be down, what with a new marriage and our jet-setting lifestyle... 

But here it is: I have "rainy days" (and the abundance of actual precipitation doesn't help either!). There are ups and downs to every circumstance in life, including ours. Some days are terrific, some days are among the most emotionally taxing I've had. Writing is certainly cathartic, but it's important to be real and talk about it too. To anyone having a "rainy day," don't be afraid to talk about it! It happens to us all, and it makes you stronger in the long run. This journey is strengthening me every day. 

Here's hoping I can call rainy days "liquid sunshine" more often!

Paris!

We spent our first holiday weekend in Barcelona, and the next in Paris. I've always wanted to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe... there are so many amazing things to see!

In Barcelona, I could get by on my college Minor level of Spanish, but France marked our first country where neither of us spoke the language. I know the travel basics, the song "Les Poissons" from Little Mermaid (hee hee hee haw haw haw!) and the words to a nonsensical French Rap video my brothers put together 5 years ago... meaning, I don't know French. However, as with every major city in Europe, most people also speak English and you can get by -- I just think it's polite to attempt the native language, even if I butcher it and it's blatantly obvious that I'm American. At least I'm not being assumptive and I'm trying, right?

The trip itself was fantastic! We stayed in Saint-Germain, an artsy, upscale neighborhood on the left bank of The Seine -- great location for sightseeing. We spent the first of three days walking around the entire city and exploring as much as possible. The morning was spent walking through the neighborhood and the Jardin du Luxembourg, the expansive gardens surrounding Luxembourg Palace. Our walk worked up our appetite and we had a delicious breakfast of fresh crêpes and espresso. Maybe my favorite meal of our whole trip! 

Next, we made our way over to the river Seine and to Notre Dame. We didn't go in because of the charge and line, but we should've and will do it next time! The exterior architecture alone is beautiful though...

 After Notre Dame, we walked along the river and through Jardin du Tuileries to Champs-Élysées, the enormous shopping street filled with cafes and luxury stores. The Avenue dead ends in the Arc de Triomphe, another famous monument that honors the soldiers in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

The Eiffel Tower was next. It started raining (the Dublin weather followed us!), but it didn't matter and actually made the setting more romantic :) That is, until I got soaked and was freezing and we stumbled into a local cafe where the waitress was not a fan of us, ha! That was the only experience where the people were not very friendly; otherwise, we found that most people defied the Parisian stereotype and were very nice and helpful. 

On Day 2, we spent the bulk of our day at The Louvre (it's so massive you could spend days in there!). Even though we got an early start, we arrived to a ridiculously long line. I just figured it was par for the course, so we sucked it up and waited in line for an hour, inventing silly "would you rather?" scenarios, only to find that the line was so long because admission was FREE! This occurs on the first Sunday of every month... works for me! 

The interior decor by itself is incredible and, of course, it has some of the greatest art in the world! Notice the Mona Lisa is blurry b/c it's actually smaller than you would think and you can only get so close, especially amongst the crowds.

 Following the Louvre, we visited the neighborhood of Montmartre, where the infamous Moulin Rouge is located. It's a very cool neighborhood, boasting panoramic views from Sacré-Cœur, a gorgeous basilica at the highest point of the city. We got a bottle of wine and watched the sunset here for our last night in Paris...

 Our final day, we did more of the same, strolled the streets and relaxed at cafes. Can't wait to go back and visit again. Until next time... Au Revoir, Paris!

Myths about Ireland

As I've mentioned before, I never had the pleasure of visiting Ireland before moving here, and didn't really know what to expect. Like most people who have never been here, I admittedly had a slightly distorted image of what normal life would entail. Now that I've been here for a short time, I thought I'd set the record straight on many of the common myths. Here is a short list of the facts vs. fiction when it comes to Ireland:



Fact:  The majority of people are incredibly friendly

Fiction:  There are jolly leprechauns bouncing around! 
Ok, that one was a gimme. There obviously aren't little giggling people after my lucky charms (unless you consider my work permit my lucky charm, ha!)... But really - there are few leprechaun dolls, toys, or cartoon characters on cereal boxes. You will see one human leprechaun mascot on Grafton St, but this is clearly for tourists!

Fact:  There are many "traditional" Irish meals
Fiction: Corned beef is one of them
I'm not sure when and why that become an "Irish classic" in America, but you will not see it anywhere here! Instead of corned beef and cabbage, the traditional meal is bacon (thick cut bacon, more like ham) and cabbage. Below is a delicious meal of Fish & Chips, Bacon & Cabbage w/ parsley sauce, and plenty of potatoes!

Fact:  There's plenty of Irish slang and different sayings
Fiction:  People say "top o' the mornin' "
I've absorbed a plethora of different lingo here, which I could cover in a whole post itself! "Top o' the morning" would not be included in this, as it is never used as a typical greeting.


Fact:  The Irish love their Guinness
Fiction:  All Irish people drink a lot / the Irish are drunks
While it's definitely not an urban legend that people drink lots of Guinness here and I wouldn't recommend trying to keep up with your Irish friends, not everyone drinks. You don't see any more drunk people in Dublin than you would on a Friday night in Wrigleyville!

Fact:  It's very green here
Fiction: People always wear lots of green
This is pretty self-explanatory. Not everyone is walking around in green, or chunky Aran sweaters for that matter.

This picture is not even enhanced!

Fact:  It is easy to use Dublin as a jumping off point for travel around Europe
Fiction:  We take the train everywhere in Europe...
It's scary how many people back home have asked me if we just take the train everywhere. Ireland is an ISLAND! So yes, there are trains that we can take around Ireland, but any travel outside of the Emerald Isle requires an airplane. Also, the Chunnel goes from the UK to France or Belgium... just throwing that out there.

Fact:  There is still tension between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Fiction:  There are many people in the IRA and there is a lot of violence
I certainly don't want to downplay the conflict that has occurred here, but it seems most people are of the mentality that they don't want to return to "the bad days." There are areas where it is still segregated and there is still some distrust, but it's vastly improved. I was in a pub with a friend who just moved down from N. Ireland and an American tourist asked her, "Are you scared to be here?"
To some extent, this was embarrassing, in that she has no reason to feel uncomfortable living in Dublin.


Fact:   Ireland has impressive Olympic boxing champions
Fiction:  Everyone loves to fight
True, Gold Medalist Katie Taylor seemed godlike in Ireland during the Olympics, but not all people follow in her footsteps or try to pick fights at pubs.

Fact: It rains all the time
Fiction:  Well... I got nothing. It rains a lot.
Apparently this is one of the wettest summers Ireland has had in a long time. Lucky us!

But occasionally, you will get that miraculously sunny day that elevates all moods and forces you take advantage of the weather. On these days, I appreciate my city even more and want to go chasing after that nonexistent pot of gold.

Probably the only time I've worn a halter top here!

So to all you Americans back home, stop making your Corned Beef & Cabbage for St. Patty's Day (I was previously guilty of this too), and come take a peek at the REAL Ireland!

Easter in Barcelona

We returned from our mini moon on a Tuesday, Brandon went in to work on Wednesday and Thursday, then we left for another trip on Friday. Our first trip outside of Ireland... to Barcelona for Semana Santa, or "Holy Week" (last week of lent before Easter). We really hadn't had time to settle down in those 2 days between traveling, but there was a Monday Bank Holiday to be seized. There are 4 or 5 bank holidays throughout the year in Ireland, and we try to take advantage of each and every one of these long weekends to start checking off our extensive "hit list" of travel destinations. With no particular order in mind, we chose Barcelona first...

Panoramic view from Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

We arrived on a Friday evening and, by the time we got to the hotel and freshened up, it was already close to 11pm. Conveniently, people don't eat dinner in Spain until 9 pm or later anyway! We went to Cervecería Catalana, a restaurant recommended by our concierge and put our name in to wait (yes, there was still a wait at 11pm... nuts!) Well, it was worth it! We stayed until 1 am, drinking house Rioja (house wines are actually very good in Spain) and eating a delectable variety of tapas. The meal was so enjoyable that we veered from our typical routine and dined there twice during our trip!

Over the next couple days, we took a Hop on/Hop off bus all around the city to see the various sites. We walked down Las Ramblas, the main promenade inundated with street vendors and crowds passing through.

Las Ramblas

On a side street off La Rambla is Mercat de la Boqueria, an enormous public market filled with fresh meats, fish, cheeses, fruits, spices... you name it! Very cool place to walk around and grab a bite to eat.

Mercat de la Boquería

La Rambla ends at the Monumento a Colón, the tallest Christopher Columbus Monument, located at the site where Columbus returned after his first voyage to the Americas.

Monumento a Colón

We then strolled through Barri Gòtic, the gothic quarter with stunning architecture and a labyrinth of narrow streets opening up to little plazas. 

La Seu Cathedral

 Barri Gòtic

... And into La Barceloneta, an adjacent neighborhood that meets the beach boardwalk.

La Barceloneta

Of course, you can't go to Barcelona without hearing about Gaudí, a famous Spanish Catalan architect. His well-known works consist of Casa Milà, Casa Batlló, Sagrada Família, and Park Güell. All are amazingly creative and awe-inspiring.

  

 Casa Milà - or La Pedrera

Casa Batlló

Sagrada Família

Park Güell views

Park Güell

Finally, we visited the modern beach strip near Port Oliímpic. What I love about Barcelona is the juxtaposition of architectural style throughout the city. You can go from the Gothic Quarter with all the historic and intricately designed buildings, to the Catalan Modernism of Gaudí, to the "Miami Beach" type clubs (mojitos are a must).

Port Olímpic

Combine that style with sunny weather and tasty cuisine, and I'm sold! It's just an awesome city, and still one of my favorites of all we've seen. I wouldn't mind living in Barcelona for a while :) Without doubt, I'll be back to visit again! 

Ireland Itinerary

Here's the first of many itineraries to come: our first road trip around the southwestern part of Ireland...



Day 1

Blarney Castle

• €12 - you could spend 1-3 hours here - climb to the top of the castle, kiss the Blarney Stone, walk around the grounds (extensive, so you can make it as long as you like)

Kinsale

Kinsale is a little fishing town set on a harbor, just 20-30 drive from Cork (40 or so from Blarney). It has narrow streets and cute pastel buildings, so it's very nice to walk around. White Lady Hotel would be a good place to stay (or even just grab a bite to eat in the restaurant). There's also a well-known restaurant called Fishy Fishy, which is supposed to have (surprise, surprise) good seafood. 

What to see nearby:

• Charles Fort - just 2-3 kilometer drive outside of Kinsale (could do this the same day if you have time, or in the morning the next day) - huge 17th century star-shaped, 12 acre fort on the harbor - costs ~4 euro
• Old Head Kinsale - golf course, pretty coastal scenery

Day 2

Killarney National Park

What to see (should be signs for most of these):

• Muckross House
• Muckross Abbey
• Torc Waterfall
• Ross Castle
• Ladies' View (viewpoint on your way out of the park)

  *Tourist info office is on Beech Rd in a shopping plaza before Muckross House, says "Discover Ireland" on the sign - they'll give you a map of the park and some good suggestions

  *Don't go in entrances that say "jaunting car entrance" - they are horse and carriage entrances!

  *If you want to do a carriage ride (I did with my parents and it was really pretty), you can get a ride by Muckross House for €30 and they'll take you around one of 2 routes around the lakes, to the Abbey, to the waterfall, etc.

Kenmare

The town is very small, with just a few main streets and a town square (triangle). It's a great stopping point before starting the Ring of Kerry. There aren't really "sites" to see, so just walk around and check out the pubs and little shops! Tom Crean's Fish & Wine restaurant (across the street from the Lansdowne Arms hotel) is good. There are also plenty of places on Henry Street, which is the main street going through the town (pretty view of the town and chapel and hills in the background from the start of the street!).

Day 3

Ring of Kerry

Kenmare is pretty much the start of the Ring and there should be lots of signs, but N70 will take you around the whole ring. Take your time and take lots of pics! You'll pass through a few towns that would be good to stop and grab a bite (Waterville & Cahersiveen at the top of the ring, Killorgin more toward the end - will just depend on your timing).

Dingle

The whole Dingle Peninsula is gorgeous and the town itself is quaint - definitely spend a night here! We stayed in the Dingle Benners Hotel and loved it. It's the oldest hotel in Dingle, very charming and right in the town center.

What to see/do:

• Slea Head Drive - beautiful views
• Murphy's Ice Cream - on Strand Street, famous ice cream place started in Co. Kerry - they have Guinness flavored ice cream! 
• O'Sullivan's Court House Pub - we went there and listened to some great live music! Don't know if they'll have music on Wed, but it's still a cool pub!

• Conor Pass (next day, if you have time) - highest mountain pass in Ireland, spectacular views - takes you over to Brandon Bay. Don't do this drive if there is bad weather, b/c the road is very narrow and the visibility would be poor up in the mountains.

Day 4

Adare 

Nice little town, just southwest of Limerick - would be good stopping point for lunch before getting to the Cliffs in the afternoon

• Cute thatched cottages/shops
• Castle
• Old Franciscan Friary (founded in 1464)
• Adare Heritage center also has a couple good shops

Cliffs of Moher

• €6, awesome views, only takes ~1 hr. to see (just walk from one end to the other)

Lahinch

Good place to stay for the night after seeing the Cliffs, only about 10 min drive away. It's known for surfing, and is a good place to take lessons if you're interested! We stayed in the Atlantic Hotel (ok hotel restaurant, breakfast included). Doolin is also a town nearby - we didn't stay here, but it's known for good live music.

Day 5

Aran Islands

The Aran Islands could be skipped for timing, but they're really cool and a nice taste of "old Ireland." People still speak Gaelic here and most of the signs are in Gaelic too (some with no English!). We took a ferry from Doolin that took you by the Cliffs of Moher (cool to see it from a different perspective and shows just how massive they are) and then to Inisheer. 

• Inisheer is the closest and smallest island of the 3 (only 2 pubs on the whole island), but Inishmore would be the largest and most common to visit.

Galway

Spend 1-2 days here (only spent a night and part of a day, but would like to see more). We stayed by the famous Quay Street/Latin Quarter - cool area with pedestrian streets and lots of pubs, restaurants, and shops.