During my first two weeks in the United Kingdom, Sam and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Ireland from Nottingham. We booked a roundtrip flight for approximately £33, which is shockingly inexpensive compared to flight prices in the United States. Our flight landed in Dublin on the 17th of September at 6:30 AM and left Dublin at 21:05 leaving roughly 38 hours to explore Ireland.
Both Sam, my best friend, and I were very excited to get out and explore for the first time since arriving in Europe, so we had a booked schedule. Immediately upon arriving in Ireland, we went to a little donut shop called The Hot Donut where I got a blueberry-filled donut and Sam got a Baileys Donut. We both had some hot chocolate to warm us up as it was constantly raining throughout our trip making it quite cold.
On our first day, we walked roughly 16 miles. We went to the Christ Church Cathedral Dublin first which was gothic, beautiful and a great illustration of the architectural style often found in Dublin. Then we walked for a few miles around the city until we came across Saint Patrick’s lovely Cathedral. The building was gothic and stood very tall surrounded by a garden of green space, flowers, and a fountain.
After we toured all of the beautiful Gothic architecture in Dublin, we went to Guinness because you simply cannot go to Dublin without visiting Ginnuess. The building's exterior is similar to what I would expect the Industrial Revolution to look like. It was all white, and stark within the city of Dublin.
After exploring Dublin, we went to Howth which is a lovely fishing town northeast of Dublin. The city is overlooked by Howth Summit. The view from the summit is one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. The views include a hike down to the Baily lighthouse and an overlook of the Irish Sea. After exploring the summit, we took an adventure down to Howth where we walked along the coastline, toured the shops, and took a nice walk up the city to capture the view. Overall, I found Howth beautiful and would highly recommend checking it out when in Ireland.
The following day, Sam and I took a thirteen-hour tour to Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Burren. Our tour started at 6:45 AM. This day was interesting, to say the least. Upon arriving at the Cliffs of Moher, we were pelted with freezing rain and forceful winds for roughly fifteen minutes. Although this made the rest of our adventures at the Cliffs slightly cold and wet, it was worth it for the views. Luckily the cliffs were very clear and we could see them, and the area was so lush. After the Cliffs, we were taken to the Burren. The Burren is a region in the Country Clare where a wide section of land is covered in limestone. It looks different than anything I have seen on Earth, and it sits on the coastline making the view unmatchable. This was my favorite destination on the whole trip. The weather was beautiful and everything was perfect. After the Burren, our last stop was Galway. Galway was lovely and such a wonderful depiction of Ireland. I enjoyed the fun shops, live music cobblestone walkways, and delicious food. Although we were not there for long, it was lovely. I lived my Galway Girl dream!
After a long 38 hours, Sam and I headed home, back to the United Kingdom. Ireland was rainy and cold, but that was to be expected. We ended up walking a total of 22 miles, we explored five major destinations and made so many memories.
