Just a little personal post so I can count this as ‘scrapbooking’ – and honestly, it’s really the easiest way to show my Mom my vacation pictures. :)
And ya’ll know already most of these are from my phone, no apologizes from me. :) During my winter hiatus we always try to go abroad – somewhere – and this is the first year our destination wasn’t a warm Jimmy Buffett paradise. Our first time ever across the Atlantic Ocean, in the middle of winter to England and Ireland. lol. And admittedly as much as I wasn’t very excited about the timing of this visit, it turned out to be pretty bad ass. It started off though, as a disaster – a cancelled flight and starting off a day late. Which, isn’t a big deal. Until you have to reschedule 2 other flights and 6 bed and breakfasts. So instead of having a minor meltdown, we decided we’d just stay on schedule, have 2 days in England and 4 in Ireland. And this landed us in Dublin on Valentines Day, so all in all it was pretty perfect.
So in England, we skipped our full day in London that was planned and headed straight to Stonehenge, where my history channel loving heart cried a little. Other stops were Bath (absolutely gorgeous), the Cotswolds and a few hours in London at night before heading to Dublin. Even though on a time crunch, we still did most things we wanted, even my husbands Jack the Ripper Tour in London. lol
This time of year isn’t their busy season, so for quite awhile Kelly and I were the only ones sitting here at Stonehenge and it was magic.
England didn’t disappoint. I tried to become a tea drinker but I’ll stick to the espresso. We had a rental car and driving on the wrong side of the road was….interesting. Doable, but a little scary at first. There’s few stop lights, so be prepared to go around about 400 round-a-bouts per day. Also, London is overwhelmingly big. Big and beautiful.
Ireland, well, she’s a fantastic beautiful green beast – even in February. There’s a castle around every corner, sheep lining the road, gorgeous coasts and every little city is rainbow colored. Talk about my paradise. First stop was Cobh, a little coast town and the last stop the Titantic made before, well….you know…
Killarney, The National Forest, random stops along the way. Driving in Ireland was less panic inducing. Also, don’t forget to exchange plenty of money at the airport. While you can use a CC about anywhere, Ireland has a lot more toll roads, and using a credit card for one euro is embarrassing. lol
Cliffs of Moher. OMG, this was absolutely gorgeous and so high on my bucket list. The photographer in me wishes it wasn’t high-freaking-noon while we were here for photos, but that’s just how timing worked out. Still absolutely breathtaking. And really cold. And realllly windy.
It’s like this everywhere. Gorgeous stone walls that are endless. But as usual, the prettiest things you’ll see are from the car with no place to pull off.
A real Irish rainbow! :) It rains there about 3x per day so a good chance you may see one too.
Dublin. And I could go back here over and over – all of it really. FULL of art, good beer around every corner. Again, all my favorite things. Easy to navigate, lots of cobblestone and it wasn’t terrible driving in, even downtown.
So, I’d definitely go back and highly recommend if you’re considering it! The flights weren’t as bad as I thought they would have been – and I’m kinda impressed with airplane food! We had two hot meals and I ate every bite – and also for the first time ever, used the bathroom on an airplane. I’ve always been a little scared too, even with the many many flights I’ve been on, but broke the seal across the Atlantic. Classy info to include, right?
If you come in the winter, a good jacket, some boots and a hat (it’s windy and rainy alot) and you’re good to go. A few days I wore insulated underwear because the wind was killer, but I could have lived without it if I needed to.
Cheers to you, to me, to new adventures and a new year. <3
