Ireland Adventures: Day 2

We arrived at our hotel, the Riu Gresham in Dublin, and since our room was not ready, chilled for a little bit with family in their room before venturing out further. Right out of our hotel, we walked past the Spire. We saw lots of statutes. We visited Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and started our souvenir buying. Then we walked through the Temple Bar district. We also visited Trinity College.

We got into our hotel room mid-afternoon, but did not sleep. Our plan was to stay awake until we could head for an early bed. We hoped that would help us adjust to the time change and maximize our time in Ireland.

I was impressed with our hotel room when we entered it. It was airy, spacious, and clean. Unlike in the US, rooms have tea service instead of coffee pots. (They provide instant coffee for use with the electric kettle, if desired. The floors were bare, but not really tile or carpet, some type of spongier in between. The bed had only two sleeping pillows and two decorative pillows. They only gave us one washcloth.

I did appreciate the sustainability efforts made by the hotel. Room service came only if requested. A sheets change required putting a note on the bed. There were no single size toiletries, rather refillable bottles on the wall. Each floor had a water filling machine, for both bottles and the carafes provided for the room. All in all the hotel setting was very nice!

We ventured back out, and first up on my bucket list, we walked to Ha'Penny Bridge. We ventured out to the Garden of Remembrance (commemorating those who died for Irish freedom) and saw Abbey Presbyterian Church before heading for dinner. 

My father in law chose Murphy's Bar and Grill for dinner. It had a darker, kind of moody vibe, but the food was delicious! I ordered seafood chowder with brown bread. My husband got a truffle Parmesan burger. As my mother-in-law pointed out, most food comes with potatoes.

I noticed right away that Ireland gives small glasses for water. There is really no waiting on the tables, either. We had to ask for more water, and when we did, they just brought us a flask to refill on our own (which I was fine with). My father-in-law wanted gelato for dessert. I was not feeling the cold, and asked if I could get a doughnut for later. The family agreed, but first, we had to go to Dunne's Food Store. There were perused the local goods and picked up a few more items. Then it was off to The Rolling Doughnut and back to the hotel to eat and sleep! 

I got the Kinder deluxe doughnut. It was not amazing, but not bad, either. I did notice that desserts in Ireland are less sweet than in the US. Hallelujah for that, as I like my treats that way. And that was the end of Day 2.

                                                        

International Travel Adventures: Day 1

I have travelled overseas only a handful of times in my life: to the Philippines before I was 2 (I don't remember it), and to the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Honduras, and Mexico on cruises. That's it. So when my husband wanted to go to Ireland for his fortieth birthday, I hesitantly agreed. I felt a little anxious and uncertain, but with a lot of prayer, and in the Lord's strength, we went.

I decided to run before we left. (Thank you, Lord, that I can run!) Then I showered and finished packing, to depart for the airport at 7:50 AM. My husband's uncle kindly drove us to the airport, which made for a much smoother experience. Since our first flight was domestic, we didn't have to arrive early.

We checked three bags. (Thanks, Delta credit card for two bags being free. Plus, the agent offered to check my our carryons. My husband agreed. I wanted to keep mine.) We breezed through security and were off to our gate. The gate agent kept asking people to check bags, and by our boarding group seven, they were forcing checks. Bummer. This was a very full flight!

I had eaten some before I ran, and drank a protein shake on the way to the airport, but I snacked more on this flight to make the time pass. Thankfully, I was able to step over the lady night to me once to get to the restroom. That also helped pass the time.

I finished The Correspondent on this leg of the trip, a great book for reading before Ireland, since the author went to Trinity College in Ireland for her masters degree. I also played Quordle since the plane had WiFi.

Hartsfield-Jackson airport was a little bit interesting. We walked the long way through what felt like catacombs to get from the domestic to the international gates. I thought I lost the lightning cord I needed to charge my phone, searching for it everywhere, only to find that I put it in my crossbody bag to prepare for the flight. Go figure.

My husband got some food here. I snacked more. I found greeters in the bathroom. Interesting!

Winds and an airway switcheroo delayed our 8 PM departure to 9 PM. I was tired and wanted to sleep, but also wanted food. That took a while to come. I thought it was coming, but that was the drinks. And then a hot towel, which was nice, but I was hungry! When the food finally did come, it was good: a cold chickpea salad (a little dry, but flavorful), and warm vegetarian ravioli. I was honestly impressed with what they served. (They also added a roll with butter and a cookie on the side.) I made a trip to the bathroom and then tried to sleep.

Sleeping was...uncomfortable. We originally had a seat with extra legroom, but moved due to stewardess request. I reclined and wrapped the headrest around my head, but it was hard. I told myself just to lay there, though, and I think I dozed off for bits off and on (a total of about four hours from when I forced myself to close my eyes to when I woke up).

I woke up to the sunrise! It took me a little bit to orient, and to help, I asked for some coffee. It was strong! Thankfully my husband had some Splenda to offer me to offset the bitterness. (Normally, I don't sweeten my coffee, but desperate times call for desperate measures!) The plane served a breakfast of Greek yogurt and a Mediterranean egg and cheese calzone. I didn't really feel hungry, but ate the yogurt and stowed the calzone. Then we landed in our first destination: Ireland.

We had to go through immigration before getting our luggage. All we really did was show our passports and say we were there for "pleasure," and then right on through we went. I was desperate for water, and not finding any places to fill our bottles, settled on buying some from the vending machine-my first Euros purchase. Somehow, I bought Fanta the first time, but managed to get water the second time. Our luggage came pretty quickly, and then it was off to find the city bus. That took a little bit. The zipper on my brand new suitcase broke. (Thankfully, the suitcase held everything in, and I switched to using the other zipper.) We got on the bus and headed for our hotel.

Around us, I saw signs of the US everywhere: Krispy Kreme, a TCU football sign, a Texas sandwich at Burger king, etc. It sort of looked like the US (at least the east coast), but people drive in the opposite lanes. I noticed a lot of people biking and walking, but also a lot of people smoking: a strange contradiction! 

With our hotel room not ready until afternoon, we ventured out to see some of the sights. Officially, we were on day two of our vacation.

Ireland and Scotland Packing List (Used and Not Used)

I researched before packing for this trip. And then Ireland's forecast seemed much warmer than expected, so I took out my sweaters and sweats and opted for lighter clothes. That was a good move for Ireland, not for Scotland. Overall, what I packed did work. In case it is helpful to others (and so I have record for next time), here's what I packed, what I used, and what I wished I would have had.

Clothing:

All my clean socks and underwear (I wore all of the socks for sure!)
Dry wicking run shirt

Three dresses (one short-sleeve, one 3/4 sleeve, and one long sleeve)

One pair of jeans (that I really did not need)

Five pairs of leggings (one I did not wear)
Pajama shirt and shorts

Tanktop and shorts for the gym

Four long sleeve shirts

Four sports bras (all I wore with all of our traveling)

T-shirt for traveling home

Two pairs of yoga capri pants (for running and traveling)

Outerwear:

Front tie coat

Hoka shoes

Sunglasses (used minimally, but helpful when I did wear them)

Warm waterproof shoes

Windbreaker

Luggage:

Backpack with laptop sleeve

Crossbody bag

Hard sided suitcase (important in the rainy climate-those with fabric suitcases had wet clothes after our Ireland to Scotland flight)

What I wished I had:

Allergy medicine (to combat that cold or infection I got from the room?)

Down vest (for Scotland)

Envelopes to sort receipts (We had a lot!)
Face cream (I had my sunscreen face cream, but not my night cream. The cold and wind plus blowing my nose a lot chapped my face.)

More veggies (I ate the sweet potato sticks I brought, but would have appreciated more fresh or dried vegetables. Fresh agricultural products, dairy, and meat are no-gos through customs.)
My phone's power block (Although we had an adapter, it did not handle the lightning cord well on its own)

Shopping bags (We consistently bought more souvenirs than expected, and the UK charges for bags. Bringing our own bags could have saved us money.)

A warm scarf for our day in Scotland (which I have now thanks to a gift my husband purchased for me)

What I didn't use:

Dress boots (We walked too much for me to think about anything other than tennis shoes.)
Hair straightener (I put my hair up every day.)

Raincoat (I needed a packable coat, not this big one, as I needed to take it on and off.)

Sunscreen (though we might should have used it)

Umbrella (because I kept forgetting to pack it, and my crossbody bag did not have room for it)

Other packing notes:

I like having my nails done for special occasions and trips. Normally, I use Sally Hansen gel polish, and that keeps for a week. But what to do this time about the two week trip? Enter nail decals. A friend of ours uses them, and I decided to try. It was a little bit of a learning curve to figure out how to apply them, but once I did, added the top coat, and let them cure for a few hours, they were solid. When I got home, I peeled them off, showered and washed my hands to remove the adhesive, and voila! No more nails. So easy! I used the forest walk nail wraps from Lily & Fox and am a big fan. Yes, they are a little more expensive than a coat of polish, but WAY cheaper than an actual manicure or fake nails.

I took a lot of medicine in case one of us got sick. That had not happened on our previous vacations, but I feared for my husband because one of his medications lowers his immunity. Well, this time, someone got sick, and that person was me. I was very thankful for the Emergen-C (off-brand), vitamin C, and zinc I had with me. At least that helped me feel like I was doing something about my symptoms. 

I needed snacks. Some people don't, but I made good use of my dehydrated sweet potatoes, fruit strips, and protein bars. They were snacks and meals and fill-ins, even with buying more food in country. I also took a refillable water bottle with me. That was very needed! While I did refill a throwaway bottle to carry in my crossbody bag while out and about, I also used my Nalgene bottle a lot.

My husband bought and brought with us an adapter. This is absolutely necessary! There are no US style plugs anywhere that I saw.

It is VERY helpful to have a Visa credit card that converts currency. This saves a lot of money and prevents needing to get out cash. We either tapped to pay, or used our phones to pay everywhere (even Aldi, which normally takes only debit cards in the US). As a bonus, it's helpful if that card earns points. Vacationing is expensive!

Final thoughts:

I will probably pack a little differently if we go to Europe again. Overall, however, this was not the worst job ever. I realized I also have enough clothes in my closet for almost anything (even if I did donate quite a few pieces in my year of less). I think with the right research, I can keep shopping the wardrobe I have for vacation clothes, saving our money for more adventures!

What We Cooked and Ate (Week 40)

This Week's Eats:

French toast casserole cups (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Instant Pot chicken Alfredo spaghetti squash (365 Days of Crockpot)

Lemony orzo chickpea soup (Gimme Some Oven)

Lightened-up lemon bars (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Noteworthy Repeats:

Egg bake casserole (Food 52)

Freezer Pull-Outs:

Artisan pumpkin sourdough bread (The Pantry Mama)

Fluffy sourdough pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chips (Chasing Our Simple)

Sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies (The Pantry Mama)

Soft pumpkin sourdough bread (Drive Me Hungry)

Foods of Ireland and Scotland (Weeks 38-39)

We didn't quite do a food tour on this trip, but I did try some new stuff, some not so local, and some local: Coke Zero (for caffeine) on the plane, Dot's pretzels, sweet coffee (not normal, but this brew was stiff), flat white coffee, and mocha coffee; different types of rolls and breads. (The Guinness and treacle bread with this seafood chowder was by far the best!)

Chips (potato fries) came with almost everything (including the Italian classic lasagna!), and I was not complaining (though I did start to miss salads and fresh veggies after a while). I found it interesting to observe the origins of fruits.

I got a great oaty "flapjack" at a coffee shop. I thought it was something special, but then discovered it was just a homemade granola bar.

I expected Weetabix to be healthy tasting, but liked them so much I brought back a box of 48! Crumpets tasted kind of like English muffins with a sourdough tang. (I want to make these with sourdough!)

Scottish scones were more fluffy and biscuit shaped rather than flaky. Clotted cream tasted a lot like cream cheese. Tattie scones did not taste as much like potatoes as I expected. I liked them cooled rather than fresh. (They seemed kind of oily then.) Chips still came with most meals. Irn Bru is a soda unique to Scotland, but I didn't get to try that. Overall, there seemed to be a strong Indian influence on food.

I bought a few oat things in Scotland to bring home to try. I had hoped to experience the local food more, but between our hotel and the schedule, that did not really work out. There is always next time. (Or is there?) I will say that this trip inspired me to try some new cooking pursuits. I found quite a few good Irish/Scottish recipe blogs....

Churches of Ireland

It all started in Bermuda, and here I am, vacations later, still very into finding (and viewing) historic churches. The problem with Ireland is that it just has so many! Ireland is so very old, and it's churches are also so very old and cool. My internet research said the main churches to visit were: Christ Church Cathedral

John's Lane (St. Augustine and St. John's Church)

St. Audoen's Church, 

and St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

I also found out about St. Kevin's Church Ruins. 

I really did not think we would make it to them all, and I told my husband we could skip them, but somehow we made it. Along the way, we saw lots of other historic churches: 

Abbey Presbyterian, 

Church of Ireland (St. Webeurg’s), 

Church and Parish of the Annunciation and All Saints of Romania, 

The Father Matthew Hall, 

St. Ann's, 

Saint Catherine's, 

St. James, 

St. Mary of the Angels, 

St. Mary's Chapel of Ease, 

St. Mary's Star of the Sea Marymount, 

St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Ringsend, 

St. Paul’s Church at Smithfield,

St. Saviour's Church,

And then there were the repurposed churches. Look at this Scots church housed within glass! 

There were definitely more churches to research and see, but these were all we could fit in (this time).

Adventures of The Traveling Handkerchief

Things I did not know: My mom once had a handkerchief collection. She sent this one to me with the note: "It is from Ireland with genuine Irish lace." She asked me to take it with me on our recent trip "to remind [me] of [her and my dad's] love and prayers." Isn't that sweet? And thus began the travels of the handkerchief.

It came with us to Phoenix Sky-Harbor Airport to start our trip,

bopped through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport,

and finally arrived in Ireland.

It took a walk with us by the River Liffey and over Ha'Penny bridge.

It traveled out to Pohlberg Lighthouse.

It went on a long hike through the mountains of Glendalough

and saw some waterfalls.

It visited The Hungry Tree (but didn't get eaten).

It took a long walk through Phoenix Park.

Then it traveled countries to Glasgow, Scotland.

It walked with us to Coatbridge.

It went on the Discover Scotland tour (traveling pretty much the whole length of the country). It visited Highland Soap Factory

and Loch Ness

and the Highland Coos.

Then it went to Edinburgh

and spent some time at the castle.

It sat in Boston airport with us on a long layover.

And then it traveled back home safe and sound to its more permanent resting place (for a while, at least).

--

This is only a taste of the adventures we had on our 11 day vacation to Ireland and Scotland. Follow along for day-by-day recaps of our activities starting next week!