Wow, what a trip!

What a special 2 weeks to be able to completely unplug and just focus on each other  and all the beautiful scenery that Ireland has to offer.

There was something so magical about this trip that I’ve never felt before in my travels but I suspect it has something to do with being a newlywed, traveling internationally with my best friend for the first time and just intentionally trying to unplug.

Here’s a quick list of things we found unique in Ireland that’ll be fun to reminiscent on…

• Pubs do not offer cocktails. Only beer and whisky (and occasionally some wine)
• Pubs are a place of social gathering. It was odd to see both kids and parents all together drinking, singing songs and standing around awkwardly.
• Narrow roads are no fun. Almost never had any traffic thanks to the smaller then SF population of Ireland. Mostly 2 lane highways and we barely had to rely on the left hand mirrors. Also driving on the left is SUPER stressful. Bleh.
• Fruit was individually packaged. Aka, we are darn lucky to be in California with all the variety and freshness of our fruits! WOW!
• People  are kind and super accommodating. They can also get stirred up and end up talking non stop and throw in the occasionally FU*K and SH*T!
• Weather is unpredictable. Sometimes it showers. Sometimes it sprinkles. Sometimes its sunny and showers and sprinkles.
• There were so many small towns we visited and I couldn’t help but feel super out of place because of my ethnicity.
• Speaking of small towns, they towns really are small. We’re talking about the 150-1000 person range which I thought was super neat. Everyone seemed to know each other and all the current events and gossip of town.
• Certain stretches of driving was reminiscent of midwest with all the farmland, lack of shopping centers/malls and just the nothingness that surrounded us.
• They seem to be very expressive through music and writing but not a whole lot of dancing. Their ballads reminded me of country dancing where it’s a bit awkward at first but once you pick up the lyrics it feels just like home.
• They speak funny. Three = tree. No H’s!

Three most memorable things:

Dingle – good weather, astonishing view from Pax House room, amazing service and breakfast. Also had a lovely evening self guided tour with almost 0 tourists around the Peninsula. There was also great food (fish and ice cream) and cozy little pubs. My kinda small town!

Ashford Castle – Speechless. Views inside and out.. spa room experience…even the entrance with the guard and his mustache top hat and fancy little suit. Everything was so well thought out and I never felt so catered to in my life! (sorry Mom!) Hilarious how we did our best to maximize our 24 hours day and ended using almost every single hour from afternoon, evening night and morning. EPIC!

Kinsale – Old Presby was a wonderful cute little room. Small and walkable town with strolling walks to the fort, mountains and harbor. The history of the City was also fascinating and had all sorts of romantic charm to it. Wonderful!

Honeymoon = incredible success.

Can’t wait to travel more with my special lady. 🙂

And of course, some pictures to reboot the mind.