My wonderful boyfriend surprised me with a trip to his home country in Northern Ireland for my birthday. We went during the end of August, which is a long overdue post but I miss it so dearly. He wanted to go back home to visit for a week but decided he didn't want to go alone this time. I haven't travelled out of the country by myself or without family and it took 2 months of convincing my parents that it was worth it. And I guess it worked. My family as well as Conor's were so excited for our trip and I knew it was going to be both an adventurous and overwhelmingly emotional one. And so it was.
I don't want to go into too much detail or write an essay on how amazing this trip was, but I do want to talk about the places we've visited, the people we've spent time with, the food we ate and the special moments we had.
The first day we got there, Conor's dad and little sister picked us up from the airport and it was a tiresome one. We headed to their house where we reenergized and had a cup of tea (the beginning of the tea saga) and a lovely roast dinner to end of the night. In between that, Conor drove up to his childhood friend (with his sister's Mini Cooper, which he borrowed for the whole week. He knew I loved mini's so he had to take it for the week hehe), where he surprised him. It was super nice seeing him interact with his childhood friends and family.
The next couple of days was a whirlwind of early mornings, long drives and adventurous days. To keep it short and simple, we first visited The Dark Hedges, which is the infamous spot for the filming of Game of Thrones and other popular films. It was one of the major spots I wanted to visit before I came because of how dreadfully eerie and beautiful it was. I thought it was a painting in the pictures but boy was I wrong. It was picturesque as can be. I loved it. We then went straight to the Giant's Causeway, where we got to visit Ireland's natural wonder of hexagon shaped stones, that were said were built by giants, cause duh. But really, it was from a volcanic eruption and it resulted in perfectly hexagon shaped rocks and stones. How incredible is that.
Belfast was next on our agenda, where we visited/hung out with Conor's best mates (whom I've met before and are lovely lads) and went on a night out in a student housing party, and crashed at his friends house for the night. It was a wild night... ha ha (I love Guinness). I didn't get to see much of Belfast, besides a bit of the student area and restaurants and of course, Queen's University (which is where Conor used to attend and so do some of his friends). Need to have a proper visit next time!
We then came back to Newry and headed off to Galway, where we spent two nights in a hotel with his family. We took the town during the day where we shopped and had a few eats, then went out pub hopping for a few drinks during the night. Galway is one of those not so hidden gems in Ireland, and may be my favourite city to visit in Ireland. Sorry Dublin. Still adore you.
One amazing opportunity I got was to ride in a helicopter across Ireland. I've never been in a helicopter before and it was amazing. Seeing Ireland from a bird's eye view was mesmerizing, especially since all I saw was GREEN. It was no wonder Ireland is called the Emerald Isle--it's covered in green. But I absolutely love it.
Dublin was our last stop. We got up at the crack of dawn and took the train to Dublin and spent a lovely couple of hours touring the city and shopping and ended it off with a pint of Guinness in the infamous Temple Bar Pub. It was so surreal to visit it in person. Irish pubs are the best pubs.
To end of the trip, Conor, myself, his family and friends all went Go-Karting, which was my first time ever. I was incredibly anxious about it and did not want to go what so ever. However, I didn't want to chicken out and miss out on an exciting and fun opportunity with his family and friends, so I went. And of course..I injured myself by falling out of the Go-kart. Like, literally I got tossed out the kart and fell into the pit of tires. It was traumatic, to say the least. After being a cry baby, I got up and decided to continue Go-karting and it ended up being fine. I did enjoy myself and now I know how to properly control the kart. Will I ever go again? Ehhhh... we'll see. Haha
Although we spent a few good days out and about, we did spent the necessary needed time in his family home, where I got to cuddle and play with his family dog, Pippa. She's so precious. Next time I'm smuggling her. Don't tell Conor. Conor's family are the most loveliest people I've ever met and made me feel at home as soon as I stepped foot into it (or on their drive way). They made sure our stay was as comfortable and cozy as ever. I spent a lot of my days and nights having multiple cups of tea, which I miss so much. I also fell in love with an Irish sitcom tv show called Mrs. Brown's Boys. If you haven't heard of it, I suggest you check it out. It's a man dressed in women's clothing. It's basically the Irish version of Mrs. Doubtfire, but has no filter. I absolutely love it.
If I were to sum up my stay in Ireland, I would say it was the most cozy and comforting trip I've ever had. The vibe of Ireland is so relaxing and peaceful and there is no hustle or bustle, which is a great change. The people are lovely, the food is the definition of comfort food (roast dinners are my favourite. Especially Conor's mums), and the weather is just the right chill and warmth. Although, I have to say, I was surprise at how warm it was majority of our stay, which I didn't mind but definitely craved the cold. Better luck next time..haha!
Ireland has become my home away from home and I know whenever I go back, I'll have a place to go and some familiar faces to see. I absolutely cannot wait to go back.
ps. I've already said my thank you's to my lovely boyfriend Conor, but thank you so much nuggle, for gifting me this life changing experience. I am truly thankful and cannot wait to give back to you. I love you x
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