Thursday 6 August 2015

A Week In The Life | 02

As some of you may be aware I just spent the week in Ireland so thought it would be another good week to let you know what I've been up too. Prepare for a lot of greenery... it's not called the Emerald Isle for nothing!
After heading to the airport in the early hours (2:30am to be exact) you can imagine it was off to a rather sleeping start. Once my feet were firmly back on the ground it was go, go, go. As soon as we arrived it was a quick change and off to my aunties 50th birthday party. I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I could have ever expected. There was live Irish music and my parents were looking super cute as they danced together through the afternoon. There was a little surprise at the end too which for me completely made my day. We had our own private preview from a young girl named Amy who have performed with Riverdance (or something similar not completely sure). All I can say is that she was truly amazing. There is something about watching any professional dancer that makes me wish I never gave it up. It was the perfect way to end such a lovely day and I couldn't stop smiling all evening and was excited to think this was only my first day.
I spent the Sunday how all Sunday's should be spent. We started with Portumna forest walk, nothing better to stretch those legs of mine which are often trapped under my desk. There is something about the surroundings in Ireland that are so peaceful and beautiful you almost can't believe it's real. The trees were tall enough to make my little ol'self feel even smaller and the rocky path probably wasn't suited to my heeled boots (which I later lost the heel to, uh-oh) but nonetheless I enjoyed talking and reminiscing on our childhood and also looking how far we have all come since. We then had a look around the Monastery which was a great opportunity for blog photo's - true blogger looking for a good photo background. After that I think we were all rather peckish and what better to fill our stomachs than afternoon tea? Nothing, of course! Finally a walk around the Merina in Terryglass, where I stood and admired 'Lady Viv' (my favourite of the boats). Okay my cousins and I might have headed 'out out' in to Galway that evening which ideally doesn't fit in to my every Sunday scenario but in this case it worked perfectly. Fairy lights draped along the streets as we walked from bar to bar before heading home.
Monday's aren't always so bad, although we did get off to a slow start. I know what your thinking and no it wasn't the hangover, more of OH MY GOD I'M SO TIRED kind of feeling. After a tea or two and a long drive we arrived at Bunratty Castle. Wearing the heeled boots with the base of the heel gone awol I walked around sounding slightly like a horse which caused a few laughs on my behalf. Walking, learning and discovering more about Irish history with each step and even took part in some activities they had going on. There was a lot to see and we were all kept entertained throughout the day. After tucking in to some dinner at the Lough Rea hotel on our way home we aimed for an early night with another big day ahead of us tomorrow.

Tomorrow came, hallelujah! And  what did we do you say? Well this little madam spent the day in Dublin. I have seen Dublin plenty of times... from the car. For us it was more of a drive through to get to our destination which is to see my family. I have wanted to go and see it properly for ages and my chance finally arrived. A train journey later we arrived in the capital with the Guinness Storehouse being our first stop. Six floors of a pint shaped building to get through you can imagine it consumed most of our morning. We learnt about the production process, Auther Guinness and enjoyed a tasting session to stimulate the senses. Dashed to lunch to avoid the rain shower and dined in The Church restaurant which coincidentally is where Mr Guinness got married. With a cocktail in hand I have to say so far I was kind of loving Dublin. A few other important tourist destinations to tick off the list were O'Connell and Grafton Street however I managed to avoid the urge to shop, Trinity College which is consider the Oxford/Cambridge of Ireland and finally treated myself to a crepe as we walked around St Stephen's Green. The journey home we spent learning Irish which had us all in fits of laughter, defiantly not my sisters forte.
The next morning came and another jam packed day to look forward too. The scenic route was glorious to the eye as we drove along the coast however the roads weren't as forgiving on our stomachs. The first part of our journey was the Alwee Cave which would have been better if the children on our tour were quiet when the tour guide was speaking so we could actually hear what she was saying. It did make me think I need to scrub up on my geography knowledge. A short drive away from there was the Cliffs Of Moher which was on our to do list being massive Harry Potter fans. A scene or two was filmed at this stunning location in Ireland and was even better in real life on a sunny day. It was hard work to get to the top but the view was 100% worth it. Breathtaking in fact. The sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs had to be the most relaxing sound and the sense of achievement for a non-outdoorsy person like myself was sky high.
Then my mother's birthday, so many birthdays in one trip. Okay there was two but still it felt like a lot! We brought her in to the 21st century gifting her an iPhone - can't wait for the questions I will get daily for about a year until she gets the hang of it, as if teaching my dad wasn't bad enough. The Galway Races was our destination as well as a chance to dress up and celebrate in style. I spent the majority of my day looking at all the amazing outfits as people can be very extravagant especially when it comes to their choice of hat. Followed by an evening of cocktails and an embarrassed Mary (my mum) as she was singled out from the crowd for everyone to sing happy birthday.
Then the time came to go home. Before we set off we had time for lunch in Cafe Rose which gave us a chance to say our goodbyes and thank you's for such an amazing trip together. It is always this part which seems the hardest but I'm glad I have so many fond memories to look back on following this trip. I had the best time with my family and it's a shame that we often don't get to spend that much time together but when we do it can only be described as something special. I also vlogged the whole holiday and it will be coming up on my channel shortly so keep your eyes peeled and you can get more of an idea what it was like! Let me know if you would like me to do these 'week in the life's more often.

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