Weekend Trip - Ireland

Ah! Cheap flights are my favorite! Haley and I (honestly, when is it not Haley and me) ventured to the airport from the train. As we were walking to check in, we were talking about how much of a blessing it was that God have us each other. We literally were strangers, but now I’d say she’s going to be one of my closest friends (I hope love you Haley). It’s so cool to see how having the same goal of pursuing a relationship with God can really bring a different depth and bond to a relationship. She has helped me grow in so many different aspects and been such a great listener, too. We waited in line forever to check in because something was wrong with the airline. After it was figured out, we got some paninis and went to our delayed flight. The flight felt so long probably because of how close I was to person in front of me. After grabbing a taxi, we got to our Airbnb by driving on the wrong side of the road. Still so funny that part of the world drives on the opposite side of the road as us. Our Airbnb was perfect for us It had a great view of the mountains through a huge window. It felt like a college dorm, which we were suspicious it was. It would have been quite clever for someone to rent out a room they weren’t staying in to gain some extra cash. We passed out fairly quickly. Friday

Waking up at 8 am we set off to run around town. As we do with most of our trips, we scheduled two things then just went with the flow the rest of it. One place we did want to go was a cafe called Beanhive, which I saw online had cool coffee art and Irish breakfast. It was also near a starbucks. We hadn’t seen a real starbucks in who knows how long. When we got to Beanhive, it was already very busy so we got a number to wait for a table to get a coffee and food. Knowing starbucks was 300 ft away, we debated going there instead. We knew that we could get that anytime so we decided to wait. But like any normal person would, we put together the idea that we could get starbucks while we waited. What normal person doesn’t have two coffees? It was decided. I ran over to Starbucks and then Haley got a table by the time I got back. The Starbucks here tasted different, but still was good. Haley ordered while I was gone, so our food arrived pretty fast after I got there. Our coffee didn’t have the greatest taste, but we only ordered it for the design and we had our other coffees so we were fine. Let me tell you what was good though- talk about a great breakfast. We ordered the traditional Irish breakfast and everything about it was great. The sausage was probably our favorite. Check it out.

Afterwards, we went to the park nearby. The trees were gorgeous and the entire part was beautiful. We took a seat for a little while to take in the view. I tried to get Haley to touch a swan at some point after she said she wanted to touch it. She decided against it when I told her they bite.

For most of our day we wandered around from shop to shop. We explored the streets and even found Haley some new shoes. Her boots had been hurting her so she was carrying them for a little. She was told she had to put her shoes on in the Disney store, no surprise there. So, that’s why we ended up going shoe shopping for her. Interestingly, the shoes here seemed cooler than in the US. She got some platform converse that had a cushion part to them. I really wanted new shoes after she raved about them the whole day. I was so close to getting some for myself. There were some pretty cool shoes that they only had released in Dublin.

After lunch at a Japanese restaurant and some sweets, we went to our appointment at the Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. We weren’t allowed to take photos of the book, but I snapped a photo at the beginning of entering the room. You can see the guard looking at me. The library was very pretty as well and the 33% acceptance rate started looking promising for our transferring plan. I’m joking.

We ventured to one of the many Carroll’s Irish Gift stores and spent way too much time in there. We ended up getting many things we didn’t need, nor were they going to fit in our backpacks. When we were walking around, we came across a preacher on the main strip of shops and listened to him peach to people. Then we spent more time roaming the streets and shopping before we had an Irish dinner and show to get to at the Belvedere Hotel.

The show ended up being so much fun and the food was so good. Haley was one of the girl volunteers and did a great job dancing the Irish jig she just learned. The dancers and singers were very entertaining and engaged the crowd well. We left early because we had to be up at 6am the next morning for our tour. I can say that we definitely got our fair share of the Irish culture so don’t worry.

Saturday

It was quite difficult to get up, but we made it to the bus. Haley and I bought tickets on our own so we ended up not sitting together on the 3 hour bus ride to the Cliffs of Moher. It was absolutely packed full. We had a pit stop at the Obama Plazza for some coffee a food. It was pretty cold. Our tour guide said that the day before was the warmest day of the year for them. It was 75 and windy. What. This day was actually just back to their normal temperature, which would be 59°. It was so refreshing to get some cold air for a few days because Rome was almost dreadfully hot.

Taking back what I just said about it being nice to be in cold weather, it was freezing when we got to the Cliffs of Moher. I can’t complain though because they were absolutely stunning. We didn’t go very far after the main strip with the castle because of how cold it was. The wind was killing us so we toured the little castle quick to hide away. Next, we explored the gift shops and had a scone. We both hadn’t had homemade scones before and I didn’t think I’d like it, but I did. Maybe I‘ll be a scone type of girl now.

After our stop at the Cliffs, we went to Galway which was about an hour away and a half away. On the way we stopped at this place with tons of rocks right next to the beach. I forget what it was called of course. Here are some photos.

Galway ended up being so cool. It felt like a big fisher town. It was so bright and colorful. It kind of reminded me of Cardiff with a mix of Cedros for those of you who know what that is (Shoutout Solana Beach). We got fish and chips and had some bomb chocolate. I really liked walking around this little town.

This tour was pretty great and worth the money. The bus was just a tad bit tough because of how long it was, but it really allowed me to sit in my thoughts and with God. I was also able to text some friends I hadn't gotten around to doing. When we were on the drive back from our tour, the bus stopped at a gas station and Haley had been saying all day that I don't drink enough water. That was something she had noticed about me on multiple trips. So, I saw some water and was like I should get some. Looking at the water, I first went to look at the prices and all of them were around 3 euros. I looked to my left at a large two gallon water. As I gazed up, I saw a sign that said they were also 3 euros. I knew that was a deal and I "needed to drink more water" so I got it. As I was walking back to the bus, I was fighting off the somewhat embarrassment of holding this large water, while also laughing to myself because I knew Haley was going to think it was funny. So, as I got onto the bus, I yelled back to Haley who had to have been in the second row to the back. And as I got her attention, she looked at the water and instantly knew my intentions in getting it that big. Not only did I gain Haleys attention and laughter, but the people who heard me yell to her and hold up the water joined in as well. As they finished chuckling at me I quickly moved to my seat.

Once we got back, we decided to stick around the area we were dropped off in because it was the main downtown area of Dublin and our Airbnb was far. We found a place to have Irish Stew because we have been trying to embrace the culture everywhere we go. I ordered the stew and Haley ordered some mottie pie or something like that. We both LOVED what we ordered so I would say it was very successful.

After, my hefty water and I roamed the streets having a jolly time. I have never seen Haley embarrassed so I was thrilled. I ran around with my water in and out of bars. The security at the front of Temple Bar looked at me and then at my water bottle and then at me again and I just smiled. Luckily, he proceeded to let me in. We ended up being way too smushed in Temple bar that we moved on and found another place, but not until after we people watched at the gelato place across the way. Haley took a really funny photo of me there. It makes me look as if I'm going out for a crazy night, but I most definitely was not.

We enjoyed town and went back to our comfy little Airbnb. On the way back Haley was messing around and went down into the river ;)

Sunday

Now, if you think the story is over, you're wrong. Boy we didnt know what we had coming for us this day. My day started like most of them do - doing my quiet time while I wait for Haley to wake up. By 9, I decided to wake her up because she had a tour at 10am. We wanted somethign healthier before we set off and found a cute little acai/coffee shop that seemed to be the ONLY place open on a sunday before 10. We got some food quick and it was actually pretty good acai

I had some work to do so I decided that I was going to skip out on the castle tour. We both thought it would be good to try something on our own too as a sense of growth. I really branched out in taking my laptop all the way to starbucks to catch up on some work. Wow, am I right? Anyways it was nice sitting there while I waited for Haley to finish her tour and then she came to join me. We decided to go to this place called Neon, which was an asian food place which had ice cream cones that came with every meal. It was actually really good. After, we headed back to the Airbnb to pack up before our flight. As we were waiting to order a taxi, I thought maybe we should just order the taxi because it would be better earlier than later.

Arriving at the airport, there were so many cars and our cab driver didn't speak English well. After some struggle to figure out the payment, we were directed to a huge line. My worries definitely started to build at this point. Then after trying to keep it out of my head, we get through one line, only to be stuck at the back of another. At this point we are not even checked in. For those of you who know me well, you should know exactly how this was making me feel. You could honestly probably picture me in your head because chances are you've seen me in a situation like this before. After 45 minutes, things weren't looking great. We finally got inside and checked in 40 minutes until our gate closed. Haley and I were in the phase of no talking because we were both so focused on praying over and over again.

I was at the point where I was looking at other flights, and it looked like it was probably going to cost us 400 dollars and a whole day. Absolutely amazing, right? In the security line, we got to the actual security walk through area 10 MINUTES TILL OUR PLANE TOOK OFF. Keep in mind that they said the gates were closing for this flight at 6:00 when the flight was at 6:30 so realistically, we knew we weren't going to make it, but wanted to try anyways. So, finally Haley and I exchanged some words as we waited for our bags to come through and they were "If my bag comes through I'm running and if yours comes, do the same" and some nodding. Then... one of Haleys bags went to the double check section, I knew I was going to be the main runner. I was practicing how I was going to say "please hold the plane! Please!" Yeah, or something like that. Also, another point to keep in mind, I was checking our flight status the whole time, and it still said all the same stuff but it never said closed or taken off. Back to the story - finally, my bag comes rolling through and I'm throwing my heeled boots back on, my computer in my bag, and apple watch on. I was off. Our gate was number 103. ONE-ZERO-THREE! We were at 300. I was thinking that this couldn't be real. Didn't matter, I was running. With my bag on and my boots zipped, I was sprinting, or running, as fast as I could with my 30 pound bag on my back. All I could hear was click click click click from my boots and every now and then people saying "Run!" as I went by. I threw out a decent amount of "excuse me"'s here and there. I only almost took out a kid once. Besides the point. As I was running, I saw a screen and checked the status of the plane and wanted to make sure I was running to the right gate. I checked it and carried on twenty feet then turned around and checked it again. I was still right, but I did notice that there were two flights to Rome. As I kept running, I just hoped that Haley wouldn't notice the first flight to Rome that was already closed because I knew she would be coming up shortly. My shoes had been cutting into my skin furthering the cut they already made, but I didnt care, it would heal so I kept running.

As I finished my run arriving at the gate. There were people everywhere, but no one was in line. It had to have been closer to 6:30pm. I looked at the screen and it still said Rome at the same time - 6:30pm. I immediately got the workers attention and asked if the flight had left. They said "no". I was like theres no way. No. I was safe? We were good? Haley was going to make it, too? I asked them again and still got the same answer. I sat down basically on the floor and a minute or some later Haley arrived. No surprised, her stuff was everywhere haha. I got her attention and told her the news. I was like I think we should ask this guy if he's heading to Rome too to make sure. So we asked and we were officially safe. As we finished talking to him, the screen changed and it finally had been updated that it was delayed for 45 minutes.

My leg was bleeding, we were dripping in sweat, but we were thrilled to be making this flight. God is SO good! He didn't just help us make our flight, but he made time for us to get food before the flight, too, HA.

Now, you've reached the end of my story. I’ll leave you with a fun fact: I’m 40% Irish and British According to 23andMe.

♡BYE,

Monroe in Dublin