August 29th & 30th, 2022
We had planned to spend a couple days in Dublin at the end of our trip but we loved it so much in Westport, we traded one of the days in Dublin and chose to stay on the West Coast. First stop breakfast crepes
Then we headed over to Louisburgh – about 10 minutes from Westport – where M&M live in a perfect apartment with the most amazing views! These two have traveled and house sat in some of the most beautiful locations all over the world and of all of the places, they love it here the most and I CAN TOTALLY SEE WHY!
We tried to rent ebikes again but sadly, we didn’t have them reserved and they ran out of them. Good thing I was getting really good at driving on the wrong side of the road. Even if Master D was in extreme fear riding in the passenger seat that I was going to swipe the side of the car, I never did. We drove out to see more of the countryside and read about the devastating potato famine.
Then we headed over to an absolutely beautiful beach where we hiked over green hills to the crystal clear blue ocean. Master D was the only one with enough courage to brave the cold north Atlantic ocean.
Our last night with M&M we ate at a true Irish Pub. It had delicious onion rings and even better conversation sharing all of our travel bucket list dreams. We all have big dreams to see it all! We traded big squishy hugs goodbye with M&M and can’t wait to see them next year in Montana!
A final nighttime drive up to our amazing AirBnb.
I found a 5 Euro on the beach. So, I was feeling super lucky the next morning as we headed out to Dublin. It’s about a four hour drive. We stopped in a tiny village called French Mart (ironically?) and I bought a lotto ticket with it. I mean it was up to like 200 million, so why not? Spoiler alert: I did not win.
They have some odd flavors of Pringles. Personally I think they sound disgusting – so I did not try them.
We made it to safely to Dublin without following Maruan and navigating the very narrow streets on our own. I’m quite proud of myself! We checked in to our hotel right in the center of the city. We were within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. Also, I swear the manager of the hotel was Simon Pegg’s doppelgänger! I wish I got a photo. Master D and I shared a room. They don’t have two full beds in Europe hotels, but this one had very cute twins.
We headed over to Trinity College and checked out their campus. I reminded us a lot of Columbia campus but they have a really really cool library.
I look just like I descended directly from Aristotle…especially my neck.
We found the only bakery that anyone should ever get macarons and chocolate croissants from!
The kids went into a store but I saw these two guys busking in the outdoor mall and they were so great! I looked them up later and they were in concert in Dublin and SOLD OUT with five albums on Apple Music. They are called Keywest. Some of their songs sound a little country but they didn’t sound at all country out there on the street. Another guy was out there later and while he covered other people’s songs, he too was fantastic!
We had traditional English Tea back at the hotel. I feel like that is a must if you are in any part of the UK.
We were all very full from our tea so we cancelled our dinner reservation. I was beat and just wanted to chill, so I went back to the room and the kids continued to explore Dublin. I wrote in my travel journal, so I wouldn’t forget stuff like I’ve done so much of over the years. This trip was so much fun. Four of us traveling together was so manageable. The greatest thing was I wasn’t really responsible for anyone but myself and adult kids are so helpful! Plus, they only bickered a little bit.
The next morning we got up bright and early, went down to breakfast and then headed to the airport. Me, Lelu & Jake went back through Atlanta and Master D went back through JFK, getting home about the same time. We all stayed awake the whole way to get back to the states without too much jet lag. I watched three James Bond movies. We also grounded once we got home – putting your bare feet in the grass – and it really worked.
