Lá Fhéile Pádraig and Sláinte.

Oh, St. Patrick's Day. What a split personality you have! I'm old enough now that I do not remember it being such a drunk fest, keg & eggs, kind of culture when I was younger. It was a day to wear all the green you had, go to Mass, eat funny foods, and be thankful that there are no snakes in Ireland. 

Green stone and Trinity knot earrings - present from Bratty Sister;
Crochet flower pin, by Edel MacBride, purchased in Oct, 2013 at Mourne Antiques in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal;
Celtic Cross necklace, a confirmation present (I only wear it on St. Patrick's Day for my Grandma Nash).

My family has a strange relationship with the day as well, which is that my dad's parents passed away on days very close to (or in the case of my grandma, ON) St. Patrick's Day. So for me, it's a bit melancholy. More so this year, than in recent years past.

A very Special Adventure, The Wrap Up: Part Trois

PHOTOS!!!!
I *only* took 1,000-ish photos but instead of being that boring person who posts every . single . frame ., I'll choose my faves by location. 

Big note: we didn't have time in Cobh, Belfast or Dublin to tour any of the Titanic museums, but they are on the list for next trip. 

Photo nerd note: only a few photos are filtered (the totally square ones, like Guinness Gravity Bar shot below. The rest have not been edited in any way). The landscape is really just that gorgeous!!

A Very Special Adventure, The Wrap-Up-Part Deux

Our Accommodations

PaddyWagon Tours' main option for accommodations are hostels. Being that we are over 40 + were spending our 10th wedding anniversary in Ireland, hostels didn't seem like the right choice for us. We upgraded to the Deluxe Option, which turned out to be B&B's. All but the last night was really lovely and gave us a great flavor for what to expect when we return. 

Night #1 was in Dublin. I spent a lot of time on TripAdvisor figuring out where we should stay. Knowing that we wouldn't get a lot of sleep on the red-eye from NYC to Dublin, I went with an actual hotel and one farther away from the hustle & bustle of Grafton Street and Temple Bar areas of Dublin. Ranked #42 out of Dublin's 179 hotels, Kilronan House seemed like a good deal. 

We got in way too early to actually check in but were able to drop off our bags and get a map of the city, with hints on what to check out. When we did check in later, our bags had already been taken to our room. 

It wasn't a horrible room; it was clean and tidy but just really small, especially the bathroom. The bathroom was also not in the best of repair - there was a large patch on the ceiling where it was peeling and had water stains. But we slept well and honestly, that was our main concern before boarding a bus for 9 days. 

We also got a better rate than I was expecting, without asking, so that was quite nice. We had a really early start on the tour so weren't able to partake of the breakfast that came with our stay but that's totally fine. The service was fantastic though, I have to say.

A Very Special Adventure, The Wrap-Up-Part Un

The Decisions Made

After we made the initial decision on when we were going to finally go, we sat down and made a list of "things we absolutely must see", "things we'd like to see if we can", "things that don't really interest us", to assist us with how long we'd need to be there and what was realistic too.

Given the whole drive on the opposite side of road, potential for a manual shift car to boot, and that we've never been there, we decided to go with a tour of 8-10 days, and ideally one that included Northern Ireland, as Spouse and I have both done some reading on The Troubles of the 20th Century.  

I am very lucky to have friends, who have some experience with the travel world. Angela used to work in the travel industry and is an experienced + well-educated traveler, so she was invaluable in choosing a tour company. Her spouse and his family had gone with one company on their trips over to Ireland and had enjoyed themselves. She cautioned it wasn't exactly luxurious but so long as we were willing to give up some comforts, she thought it would be a great time. 

Based on her feedback and knowledge, we chose a 9-day tour with PaddyWagon Tours. Their name is not exactly the most PC but it speaks to their ethos, which is to have fun while showing off the country they love, and also speaks to their average age demographic, which is 18-40 years of age. 

While there were a few fellow travellers who could legitimately have been our children <eek>, we weren't the oldest but definitely at the top end of the demo. However, it was totally fine and, given that we don't know strangers, fit in just grand. Honestly, it had a lot to do with our fellow travellers, who were all lovely people and there to enjoy it as much as we wanted to. I don't think we could have put together a more fun group. 

We're back. #HappyDays

NOTE: Still a wee bit jet-lagged, so if a sentence doesn't make sense or there are spelling errors, I did edit my work. I'll be back to regular brain power soon. 

To say that Spouse and I had a grand time is an understatement. We were so lucky with all details and arrangements, and no more so than in the folks who comprised our tour guides and fellow adventurers. It's pretty cool to come home and realize you've added friends from Australia, South Africa/Qatar, Canada, Thailand and of course, Ireland into your life. 

I'll write more, in detail, about what we did, saw, drank (first Irish Car Bomb - thanks, Avril!), etc. Thought I'd kick off the recaps with updates on various things I promised I'd report on, upon our return. 

What To Pack for A Very Special Adventure.

After my year of commuting between Ohio and The 'Shire, I became very adept at packing a suitcase. Before then, I tended to over pack, like always bringing that one pair of shoes that never got worn, or that one extra sweater that never got worn. 

I started watching the weather pattern in Dublin a few months ago, since I had no idea what to expect. I knew Ireland, as an island, tends to stay within a range nicely - they never get really cold or really hot, being so far west and right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. It appears we'll have weather with highs in high 50's and lows in low 50's, with a smattering of rain here and there. In short, perfect as far as Spouse and I are concerned.

I decided layers is really the way to go - and honestly not that far off how I dress each day. Being a private-school kid my entire secondary education career, I tend to a uniform, even as an adult. I really would appreciate adult Garanimals. I still find it a challenge to dress myself each day, hence why I tend to have a uniform of items - just different colors or textures. 

We'll be moving about, so laundry isn't really an option (I don't think), so I needed a plan to get me through 12-13 days without washing my stuff. 

Basic list of what I'm taking:
- three pairs of shoes, all very comfortable, well-worn, etc. (black, brown, metallic)
- three pairs of jeans
- three short sleeve tees (dark heather gray, white, black)
- two long-sleeved tees (maroon, navy-striped boat-neck)
- four open front cardigans (white, black, olive green,navy)
- one pull-over sweater (dove gray)
- five camis to layer under tees and/or cardigans (white, black, light green, navy, salmon)
- one workout outfit
- one knee-length rain coat
- two scarves (I travel with one around my neck no matter the season)
- one dress, in case we do a "nice" dinner - it's knit so will travel well

I was going to stick with one color palette (black/grays) but decided I have too many fun and comfortable clothes in a rainbow of fun colors, so I can mix it up. 

Here is everything in my favorite baby rolling piece. At this juncture, even though everything does fit nicely, I will bump up to the one size up from this. There are some things I want to buy for myself and others, plus a few folks have given me items to buy, if I can find them at a reasonable price. So  the extra space may come in handy. 

I'm also heading the advice of my lovely friend, Angela, when it comes to other pieces of clothing....she is ever so practical, yet graceful. 

I anticipate schlepping luggage myself between stops and stuff, so the green piece next size up piece is my favorite because it is fun-sized, but the next one up, isn't *that* much larger - just allows a wee bit more real estate. 

Plus, the outfit I am planning on wearing will be one pair of jeans, a cami, a short-sleeved tee, the pull-over sweater (my bulkiest piece), and one of the scarves. 

I've also decided to travel with the majority of my home-made personal toiletries (deo, facial cloths, toothpaste, toner) to see how they do. Could mean a run into the Irish version of CVS, but we'll see. I packed the facial cloths in a plastic baggie, then put the baggie into a snackTAXI, so even if the baggie gets punctured, it won't leak out.  

I'll let you know on the other side of the trip, how I did. If there's something that didn't get worn, if something leaked, if I ran out of something. Fingers crossed!!

Also, 3 hours to take-off!!!

A Very Special Adventure

Spouse and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss last week and that alone is pretty dang awesome. At a point in my late 20s, I honestly never thought I would *get* married, so getting to this point in life, and still loving him (profusely), and loving being married seems quite the accomplishment. 

When we were married 10 years ago, work schedules precluded us from taking a grand honeymoon, so we went with what I call the "Baby Honeymoon", meaning just a few days and not very far away. It truly was lovely but we've always talked about having a special adventure. 

This year we pulled the trigger, and so we leave very soon for international travel and we're so very excited. 

We both have family that originated in Ireland at points in the 19th and 20th centuries and no one of recent relation has been there. My family emigrated during the waves of the potato famine in the mid-19th century, and Spouse has great-grandparents who emigrated in early 20th century, which means his paternal grandmother was first-generation Irish-American. 

We both take a lot of pride in this link and have started down the path of genealogy, as well as incorporate various parts of this heritage in our every day lives. 

We have only had one other trip abroad, to Hungary, to celebrate the wedding of the friends who introduced us, and in the light of this trip, I have no idea how the hell we made it over and back without getting arrested - because we were woefully unprepared. Now granted, it was pre-9/11, so things were more lax and all, but geez. What a bunch of travel noobs. 

(BTW, Budapest, Hungary - gorgeous place. Lovely people. Fantastic food and drink. Would recommend a month other than January but we hope to go back again, with our friends, at some point.). 

I believe we have all of our ducks in a row and just have a few last-minute things that need done. Like packing. 

But house-sitter is on the job, cops know we'll be away, State Department knows we'll be away, family members have our travel details, passports are in hand, flights on time - holy cow. This is happening. 

When we get back, I'll share how we put this trip together but it boils down to: awesome friends, the twisty tubes of the interwebz and a lot of research. 

Side note: while on the Emerald Isle, we'll be keeping many folks in our minds. At the forefront is our dear friend, Chris, who lost his sweet, lovely wife way, way, way too soon (and their daughters, A & M too). We are hoping for an answer for them that brings some closure and peace. 

We miss you, Amanda.