Top 5 things we learned about Ireland

1. Irish people are extremely nice and hospitable.

From the very beginning, we were struck by how nice everyone we encountered were. There were multiple times that we were stopped, looking at maps, and without even asking, people approached us to ask if they could help us. Waiters, bar tenders, bus drivers, and shop keepers were all friendly and pleasant.

Not to mention, our BNB hosts. There is no better way to do Ireland than to stay in Bnbs. Although it's high season, and the BNBs are all full, our hosts were so welcoming to us, gave us rides to and from the bus station or ferry departure, helped us alter our itinerary, offered us tea and coffee, and prepared incredible meals for us. 

2. Breakfast is a big deal.

 If you order an "Irish breakfast", you better have an empty stomach! First, you have a bowl of cereal or yogurt and muesli, coffee, and orange juice.... For the average person, this would be breakfast in and of itself. But oh no. Not in Ireland! That was only the appetizer! Then comes the main course! The typical Irish breakfast includes bacon, sausage, " white/ black pudding" ( meat patties mixed with oats), fried eggs, baked tomatoes, and toast. Aren't you full just reading that!? We had variations on this breakfast every morning. The great thing was that it saved us money so we could skip lunch! It easily kept us full until dinner, and we were still able to have light dinners even. 

3. Pub life is as cool as we imagined.

In every town, big or small, you are guaranteed to find a selection of pubs. We had a handful to choose from in every place we stayed. Now in America, when you think of the nightly bar scene, it's not exactly the most cultural representation of the US, but in Ireland, it's the opposite! Every pub is filled with live music, from traditional Irish music with fiddle and accordion, to folk music, to modern bands. We were able to hear live music every single night, and were amazed that it was all legitimate music, not cheap entertainment for tourists. We love the aspect of the the culture that drives people to so frequently gather inside to appreciate live music! 

4. Ireland is a nature lovers paradise.

 Coming from two nature fanatics, Ireland was a feast for our eyes!  Every day had something new to offer, every unique cliff, coast line, rolling hill, sheep pasture, rock structure, mountain, stream... We could not take it all in. The deep colors, and stark contrasts pulled us more and more in love with the country. We weren't sure what the weather would be like during our time there, because as they frequently say in Ireland, you can have " all four seasons in one day". But we were fortunate to have sunshine almost every single day! This allowed us to be outside every day, and we took advantage of that! We walked and walked and walked as much as possible, taking in endless picturesque views. We rented bikes twice, to bike around Phoenix park in Dublin ( Europe's largest park), and the famous Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula. Had we been braver, we could have kayaked or done some water activity, but we didn't think it was quite warm enough for that (one of us has a deep hatred for being cold...).  Overall, the outdoor options are endless, and left our souls feeling so peaceful and appreciative of beauty!

5. The sun actually does shine!

...at least for part of he the day! We had amazingly sunny days, and when the sun is out... this country's radiates beauty! It just makes the colors and textures pop all the more, makes the water glisten, and makes being outdoors irresistible. We were nervous about having 12 days of rain and being stuck inside coffee shops all day, but we had a wonderful experience weather-wise. Let it be known, it is possible!

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If you've been to Ireland, what was your favorite place? Do you agree with our top 5 list?

Ireland in a Nutshell

Green, green, and more green.  And some sheep.  That’s Ireland in a pint.  Our almost two weeks about the hillside was filled with small towns, big sights, and an early hankering for Autumn. 

We started off in Dublin.  While the city is large and has many impressive bits to offer, it seemed to lack a sense of charm and an overall theme (other than Guinness) to make it memorable as a city.  There is of course Temple Bar, the run of old medieval pubs, but the neighborhood now mostly only attracts Guinness-mad tourist who have an entire credit limit to waste. We would say, if you’re planning a trip to Ireland, pass over Dublin. It's not why people go to Ireland.

Next was Galway, and what a breath of fresh air it was!  Right on the water, the city had an interesting layout due to the French influence in its founding; the streets were organized and even named according to their best economical use in relation to the port.  This and other things we learned on our walking tour with a local girl who seemed to be as excited about showing off her town as we were about visiting it.  We learned the backstory of the term “lynching” which was invented surrounding a terrible family tragedy there long ago.  We learned about the Celtic cross and how the circle represents old Irish paganism and the cross represents St. Patrick bringing Christianity to the region. 

We took several bus tours about the countryside, seeing how the thick moss covering almost the entire country is cut into bricks and dried for use in fireplaces.  Every 30 minutes or so, there would be a stop at an ancient monastery or castle, and occasional stops in small towns with cafes and coffee shops eagerly awaiting the next busload of cold, hungry tourists. We drove through the region of Connemara, and visited the Kylemore Abbey - one of the top attractions in the whole country. On another tour, we visited the Cliffs of Moher, and Rachel found maybe the most spectacular overhang ever on which to risk one’s life for that perfect snapshot. Also, we took long evening walks along the coast and hit the town after dark to hear live music.  Most of the pubs featured “trad sessions” of folksy Irish music often performed by local families and even pub owners, but there was also plenty of indie rock and contemporary folk going on as well. 

From Galway, we went up to a little fishing town called Clifden where we took a boat out to an Island for the better part of the day and just walked around and around, exploring the incredibly mountainous and lush, virtually untouched scenery there.  Our bed and breakfast in Clifden may have been the most quaint of all that we stayed in, although each B&B had its own story with unique owners and guests.  We really enjoy the B&B culture because it promotes kindness and hospitality in both parties, since (especially with “air” B&B and other online resources) the owners and guests cross-review and rate each other, creating an marketplace environment that naturally weeds out grumpy owners and difficult guests alike – or at least works to pair them together!

On we went to Dingle, a peninsula town with a name we had a hard time taking seriously.  But none-the-less, Dingle was another great highlight of our time in Ireland.  It was recently voted one of the most beautiful places in the world! We did an epic 26 mile bike ride around the peninsula on the famous Slea Head Drive, and again discovered many great live music joints after dark.

Last was the city of Killarney,where we stayed three nights in another beautiful B&B. Killarney has a beautiful national park that was only a five minute walk from where we stayed, so we spent a whole afternoon and multiple evenings walking and dodging the horse and carriage rides that frequented the park.  We also saw entire fields full of deer and at one point were almost entirely surrounded by hundreds them!  From Killarney, we toured the Ring of Kerry, which was a bus ride around some of the most beautiful parts of southern Ireland.  We also hiked through the Gap of Dunloe, which was again, some of the most stunning scenery we have ever seen.  Once through the Gap, we took a boat ride along the three lakes of Killarney that were created by an ancient glacier. Each lake connected to the next via a small, shallow, and sometimes rough outlet – at times requiring the passengers to exit the boat ashore while the guide took the boat through to meet us on the adjacent bank.  One of the boats had a dog on board that stood on the very forward tip of the boat during most of the ride, ears flapping in the wind and all!

In town, we found our favorite music spot of the trip, an outdoor seating area near a stage with local artists each night of the week.  Especially especially enjoyed the heating units in the rafters and the free blankets supplied by the pub!  

Overall, our two weeks in Ireland were truly incredible, and the weather was so well behaved!  It was a great kick off to the start of another school year, and a sneak peek at our the cool, crisp feel of our favorite season. We hope to find ourselves back again soon.

Summer: Colorado/South Dakota

While Devin stayed in Oregon to do some work, Rachel and her parents flew to Colorado for a quick family weekend. Sarah and Peter flew in from New York, and Aaron drove in from Iowa. Although we were only there for 2.5 days, we packed those days to the brim! Two beautiful hikes, some kayaking, picnicking, hot tubbing, dinner with a college best friend, and  a competitive game of giant jenga. It was a wonderful weekend to spend as a family in our favorite state!

On the way back to Iowa, we drove the "long way", through Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands. We loved seeing the National Monument for the first time, and spent about an hour walking through the museum of history related to the structure. The Badlands were a huge surprise to us, as none of us knew what we had just a couple of states away! It was incredible, and we all wished we could have taken our time there more, but we did it the super-speedy version, because we were in a rush to make it back to Iowa. Although the detour added a lot of time in the car, it was definitely worth it. And who knew- long road trips are actually quite fun when you're with the right people :)

                                                               IOWA/ CHICAGO

We wrapped up our time in the States with just a couple of days in Iowa to pack and prepare to head back to Europe. We flew out of Chicago, so we went one day early to spend time with our friends that we made in Morocco, and had a quick lunch with Rachel's cousins, and then we were bound for Ireland!

It all feels like a blur, but we feel very, very fortunate to have such wonderful homes, still full of people who love us, and spend time with us when we are there. They give us reasons to return, and always leave our hearts longing for our next visit. Until then!

Summer: Pacific NW

 After our time in Iowa, we headed West! We had amazing weather for our time in Oregon, which made it the perfect set up to spend time with our family outdoors. We took advantage of this as much as we could. Rachel's parents flew in from Iowa to join us for a week, and in that time, we managed to fit in a handful of hikes, some we had done before, and others were new to all of us! We headed north to spend about five days in Washington. We headed straight for Mt. Rainier and spent the day in the beautiful National Park, hitting a few different trails, a waterfall, and countless breathtaking views.

We spent the next couple of days in Seattle, covering the stereotypical Seattle activities - Pike’s Place Market, the first Starbucks, and the wharf.

However, while nice, those were not the highlights of our time there. Our favorite experiences in Seattle were:

1. We were able to get together with some friends who live in Barcelona with us, but are from the Northwest! It was very fun for our families to meet and spend time together State-side.

2. We had dinner in the Space Needle with our parents. It was so nice to be above the city, witness the sunset, and spend hours talking and laughing while slowly rotating, as we watched night fall on the city.

3. We toured the Boeing factory (just North of Seattle).  We learned many things we did not know, like
- the Boeing factory is the world’s largest indoor facility - it's able to encompass all of Disney Land and still have space!
-  They are now able to assemble planes with over 6 million parts in four months and planes with 3 million parts in three weeks
- One jet engine could suck out all the air in less than five seconds
- There are 19 food courts in the building
- Employees use bikes to get around the factory because it is so large.

  From Seattle, we took a ferry to visit Devin’s grandparents in Port Townsend on the upper corner of Washington near Canada.  We saw old WWII bunkers, a lighthouse, enjoyed the small town feel, and played some serious Skip-Bo.

We concluded our time in Oregon with a day hike at the coast, and an afternoon in Portland. We wish we had had more time with our families all together, but are grateful for the precious time we did have.

Downtown Portland from the Pittock Mansion