December was a whirlwind of a month, with the holidays being so fun yet so busy! So, I apologize for my lack of posting.
But, the good news is that I have SO MUCH to share about Christmas in London and the general holiday season in Dublin! Last month may have been quiet, but this month was cold, hectic, festive, and perfect! And spoiler alert: I’m still having an absolute BALL being an American expat in Ireland.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Ireland has some of the most amazing natural landscape I’ve ever seen. Ireland is famous for its rolling green hills, beautiful coastlines, and breathtaking cliffs. With that comes MANY amazing walking/hiking trails that offer people a taste of the natural beauty.
I’m trying to take advantage of the landscape here since where I’m from (South Louisiana) is totally and completely FLAT. Couldn’t be flatter. I already shared all about cliff walking in Howth (which was AMAZING). But during my time here in Ireland I’ve gotten a chance to do a few different hikes. It’s great for getting some fresh air, clearing your mind, and seeing some unbelievable sights.
…Weather permitting of course.
Well, one amazing hiking trail in Ireland (that’s also easy to get to from Dublin city centre) is the Wicklow Way, in County Wicklow.
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For today’s post, I’m taking it wayyyy back to the Summer of 2012. I went on a great trip through Europe with a group of college kids. One of our stops was London, and THE single most epic day of our London rendezvous started with a double-decker bus tour that led us to seeing THE QUEEN, and ended with the Harry Potter studio tour.
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We’re over the halfway mark 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 OK you get it, I’m sad that my time as an American expat in Ireland is FLYING by.
The month of November will be known to me as The Month Where Not Much Happened.
Yeah, my hectic and crazy streak over the past 2 months was bound to come to an end sometime. I mean, last month I did visit another country and 2 different Irish cities. So to be honest, this month didn’t have too much going on.
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As much as I love city life, it’s sometimes nice to escape the busy streets, constant cars, and general hustle and bustle of Dublin. Well luckily, there’s plenty of beautiful natural landscape that can be seen by just doing a day trip from Dublin!
When I first moved to Dublin I posted about the cute little village of Howth, just a 20-30 minute train ride North of Dublin’s city centre. Besides being a great and easily assessable getaway for anyone living in Dublin, it’s also great for visitors wanting to see a bit more of the renowned Irish landscape that may not have the time/money to travel far (a day return ticket on the DART train to Howth is only €6!!!)
The best part of this cliff walk, and the day in general, is that I hadn’t planned it at all. I had heard about the cliff walk, but I thought it was just a short trail. We ended up walking for hours (because we chose the longest trail of the 3 options).
If you want to see some breathtaking Irish nature and stunning views, this is something I DEFINITELY recommend.
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Louisiana is one of those places that only has 2 seasons – really hot summer, and then a little less hot “winter.” Some years the winter can be classified as “cold.” But most years, you can get away with wearing a thin, long-sleeve, silk blouse on Christmas Day.
And obviously, such is not the case in Dublin. And that can be seen by simply taking a stroll in St. Stephen’s Green park in fall.
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It is with a heavy heart that I write this post.
Of course, everyone knows of the tragic events that occurred Friday night in Paris, France.
Paris is the City of Love and the City of Light, and with good reason. But a few days ago, someone tried to darken that light and fight love with hate.
Because of these recent events, I thought it was only appropriate to start this week off by appreciating the beauty, uniqueness, and glamour of one of the world’s most amazing cities with a photo diary of Paris.
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Ah, Lisbon, Portugal. To me, this place is extremely underrated and was actually my favorite stop during my Europe trip last summer. It was a last-minute addition to the trip, and the last stop, but oh my goodness was it worth it!
Not only was it the cheapest city (that uses the Euro) that I visited, but there was SO much to do there and it was absolutely gorgeous! I wish we could’ve spent about a week more there, but it just gives me an excuse to go back.
I’ve decided instead of doing a typical “5 things to do in (insert city name here)” list, I would make my list a little different by breaking it up into the 5 senses. Lisbon is definitely a lively, beautiful, bustling, unique place, and really is a feast for all of the senses!
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How was everyone’s Halloween? Mine was fantastic…the perfect way to ring in not only the end of October, but the end of our 6th month living in Dublin, Ireland as an expat, meaning we’re halfway there! (singing “Livin’ On a Prayer” as I typed that FYI).
When October started I was in Croatia, and when October ended I was in Galway celebrating Halloween, with a few concerts (Diplo and James Bay) and a trip to Cork for the Cork Jazz Festival in between. So I definitely got my travel in! But with this being the official halfway mark of our year-long visa, I can’t help but think about life after our Visa is up and begin to research what I can do to be able to stay longer. Because I’ll do pretty much anything.
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So one of the great things about moving to Ireland was that I didn’t have to worry about a language barrier. Sure, I was moving to a different country with no job lined up and no living arrangements made, but hey! At least I wouldn’t have to worry about everyone speaking in a different LANGUAGE too, right?!
WRONG. Irish and American English sometimes feel like they’re 2 different languages.
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