Never Trust a Girl in a Pink Track Suit

So, I finally made it! It was a long trip but I think I have conquered the jet lag. As you can see in the pictures, Ireland is beautiful & everything I imagined it to be. I only started my journey 3 days ago & it has already been an amazing adventure. Thus far I have met a gal from Paris, whom I made friends with & exchanged emails so I can meet up with her when I get to France. I sat next to a very inspiring elderly woman on the plane. She was about 70 years old, widowed with 5 children & many grandchildren. She was on a group tour through Ireland. From there I met a middle-aged couple from Texas who were taking 6 weeks off to backpack Europe. How amazing is that!? I also met a young lad (yes, I just said lad!) on the bus who offered me excellent advice about Ireland.  I also met my first pickpocket. Here I am waiting 6 hours at the freezing cold train station in Dublin around 7am. I hadn’t slept in close to 24 hours so I was quite exhausted. All of the sudden a young guy runs up to me asking for the time. Luckily, I was too tired to look for my phone. So I just guessed. He gave me an odd look & sprinted off. Behind him was a Spanish guy & a girl wearing a hot pink track suit (running as well). I immediately felt uncomfortable & had a bad feeling about them. Since I had about 6 more hours to kill, I watched them for a while. They would pretend not to know each other & then meet up in a hidden area by the restrooms. They would then come out, looking for distraught travelers in hopes that they would distract someone enough to snatch their purse or back pack. After a while the same guy who had asked for the time came & sat directly behind me. I knew that I had nothing to worry about. I had already made friends with one of the security guards at the station. But these 3 people just gave me the heebie-jeebies so as soon as he disappeared for a moment, I went into a restaurant until my train arrived. Although this was an unfortunate event, I am happy that it happened at the beginning of my trip. You hear about pickpockets & think, “This won’t happen to me!.” Well I now know firsthand that it can & will if I am not extra cautious.  

The McCoy family (my host family) is just wonderful. I’ve spent less than 2 days with them & I already feel a part of the family. Last night we stayed up past 2am around the fire drinking wine, eating cheese & chatting about many different things. I enjoy just listening to them talk. It’s very interesting to learn the different words they use for things. & some of their phrases make me laugh. As I’m sure some of the things that I say make them laugh as well.  

I am already in the process of planning some weekend getaways. Next week I am going up to Donegal. I can’t wait to start exploring! Today is a rainy day so Cara (the 7 yr old) & I are just relaxing on the couch watching YouTube videos. Until next time!