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My Irish Holiday!

This is my first post in over a week and I feel incredibly disconnected from my world at home! As I mentioned before, my good friend from home came to visit last Saturday. We spent half of the week in Dublin, two days at my home in Belcarra and this past weekend in Galway. It was certainly nice to see a familiar face. Dublin was absolutely amazing, but so very different from the rest of Ireland!  I stayed at my first big hostel, with over 220 beds. We made lots of new friends from all over the world! I’ve made it a habit to exchange email addresses or become Facebook friends with all of my new acquaintances. It’s a great way to not only keep in touch, but to network as well. Ya never know when you’ll find yourself in Southeast Asia and need a place to stay, right? =)

I’m not really into organized tours. I would much rather use public transportation to explore new places on my own. It is less practical and may make things more difficult but I think you get a much more organic experience. But considering our time was limited this past week, we decided to take a couple of day trips on tour buses. On Sunday we went to the Wicklow Mountains. This area of Ireland was the prettiest I’ve seen yet! It is also where the movie “P.S. I Love You” was filmed!

It was absolutely stunning. The scenery left me speechless. It was a rainy day on Monday so we decided to stick around Dublin. One of our new friends was playing at a pub so we met up with him there for a drink. That turned into an all-day event. We ended up meeting his friend who is music producer and also happens to be partners with a man who helped manage the Beatles! One of the amazing things about travel is you just never know who you're going to meet! Speaking of meeting people, in one of my first posts I mentioned that my goal of traveling was "not to meet handsome french guys in Paris." BUT, I didn't say anything about meeting handsome french guys in Dublin =) This is my new friend Jean, who will also be my personal tour guide when I get to Paris!

Tuesday we hopped on a bus and headed to Kilkenny, which is a small town in the center of Ireland. It was a beautiful village with a castle that we explored.

The castle was built in the 1100’s and was owned by the same Irish family until the 1960’s. I couldn't take pictures of the inside but just picture Downton Abbey! It would have been very similar, with servants and a strict class structure.

  

On Wednesday we came back to Belcarra. My friend that I met a couple of weeks ago who is cycling around Ireland made a pitstop at the McCoy household and Lorraine and Noel had a beautiful meal waiting for us when we all arrived! 

The following morning Lorraine and Noel went away for the night for their anniversary so my friend and I were alone with the kids! We had great fun =)

On Friday we headed to Galway. I’ve already spent a weekend there so I showed her some great spots. It was still amazing going back a second time.

Tombs that date back to 5000 years ago!

This week is bittersweet for me. On Thursday I will leave four amazing people that I have grown so unbelievably close to and head off for my next adventure. I am excited for the journey ahead of me but it will hard to leave. It is amazing how close you can become with others in such a short time. It will indefinitely not be the last time we see each other though =) My next post will be from London. Let the nerves and excitement set in yet again!

10 Things I Miss About Home

Ireland, along with the rest of Western Europe, is obviously very developed. So it’s not like I’m here in a third world country longing for my first world pleasures. With that being said, there are bound to be differences when you’re over 3,000 miles away from the place you cal home. After spending close to two months in this beautiful country, these are a few things that I miss about home: 

1.  My mom and dad, Justin, Kelsey, Lauren, obviously.
2.  My friends – the casual conversation, laughing over ridiculous, absurd things and fun nights out.
3.  Brewed Coffee! Although I am adjusting to instant coffee and the French Press.
4. AUTUMN. There’s nothing like Irelands rainy, mild climate to make you appreciate SEASONS and beautiful upstate New York.
5. Pumpkin Spice Everything. They don’t even know what pumpkin spice IS out here. Come on now…
6. The US Measurement System. Cooking/Baking gets a little tricky when you’re guesstimating the ENTIRE recipe.
7. Scooter (my car). Not the actual physical car itself, but the freedom to go places when I want.
8.  Having my own apartment. Sometimes it’s just nice to walk around in your underwear.
9.  My Wardrobe. Now this is definitely a “first world problem” but mixing and matching three pairs of pants, four tops and a few scarves gets kind of boring.
10. Income. Yeah just that small thing that keeps the world going. Although, if it were possible, I would choose travel over income any day.

Of course in the big picture these things are very small. If I were in a third world country I’d have much more to write about. But being away from home definitely makes you realize the small, everyday things that we take for granted.

While on the topic of missing things, it’s appropriate to bring up a topic that almost every long term traveler deals with – homesickness. I remember when I was a kid I would beg my parents to let me go to a sleepover only to call them in the middle of the night because I wanted to come home. As I was planning my trip this is one thing that I feared – finding myself alone in a foreign city wanting nothing more than home and the familiarity that comes along with it. Fortunately for me (knock on wood!), I am still waiting for these feelings to surface. Not to say there aren’t days when you miss the things that I listed above but overall I think I am the happiest I have ever been. I consider myself fortunate to be living a real-life adventure - waking up every day 3,000 miles away from my home never knowing exactly what the day will bring. Right now, familiarity is the farthest thing from my mind =)

In other news Jack, the family dog, was hit by a car last night. The McCoy’s got Jack over the summer after their beloved cocker spaniel passed away. They went on a mission to find a dog that looked just like Digger and found Jack. We think he comes from an abusive owner because he is absolutely petrified of humans. We have all tried to build trust with him but he just runs away. Poor guy. He is still at the vet but they think he is going to be okay!

I’m catching the first bus to Dublin tomorrow morning to meet my friend Brittany who is visiting from home. Lots of pictures and stories to come. I Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend =)

Surf's Up Dudeee!

A few weeks ago I was browsing around, looking for fun weekend getaways. I found a place in County Sligo called SurfNStay – a hostel right on the beach that offers surf lessons. I immediately booked a weekend for October, completely disregarding what the temperature would be around that time. Lorraine was heading up to Donegal for the weekend so she dropped me off at the hostel on the way. Even though I’m getting used to going places alone, showing up solo in a completely new town is always nerve racking (in a good way). You never know what to expect or what kind of people you’re going to meet. It is a true adrenaline rush. This weekend I met some absolutely amazing people.

Meet Linda – 27 year-old originally from Southampton, UK. Just in the past couple years she has lived in Vancouver, worked at a ski resort, lived in Toronto, traveled around the US, mountain climbed for weeks in Spain, lived in a Caravan and worked at a music festival in Scotland as a champagne server. She is currently cycling around Ireland. She wanted to learn how to surf so she showed up at the hostel one day, got to know the owner & was offered free surfing and accommodation in return for working at the hostel. Her story was so inspiring to me. In fact, in November her and a couple of friends are caravanning from Wales to Greece where they’ll be picking olives for 10 days and she invited me! I haven’t ruled it out yet =) After asking a thousand questions, I finally said, “How do you do it? How do you afford this type of lifestyle?” Her answer actually came from an old Zen saying – “Take the leap and the net will appear.” AS IF her entire life wasn’t an inspiration enough, she had to answer my simple question with such a great philosophy! It did really get me thinking though. I’m only 24 and I hope to have a lot of life ahead of me but this short statement made me realize how much time I spend calculating my future decisions and worrying about all the possible outcomes. If you really think about it, have you ever found yourself in a position that had absolutely no solution? Things always work out. Maybe not the way we want, but somehow life has a way of making sure everything works itself out. I can honestly say this conversation definitely changed my perspective.

Meet Anthony – 40 year-old from Melbourne, Australia. He is currently on a one year sabbatical. He spent 3 months traveling around in South America, flew into Florida, drove to New Orleans, flew to San Diego, drove to San Francisco and then drove to New York. He is spending some time in Ireland & then finishing his year traveling around northern Europe. Oh, and on top of this he has been to pretty much every single country in the entire world! Another true inspiration.

Okay, now we can talk surf. The conditions weren’t good enough for surfing at the beach close to the hostel so we hopped in the instructors van and headed to a different beach. After a 40 minute drive, we arrived at a pretty empty beach with big enough waves to surf. I’m naturally a cold person. I am ALWAYS cold. Kelsey used to get mad at me when I would turn the heat on in April. When the average person is sweltering hot, I’m comfortable. It was about 45 degrees at this point and I was already freezing! I got into the back of the van to get changed into my wetsuit (a weird experience in itself) & hopped onto the board to learn the basics. We headed for the water and I plunged myself in. Seeing a wave come at you is scarier than you would think. Getting up on a surf board is also much more difficult than it looks! I did get up a few times. I also crash landed into a pile of rocks a few times too… No pain no gain, right? In order to get yourself up on the board you have to use your hands. When it got to the point that my hands were so numb that I couldn’t use them anymore, I decided it was time to get out of the water.

The remainder of the weekend I spent trying to recover from hypothermia at the pub with my new surf pals. We also explored a little bit and found these huge sand dunes next to the beach. 

My weekend concluded on Sunday with a coffee and a beautiful stroll down the beach.

The family that I was supposed to stay with in Cork for two weeks never got back to me so I am taking advantage of my extra time and traveling! One of my good friends from home spontaneously bought a flight to Ireland so I will be meeting her in Dublin on Saturday! From there we will be taking days trips to different places and coming back to Mayo for a couple of days as well. Very excited to see a familiar face =)

What's Next for the Solo Wanderer!

While planning for my trip, I created a list of different things I wanted to work on or accomplish while I was traveling. One of my major goals was to learn how to enjoy the present & stop consistently worrying about what my next move will be. My best friends and family know I am an expert at this. In regards to my goal, I have definitely made progress. As I have said before, I have a lot of time to myself. Outside of some housework and minding the kids, I have the day to myself. Normally, this would drive me crazy. But instead of proclaiming boredom I have taken this time to do things that I love doing – writing, reading, cooking, running. I’d like to say that I’m living completely on spontaneity and fully embracing the idea of Carpe Diem, but that would be a lie. I am trying not to plan ahead too much but I can’t help it – I am a planner, it’s what I do. With that being said I’m very excited to tell you what my next adventure will be!

I am a member of HelpX.net, which is an organization that connects “helpers,” like myself, with hosts (families or organizations that need volunteers in return for room & board). I found the McCoy family on this website, sent them an email and organized my stay in Ireland. Hosts can also contact helpers if they are interested. I leave Ireland on November 1^st. I have a flight booked for London, where I will be meeting up with a couple of friends for the weekend. From there I was planning on traveling to different places within England. About two weeks ago I received an email from a host in England that runs a meditation center & was wondering if I’d like to come and volunteer at their World Peace Cafe. I was then faced with the decision as to whether I wanted to travel around England as I had planned or continue my volunteering. Considering this entire trip is about experiencing different cultures and meeting new people, I decided that I would spend a week volunteering at the meditation center in England. I’m not exactly sure what my duties will be but I do know that I will have to adhere to their rules – no eating meat, drinking alcohol, smoking or playing music. It is indefinitely going to be a unique experience and a challenge that I am looking forward to.

I can imagine some people would be very skeptical about doing something like this and I can understand why – it’s not for everyone. Although I’m not quite sure what’s in store for me, I can assure you one thing - I will not come back to New York as a practicing Buddhist =) 

Never a Dull Moment

A lot of people texted me last week asking what adventure I had planned for the weekend. Since I have been on the go every weekend since I got here, I decided to save some money & stick around the house. By no means does that mean it wasn't an adventure!

Cara is the girliest girl you could ever imagine. I can always pick her out in a crowd because she is dressed in pink from head to toe. She loves princesses & dolls. When I realized I was going to be here for her birthday I wanted to make her an extravagant pink princess cake. And by “make” I actually just meant grab a box from the baking section & color the pre-made frosting pink. As the time came closer I decided to challenge myself – I would bake my very first homemade cake! 

Not a bad start. That was until I realized that I would be making my own frosting…. 

I first ran out of icing mix. So I walked to the neighbors to get more. Then I made it too thick. And then too thin. And then I turned it orange. It was a mess to say the least. Luckily Noel came home and helped me save the day. 

Her birthday party was a success!

Saturday I had the house to myself. I woke up and the electricity was out in every room except the kitchen. I took this as some type of sign and baked the day away.

Lorraine is part of a singing production that is a fundraiser for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice. There are about 100 locals involved. In order to be a part of the production, each person must raise at least €200. So, instead of just asking people to donate, Lorraine organized a book sale at the community center. We had 1000’s of books donated. With help from friends we organized them on tables in the center and baked a nice selection of sweets. On Sunday people came in and out, taking as many books as they wanted. People were asked to donate what they wanted. I thought maybe in a small community like this Lorraine would meet her goal of €200. To our surprise the total donation amount was over €900! I couldn't believe the generosity. I give credit to Lorraine for coming up with such a unique way to not only fund-raise, but to bring the community together as well.

Not even a quarter of the books donated!

We were invited to a friend of the family’s house after the book sale for dinner. I have never seen a house quite like this one. It was an old, old home probably built well over a century ago. The ceilings were at least 20ft. high. They still had buzzers in the dining room that would have been used to ring the servants downstairs (not working of course!). As we were eating dinner & I was about to pop from stuffing myself so much, I looked over and saw a peacock in the window. Yes, a real life peacock just hanging out.

I guess it was a pet? Not quite sure. I’d also like you to meet Rocko!

No, this is not a small horse. It is an Irish Wolfhound. I thought about sneaking him into my backpack to bring home but then I realized I don’t even have room for my sneakers…

Another amazing weekend in the books. Organizing this weekend’s adventure now =)

Feeling Blessed

I woke up this morning to an empty house. Most of the family was off to Dublin for a soccer blitz (tournament) so I enjoyed a peaceful day of reading & cooking. The electricity went out this morning in every room except the kitchen. I’m assuming this is some type of sign from above like, “Hannah, get in the kitchen & become a good cook!” Anyway, I took a look at my blog this morning & to my surprise I saw that I just hit over 2,000 views! A huge smile swept across my face. A little over a year ago I made a 5 Year Bucket List. Among many other things, starting a blog was one of my goals. When I decided to travel I thought this was a perfect opportunity to start. I never once thought that one month into my journey it would have over 2,000 views. Getting messages from old acquaintances from high school & college saying how interested they are in my adventures, receiving emails from former co-workers telling me how much they enjoy my blog, hearing from my brother’s girlfriend that her friends in Brazil are reading or simply receiving comments from my family & friends on my posts brings a smile to my face every single day. So I’d like to send a sincere thank you to everyone who is taking time out of their busy days to read my posts. My journey has left me feeling nothing but blessed so far & I am very excited for what’s still ahead!

Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands & Couchsurfing!

After being so sick last week I was very skeptical about going away for the weekend as I had planned. Friday evening I decided that I was well enough to go & I was on a bus headed to Galway on Saturday. I was only gone for 3 days but it was a jam-packed weekend filled with new faces & beautiful places. To save you all hours of reading, I will keep this post mostly to photos! 

Lorraine's cousin, Alison, lives in Galway & offered me a place to stay for my night there. Little did I know that Alison would actually end up being the best kind of tour guide, driving me all over this lovely part of the country! She picked me up at the bus station & we were en route to The Cliffs of Moher. And yet another beautiful drive in Ireland. We actually pulled the car over a few times just to get out & take in the view.

I've said this before but I will say it again, the pictures that I post absolutely 100% do not do a justice as to how beautiful it is. I can't even explain how many times I've found myself speechless, just staring at what's in front of me. I immediately grab my camera to snap a photo & the end result is always disappointing. We made it to the Cliffs after a couple of hours & it was completely breathtaking. 

We stopped at a restaurant on our way home. Can you believe that I actually ordered pizza? Here I am in Ireland & I order pizza.. We decided to stay in on Saturday night for wine & a movie. We watched Michael Collins, a movie about how Ireland won their independence from England. Sounds kind of boring but it was an excellent movie. Oh & Liam Neesan was the star.. I won't get into Irish history but if you ever get a chance to learn about it you won't be sorry. Since I've been here I've learned a lot of history & it is amazing what the Irish people have endured over the years. 

Sunday morning we headed into the city center for some exploring & shopping. Maybe a little too much shopping.. Oops. To my defense, these are mostly souvenirs for my dearest readers =)

                                     

Galway is a lovely city. The people are great & the craic is even better! We stepped into a pub that was playing traditional music & I found this little guy just enjoying his sunday afternoon at the pub. 

I booked a night away at Inis Oirr, which is one of the 3 Aran Islands. Alison drove me to the port & I hopped on a ferry to the island. About 10 minutes into the ride one of the crew members started chatting with me. He then invited me to the upper deck to meet the captain. Yes, this is me driving the boat!

No worries, I had it completely under control.

Inis Oirr is said to be the most beautiful of the 3 islands. Only about 250 people live on the island & their first language is Irish (Gaelic). I found my hostel & discovered that I would be the only person staying there that night. It was only 8:00, the WiFi wasn't working & I had absolutely nothing to do so I walked over to the pub. I only expected to stay for a bit but I ended up sitting & chatting with the locals until after 1am. I walked into a pub alone on a Sunday night & left with many new friends! 

One of the lads works on the island on the weekend & goes to school at the University in Galway during the week. I found out late Sunday that I was going to miss my bus back to Castlebar (where I'm staying now) & would be stuck in Galway on Monday night. How terrible right? He lives with a couple friends right in Galway & offered me their couch for the night. So he drew me a map, we decided on a meeting place & I met up with him the following evening. Him, his two roommates & myself sat around the living room eating hamburgers & watching the Xfactor. They were all very nice, genuine people. We went back into town for some good fun. You'd think it would be quiet on a Monday night out. Think again. First we went to a place that was having a traditional Irish music "session." Irish music is so lovely. After that we went to a place that had a full jazz band playing. I'm talking like 15 people, tuba & all. After that we went to the "disco." I then experienced my 1st "chicken fillet roll." We made it back to the apartment & I fell asleep on the couch while they were showing me pictures of their own adventures & travels. The following morning I didn't want to wake them so I left a note thanking them for their hospitality & I was off to the bus, 25 minutes away in the lashing rain. I think it's safe to say I had an amazing weekend =)