European Vacation - Summer 2023

 You know those once in a lifetime trips?

This... this is it for me, but honestly, based on how much Nick talks about traveling and encourages my travel ideas, this may be the norm for us...

Originally we were looking at Portugal for a week. Nick's family is there and we'd be able to relax and enjoy family and sights but when we were looking for flights, the least expensive European flights were to London. I've always wanted to go so we decided we would head to London and after more exploring, we found that it would be cheaper to fly to Ireland then back to the US, rather than straight from London to home. Sold. I've wanted to go to Ireland since I was in high school. My grandma and I always talked about going together so being able to finally go was unbelievable. 

We left for London, doing an overnight flight that brought us to the city nice and early in the day. We found our hotel a few blocks from Kings Cross and went exploring. Nick has been before but it was all new to me. Big Ben, The Tower Bridge, The Eye, we even found an Inn that Dickens had been in and grabbed dinner. 

The next day we made our way to Bovington to visit the tank museum and brush up on our War history- which was Nick's favorite part.

My favorite spot was next - Shakespeare's Globe Theater. You guys. Literal chills standing in it.

We spent the next day exploring and found Buckingham Palace, SOHO, Chinatown, and finally made our way to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London, full of Harry Potter artifacts. 

Before we left London we made our way to Abbey Road, because obviously and as we strolled through Notting Hill, we even saw where George Orwell lived. It was an amazing few days and we took the night train... to Paris!

This was a last minute addition to our trip. We were SO close to Disneyland Paris so Nick rearranged some things and we went to Paris! Some night time views of the tower and we were up bright and early the next day to go to Disneyland Paris!

I can't even tell you the joy I had. The castle has a dragon under it and there was an Alice in Wonderland maze! Skull Rock, so many characters, and Phantom Manor.

There were some great rides not in Florida - Pinnochio, Snow White... but I especially loved the stained glass story telling of Sleeping Beauty.

We hopped over to Walt Disney Studios similar to Hollywood Studios back when it was MGM) and we took advantage of the rides only they offer - Toy Story parachutes, Crush's roller coaster, and riding Ratatouille in Paris!? Amazing!

The coolest thing about Disneyland Paris is that they don't do fireworks - they have a drone show! No loud pops and they made a mickey head in the sky!

The next day we explored Paris for a bit - the Notre Dame cathedral, looked at art for sale on the side of the road, visited the Louvre, and had macarons. Lunch was on the rooftop with a view of the Eiffel tower.

Ater lunch we found the prettiest Starbucks in the world - it is - and then climbed the Arc de Triomphe to see the views. 

Another night flight and we were in Dublin for bedtime!

The day after we got to Dublin I realized a large red spot on my leg was getting redder and larger and checked myself into urgent care in Dublin. Some antibiotics and gauze and was told to "rest it for a few days". We only had a few days and I was not missing it...

We logged 35k steps that day - my poor leg!- but saw so much of downtown Dublin. I got to see Trinity College, Temple Bar, the Ha'Penny Bridge, and so many gorgeous old churches. 

We booked excursions in Ireland to help with my leg. Instead of taking trains and walking, we were able to take coach buses to the other three coasts of Ireland. The first day we took a bus to Cork and was the Blarney Castle. We stopped at some gorgeous church ruins before getting there and then climbed to the top of the castle. My leg was so sore at that point and the idea of someone holding it so I could kiss the blarney stone was too much, but I watched as Nick did it. A long walk through the gardens and we went out for dinner at my favorite meal of the whole trip. This gorgeous little place call CASK had the most amazing lemon blueberry pavlova and I still dream about it.

The next day we were back on the bus and went to the Giant's Causeway and the Dark Hedges. Both were just absolutely stunning. The final stop was at the Titanic Museum in Belfast. Seeing the artifacts, knowing how many people had died was just overwhelming, but so amazing. 

Our third trip was to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. The funniest/best stop though was Barack Obama rest stop. An entire rest stop devoted to the Obamas - I wouldn't believe it unless I had seen it myself.

Again, walking was difficult. Although I was on meds, I was not resting so my leg continued to swell each day. Each night consisted of pushing the puss out in the tub, which caused even more soreness. It was tough but we managed to walk the Cliffs of Moher, but so thankful for the trolley for part of it! After the Cliffs, we were brought to a few more church ruins and finished the day with drinks, oysters, and exploring Galway. I saw the statute of Oscar Wilde and saw where the original Claddagh rings were made. 

An early morning flight brought us back to the US and I am so in love with seeing the world... I can't wait for the next trip!