Ireland (Day One) - An Introduction to Ireland

I am going to take you on a tour of my biggest trip yet. I went to Ireland!

It was my first time out of the country (unless you count this one time I crept into Canada from North Dakota to go into a water park as a kid. My mom didn't even have my sister's or my passport, but we got in and out, legally - I don't know how). 

I wanted to go for several reasons. I thought it would be a great first country to go to because they primarily speak English, or so I thought until we saw all the Gaelic. My husband just graduated college so it was a great celebration before he settled into his career. And last, and the most important reason, is because I'm pregnant. If you're close enough to me to know I have this blog, you'll already know why I wanted to go while pregnant. If you're an internet stranger, I guess it doesn't matter if you make fun of me. However, an old coworker and friend of mine told me his mom went to Egypt when he was in her womb. She thinks she exposed him to a spiritual experience by doing that. I always thought that was a great idea, and couldn't think of a better land to do that in other than Ireland. It's an ancient place with lore, light, and magic if you're looking for it. I'm so glad I was able to go, and now I'm determined to take a giant UK trip to see England, Scotland, Whales, and Northern Ireland next. 

I couldn't think of a better way to do this blog than to take you day by day with what I did, because I did a lot! My husband and I stayed in the countryside mainly. We're both pretty rural people and I don't feel I'd like a city in any country. We did drive (mistakenly) through Dublin right after we rented our car. That was a learning curve for driving on the left! So we did see Dublin, and while it was beautiful and historical, the amount of people there instilled why I avoid cities. 

We took a circle through our ten days there. We got there June 20th and stayed two nights in Brockagh, Ireland. On the 22nd we stayed around Cork. On the 24th we got to Lisdoonvarna. The 26th we relaxed a bit and stayed in Leitrim. Then on the 29th we stayed in at a hotel close enough to Dublin for our early flight at a town called Leixlip. 

So come with me day by day and see what I saw. If you're European, remember I am from a very new country and got excited at all of the old remnants that are just everywhere. Just like I forget how weird it is to live in a state it takes two days to drive through, you forget that us Americans aren't used to the kind of history Europe holds. 

(Some of these photos are on my phone, if you're noticing a different in quality.)

Here's a good first photo. The countryside of Ireland, and the constant reminder for us to drive on the left. 

Some beautiful stone walls and countryside homes.

Our first stay was at 10 Riverside House. It was absolutely stunning land that I'll be featuring. They had a pathway right into the nearest town - we just had to cross some big stone steps to get to the trail. 

This is the view of a great valley. If your back is turned to the Riverside House, it would be on your right. On top of the valley is remnants of an old minors village, which I'll feature a little in an upcoming blog. 

It was nice to be right next to a mountain, and a good way to get my feet wet into the new landscape, since I'm from somewhere with mountains and trees. You can also see the river (past the sheep) and a bit of the pathway we went on.

With our backs turned to the house, after we went on the stone steps, we decided to go right, instead of left that would lead us into town. As you can see, there's a lot of sheep all throughout Ireland. You'll be seeing quite a bit of them in the background. Also, there's an interesting mechanical piece by the river in the second photo. I'm not sure what it is.

Down the pathway with the woods on one side, and the river on another. It was beautiful.

The woods were very witchy. I saw similar trees when I live in the Northeast. The moss covering them though just gave an eerie vibe. I live among the giant redwoods, but there's just something different about small, sparsely laid out trees covered in greenery. I love it though.

These branches looked like broomsticks to me.

This is when we stumbled across an old minor's house (according to the woman who owned Riverside House). This is what I'm talking about, just random crumbling ruins all throughout this country. I'll show you some pictures of the outside of this building down below. 

Behind the house.

This was also behind the house, but wasn't connected to it. I don't know if it was connected at some point or not. I also love the clover growing over everything.

Starting to get on the inside, you can see all of the beautiful plants growing tall. But that's not the coolest part of the inside either.

Trees covered in multiple types of cloth/clothing/masks...even an apron! I spent about an hour looking to see what this meant. From remembering loved ones to doing it for luck, I couldn't find a straight answer. Eventually I asked the woman who owns the Riverside House and she told me she thinks someone just started it one day and it caught on. 

Not a magical explanation, but a magical scene. I'm sure everyone who did it had something on their heart when hanging their piece. 

Last, but not least, here is one of the many old churches we saw. We had gone to a close small town looking for dinner and stumbled onto this. It was so gorgeous to me that I had to snap the photo, plus with the way sun is shining, it looks serene.

So there is my first day in Ireland. There will be a lot more pictures to come, especially in our busier days, to the point you'll be sick of it. However, if you're like me and have never been out of my country (granted, this is a big country and I have been all over it), then I hope you'll enjoy seeing a whole new world and culture. 

And just to let you know, there's just no way I can find out the history of every place I saw here. I'll try my best, but a lot will just be some photos of these pretty amazing places I stumbled on. 

Ireland was everything I thought and more. I hope you'll stay with me as I highlight that.