Hi, I'm Erika from Eh? What's This? and I'm taking over Leah's blog today to tell you about the wonderful day I spent overseas a year ago. To learn about her backpacking trip, head over to my blog to see what she wrote about!
Thorough out all of high school I always wanted to visit Ireland. It's where my family is from, where I had dreams of seeing never-ending green fields of sheep. I didn't get my hope after completing grade 12 to finally get to go, I had to wait three more years. The summer after I finished College, I was working for the Government in this two-bit summer student job that paid under minimum wage. I decided to finally take my chance, and saved all the money I made that summer to go and visit the sheep... and a few people.
Since I was planning to travel alone, my travel agent suggested that I take a Contiki Tour. It's a tour for youngsters between 18 and 35, and they have tours all over the world. I still wanted some time to see a few things on my own that they didn't cover, so I booked my plane ticket to leave three days before the tour started. It was the best decision I made that summer. I packed my bags, my mom dropped me at the airport, five hours early. It was the only time she could, so I sat in the airport and read my book, PS, I Love You... it seemed to fit.
The first day I spent there I rested, had a bit to eat, and visited the University of Dublin across the street from my hotel. The second day was amazing. I woke up early, had breakfast, and headed out for the train into downtown Dublin. When I got there, my first order of business was to find a Starbucks! I walked around Temple Bar, and did a bit of window shopping (I knew the tour had a day of shopping at the end of the trip, and I didn't want to spend all my money at once) and then I grabbed the train and headed up to Howth.
Howth is a little village on the East Coast of Ireland on the water. I had read they had lighthouses there, and I had never actually seen a lighthouse (I have lived my whole life near Toronto, Ontario). I sat on the train with these two French guys that I don't think spoke a word of English (and yes I'm from Canada, but I don't speak a word of French). You have to transfer the trains to reach Howth, and as all three of us waited for the next train, we realized we were heading to the same place. I'm not sure if they knew what they were going to see once they got there, but I sure didn't. Part of my thought, a few houses and a lighthouse. When I rounded that corner from the train station and saw the TWO lighthouses, the houses built into the hill, the water, the people, the fishing boats, I was in heaven. That is my kind of town... to visit on weekends or in the summer, not really to live in.
I walked along the pier, taking photos of all the boats (I took over 1,000 in ten days) when I ran into the same two French guys looking into the water. I stopped to have a look, I wanted to know what was so great in the water to make them stop. One look into the teal-ish blue water I was in shock. There was four wild seals swimming around. Not just one, or two, but four! The closest I have ever come to a seal was at the Toronto Zoo behind a glass window. And here people were feeding them. It was great.
It was one the best moments on my trip, one that when I think about Ireland I always think of those seals.I did the one thing my dad asked me not to do, I sent a media file text back to Canada to both him and my mom. He wasn't too upset about the bill.After watching them for about twenty minutes, I walked along the other pier to the lighthouses, and then went to the little shops to have some ice cream. It was so unreal.
2 comments:
I missed out on visiting Howth when I was in Ireland. I stayed (couch surfed) in Clontarf during my time in Dublin. Wished I made a small trek out there to check out Howth.
Oh I would love to go see Ireland, I'm not Irish, but it is my namesake, after all.
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