Do you know a good way to start Summer? I do. A family vacation to Ireland and that’s just what my family did. We started our Summer with a trip to Ireland! It was the best vacation we ever had! It was also our first trip overseas. To say that I was a little nervous about flying over a large body of water would be putting it mildly. Once the plane took off I was to excited to be scared of that water and I enjoyed the flight. I tried to get some sleep, but that didn’t go so well. 
When we finally arrived in Ireland the first thing we did was get our car rental for the week. My husband drove around the parking lot once to get comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road. I have to say he did a very good job the entire week we were in Ireland driving on the opposite side of the road. I was impressed.
There were so many things we wanted to see and do, but it was impossible for us to get it all done in a weeks time. What we did do and what we did see was all amazing.
I believe the first place we went to was ST Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh. We also walked around 
Armagh some and went to their Mall. This part of our trip was emotional for me because this is where the last name McCann started and where my mom’s dads family comes from. The city of Armagh is beautiful. And although I don’t like going into Roman Catholic Churches I made an exception for this one.
On that same day we also went to see the Titanic Museum in Belfast which was nice and then we drove to the Giants Causeway. This place was breathtaking. My entire family loved this place. And I would highly recommend it to anyone who plans to visit Ireland. 
We had the pleasure of going to a Banquet at Bunratty Castle. Everything about this banquet was enjoyable. One of the men reminded me of my Irish grandpa. When he sang the song “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” it brought tears to my eyes. We also had a little bit of mead before the banquet started. It was nice, but strong. I couldn’t finish mine lol. 
Right before the banquet, while we were waiting, we did some shopping across the road. We bought some wool sweaters for one of my daughters and me. We ended up wearing them while in Ireland because the weather was rainy and damp. And the sweaters kept us warm.
We went to Dublin twice that week and did a bunch of shopping while we were there. We also did the Hop on Hop off bus tour which was nice and informative. Being able to see all the different areas of Dublin before we did any shopping was nice. I could feel the history while we walked along the streets of Dublin. At the same time it felt like I was in Manhattan. Two very different cities and yet they felt very much the same in their own ways. 
While shopping in Dublin on the first day we ate at a Traditional Irish pub/restaurant. I had the Traditional Irish Stew. It was okay. Don’t know if I would want it again, but at least now I can say I tried it.
On another day we went to Belfast to an Irish out door Museum (Ulster Folk and Transport Museum). This was a nice place. My favorite part about it wasn’t the place itself, but getting to finally meet my friend Samantha who I met online about four years ago. We became good friends over time and we finally got to meet each other. We had a good time together. I didn’t want to say good bye. After my families time with my friend we went to the city party of Belfast and found a restaurant right outside a Mall and had some lunch. I had the traditional Fish and Chips and let me tell you that was some of the best Fish and Chips I ever had. OH and the waiter’s Irish accent! I could have listened to that accent all day.
The last thing we did in Ireland was taking a tour of Trim Castle. It was raining that day, but the tour was still fun. This is the same Castle that was used in the movie Brave Heart. Besides for Trim Castle we got to see many other Castles in Ireland. They were all great to see. And the ruins were just as awesome to see.
All in all Ireland was absolute wonderful! The landscape is beautiful. The castles are cool to see. The country roads are a bit scary to drive on sometimes, but fun at the same time. The different towns we drove threw were so cute! I was taking in as much of everything that I could! I already miss Ireland especially hearing that Irish accent. OH and the guys over there, man their cute! Don’t get me wrong I Love my husband and I told him so, but they are cute. At the end of our week in Ireland I asked my husband if he could leave me there for another week. He said “No your mine”. So I came back home with my family.
We also went to Trinity College and we go to see its library. That is quite the library let me tell you. We did so much more, but to put it in this blog would take a while. I have to say It was truly an amazing experience and I look forward to go back to Ireland some day. Hopefully sooner rather then later.
