Never Goodbye, Just See You Later

I actually have goosebumps just thinking about writing this post. I've put it off for about as long as I can, but now I finally have to write it. Sorry, folks, but it's going to be a long one.

There is something that traveling changes inside of you. This may sound incredibly dramatic and cliche, but it's true. I felt it from the moment I clicked my seatbelt on my flight to London for my semester abroad back in 2012. It's the incredible amount of excitement and adrenaline because the possibilities of what lies ahead are endless. You dream of the things you'll see, the people you'll encounter, the experiences you have - all are just within reach the moment you're about to take off. It's an addicting feeling and I truly believe the best sort of high that exists on this planet.

Some people travel to see the world. Some people travel to run away from something. Some people travel to get themselves out of a rut. Some people travel because they can. For me, it was all of the above. I was in the post-grad slump and not liking where I was in terms of it all. I was waitressing and just sort of putzing along trying to find a job that I didn't quite feel ready for. I knew I wanted to get back to the other side of the pond and I didn't know how to do it or if I even could. Court found this working-holiday visa and I swear, I think it was 3 days of hesitation before I went all in. There was no turning back.

I understand that to some people, the idea of dropping everything and moving abroad is absurd, immature or even just plain stupid. I am so lucky to have family and friends who support me and understand my insatiable need to travel and explore. Once I decided to do it, every single person stood proudly by me with words of encouragement and promises to visit. It's an incredible feeling to know you're doing something you want and also something that people you love support and understand.

I truly believe that my year abroad in Ireland changed the whole game for me. Not only was I living thousands of miles away from home, but I was doing it financially on my own, on my own terms and once again the possibilities were endless.

I have decided to do a little bit of what I did while I was in London and create a Top 10 List in no particular order:

10. Travel

While living abroad is travel enough in itself for some, I obviously could not be satisfied (see my insatiable need to explore.) While living in Dublin, I was able to travel quite a bit around Ireland. I got to spend time in Galway, Dingle, Northern Ireland, The Cliffs of Moher, Cobh, Blarney, Cork, Howth, Dun Laoghaire and Bray. I got to experience it by car, train, commuter rail and walking. Ireland is magnificent and the scenery is even better than you see online or in movies. It's breathtaking.

Outside of Ireland I got to travel to Italy (Positano, Florence, Venice and Tuscany), Paris, Tamariu (Northern Spain) and Prague.

My favorite thing about Europe is that in just under 2 hours you can be in a different country with a different culture where the people are speaking a completely different language. My bucket list is forever growing and with every trip I take, 3 more get added to the list.

              

  

9. The Culture

The Irish Culture is deep with history. As you walk through the city, each corner of it tells a story and has some wonderful part to play in the history of Ireland. I love the buildings, the folk lore, the heroes who died on their home soil for their country. It's incredible and a truly remarkable story.

That being said, I also love the pub atmosphere and music. It's completely acceptable to order a pint with la meal at any time of day. The traditional music that can be heard as you pass by a pub with people singing along proudly will forever bring a smile to my face. It's never difficult to find a good pub. There are countless numbers of them on almost every street and each one has a different story, atmosphere and tale to tell. I love it and pub crawling in Dublin will be one of the things I miss most.

8. The People

There is a stereotype of Irish people that they are friendly, kind, funny and welcoming. I stand here before you today and tell you that is completely true. There is nobody on this planet like the Irish. Whether it's a friend of a friend, a distant family member, someone you meet in a pub or someone passing you on the street, I am hard pressed to name one person who was not overwhelmingly nice. Everyone you meet is willing to help you out in any way they can. Everyone is just so friendly and wonderful, it's hard to adjust to everyday life where a random man in the street isn't greeting you and asking how your day is.

7. Visitors

When you move to someplace new, everyone always says "OH I CAN'T WAIT TO VISIT!" There are talks of planned trips, but more often than not, the trips fall through, scheduling conflicts get in the way, it's too expensive or it just doesn't happen because time runs out. I am so lucky that I had tons of people who loved me enough to make the trip to Dublin and experience a little taste of my abroad life. Emily jetted over from Paris in May, Juice made the trek and went on an epic road trip to the West of Ireland with me, Julianne and Meg pulled off the best birthday surprise EVER by showing up on my doorstep, my parents came over for a long weekend to shower us with love, and Melanie and Katelyn came in January for some post-new year fun. I am so grateful for everyone that made the journey and just as thankful for all of my friends that I went so long without seeing that I still get to call my BFFs. Thank you all for everything always.
 

6. Ranelagh

Before I moved, I asked all of the Irish people I knew where I should live. I had set my heart on living in city centre, because I wanted to be close to all of the action. Everyone advised me that just outside the city centre in Rathmines or Ranelagh would be best for a 20 something girl. They could not have been more dead on. Ranelagh was the best place I could have possibly asked to live. We were just moments away from all forms of transportation we would need to get anywhere. We were just 8 minutes from town and even had a little village of our own. A fantastic grocery store was right around the corner from our apartment and there were countless restaurants (including our favorite, MAK) and pubs just a few minutes down the road. It was perfect and I'll miss it and our moldy, damp, rain forest apartment that we called home forever.

5. Gerry & Joan

When we first landed in Ireland, Michelle's family immediately adopted us and did everything they could to help us out. We were invited out to their homes for dinner, given tons of things that we would need (physical items as well as advice!), and just had people to sort of help us through the transition and what was next. All of her family was so wonderful especially for including me in everything as well, but the people who truly changed my entire experience were her cousins Gerry and Joan.

Not only did they allow us to stay in the B&B they own until we found an apartment, but they helped us with apartment searches, getting settled, getting all of the legal work done as well as buying us necessities and helped us get sorted from start to finish. There are no words I could ever say that will do justice to all of the things the Coynes did for us. They gave me a job and adopted me into the Anchor Family without so much as a moment of hesitation. If it weren't for them and everything they did, I would have been floundering homeless and jobless in the streets of Dublin. I am forever indebted to their hospitality and kindness.

photo cred: Michelle Rose

4. Michelle

I got to experience the first 3 months with my best friend by my side. Michelle was the perfect person to take this adventure with. She was down for anything, always willing to try something new and was dying for a bit of change and wanderlust herself. Those 3 months are filled with stories that include laughter, tears, ridiculousness, pints and travel. We were able to go visit Emily in Paris and even spend a week with my family in Italy. I wouldn't trade any second of her time in Ireland for the world and I'll never be able to repay her for taking the leap with me.

3. Corna

As the time that Michelle was leaving grew closer, I began to panic about what was I going to do with a 2 bedroom apartment and no roommate. Thank GOD, things worked out that Corna had her visa and needed a place to live. The experiences we had were nothing short of ridiculous, fantastic, wonderful and everything I needed. Court and I have been crazy close since we were little and had always talked about living together (especially abroad) and the fact that that dream became a reality made me realise this cannot and will not be the last time we take our craziness on the road around the world. I will replay nights in our crappy apartment with wine and laughs and tears as long as I live. Thank you for everything.

2. Eddie

This is one of the hardest ones for me to write. I met Eddie in a very loud beer garden/ night club called Dicey's on Harcourt Street in Dublin. He had just finished his final exams for his last year of school and Michelle and I were celebrating living and loving in Ireland together. He approached me and we began chatting and it's all history from there. I never looked back.

My experience in Ireland would have been nothing compared to what it was if I hadn't met Eddie. Saying that, I am so lucky that I got to spend time with his family. They are a wonderful bunch of people that I loved getting to know and am looking forward to when I get to see them again. They really made it much easier to be away from my own family by adopting me into theirs. His friends were also so welcoming and always let Corna and I tag along and included us in their nights of fun. It was great to be involved in the world of someone I care about so much and see where he comes from.

Whether it was a trip to Northern Spain, a road trip, discovering a new pub, exploring Ireland or just watching Netflix, there are no words to describe how happy and grateful I am that I not only met you, but I get to love you and call you my best friend. You've changed the whole game, pal. I know you're reading this and just know that I am already counting down the days until we get to start a whole new slew of adventures together. Love you lots like jelly tots. xxxxxx

 

1. Myself

I know this seems selfish that this is even on the list, but I feel like it's a very important one. I took this journey for myself so I feel as if it's only fair that one of my top 10 things is what I learned about myself. I grew up. I truly believe the world is the best teacher. Although I have been out of school for about 2 years now, I am still a student in the school of life, y'all. This trip taught me that I CAN do things for myself. I am a great problem solver and can handle unexpected things thrown at me. I still have a lot of molding and growing to do, but I am very happy with the person I've become and I have Ireland and every single person I've met to thank for that. I'll never forget it.

       
                                 

---

Being home has been an adjustment. I'm delighted to be home with family and friends and especially this time of year. It's nice to be in my giant comfy bed and have all of the things I need just downstairs. That all being said, it's hard. It's hard leaving a life you've built over a year and loved so much especially when you don't want to. It's hard leaving a place you've grown to love and call home. Although it's hard, it happened. Here's a little article that I read that sums up the transition perfectly-- CLICK HERE.

I am forever grateful to Ireland and all of the people, places and things that I encountered that made it so difficult for me to return home to the States. The memories will last a lifetime and I can't wait until I get to return to the Emerald Isle. Thank you for everything.

Also a huge shout out and thanks to all of the people who have followed my blog for yet another one of my adventures! I love having this blog for myself so I can look back and remember, but it's a great feeling to know that you all enjoy reading it and hearing what I have to say so thank you for that and for all of the support now and always.

Until next time,
Paige xx

Last Few Days in Dublin

Leaving Dublin is an incredibly hard thing to do, but it's even more difficult when the weather is absolutely perfect! It's hard to think of a place nicer or more beautiful than a sunny Ireland. As I said, we really were trying to make the most of our last few days by soaking up all we could. Whether it was spending the day in town, traveling or doing last minute touristy things, we wanted to do it all!

 

 

On Wednesday, Eddie and I decided to go out for dinner and drinks as a last hoorah. We decided to hit up our new favorite place called "Elephant & Castle." Eddie's sister, Ali told us they have the best wings ever and being the wing enthusiasts that we are, we had to give it a try. Well, we went twice in one week haha. It's in Temple Bar and is great! There is almost always a wait, but it's no problem because you can head off to one of the many pubs in the area while you wait.

We went to a couple of places and soaked up the sunshine over a pint. We even got to a place that is in James Joyce's Ulysses. It is a very old timey feel to it and is has gorgeous dark wood covered in pictures of Joyce. 

We had a fantastic evening and even had a last drink in the bar where we met, which was a nice surprise as Eddie took me there without my knowledge. I of course cried because nostalgia always hits me right in the heart.

We've spent as much time as we can outdoors soaking up the sunshine. Court and I headed to Kilmainham Gaol. I had been there with Shell when we first arrived, but I was interested in going again because I thought it was one of the coolest tourist things in Dublin. Unfortunately, the main wing was closed, but our tickets only cost 2 euro so it wasn't incredibly devastating haha. Our tour guide was a bit of a drip, but we got a nice lesson in Irish history.

            

 

Our last night in Ranelagh was spent with Netflix, wine, tears and laughter. Court and I reminisced and just rehashed life and what we've learned about ourselves and life over the last year. It was cheesy and cliche, but absolutely perfect.

As I said, there is nothing like Ireland or Dublin in the sunshine. It was sunny our last week and we could not have possibly asked for anything better! The only day it rained was the day we spent packing, which was actually a good thing because I wasn't tempted to spend the whole day outside!

We spent our last night in Ireland at Eddie's as he was kind enough to drive us to the airport the next morning. We had a few drinks with Eddie's family and a friend of his and said goodbye to Ireland the proper way- With Guinness and Jameson. It was great to spend just a little bit more time with his family as they are so wonderful.

At least my last memories of Dublin are sun soaked and smiley, which is exactly what I wanted and needed.

Sending all my love,

Paige xx