Home.

Home is not where you live but where you are understood- Christian Morgenstern

The days are getting shorter now and the good bye hugs and thank you's are starting to become a fixture of my life of late. It's nearly time to go home and it makes me realize that wherever I go I will always be home. I have shown myself that life can be lived from any corner of the globe and that my home is everywhere. It's in the cobbled streets of Edinburgh city, it's on the tube in London. Home is is the Danish word 'hygge' and in the hearts of three little girls living in county Meath. 
It breaks my heart to know this life here is all ending. I believe my life will forever be spent missing people. Missing the fact that I'm no longer a part of their daily routine, that I'm no longer in their company and even though when I give someone their last hug good bye I wonder 'am I ever going to see this person again?' I do find comfort in the fact that life happens and sometimes paths do cross, time collides and some moments of our lives continue to connect to others moments. I saw this in June when I ran into my crazy Mexican friend who when I hugged good bye three years ago at a little bus stop in DK, I thought I'd never see her again. And I did, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. 
As an exchange student the motto we told ourselves to get us through was ' it's not good bye, only I'll see you soon' and as my heart was made to wander I honestly believe this is the case. I will forever be going home and I will forever be looking for a new home. 

Wild and Sexy Scotland

I have been to England and Wales and I am living in Ireland so I thought it was only fitting that I knocked Scotland off too! I may have only scratched the surface of what I want to see in all these lovely places but such is life of an adventurer.
I have spent five wet and cold but lovely days exploring Scotland. I flew into Edinburgh early Sunday morning and had the day to explore. Then the next day I was off on another wonderful Haggis tour of the Highlands including the Isle of Skye for three days. Then my final day in Edinburgh before flying out late at night. I had been told that if I loved Wales that I would definitely love Scotland, and love doesn't even come close to describing the joy and happiness I got from lovely Scotland.
I had not done any research on Edinburgh, I just simply booked my ticket and got on the plane. As I travel more I seem to be a bit more relaxed, I don't feel the need to have everything planned and 'googled' before I set off and I am glad that I didn't because Edinburgh is just enchanting. The city has quickly become my favorite city in the world. As the airport bus drove into the city, I could not believe what I was looking at. All these old gorgeous castle like buildings lining the city skyline and as I wandered the streets, despite the splash of the modern day life, I felt like I was in another time. There was no need for site seeing just wandering the streets was mesmerizing in its self!

 After I became acquainted with lovely Edinburgh it was time to start my Haggis tour and it was such a great tour! We had a fantastic tour leader/driver who certainly payed homage to the Scottish cheeky, perverted and honest humor! I tell you what I giggled all the way through those Highlands.
 Our first day was spent getting to the Highlands so we saw many gorgeous Lochs and Battles sites. We also had a trip to distillery and tasted some Scottish whisky as well a lovely drive through the Glencoe area... our first taste of the highlands before making it to Fort William our base for two nights.
The second day was spent on the Isle of Skye with a quick stop at Eilean Donan Castle- a very popular castle for the Hollywood industry!
Where we went on the Isle of Skye was very weather dependent so the west was our destination and the Macleod's Tables were our back drop for the day. Again Scotland did not seem to disappoint and at every turn was another amazing site of mountains, water and sky. With autumn out in full force everything was also covered in different shades of red and orange which just added to the beauty.
Our last day we stopped off at Loch Ness- which to be honest, is just as gorgeous as all the others I have seen but obviously more popular because of the legend attached to it. Needless to say I saw no monster but I enjoyed the stories of the crazies that packed up and sold everything to devote their life to finding the beastie!
We also stopped through the battle site of Culloden which is probably one of Scotland's most important battles in history as the outcome changed- and damaged, the identity of many of the Scottish people, the highlanders in particular! Now I am not a history buff and I'm not particularly interested in past warfare so when we stopped off I wasn't all that fussed but after learning about the battle that took place there I think this story will always stay with me.
After Culloden we continued our drive back to Edinburgh, with a wee stop at some old ruins, much similar to the ones at Newgrange (see previous post) and then a traipse around a forest for a stop at Hermitage Falls.
My final day in bonnie in Scotland was spent wandering Edinburgh again. This time I went to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Scottish Gallery which were great but mainly, I was just interested in soaking up the atmosphere of this fairy tale like city.
While on tour I also met some lovely people which just added to the experience and while I love traveling on my own it does get lonely, so it was so nice to be taken in by some lovely people and share the experience of this magical place with them.

Eilean Donan Castle

Glencoe

Isle of Skye

Edinburgh

Scotland is just truly a treasure and now all I need to do is find a Scottish Prince so I can live in a castle on hill surrounded by gorgeous mountains and bodies of water. I could live very happily indeed.

Little adventures

You can blame procrastination for my lack of posts over the past six weeks. I get busy, I have some adventures then I get busy again and then when I finally feel ready to write about it I get overwhelmed by everything that I put it off and get busy again. So here I am, a week away from my Scotland trip and writing my latest fun down so I don't forget about all this in my Scotland hype.

Lately I have been working some five day weeks so I have been very much in a bit of a working mindset and settling into the routine of that. However on my weekends I do have some fun things to report.

A while ago myself and two other aupair friends went to Dublin for the day and went to the National Leprechaun museum. We were honestly going because we had a voucher for a free gift and we were wondering what it could be. However, we had a fantastic time! the tour basically took us through Ireland's folk history and it definitely sparked a curiosity in me to buy and read some folklore stories!
That day was also followed by dinner and a few pints in the city at a lovely Irish bar with some great music!

National Leprechaun Museum

I've also had two really lovely nights in Dublin. One I went to see Aus comedian Adam Hills and another I went in to see one my my fav musicians Passenger.
Adam Hills was great! He was hilarious and so good with the audience! and the night was even better as I followed it on by having a few drinks and danced away with some of my aupair friends in the city!

Adam Hills @ Vicar St

Passenger is a musician that I have been trying to see live for years now. I heard about him through a friend when he used to just busk on the streets. She has seen him in Fed Square in Melbourne. I never got around to seeing him live and when I saw he was in Dublin just recently I booked my tickets right away! He was such a great artist to see live and definitely going to be a concert I will always remember!

Passenger @ Vicar St.

I have spent a weekend in Northern Ireland with my original aupair girls. Ioana and Martina were just finishing as I started but we became good friends very quickly. Ioana is now living in Northern Ireland with her husband so Martina and I caught the train up to Belfast and spent the weekend with Ioana! I enjoyed being with these girls again, I have missed their presence in wee Stamullen! We had a good time exploring Belfast. It was great to see a new city. We took one of those 'hop on, hop off' bus tours and it was such a great idea because the weather hasn't been too kind lately, coming into winter and all, and those tours are an easy way to get your bearings and learn about the city you are in. Belfast is laden with an interesting past (and present) and it was such an eye opening experience to learn more about it.

Ioana, Martina and I.

Peace walls that are still needed in Belfast

In between all my little weekends away I have also managed to go off and visit my lovely cousins!
I always enjoy going down to visit them and I love that I get to see their gorgeous kids grow up in the time that I am here.
One weekend that I was over we had lovely weather so Cathy took me to a place called Glendalough. It is very near to them in the gorgeous Wicklow mountains and it has been the backdrop for many movies over the years. The sun shone, so we had a lovely picnic overlooking the gorgeous lake!

A grave yard in the mountains- not a bad little part of the world to be buried in ay?

                                                                  

'the money shot'- Glendalough

and finally, just this weekend gone, Ciaran took me off to a place called Newgrange- which is actually very near to where I am living, just hard to get to on public transport!
Newgrange is part of a set of 'tombs' or 'chambers' that are older than the pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge. These, what look like mounds in the landscape or as a part of the hill are an amazing piece of work that has been well organised and constructed by its people. There are lots of theories to why these were built but it's believed that they were used for ceremonial and religious use as there were skeletons found in them but also mostly likely used for farming and agriculture as a way of counting the seasons and time. The chambers are not only known for their precise and unique construction but also for their beautiful stone carvings inside and around them. Newgrange was definitely a very special experience!
               

Newgrange- the outside fully reconstructed however the inside, despite a few beams, left untouched.

the entrance and some beautiful original carvings

more carvings

In other news I have been doing a bit of house keeping lately such as I changed my flights for back home. January 16th- save the date! and I am mid applying for university. It's crazy to think I have just four months left. I have so many things coming up that time is just going so quick. I love my little life here and I have don't like that I don't have long with it left. My heart is torn in two and I just wish that I had a little bit of clarity. 

oh, and in case you were wondering what that free gift was? Pins. They would of been handy when I was a Rotary kid ay!

Paddywagon craic.

This weekend seemed just as a good time as any to enjoy some more of beautiful Ireland. This time my aupair friend, Zoe, and I ventured to the south of Ireland. We decided to book our tour through Paddywagon  because we had such a great experience with them last time, and as expected we weren't disappointed.
Thursday night Zoe and I ventured into Dublin after a long week- the children are back at school so a new routine changed the dynamic of the week for us!
We stayed at the lovely Paddy's Palace so we were ready for our tour the following morning. However, that night we enjoyed a few pint's of cider in the Temple district of Dublin which is well known for its good pubs and great music.
Friday morning up and early, after not so much sleep, we got on our lovely green bus and started driving to the south of Ireland. We drove through the beautiful Connemara area. The scenery was just absolutely breathtaking.

photo stop in Connemara area

We also stopped off at a place called Kylemore Abbey. We didn't have enough time to go in and walk around but it is such a gorgeous abbey sitting in the most gorgeous spot.

Kylemore Abbey

That night we found ourselves in gorgeous Galway and we had an absolute ball. The group all met up for dinner so we ate, had a few pints and danced along to some live music. Galway always has something going on and it is definitely on my list to go back to!

The following day we drove through what is called The Burren which while a desolate rocky landscape, it was absolutely lovely. Stopping at more gorgeous old Abbey's until we found ourselves at the Baby Cliffs of Moher and then on to the proper ones.  We were so lucky with our weather because it was pretty misty and grey and we were worried that we wouldn't get a clear view but the weather fined up for about half an hour giving us plenty of time to snap some great shots and revel in these amazing works of art of mother nature.  They have fenced alot of the main walking tracks off because it is so dangerous out on the edge of the Cliffs- these things are 700ft high, if you get a gust of wind or lose your footing you really have no chance. However, there is one spot where you can walk along and get close to the edge. So I gave it ago.... and just sitting there.... I felt like I was on the edge of the world. 

Baby Cliffs-156ft

The Cliffs of Moher- can get up to 700ft high

on the edge of the world.

After our breathtaking day we drove on to a place called Killarney that was to be our home for the night and what a lovely night we had. Again, we went out as a group and had some good food and found ourselves a few pints while listening to some great irish music. The bus driver had been teaching us Irish all day and he said whoever can use the most got a free pint. I love a good challenge, so I'd been practicing in my head all day and when the moment came, that free pint was mine!

Our final day we headed out of Killarney and on to Cork where we went to Blarney Castle, kissed the Blarney stone and explored the gardens. They say that if you kiss the Blarney stone you will get the 'gift of the gab'- the ability of eloquent speech. Now some would say that I have no problems, I may not be all that eloquent but I do love to talk. However, I don't care, I was a tourist and I wanted to kiss that stone so I did. So in case I needed any help before in the talking department, I'm all good now ;) 

giving the stone a big ol' smooch. 

Blarney castle

From Cork we headed on back for the 2.5 hour trip back to Dublin. What an amazing weekend I had. It was so nice to go exploring in Ireland's south and now I definitely have a few places I want to come back to explore more. I had great company on the trip, I'm lucky to have some lovely aupairs in my area and of course to have had a great group and tour company. Paddywagon are so much fun. Our driver had us in hysterics the whole time and gave us some good old Irish fun.

Despite the weather getting chillier, it is happy days here in Ireland :)

Oh me, Oh my, It is September.

Can I just say what a FABULOUS Sunday I had today. This morning early, My friend Zoe and I took the train to a place called Howth and completed a 10 km coastal walk. I had heard that it was popular and well worth a go, so off we went. There were a few walks to choose from but the 10km had the most coast so we thought 'let's do it'. We spent the whole day walking along gorgeous cliffs with the ocean and Dublin skyline on our left and pink and purple heathlands of the cliffs on our right. We climbed down the cliffs to get to a little beach where we found lots of rock pools and a cave. We did some rock climbing and ate our delicious fudge (bought from the market that morning) on a huge rock with the ocean lapping below us at our feet. I thoroughly enjoyed today. It was so nice to be out in the beautiful weather and walking along seeing the flora and enjoying the landscape made me reminiscent of my outdoor ed days.

Family time

Here is Post two, Part two....
After finishing up my Wild Welsh weekend I got back to London late on Sunday night and got back to my hostel (where I would be for the next 4 nights) and got a good- much needed, nights sleep ready for my second leg of  my holidays.
I woke Monday morning and I was in much need of doing my washing. So I grabbed my pack and turned my notes into coins and sat in the launderette next to my hostel in my pajamas while everything in my pack went through the washing machine. I wash my own clothes but I have never used a launderette before so as I was sitting there I did not feel ashamed that I was in the middle of London sitting in my pajama's but quite satisfied with myself for successfully using the launderette ( I think it's a had to be there moment ha!)
Anywho, after I my clothes were squeaky clean I myself got squeaky clean. It is amazing what a decent shower and clean clothes can do. I was now ready again for more adventures. I wandered off into London. I went to Trafalgar Square. I enjoyed the National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery and I booked a ticket to go see the musical 'Once'.
Once was incredible. I got a cheap ticket and I was expecting pretty crappy seats but I was in the stalls with a clear view of the stage! wonderful! The style of the musical was different to many I had seen. It was small scale. Only about 13 people in the cast and everything was done on stage. The story is about an Irish busker who has lost his way and meets a Czech woman who puts him back on track etc. The performers did such a great job, they made it quite the comedy and they did a great job of the music. I ran into a lovely couple who were sitting next me and I had quite a nice old time chatting to them too.  Such a lovely night.
Tuesday in London started off with catching up again with my lovely friend Astrid. I had seen her last week on the Sunday when I flew into London before my tour started but it was good to see her again. We went to the borough markets near London Bridge and enjoyed eating delicious foods. YUMMM. I then went down to Shakespeare's Globe to see Midsummer Nights Dream with Cathy and even though I had to stand in the sun for 3 hours to watch it I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've never seen a Shakespeare play done before but I would love to see more now after this.
During the evening I headed off to Soho to see what comedians were on and I found an Aussie playing so I went in. He wasn't amazing but still funny and it kept me entertained for the evening. Back at the hostel I ran into to aussie girls who were holidaying and ended up trying to find a pub and walking the city with them later on at night and that was lovely too.
Wednesday morning I woke up ready to start my day visiting my family. I caught the train to a place called Haslemere which is an hour (by train) south of London and was picked up by Cathy and Ciaran and taken back to what is called Shepherd's Hut where my Great Aunt Jane lives. I'd been there once before back in 2010 but it was a quick visit and raining so I didn't see much. This time however I spent the afternoon sitting looking over the South Downs from the back garden enjoying lovely chats with Jane. I was then taken out to the Farmhouse where my Grandfather grew up and the Milland Pottery which Jane built and then finally onto the Tuxlith Church and I got see the graves of my great Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles as well as graves for more of my ancestors.
The whole experience seeing Milland- the countryside, the properties, the church etc. was just incredible. It was very brief and I would love to go back and spend more time there but I just feel so fortunate to see a part of where I came from. My whole life I have heard my Grandfather- My Papa, talk proudly and fondly of this place and it's always been a bit of a mystery to me. Now however, it is something that I understand, now when I hand my British Passport over at immigration I hand my British identity over with it too.

Shepherd's Hut. 

Thursday I got the bus early and headed off to Leeds do some more family tracking. I spent time with Claire (Cathy's sister, My Dad's cousin... my second cousin?... see this is why I say cousins) and her lovely lovely family. Oh, I just had a wonderful time with them. Such a happy joyous family. We had some wonderful chats, watched some great movies, saw some great things- they took me to York and Richmond castle which are gorgeous! and they also took me to see my Grandfathers Cousin ( I have no idea what that makes them to me) Lucy and her husband George. I was told these two are great fun and it is true. They are both such happy chatty people and again I felt so fortunate to meet these people that have been a part of my family's life!

So after my whirlwind two weeks I was off bright and early back to Dublin on Sunday morning. Now it is Monday night and after washing, writing and crafting I am back to life as usual tomorrow morning.

What an incredible two weeks I have had and it has been an incredibly joyous, learning and beautiful two weeks. I had moments where I sat on the train and would look out at gorgeous rolling green hills and just smile to myself. Smile because I made this happen and here I am changing my world and making myself happy. The things I have dreamed about are my reality and now so much more. It's a liberating feeling when you understand truly that you are in control of your life. When you realize it is your drive, your choices and your power that gets you to where your dreams are. Knowing this makes me realize that I will never settle for anything. I will never settle for anything less than what I want because my life is my choice. Whatever the circumstance may be, whether I am broke, rich in love or alone... I know I am enough for myself and as long as I am following my dreams or on the way there, I know I will be ok.

Welsh Adventures.

Oh me, oh my it is already mid August and as usual time and his merry friends have stolen more weeks from me. 

I have just come back from two weeks in the UK and I have loved every moment of it. I'm going to do some separate posts because one post will be just too long. So, with out further a do here is Post One, Part One: Welsh Adventures. 

In Green is a rough guide of the first 5 days of the tour and in Purple is a rough indication of where I went for my adventure weekend on the Pembrokeshire Coast. 
A few months ago I googled Wales tours and up popped the homepage for Haggis tours. I found a great 5 days tour with a 2 day add on that sounded just amazing and very cheap, so I booked away. That is why just two weeks ago at 7 am I found myself in London, sitting on a mini bus with 8 other Aussies, 2 Americans and the 3 Brit's ready to start touring the Welsh lands. We went from North to South Wales and it was just amazing!

Day One: We started off with a quick stop to Stratford upon Avon where we saw Shakespeare's house and grave. We travelled on into wales where we saw some of Thomas Telford's fine engineering an aqua duct that was built for transporting narrow boats. Then we climbed a big hill to see some Ruins called Dinas Bran- these were incredible but just a taster of some of the amazing things we were about to see in the coming days. We headed then onto a little farm where would spend our first night in the hills. 

Dinas Bran ruins.
Day Two: We continued North through Wales and drove through Snowdonia National Park stopping at lakes and waterfalls to get some great shots until we got to the Island of Anglesey where the town with the longest name in world is situated. The weather was looking a bit grim so we decided to postpone our walk up Mt. Snowdon until after lunch in hope that the weather would improve. So off to Conwy we went for lunch. Conwy is a breath taking city. It is a coastal city with the most gorgeous Castle and the drive in is one of my most picturesque entrances to a city I have ever seen. We walked the Castle walls and went into the Castle. It was just amazing. 

On the top on Conwy Castle

The weather did clear up and we headed off to Snowdon where we walked a bit of Mt. Snowdon. We obviously didn't get to the peak but we went to a place where we could see it. Oh how I love this part of the world, the landscape is just incredible!

somewhere on Mt Snowdon.

 Snowdon was our last stop and then drove to a town called Caernafon where we stayed the night. This place is also gorgeous. Right on the sea with a big Castle- the Prince of Wales' Castle, towering over the town. 

The Prince of Wales Castle.

 Day Three: The day we started driving to the south of Wales. We made a few stops. The first stop we made in the town of Aberystwyth. The weather was pretty ordinary but I enjoyed this colorful little coastal town and the second stop was the Devils Bridge where we got to walk the gorge and see a pretty cool Waterfall. Then we drove through the Elan Valley which was again so picturesque! after a long day in the bus we got to Cardiff where we were based for the remainder of the trip.

Aberystwyth

Day Four: We drove out of Cardiff through the Brecon Beacons to a place called Hay on Wye which is book capital of the world. There are over 200,000 books in this little idyllic town and it was well worth the morning spent there. We went off to the Big Pit mine after Lunch and I really enjoyed it. This was one thing on the itinerary that I wasn't really all that phased by but after going I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I was fascinated to learn about this history of Coal and mines in Wales. Leaving the mines we drove along the 'Top Gear' road and finally after a long hot afternoon boiling in the bus we got to Tintern Abbey  which was just AMAZING. So serene and so gorgeous just nestled in the forest.

Tintern Abbey

Day Five: Spent in Cardiff. In the morning we headed off on a 'Hop on. Hop off' bus which was great way to see the sites. We then Walked past Cardiff Castle and saw all the stone animals on the castle walls. The Prince wanted a zoo but the council wouldn't let him have a zoo in the center of town so he asked someone to make animals on the castle walls and give them glass eyes to make them look real- make them look CREEPY more like it. We wandered the arcades of Cardiff- there are so many pretty shops hehe.
and finally our trip came to an end and I said good bye to the group because that evening I was to make the trip from Cardiff to the Pembrokeshire coast to start my adventure weekend.
I had such a great group. It was nice to be surrounded by Aussie's again and I made some really lovely friends. Haggis do a great tour and I strongly recommend them for anyone looking at doing Scotland/Wales adventures. The guides were fun and made a great tour atmosphere! 

After saying goodbye I made my way to the train station where I got the train to a place called Fishguard which is situated in the Pembrokeshire National park. I had a small debacle at the station because no one was there to collect me but after some messing around finding phones and numbers I got picked up and was ready to start my adventure weekend!
When booking the trip I was just excited by the sound of the action packed weekend that I didn't really think too much about my ability to do the tasks required. So on the Saturday morning as I sat with a group kitted out in my wet suit, buoyancy aid and helmet with my legs shoved uncomfortably in a kayak I was seriously wondering if I had bitten off more then I could chew. However once on the water I was fine. It was the most incredible experience kayaking next to these big cliffs and going in all these little caves. It was a clear day so the water was calm and you could see for miles. It was hard going on my poor arms but I loved every moment of it.
In the afternoon we went Coasteering. For those that don't know what Coasteering is (I didn't when I booked the trip) It is basically swimming in the ocean around coastal walls and climbing and jumping in the water from them. It was such an awesome experience! The water was a bit chilly and choppy but the buoyancy aids kept us a float. We swam, traversed walls, jumped off rocks into deep water, swam in caves and let the swell of the water suck us in and out and learnt about the sea life living in the area. INCREDIBLE.  I was so exhausted after my big day!
I took a coastal walk the following morning before we headed off (back to London) and despite the fact that I got rained on it was truly a breathtaking walk! 

Pembrokeshire Coast

 I have had the most amazing week travelling through Wales. I honestly did not know much about it so I came away with so much knowledge on its mythical and medieval history. I am just enamored by the beautiful landscape and I just love this part of the world.