In three days my sisters, Aunt Jen, and Cousin Kylie are coming to visit me here in Ireland. I haven’t seen my sisters in almost a year and the fact that they will be here in Ireland with me is almost surreal. Last December Jen and Brittney came to visit me and even though it was just six months ago it feels like yesterday. I showed them around Ireland and we even ventured out and explored London- my very first time having been there and I couldn’t have been there with better company. I was able to see London the right way and we made sure we packed as much as possible in so we would have the best experience possible. I wrote a great post about their trip not to soon after they left, but only having realized now that the post was somehow deleted, I’ll recap the whole experience now as I ready for their return again in just a few days and a whole new set of adventures to write about. Because in three days my family’s coming to visit me again and in their stay I’m going to show them as much of Ireland I can again, as well as London and even Denmark this time! The weather was very Irish the last time Jen and Brit came to visit, rainy and cold. I didn’t realize how accustomed to the climate I had become until they got here and spent the first day freezing and layering their jackets on. the rain here can soak you to the bone and the chill in the air will linger. But that was back in December and now I can tell you all that the Irish summer is here and your experience will be different. Instead of bone chilling cold, you’ll just be soaked to the bone hahaha. Make sure to bring layers! We spent the week looking around Ireland. We discovered the best scone and tea breakfast that happened to be right down the street from me. The scones were freshly made every morning and big enough to share between two people- not that we wanted to. The tea was so good –it’s been my favorite here pretty much since the day I arrived- we tracked the brand down in the shops and bought enough to send home. You can bet we will be eating breakfast at “The Wooden Spoon” here in Killaloe every morning this time before we head out on our adventures. We did lots of shopping and I even showed them Ireland's favorite well priced retail store. Penny’s. It’s a lot like forever 21 for those looking like a comparison. Anything you need you can find in Penney’s for a good price and let me tell you the store is always full of customers. I myself shop there every week because it’s just so hard to stay away sometimes. Ireland is such a laid back country, that even taking a good long country drive is heartwarming and so pretty your camera fills up with so many green pictures it’s hard to decide which ones to delete. One of my favorite things we did was visit Drumoland castle. It sits on a beautiful piece of land and the castle is so beautiful it looks like the Darcy’s stay there on weekends. And to make the moment even more memorable, as we drove in to the estate we saw a rainbow the ended straight into the little lake. Yes ladies and gentleman, we did find the end of the rainbow but not wanting to get wet –it was a beautiful sunny day- we didn’t dive into the weather to search for the pot of gold. At arrived at Drumoland for Tea time along with Kirsten Faloon who showed us the beautiful place. We sat in a beautiful room on amazing sofas I was sure cost more than my first car and ate the cutest tiny sandwiches with tea and hot chocolate. Having a proper tea inside a castle was definitely an experience one has to check off their bucket list and we sure did it in style! We treated my host family to a Mexican dinner which we prepared and Jen even had to bring a few ingredients from home to make it authentic. They loved it and ate it all up and it was nice to taste the ingredients from home! We treated Jen and Britney to a very Irish meal of Bacon and Cabbage that I can proudly say I can now prepare with my eyes closed. They also brought me tons of treats and snacks from America and I cherished them like they were gold. I actually have just now run out of my hot sauce and American candies because I ate them sparingly, it was a sad day when I realized my treats had run out. But receiving the treats from my family was like opening my Christmas presents early. When it was time to Jet off to London – a mere hour flight from Ireland- I was more than excited. I’ve always wanted to visit and see what the whole experience was like and let me just say I was not disappointed. There’s so much to do and see there it’s almost too crazy. We stayed in a beautiful hotel (I still dream about that wonderful shower head!) not far from Kensington Palace and could walk or catch the tube anywhere we needed. Our first day on the underground tube was SO confusing. I’ve never felt more like a tourist in my life and reading the tube map was almost like trying to decipher a new language. As I looked around me at the locals who seemed to know the tube like the back of their hand I knew it would take time until we knew which trains to jump on. Luckily after our first day, we were riding the Tube like pros knowing which lines to take and where- just like a local. We hit all the main sites, we saw where the queen lives, where the Royal couple had their first kiss, my favorite clock Big Ben, took pictures with red phone booths, took pictures with the unmovable guards, and visited the National Art Gallery. I was able to see actual Monet art pieces in front of me, it was mind blowing. We walked and walked and walked and even though our feet were killing us we kept going. Jen and Brit even indulged my childhood fantasy and helped me track down the J.M. BARRIE Peter Pan statue. It was one of my favorite moments ever to actually see it. We visited Harrods, the super famous store that even sells gold chocolate and spent hours walking through each floor and what they offer. The higher you went the more expensive things became, I was lucky enough to find a key chain that didn’t break my bank. One of my favorite experiences was riding the London Eye. There are always so many tourists in London its almost impossible not to be stuck shoulder to shoulder with them. We thought this would be the case when we were standing in line for the London Eye. Especially since we were stuck behind a tour of kids waiting for their ride. We just knew we would be stuck in a tube with all of them but to our surprise the attendants let us through and gave Jen, Brit, and I our own London eye tube! We had it all to ourselves! It was amazing, we were able to rise above London just the three of us and see the city in its entirety from every angle. We were able to see the London countryside as we traveled to the London Temple, a beautiful peaceful place where the worlds troubles always feel less important once your surrounded by its beauty. I was able to meet visitors from around the world and walk the grounds. Dad you would love this temple because airplanes flew right over! The food –we found this amazing pizza place that was so good we ate there twice!-, the culture, the company, the experience was more than I could have ever hoped for. My aunt Jen has always been so good to me and my family and made sure we had good experiences and taking me to London was definitely more than I could have asked for. Showing my family around Ireland was a great experience for me because I was able to show them everything I had been telling them about for months through pictures and videos. But to actually have them here and show them first hand was a great experience and I can’t wait to do it again in just a few days. Can you guys hurry up and get here already! See you soon! I’ll be waiting at the airport!
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February 2016
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