Summer Vacation.
I don’t think I have had one of those in ages!!! My Photography Program finished in June, marking two years of study with a very anticlimactic end, but as I put the Google searches on the shelf and dusted off my passport I sure got excited to get on an airplane and looked forward to the adventures ahead!!!
I haven’t been to my homeland, Canada, in nearly 2 years!!!! Studying abroad doesn’t’ really allow for extravagant plane tickets, and it sure was a treat to have something to look forward to. You may think to yourself ‘but she lives in the UK, isn’t it cheap to fly to Europe from there??’…. Define cheap I’ll say, when the cost of living barely matches your part time work hours a plane ticket home isn’t always feasible even though you long to see family, friends and familiarity, but somehow you manage and the adventures around your local become more intriguing as you find ways to make the 'mundane' into treasured memories.
I am so thankful for this summer trip.
As most world trip plane rides go, there were layovers, lots and lots of layovers. The first one landed us in Dublin, Ireland for an afternoon of wandering in the sweltering heat. Our taxi driver was one of the kindest fellows I have met whilst in the UK and our journey from the airport was made more enjoyable/safe because of him - trust me, a taxi is the way to go in Dublin – spend the money - after my first time driving there with those nutters it was a must!!! His banter had us in fits of laughter and we learned some of Dublin’s current cultural situations and its history from him. For that type of service we made sure to snag him for the following morning on our way back to the airport!!!
After checking into our hostel, we grabbed the essentials; passports, some money, and our cameras and headed out to get lost on the streets, explore the city center and be tourists.
The heat was beating down on us and remained a topic of conversation throughout the day, the streets were jam packed with bodies walking everywhere, and the photo ops were countless. I don’t think I will ever understand why the people who line up like cattle to get on a city bus in their proper orderly manner, have no understanding of walking on one side of the footpath (sidewalk) but tend to walk as though in a jigsaw puzzle!!!!?????
There is a lot to see in Dublin, and I love how shops have flowers in their windows and the restaurants have wee patio settings with picturesque views and menus begging to be consumed. I could probably have taken photos there for a week and not become bored of exploring Dublin’s city core.
Our lunch at a Mexican stall is evidence that you need to hold deep pockets to eat at any of the cute café’s or restaurants, but I am so thankful to have been able to hold new memories and photos from this wee layover.
