Last month, we spent a week in Ireland with our friends Sarah and Kelan! We started in County Donegal in the northwest of the island before heading east into Northern Ireland — a few hours in Derry/Londonderry and then a few days in Belfast. While I’d passed through Belfast for an afternoon in the past, on my way to the Giant’s Causeway for the first time, I hadn’t done much other than visit the Titanic Museum.

On this visit, we had a lot more time to explore Belfast! And one of the things I knew I didn’t want to miss out on was a Belfast Black Cab Tour. These tours help visitors learn about Belfast’s history and the history of Northern Ireland as a whole. Having read Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe last summer, I was super interested to see all the places in Belfast where history was happening in the book.

So, here’s what you need to know about Belfast and why you can’t miss out on a Belfast Black Cab Tour. [Read more…]

I’m not a big TV or movie person — but my friends are constantly recommending things for me to watch. Most of the time, they know I’m never going to do it. (But if I do watch something of my own accord and suggest it to them, I expect them to drop whatever they’re doing and start watching immediately.)

But a few summers ago, when Matt and I were visiting my two besties from college for a long weekend, one of them suggested: Let’s watch Derry Girls. Both of them had recommended it to me in the past and I had resisted watching, per usual. But this time I had no choice. And within two minutes of starting the show, the clever opening scene with the background of “Dreams” by The Cranberries (who else?) had me hooked. We watched the next episode, and the next… and soon we had finished the entirety of both seasons that had been released to that point. It would be more than a year before the third and final season was released, which Matt and I dutifully binged at home as soon as it came out.

Fast forward to our most recent trip to Ireland a few weeks ago. After meeting up with our Irish friends Sarah and Kelan in County Donegal (thanks to the Bus Eireann Expressway), we spent one night in Bundoran and two nights in Falcarragh. After exploring County Donegal for a few days, our plan was to continue on to Belfast — but considering the driving route literally passed through Derry, there was no way we were going to miss the chance to visit.

Whether you’ve watched Derry Girls or not, I still think it’s worth it to visit Derry on your trip to Northern Ireland. So, here’s what you need to know before your visit to Derry. (Though I might still try to convince you to watch the show before your trip!) [Read more…]

Here we are, wrapping up our last travel-free month, having been home since the end of August. December, January, February, and March will bring plenty of trips to new places, and certainly lots to write about! And while I’ve talked some about our most recent trip over to the UK and Ireland, I hadn’t gone into too much detail.

But I thought it could be fun to share in “trip review” form. This trip in particular was a great mix of new and old places, and new and old friends. So if you’re wondering what Matt and I got up to during our two weeks across the pond… keep reading. [Read more…]