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.
London, Briefly
The whole point of this trip was to visit Sarah and Kelan in Ireland. Fun fact, affordable flights between Kansas City and Dublin are non-existent. So we went with our tried-and-true method of getting creative with our flights and airports. We booked a Southwest flight from Kansas City to LaGuardia in New York City, and then commuted from LaGuardia to JFK, where we flew direct to London. (We had to do the same thing in reverse on the way home, except we stayed overnight with a friend in Brooklyn instead of doing it all on the same day.)
Tired from our overnight flight, we arrived at London-Gatwick bright and early the next day and breezed through immigration. The UK and many other European countries have done away with manual passport control as of this past summer/fall, so it’s all automated now for select nationalities. The good news: the process is much faster. The bad news: no more passport stamps. 🙁
From London, we would be taking a train to Edinburgh, Scotland, from King’s Cross Station (yep, like in Harry Potter). We hopped on the Gatwick Express, which took us directly to St. Pancras Station, which is basically connected with King’s Cross. And we waited to board our Lumo Train to Edinburgh. (Not going to write about that part again, so here’s the post I already published about the journey.)
Edinburgh, Scotland
After four-plus hours on the train, we were in Edinburgh! It was both of our first times in Scotland, and we didn’t know what to expect. On the first night, after that very long day, we found a fish ‘n’ chips shop and headed to bed early. Our hotel, which we booked with credit card points, was right off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
It didn’t take us long to realize just how crowded Edinburgh was. At first, we weren’t sure whether it was just because it was Europe in the summer? Or something else? Eventually, we figured out that something very special was taking place in Edinburgh: the Fringe Festival.
“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the single greatest celebration of arts and culture on the planet. For three weeks in August, the city of Edinburgh welcomes an explosion of creative energy from around the globe. Artists and performers take to hundreds of stages all over the city to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and includes theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, children’s shows, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions and events.” – EdFringe.com
Of course, we had to see a few shows while we were there! The first one we saw was called “So My Dad F*cked the Nanny.” Someone handed us a flyer on the street, and when the title made us laugh, we decided to check it out. We went into a pub, grabbed a drink, and headed to the basement for the free show. A few days later, we saw a show by Mark Watson, a prominent British comedian, but we did have to pay for that one. (Matt was happy to cover the cost, since he was familiar with Mark from the show Taskmaster, which is pretty funny.)
There was more to Edinburgh, of course! Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle, Cockburn Street (the inspiration for Diagon Alley), Greyfriars Kirkyard, Holyroodhouse… but we were pleasantly surprised by the Fringe Fest. Hopefully we’ll be back another August… Matt’s trying to gather a group of “lads” to visit again in 2024. 😉
Glasgow, Scotland
One morning in Edinburgh, we were talking with our waitress about how busy the city was. “Oh yeah,” she said. “In August, all the tourists come, and the locals hide.” This made us even more glad that we’d already decided to take a quick hop over to Glasgow, just to see what life looks like outside of Edinburgh. We set out for the train station, bought our tickets, and caught our train for the one-hour journey.
While we only spent about a day and a half in Glasgow, we stayed busy. Highlights included the Glasgow Necropolis, an old Victorian cemetery with large monuments perched on a hill, and the University of Glasgow, which looks a lot like Hogwarts in real life.
We also were able to meet up with one of Matt’s old friends, Nicole, who is from just outside Glasgow. They met when they both worked at Girl Scout Camp in St. Louis over 10 years ago. Matt remembered that she lived in Glasgow, and Instagram helped us all meet up for an unlikely reunion over pints and the not-so-subtle blare of nearby bagpipes.
Dublin, Ireland
After almost a week in Scotland, we hopped on a one-hour flight over to Dublin, where Sarah and Kelan picked us up from the airport! This was my third time in Ireland, but Matt’s first. Our friends brought us to their little apartment in Dublin, which was just a stone’s throw from the Guinness Factory, as we caught up and they shared stories from their time in Cuba this past summer. And then we were like, it’s a nice day, why don’t we go to the Guinness Factory? So we did.
For some reason, I always thought that Guinness was a super heavy beer, so I never thought I liked it, though I swear I’ve tried. But at the top of the Guinness Storehouse in their 360-degree tasting room, I was converted. Maybe it’s just better in Dublin. It probably is.
Most of our time in Dublin was spent eating and drinking, while Sarah played tour guide. (She’s a history teacher and she literally knows everything, especially about Irish history.) But what more could you need? I loved getting to visit Sarah at home and get to know Kelan better.
West Cork Road Trip
This was a true highlight of our trip! Sarah and Kelan took us on a whole dang road trip to the other side of Ireland. It was probably one of the most magical weekends ever, and it was one of those experiences where I felt like I needed to pinch myself… how could my life be this good?
The four of us packed up their little red car full of camping supplies and our duffel bags and took off for West Cork, the southernmost part of Ireland. Over the next few days, we drove through the beautiful Irish countryside, stopping at Cork (the second-largest city in Ireland), colorful Kinsale (for 99 Flake cones), Mizen Head (a dramatic peninsula), and more. We camped in two places — Clonakilty and Goleen — and hiked to the ruins of a castle, hidden amongst the rolling green hills, dotted with sheep, and had it all to ourselves.
We swam in the cold Irish sea four times, and screamed all four times.
And we even took surfing lessons at Barleycove Beach. I’d never been surfing before, and I can’t say I thought of Ireland as a surfing destination… but now I know. 🙂
The last stop on our road trip was a visit to the marina in Malahide, not far from Dublin. We joined a couple of Sarah and Kelan’s friends on their boat for drinks as the sun began to set and the rain began to fall.
London, Less Briefly
After a couple more days and nights in Dublin, we were back to London for the last leg of our trip. We flew into London City Airport — the only of London’s five airports that I had yet to fly into — and headed for our hotel across from London Bridge Station. (It was way too fancy for us, but we got it on points, so whatever.)
There were a couple of things I was really looking forward to in London. First up was visiting the school where I studied abroad in 2013, Regent’s University. I wanted to bring Matt and show him the place that had such a big impact on me — a place that changed my life and introduced me to some of my favorite people in the world. Since classes hadn’t yet started for the year, it was pretty empty… which meant that I was able to sneak unnoticed into my unlocked old dorm room.
I also couldn’t wait to see Big Ben again, which is my favorite London icon. During my visit in 2019, Ben was very much under construction. So I was excited to see his shiny new face during this visit.
And to wrap up our time in London, we met up with Will, a friend/former co-worker of Matt’s, for a few pints. Will is actually from Australia, but had been living in London for a while. It meant that we had officially seen friends in all three of the countries we visited during our trip! It’s pretty cool to live a lifestyle that allows you to have friends all over the world… and plenty of opportunities to see them. 🤍
Well, that wraps up our UK and Ireland trip! Stay tuned for the next post… I’ve got something special planned.
-Cathy
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Originally Published on November 25, 2022.
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