Shamrocks and Olive Oil

Five hours after driving from Giant’s Causeway, we made it to Galway and were greeted by very patient and welcoming Airbnb hosts. Galway was wonderful as we expected; my favorite part about the city is the live music. The pub we went to during our first evening was An Púcán, and they host live music every night which I was excited about. The band we saw, The Byrne Brothers Ballad Band, played traditional Irish music and sang so harmoniously. My favorite way to enjoy live music are intimate, smaller venues since musicians often play without amps, speakers, or microphones. I love hearing the music straight from the source, it always sounds better to me. The following night, we went to the Crane Bar which had nearly 12 musicians playing together; it was amazing to watch and listen to. I even met one of the musician’s moms who was lovely to talk to and is a very proud parent.

We actually stayed about 30 minutes south of Galway which worked perfectly for us since we had a car. We stayed in a peaceful town near the coast and about one hour away from Cliffs of Moher. There is a reason why Cliffs of Moher are on every Ireland itinerary, it is gorgeous! Although we did not have time for this, I would recommend making a picnic out of it to enjoy the scenery for longer. Especially if you paid for parking since parking across the street is expensive. At the time we went, the charge was 12 euros per person. If you need your car to be nearby or accessible, people online recommend dropping off your passengers and then pay for parking. If you’re able to walk about 1-2 miles, an article suggested parking near Hag’s Head and walking from there or along the Doolin Cliff walk to Cliffs of Moher. Jeff and I figured the money goes to a good cause and decided to park nearby since we needed to head to Galway by a certain time.

Cliffs of Moher

We would have been in Western Ireland for longer, however, we changed our itinerary since we were able to pet sit near Dublin for this sweet Frenchie named Bruce (who we also call Brucie and fell in love with him). After we left Galway, we headed toward Dublin and made a pit stop in Athlone to visit Ireland’s older bar, Sean’s Bar, dating back to 900 AD. It also claims to be the oldest bar in Europe; I have a feeling that there are debates about that :) We learned that the bar was initially an inn where people stopped along the river when transporting goods. The town was essentially built around this inn which later became a bar. I imagine those (renovated) walls have stories to tell. There are currencies tacked to the ceiling from different parts of the world and around Christmas time, the staff donates the money to charities. Before leaving Athlone, we of course grabbed coffee and pastries for the road. Getting pastries everywhere we go is one of my favorite things to do since we’ve been here!

Next stop: Leixlip. It is a quaint town with pretty scenery, and the apartment was near public transit and walking trails. While I met Bruce’s parents and got the lay of the land, Jeff had to drive to Belfast to drop off the rental car, catch a train back to Dublin, AND then make it to Leixlip which is about 30 minutes out. He would have made it to the train station on time if it wasn’t for being stuck behind a tractor for a good stretch. He did enjoy pub time there while waiting for the next train to Dublin. It is astronomically cheaper to rent a car from Belfast than Dublin which is why we had this wild arrangement.

Bruce aka Brucie aka Sprucie

Since we have been hopping around every couple of days for three weeks, we did not jam pack our week with activities. Plus, we had a puppy dog (regardless of age, we call all canines puppies) to snuggle and play with, so we took our time doing things and spread out the activities. We watched a short form improv troupe called, Laughter Lines, and they were hilarious! It was glorious to watch an Irish person speak in a Texan accent (their character was a Texan mortician, suggestion from the audience). With the ticket, you get a free pint of beer and enjoy comedy created on the spot, so we encourage Dubliners and tourists alike to check them out. My other favorite part from this stretch of the trip is the Dublin Mountains. We walked along the Two Rock and Three Rock Mountain Loop and enjoyed a picnic with views of Dublin, the coast, and the countryside. Although we have been around gorgeous terrain for weeks at that point, it was still wild to us that you can hike and see 360 views within city limits.

After several people said that the tour was worth it, we went to Guinness Storehouse and Jameson Distillery (on the same day which is totally doable and this is coming from a lightweight). The two places are about 20 minutes walking distance from each other (less than a mile apart). Unpopular opinion: I did enjoy the Jameson tour more since it was guided and more interactive. People may respond with “the whole Guinness tour is interactive,” but the Jameson tour to me was more engaging and although I’m glad I went to the Guinness Storehouse, it felt more like looking at impressive displays. With both tours, you get a bit of history about Dublin, but I feel that I learned more from the Jameson tour. If you’re in Dublin for more than a couple of days, we suggest checking both places out (depending on if you enjoy beer or whiskey of course).

Two Rock and Three Rock Mountain Loop Trail

Knowth Passage Tomb

Aside from a couple of trips to Dublin, we enjoyed walking to Leixlip’s main street for coffee shop dates and sleeping in with Brucie in the mornings. About 45 minutes north of Leixlip is Newgrange which I was very excited about! Tours for Newgrange filled up quickly, so if you go during the summer, I would book about two weeks in advance. We did however get to visit Knowth which was still extraordinary - seeing carvings and structures that are older than the pyramids in Giza and Stonehenge is mindblowing! If you’re unfamiliar with Newgrange, Knowth, or Dowth, they are megalithic passage tombs in Boyne Valley built around 5,000 years ago. It is incredible how they were engineered given the available technology back then, and years of research contributed to its design to orient with the sun’s alignment; the passage of Newgrange illuminates during the winter solstice each year. I cannot elaborate offhand about the lunar or solar cycles, and this knowledge is much more accessible to me than people from the Stone Age, so I will always be impressed by this! I would definitely go to Boyne Valley again and would love to visit the Hill of Tara.

The British Isles served as a launchpad into Europe for us, and from there, we took off for Greece and were excited about the drastic change in scenery and culture. Our first stop was Santorini, and I was so excited to swim in the sea and just be in the water. Santorini is not the top island to visit for beaches (compared to other Greek islands), but after being in the British Isles where the water is beautiful yet unideal for swimming, I was ready to take a dip. We stayed outside of Fira in Firostefani which was perfect - more peaceful yet we were walking distance to everything including the main bus station. Crowded places with people coming from every direction is usually not my top vacation to pick for relaxing after living in Houston (the city that never sleeps in Texas). However after staying in smaller towns before Greece, we enjoyed the excitement and hearing languages from all over the world. The Caldera was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel and the views are truly stunning and absolutely beautiful! When I research an area and see pictures of the sites for months, at times I wonder if I will be unimpressed or not fully appreciate the views once I’m there. That is not the case with the Caldera; I was amazed and my bio nerd side cannot get over how destructive volcano eruptions create masterpieces over time (ya know, aside from the fact that it wiped out the Minoans who lived there which is tragic). I will mention that like any touristy, crowded city, it is always disheartening when you see litter throughout the streets, especially when visitors throw trash around as if this beautiful island is their holiday playground. Anywho that is enough complaining from me! One day I would love to explore Greek islands that are more untouched. Regardless of the crowds or how popular an island is, the options of scenery and experiences are endless among Greek islands. Since we knew we were only visiting one island, we felt that we had to visit Santorini.

During our first full day, we explored our surroundings and very much enjoyed the pool given how hot it gets in the summer. We also finalized our plans for the week and were looking forward to checking out Pyrgos, Akrotiri, and wineries (we missed out on these places which you’ll later read why). On the following day, I went on the volcano tour and Jeff enjoyed a breakfast with views and worked on our website. Walking on an active volcano, Nea Kameni, was pretty cool (and hot, no pun intended)! The tour guide described the Minoan eruption from around 1610 BC that shaped the island that we see today, and how the island was inhabited again centuries later. My favorite part of this tour, admittedly nothing to do with the history, is the swim in the hot springs at Palea Kameni. It was thrilling to jump off the boat in chilling sea water and then gradually swim into warmer, more inviting waters (yet smelly from the sulfur). Once we arrived at the Old Port, I immediately got gelato to boost morale before walking along the Karavolades Stairs again. I strongly recommend paying for the cable car, round trip! I underestimated how challenging it would be going down in the morning before the tour. Although I planned on using the cable car going up, I was too impatient to wait in the long line and instead, got gelato and took my time walking up the stairs :) (and successfully avoided stepping on donkey droppings).

Santorini Caldera

The stairs, I believe, were the beginning of my demise. I, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to walk the Fira to Oia hike that afternoon for our dinner reservations in Oia. Do not walk the Fira to Oia hike AND Karavolades Stairs on the same day! Many people who are familiar with both would say “no duh” to this, but I was ambitious and sure enough, I overexerted myself and made our hike more stressful than necessary with the time constraint. We enjoyed another beautiful Santorini sunset over dinner and the next day, spent the afternoon at Perissa Beach. This was our first black sand beach we’ve visited; I definitely packed volcanic stones from the beach for our nieces and nephews (here’s hoping they like them :)). We both got to swim, relax under the straw umbrella, and sip on fruity, frozen cocktails. I had my first grilled octopus at Fratzeskos; it will not be something I crave, but it was good!

After our beach day is when things went downhill for me. I had constant headaches and couldn’t stand the light nor had the energy to leave the hotel room. I tested negative for COVID before leaving Santorini and when I still felt awful the next day after following doctor’s orders, I went to the hospital after we landed in Athens. The next couple of days took an unpredictable turn and as you may have guessed from social media, it involved COVID-19. It manifested however in a mysterious way which left me on a cliffhanger for quite a few days.

More about that and hospitals abroad in the next post :) As a takeaway message, invest in global health insurance when you travel and listen to your body! For short trips abroad, many travel insurance plans include emergency medical coverage. Regardless, take care of yourself, mask up for others, and stay hydrated! 💧