‘Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.’-Irish Proverb

Since I decided to go to Northern Ireland on this trip, Ireland was a no brainer for the last stop of my two week winter holiday! I visited when I was in middle school but hadn’t been back since. I was only there for two days so hit a few of the highlights. My past trip I had traveled all of the country so I didn’t feel as I was ‘missing’ anything but if you want to do Ring of Kerry or explore anywhere else, I would add a couple extra days.

Even post Brexit, there is not a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland so it’s pretty seamless. Since I didn’t have a lot of time, I hit the ground running. I stayed at Handels Hotel, which is right downtown I thought it was great (offseason prices were competitive but cannot speak to year round). The first night, just sort of wandered around and stood in a very long line at Bambino Pizza, it was really good and very well priced. Continued on and looked at the holiday decorations on Grafton Street. I also did a murder mystery game at the National Wax Museum-I was unsuccessful in determining who murdered Santa (sorry kids, lol).

My one full day in the city, I went to Trinity College to see the famed Book of Kells. My experience will be very different from yours because they were in the process of completing the ‘Book of Kells Experience.’ I have no idea what it looks like or if you can still visit the Long Room-so you’ll have to let me know! I do recommend booking tickets early as they have a timed entry. The Old Library/Long Room was sans most of its books. They were all being moved for preservation and unsure the current status. There were still some when I went but only a couple of shelves worth and they were being moved soon. What was there was the Book of Kells (the Celtic Gospels from the 9th century), famed Brian Boru’s Harp-the symbol of Ireland and Gaia-Luke Jerram’s illuminated sculpture of the Earth. You can also explore the campus.

As I love music, I went to the Irish Rock and Roll Museum and Experience. I highly recommend! This is still an active space that was made famous when four young lads who rehearsed here became one of the greatest bands of all time, U2! You were able to walk through the rehearsal spaces and, as it is still active, several of the recording studios. The most poignant was the studio Thin Lizzy recorded in. Following the death of lead singer Phil Lynott, his mom donated much of his personal collection. You can see it and a photo of his mom in the space. The guide was incredible and shared the long history of Irish music. Then capped it off by having a cider at the famed Temple Bar while listening to live music.

The following day, I headed out again with Get Your Guide to visit the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. On the way, we stopped at one of the most unique roadside attractions I have ever experienced, the Barak Obama Travel Plaza. It is owned by a distant cousin of former President Obama, who has a touch of the Irish. The First Family has visited and if you go upstairs, there is a small ‘museum’ highlighting other American presidents with Irish roots. Then headed on our way to the main event.

I have been to the Cliffs of Moher, one of the most visited spots on the island. What I wasn’t expecting (or blocked from my memory) was how windy it was going to be. And when I say windy, like knock you over windy. It was so strong and did see people slip due to improper footwear. While it was partly due to being December, it is windy year round so wear shoes with grips (I loved my Nike Air Force 1’s–Taylor’s Version-wore them everywhere for my trip and were perfect). I had dressed warmly with a hat and my trusty North Face coat but my face took a minute to recover. The views are really stunning and there is a trail you can walk along the ridge. Some chose to continue off trail but, outside of being a rule follower, it was so windy, I was afraid I would be blown off. The free time given was plenty to get a sense of the place and have a hot chocolate in the visitor’s center.

The tour stopped at Burren, a rocky beachscape on the Wild Atlantic Way and then stopped in Galway to eat dinner and wander around. I had a proper Irish stew, wandered along the River Corrib, and had more hot chocolate at the Christmas market. A wonderful final day of the trip!