How We Decided to go to Ireland While Already at the Airport, and Did it in Three Days

If you've already read my Iceland post, then you already have the background knowledge to understand this heading. If not, click here to locate it.

If you're just not interested in wandering off this page, I can recap. Emma & I were traveling standby trying to attempt at a trip to Iceland. We were at JFK when we realized the load was too large, so we needed a back up plan. We went to the screens to find out where else we could go. We had packed for the cold weather so it needed to be some place that we could wear our outfits. We found out that Dublin was in the process of boarding. We ran to the gate and saw that there were unclaimed seats with an almost non existent standby list.

"Hey mom, change of plans, we are going to Ireland now instead. We take off in 20." Before I know it we were on the plane with not a clue what to do when we arrived. We didn't know where to stay, we didn't know anything.

Let me tell you, this was one of the best feelings in the world. There was no greater spontaneity. We socialized with those around the plane. We talked to strangers. We took notes. We laughed and giggled with the idea of the unknown. It was simply the best.

Upon arrival, we hooked ourselves up to WiFi and immediately knew that we needed to handle the first matter of figuring out where to stay. We sat on a bench and looked up hostels. One of us took care of finding one in Dublin, while the other looked up best places to stay near the Cliffs.

Within minutes we booked a hostel in Dublin and exchanged our money. We walked around looking for information on affordable transportation to get to the city. We saw a sign directing a crowd to a bus and asked if they could take us to the address we had for our hostel. He told us to get on and it would be no problem. We stood on the crowded bus and it seemed like forever until we got to our destination. The bus driver told us to get off at the stop and directed us as best as he could.

I honestly feel like he had no idea where we were supposed to be going, because I remember us walking in a million directions looking for the right way to go. We walked up and down hills dragging our luggage behind us. When we arrived at our destination it felt like we had just accomplished the world. Less than 12 hours ago we had no idea we would be here. I had arrived. It was my first time in Europe and no better place to be.

I should probably explain why we only had three days. Emma was a flight attendant at the time (2015) and only had a few days of break. We were determined to make a trip together before it was time for me to go back to work for the school year. This was all we had and we knew we had to take advantage of it.

Looking back, the hostel we stayed at in Dublin was busy and over crowded. The WiFi didn't work upstairs in the dorm rooms. At the time, it was all I knew. It was amazing. We were really living the life. We stayed in bunk beds with probably 12+ females. There were people from all over the world, and most traveling solo. The youngest was around 16, and the average between 17-20. This really blew my mind that traveling young and solo was common for Europeans. I think this is how I fell in love with the idea of the world being our oyster. It wasn't as difficult as we thought it was to make a trip like this happen. We planned it as we went. The trip got better and better.

Emma and I spent our first day in Dublin exploring the city. I realized that Dublin was cool and all, but it kind of felt like a Chicago. Other than the buildings being a bit more historic and the grass a lot greener, it was just a city.

I really felt like I was in Ireland when we went to Temple Bar. A trip to Dublin is not a trip without visiting this touristic area. Temple Bar is a collection of pubs lined up with live music. In and out of all the bars were party goers singing and dancing and cheers-ing. This was my kind of place to be.

We ended up back at the hostel with enough time to plan our next day. We needed to figure out how to get to the western coast of Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher. What better way to do it then to rent a car? We decided to just go back to the airport the following morning in order to figure it out from there. We discovered that since we were both under 25 at the time, the only company that would let us rent was Dooley. Thank you God for Dooley that morning.

Before we knew it we were on the road. Me, Emma, and our car that drove on the 'wrong' side of the road. Emma volunteered to take one for the team and to learn how to drive on the right. I can't tell you how funny it felt to be sitting on the left side of the car but to not be in charge of steering it. I had a map sprawled out in front of me trying to lead my pilot in the correct direction.

This drive to County Clare still sits with me as one of my top memories I've ever had. We laughed so hard trying to adjust to our car and figuring out where the heck we were even going. I have to say we did much better than we originally thought we would. We stopped on occasion at local gas stations to ask strangers if we were headed in the right direction (I remember we stopped at a Subway for lunch when I realized that they didn't have the dressings I usually get with my sub. This is when I learned that creamy dressings are really only found in America... If you know otherwise please let me know because I have yet to find anything).

The road to Galway was incredible. The highway slowly turned into a town, then back into a highway. The roads were stick straight, then suddenly windy and hilly. We thought we were going to get into an accident a multitude of times. Cars would come out of no where on the winding roads. They would give little to no warning. The roads felt only big enough for one large car. It was completely different than what we were used to. We stopped every chance we could get. We got out of the car at one point to find a little girl playing music on a hill. We stopped to take pictures with old castles. And best yet, we stopped at a local pub once arriving in our small town.

This busy pub was anything but touristy. We were in a tiny town filled with locals. We had many couples come up to us to ask if the seats next to us were taken. There were many other tables available in the restaurant, but for some reason it was better manners to sit next to us with the two open seats at our table. We had such a good time meeting locals and enjoying the music.

Our hostel was adorable and in the middle of no where. I felt like this town of Lisdoonvarna gave us the real Irish experience. The experience only got better as we headed to the Cliffs of Moher. If you have never been there, it's hard to put it into words. It is purely breathtaking. I was a little upset with how crowded it seemed to be. When you see the pictures you really don't realize how many people flood the area. Nevertheless, it is easy to take yourself out of the moment and to get lost in the natural beauty. There are plenty of signs and ropes that warn you from crossing them, but we all know I think those signs don't apply to me. The best way to escape the rush of the world was to sit as close to the edge as possible (in a safe way, promise, mom).

The next day we decided that there probably was no better place to horseback ride then where we were now, in Ireland on the coast. We booked this online and quickly drove to a farm. For a super decent price of 30 Euros, Mountain View Trekking was exceptional. We took a one hour ride with panoramic views of the Cliffs, Aran Islands, and Connemara Mountains. This was maybe my favorite part of the trip (well, the drive over may have been a tie).

We needed to make sure we got home in time for Emma to get back to her shift the next day, so we flew home out of Shannon this time. We dropped our rental car off and realized how quick and easy this airport really was. Best of all, we got to fly first class.

Honestly this was the trip of a lifetime. I think the best part about it was how spontaneous we were with the whole thing. I really try to work on the concept of just 'going with the flow' and I was really proud of myself with just how exciting it all was to me. I felt free.

I am so thankful to Emma for letting me share this experience with her. I do want to make it known that the flight was not free by any means, but discounted being a Delta travel companion (which I was a the time). I think I would do things like this much more if last minute flights weren't so expensive. I wish the airlines would create something where passengers can purchase last minute flights at a discounted rate hours before the flights take off. Wouldn't that be the day?

I know an experience like this isn't very feasible, but I do hope you read this and understand that sometimes the best memories are the ones that are unplanned and so purposefully added into your life. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Right? When the route you plan is unavailable, choose another one. Or something like that...

xo,

Jenn