When Irish Eyes Are Smiling…

Big news blog fans (by that I mean all of our moms and the person in Russia who’s been checking this site): I am going to Ireland! Well, only Dublin, and only for a few days, and in December when it’ll be freezing cold and NOT lush and green, and not for very long so I don’t really have time to do too much, but STILL- I’m going to Ireland. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland. My grandparents are from there and my mom & dad made several trips in the past. Growing up my Dad always used to tell me that my face looked like a map of Ireland. Let’s take a moment to compare…

I see it now, around the eyes, no?

Not sure why he always said that (trying to console me over my paleness???) but it makes me happy to think about that when I’m missing him. I’ve been trying to put together an epic adventure to Europe for next summer, but decided I couldn’t wait that long to go somewhere. Also, I wanted to test the waters a bit because I’m going to be traveling ALL ALONE (insert dramatic pause and "shocked" face here).

That’s right, I’m going to Dublin all by myself for five days and I couldn’t be more excited. No offense to others, but there are VERY few people I enjoy traveling with (obviously, these 3 other Girlfriends are included in my favorite travel buddies) and people don’t seem to have the time and/or money to do a lot of this stuff right now. I happen to blessed with both money and time (for the moment) so there’s no point to waiting any longer.

Now, let me step into “The Real World” confessional for a second (man, remember when the Real World on MTV was the best show ever?): I’m a tiny bit nervous that I’m going to be murdered. I go back and forth on this subject, should I pre-plan my funeral or leave it up to my mom and risk ending up with a Vera Bradley casket (she has a serious problem, but I'll save that for another post)??? After being nervous for 11 days I’ve now come to the conclusion that I most likely won’t be murdered in Dublin (KNOCK ON WOOD). I’m a smart traveler who doesn’t put herself in bad situations to begin with. Plus, if someone is going to steal me & kill me in a crowded pub they are probably insanely cray-cray and would succeed in doing that even if I had 13 other people with me. So being alone couldn’t really change anything in that scenario. Anyway, back to being excited…

I’m SO excited for the trip!! As soon as I told people where/when I was going I suddenly got inundated with names of people’s friends/family that live in and around Dublin (who knew so many people lived in Ireland?), so I have more than enough “emergency contacts” to go around. Also, I’ve been using couchsurfing to connect with some lovely Irish folks. I’ve gotten loads of good advice and have a few people I may meet up with for a drink or two when I’m there (assuming they aren’t murders. Surely murderers can't type?)

So there you have it, I’m going to Dublin to match my face to some landscape. There’ll be loads to discuss when I get back, in the meantime try not to be TOO jealous over my amazing adventure.

~M