1.
I do not know what old is. We
asked about the age of a cathedral and the guide said “It’s new, built in the
18th century...”
2.
If you have trouble immediately knowing your right from your left, it is
exponentially exacerbated when you drive on the left-hand side of the road and
are asked which way to turn next…I said the wrong direction 1,254 times.
3.
Irish people are some of the friendliest people in the whole wide world.
4.
I do not like straight whisky.
5. I do, however, like Irish coffee.
6.
Lambs are pure joy. I’m convinced
they set the standard for joy when God first created joy.
7.
Sheep run from the sound of a human voice.
8.
You don’t have to pay the VAT tax as a tourist—you can apply to get all taxes paid back to
you. Learnt that a few days in,
unfortunately, and didn’t have all of the proper receipts.
9.
“Half eight” is not four. It is
8:30.
10.
Irish people eat a lot of “chips”, otherwise known as french fries. They serve them with everything…even pizza. Chips are called crisps.
11.
If it’s raining now, it won’t be in a wee bit.
12.
The Easter Rising for Ireland’s independence was 100 years ago—went to a
centenary celebration and learnt so much.
13.
An Irish breakfast is heavy on the protein, translation: so much meat.
14.
Most Irish children are not chained to “entertainment”. We spent several hours outside (rain and
sunshine) at the Easter Rising celebration with speeches and music. Literally hundreds of children of all ages
played and chased and entertained themselves and we did not see a single child
gazing at a phone or tablet. It was
refreshing.
15.
Irish people are not afraid to talk to strangers. They will stop you in the street to
chat. I met a few characters that will appear
in my writing, I’m sure of it.
16.
Castles are everywhere…in sheep fields, on the side of a winding road,
in the yard of a more modern house. We
imagined people saying, “I have an abandoned castle in my yard, no big deal”…
17.
The Irish brogue is utterly beautiful.
18.
The Irish love America…Americans…all things American. We were thankful.
19.
Irish people look surprised when you tell them what a beautiful country
they have. I suppose if you’ve lived there
forever, you forget.
20.
Early barrel makers are some of the hardest-working people on earth. Learnt that at the Guiness Storehouse.
21. Irish people love sweets.
22.
They do not, however, put maple syrup on their pancakes…and they eat a
lot of pancakes. Stacks of pancakes sit
next to scones in bakeries. They eat
them on the go.
23.
There is no definable border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. You just arrive. You can tell you’re there when the currency
changes from Euro to Pound Sterling.
24.
The conflicts in Belfast are still brewing right under the surface. I understand it a bit better after taking a
black cab tour around the “troubled” area.
It was eye-opening.
25.
The Titanic museum in Belfast is worth every single red pence.
26.
The Cliffs of Moher are pronounced, Mo-Her, not More…and they are
stunningly beautiful.
27.
Irish music is the saddest and happiest music we’ve ever heard—and
beautiful.
28.
Rocket is delicious. They use it
on pizza, in salad, it’s everywhere. We
loved it and then we came home and discovered Rocket is Arugula. :)
29.
Irish people stay up late and sleep in. B&B hosts serve breakfast at
9 – 10am Early risers have to adjust.
30.
Ireland is known for her writers.
I understand why. Ireland is rich
in beauty, characters and story.
It’s been a year since our visit to
Ireland. Every time I remember a moment
of our visit, I smile. It was, by far,
one of my favorite trips of all time.
*Learnt is an
Irish/English form of learned. (For the
spelling/grammar Nazis out there.) :)
