Trying to "Get Over" My Vacation

It is kind of weird going to Ireland after living in Boston. There is a very strong Irish ethnic identity here, and I have been exposed to Irish breakfasts fry-ups, music sessions, set-dancing (at The Burren), and, of course, lots of Irish "beverages" over the years. (Mmm, "beverages".) Many of the cultural experiences that I had on the trip were as familiar as they were foreign.

On our first weekend in Dublin, Sister K and I went out to a pub down the block from our hotel where many other people in our group also happened to be eating. We were later joined by our tour guide, who was a young man in his early 20s from the Aran Islands. At one point during our conversation, he stopped, looked at me, and asked, "Have you lived in the UK or something?" Now the better answer would have been to have enigmatically replied, "Or something", but instead I honestly explained that living in Boston had exposed me to a lot of things Irish. (I didn't own up that five trips to Europe in the last ten years didn't hurt either.)

Although some people will argue that it isn't a "genuine" travel abroad experience if you go to a place where you have some familiarity, there are definitely good things about not having major culture shock when traveling abroad. I did end up having to do some "translating" for Sister K, who had a couple of moments where she couldn't understand our guide. She also unintentionally kept calling Euros "pounds". (I think that her subconscious was telling her that she really wanted to go back to England!!) We had a really great time, saw some beautiful things, and got to know some really lovely people. We've been back a week now, and it really still feels like just yesterday that we were there. (Still not quite in American mode again: miss elevensies and going out for pints every night.)

This was definitely the kind of trip that happens once in your lifetime. I know I wouldn't have visited Ireland like this if I'd had to drive (or be the passenger) in a car and being on the local roads gave us an opportunity to see so much of the beautiful countryside. I am really glad that Sister K invited me to go with her on this adventure vacation!

The last of the photo posts: