I R E L A N D, Part I

My hope for this little vacation was that Camille could have a blessed adventure that was completely separate from the stress of nursing school. She has an unshakable work ethic and I so admire the dedication she has for her chosen profession. That being said - our prayers were answered and the trip was wonderful.I am pretty sure we lived a thousand years in five days.We stayed with my dear friend Claire and her sweet and perfect family up in Northern Ireland.So, in the words of Samuel L. Jackson right before the power comes back on, "Hold on to your butts." I have some stories and photos to share. Its true!Flying standby has the potential to be a nightmare. On the flip side of that will we get a seat? coin, theres the: "Heres your seat. In first class." I serve that food all the time. I even eat that same food that we serve. One might assume that said service and food might have lost its appeal.Thats completely false.For the first four hours, we pretty much acted like wed never seen food before. We sat in our big comfy seats, with our lush blankets and pillows, and we were little counterfeit queens. No one had to know that we simply didnt belong. We watched movies, breathed in the recycled air, and with our clothes fitting much tighter than when we boarded - we declared we would never eat again. (Take a moment to imagine how long that lasted).On Friday morning, we landed in Dublin and had a whole day in the city ahead of us. The land of lambs! Tea! Gingers! Biscuits!Camille made this face fairly often the first day. Here we are in a Starbucks. Before anyone rolls their eyes and says, "Go to Ireland and go in a Starbucks?" - please remember there is free Wifi. And chairs that I later passed out in. When I woke up, Camille said, "I was really nervous you were going to flash everyone because your dress kept riding up." So cute.In between our Starbucks Wifi and coffee consumption, and lamenting over how weak American currency is over in Europe, we walked.We walked in shops, through parks, and all about the city. When we packed for the trip, I did this weird vacation thing I where I pack clothes that I never wear on a regular basis. I also packed my Hunter boots. It seemed like a great idea. Rain boots for rain. Little did I know, Id for the next five days receive strange looks from passers by and comments like, "Are you a pessimist?""Its not raining.""Arent your feet hot?"And my favorite:"Whats with the wellies?"Oh, the embarrassment.Documented in the above photo collage we have: Camille and I being elitist hipsters in American Apparel (with the tag on my nose?), me meeting Rusty Crutchley - the Irish Jack Russell we stayed with, sitting in a chocolate shop in Dublin - and, some native wildlife we found in a park.The next day, Claire was off work, and we went on a full-blown adventure day.The first place was to Carrick-a-Rede. To the rope bridge that was connecting two cliffs. We crossed it. AND WE TOOK OVER THE WORLD.Or, we took some photos and marveled at how windy and tangled and psychotic our hair looked.There was no rain. Only blue skies and sun peeking over the mountains and the sea.One of these sheep was particularly close to the fence. I took the opportunity to employ my best animal voices and approached quickly with my camera. Only to step into a large hole and fall on to the barbed wire fence. One of my finest moments, certainly.After the rope bridge, we went on to Giants Causeway. There are boulders shaped like grandmothers, boots, and gorillas. (I decided some looked like a gorilla). If anyones wondering what Im doing with my arms, Im curious as well.We found the boot! Stepping out of my boot pose, I promptly stood in a nearby puddle so my wellies were not worn in vain."Camille, you look like a borrower" - ClaireIm not kidding.This was after we climbed to the top, and took a bit of a detour back to the visitor center. I can confirm that I am out of shape, but felt entirely unstoppable in an exhausted kind of way. We had dinner at this little restaurant. We had honeycomb ice cream (WHY DONT WE HAVE THIS?) and visited Claires brother, sister-in-law, and wee nephew.Some of my other favorite moments from the first couple of days:When Claire picked us up from the airport, I went to get in the wrong side of the car. I proceeded to do this for the rest of the trip until possibly the last day.I had my euro and sterling mixed together in my wallet, and accidentally handed the cashier in Dublin pounds to pay for my lunch. He said, "Oh, we dont want the queens money." There are tea rooms everywhere. The people are kind, and all of the animals speak with a really delightful Irish accent.Theres so much more to share. COME BACK TO ME!