Day 1 + Doors of Ireland

Hello everyone! So stoked to be posting Ireland pics! I know I was supposed to upload them yesterday but we had an issue with the internet. But none the less, here is Day 1!

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Monday morning our bags were packed and we were ready to go. We first arrived at Dallas/Ft Worth airport and waited three hours for our plane flight. This was my first plane ride and I was both nervous and excited. Turned out to be not one of my favorite things, but I'd definitely do it again. (You see I'm a real big scaredy cat when it comes to heights.)

We then arrived at Chicago and I bought some small knick-knacks for souvenirs, since I haven't really EVER been out of Texas. Standing in line with boarding passes in hands, I noticed the back of two men's tshirts said "Celtic Riders" and they had pictures of castles and greenery on the shirt. I then proceeded to ask them if they rode motorcycles and low and behold they had Irish accents and were owners of a motorcycle touring company. We chatted a bit and I discovered that one of the man's next door neighbor's last name was also Taff, but spelled Taafe. In that lineage or (my) lineage they were big horse racers. One horse was so valuable to this family, that they kept his skeleton. Hmm.. I wonder if that's why I've always longed for a beautiful horse of my own?

Tuesday, July 24th 2012

The hotel was beautiful. It was homey and snug. We had everything we needed and we were excited to get out and explore the city. We changed and washed up after our ten hour flight and began our adventure in Dublin. We first walked around, just enjoying the cool breezy weather. I snapped lots of photos of people's homes because they are just SO different than what I'm used to. I've never seen so many beautiful flowers in one person's yard. We took a guided tour bus and made some stops along the way. We visited a beautiful park, cathedral, and some other places. (I can't remember a lot of things because I was up for 24+ hours at this point.) But after all the riding and touring, the next thing I know I'm waking up on the tour bus. We passed out! We decided to call it a day and we were heading back to the hotel as it was starting to mist and rain when a man rolled down his window and shouted "The Madonna concert's that way!" and pointed to a huge stadium. Sammy and I looked at each other and turned around towards the stadium. After a bit of asking around and bothering some locals, I scored some Madonna tickets and attended her concert for the first time in Ireland. What a great way to end our first night in Ireland! :)

(Madonna 2012)

DOORS OF IRELAND

DAY 1 OF IRELAND