Days 3-5 I thought my foot was actually fractured, but jokes on me. Apparently, that’s what happens when I leave my sedentary, stay-at-home-cat-mom lifestyle to become Lora the Explorer. During our trip, we walked roughly 314,000 steps, which is somewhere between 125-150 miles.

Beyond my fraudulent fracture, a minor hiccup on Spain’s public transit, and Taylor’s shocking experience at the Cliffs of Moher, our 19-day trip to Ireland, England, and Spain was smooth!

First night back in Ireland! After getting a drink at the Fran Well, we made a stop at Sin E for trad music. The downstairs was packed; the upstairs was perfect.

Our public transit bloop was taking the right train in the wrong direction in Spain. After a day in Barcelona, we hopped on a late train, but when we opened Google maps, we watched ourselves travel further away from our destination. We arrived at the end of a line—to a dark, empty station of sleeping trains—and desperately hoped our train wasn’t done for the night. In Spanish, Taylor confirmed with two groups that we were actually on the right train. Comin’ in clutch. So, we hopped back on the train and made it home. Mercy. You should have seen our panicked faces. This video shows us after we were pretty sure we were going to make it back to our beds. [In the video I say, “Sunburned and stressed.” as Taylor shakes her head.]

Perhaps more concerning, but still funnier, the third bloop is Taylor’s shocking experience at the Cliffs of Moher. The three of us ventured out along a dirt path—beyond the sanctioned cliff grounds. At the quasi-end of the path, we came to a section of the fence covered in hair ties. A lot of people walk this far; we’re not daredevils. Unbeknownst to me or Hannah, Taylor decides to add her hair tie to the fence. (You can see her in the top left corner of the picture as she adds her hair tie.) Touching, right?

Hmm. Yes, touching. But not in a warm, fuzzy way. More of an electric shock kind of way. By chance, I’m recording as this is happening. So, Praise Be, this video is not a reenactment.

[In the video Taylor walks over to me after getting shocked and says, “So, that electrocuted me.]

The “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!” look on her face kills me. She goes, “It felt like I got shot in the back.” Any internal burns are TBD, but until we know if she’s permanently damaged, I’ll probably laugh out loud every time I watch that clip.

As I reflect on our second trip to Europe, I’m most impressed with our 21-year-old selves who did a 27-day backpacking trip without smartphones. Like how?!

This time around, after an international flight and a 3-hour bus ride from Dublin Airport, we arrived in Cork on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. One of our first stops was Three, a European phone provider. Taylor and I each bought an Irish SIM card for €20 ($22.43). It gave us unlimited data in Ireland, plus 8 GB roaming data to use throughout the EU. WILDLY cheap. Highly recommend. It obviously didn’t protect us from every blunder, but it surely helped.

As I wrote in my Pre-Trip Thoughts & Thinks blog, I anticipated feeling overwhelmed and nostalgic when I arrived back in Ireland, but it was actually really comforting. Walking around Cork felt natural. I didn’t feel like I never left, but I felt like I still belonged.

Pints outside Taaffes. We’re not sure what we were laughing at.

First proper meal at Uncle Pete’s Pizzeria in Cork our first day.

Before I write anything captivating—in future blogs—I want to share our map and a super dry itinerary to give you the big picture of our trip. This map looks incredibly simple, but I had a heck of a time creating it, so I hope you just love lookin’ at it.

Monday 4/8: We flew from Minneapolis to Boston to Dublin. Delta fed us well.
Tuesday 4/9: We arrived at Dublin Airport at 9 am and took a 3-hour bus to Cork.
Wednesday 4/10: Day in Cork
Thursday 4/11: Day in Cork
Friday 4/12: We flew from Cork to London Gatwick Airport and took a train to London.
Saturday 4/13: Day in London seeing plays!
Sunday 4/14: We flew from London Stansted to Barcelona and took a train to Sitges.
Monday 4/15: Day in Sitges
Tuesday 4/16: Day in Barcelona
Wednesday 4/17: Day in Barcelona
Thursday 4/18: Day in Sitges
Friday 4/19: We flew from Barcelona to Dublin, found Hannah, and took a 3-hour bus to Galway.
Saturday 4/20: We took a bus to Limerick for the day.
Sunday 4/21: Day in Galway
Monday 4/22: We took a bus and ferry to Inishmore, the largest Aran Island.
Tuesday 4/23: Day in Galway
Wednesday 4/24: Bus tour to Aillwee Caves, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Burren, & Dunguaire Castle
Thursday 4/25: We took a 3-hour bus from Galway to Dublin and spent the day there.
Friday 4/26: Flight from Dublin to Atlanta to Minneapolis

***

More to come.
Cheers.