Today's the day! I'm off to Ireland, which seems so surreal. The trip has gone surprisingly smooth and I've managed to stay in one piece, minus the one water bottle I left on the plane. I sat next a lovely retired couple on the flight to Dublin. It's nice being able to talk to people – the whole process feels much less overwhelming. I was lucky enough to get a window seat for both the flight and the train ride to Cork. When it was still night you could see a clear sky filled with millions of bright stars. It was so beautiful! The sun had come up by the time we reached Ireland and what a sight there was to see! Now I understand why it's called the "Emerald Isle" – other than the fields of golden wheat, literally EVERYWHERE is a brilliant green. Ireland is still fairly rural, so the land looked like a grand quilt of vibrant shades of light and dark green strewn with random gold patches. I stopped for a bit once I got off the plane and had my first meal here: Irish bacon (which tasted a lot like Virginia country ham), scrambled eggs, and a bit of tomato. If even Irish airport food is that delicious, I can't imagine how more authentic food will taste! The air here smells so fresh and clean, and the temperature is perfect with just a hint of cold! I love it! I grabbed a bus after that to get to the Heuston train station and met a Frenchman from Bordeaux who was a professional drummer. He thought I was Irish! YAY!! I'm managing to blend in! He said that he'd just been to New York with his wife and didn't find the food all that good haha – he said it so matter of fact too. He didn't mean any offense at all, but I still thought it was kind of funny. The train ride was beautiful because I was able to see some of the rolling countryside, mainly made up of green fields with sheep or cows. It started to rain a little bit, even though you could still see the sun through the fluffy clouds. I guess that's typical Irish weather for you. I'm still on the train right now so I'll finish up the rest of my travel day in Part II later once I've made it to Ballymaloe. Hopefully that leg of the journey will go well too!
Until then,
Livvy
Until then,
Livvy