I'm Not Artistic, I'm Crafty: Ireland!

Ireland is one of those places I always dreamed of going, but never thought I'd make it there. Not for a long time at least. My mom was the same way. We both often wondered "Is it really as green as it looks in the photos? Are there really sheep roaming the country roads? Is it really as magical of a place as it seems?" Well the opportunity arose to go, without completely breaking the bank, and my mom and I jumped at the chance. Bonus, the toddler was free, as he was under the age of two.
So, I'd like to tell you about our journey to Ireland, all around the southern half of the country, and back again.

We flew out of Chicago, so early one morning we woke up to make the drive from Ohio. Now,with any journey, you should expect some hiccups in the plan. I just didn't expect mine to be a dying car battery before the five hour drive in chilly November weather. Thankfully, my step-dad and some helpful boys at a car part store were more than helpful in replacing it. We were on the road again.

Somehow, we still made it to Chicago way ahead of time so we decided to stop and be tourists at the bean.

Grammy & My boy

Me and my mom!

I had looked into things to do at Chicago O'hare, hoping to keep the little guy occupied while we were waiting. They have a children's play area sponsored by the Chicago children museum. Little did I know, it was in a completely different part of a huge airport. A nearly empty terminal with a moving walkway did the trick. Like a super long baby treadmill. I wanted him to sleep during our overnight flight. He walked up and down it at least a hundred times. We got sighs and sideways looks from some people when they found out that a baby would be on their flight.

I consider ourselves very fortunate to have gone on this trip. Yes, I had to wait longer in life to travel to Ireland, and my mom too, but what a cultural experience for my son. So many different things he would be experiencing.. Why can't people just be happy that they have a safe, affordable way to travel from Chicago to Dublin? We were more than happy.

I bought an array of cheap toys, stickers uploaded apps onto my phone in preparation for the flight. Oh, and snacks, so many snacks! They ended up mostly in the kiddo's mouth, but a pretty fair amount ended upon the floor. Aer Lingus had some of the most friendly flight staff that I have ever met on a flight. So accommodating on warming up bottles of milk, and seemingly very understanding. He did end up sleeping a good majority of that flight... Not before throwing his bottle on our seat neighbor's lap a couple times though! Thank God that man was a sound sleeper because I picked a bottle up off of his lap at least three times. Awkwaaaaaaard!

It was so early in the morning when we landed. We were jet lagged, exhausted, and I was nervous about driving.. But we were in Dublin! Actually there!

We waited in line for our rental car, and I declined getting a gps. That was a huge mistake. Please heed this advice; If they offer you a gps, pay whatever fee they tell you and take it. I love Google maps and had printed out maps and directions for each destination.. But we still spent a lot of time being lost. Being lost in Ireland is beautiful and can be fun. We relied on the kindness of strangers.. Some much more kind than others. Either way, I always really enjoyed talking with locals. The way they gave directions were very different from how I would direct someone, so it was always at least entertaining. Note that I still have no clue what "top of the town" means. That phrase was used in Dublin (uh, pretty big town), and Thurles outskirts (reminding me more of a smaller farming area) ...

Driving. I have driven for well over a decade here stateside, on the right side of of the road, usually in an automatic, spacious, suburban mom Suv, on wide and mostly well marked roads. But before I could even drive the Nissan Micra (yes really) I had to beg an associate of the car rental to help me install the car seat. He was a dad of two littles, thank goodness. I promised not to sue him if something went wrong. By the time we got out of the parking lot I was ready to be out of Dublin and into the beautiful countryside that we had seen flying over. It was challenging, but we got on the m 50 and made our way to Kilkenny. Once I got through my first handful of roundabouts, I felt a little more comfortable.