The Emerald Isle

We had our term break which meant two weeks off at Easter, and it would be my first Easter away from home. Although Easter isn't exactly a big celebration for us, it is always still hard to be away from my family during a holiday. My boyfriend invited me to come to Ireland with him so I could meet his family and spend Easter with them.  As he was currently working in Manchester, I took the train up to meet him and we drove to Scotland and took the ferry to Ireland.

Before we left I got a special delivery in the post - my mom sent me my 'Easter Basket' some chocolates and pjs. I know I'm in my mid twenties and I still get an Easter basket, but it was a nice reminder that I am missed at home.

My boyfriend is from the northern part of Ireland (different from Northern Ireland in the UK) that almost borders Northern Ireland in a county called Donegal, which many believe the most beautiful part of Ireland and I'd have to agree (though I'm a bit biased.) Though it would've been faster to fly, I am so glad that we drove and took the ferry because this way I got to see parts of the Lake District in England and see some of Scotland, something I've been wanting to do for my Papa as that's where he was born.

Our massive ferry - we took the Cairnryan to Belfast which took a little over 2 hours. The weather was pretty bad a rainy so I felt a tad seasick. 

The boat was beautiful - there was a restaurant, bar, mini arcade and a movie theatre.

Our first full day we took a drive on the "Atlantic Drive" which is a road that goes along the Atlantic Ocean on the Rosguill Peninsula with such breathtaking views.

My favourite view

Sheep are literally everywhere in Ireland!

Our next adventure was to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland which was a short drive away. It was interesting crossing into Northern Ireland as even though the troubles between the Republic of Ireland and the UK (Northern Ireland) have ended, you can still see a great divide between them where there are lots of Union Jack flags plastered around Northern Ireland. We stopped in to Derry for an errand and I later found out that my Papa would stay in Derry during his 40 crossings in WWII. It made me really happy to know that I was in the same place as my Papa was however many years ago.

The legend of the Giant's Causeway is that the columns are remains of a causeway, or a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland created by a giant called Finn MacCool. One thing I've learned about Ireland is they are known for their myths and legends, one of the main ones being leprechauns. Had such a great afternoon there!

It was such a foggy day out, but luckily cleared up in the late afternoon

We took his little brother who had never seen the Giant's Causeway

Amazing!

It was so nice to be in a real home living with a family, I mean I do have a house in London, but it's not the same. We had a lovely Easter dinner with his family and then travelled to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. I really am the luckiest girl and during this trip got to see most of Ireland and the main tourist attractions. It was a super hot day and we were sweating during our walk up to the cliffs but the view was worth it, it really is spectacular!

After that we drove to Dingle in County Kerry, which makes me think of the movie "Leap Year" because the main character ends up in Dingle. It was a nice seaside town and we had dinner then headed back to Donegal.

Our last stop was in Dublin, Ireland's largest city. I do prefer the countryside to Dublin as I found it very expensive but it's definitely a place to have a fun time! I really loved the pubs as they had live music and played some great folk and Irish music. What we enjoyed most was the Guinness Factory tour where we got to pour the perfect pint and even got a certificate to prove it. We also saw the General Post Office where you can still see the bullet holes during the Irish Independence uprising, along with some monuments of those who were killed during that time.

St. Stephen's Green

Live Entertainment at Temple Bar

They had Tim Hortons at some of the Spar stores! Of course I had to get hot chocolate and a donut. 

Certified!

They took a photo of us and the people we were grouped with to pour the perfect pint, but managed to cut off the people on the right.

Ireland was everything I imagined it to be and was so lucky to spend that time with my boyfriend and meet his family and see where he grew up. It really is as green as they say it is.

Lastly, some sheep on our drive back from Scotland

Budapest

While checking my emails one day I noticed that I was signed up to Groupon UK and that there were all these deals for weekend getaways to various destinations. Knowing my mom was coming to visit in March, I thought it would be nice to go on a little getaway during her stay. We saw that there was a great deal on a 3 day trip to Budapest, Hungary which included flight from London, three nights in a hotel with breakfast included and we opted for the add-on to the Thermal Spa in Budapest.

View taking off from Stansted Airport in London

Budapest is split into two areas - Buda and Pest on opposite sides of the Danube River. We stayed on the Buda side, which is a lot quieter and more suburban whereas the Pest side is more central. Our hotel was far away and we had to take a bus and a tram to get to the city centre and had a very traditional feeling. I was quite nervous before the trip as this was the first time I would be the one in charge of navigating and couldn't rely on using data on my cellphone to get us around. Luckily it wasn't too difficult and public transit was really easy after the first day.

Once arriving at the airport we got a public transport pass for 72 hours which also gave us discounts to some restaurants. Our first day we discovered "Kürtőskalács" which is a Hungarian pastry that is rolled in sugar and delicious! One of my favourite parts of the city was the Great Market Hall which is a huge indoor market in the centre of Budapest. The ground floor sells produce, meats, pastries, spices (Hungary is known for their paprika) and alcohol. The top floor is for souvenirs and some restaurants. According to Rick Steves, the langos (flatbread usually with sour cream and cheese) is the best at the market so I had to try it. 

Kürtőskalács

Mom and I in front of the Daunbe 

Our second day we went on a walking tour which to us to all the main sights and a detailed history of the city. Hungary has had a rich history full of many battles that has affected the land and people, 80 percent of the buildings in Budapest were destroyed during WW2 and was a communist state only 26 years ago which is hard to believe.

Bronze statues were all around Budapest.  Our tour guide said that if you rub the knees on this statue you will come back to Budapest. 

St. Stephens Basilica - not technically considered a basilica, but the pope thought it was so beautiful and called it a basilica. 

Inside the beautiful church

The Great Market 

Hungarian National Museum

Vajdahunyad Castle

Heroes' Square including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 

During our walk we hiked up to Buda Castle where the was a spectacular view of the Pest side

We lucked out and made it in time to see the changing of the guard at Buda Castle

Matthias Church

Beautiful Fisherman's Bastion

View of Hungarian Parliament buildings 

As I mentioned, we opted for the add-on to our Groupon package which was a day at the

Széchenyi Thermal Bath, known as the largest thermal bath in Europe. Probably the best decision and

I would highly recommend to anyone that goes to Hungary (but remember to bring your own towel and flip-flops instead of having to pay to rent.) You get a wristband that looks like a watch which gives you access to a private changing room and then go outside and relax in the baths. Although it was cold out, the water was heated to a perfect temperature that made us not want to get out. We spent most of our time in the outdoor pool as it was a nice day out but had to check out the one inside the building.

Our last thing we had to check out before the end of our trip was the Hungarian Parliament buildings which I found to be one of the most spectacular buildings I've ever seen. There was a military statue unveiling happening which was pretty cool to witness as well. Overall solid trip to Budapest and was glad to experience it all with my mom, and I think 3 days was plenty of time to see all the wonderful sights. The only thing I wasn't able to do is see some of the ruin pubs, but that wasn't exactly something to do with a parent.