Ireland
IRELAND: CASTLES AND RAIN
So yeah, we went to Ireland wayyyyy before Jetset Wanderlife was a flicker in my lizard brain. I think it was 2012. We had been to Europe once and it changed our lives. Seriously, it really did, and we knew we had to go back ASAP. We flew from SLC -> Chicago -> Dublin and it wasn’t awful.
I’m going strictly off memory, but we didn’t absolutely love Dublin proper like we thought we would. I remember pulling into our hotel on a dark rainy night listening to Brand New’s The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and it just felt right man. I remember not being able to sleep that first night because I was so stoked to be back in Europe and I had wanted to see Ireland for so long.
This was October, close to Halloween (see our Edinburgh post for that crazy holiday) and the weather, aside from the drizzling, was actually quite enjoyable. We walked around Dublin city, through the city parks and past James Joyce this and that. I really liked the liveliness of Grafton Street and yes, we had dinner in a super traditional (I think) Irish pub. No, we didn’t drink Guiness, but we did sit by a raging fireplace (which was nice since it got quite cold after sundown) and watch a soccer match eating fish and chips and mushy peas. I still don’t like how the UK fish isn’t de-skinned/scaled, I mean, do you want shiny bites in your mouth? I thought not. But yeah it was fun.
The real fun in Ireland though was the castles. Oh the castles! Actually, one of my fondest/worst memories from the trip is me driving (I had driven from 2005-2006 in New Zealand on the left side, so this wasn’t entirely new to me) RIGHT BLOODY NEXT TO THIS MASSIVE STONE WALL on these crazy narrow Irish streets and frantically screaming to Caitlin that I was gonna hit the wall and destroy the car and we were gonna lose all our money. Seriously, it was terrifying, and I had chosen a manual transmission car because it was cheaper. It was a total mess, but we (and the car) survived.
As always for me, the in-betweens were the best. We drove and saw the unbelievably beautiful Irish countryside, stopping in all these small towns and just being so stoked about everything. We stopped at a bunch of little grocery stores and bought Irish candy and drinks and had absolutely no agenda except “see castles.”
And castles we did see! I can’t remember the names but I’ll change this post if I do. They ruled. We’d never seen anything like it before and it was as cool as we had hoped. We enjoyed the, as the kiwis say, wop wops, much more than the city, and it was a fun and wild few days. Sadly, we didn’t see any leprechauns, but maybe next time.
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GEAR
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So yeah, since we went on this trip 8 years before I did Jetset Wanderlife, I have no idea what we actually took. But if and when we return, this is the stuff we’ll be taking:
Caitlin’s Stupid Awesome Space Saver Day Pack Thing: I told her she had way too much junk when she bought this, but I digress: You win, Caitlin, and if you only read this blog you’d see me say this. Oh well. This bag was SUPER cheap, amazing to take on day trips, and folds up into practically nothing. Seriously, just do it now.
Amazon Prime: C’mon, it’s 2019. Get free 2-day shipping (which was necessary since we always found something we needed at the last minute) and lots of good music and TV/movies which make road trips more enjoyable. Try it free and you won’t be disappointed. Plus, pretty much everything below will ship to you free in 2 days in the USA.
AUKEY Powerbank External Portable Charger: This thing has saved us many times. It’s nice to have around the house, but it’s nicer to have during a long flight or a 12 hour day at Machu Picchu. It has 2 USB inputs and charges our iPhones really fast. It’s a bit bulky, but we get 2-3 charges from it each time. SO worth having.
Anker External Portable Charger: Yes, we take 2 portable chargers on our trip. This one isn’t as long-lasting, but it’s much smaller and lighter. It’s a bit annoying charging 2 every night, but really worth it to have charged phones the entire day.
My Pants: Ever since my days braving the brutal Wellington rain in a suit, I HATE having wet pants. These Columbia pants were perfect to put on over my jeans if I needed, which I only did a couple times. Never got even a drop under them. Well worth it.
My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. Especially with cheap airlines like Ryanair, where things are expensive, having a versatile bag is a must. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through 4 continents with no problems yet.
Ponchos: Another must for pretty much whenever. Just get something waterproof that won’t blow off immediately.
Towels: I didn’t bring mine to Peru but it would have been nice at the hotpots, because we had to use our hotel towels (sneakily) then didn’t have any the next morning. These ones are awesome because they fold up small and dry incredibly quick. We got an off brand, our friend Loinz has an original Packtowl which he raves about. Your call.
Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.
Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug
adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 6 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.
Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Most cars we’ve rented have a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever)
MacBook Air: OK this is probably pushing it for necessities, but I do have to work on the road and it’s perfect to take with us. Small, lightweight, powerful, and mine has a pink cover for good measure.
