§ Caroline and I had a few more days in Ireland before flying home on Wednesday.

§ Last Sunday morning we took the ferry from Doolin to Inisheer where we rented bikes and rode around the little island.

Later in the afternoon, we hiked though the burren on the Lough Avalla Farm Loop. We were the only people there at the time which made the whole experience that much more special. Having unfettered access to such an expansive, beautiful, alien, diverse environment is an experience that will stick with me for a long time.

§ Storm Floris threatened to disrupt our plans for Monday. Thankfully, the worst of the storm didn’t hit our area and the day ended up being full of beautiful windy weather.

We drove out near Mountshannon to visit AppleOak FibreWorks where the owner Jennifer generously agreed to give us a tour despite the bank holiday. It was impressive to see how rigorously they approach ecological sustainability.

Later in the evening, we drove back to the Cliffs of Moher to absorb the view one last time before leaving County Claire.

§ Tuesday we traveled back to Dublin for one last night before flying home. We drove from Liscannor to Galway and returned the rental car (in one piece!) before taking the train back east across the country.

After arriving at our hotel we got dinner and walked around Fitzwilliam Square, looking at all of the beautiful Georgian architecture as the sun set on the city.

§ We flew back home on Wednesday. I was pretty nervous to see the state of the garden. With all of the recent heat and the neighborhood deer I was expecting everything to be chomped and withered.

To my surprise, it was all completely fine. Most shocking was seeing that our four-year-old dwarf trumpet vine, for the first time ever, suddenly has flowers!

§ So what were the highlights from my first trip to Europe?

  • Dry stone walls are everywhere
  • Cows are everywhere
  • Probably related: beef is much more affordable in the supermarket
  • The cliffs, especially how different Moher and Howth are from each other
  • Monkfish
  • Listening to local Irish-language talk radio while driving on wild, narrow, curvy, scenic backroads
  • Whenever walking down one of these roads, it would inevitably be bordered by ripe wild blackberries which I would eat right off the vine while watching the landscape unfold around me
  • The weather (seriously!)
  • The Boots logo, which is superior to, and predates, the Coca-Cola logo
  • Barry’s tea
  • Tesco

§ To be fair, there are a few things I’m happy to have again, back here in the states:

  • My animals
  • A proper stove
  • A shower with actual water pressure
  • Ice

§ I’m sure that I’m falling into a well-worn cliche here but I’ll admit I’ve been doing quite a bit of research into EU citizenship by descent over the past few days.

A small plane flies over a narrow grassy path lined with stone walls under a clear blue sky.A solitary tree stands beside a stone wall on a rocky, grassy landscape under a cloudy sky.A rocky landscape features limestone pavement with scattered vegetation under an overcast sky.Vibrant red tubular flowers with trumpet-like shapes are surrounded by lush green leaves.

Previously: 2024 W32 and 2023 W32