Its hard to believe in the past 28 days I've travelled to four different cities, three different countries, and spent practically just as much time outside of Limerick as I have in the city.
What has struck me the most about travelling is how different cities can be and most certainly are. Besides travelling in Ireland, I have been blessed enough in the past year to go to several big cities in America as well: NYC for Spring Break last year, Orlando for a family vacation, Washington DC for a conference in the fall, and Atlanta for Fall Break.
At home, although those four cities are very different, it never struck me as so until this trip. Due to the compactness of our travels, we've seen city after city, being able to more accurately see the vast differences. I shouldn't be so surprised by it. Each city just reflects the culture of thrives in.
Our first city of this entire trip was Limerick, the city we live in. Not a pretty city, it doesn't need to be. It is known as the Sports Capital of Ireland. If you've ever seen any Irish sport, they're rough, tough, dirty, and entertaining all in one. That pretty much sums up Limerick. [No worries on the rough and tough part, we're still completely safe here!]
The next few cities we've visited during our trip thus far were Dublin and Cork. Interesting because Dublin is the official capital and Cork is the unofficial capital. Again the cities reflect this with the higher end shops, cleaner streets, and plentiful tourist attractions in surrounding areas. If I had to pick my favorite place we've been to in Ireland so far, I'd definitely be torn between these two.
Then March rolled around, and London came as well. I'm not really sure what I expected of London anymore, but it superceeded any I had piror to visiting it. London was by far the nicest city we've been to. No part seemed unsafe (although I'm sure there are some). I've never seen so many Rolls-Royce's, Lamborghini's, and other high end cars as I did in London. The least expensive car that we caw rolling around the city was a Mini Cooper! The city was old, historic, and absolutely beautiful. London has turned out to be my favorite city thus far and the one I hope to have the chance to return to again someday (for hopefully longer than 36 hours).
Next was Paris. Still as gorgeous as the time before, it is still a slightly dirty city. The building style is different than London's and rather than the city seeming to emphasize history, it emphasizes the arts and culture. You simply cannot get away from it in Paris, try as you might. Even when we went to go to the historical things like Napoleon's Tomb or Versailles, the beauty outweighed the history for me. Paris was the city I had my heart set on for this trip, and I was very pleased with everything we did and saw there! [Especially considering we weren't sure if we were going to make it there for awhile]
Brussels though was the complete opposite. The Capital of Europe was not pretty, historic, or clean in the least. It was a completely different kind of city. Although all prior ones have differed in their emphasis, they all were still sightseeing cities. The best sight we saw in Brussels was the Mannekan Pis. It was, however, the capital of food for us. All of it was delicious (minus the street escargots) and we had a wonderful time doing different things than we were focused on doing in all of the other cities. Brussels was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of city for me. I don't plan on returning, but it was still a fabulous weekend trip.
Liverpool, though, topped them all for me in a surprising way. I won't go into all the details again, as I just wrote on the trip, but I will say it again, it was wonderful! I'm not ruling out going back to it again (like we have for Brussels). I would absolutely return, go into the Beatles' former homes, and go out on the town again! It was the best time we've had yet.
That's not to say the best has already come. Just because we're finished with our travelling outside of Ireland certainly doesn't mean we're finished travelling. Our Spring Break begins Friday, and the day after Easter, we will be heading to the Aran Islands for a few days. Although it may be too cold to actually get into the water, you better believe I will be going to the beach! We also have a week of travelling with my entire family, which I'm really looking forward to as well. [Especially because we're renting a car for one of the trips. Hey Mom and Dad, think I can drive on the left side of the road for a little??].
Beyond those planned things, we have lots of other free time and a few other day trips we intend on taking. The best is yet to come, I'm sure, and by then end, it will probably be impossible to pick a favorite city, a favorite trip, a favorite memory.
Phillip and I have taken on a good portion of Europe. We're ready for the second half of our travels now!
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