It’s been a couple weeks since my return from Ireland, but jumping right into the busiest time of the school year has unfortunately prevented me from being able to post. I’ve finally found some time, though, to look through my photos and write a few things, and I’m excited to share the best parts of my trip with you!

Of course, Ireland is a beautiful and charming country, and its small size makes it relatively easy to see most of it over the course of one visit. My family and I were blessed with pretty fantastic weather while we were there (with rain only on our arrival and departure days!), so walking around and exploring the different cities was always enjoyable (if a bit nippy!). The best part of traveling to so many different places, though, was all of the lovely countryside we were able to see while traversing the many scenic routes that wind throughout the forests and hills. I’ll post several albums from different parts of the trip over the next several days (work permitting…), so you can see a bit of the world-famous Irish character for yourselves!

And while it’s certainly difficult to pick a favorite place from my stay, the best part of the trip, for me, was being able to see my family after so long. Close quarters sometimes tested everyone’s patience, but their presence made the long journeys, beautiful vistas, and dark beers so much better than they might have been. It was good to get back to Istanbul, though, and pretty cool to be able to call it home this time around.

I hope you all enjoy the first album of Blarney Castle! I’ll be back with more very soon, but in the meantime, all my love!