cobble stone streets

Ireland

Ireland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.  We only spent one night in Dublin before travelling to the west coast.  We chose to stay in a town called Dingle in a hostel called Rainbow Hostel.  This is one of the most interesting hostels we have stayed in so far.  There was a large common room with long wood tables and a wood fire place.  Everyone cooked and ate together and it felt like a family.  We also rented a car while we were there!  This was quite the adventure.  I thought the hard part was going to be getting used to driving on the left side of the rode but the scary part was how narrow the streets were!  A two lane rode was actually the size of an American one land road! 

Our second day in Dingle we spent driving along the coast.  There were high cliffs, beautiful beaches and rolling green hills.  Everything I had imagined.  The pictures can’t even begin to capture the beauty of Ireland.

I am amazed by all the friends we have made along the way.  People have been so generous and kind.  It has been incredible to share in other people’s lives and listen to their stories. 

Scotland

Scotland has been my favorite country thus far.  We rode a ferry from Ireland to Scotland and after an 11 hour journey we arrived in Banchory, Scotland which is in Northern Scotland and very small.  We stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast owned by the Morrisons which are friends of  Laura.  I got a bedroom and double bed to myself…and it was the best sleep I have had so far!  We went to a Good Friday service at this small chapel with about 3o members and after the service we had dessert with the Morrisons and talked with them until late into the night.  They told us how Don Morrison, the father, called the house one night and said to not let anyone into the house because a wolf had stolen his car.  Then he drove home wearing a wolf costume!  So amazing.  He is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met.

Scotland was breathtaking.  After Banchory we travelled on to Edinburgh and I got to sit in the birthplace of Harry Potter.   J. K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter novels in the Elephant House cafe because she had just gone through an awful divorce and was so poor that it was cheaper to sit in the cafe all day than to heat her flat.  The spot where she would sit overlooks the beautiful Edinburgh Castle.