Ireland - The Emerald Isle (Part 2)

Hey so I am back with the much-awaited (!?) part deux of my trip to the Emerald Isle. If you missed reading the part one, you can do that here. The trip to Cliffs of Moher was on the later half of my one-day trip around the Irish countryside. After lunching at a pub in the cute little village of Doolin, we headed down to these magnificent nature-made structures.

The Cliffs of Moher are Ireland's number 1 tourist attraction (so the tour guide informed us). Most recently, they were in the news for their appearance in the Harry Potter movies. One of the scenes from the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was filmed right here at the Cliffs. So there you go, a little movie trivia made this place even more exciting for me to visit!

Castle ruins while driving around the scenic villages near Galway. Well, come to think of it, once a King and His Queen really lived in here...

 

The majestic cliffs of Moher overlooking the beautiful blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs are around 200 mt (702ft.) in height and you can walk along the length of the cliffs.

The skies around Dublin and almost over all the Ireland are always cloudy. It rains a lot there, thanks to the currents from the Atlantic Ocean..

This is a stone round structure called the O'Brien's Tower. It was primarily used as a watchtower in the olden days.

Got some incredible views of the dark blue waters from the cliffs

You can actually sit by the edge of the cliffs, that was quite dangerous but nevertheless exciting. They have absolutely no fencing along the 8km long walkway. 

Yep, that's me..a couple of years back :)

Enjoying the stunning views of the Atlantic and the Aran Islands

Drove by the Coast Road back to Galway and stopped at Connemara to walk on this lunar like landscape of the Burren

my Galway Tour companion

Cute little sheep

Did you spot the Leprechaun Head right in the rocks?

 Time to fly back home...it was a pleasure flying Aer Lingus!

 Well, well! While flying over Greenland, the captain announced that owing to clear skies (which is very rare) we were presented with stunning views of the snow-capped mountains. It was one of the breath-taking things I have ever seen..almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

So, there was my truly magical day out in typical Irish countryside. I have to admit it was kinda odd being a lone traveler...I surely missed my hubs back in the States. Next time, hopefully, the two of us make it out to this beautiful country. 

Anyhow, I would highly recommend visiting Ireland and get to know the Gaelic culture and the happy-go-lucky people out here!

Staycation post 2 - BBQ and Spy Museum

Like I said here, this labor-day weekend we decided to take a staycation right here in DC. While day one spent watching B-town flicks, shopping and hiking at scenic locations, day two was nothing like it. It was I could stay staycation in true sense, staying right where you are - at home!

Sunday was reserved to be a BBQ day with the friends by our apartment pool. So, half o f the day was spent home, prepping on the BBQ delicacies - marinating chicken wings, paneer tikka, small red potatoes and veggies. And did I mention baking delicious chocolate brownies! By 5 pm we were at the pool, drinking beers and a special drink that hubs made (cranberry, lime juice and the works I tell you). We grilled shrimp, pork patties, buns, juicy husked corm, chicken, potatoes, paneer kebabs..uggh my mouth waters as I write this. The BBQ party went on till late evening and by the end of it we were too full as you can guess from above. BBQ is a really special thing that everyone must enjoy in the summers.

BBQ by the pool - Roasting potatoes, paneer and veggie skewers, pork patties, shrimp and many more goodies; my comfy outfit of the day (ootd); a friend and hubs working at the grill :) 

Monday was reserved for a day in the city and a long-pending visit to the International Spy Museum. Hey if you are into the spy movies, thrillers and love everything CIA, KGB, 007 then this museum is for you! Just want to say that it was some of the most memorable hours we spent there - studying our cover stories, playing spy quizzes & games, reading interesting facts and watching the stunning visuals. Apparently, Washington DC is one of the cities with highest number of spies in it!

Artifacts at the Spy Museum (top to bottom): The 'famous' Aston Martin with all it's features;

The Horse of Troy; Ninjas on display; A wall dedicated to 'Bond' movie posters.

Hubs and me acting out the 'spy' characters

We were assigned covers at the museum and guess we played them to the T :))



From city to the burbs, we decided to take one stop at the Historic Alexandria before we headed home. I had heard a lot about Old Town Alexandria and was pleasantly surprised with the cuteness of the place. Boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, antique shops and cobbled streets...simply reminded me of Boston's Newbury street. The main street ends at a beautiful boardwalk by the Potomac River and a evening stroll was perfectly called for.

So there ends the story of my staycation..must say it was an a pretty inexpensive affair with lots of fun and excitement! Do you do staycations? What are the activities that you plan for? Do share your views in the comments below.

My labor day all-white outfit along with the 'knotted-t-shirt' look were two things I have never tried before. What do you think? Is it a HIT or a MISS?

 Target white denims (got it on clearance for only 12$) | Old Navy floral shirt | GAP flats |

Ring from flea market, Dharamsala India | Forever21 India spiked earrings |

Van Heusen cami

P.S.: All my readers in India, have you entered this fab giveaway to win not one but THREE vouchers to relaxing massage treatments at The Four Fountains Spa!  Hurry up, only one more day left to enter the giveaway here!

Staycation post 1 - Great Falls Hike

This past long weekend J and I did a memorable staycation. Yep, a staycation. What it basically means is that you stay where you live, no travel to any new place but just explore the place you live in. And did I mention also laze around, do things at your pace and also enjoy and have fun without the fuss of packing, traveling, flying, no airport lines or airport food. No rentals, no nothing!

The idea of staycation sneaked on me when I read Ash's post about it. She did make it sound like the thing I should give a try. And so that's exactly what we did this long weekend (and that we didn't have anything else to do :P). Staycation means no chores, no menial cooking, being stocked up on groceries and yummy goodies..just have a great time in home-sweet-home. 

The long weekend Saturday morning started off with a lazy breakfast (don't remember what I had, of course 'cause I didn't do the cooking :P) and then moved on to watching movies back-to-back in bed! I watched Go Goa Gone, which I absolutely loved by the way. The start gave me a deja-vu from 'Pyaar ka Punchnama' (three guy friends sharing an apartment et al.) but the rest of the film was all about zombies and simply hilarious to say the least. Next one was Aashiqui 2; I had heard a lot about this one, but it wasn't to my taste..sorry didn't get the mushy love story. Songs are the best though, I did rewind the movie to listen to the songs over and over again. 

Early evening we decided to visit the Great Falls National Park which is by the way, literally 20 minutes from our house (actually make it 15 'cause I am pretty sure for the last 5 minutes we were going round in circles ...we missed the entry point the first time, you see!). The place was truly beautiful and the falls by the Potomac river were all so pristine and scenic. Wonder why we didn't visit it before! We took a small hike, pictures for the blog and then were outta from the scenic jungle to the urban jungle aka mall :) Yeah, took advantage of the labor day sales and did small-time shopping followed by some cool-and-healthy Mediterranean dinner at Cava Mezze Grill. 

So there ends the first part of this wonderful Staycation..pictures below to prove the fun :)

 

Loft striped top | GAP shorts | Aldo boat shoes |

Levis denim vest | Swatch blue watch | Sunglasses borrowed from husband

 

Ireland - The Emerald Isle (Part 1)

Thanks to laptop issues and travels, I missed blogging for a quite some days now. I wanted to get this post going in the first week of August to celebrate the two year anniversary of my trip to Ireland. But better late than never, right :)

I was on a week-long trip to our office in Galway, based off the western coast of Ireland. Sight-seeing seemed pretty tough given the tight schedule, but nonetheless, the avid traveler in me had decided to make the most out of the weekends I would be there. I had looked up bus tours and since decided to go with a day tour with the Galway Tour Company. 

I landed on a saturday morning at the Shannon airport (direct flight from Boston, thank god for that!) and after a two hour bus journey reached my hotel in Galway afternoon-ish. I was delighted when I found out that it was quite centrally located; walkable distance from the bus station (lugging the baggage was an easier task now). After freshening up and a healthy lunch, I walked the main streets in Galway. Though it was the first week in August (which is a pretty glaring in the US), it was windy and cool there and I had my jacket on me all the times. In Ireland it pretty much rains all the time and anytime, so a a rain-jacket is highly recommended during your stay. 

The city layout was typical European; walking streets laden with shops, cute boutiques, restaurants, and of course Irish pubs, people drinking beers, merry-making and of course good-looking Irish lads (ahem ahem). I am glad I took the stroll out on a Saturday; I got to experience the true Irish spirit! My pit stops for sure included a shack serving fresh fish and chips and a cutsey bakery to taste the yummy goodiness. Looking at the pubs, I for sure longed for company to step in and gulp down a pint, but guess that had to be for some other time.

Sunday was reserved for the day long bus tour with the Galway Bus Company.The tour started at 9 in the morning from the Galway bus-stop and took us through the Irish countryside to Kilfenora, the village of Doolin, the Cliffs of Moher, Ballyvaughn. Must say, it was kinda weird traveling alone. So without further adieu, presenting you my pictorial travelogue..

 

First stop was the grassy lands and the historic structures at Poulnabrone dolmen in the Burren. 
It's a portal tomb dating back to the Neolithic age!

The limestone rock formations

Pretty greenery and cloudy skies - a common sight in Ireland

Directions in English and Irish language - Gaelic

Spotted this magnificent beast in the perfect backdrop of Burren. A stunning visual to experience for sure!

The Burren is home to 75% of Ireland's native flora and location of numerous ancient monuments like the Dolmen (in the pic above) and the Ballyalban Fairy Fort - home of little men with green hats and orange beards!

Famous Celtic Crosses aka Irish High Crosses at Kilfenora

 

My tour companions - our cute bus driver and his little friends 

 

Glimpses of the coastal village of Doolin. We lunched at the Gus O'Connor's, a traditional Irish pub

 

An Irish woman was strumming the Celtic Harp at one of the tourist spots in the Irish countryside. The scenery, the music and the ambiance..it was all simply magical! My trip would have been surely incomplete without this musical experience.

Irish countryside is simply breathtaking to say the least!

 

The ubiquitous 'Chicken Tikka Masla' and chips (aka french fries). This dish is served in almost every Irish pub.

I was happy when I saw it on the menu - not so much when I tasted it. We always crave for something homey and comforting after a long day at work, don't we :)

 

My antics at the 'Hat shop'..I guess I should have bought one! 

Doesn't it look stunning - of course ignoring my tired-and-end-of-long-day eyes that is!

 An 

old castle in ruins

Cute row houses in the city

Stay tuned for the part 2 of this travelogue to Cliffs of Moher (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was filmed here) with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, views of Connemara and the Burren landscape including the huge Leprechaun Head carved in the rocks.