For the couple of days that were spent in Ireland, we covered a lot of the country. After landing at the Dublin Airport, we took a four hour drive to an old country house where we stayed for two nights. The whole place had a cute, old-timey vibe. There were gardens surrounding the grounds, and a little field with horses that you could pet.
The next day, we headed east and took a drive along the coast of Ireland. There were a lot of golf courses and big houses, and the water was a Gatorade blue color. When we got further up the coast to the mountains, we got to see a sheep-dog demonstration. Ireland is known for its sheep and wool, so it was cool to see how it was made. We finished the day by taking a horse and carriage ride to an old castle.
On the third day, we drove to Blarney Castle, where the Blarney stone is. There’s a spot where you can lay down at the top of the castle and kiss the Blarney stone, which is said to bring you a sort of powerful speech. After spending time at the castle and its grounds, we traveled to a new hotel to stay for two more nights.
During our final day in Ireland, we spent the day seeing Dublin, which is the capital of Ireland. The first place we stopped at was St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where we got to learn some of the history behind St. Patrick and the building itself. For the remainder of that day, we spent our time shopping and finding fun restaurants to eat at in the city.
To get from Ireland to the UK, we had to take a ferry across the Irish Sea. The ride took a few hours, and when we got to Wales, a country in the United Kingdom, we got off the ferry and visited Conwy Castle, which is where King Edward I lived. We spent the rest of that day traveling to England, and stopped at a few places along the way.
On our second day in the UK, we got up early and drove to Stratford-Upon-Avon, which is where Shakespeare’s birthplace is. After taking a tour of the home, we got to spend time around the town and visit shops and little restaurants. To finish the day, we drove further into England to our new hotel.
Our last day in the UK, the day we got to spend in London, was my favorite day of the whole trip. In the morning, we drove to Buckingham Palace, which is the official London residence for the Royal Family. After getting a close look at the Palace, we drove further into London, stopping at places like St. Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, which is where Prince William and Princess Kate got married. After stopping at a few important places, we got time to explore London on our own. We walked around the city, making our first stop at Tower Bridge. After walking across, we went to Borough Market, which is where the famous chocolate covered strawberries are at. We stopped at a lot of stores, bought a few souvenirs, and headed back to meet with everyone to go back to the hotel.
The next morning, we had to wake up at 2 a.m. to get on our train to go to Paris. The train we went on was called the Eurostar, and since the UK is an island, we had to go under the English Channel to get back to land. After we made it to Paris, we dropped our luggage off at a hotel, and had a bit of free time to explore. My mom and I went to Notre-Dame, and ate lunch at a cute little cafe. After eating, we went to the Louvre, which is the largest art museum in the world, and which is also home to famous paintings, like the Mona Lisa. To finish the day, we took a Seine River Cruise, which went straight through the middle of the city. That was when we got to get our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower, which was so much bigger in person than I thought it would be.
The next day was our final day of the trip, and we spent the day going all around Paris on a tour. We were able to cover a lot of ground, switching between riding the bus and walking. We ended the bus tour on Avenue Montaigne, which is full of luxury shops like Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton. After a long day of walking around the city, we headed back to the hotel to eat dinner. That night, we took the subway to the Eiffel Tower so that we could see it sparkle at night, and that was a great way to end the trip.
