Playful Rooted

When Ben and I went to Dublin a few years ago, we had such an amazing time. Maybe it was because we were living in France at the time and visiting an English-speaking country was just such an incredible treat, but we fell in love with Ireland – hard. We knew we would be back one day, and since then, we had been scheming to explore more of the Irish countryside. Dublin is amazing, but it’s still very much a city, and when we dreamed of Ireland, we pictured open space, stone walls, and rolling green hills dotted with sheep.

So when we saw the opportunity to return to Ireland, we knew immediately that we wanted to rent a car and drive around the western part of the island. If we had had more time, I would have loved to drive the entire Wild Atlantic Way (maybe someday!), but since we only had a few days, we decided to stick to visiting Galway and then the area surrounding the Cliffs of Moher, since that was one of our major destinations.

I found THE most charming AirBnB cottage in a town called Ballyvaughan that was near the Cliffs. Ballyvaughan is basically the Middle of Nowhere, Ireland; exactly what we wanted in order to get the true Irish country feeling. Plus, this particular cottage had stellar reviews AND a resident donkey named Daisy. Our little man is obsessed with animals of all kinds, so I was instantly sold.

(Side story: After I had booked the cottage, but months before we ever went on our trip, I had a dream that we had gone to Ireland but stayed somewhere else and had forgotten to see Daisy the Donkey! I woke up genuinely upset. #normal)

We took our time getting to the cottage after leaving Galway. It was such a spectacular drive right along the Irish coast. Everything was exactly as I had envisioned it! Beautiful ocean and stunning landscapes on one side; on the other, tons of sweet little farms, rolling meadows, and more sheep than I could possibly count.

Here’s another fun story. As we made our way to Ballyvaughan, we passed a couple signs for this chocolate shop that was truly in the middle of nowhere. Ben is chocolate obsessed, and we were on VACATION, so we decided to stop in. It was an awesome little chocolatier and café that was surprisingly busy given its location. I guess it’s a popular destination for the locals!

But here’s the fun part. In Galway, we had been shopping at a little gift shop, and the cashier heard our American accents, so she asked where we were from. It turned out that she was also American — and from St. Louis! We chatted with her for a while and found out she was going to Kansas City the next month for a wedding. We left, thinking what a fun, small world this is. Then, at the chocolate shop in the Middle of Nowhere, the male cashier heard our accents and asked where we were from, then he told us that his wife was from St. Louis and was going to Kansas City the next month for a wedding. !!!! What are the odds that we would meet the wife in Galway and then the husband at a random little stop along the Irish coast?! Small world made even smaller. I LOVE TRAVEL.

We eventually arrived at our AirBnB, and it was insanely adorable. The most quaint, perfect little place. (Well, perfect for a few days. I walked in and said, “Isn’t this SO GREAT?!” and Ben said, “Yeah, but this tiny kitchen would drive you crazy if you lived here.” He’s right.) I only took a couple photos, but I did do some Instagram Stories that showed the whole thing because it was SO CUTE. (I know I should use the app or whatever that lets you upload more than 15 seconds at a time, but….I didn’t, all right?)

Ben was very into this wood stove. It sounds charming but was kind of a pain in reality. But very cute and cozy!

Morning view! Cue all the heart eyes.

The host at the cottage was so awesome and left out lots of baby stuff for us to use (stroller, riding cart, frame back carrier, etc). It was brilliant (I’m so European, you guys) to have all of that gear, and we made great use of it! One morning while Ben was sleeping, I took Luca on a hike through the Burren – the general area that Ballyvaughan is in – and it was so nice to have that back carrier.

This is the adorable Burren College of Art. What, did your college not look like this?

Homeboy couldn’t hang in the end. This kid kills me. ❤ ❤ ❤

As predicted and hoped for, Luca LOVED Daisy the donkey! We still talk about her sometimes. 🙂

I was so, so proud of my wee lad and his resiliency. I think this was probably one of the hardest ages to travel with him, and he did phenomenally well! ❤

A final shot I from the back patio of the cottage the morning that we – begrudgingly! – left. The Irish countryside was literally everything I imagined it to be. I’m SO grateful that we got the chance to experience it in all its glory. It was truly such a gift.

A lot of the places we visit, I love exploring for a few days, but I ultimately know that I wouldn’t really want to live there. But Ireland? It would be an absolute JOY to live in Ireland. Until next time!

xo!