2016 – Dublin 
2016 – Cliffs of Moher
Ireland was the first international trip that Tyler and I took together. We flew to Dublin in December 2016, spending a week there before making it home just in time to celebrate the holidays – unlike subsequent years. We stayed in a tiny hotel on the “wrong” side of the river, but we had the week to explore and fall in love with the country; I swore I’d be back soon.
And we were!
- In December 2018, we rang in the new year in Temple Bar on a long layover after our whirlwind trip through Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam.
- In October 2019, I came back for a girls’ trip with Sara and Liz, running all over the country in just six days.
- Now, in March 2022, we’re going back!
2018 – Dublin 
2019 – Dublin
We didn’t plan on returning to Ireland next year; in fact, we had just gotten an alert about cheap flights to Tokyo (in the $400s!), so we were trying to book those. We were having difficulty securing tickets due to high demand – go figure – so I was playing around in the Google Flights’ Explore Tool to see what I could make work.
In doing so, Google Flights showed me that tickets to Dublin were currently starting in the mid-$300s out of Tampa. I sent the flight information to my mom and sister since they could go during their spring break, and Tyler sent it to his mom, since she had to cancel a 2020 trip to Ireland. After a couple conversations, this evolved into a big family trip to Ireland for March 2022, where we’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in style. We’ll even be bringing our son along for his first trip, which seems only fitting. Hopefully he loves the country as much as we do.
2016 – Dunguaire Castle 
2016 – Dublin
We’re now working on applying for his passport, but we’ve got a lot to plan for seven adults and a baby! We had traveling while pregnant figured out, but traveling with an infant is a whole new adventure for us. Tyler and I intend to spend a lot of time in Dublin, but we’d also like to visit Cork and Rosscarbery, as well as make a trip up to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Since we’ve been before, we’re okay to not hit all the key tourist sites, but we’re definitely excited to share the country with our family – especially our son.