Boats, Booze & Hangovers in Croatia | Part 1

Good morning world,

And what a lovely bright summers morning (if I can even call it that at 12°C) it is here in Cork!


I very rarely post at this time, but today I thought I'd be all organised and blogger-like. I've got the summer blues guys, and I'm yearning to be back in beautiful Hvar lounging on the rocky face of the Adriatic. You know, it's odd.. when one mentions they are travelling to Croatia on holidays many reply with, "Your going to Croatia? Sure whats there but only that pilgrimage place all the old ones go to!". 'Pilgrimage place' meaning Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is in fact a completely different country.

Dubrovnik from above (Part 2)

The Girl Who Faked a 42 Day Backpacking Adventure Across Asia

Zilla Van Den Born convinced her friends and family into thinking she was travelling Asia, from her bedroom!

Before Photoshop

These days with social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram etc. at the forefront of our daily lives, its almost too easy for us to believe everything we read or see online. Of course on your online profile you are going hide the things you don't want people to know about you, and emphasis things to make yourself seem more interesting. But nobody really discuss the elephant in the room, bar Zilla when she staged a 42 day adventure across Asia, from her sofa.

For a final year university project, Zilla decided to focus on this topic:

Surfing on the West Coast | Lahinch, Co. Clare

It's not unknown that I am a big fan of the surfing culture. I'm only a newbie I'll have you know, and if you've read my previous post on the topic, you'll know where I stand in the matter. So I Went Surfing   

But two weeks ago one of my best mates and I took an ole' roadtrip up the west of the country, to county Clare. Whilst I'd been there before, I only managed to see a small portion of the eastern part of the county, the countryside. This time our sole focus was the coast, and with surfing a main priority of the adventure, Doolin was the ideal place for the craic, the site-seeing & the coast. Doolin is known for its traditional Irish music scene and in more recent years, Dusty the dolphin. We didn't manage to meet Dusty, but we did get a nice taster of the pub-life.

I'm Back | Amsterdam Shenanigans On Our Interrailing Adventure

Hello dusty keyboard & those of you reading ;),

I'm Back, sadly, from my interrailing adventure. What an amazing time we had, honestly feels like I've been gone a year. But I haven't, just over two weeks, sixteen days to be precise!

I was so driven to post here at every chance I could, but when your travelling from county to country every 2 to 3 days, life passes you by! So I'm really sorry I didn't post, but hey I can rant on all about my trip and give you all the tips and advice one would need starting right now :)

I did manage to write one blog post while away, but hadn't published it, so bellow is my post on Amsterdam - the first pitstop on my journey. I hope you enjoy!

Sitting in Amsterdam Central station, waiting patiently for our train to Munich. We got booted out of our hostel this morning at 10, so instead of trecking around the city with big heavy harversacks on our backs, we decided to go straight to the station. The trams here are so punctual and frequent, so we really didn't expect to be at the train station as early as we were. We've got two hours to kill!

So here I am, sitting in a little coffee shop right on the platform. Bumming wifi and electricity. I guess this is the interrailing life, and we are only two days in haha!

Amsterdam was amazing! On our first night we went on a pub crawl, I'd recommend to do one of those down to the ground (especially if your only there for 2 days like us) because they are awesome for meeting loads of new people and getting a real big taster of Amsterdam night life. We paid 20€ and got a tshirt and endless supplies of alchol whilst also running from pub to pub. We lost the group at one stage with a little Australian girl we befriended, but the bouncers on other clubs were very helpful and we were fast finding the group again in our drunken state!!

We made so many friends that night, including some that we are going to meet again in Italy! We visited the red light district that night also with a group of Californians for the laugh! When in Amsterdam right! We visited the Anne Frank Huis yesterday, which was super emotional and chilling, but totally worth the hour que! 

I can't wait for Munich now! I think the train is here, so I best sign off! Wouldn't be good to miss the first train would it?

Under the IAmsterdam 'M'

Chilling in a clog, with ugly scaffolding surrounding it

Until next time,

Sinead 

X

I Wonder What Country These Pretty Images Are Promoting?

A Greek Island? Costa del Sol? Sure tis' only Ireland of course!

With the heatwave upon us here are some sunny snaps of places in Ireland that could easily pass for some foreign country.

1. Cloughglass Beach, Dungloe, County Donegal

Ireland doesn't just have great grassy scenery, she has some pretty beaches or rocky coves with clear water and white sand like Cloughglass Beach above! Little hideaways you'd only imagine stumbling across abroad.

2.  Glendalough, County Wicklow

Looks almost Canadian, aye?

3.  The cliffs of Horn Head, County Donegal

For a scary looking coastline, the water looks terribly inviting. Could easily pass for cliffs in a Mediterranean setting!

4.  Skellig Michael, County Kerry

A mystical island somewhere in Indonesia? Ah no, you don't need to travel that far to find a unusually pretty island like this one!

               

 

5.  O' Carroll's Cove, County Kerry

With white sand, clear blue waters and rocky features this is probably my favourite beach in Ireland. Its hard to show off the real beauty of the place through these photos but believe me, it's a little piece of paradise! Its small and on the ring of Kerry so its not as busy as bigger beaches. I remember coming here one extremely hot summers day a few years back, and to make my experience of the beautiful cove even better, we were fascinated by a group of Dolphins that were gracefully swimming close to shore. There was a group paddling beside them in there kayaks and people swimming out to see them. They stayed at the cove for a few hours! You can watch the sun go down in the pretty restaurant/bar! Which we did, eating a huge pizza with a picture of beer for only 20 euro! During the year the gorgeous place was savaged by the storms and floods, but the community came together to restore the place back to its natural bliss. If your on the Ring of Kerry, its a must to visit this beautiful cove, especially on a sweltering summers day.

6.  The Heather Hills, Gortin, County Tyrone

Beautiful heather fields in Tyrone, Northern Ireland. I think this picture looks like it could have been taken in America.

7.  Crohy Head Sea Arch, Crohy Head, County Donegal

This image looks like it could be anywhere else but Ireland! Sea arches are great things to photograph, this one in Donegal appears incredible photogenic, even if it is only a rock.

8.  Ballycurrin Lighthouse, Lough Corrib, County Galway

An unusual lighthouse on the shores of Lough Corrib. One of Ireland's many beautiful lakes and also Ireland's largest lake at that! There are many islands on Lough Corrib many of which are privately owned. A family friend used to own one which I stayed on a couple of times. Such a pretty lake with great wildlife!

Beauty is in our back garden, sometimes you don't have to wander too far away to find it. 

#LoveIreland

If you enjoyed this post, please let me know :)

None of these images are mine, all rights reserved to owners :)

My Volunteering Experience in India - Before the Epic Adventure