Ireland: Howth

Howth is the cutest little seaside town in Dublin. My friend Zoe and I took a spontaneous trip via the DART (Ireland's railway) and ended up in this town. As we were approaching Howth we saw a full rainbow over the beach. It was incredible and we couldn't wait to get out a snap pics. But then right as we got off it started raining, and not just normal rain but crazy winds and insane amounts of rain. It was hurting our faces to be in it. So the rainbow was gone and we took shelter in a little cafe. After the rain stopped we ventured outside into the harbor.

 Zoe, the model.

 Me, the awkward non photogenic model.

 Howth has a few lighthouses, this one at the end of the jetty!

 The island off of the harbor of Howth.

 The Zoester.

 So we took a 45 minute stroll trying to find a B&B, and ended up walking through the residential areas. Howth is kind of a well-to-do town but there are definitely little cute areas where the houses aren't insane. Most of them looked like this, bright houses with bright doors, winding up hills with little parks and churches.

 Football!!!

 More football!!! We actually stopped on this little turf field where three boys were playing football and we kicked around a flat ball for a bit.

 We finally made it to the hike that goes along the coast of Howth and it was gorgeous. Oh and the torrential rain happened twice but we lucked out and found places to hid until it subsided. The rest of the day was fine and our hike was muddy and beautiful!

 So the houses near this hike were the very nice, ritzy ones, but this is what their backyards look like!

 Before I pushed her off.

 There were lots of groups taking this trail too, tons of kids who were getting bribed by candy bars. Naturally, I tried to sneak into the group but ended up empty handed.

 The wind was so strong we could lean forward and the wind held us.

 The mud was so bad at some points it was like a slip n slide on a narrow path over a cliff. Yeah, super sketchy.

 "Try not to slip and fall off"

 "Look, mud."

 Another lighthouse! Our stay was awesome and we were in a B&B where each room was named after a lighthouse in Howth, the breakfast was awesome and totally Irish. And the bars weren't half bad either. This won't be the last time I see Howth, I love it!

Ireland: The National Gallery

The National Gallery is awesome, but small. Half of it is under restoration so I powered through the whole thing in about 45 minutes. We went with our group but were able to explore on our own, and surprisingly, Ireland is well know for a lot of things, just not art. A lot of these works were made somewhere else but have some Irish significance.

 This guy reminds me of my cousin Scott. This is actually a self portrait and this guy thought a lot about himself and always painted himself doing absurdly extraordinary things. He wasn't a hunter but he makes himself out to be the most dignified one. Cocky Irishmen.

 I wish my dinner table looked like this, minus the squirrel. There's also a monkey, try and find him.

 Picasso must have inspired loads of people, this artist being one. It's easier to understand this artist compared to Picasso.

 Pointillism. Just a taste, I loved the whole piece but I think it is incredible how patient artists can be.

Ireland: Swan Lake

On the way to Swan Lake, small little shops with fruit and veggies are littered throughout Dublin, I haven't had the guts to buy fruit from them yet...

 Right beside my dorm is the Grand Canal which I have since named Swan Lake. This little guy let me touch him and he didn't even bite. I think he just liked the attention.

 Natalie Portman. Oh, wait...

 What a disgrace. This must have been an American. Them and their "soccer". Ugh.

 The swans and I had a pillow fight.

 Not a swan.

 This lady was so nice to feed all the birds, until she almost fell in and I took so many pictures. Obviously I'm creepily behind a tree because I really wanted to capture the fall.

 What a swanderful day it was.