Ready, Set…Oya, Slow Down Small…And Go!!
I am excited!! Can you tell?! Can you tell?!! 😀
Give me a sec to take a breather…
Ok, I am semi sane now.
Today is Saturday and by this time next week, I would not be in Nigeria. #HappyDance! My fellow naija people, abeg no vex oh, but ehm, this year has been odikwa ‘strezzzfull’. The non-stop devaluation of the Nigerian Naira is not allowing anybody to even smile small.
Where am I carrying my self to this time around you ask? Well since you asked so kindly, I will tell you. I am heading off to Ireland, the land of shamrocks, leprechauns, sacks filled with gold at the end of rainbows scattered everywhere waiting for me to claim it, booze, and loads of good food.
I kid, I kid, most of the things I mentioned are not true, but the Irish folks are known for the following
- Alcohol – ever heard of Guinness, Jameson, Bushmills, and maybe even Bailey’s? Those are Irish brands and I may come back with a confirmed pot belly *slaps already rotund belly*
- Music – Celtic music!
- Great food culture – please, please just google some Irish food images and you might start a savings account just for the experience
- The scenery – I am a sucker for taking in and enjoying the best of nature. The Cliffs of Moher, Giant’s Causeway, Aran’s Island, and for those who remember Arya’s escape scene from King’s Landing in Game of Thrones, the hauntingly beautiful forest is in Ireland too!
These are the top four reasons many go Ireland. In my case, I received the prodding I needed in form of a wedding invitation to Kildare, Ireland. The groom is someone I met during my most epic travel till date; tour of South East Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam). We were fast friends and managed to keep in touch during our four years since meeting. Jimmy, the groom, is part Irish and when I met him, he sold me on the idea of going to visit Ireland. I am so glad I waited, because now is the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
With Ireland, I am attempting to simply go with the flow. I have already booked a spectacularly affordable rental car but the only problem is that I have never driven a manual vehicle.
God help me and the people on the road with me.
Ireland also employs the idea of driving on the wrong side of the road, so I am double screwed and need to figure out a way to at least beg the folks at the rental desk to upgrade me to an automatic car.
The price tags on the automatic cars almost scared me into fainting, na airplane I wan rent? Oy vey.
How long will this trip go on for you ask?
19 days in Ireland and 4 days in London seeing family. I will most likely take the cheapo route by eating out once a day for the experience and cooking everything else. #theNaira
Any awesome plans set up yet?
I keep mentally checking out of this trip because the thought of the Euro to Naira rate scares the bejeezus out of me. I’m awaiting the bank gods to grant me PTA. Please pray and wine fast with me. My backup plan is to use Form A, if you do not know what that is, I am not giving out the secret on that one. All you need to know is that the form A allows me to clear my credit card bills at interbank dollar rate instead of relying on Aboki to bankrupt me.
As for my plans –
- Wedding in Kildare
- Drive to Bushmills for Carrick-a-Rede, Giant’s Causeway, Bushmill’s Distillery, and some good ol’ pub time
- Achill Islands to take on the beach life and get some more surf lessons
- Galway for the Oyster festival, Coasteering, Aran Islands, Inisheer, and Cliffs of Moher
- West Cork for 2.5 days food festival at the month long Taste of West Cork
- Cork just for the pub life and chilling
- Killarney to hike Carrauntoohil Ascents
- Dublin till I bounce back to Lasgidi (Lagos, Nigeria)
My plans are still a bit rough around the edges, I may skip out on some or flow to a different town for a random reason; the beauty of having a car is that it allows the flexibility.
I will also attempt to vlog during this trip in order to tell a better story. Fingers crossed that I do not slack off.
