Our first European holiday
Our week in Ireland was everything we had hoped for: a complete break and departure from life in Paris.
We planned this week, in a remote house on the Western coast of Ireland for two main reasons: firstly, we are getting ready to say goodbye to Desmond as he heads off to university and we wanted some concentrated family time beforehand, and secondly; the kids and I have recently become Irish citizens thanks to my Irish mother and we thought it would be a good thing to go to the county that has generously offered us citizenship.
My heritage has turned out to be more valuable than we ever imagined and actually essential to our spending our year in France. Anyone with a parent or grandparent born in Ireland is eligible to get an Irish passport. It took about eight months for me and the three kids to get our passports but we are now citizens of the European Union, meaning we can come, go, stay and work here as long as we like. Sadly, the rules do not extend to spouses and that is why Houman has had to jump through 1,001 hoops to get permission to work in France. That is another story.
Our first European holiday was also about learning how to travel from Paris. We took the metro to the airport which was easy and quick and covered by our monthly Navigo cards. From Cork we rented a car and drove to the tiny town of Clahane on the west coast. The drive was challenging: five of us in the smallest car we dared through narrow, twisting roads with stone walls and hedges on one side and oncoming traffic on the other. On top of that, H had to drive a stick shift on the wrong side of the road. And we hadn’t driven since being in Canada.
We somehow managed to miss the major motorways on our way to the house which was unfortunate as it made the drive a little longer and also more challenging for those of us prone to car sickness. We found our little house on the edge of the world in the evening and got the keys from where they were hidden under the rocks. It was the perfect little Irish cottage. There was no temperature control so we turned the heat on or off depending on whether we were hot or cold, we plugged the dishwasher in when we used it, and the shower was electric. There was no television, Wifi or coffee pot but there was a kettle and a jar of instant coffee. The windows along the front of the house all looked out the Atlantic Ocean and there was a road that led to the local swimming hole.
The forecast for our entire week was rain, which is to be expected in Ireland, and doesn’t seem to phase people one bit. It was true that once you went out into what looked like formidable weather it was actually quite pleasant. Our plan was to stay local, avoid the roads, and just enjoy nature and family. And the pubs. We bought the essentials for an Irish family holiday: soda bread, cheese, Irish butter and beer.
We typically had lazy mornings with all of us sitting in front of the windows looking at the sea and reading our books. I’m the most enthusiastic walker in the family so I would go and walk for an hour while others got ready for the day. Our afternoon explorations were modest but perfect for what we wanted from the week: walking along the coasts; exploring the seaside towns and beaches of Lahinch and Spanish Point; live music in a pub in Doolin; or walking the rocks just outside our house.
We did the cliffs of Moher walk on one of the more promising weather days and while we had wind we also had some sunshine. The scenery was truly jaw dropping. To make things more interesting we scanned the coast looking for the place where they filmed the scene from the Harry Potter movies. We think we found the cave where Dumbledore and Harry go looking for the locket horcrux.
The Cliffs of Moher
Lahinch beach reminded us of Tofino with the clouds, the huge sandy vista and all of the surfers in the water. The last day Desmond decided to rent a board and surf, H and I walked the length of the beach and the girls had a blast playing on the rocks.
Everybody but me also braved the waters and swam in our little swimming hole. I was in awe of the girls who bravely jumped off the rugged rocks into the Atlantic and swam around, albeit briefly, as it was cold!
We sampled the pubs in Liscannor, Doolin and Lahinch. By my count, we tried five. The chowder at Flanagans in Lahinch was one of the best things we ate in Ireland and listening to live music in Doolin and having a few chats with the locals is one of our highlights. The food at Vaughans Anchor Inn was the best and we went back three times: our first night we had oysters and fish and chips and they were spectacular. I haven’t had a lot of experience with oysters but I now count myself a fan and Desmond loved them so much that he negotiated a deal where he could order 12 for himself on our next visit back.
We chose two gorgeous Irish blankets to bring home which we will appreciate come the rainy winter days in Paris. Desmond and I also got a pair of woolen socks which we wore every morning for book reading and Sophia got a woolen cap which she will rock going to school in Paris in the fall. Mavis is allergic to wool so she chose to get a couple of books from the local bookstore which kept her entertained on our evenings out.
Our last night we decided to have a gin & tonic before dinner at Vaughans. We thought we’d try different gins and if we found one we liked we could bring a bottle back to Paris. Throughout the trip we were used to paying under 5€ for a pint. Our dinner bill was higher than expected and when we looked we realized that we had paid 8€ for each gin and the mix was charged separately at another 3€. Lesson learned. In the restaurants, stay away from the mixed drinks.
It was a sign though that, coming back to Paris, there was a gentleman in the duty free shop promoting one of the gins that we had tried: Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin. He assured us it would be difficult to find outside of Ireland and after a small sample we decided it would be a fitting way to remind us of our week in Ireland.
When winter hits in Paris, look for me on the couch with my Irish wool socks warming my feet and my Irish blanket across my lap. And if you come for a visit, we’ll offer you an authentic Irish G&T.
The travel day coming home was long as we had to wind our way back to airport, thankfully on the major motorways this time. We were pleased and somewhat surprised that arriving in Paris and walking to our apartment felt like coming home.
Our Irish vacation marks a change in our life in Paris: from the unfamiliar and new city to the one we are getting to know and thinking of as home. With our first trip behind us we are ready to start planning others. I am grateful for having finally visited Ireland and know we will go back and Europe is full of other possibilities to discover. The question: where to next?
