Land Of Marvels

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UK Isles : Moments to Remember

Today I’m starting in on my travel review posts which, in the coming weeks, will dive deep into our adventures through London, Ireland and Scotland.  We had a magical trip and fell in love with each place we saw, spurred on by the magical Christmas decorations up all over Europe and the natural beauty of the UK.  The British, Irish and Scottish Isles are truly some of the most naturally beautifully places I’ve seen and we loved every second of our travels through them.

I fell in love with things differently in each place we visited and in each spot along our travels, something unique pulled me in.  There were so many amazing moments on this trip, but to start and before I get into my day by day posts, I thought we’d start with my top 5 favorite moments on this trip. I did this last year when we returned from Iceland and I love having those moments to remember a trip, to remember the feeling of the places I saw.

I truly believe that travel is about moments, it’s about those times when you stop and take in your surroundings, when you are truly in awe of the world around you.  That feeling, that moment, for me is the most important thing I experience when I travel, to see the world with our own eyes and to experience all that is in front of us.  So without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite moments/memories from our recent trip through the UK!

On our first day in the UK, we spent the afternoon wandering around London.  Our final stop of the day was Notting Hill and as we wandered up toward Portobello Road, the sun began to set and we passed by this street to see the most stunning evening sky with the sun setting behind the church as the end of the lane.  It was such a picture perfect moment, like the sun was perfectly setting behind the church’s steeple.  We stopped and watched for a while, starting as the only people there.  When we left about 15 minutes later, a crowd has gathered behind us, just watching the day slip into twilight with so many brilliant colors.  
It was one of those moments when the world slows, the city takes on a hue of its own and I really was in awe of what this amazing world is capable of.
I have a whole post planned on this topic, but I had to mention it here first as I truly fell deep in love with Dublin.  I’ve grown up in a very Irish family and heard of so many trips my parents and grandparents have taken to the “mother-land,” but seeing it with my own eyes, feeling the pull of the charm of Dublin, totally blew me away.  I fell hard for the quaint but richly deep Irish city.  To say that I felt my Irish roots pulling at me in Dublin was an understatement.  I felt immediately at home, as cliche as that sounds.  
Dublin was magical for me, a pull between my present and my past, a view of my heritage and roots. It was a city that I fell in love with both because of my roots but also because of the city itself.

This trip was the first that we’ve been in Europe this close to Christmas and it did not disappoint.  We experienced our first Christmas markets, first in Belfast, then in Edinburgh and our evening wandering around the Christmas market in Belfast was just magical. Europe does Christmas well, very well in fact and I seriously felt like I was in another world wandering around the market.  Lights were everywhere as we ate apple strudel and took it all in.  It was a magical night, one that I’ll always remember.

While St. Andrews was one of my favorite stops on our trip, which of course I’ll have much more to come on this charming Scottish town, our day there turned into this incredible sunset as day faded to night.  For about 45 minutes, we were treated to this incredible pink and blue sky, one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life.  It was an evening in a magical town, a moment caught between day and twilight, a moment looking upon the fantasy lined stone buildings of St. Andrews and watching the world paint itself into night.

On our final day in Edinburgh, we decided (in an effort to warm up) to take a ride in the ferris wheel in the Princes Street Gardens, nestled among the Christmas market.  It was a memory I’ll never forget, seeing the Scottish city sprawl out below us, blue skies for miles.  Edinburgh in itself is like a fairy tale already (which I’ll touch on much more in coming posts) with its spires and stone buildings, but seeing it from this high above was amazing.  It was such a unique experience and a magical moment in the sky above a city I fell hard for.

Comments

  1. I love that you’ve focused on some of the best moments of your trip as I often get so caught up in the whole thing I forget the smaller special things you see when in a new place. That sunset is amazing! This post reminds me I need to travel to more places in the UK as it really is so beautiful.

    • Thank you! It is often daunting to seek out the smaller moment while traveling, but for me, that’s where I connect so strongly to a place is through my emotions and through those small moments which I think is really important!

  3. I can not wait to hear more about Ireland!! To say I am obsessed is a bit of an understatement! My family is from Ireland and I definitely want to experience it in my lifetime 🙂 Also, I love this idea of highlighting your favorite moments from your trip.

  4. Wow, it seems like you had an amazing time in the UK and Ireland! I’ve never been to Ireland, but I love both England and Scotland (particularly the latter – this is the place where I realized that travel was something I truly, truly loved) and I can’t wait to read more about your trip and maybe gain some travel inspiration for the next year! 🙂

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