one of a kind
There seems to be an abundance of swallows around my house and I often look out my window to see twenty or so of them there, sitting along the roof. However, they are getting cheekier!
And not just one, but loads!
It’s like a scene for Hitchcock’s The Birds! But I love looking out and watching them. It reminds me of when I was 10 in Fourth Class, when my class and I got to take turns to watch birds outside the classroom window thanks to out teacher being a keen bird watcher.
Kat from thedemuremuse.com hit the nail on the head when she commented being a ‘local tourist’ on my Staycation post. That is what I have spent a good chunk of this summer doing, exploring my local surroundings and tourist attractions. It’s always something you aim to do but never get around to. It’s such a shame too, cos when people ask you what there is to do when visiting, you can usually rattle off a number of different places of interest to visit. Which naturally leads to their next question ‘Is it any good?’ and the reply is usually I don’t know, I’ve never been/haven’t been there since I was a child.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland is The Cliffs of Moher in Co.Clare. I’ve been there a few times before and all recent enough. But when a friend said she wanted to a do a boat tour along the bottom of the Cliffs, I leapt at the chance!
We left from Liscannor Bay, after getting a deal on the price of tickets and set off in the speed boat. I was glad I wore my jacket, as there was a good breeze when out in the water! We were lucky that it wasn’t raining though I say it would have still looked as beautiful as it did. To see the Cliffs from a different perspective was amazing, they looked almost majestic.
One of the most exciting parts of the trip was seeing the caves used the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince film.
Hopefully you can see from the above photo the colour of the water. It was incredible, a gorgeous emerald green that I desperately tried to capture on picture but couldn’t truly capture the brilliance of no matter how many pictures I took.
Another thing I loved about this tour were all the birds! Millions of them, on the cliff side, in the air and in the water. We tried to sneak up on some puffins on the water but they were wise and flew away.
The trip was well worth it and I was easily go back again, especially if it was sunset as I think that would be even more beautiful.
So I have been away for such a long time! And there’s a reason. I had planned to write up some posts last weekend but as a last minute surprise, my boyfriend decided to whisk me away on a weekend break! We went to Dungarven, Co. Waterford, where two of my college friends are from. We met up with them on Friday night and had a few drinks (some more than others so it seems!).
View from hotel window
Saturday was a lazy day of relaxing. Luckily the weather was very nice! The day was spent shopping, visiting King John’s Castle and walking around the town.
Dungarvan Harbour
Sunday was another beautiful day. We went to the beautiful Mahon Falls and walked about half way up.
I also dipped my toes into the water! Next we went to Cahir Castle, Co. Tipperary. I had been there many times travelling back to Kilkenny on a Sunday night last summer and the castle always intrigued me. We managed to tag onto a tour and hear the interesting facts about the castle. After that, we went to eat some food.
Cahir Castle
Last but not least we visited The Rock of Cashel. Contrary to what I previously believed, there is no rock or rock monument there that is The Rock of Cashel, but rather it is the rock on which the old round tower, cathedral and other buildings stand now. We managed again to tag along with another tour, which just tickled the history nerd in me pink!
Cathedral and Round Tower
After a busy day of touring, we travelled the long journey home. I really enjoyed my ‘Staycation’, I thoroughly recommend it. I can’t wait to explore other areas in Ireland I’ve never been to before!
It was a friend’s birthday yesterday and I decided that I would craft half of her present. A lovely of cupcakes just like me, there was no way I could resist crafting some cupcakey items!
It had been a while since I had crafted anything, so I was a bit afraid I would go wrong. Still I enjoyed it and hopefully I’ll continue doing some crafting! I’m a bit of a Jack of All Trades, Master of None when it comes to crafting, I like trying lots of different ones but there’s nothing I’m really great at.
Here’s what I made!
I made some other cards too. They’re not all perfect but I think they’re cute! I really wanted to keep the shot glass for myself (even though I rarely use them these days!).
