On my first day in Ireland, Shanaynay, Trixie, and I decided to venture out to one of the cute seaside towns outside of Dublin. We had all seen the major Dublin tourist hotspots previously and wanted to explore more off of the beaten path (which, I have found, is what I enjoy most about travelling). So we bought DART tickets (the Dublin area train), grabbed some take away tea and scones, and off we were on our first adventure!
Howth (pronounced "Hoath") is an adorable fishing town located on a small peninsula, around 20 minutes from Dublin. It has a castle with supposedly beautiful gardens in the summer, one hotel, four golf courses, two lighthouses, and a lot of boats (sailing and yachts). It also has several multi-hour hikes to take around the peninsula, one which leads you to the "Bog of the Frogs." Howth's motto, which is posted all around the town, is "Howth is magic." A very cool place to visit, especially if you end up hitting it on a day with nice weather. We, however, did not.
When we boarded the DART, there was rain and some wind. But being the go-getters we are, Trixie, Shanaynay, and I ignored the tempest a-brewing and read about Howth's history out of Shanaynay's guidebooks. However, when we arrived in Howth, the rain had started blowing sideways and looked slightly heavier.
Pre-DART tea and scone strength
We were loaded with our innocent travel umbrellas, and decided to check out the nearest sites first: the lighthouses and the harbor. Little did we know that the Howth weather would end up bringing an early death to our umbrellas. Basically, it went like this: 3 American girls walk out on the harbor in wind that not only pops our umbrellas inside out, but literally is stronger than we are. It's how I imagine what it would be like to play in a hurricane.
At first, we fought the wind with everything we had. It was truly hilarious. In fact, not only we were laughing so hard we could barely stand, a couple Irish families had the same sightseeing plans that we did. But they were smart enough to stay in the car on the harbor- and got to witness our wind struggle with front row seats. We had whole cars laughing. Then, realizing that we would either a) become one with the rain, get soaked, and have a great time or b) get swept out to sea, we regrettably closed our mangled umbrellas and got some great (though slanted and blurry) pictures of Howth. Here are a few:
Thoroughly soaked, we decided it was time to warm up with a hot lunch and a pint. After consulting the Howth tourism office (and looking through the charming art gallery adjacent to it), we headed to a nearby tavern. On the way, we met a charming older Irish gentleman who helped point us in the right direction. He was carrying a bouquet of flowers, and wanted to know where we all called home. After each person replied, he responded with the same "ne'er heard of it," though he displayed a vast knowledge of Boston, Georgia, and North Carolina. He wished us well and sent us on our way with smiles on our faces and a new love of the Howth population.
Conveniently, the tavern had a roaring fire going right next to our table, which smelled and felt amazing. I now know what it feels like to be a fisherman returning from the high seas to a good tavern meal.* The barwench/server was wearing the fancy dress (what the Irish call costumes) of Super Woman in honor of Halloween. I ate their "New England style chowder," which turned out to be made from fresh caught cod and salmon. Salmon in a chowder is quite delicious.
The fire that saved us from catching pneumonia
Soon, our clothes were drier, our stomaches full, and we felt much better. In the train station, we all realized how awful we looked, but how good we felt on the inside (other than the coldness which was slowly seeping back in). I left Howth with the true understanding of its motto-- it really is magic.
* Okay, okay, we didn't actually even go on a boat. But I can imagine it.
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