London, Liverpool, and Lisdoonvarna

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I'm constantly dreaming of where I'll go next. One time, my dad overheard someone asking me where all I want to travel, and he answered for me, "Everywhere." He was right. I want to see it all.

My sense of adventure coupled with Ben's love of golf a few years ago when we began applying for tickets to see the Open in Europe. The location changes from year-to-year, but when you've never been and want to see it all, it's a no-brainer to apply. The golf world is a bit unique in that tickets are often sold in a lottery format. You select what days you want to go and cross your fingers they let you purchase them. Ben was feeling discouraged with our repeated rejections and told me to not even bother with applying for the 151st Open in Hoylake, England. Luckily for both of us, I ignored his directions. ☺

I was completely unaware of the planning that goes into international travel. It's important to me to establish a good balance in planning; one or two scheduled things a day with lots of wiggle room for exploring. Maybe I'll do another post about the planning process, but without further ado, here's our rough itinerary from the trip we'll remember forever!

London

Where we stayed: Originally, we'd booked an airbnb for our weekend in London. However, when we realized how MASSIVE the city is, we decided to switch to somewhere closer to the city center and the airport. After reading about the different areas of London, I had to stay in Notting Hill. We stayed at a new boutique hotel called The 55 by Le Mirage. The location proved perfect. It was an effortless walk to various underground stations and Hyde Park and was easy to hail a taxi when we wanted. Arriving jetlagged at 7am, we were grateful they offered luggage storage and even let us check in early.

What we did:

• We tried to hit the ground running when we arrived in order to beat jetlag. This was a JOURNEY, as neither of us are good at sleeping on planes (read: we didn't sleep on the plane.)

• Our first day, we got lattes and croissants at Guillam Coffee House right by our hotel.

• Then we wandered slowly made our way to the British Museum, where we had arranged to wander through. We didn't love the British Museum because it was SO CROWDED. It was impossible to get anywhere, and we both loath hoards of people.

• We were able to squeeze in a nap before heading to see Big Ben. We opted to ride a taxi, despite most of my research saying it was a waste of money. We disagree; we loved the taxis in London and found them worth every penny. Of course the underground was great for longer transit, but we thoroughly appreciated avoiding it when we wanted, too.

• Hands down, our favorite part of London was touring Buckingham Palace. Tours aren't offered year-round, and we were so lucky that the dates lined up with our trip. We did the audio tour and wish photos were allowed as we wandered about with jaws dropped.

• Being Catholic, we had to check out the universal church and attend mass in London. One of my favorite things is being able to jump in literally anywhere in the world and know I belong. We attended mass at The Most Precious Blood, which was perfect because it was close to the Borough Market.

• Does it get better than wandering a food market on a Sunday morning in freaking ENGLAND?! Following one hungry, uncaffeinated meltdown by yours truly, I loved getting to wander around Borough Market. In addition to coffee, Ben got some yummy donuts and I a cup of strawberries drizzled with chocolate. I wish we could've timed it where we could've brought all the fresh food back to the hotel with us but we had a busy day ahead.

• If we were going on this trip to watch golf, we had to balance things out by seeing Lion King at West End. I'd seen Lion King in New York before, but ugh my love for this show is DEEP. We loved it so much.

Where we ate:

• Everything I'd read said London has an unnecessarily harsh reputation for bad food, that if you do your research and make reservations, there's lots of can't-miss places. It can be difficult to time out reservations, and we often wound up EARLY for ours, out of fear of being late. We were able to just get in earlier then, which worked great.

• We had dinner at Pizza Pilgrims, and it was fantastic. If there's anything about the Sorensons, we could eat pizza every day.

• Circolo Popolare was another place listed as "must try." It was a really cool place, but I think we ordered the wrong thing. Our food was just okay, and I guess we must go back and try again. Word to the wise, if you're at an Italian restaurant, get pasta.

Overall thoughts: London was truly a conglomeration of cultures and history. Some parts were touristy, but it was easy to wander off the beaten path and find locals. People were genuinely helpful toward each other, quick to give up their seats on the train or pick up overturned bikes on the sidewalk. Upon leaving, Ben asked if I felt like I'd want to go back to London. Even though I was so excited for the next leg of our trip, I could've spent so much more time in London. There's SO MANY places I want to explore. I loved how easy transportation was. How many places are like that, with truly every option for getting around at your fingertips? Plus, I didn't get to explore any hole-in-the-wall bookstores. Guess we're going back!

Liverpool

Where we stayed: If we picked a good hotel and location in London, we CRUSHED it in Liverpool. We stayed at The Resident Liverpool. It was seriously steps away from the station we needed to use to get to the golf course and close to everything else we wanted to see and do. They were super helpful with some of my questions before the trip and were helpful in arranging an early-morning taxi to the airport for us. There were rad accommodations, like happy hour, and I felt super safe the whole time.

What we did:

• We watched the Tuesday practice round of the Open. I'd say we timed things perfectly, as rain was in the forecast. We walked in shortly after the gates opened and got to see Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry right away. It felt like we had the course to ourselves. We spent Tuesday getting a lay of the land, knowing things would be significantly busier on Thursday. When the rain started to pour and we'd seen all we'd hoped, we decided to head back to Liverpool and have a bit more time to lay low and relax. However, when we want on Thursday, the official first day of the tournament, we spent the entire day at the course, putting in a 13-hour day. We did a variety of posting up at a hole and wandering the course.

• Mersey Ferries took us on a river cruise around the Liverpool and Wirral waterfronts. It was delightful getting to learn a bit about the area and spend time on the water. They were super hospitable and helped us when I'd originally booked for Monday, and we wound up missing the last ferry. I would highly recommend!

• We also enjoyed wandering around Royal Albert Docks. It felt familiar to Canal Park in Duluth and was delightful.

• There was one full day during our time in Liverpool that we had to just explore. We got coffee and breakfast at Bold Street Coffee and wandered to the Liverpool Cathedral. A leisurely morning is always such a gift to us.

• Early in my research, I stumbled on Panoramic 34. We went there for drinks with a view and had a blast.

Where we ate:

• Knowing we'd have early mornings and late nights at the golf course, we were sure to find a grocery store upon arriving in Liverpool. Our hotel was super close to one, which was perfect, and in the future, I think all international trips should include a trip to the grocery store. I loved getting to see things that were foreign (☺) to me. For example, we were at a two-story grocery store, which had an escalator that was a ramp, so shoppers could get their carts up and down from the second level! All this to say, we had lots of "snack dinners" and protein bars for breakfasts.

• I love spectating golf because it's a fancy sport. The food at the course was delicious and reasonably priced compared to what I expected. We had pizza one day and then tacos another, plus coffee every morning.

• Lunch at Albert's Schloss was our first order of business after arriving in Liverpool. It was delightful.

• I'll probably think about our dinner date at Gusto Italian forever. Our server was the sweetest, the food was great, and we got dessert to go.

• I also LOVED Castle St Townhouse for dinner. The building was just beautiful, and the food was fantastic. Ben finally had fish and chips and mushy peas here, which he enjoyed. I wasn't bold enough to try the peas, but the fish was great!

Overall thoughts: Liverpool was never on my radar. I wasn't overly excited about it when all

I could find for things to do and places to see was related to the Beatles (happy for them, but there's not a single musician I love enough to take a tour of the places they've been, ya know?). However, it was perfect. I loved wandering around, and I loved getting to watch the golf. And the food! I loved every meal we had in Liverpool. We were there the perfect amount of time for what we did, and I feel like I'd be okay if I didn't return.

Lisdoonvarna

Where we stayed: We stayed at an airbnb just outside of Lisdoonvarna. It was cozy and arguably the most fully stocked airbnb I've ever stayed in. The hosts had a wonderful guide book, which proved helpful when we struggled finding transportation.

What we did:

• We flew into Dublin and tried out Daytrip for the first time, to drive across the country to our airbnb. It was a fantastic experience. Our driver was organized, prompt, and quick to help us rearrange plans when we arrived before much of Ireland was even awake.

• We went to Athlone Castle as part of our Daytrip. It was perfect and so quintessential Ireland.

• The other stop on our Daytrip was Galway for lunch. I loved Galway and could definitely spend more time exploring.

• In my research of the area of our airbnb, I stumbled on the Burren Perfumery and HAD to go. It was beautiful, and I love their mission of safe, beautiful products with minimal environmental impact. It was a ways away from our bnb, but we found a taxi driver, Denis, who agreed to drive us there and back and give a bit of a tour of the area along the way. He was delightful and taught us so much about the area of the world he calls home. We were so lucky to spend our day with him. It wound up being pretty rainy during our time at the perfumery, but it was so beautiful. We took a tour of their facilities, tried out a bunch of their products, and enjoyed cake and coffee in their cozy cafe.

• We took a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. It was misty with horrid visibility when we arrived, but the area had plenty to explore during the worst of the weather. We were incredibly lucky that things slowly cleared up, and we got to enjoy the sheer beauty of the area.

Where we ate:

• The Roadside Tavern was an effortless walk from our airbnb. It was delicious, with great service, albeit a bit overpriced. According to our taxi driver, Denis, the area has really been hit with economic hardships, so we were happy to pay the expensive prices knowing the alternative is nowhere being able to remain open.

• McGann's Pub was your classic Irish pub. The food was phenomenal, the place was packed, golf was on TV, we were happy.

• We did a lot of snack dinners here too, after getting groceries in Galway and Lisdoonvarna.

Overall thoughts: Ireland is somewhere Ben has wanted to go as long as I remember. I'm so grateful we got to explore it together. It's truly beautiful. I have never met so many people eager to take care of tourists, like we did here. Everyone was so genuinely kind and helpful. If I were to go back, I definitely think I'd want to go somewhere different. We had a great time at our airbnb, and it was perfect for the end of our busy trip. However, transportation was difficult being in such a rural area, and I feel like we did all that we could do in the Lisdoonvarna area.

You guys. I promise this will not become a travel blog, if that's not your thing. However, trips like this really shape a person. By writing about it all, I get to discover its impact on me, revisit these delightful memories, and continue to ride the dopamine high of exploring with my favorite person ever. All this to say, beware that more Europe trip posts are ahead, but hopefully, you can find something that serves you now or in the future.

- J