“Firsts are best because they are beginnings.”

I’m writing this at the official end of day one in Ireland, although we’d really just be getting out of work if we were home, so who knows WHAT day it is! (And who’s counting?!)

Our love affair with Ireland began today.

First time driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road. (Mike..not me.)

In all honesty, he did very well. At the beginning I was cringing over the number of cars and trees it appeared we were going to sideswipe. (He did brush a few curbs, but you didn’t hear that from me!)

First stay using AirBnB for accomodations. Brian, our host in Howth, wasn’t available today so he assigned his welcoming duties to Vincent (a full-time tenant) who was wonderful. The suite is in a very old building facing the harbor and is well appointed and funky. There’s some comfort in staying in a “home” instead of a hotel room. Our goal in going to Ireland was to be “with the people” so this was a great way to start.

First old castles, churches and Celtic crosses. This won’t be the last time you’ll see these beautiful relics. (No, Mike is NOT a relic!)

First time eating the apparently “horrific” Irish food. I’m happy to report that as of Day One, this is a misnomer.  We really only ate one real meal (mostly because we were too punchy to be able to focus on choosing a place to have lunch) and it was insanely wonderful. Howth is a fishing suburb of Dublin and the seafood is out of this world. Mike had a seafood chowder and fisherman’s pie (like a shepherd’s pie with fish.) I had a mushroom and kale soup and the monkfish and crispy pancetta special – both were outstanding. I don’t know if this trend will continue, but so far so good.

Most importantly…today was the first time we made friends in Ireland. We walked along a beautiful jetty and met Marion and her new Yorkie rescue Millicent Trollope (named after the Irish novelist Anthony Trollope.) Marion has lived in Howth for 34 years.

As we walked up the hill into the city centre of Howth, we came upon a very old cemetery and a gentleman tending to his family gravesite. After some conversation and history about Lord Howth, we learned his name was Peter Delaney who has lived in Howth his entire life (being raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was 3 years old.) At that point we committed to doing our best to meet a local in each place that we visit. It is absolutely the best way to learn the truth and history of these fascinating villages.

We accomplished a lot on our first “official” day on the Emerald Isle. It’s going to be tough to beat the sights we saw and the people we met….here’s hoping.