Misty-Eyed in Malahide

The next morning was a sad one as this would be our final day abroad, as we would later set back across the Atlantic on our way home later that afternoon. As our plane back home was not until noon, we were fortunate to have some spare time in Malahide. We quickly ran through this time enjoying a small breakfast in the hotel’s attached restaurant. It was again a somber time as we ate our breakfast, staring out at the small bay outside the window, reminiscing about our past adventures and wondering if we would ever be back here again.

With breakfast concluding, we made our way out from the hotel onto the desolate streets of this still sleeping village. As we slowly meandered our way to the nearest bus stop, we tried to absorb the views of the silent coastal town and be thankful for our experiences gained from this wonderful journey.

Our thankfulness for Malahide pretty shortly turned into sheer frustration as Apple Maps began to provide us with two different bus stops for our next part of our journey. Hedging our bets on the nearest bus stop, our resolve was quickly shattered as we saw our bus roll into view and then rapidly speed directly past us. With this bus now missed, our itinerary was currently suspended. We quickly recovered and soon raced back to the hotel to phone a taxi. Several stressful moments later, we were nestled in the back of a small taxi and were zipping back to the Dublin airport, forever saying goodbye to Malahide.

The winding ride back to the airport was actually a pleasant one as we were fortunate enough to be able to converse about soccer with the seasoned driver who happened to be an extremely passionate Liverpool supporter. Eventually, we rolled up to the airport and said our farewells, officially ending our time in Dublin. It wasn’t much longer till we were herded through security and seated within the large stark white plane heading back home. The eight hour flight quickly slipped by as memories from the past few days constantly replayed in our heads. After landing back on US soil, our trip was finally at its tiring end. All said and done, we went through 3 countries (4 if you count speeding through Austria) and over 18 cities in just a mere few days. At our trip’s conclusion, due to our excessive walking and exploration, our bodies were shells of our former selves and we were majorly exhausted and sore. Yet this pain was just a small reminder of all the amazing things we had seen and done during these few days and I would make that trade off every single time. The world is truly incredible and waiting to be explored and we cannot wait to set off again and uncover more in the future. Life only really starts once you step outside your comfort zone and we can strongly attest to this fact. Set off and write your own story! We hope to see you out there.

To see the previous day’s adventure, click here.