Ten years in Ireland... already???

Cannot believe it's been ten years since we moved to Ireland! Time flies....

I wanted to write a special post to celebrate this anniversary, which is very important for us: it has been in Ireland where we have created our family and we have absolutely fallen in love with this island: its countryside, its towns, its coastline and  its traditions but most of all the amazing Irish people, so warm and friendly who have made these ten years so easy to live.

During this time, we have been able to discover a little bit of this beautiful Ireland, and thinking back, it would be so hard to choose the place we liked most: how would you choose between the jaw dropping Atlantic Coast, so wild and so alive that it refills your vital energy levels in every visit, with its breathtaking views and those cliffs, constantly fighting against the powerful ocean and the unstoppable wind or the absolutely beautiful villages and towns spread all around the island that immediately transport you to other times, when knights rescued princesses from bad dragons and then  fell in love and lived happily ever after, places like Carlingford, Inistioge or Kilkenny (OK, OK, there were no pay-and-display zones in those times, but apart from that...). 

While I write this post, my memory keeps jumping from one place to another: from the lakes @ Glendalough during one of those foggy and misty days, so appropriate for this visit, to the coast of Antrim in a warm and sunny summer afternoon - such a pleasure to drive! From the dark history but incredible beauty of Doo Lough in Connemara to the joyful streets of Clifden, so full of colours, only a few kilometres away. From the packed streets of Dublin on St Patrick's where it is sometimes physically impossible to walk to the most absolute and deep silence of Silent Valley Mountain Park

We have discovered all these incredible places with the kids, always with the kids, as a family, because Ireland is a family friendly country. They have climbed up mountains with us, they have got lost in mazes (be careful if you visit Castlewellan Peace Maze - I thought we would never get out!), explored forest parks and old castles, tested all the playgrounds we have come across in this magnificent 10 year journey and they want more... another ten years, maybe???  

To mark such an special anniversary I thought it would be a good idea to collect our "secret" findings  in a little video that I am so keen to show you!

I hope you were not expecting to see one of those amazing movies with perfect pics taken from helicopters where every place looks like a dream... unfortunately nothing like that! These are non professional pictures taken with my "housewife-camera" trying to show the real perfectly imperfect beauty of unedited photos, but much more - I really wanted to reflect how we have enjoyed our time here so far, because this is what life is all about: enjoying the little moments.

If you are Irish, thanks for welcoming us in such a loving manner! If you, like me, are a foreigner, I encourage you to DISCOVER IRELAND... yes, in capitals, because I am sure you will not be deceived!

Happy to receive your comments!

By the way: we have a brand new Facebook Page (wooohoooo!), so if you like what we do and would love to get ideas for weekends away, or nice cafes for family breakfast/brunch, or lovely parks to spend a lazy afternoon with the troop, follow us and we'll fill you in with new ideas.

Now let's start our second 10-year phase.... We'll keep you informed!